Archive for ‘Chindia Alert’

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
04/12/2013

Urgent deal reached in Africa to cut down illegal ivory trade | Fox News

Key states where the illegal ivory trade flourishes have pledged to take urgent measures to try to halt the illicit trade and secure elephant populations across Africa, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, said Wednesday.

elephant.jpg

The agreement was reached at the African Elephant Summit convened by the government of Botswana and the IUCN held in Gaborone over the past few days.

The measures were agreed upon by key African elephant range states including Gabon, Kenya, Niger and Zambia and ivory transit states Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia, and ivory destination states, including China and Thailand, said the IUCN in a statement.

\”Our window of opportunity to tackle the growing illegal ivory trade is closing and if we do not stem the tide, future generations will condemn our unwillingness to act,\” Botswana President Ian Khama told the summit.

\”Now is the time for Africa and Asia to join forces to protect this universally valued and much needed species,\” he said.

via Urgent deal reached in Africa to cut down illegal ivory trade | Fox News.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Politics, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , ,
04/12/2013

IT push aims to boost domestic demand |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn

Work on 4G licenses and broadband

Internet access to be speeded up

China is to promote consumption of IT-related products and services as it seeks to spur domestic demand and push economic upgrading.

It will speed up work to issue licenses for the fourth generation (4G) mobile network this year and accelerate development of broadband Internet access, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The nation is aiming for annual average growth of 20 percent in the information consumption industry from 2013 to 2015, the statement said.

The meeting demanded implementation of the “Broadband China” strategy, stepped-up efforts to construct and upgrade network infrastructure, pushing forward the FTTH (Fiber To the Home) project and improving Internet speed.

China, which has the largest number of mobile phones in the world at 1.2 billion, is already building 4G trial networks in major cities.

China Mobile, its largest telecom carrier, is promoting the homegrown Time-Division Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE) 4G standard and hopes to start commercial 4G rollout as soon as possible.

via IT push aims to boost domestic demand |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in China alert, Consumer, Digital communications, Economics, Internet, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
04/12/2013

UK and China agree £45m pig semen export deal | World news | theguardian.com

So that’s how the £5bn trade deal is made up!

“Britain has won the right to export pig semen to China in a deal worth £45m a year.

A pig

Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, who is accompanying David Cameron on his trip to China, has also embarked on negotiations to export pigs\’ trotters – a local delicacy – to China.

Under the deal with China, the \”porcine semen\” can be flown to the country in frozen and fresh form. Pigs will not be flying but their seed will take to the air.

A No 10 spokesperson said: \”We\’re doing all we can to ensure that businesses up and down the country reap the rewards from our relationship with China. And that includes our pig farmers. This new deal to export pig semen will be worth £45m to UK firms and means Britain\’s best pigs will help sustain the largest pig population in the world.

\”And we\’re not stopping there, we\’re talking to the Chinese about serving up pigs trotters on Beijing\’s finest dining tables. That would be a real win-win – a multimillion pound boost for Britain and a gastronomic treat for Chinese diners.\”

The exports start in the first quarter of next year. Four UK artificial insemination centres, based in England and Northern Ireland, will start making preparations for the exports in the new year.

Half of the world\’s pigs are in China but the country needs to improve pig genetics. A government source said: \”China has an interest to increase the efficiency of their production, while minimising the environmental impact of increased production. The UK industry for pig production can play a large and important role in helping China achieve greater efficiency through the provision of high-quality genetic stock.”

via UK and China agree £45m pig semen export deal | World news | theguardian.com.

Posted in agriculture, China alert, Economics, exports | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , ,
04/12/2013

Indian Army recruitment done on caste, region, religion lines, SC told – The Hindu

Grouping of people from a particular region in an Army regiment is unconstitutional and amounts to discrimination on caste, region and religion basis, a petitioner challenging the recruitment policy told the Supreme Court.

In an affidavit filed in the apex court countering the assertion of the Army which had justified the policy for administrative convenience and operational requirements, the petitioner pleaded that such policy should be dismantled as it is also not followed by Indian Navy and Air Force.

Earlier, the Army told the Supreme Court that it does not recruit on the basis of caste, region and religion but justified grouping of people coming from a region in a regiment for administrative convenience and operational requirements.

Countering the stand taken by the Army, the petitioner, I.S. Yadav, a doctor from Rewari in Haryana, said, “The respondent (Army) has justified the recruitment in Indian Navy and Air Force which is not based on caste/region and religion basis because of the operational requirements of these forces. But in the same breath, it justifies the caste/region/religion-based recruitment giving the same excuse of operational and administrative requirements.

via Army recruitment done on caste, region, religion lines, SC told – The Hindu.

Posted in Defence, Discrimination, Illegal practices, India alert, Military, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
04/12/2013

Connecting borrowers and lenders: Indians try peer-to-peer model | India Insight

Srinivas Porika tried for months to get a loan of 250,000 rupees ($4,000) to pay for his sister’s wedding, but every bank he tried turned him down. The problem: Porika’s employer, a tech start-up company, was not on the banks’ lists of pre-approved companies.

“They were ready to give me a credit card, but were not ready to give me a loan,” said the 28-year-old from Hyderabad, who met several bank managers and officials to plead his case.

The wedding went ahead in 2012, but only after Porika dipped into his savings and borrowed from friends. With an insufficient bonus at work and pressure mounting to pay off his debts this year, Porika turned to a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending website.

Entrepreneurs in India are now experimenting with the P2P business model, helping people like Porika, with websites such as i-lend.in and faircent.com providing a meeting ground for borrowers and lenders.

Such portals charge an upfront fee from both groups and get the borrower’s documents and employment details verified by a third party. A contract with terms and conditions is signed within a week, with a recovery process in place for those who default on payments.

Lenders can choose from a list of verified borrowers on the website. They are also advised to spread their investment among borrowers to lessen the risk of default.

via Connecting borrowers and lenders: Indians try peer-to-peer model | India Insight.

Posted in Economics, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
03/12/2013

Confusion over Indian election symbols used for millions of illiterate voters | The Times

A curious contest is heating up among India’s political parties as the country prepares for the biggest democratic exercise in history when 714 million voters go to the polls in the spring.

Parties are fighting to secure the right to symbols they hope will appeal to hundreds of millions of India’s illiterate voters.

For decades, when Indians have entered the polling booth they have been presented not just with a list of parties and candidates, but also a variety of household items sketched on the ballot paper to help the 1 in 4 voters who cannot read.

For the ruling Congress Party it is an open palm. For India’s main opposition party, the BJP, it is a blossoming lotus flower.

Whistles, coconuts, walking sticks, nail clippers, cauliflowers and toothbrushes have all been used as political symbols upon which illiterate voters can press a thumb print to mark their choice of party.

The Rashtriya Ulama Council uses a kettle, while the Republican Party of India uses a refrigerator. The Aadarshwadi Congress Party uses a batsman at the crease.

However, in India’s vibrant and chaotic democracy, some popular symbols such as the elephant or clock are often claimed by several parties, leading to squabbles over which one has the right to use them.

A foretaste of the turmoil ahead was offered this week, when two parties in the Delhi assembly elections, due to be held tomorrow, clashed over the right to use the bicycle, a perennial favourite.

Only after intervention by election officials did the parties grudgingly agree to a compromise deal under which the Samajwadi Party (SP) will fight under the banner of the glass tumbler, while the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party (JKPP) will plump for the instant camera.

Adding to potential confusion among voters, in another nearby constituency, Ballimaran, the SP is fighting under the symbol of the cup-and-saucer while the JKPP is running under the ceiling fan.

via Confusion over Indian election symbols used for millions of illiterate voters | The Times.

Posted in India alert, Internal politics, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
03/12/2013

The banquet that wasn’t — and then a gift horse | The Times

If I had been asked before this visit, I would have predicted that PM Cameron would have been feted with the traditional 10-12 course Chinese banquet that foreign dignitaries have been used to. To my shock and surprise, China‘s leaders are “walking the talk”, at least regarding frugality and austerity at banquets.  This is almost on the boundary of ‘losing face’; such is their determination to re-educate the CCP cadres in the right behaviour wrt to the people’s money.

Incidentally, I wonder if Mr Cameron or his protocol advisors realise the signal honour he was accorded to be hosted not only by his counterpart PM Li (as is appropriate) but also by President Xi (whose presence is only required when meeting a foreign head of state (which, of course is the Queen and not Mr Cameron).

“From a humble bowl of creamy mushroom soup to a political biography of Margaret Thatcher, yesterday’s gifts and meals were freighted with meaning.

David Cameron and Li Keqiang

Within hours of landing in Beijing and meeting Li Keqiang, his Chinese counterpart, David Cameron was entertained at a lunch with “banquet” in the title — but austerity very plainly on the menu.

Behind the grandeur of the setting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the lunch held in Mr Cameron’s honour — a frugal repast that included bamboo fungus and boiled sea bass — was a reflection of a Chinese government campaign against sumptuous official banqueting and ostentatious expenditure from the public purse.

In the earliest days of his leadership of the Chinese Communist Party this year, Xi Jinping held a meeting of the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and said that officials should “conduct all their undertakings industriously and thriftily and stand fast against lavishness, hedonism and extravagance”.

Officials scrambled to swap their Rolexes and Hèrmes belts for dowdier accessories that would not be noticed by eagle-eyed citizens, and their lunches and dinners were downsized. Mr Xi made a mantra of the term “si cai yi tang” — the “four dishes and a soup” that qualify as China’s most basic meal.

As a People’s Liberation Army band played to accompany their lunch, Mr Cameron was served a meal that came acceptably close to four dishes and a soup. The soup was creamy mushroom and a “beef steak of Chinese style” provided the mainstay of four dishes that followed. In a culinary flourish that may have reminded the Prime Minister of school lunches in his youth, he was served sago pudding for dessert.

Mr Xi’s campaign against luxury has had a chilling effect on many restaurants in Beijing and on the producers of the high-end liquor that is now largely absent from the dinner tables of Chinese officials and military officers.”

via The banquet that wasn’t — and then a gift horse | The Times.

Posted in austerity, China alert, Economics, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
03/12/2013

Prithvi-II missile successfully test-fired – The Times of India

India on Tuesday successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha as part of a user trial by defence forces.

Test flight of the Prithvi SS-150

Test flight of the Prithvi SS-150 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired at around 10:05am from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range, about 15 km from here, defence sources said.

Describing the launch of the sophisticated missile as a complete success, ITR Director MVKV Prasad said all the mission parameters were met during the trial.

\”The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) and monitored by scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise,\” the sources said.

via Prithvi-II missile successfully test-fired – The Times of India.

Posted in Aerospace, India alert, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
03/12/2013

China’s yuan surpasses euro as 2nd most-used currency in trade finance: SWIFT | Reuters

China\’s yuan currency overtook the euro in October, becoming the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organization SWIFT said on Tuesday.

100 Yuan notes are seen in this illustration picture in Beijing November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee

The market share of yuan usage in trade finance, or Letters of Credit and Collection, grew to 8.66 percent in October 2013. That improved from 1.89 percent in January 2012.

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, now ranks behind the U.S. dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08 percent.

The top five countries using the yuan for trade finance in October were China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany and Australia, SWIFT said in a statement.

\”The RMB is clearly a top currency for trade finance globally and even more so in Asia,\” Franck de Praetere, SWIFT\’s Asia Pacific head of payments and trade markets said.

The RMB remained the 12th payments currency of the world, with a slightly decreased share of 0.84 percent compared with 0.86 percent in September.

RMB payments increased in value by 1.5 percent in October, while growth for all payments currencies was at 4.6 percent.

The world\’s second-largest economy is accelerating the pace of financial reform to promote its currency to international players beyond Hong Kong. China aims to lift the yuan\’s global clout and reduce its reliance on the U.S. dollar.

via China’s yuan surpasses euro as 2nd most-used currency in trade finance: SWIFT | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Reserve currency | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
03/12/2013

BBC News – Pisa tests: UK stagnates as Shanghai tops league table

Far be it for me to defend the UK‘s scholastic standards.  But comparing a country’s average against three single cities is a bit unfair!

“The UK is falling behind global rivals in international tests taken by 15-year-olds, failing to make the top 20 in maths, reading and science.

Maths scores

England\’s Education Secretary Michael Gove said since the 1990s, test performances had been \”at best stagnant, at worst declining\”.

Shanghai in China is the top education system in the OECD\’s Pisa tests.

Within the UK, Scotland outperformed England at maths and reading, but Wales is below average in all subjects.

Mr Gove told MPs that his reforms, such as changing the curriculum, school autonomy and directing financial support towards poorer pupils, were designed to prevent schools in England from \”falling further behind\”.

He highlighted the rapid improvements that had been made in countries such as Poland, Germany and Vietnam.

Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt called on Mr Gove to take some responsibility for the lack of progress and said the results showed that collaboration between schools and teachers was more effective than market forces.”

via BBC News – Pisa tests: UK stagnates as Shanghai tops league table.

Posted in China alert, education | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , ,
« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India