The Week_20140420

Mercedes.indd 2 3/6/14 5:10 PM Mercedes.indd 3 3/6/14 5:10 PM The main stories…4 NEWS THE WEEK 20 April 2014 It wasn’t all bad Hamid Karzai is a survivor. Afghan presidents historically have never gone “gently into the night”, said the Washington Post. Indeed the fact that 56-year- old Karzai is transferring power to his successor after successful elections – he is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term – is remarkable. His predecessors have been variously “shot, poisoned, suffocated by pillows, castrated and hanged”. Kabul’s power transfer began on 5 April when Afghans went to the polls in the shadow of threats from the Taliban. While the ballot has undeniable “historic import”, and the outgoing president has proved his resilience, there is fierce debate about his legacy. Was he, in the end, a great leader in the mould of regional heroes such as Gandhi and Nehru, or a puppet of the West? The Western narrative in regards to Karzai has shifted radically, said The Hindu. At first he was depicted as a “good intentioned, but inefficacious ruler”. In recent times he is routinely depicted as a “perceivably corrupt, nepotistic, hashish-smoking leader at the helm of a disintegrating narco-thug government”. Such descriptions ignore the fact that Afghanistan has transformed itself “socially, economically and politically” under Karzai, The Hindu said. “Karzai is an embodiment of this continuous adaptation and response to the volatile context around him,” facts which are often ignored in existing Karzai commentary.” He may be a survivor said the New York Times, but Karzai’s hostile attitude towards the US “does not serve his long-suffering country.” The Afghan president seems to have decided “that there is nothing to be lost, and maybe something to be gained, in destroying his relationship with the United States.” It is understandable that Karzai is “fed up” with airstrikes and civilian deaths in his country after 12 years of war, the NYT said. But he deals with the situation “dishonestly”, using the issue to “demonise” the US. “Publicly, he seems to blame the United States for the war with the Taliban. Privately, according to reports, he has suggested that Americans may have aided or conducted attacks aimed at undermining his government. What happened What the editorials said The last days of Karzai A London hairdresser took on the might of Pyongyang last week and won. M&M Hair Academy put a poster in its window showing the face of North Korea’s despotic leader Kim Jong-un and a caption that said “Bad hair day?” A few days later the shop was visited by two disgruntled officials from the North Korean embassy who demanded that the poster was taken down. M&M’s owner, Mo Nabbach, refused telling the men: “Listen, this is not North Korea.” Disgraced former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi was well- known for his appreciation of very young women – an exotic dancer nicknamed Ruby the Heartstealer, in particular. What irony then, that a judge has ordered him to do a year’s community service working at a nursing home. Meanwhile, Italy’s new PM, Matteo Renzi, has moved to shake-off the nation’s ‘bunga bunga’ image – the name given to Berlusconi’s hedonistic parties – by appointing women to top jobs at some of the country’s biggest state-owned companies. If you were looking for an excuse to enjoy a chocolate bar every day, you’ve just got one. Researchers in the US say that a sweet treat may prevent couples becoming irritated with each other due to low blood- sugar levels. The phenomenon even has a name: ‘hangry’. Researchers at Ohio State University used voodoo dolls to assess trial participants’ levels of ‘hangry-ness’. Here we go again, said The New York Times. The militants in eastern Ukraine are following “to the letter” the “script” of Russia’s land grab in Crimea last month. First, they took over government offices; now some have declared independence for eastern Ukraine and – with Moscow’s blessing – are calling for a vote on joining Russia. But the parallels with Crimea are far from exact, said The Wall Street Journal. The latest protests have won only “sparse” support and opinion polls show most voters are happy to stay under Kiev’s rule. Trouble is, Putin has the “military leverage”: 50,000 Russian soldiers are now massed along the Ukrainian border. To be sure, there’s not much the West can do, said The Independent. A military response is “rightly unthinkable” and tougher sanctions will do little to change minds in Moscow. “When it comes to Ukraine, national pride and historical grievance trump practical concerns”. In the long term, we might cut our dependence on Russian gas; in the short term, we can only hope for “the de-escalation that both sides claim to want”. Russia was accused of “waging war” on Ukraine last week after armed pro-Moscow separatists seized key government buildings in cities across the east of the country. In a television address, the country’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, claimed the Kremlin was “sowing disorder” ahead of presidential elections next month and threatened to send in the army to oust the militants. But Moscow said that deploying troops would amount to “a criminal order”, and called on the West to rein in the Ukrainian government. One Ukrainian security officer was killed and at least five others were injured in clashes with the rebels. Washington said the latest unrest showed “tell-tale signs” of Russian involvement. And it warned that if Moscow continued its aggression, it could face a further round of sanctions including measures that would hit the banking, energy and mining sectors. What happened What the editorials said Ukraine: does Putin want to invade? Ukraine’s crisis deepens WEEK-001-04-05 main story .indd 4 4/17/14 3:01 PM …and how they were covered NEWS 5 20 April 2014 THE WEEK THE WEEk Head office: Media One Tower, Dubai Media City, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 427 3000; Fax: +971 4 428 2260 email: motivate@motivate.ae Dubai Media City: Office 508, 5th floor, Building 8, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 390 3550; Fax: +971 4 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, UAE Tel: +971 2 677 2005; Fax: +971 2 677 0124 email: motivate-adh@motivate.ae London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK email: motivateuk@motivate.ae OUR OFFICES Chairman: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing Partner and Group Editor: Ian Fairservice Editorial Director: Gina Johnson Group Editor – Business: Guido Duken Editor: Richard Jinman News Editor: Emma Hodgson Senior Art Director: Tarak Parekh Designer: Sanil Kumar Picture Researcher: Hilda D’Souza Head of Production: S Sunil Kumar Senior Production manager: C Sudhakar Assistant Production Manager: Binu Purandaran General Manager, Group Sales: Anthony Milne Publisher: Chris Capstick Senior Sales Manager: Terry Arnold Publisher, Abu Dhabi: Imane Eddinari Printed by: Emirates Printing Press, Dubai The key test of Karzai’s legacy will be the survival of the Afghan state, said Leela Jacinto in the Washington Post. There will be “sharp declines” in foreign aid to Afghanistan during 2015, 2016 and 2017 and there are question marks over whether Kabul can control “significant parts of the territory”. If the state survives, said Jacinto, “Karzai can claim, quite rightly, to be the father of the nation and his place in history will be assured”. The perception of Karzai has certainly changed, particularly in the West, said Jason Burke in The Guardian. Once he was “the man of the hour”; now Washington will be pleased to see him go. Karzai has blamed the Taliban’s ability to re-assert control over parts of the country on the west and Pakistan. The west, in part, blamed Karzai, said Burke. While once he had been seen as “exotic, romantic and broadly friendly”, he was now viewed as “fractious, prickly and increasingly independent-minded. The system of government he had built was defiantly non-western, relying not on institutions but on individuals, key power-brokers prized for their loyalty and forgiven for faults that horrified overseas observers.” Ultimately, Karzai’s legacy will be mixed, said Deutsche Welle. On the one hand he is a “great tactician who was able to balance out contrasting power interests”. But his reputation has been undeniably tarnished both among Afghans, who saw him as a puppet of the West, but also with the United States. “While he won his first election in 2004 by an overwhelming majority, his re-election in 2009 was massively rigged. By this time, not only had the US begun to lose confidence in him, but the security situation in Afghanistan had also deteriorated due to attacks by a resurgent insurgency.” AP’s Kathy Gannon agreed that Karzai has a mixed scorecard. As he prepares to leave office, “Afghanistan has made great strides yet remains hobbled by a resilient Taliban”. What next?What the commentators said What next? “This is the long dreaded moment,” said Ian Birrell in The Daily Mail. Putin has seen his popularity at home soar since his intervention in Crimea: now he’s out to repeat his success in Ukraine, deploying just the same tactics. The busloads “of well-organised, well-trained and well-armed forces” seen arriving in Ukraine at the weekend were “wearing identical uniforms to those I saw in Crimea last month”. Small wonder that Ukraine’s “new political masters” are “terrified”. Alas, Putin has put them in “an impossible position” said James Meek in The Guardian. His message to Kiev: “fail to resist and I will invade. Resist and I will invade more and there will be corpses.” The real tragedy is that, whatever Russia may claim, there is little real division in Ukraine. Except for a few “archaic radical nationalists” and “neo-Soviet extremists” most people share a simple vision of their country’s future: a country that is “fairer and less corrupt” than Putin’s Russia or the Ukraine of former President Yanukovych. But does Putin really want to invade? asked Ben Hoyle in The Times. Eastern Ukraine would be a much trickier proposition than Crimea. For one thing, local support is uncertain: Russian- speakers make up less than 40% of the population even in the cities that have seen the worst of the recent trouble. Perhaps, as he claims, Putin would be satisfied with guarantees that Ukraine will never join Nato and the promise of a federal constitution allowing more power to the Russain-dominated regions. Besides, Putin will know that he can ill afford to alienate the West, said Christopher Granville in the FT. The Russian economy has grown at a healthy average of 5% over the last decade thanks largely to a steady flow of foreign cash to fund the capital investment that the country badly needs. But western businessmen will stay away unless Putin can offer a stable “political backdrop.” That’s why, no doubt, we will soon see “determined efforts to repair relations with the US and above all, Europe.” What the commentators said In a bid to head off the separatists, acting president Turchynov has hinted that the government is ready to back a referendum on the country’s constitution. A vote on whether to switch to a federal system has been among the protesters’ main demands. Putin has warned that Russia may in future insist on advance payment for gas supplies to Ukraine which has amassed arrears of more than $2bn. The president said Ukraine’s delays had created a “critical situation” and deliveries might be cut off altogether unless bills were settled up front. The Week is a registered trademark of Felix Dennis. Licensed by Dennis Publishing, 30 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 4JD Karzai will still wield power in Kabul after he relinquishes the presidency, said The Times of India. A lavish new house has been built for him near the presidential palace and at least one of the presidential frontrunners, Abdullah Abdullah, needs his support to win the top job. Ultimately, Karzai’s determination to retain influence is driven not by a love of power in its own right, but by a “deep-seated belief that he is Afghanistan’s indispensible man”, said the NYT. “He simply believes he is uniquely suited to guide the country through the tumultuous years of transition ahead.” Karzai’s legacy How drones are changing life in the UAE TECHNOLOGY P21 FACEBOOK’S SUPER WOMAN PEOPLE P13 ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS Father of the nation or US puppet? Page 4 Pakistan’s Baby-faced ‘killer’ TALKING POINT P13 The singer who fought for civil rights OBITS PXX 20 APRIL 2014 | ISSUE 001 | AED 15 THEWEEKTHEWEEK THE BEST OF MIDDLE EAST AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA WEEK-001-01-front cover.indd 1 4/17/14 10:58 AM Welcome to the first Middle East edition of The Week, a magazine that brings you all the week’s essential news via the prism of the best regional and international media. Already a phenomenon in the UK and the US, The Week distils a complex world into 35 editorial pages using more than 200 news sources. The Middle East is a dynamic, fascinating region and our magazine reflects its culture, complexity and conflicts. But that’s only part of the story. We will give you key insights into the most interesting people in the region and keep you abreast of the latest developments in the worlds of business, technology and science. There’s sport and reviews of the best books, movies, CDs, restaurants and holiday destinations for those in need of some down time. So, welcome to The Week – we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Richard Jinman WEEK-001-04-05 main story .indd 5 4/17/14 3:01 PM 6 NEWS Controversy of the week THE WEEK 20 April 2014 Narendra Modi: is he fit to be India’s PM? As the world’s largest election got underway last week, opinion polls suggested the ruling Congress party is set to take a pummeling at the hands of India’s 814 million voters. As a result, Narendra Modi, the leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, looks set to become the country’s next prime minister. The 63-year- old is very different to his chief opponent, the Indian National Congress’ Rahul Gandhi. Modi is a former tea-seller who is seen as a paragon of economic growth; Gandhi, 43, is the scion of India’s greatest political dynasty, but leads a party “blighted by massive corruption and decline in economic growth,” said US News. Modi is proud to call himself a Hindu nationalist and appears to favour radical reform of the country’s flagging economy, said The Guardian. Gandhi, in contrast, “holds true to the leftwing economics and belief in religious pluralism” that is the legacy of his great grandfather, Jawarharlal Nehru, India’s first PM. But despite Modi’s popularity and the economic credentials he established during his time as the chief minister of Gujarat, there are questions about his suitability to lead India, said Gulf News. Why? Because Modi “bears a responsibility for some of the worst religious violence ever seen in independent India.” In February 2002, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire in Godhra station in Gujarat. Almost 60 people died in the blaze and Modi declared –“without a shred of evidence” said Gulf Times – that Pakistani secret services were responsible. What followed were race riots, which claimed the lives of at least 1,000 people, most of whom were Muslim. Modi has never been found guilty of wrong-doing, notes the Muscat Daily, although one of his former ministers was jailed in 2012 for helping orchestrate the riots. Even so, Modi’s “failure to contain the carnage” and his apparent reluctance to mourn the deaths left a “legacy of mistrust”, the paper said. The Guardian agrees that there are important questions to be asked about Modi, his role in the 2002 riots and his apparent refusal to express genuine remorse for failing to protect the minority Muslim community. To some, the BJP candidate is India’s “saviour”, the paper said, to others he is its “nightmare”. But Modi may well become India’s PM, because for many Indians the events of 2002 are not an impediment to his ascension, said The Guardian. “For tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of people across India, what happened in 2002, or at least what they believe happened, does not so much raise doubts about Modi’s claim to lead the country, but reinforce it.” Controversial: Narendra Modi Only in the UAE Good week for: The 14,500 employees of Chinese cosmetics firm Nu Skin who have been enjoying an all-expenses paid holiday in the UAE. The company’s top achievers have been to the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab as well as Ferrari World and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Dubai’s taxi drivers as new statistics revealed they have moved more than 45m people around the emirate in the first three months of 2014. The whopping figure represents a four per cent rise on the same period last year. Bad week for: The pilot of a Pakistani International Airlines plane that was supposed to land in Riyadh, but touched down at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah instead. Passengers were reportedly “deeply shocked” when they found themselves in the Red Sea city instead of the Saudi capital, it was reported. Mixed martial arts fighter Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who was felled by his opponent Roy Nelson in the first round of their bout at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. Nogueira survived a childhood encounter with a truck but was knocked unconscious by a blow from Nelson after just three minutes and 37 seconds. The Al Wasl Football Club whose bus was attacked after the team lost 2-1 to Al Ahli. According to the club’s Twitter feed a window of the bus was smashed after its team failed to win the league title. Boring but important Poll watch Saudi Arabia’s military budget is now the fourth largest in the world according to a new report. The Kingdom spent $67bn last year, a 14 per cent increase on 2012. The massive outlay saw the country leapfrog the UK, Japan and France in terms of expenditure on arms and troops. Saudi military spending has more than doubled in the past 10 years, said the report. Smartphone users are desperate to buy new models from Apple and Samsung, a survey has revealed. The ChangeWave poll of 4,000 Americans found 42 per cent of those wanting to buy a new handset had their eyes on the upcoming iPhone 6, while 38 per cent wanted a Samsung S5. The cast of The Fast and The Furious movies have fallen in love with the UAE. From the luxurious first class cabin on the flight from the US – “Now that’s ludicrous!” tweeted Christopher ‘Ludacris’ Bridges – to Vin Diesel’s enthusiasm for Dubai’s Cavalli Club, the compliments are piling up. The actors are in the country to film Fast and Furious 7, the first installment since the death of star Paul Walker. Bird shops in Sharjah have been ordered to install extractor fans to dispel “bad smells” emitted by their feathered friends. As temperatures rise, locals have complained about the whiff while authorities are worried about the spread of disease. There are plans to relocate the bird market from its current position near the heritage area. Entrepreneurs in the UAE are celebrating after a new law was passed that should boost their share of government business. The SME law for small and medium enterprises requires federal authorities and ministries to ensure that at least 10 per cent of their procurement budgets is contracted to SMEs. The law, which has been under consideration for several years, was given fin