Japan PM's new picks deny neo-Nazi links

Yahoo – AFP, 8 Sep 2014

Newly-appointed Japanese Internal Affairs and Communication Minister Sanae Takaichi

 at a press conference at the prime minister's residence in Tokyo on September 3, 2014

(AFP Photo/Toshifumi Kitamura)

Tokyo (AFP) - Two newly-promoted Japanese politicians moved Monday to distance themselves from allegations of extremism after pictures emerged of them posing alongside the leader of a domestic neo-Nazi party.

Minister Sanae Takaichi and party policy chief Tomomi Inada are seen in separate photographs next to Kazunari Yamada on the home page of the National Socialist Japanese Workers Party.

The pictures will add fuel to claims that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is increasingly surrounding himself with people on the right of Japanese politics.

Party policy chief Tomomi Inada speaks to

 reporters after she visited the controversial 

Yasukuni Shrine to honour the war dead on

April 28, 2014 in Tokyo (AFP Photo/Jiji Press)

Yamada's blog postings indicate admiration for Adolf Hitler and praise for the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre.

In video footage posted on the website, Yamada is seen wearing a stylised swastika during street demonstrations.

Captions for the photographs claim they were taken "sometime in June or July 2011 when (Yamada) visited the conservative lawmakers for talks".

Spokesmen for both senior lawmakers acknowledged Monday that the photographs were genuine and had been taken in their offices over the last few years, but denied there was any political affiliation.

"He was an assistant for an interviewer, and was taking notes and photos," a member of staff at Takaichi's office told AFP, referring to Yamada.

"We had no idea who he was back then, but he requested a snap shot with her. (The minister) wouldn't refuse such requests."

Following media enquiries, the office has asked that the pictures be removed, he said.

"It was careless of us," he said, adding that Takaichi did not share Yamada's view "at all... it is a nuisance".

A staffer at Inada's office said the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) policy chief did not subscribe to Nazi ideology.

"It is disappointing if there are people who would misunderstand that she does," he said.

Abe has courted criticism for his strident nationalism and views on history that some find unpalatable.

In particular his unwillingness to condemn Imperial Japan's behaviour up to and during World War II has proved a sticking point in international relations.

His equivocations about the formalised system of sex slavery -- known euphemistically as "comfort women" -- has particularly irked South Korea and China, and both regularly call on him to re-think his views.

Abe's new 18-strong cabinet, announced last week, includes a number of people with hawkish views.

Takaichi and Inada have both visited Yasukuni Shrine, the supposed repository of the souls of Japan's war dead, including a number of convicted war criminals. The shrine is seen in Asia as a symbol of Japan's lack of repentance for the war.

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UK diplomat weds same-sex partner in Beijing

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-09-07

Brian Davidson, the UK consul-general in Shanghai, marries his partner
Scott Chang, in Beijing, Sept. 6, 2014. (Internet photo)

Notwithstanding China's opposition to gay marriage, United Kingdom's consul-general in Shanghai, Brian Davidson, has tied the knot in Beijing with his same-sex partner Scott Chang, an American citizen.

The wedding, held Saturday at the official residence of the UK's ambassador to China, Sir Sebastian Wood, is reportedly the second same-sex marriage to be conducted by the British diplomatic mission in China, with the first taking place just last week.

Davidson announced the marriage through his account on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, with the declaration, "Love is GREAT."

"I am very proud that the law in the United Kingdom today affords me the same rights as any other British national to be married to whomever I love. This is one very real example of how the United Kingdom practices equality for all," Davidson wrote in Chinese.

"For me, it means that finally, our family and friends (British, Americans and Chinese) can witness the moment we commit to love and cherish each other till death do us part. This is extremely important for both me and my partner," he added.

As of noon Sunday the post has been shared more than 27,000 times and commented on over 16,000 times, with a photo of Davidson and Chang at the wedding liked nearly 44,000 times.

Ambassador Wood also posted a photo of himself with the newly weds on his own Weibo page, together with the following comment in Chinese: "I am delighted and honored to have officiated the same-sex wedding of the UK's consul-general in Shanghai, Brian Davidson, and his partner at my residence today. We wish them a lifetime of happiness together."

Wei Jiangang, founder of the Chinese website Queer Comrades and a friend of the couple, said during the ceremony that it was the first time he was attending a legal same-sex marriage in China. There are still seven countries in the world where homosexual couples would be put to death and 70 countries where they would be thrown into prison, Wei said, adding, "China's gay rights movement still has a long way to go."

Though same-sex marriage and civil unions are not recognized under Chinese law, the wedding is legal under British law as diplomatic missions are afforded special privileges pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Beijing could have still objected to the marriage and prevented it from taking place in Chinese jurisdiction but did not.

Same-sex marriage was legalized in the UK via the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which was passed with a strong majority vote and given royal assent on July 17 last year. The key provisions of the act came into effect on March 13, 2014, with the first officially legal sex-same marriages taking place on March 29.

Same-sex couples can now marry at 23 British consulates around the world, including those on mainland China. The only British mission in China where same-sex marriages are not permitted is in Hong Kong, due to an objection raised by the region's government following aggressive lobbying from Christian groups.

Davidson, 50, who grew up in Northern Ireland and has a law degree from the University of Cambridge, has been consul-general in Shanghai since Jan. 2011, having previously served as consul-general in southern China's Guangzhou province from Oct. 2006.

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Detention of rights group researchers confirmed by Qatar

Authorities in Qatar have confirmed they are detaining and interrogating two international rights group workers. The men had been investigating conditions for workers building facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Deutsche Welle, 7 Sep 2014

The Gulf nation's foreign ministry said in a statement that Krishna Upadhyaya and Ghimire Gundev (pictured), who were working for the Norway-based Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), were being "interrogated for having violated provisions of the law" in Qatar. The statement, released by the official Qatar News Agency late on Saturday, did not elaborate on what those provisions were.

"All of the actions that have been taken against the two Britons are consistent with principles of human rights enshrined in the constitution," the statement said.

The two men were detained on August 31 in Doha. They had been carrying out follow-up research for the GNRD about the working conditions of migrant laborers, after authorities in Qatar promised reforms to improve safety, pay and conditions in response to an international outcry over the expatriates' treatment.

The emirate is in the midst of a construction boom as it prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Rights group welcomes news

The Qatar news agency reported a representative of the British embassy in Doha had visited the two men, something confirmed by the GNRD which on its website said a British representative had passed on a message from Upadhyaya to his family.

"I am well, I have been well looked after and I will be home soon. We have been arrested due to problems with our paperwork," the message read.

Rights group Amnesty International had raised concerns about the pair's disappearance. Their whereabouts had been unknown for several days, prompting Amnesty International to express fears for their safety.

GNRD reported that researcher Upadhyaya and photographer Gundev and had complained of being followed and "harassed" by police prior to their disappearance. The group has called for the men's release.

'No regrets' for Qatar vote: UEFA President

Meanwhile, the president of European football's world organizing body, UEFA's Michel Platini, stood by his controversial choice to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 tournament, in comments published Sunday in German newspaper "Bild am Sonntag." He also defended his vote for Russia to host the 2018 tournament, despite suggestions to strip Russia of the tournament as a penalty for its role in the Ukraine conflict.

"I don't regret voting for Qatar and Russia. I wanted the Football World Cup to be played in countries which had not yet hosted it before. It was no mistake to vote for Qatar."

se/hc (AP, AFP, dpa, sid)

Afghan court hands down death penalty to seven men for gang-rape

Afghanistan has handed down the death penalty to seven men found guilty of the gang-rape and robbery of four women. The case has sparked nationwide outrage and was broadcast live on television.

Deutsche Welle, 7 Sep 2014

Four of seven men convicted of raping and robbing stand trial at a court
in Kabul September 7, 2014

In a trial that lasted only a few hours, an Afghan judge on Sunday convicted the seven men of armed robbery and sexual assault.

"Based on criminal law these individuals are sentenced to the severest punishment which is death sentence," he said of the summary trial which was televised nationwide.

The men were found guilty of kidnapping and attacking the female members of a group that was driving home to Kabul from a wedding last month. Police said the attackers were dressed in police uniforms and armed when they stopped the convoy of cars that included the women.

They then dragged the four women - one of whom was reported to be pregnant - out of the vehicles, robbed them, beat them and raped them.

"This kind of gang rape is unprecedented in Kabul," Kabul police chief General Zahir earlier said in his testimony. Crimes against women in Afghanistan are common but mostly take place inside homes.

Outside the courtroom dozens of activists gathered demanding speedy justice. Inside the court, applause erupted after General Zahir called for the men to be hanged.

Widespread outrage

The gang-rape unleashed a wave of public concern nationwide via the media and the Internet.

The reaction echoed that to similar crimes in India including the fatal attack on a student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012 that made headlines worldwide.

The Kabul assault has led to such outpouring of rage that President Hamid Karzai had earlier called for the men to be hanged.

The men can appeal the verdict in a higher court.

hc/se (AFP, Reuters)

Giant rabbit sculpture attracts thousands in Taoyuan

Want China Times, CNA 2014-09-07

Moon Rabbit sculpture in Taoyuan, Sept. 4. (File photo/CNA)

A giant white rabbit sculpture on display at the 2014 Taoyuan Land Arts Festival in northern Taiwan attracted large crowds Saturday, the first day of the three-day weekend, the organizers said.

The 25-meter tall Moon Rabbit, designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, drew some 60,000 people between 9am and noon Saturday alone, the Taoyuan county government said.

With a running event scheduled for Sunday and the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday falling on Monday, many more visitors are expected over the next two days, the organizers said.

The sculpture, made of waterproof paper, wood and styrofoam, was designed exclusively for Taiwan by Hofman, whose giant floating Rubber Duck made a big splash across the country last year. The designer was scheduled to attend the opening ceremony Saturday evening.

The Moon Rabbit will remain in Taiwan after the festival but will not be put on public display again because the materials it is made from are not durable, the county government said.

The festival, which is being held Sept. 4-14, will also feature the work of Taiwanese and Chinese artists, including Xu Bin, president of China's Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Xu, who is known for his printmaking skills and installation pieces, will exhibit a project called Stone Path, in which stones engraved with Chinese characters are arranged to form poems on the ground.

There will also be 28 performances by artistes from home and abroad, the organizers said.

Hippos were a common sight in the Thames, 125,000
years ago. Photo: Totally Thames/Steve Stills

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Yudhoyono Recognized for Press Freedom in Decade of Office

Jakarta Globe, Yustinus Paat, Sep 06, 2014

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gives a speech at an event for the release of a book
titled ‘SBY and Press Freedom’ in Jakarta on Sept. 5, 2014. (Antara Photo/Andika Wahyu)

Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was recognized by members of the press on Friday for his effort in guaranteeing press freedom throughout his 10 years in office.

Press Council chairman Bagir Manan said that Yudhoyono acted properly when facing criticism from the press.

“SBY only complained that the news was unfair, but he never intervened in press freedom,” Bagir said on Friday, at an event for the release of a book titled “SBY and the Press Freedom.”

The book was written by 32 journalists as well as by press council officials, academics and nongovernmental organization members.

Atmakusumah Astraatmadja, a senior journalist who had presided over the Press Council in 2000-03, said that Yudhoyono’s presidency has provided the best years of press freedom in Indonesia.

“These past 10 years we have experienced the longest press freedom without pressure from the government. Even though we have the Press Law, never once has the president used it to file a lawsuit and jail a journalist,” he said.

Atmakusumah used to work at Antara, the state-owned news agency, and at other news organizations. His work has been featured in such publications as Tempo, Republika, the Jakarta Post, Independent Watch and Bisnis Indonesia.

Yudhoyono thanked the press back for supervising his authority.

“Overall, I should be the one thanking and appreciating my press friends for helping me restrain myself from abusing my authority and power,” he said on the same occasion. “The press has been motivating and controlling me so that my choices, plans, and policies don’t go outside the corridor of democracy and the Constitution and don’t go against the people’s will.

Yudhoyono hopes that the Indonesian press can keep up the good job by criticizing the leaders but not hating them.

“The press should be critical, but don’t hate the leaders as they always want to give the best for the nation and people,” the president said.

Yudhoyono will have served the two-term limit when he steps down from office next month. He will be succeeded by Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, who defeated former Army general Prabowo Subianto in a close presidential election.

Attending the event were journalists, writers, Coordinating Economics Minister Chairul Tanjung and State Secretary Sudi Silalahi.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential 
Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 1, 2014. (Antara Photo/Andika Wahyu)

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Chinese insurers fined over price fixing

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-09-04

A nurse talks a patient through her insurance application at a hospital
in Lanzhou, Gansu province, April 9. (File photo/Xinhua)

Fines of more than 110 million yuan (US$17.8 million) have been imposed on 23 property insurers and one insurance association in east China's Zhejiang province after evidence of price monopolies was found.

The Zhejiang Provincial Insurance Association and 23 property insurance companies were found to have colluded on discounts on car insurance premiums during multiple meetings, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Tuesday.

The penalties against domestic insurance companies were the latest measures in China's anti-monopoly crackdown. Foreign carmakers and auto parts suppliers have also been fined for monopoly activities since the end of July.

The NDRC, China's top price antitrust agency, said it began its investigation into all 32 insurance companies in Zhejiang after it was tipped off that the association convened with 23 insurance companies to collude on discounts for premiums on newly purchased cars.

They also decided on a uniform commission fee for car insurance sales based on market share, according to the NDRC.

The 23 insurance companies violated the Anti-Monopoly Law, which prohibits competing market players from reaching monopoly agreements to fix or change the price of a good or service.

As the organizer and planner of the price monopoly, the insurance association was given the maximum fine of 500,000 yuan (US$81,500), while property insurance companies were fined a total of 110.2 million yuan (US$18 million), or one percent of their revenues from commercial vehicle insurance last year.

Among the punished companies, the Zhejiang branch of CPIC Property Insurance was fined 20.7 million yuan (US$3.4 million), while the Zhejiang units of Pingan Property Insurance and China United Property Insurance were fined 15.99 million yuan (US$2.60 million) and 10.29 million yuan (US$1.67 million), respectively.

PICC Property and Casualty was exempt from the fines as it was the first company to turn itself in to the NDRC and submitted a report on the key evidence it had reached with other insurance companies

Meanwhile, anti-monopoly investigations into the Zhejiang branches of nine other insurers, including US Liberty Insurance and Japanese Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance (China) Company Limited, have been suspended as they did not participate in the monopoly agreement, according to NDRC.

China has stepped up its law enforcement against monopolies over the past two months, but an NDRC spokesman acknowledged that it would be unlikely for antitrust departments to launch an anti-monopoly investigation into every industry due to personnel shortage.

"Currently, most monopoly cases handled by the NDRC stemmed mainly from whistle-blowing," the spokesman said.

According to the NDRC, horizontal monopoly agreements between competing companies are quite difficult to spot or investigate when compared with vertical agreements involving a company and its downstream dealers.

The latest punishment followed a series of anti-monopoly investigations by China into top global brands such as Microsoft, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the past two months.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Monday gave Microsoft Corp. a 20-day deadline to explain compatibility and bundling issues with its Windows and Office software in its antitrust probe.

The NDRC spokesman noted that China'a anti-monopoly law treats all enterprises equally, be it a domestic enterprise or foreign firm.

Until the most recent cases, the NDRC itself has launched similar investigations into domestic and overseas LCD manufacturers, milk formula makers, pharmaceutical factories and liquor makers.

Last month, the NDRC handed down total fines of 1.24 billion yuan (US$202.1 million) to 12 Japanese auto parts suppliers over price monopoly.

Iraqi forces claim to capture first Chinese ISIS militant

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-09-04

The photo of the man, said to be from China, who was captured
by the Iraqi Army. (Internet photo)

Iraqi forces are claiming to have captured a Chinese man fighting for the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the brutal jihadist group that has declared a caliphate in the areas under its control.

Two photos posted on a Facebook page purportedly operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence on Sept. 1 show a badly beaten man apparently captured by the Iraqi Army, along with a short message describing the man as a Chinese member of Islamic State.

If authenticated, the photos will be the first evidence of a Chinese national fighting for the extremist Sunni militants, who have already recruited fighters from the UK, Australia and the US.

Neither the Iraqi nor the Chinese government has commented on the matter thus far.

China's special envoy to the Middle East, Wu Sike, has stated that Islamic State may have already recruited as many as 100 Chinese citizens, most of whom belong to the Muslim Uyghur minority from northwest China's restive Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. Uyghurs have been blamed by the Chinese government for several high-profile organized attacks on police stations and civilians in public places in and out of Xinjiang over the last few years, including a riot late last July which led to more than 100 deaths and 200 arrests, the most violent incident to rock the region since the infamous 2009 riots in the regional capital of Urumqi that left 197 people dead and another 1,700 injured.

In July, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared in a video that he would seek vengeance against those who take away the rights of Muslims in 20 countries across the world, with China being the first country mentioned. The video made several other references to China and Xinjiang, criticizing Beijing's policy against Muslims in the region and calling on all of China's Muslims to pledge allegiance to Islamic State.

On Aug. 15, Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, called upon the international community to strengthen efforts to combat Islamic State, calling the extremist group "a serious threat to peace and security in the Middle East and the world as a whole."

"China is also a victim of terrorism. We strongly oppose all forms of terrorism and will continue to actively participate in international counter-terrorism cooperation and to combat the threat of terrorism together," Liu added.

Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao said in a commentary that China cannot afford to be under the impression that it won't be affected by the rise of Islamic State, adding that apart from protecting its oil interests in the Middle East and the security of its western border, China can learn a lot from Iraq's failed efforts to contain terrorism.

After the US first carried out airstrikes against Islamic State positions in early August, China's foreign ministry released a statement expressing support for Iraq in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and efforts to combat terrorism, adding that, with all due respect to Iraq's sovereignty, China is keeping an open attitude about all measures designed to protect Iraq's security and stability.

According to the paper, the statement is a carefully worded one in which China was able to criticize Islamic State and support the US attack, but at the same time stick to Beijing's "non-interference" principle when it comes to the internal affairs of other countries.

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Saudi religious police in rare apology after Briton beating

Yahoo – AFP, 3 Sep 2014

Women and children shop at a mall in the Saudi capital Riyadh on June 12,
2011 (AFP Photo/Fayez Nureldine)

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's religious police issued a rare apology Wednesday after members roughed up a British resident of Riyadh over paying at a women-only cash desk.

The Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, known unofficially as Mutawaa, also vowed to punish the assailants, after an investigation prompted by a YouTube video showing members attacking the man and his Saudi wife.

The video showed a commission agent jump out of his car and attack the Briton and a woman in black abaya cloak outside a supermarket.

The commission said in a statement that the investigation proved its patrol had violated instructions and "escalated" the incident after members spotted the man paying at a female-only cash desk.

Only women are allowed to pay at female-only cash desks in the kingdom. A man accompanied by female family members can stop at such desks so long as a woman deals with the cashier.

The commission said the patrol "had no authority" to question the man's right to pay at the desk, especially after it was clear that his wife was accompanying him, adding that mall security should handle such a situation.

"The commission apologises to the resident and his wife," it said, insisting the act was an "isolated" incident.

It said that four members involved in the attack were pulled from the patrols service and posted to desk positions in areas outside the capital.

Local press said the Briton is a convert to Islam, a longtime resident of the kingdom and married to a Saudi woman.

Commission members enforce a strict segregation of the sexes and have traditionally forced women to cover from head-to-toe when in public.

They also patrol shops to make sure they are shuttered during prayer times.

Japan PM names five women to new cabinet

Yahoo – AFP, Sep 3, 2014

Japan PM names five women to new cabinet

Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named five women to his new cabinet on Wednesday, leading by example in a country economists say must make better use of its highly-educated but underemployed women.

The five make up nearly a quarter of the 18-strong cabinet and come close to matching his declared aim for the percentage of women in senior positions.

"A society in which women shine is one of the big pillars of this government," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference ahead of the announcement.

Abe has repeatedly spoken of the need to get more women into the workforce to plug a growing gap in the labour market.

He has said he wants 30 percent of senior business and political positions occupied by women by 2020, to mitigate problems caused by an ever-shrinking number of workers who need to provide for a growing number of retirees.

"We have to revise ideas of seeing everything from men's viewpoint," Abe said in a speech earlier this year.

"The most underused resource we have is the power of women," Abe said. "Japan must be a place where women are given the chance to shine."

Government figures show only 11 percent of managerial jobs are occupied by women, compared with 43 percent in the United States and 39 percent in France.

The reshuffle, Abe's first since coming to power in December 2012, is seen as partly an exercise in shoring up his power base in the sometimes-fractious Liberal Democratic Party, and partly aimed at re-enlivening a flagging economic and security agenda.

Fresh blood

Observers say the LDP, the bastion of age-based seniority that has ruled Japan for most of the last 60 years, is crammed with lawmakers who feel they have served their time on the back benches and deserve a shot at a government job.

Key figures of the administration remained in place, including Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Finance Minister Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, but the cabinet's lower ranks saw fresh blood.

However, the female appointments -- up from two in the last cabinet -- marked a shift in emphasis for a body usually dominated by older men, where women frequently appear to be little more than a cosmetic afterthought.

One of those who won a ministerial portfolio was Yuko Obuchi, 40, the daughter of former premier Keizo Obuchi, who becomes economy, trade and industry minister.

She has made the grade once before, at the age of 34, and holds the record for being the youngest female cabinet minister Japan has had.

Among other female politicians getting the nod were Midori Matsushima, 58, as justice minister, and Haruko Arimura, 43, as minister in charge of women's activities, Suga said.

"Abe is trying to give an example of his commitment to the better use of women by appointing five of them," said Shinichi Nishikawa, professor of politics at Meiji University in Tokyo.

Appointing women was also expected to lead to a rise in support for him among female voters, Nishikawa said.

The staunchly conservative premier had enjoyed sky-high public support when he came to power in December 2012 promising to kick-start Japan's sputtering economy.

But a series of bruising battles over a consumption tax hike and an unpopular move to water-down the pacifist constitution have taken some of the wind out of his sails.

The reshuffle was the first major surgery Abe has performed since coming to power, making the present cabinet one of the longest-serving collectives since the end of World War II.

Abe's own 20 months in the top job also marks him out as unusual in a country where, with precious few exceptions, premiers have tended to last little more than a year.

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Ukraine's portrayal of Russian invasion just PR: Chinese 'experts'

Want China Times, Chen Chia-lun and Staff Reporter 2014-09-02

Ukrainian pro-Russian protesters occupy a government building in Donetsk

Oblast, April 30. (File photo/Xinhua)

A number of Chinese military experts have stated that media reports of Russia's deployment of a "mere" 1,000 troops in Ukraine is nothing but "a battle for public opinion," as the limited numbers suggest that it is not an armed military intervention in the country but rather seems to be aimed at training anti-government forces and covertly joining their ranks.

The way the news has been reported has allowed Ukraine to present the image of being in need of foreign aid to fend off a Russian invasion and, although it will fuel possible sanctions against Russia, it will also likely boost private negotiations between Russia and the United States, they said.

Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told our sister paper Want Daily that Russian soldiers fighting on Ukrainian soil was just one scrap of information, and that it remains to be seen if Russian troops will take a more active role in the conflict between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian militants.

The 1,000 Russian soldiers deployed to Ukraine is quite a small number, compared with the 6,000 to 7,000 US soldiers who remained in Iraq after the United States announced the withdrawal of its military troops from that country in 2011, for example, Zhou stated. He suspects, therefore, that the media in Western countries has deliberately overblown the deployment of troops, portraying it as Russia taking military action in Ukraine's civil war, in order to aid Ukraine in winning international support for its cause.

"[Ukrainian president Petro] Poroshenko is very clever," Zhou said, adding that Ukraine knows how to survive among big powers. The way Poroshenko has made use of the media to win international support is similar to the way the Philippines dealt with its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

Han Xudong, a professor at China's National Defense University, believes there is an ongoing power struggle between the United States and Russia behind the political conflict in Ukraine. As Washington is sparing no effort to get East European countries to join NATO, Russia has had to adopt measures to secure its political influence in Ukraine, he added.

Han said he doubts, however, that the tension between the United States and Russia will escalate into an out-and-out military conflict over Ukraine, and will likely just continue to fuel conflicts within the country.

Russia has denied that its troops are in Ukraine.

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NATO countries shown in green (Wikipedia)

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Modi's banking-for-all scheme may boost India's rural economy

PM Narendra Modi recently announced a financial inclusion scheme, which aims to provide banking access for all Indian citizens. Experts say the initiative faces some challenges but will help the country's economy.

Deutsche Welle, 1 Sep 2014

India is one the world's biggest economies but of the estimated 247 million households in the country, only about 145 million have access to a bank account - something that PM Modi has vowed to change, calling a bank account for everyone a "national priority."

The National Mission on Financial Inclusion, or Jan Dhan Yojana in Hindi, launched on August 28, is a financial inclusion plan aimed at providing a bank account to every household in the country.

Every account holder will be offered a debit card, under the national domestic scheme, RuPay. Furthermore, after six months of satisfactory operations, account holders would also get an overdraft facility of up to 5,000 rupees.

The first goal of the plan is for some 75 million bank accounts to be opened until mid-January 2015. The government will be working with the country's banks to launch a "major campaign" to sign up new costumers.

Identification

"Indian banks will need to have major customer enrolment campaigns in rural India," said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at IHS, a global consulting firm.

The scheme wants to bring some 145 million

 households in India onto the formal banking

system

One of the main concerns is how identification requirements for opening accounts will be met in these villages where much of the population do not have key types of identification, he adds.

For Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at the London-based consultancy firm Capital Economics, this issue is the "key stumbling block" of the plan: "whether poorer Indians are able to prove their identity to the satisfaction of the banks."

"However there has already been a massive take-up of the new account initiative," says Biswas, adding that there are attractive incentives for new accounts opened, including free accident insurance of up to 100,000 Indian rupees (about 1,650 USD) and life insurance cover.

Better access

"If 40 percent of Indians are not a part of the economy, how can we be successful in eradicating poverty?" the PM said in his speech at the launch of the initiative. Indeed, around 65 percent of India's 1.2 billion people live in the country and the majority of rural residents still have no access to the formal banking system.

Modi said the main goal of the policy was to "to get rid of financial untouchability." Analysts agreed that the policy will indeed help the poor, reducing their exposure to "moneylenders who often charge extremely high interest rates for loans."

Biswas believes, this initiative will link a large segment of the unbanked population into the Indian financial system over the next three years. It helps them "get better access to bank credit and formal bank savings deposits," he told DW.

This will aid in boosting financial intermediation and should be a factor supporting the expansion of the Indian banking system and credit provision to rural India, says Biswas, which, in turn, "should help to boost economic growth of the nation's rural economy."

Direct payments

Even if the program doesn't reach its full potential, it will still help rev up economic growth, analysts say. The Modi administration announced that it will use the newly-created accounts to implement government welfare schemes - a major shift, since the World Bank says only three percent of all Indians receive any state payments through bank accounts.

Biswas says this measure will help "reduce the vulnerability of low income households" by providing them with a direct method of receiving welfare payments and other subsidies. Analysts believe that it will increase the efficiency of government poverty schemes, since "there should be fewer opportunities for funds to be siphoned off corruptly," says Williams. The move will probably also help streamline New Delhi's yearly distribution of 43 billion USD in subsidies for grains, fuel and fertilizer.

In addition, government funds can be targeted more effectively at those in greatest need, says Williams, something that will "boost consumer spending a little," since poorer families tend to spend a greater share of their income.

Bank cooperation

Prime Minister Modi sent an email to some 700,000 bankers in the country requesting their help before the announcement, asking them to "try your level best to ensure that no one is left without a bank account."

Biswas says this measure will help "reduce
 the vulnerability of low income households"
by offering them a direct method of receiving
welfare payments

Economist Williams says that the banks' cooperation is the other "key issue" to the success of the program. "The proposal to give every account holder an overdraft facility could end up being costly for banks, which would struggle to recoup bad debts. If the scheme is to reach its full potential, there will also be a cost in terms of the need to expand bank branches - or, at a minimum, ATM machines into poorer areas," he adds.

But experts are of the view that the scheme also provides opportunities. Giving low income, rural households access to the Indian formal banking system will encourage them to park their savings in banks, rather than using gold bullion, jewellery and various informal investment schemes, Biswas explained.

The analyst says that there will probably be a "tremendous national effort" to meet the target of 75 million new accounts by January 2015. "The Indian government has announced that 15 million account applications were received on the first day the scheme was launched, so the initiative has got off to a flying start."

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Honor Badge, Bilateral Meetings Waiting for SBY in Singapore

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, Sep 01, 2014

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (Antara Photo/Andika Wahyu)

Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will visit Singapore on Tuesday to receive the city-state’s highest award and hold a series of high-level meetings.

The visit will last for three days, presidential spokesman for international affairs Teuku Faizasyah said on Monday.

“President Yudhoyono will meet one-on-one with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and will also have a similar meeting with President Tony Tan Keng Yam,” Faizasyah said in a statement.

High on the agenda is the consolidation of the two countries’ cooperation, including in the fields of investment, agriculture, tourism, workers and the development of the special economic regions of Batam, Bintan and Karimun.

Yudhoyono will also witness the signing of an agreement on the delimitation of the territorial seas of the two countries in the eastern part of the Strait of Singapore.

The agreement, according to Faizasyah, will help strengthen ties between Indonesia and Singapore.

“Besides that, settling maritime borders through deliberation can set an example for other countries that face similar problems,” he said.

The award that Yudhoyono is set to receive is the highest the Singapore government can bestow: the Order of Temasek First Class.

The title is usually given to Singapore citizens only, but in special cases, non-Singapore citizens may also receive the award. The Order of Temasek is conferred by the president, on the advise of the prime minister, to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Singapore. The award was previously given to S.R Nathan, the former president of Singapore, in 2013.

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