INTERNATIONAL NOVEMBER 2013

INTERNATIONAL NOVEMBER 2013

• The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari inaugurated the “International Conference on Digital Libraries (ICDL)” on the theme ‘Vision 2020 – Looking back and Forging New Frontiers’ organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi on 27 November. The Vice President has said that there is consensus that knowledge would be the key driving force in the 21st century. The ability to use and create knowledge capital will determine a country’s capacity to empower and enable its citizens by increasing human capabilities. Knowledge would also determine the pace and trajectory of socio-economic development of countries, besides their global competitiveness. The Vice President also said that the realisation of these objectives would naturally involve the widest possible dissemination and imparting of knowledge amongst all sections of society. In this endeavour, digital libraries would be a critical instrument as they would enable people to access, share, and apply knowledge in a more efficient and effective manner.
  
• The Italian Senate expelled three-time ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi from Parliament over his tax fraud conviction on 27 November, ending, for now, his two-decade legislative run but not his political career. Berlusconi has warned that the unprecedented move would embarrass Italy internationally. He maintained his defiance as the Senate voted. Even though Berlusconi won't hold a seat in Parliament, he is expected to remain influential in Italian politics. He has relaunched his Forza Italia Party and he still commands millions of loyal supporters. While his lawyers chart possible legal challenges and his allies move into Italy's opposition, Berlusconi's fans massed in front of his Roman palazzo for a rally that analysts said was essentially the start of Italy's next electoral campaign. The Senate vote on whether to remove Berlusconi from the chamber stems from a 2012 law that bans anyone sentenced to more than two years in prison from holding or running for public office for six years. His lawyers claim the law is unconstitutional and have questioned why the rush to expel him while legal challenges are still pending. Italy’s high court on August 1 upheld Berlusconi's tax fraud conviction and four-year prison term stemming from his Mediaset empire's purchase of television rights to US films.
  
• NATO on 26 November, launched its largest-ever cyber exercises to practise warding off massive, simultaneous attacks on member states and their partners. Based at the alliance's cyber defence centre in EU member Estonia, the exercises will last three days and include participants in over 30 European states."Cyber attacks are a daily reality and they are growing in sophistication and complexity," Jamie Shea, a NATO official specializing in emerging security challenges, said in a statement. Around 400 legal and IT experts as well as government officials will take part in the operation code-named "Cyber Coalition 2013".
  
  
• Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is resigning in the wake of a deadly supermarket roof collapse, on 27 November. Dombrovskis is "taking political responsibility for the tragedy," spokesman Martin Punke told to the media. The roof collapse last week, in the Zolitude neighborhood of the capital, Riga, left more than 50 people dead -- the deadliest incident in Latvia since the country became independent in 1991.His decision to step down came after a meeting with the president, according to Latvia's national news agency, LETA.A total of 54 people, including three firefighters, died in the collapse and several dozen were injured. The cause of the disaster is still under investigation. However, Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs told CNN last week that authorities think building materials stored on the roof caused it to collapse.
  
• Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on 27 November 2013 voted in favor of Dubai to be the host city for the World Trade Fair or EXPO 2020. This was decided after the third and the final round of voting in Paris on 27 November 2013. The theme of Dubai for the EXPO 2020 is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. A World Expo in Dubai in 2020 would be the first to be held in the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) region, which takes place every five years. The yearlong event is considered a major event since the award of the EXPO brings home more number of visitors and adds to the trade, economy, tourism and hospitality sectors in the host city. The focus is on attracting 25 million people and through word of mouth may be 100 million over three to four years. This will give a boost to the local economy, trade, realty, tourism and retail sectors in the long run. World Expos is a meeting point for the global community to share innovations and make progress on issues of international importance such as the global economy, sustainable development and improved quality of life for the world’s population. The first world expo was held in London in 1851. This Expo will be held every five years in different cities across the world. The last world expo took place in 2010 at Shanghai, China.
  
• Ignoring seniority and surprising many, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 27 November, appointed Lt. Gen. Raheel Sharif, the third in the pecking order, as Pakistan's army chief. The change of command comes at a time when Pakistan is locked in war with the homegrown Taliban — a battle that has claimed thousands of lives — going through a phase of icy relation with India and bracing for repercussions of the imminent withdrawal of US-led Nato troops from Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Sharif, 57, was born to Major Muhammad Sharif in Quetta and led a cantonment life.
  
• Iran and P5+1 Group of Nations reached a breakthrough deal on 24 November 2013 to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief. An agreement to this effect was signed at UN Headquarters in Geneva on 24 November 2013 between the Chief negotiator for the six nations, Catherine Marie Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarief. The interim deal for six months is intended to give time and space to the international community to work towards a comprehensive agreement. After four days of negotiations, representatives of P5+1 group of nations - the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany -reached an agreement with Iran. The deal is intended as the first step in a six-month process aimed at a permanent resolution to the decade-old global impasse over Iran’s nuclear programme, and heading off the threat of a new war in West Asia. The Geneva deal also makes the way for releasing over US $ 4 billion in Iranian oil sales revenue from frozen accounts, and suspends restrictions on the country’s trade in gold, petrochemicals, and car and plane parts. In return, Iran undertakes to restrict its nuclear activities. Iran will give greater access to inspectors including daily access at the Natanz and Fordo nuclear sites. In return, there will be no new nuclear-related sanctions for six months if Iran sticks by the accord.
  
• Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 26 November, launched the construction of the country's biggest atomic power plant and vowed to pursue further projects to make nuclear the largest energy source. The 2,200-megawatt plant is to be built with Chinese technical assistance on the Arabian Sea coast at Paradise Beach, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Karachi. Pakistan already has three operational nuclear plants generating a total of around 740 MW of power and has begun work on a fourth, in addition to the one launched on Tuesday."This is one of the first steps of our goal of racing towards a load shedding-free Pakistan," Sharif told the audience at the site of the plant. The World Nuclear Association has estimated the cost of the new project at nearly US $10 billion. Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission engineers will work on the project with help from the China Atomic Energy Authority. A few kilometers further west of the new nuclear power project, an energy park is being built at Gaddani beach in Baluchistan province, with plans for 6,600 MW coal-fired power projects.
  
• The 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference, 2013 was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on 21st November.Delivering the inaugural address, the Prime Minister focussed on the need to recognise the complementarily between competition law enforcement and liberalisation of markets for procurement. He underscored the importance of adopting competition neutral policies. Elimination of unnecessary restrictions and better tender design and specification can enhance possibilities for effective competition, thereby making bid rigging more difficult. As a result, competitive procurement markets can help save valuable fiscal resources and release funds for development. Dr. Manmohan Singh expressed confidence that the two-day conference will see robust discussions covering all the challenges faced by the BRICS countries in the enforcement of their respective competition regimes. The two-day conference has been organised by Competition Commission of India (CCI) on behalf of BRICS countries in pursuance of the Beijing Consensus, New Delhi Declaration and Action Plan adopted at Fourth BRICS Leaders Summit in New Delhi on March 29, 2012. The theme of this BRICS ICC is “Competition Enforcement in BRICS Countries: Issues and Challenges”. Earlier, in his welcome address, Chairman, CCI, Mr. Ashok Chawla, expressed the hope that the 3rd BRICS ICC would provide an opportunity for the five BRICS countries to share the challenges faced in their respective countries and gain from the experiences of good practices of mature competition authorities and the international community at large. This would enable the competition authorities to become more effective institutional ombudsman for fair play in the market. The Heads of the Competition Authorities of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa signed a Joint Accord namely ‘DELHI ACCORD’ on November 22, 2013 during the ongoing 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference (ICC) at New Delhi. BRICS Competition Authorities, reflecting the principle of mutual trust and respect, considered the need of establishing good communication between the BRICS Competition Authorities on competition law and policy to further improving and strengthening the relationship between the BRICS Competition Authorities. BRICS Competition Authorities, while recognising the benefits of technical cooperation among the competition agencies, in sound and effective enforcement of competition laws expressed their resolve and commitment to exchange views on different aspects of competition policy. The heads of the Competition Authorities of BRICS recommended the publication of the material of the 3rd BRICS ICC on their respective websites for the purpose of competition advocacy. The Competition Authorities of BRICS support the hosting of the Fourth BRICS ICC during 2015.
  
• Abdulla Yameen, the candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives on 16th November defeated the former premier, Mohammed Nasheed to win the Maldivian Presidential elections. Yameen secured 51.39 percent of votes, whereas Mohamed Nasheed received 48.61. 45 foreign observers and 22 foreign monitors saw the transparency and credibility of the election. The winning candidate Abdullah Yameen will be sworn in as the President at a special seating of the Majlis, the Maldivian Parliament. The 54 years old Yameen is an economist and the half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former autocratic ruler, who ruled Maldives for 30 years.Earlier, in September 2013, the first round of elections was conducted in which none of the candidates secured more than 50 percent of the votes. Thus the Supreme Court of Maldives annulled the results. Whereas, the second attempt of polls was to be hold on 19 October 2013, which was thwarted by the police after the ruling of the Supreme Court. The re-vote was held on 9 November 2013, in which any one didn’t emerged as the winner by crossing the 50 percent mark. After the failure of the two polls, international community asked to conduct the elections as per the Constitutional provisions.
  
• The much-awaited USD 2.3 billion aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya was inducted into the Indian Navy on 16 November. The mammoth 44,500-tonne warship was commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Sevmash Shipyard in the northern Arctic port at a handing over ceremony attended by Defense Minister A K Antony and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and senior government and naval officials of the two countries. The commissioning papers were signed by deputy director of Russia's arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Igor Sevastyanov and the ship's captain Suraj Berry, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported. AK Antony arrived in Russia on 15 November, for the commissioning of the aircraft carrier at Russia's nuclear submarine building centre Sevmash Shipyard. Indian Naval Ship Vikramaditya is the country's second aircraft carrier and the navy's biggest warship. INS Vikramaditya's commissioning is being described as "a game changer" in naval circles, and is expected to project India's maritime power far beyond its shores. The aircraft carrier is expected to reach India by early next year. Vikramaditya is 284 meters in length, and with its beam of about 60 meters, it stretches to an area as large as three football fields. It has 22 decks and will have over 1,600 personnel on board. The warship can carry over 30 aircraft, comprising an assortment of MiG 29K/Sea Harrier, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak helicopters. Long range air surveillance radars and advanced electronic warfare suite makes the ship capable of maintaining "a surveillance bubble" of over 500 km around the ship. The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art launch and recovery systems and computer-aided Action Information Organization (CAIO) system, which is the heart of the operational network that infuses life into the combat systems onboard the ship. Negotiations over acquiring Admiral Gorshkov (which was re-named INS Vikramaditya) started in 1994. A memorandum of understanding was signed in December 1998, and the deal was made January 2004. The Navy has plans of bringing the warship to India and deploy it at the newly-developed Karwar naval base called Project Seabird.
  
• Iran on 18 November 2013 unveiled a biggest missile-equipped drone with a range of 2000 km, which would enable it to cover much of the Middle East, including Israel. The drone named Fotros has an operational range of 2000 kilometers and can fly at an altitude of 25000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours. The drone could carry out reconnaissance missions or launch air-to-surface missile strikes. In September 2013, Iran announced the mass production of the Shahed 129drone, which it said has a range of 1700 kilometers, is capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24 hours. In the same month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named Yasseer, which was said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometers and at an altitude of 4500 meters.
  
• China on 23 November, said it had set up an air defense zone covering the international airspace over parts of the disputed East China Sea, requiring all non-commercial aircraft to notify its authorities of their flight plans to avoid triggering a response from air defense forces. Japan lodged “a serious protest” in response to the move, describing it as “an extremely dangerous” step that could result in “unpredictable events.” The Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea may be followed by the establishment of similar zones covering China’s other frontiers, the Defense Ministry said, with zones to be set up to boost China’s territorial defenses “at an appropriate time after completing preparations.” The ADIZ is a predefined area over international airspace within which the Chinese military will monitor and track aircraft. Many countries, from India to the U.S. and Japan, monitor similar zones beyond their immediate territorial airspaces to track aircraft for security purposes. While the Chinese government said international flights will not be affected, any other non-commercial flights that have not notified authorities of their flight plans will likely face interception, and could also be brought down. The Chinese ADIZ overlaps with the ADIZ that Japan has already established in the region, with both zones covering the disputed Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The move is likely to fuel tensions with Japan, coming at a time when both countries have sparred over the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. In recent months, both countries have dispatched patrol boats to enforce their claims, while Japan has also scrambled fighter jets after Chinese Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) entered the airspace above the islands and threatened recently to shoot them down.
  
• Malta, a Southern European country was on 17 November 2013 unanimously chosen as the host of the next Commonwealth summit in 2015.The decision was made at the retreat session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka after Mauritius withdrew as host of the 2015 Commonwealth summit as a result of its prime minister's boycott of the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights concerns. This is second time for Malta to host the Commonwealth summit. Before this, Malta hosted a Commonwealth Summit in 2005.
  
• A spacecraft designed to dive deep into the upper atmosphere of Mars and find out what happened to the planet's water took off from Cape Canaveral on18 November, in Nasa's most ambitious attempt yet to understand the causes of dramatic climate change on our planetary neighbour. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or Maven, is bristling with instruments able to measure the effect of solar wind and analyse thin traces of gases, in order to help scientists model the process that left the planet so dry and barren. Orbiting between 3,864 miles and 77 miles above the desert surface, Maven is expected to reveal how Mars' atmosphere was gradually peeled away over billions of years, by the sun's radiation. Among the eight instruments and nine sensors on board the spacecraft is a magnetometer that will help scientists measure changes in the magnetic field around Mars that would once have protected its atmosphere from solar wind. In September, decade-long preparations for the mission were briefly interrupted by the US government shutdown. Maven will take nearly a year to reach the red planet and scientists estimate it should be sending back its first results by early 2015.Maven's prime mission is expected to last for one year, enough time for scientists to collect data during solar storms and other space weather events. Maven will remain in orbit for up to 10 years, serving as a communications relay for Curiosity, a follow-on rover slated to launch in 2020 and a lander that is being designed to study the planet's deep interior. Following its successful launch on 18 November, the spacecraft is due to reach Mars on 22 September 2014 – two days before India's Mars Orbiter Mission, which launched on 5 November. India's probe has been raising its orbit around Earth and should be in position to begin the journey to Mars on 1 December.
  
• Russia successfully launched a Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite on 12 November, from its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch took place on 12 november, carrying a satellite for the Russian defence ministry, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.Russia restarted launches of Proton rockets in September after a pause to investigate why one exploded on takeoff on July 2. The Proton-M rocket is Russia's most popular for commercial satellite launches. Roscomos chief Vladimir Popovkin was dismissed in October after two and a half years, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev complaining of a "whole number of problems" in the space agency's work.
  
• India's public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and Radio-Television of Slovenia (RTV-SLO) on 13 November 2013 signed a MoU to develop and strengthen mutual friendly relations through an increased cooperation in the field of broadcasting. The agreement was signed by head of international department of RTV SLO, Suzana Vidas Karoli and Member Personnel of Prasar Bharati, V.A.M. Hussain. The MoU allows exploring further opportunities in potential projects of production of programmes. It also entails exchange of programmes in the field of culture, education, entertainment, sports and news.
  
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the UN Chemical weapons watchdog on 15 November 2013 started its work on the final roadmap for the destruction of chemical arsenals of Syria. In the plan, Syrian chemical weapons will be transported for destruction outside its territory to ensure their destruction in the safest and soonest manner, and no later than 30 June 2014. The deadline of OPCW to agree on the destruction milestones of more than 1000 tonnes of dangerous chemicals in Syria expired on 15 November 2013. The plan was adopted during the meeting of its 41-member Executive Council in The Hague.
  
• Abdulla Yameen, the candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives on 16 November 2013 defeated the former premier, Mohammed Nasheed to win the Maldivian Presidential elections. Election Commission of Maldives announced the result of the election on 16 November 2013, in which Yameen defeated Mohamed Nasheed of Maldivian Democratic Party with a margin of six thousand votes. Yameen secured 51.39 percent of votes, whereas Mohamed Nasheed received 48.61. 45 foreign observers and 22 foreign monitors saw the transparency and credibility of the election. The winning candidate Abdullah Yameen will be sworn in as the President at a special seating of the Majlis, the Maldivian Parliament. The 54-year old Yameen is an economist and the half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former autocratic ruler, who ruled Maldives for 30 years. After the failure of the two polls, international community asked to conduct the elections as per the Constitutional provisions.
  
• The 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting; CHOGM began in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 15 November 2013. The Summit was inaugurated by Prince Charles of England, who is representing Queen Elizabeth at the Commonwealth Summit. The theme for CHOGM 2013 is Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid represented the India in the meet. This year, CHOGM in held Sri Lanka, the first time an Asian country is hosting the summit in 24 years. The last CHOGM Summit (in 2011) was held at Perth, Australia. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years to enable leaders of Commonwealth countries to come together to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to decide on collective policies and initiatives. Every CHOGM is jointly organized by the host country and the Commonwealth Secretariat. These biennial meetings serve as the principal policy and decision-making forum to guide the strategic direction of the association. The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 53 countries, many of them former territories of the British Empire. It was established in 1949. The head of the Commonwealth is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Fifty-three countries are members of the Commonwealth. These Countries are from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific and are diverse – they are amongst the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries. The last two countries to join The Commonwealth - Rwanda and Mozambique - have no historical ties to the British Empire. Four countries - Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Fiji and Pakistan - have been suspended from the Commonwealth in the past. The Gambian Government on 2 October 2013 announced that it is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect. Gambia, a West African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1965.
  
• The State Department of US, on 13 November, branded Boko Haram, the home-grown Islamist insurgent movement in Nigeria which has ties with al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate in North and West Africa, as a foreign terrorist organisation. The designation allows the United States to freeze assets, impose travel bans on known members and affiliates, and prohibit Americans from offering material support to the organisation, which the State Department says is responsible for thousands of deaths in northeast and central Nigeria over the last several years including targeted killings of civilians. The department also put the same label on Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter faction that this year kidnapped and executed seven international construction workers. Administration officials said that the move would help Nigeria combat a growing menace that also threatened American citizens and investment in Nigeria. But many Africa scholars say that branding Boko Haram a terrorist organisation will only enhance the group’s international stature with jihadis and help its recruiting efforts. The group has gained particular notoriety for its attacks inside Nigeria. Boko Haram has been conducting a brutal campaign against the Nigerian military and government as well as civilian targets. On September 17, it carried out attacks in Benisheik, a northeastern town, that killed at least 143 civilians, including women and children.
  
• The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad will attend the third BRICS Health Ministers Meeting from 6th to 7th November at Cape Town, South Africa. The Health Ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will attend the meeting. The BRICS Meeting will deliberate the issues of Governance Reform including Risk and Accountability, Finance and Human Resources; Programmatic and Finance Reform including support to Member States; and a Progress Report on the Delhi Action Plans. The discussions will be on the key thematic areas focusing on strengthening health surveillance systems ; reducing NCD risk factors through prevention and health promotion; Universal Health Coverage ;strategic health technologies, with a focus on communicable and non-communicable diseases ; medical technologies ; and drug discovery and development. 
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• These thematic areas of work were identified in respect of each country on the sidelines of World Health Assembly (WHA) held at Geneva in May 2012 and were to be carried forward by the Technical Group. The first BRICS Health Ministers Meeting was held at Beijing, China in July, 2011 where the Beijing Declaration was adopted. It emphasized the importance and the need of technology transfer as a means to empower developing countries; the important role of generic medicines in the realization of the right to health and to establish priorities in research and development as well as cooperation among BRICS countries including support to transfer of technologies and innovation in a sustainable way to foster cooperation among BRICS countries to make available and improve technology. The 2nd BRICS Health Ministers Meetings was held in New Delhi in January 2013, joint action plans were agreed upon for the thematic areas and a joint Delhi Communiqué was released.
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• Tajikistan’s President Imomali Rakhmon has won re-election by a landslide on 6 November, extending his 20-year-long rule by another seven years. Rakhmon received 83.1 per cent of the votes, the Central Election Commission announced. Several opposition parties, including the popular Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, boycotted the election, accusing the government of campaign violations and intimidation. Rakhmon has ruled Tajikistan since 1992 and is credited with winning a five-year civil war against Islamic militants relying on Russia’s support. Rakhmon’s new presidential term must be his last under the Constitution, which has been changed twice to enable him to prolong his stay in power. Tajikistan is one of the poorest states in the former Soviet Union, with more than one million Tajiks earning a living in Russia. India helped Tajikistan refurbish an air base at Ayni in the past decade in the hope of securing a bridgehead in the strategically located region.
• One of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall devastated the central Philippines on 8 November, killing more than 1,000 people in Tacloban cityalone and 200 in another province, the Red Cross estimated on 9 November, as reports of high casualties began to emerge. A day after Typhoon Haiyan churned through the Philippine archipelago in a straight line from east to west, rescue teams struggled to reach far-flung regions, hampered by washed out roads, many choked with debris and fallen trees. The death toll is expected to rise sharply from the fast-moving storm, whose circumference eclipsed the whole country. Among the hardest hit was coastal Tacloban in central Leyte province, where preliminary estimates suggest more than 1,000 people were killed.
• Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held its 13th Council of Ministers meeting in Perth, Australia on 1 November 2013. On the occasion, India handed over the chair of the IORA to Australia. India chaired the IORA, since 2011. The Perth reviewed the process made by IORA since 2012 meeting in Gurgaon, India. The future directions and initiatives to advance were considered then for the interests of the IORA and its members. The thirteenth Council of Ministers' Meeting was attended by the member states Foreign Ministers namely Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The meet reiterated that IORA is the apex pan-regional organisation for the Indian Ocean and recalled the six priority areas of cooperation agreed at the eleventh COMM (Council of Ministers' Meeting) in Bengaluru, namely: Maritime Safety and Security; Trade and Investment Facilitation; Fisheries Management; Disaster Risk Management; Academic and Science and Technology Cooperation; and Tourism and Cultural Exchanges. It is committed to promote cooperation and collaboration between IORA and other Indian Ocean regional stakeholders including Dialogue Partner States and other regional and international forums. Recognising that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources and plays a vital role in maintaining peaceful cooperation and stability across the Indian Ocean. The IOR-ARC was formally launched at the first Ministerial Meeting in Mauritius on 6 – 7 March 1997. This meeting adopted the IOR-ARC Charter, and determined a number of administrative and procedural matters. IORA was formerly known as IOR-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation).
• European Union (EU) member states could cut their plastic bag use by 80 per cent, the European commission (EC) has said on 6 November, by charging for bags or even banning them. Plastic bags are a major cause of seaborne pollution, which is a serious hazard for marine life, and some regions have already moved to cut their use through charging. The UK Deputy-Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pledged to bring forward charges in England that will affect single-use bags given out by supermarkets. Bag use was cut dramatically by the Republic of Ireland after charges were introduced, a similar charge has recently come into force in Northern Ireland, and supermarkets in Wales reported a drop in use of up to 96 per cent after a charging scheme was brought in two years ago. Scotland is bringing in a 5p charge next year. 
• The EC is proposing a new directive that would require member states to choose between three methods of reducing the waste from bags: charges, national reduction targets, or an outright ban. Janez Potocnik, environment commissioner for the EU, said: “We’re taking action to solve a very serious and highly visible environmental problems. Every year, more than eight billion plastic bags end up as litter in Europe, causing enormous environmental damage. Some member states have already achieved great results in reducing their use of plastic bags. Critics said the EC’s proposals did not go far enough and allowed member states too much leeway by allowing them to set their own targets rather than EU-wide goals or clear measures that would cut bag use. When plastic bags, or pieces of them, find their way into the seas, they are a major hazard to marine life. A whale found dead on the southern Spanish coast was found to have swallowed 17 kg of plastic waste, including plastic bags. Fish, seabirds and mammals can all ingest plastic, which they cannot digest and which can clog up their guts or cause choking. The first moves to legislation at an EU level were made in 2011, and the new announcement is likely to take at least two years to put into practice. According to the most recent estimates, from 2008, the EU produces 3.4 million tones of plastic bags in a year.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged US $220 million for development projects in Afghanistan, officials in the ministry of finance of Afghanistan said on 9 November. Afghan finance minister, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal said the amount will be spent for the construction Dara-e-Suf and Yakawlang highway.The agreement for the provision of funds was signed between the ADB and Afghan Finance Ministry on 9 November. Zakhilwal said Dara-e-Suf and Yakawlang highway is having a length of 178 kilometers. He said the funds will also be used for the preliminary works of Gardan Dewar-Cheghcharan highway and the other rings of the country. Lack of highways and ring roads to interlink the main cities and provinces of Afghanistan has been one of the main challenges for the Afghan traders. The construction of the new highways and ring roads are expected to reduce the issues of local traders and residents in the central provinces of Afghanistan.