Headline News 20/01/2016

Headlines:

• Cameron's policy to preserve Muslim freedom... by restricting it
• China’s Economic Woes Deepen
• Capitalist Economy Broken

Details:

Cameron's policy to preserve Muslim freedom... by restricting it

On the 18th of January 2016, UK Prime Minister, David Cameron stated in a radio interview: "I think in our country people should be free to wear what they like, within limits live how they like, and all the rest of it." A seemingly contradictory statement considering that he expressed support for the rights of schools, courts and other institutions to ban the Niqaab. On one hand, the government promotes freedom; on the other, they restrict it by removing the choice the woman has on selecting their clothing. This comment comes of the back of an announcement made by Cameron to introduce mandatory English language skills tests for Muslim women, claiming it will help prevent radicalisation. Not only that but those women who are in the country on a 5 year spousal visa would have to, within 2 and a half years show signs of improvement or face deportation. Britain is a model tolerant society that will stigmatise, deport and restrict the freedom of Muslim women under the assumption that it will prevent radicalisation even though it is proven to be catalysed by their consistent meddling in the Muslim world. Whilst Britain has been viewed by many as a tolerant society, for over decade now the government has been attempting to create a British Islam, which is devoid of political ideas and does not view the global Ummah as its Ummah.

China’s Economic Woes Deepen

GDP figures for China has shown the Chinese economy to have grown 6.9% in 2015, the slowest growth rate for the past 25 years. Whilst many have dismissed any cause for concern as the Chinese rate of growth is higher than most countries, events over the past few years have alluded to a more worrying situation. For example, He Xiaoyu, professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing explained that this rate of growth is expected to further decline. This is due to the difficulties faced by China to transition from an economic model based on exports, to one centred around domestic consumption. These difficulties were made apparent earlier in the year when the Chinese stock markets crashed due to the price of stocks exceeding their actual worth. This move in economic models was initiated by the 2008 global economic crisis where export heavy countries suffered. However, economies concentrated on domestic consumption such as the USA also suffered which points to the unsustainability of both economic models, hence questioning Chinese efforts to transition to such a model in the first place.

Capitalist Economy Broken

As the world’s elite gather in Davos, Switzerland, the UK charity Oxfam released its research into global inequality, which is a staggering read. Their research foundthat 62 billionaires have more wealth than half the world’s population – 3.5 billion people. At the start of this decade, 388 billionaires owned as much as half the world. By 2011, that number had plunged to 117. Last year, it had fallen to 80. In other words, in the five years since the world recession, the very richest have grown inexorably wealthier. The reports scathing assessment concludes that the Capitalist system is broken: “All these are examples of how and why our current economic system – the economy for the 1% – is broken. It is failing the majority of people, and failing the planet. There is no dispute that today we are living through an inequality crisis – on that, the IMF, the OECD, the Pope and many others are all agreed. The current system did not come about by accident; it is the result of deliberate policy choices, of our leaders listening to the 1% and their supporters rather than acting in the interests of the majority. It is time to reject this broken economic model.”