1 US manufacturing grows faster than thought
(Dominic Rushe in The Guardian) The US manufacturing sector grew faster than
expected in June reaching levels unseen in four years, according to a key
industry report. After shaking off the after effects of the US's unusually
harsh winter, financial data firm Markit's preliminary US Manufacturing
Purchasing Managers Index rose to 57.5 in June, above economists' expectations
of 56.5.
Any rating above 50 represents expansion in
manufacturing and the latest reading is the highest since May 2010. A the end
of May the commerce department said the US economy shrank at an annual rate of
1% during the first quarter – dragged down by the freezing winter in some of
the more populous states. It was the first time in three years that there had
been a contraction in US gross domestic product (GDP) – the broadest measure of
the economy's health.
Last month the US added 217,000 new jobs, the fourth
month in a row that the economy has added over 200,000 new jobs, and the most
robust pace of change since 1999. The bureau of labour statistics will release
its June report on 3 July. The manufacturing news came as the National
Association of Realtors reported a sharp rise in existing-home sales in May.
All four regions of the country experienced sales gains compared to a month
earlier, according to the NAR.
2 Breaking Iraq’s cycle of violence (Straits Times) The
world needs to acknowledge that the retaliatory acts of persecuted Muslims in
West Asia - regardless of whether they are Sunni or Shi'ite - are a
continuation of internecine religious warfare that goes back more than a
millennium, beginning with the Sunni and Shi'ite schism. A resolution in
modern, charged circumstances is much less likely than an accommodation, under
which the politicisation of Islam is downplayed, if not avoided.
This is where the efforts of the US and like-minded
mediators should be directed. There is still a chance a dissolution of borders
and the creation of balkanised states can be avoided. But time is running out
as authoritarian rule or outright persecution is reasserting itself, most
recently in Egypt. Mr Obama is doing his part in persuading Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite, to treat Sunni Iraqis more fairly by
giving them a political role which they last had under Saddam Hussein.
Mr Maliki's harsh treatment of the Sunnis after
American troops departed in 2011 is blamed for the brutal insurrection. The
Shi'ite leadership of Iran and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Cairo, the supreme
authority in Sunni Islam, have a role to discharge in calming their followers
and urging mutual respect. The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani of Iran has made
a welcome gesture in asking Mr Maliki to reach out to the Kurds and Sunnis to
create an inclusive Iraq. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation should lend
its voice. Approaches such as these can bring better outcomes than the use of
force to put down what fundamentally is a breakdown in a social compact.
3 Women’s helpline fights sexual violence in India
(Shanoor Seervai in The Wall Street Journal) Some of the first calls to a new
women’s crisis center in central India were from six women who said they were
being hunted in their villages after being branded as witches. In response, the
center sent an emergency team of social workers to investigate the claims and
rescue the women, who have gone into hiding, said Sarika Sinha, regional
manager of the non-profit Action Aid India, which helps run the center called
Gauravi.
Among the minefield of issues that women in India
navigate, including abuse, violence and torture, single women in rural India
who inherit property are sometimes branded witches so that male members of
their community can seize the land, said Ms. Sinha.
The Gauravi center, which was inaugurated by India’s
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is the latest in a
string of initiatives to protect women that have started to operate since New
Delhi created its own 24-hour helpline for women a week after a 23-year-old
student was gang-raped and murdered in December 2012.
Existing crisis centers for women have also started
to operate with renewed vigor. Victims of rape, domestic violence and sexual
harassment from across the country can call a 24-hour toll-free number,
1800-233-2244, set up at the Gauravi center to ask for help, or visit the
center to seek medical care, counseling, legal aid, and assistance with filing
a police complaint.
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