The Indian Coast Guard welcomed a four member delegation led by Director General, Bangladesh Coast Guard Rear Admiral Aurangzeb Chowdhury who are on a three day visit to India.
In addition to meeting senior officials in the Ministry of Defence, the delegation will also be discussing issues of mutual cooperation in the field of maritime law enforcement, maritime Search & Rescue and marine pollution response with an Indian Coast Guard delegation headed by Director General Indian Coast Guard Shri Rajendra Singh.
The Bangladesh Coast Guard delegation will also travel to Mumbai and Kolkata for visiting ICG facilities and conducting discussions on operational issues with Coast Guard Commander (Western Seaboard) and Commander Coast Guard Region (North East), respectively.
The Indian Ministry of Shipping has identified 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZ) along the coastline under National Perspective Plan (NPP) of Sagarmala Program, said Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Lal Mandaviya in reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Thursday (08 Dec 2016).
The CEZ are spatial economic regions spread over multiple coastal districts with strong port linkage. Within each CEZ, there could be multiple industrial clusters that could contain industrial units with requisite support infrastructure. The details of identified CEZs are as under:-
CEZ
State
Linkage Port
Potential Industries
CEZ-1
Gujarat
Kandla, Mundra
Petrochemicals, Cement, Furniture
CEZ-2
Pipavav, Sikka
Apparel, Automotive
CEZ-3
Dahej, Hazira
Marine clusters
CEZ-4
Maharashtra
Goa
JNPT, Mumbai
Power, Electronics, Apparel
CEZ-5
Dighi, Jaigarh, Mormugao
Refining, Steel, Food processing
CEZ-6
Karnataka
New Mangalore
Petrochemicals
CEZ-7
Kerala
Cochin
Furniture
CEZ-8
Tamil Nadu
VOCPT(Tuticorin)
Apparel, Refining
CEZ-9
Karaikal
Leather processing, Power
CEZ-10
Chennai, Kamarajar(Ennore) and Katupalli
Steel, Petrochemicals, Electronics, Shipbuilding
CEZ-11
Andhra Pradesh
Krishnapatnam
Electronics
CEZ-12
Vizag, Kakinada
Food processing, Petrochemicals, Cement, Apparel
CEZ-13
Odisha
Paradip, Dhamara
Petrochemicals, Marine processing
CEZ-14
West Bengal
Kolkata, Haldia
Leather processing
Based on the land parcels available in close proximity to a deep draught port and with strong potential for manufacturing, four CEZs have been identified to be taken up in the first phase of development. These are in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. No special provision regarding tax holiday, employment and extent of investment has been made so far.
To further accelerate the cashless economy, after the cancellation of old Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes, the Central Government has decided on a package of incentives and measures for promotion of digital and cashless economy in the country.
These incentives include:
1. The Central Government Petroleum PSUs will offer a discount at the rate of 0.75% of the sale price to consumers on purchase of petrol/diesel if payment is made through digital means. Nearly 4.5 crore customers buy petrol or diesel at such petrol pumps per day who can benefit from this. It is estimated that petrol/diesel worth Rs.1800 crore is sold per day to the customers out of which nearly 20% was being paid through digital means.
In the month of November 2016 it has increased to 40% and the cash transaction of Rs.360 crore per day have got shifted to cashless transaction methods. The incentive scheme has the potential of shifting at least 30% more customer to digital means which will further reduce the cash requirement of nearly Rs. 2 lakh crore per year at the petrol pumps.
2. To expand digital payment infrastructure in rural areas, the Central Government through NABARD will extend financial support to eligible banks for deployment of 2 POS devices each in 1 Lakh villages with population of less than 10,000.
These POS machines are intended to be deployed at primary cooperative societies/milk societies/agricultural input dealers to facilitate agri-related transactions through digital means. This will benefit farmers of one lakh village covering a total population of nearly 75 crore who will have facility to transact cashlessly in their villages for their agri needs.
The Central Government through NABARD will also support Rural Regional Banks and Cooperative Banks to issue “Rupay Kisan Cards” to 4.32 crore Kisan Credit Card holders to enable them to make digital transactions at POS machines/Micro ATMs/ATMs.
3. Railway through its sub urban railway network shall provide incentive by way of discount upto 0.5% to customers for monthly or seasonal tickets from January 1, 2017, if payment is made through digital means.
Nearly 80 lakh passengers use seasonal or monthly ticket on suburban railways, largely in cash, spending worth nearly Rs.2,000 crore per year. As more and more passengers will shift to digital means the cash requirement may get reduced by Rs.1,000 crore per year in near future. All railway passengers buying online ticket shall be given free accidental insurance cover of upto Rs. 10 lakh.
Nearly 14 lakh railway passengers are buying tickets everyday out of which 58% tickets are bought online through digital means. It is expected that another 20% passengers may shift to digital payment methods of buying railway tickets. Hence nearly 11 lakh passengers per day will be covered under the accidental insurance scheme.
For paid services e.g. catering, accommodation, retiring rooms etc. being offered by railways through its affiliated entities/corporations to the passengers, it will provide a discount of 5% for payment of these services through digital means. All the passengers travelling on railways availing these services may avail the benefit.
4. Public sector insurance companies will provide incentive, by way of discount or credit, upto 10% of the premium in general insurance policies and 8% in new life policies of Life Insurance Corporation sold through the customer portals, in case payment is made through digital means.
5. The Central Government Departments and Central Public Sector Undertakings will ensure that transactions fee/MDR charges associated with payment through digital means shall not be passed on to the consumers and all such expenses shall be borne by them. State Governments are being advised that the State Governments and its organizations should also consider to absorb the transaction fee/MDR charges related to digital payment to them and consumer should not be asked to bear it.
6. Public sector banks are advised that merchant should not be required to pay more than Rs. 100 per month as monthly rental for PoS terminals/Micro ATMs/mobile POS from the merchants to bring small merchant on board the digital payment eco system. Nearly 6.5 lakh machines by Public Sector Banks have been issued to merchants who will be benefitted by the lower rentals and promote digital transactions. With lower rentals, more merchants will install such machines and promote digital transactions.
7. No service tax will be charged on digital transaction charges/MDR for transactions upto Rs.2000 per transaction.
8. For the payment of toll at Toll Plazas on National Highways using RFID card/Fast Tags, a discount of 10% will be available to users in the year 2016-17.
Sprint stores will soon get visitors or more customers looking for Pokemon GO spots and to collect their Poke Balls and Razz Berries. Sprint Stores said that every all 10,500 Sprint stores in the US will become either a PokéStop or Gym for players of Pokémon GO.
It means, Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Sprint at Radioshack stores will become Pokemon GO players’ Stops and Gyms, whenever they may want to fill up on game items. They can loiter around and play Pokémon, and even get in-store charging for their devices.
Pokémon GO also said the collaboration between Sprint, Boost Mobile and Sprint at Radioshack stores will expand the scope of the game and its PokéStops and Gyms. They will help players to stock up on Poké Balls and Razz Berries and to battle with friends on their devices.
The Pokémon GO team also announced that they have more surprises in store for the yearend of 2016.
Web-based tech giants YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft (Skype & Bing) have decided to work together to stop extremist content from their websites by creating a common database. The firms have agreed to share ‘hashes’ or unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos of such content.
The hashtag on such content enables the peers to identify the content on their platforms and remove them in turn. "We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online," the companies said in a statement.
The firms have long resisted outside or government intervention on policing their sites but came together recently to do more to remove extremist content in view of recent militant attacks in Paris and other cities in the West. YouTube and Facebook have already begun to use such hashes to automatically remove such content.
Until now the practice was that mainly users have to flag content that violates terms of service and then human editors will review and delete such content found in violation of the guidelines or norms. Twitter alone suspended 235,000 accounts between February and August 2016.
The new database will come into operation in early 2017. The European Union has laready established an EU Internet Forum last year to remove such extremist content.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday unveiled unlimited voice calls and more 4G data under a new plan, while keeping the old subscribers to 4G unhappy as it costs Rs.200 per GB on these devices currently.
On the contrary, Reliance Jio has been providing 1GB per day free on its 4G devices and the freebeis have been extended up to March 31, 2017 by the parent company Reliance Industries.
Under the new plan, for Rs.345, Bharti Airtel will allow users to make unlimited calls to any network and consume 1 GB 4G data for 28 days. This is still far behind Jio offer of the same at no cost until March 31, 2017.
Airtel also offered another plan for Rs.145 where users will 300 MB of 4G data and unlimited calls within Airtel network for 28 days, it said. However, none of these offers actually compete with Reliance Jio at least not until March 2017.
Even after the freebies, Reliance is offering free calls, no roaming charges and plus 1GB to 10GB dataplan for 4G devices at Rs.149.
In its 38th flight (PSLV-C36), ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 1,235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A Satellite on Wednesday morning (December 07, 2016) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
After PSLV-C36 lift-off at 10:25 am IST from the First Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, payload fairing separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and cut-off, took place as planned.
After a flight of 17 minutes 05 seconds, the vehicle achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 824 km height inclined at an angle of 98.725 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and 47 seconds later, RESOURCESAT-2A was separated from the PSLV fourth stage.
After separation, the two solar arrays of RESOURCESAT-2A deployed automatically and ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide imagery from its three cameras. The data sent by RESOURCESAT-2A will be useful for agricultural applications like crop area and crop production estimation, drought monitoring, soil mapping, cropping system analysis and farm advisories generation.
Like its predecessors RESOURCESAT-1 and 2, RESOURCESAT-2A has a unique 3-Tier imaging system with Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), Linear Imaging Self Scanner-3 (LISS-3) and Linear Imaging Self Scanner-4 (LISS-4) cameras. The AWiFS provides images with a sampling of 56 metres, a swath of 740 km and a revisit of 5 days whereas the LISS-3 provides 23.5 metre sampled images with 141 km swath and a repitivity of 24 days. LISS-4 provides 5.8 metre sampled images with 70 km swath and a revisit of 5 days.
"With today’s launch, the PSLV has yet again demonstrated its reliability," said ISRO in a statement. The total number of satellites launched by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV including today’s RESOURCESAT-2A has now reached 122, of which 43 are Indian and the remaining 79 are from abroad.
US President-elect Donald Trump is likely to nominate retired Marine Gen. James Mattis as his selection for secretary of defense during his latest “thank you” tour in North Carolina tonight, said reports.
Trump earlier stated in a Twitter message:”General James “Mad Dog” Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General’s General!”
Gen James N Mattis
James “Mad Dog” Mattis in the Pentagon has similar views as Trump and is expected to be his mouth piece in security matters, besides towing the party line. He retired in 2013 but the rule book says a defense secretary must have been out of the armed services for at least seven years.
Here is a full list of the cabinet positions that have been filled so far:
Appointed Cabinet Positions:
Department of Defense: James N. Mattis
Department of Treasury: Steven Mnuchin
Department of Transportation: Elaine L. Chao
Department of Health and Human Services: Tom Price
Department of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Department of Education: Betsy DeVos
United Nations Ambassador: Nikki Haley
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Dr. Ben Carson
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa resembles the talented, educated and mature leader of masses while Fidel castro resembles the age-old image of a crusader for his people to lead a revolution and life-long respect in turn.
Unfortunate but Fidel Castro lived up to see his promise for a revolution dwindle once his health deteriorated a decade ago but Jayalalithaa remained steadfast in her pitch for making the poor and middle class women happier.
Fidel castro of Cuba
Fidel Castro not only challenged the US hegemony in Americas but remained the sole leader dreaded by any US President even to shake a hand until Bill Clinton accidentally did. He was behind the Cuban revolution that threw balance of power in Americas off guard and kept Washington on its toes always. He was even accused of masterminding JFK killing though it never stood the test of time or reason.
Fidel Castro was an eloquent speaker who could address his people for over 10 hours at a stretch, yet commanded their audience. His people braced poverty but never belied their leader. He remained an epoch in an era when socialism triumphed and capitalism remained in the periphery in world politics. A friend of Indira Gandhi, he had apparently warned of her of a plot to assassinate her about six months before it happenned. Though a non-alignment player, his presence in NAM Meetings during the Cold War had distanced many seen as US allies. Finally, it was his brother who succeeded him to the reins of power to make Cuba see the reason and adjust to the realities of capitalism as it is the most-acknowledged reality now.
On the other side of the globe, Jayalalithaa too mesmerized millions with her glamourous roles and sought to be a leader throughout. From filmdom to politics, her journey remained as cushioned as her films were. With MG Ramachandran (MGR) on her side, she saw no reason why she should not aspire for the top post. So did she when MGR died and resisted insults and insinuations for over two years to ramp home with a united party behind her charisma.
When cadre-based DMK party threatened her safety and self-respect with physical assaults in the Assembly, she swore to return as chief minister and teach her opponents a lesson and she did clinch the victory, thanks to her alliance tactics with the Congress at the apt time. Soon, she had groomed her own ilk in the state and her chosen target group of women always proved her right in her outreach strategy.
Jayalalithaa
Finally, notwithstanding the corruption charges and the jail term, she used all her adversities into accomplishments as proved by her second-straight victory in Assembly elections. If Fidel Castro was excellent in his charisma-centric speeches, Jayalalithaa was equally adored for her tactful and matured personality among the most-hated politicians in Tamil Nadu.
Her speeches lacked triumphant exhortations but her deeds stood before the voters glaringly to decide during the hustings. She knew her fans are far more important than her rivals and she proved them right again and again with her women-centric freebies. She never groomed any greater-than-thou personality within the party but tolerated even adhoc impurities. Whether her aide Shashikalaa or her trusted man Panneerselvam, she showed them who the boss would be but relented their mistakes to make them realise her mastery over inter-personal relations.
finally, both of them died within one week gap but both will remain the most-cherished personalities in the annals of history. Both will be missed by their followers forever. Both will be leaving behind void that cannot be filled by anyone else so easily.
In a reciprocal gesture to US President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on May 27, cementing the leftover feelings of animosity, if any, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that he would visit Pearl Harbor NOT on December 7 but 20 days later.
Pearl harbor was a US Naval base in Hawaii that Japan attacked on December 7 (in US Time zone), 1941 killing thousands of sailors in an “unannounced” attack that forced the US to plunge into World War Two.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit would be the first ever by a sitting Japanese leader “to pay tribute” to military personnel who died in the war. The visit also coincides with his final summit with outgoing US President Obama.
The stunning declaration came just two days ahead of the 75th anniversary of the attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II.
Photograph of Battleship Row taken from a Japanese plane at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on USS West Virginia. Two attacking Japanese planes can be seen: one over USS Neosho and one over the Naval Yard.
“We must never repeat the tragedy of the war,” he said. “I would like to send this commitment. At the same time, I would like to send a message of reconciliation between Japan and the US.”
However, Abe is not expected to express remorse or an expllicit apology for the Pearl Harbor attack. As Obama did not include any apology for the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, so will Abe refrain from an apology to what America long argued as treacherous attack unannounced.
The irony goes back to the first week of December in 1941 when Japanese ambassador who was entrusted with the task of war declaration to be handed over to Washington failed to do so on time and the attacks preceded the declaration. US blamed Japan for unilateral attack without proper Declaration of War, an allegation that many Japan historians dislike to be reiterated.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, unprepared American soldiers became the worst victims of an aerial attack on Dec. 7, 1941 — a date that President Franklin D. Roosevelt said would “live in infamy.” More than 2,400 US servicemen were killed in the attacks.
Hopefully the visit by Abe should end the stamp of illegal attack of Pearl Harbor from Japan’s history pages and bury the hatchet of World War Two though neither side may apologize for their wartime attacks.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday after an eventful visit that witnessed strengthening of ties between the two nations.
Welcoming the Qatar Prime Minister to India, the President said that the third high-level visit in two years highlights the importance that both countries attach to strengthening their bilateral relations. India accords very high importance to relations with countries in the Gulf, which is its extended neighbourhood. India sees Qatar as a key interlocutor in the Gulf and Arab world.
The President said, “India’s relations with Qatar are deep-rooted in history and have been nurtured by active contacts amongst our two peoples through trade and commerce ties over centuries. The two countries have a common goal of intensifying co-operation. We should identify opportunities to make trade more broad-based and balanced. Indian companies are willing to be partners in infrastructure development being undertaken by Qatar in preparation for the FIFA 2022 World Cup and Qatar’s development plans under ‘Vision 2030’ for Qatar.”
The Qatar Prime Minister too reciprocated the President’s sentiments and said that he had good discussions with the Indian Prime Minister. Qatar sees India as a strategic partner and is keen to expand relations.
As the demonetisation laid bare the difficulties of rural India not matching the urban centres in banking and payment technology, the Indian government has decided to pitch for a campaign provide information, education and communication, holding camps for transiting to the digital mode of payment.
Among the series of measures undertaken include incentives to the district administration which will give a boost to cashless digital payment systems across the districts, talukas and panchayats.
NITI Aayog has prepared a blueprint of incentives for the campaign for the district authorities and administration which include include incentives for digital payments for day-to-day financial transactions like buying or selling of goods and services, transferring money etc.
NITI Aayog will provide logistic support for outreach activities at these three levels in the form of the seed money of Rs.5 lakh per district administration to enhance the seeding of Mobile and Aadhar numbers to the bank account, issue of Rupay cards wherever necessary, issue of PIN, downloading of app and finally achieving two successful transactions.
The top ten best performing districts will be awarded the Digital Payment Champions of India award.
The first 50 Panchayats which go cashless will be awarded Digital Payment Award of Honour
The five digital payment systems are –
1.Unified Payment Interface, UPI
2.USSD (*99#banking)
3.Adhar Enabled Systems
4.Wallets &
5.Rupay/Debit/Credit/Prepaid Cards
The Hindi/English version of the brochure is made available on the website- www.niti.gov.in/conetent/digital-payments and NITI Aayog has put up the entire sets of creative material – presentations/posters and FM radio spots/ films on its website – www.niti.gov.in/conetent/digital-payments.
In addition, Common Service Networks are being mobilized in going cashless and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced cash incentive of Rs.100 for every merchant enabled to transact digitally. Two resource persons have been provided in each district collectorate to co-ordinate the CSE in each district.
NITI Aayog has also solicited the feedback on the challenges being faced by them, the solutions thereof and the manner in which they can be supported.
The satellite rights of “Baahubali: The Conclusion” (Telugu version) starring Prabhas and Rana Daggubati has been sold to Zee Network for a whopping Rs.26 crore, said publicists for the film.
“satellite rights have been acquired by Zee Network for a whopping price of Rs 26C, which would surpass the record of “Baahubali,” said #Mahesh, publicist for the film.
Ever since the shocking leak of 8-minute climax war scene leak of director S S Rajamouli’s “Baahubali: The Conclusion” (Bahubali 2), the post-production has gone into utmost secrecy in Hyderabad and 60 other digital studios all over the country.
The curiosity value is so high that if any leak over the country-wide question of “Why Kattappa killed Baahubali?” is still keeping the momentum on the public pulse. “The producers and director SS Rajamouli are huddled together about the next move. All post-production has been halted until a method to prevent further damage is found,” said a source to Deccan Chronicle.
Bahubali publicist Mahesh S Koneru has denied that there is any delay in post-production work over the leak but conceded that security has become more strict over the post-production process. He said, “Access has become more strict and more security measures are in place.”
It is unlikely that the storyline will be leaked as it was written by SS Rajamouli’s father KV Vijayendra Prasad and kept secret throughout the shooting period of the film.
Otherwise, S.S. Rajamouli is content that the film has come off well. In a latest twitter message he said it was 25 years after that the VR technology is being used. “After 25 years in film industry venturing into VR for the first time. First shooting day of SWORD OF BAAHUBALI,” he said.
After 25 years in film industry venturing into VR for the first time. First shooting day of SWORD OF BAAHUBALI. pic.twitter.com/9OK3GsZrFb
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and other 12 represntatives from Asian countries at the much coveted Heart of Asia Conference being held in Amritsar tomorrow to highlight terrorism, trade and cooperation takes place.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will address the conference as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is ill. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and other representatives will meet on the sidelines of the inaugural conference symbolic to bring in stakeholders of Asia for more trade. The 14-member conference is likely to bring forth a loose alliance of like-minded actors to take the regional cooperation to the next level.
Pakistan is being represented by Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz while other ministers from Iran, Russia and China will make it broader in terms of trade-centric talks and India may raise the issue of terrorism since the venue near the border owing to infiltrations is visibly to offset Islamabad’s mindset.
India is likely to announce military aid to Afghanistan including 7 helicopters and receive assurance from Russia on supplying spares and conducting repairs on other aircraft in Afghanistan.
India is keen to focus on the Chabahar port in Iran for trade to Afghanistan, the overall agenda will centre around developing trade routes to Afghanistan, as China and Pakistan are focusing on the development of the Gwadar Port.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javed Zarif is expected to make a presentation on the benefits of Chabahar to Afghanistan, while India will try to rope in others to develop the port project.
“We are already working with the governments of Afghanistan and Iran to do an event in Chabahar itself, sometime in the near future which involves not merely the governments and experts but also brings together industry and also showcases Chabahar for other countries which can benefit from the enhanced connectivity through Chabahar,” MEA official Gopal Baglay said.
Recently, Russia, Turkmenistan and Qatar have indicated an interest in the port, while Iran, that refers to Gwadar and Chabahar as “sister ports,” is keen to use the port for trade and gas supplies. China has already inaugurated its Yiwu-Mazar e Sharief rail line, under the One Belt One Road (OBOR) plan through Afghanistan to the CPEC route to Gwadar.
The Heart of Asia conference is the 7th in the series after the Istanbul Process was established in 2011 to provide a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbors. The United States and over 20 other nations and organizations are “supporting nations” in the dialogue.
Past Ministerial Conferences of Heart of Asia Dialogue:
1st: 2 November 2011,
Istanbul, Turkey
2nd: 14 June 2012,
Kabul, Afghanistan
3rd: 26 April 2013,
Almaty, Kazakhstan
4th: 31 October 2014,
Beijing, China
5th: 9 December 2015,
Islamabad, Pakistan
6th: 26 April 2016,
New Delhi, India
7th: 4th December 2016,
Amritsar, India
MEMBER Countries:
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
China
India
Iran
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Pakistan
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
SUPPORTING COUNTRIES
Australia
Canada
Denmark
Egypt
European Union
France
Finland
Germany
Iraq
Italy
Japan
Norway
Poland
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
In a new report analyzing the global climate between 2011-2015, the World Meteorological Organization – the United Nations system’s weather agency – found an increasingly visible human footprint on extreme weather and climate events with dangerous and costly impacts.
This “hot and wild” weather meant that global ocean temperatures rose at unprecedented levels, Arctic sea ice coverage and mountain glaciers declined and surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet continued at above-average levels.
The extreme weather also meant that people around the world suffered from high-impact climate events such as severe droughts in Africa, devastating floods in South-East Asia, terrible heatwaves in India and Pakistan, and catastrophic hurricanes and typhoons in the United States and the Philippines.
Against this backdrop, and within the context of the ongoing 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Marrakech, Morocco (07-18 November 2016), the United Nations News Centre spoke with Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), on the state of the Earth’s weather and what it means to the people who inhabit the planet.
UN News Centre: The global climate report 2011-2015 confirms that the average global temperature in 2015 has already reached the 1 degree Celsius mark. What does this 1 degree Celsius really mean to people on the ground, say for an office worker in South-East Asia or a farmer in South Africa?
Petteri Taalas: One degree does not sound like a big number if you compare the temperate over a couple of days but globally [over a long period of time] it means that we have seen an increase in the amount of disasters related to the weather. It means that we have observed more heat waves, for example, in Kuwait, the temperature hit 54 degrees Celsius limit last summer and there have been devastating heat waves in many continents.
We have also seen changes in the pattern of rainfall, which means that some areas are now seeing flooding – when it rains, it rains much more — and that led to problems for human beings and also for economies. And then in some parts of the world we have seen more droughts, caused by the heat waves, and leading to forest fires and difficulties in agriculture. For example, at the moment, the southern part of Africa is suffering because of a drought that was partly caused by El Nino last year but also by a drying trend behind it. In tropical zones we have observed more intense tropical storms and they have been devastating for countries like Vanuatu. We also observed the first hurricane hitting Cabo Verde on the African coast.
So this one degree change means that the amount of disasters related to weather and hydrology have been increasing and if it goes beyond that one degree limit – which seems to be the case according to this year’s observations – we can expect to see more of these kind of disasters. And it will have a negative impact on the economies of the countries, and it will also impact the lives and wellbeing of all humans.
Temperature in Kuwait hits 54 Celsius, sets possible record amid Middle East heatwave – UN
26 July 2016 – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations specialized agency, will set up a committee to examine whether a 54 degrees Celsius temperature recently recorded in Kuwait, has set the new highest temperature for Asia, as well as for the entire Eastern hemisphere.
UN underscores readiness to assist South-East Asian countries hit by floods
18 October 2011 – The United Nations voiced deep concern over the devastating floods in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam and offered to assist the affected countries to respond to the disaster that has claimed hundreds of lives and caused heavy damage to property and infrastructure.
UN News Centre: What has caused this dramatic change in temperatures?
Petteri Taalas: The main reason behind it is that we are using much more fossil fuel: coal, gas, and oil. We have changed the composition of the atmosphere. Therefore, we have seen a very dramatic increase of the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere. And we have also seen an increase in the amount of methane (CH4) in the atmosphere and an increase of the nitrous oxide (N2O). And all these are contributing to this warming that we have seen.
UN News Centre: Earlier WMO had said that this 1 degree rise – already halfway to the 2 degree threshold – and that the national climate change plans adopted so far may not be enough to prevent even a 3 degree rise. Do you think this is something that could have been foreseen before the Paris agreement?
Petteri Taalas: In our field we have known about this problem for 30 years. So about 30 years ago, we established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and then years later we established the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to start mitigating climate change. So this problem has been around for a long time, but the good news is that governments now understand the need to mitigate climate change, and that’s why they adopted the Paris Agreement on climate change last year, and it has very recently entered into force. This gives us a good basis for moving forward, and to mitigate the effects of climate change. And the key issue is whether we are acting quickly enough to avoid a 1.5 or 2 degree warming or are we going to go beyond that. So far the pledges behind the Paris Agreement indicate about a 3 degree warming level, which would mean that we might have a larger amount of disasters related to the weather. So it would be a smart thing for the governments to start reducing the emissions, and that would also be good for the coming generations.
There is optimism in the fight against climate change, but the best time to act is now, according to Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The head of the UN weather agency was speaking to UN News Centre, shortly after releasing a report on global greenhouse gases and climate change, which categorised 2011 to 2015 as the hottest five-year period on record. Mr. Taalas also noted that the world is now better equipped with technologies to mitigate the levels of greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate.
UN News Centre: In this context, what other messages would you like to give to the leaders attending the COP22 in Morocco?
Petteri Taalas: I would like to thank them for ratifying the Paris Agreement, which gives us hope. And we also now have better technological means for mitigation. And those means are also cheaper than they used to be. For example, solar and wind energy sources are cheaper than they used to be ten years ago. And we also have possibilities to convert our transport systems to use more electric cars. In the case of diet, we can go to more vegetarian diet; which could also reduce emissions.
So we have all the means available, and now it’s time to act and prevent these negative impacts of climate change, and it’s important that we start acting very soon, because if we wait, the problem will become more severe. I am very optimistic that we have all the means to be successful, but we should start changing our behavior very soon.
MARRAKECH: ‘The eyes of the world are upon us,’ chair of UN Conference says as new round of climate talks opens
7 November 2016 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as ‘COP 22,’ opened today in Marrakech, Morocco, just days after the entry into force of the landmark Paris Agreement which has now been ratified by 100 countries.
UN News Centre: What is something that society, as a whole, can do to mitigate these impacts?
Petteri Taalas: All normal consumers now have big powers – they can decide what kind of sources of energy they use in their houses, what kind of means of transport they use, and what kind of diet they are eating. For example, a vegetarian diet is better for climate than a meat-based diet. Consumers have big power here and if they decide to go to these low emission solutions, they are the ones who have power to do that. And also the policy-makers are watching very closely what the opinion of the ordinary people is, and I believe that they are able to change the consumption behaviour in the coming years.
As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demits office, it is time to recollect his accomplishments with some historic achievements uch as adoption of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change in December 2015 and setting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Speaking to the press in Paris, Mr. Ban thanked France for its support for the UN in combating violent extremism and expressed his condolences to the victims and their families of such violence. He also noted France’s support to the UN in its work in the Central African Republic, Mali and the Middle East, particularly Syria.
He further noted that while France draws down its military operation – Operation Sangaris – in the Central African Republic, it was welcoming that France’s continued to take interest in the situation in the African country and called for an open and genuine dialogue to resolve the tensions there.
Mr. Ban also welcomed the commitment of France to the situation in the Middle East and in particular to hold an international conference on the issue.
The UN chief further emphasized that the international community’s support in Lebanon is equally important, particularly given the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Concluding his remarks, Mr. Ban expressed confidence that the Government and people of France would continue to support his successor, António Guterres, who assumes office at the start of next year, and the UN in its mission in building a better world for all.
On Friday, Secretary-General Ban was presented the insignia of the Grand Officier de la Légion d’honneur(the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour) by the President François Hollande of France.
Receiving the honour, Mr. Ban said that it was the UN that was being honoured and expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Organization.
Created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the Légion d’honneur (Legion of Honour) is the highest French award. For two centuries, it has been presented, in the name of the French Head of State, to acknowledge the contribution of an individual in all fields.
The Supreme Court on Friday warned the government to find ways to end the cash crisis as people standing in long queues for hours every day may turn violent anytime leading to anarchy.
Brushing aside the government contention, the court made it clear that “It is a serious issue.” Since it affects the entire population, it said, “You cannot deny there is a serious problem. There could be riots.”
The bench consisting of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AR Dave retorted to attorney general Mukul Rohatgi’s plea seeking directive to lower courts to stop hearing cases related to demonetisation. Once the high courts take up legal suits, millions of suits will move the courts seeking intervention to redeem their money.
The bench took exception to limit the daily cash exchange limit to Rs 2,000, after promising to increase it to Rs.4500 creating suspicions in the minds of people about the government’s ability to exchange their money in time.
“The government just did not have the capacity to print new currency notes. They should have taken this into account and taken steps to avoid putting people into untold harassment,” said petitioners.
“Daily labourers are not getting paid, tea garden workers are not getting their salaries, people in rural areas have to walk long distances to reach banks and ATMs only to be told that these have run out of cash. It is a serious situation. Transporters are suffering. Trucks are standing idle without cash. India is a cash-based economy and the government has hurt it badly by freezing cash circulation,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal said in the Supreme Court on Friday on behalf of the petitioners who have questioned the legality of demonetisation.
Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu said the Union Cabinet has approved the Model Shops and Establishment Act, facilitating round-the-clock working hours aimed at generating employment prospects by allowing cinema halls, restaurants, shops, banks and other such workplaces to remain open 24/7.
Speaking to the representatives of the Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector, he said all their concerns would be resolved by the Government in a time bound manner. Considering the growth prospects of the Indian M&E industry for the economy, he assured that the concerns of the industry regarding new tax rates in the GST structure would be conveyed to the Finance Minister.
Addressing the CEOs Round Table Meeting organized by FICCI, the minister said a comprehensive review of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 including Copyright and IPR Protection issues, was under consideration in the light of the reports submitted by Mukul Mudgal and Shyam Benegal. It was imperative to believe in “responsible creativity” where in the censor rules and regulations could be weaved into social norms which affected the social fabric of the nation.
On the issue of Improving Screen Density in India, the Minister said that the reach of cinema was limited to a small segment and thus provided an immense opportunity for the film industry to tap the regional markets and cater to the needs of consumers by developing content in local and regional languages.
He assured that the issue has been taken up with the Multiplex Association of India to formulate Model Rules for building and operating cinema halls which once received would be shared and discussed with all the State Governments in the coming State Information Minister’s Conference scheduled in December. The State Governments would be requested to look into the matter and ease out the process in order to increase screen density throughout the country.
On the issue of grant of permissions to TV Channels, the Minister said that the Ministry had taken the initiative to streamline the processes and procedures in the broadcasting sector. He also mentioned about the E-Auction of the Second Batch of Private FM Radio Phase III Channels commenced a week ago. 266 FM Channels in 92 cities comprising 227 channels in 69 fresh cities and 39 unsold channels from 23 cities of batch I of Ph-III had been put on auction in the second batch.
The Minister said plans are afoot to set up a National Centre of Excellence for Media, to provide training to the industry professionals. The Ministry was also in the process to setup a Film Promotion Fund to support movies, including Bollywood and Regional films, for participation in foreign film festivals.
The audio-visual co-production agreements signed by the Government would help film industry to explore more resources and share best practices. He mentioned that the Cabinet has recently given approval to the agreement between India and Republic of Korea.
Post-Brexit, United Kingdom is opening up to Indian businessmen announcing for the first time a very easy process visa under its "Registered Traveller Scheme" but she chose to remain silent on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s request to provide "greater mobility" for students and researchers.
Speaking at the India-UK Tech Summit organised by CII, Theresa May, who was instrumental in tightening the visa regime earlier, said: "Indian nationals who frequently come to the UK and to fuel growth in both our countries, the entry process will become significantly easier." It means the businesses will have to fill fewer forms now to enter the EU-EEA (European Economic Area) passport regime and swifter passage through British airports.
"In short, more opportunities for Britain and India and a clear message that Britain is very much open for business… It is crucial that those who do need to travel between our countries for business can do so, that is the reason why when I was Home Secretary, I made visa process for Indians much easier," May said.
She pointed out that India now has best visa services and the same-day visa delivery system. She said that the UK government is listening to the pleas made by Indian businessmen. "Listening to the fact that there are many people from India who are to bring their skill, ideas, businesses to Britain for the good of your economy and ours," she added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address at the India-UK Tech Summit 2016, recalled his visit to the UK last November when it ws decided to commemorate 2016 the ‘India-UK Year of Education, Research and Innovation’ and asked for more visas to Indian students and scholars.
"Even though the quantum of bilateral trade has remained at the same level for the past five years our investments in both directions have been robust. India is the 3rd largest investor in UK, and UK is the largest G20 investor in India. Both countries support large numbers of jobs in each other’s economies," he noted.
As India will soon have over a billion phone connections, an urban tele-density of around 154%, 350 million internet users, nearly 1 lakh Internet-Connected villages, the growth story offers an excellent success story, he said.
