INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2016
- Syria ceasefire set: US, Russia
The United States and Russia announced on22nd February that a landmark "cessation of hostilities" in war-torn Syria will take effect on February 27.
In a joint statement, the two countries said 27th February partial truce would begin at Damascus time and would apply to parties to the conflict that have committed to the deal -- but not to the Islamic State group or Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
If implemented and adhered to, this cessation will not only lead to a decline in violence, but also continue to expand the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian supplies to besieged areas and support a political transition to a government that is responsive to the desires of the Syrian people
US President Barack Obama and Russia's President Vladimir Putin discussed the deal in a phone call, the White House said. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the ceasefire a "long-awaited signal of hope" and urged all sides to abide by it.
Once the cessation of hostilities takes hold, the United Nations will work to secure "access to as many places as possible in order to deliver humanitarian aid. The 17-nation group backing Syria's peace process agreed at a meeting in Munich to implement a ceasefire within a week, but the truce never materialized. A halt in hostilities in Syria would come after five years of brutal civil war that has killed more than 260,000 people and seen half the population displaced, including over four million overseas. - Pakistan confirms JeM chief Masood Azhar is in its custody
Pakistan has confirmed that Masood Azhar, the chief of JeM which carried out the Pathankot attack, is in its "protective custody". According to the Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's adviser Sartaj Aziz and a news channel that Azhar has been in custody since January 14 in what is the first official confirmation of his detention by Islamabad.
Pakistan, which wants an early dialogue between the foreign secretaries, is hoping the confirmation would soothe nerves here. This is even as Islamabad continues to pedal the Kashmir issue hard, even demanding that India should not prevent Hurriyat leaders from travelling abroad.
While Pakistan has in the past been content with issuing statements on India's handling of J&K, Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit last week sought time with foreign secretary S Jaishankar to raise the issue of detention of Hurriyat leaders and alleged human rights violations in the state. - Vienna is world's best city to live in: survey
Austria's capital Vienna is the best place in the world to live, according to an international survey on quality of life that has no city of India in the top 100. According to the 18th Mercer Quality of Life study which examined socioeconomic conditions of 230 global cities, Vienna, a city of nearly 1.8 million people, is the world's best city, followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver.
Among Indian cities, Hyderabad topped the rankings at 139th position, followed by Pune at 144, Bangalore 145, Chennai 150, Mumbai 152, Kolkata 160 and national capital Delhi at 161. The study analysed social and economic conditions, health, education, housing and the environment. - UN launches working group on nuclear abolishment
The United Nations has launched a working group to discuss the possibility of a legal ban on nuclear weapons. The proposal to establish the group was approved by the General Assembly in December of last year. The working group opened a 5-day meeting in Geneva, with representatives from more than 90 countries taking part.
But all nuclear powers were absent. At the beginning of the meeting, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed concern over what he calls a worsening situation. Annan said that there has been little progress in nuclear disarmament since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty went into effect more than 45 years ago. He said that nuclear warheads have been deployed all over the world, and that nuclear powers have modernized their nuclear arsenals.
Annan added that he expects the new working group will make a breakthrough in discussions on reducing nuclear weapons. Japan's disarmament Ambassador Toshio Sano said that the abolishment of nuclear arms is a strong desire of the country, which is the only one to have suffered atomic bombings. He said that efforts toward the goal will need involvement of nuclear powers to have real effect. - UN carries out first humanitarian airdrop in Syria
The United Nations on 24th February carried out its first humanitarian airdrop in Syria to help civilians besieged by Islamic State jihadists, the UN aid chief said. A WFP plane dropped the first cargo of 21 tonnes of items into Deir Ezzor. UN agencies are working to scale up aid deliveries to Syria before a cessation of hostilities enters into force at midnight Friday to shore up peace efforts.
Russia airdropped aid to the eastern town of Deir Ezzor in January as part of its campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The airdrops carried out by the World Food Programme are considered less efficient than land deliveries. The UN aid chief said some 110,000 people living in besieged areas had received aid and that deliveries to a further 230,000 people including through airdrops had been approved.
The United Nations is calling on all sides to lift starvation sieges across Syria, where it estimates that 487,000 people live, although some non-governmental organizations say the figure is much higher.
More than 260,000 people have died in Syria's conflict, which began in March 2011 with anti-government protests but has since imploded into a multi-sided proxy war. - WTO rules against India in solar power dispute
India on 24th February lost a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) after the global trade body said power purchase agreements signed by the government with solar firms for the ambitious National Solar Mission did not meet international norms.
India might appeal against the WTO's panel ruling. The US had filed a complaint before the WTO on this issue in 2014, alleging foreign firms would not be able to take part in India’s electrification programmes and the lucrative government contracts that came with it.
It said a clause relating to domestic content requirement (DCR) for the procurement of solar cells and modules under Phase-I and Phase-II of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission were discriminatory and “nullified” the benefits accruing to American solar power developers.
After looking into the matter, the WTO’s dispute settlement panel had also ruled that “the DCR measures are inconsistent” with relevant provisions of the Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) Agreement and with the articles of the erstwhile General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (GATT). The panel also found that the DCR measures accorded “less favourable treatment” to American companies and were “not justified” under the general exceptions in GATT rules.
Earlier on 24th February, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had informed the Rajya Sabha that India and the US have engaged multiple times to settle the long-running solar power trade dispute through mutually agreed solution at WTO.
The panel found that DCR measures were not distinguishable in any relevant respect from the domestic content requirements previously examined under this provision by the Appellate Body in Canada — Renewable Energy / Feed-In Tariff Programme. - Iran goes to polls first time after N-deal
Iranians went to the polls on 26th February in parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, seen as a contest between hardliners entrenched in power and allies of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani seeking to expand their influence.
The 290-seat parliament vote will have scant impact on Iran's foreign policy, in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say, but could strengthen Rouhani's hand before next year's presidential vote. The 88-member Assembly will select Khamenei's successor. Both bodies are currently in the hands of hardliners.
The contest pits supporters of Rouhani, who championed last year's nuclear deal with world powers and is likely to seek a second presidential term next year, against conservatives deeply opposed to detente with Western powers. - UN watchdog: Iran complying with nuclear deal so far
A report from the UN atomic watchdog has said, Iran is complying so far with the July 2015 landmark nuclear deal with major powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency's report, on 26th February showed that Iran was meeting its main commitments.
It said, Iran has not pursued the construction of the existing Arak heavy water research reactor and has not enriched uranium above low levels. The Iran nuclear deal framework was a preliminary framework agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and a group of world powers.
In return for the scaling down of its nuclear activities, painful UN and Western sanctions were lifted on the Islamic republic, including on its lifeblood oil exports. - G20 says world needs to look beyond ultra-easy policy for growth
The world's top economies have declared that they need to look beyond ultra-low interest rates and printing money to shake the global economy out of its torpor, while renewing their focus on structural reform to spark activity.
A communique from the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central bankers on 27th February flagged a series of risks to world growth, including volatile capital flows, a sharp fall in commodity prices and the potential "shock" of a British exit from the EU.
"The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth," said the communique, issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Shanghai.
"Monetary policies will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability ... but monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth."
Faltering growth and market turbulence have exacerbated policy frictions between major economies in recent months, and the statement also noted concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions and Europe's refugee crisis.
The reference to "Brexit" had not been included in earlier versions of the text, according a senior official who had seen various drafts, but was added after British officials pressed for it. Britons will vote in June 23 referendum on whether to remain in the European Union.
The G20 ministers agreed to use "all policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural - individually and collectively" to reach the group's economic goals.
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said she sensed renewed urgency among the group's members for collective action, warning that without it there was a risk that the recovery could derail.
But there was no plan for specific coordinated stimulus spending to spark activity, as some investors had been hoping after markets nosedived at the start of 2016. Over the course of the two-day meeting in Shanghai comments by policymakers made clear the divergence of views on the way forward.
Finance chiefs had agreed that "the magnitude of recent market volatility has not reflected the underlying fundamentals of the global economy", the communique draft said.
To pep up the global economy, faster progress on structural reforms "should bolster potential growth in the medium term and make our economies more innovative, flexible and resilient", it said.
Divisions have emerged among major economies over the reliance on debt to drive growth and the use of negative interest rates by some central banks, such as in Japan. Germany had made it clear it was not keen on new stimulus, with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble saying on Friday the debt-financed growth model had reached its limits.
The G20, which spans major industrialised economies such as the United States and Japan to the emerging giants of China and Brazil and smaller economies such as Indonesia and Turkey, reiterated in the communique a commitment to refrain from targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes, including through devaluations.
G20 host China used the meeting to try to allay concerns about the world's second-biggest economy, and Beijing's ability to manage it, that have grown since a market rout and a surprise devaluation last August. Chinese policymakers reiterated pledges not to devalue the yuan again, and Premier Li Keqiang told the G20 opening session on Friday there was no basis for continued depreciation of the yuan.
But there appeared to be concerns that some members may seek a quick fix to domestic woes through a weaker currency.
Japan implemented negative interest rates this month to spur growth, and Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he had "fully gained (their) understanding" from G20 ministers about the BOJ's thinking with regard to negative rates as a tool for escaping the deflation that has dogged its economy for years. - Putin, Obama hold telephonic talks on Syria
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama have held frank telephonic talks on Syria. Putin took the call from Obama amid US concern over Turkish shelling of Kurdish militia targets in northern Syria days before a ceasefire deal is due to take hold.
According to the Russian authorities statement, the telephonic exchange frank and business like. The statement said both sides gave positive evaluation of the results of talks in Munich in the first week of February 2016.
The Russian leader reiterated that a united anti-terrorist coalition was needed in Syria, where Russia has led an aerial campaign to support the regime's ground operation since September 2015. Russia had warned earlier this week against any ground intervention in Syria.
In another development, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview to Euronews today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was the only legitimate force in the country and his ousting would result in "chaos." - Sindh becomes first Pak province to adopt Hindu Marriage Bill
Pakistan's Sindh Assembly on 15th February passed the Hindu Marriage Bill making the province the first in the country to allow the minority community to register their marriages, amid calls from a leading Hindu group to remove a controversial clause in the landmark bill.
The bill, moved in the assembly by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Khuhro, will apply to entire Sindh province, which has a sizeable population of Hindus. It was passed after a national parliamentary panel last week cleared its draft, paving way for registration of marriage and divorce for the Hindu community in Pakistan.
The bill fixes the minimum age of marriage at 18. According to the bill, it is necessary that a marriage is solemnised after consent of both male and female and at least two witnesses must be present at the time of the solemnisation and registration of the marriage.
According to the bill, every marriage being solemnised under this act will be registered with the union council/ward within 45 days of the solemnisation.
The bill should have retrospective effect for the purpose of validation and registration of the marriage prior to this law. Any person who fails to get his marriage registered will be liable to pay a fine of 1,000 rupees.
Other provinces and the federal government need to adopt separate bills to enable Hindu get marriages registered. The absence of a Hindu Marriage law was a huge hindrance to get marriage certificates, national identity cards and share in property. Hindus in Pakistan have long demanded a separate personal law to regulate their marriages.
But the bill has generated controversy in equal measures over a clause that calls for annulment of marriage if any of the spouses converts their religion.
There were many instances when Hindu girls were abducted and later presented before court with certificates confirming their conversion and marriage to a Muslim man, he said. - Ehud Olmert becomes first Israeli PM to go to prison
Israel's former prime minister Ehud Olmert started serving a 19-month prison sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice on 15th February, becoming the first Israeli premier to be imprisoned and capping a years-long legal saga that forced him to resign in 2009 amid the last serious round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Olmert walked into the Maasiyahu prison in central Israel.
Olmert, was convicted in March 2014 in a wide-ranging case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a controversial real-estate project in Jerusalem. The charges pertained to a period when he was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister, years before he became prime minister in 2006
He was initially sentenced to six years in the case, but Israel's Supreme Court later upheld a lesser charge, reducing the sentence to 18 months. That was extended by a month earlier this year for pressuring a confidant not to testify in multiple legal cases against him.
Olmert was forced to resign in early 2009 amid the corruption allegations, which undermined the last serious round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and cleared the way for hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu's rise to power. - Saudi Arabia, Russia to freeze oil output
Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to freeze oil output at near-record levels, the first coordinated move by the world’s two largest producers to counter a slump that has pummelled economies, markets and companies. While the deal is preliminary and doesn’t include Iran, it’s the first significant cooperation between OPEC and non-Opec producers in 15 years and Saudi Arabia said it’s open to further action. But energy-rich Azerbaijan refused to join in freezing output.
The deal to fix production at January levels, which includes Qatar and Venezuela, is the “beginning of a process” that could require “other steps to stabilise and improve the market,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said in Doha on 16th February after the talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Qatar and Venezuela also agreed to participate, he said.
Saudi Arabia has resisted making any cuts in output to boost prices from a 12-year low, arguing that it would simply be losing market share unless its rivals also agreed to reduce supplies. Naimi’s comments may continue to feed speculation that the world’s biggest oil producers will take action to revive prices.
More than a year since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided not to cut production to boost prices, oil remains about 70 per cent below its 2014 peak. Supply still exceeds demand and record global oil stockpiles continue to swell, potentially pushing prices below $20 a barrel before the rout is over, Goldman Sachs Group Inc said last week.
While Novak has said he could consider cuts if other countries joined in, Russia face significant obstacles to doing so. The freeze is conditional on other nations agreeing to participate, Russia’s Energy Ministry said in a statement.
Iran, OPEC’s fifth-largest producer, ruled out any curbs on its oil production when the group met in December. It plans to boost output and exports by 1 million barrels a day this year following the lifting of international sanctions last month.
Iraq continues to boost production as it recovers from years of conflict and under investment. The nation’s output reached a record 4.35 million barrels a day in January and more increases could follow, according to the International Energy Agency.
The country is prepared to cap production at current levels, or even cut, if other producers commit to the Doha accord, said an official from who asked not to be identified because oil policy is private.
There is a precedent for some countries being excused from full compliance with a freeze in order to secure their backing. In 1999, when OPEC came together with other producers including Mexico to fight an oil price slump, Saudi Arabia agreed to let Iran fix output at a higher level than in the past.
The freeze deal comes after months of competition for market share between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has taken the rare step of selling crude into Moscow’s backyard of eastern European, while Russia overtook Saudi Arabia in oil exports into China. The two nations are also backing opposite sides in the Syrian civil war.
According the IEA, Saudi Arabia produced 10.2 million barrels a day in January, below the most recent peak of 10.5 million barrels a day set in June 2015. Russia produced nearly 10.9 million barrels a day in the same month, a post-Soviet record, according to official data. Venezuela pumped 2.4 million barrels a day and Qatar produced 680,000, according to the IEA. - India joins China, Pakistan in multi-lateral exercises
A 12-member team of the Indian Army is participating in the “Cobra Gold” multilateral exercises being hosted by Thailand, along with its counterparts from China and Pakistan. India has been invited to the exercises as an “observer plus” country. This is in keeping with the recent trend of India’s increasing regional interoperability with a series of multi-lateral exercises on land and sea.
The theme of the exercise, involving 35 countries, is humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The 35th edition of the exercises, considered Asia’s largest multinational drill, started on January 20 and will end on February 18.
The decision on Indian participation was conveyed to Thailand during Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s visit there recently. The Thai government has said that this year, 8,564 personnel from Thailand, the U.S., Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea and other nations are playing various roles in the exercises. These exercises come in the backdrop of increased tensions over China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea and informal discussions between India and the U.S. over joint naval patrols. - UN delegates discuss Zika virus outbreak
International delegates to the United Nations have discussed for the first time the outbreak of the Zika virus. UN officials briefed a meeting of the Economic and Social Council in New York yesterday on the current state of the outbreak and what's being done about it.
A delegate from Brazil, where Zika is most prevalent, said international cooperation is needed to fight the virus across borders. Representatives from other countries called for action based on scientific research. The delegate said Brazil will host the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August as planned.
The mosquito-borne virus has spread to more than 30 countries, mainly in Central and South America. Researchers suspect a link between the virus and a rise in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads, or microcephaly. The World Health Organization has declared Zika an international public health emergency. - US President Obama signs North Korea sanctions
United States President Barack Obama has signed off on new sanctions against North Korea to punish the reclusive Asian nation for its provocative recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
According to the White House Obama on 18th February signed measures passed by the Congress, tightening sanctions on anyone importing goods or technology related to weapons of mass destruction into North Korea, or anyone who knowingly engaged in human rights abuses. Pyongyang shocked the world last month and earned a global rebuke when it announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. - WHO warns countries against spreading of Zika virus
The Zika virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas and can infect upto four million people, the WHO warned on 19th February as it issued a warning to all countries, including India, who have the vector of Aedes mosquito that also causes Dengue and Chikungunya.
The Zika virus is caused by the aggressive Aedes aegypti mosquito that also causes Dengue and Chikungunya — both the viral diseases are of great public health concern to tropical countries like India. The outbreak began in Brazil last year and has now spread to 24 countries in the Americas, causing serious birth defects and other neurological problems like microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with an abnormally small head.
Meanwhile, WHO chief Margaret Chan warned that the virus "is now spreading explosively," and the global health body expected up to four million cases of the disease. She also expressed concern over the potential of global spread of the disease, owing to the large geographical spread of the Aedes mosquito.
Though, Chikungunya and Dengue are much more rampant in many parts of the world than the Zika virus, the possible association between the Aedes mosquito and neurological impairments could bring the spotlight on mosquito-borne diseases globally. The Zika virus was first detected in 1947 from a monkey in the Zika forest of Uganda. - Central African Republic: Former PM Faustin declared winner of President election
In Central African Republic, former Prime Minister Faustin Archange Touadera has been declared the winner of the presidential election which was held on the 14th February. Marie Madeleine Nkoet, president of the national election authority, read poll results to reporters, saying Touadera had come in first with 695,000 votes, or 62.7 percent votes. Georges Anicet Dologuele, who came in first in the first round, obtained just over 413,000 votes in the runoff, or 37.3 percent. Out of 1.95 million registered voters, 1.15 million cast ballots, about 59 percent. - North Korea rocket launch seen as cover for a missile test
Defying warnings of tougher sanctions from US, North Korea launched a rocket on 7th February that Western experts believe is part of a programme to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technologies. The rocket blasted off from Tongchang-ri, the North's main satellite launch site near its northwestern border with China.
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea called an emergency meeting of top national security advisers to address the launch, her office said.
South Korea, the United States and Japan also requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry called the launch a "major provocation, threatening not only the security of the Korean Peninsula, but that of the region and the United States as well."
North Korea earlier notified the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency overseeing navigation safety that it planned to launch a rocket between February 7th and February 14 to put a satellite into orbit. After the launch, North Korea said that it had succeeded in doing so, and South Korea acknowledged that it appeared to be the case.
Under a series of Security Council resolutions, North Korea is prohibited from developing nuclear weapons or ballistic-missile technologies. North Korea insists its space programme is peaceful, intended to put scientific satellites into orbit. It has attempted several launches since 1998, finally succeeding in putting a small satellite into space in 2012.
But the United States and its allies consider the program a pretext for developing technologies that can also be used to build an intercontinental ballistic missile. The North's launch of a three-stage rocket on, after a similar test in 2012, showed that the country was determined to acquire them despite sanctions imposed by the Security Council.
With the launch, North Korea was also defying China, which had issued strong appeals not to proceed. In flouting China, the North's only treaty ally, Kim was showing the ultimate disrespect to the government that has continued to trade with him, including sending oil that keeps the military and the rudimentary economy working. - UNSC condemns North Korea rocket launch, vows new sanctions
The UN Security Council has strongly condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket. After an urgent meeting in New York, the council said it would soon adopt a new sanctions resolution in response.
North Korea said, it fired the rocket to place a satellite in orbit - but critics believe the real purpose was to test a ballistic missile.
The launch comes weeks after North Korea held a fourth nuclear test. Both acts violate UN resolutions. Speaking after the closed-door talks, Venezuela's UN envoy Rafael Ramirez, the current council President, said the members of the Security Council strongly condemn this launch. He called it a serious violation of the Security Council resolution.
US is pressing at the Security Council for tough and comprehensive new sanctions, but they're being resisted by China, Pyongyang's closest ally and biggest trading partner. - World powers agree to cessation of hostilities in Syria
Major Powers agreed on 12thFebruary to a cessation of hostilities in Syria set to begin in a week and to provide rapid humanitarian access to besieged Syrian towns. However, a complete ceasefire or an end to Russian bombing could not be agreed to.
Following a marathon meeting in Munich aimed at resurrecting peace talks that collapsed last week, the powers, including the United States, Russia and more than a dozen other nations, reaffirmed their commitment to a political transition when conditions on the ground improved.
At a news conference, US Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged the Munich meeting produced commitments on paper only. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia will not stop air attacks in Syria, saying the cessation of hostilities did not apply to Islamic State and Al Nusrah, which is affiliated with al Qaeda. - Japan imposes sanctions on North Korea after satellite launch
Japan imposes sanctions on North Korea after satellite launch. According to the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga the remittances of money to North Korea would be forbidden and will also tighten curbs on travel with North Korea, and ban all port calls by North Korean ships, even for humanitarian purposes, and visits by third-country ships that have made port calls on the North. The news followed South Korea's announcement that it would suspend operations at a jointly run factory park just inside North Korea, in a move to cut off an important source of revenue for the impoverished North. - Aleppo assault could cut off 300,000 civilians: UN
Children in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, already suffering malnutrition, now face a government siege that could cripple the city and cut off supplies. The government, backed by Russian air strikes, is closing in on the rebels in Aleppo and the UN warns 300,000 people could be cut off from aid if the government forces encircle them. At the same time, the health system of these people rely on is steadily being crippled.
According to the Dr Hasan Nairabani, the head of paediatric medicine in the Syrian city the health facilities were already stretched to breaking point. But he warned their health was also being undermined in another, more insidious, way. The cases of malnutrition will only worsen as the conflict intensifies. - US President unveils Cyber Security National action plan
US President Barack Obama has unveiled a cyber security national action plan as his intelligence chief warned of growing risks from new technologies that open more doors to hackers.
Obama asked for 19 billion US Dollar for cyber security efforts in his budget request, a 35 per cent increase from current levels, with 3 billion US Dollar earmarked to help modernise the patchwork of computer systems used in government agencies.
The Obama cyber initiative responds to an epidemic of data breaches and cyber attacks on both government and private networks in recent years.
The US intelligence Chief James Clapper has named Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as leading threat actors which pose risks for US security. - UN talks on Syria conflict re-initiated
Talks had been re-initiated in Geneva at the United Nation's behest to bring peace to war torn Syria which has seen conflict for the last 5 years. But the talks have now been deferred till the 25th of February. Talks have barely gotten off the ground because of the lack of mutual trust between the warring sides.
Efforts are on to address certain vital issues like humanitarian concerns to break the deadlock.
The rebels opposed to the Assad regime are upset over the offensive being carried out by his forces and allies Russia in and around Aleppo and voices are being raised from all western powers present in London for a Syria donors' conference to ease off and give relief to civilians caught in the crossfire and forced to migrate. - NATO launches sea mission against people-smugglers
NATO ships are on their way to the Aegean Sea to help Turkey and Greece crack down on criminal networks smuggling refugees into Europe. Hours after NATO Defence Ministers agreed to use their maritime force in the eastern Mediterranean to help combat traffickers, Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip Breedlove said he is working quickly to design the mission.- NATO and the European Union have signed an agreement to improve cooperation in cyber defense.
- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called it a concrete example of the two Brussels-based organizations joining forces to counter modern forms of hybrid warfare. He told reporters that the technical agreement, signed at NATO headquarters on 10th February, establishes a framework for emergency response teams from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union to exchange information and share best practices.
- The European Union said the new agreement will facilitate information-sharing to improve cyber incident prevention, detection and response at both the EU and NATO.
- UAE names women ministers for happiness, tolerance
The United Arab Emirates UAE has appointed women ministers to the newly created portfolios for happiness and tolerance, and youth affairs. UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum named eight women as he revealed his latest cabinet line-up of 29 ministers in a series of tweets
Ohoud al-Roumi, who had served as director of the council of ministers' office, was appointed minister of state for happiness. Shamma al-Mazroui, just 22 years old, was appointed minister for youth, while Lubna al-Qassimi, a veteran minister of international cooperation and development, was handed the new post of minister for tolerance. - Zika virus outbreak: WHO declares international emergency
World Health Organisation has declared an international emergency over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which is linked to birth defects in the Americas. The UN health agency on 31st January convened an emergency meeting of independent experts in Geneva to assess the outbreak of the virus. The meeting was convened after noting a suspicious link between Zika's arrival in Brazil last year and a surge in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads.
WHO estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year, but no recommendations were made to restrict travel or trade. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said it is important to understand, there are several measures pregnant women can take like delaying travel. She said, if they need to travel, they can get advice from their physician and take personal protective measures, like wearing long sleeves and shirts and pants and use mosquito repellent.
The last such public health emergency was declared for the devastating 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people. A similar declaration was made for polio the year before.
In Brazil, authorities have said that there is no chance that the Rio Olympics will be cancelled because of Zika virus outbreak. They said, there was no risk to athletes and spectators, except pregnant women, at the August event. - North Korea tells U.N. agencies it plans satellite launch
North Korea told U.N. agencies on 2nd February it plans to launch a satellite as early as next week, a move that could advance the country's long-range missile technology after its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6. News of the planned launch between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25 drew fresh U.S. calls for tougher U.N. sanctions already under discussion in response to North Korea's nuclear test. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United Nations needed to "send the North Koreans a swift, firm message."
North Korea has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the United States and other governments worry that such launches are missile tests in disguise.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, another U.N. agency, North Korea had informed it on 2nd February of plans to launch a satellite with a functional duration of four years
The White House said on Tuesday that any satellite launch by North Korea would be viewed as "another destabilizing provocation." U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, the senior U.S. diplomat for East Asia, told reporters it "argues even more strongly" for tougher U.N. sanctions.
Russel said a launch, "using ballistic missile technology," would be an "egregious violation" of North Korea's international obligations.
North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit. Western and Asian experts have said that launch was part of an effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea has shown off two versions of a ballistic missile resembling a type that could reach the U.S. West Coast, but there is no evidence the missiles have been tested.
Pyongyang is also seen to be working to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to mount on a missile, but many experts say it is some time away from perfecting such technology.
North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb last month but this was met with scepticism by U.S. and South Korean officials and nuclear experts. They said the blast was too small for it to have been a full-fledged hydrogen bomb. - Philippine ranking in economic freedom index rises
The Philippines has scored anew in the area of "economic freedom," being recognized internationally for the sustained improvement in the capacity of its citizens and investors to own properties, to generate income, to consume goods and services, and to do business.
In the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom, the latest of the annual global survey conducted by US-based think tank Heritage Foundation, the ranking of the Philippines leaped by six places to 70th out of 178 countries from the previous year’s 76th.
The Philippines is one of the most improved countries over the past six years, with its global ranking jumping by a total of 45 notches since 2010.
The latest global ranking of the Philippines was made possible by its latest score of 63.1 points out of 100 points, better than the 62.2 points recorded the previous year. With the latest score, Heritage Foundation describes economic freedom in the Philippines as “moderately free.”
The think tank said the Philippines posted the biggest gains in “business freedom,” as licensing requirements for enterprises have been eased. The country registered a 32-notch improvement in its ranking under this component, or from 131st to 99th the previous year.
It also said the Philippines registered significant improvement in the area of “freedom from corruption,” consistent with the implementation of good governance reforms in line agencies of government. Its ranking in this component improved by 8 notches, or from 95th to 87th. - Don’t encourage support to Kashmir militant groups, says Pakistan panel
A Pakistani parliamentary panel has asked the government to avoid “encouraging” support to militant groups in Kashmir and take action against outfits involved in attacks there to dispel international concerns. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on 1st February issued a four-page policy paper linked to Kashmir, it said that Pakistan should not encourage calls for active support to armed, banned, militant groups in Kashmir
The committee, headed by ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Awais Ahmad Leghari, proposed the government to take action against “violent armed outfits” to dispel international concerns that Pakistan was not doing enough against groups involved in attacks in Kashmir.
The panel suggested that Pakistan’s policy towards India should be based on four key principles — reciprocity, reduction, resumption and result.
In the absence of this scenario, however, the committee recommended that the government engage with India on four key issues — Kashmir, water, trade, and culture and communication. - UN adjourns Syria talks, asks big powers for help
UN-mediated talks to end the war in Syria are on pause until February 25, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on 3rd February saying the talks had not failed but needed immediate help from international backers led by the United States and Russia.
De Mistura had overseen several days of stuttering progress and postponed meetings, without ever getting the two sides in a dialogue.
After meeting Hijab, De Mistura raced across town to meet the government delegation, whose leader Bashar Ja'afari told reporters he had known for "hours" that the opposition wanted to withdraw and accused De Mistura of pausing the talks to avert a walk-out.
Those regional powers, along with the United States, Russia Iran and others, comprise the "International Syria Support Group" (ISSG), which has thrown its weight behind De Mistura's initiative, without always agreeing on how he should go about it.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other top ISSG diplomats are expected to meet at the annual Munich security conference on February 11. - Pakistan becomes top buyer of Indian cotton
Pakistan has replaced Bangladesh to emerge as the largest buyer of Indian cotton in the October-December 2015 quarter on the back of a sharp decline in its domestic availability due to widespread crop damage from whiteflies.
Data compiled by the Textiles Commissioner’s office under the textiles ministry showed Pakistan imported 1.66 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) of cotton from India during the December 2015 quarter. This works out to 47 per cent of India’s overall fibre exports to the tune of 3.52 million bales in the period under review. In the same quarter last year, India’s total cotton exports stood at 1.93 million bales with Pakistan’s contribution coming in at 0.38 million bales.
Encouraged by a significant jump in exports in the first quarter of the current season, the ministry has raised cotton export forecast of the current season to seven million bales for the full year of 2015-16, over 21 per cent increase from last year’s level of 5.77 million bales.
With 0.86 million bales, Bangladesh slipped to the second position in India’s cotton export destinations. Bangladesh imported 2.3 million bales of Indian cotton last year.
Meanwhile, global equation is also changing due to a slowdown in demand from China, which constituted 24 per cent of India’s overall cotton exports in 2014-15. This year, China’s share is likely to decline with an estimated offtake of 1.2 million bales against last year’s 1.68 million bales. - Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal signed
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the world's biggest multinational trade deals, was signed by 12 member nations on 4th February in New Zealand, but the massive trade pact will still require years of tough negotiations before it becomes a reality.
The TPP, a deal which will cover 40 per cent of the world economy, has already taken five years of negotiations to reach signing stage.
The signing is "an important step" but the agreement "is still just a piece of paper, or rather over 16,000 pieces of paper until it actually comes into force," according to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key
The TPP will now undergo a two-year ratification period in which at least six countries - that account for 85 per cent of the combined gross domestic production of the 12 TPP nations - must approve the final text for the deal to be implemented.
The 12 nations include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. Given their size, both the US and Japan would need to ratify the deal, which will set common standards on issues ranging from workers' rights to intellectual property protection in 12 Pacific nations. - UN panel rules, Julian Assange being arbitrarily detained
A UN panel has ruled Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is being arbitrarily detained. Assange has been residing at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 out of fear of being extradited, first to Sweden where he has been accused of sexual assault, and ultimately to the United States where he could face espionage charges for publishing secret documents through his website. - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be allowed to walk free: UN
A UN panel ruled on 5th February that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be allowed to walk free immediately and compensated for his arbitrary detention of over five years by the UK and Sweden. Seong-Phil Hong, head of the Geneva-based five-member Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said the arbitrary detention of Mr. Assange should be brought to an end.
The UK said it will formally contest the opinion, while Sweden said the panel had no right to "interfere".The computer hacker, who founded the WikiLeaks, released 500,000 secret US military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables.
The missives reveal the US and UK's grim conduct in Iraq of war crimes, torture and summary executions. Assange fears he will be extradited to the US from Sweden where he faces espionage charges on account of leaking secret American documents. - WHO advises against blood donations from people of Zika area
The World Health Organisation advised countries against accepting blood donations from people who have travelled to regions affected by the Zika virus.
With dozens of cases emerging in Europe and North America from travellers returning from affected areas, WHO stressed the potential link between Zika and microcephaly which causes children to be born with abnormally small heads and urged health authorities to take precautions.
Meanwhile, in the first case of its kind in Europe, Spain's Health Ministry said a pregnant woman who had returned from Colombia had been diagnosed with the virus.
The mosquito-borne virus has so far spread to 26 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean and health authorities have warned it could infect up to four million people on the continent and spread worldwide. - 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes chip-making hub of Taiwan
At least 12 people died and hundreds were pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Taiwan after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck an area in the island's southwest that is a hub for electronics makers such as theTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).
More than 470 people were injured when nine buildings toppled and five tilted after the quake struck at 3:57 am local time on 6th February, according to the National Fire Agency. Water supplies were halted to about 400,000 households across the island, the agency said.
The disaster cut power to more than 121,000 residences in Tainan and to hundreds in Kaohsiung, a city to the south.
Taiwan is home to some of the world's biggest companies that produce chips for the likes of Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. The island is prone to quakes as it sits on the edge of where the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasia Plate converge.
Plate movements can trigger temblors that can cause disruption or damage to high-precision chip-making equipment. There have been about 79 quakes greater than 4.5 in the area since the beginning of last year, according to a search on the US Geological Survey website.
The temblor's epicentre was in Kaohsiung, about 300 kilometres southwest of Taipei, at a depth of 16.7 kilometres, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau website. There were at least 40 aftershocks from the quake that happened at the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, a time when many people travel in the region.
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