(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) International |November 2014

Nuclear Reactors to reactivate in Japan

The Governor of Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture approved the reactivation of two nuclear reactors at the Sendai plant.
Sendai was the first plant in Japan on which new regulations were imposed by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority after the accident at the Fukushima plant triggered by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
The plant is expected to start its commercial activities from 2015 after the NRA completes its last security reviews in Sendai.
The approval granted is almost the final step for the reactivation of the power stations, whose 48 commercial-use reactors are non-functional until they adopt the NRA norms.

Russia signs another mega-energy agreement with China

Russia pivoted decisively towards the East, after signing another mega-energy agreement with China, which could dwarf Europe as the largest consumer of Russian gas once the project is completed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fifth meeting in a year with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC), yielded an agreement that seemed to rebuff Europe, which had imposed sanctions on Russia following the crisis in Ukraine.
China would receive 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year along the so-called “western” or “Altay” route, according to the agreement. This would supplement the proposed 38 bcm Russian gas to China that would flow through the “Power of Siberia” pipeline, passing along the “eastern route”.
The “eastern route” deal, worth $400 billion, was signed in May, and work on the project has already commenced.

US, China unveil ambitious goals to cut pollution levels

The United States and China unveiled ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gases, aiming to inject fresh momentum into the global fight against climate change ahead of a make-or-break treaty to be finalized next year.
President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would move much faster in cutting pollution, with a goal to reduce by 26 per cent to 28 per cent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. Earlier in his presidency, Mr. Obama set a goal to cut emissions by 17 per cent by 2020.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country’s emissions are still growing as it builds new coal plants, didn’t commit to cut emissions by a specific amount.

Russia signed an agreement to build nuclear reactors for Iran

Russia signed an agreement with Iran for helping the latter build two new nuclear reactors, media reported.
The two new nuclear reactors will be built in a nuclear power plant based in Iran’s Bushehr region, which houses the country’s existing 1,000 megawatt reactor that was completed by Russia’s Rosatom corporation and started operation last year.
According to the protocol signed by Russian and Iranian representatives in Moscow on Tuesday, the two countries agreed to eventually expand the number of reactors using Russian technology to eight in Iran, including four at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southern Iran.
Nuclear fuel for the eight energy reactors will be provided by Russia and the used fuel rods will be returned to Russia, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Rosatom corporation stressed in a statement that the project will be under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

China’s economic ‘vision’ wins over APEC

The members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members have agreed to initiate the formation of a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific — a vision steered by China, which competes with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative of the United States.
Summit host Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the in principle endorsement of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a decision that “will be written into history books”. He said backing for the initiative “demonstrated the confidence and determination of the APEC in advancing regional economic integration”.
In his closing address, Mr. Xi said the business community wanted the FTAAP, which is expected to include Russia, Beijing’s geostrategic partner.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the Chinese initiative, a day after Beijing and Moscow signed a preliminary agreement on a new route to transfer copious quantities of Russian natural gas into China.

China will launch about 120 satellites

China will launch about 120 satellites to meet the country’s requirements in communication, space infrastructure and navigation sectors.
“We will focus on building a self-controlled national space infrastructure that can operate continuously and stably for a long time,” said Yang Baohua, deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
However, Yang did not specify the period of time over which the launches will span.
The Communist nation will launch about 70 remote sensing satellites to detect the near-earth space environment and predict extreme events, beside about 20 communication satellites to meet communication demand in national security and public services.
In addition, China will launch about 30 navigation satellites to provide accurate and reliable global positioning and navigation services, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The Chinese economy will continue to record relatively high growth, generating more demand for aerospace technologies, Yang said at an international aviation and aerospace forum held in south China’s Zhuhai city.

Pakistan & Russia sign defence deal

Pakistan and Russia signed a military cooperation agreement to deepen their defence ties and vowed to translate their relationship in “tangible” terms during the first visit of a Russian Defence Minister in 45 years.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Pakistan comes at a very critical juncture as U.S.-led NATO forces are drawing down from Afghanistan by the end of this year. “The signing of the Military Cooperation agreement between the two significant countries of the region is a milestone.
“Both sides will translate this relationship in tangible terms and further strengthen military-to-military relations,” said Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif without elaborating on the agreement.
The visit by the Russian Defence Minister comes against the backdrop of reports that Moscow had given go-ahead for the sale of MI-35 helicopters to Pakistan, which is interested in purchasing up to 20 helicopters.
The last visit took place as far back as 1969, when USSR Defence Minister Andrey Grechko made a trip to the country.
WB approves $285 million to fight Ebola
The World Bank has approved a grant of $285 million to finance the three West African countries hardest hit by the Ebola crisis.
The grant is part of the nearly $1 billion of financing previously announced by the World Bank for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, reports Xinhua.
The additional financing will enable the three countries to deploy additional national and international health workers, scale up community-based care and community engagement for early detection of suspected Ebola cases, the World Bank in a statement.
A previous World Bank analysis showed that if Ebola continues to surge in these three countries and spreads to neighbouring countries, the two-year regional financial impact would reach $32.6 billion by the end of 2015.
According to the World Health Organisation, as of November 14, 2014, 14,413 Ebola cases have been registered in eight countries since the outbreak, with 5,177 deaths.

Obama formally announces $3 billion contribution to Green Climate Fund

U.S. President Barack Obama formally announced a $3-billion U.S. contribution to an international fund to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change.
“Today, I’m announcing that the United States will take another important step. We will contribute $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund to help developing nations deal with climate change,” he said in a speech at Queensland University in Brisbane, where he is attending the G20 meeting.
The contribution doubles what other countries had previously pledged ahead of a November 20, 2014 deadline.