Transcripts For WHYY PBS NewsHour Weekend 20150125

Corporate funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. From the tisch wnet studios in Lincoln Center in new york, hari sreenivasan. Sreenivasan good evening, thanks for joining us. In an election being watched closely throughout europe and around the world, greeces left wing, antiausterity party today won a decisive victory over the ruling centerright party. That means Alexis Tsipras is all but certain to become the next Prime Minister. Tsipras has pledged to try to force greeces creditors, including germany, to renegotiate the terms of the 270 billion dollar bailout package put together after the 2008 Great Recession to help greece stave off economic collapse. But in the years since, greeces economy has shrunk by 25 percent and about a third of the citizens there now live at or below the poverty line. Well have more about what todays Election Results might mean for greece, the rest of europe and International Markets right after the news summary. President obama is in india on an official visit, and after hours of talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the president said the two leaders had reached what he called a breakthrough understanding that would make it possible for american firms to build Nuclear Reactors in india. The two countries also renewed a defense pact and hailed an agreement to jointly produce new defense technology. But talks on Climate Change reportedly yielded only minor progress. While in india, the president blamed russia for renewed violence in Eastern Ukraine and warned that the United States would, in his words, ratchet up the pressure on the kremlin. The president said he would explore additional options, short of military confrontation. Prorussian rebels announced a new offensive this week and are said to be responsible for shelling that killed 30 civilians yesterday. Secretary of state john kerry has arrived in nigeria, and today he held talks with that countrys president and his chief rival in next months president ial elections there. As those talks were occurring, boko haram islamic militants launched new attacks on maiduguri, one of nigerias major cities in the north of the country. According to the council on Foreign Relations here in new york the militants have killed 8,000 nigerians since 2011. In israel today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his decision to address the u. S. Congress in march, even though his invitation to speak was extended by House Speaker john boehner without white house knowledge, an act some have criticized as a breach of protocol. translated in coming weeks, world powers are liable to reach a Framework Agreement with iran, that could leave iran as a Nuclear Threshold state something that would chiefly imperil the existence of the state of israel. I will go anywhere i am invited to make israels case and defend its future and existence. Sreenivasan but an israeli opposition leader, tzipi livni, criticized netanyahus decision to make the visit. Your job as Prime Minister is to work with american president s. They are the ones who make the decisions. They are the ones who stand by us whether they are republicans or democrats. Sreenivasan white house chief of staff Denis Mcdonough insisted today that president obamas decision not to meet with netanyahu while he is washington is not indicative of a rift between the two leaders, just a matter of the visit occurring shortly before israeli parliamentary elections. We ought not get involved in their politics. Thats why the president think it doesnt make any sense for us to meet with the Prime Minister two weeks before his election. Sreenivasan the Obama Administration said today that it wants about 1. 4 million acres of the Arctic National wildlife refuge designated as wilderness, a move that would restrict oil and gas drilling in the area. The decision was immediately denounced by alaska republican senator Lisa Murkowski who called it, quoting now, a stunning attack on our sovereignty that would do economic harm to the state. Alaskas governor, independent bill walker, said oil and Gas Development on state lands might accelerate to compensate for the new federal restrictions. The federal Aviation Administration has warned commercial airlines that Electronic Cigarettes may pose a fire hazard. It wants them put only in carry on luggage, not in checked bags, because a fire on board can be extinguished more quickly than a fire in the cargo hold. Ecigarettes have been linked to at least two fires since august one on a plane; another in an airport baggage area. A trade Group Representing the airlines said it is closely reviewing the faa safety alert. The impact of todays vote in greece is likely to affect people around the world. To help understand how, we are joined now by john authers. He is the Senior Investment columnist for the Financial Times. What does it mean if the party takes control of parliament whether its an absolute majority or not . It means they now have a mandate to do what they have been threatening to do for several years, which is attempt to renegotiate the terms of the bailout in which they received from the European Union some years ago. Plainly that then opens the issue as they failed to negotiate new terms that they leave the your ozone input there is no question. Srennivasan and how does the eu feel about renegotiating a bailout that they begrudgingly accepted a few years ago and have had to make modifications for over the last few years. Markedly, unenthusiastic as you what expect. The line that came across to the Financial Times reporters in davos is a fairly clear one that they have done enough for the greeks, the greeks may still have 175 of gdp of their overhanging debt. The other europeans say we have still given them a lot of generosity already. We have negotiated setdown we have extended the terms. It looks as though there would be a line in the sands when it came to what is known as a haircut to reducing the amount of debt outstanding. And there will be a lot of wiggle room in terms of extending the debt in the future. Srennivasan what if the eu says fine well give you this haircut but then you have to leave. There are members in the new party that say we should leave the eu all together. Either way it is a precedent. Yes, it is. Plainly the briefings again the belief out there at the present is that that would be just about survivable. If you look at how the bond markets have behaved in the last year or so back there 2010 when the greek crisis first blew up we now see that the spanish debt and italian debt is almost no risk of leaving the euro, no risk of defaults. Two and a half years ago the last greek elections they were signaling real panic over the possibility that that could happen. So there is a belief that the rest of the euro zone can carry on. But the critical thing is there no so precedence of this up until now. The whole point of the eurozone is that you are so totally committed to this currency that there is no way you can leave. Srennivasan right. Once one country has left, it becomes far more possible for others to leave. Srennivasan before that depar ture point, does it embolden more parties on the far left in other countries . Almost certainly. I mean the mere fact that this looks as though we have finally got to the point where one of the populist alternative parties has actually managed to take 30 we are power weve seen the rejection of the incumbent parties in all the crisishit countries since the crisis took hold. But this is the first time one of the truly new wave populist parties have taken hold. That will embolden the new leftwing alternative parties elsewhere very much. Obviously a lot depends on how much they manage to do with the opportunity. Srennivasan so what happens to the Financial Markets around the world. Has this uncertainty already baked in or are we likely to see more volatility . My suspicion is that this will probably cause some concern in the morning simply because they have done even better than the more optimistic projections as time went on. That said we are at a position now where a large number of the other countries which would suffer from contagion have had much lower rates at which to borrow for quite a while. Theyve been able to defend themselves quite nicely against this situation. Yes volatility will increase. This will worry people until such a point as negotiations emphatically break down or the greeks actually go through with a default. At which point thats a very serious event. Arguably not a Lehman Brothers event, but a serious event. Until such a point i think it just means people get a little bit more nervous. I doubt there would be any major impact on the market. Srennivasan all right, john authers of the Financial Times thank you very much. Thank you. Sreenivasan as we mentioned earlier, president obama is in india for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi was elected last may after promising an Ambitious Program to modernize that nations economy. Before becoming Prime Minister, modi led the state of gujarat in western india for more than a decade. Recently, special correspondent fred de sam lazaro traveled there to see how that area is faring. Freds reporting is a partnership with the undertold stories project at st. Marys university of minnesota. Reporter gujarat was the home of mahatma gandhi. Thousands come to pay homage the ordinary and the famous. This video is from the Youtube Channel of indias new leader as he hosted chinas president at gandhis ashram. Narendra modi invokes the father of modern india, who preached nonviolence and simple living. But modis vision seems in many ways more like modern china. So this is sort of shanghai inspired . Thats right. Reporter this is the scale model of an all new city being built in gujarat from scratch. It was championed by modi when he headed the State Government here. So this is what well come back to in about a decade . Yes. Reporter ramakant jha who heads a agency set up to develop it says in a decade 500,000 people will work in the new city. He says it will keep in the country some 50 billion that now goes elsewhere because india lacks such facilities. All this Indian Business are being performed in other countries singapore, dubai london. Reporter the multinational finance and Insurance Firms will come to gujarat, he predicts as many manufacturers have in recent years. The Japanese Company hitachi is one. Hitachis Vinay Chauhan says its tedious to do business in india with myriad permits and corruption. But not so in gujarat, he says, where modi cut red tape and improved the infrastructure. One of the most important is power. We have uninterrupted power. These governments talk but dont do. In gujarat nobody talks it is just done. Reporter under modis leadership, gujarat made land available for factories and redevelopment. One showcased project is Riverfront Park in gujarats largest city, ahmedabad. Luxury high rise homes are soon to follow. But not everyone is pleased with modis approach. Critics say it favors big business at the expense of the poor, including thousands who once lived in this gentrified area. The families living in this decrepit industrial location say they lived for years along the riverfront when all of a sudden they were abruptly displaced and moved here, given tiny plots of land and nothing more to restart their lives. translated we are just day laborers, said this man. The city at least an hours bus ride away is where the work is, they said. But bus fare now takes half of their meager earnings; around three dollars a day. translated were right by a garbage dump and when it rains this place floods and the water brings it all in. The water is bad, we have to walk really far to latrines. We have a lot of difficulties. Were forced to live like animals. Modi is a very good showman. He knows how to project things. But that is about all. Reporter Shabnam Hashmi founded a Human Rights Group that advocates for marginalized communities. Hashmi says gujarat is near the bottom among Indias States in education and health care. And poverty actually grew during modis 13 years at the helm, she says. The gujarat model helped middle classes, and gujarat model cared a damn about the poor, about the marginalized sections, and it is going to be the same all over india. Reporter other politicians may be criticized for favoring the wealthy over the poor. But in modis case, theres also a sectarian dimension. Hes long been dogged by accusations he did little to stop programs against gujarats impoverished Muslim Minority back in 2002 allegations that led the u. S. And u. K. To ban him from entering those countries. Inquiries later cleared modi but hes still hurt by long ties to hindu nationalist groups some with violent pasts who want india officially declared a hindu nation. Modis election has emboldened the extremists, says hashmi, who belongs to indias 14 percent Muslim Minority. In the last six months, there have been more than 600 communal riots in this country. Reporter communal riots. Communal riots. 600. Reporter this is between what, hindus and muslims . Yes. And i dont know how long somebody like me should feel safe sitting in this home, frankly. Reporter what does that mean . That means that i have a muslim name. Reporter supporters of the new Prime Minister say such fears are exaggerated. They say modi has spoken out against extremist rhetoric and activity. He said it in the house of parliament, this is unacceptable. This cant go on. We want development for all. Reporter m. J. Akbar, a columnist and author and himself muslim, is a spokesman for modis Bharatiya Janata party. He has said repeatedly, i said, i want to see muslims in india with the quran in one hand, their holy book, but with the computer in the other hand. now that is true empowerment. Jobs are true empowerment. Reporter as for the gujarat model, akbar says, modi inherited the challenges that underlie its poverty. He says the verdict on his tenure come from his election three times in the state. We are a democracy. People will vote only if their lives have improved. Its quite simple. Reporter i asked people displaced from the riverside who they voted for in the election. No one, they said. We lost our election cards when they took our homes away, and we dont have proper addresses, which are required to get new ones. translated how much have we been pleading . How long have we been writing them . No one has listened to us yet. translated weve been promised help for a long time. Whoever gives it to us, Narendra Modi or anyone else, wed be very thankful. Reporter as in gujarat, the new Prime Ministers challenge will be to offer hope to some 400 Million People who live below indias poverty line, that his probusiness policies are their best path out of poverty. For more about how Prime Minister modi says he will usher in india they age av chievement visit newshour. Org sreenivasan u. S. Health Officials Say the Measles Outbreak that began at disneyland in Southern California continues to ripple across the nation. Approximately 100 cases have been reported so far. How great a risk does it pose . And what can be done to stop its spread . I spoke about this yesterday with doctor anthony fauci. He is the director of the National Institute of allergy and Infectious Diseases in washington. So dr. Fawzi, we know that there are, what 20 million measle cases around the world every year. But what does a theme park like a disneyland do to make sure that the parents and children that are visiting from the United States or from other countries are safe . You know it really relates to the fact that this happens because children are not vaccinated. The overwhelming number of people who have gotten infected particularly among the children are children that have not been vaccinated. Because parents for reasons that are really not based on any Scientific Data just dont want their children to be vaccinated. And its really unfortunate because vaccination can prevent all of this. One of the things we do know about measles is that the vaccine that we have is one of the most effective vaccines we have for any viral disease or for any microbe microbe, so this all could have been shut down if people had gotten vaccinated. That is the real critical issue. Srennivasan in 2000 2000 we declared measles was eliminated that is not active disease transmissions. And when you look at the numbers between 2001 and 2013 we had an average of 8 cases a year. And last year we had 6 88 case 88 cases a area and last year 644. That is an enormous leap. It is there were 20 separate outbreaks in the year 2014 as you mentioned 644 cases that just should not have happened. People dont fully appreciate that measles is not a trivial disease. It can be truly a very serious disease. Prior to the availability of vaccinations, we had about 500,000 cases in the United States and an average of about 500 deaths per year. That was essentially as you mentioned, again correctly essentially eliminated because we were measlesfree. And then because of the movement of antivaccination movement and children not getting vaccinated, particularly when it is concentrated in certain areas where there are a higher percentage in certain parts of the country that really leads to that group and cluster. So that when you have an introduction of measles wherever it may be, it could be in a Recreational Park or someplace elsewhere people congregate if you have a certain percentage of the children or of anyone who are not protected against measles thats how you get these outbreaks which unfortunately, could really have been completely avoided and prevented. Srennivasan so as you mentioned these clusters epidimiologists have studied these patterns. And this is something that cuts across, whether its conservative or liberal rich or poor. So how do you design a Health Policy that tackles these little clusters . Well, what we have to do is continue to underscore and emphasize the importance of vaccination. But also to underscore the fact that the reason for not vaccinating this issue that the risk of a measles vaccine is so great that it overrides the benefit that you could get from protecting your child is just not true. Because the evidence that was put forth years ago about various adverse events associated with measles vaccinations from different types of disease to autism have been completely disproven by a number of scientific bodies independent bodies that have shown that. And yet they still cling and reinforce each other that in fact measles vaccines and other vaccines really should not be given because theyre dangerous. Thats just unfortunate. And leads to the kind of thing that were dealing with right now. Srennivasan all right, let me preface this question by saying im not trying to scare my audience. But i have got to ask is that some part of us is due to the fact that a lot of us dont have firsthand experience with measles. Right. So what is the vaccine protecting a child from . What are the affects of this disease . Well measles is one of those diseases that in and of itself is serious but can lead to serious complication. The kind of clinical manifestation, you get a fever, you get akoff, you get runnee nose con juktive identity is or what we call red eye. And it really debilitates a child during that period of time. A certain percentage of children go on to complications like middle ear infections pneumonia and even ensieve light is and even death. That is why the development of measles vaccination and the elimination of measles from this country several years ago until it bounced back now with these outbreaks was really a triumph in medical Public Health endeavor. Good vaccinations in some respects paradoxically are victims of their own success. Now that we dont see a lot of measles that scare of the devitt and the seriousness of it is not on peoples radar screen. It gets back on their radar screen when you see what is going on right now throughout the country. Which could be completely avoidable if people had vaccinated their children. Srennivasan dr. Anthony fawzi director of the institute of allergy and infectious disease, thank you very much. Youre quite welcome. This is pbs newshour weekend. Sreenivasan you may have seen the cnn documentary blackfish that examined the treatment of killer whales at sea world orlando. Now, at the Miami Seaquarium another controversy is brewing over a whale named lolita. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is currently deciding whether lolita should be placed on the endangered species list. If she is listed as an endangered species, citizens will then have the right to sue on her behalf. Sreenivasan that could lead to lolita being reacclimated over time and eventually released back into the waters off seattle, where she was captured in 1970. Some scientists and activists argue that the tank where lolita currently lives alone is too small for her wellbeing and that she should be set free. Lolita has been dubbed the worlds loneliest orca. And this week, hundreds marched in miami demanding her release. But the Miami Seaquarium says it will fight any plan to put lolita back into the wild, arguing that she simply cant survive on her own after 45 years in captivity. Robert rose, the curator of the aquarium, notes how hard it is for an animal thats lived in captivity for so long to be returned to the open ocean. I mean shes gonna die without question. They are going to take her out there and do exactly the same thing they did to keiko which is to kill him. Sreenivasan keiko was the iconic killer whale that starred in the movie free willy. keiko was released into the waters off norway in 2002 but died alone a year later of pneumonia. And unfortunately this didnt have the hollywood happy ending where free willy jumped over the wall and lived happily ever after. Sreenivasan noaas decision on lolitas status is expected by the end of this month. Srennivasan before we leave you tonight, new york city and several northeastern states are bracing for a potentially historic blizzard. This map projecting snowfall amounts of two to three feet in the new york metropolitan area was published this afternoon by the National Weather service. The snowiest day on record in new york city was just more than two feet 26. 9 inches in february of 2006. Very heavy snowfall is also expected in eastern pennsylvania southern new jersey connecticut, rhode island massachusetts, New Hampshire and maine. Forecasters are also warning of high winds and potential power outages. The storm is expected to begin tomorrow night. Well have much more about this and the rest of the news tomorrow. I hope youll join us on air and online. Im hari sreenivasan, have a good night. Captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org pbs newshour weekend is made possible by Corporate Funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. For me, graduating curtis is one of the guest honors i think i will have in my life. Playing graduation is an honor. It is a chance for us to connect with our colleagues, with their teachers. My family also made it. So it is a chance for them to also see what i have been up to. I decided to play my recital with amy yang, who has been a great colleague and friend of mine. I wanted to share that with her. The greats of tomorrow today on stage at curtis. We are talking about the three romances by claire schumann. This is for violin rather than dedicated to the team. This was a fairly midlife work. It was also written by her husband robert was very ill in the hospital. It carries so much beauty within it and so much happiness, to almost playfulness at a time that was so devastating in her personal life. Living in the shadow of robert, i think it was very difficult. He was a highly successful composer. And on top of that, women were not big composers in the romantic era. So its amazing that so many of her work survive and that they were successful