WEDNESday, November 2, 2016
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Around the World
India says it is committed to global tobacco-control treaty
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ndia reaffirmed on Tuesday its commitment to a World Health Organisation (WHO) tobacco-control treaty, despite lobbying from its US$11 billion industry that opposes some measures in the treaty that will be discussed at a conference next week. Delegates from about 180 countries will attend the November 7-12 conference near New Delhi on the only global anti-tobacco treaty, called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The treaty aims to deter tobacco use that kills about 6 million people a year, including about a million in India. Reuters reported
A man lights a cigarette along a road in Mumbai, India, October 26, 2016
last week that tobacco industry groups were lobbying the government with letters and signature cam-
paigns to safeguard the interest of farmers and to ensure that no “unreasonable” proposals are adopt-
ed at the conference. The Tobacco Institute of India (TII), the cigarette industry body, said in September 28 letter to the government that “there is no obligation on any signatory to the FCTC” to comply with its provisions. The government response to those letters has not been made public but on Tuesday, the health ministry published half-page notices in several newspapers to say India would apply the treaty’s provisions. “India reiterates its commitment to the full implementation of WHO FCTC,” the ministry said in the notice that included a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mandela Foundation rebukes Zuma, joins calls for leadership change
(Excerpt from Reuters)
President Jacob Zuma speaks during his question and answer session in Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, September 13, 2016
Russia: Syria peace talks are ‘indefinitely delayed’ T
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ussian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has accused Western countries of failing to rein in violent rebels in Syria, and said the resumption of peace talks had been indefinitely delayed. Shoigu said on Tuesday that rebels backed by Western governments had been attacking civilians in
the government-held western Aleppo, despite a pause in Russian and Syrian air strikes. “As a result, the prospects for the start of a negotiation process and the return to peaceful life in Syria are postponed for an indefinite period,” Shoigu said. Aleppo has been hit by some of the worst violence in Syria’s long-running con-
flict, turning the once-bustling economic hub into a divided and bombed-out symbol of the brutal war. At the moment, Aleppo’s frontline runs through the heart of the city, dividing rebels in the east from government forces in the West. Rebels launched an offensive last week against western Aleppo, more than a
month into an operation by the army to retake the city’s rebel-held eastern districts, which it had already put under siege. Shoigu, who was addressing a meeting of Russian military officials, railed against those rebels and their backers, saying they had squandered a chance for peace talks. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
Thailand’s crown prince to be confirmed king on December 1 C
rown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is to be confirmed as the new king of Thailand on December 1, a senior source has told the BBC. Once confirmed, he is expected to endorse a new, military-drafted constitution and to start appointing his own team of senior royal officials. His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, died on October 13, aged 88. The Government has declared a year-long official mourning period. The widely revered king had served 70 years as head of
state, and was seen as a stabilising figure, promoting economic development and social harmony in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups. The BBC’s Jonathan Head in Bangkok says there have been concerns expressed quietly over how well his son will perform the same role. Following King Bhumibol’s death, he had delayed taking the crown in order to join the people in mourning. The crown prince, who is 64, is much less well known to Thais than his father, and does not have his widespread
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Attempts are continuing to reach the 20 miners, who are believed to still be trapped, the news agency said. Mine accidents are common in China, despite efforts to improve safety. In January, four miners were rescued from a collapsed gypsum mine in Shandong province after 36 days trapped underground.
he foundation set up to guard the legacy of the late Nelson Mandela on Tuesday blamed South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma for the “wheels coming off” Africa’s most industrialiSed nation and urged a change in political leadership. Since coming to power in 2009, Zuma has survived a string of corruption scandals almost unscathed. But South Africa has had to bear the cost of his antics as investors worry about its political stability, business climate and rule of law. The non-profit Nelson Mandela Foundation, whose board consists of 10 prominent South African academics, politicians and journalists, called on the African National Congress (ANC), the liberation movement once headed by Mandela and now led by
Zuma, to change its leadership. “We call on the governing party to take the steps necessary to ensure that the vehicle of state be protected and placed in safe and capable hands,” it said in a rare statement entitled: “Time to account for crippling the state”. Zuma’s spokesman did not answer a phone call seeking comment. Several ANC members have called for the 74-yearold to quit but the ANC’s top echelons have backed him. In August municipal elections the ANC suffered its worst losses since taking power when apartheid fell in 1994. Opposition parties and civic groups are planning to march in the capital Pretoria on Wednesday to demand, among other things, that he resign. (Excerpt from Reuters)
Pope says he believes ban on female priests is forever The crown prince had delayed succession in order to join people in mourning
popularity. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also said on Tuesday that restrictions on entertainment and television in place since the king’s death would be lifted
on November 14. The PM also said that people should still maintain decorum throughout the mourning period and refrain from wearing “inappropriate attire”. (Excerpt from BBC
News)
Chinese coal mine rescue bid after deadly blast hirteen people were killed and another 20 remain unaccounted for after an explosion in a coal mine in China, according to State media. The gas explosion happened on Monday morning at a privately owned mine Jinshangou in the southwestern Chongqing region, Xinhua reported.
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The mine’s owner killed himself shortly after the accident. “We are still working all-out to search for the 20 missing miners, and will exert our utmost as long as there’s still a ray of hope,” Chongqing Deputy Mayor Ma Huaping said of the Jinshangou explosion. Two men are reported
to have escaped unharmed. Local authorities have ordered an investigation into the incident and ordered smaller coal mines in the region to close temporarily. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal. The Jinshangou mine is licensed to produce 60,000 tonnes of coal a year, local media said. (BBC News)
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ope Francis said on Tuesday he believes the Roman Catholic Church’s ban on women becoming priests is forever and will never be changed, in some of his most definitive remarks on the issue. He was speaking aboard a plane taking him back to Rome from Sweden, in the freewheeling news conference with reporters that has become a tradition of his return flights from trips abroad. A Swedish female reporter noted that the head of the Lutheran Church who welcomed him in Sweden was a woman, and then asked if he thought the Catholic Church could allow women to be ordained as ministers in coming decades. “St Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this
and it stands, this stands,” Francis said. Francis was referring to a 1994 document by Pope John Paul that closed the door on a female priesthood. The Vatican says this teaching is an infallible part of Catholic tradition. Francis has previously said that the door to women’s ordination is closed, but proponents of a female priesthood are hoping that a future pope might overturn the decision, particularly because of the shortage of priests around the world. The Catholic Church teaches that women cannot be ordained priests because Jesus willingly chose only men as his apostles. Those calling for women priests say he was only following the norms of his time. (Excerpt from Reuters)