International and Bilateral: 29th, 30th and 31st Oct, 2011

American exit from Iraq “golden” victory: Iran

The exit of American forces from Iraq as a “golden” victory, and officials in Tehran denounced Washington's intention of opening a “virtual” embassy on the internet.
U.S. President Barack Obama had declared that all the 40,000 remaining troops would be withdrawn by the year-end
But as it withdraws forces, the U.S. may have plans to strengthen forces in six countries that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which are in close proximity to Iran.
To offset the “the threat of a belligerent Iran,” Washington is also seeking to expand military ties with the GCC nations — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Iranians have also dismissed the announcement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that a “virtual embassy” would be opened in the form of a website, which would provide Iranians information and a route to access visas.

Kamalesh Sharma re-appointed C'wealth Secretary-General

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma was re-appointed to the post for four more years at a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government
He served as India's High Commissioner to the U.K., where he was involved in Commonwealth activities.

BASIC countries to frame common position on Kyoto protocol

The Environment Ministers of BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — will frame a common position ahead of the crucial Durban climate conference due next month on several issues including the second commitment period of Kyoto protocol
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Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan will visit Beijing on Monday to attend the ninth meeting of BASIC countries. It is mainly for preparing the negotiations for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference.
The Kyoto protocol favours legally binding agreements, which call for mandatory emission cuts by the rich countries and voluntary cuts by the developing nations. India is opposed to any legally binding cuts for the developing countries

Higgins to be Ireland's President

A prominent left-wing poet and peace activist who campaigned against the Iraq invasion is to be Ireland's new President succeeding the incumbent, Mary Mc
Ireland's new President succeeding the incumbent, Mary McAleese, the occupant of the largely ceremonial post since 1997 having won two successive seven-year terms, the maximum permitted under the Constitution.
Seventy-year-old Michael D. Higgins, who contested on behalf of the Labour party, a partner in Ireland's coalition government led by Fine Gael, polled almost 40 per cent of the first-preference votes in the elections

Can India make a dent in China's growing tea market?

The Indian government on Friday launched a first attempt to boost the export of Indian tea to China, the world's biggest tea consumer, but is likely to face an uphill task in penetrating a competitive and already over-crowded market, according to Chinese retailers.
India invited some of China's biggest retailers and importers of tea to a tasting session in Beijing to sample Assam and Darjeeling teas, which are being marketed as a high-end product for China's fast growing market for luxury teas.
The effort, Chinese retailers and importers said, was welcome but may have come too late, with Sri Lanka, a major tea exporter, already cornering much of the Chinese import market, particularly for black teas.
Five years ago, Siliguri-based Lochan Tea became one of the first Indian companies to enter into a commercial contract with a Chinese firm to sell Darjeeling tea in China. Makaibari Royal Tea of Darjeeling has also begun selling its products here.
In China, green tea is the most widely consumed. The luxury market, which India is targeting, is more diverse, but very price-conscious
Compared to Chinese tea, the advantage of Indian tea, especially red tea, is the quality is very high
It is organic and natural, and there are no chemicals.
Sri Lanka being more active in reaching out to the Chinese market.

India, Japan discuss nuclear pact

Notwithstanding its own nuclear disaster, Japan on Saturday assured India of taking forward the civil nuclear cooperation during the fifth bilateral Strategic Dialogue, which covered discussions on key areas, including defence and trade.
New Delhi also conveyed its appreciation to Japan for its decision to remove seven Indian entities from a banned list, paving the way for bilateral high-technology trade.
One of the entities removed from this List is Indian Rare Earths Limited. We now look forward to greater cooperation between Indian and Japanese firms in the rare earth sector

Paraplegic Nepal scribe on cross-country awareness drive

Nepalese Journalist and civil rights activist Kanak Mani Dixit will undertake a car yatra from Nepal to Pakistan via India to raise awareness about spinal injury prevention and rehabilitation in the subcontinent.
Mr. Dixit, himself a paraplegic after a hiking accident fractured his spine a decade ago, plans to use donations collected during the journey to expand the capacity of the Spinal Centre, Nepal.
Besides the need to raise awareness about spinal injuries, “the sudden rise of the number of patients over the last year has forced us to raise our service from 39 beds to 51. This has led to an unexpected financial crunch. The rally will help meet the challenge of growth even as we make plans for sustainability,'' he said in a press note.

13 U.S. troops killed in Kabul

A Taliban car bomber struck a NATO military convoy in Kabul on Saturday, killing 17 people, including 13 U.S. troops, in the deadliest attack to hit Afghanistan in months.
It was the deadliest incident in the more than 10-year war since the Taliban apparently shot down a U.S. helicopter in August, killing 30 American troops.
At around the same time in the eastern city of Asadabad in Kunar province, a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside a local branch of Afghanistan's spy agency
The attacks come a day after the Taliban launched a four-hour long assault on a U.S.-run civilian-military base and NDS local branch in the southern city of Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the insurgent movement.
Also on Saturday, three NATO troops were killed when a man dressed in an Afghan Army uniform turned his gun on them, the coalition said, adding that the shooter was later killed.

Australia to host global piracy talks next year

Australia is to host international talks next year to tackle piracy, hoping to stop a crime that has seen hundreds of people taken hostage in this year
Piracy is now rife off the coast of Somalia and is spreading to other regions around Africa and Mr. Rudd said it had not only increased the costs of global trade but harmed some countries' fishing and tourism industries.
The U.N. Security Council on Monday called on states around the world to criminalise piracy as a way of stepping up the campaign against record numbers of sea attacks.
The move came after the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said piracy had reached record levels with 352 attacks worldwide so far in 2011.

Give the poor unwanted fish, says EU fisheries chief

Fish from European waters will be distributed to the poor as an alternative to throwing them away at sea
as part of a proposed new deal with fishermen aimed at ending the wasteful practice of discarding edible fish at sea, lower value fish could be distributed to charities and other public organisations.
Key to the reforms will be an end to the practice of discards, by which as much as two-thirds of the catch of some species are abandoned at sea, almost all of them to die.
Discards are a byproduct of the rules on fishing quotas — when fishermen exceed their allowance, or net species for which they lack a quota, they must throw the excess back.
But the Commissioner faces stiff opposition from fishing groups and some member states, because forcing fishermen to land all their catch will mean lower incomes. Current practices allow fleets to discard damaged fish, or lower value species, for which they receive less money, in order to maximise their profits.

C'wealth remains divided on demand for rights commissioner

Commonwealth member states have agreed to strengthen an existing ministerial action group in what could be a bid to stave off a demand for a new human rights commissioner, an issue which has divided the 54-member group.
India, which is represented here at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) by Vice President Hamid Ansari, is among the nations which oppose the establishment of a human rights commissioner on the grounds that it would duplicate the work of the United Nations, risk international intervention on many issues that should be handled domestically, and would cost too much.
The recommendation to create a rights commissioner comes from the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), an 11-member non-governmental team commissioned to suggest ways to keep the Commonwealth — primarily a group of former British colonies — relevant in a changing world.
A commissioner would have the power to investigate rights abuses, develop early-warning strategies and develop capacity-building measures to prevent abuses.

Welcome tinged with scepticism in U.K.

A touch of scepticism marked the generally positive reaction here to the move to end gender discrimination in royal succession announced by Prime Minister David Cameron at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth
there had been at least 11 attempts over the years to amend the 300-year-old Act of Settlement that bars an elder daughter to succeed to the throne and, instead, gives precedence to a younger male heir.
The Queen's reference to need for gender equality in public life in her opening speech to the Perth summit was seen as signalling her personal support for the move.
Legislation will be required in Britain and 16 other Commonwealth countries, which have the Queen as their head of state, to give effect to the proposed reforms.

Nayef named Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Saudi state TV announced the naming of Prince Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz al-Saud as heir to the throne following the death of the second-in-line
Traditionally, the king chooses his heir. But Prince Nayef was chosen by Allegiance Council, a 37-member body composed of his brothers and cousins. King Abdullah created the council as part of his reforms and gave it the mandate to choose the heir.
Prince Nayef has earned praise in the West for leading crackdowns on Islamist extremist cells in Saudi Arabia
He has also opposed some of King Abdullah's moves for more openness, saying in 2009 he saw no need for women to vote or participate in politics.
Even so, it seems unlikely that he would cancel King Abdullah's reforms if he became King. They include the opening of a co-ed university in 2009 where both genders can mix, though many religious authorities forbid any mixing of the sexes.

“Class” row over move to revive British Empire Medal

Prime Minister David Cameron has been accused of heightening class divisions after he proposed to revive the British Empire Medal (BEM), once awarded to people not considered suitable for the more grand honours because of their lowly social status.
The award was abolished 20 years ago

Visa-related fee will be nominal, Sri Lanka assures India

Earlier, it announced a tourist visa fee of $ 50, payable online ahead of commencement of journey for visitors from 78 countries, including India. Till now, Sri Lanka had a no-charge, visa-on-arrival system for foreign tourists.
Sri Lanka will reduce its tourist-visa-related administrative fee for visitors
all travellers, barring those from the Maldives and Singapore, will have to fill up an online ‘electronic travel authorisation,' pay a fee, and get approval ahead of travel.
the government was considering reduction of fee for tourists from the SAARC countries. This followed requests from some countries, including India.
India does not extend the visa-on-arrival system to Sri Lankans but a single-entry tourist visa, valid for three months, costs about $6.5 [about LKR 650 in all, including administrative and VFS charges.