International and Bilateral Issues

Chinese lawmakers have this week begun discussing a landmark draft law on anti-terrorism
the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislature, will “pave the way for further crackdowns on terrorism”
The law would address the “lack of clear definitions” under the current criminal law to prosecute terrorism-related cases
convict more than 7,000 people since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. after China intensified its efforts against the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.
The law, however, gave “no concrete definitions of terrorist acts, terrorist organisations or terrorists”
He said the absence of a clear law had also hindered China's ability to cooperate on international counter-terrorism efforts.
The new draft bill defines terrorist acts “as those acts which are intended to induce public fear or to coerce state organs or international organisations by means of violence, sabotage, threats or other tactics”.
The bill says the list of terrorist organisations and terrorists will be made public. It also includes a provision to freeze the funds and assets of terrorist organisations and terrorists when their names are made public.
China and India both have long been plagued by terrorism and the two countries have mutual interest in this area

British government on Tuesday banned nearly 1,900 Indian banks, mostly small regional cooperatives, for the purpose of verifying applicants' maintenance funds.
Under Tier 4 of the points-based immigration system, all applicants are required to submit a financial statement as a proof that they have enough funds to support themselves and pay for their course in Britain.
Names of both banned and approved banks are available on the UK Border Agency's website.

Australia has cancelled 15,066 student visas of foreigners in the past year for breaching visa conditions and 3,624 students face deportation for flunking subjects or missing classes, with Indians among the hardest hit
Further, visas were cancelled for 2,235 students who had quit their original courses and were working illegally, in some cases in brothels
One in every five international students was Chinese, while one in every six was Indian.

A senior NATO official has ruled out a joint NATO-Russia anti-missile shield in Europe and suggested instead that the sides share information on missile threats.
Moscow has firmly rejected the NATO invitation
“We are being invited to monitor the realisation of a plan that we see as creating a risk to our forces of deterrence,” Russian Foreign Minister
The U.S. last week offered to give Russia “written assurances” that the system was not directed against Russia, but refused to provide legally binding commitments.
NATO is building a system of missile interception that is closed off to Russia and is being deployed, not near potential missile threat zones, but in northern Europe, close to Russia's missile bases.

The last of the U.S. B53 nuclear bombs, the most destructive weapon in its arsenal that is about 600 times more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima, will be dismantled as part of President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the number of atomic weapons.
B53s, described as “high yield strategic thermonuclear bombs”, were first introduced around 1962.
It was deployed at the height of the Cold War and was targeted at Russia.
The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility.
The B53s were designed to be dropped from a B-52 bomber as a “bunker buster”, sending shockwaves similar to an earthquake through the ground to collapse deep underground shelters near Moscow where high-ranking officials might be.

U.S. President Barack Obama will begin a series of executive-branch actions to confront housing, education and other economic problems over the coming months, heralded by a new mantra: “We can't wait” for lawmakers to act.
Mr. Obama will announce policy changes to ease college graduates' repayment of federal loans
Polls show overwhelming support for pieces of the $447-billion package, which includes expanded tax cuts for workers and employers, and spending for infrastructure projects and for state aid to keep teachers and emergency responders at work.
But Republicans oppose provisions that would offset the costs with higher taxes on the wealthy.