INTERNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 2013

INTERNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 2013

• The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on 27th September, to require Syria to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons -- or face consequences."Today's resolution will ensure that the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program happens as soon as possible and with the utmost transparency and accountability," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. The U.N. resolution was based on a deal struck this month between the United States and Russia that averted an American military strike over allegations the Syrian government used sarin nerve gas in an August 21 attack on a Damascus suburb that U.S. officials said left at least 1,400 people dead. The resolution did not authorize the automatic use of force if Syria is said to be in violation, as was previously sought by the United States. The 15-member Security Council met shortly after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, voted to fast-track Syria's addition to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans such weapons. For nearly two years, the U.N. Security Council had been unable to reach a consensus over what to do to bring about an end to Syria's civil war. Russia and China repeatedly vetoed resolutions dating back to October 2011 that condemned President Bashar al-Assad's government and called for him to step down. The turnaround came this month, when Russia called for Syria to divest itself of its chemical weapons arsenal after U.S. President Barack Obama accused Syria of crossing a "red line" with the use of nerve gas and threatened a strike. Syria announced this month that it was willing to join the agreement. Both the United States and Russia warned that if Syria failed to adhere to the terms of the U.N. resolution, it would face consequences. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the world community was imposing a binding obligation on the government of al-Assad to get rid of its stockpile.The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have died since March 2011 when a brutal government crackdown against protesters devolved into an all-out civil war.
  
• Ministers from 113 countries at U.N have signed a declaration pledging new action to end sexual violence in conflict. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said it prohibits amnesties for sexual violence in peace agreements. It also pledges to adopt a new International Protocol in 2014 to help ensure that evidence collected can stand up in court. Mr. Hague, who co-hosted on 25th September’s meeting on the sidelines of U.N General Assembly, said Britain will be encouraging the 80 U.N. member states that haven’t signed the declaration to do so. He also announced that Britain will host a conference next year on sexual violence in conflict.
  
• Trailblazer Sri Srinivasan (46) was on 27th September, sworn in judge of the second most powerful court of the U.S., making him the first Indian American to be on the bench of the US Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit.Chandigarh-born Srinivasan, whose parents migrated to the United States in 1970s, was sworn in the oath of office in an overflowing court room of US Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in the presence of legal luminaries, friends and families. Mr. Srinivasan was previously the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He is a highly-respected appellate advocate.
  
• Megan Young of Philippines on 28 September 2013 was crowned Miss World 2013 at the Bali Nasa Dua Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia. Miss France, Marine Lorphelin finished as the first runner-up, Miss Ghana Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter was the second runner up. Megan Young won the competition after beating 130 contestants across the globe. She is 23 years old. She is a student of filmmaking. Megan was born in US and she moved to the Philippines, when she was 10. Megan wants to become a director after gaining experience and finishing her qualifications.India's Navneet Kaur Dhillon finished among the top 20 finalists but couldn’t reach final ten. She won the title of Miss Multimedia.
  
• China’s third richest man, Wang Jianlin, announced on 22nd September, that his company Dalian Wanda Group was to embark on the construction of a giant film studio in Quingdao, on the country’s eastern coast. Representing an investment of 50 billion Yuan (£5.1 billion), Mr. Wang claimed it as the most expensive studio project ever. Named the Oriental Movie Metropolis, the facility will contain 20 sound stages, including the world’s first underwater studio, a convention and exhibition complex, a shopping mall and amusement park, and seven hotels. It will not, apparently, be a contender for the title of world’s largest: that appears to still reside with the 47-stage Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India, as certified by Guinness World Records. At a ceremony to announce the project, Mr. Wang said: “The Oriental Movie Metropolis is a major step in China’s strategy to become a global cultural powerhouse.” Hollywood stars such as John Travolta and Catherine Zeta Jones were in attendance. The project marks the latest step in China’s increasingly influential role in the global film business at it seeks to take on Hollywood’s financial and artistic dominance. Mr. Wang’s $8.6 billion fortune has been accrued largely through real estate development, and has acquired considerable interests in entertainment and leisure industries. He made international headlines last year after purchasing U.S. cinema chain AMC for $2.6 billion (£1.6 billion).
  
• World Tourism Day observed on 27 September 2013 across the world to bring awareness about the importance of tourism. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. Theme for 2013 is Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future This year’s theme highlights tourism’s role in water access and shines a spotlight on the actions currently being taken by the sector in order to contribute to a more sustainable water future, as well as the challenges ahead. World Tourism Day was first celebrated in 1980 by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
  
• Chancellor Angela Merkel won a third term by a landslide victory in German elections on 22 September 2013.Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Union bloc - the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) won 41.5 percent of vote, but finished just short of an absolute majority. Final results gave the CDU/CSU 311 seats, the Social Democrats 192, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) 64 seats and the ecologist Greens 63 seats. Rising to the position of Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union party, Merkel became Germany’s first female chancellor, and one of the leading figures of the European Union, following the 2005 national elections.
  
• The number of child workers worldwide has dropped by a third over the past 13 years, according to a report from the International Labour Organization. But campaigners say that protecting children from hazardous work and long hours remains a major challenge, with families in poor countries such as Bangladesh heavily reliant on the income they get from sending children to work. There are 168 million children working in situations that fit the ILO definition of child labor. That is “work undertaken by children below the appropriate legal minimum working age”, based on its minimum age convention.According to the ILO, most of the progress on child labor was made between 2008 and 2012, when the number of children classed as laborers worldwide fell from 215 million to 168 million. The report is being launched before a major conference on child labour in Brasilia, Brazil’s federal capital, on October 8. One key focus of the ILO’s work in the coming year will be the informal sector, including small-scale manufacturers to children working in a one-room house, roadside jewelers to children living with their family on a farm and working long hours during the harvest. The ILO report documents the number and type of actions over child labor taken around the world, including monitoring mechanisms, measures taken to push for universal education, changes in the legal age for working in some countries and stricter laws brought in to tackle slavery.
  
• Banned chemical weapons have been used on a wide scale in the Syria war and there is clear evidence sarin killed hundreds of people in one major attack, U.N. inspectors said on 16th September. Chemical arms have been used in the 30-month-old conflict “on a relatively large scale,” says the report to be released by UN leader Ban Ki-moon. UN Experts, who went to Syria last month, are not allowed to say who carried out the attacks. But they said there is “clear and convincing” evidence that sarin gas killed hundreds of people in an attack on Ghouta near Damascus on August 21st.
  
• The attack sparked threats by the United States and other western nations of a military strike on President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The United States says more than 1,400 people died in Ghouta. Though the military threat has eased after Russia and the United States agreed a plan to put Syrian chemical arms under international control, the U.N. report will influence what measures are taken to make Mr. Assad stick to the plan. The experts said that based on evidence they had found, “the conclusion is that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic ... against civilians including children on a relatively large scale.
  
• Tony Abbott was sworn in as Australia's new Prime Minister on 18th September. Tony Abbott is the 28th Prime Minister of Australia. He took the oath at Government House in Canberra in front of Governor-General Quentin Bryce. His Conservative Party defeated former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's centre-left Labor Party in 7th September 2013 elections. Tony Abbott has immediately ordered the scrapping of Australia's carbon tax and the halting of asylum-seeker boats after being sworn in as Prime Minister.
  
• Russia announced that they would reopen a major naval base in the Arctic and resume regular naval patrols in the region as it laid claim to a vast swath of the Arctic seabed. President Vladimir Putin said on 18th September, Russia is going to rebuild a naval base off its Arctic coast that was abandoned 20 years ago. He added that the naval facility would “mark a new step in the opening up of the Northern Sea Route” and would help “effectively control” the Russian section of the Arctic Ocean. The move comes a month after Russia submitted to the United Nations a claim to extend its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone by another 150 miles or 1.2 million square kilometers. Moscow argues that it has scientific evidence proving beyond doubt that seabed it claims is continuation of its continental shelf. The Russian Defense Ministry said that next year it will start establishing naval outposts in Novaya Zemlya and the Franz-Josef Land archipelagos in the Arctic Ocean.
  
• The United Nations and the African Union on 17th September, have agreed to strengthen protection of conflict-affected children in Africa, where despite progress, grave child rights violations including under-age recruitment, continue. “As the African Union is taking a larger role in the continent’s mediation and peacekeeping operations, it had become essential to make our partnership stronger,” said Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
  
• Her office and the Peace and Security Department of the AU Commission signed an agreement on 17 September, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to step up measures to protect children from armed violence. Among the areas of collaboration outlined in the document, the AU, with UN support, agrees to include the protection of children in all its peace and security activities. The agreement also calls for the development of a joint programme of work to align domestic legislation with regional and international child rights, as well as to develop guidelines on protection of children. In addition, improved and harmonized training programmes in child protection will be developed for countries contributing troops to AU peace missions.
  
• China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, returned to its homeport, Qingdao on 21st September, after a three-month voyage, during which it carried out major and crucial tests.During the voyage that started on June 11, the carrier witnessed more than 100 sorties of landing and takeoff by various aircrafts, including the J-15 carrier-borne fighter, the official Liberation Army Daily (Jiefang Ribao) said on 22 September. The tests have resulted in further improvement of the carrier's flight control processes, according to the official newspaper. The voyage is the longest and farthest that has been taken by the Liaoning since its maiden voyage, the report said. It is also the first since it based its homeport in Qingdao in February. The Liaoning is China's only aircraft carrier in operation. It was refitted based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the navy on Sept. 25, 2012.
  
• Russia has offered to India, to set up manufacturing facilities in the country for joint production of defense hardware and also reached an understanding for setting up two major projects in a joint venture for producing civil choppers and aircraft. This was decided during the meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin and Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov in St. Petersburg. Mr. Sharma is there to attend the 7th India Russian Forum on Trade and Investment. The visit assumes significance in the light of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s forthcoming visit to Russia next month. Both Mr. Sharma and Mr. Rogozin agreed on collaboration to jointly develop and manufacture civilian aircraft and helicopters for especially for emergency relief and medical purposes. Both Russia and India felt that these two aircraft projects should not be seen only for domestic use but will also explore the possibilities of third country exports. One of the projects under collaboration for civilian aircrafts/helicopters envisages the setting up of the joint venture for manufacturing in Indian factories different modifications of light helicopters Ka-226T for medical, rescue and other purposes. The Russian side has mooted a new proposal involving IL-112V.Russia also proposed to India for setting up manufacturing facilities in the country for production of defense equipment in various fields. The opportunity could also be used to make India as the export base for such defense hardware it was felt.
  
• A Nigerian woman, Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (21) on 18th September, won the Miss Muslimah World contest, a riposte to the Miss World. The 20 finalists, all required to wear headscarves, were judged on beauty as well as how well they recited Koranic verses and their views on Islam in the modern world. After a show in front of an audience of mainly religious scholars and devout Muslims, a panel picked Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (21) from Nigeria as the winner. She said it was “thanks to almighty Allah” that she had won the contest. She received 25 million rupiah (US $ 2,200) and trips to Makkah and India as prizes.
  
• The earliest fully modern humans arrived in West Asia around 42,000 years ago, a new study led by Oxford scientists has found.Researchers obtained the radiocarbon dates of marine shell beads found at Ksar Akil, a key archaeological site in Lebanon, which allowed them to calculate that the oldest human fossil from the same sequence of archaeological layers is 42,400 to 41,700 years old. This is significant because the age of the earliest fossils, directly and indirectly dated, of modern humans found in Europe is roughly similar, researchers said. The discovery throws up intriguing new possibilities about the routes taken by the earliest modern humans out of Africa, according to the study published in journal PLOS ONE .
  
• The research team radiocarbon dated 20 marine shells from the top 15 meters of archaeological layers at Ksar Akil, north of Beirut.It was widely believed that at some point after 45,000 years ago early modern humans arrived in Europe, taking routes out of Africa through the Near East, and, from there, along the Mediterranean rim or along the River Danube. The evidence suggests populations of early modern humans arrived in Europe and the Near East at roughly the same time, sparking a new debate about where the first populations of early humans travelled from in their expansion towards Europe and which alternative routes they may have taken. The team was able to calculate the age of the lost fossil at 40,800-39,200 years ago.
  
• As the rest of the world reconsiders the use of nuclear energy in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan, China has made its new, domestically-developed, fourth-generation reactor as the answer for developing countries’ concerns regarding costs and safety. The State-run China Nuclear Engineering Group Corporation (CNEC), closely involved in the design and construction of many of the 17 nuclear reactors in operation, on 15th September, presented designs of its new fourth-generation High Temperature Reactor (HTR) and High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR), on the sidelines of the first China-Arab States trade exposition which opened in this western Chinese city. With global interest in nuclear power waning following Fukushima, the CNEC is hoping that success with its reactor will help rekindle interest abroad. The CNEC has been charged by the State Council, or Cabinet, with expanding the nuclear industry’s reach overseas. The company was behind the Chashma-3 and Chashma-4 reactors in Pakistan. The deals triggered controversy because they were agreed to after China joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).China is building 28 reactors – more than in any other country — with most of the projects entirely designed and constructed domestically, using technology adapted from the U.S., France and Russia. China has made a case for its domestically-developed, fourth-generation reactor as the answer for developing countries’ concerns regarding costs and safety.
  
• The Man Booker Prize, described as the “the most important and influential award for literary fiction in the English speaking world” might from now on actually qualify for that claim. According to an announcement by Jonathan Taylor, Chair of the Booker Prize,the prize will from 2014 be expanded to include writers in English from any part of the world provided their books have been published in the United Kingdom. Thus far the Booker Prize was for literary fiction by authors from the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe. The decision to open up the Booker was not one that the trustees took “quickly or lightly” Mr. Taylor said. “Over the following 18 months the views of writers, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and others were canvassed on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.” However, other rules remain: the books must be published in the UK and entered by their UK publishers, the practice of long lists and shortlists will stay, and judges will be required to consider all entries.
  
• U.S. President Barack Obama faced growing pressure from Russia's Vladimir Putin and other world leaders on 5 September, to decide against launching military strikes in Syria, which many of them fear would hurt the global economy and push up oil prices. At a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and developing economies in St. Petersburg, this was happened. The rift over Syriaovershadowed the discussions on how to revive growth but not before splits emerged within the group over a U.S. plan to wind down an economic stimulus program. The G20 accounts for two thirds of the world's population and 90 percent of its output. The first round at the summit went to Putin, as China, the European Union, the BRICS emerging economies and a letter from Pope Francis all warned of the dangers of military intervention in Syria without the approval of the U.N. Security Council. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later told the leaders over the dinner in a tsarist-era seafront palace that any military action must have the Security Council's backing. The G20 achieved unprecedented cooperation between developed and emerging nations to stave off economic collapse during the 2009 financial crisis, but the harmony has since waned.Member states are at odds as the U.S. recovery gains pace, Europe lags, and developing economies worry about the impact of the Federal Reserve's plans to stop a bond-buying program that has helped kick-start the U.S. economy. The BRICS agreed to commit $100 billion to a currency reserve pool that could help defend against a balance of payments crisis, although the mechanism will take time to set up. There is likely to be an agreement on measures to fight tax evasion by multinational companies at the summit in the spectacular, 18th-century Peterhof palace complex, built on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great. An initiative will be presented on refining regulation of the $630-trillion global market for financial derivatives to prevent a possible blow-up.
  
• India will be hosting the 33rd Asian & Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA), 2013 in New Delhi from 22nd to 27th September, 2013.The conference will be inaugurated by the Union Home Minister. This is a prestigious event for the correctional officers to share ideas and learn from others’ experiences and give direction to innovative ideas in correctional administration and welfare. Apart from delegates from 23 member countries, the delegates from States/UTs dealing with correctional administrations will also attend the conference. The theme of this year’s conference is “Correction-Transformation-Re-integration”.This pushes the agenda of the correctional welfare beyond conventional practices to assist the reintegration of the released inmates back to the society. Asian & Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) is an organisation of 23 countries viz., Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga and Vietnam. India is a founder member of this organization. India is an elected member of the Governing Board of the organization since 2008. Every year the annual conference is organized by the member countries on rotational basis where Correctional Administrators of member countries exchange ideas in relation to the prison reforms in the Asia Pacific region. The conference gives correctional officers a chance to express their knowledge and exchange best practices being adopted in various countries. The conference was organized by Brunei last year.
  
• Malala Yousafzai on 3rd September, officially opened Europe's largest public library in Birmingham. She was shot in the head by the Taliban on her school bus in Pakistan - for daring to campaign about girls' rights to education. Malala made a speech at the inauguration in which she said "I have challenged myself that i will read thousands of books and i will empower myself with knowledge”. The building cost nearly £200m to build and holds a million books. Ms. Yousafzai was the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the new Birmingham Library .The new state-of-the-art library will now be the largest in Europe and is expected to attract three million visitors a year.
  
• The Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari inaugurated the one day international conference on alliance for literacy, peace and development in South Asia at New Delhi on 7 September. India has called for enhanced cooperation in the field of literacy and education. Inaugurating the conference, Hamid Ansari said that through mutual cooperation involving sharing of experiences, lessons learnt and best practices, the region can together fight the scourge of illiteracy, remove ignorance from our midst and build modern educated and enlightened societies in our countries, the region and beyond. He said 40 crore adults, almost half of the world’s illiterate population live in South Asia. Women and girls constitute nearly two thirds of the illiterate adult population, making the magnitude of the problem even greater. Appreciating the literacy among young women growing at a faster pace than that of young men, the Vice-President said that gender parity in literacy is a distinct possibility in the future. In the Conference, the Vice-President of India also announced that Saakshar Bharat programme has been recognized by experts and it is being conferred UNESCO’S King Sejong Literacy prize for this year.This International Conference on Peace, Literacy and Development in South Asia was organized by National Literacy Mission Authority, Department of School Education and Literacy under Ministry of Human Resource Development.
  
• Egypt's army-backed government has dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood as a registered non-governmental organization, the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on 6 September. The decision applies to the NGO registered by the Brotherhood in March in response to a lawsuit that argued the group had no legal status and marks a legal challenge to Morsi's movement as the police round up its leaders across the country. After veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011, the Brotherhood won parliamentary and presidential elections. The army deposed Morsi on July 3 in response to mass protests against his rule. The authorities are mounting the harshest crackdown on the Brotherhood in decades, killing hundreds of Morsi's supporters and arresting many of its leaders on charges of inciting violence. There has so far been no attempt to ban its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party.
  
• India on 4th September gave USD one million as to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for providing food and medicines to Palestine refugees.UNRWA provides assistance to some five million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and in the Palestine. Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said the financial assistance to the UN agency has been given as part of India's annual contribution to it. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member-states. UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi, who had a meeting with senior officials in the MEA on 4 September, thanked India for its continuous support to the UN agency. "India has been supporting the humanitarian efforts. We want India to expand the cooperation further," he said.
  
• Fiji’s military regime passed a Constitution on 6 September, in a step that is raising both hopes and concerns among many who want democracy restored to the South Pacific island nation. The regime that seized power in a 2006 coup says the Constitution is another step toward it holding free elections next year. The document envisages a Parliament consisting of 50 representatives elected every four years based on one person, one vote. But many say the Constitution also curtails freedoms and is self-serving to the regime. Former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was among those arrested and taken into custody for about two hours during protests on Friday against the Constitution.
  
• Iran plans to send its second monkey into space onboard home-made rocket Pishgam (Pioneer) II within 45 days. In January, Iran had sent a capsule containing a monkey onboard the Pishgam I, Xinhua reported. Unlike the first rocket which was solid-fuelled, the Pishgam II will use liquid propellant, sources said. The plan to send living creatures into space was part of the project to send human beings into space within a course of five to eight years, said the Iranian official.
  
• Amr Moussa, a longtime member of former Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak's government, has been selected to chair the committee on 8 September, entrusted with amending a constitution pushed through by the deposed Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi. Moussa, who was foreign minister for 10 years under Mubarak, won the votes of 30 of the committee's 50 members when the group convened for the first time Sunday. Egypt’s interim government, installed by the army after it ousted Morsi on July 3, wants the panel to complete its work within 60 days. The constitution will then be put to a popular vote and provide the basis for parliamentary and presidential elections and a return to civilian rule early next year. While the interim army-backed government promised an inclusive political process going forward, it has included only two Islamists on the constitutional committee, neither of whom were from the Muslim Brotherhood, the primary Islamist group that supports Morsi. The Brotherhood has become the target of a sweeping security crackdown since Morsi was overthrown. The first draft of the constitution seeks to restore the voting system that kept Mubarak in power for 30 years, something that has disappointed smaller parties who have struggled to establish themselves since the end of Mubarak's one-man rule. The Egyptian state news agency MENA said the first draft of the constitution scrapped articles that allowed Islam to be considered in the creation of laws, accorded al-Azhar, Egypt's highest Islamic institution, a role in vetting legislation, committed the state to upholding morals, and banned insults to "prophets and religions."