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Opinion
Adelle Chua, Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares, Issue Editor
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017
mst.daydesk@gmail.com
EDITORIAL
A NEW LEADER I
was why Americans took a chance on a maverick. For us Filipinos, what makes the transition significant is not the colorful personality of the new president or the traits he seems to share with ours. Recall that just a few months back, our President Duterte hurled invectives at the Americans for calling him out on his supposed human rights violations while conveniently forgetting the violations they committed on us decades ago. And while we may just be a minor partner to the
N THE beginning, many people thought of him as a joke.
He was not presidential enough, they said. He talked too much and was politically incorrect. He had no qualms showing off his low regard of women. He uttered the most awkward things and cracked the most inappropriate of jokes. He does not seem to speak from facts and statistics. How would he represent his country before the rest of the world? But this weekend, Donald Trump became president of the United States of America. The day was marked by both cheers and protests. Trump’s victory was unexpected. His Democrat opponent, the former State Secretary, Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton, was perceived to be the sure winner— she had way more experience in politics and in everything else. On social
media, Trump was derided as a racist, a misogynist, an insanely wealthy man and nothing else. Yet he will determine the fate of the US for at least the next four years. In his inaugural address, Trump said he would bring back America to the people because for many years it has been Washington that has made all the decisions. He would bring back jobs and reclaim borders. These words resonated with those who felt short-changed by the traditional system. This
A FOCUSED SPACE PROGRAM FOR A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Americans, they are our major partners in trade and in geopolitics. It will be interesting to watch how Duterte and Trump will get past their superficial similarities and actually work together for mutual benefit—that is, if they truly can. It’s an exciting time for Americans, indeed, and the rest of the world. We look forward to seeing how they can transcend fiery rhetoric and translate good intentions into results. It’s not a joke to be chief executive, and it’s not a job for jokers.
IN A previous piece, I wrote about the reasons why I think a space program will benefit the Philippines. I gave justifications on why a country plagued by pressing problems such as poverty, lack of food security, and the effects of climate change can even begin to think about going into space. Ever since I wrote that piece, the move to create a national space policy has advanced on several fronts. Several bills have already been submitted to committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate that push for the creation of a Philippine Space Agency and the formulation of a National Space Development and Utilization Policy. The latest of these are Senate Bill 1259 filed by Senator Loren Legarda and House Bill 4367 filed by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. Prior to these, Senator Bam Aquino introduced Senate Bill 1211 in the Senate while Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado and Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos introduced House Bill 3637 in the Lower House of Congress. Taken together, these bills take us closer toward a legislated Philippine Space Act. As an advocate of a space program for the Philippines, I wanted to find out what other people thought of the idea. Most of the people I know personally are for it, mostly for the reasons that I, too, am for it. But since I wanted to get a sense of what the general public thought about investing in space, I had to go out of my social media bubble and scoured the comments sections of many online publications. What I found was that many commenters and people on social media were critical of efforts of the Philippine government to prioritize space program given our many earthly problems. The most common sentiment can be expressed as follows: We have many problems here on the ground ranging from urban gridlocks and poor infrastructure to super typhoons and droughts. Why spend our limited resources on going into space? Why not use government funds on helping hungry farmers instead or investing in better disaster risk reduction and management? A more scientific survey would help us know the true pulse of the nation on this issue. However, such sentiments, even if they turn out to be of the minority, need to be addressed. Hence, although my response to these criticisms is contained in my previous article, I think it bears repeating here. It also bears repeating because I believe these criticisms can and should be used constructively to formulate
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MAKING TOKHANG PALATABLE LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA
THE first red flag was the invitation. On that breezy Saturday morning in December, the barangay captain, during her welcome remarks, said she was overwhelmed at the turnout of residents at the village basketball court.
This comment was met with silence by the crowd. People were thinking: Of course we would show up. Who would dare be absent if your household received a letter that went like this? “Rather than have police knocking
at doors of your houses there will be a meeting to be conducted by the Quezon City Police District for all residents and homeowners. 1. All residents and homeowners of [village] must attend. If you cannot come, please send an adult family
representative. 2. Only adult family members may come as family representatives. Household help, drivers and maids are not qualified to represent you and the family. Turn to B2
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Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph
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Opinion
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com
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a more focused and suitable space policy. We need as many wellintentioned people to be on board for this. What people who criticize having a space program need to know is that investing in space technology is a cost-effective way to help us solve many of our problems here on the ground. For example, having our own satellites can help us monitor the weather and assess the damages caused by extreme weather conditions better and more cheaply. The following facts put this into perspective. Our current weather monitoring systems rely on licensing of satellite data sourced from foreign satellite operators. The government spends a total of P3 billion per year on procuring these data. After Typhoon Yolanda, the government had to spend about P56 million to purchase satellite imagery of the area ravaged by the storm. With the effects of climate change expected to become worse over the coming years, we can expect such storms to become more common and stronger. We, of course, hope for the opposite to happen. But hope is not a good disaster risk reduction and management policy. A better policy would be to invest in technologies that will help us save lives. As I argued, it can also help us save money in the process. And the claim about saving lives by making investments in space technology is not based on hope. Rather, it is an expectation based on facts. The example of India is instructive. In 1999, a strong cyclone hit the coast of India, leading to the death of more than 10,000 people. When, in 2014, a storm of similar strength was about to hit the same region, early warning systems that utilize space technologies was used to help evacuate millions of residents to safer places. The satellites not only helped in weather forecasting and monitoring, they also helped in communicating to remote areas. When the cyclone passed, 21 lives were lost. The thousands of lives saved is, I believe, more than enough justification for the frugal Indian space program. I invite the critics of the Philippine Space Act to consider these facts and turn their good intentions into support for a more focused and frugal Philippine space program. Decierdo is resident astronomer and physicist for The Mind Museum.
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3. During the meeting, the objectives, processes and methods of Operation Tokhang will be explained. You may ask questions on this topic and other concerns as well. 4. If you do not attend or send a qualified family representative, then the police team of Operation Tokhang together with Barangay representatives will come knocking at your door. The Quezon City Police District have kindly consented to a barangay meeting to save you the concerns and trouble of having police from knocking at your door. So please take the effort to attend and participate in this important meeting. Again we reiterate, come personally or send an adult family member as representative. Attendance will be recorded.” Subtlety is a virtue—and apparently it’s difficult to come by. *** At the full-house meeting, Police Chief Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, district director of the QCPD, explained that they specifically sent out invitations couched in this language to get more people to come and heed the message of the police. “It was never meant to be a threat,” he later on said. They just really wanted a high turnout. What was the message? That people need not be afraid of Oplan Tokhang. Tokhang, which is a combination of the terms “toktok” and “hangyo” (to knock and to plead) is actually part of the Philippine National Police’s two-pronged approach—Project
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: TOTAL ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump dance during the Freedom Ball at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The ball is part of the celebrations following Trump’s inauguration. AFP
(Full text of US President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech) CHIEF Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you. We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done. Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you. Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people. For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your
Double Barrel, as directed by PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa on July 1, 2016—to curb the illegal drug problem in the country. (The second component distinguishes between high-value and low-value targets and prescribes different approaches for them.) Eleazar presented a flowchart of how Oplan Tokhang should go. It begins with collection and validation of information about people known in the community as engaged in illegal drugs. There will be coordination for the house visitation. The person will be “invited” to come along. He may or may not come. Eleazar played a video that showed how a drug addict in the family was rehabilitated because he decided to heed the police’s invitation and submitted himself to a reform program. The police director took the conversation one step further. Since there is less instance of drug activity in Quezon City villages, he
victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction, that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out factories
We are told there is nothing to fear. said, they modified their approach so that the police no longer have to go to neighborhoods and knock on doors. Rather, the supposedly more enlightened citizenry would be invited to a meeting where representatives of the police would discuss their efforts to curb the drug menace. Call it “taphang” instead—from “tapok,” to gather, and “hangyo,” to plead. What’s to fear? *** All this sounds benign on paper, but it is starkly different from what we actually know and feel about the government’s efforts to curb illegal drugs—seemingly at all costs
scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own. And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We’ve made other countries rich, while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon. One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future. We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor. We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on
anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth. At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God. Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions. It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots. We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator. So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words. You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.
and through whatever measures. The Tokhang Eleazar was talking about seems different from the police operations we hear about, where suspected dealers and users are killed for “resisting.” Reports on planted evidence abound. And now there is a new scheme—tokhang for ransom—that unscrupulous cops are going into. It’s a way to make money, really, taking advantage of the war being led by no less than the President himself. As the new year kicked in, we heard that nearly 6,000 have been killed in the name of this war and the people are beginning to fret. This is shown in a recent survey that said eight out of 10 Filipinos feared they or somebody they knew would become victims of the government crackdown on so-called drug personalities, whether these are founded or not. In November we heard about how a suspected drug lord was killed by cops
right inside his jail cell in Leyte. And just this week, we were appalled to know that a Korean businessman was strangled by policemen inside Camp Crame. And we are told there is nothing to fear. *** We do not argue that the drug menace threatens our nation and our young. We also find merit in the determination of the government to crack down on those who enrich themselves by endangering the lives of others. But the manner in which the objective is carried out, and the temptation to abuse this blanket authority, cast terror and doubt among us all. Not even the best made videos or the most eloquent of explanations can make the war against drugs palatable if it violates the most basic of rights. adellechua@gmail.com
World
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com
SOKOR CULTURE MINISTER RESIGNS AFTER ARREST OVER BLACKLIST SEOUL—South Korea’s culture minister resigned after being arrested Saturday for allegedly creating a “blacklist” of nearly 10,000 artists who voiced criticism of impeached President Park Geun-Hye. Cho Yoon-Sun, who is the first minister in active service to be arrested in South Korea, is accused of creating the vast catalogue to starve the artists of government subsidies and private investments and place them under state surveillance. The list’s existence has sparked widespread anger, raising the spectre of Seoul’s 1960-80s army-backed rule – including under dictator Park Chung-Hee, the impeached leader’s late father – when the news, arts and entertainment were heavily censored. Shortly after her arrest, Cho tendered her resignation to Prime minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said. An earlier report by Yonhap news agency said Hwang had accepted Cho’s resignation but the spokesman said no decision had been made yet. The Seoul Central District Court had issued a warrant to arrest Cho on charges of abuse of authority and perjury following a request from prosecutors. AFP
INDIA PM OVERTURNS COURT BAN ON BULLWRESTLING NEW DELHi—Prime Minister Narendra Modi has overturned a Supreme Court ban on a bull-wrestling festival that fueled massive protests in southern India by demonstrators who called it an attack on their culture. India’s Supreme Court outlawed the Jallikattu festival last year after a plea by animal rights groups, which have long accused participants in the event – held every year in different parts of southern Tamil Nadu state – of cruelty to the animals. Tensions have escalated in recent days as thousands of protesters gathered in state capital Chennai and other cities, prompting Tamil Nadu’s chief minister to travel to Delhi to ask Modi to overturn the ban. “We are very proud of the rich culture of Tamil Nadu. All efforts are being made to fulfil the cultural aspirations of Tamil people,” Modi posted on Twitter on Saturday. The Tamil Nadu governor is expected to approve Modi’s executive order later in the day, paving the way for Jallikattu to resume as early as Sunday. Critics say that organisers lace the bulls’ feed with liquor to make them less steady on their feet and throw chilli powder in their faces to send them into a sudden frenzy as they are released from a holding pen. AFP
FOUR MORE SURVIVORS PULLED FROM AVALANCHE HOTEL PENNE, Italy—Emergency workers on Saturday pulled four more survivors from the ruins of an Italian hotel buried under an avalanche three days ago, after the “miracle” rescue of a woman and four children on Friday. Two women and a man were pulled out around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) and another man was extracted soon after dawn from the ruins of the Rigopiano hotel in the mountains of central Italy. The latest operations bring to 11 the total number of survivors of the disaster, including two hotel guests who were outside the building when the avalanche struck on Wednesday evening. Four bodies have been recovered so far, leaving at least 12 people and possibly up to 20 unaccounted for. It is not certain how many people were at the hotel at the time of the avalanche. Scores of mountain police, firefighters and other emergency personnel have worked painstakingly since the first rescuers battled through a snowstorm to reach the hotel early on Thursday. Progress has been agonizingly slow, with rescuers wary of triggering further movements in the snow piled up on top of the masonry. AFP
BELOW ZERO FUN. Children push their chairs on ice to skate on a frozen river in Beijing on January 21, 2017. During the winter,
frozen lakes and canals turn into skating rinks in the capital. AFP
PAKISTAN MARKET BOMBING KILLS 20
P
eshawar, Pakistan—A bomb exploded at a market on Saturday in a mainly Shiite area of Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt, killing at least 20 people and wounding 40 others, officials said. The bomb detonated in a crowded vegetable market in Parachinar city, the capital of Kurram tribal district on the Afghan border. “20 people have been martyred [killed],” the Pakistan military said in a short statement, adding that the injured had been taken to military and civil hospitals in the region’s main city of Peshawar.
“Troops from army and (paramilitary) Frontier Corps are under taking relief and rescue operations,” it said. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, governor for Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province confirmed the death toll in a televised interview with Pakistan’s private news channel TV Geo.
Jhagra said at least 40 people were wounded in the blast, 12 critically. Ikramullah Khan, a senior government official in Parachinar, told AFP that the blast was caused by an IED (improvised explosive device) hidden in a vegetable box. In a telephone call to AFP, the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack. “It was to avenge the killing of our associates by security forces and to teach a lesson to Shiites for their support for Bashar al-Assad,” said the group’s spokesman Qari Saifullah, referring to the Syrian
president. Saifullah warned that his Sunni Muslim group will continue attacking Shiites if they back Assad, whose regime is entrenched in a civil war that began in 2011 and has claimed more than 310,000 lives. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over the latest loss of life, his office said in a statement. Kurram is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts which are governed according to local laws and customs. The district is known for sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, who make up roughly 20 percent of Pakistan’s population of 200 million. AFP
IS WREAKS NEW DESTRUCTION IN SYRIA’S ANCIENT PALMYRA
PRESSING ON. Iraqi forces advance towards an area northwest of Mosul on January 20 during an ongoing military operation against IS group jihadists. AFP
DAMASCUS, Syria—The Islamic State group has demolished more treasured monuments in Syria’s ancient Palmyra, a month after recapturing it from government forces, the country’s antiquities chief said. The news is a fresh blow for the Unesco World Heritage site, which had already been ravaged by the jihadist group during the nine months of control before being expelled in March last year. “Local sources told us that 10 days ago Daesh destroyed the tetrapylon,” a 16-columned structure that marked one end of the ancient city’s colonnade, Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP using an Arabic acronym for IS. Before being forced out of Palmyra in a Russian-backed offensive in March, IS razed world-famous temples and tower tombs at the site. The UN’s cultural agency reacted with outrage Friday, calling the fresh destruction a “war crime” and “cultural cleansing.”
The tetrapylon, built during the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 3rd Century AD, consisted of four sets of four pillars each supporting massive stone cornices. The monument had suffered considerable damage over the centuries and only one of the 16 pillars was still standing in its original Egyptian pink granite. The rest were cement replicas erected by the antiquities department in 1963. The Roman amphitheater dates to the 1st Century AD and was used by IS for public executions during its occupation of the city between May 2015 and March last year. “From the first day, I was bracing myself for a terrible outcome,” Abdulkarim said. “We had already witnessed the terror of the first occupation and frankly I had never thought that the city would be occupied for a second time.” IS recaptured Palmyra late last year as Syria’s government waged a fierce battle to take back all of the northern city of Aleppo from rebel forces. AFP
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor
World
/ Joyce Pangco-Pañares, Issue Editor
mst.daydesk@gmail.com
MATTIS SWORN IN AS US DEFENSE CHIEF W
ASHINGTON—Retired Marine general James Mattis was sworn in Friday as US defense secretary, praising intelligence agencies and calling for stronger ties with allies in a break from positions taken by President Donald Trump.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis
Mattis was confirmed by a 98-1 vote earlier Friday in the first action taken by US senators after Trump took the oath of office, and was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence. “Together with the intelligence community we are the sentinels and guardians of our nation,” Mattis said in a statement to the Department of Defense – tipping his cap to the agencies that Trump has sharply criticized as they investigate claims of Russian interference in the US election. “Every action we take will be designed to ensure our military is ready to fight today and in the future...Recognizing that no nation is secure without friends, we will work with the State Department to strengthen our alliances,” he said, a contrast to Trump’s recent branding of the NATO military alliance as “obsolete.” Lawmakers passed a special waiver allowing Mattis, who retired in 2013, to serve before a customary seven-year limit on former military personnel assuming the Pentagon’s top post. John Kelly, another retired Marine general, was also confirmed and sworn in to head the Department of Homeland Security. “These uniquely qualified leaders will immediately begin the important work of rebuilding our military, defending our nation and securing our borders,” Trump said in a statement. “I am proud to have these two American heroes join my administration.” Mattis has won accolades from both parties and many in the armed forces, and his path to Trump’s cabinet was relatively uncontroversial compared to that of other nominees. A cornerstone of US democracy is that civilians, not people in uniform, control the military, and the commander-in-chief is the president. Some in Congress initially raised eyebrows because Mattis, a 66-year-old Washington state native, had only retired from active duty in 2013. The waiver allowing him to take the top Pentagon post was only granted once before, for the famous World War II general George Marshall who served under President Harry Truman from 1950-1951. Mattis is known as a colorful commander and famed for his pugnacious aphorisms. The media dubbed him “Mad Dog” for his battlehardened swagger and the sort of blunt language Marines are famous for. He has been quoted as saying, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.” But Mattis also has a well-known cerebral side: he issued reading lists to Marines under his command, and instructed them that the most important territory on a battlefield is the space “between your ears.” While Mattis sailed through his confirmation, Democratic lawmakers are putting up stiff resistance to other Trump cabinet picks, including nominees to head the departments of education and health and human services. Mattis replaces Ashton Carter, a longtime Pentagon bureaucratic warrior who served as former president Barack Obama’s fourth defense secretary. AFP
First Lady Melania Trump wears a beautiful off-the-shoulder cream dress by New York-based designer Herve Pierre. AFP
Homeland Security chief John Kelly
MELANIA TRUMP STUNS IN FIRST LADY FASHION STAKES WASHINGTON—First Lady Melania Trump stunned fashion watchers by donning a sleek, offthe-shoulder cream dress with a daring thigh-high slit to dance with President Donald Trump at the inaugural balls. Her column dress, finished with a sculpted ruffle that cascaded down the front of the gown and cinched at the waist with a red ribbon, won praise for being fresh, modern, elegant and yet understated. She won rave reviews for her look and originality in choosing in Herve Pierre a New York-based de-
signer who last year struck out on his own after working as creative director for famed label Carolina Herrera. Her pick is likely to boost sales and publicity for the relatively unknown Pierre, much like her predecessor Michelle Obama’s selection of the then relatively unknown Jason Wu in 2009 turned him into a star. The 46-year-old former model glowed as she stepped onto the dance floor, her auburn hair hanging around her shoulders, with her husband, dressed in a black tie, to
“My Way” the song made popular by Frank Sinatra and considered something of a personal anthem for Trump. The couple swayed rather gingerly, the Republican president clutching his wife tightly by one hand and placing his other on her back as they nuzzled, and exchanged smiles and laughs. The former reality TV star, who reportedly refused to practice the dance ahead of time, at times broke away from his wife to wave or flash a thumbs up to unidentified members of the crowd. AFP
100 AL-QAEDA FIGHTERS KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE Washington—A US strike has killed more than 100 Al-Qaeda fighters at a training camp in northwestern Syria, the Pentagon said Friday. The air strike occurred Thursday at a camp in Idlib province that had been operational since 2013, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. “The removal of this training camp disrupts training operations and discourages hardline Islamist and Syrian opposition groups from joining or cooperating with Al-Qaeda on the battlefield,” Davis said. US plane and drone strikes have killed more than 150 Qaeda fighters since January 1, Davis said, including Mohammad Habib Boussadoun al-Tunisi, an “external operations leader” in Syria. “These strikes, conducted in quick succession, degrade al-Qaeda’s capabilities, weaken their resolve and cause confusion in their ranks,” Davis said. AFP
BROTHER OF UN CHIEF INDICTED FOR BRIBERY NEW YORK, United States—US government prosecutors have asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former UN secretarygeneral Ban Ki-moon indicted in New York on charges of bribery. An indictment unsealed on January 10 accuses Ban Ki Sang, a senior executive in a South Korean construction company, and his son Joo Hyun Bahn, a Manhattan real estate broker, over the attempted $800 million sale of a building in Hanoi. During a court hearing in a federal court in New York on Friday, an assistant US attorney said a request had been made for the arrest of Ban. The suspect, who was an executive at Keangnam Enterprises, a South Korean construction company, has not yet been arrested, the prosecutor told the court. Ban’s brother stepped down from the helm of the United Nations on January 1, replaced by former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres. Bahn is the former UN chief’s nephew. AFP
16 DEAD IN SCHOOL BUS CRASH IN ITALY ROME—A coach carrying Hungarian teenagers home from a school trip crashed and burst into flames on a motorway in northern Italy, killing 16 people, firefighters said Saturday. Some 39 injured were taken to hospital following the accident near Verona on Friday night, which occurred when the vehicle smashed into a bridge pillar, according to emergency workers. A huge inferno engulfed the bus, dramatic pictures released by police showed, completely destroying the interior and reducing the vehicle to a burned-out wreck. Some were killed when they were thrown from the coach, but most were found badly charred inside the vehicle. Most of those on board were Hungarian schoolchildren aged between 14 and 18, along with teachers and parents, returning home from a trip to France. A spokesman for Hungary’s foreign ministry said the bus was carrying two drivers and 54 passengers. AFP