(Current Affairs) International Events | August: 2014

International Events

China provoked

  • A top Chinese Army General slammed the United States and Japan for “provoking” China, a day after U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had accused Beijing of “destabilising” the region.
  • At the conference, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also hit out at China over the disputes, pledging support to Vietnam and the Philippines. Mr. Abe said Japan would supply naval patrol vessels to both countries and boost its security presence in the region.
  • People’s Liberation Army Deputy Chief of General Staff Wang Guanzhong blasted Mr. Hagel and Mr. Abe, saying they were “singing notes in chorus”.
  • The PLA official was particularly aggrieved by the Japanese leader’s speech, which did not directly mention China but warned of “elements that spawn instability” in the region.

Release of captured US soldier

  • President Barack Obama is welcoming the release of the lone U.S. solider held in Afghanistan, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
  • Sgt. Bergdahl was turned over by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees who were held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
  • Mr. Obama says the U.S. “does not ever leave our men and women in uniform behind.”

A new U.S.-Russia proxy war

  • With Russia and the United States as far apart as ever on ways of resolving the crisis in Ukraine’s southeast, its outcome may well be decided on the battlefield.

  • Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has not spoken with U.S. President Barack Obama since Kiev launched its “anti-terrorist operation” against anti-government protesters in Russian speaking regions in the east six weeks ago.

  • While Moscow denounces the Ukrainian crackdown in the east as a “punitive operation” against the civilian population, Washington maintains that Kiev’s authorities “have every right to take steps to maintain law and order in their own country.”

  • The Ukrainian border guard service has reported several convoys of trucks with militants and weapons crossing the porous border from Russia in recent weeks.

  • Russia has refrained from openly supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine and still hopes to persuade Kiev to resolve the conflict by granting broad autonomy to the region.

  • The conflict in the east is fast morphing into civil war. This was in stark display earlier this month in Odessa, a peaceful multiethnic Ukrainian port city on the Black Sea, where a group of ultranationalists from western Ukraine burnt alive and clubbed to death at least 48 pro-Russian activists.

Obama’s energy policy

  • The path breaking clean energy policy unveiled by the Obama administration would put the US at a disadvantage against countries like India and China, top US lawmakers and policy advocacy groups have said.

  • The US Environmental Protection agency has announced to cut carbon emission from existing power plants, which is the single largest source of carbon pollution in the US, by 30 per cent by the year 2030.

  • It also announced to cut by 2030 particle pollution, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by more than 25 per cent as a co-benefit.

  • The White House described this as American leadership to the world.

  • But Republicans and many others are not willing to buy the argument, according to whom such a policy would put the United States at an disadvantage against countries like India and China.

  • The United Mine Workers of America international president Cecil E Roberts alleged that the proposed rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency will lead to long-term and irreversible job losses for thousands of coal miners, electrical workers, utility workers, boilermakers, railroad workers and others without achieving any significant reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Spain’s abdication law

  • The cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has approved a proposal for emergency legislation that allows King Juan Carlos to abdicate and hand over his duties to Crown Prince Felipe.
  • The proposal will be fast—tracked by the Spanish Parliament and is expected to pass easily because Mr. Rajoy’s Popular Party has the majority of seats and the leading opposition Socialist Party also supports the legislation.
  • Jesus Posada, who leads the Parliament’s lower house, predicted the law will take effect by June 18, meaning Prince Felipe would be proclaimed king before lawmakers shortly after that.
  • Juan Carlos is widely respected for leading Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy and staring down a 1981 coup attempt, but was hit hard by royal scandals over the last several years.

Iran oil sanctions suspended

  • With Iran complying with its commitment on a controversial nuclear weapons programme, US President Barack Obama has suspended his action on Iranian oil sanctions for the next six months.
  • Even though there is enough oil in the international market for countries like India and China to reduce their dependence on Iranian oil, so as to avoid US sanctions as per Congressional Act, Mr. Obama determined that there is no need to do so for the next six months as Tehran is fully co-operating with the US-led international community to address their concerns about its nuclear weapons program
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran is complying with these commitments.
  • The analysis contained in the Energy Information Administration’s report of April 24, indicates that global oil consumption has exceeded production in recent months.

Renewable power in Germany

  • May 11, 2014 was a red letter day for renewable power in Germany. The biggest clean energy market reached an enviable record of almost 75 per cent renewable market share for several hours that day. Germany faces its own travails over its chosen path.

  • Germany is indeed avoiding blackouts-by opening new coal and gas fired plants. Renewable electricity is proving so unreliable and chaotic that it is starting to undermine the stability of the European grid and provoke international incidents.

  • The spiraling cost of the renewables surge has sparked a backlash, including government proposals to slash subsidies and deployment rates.

  • For all modes of power generation, capacity factor — CF (the amount of electricity, a generator produces in a year divided by the amount it will produce if it ran at full capacity for all 8,760 hrs a year) — is important.

  • Typically during 2012, CFs (per cent) in Germany were, for solar: 11; wind: 17; fossil fuel: 80 and for nuclear: 94.

  • Since India has in place an ambitious renewable energy programme, we must learn from the experiences of other countries particularly Germany; Germany’s tryst with renewable power is often taken as a model.

  • India must promote all modes of power generation including solar and wind. Copious sunshine and abundant wind may lead to over production in the grid. Balancing the grid may be a challenge. Central Government must organise a systematic review of the challenges to arrive at India- centric solutions.

G-7 summit

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin was kept out of the summit of world leaders but dominated the meeting as President Barack Obama and his counterparts from the G-7 group of major economies sought the Kremlin chief’s renewed cooperation to end the Ukraine crisis.

  • In March, the U.S. and its most important allies retaliated for Mr. Putin’s military occupation and subsequent annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula by suspending Russia’s membership in what had been the G-8 club of rich countries.

  • They also nixed Mr. Putin’s plan to hold the meeting in Sochi, the city Russia lavished billions on to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

  • Mr. Obama, however, has no plans to meet with Mr. Putin — a clear indication the U.S. is more reluctant than its European peers about renewing the dialogue.

  • The meeting was not expected to produce any major decisions. Many observers criticise the format as being mostly a talking shop since the role of setting rules for global economic governance in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial crisis has shifted to the wider Group of 20, which also includes emerging economies like China, India and Brazil.

China urged to reduce finance risk

  • The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are urging China to focus on controlling risks from rapidly rising debt due to its reliance on credit-fuelled growth.
  • The World Bank said Beijing should pay close attention to rising credit, especially in its largely unregulated informal lending market, and reduce debts owed by local governments.
  • Rising debts owed by local governments and uncertainty about informal lending have fuelled concerns China’s economic slowdown might cause a rise in defaults and hurt its financial system.
  • Chinese regulators have taken steps to cool credit growth but still are allowing a relatively fast expansion to support economic growth that slowed to 7.4 percent in the three months ending in March.
  • By the country’s broadest measure, total outstanding debt rose from the equivalent of 124 percent of gross domestic product in 2007 to more than 200 percent in 2013, according to the World Bank.
  • Corporate debt in Chinese economy , at the equivalent of 125 percent of GDP, is “among the highest in Asia.

New high commissioner for human rights

  • U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has said he will appoint Jordan’s ambassador as the new high commissioner for human rights, bringing to that post a voice from the West Asia.
  • Mr. Ban’s office announced that Prince Zeid al Hussein, a long-time diplomat and former U.N. peacekeeper, has been nominated to replace Navi Pillay.
  • The South African-born Ms. Pillay’s term as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights was originally set to end in 2012 but was extended for two years.
  • Prince Zeid, who has been ambassador to both the U.N. and the United States, announced in late April he would resign as U.N. ambassador.

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