The Weekly Wrap for Saturday, 26 January 2019

Talking points The illegal tackle that New Orleans will never forget. PHOTO: AP Los Angeles and New England secured spots in Sunday's NFL Super Bowl Zimbabwean troops fired upon civilians during fuel-price protests Thais (finally) got a date for their oft-postponed national election Malaysian royals picked their new 'rotating sultan' Argentine striker Emiliano Sala's plane went down in the English Channel Pelosi uninvited Trump from the SOTU address in Congress Netflix earned its first Best Picture nomination with 'Roma' Carlos Ghosn resigned as Renault's CEO and chairman Sky-watchers were treated to a Super Blood Wolf Moon Kamala Harris joined a crowded field of Democrats for 2020 Deep Dive It's a private event and no you're not invited. PHOTO: AFP A few hours south-east of Zürich (a secretive banking hub) and just down the road from Lichtenstein (the ne plus ultra of continental tax havens) lies the Swiss ski resort of Davos. It's there, nestled amongst the Alps and surrounded by Europe's wealth, that you'll find the World Economic Forum. The annual financial powwow is organised around a changing theme. This year's was "Globalisation 4.0" .   Finding friends If you assumed an event themed "Globalisation 4.0" would offer a mellifluous paean to capitalism, you would be correct. Davos is a truly unique place, one where you'll find billionaires and Saudi princes listening to Linkedin-esque presentations like, "The 4 types of leaders who will thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution". The affair is viewed conspiratorially in some quarters but in reality it's not a nefarious gathering of shadowy power brokers, it's a networking opportunity - an exclusive junket for national leaders and captains of industry. Yes, that's Brazilian strongman Jair Bolsonaro over there, breaking bread with Apple's Tim Cook and Microsoft's Satya Nadella.   Losing touch The WEF is a lightning-rod for criticism. But the attendees don't do themselves any favours. This, for example, was the only place on Earth where you would find Wall Street executives arguing for further deregulation of the financial services industry... in 2009! The conference hosts earnest discussions on tackling climate change, but the audience all fly in on private jets (1,500 of them this year). Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand Prime Minister) was there to implore environmental 'guardianship', while Bolsonaro was selling off the Amazon. Christine Lagarde was warning against stratospheric executive renumeration packages, while Jamie Dimon partied with Saudi Aramco officials. And as the head of a $270b Canadian pension fund put it, fund managers and shareholders have been behaving more like "tourists" than owners of the companies they invest in. This was a fine point to make, but it was also one that has been made by an exasperated minority at Davos for years. As one columnist quipped, Davos is a forum for posing questions rather than answering them. One of the questions this year was whether or not attendees would support US Congresswoman Alexadria Ocasio-Cortez's proposed 70% marginal tax rate on income exceeding $10m. The notion - which is gaining popularity in the United States and Europe - was met with laughter. Michael Dell (of Dell Technologies fame) joined in, adding with mirth, "Name a country where that's worked - ever". Unfortunately for Dell, a panelist was quick to point out that the United States itself had a top tax rate of 70% from the end of the second world war all the way up to 1981. Ultimately, those who gather at Davos must do more to address the material implications of globalisation. For example, there was a broad understanding that a global slide towards reactionary authoritarianism is harming growth, yet there seems to have been little recognition that globalisation helped create it. And unless more attendees start to effect real change, the annual economic palaver risks being outshouted, and perhaps outmoded, by the people marching down the Champs-Élysées or voting for Brexit. Worldlywise Familiar scenes in Caracas. PHOTO: Yuri Cortez / AFP / Getty Tragic realism International pressure is mounting for a change of leadership in Venezuela amid a violent crackdown in Caracas. Consider the temporal flexiblity of that sentence. It could have been written in 2018, 2017, or 2016. The crisis in Venezuela is beginning to resemble the region's penchant for magic-realism in literature: a fever dream without beginning or end, directionless, repetitive, and urgent. Yet again thousands have taken to the streets of Caracas in a direct challenge to President Nicolás Maduro. And the marchers have been met, predictably, with tear gas and bullets (rubber and otherwise). The death toll already stands at 11 and will undoubtedly rise in the coming days. But these demonstrations are different. They are coalescing around a challenger - the 35-year-old Juan Guaidó. In a sudden escalation this week the US State Department (along with numerous neighbouring states) recognised Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and is now pushing for its umpteenth overthrow of a Latin American government. On the other hand, Maduro enjoys the support of powerful benefactors (Russia, China, Cuba and Turkey). He also remains popular with a significant portion of the population and - crucially - the army. The president's grip on power may appear firm for now but the situation recalls Hemingway's old joke about how one goes bankrupt, "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly."  . PHOTO: Marconi Navales / Reuters A plebiscite for peace On the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, an autonomous region is taking shape. The roughly two million muslims there have historically been sidelined and maligned by politicians in Manilla (and the country's 80 million christians). Dispossession led to armed revolt, and the formation of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which has fought the Philippine army for nearly half a century. Now, at long last, years of halting peace talks have yielded results. This week the embattled muslims voted in a plebiscite to form the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The plebiscite is still being tallied but all informal figures point to a sweeping 'yes' victory. It will provide a degree of self-rule and religious recognition hitherto unimaginable. In return the Moro Front will disarm its roughly 40,000 irregular fighters. In 2017 the battle of Marawi captured the world's attention. Islamic State-linked militants stormed the city, setting off a 5-month siege that left the city in bitter ruin. The brutal fighting helped clarify the negotiations: a peace deal between the Moro Front and Manilla would help quell the splinter groups and maybe, just maybe furnish peace to a troubled island. The Best of Times Naomi Osaka and Karolína Plíšková. PHOTO: EPA Osaka hunts a second trophy The young Japanese-Haitian star Naomi Osaka has booked herself a spot in today's Australian Open final with an emphatic win over Karolína Plíšková. The Czech star had just bested Serena Williams with a historic comeback but could not replicate her form. Osaka, having shrugged off a white-washing scandal from her own sponsors, will face off against another Czech, Petra Kvitová (whose own comeback story is definitely worth a read). Both are competing for their first Australian Open title, while Osaka is chasing back-to-back grand slams after winning the US Open in 2018.   Back from the brink Last year the North Atlantic Right Whale was looking, to put it bluntly, not long for the world. Its numbers had dwindled to just 411 and not a single new calf was born in the last breeding season. In 2019 we've got some rare good news: at least three new calves have been spotted off the US eastern seaboard. And while three new calves might not be enough to stave off a population collapse (the average was 15-20 new whales), it's important to celebrate the positives wherever we find them. The Worst of Times The shattered remains of the government compound. PHOTO: AFP Action and reaction It's the same old story in Afghanistan: a competent attack on national security forces followed by a disastrous airstrike on the supposed attackers. Early in the week a stolen humvee packed with explosives was detonated at the main gate of the intelligence headquarters in Maidan Wardak. Militants stormed in, slaying at least 40 (but possibly as many as 120) security personnel. In response, several Taliban positions were bombed from the air, though it's only now coming to light that a number of munitions fell on villages and fields in areas that the Taliban had already vacated. Whatever the civilian death count, this no doubt leaves the militants with even more aggrieved mourners from whom they can draw support.   The deluge Frantic rescue operations are underway in Indonesia's South Sulawesi province after the Bili-Bili dam overflowed, inundating several villages. At least 30 people are believed to have been drowned or swept away as rivers rose and landslides struck villages. Fast-moving water is believed to have claimed another 20 people who remain unaccounted for. This is just the latest in a string of natural disasters to tear at Indonesia in the last several months; it follows earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons.  Weekend Reading Quote of the week "Today, the FBI honors the Rev. Martin L. King Jr. and his incredible career fighting for civil rights" - A word of remembrance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's official Twitter account on Martin Luther King Day (21 January). A startling change-of-heart from the organisation that tried to blackmail MLK into killing himself before he could accept the Nobel Peace Prize.   Headlines of the week We couldn't decide between these two absurdities.  Horse named 'Australian of the Year' - AFP EasyJet flight diverted after student makes hoax bomb threat to avoid seeing his parents - Independent Featured long-reads from inkl publishers: Businessweek on Japan's flying cars The Independent on being brown in the NHS Foreign Policy on the Sino-Japanese anime war The Guardian on conspiracy theory victims Editor's Note: The tribulations of digital media continued this week as BuzzFeed announced it was laying off 15% of its workforce. That followed similar announcements from Vox and Vice. The legacy brands are hurting likewise; Gannet is laying off staff and Condé Nast is moving all its titles behind paywalls this year. These are the outward signs of a tectonic shift taking place in the news media; a shift away from an advertising-funded business model and towards (in the industry parlance) consumer revenue. We see it as a move that simplifies the relationship between publisher and reader: less advertising, fewer platforms.  inkl was built to help publishers navigate these trying times, and to give readers a way to reconnect with quality reporting. So thank you for being part of this change. And if you know someone who appreciates great news when they see it - please tell them to download the inkl app and start a free trial membership today. Tom Wharton @trwinwriting P.S. Don't forget to follow inkl on Twitter and Facebook.