INTERNATIONAL NOVEMBER 2014
- Afghan-U.S. bilateral pact approved
Afghanistan’s lower house of Parliament on 23rd November approved agreements that will allow about 12,500 NATO-led troops to stay on next year as the national army and police struggle to hold back the Taliban. U.S.-led NATO combat operations will finish at the end of this year, but the Taliban have launched a series of recent offensives that have severely tested Afghan soldiers and police.
The new NATO mission — named Resolute Support — will focus on supporting the Afghan forces, in parallel with U.S. counter-terrorism operations. The Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States, and a similar pact with NATO, were the source of huge friction between the Afghan government and its allies under previous president Hamid Karzai. The new order also allows air support — from U.S. jets, bombers and drones — for Afghan combat missions. - Israel as a ‘Jewish state’
Ministers voted on 23rd November in favour of a controversial proposal to anchor in law Israel’s status as the national homeland of the Jewish people. The proposal would mean Israel would no longer be defined in its Basic Laws as “Jewish and democratic” but instead as “the national homeland of the Jewish people.” - China builds hydroelectric dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet
China has announced that it has completed a major hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra, called Yarlung Zangbo, in Tibet. The dam is bound to enhance fears in India and Bangladesh about flash floods and related risks like landslides involving lives of millions of people downstream.
India has repeatedly expressed concern about the dangers of damming the Brahmaputra, one of the strongest Himalayan Rivers, in upstream areas in Tibet. China has routinely responded saying its plans were restricted to run-off-the-river dams focused on generating electricity, which posed little danger.
Announcing that Tibet's largest hydropower station had become partly operational on 23rd November, China said it would be useful in "harnessing the rich water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo River to empower the development of the electricity-strapped region".
The first section of the $1.5 billion Zangmu Hydropower Station, which is over 3,300m above sea level on the "roof of the world", went into operation on 23rd November. Five other sections are due for completion no later than next year, it said.
The Chinese government described it as a "huge project, which straddles the middle reaches of the roaring Yarlung Zangbo River, (which) will have power capacity of 510,000kW after its four-year construction." The official media said the project is designed to generate 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
Zangmu is one of the five projects planned on the Brahmaputra to generate a total of 2,000MW of hydro power. Environmentalists opposed to the project have asked why China wants to unsettle fragile ecology in the Tibetan region which is little need for additional electricity because of low industrialization. - Iran N-Deadline extended
International powers and Iran extended talks on a comprehensive deal over Iran's nuclear program, with new deadlines reaching into next year. More than a year of intensive talks and the direct involvement of seven foreign ministers for the last several days failed to settle differences over how much nuclear enrichment capability Iran will be allowed to have, and how quickly economic sanctions will be lifted.
The goal is to ensure Iran cannot quickly produce a nuclear weapon, if its leaders decide to do so, and to have inspectors in place to detect any such move. The P5+1 talks include representatives from Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
Negotiators now aim to complete the outlines of an accord by March, with technical experts working out the details by June 30. It’s a long, and for many, disappointing extension of a process that has already gone on for more than a year.
The international community has been trying to convince Iran to open and curtail its nuclear program for 12 years.
Reasons for crisis:
The world powers suspect Iran has not been honest about its nuclear programme and is seeking the ability to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says it has the right to nuclear energy - and stresses that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
Iran's nuclear programme became public in 2002, when an opposition group revealed secret activity including construction of a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a heavy-water reactor at Arak. Enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons, and spent fuel from a heavy-water reactor contains plutonium suitable for a bomb.
The Iranian government subsequently agreed to inspections by the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But the IAEA was unable to confirm Iran's assertions that its nuclear programme was exclusively for peaceful purposes and that it had not sought to develop nuclear weapons.
This led the US and its European allies to press Iran to stop enriching uranium, which can be used for civilian purposes but also - if the concentration of the active uranium-235 isotope is 90% or above - to build nuclear bombs.
However, the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 halted any progress in talks, and the IAEA referred Iran to the UN Security Council for failing to comply with its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement. Since then, the Security Council has adopted six resolutions requiring Iran to stop enriching uranium, some imposing sanctions. In 2012, the US and EU began imposing additional sanctions on Iranian oil exports and banks, crippling Iran's economy.
Despite that, Iran continued to enrich uranium. In 2009, it disclosed the existence of a new underground facility at Fordo. There have been multiple rounds of negotiations between Iran and the so-called P5+1, which comprises the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, UK, France, China, Russia - and Germany.
For years they failed to make headway. But the mood changed after the election of Hassan Rouhani as president in June 2013. Five months later, following secret bilateral talks between the US and Iran, negotiators agreed an interim deal.
Under the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), which came into force in January 2014, Iran effectively agreed to freeze its production of enriched uranium above 5% purity and committed to dilute or convert into oxide form its stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium. Iran said it would not install any new uranium centrifuges or build new enrichment facilities. Iran also agreed not to commission or fuel the reactor at Arak, and not to construct a fuel reprocessing facility there.
While most of the international sanctions regime - including measures targeting Iran's key oil, banking and financial sectors - was kept in place, the P5+1 agreed to permit Iran to repatriate about $4.2bn (£2.6bn) in revenue from oil sales locked in foreign accounts. Sales of petrochemicals and trading in gold and other precious metals were allowed to resume, along with transactions with foreign firms involved in the Iranian car industry. That was expected to generate about $1.5bn in revenue. Iran was also given access to about $400m of cash to pay for tuition for Iranians studying abroad, spare parts for civilian aircraft, and for humanitarian purchases of food and medicine.
Diplomats warned from the start of the negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear accord that they would be complex and that significant gaps remained between Iran and the P5+1. Both sides said the six rounds of talks between January and July 2014 had produced significant progress, including redesigning the Arak reactor to substantially reduce the amount of plutonium it will produce. But they also accused each other of making some unrealistic demands, primarily on the issue of uranium enrichment.
Iran is reportedly offering to freeze the current number of operating centrifuges for three to seven years. After that, it argues, there must be sufficient enrichment capacity to produce fuel for the Bushehr power plant when the reactor's fuel supply agreement with Russia expires in 2021. In return for higher enrichment capacity and being permitted to continue research and development, Iran says it would accept more intrusive inspections by the IAEA.
The P5+1 want a sharp reduction of Iran's current enrichment capacity. It says Iran has no compelling need to produce large amounts of fuel because Russia is prepared to supply Bushehr's reactor for its lifetime. The P5+1 also want to limit Iran's R&D activities, which could enhance centrifuge efficiency. It believes the restrictions should remain in place for at least two decades and be backed-up by extensive monitoring. Domestic political constraints are said to be limiting the chance of compromise on enrichment. - United Nations moves to strengthen digital privacy
The United Nations on 25th November adopted a resolution on protecting digital privacy that for the first time urges governments to offer redress to citizens targeted by mass surveillance. The resolution presented by Germany and Brazil builds on a landmark text presented last year in the wake of revelations by Edward Snowden of widespread surveillance by the U.S. and British governments. The resolution was adopted by consensus by the committee and now goes before the full Assembly in December. It followed weeks of tough negotiations with Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S. — members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance — who sought to limit the resolution’s scope. The five countries are not among the 65 co-sponsors of the bill. While the resolution is not binding, it carries political weight and helps shape the debate on online privacy as a human right. The resolution calls on all governments to adopt national legislation that will ensure their citizens’ right to privacy online is protected. The resolution urges the Human Rights Council to follow up with action such as naming an envoy for digital privacy that would ensure the issue remains on the international agenda. - China opens arms industry to private sector
China has opened its arms industry to private sector. The aim is optimize its hefty USD132 billion defense budget and modernize the army. The official PLA Daily reported that the move indicates that the military is moving away from a monopoly of state-owned defense contractors in training logistics and lowering the eligibility threshold for military procurement.
117 defense industry companies and private enterprises have submitted proposals covering 106 of the 108 procurements. The new policy to open up to the private sector through competitive and transparent bidding came in the backdrop of major anti-corruption campaign in which some of the top Generals are being investigated - WTO clinches first global trade
The World Trade Organization adopted the first worldwide trade reform in its history on 27th November, after years of stalemate, months of deadlock and a final days delay following an eleventh-hour objection. The agreement means the WTO will introduce new standards for customs checks and border procedures. Proponents say streamlining the flow of trade will add as much as $1 trillion and 21 million jobs to the world economy. However, WTO members needed to find a way to speed up negotiations in the future.- Still, the agreement is just a fraction of the original Doha Round of trade talks begun in 2001, which eventually proved impossible to agree on.
- The WTO cut back its ambitions and aimed for a much smaller deal. Even that was blocked by a four-month standoff caused by India, which had vetoed adoption of the reform package as the original deadline passed at midnight on July 31.
- India demanded more attention be given to its plans to stockpile subsidised food, in breach of the WTO's usual rules. A compromise on wording reached by the U.S. and Indian governments broke the deadlock.
- The reform package adopted was agreed at a WTO meeting in Bali in December last year. Its passage is widely seen as opening up progress towards further global negotiations, the content of which is due be laid down by July 2015.
- That should reassure smaller nations in the WTO.
- European Parliament votes for Google break-up
The European Parliament is gunning for Google. In a completely unenforceable symbolic gesture on 27th November, it voted to “unbundle search engines from commercial services” (which would, in effect mean the breakup of Google).
The so-called "Resolution on the Digital Single Market" – proposed by German MEP Andreas Schwab and his Spanish colleague Ramon Tremosa – doesn’t mention Google by name, but is clearly targeted at the search giant. It passed by 458 to 173 with 23 abstentions. - India made EVM’s in Namibia elections
Namibia on 28th November became the first African country in Africa to go to presidential and legislative polls using EVMs made in India. Opposition parties had challenged the electronic voting machines (EVMs), voicing concerns that lack of a paper trail could encourage vote rigging. But the case was dismissed by the country's high court. - Egypt court acquits Mubarak of murder
A court in Egypt has dropped charges against former President Hosni Mubarak over the killing of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising against him. Charges against seven senior ex-officials were also dropped. The decision could be appealed.
Mubarak, his former Interior Minister, Habib al-Adly, and six others had been convicted of conspiracy to kill and were sentenced to life in prison in June 2012, but a retrial was ordered last year on a technicality. In all, some 800 people are thought to have been killed as security forces battled protesters in the weeks before Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011.
However, the court documents at the retrial related to the deaths of 239 people and injuries sustained by 1,588, across 11 of the country's regions. As well as the murder charge, Mubarak was also cleared of a corruption charge involving gas exports to Israel. His sons Gamal and Alaa were also cleared of separate corruption charges by the same court
About Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for almost 30 years until he was swept from power in a wave of mass protests in February 2011. Few expected that the little-known vice-president who was elevated to the presidency in the wake of Anwar Sadat's 1981 assassination would hold on to the country's top job for so long. Sadat was assassinated by Islamist militants at a military parade in Cairo, and Mubarak was lucky to escape the shots as he sat next to him.
Since then, he has survived at least six assassination attempts - the narrowest escape shortly after his arrival in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in 1995 to attend an African summit, when his limousine came under attack. - Modi’s proposal endorsed on black money
Leaders of G-20 have taken a few decisions in the G-20 summit held in Australia. They agreed on 16th November to boost flagging global growth, tackle climate change and crack down on tax avoidance but ties between the West and Russia plummeted to a new low over the crisis in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin left the G20 summit in Brisbane early as US President Barack Obama accused Russia of invading Ukraine and Britain warned of a possible “frozen conflict” in Europe. Security and climate change overshadowed G20 talks on boosting global economic growth at the summit, although the leaders did sign off on a package of measures to add an extra 2.1 percentage points to global growth over five years.
The US and other nations overrode host Australia’s attempts to keep climate change off the formal agenda. Australia is one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters per capita.
The final communiqué called for strong and effective action to address climate change with the aim of adopting a protocol, with legal force, at a UN climate conference in Paris in 2015.
Decisions on black money:
In a major gain for India, the G20 summit endorsed the need for transparency and disclosure of tax information by countries. Raising the pitch on the issue, Modi, in his intervention at the G20 summit, called for close global coordination to address the challenges posed by tax avoidance.
He voiced his support for the new global standard on automatic exchange of information to tackle the black money menace. The new standard will be instrumental in getting information relating to unaccounted money hoarded abroad and enable its eventual repatriation, Modi said, utilising the multi-lateral forum. The G20 countries account for 85 per cent of the world’s GDP.
China to host G-20 in 2016: China will host world leaders for the G20 summit in 2016, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on 16th November at the conclusion of two days of talks in Brisbane. Turkey takes over the presidency from Australia and will host the event in Antalya next year, but in a communique the group of the world's biggest economies said China would be home to the G20 in 2016. - 35.8 million Slaves: Walk Free Foundation
According to Walk Free Foundation, almost 36 million people are living as slaves across the globe. The report released on 17th November, which says that, Mauritania, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Qatar and India as the nations where modern-day slavery is most prevalent.
The Walk Free Foundation, an Australian-based human rights group, estimated in its inaugural slavery index last year that 29.8 million people were born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, trapped in debt bondage or exploited for forced labour.
Releasing its second annual index, Walk Free increased its estimate of the number of slaves to 35.8 million, saying this was due to better data collection and slavery being uncovered in areas where it had not been found previously.
For the second year, the index of 167 countries found India had by far the greatest number of slaves. Up to 14.3 million people in its population of 1.25 billion were victims of slavery, ranging from prostitution to bonded labour.
Mauritania was again the country where slavery was most prevalent by head of population while Qatar, rose up the rank from 96th place to be listed as the fourth worst country by percentage of the population.
The index defines slavery as the control or possession of people in such a way as to deprive them of their freedom with the intention of exploiting them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception. The definition includes indentured servitude, forced marriage and the abduction of children to serve in wars. For the first time, the index rated governments on their response to slavery. It found the Netherlands, followed by Sweden, the United States and Australia as some of the countries that had the strongest response. At the opposite end of the scale, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Eritrea had the worst responses. - Deforestation surged in Brazil
Deforestation in Brazil's storied Amazon basin region skyrocketed more than 450 percent in October from a year earlier, a non-governmental group warned on 17th November. The alarming loss was the equivalent of 24,000 football pitches, said Imazon, which works to support sustainable development in the massive and unique ecosystem.
The group's Deforestation Alert System found that clear cutting in Brazil's nine Amazon basin states hit 244 square kilometers (94 square miles) for October. In October 2013 the damage was just 43 square kilometers. About 60 percent of deforestation took place on privately owned land or land that is occupied by squatter-farmers, the group said.
Reducing the loss of tree cover in the Amazon basin is seen as vital to addressing global warming and climate change. Brazilian authorities are stepping up surveillance to crack down on deforestation, using satellite images. The news comes as Peru readies to welcome the annual UN climate meeting December 1-12, and after Brazil reduced its deforestation in 2011-2012. The data are not yet available for 2013-2014. - Russia pact with China and Pakistan
China and Russia are reinforcing their military ties to counter the United States. Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a visit to the Chinese capital, minced no words in his assertion that China and Russia have “expressed concern about the U.S. attempts to strengthen its military and political influence in the Asia-Pacific region”.
Under the framework of its “Asia Pivot,” USA is strengthening its military presence along China’s periphery through fresh deployments chiefly in Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines. Russia and China will hold joint military exercises in the Pacific Ocean next year, closer to the Chinese mainland and in the Mediterranean Sea, Mr. Shoigu said.
Both countries, emerging as the core defenders of Eurasia, are acutely concerned about the escalating threat of terrorism radiating from Afghanistan, which is likely to experience a military power vacuum following the bulk troop withdrawal of NATO forces from Kabul.
Beijing and Moscow see counter-terrorism cooperation by the SCO countries, which include Central Asia, as part of the solution. Russia on 19th November also came out in stout defence of China in its handling of the situation in Hong Kong.
Pact with Pakistan: Pakistan and Russia on 20th November signed an agreement to increase defense and military cooperation. This was first visit by any Russian defense minister to Pakistan
The official statement said the Russian defense minister’s visit, which comes will, apart from promoting bilateral defense relations, enable both countries to join hands in bringing peace and stability to the region. Gen Shoygu was accompanied by a 41-member high level delegation and was received by Secretary Defense Lt-Gen (retd) Muhammad Alam Khattak and Secretary Defense Production Lt-Gen (retd) Tanvir Tahir.
According to the defense ministry, both Pakistan and Russia stressed on continuing the momentum gained during the Moscow Conference and expressed satisfaction over the convergence of views on most international and trans-regional issues.
Both sides expressed hope that the agreement would pave the way for the exchange of views and information on politico-military issues as well as issues related to strengthening of mutual trust and international security. - Obama relaxed immigration rules
U.S. President Barack Obama has announced, a new immigration rules. These rules help the right to work legally in USA, to nearly four million undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, and undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country before the age of 16.
Among the four million immigrants who stand to gain from this policy action will be a number undocumented Indian citizens in the U.S., whose total population the Department of Homeland Security estimates to be 250,000.
Among the broad areas of policy change that the executive action would bring about are three main themes, namely more resources for policing the U.S.’ borders to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants; the deferred deportation of certain immigrants; and a more streamlined process for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to the U.S. economy.
The last of these is likely to have a significant impact on Indian graduates in the U.S., principally in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, especially given that, according to a White House ‘fact sheet,’ the President’s action will strengthen and extend the use of the existing Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme for STEM graduates of U.S universities. Further, the White House noted, the President’s action would provide portable work authorization for high-skilled workers awaiting their permanent residence, or green cards, and their spouses.
At present, employees with approved green card applications often wait many years for their visa to become available, and the Department of Homeland Security will make “regulatory changes to allow these workers to move or change jobs more easily new rules to give certain H-1B spouses employment authorization as long as the H-1B spouse has an approved [green card] application.”
Obama invited: US President Obama had ‘in principle’ accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations next year the invitation during the latter’s visit to Washington in September. - High level talks between US and Iran
The United States and Iran began high-level talks in Oman on 9th November ahead of a looming deadline for a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides under pressure at home. US Secretary of State John Kerry started a meeting with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to try to close substantial gaps before November 24, when an interim agreement is meant to be turned into a comprehensive long-term settlement.
The meeting follows the revelation that US President Barack Obama reportedly wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to push for a deal, arguing the Islamic republic and the West have shared regional interests.
The apparent reference to the fight against Islamic State group militants in Syria and Iraq, however, was played down by Kerry in Beijing on 8th November, with the US diplomat saying “there is no linkage whatsoever” with the nuclear talks.
Despite the approaching deadline, Iran and the P5+1 group- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany – are far apart on what capabilities Iran’s nuclear programme should have. The West has as yet been unconvinced by Iran’s denials that it has never sought a nuclear weapon, while Tehran insists its atomic activities are for peaceful, civilian energy purposes only. A deal, for the West, aims to put a bomb forever beyond Iran’s reach. - China-Japan meeting on the side lines of APEC
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC)-their ice-breaking dialogue confirming a thaw in ties, which at one time threatened to spin dangerously out of control.
Talks between the two leaders skirted China’s earlier insistence that the Japanese premier must stop visiting the Yasukini shrine. The shrine honors the Japanese war-dead, including “souls” of 14 Class A war criminals, and Mr. Abe’s visits have been seen in China as moves re-legitimize Tokyo’s militaristic past. While there was no direct reference to Yasukuni visits, Japanese officials were quoted as saying that the Chinese President told Mr. Abe that Tokyo “must look at history squarely and move towards the future”.
For several decades, Japan and China had kept a lid on their dispute, but tensions spiraled once Japan changed the status quo by purchasing three of these islands, in 2012, from their private Japanese owners. - Russia signs another mega-gas deal with China
Russia and China just agreed to a second major gas deal, worth slightly less than the $400 billion agreement reached earlier this year, according to Bloomberg.
The details of the deal mean Russia will supply China with another 30 billion cubic metres of gas every year for the next three decades through the Altai pipeline, a proposed pipe transporting the gas from western Siberia to China. - G20 proposes buffer to end too big to fail banks
The world's biggest banks should hold a buffer of bonds in case of a collapse so that government bailouts are avoided, a global regulatory body proposed on 10th November.
The draft rule is the last major piece of banking reform put forward by world leaders since the 2007-09 financial crisis forced taxpayers to shore up undercapitalized lenders. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), made up of regulators from the Group of 20 economies (G20), said global banks like Goldman Sachs and HSBC should have a buffer of bonds or equity equivalent to 16 to 20 per cent of their risk-weighted assets from January 2019. The bonds would be converted to equity to "bail in" a stricken bank. The total buffer would include the minimum mandatory core capital requirements banks must already hold. The proposal is set to be endorsed by G2O leaders later this week in Australia. It is being put out to public consultation until February 2, 2015.
The new rule will apply to 30 banks the FSB has deemed to be globally systemically important, though initially those from emerging markets would be exempt.
To avoid banks downplaying the riskiness of their assets to meet the new rule, the buffer, formally known as total loss absorbing capacity or TLAC, must also be at least twice their leverage ratio, a separate measure of capital to total assets regardless of the level of risk.
The plans envisage that global banks like Goldman Sachs and HSBC should have a buffer of bonds or equity equivalent to at least 16 to 20 per cent of their risk-weighted assets, such as loans, from January 2019.
These bonds would be converted to equity to help shore up a stricken bank. The banks' total buffer would include the minimum mandatory core capital requirements banks must already hold to bolster their defenses against future crises. The new rule will apply to 30 banks the regulators have deemed to be globally "systemically important," though initially three from China on that list of 30 would be exempt. - TPP in the lines of China mode
The members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members have agreed to initiate the formation of a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific — a vision steered by China, which competes with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative of the United States.
Summit host Chinese President Xi Jinping said on 11th November the business community wanted the FTAAP, which is expected to include Russia, Beijing’s geostrategic partner.
Aware of the concerns over its rise, China has been emphatic in stating that its growing economic heft is a win-win situation that would reinvigorate the flagging global economy.
His point has been reinforced by a study conducted by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) that says the FTAAP will add an estimated $2.4 trillion to the global economy. In comparison, the TPP is estimated to contribute $223 billion. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — a grouping led by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to pitch in with $644 billion.
During the summit, China emerged as the leading advocate for developing new trade routes that radiate from the country by pledging to pump billions of dollars for infrastructure projects that would open up new centres of growth. It is also leading efforts to form the $50-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which could compete for projects with the World Bank.
China has been the chief advocate for reviving the ancient Silk Road as a trade corridor that would link Asia with Europe, as well as the 21st century Maritime Silk Road for global trade along sections of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. - EU nations could get power to block GMO crops
A European Parliament committee took the first step on 11th November towards permitting EU member states to decide for them whether to allow the controversial cultivation of Genetically Modified crops (GMOs).
For want of a better solution, EU leaders thrashed out a compromise in June to hand the final decision back to national governments, even if a GMO product had been approved at EU level, and on 11th November the Parliament’s environment committee approved the new rules by 53 votes to 11. The committee dropped the recommendation that GMO companies be allowed to negotiate directly with member states for approval. - China’s road map approved
Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in China have agreed to move towards a new free trade zone strongly backed by Beijing. The Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) is seen by some as a rival to a US trade pact, which excludes China. The APEC summit near Beijing agreed to launch a study into the FTAAP. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who earlier urged Asia-Pacific nations to accelerate economic ties, described the endorsement of the pact as a "historic" decision.
The US is currently negotiating a separate Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is considered part of Washington's "pivot" towards Asia - ensuring continued US influence in the region in response to growing Chinese power. The TPP involves 12 countries, but not China or Russia.Mr Obama has rejected suggestions by Chinese commentators that the TPP is a way of countering Chinese influence.
In its final communiqué, Apec - the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum - said the study into the establishment of the FTAAP would last two years
Rival pacts
Trans-Pacific Partnership- 12 Pacific Rim countries
- Backed by US, includes Japan, excludes China and Russia
- Could account for more than a third of world economic output
- Longer-term project, first proposed in 2004
- Backed by China, includes major economies
- China says would provide greater economic boost than TPP
APEC first formally started discussing the concept of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific at its summit in 2006 in Hanoi. However, the proposal for such an area has been around since at least 1966 and Japanese economist Kiyoshi Kojima's proposal for a Pacific Free Trade agreement proposal. While it gained little traction, the idea led to the formation of Pacific Trade and Development Conference and then the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1980 and then APEC in 1989.
In the wake of the 2006 summit, economist C. Fred Bergsten advocated a Free Trade Agreement of Asia-Pacific, including the United States amongst the proposed parties to any agreement at that time. His ideas convinced the APEC Business Advisory Council to support this concept. Relatedly, ASEAN and existing free trade agreement (FTA) partners are negotiating as China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), not officially including Russia. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without China or Russia involved has become the US-promoted trade negotiation in the region. With the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014, the two-three plans are all in discussion. President Obama hosted a TPP meeting at the US Embassy in Beijing in advance of the APEC gathering.
The proposal for a FTAAP arose due to the lack of progress in the Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations, and as a way to overcome the "noodle bowl" effect created by overlapping and conflicting elements of the copious free trade agreements — there were approximately 60 free trade agreements in 2007, with an additional 117 in the process of negotiation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2012, ASEAN+6 countries alone had 339 free trade agreements - many of which were bilateral.
The FTAAP is more ambitious in scope than the Doha round, which limits itself to reducing trade restrictions. The FTAAP would create a free trade zone that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region. The economic expansion and growth in trade could exceed the expectations of other regional free trade areas such as the ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN + China, Japan, and South Korea). Some criticisms include that the diversion of trade within APEC members would create trade imbalances, market conflicts and complications with nations of other regions. The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years, involving essential studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies. It is also affected by the absence of political will and popular agitations and lobbying against free trade in domestic politic
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; to fears that highly industrialized Japan (a member of G8) would come to dominate economic activity in the Asia-Pacific region - China-U.S. deal on emission cuts
China and the United States have agreed on a timetable to limit emission of greenhouse gases. The breakthrough was achieved during talks between visiting U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, ending a 20-year discord between the world’s two leading economies on how to combat climate change. In a joint announcement on 12th November, the U.S. agreed to reduce by 2025 its emission of greenhouse gases by 26 per cent to 28 per cent below its 2005 level.
China stated its intent to peak emissions of carbon dioxide in 2030, if not earlier. It also agreed to raise the share of non-fossil fuels to 20 per cent, in its primary energy mix, in the next 16 years. This would entail China shifting towards clean energy generated by nuclear, wind, solar and such zero-emitting resources.
Three years ago, leaders from 200 countries had agreed to finalise an agreement in Paris, which would replace the Kyoto protocol — the only legally binding treaty on cutting emissions, signed in 1997.The joint announcement could impose fresh pressure on India not to become a deal breaker in the run up to the Paris talks. India’s per capita emissions are estimated at one-tenth of the United States and one-fourth of China, but, without a significant shift towards non-fossil fuels, its carbon footprint could rise substantially between 2020-2040 out of sync with global expectations. - China offered loans to south East Asian nations
China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang proposed a friendship treaty with Southeast Asian countries and offered $20 billion in loans on 13th November but held firm on the line that Beijing will only settle South China Sea disputes directly with other claimants.
China, Taiwan and four members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have competing claims in the sea where concern is growing of an escalation in disputes.
The treaty is seen as an attempt by China to dispel any notion it is a threat and Li said China was willing to make pacts with more countries on good-neighborliness and friendship. Li also offered ASEAN countries $20 billion in preferential and special loans to develop infrastructure, an attractive proposition for a region struggling to fund the roads, ports and railways needed for growth.
Still, he reiterated China's resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and its position that maritime disputes should be settled bilaterally rather than collectively or through arbitration.
The Philippines, one of the ASEAN claimants, has irked China by seeking international arbitration over China's claims to about 90 percent of the South China Sea.
ASEAN leaders hoped to persuade their giant neighbor to take a less bellicose approach to the overlapping claims when they met Li behind closed doors on 13th November. But despite the backroom talk, ASEAN as a group has been reluctant to antagonize China. The Philippines and Vietnam have sought closer U.S. ties to counter what they see as China's aggression. In May, China sent an oil drilling rig to waters claimed by Vietnam, sparking deadly anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam. U.S. President Barack Obama, also in Naypyitaw for the East Asian summit, held his first formal meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dong on 13th November. On Oct. 2, the United States decided to start easing a nearly four-decade lethal arms embargo on Vietnam. - Global body for small tea growers
The Food and Agriculture Organisation has approved the setting up of a global body for small tea growers while calling for fixing consumption targets to promote the beverage. Members of the FAO, at the Committee on Commodity Problems’ 21st session of Inter-Governmental Group on Tea, also agreed to harmonise the maximum residue levels (MRL) of pesticides for exports. The group decided to conduct a detailed study on the impact of MRLs on tea trade.
Urging for a link between small holders and Government, global bodies and consumers, the FAO said establishing a confederation such as International Tea Smallholder Society may be beneficial for some countries to cooperate. FAO has also decided to try out the possibility of breeding special tea hybrids to cope up with climate change. - 130 countries support to Indian proposal
130 countries have joined as co-sponsors to an India led U.N. general Assembly resolution to declare a special day for Yoga. The draft resolution for an ‘International Day of Yoga’ was prepared by India and informal consultations were convened last month by the Indian mission in the U.N. General Assembly where views on the topic were expressed by other delegations.
The draft resolution, known as the ‘L Document,’ was finalized with 130 countries co-sponsoring it, an all-time record for a resolution of such kind. The draft resolution, expected to come up for adoption in the General Assembly on December 10, would recognize that. The resolution would also proclaim June 21 as the ‘International Day of Yoga’. - G20 summit opened in Australia
Australia's prime minister vowed that world leaders would deliver on an initiative to add $2 trillion to global GDP, promising freer trade and more investment in infrastructure as heads of the 20 largest economies began cementing plans to drag sagging growth out of the doldrums.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has repeatedly promised this year's Group of 20 gathering in the Australian city of Brisbane would be more than a talkfest, said the growth plans would add millions of jobs and boost global GDP by ''more than 2%'' above expected levels over the next five years.
G20 nations, which represent 85% of the global economy, are under pressure to take definitive action at this year's summit, rather than simply producing a set of vague, immeasurable goals. The International Monetary Fund has warned about a ''new mediocre'' for the world economy, putting renewed focus on the G-20's growth initiative.
Each country is expected to present a comprehensive plan at the summit on how they will achieve their contribution toward the $2 trillion goal, but whether the communique that will be issued at the conclusion of the gathering on 16th November will reveal any of those details is unclear. World GDP this year is about $77 trillion.
Modi talked on black money:Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for repatriation of black money by urging the G20 countries that close coordination is important not just for also addressing the challenge of black money but also security issues like terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
Addressing the G20 in session titled, "Delivering Global Economic Resilience", the Prime Minister said: "Close coordination is important not just for also addressing the challenge of black money but also security issues like terrorism, drug trafficking, arms smuggling
On reforms: Asserting that reform must be people-centric and people-driven, Prime Minister Narendra odi told leaders of the G20 at a Retreat that globally reforms are handicapped with perception of being government programmes and a burden on the people and this needs to change. Mr Modi felt that reforms should lead to simplification of processes and those governance methods must be reformed. Noting that reform is a continuous multi-stage process and that it must be institutionalised, the Prime Minister said it must be technology driven and must have scale and address root causes
US pledged $3bn for climate:Three days after entering into a joint climate deal with China to limit emission of greenhouse gases, the world's biggest polluter, the US, on 15th November pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) - a financial support mechanism aimed at assisting poor countries to a low carbon resilient future - making the corpus of the Fund to nearly $6 billion.
Though the amount is just a peanut as compared to the $100 billion a year promised by rich nations collectively to their poor counterparts from 2020 onwards, this is the largest signal pledge to date by any rich countries to the GCF. It may, therefore, be seen as a good beginning from the US side which had earlier been not so keen of its early capitalization.
The US pledge for the Fund was announced by the President Barack Obama at Queensland University in Brisbane, Australia where he is attending the G20 meeting.
The host country Australia and the world's present top carbon emitter China did not initially want the climate change agenda to figure at all during the G20 summit. India had, however, insisted for this agenda to come up during the august gathering of major economies.
The US announcement came just four days ahead of the pledging conference for the capitalization of the GCF in Berlin on November 19-20. The American pledge is seen as a step to inspire other rich nations to make similar pledge in Berlin.
The Fund, which was established in 2010, recently became operational with countries developing a set of ground rules for its operation. It is a key part of the $100 billion a year promised by rich countries to developing ones from 2020 onwards in support of their ambition to mitigate emissions and adapt to climatic impacts. Though the $6 billion, pledged so far, is much less than the intended amount, it may send a positive signal to the developing countries ahead of Lima conference next month.
India and other developing countries have long been demanding early capitalization of the GCF so that the money can be used to buy intellectual property rights (IPR) of the high-cost green technology for the poor nations. The other countries which have, so far, pledged to the GCF include Germany, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Mexico and the Republic of Korea. - Suicide attack at Wagah border
At least 55 people, including 11 women and three security personnel, were killed and nearly 200 injured when a suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb at Wagah in Pakistan on 2nd November 3, 2014.Al Qaeda affiliated militant group Jandullah, which was behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 78 Christians at a church in Peshawar in September 2013, claimed responsibility for the attack. But another militant faction Jamat-ul-Ahrar, which broke away from the main TTP leadership in September, rubbished the claim and said they were behind the blast.
Wagah is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Amritsar, Punjab, India, and Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The border is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Lahore and 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Amritsar.
Wagah, named Wahga in Pakistan, is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line, the boundary demarcation line dividing India and Pakistan upon the Partition of India, was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in the Republic of India while the western half is in Pakistan. It is particularly known for the elaborate Wagah border ceremony that happens at the border gate before 5PM each day - China’s laser to down drones
China has developed and successfully tested a highly accurate laser defense system against light drones. The homemade machine boasts a two-kilometer range and can down "various small aircraft" within five seconds of locating its target.
Boasting high speed, great precision and low noise, the system is aimed at destroying unmanned, small-scale drones flying under an altitude of 500 meters and at speeds below 50 meters per second, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by one of the developers, the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP). - Wallenda created two new records
Nik Wallenda successfully completed his controversial Chicago skywalk, breaking two world records and defying critics who claimed the stunt was too dangerous to perform without a harness. - Bill gates to give $500m to fight Malaria
US philanthropist Bill Gates on 3rd November announced he will donate over US$500 million to fight malaria and other infectious diseases in the developing world, saying the Ebola outbreak is a call to action. The Gates Foundation announced in September a US$50-million commitment to help scale up efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak.
The more than US$500 million announced Sunday includes over US$150 million to the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to advance development of next-generation malaria vaccines, and US$29 million to the Clinton Health Access Initiative to support malaria elimination efforts in Southern Africa and the Greater Mekong Sub-region of Southeast Asia. - World Trade Centre restarted
Thirteen years after the September 11 attacks, the first tenants moved their belongings into the newly built One World Trade Center, about 200 Conde Nast employees on 3rd November walked through the revolving doors of the building, America's tallest skyscraper - the first wave of 3,400 company staffers to occupy the 104-story gleaming tower in Lower Manhattan by February 2015. - Senate control to Republicans
The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency. The Republicans also increased their grip on the House of Representatives and now control both chambers of Congress for the first time since 2006.
Elections were held for the entire 435 House of Representatives seats, 36 of the 100 Senate seats and gubernatorial elections in 36 of the 50 American States. Republicans picked up seven seats, giving them 52 seats in the 100-member Senate and have the potential to win several more, while Democrats did not take a single Republican seat.
Few facts:- 100 Women elected to Congress - including Mia Love - first black Republican female
- 18 Age of Saira Blair, the youngest elected state legislator
- 30 Age of Elise Stefanik, youngest woman elected to US Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Both representatives and senators are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, and only rarely to a third-party or as independents. Congress has 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators. - Ebola surging in Sierra Leone
The number of Ebola cases is surging in Sierra Leone due to a lack of treatment centres, the United Nations said, while scarcity of food may also be forcing some people to leave quarantined areas, risking further spread of the virus.
The warning by the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) came as Sierra Leone's Deputy Minister of Health said Ebola had so badly damaged confidence in the West African country's health system that many people were dying from other diseases as the sick refused to come to clinics for treatment.
Some 4,818 people have died of Ebola, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and neighbouring Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on 5th November. But while the situation is improving in Liberia and stable in Guinea, two-thirds of the new cases recorded in the past three weeks have been in Sierra Leone. UNMEER said at present Sierra Leone had just four Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs) with a total capacity of 288 beds and these were treating 196 cases of the disease.
However, the U.N. mission said it suspects 50 percent of cases of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) were not being reported in Sierra Leone.
To control the outbreak, UNMEER estimated a total of 1,864 beds were needed by December but the 10 new treatment centres currently planned had a total capacity of just 1,133 beds.
UNMEER also reported a growing incidence of families leaving their quarantined homes due to a lack of food and non-food items, but did not provide further details. It said the World Food Programme (WFP) had distributed rations to 80 percent of quarantined household and communities in the hard-hit area of Waterloo, in the outskirts of Freetown.
About UNMEER
The first-ever UN emergency health mission, the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) is being set up in response to the unprecedented outbreak.The Mission will be temporary and will respond to immediate needs related to the fight against Ebola.
Rapid action: Under the strategic guidance of the SG's Special Envoy, David Nabarro, and the operational direction of the SG's Special Representative, Anthony Banbury, the mission will harness the capabilities and competencies of all the relevant United Nations actors under a unified operational structure to reinforce unity of purpose, effective ground-level leadership and operational direction, in order to ensure a rapid, effective, efficient and coherent response to the crisis.
In partnership: UNMEER will work closely with governments and national structures in the affected countries, regional and international actors, such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and with Member States, the private sector and civil society.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will be responsible for overall health strategy and advice within the Mission, while other UN agencies will act in their area of expertise under the overall leadership and direction of a single Head of Mission. The Mission will leverage the existing presence and expertise of UN country teams, international partners including NGOs on the ground to minimize gaps and ensure leadership. - Lithuania bans energy drinks to children
Lithuania on 1st November enacted a ban on selling energy drinks to anyone under 18; in what officials in the Baltic country claimed was a global first. Under the law which Parliament adopted in May, selling energy drinks to minors is now punishable by a fine of up to 400 litas ($146). - Hello kitty turns 40
Hello Kitty, Japan's global icon of cute marked her 40th anniversary on 1st November with a human-size version of the feline character regaling fans at an upscale Tokyo department store and a theme park. The moon-faced creation, which has spawned a multi-billion dollar industry, began her birthday by trying her hand as manager of the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza district.
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