News & Reports 2010-12-12

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In This Edition

International climate negotiators approve a deal to create a "green" fund for developing countries to address global warming at the end of the two-week summit in the Mexican city of Cancun.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saiys Washington would launch a new round of indirect shuttle negotiations 1 between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at making real progress toward a framework peace deal in the next few months.

The European Union and India say they are nearing a wide-ranging free trade deal and hope to sign an agreement next year.

China's annual inflation rate surged to a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November, despite government efforts to control the increase of food prices.

Hot Issue Reports

Negotiators in Cancun Approve Modest Plan to Combat Climate Change

International climate negotiators have approved a modest plan to combat climate change at the end of the two-week summit in the Mexican city of Cancun.

The deal was reached at extended overnight talks after overruling objections from Bolivia, which claims the document amounts to a blank check for developed nations.

The accord includes a new Green Climate Fund and measures to protect tropical forests, as well as ways to share clean energy technologies.

It also reaffirms the goal of raising an annual 100 billion US dollars in aid for poor countries by 2020.

Speaking to the delegates, Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he is satisfied with the deal.

"I said that Cancun could and the truth is that Cancun could. Cancun could result in agreements and Cancun did result in agreements. Cancun could initiate 2 a new era of a joint 3 fight against climate change and it is achieving this. This has been a triumph for you and you should accept it."

Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation 4, says he believes the deal has sent "positive" signals to the international community.

"Although there are still shortcomings we are basically satisfied."

Xie also reaffirms China's commitment to promoting green and low-carbon development as its contribution to combating climate change.

The new international climate deal does not include a commitment to extend the Kyoto Protocol 5 beyond 2012, when its first period expires.

But delegates say it will prevent a collapse 6 of climate change talks and allow for some modest advances on protecting the environment.

The two-week climate talks in Cancun have attracted 25,000 government officials, businessmen and researchers from over 190 countries.

Delegates will meet for the next international climate change conference in Durban, South Africa next year.

Western Countries Urge Iran to Address their Key Nuclear Concern

Western countries have called on Iran to address their concerns over its nuclear program, as Tehran and six major powers prepare for further talks in Turkey next month.

The talks in Istanbul in late January were determined 8 at discussions in Geneva earlier this week.

Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice urged Iran to show a real sense of cooperation.

"We look forward to continued talks in late January to discuss practical ideas for a way forward to resolve our core concerns. We remain committed to working closely with our partners in this council and the international community to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We will base our actions on Iran's degree of cooperation."

The enrichment issue remains 9 the major obstacle to international talks on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran will not negotiate over its right to enrich uranium -- the principal Western concern.

Enriched uranium can be used in both power stations and in nuclear bombs.

Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. But the West fears that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons and wants it to curb 10 uranium enrichment.

The six powers talking to Iran include the US, Great Britain, France, Russia, China - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

Hillary Clinton Says U.S. Will Push Forward Middle-east Peace Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday that she was frustrated 11 over the impasse 12 in Middle East peace talks, but added that the United States would launch a new round of indirect shuttle negotiations aimed at making real progress toward a framework peace deal in the next few months.

"The United States will not be a passive participant. We will push the parties to lay out their positions on the core issues without delay and with real specificity. We will work to narrow the gaps, asking tough questions and expecting substantive 13 answers."

Clinton's speech marked her first Middle East policy address after the United States abandoned efforts to persuade Israel to stop new construction of Jewish settlements, a step the Palestinians said was essential if they were to resume direct peace talks which collapsed 14 just weeks after their September launch.

The breakdown 15 was a setback 16 for President Barack Obama, who has made Middle East peace a key U.S. policy goal, and sowed tension between Washington and its most important Middle Eastern ally.

Hillary Clinton said diplomacy 17 would now concentrate on a range of "core issues," including borders and security, settlements, water, refugees, and Jerusalem itself.

"Their seriousness about achieving an agreement will be measured by their engagement on these core issues."

Hillary Clinton paid special attention to the question of final borders, suggesting this could be a future U.S. focus.

EU and India Hope to Sign FTA Next Year

The European Union and India say they are nearing a wide-ranging free trade deal and hope to sign an agreement next year.

The breakthrough was announced during a visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the EU headquarters in Brussels.

"The global economy is still recovering from the economic and financial crisis. We must work together to ensure that global growth is sustained and that we do not see a double dip recession. Combating protectionist tendencies that invariably creep in during times of financial distress 18 is highly important."

For his part, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said a free trade agreement will bring the two sides closer.

"We face a future of opportunities and challenges, but the greatest challenge ahead of us is to generate sustainable growth and improve welfare for our citizens. The Free Trade Agreement that we are currently negotiating should unlock the largely untapped potential of our respective economies and it will certainly improve economic and business ties."

The free-trade deal has been four years in the making and could boost trade between the two by almost 30 percent.

It would slash 19 tariffs 20 on products by 90 percent and make it easier for trade and investments to grow on both sides.

India has become one of the biggest emerging economies in the world with annual growth rates sometimes reaching double digits 21.

EU trade and investment with India exceeded 50 billion US dollars last year.

Violent Land Disputtes in Buenos Aires Pits the City Gov't against the National Gov't

Violent land disputes in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires have left at least four people dead as the government tried to remove squatters on Friday.

The dispute pits the city government against the national government over which should address the untenable situation on a large, unused tract 7 of land.

The land had originally been set aside as a park in the poor southern part of the city, which is largely populated by sprawling 23, quickly-growing slums.

Squatters began to carve the land up into plots and began to settle in in the past week, but the city government sent police early on Wednesday to remove them.

Violence ensued and two civilians 24 were reportedly killed in the clashes.

Police backed off, but the violence didn't end.

Buenos Aires conservative mayor Maurico Macri called on President Cristina Fernandez's center-left administration to send police in to control the situation, but the national government wanted nothing to do with the situation. They accuse Macri of xenophobia and say his demands are unreasonable 25.

One squatter 22, Alejandro Salvatierra, said Macri was to blame.

"We don't have it confirmed but there may be dead people-- three people seriously injured, one journalist injured. Today, December 10th, 27 years after the recovery of the democracy we all value so much, we ask for talks and they deny us talks. This is the responsibility of the head of government."

Hundreds of squatters moved into the area overnight on Wednesday. Surprised residents awoke to find some 1500 families living in the park, up from 250 the previous day.

Indonesian Police catch suspect in connection with hotel attacks

Indonesian police arrested one of the country's most-wanted militants 26 on Friday and accused him of plotting high-profile assassinations 27 and bloody 28 attacks on foreigners at luxury hotels in the capital.

Boy Rafli Amar, Indonesian police spokesperson issued this statement.

"The suspect known as Abu Tholut - it is true that we were conducting an arrest this morning in an area of Kudus, Central Java."

Abu Tholut was captured without a fight during a pre-dawn raid at a home in Central Java province.

Police said the 42-year-old suspect was to be flown to Jakarta later on Friday.

Boy Rafli Amar said the suspect was involved in a series of terrorist attacks.

"(The suspect) was involved in the planning and actions of various terrorist activities, especially the recent military training camp in Aceh province."　



Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation of 240 million people, has battled extremists since 2002, when members of the al-Qaida-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah bombed two nightclubs on the resort island of Bali, killing 29 202 people most of them foreign tourists.

China reports unprecedented 30 inflation rate in November

China's annual inflation rate surged to a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November, despite government efforts to control the increase of food prices.

The release of the figures comes as China's top leaders are meeting to lay out economic plans for the next year.

Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, says the high inflation rate is mainly driven by the food prices.

"The consumer price index increase rate in November is indeed out of many people's expectations. We have analysed these figures and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up by 5.1 percent, year on year, and 1.1 percent, month on month. From the changes we can see, the CPI increase rate has expanded, and increased food prices, housing prices and clothing prices are the main contributors to the CPI increase."

Statistics show food prices jumped by almost 12 percent in November year on year, which contributed three quarters to the CPI figure.

China has been trying to rein 31 in food prices by launching efforts to increase production of vegetables and other basic goods.

Chinese People Are More Open to Religion

The latest news says that over the past six years, more than 100,000 people have become believers of Catholicism annually 32. Additionally, an increasing number of Chinese are developing faith in religion, in one form or another.

A "Barrier Free" Guangzhou Ready for the Asian Para Games

The Asian Para Games officially kick off in Guangzhou Sunday night. The Southern Chinese city has made plenty of facility improvements to accommodate guests with special needs. The venues 33 and athletes' village have also finished the transition from the Asian Games to the Asian Para Games.

Media Digest

What's the Real Face of China's Education?

An international study found that Chinese teenagers are leading the world in terms of reading literacy, mathematics and science.

The Program for International Student Assessment 34 says Chinese young students are doing far better than their peers from 64 countries and regions.

An editorial in the China Daily argues that the good results are not necessarily justification 35 for China to praise its education.

The newspaper notes that China's high-school students often deliver good scores at International Olympiads, which are held every year in subjects including math, physics and chemistry.

Nearly every Chinese student participating in the competitions brings home a medal.

But, the commentary says other surveys remind the country of the flaws in its education system.

It cites a global survey of teenagers worldwide last month, which ranked Chinese students at the bottom when it comes to applying creativity and imagination.

The article says the contradictory 36 results can be explained by the fact that China's education over-stresses textbook knowledge rather than a fundamental understanding of subjects.

In today's China, most teachers and parents look at education with an eye on fame and immediate 37 success. For them, a successful education means entering a prestigious 38 school and getting high grades on tests.

As a result, the education system ignores crucial efforts in nurturing 39 a healthy and complete personality for the students.

The newspaper recognizes that China now produces many students of academic merit as it pushes for universal education and higher standards.

But it emphasizes that the country still has a long way to go to deliver quality education to all children, especially those in the lagging-behind rural areas.

Why should taxpayers 40 pay for quasi-official perpetrator's offences

The Chinese domestic media has focused on the aftermath of a deadly drunken driving accident by a post office chief in Central China's Henan Province.

Beijing News reported that the government of Luoning County rather than Gu Qingyang - the perpetrator, has compensated 41 victims' families.

The move caused outrage 42 among the Chinese public.

A commentary in the China Youth Daily questions the considerations behind the local government's action.

The newspaper notes that Gu Qingyang, under the influence of alcohol, continued to drive after hitting five teenagers that killed all of them.

The offender 43 was arrested on a charge of endangering the public safety.

The families of the five killed have signed agreements with the local government to accept 230,000 yuan or about 35,000 US dollars in compensation for each victim.

The commentary argues that the compensation by the government is ridiculous since the perpetrator was not doing public services and violated the law when he committed the offences.

It suspects that the local government just intends to pacify 44 families of the victims and prevent them from protesting, which officials see as a harm to local stability.

The investigation 45 into the incident is underway and a verdict from the court is still pending 46.

But the newspaper stresses that it can never be justified that taxpayers' money is used to pay for offences done by a quasi-official