(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) International |December 2014

International

Philippines braces for powerful typhoon ‘Hagupit’

A wide swath of the Philippines, including the capital Manila, braced for a dangerously erratic and powerful typhoon approaching from the Pacific, about a year after the country was lashed by Typhoon Haiyan that left more than 7,300 people dead.
Typhoon Hagupit Filipino for “smash” strengthened overnight with its sustained winds intensifying to 215 kilometres (134 miles) per hour and gusts of 250 kph (155 mph). The local weather agency PAGASA’s forecasts show the typhoon may hit Eastern Samar province.
But a forecast by the U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii said Hagupit (pronounced HA’-goo-pit) may veer northward after making landfall and possibly threaten Manila, which has population of more than 12 million people.
“We have alerted the people of Manila and we’re ready,” Mayor Joseph Estrada said, while acknowledging “these typhoons change direction all the time”.
It is currently 450 kilometres (280 miles) from the country’s eastern coast in the Pacific Ocean and moving slowly.
If the first forecast holds, Hagupit’s path will send it barrelling inland into central Philippines along the same route where Typhoon Haiyan levelled villages and left more than 7,300 dead and missing in November last year.
Still, Hagupit’s erratic behaviour prompted the government to call an emergency meeting of mayors of metropolitan Manila to warn them to prepare. Manila is north of the path that Haiyan took.

Japan's economy likely shrank less than expected in Q3

Japan's economy likely shrank less than initially estimated in the third quarter thanks to an increase in capital expenditure, underscoring views that the country only slipped into a shallow recession.
The world third-largest economy probably shrank an annualised 0.5 percent in July-September, compared with a preliminary reading of a 1.6 percent contraction, according to a Reuters survey of 24 economists.
Capital expenditure is seen to have risen 0.8 percent for the quarter from a preliminary 0.2 percent fall, the poll showed.
The data could offer relief for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who called a snap election for December 14 after just two years in office to seek voters' mandate on his "Abenomics" strategy to reflate the economy and his decision to postpone a second sales tax hike originally scheduled for next year.
But the expected upward revision will unlikely be strong enough to alter analysts' view that the economy remains fragile after a sales tax increase in April dampened consumer spending.
"Although the economy continues rebounding from falls after the sales tax hike, there is no change to our view that the pace of recovery will be only moderate," said an economist at Japan Research Institute in the survey.
Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, said "the economy will likely return to growth in October-December, but there is still a high chance the economy will shrink for this fiscal year.
"The Cabinet Office will release the revised GDP data, and the finance ministry will announce the current account balance for October at the same time. The current account balance probably shows a surplus of 366.3 billion yen ($3.06 billion) in October, helped by gains in income balance which includes earnings from overseas subsidies. It would follow a 963 billion yen surplus in September.
The nation's leading indicator of capital spending, which will be released, is expected to fall in October for the first time in five months, but analysts said the fall will be temporary as firms' strong earnings will help their expenditure.

Pak PM inaugurates China-Pakistan ‘Economic Corridor’ project

China and Pakistan have kicked off their multi-billion dollar ‘Economic Corridor’ project that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by laying the foundation of a fenced four-lane motorway, setting in motion a mammoth project connecting the two countries.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif performed the groundbreaking of a section of the motorway in the country’s northwest, signalling the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement.
The 60-km-long, 4-lane fenced Hazara Motorway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province will cost $297 million and will take two years to complete.
During his China visit earlier this month, Mr. Sharif signed deals worth $45.6 billion that included projects connected with the Corridor, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
India has expressed its reservations to China over the project as it is laid through the PoK.
But, China defended the project saying it will help regional development. Sceptics in both the countries, however, point to the rising tide of extremism in Pakistan which makes its construction extremely difficult.
The tenuous political and security situation in Pakistan prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to cancel his trip to Islamabad in September during which he visited the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India.

US passes bill to use of military force against ISIS

A key US Congressional committee has passed a bill authorising use of military force against the dreaded Islamist State militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
The Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) bill allows the President to use military force against ISIS for up to three years.
“But (it) limits the activities of US Armed Forces from participating in ground combat operations except in defined circumstances,” said Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
AUMF passed by a vote of 10 to 8. This AUMF would also require a report on the comprehensive strategy for this campaign after 60 days and sunset the 2001 al-Qaeda AUMF after a period of three years enactment, unless it is reauthorized, he said.
Earlier, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared before the Committee urging Senators to approve force authorization.
After Bullet train’s success, China wants to develop world class nuclear technology
After successfully competing for high-speed rail links abroad, China now wants to develop world class nuclear technology — a move that would not only lighten its carbon footprint, but also help it emerge as a major exporter of atomic power.
Last week, China decided to set up an undisclosed number of shore-based nuclear power plants, lifting the bar on new ventures that was imposed in the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
The London-based World Nuclear News website reported that days after the Fukushima accident, China’s State Council decided to halt approvals and licensing for new reactors until a safety plan was in place.
It also sought assurances that existing plants were adequately designed, sited, protected and managed. Li Pumin, the spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, announced that all projects will comply with the highest international security standards.
Currently, China runs 21 nuclear power reactors, generating 19,095 MW of power. An additional 27 units are under construction, which would yield around 30,000 MW of electricity, when completed.
Yet, it is estimated that China would need to set up another 13 reactors, if it is to meet its 2020 target of generating 58 GW of atomic power.
The post-Fukushima drive for nuclear energy has been significantly spurred by the clean-energy target set by President Xi Jinping, who had announced that China is focusing on peaking its emissions by 2030, before its carbon footprint begins to slide.
Nuclear power generation has come into sharper focus because of some of the problems that China has recently encountered with renewables. Last year, China, the world’s largest producer of wind energy and solar power, was unable to utilise 11 per cent of wind power capacity because of grid problems.

China setting the stage for Silk Road extension

China is setting the stage for linking Southeast Asia with its New Silk Road initiative, through a railway corridor that would connect the country’s Yunan province with Thailand and Laos.
China’s visiting Prime Minister Li Keqiang is expected to sign an agreement with Thailand on setting up two strategic dual-track lines covering 734 km and 133 km. Once completed, these lines will connect Bangkok with Thailand’s Nong Khai and Rayong provinces.
Mr. Li is in Thailand to participate in the meeting of leaders of Mekong River region countries — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.