this lowly rank

because

.:: January 2013 International Affairs ::.

of

increasing
impunity

US President Barack Obama on 31 January, has come out with his muchawaited comprehensive immigration reforms, that will pave the way for
legalization of more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. The r e f o r m
s,whichalsoproposetoeliminatetheannualcountrycapsinthe
employment category, are expected to benefit large number of Indian technocrats and
professionals. In a major policy speech on comprehensive immigration in Las Vegas,
Obama urged the Congress to act on his proposals. The other key proposals of his
"comprehensive" reform plan include "stapling" a green card to the diplomas of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), PhD and Masters Degree graduates
from qualified US universities who have found employment in the country. The
President also proposed to create a startup visa for job-creating entrepreneurs. The
proposal allows foreign entrepreneurs, who attract financing or r e v e n u e f r o m A m e
r i c a n i n v e s t o r s a n d c u s t o m e r s , t o s t a r t a n d g r o w t h e i r businesses in
the US, and to remain permanently if their companies grow further, create jobs for
American workers, and strengthen the economy. The proposal removes the backlog for
employment-sponsored immigration by eliminating annual country caps and adding
additional visas to the system. Outdated legal immigration programs are reformed to
meet current and future demands by exempting certain categories from annual visa
limitations, the White House said. Obama also proposed to eliminate existing backlogs in
the family-sponsored immigration system by recapturing unused visas and temporarily
increasing annual visa numbers. The proposal also raises existing annual country caps
from seven per cent to 15 per cent for the family-sponsored immigration system. It also
treats same-sex units as families by giving US citizens and lawful permanent residents
the ability to seek a visa based on permanent relationship with a same-sex partner.
Referring to the 11 million undocumented immigrants in America, of which more than 2,
40,000 are from India, Obama said though they have broken the rules, but it is
"impossible" to deport them. Urging the Congress to immediately act on his

for

violence against
journalists and
internet
censorship

Netherlands,
Norway

and

Finland
topped

the

list.

The

Press
Freedom
Index

was

released
world

by

Press

Freedom
index for the
year

2013.

China got 173rd

rank.
Turkmenistan,
North
and

Korea
Eritrea

were placed at
the bottom of
the list as has
been in the last
three HLY EM

comprehensive immigration reform, Obama said the good news is that for the first time
in many years, Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together.

India dropped nine places to 140th rank in the list of 179 countries in the
latest World Press Freedom Index 2013, which is the lowest since 2002. India got

Page 1 / 14

years . As per the Press index report, there has been a decline in freedom of information
in South Asia and the Indian subcontinent among Asia witnessed the sharpest
deterioration in providing freedom and security for those involved in news reporting in
2012. In India considered as the world's biggest democracy, the authorities insist on
censoring the Web and impose numerous kinds of restrictions, while violence against
journalists was not punished and the regions like Kashmir and Chhattisgarh are getting
increasingly isolated.

Iran on 2 February, has unveiled a new home-made combat aircraft, w h i c h

I r a n o f f i c i a l s s a y i t c a n e v a d e r a d a r . T h e s i n g l e-s e a t Qaher F313
(Dominant F313) is the latest design produced by Iran's military since it launched the
Azarakhsh (Lightning), in 2007. President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said it had "almost
all the positive features" of the world's most sophisticated jets.

China on 3 february, has given a political role to Mo Yan,the 2012 winner of

Nobel prize for literature and movie star Jackie Chan by selecting them as
members of one of the houses of parliament, the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference. They are among the 2,237 persons handpicked by China's
new leaders led by Xi Jinping as new members of the CPPCC National Committee. The
CPPCC members, who are from different walks of life were selected without an election
process and include 893 members of the Communist Party. Those chosen include
officials,

military

officers,

members

of

non-Communist

parties,

along

with

representatives from economic, political, cultural, social and environmental fields.

India on 30 January pledged a donation of $2.5 million as humanitarian assistance for

over two million Syrians displaced by the ongoing conflict in the country. The
announcement was made by Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed at an
international conference of donors on Syria held in Kuwait, inaugurated by UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon. The Indian minister said the conference was an important
initiative of the UN to support the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people. The Indian
assistance could be in the form of life saving drugs, food and other essential items. At the
same time, Minister Ahamed expressed India's opposition to foreign military
intervention in Syria. He said at a reception hosted by the Indian mission in Kuwait that
India wanted the people of Syria to decide their own future. Some 60,000 people have
been killed since the conflict between the government of Bashar al-Assad and US-backed
opposition groups determined to topple him began nearly two years ago. Some four
million Syrians in Syria are in need of food, shelter and other aid, according to UN
figures. More than 700,000 have escaped to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. India has
closely followed the developments in Syria and is "deeply concerned" about the
hardships and sufferings of the people of Syria as a result of violence in the country. At
the meeting, the UN chief said the situation in Syria was catastrophic and getting worse.
Ban urged warring factions in Syria to end the violence. He said Syria's problem can be
resolved only politically. He urged the international community to donate liberally to
raise $1.5 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced Syrians. Kuwaiti
Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed announced $300 million contribution while the US
pledged $ 155 million . The new commitment will bring the total US assistance to $365
million, making it the single largest donor.

Milos Zeman became Czech Republics first directly elected President as per the Czech
Republic Presidential election results declared on 25 January 2013. He won

Page 2 / 14

55 percent as compared with 45 percent of Karel Schwarzenberg. Milos Zeman is the

former Prime Minister of Czech Republic and head of the Party of Civic RightsZemanovci (SPOZ) while Karel Schwarzenberg is foreign minister in the present centreright coalition government. Zeman succeeds Vaclav Klaus as the President of Czech
Republic.Milos Zeman is the first directly elected President in Czech history (and overall
third President), with the presidential elections held prior to 2013 all being decided
internally by the senate. Prior to this, he served as the Prime Minister of the Czech
Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party during the
1990s, he transformed it into one of the country's major political parties. He was also the
Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies- the lower house of the Czech parliament- from
1996 to 1998.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced emergency as well as curfew in three

main cities of Egypt on 27 January 2013. Emergency and curfew was declared by the
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in three main cities, i.e., Suez, Ismailia and Port
Said because of increasing violence and protests in the streets. The violence posed
serious threats to Morsis government as well as the democracy of Egypt. It is important
to note that the three major cities sit on the economically crucial Suez Canal. The state of
emergency was imposed for one month in three major cities of Egypt. Under the
Mubarak-era laws which are in-effect to the Egypts new constitution, under the state of
emergency, the ordinary judicial process as well as most of the civil rights is suspended.
Also, the state of emergency imparts extraordinary powers to the police and the
President.

l The balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe's government public account stood at just 217
dollars, Finance Minister Tendai Biti told the press on 30 January. Biti, claiming some of
civil servants had healthier bank balances than the state, told journalists that last week
after paying salaries to them there was only 217 dollars left in government coffers. He
said that the government finances are in paralysis state at the present moment, adding
that they were failing to meet their targets. Zimbabwe's economy went into free-fall at
the turn of the millennium, after President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned
farms. The move demolished investor confidence in the country, paralyzed production,
prompted international sanctions and scared off tourists. After more than a decade, in
which the country suffered hyper-inflation of 231 million percent and infrastructure that
crumbled as quickly as prices went up, the situation is now more stable. But public
finances remain a mess and local business battles against unstable electricity supplies,
lack of liquidity and high labour costs. Zimbabwe's government has warned it does not
have enough money to fund a constitutional referendum and elections expected this
year. Biti said that left no choice but to ask the donors for cash. Government's national
budget for this year stands at $3.8bn and the economy is projected to grow five percent.

l Taiwanese Business Magnate Launches Asias Nobel-Type Prizes

A business tycoon from Taiwan with interests mainly in China declared on 28 January
2013 that he was funding the Asia's Nobel Prizes for outstanding achievements in
natural and social sciences. Samuel Yin, the head of Ruentex Group announced that he
would establish Tang Prize Foundation which would have an initial donation of 103
million dollar. Tang Prize Foundation, which uses the name of Tang Dynasty (618-907
AD), is valued by the Chinese for cultural as well as scientific achievements. It was
decided that the prizes under the Tang Prize Foundation will be awarded every alternate
year to the international leaders in

Page 3 / 14

sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, and the rule of law as well as the
study of China. Samuel Yin declared that these categories were kept in the new awards
because the Nobels, which are 118 years old, did not include these fields. He also opined
that these categories had high importance for the humanity. The prizes under the Tang
Prize Foundation will commence from 2014. The winners of the prize would be entitled
to receive 1.7 million US dollar. Nobel prizes award 1.2 million US dollar to the awardees.
The winners of the Tang Prize will be nominated as well as screened by the special
committees which in turn would be established by the Academia Sinica, the highly
prestigious research organization of Taiwan.

l Dutch queen to step down

Dutch Queen Beatrix announced on 28 January that she would step down in April after
nearly 33 years on the Dutch throne, which means her son Willem-Alexander is set to
become the country's first king since the 19th century. "Responsibility for our country
must now lie in the hands of a new generation," the monarch said in a brief televised
address. Beatrix recalled she is about to turn 75 and this is "the moment to lay down my
crown" in favour of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, 45. The queen's first-born has been
married since 2002 with Argentine investment banker Maxima Zorreguieta, with whom
he has three daughters. The couple is the most popular figures in the Dutch royal family.
Beatriz was married in 1966 to the German Claus van Amsberg, who died in 2002. The
second of their three sons, Prince Friso, has been in a coma since February 2012, when
he was buried under an avalanche in Austria.

l US Senate panel approves John Kerry for secretary of state

Veteran Senator John Kerry, known for his relationship-building skills, is all set to r e p l
aceHillaryClintonasthenewUSSecretaryofStateaftertheSena
t e overwhelmingly confirmed his nomination. 69-year-old Kerry, currently the chairman
of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a close confidant of
President Barack Obama on foreign policy issues especially on the volatile Af-Pak region.
The nomination of Kerry, a Vietnam war veteran, was confirmed on 28 January by 94-3,
with all three negative votes coming from Republican Senators James Inhofe, Ted Cruz
and John Cornyn, who is Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus. This is the first Cabinet
selection during Obama's second term to be confirmed by the Senate. Senator Robert
Menendez, incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that
Kerry was the best choice to head the State Department.

l One billion tourists took international trips in 2012: UN

A record one billion tourists took international trips last year, says a report published on
29 January by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The figure showed a
four-percent rise from that in 2011, Xinhua reported. Around 1.03 billion tourists visited
foreign countries, 39 million more than in 2011, the report said. The strongest growth
was seen in the Asia and Pacific region with a seven-percent rise in international tourism
last year, taking the total number of arrivals to 233 million. Despite the ongoing
economic crisis, the region is expected to see higher-than-average growth in 2013 at 5-6
percent. Europe was still the most-visited region in the world with 535 million arrivals,
while North-East Asia and Central America each saw a six-percent growth in
international tourism. "Tourism is thus one of the pillars that should be supported by
governments around the world as part of the solution to stimulating economic growth,"
UNWTO General Secretary Taleb Rifai was quoted as saying. Tourists spent more while
travelling last

Page 4 / 14

year. Hong Kong was the best performer, seeing increase of receipts by 16 percent,
followed by a 10-percent rise in the US and a six-percent rise in Britain, which was partly
due to the 2012 London Olympics. The importance of China as a source market was
highlighted by a 42-percent rise in expenditure by Chinese tourists. There was also a 31percent rise in spending from Russians travelling abroad. International tourism in the
US and Canada both grew by seven percent, while the biggest losers turned out to be
France and Italy where tourism dropped by seven and two percent respectively.

The Fourth Meeting of ASEAN and India Tourism Minister was held in
Vientiane, Lao PDR on 21 January, in conjunction with the ASEAN Tourism Forum
2013 . The Meeting was jointly co-chaired by Union Tourism Minister K.Chiranjeevi and
Prof. Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lao
PDR. Both the Ministers signed the Protocol to amend the Memorandum of
Understanding between ASEAN and India on Strengthening Tourism
Cooperation, which would further strengthen the tourism collaboration between
ASEAN and Indian national tourism organisations. The main objective of this Protocol is
to amend the MoU to protect and safeguard the rights and interests of the parties with
respect to national security, national and public interest or public order, protection of
intellectual property rights, confidentiality and secrecy of documents, information and
data. Both the Ministers
w e l c o m e d t h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e V i s i o n S t a t e m e n t o f t h e A S E A NIndia C o m m e m o r a t i v e S u m m i t h e l d o n 2 0 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2 i n N e w D
e l h i , I n d i a , particularly on enhancing the ASEAN Connectivity through supporting
the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity. The Ministers also
supported the close collaboration of ASEAN and India to enhance air, sea and land
connectivity within ASEAN and between ASEAN and India through ASEAN-India
connectivity project. In further promoting tourism exchange between ASEAN and I n d i
a , t h e M i n i s t e r s a g r e e d t o l a u n c h t h e A S E A N-India tourism website
(www.indiaasean.org) as a platform to jointly promote tourism destinations, sharing
basic information about ASEAN Member States and India and a visitor guide.

The Russian Navy on 20 January, has begun its biggest war games in the
high seas in decades that will include manoeuvres off the shores of Syria.
Officials say, more than two dozen ships drawn from all four fleets, as well as long-range
warplanes, will conduct nine-day exercises in the Mediterranean and Black seas. It is the
largest naval manoeuvres since the collapse of the Soviet Union.The purpose is to
improve coordination among different naval groups during missions i n far-away sea
zones .Experts suggested the exercises would serve to project Russias naval power to a
highly explosive region and render moral support for the embattled regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.Russia leases a naval base at the Syrian port of Tartous. The
naval manoeuvres will involve training for landing operations on the Syrian shore,
informed sources told Russias Interfax news agency. Moscow may also be preparing for
possible evacuation of thousands of Russian nationals from war-torn Syria, experts said.
About 9,000 Russians are registered with the Russian Embassy in Damascus, but their
total number may well exceed 30,000.

Barack Obama was sworn in as the President of the country for the second
term on 20 January 2013. The oath-taking ceremony was held in the White House
East Room by Justice John Roberts. Obama took oath as the President of the country on
the family Bible. On 21 January 2013, Obama repeated oath-

Page 5 / 14

taking process on those Bibles which were used by Martin Luther King and Abraham
Lincoln because 20 January 2013 was an official holiday in the US. Apart from Obama,
in yet another ceremony, Vice-president Joseph Biden administered this oath-taking by
associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Barack Obama became the first mixed-race president
who was elected for second consecutive term. Also, Barack Obama is the third
consecutive president to win two terms, after Bush and Clinton. This had happened two
centuries ago earlier when Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe were
elected for two terms each between the time periods of 1801 to 1825.

China, the world's second largest economy, grew 7.8% in 2012, a 13-year
low, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on 19 January. In 2010,
economy grew 10.4%.NBS does not see any significant improvement this year when
China's new leader, Xi Jinping, will take over as president as part of a once a decade
political change. The earlier low point was in 1999 when GDP grew 7 . 6 % . T h e n u m b
e r s r e l e a s e d b y N B S i s b o u n d t o c a u s e p e s s i m i s m a m o n g economists,
who were expecting China to give a fillip to the world economy, which is facing a
slowdown. But, China has fared much better than leading economies with its GDP
reaching $8.28 trillion and cementing its position as the second biggest economy.

The war crimes tribunal trying those accused of committing atrocities

during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971 pronounced its first verdict on
21 January, awarding death sentence to a former Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad. Maulana Azad, best known as Bachchu Razakar, was the leader of Islami
Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. He went into hiding a few
hours before the war crimes tribunal issued an arrest warrant against him on April 3 last
year. On November 4, Azad was indicted on eight charges based on eight incidents that
left at least 12 people, mostly minority Hindus, dead and in which several Hindu women
were raped, during the 1971 war. He was convicted on seven of the charges and
sentenced to death by hanging. The m u c h-awaited verdict by the International
Crimes Tribunal-2 was passed by chairman of the three-member panel
Justice Obaidul Hassan. The summary of the 112-page verdict was pronounced in a
packed court amid tight security. Liberation War veterans have expressed satisfaction
over the verdict and National Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman
called for early execution of the order.

Two American Senators on 25 January, have introduced a legislation in the

name of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani peace activist who was shot by the
Taliban, to provide scholarship to girls from Pakistan. Introduced by Senators Barbara
Boxer and Mary Landrieu, the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act is designed to
expand scholarship opportunities for disadvantaged young women in
Pakistan. The bill would require a 30 per cent increase in the number of scholarships
awarded under the programme for the next four years, and that these awarded solely to
women. It would also expand the range of academic disciplines that recipients could
pursue to improve graduates chances of obtaining meaningful employment.

Russia will ban smoking in public places, hike tobacco taxes and restrict the
sale of cigarettes from mid-2014 to cut the alarmingly high rate of deaths from
smoking-related diseases. A law approved by the State Duma, Lower House,

Page 6 / 14

on 25 January, in the second of three readings calls for an immediate ban on all tobacco
advertising and kiosk sales and the phasing out of smoking in all bars and restaurants, in
medical, sports, educations and cultural institutions by January 1, 2015. It will be against
the law to smoke at childrens playgrounds, in the halls and stairways of apartment
houses.

Pakistani-A m e r i c a n D a v i d C o l e m a n H e a d l e y w a s o n 2 4 J a n u
a r y , sentenced to 35 years in prison by a U.S. court for masterminding the
2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The sentence will be followed by five years supervised
release. While the U.S. government admitted the deplorable nature of his role in the
26/11 attacks, the prosecution had pressed for a sentence of 30-35 years under a plea
bargain with Headley in return for his cooperation. The death penalty and extradition
options were dropped. Pronouncing the sentence in Chicago , U.S. federal
district court judge Harry Leinenweber said he had to consider that Headley had
committed numerous crimes in the past, confessed to them and received lenient
sentences.

A British human rights lawyer is to lead a U.N. inquiry into the legality of
American drone attacks and their impact on civilians in Pakistan,
Afghanistan and several other countries. Ben Emmerson, QC, who will head
a team of international experts in his capacity as a U . N . Special Rapporteur on
Human Rights and Counter-terrorism, said in London on 22 January that the
exponential rise in the use of drone technology represented a real challenge to the
framework of international law . The inquiry, which will examine 25 attacks in Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Yemen, the Palestinian territories and Somalia, follows anger over the loss
of innocent civilian lives. Critics have called them extra-judicial killings. According to
the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, American drone attacks in
Pakistan since 2004 had killed up to 3,461 people, including nearly 900 civilians. Mr.
Emmerson said the U.N. had decided to investigate the complaints as a final resort
because America and its allies who should have done so had not done it.

Swiss to accept group requests for banking information

Switzerland will be able to provide banking and other details sought by other countries,
including India, from next month about a 'group of persons' even without their
individual identification, provided the information has not been requested as part of
some 'fishing expedition'. A new Tax Administrative Assistance Act will come into force
on February 1 and the Switzerlands Federal Council has passed a resolution to this
effect.

US to lift ban on women in front-line combat jobs

The US military will formally end its ban on women serving in front-line combat roles,
officials said on 23 January, in a move that could open thousands of fighting jobs to
female service members. The move knocks down another societal barrier, after the
Pentagon scrapped its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban in 2011 on gays and lesbians serving
openly in the military. The decision by outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is
expected to be formally announced on 24 January and comes after 1 1 y e a r s o f n o nstop war that has seen dozens of women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have
represented around 2 percent of the casualties of those unpopular, costly wars, and some
12 percent of those deployed for the war effort, in which there were often no clearly
defined front lines, and where deadly guerrilla tactics have included roadside bombs that
kill and maim indiscriminately. "This is

Page 7 / 14

an historic step for equality and for recognizing the role women have, and will continue
to play, in the defense of our nation," said Democratic Senator Patty Murray from
Washington, the outgoing head of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

l Dutch finance minister confirmed as new head of Euro group

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem was confirmed by his euro zone peers as
president of the Euro group on 21 January, a senior euro zone official said. The
ministers, meeting in Brussels, appointed Dijsselbloem to take over from Luxembourg's
Jean-Claude Juncker as the head of the influential group of policymakers, which
comprises the 17 finance ministers from the euro zone countries. Dijsselbloem told his
colleagues he wanted to move on from simply fighting crises and focus on longer-term
policies to boost fledgling confidence and restore growth, and that he saw an enhanced
role for his new task.

l U.S. Federal Court sentenced 35 years in Prison for David Coleman Headley

David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American and the mastermind of the 26/11
Mumbai Terror Attack 2008 was sentenced to 35 years in Prison on 24 January 2013 by
a U.S. Court. The Court sentence would be followed by a five years of supervised release.
The U.S. Federal District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber, who said that Headley was a
terrorist, pronounced the sentence and Headley committed numerous crimes but his
confessions turned up to be the reason that lenient sentences were issued for him. It was
admitted by the U.S. Government that the nature of role-played by Headley in 26/11
attacks were deplorable and the prosecution pressed for a sentence of 30 to 35 years for
him. The death penalty and extradition options were dropped because of the cooperation
shown by him. Headley, under a deal with U.S. Government supplied major information
about the terror suspects, which was really helpful in carrying on the investigation and
bring defendants like Ilyas Kashmiri, Tahawwur Rana and other Pakistan-based
operatives under criminal charges. Justice Leinenweber in third week of January 2013
sentenced 14 years in Jail to Tahawwur Rana, the Chicago based businessman and
immigration consultant for his alleged involvement in supporting the terrorist group
from Pakistan, which worked with the intelligence service of Pakistan and carried out the
26/11 Mumbai Attacks in 2008. He was also a convict for a Denmark strike in a JyllandsPosten a Danish newspaper.

l Air India ranked world's third worst airline

Air India has been rated world's third least safe airline after China Airlines and TAM
Airlines, according to a report from a website that monitors plane crashes around the
world. India's national carrier is ranked 58th among 60 listed airlines by Hamburg based
Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC). Finn air is now the world's safest
airline, followed by Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific and Emirates, according to JACDEC
Safety Ranking 2012. None of the top nine ranked airlines had lost an aircraft or had a
fatality during the 30-year period, but many had also not been active for the full 30
years. Not one North American carrier made the top 10 list, but none of them made the
bottom 10 either. The centre calculates its annual rankings based on aircraft loss
accidents and serious incidents over the past 30 years. The resulting index relates that
information to the revenue per passenger kilometer earned by the airline over the same
period. There were 496 fatalities on commercial passenger flights last year, according to
the report, two fewer than in 2011. The most significant involved a Dana Air flight which
crashed in Nigeria,

Page 8 / 14

killing 169 people, and a Bhoja Air flight which crashed in Pakistan, killing 127. 30
planes were destroyed and there were 44 "hull losses", or aircraft write-offs, one less
than the previous year.

Thousands

of

demonstrators

demonstrated

in

Moscow

in

freezing

temperatures on 14 January, against the law banning Americans from

adopting Russian orphans. The ban, which President Putin signed on New Years
Eve, was rushed through the Kremlin-controlled Parliament in retaliation for the socalled Magnitsky Act; a U.S. law that blacklists Russian officials accused of human rights
violations. Up to 30,000 protesters marched through Moscow chanting shame on the
scum and carrying the posters with the word shame splashed across the portraits of
Mr . Putin and legislators who voted for the adoptions ban. Over the past two decades,
more than 60,000 orphans have found new families in the U.S. Many of them are
children with disabilities, because they rarely get adopted into Russian families.

Pakistan on 15 January plunged into a fresh political crisis with the Supreme
Court ordering the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for allegedly
receiving bribes in power projects. Already rocked by fiery cleric Tahirul Qadri's
ongoing protest seeking dissolution of provincial and national assemblies, Pakistan
appeared headed for uncertainty with the court setting a 24-hour deadline for authorities
to implement its arrest orders that may cost a second Prime Minister to lose office in less
than a year . 6 2-year-old Ashraf, who became Prime Minister after the exit of
Yousuf Raza Gilani in June last year, has been accused of receiving
kickbacks and commission in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case as
federal minister for water and power. Gilani had to quit in the midst of a raging
battle with the Supreme Court over his refusal to write to Swiss authorities to reopen
graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari there. After Ashraf assumed power, the
government wrote to Swiss authorities. It is not clear as to what will be the political
fallout of the Supreme Court's order against Ashraf as this is probably the first case of an
incumbent Prime Minister being ordered to be arrested in a corruption case. It remains
to be seen whether the ruling PPP will elect a new leader to replace Ashraf. In March last
year, the Supreme Court had declared all contracts signed by the government for "rental
power plants" as illegal and directed authorities to take legal action against those
responsible for clearing the projects, including Ashraf. The National Accountability
Bureau (NAB), the country's main anti-corruption agency, had so far refused to act on
the court's directive. Ashraf was Power Minister when contracts were signed for several
rental power projects, which were part of the PPP-led government's strategy to overcome
a crippling energy shortage.

Delegations from some 140 countries agreed on 20 January gathered in Geneva,

to adopt a groundbreaking treaty limiting the use and emission of healthhazardous mercury, the U.N. said, though environmental activists lamented it did not
go far enough. The worlds first legally binding treaty on mercury, reached after
a week of thorny talks, will aim to reduce global emission levels of the toxic heavy metal,
also known as quicksilver, which poses risks to h u m a n h e a l t h a n d t h e e n v i r
o n m e n t . T h e t r e a t y h a s b e e n n a m e d t h e Minamata Convention on
Mercury, in honour of the Japanese town where inhabitants for decades have suffered
the consequences of serious mercury contamination. The text will be signed in Minamata
in October and will take effect once it has been ratified by 50 countries something
organisers expect will take

Page 9 / 14

three to four years. Mercury is found in products ranging from electrical switches,
thermometers and light-bulbs, to amalgam dental fillings and even facial creams. Large
amounts of the heavy metal are released from small-scale gold mining, coal-burning
power plants, metal smelters and cement production. Serious mercury poisoning affects
the bodys immune system and development of the brain and nervous system, posing the
greatest risk to foetuses and infants. The treaty sets a p h a s e o u t d a t e o f 2 0 2 0 f o r
a l o n g l i n e o f p r o d u c t s , i n c l u d i n g m e r c u r y thermometers, blood pressure
measuring devices, most batteries, and switches, some kinds of fluorescent lamps and
soaps and cosmetics. It, however, provides exceptions for some large medical measuring
devices where no mercury-free alternatives exist. Achim Steiner, U.N. Under-Secretary
General and head of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), told reporters in
Geneva that, the treaty is a dynamic instrument .

The 2nd Health Ministers meeting of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa) concluded in New Delhi, India on January 11,
with a strong call for strengthened cooperation in the implementation of affordable,
equitable and sustainable solutions for common health challenges. During his opening
remarks, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare of India,
highlighted the progress of the BRICS countries in the global AIDS response. In India,
we have reduced new HIV infections by 57% in the
last decade, which puts us on track to halt and reverse the spread of HIV. He was m a k i
n g r e f e r e n c e t o r e a c h i n g o n e k e y H I V-r e l a t e d d e v e l o p m e n t g o a l b
y 2015.Addressing the participants, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe
emphasized the unique role of the BRICS countries to draw on their positive e x p e r i e
ncewithHIVtoserveasanengineforinnovation,researchand
development of health solutions for other developing countries. Several of the other
BRICS Ministers highlighted their national commitments to HIV and the need to create
a BRICS platform to enhance cooperation on global health, including HIV. The five
BRICS countries represent 43% of the global population, giving them a unique and
growing role in contributing to global health. The meeting adopted t h e D e l h i C o
m m u n i q u , which calls for the BRICS to renew efforts to face the c o n t i n u e d c
hallengeposedbyHIV.TheDelhiCommuniqureiteratedthe
commitment of the BRICS countries to ensure that bilateral and regional trade
agreements do not undermine TRIPS flexibilities so as to assure the availability of
affordable generic antiretroviral drugs to developing countries. At the closing of the
meeting, it was announced that the next BRICS Ministerial meeting will
be hosted by South Africa in January 2014.

India was ranked lowest among the worlds major economies for its preparedness to
tackle global environmental risks and second-lowest for economic risks, while
Switzerland is on the top, a report said on 8 January. As per the annual Global
Risks Report published by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF),
the biggest global risk in terms of likelihood would be severe income
disparity for the next 10 years and major systemic financial failure will be
the top-most risk before the world in terms of impact. The report said that
Switzerland is best placed among the worlds 10 major economies for
adapting to or recovering from global economic and environmental risks.
While India is ranked ninth in terms of its ability to tackle global economic risks and
comes last at tenth position for environmental risks. Italy is ranked lowest at tenth
position for economic risks. The rankings of the 10 major economic of the world - Brazil,
China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan,

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Switzerland, Russia, the UK and the US - are based on Global Risks Perception Survey of
over 1,000 experts from across the world. India fared relatively better at sixth position in
terms of the governments risk management effectiveness, although it ranks secondlowest in terms of its global competitiveness index score. The survey on risk
management effectiveness found that Germany, Switzerland and the UK are perceived
by business leaders to have highest risk-management effectiveness, while Russia was
seen as having the least effective risk management. The US and China were ranked
fourth and fifth respectively, while those positioned below India on this metric included
Italy, Brazil, Japan and Russia. Surveys were conducted across a total of 139 countries.
Taking into account the scores of all the countries, India was ranked 38th in terms of its
risk management effectiveness and 32nd for its resilience to global risks. Singapore was
ranked on top in both these surveys . Among the top-five global risks in terms of
likelihood are: severe income disparity, chronic fiscal imbalances, rising
greenhouse e m i s s i o n s , w a t e r s u p p l y c r i s e s a n d m i s m a n a g e
m e n t o f a g e i n g population. On the other hand, water supply crises would be the
second-biggest global risk in terms of impact, followed by chronic fiscal imbalances, food
shortage crises and diffusion of weapons of mass destruction in the top five, the WEF
report said.

The Sultan of Malaysia's Selangor state on 9 January, has decreed that nonMuslims in the region have been barred from using the word "Allah," saying
it is a sacred word exclusive to Muslims. Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had
expressed shock and regret over opposition DAP party's Secretary General Lim Guan
Eng's recent remarks urging the Malaysian Government to allow the word "Allah" to be
used in the Malay version of the Bible.Sources said the Sultan had stated that stern
action could be taken against anyone who questioned the 'fatwa' that was issued
according to state laws. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that
Sultan Sharafuddin had every right, as head of the State's Islamic affairs, to issue the
decree.

Barrack Obama, the US president signed into law the Former Presidents
Protection Act of 2012 which extends life-time protection to the former
American presidents as well as family which includes the children till 16 years of age.
The new Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 also restores the lifetime Secret
Service protection of the former presidents who were not serving as the President before
1 January 1997, along with their spouses.

Indian-origin politician Halimah Yacob (58) is set to become the first

woman Speaker of Singapores Parliament replacing Michael Palmer, who was
forced to quit over his extra-marital affair. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 8
January, said he would nominate Ms. Halimah as the next Speaker when the House sits
on January 14, 2014.Ms. Halimah, a former labour lawyer, is a Member of Parliament
from the ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) and has extensive experience in the labour
movement, social work and pre-school education.

Saudi King Abdullah appointed 30 women to the previously all-male

consultative Shura Council in decrees published on 11 January, marking a
historic first as he pushes reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The
decrees, published by the official SPA news agency, give women a 2 0-per-cent quota in
the Shura Council, a body appointed by the king to advise him on policy and legislation.
King Abdullah took the decisions following consultations

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with religious leaders in the kingdom, where women are subjected to many restrictions
and are not allowed to mix with men, according to the decrees published by the SPA.
They stipulate that men and women will be segregated inside the council, with a special
area designated for females who will enter through a separate door so as not to mix with
their male colleagues. King Abdullah had been carefully treading towards change,
introducing municipal elections for the first time in Saudi Arabia in 2005 .In
September 2011 he granted women the right to cast ballots and run as
candidates in the next local vote, set for 2015.

Obama nominates Hagel as Defence Secy, Brennan as CIA chief

Revamping his national security team, US President Barack Obama on 7 January chose
former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his next defence secretary and nominated his
top counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, who was involved in the planning of the
2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, as the next CIA director. If confirmed
by the Senate, 66-year-old Hagel would replace, defence secretary, Leon Panetta.
Brennan, 57, a former CIA analyst and CIA station head in S a u d i A r a b i a b e f o r e h
e j o i n e d t h e 2 0 0 8 O b a m a C a m p a i g n a n d t h e n h i s administration, would
replace Gen (rtd) David Petraeus, who resigned last year citing extra-marital affairs. "To
help meet the challenges of our time, I'm proud to announce my choice for two key
members of my national security team, Chuck Hagel for secretary of defence and John
Brennan for director of the Central Intelligence Agency," Obama said in an
announcement made in the East Room of the White House.

At least 61 people were crushed to death in a stampede outside a stadium in

Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan after a New Year's Eve fireworks display .
The incident took place near Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium where a crowd had
gathered to watch fireworks, emergency officials said. Fire Chief Issa Sacko said 61
people were now confirmed dead, with at least another 49 injured. President Alassane
Ouattara, visiting the scene and later injured people at a local hospital, called the
incident a national tragedy and said an investigation was under way to determine what
happened. The incident was the worst of its kind in Abidjan since 2010, when a
stampede at a stadium during a football match killed 18 people.

The US Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to stop a

recession-threatening "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts on 1
January night, hours before financial markets reopen after the New Year's holiday.
The bill's passage on a 257-167 vote in the House of Representatives sealed a hard-won
political triumph for the president less than two months after he secured re-election
while calling for higher taxes on the wealthy.

In a landmark ruling, a South Korean court, on 3 January, sentenced a 31year-old pedophile to 15 years in jail and ordered the countrys first everchemical castration. The ruling is the first since the country passed a law in 2011 that
allows hormonal treatment or chemical castration for convicted child molesters, who are
at risk of repeating their crimes. The defendant, only known by his surname Pyo, was
charged with having sex with five teenagers, whom he met through a smartphone chat
service, six times between November 2011 and May 2012 . Mr . Pyo then threatened to
circulate the online video footage of them engaging in sexual acts and nude photos of the
minors . He also raped them threatening with deadly weapons The court also ordered
that Mr. Pyos information

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be made available to the public for 10 years and that he should wear an electronic
monitoring anklet for 20 years after his release from prison. Mr. Pyo was also ordered to
undergo 200 hours of therapy to treat his sexual impulses. South
Korea was the first country in Asia to adopt this type of treatment, although
Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and the U.S. state of California have
used it for years. The Seoul courts verdict came at time when India is debating
whether to introduce punishment like chemical castration to check crimes against
women in the wake of the horrific gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi, who died in
Singapore last month.

China has launched a postage stamp for the upcoming "Year of Snake"
depicting a reptile that carries a bright pearl in its mouth in gratitude for the man who
saved its life. The stamp is with a face value of 1.20 Yuan (19 cents). The snake is the
sixth among the 12 Chinese zodiac signs.

l $100 M First Earthquake-Proof Hindu Temple of the World Opened Near

Hollywood
One among the biggest Hindu temples in US, which is built at an enormous cost of 100
million dollar near Hollywood city, Los Angeles was opened on 3 January 2013. The
temple became an attraction for its majesty as well as eco-friendly design ever since it
was inaugurated on 23 December 2012. This is the 68th Swaminarayan temple built by
Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) by making use
of the 35000 hand-carved Italian Carrara marble pieces as well as Indian Pink
Sandstone. The temple is also said to be the first earthquake-proof Hindu temple of the
world and it is expected to standstill for 1000 years. Making use of the state-of-the-art
technology for providing it protection from the earthquakes, the temple includes two
huge domes, 122 pillars, five pinnacles, 129 a r c h w a y s a n d f o u r b a l c o n i e s . T h
e u p p e r p o r t i o n o f t h e e n t i r e c o m p l e x i s earthquake-proof because it is
segregated from base with line of 40 base-isolator units. There are 6600 hand-carved
motifs which are a depiction of assortment of devotion, dedication and inspiration apart
from historical figures that showcase Hinduism. The temple is located on 20-acre site
comprising of 91 foot pond that is lotus-shaped, gymnasium, classrooms as well as
Cultural Centre. For generating electricity, the temple makes use of the solar power
system. The temple in all is said to be an amalgamation of traditional stone art as well as
architecture along with modern technology.

l US President clears $633 defence bill

US President Barack Obama has signed into law a whopping $633 billion defence bill
that authorises spending on the war in Afghanistan and enhanced security for American
missions worldwide. Obama in a signing statement said that he was doing so to ensure
that the US would continue to have the strongest military in the world. The President,
who is holidaying in Hawaii, said that he was clearing the bill even as he has strong
reservations on several provisions of National Defence Authorisation Act 2013. The
White House had earlier threatened to veto the bill. The bill provides the Department of
Defence with a spending threshold of $633 billion for 2013, including $527.4 billion for
the Pentagon budget and a $88.5 billion for overseas operations.

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