Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

AUGUST 17, 2015

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IMPORTANT

U.S. officials say China is working covertly on American soil to coerce expats into returning home. Source: Getty PUSHING BUTTONS White House Warns Beijing About Covert Ops in U.S. Bullying is a no-no. President Obama has issued a warning to Beijing over using secret agents in America to scare Chinese expats into returning home. Some of the targets — hundreds have reportedly been pressured into moving back since last year — are wanted by Chinese authorities on economic corruption charges. Reportedly called Operation Fox Hunt, the effort tracks fugitives and in some cases tries to recover their illegal gains. The administration’s warning, meanwhile, is bound to ruffle feathers ahead of President Xi Jinping’s state visit next month.  NYT  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

GOING TO EXTREMES Egypt Passes Strict Anti-Terror Laws Will this quash Islamist extremism, or peaceful dissent? Many are wondering after President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s adoption of new counter-terrorism laws followingextremist attacks like the recent ISIS beheading. The legislation sets up special courts, enables the use of the death penalty for anyone found guilty of setting up a terror group and offers enforcers legal protection. It also establishes up to $64,000 in fines for publishing “false” reports — anything countering government statements — on attacks or security operations, which many fear will stop newspapers from printing the truth.  BBC, Al Jazeera SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

WRECKAGE FOUND Rescuers Head to Papua Plane Crash Site It went down just seven miles short of its destination. Teams have reportedly identified the Trigana Air prop plane that disappeared off radar yesterday amid bad weather while en route from the provincial capital of Jayapura to remote Oksibil. The plane — which lost contact 10 minutes before its scheduled landing — was carrying 54 passengers and $486,000 in cash to help alleviate suffering in poor, remote villages. Some 50 search and rescue workers are now making their way to the eastern Indonesian site in hope of finding survivors.  BBC, DW  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

TEUTONIC TRIALS Angela Merkel Stays Home to Fight for Greek Bailout Will they break ranks? The German chancellor hopes to face down a revolt within her own party this week ahead of a parliamentary vote on the $95 billion bailout for Athens. Colleagues from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union want the IMF involved in order to keep tabs on Greek discipline. But the IMF won’t decide on the deal until October, so Merkel is on the offensive, postponing trips to Italy and Brazil, taking to the airwaves and doing anything she can to dissuade a rebellion before Wednesday’s vote. FT (sub), CNBC  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

BRIEFLY

U.S. to withdraw Patriot missile-defense batteries from Turkey. (NYT) Tianjin residents protest, demand compensation. (DW) Crowds call for Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment in Brazil. (BBC) Sri Lankan vote tests postwar reconciliation effort. (WSJ) sub Famous Mississippians call for change of state flag. (USA Today)

INTRIGUING

EQUALITY CHAMPION Civil Rights Leader Julian Bond Dies at Age 75 The nation has lost a civil rights icon. The Nashville native, who died in Florida on Saturday after a brief illness, founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, fought against U.S. involvement in Vietnam and helmed the NAACP. He dedicated much of the 1960s to protest, helped found the Southern Poverty Law Center and served in the Georgia legislature for 20 years after the Supreme Court forced colleagues to admit him. Tributes have begun pouring in for the man who Rev. Jesse Jackson said “set the moral and academic tone of our generation.”  NYT, AP, USA Today  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

BEYOND LABELS Half of Young Brits Not 'Strictly Heterosexual' Mostly straight, but not narrow-minded. A U.K. survey asked respondents to measure themselves on a “sexuality scale,” and 49 percent of those aged 18-24 identified as something other than “completely heterosexual,” compared to 23 percent generally. Only 6 percent of youths surveyed identified as completely homosexual — just two points higher than people of all ages. So the figures seem to reveal that millennials may not be changing their sexual behaviors so much as they are leaving absolute labels behind. YouGov  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

REGIONAL CAPITAL China's Slump Squeezes South Korea They shouldn’t have put all their nest eggs in one basket. South Korea’s financial health is tied up with that of China — and as the world’s second-largest economy slows to a crawl and Japan’s devalued currency makes for tough export competition, the southern part of the Korean peninsula is seeing its economy shrivel along with its much-bigger neighbors. But some think that by strategically boosting small companies and the service sector to diversify its longstanding manufacturing export-driven system, South Korea could pull itself out of the skid. OZY  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

GALAXY NOT FAR AWAY 'Star Wars' Parks Headed for Disney Sites Can Mickey control the Force? Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced that the California and Florida theme parks will be getting new additions: 14-acre Star Wars-themed worlds filled with droids, aliens and a cantina modeled on the Mos Eisley original. Plans include a ride where fans can take the helm of the Millennium Falcon and run for cover in an interactive battle scene from The Force Awakens . An opening date has yet to be released, but they’re unlikely to hit before Force opens in December. AV Club, The Verge  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

NEW LEADER Jordan Spieth is Golf's New Number One He proved that winning isn’t everything. The 22-year-old Texan has triumphed at both the Masters and U.S. Open this year, while missing the British Open playoff by a single stroke. This weekend he failed to clinch victory at the PGA championship, finishing three stokes behind record-breaking winner Jason Day. But he still has reason to celebrate, having grabbed the Official World Golf Ranking’s top spot. Remarking on his success, Spieth says he’s looking forward to more great seasons, noting “I hope that we can do this again.” ESPN , USA Today  SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

DAILY DOSE

FAST FORWARD The South Korea Squeeze READ MORE »   ACUMEN Hot Fruit Flies Have It Rough