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The article below is called “London at last sets a starting date for its 24-hour tube. Probably” is written by B.R, the Economist journalist and published on www.theeconomist.com on May 24, 2016.

In 1863, London became the first city in the world to build underground train system. It called Tube, which ran from Paddington to Farrington. Currently, tube network operates 420 kilometers through 270 stations across the city. During 2015-2016, approximately 1.34 billion Londoners took tube journeys resulting in crowded and delays occurred.
Transport for London (TfL) which runs the tube, has been busy overhauling the tube due to aging problem. The Recent improvement that appears in public is address from Sadiq Khan, London’s new mayor announced that the capital will start running 24-hour tube service in August, initially on two lines on Fridays and Saturdays. According to research held by TfL, 22,580 workers have the night shift in London on Fridays and Saturdays. Most of them are in low-paid professions and relying on long journey home by London’s night buses. TfL says the night tube will save their time on their trip.
However, there is an objection from the unions that represent tube workers. For them, modernisation has been deemed as a threat to its cushy contracts (tube driver typically earns £50,000 per year for a 36-hour week, and gets 43 days annual leave). The night tube was originally scheduled to launch last September, but those plans were defeat by the action of the drivers who were seeking better pay. But the unions are still spoiling for a fight, just a day after mayor’s announcement, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said maintenance staff had voted in support of further action against the launch of night-tube service.

In my opinion, there will always be pros and cons about this policy. First, the mayor wants to accommodate and facilitate all the London citizens with 24-hour tube service to improve their public services. On the other hand, he needs to talk with the unions to find the solution about compensation that they asked. Therefore, both interests will be fulfilled wisely.

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IN 1863, London became the first city in the world to build an underground train system. The line, which ran from Paddington to Farringdon, used coal-powered steam trains. For passengers, that made the daily commute a grimy and unpleasant one.

Plus ca change, a modern-day Londoner might lament. Today's tube network runs for an impressive 402 kilometres, through 270 stations. But demand has increased dramatically. In the 2015/16 fiscal year, Londoners took 1.34 billion tube journeys. That is two-and-a-half times more than in 1982, the post-war low point. Trains are often crowded and delays frequent.

Things have been improving recently. Much of the network of 11 lines that runs deep beneath central London's streets was built in the 50 years after that inaugural journey (the exceptions being the Victoria line, which opened in 1968, and the Jubilee line, which opened in 1979; other lines have since been extended into the suburbs). So Transport for London (TfL), which runs the tube, has been busy overhauling its creaking infrastructure, upgrading signals (some of which dated back to 1920), tracks, trains and stations. It says it now invests £1.3 billion ($1.9 billion) a year in the network.

But there is one improvement that many still yearn for. On May 23rd Sadiq Khan, London's new mayor, announced that the capital's long-awaited all-night tube service will begin running in August, initially on two lines on Fridays and Saturdays. (It will eventually be expanded to five.) That will start to bring it up to speed with other 24-hour cities, such as New York, Berlin and Sydney.

That will be a boon to nightclubbers and shift workers alike. According to research commissioned by TfL, some 22,580 work the night shift in London on Fridays and Saturdays. Many are in low-paid professions such as catering, cleaning and security. As the cost of living in the centre of the capital has risen, many have been forced into the suburbs. For them the long journey home has often meant relying on London's night buses, useage of which has increased by 170% since 2000. TfL says the night tube will save many over an hour on their journey time. It expects that some 180,000 journeys will be made on the underground each morning between 12.30am and 06.00am, around half of which will be new trips. The remainder will be made up of those switching from night buses, taxis and minicabs.

But overhauling inadequate infrastructure has only been half the battle. The unions that represent many tube workers have proved quick to strike whenever modernisation has been deemed a threat to its members' cushy contracts. (A newly qualified tube driver typically earns £50,000 a year for a 36-hour week, and gets 43 days annual leave.) The night tube was originally scheduled to launch last September, but those plans were scuppered by industrial action by drivers who were seeking better pay. (They also cited safety concerns.) Some drivers have since agreed a deal, after a promise of bonuses, and TfL is currently training 200 part-time drivers to cover the service. But the unions are still spoiling for a fight. Just a day after the mayor's announcement, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said maintenance staff had voted in support of further action against the launch of night-tube services. More disruption to the timetable seems inevitable.

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London at last sets a starting date for its 24-hour tube. Probably

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IN 1863, London became the first city in the world to build an underground train system. The line, which ran from Paddington to Farringdon, used coal-powered steam trains. For passengers, that made the daily commute a grimy and unpleasant one. Plus ca change, a modern-day Londoner might lament.

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The article below is titled “The Last BRIC Standing” written by Ian Bremmer and published on www.fortune.com on December 25, 2015.

Goldman Sachs, the bank which manages the fund of the members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has revealed its 80% assets lost since their last peak in 2010. It happened because now the majority of the country members are experiencing an economic slowdown. Except India, who is still running as one of the fastest growing major economies in the world. Its GDP is predicted to expand by 7.5 % to 8 % in 2016. However, the country’s problem dealing with poverty still appears with more than 170 million people live on less than $1.90 per day, according to the World Bank. India’s economy growth not too much depends on exports, this makes the country vulnerability of slowing economies is lower than somewhere else. Recently, they are in confidence as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic reform starting to bear results. Modi’s economic changes are to open India to private investment.

Overall, India has shown us how they can survive its economic growth by not relying on other countries yet by domestic consumption. Also, enhancing the investment opportunities widely, will affect their economy in the future.

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Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is doing what its once-celebrated cohorts in the emerging-markets bloc can no longer seem to do: emerge.

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How's Abe Uses G7 Summit to Maintain its Economic Growth

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How's Abe Uses G7 Summit to Maintain its Economic Growth

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The article below is by Mitsuru Obe and Peter Landers, who writes “Japan’s Shinzo Abe Seeks Foreign Support for More Government Stimulus” published on www.wsj.com on May 24, 2016.

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, will take benefit from the G7 summit which will be held in Ise-Shima, Japan on 26-27 May 2016. He will ask some help from his fellow's leaders to find the solution to increase Japan’s economy. Even though its economy in the first quarter was better than expected, they are still struggling to gather sustained momentum. Japan’s official are hoping the G7 leaders can endorse using government spending to stimulate growth worldwide; that might help win over the saturated economy in Japan.
The fact that Abe will face parliamentary election in July, he soon must decide about the postponement of a sales tax increase from 8% to 10% in April 2017. However many officials deplore this delay, they believe that if the sales tax increase on schedule it will help their economy as being security system and reduce the government’s debt burden, which is among the world’s biggest.

Overall, Abe seems to bring their national issue to the G7 forum. So they hope that other leaders can take part to find a solution. However, maintaining economic growth with government spending and increasing the sales tax might be work instead of taking a new loan.

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Japan's Shinzo Abe Seeks Foreign Support for More Government Stimulus

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping to get some help from his Group of Seven friends this week for his plans to prop up Japan's economy with more government spending.

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The article below is by Gardiner Harris, who writes “Vietnam Arms Embargo to be Fully Lifted, Obama Says in Hanoi” published on www.nytimes.com on May 23, 2016.

During his presidential visit to Vietnam, Obama has made the decision to fully lifting on Vietnam arms banned. This decision to reach his aim to normalize the relations between U.S. and Vietnam after the war. However, the embargo released doesn’t follow with easiness to make weapons transaction, but still, U.S authority will examine what’s appropriate and what’s not.
On the Vietnam’s side, this particular visit also was taken to fix its relations with China. As we know, China is the closest country both geographically and ideologically, but since both countries claimed the same sea area, Vietnam needs weapons supply to protect its sea sovereignty and facing the unpredictable scenario in South China Sea’s issue. Meanwhile, China itself has warm reactions about this visit; China is welcoming how the two countries are trying to normalize the relations. Other parts of Obama’s visit to Hanoi is both countries has an agreement to open Fulbright University in Ho Chi Minh City, the first independent university in Vietnam.

Overall, the initiative of U.S. to normalize their relations with their opponent in the past should be appreciated. Moreover, increasing productive cooperation can be more beneficially for both countries.

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transcript

U.S. to Lift Arms Embargo on Vietnam

President Obama said at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday that the United States had agreed to lift completely its embargo on lethal weapons sales.

TK

President Obama said at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday that the United States had agreed to lift completely its embargo on lethal weapons sales. Credit Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times

HANOI, Vietnam - The United States is rescinding a decades-old ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam, President Obama announced at a news conference in Hanoi on Monday, ending one of the last legal vestiges of the Vietnam War.

The United States has long made lifting the embargo contingent on Vietnam's improving its human rights record, and recently administration officials had hinted that the ban could be removed partly in response to China's buildup in the South China Sea.

But Mr. Obama portrayed the decision as part of the long process of normalizing relations between the two countries after the Vietnam War.

"The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations," he said, with the Vietnamese president, Tran Dai Quang, standing stiffly by his side. "It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam."

Mr. Obama insisted that the move should not be interpreted as carte blanche for weapons sales to Vietnam and that the United States would review future arms sales to "examine what's appropriate and what's not," as it does with any country.

As for human rights, he said, "this is an area where we still have differences."

Human rights advocates, who had asked Mr. Obama to hold off on lifting the ban until Vietnam had released some prominent political prisoners and promised to stop the police beatings of protesters, condemned the decision.

"President Obama just gave Vietnam a reward that they don't deserve," said John Sifton, the Asia policy director of Human Rights Watch.

Mr. Quang defended his country's rights record.

"The consistent position and viewpoint of the Vietnamese government is to protect and promote human rights," he said, adding, "Those achievements have been highly recognized and appreciated by the international community."

American officials have portrayed lifting the embargo as part of a strategy to help Vietnam defend itself against an increasing threat from China in the South China Sea. Analysts have speculated that in return, Vietnam would grant the United States access to the deepwater port at Cam Ranh Bay.

While there were no statements about such a deal on Monday, Mr. Obama did announce new commercial agreements worth more than $16 billion, including one in which Boeing will sell 100 aircraft and Pratt & Whitney will sell 135 advanced aircraft engines to VietJet Air, a privately owned low-cost airline.

Analysts said, however, that the potential market for new military contracts with Vietnam was likely to be limited in the near term.

Mr. Obama said that improved ties with Vietnam made sense for the United States, since it was a fast-growing country in one of the fastest-growing regions of the world.

He predicted that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal among 12 nations, including Vietnam, that has very little chance of passing Congress before the November election, would someday become law. All three remaining presidential candidates oppose it.

Mr. Obama's visit was part of an effort by Vietnam to recalibrate its relationship with China, its giant neighbor in the north. China remains Vietnam's largest trading partner and an ideological ally, but the two countries have sparred over Beijing's claims to waters off Vietnam's coast in the South China Sea.

Since 2014, when China placed an oil rig in waters near the Paracel Islands, which Vietnam claims, Hanoi has repeatedly asked Washington for the freedom to buy American lethal weapons. The United States partly relaxed the ban two years ago, allowing the purchase of nonlethal equipment for maritime defense.

China's reaction to the decision on Monday was subdued.

"The arms embargo is a product of the Cold War and should never have existed," Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, said during a news briefing in Beijing. "We welcome normal relations between Vietnam and the United States."

But beneath the polite response are deep concerns in Beijing about the intentions of Vietnam. And Vietnam, while seeking to defend itself from China, is unlikely to completely sever itself from China's orbit.

In a sign of the complexities of the relationship, the Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, Hong Xiaoyong, met last Thursday with Vietnam's defense minister, Ngo Xuan Lich, in Hanoi. Both sides pledged to strengthen military ties, said Xinhua, the Chinese news agency.

The lifting of the arms embargo comes at a particularly sensitive time for China. The government is running a high-pitched diplomatic campaign criticizing a pending arbitration ruling on the South China Sea. China argues that a United Nations tribunal has no right to make a ruling in the case, which the Philippines brought against China.

Vietnam has loudly backed the right of the Philippines to take its case to the tribunal.

Mr. Obama also announced on Monday that the two sides had formalized an agreement to allow the opening of Fulbright University Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, the first independent university in Vietnam in which the government would have no formal role.

The university's chairman, Bob Kerrey, a former Nebraska senator and a Vietnam veteran who lost part of a leg in combat, said the university could start teaching undergraduates in the autumn of 2017.

Mr. Obama also said that Peace Corps volunteers would be posted to Vietnam for the first time.

Earlier in the morning, Mr. Obama was whisked through Hanoi's streets for a highly choreographed arrival ceremony at the Presidential Palace. His route was lined with children waving small American and Vietnamese flags.

The president later had dinner with Anthony Bourdain, the host of a CNN program.

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Vietnam Arms Embargo to Be Fully Lifted, Obama Says in Hanoi (Published 2016)

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HANOI, Vietnam - The United States is rescinding a decades-old ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam, President Obama announced at a news conference in Hanoi on Monday, ending one of the last legal vestiges of the Vietnam War.