China, Russia eye closer friendship amid tensions with West

Yahoo – AFP, 25 June 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Chinese President 

Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on

June 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin promised ever-closer cooperation and oversaw a series of deals Saturday, as the two countries deepen ties in the face of growing tensions with the West.

In what was Putin's fourth trip to China since Xi became President in 2013, the two men stressed their shared outlook which mirrors the countries' converging trade, investment and geopolitical interests.

"Russia and China stick to points of view which are very close to each other or are almost the same in the international arena," Putin said.

The Russian leader added that the two had discussed "strengthening together the fight against international terrorism", the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, Syria, and stability in the South China Sea.

Russia and China have been brought together by mutual geopolitical concerns, among them wariness of the United States.

The two countries often vote as a pair on the UN Security Council, where both hold a veto, sometimes in opposition to Western powers on issues such as Syria.

China has raised tensions with its neighbours and the US over its claims to virtually all of the South China Sea, where it has built militarised artificial islands to bolster its claims in the contested but strategically vital region.

Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and support for other Ukrainian separatist movements have led to the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.

At loggerheads with the West, Moscow is seeking to refocus its gas and oil exports from Europe -- its main energy market -- towards Asia and is diligently building an energy alliance with Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a joint press briefing with Russian

 President Vladimir Putin, in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on June 25, 2016

(AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

'Friends forever'

Xi emphasised that this year marked the 15th anniversary of the China-Russia treaty of friendship and hoped that the two countries might remain "friends forever".

"President Putin and I equally agree that when faced with international circumstances that are increasingly complex and changing, we must persist even harder in maintaining the spirit of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership and cooperation," he said.

The two sides signed over 30 cooperation deals in areas such as trade, infrastructure, foreign affairs, technology and innovation, agriculture, finance, energy, sports and the media.

Notably, Russian oil giant Rosneft inked a deal with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) on developing a gas processing and petrochemical plant in East Siberia, as China seeks energy to fuel its economic growth.

Xi and Putin signed two joint statements themselves, one "to strengthen global strategic stability" and one to promote the development of information and cyberspace.

Putin said that 58 different deals worth a total of around $50 billion were currently in discussion, adding that the two countries will seek to secure an agreement on building a high-speed rail line in Russia by the end of the year.

Xi also called for closer cooperation between news agencies in Russia and China so that both countries could "together increase the influence" of their media on world public opinion.

Under Xi, Communist China has mounted crackdowns on dissidents and tightened restrictions on the media, while critics accuse Putin's Russia of rights abuses.

Scores of environmental activists murdered in 2015: report

Yahoo – AFP, Marlowe Hood, June 20, 2016

Lumad people protest against the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Summit on November 19, 2015 (AFP Photo/Joseph Agcaoili)

Paris (AFP) - At least 185 activists and indigenous people fighting environmental pillaging were murdered in 2015, the watchdog group Global Witness said on Monday.

The grisly toll is the largest recorded -- nearly 60 percent more than in 2014 -- since the NGO began tracking such violence worldwide in 2002, and is probably higher because many killings go unreported, it said in its annual report.

Brazil and the Philippines together accounted for nearly a third of the total, followed by Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2015 Was a Deadly Year for 

Environmental Activists

More than 40 murders were related to mining operations, according to the report.

Disputes over agribusiness, logging and dam projects also led to numerous killings.

"Communities that take a stand are increasingly finding themselves in the firing line of companies' private security, state forces and a thriving market for contract killers," Global Witness campaign leader Billy Kyte said in a statement.

"Governments must urgently intervene to stop this spiralling violence."

Indigenous people -- nearly 40 percent of the victims -- are frequent targets of land and resource grabs, often in collusion with corrupt local officials, he said.

The area on Mindanao in the Philippines inhabited by the Lumad people, for example, saw 25 killings last year alone, the highest death rate of any region monitored.

The Lumad homeland is rich in coal, nickel and gold.

In a particularly brazen attack, the father and grandfather of Filipino activist Michelle Campos were murdered in public for their stand against mining operations, Global Witness reported.

"We know the murderers -- they are still walking free in our community," Campos, who escaped harm, said in a statement.

In Brazil, the NGO said, the fight to save the Amazon is "increasingly a fight against criminal gangs who terrorise local populations at the behest of timber companies and the officials they have corrupted."

Thousands of unauthorised logging camps are scattered across Brazil's Amazon basin, where precious hardwoods -- mahogany, ebony, teak -- are cut and prepared for export.

A 2014 report from Chatham House estimates that 80 percent of timber coming from Brazil is illicit, accounting for a quarter of illegal wood on the global market.

"The murders that are going unpunished in remote mining villages or deep within rainforests are fuelled by the choices consumers are making on the other side of the world," Kyte said.

The top markets for precious woods are the United States, China and the European Union.

In early March this year, two masked men gunned down indigenous activist Berta Caceres, recipient of a prestigious international environmental prize for fighting a dam project in Honduras.

Last week, some 500 indigenous Lenca people held a protest in Honduran capital Tegucigalpa to demand an international probe into the murder.

One of five people arrested for Caceres' murder is a high-ranking employee of Desarrollos Energeticos (DESA), an electricity company involved in the construction of the hydro-electric dam against which she campaigned.

Scores of environmental activists murdered in 2015 https://t.co/E4w77mXiwn pic.twitter.com/wZz1jjfgcL

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 20, 2016

Dutch woman, 22, arrested in Qatar after reporting her rape

DutchNews, June 11, 2016

A Qatari woman walks in front of the city skyline in Doha. Photo: AP/
Kamran Jebreili

 A 22-year-old Dutch woman from Utrecht has been in jail in Qatar since March since making a police report she had been raped, Dutch media reported on Saturday. 

The woman, named in the media as Laura, faces being charged with having sex outside marriage, which carries a jail term of up to three years 

The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed on Saturday that Laura has been arrested but said she had not yet been charged with anything. 

Laura had gone out dancing at the Crystal Lounge in the Doha Hotel, a popular hangout with foreign tourists where alcohol is permitted, the Telegraaf said. She was on holiday in Qatar with a friend called Lisa, her mother told the Telegraaf. 

According to Laura’s family’s lawyer, she went to the police after waking up in a strange apartment and realising she had been raped. She thinks it likely her drink was drugged and had flashbacks of being taken from the hotel in a taxi by an Arab man, lawyer Brian Lokollo told Radio 1 news. 

Marriage

The man she claims attacked her has also been arrested. According to one newspaper report, he says that he paid Laura to have sex with him. 

Dutch media say Laura is coming under considerable pressure from her alleged attacker’s family to marry the man, so that both would be let off without any charge.

‘I have recommended against this, not only because it would be a appalling thing to do, but I don’t know what the other consequences would be,’ Lokollo said. 

Embassy

A foreign ministry spokesman said an official had been in court with Laura and she had been provided with a list of lawyers but that she wanted to make her own arrangements. Another hearing will take place on Monday, the spokesman said.’Our main aim is to ensure a fair trial,’ he is quoted as saying. 

MPs have urged foreign minister Bert Koenders to make a statement about the situation, in particular the role of the embassy in helping the woman and her family. 

They also want answers on claims it took three weeks before anyone from the embassy visited Laura in jail.

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Singapore PM defends government Internet blockage

Yahoo – AFP, June 10, 2016

Singapore is one of the world's most Internet-savvy societies, offering
broadband speeds envied by many (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Singapore's prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has defended the country's controversial decision to cut off civil servants' work computers from the Internet, calling the move "absolutely necessary" to keep information systems secure.

"Are we happy? I don't think so, because it will slow us down in terms of day-to-day productivity. In terms of security, safety of our systems, safety of our citizens and information concerning them, it's absolutely necessary," he told Singapore media during a visit to Myanmar.

Lee said that the defence and foreign affairs ministries already have separate computers for Internet access and for handling sensitive communications.

There was a huge backlash on Wednesday when The Straits Times newspaper reported that some 100,000 government computers would be affected by the Internet blockage, aimed at keeping data secure and preventing the spread of malware.

It quoted a cyber security official as saying that there were 16 attacks on government systems from unnamed sources in the last year, but the malware was detected and destroyed.

Singapore's prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (L) has defended the country's 

controversial decision to cut off civil servants' work computers from the Internet, 

calling the move 'absolutely necessary' to keep information systems secure

(AFP Photo/Mohd Fyrol)

Malware is software specifically designed to disrupt or damage a computer system.

Civil servants would still be able to access the Internet on their personal devices such as tablets and mobile phones.

Public-school teachers and lecturers would not be affected by the move, officials said.

Singapore is one of the world's most Internet-savvy societies, offering broadband speeds envied by many.

A wide range of government services are available online, including registering for marriage, filing complaints to the police and video consultations with doctors.

Singapore announced in 2014 it was stepping up IT security measures following attacks on a section of the prime minister's website, as well the website of the presidential residence.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Switzerland on trail of hidden funds

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Switzerland to discuss science, business and the moot question of funds alleged to be hidden in Swiss banks, away from Indian tax authorities. The Swiss deny the claim.

Deutsche Welle, 6 June 2016

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his whirlwind trip to Switzerland early on Monday by declaring his intentions to meet with prominent business leaders, and scientists at the CERN European research organization, which operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world.

Modi also met Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann in Geneva (photo).

"In Geneva, I will meet prominent businesspersons. Our agenda will be to expand economic and investment ties. I will meet Indian scientists working at CERN. India takes pride in their contribution to exploring new frontiers of science in the service of humanity," he said.

Hidden assets

According to Indian news agency PTI, Modi was to press the issue of so-called "black money," or funds stashed by Indian nationals in Switzerland - either because the funds came from illicit profits or were being hidden from tax authorities.

Although some reports, including one from India's Central Bureau of Investigation, indicated $500 billion (440 million euros) was hidden in Swiss banks, authorities in the Alpine confederation have consistently denied this.

A closer engagement with the heart of Europe. President and PM lead delegation level talks #IndiaSwitzerland pic.twitter.com/vtvVWXbP8l

— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) June 6, 2016

Nuclear Suppliers Group

Modi was also expected to ask for Switzerland's support for India's bid to join Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 48-member organization aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear war.

Indian membership has been backed the UK, the US and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. However, some countries have voiced opposition to non-signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) joining the group.

Modi has stopped in Switzerland as part of a five-nation tour which has included Afghanistan and Qatar so far.

He is set to leave Geneva for Washington later on Monday.

Asean Committed to Greater Economic Integration

Jakarta Globe, Shoeb Kagda, June 01, 2016

More than 500 participants, including 40 government ministers, three heads of
state and two deputy heads of state and 400 chief executives are gathered for
the two-day meeting, which began in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (01/06).
(Photo courtesy of the World Economic Forum)

Kuala Lumpur. Integration, inclusivity and reform are the key themes of the 25th meeting of the World Economic Forum on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur.

More than 500 participants, including 40 government ministers, three heads of state and two deputy heads of state and 400 chief executives are gathered for the two-day meeting, which began on Wednesday (01/06).

In opening the conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak noted that the global focus was now squarely on Asean as the regional grouping moved towards greater economic integration.

Collectively the 10 members of Asean have a gross domestic product of $2.3 trillion, making them the seventh-largest economy in the world. With a population of 600 million, Asean is also the world's fourth-largest consumer market.

"We know what we are and we know where we want to go, but do we have the determination to reform our economies to claim the prize?" Razak said. "The great opportunity and promise will not miraculously appear without continued efforts to reform, liberalize and integrate our economies."

He added that as a result, greater efforts needed to be undertaken by all member countries in lowering trade barriers and fostering more openness.

Razak cited the example of how Asean member states have reduced tariffs on imports to near zero but non-tariff barriers have tripled. "The AEC [Asean Economic Community] will never reach true fruition if we do not eradicate these barriers," Razak said. "In short, what is required is nothing short of a complete transformation of Asean."

Speaking on the same panel as the Malaysian prime minister, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Asean was moving from cooperation to integration but that the process would require time and effort.

Kalla added that for fuller integration, Asean member states will need to discuss standardization of regulations as well as fostering greater connectivity.

"In Indonesia, our philosophy is equity and equality and we are working very hard to create more inclusive growth," he said.

To this end, the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is focusing on infrastructure development, improving the agriculture sector and boosting manufacturing.

The vice president added however, that Asean needs to juggle between cooperation and competitiveness as a number of countries in the regional bloc are competing for the same investments.

"We should not allow investors to push our labor costs down and force members to compete against each other," he noted. As a possible solution, Kalla floated the idea of having coordinated minimum wages across the region.

Related Article:

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”

Pakistan teen burned alive for refusing marriage proposal

Yahoo – AFP, June 1, 2016

Pakistani police officers man a checkpoint in Islamabad on October 2,
2008 (AFP Photo/Aamir Qureshi)

A young Pakistani woman died Wednesday after she was tortured and set alight in the country's conservative northeast for refusing a marriage proposal from the son of a former colleague, relatives and police said.

Maria Sadaqat, 19, was attacked by a group of people on Monday in the village of Upper Dewal close to the summer hill resort of Murree, outside the capital Islamabad.

"She was badly tortured and then burned alive. We brought her to hospital in Islamabad but she succumbed to her wounds today," Abdul Basit, Sadaqat's uncle, told AFP outside a burns centre at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in the capital.

Grieving relatives outside the centre wept and protested at the teenager's death as police moved her body to another hospital for a post-mortem.

Basit said his niece had been attacked by the principal of the private school where she had formerly worked as a teacher, and by his accomplices after she refused a marriage proposal from his son.

"He was divorced and twice her age, so she refused the proposal and left her job when they pursued her time and again... eventually they attacked her," Basit said.

Police said Sadaqat gave a statement before her death naming the principal and four others as her attackers.

"We have arrested at least one of the accused and a hunt is on for the rest," Mazhar Iqbal, the officer directing the murder investigation, told AFP.

A doctor at the hospital said Sadaqat had succumbed to serious burns.

"The poor woman was becoming better but then could not survive because most parts of her body had serious burn injuries," said Ayesha Ihsani.

It was the second time in just over a month that a Pakistani woman had been murdered over a marriage issue.

A woman believed to be aged between 16-18 was drugged, strangled and her body burnt on the orders of a village jirga (council) in northwest Pakistan on April 29, allegedly for helping a friend to elope with her lover.

Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.

Related Article:

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”