General Awareness : International - December, 2014

(General Awareness For Bank's Exams) International

December-2014

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.

FBI warns U.S. of 'destructive' cyber attack

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned U.S. businesses that hackers have used malicious software to launch a destructive cyber attack in the United States, following a devastating breach last week at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Cyber security experts said the malicious software described in the alert appeared to describe the one that affected Sony, which would mark first major destructive cyber attack waged against a company on U.S. soil.
"I believe the coordinated cyber attack with destructive payloads against a corporation in the U.S. represents a watershed event," said Tom Kellermann, chief cyber security officer with security software maker Trend Micro Inc. "Geopolitics now serves as harbingers for destructive cyber attacks."
The five-page, confidential "flash" FBI warning issued to businesses provided some technical details about the malicious software used in the attack.
It provided advice on how to respond to the malware and asked businesses to contact the FBI if they identified similar malware.
The report said the malware overrides all data on hard drives of computers, including the master boot record, which prevents them from booting up.
"The overwriting of the data files will make it extremely difficult and costly, if not impossible, to recover the data using standard forensic methods," the report said.

2014 could be hottest year on record says WMO

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says 2014 is on track to be one of the hottest, if not the hottest, on record, according to its preliminary estimates released during the climate talks.
This was largely due to record high global sea surface temperatures, which will very likely remain above normal until the year-end.
High sea temperatures, together with other factors, contributed to exceptionally heavy rainfall and floods in many countries and extreme drought in others
The WMO’s provisional statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2014 indicated that the global average air temperature over land and sea surface for January to October was about 0.09°C above the average for the past 10 years (2004-2013).
The statement says that if November and December maintain the same tendency, then 2014 will likely be the hottest on record, ahead of 2010, 2005 and 1998.
This confirms the underlying long-term warming trend. It is important to note that differences in the rankings of the warmest years are a matter of only a few hundredths of a degree, and that different data sets show slightly different rankings, the WMO pointed out.

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.

World’s first handcrafted herbal Holy Koran unveiled in Dubai

The world’s first handcrafted herbal Holy Koran, made from about 200 medicinal plants, has been unveiled.
The Koran has been made by the Islamic arts and calligraphy company, Heddem Arts and has been crafted over 23 years from 1957 to 1979 by Turkish Unani Doctor Hamdi Taher.
The Koran is made of high potency herbal mixtures prepared as per Unani medical system.
“Herbal sheets of the Holy Koran have many therapeutic properties when the reader moves his fingers on the letters or in and around the pages, the herbal mixture seeps through the pores in the fingers, providing health benefits,” Heddem Arts said in a statement.
The herbal-cream-written Koran includes 606 pages and weighs about 7.5 kg.
“Patiently handcrafted over the years, every word and design in the Holy Koran is made without using any printing technology, tools or machinery because of which it is truly one of a kind,” Abdul Azeaz Bin Hassan, Islamic religious adviser at Heddem Arts, said.

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.

FIFA, Ebola among Facebook’s most discussed topics in 2014

The list Facebook released is a testament to its global reach, given that more than 80 per cent of Facebook users live outside the U.S. and Canada.
Worldwide topics the World Cup soccer tournament and the Ebola outbreak occupied the top two spots. But No. 3 was the presidential election in Brazil. Facebook says some 48 million people had 674 million interactions status updates, photos, videos, comments and likes about the highly contested event.
That made it the most talked-about election of 2014 even more than the congressional midterms in the U.S. “At its best, social media makes the world a smaller place and builds community on a global level,” Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, said in an interview.
Ms. Sandberg saw it fitting that the World Cup the world’s most widely watched sporting event was also the most widely discussed event this year. More than 350 million people had 3 billion interactions about the tournament.

Cadila healthcare launches first cheaper copy of world’s top-selling drug

Cadila Healthcare said it launched the first biosimilar version of anti-inflammatory medicine adalimumab, the world’s top-selling drug, at a fifth of its U.S. price.
The drug’s branded version is sold under the name Humira by U.S. firm AbbVie Inc, and costs $1,000 for a vial in the United States. Humira had sales of $3.26 billion in the quarter ended September, accounting for 65 per cent of AbbVie’s total revenue.
A price of $200 a vial would still keep the drug out of reach for most people in India, where more than 70 per cent of the population lives on less than $2 a day and health insurance is scarce.
Biosimilars are cheaper copies of biotech drugs — medicines made from proteins and other large molecules. Cadila expects sales of between Rs.100 crore ($16.16 million) and Rs.200 crore from its biosimilar of Humira in the domestic market, Deputy Managing Director Sharvil Patel told Reuters.
The company will launch its version under the name Exemptia for treating diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.

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.
The new railway project “will offer a new channel for bilateral trade, and also help form a potentially-lucrative tourist route starting from China’s Yunnan province, to Laos’ Vientiane and Thailand’s Bangkok,” said Huang Bin of Thailand’s Kasikorn Research Center, as quoted by Xinhua.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has earlier said that the railway tie ups with Beijing were meant to amplify China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been relentless in pushing for a Silk Road Economic Belt — a giant project that would connect Asia with Europe along the Eurasian corridor through rail, road, fiber optic highways and energy pipelines.
Analysts point out that the growing ties between China and Thailand are not accidental. Beijing is apparently cashing on the sourness that has developed between Thailand and West following a military coup on May 22.
The military takeover in Bangkok was apparently prompted by the death of 30 people in sporadic violence that encompassed protests against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Gen. Prayut is now expected to visit Beijing next week.

Foreign office building in Australia evacuated over suspicious package

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the capital, Canberra, was evacuated after a suspicious package was found in the building's canteen, police said.
Australia is on high alert after heavily armed police stormed a Sydney cafe early and freed terrified hostages being held there at gunpoint for 16 hours. Two hostages and the gunman were killed, police said.

Japanese auto Honda set for record car sales in 2014

Riding on new launches, Japanese auto major Honda is set for over 62 per cent growth in its sales in India this year at around 1.8 lakh units. The company, which launched two models — mid-sized sedan City and multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Mobilio during the year, had sold 1.11 lakh units in 2013.
“2014 was a very successful year for Honda as it continued its growth journey for the third consecutive year,” Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) Senior Vice-President, Sales & Marketing Jnaneswar Sen said in a statement.
During January-November 2014, the company sold 1.65 lakh units, up 61.8 per cent, from 1.02 lakh units in the same period of previous year. Mr. Sen said Honda was set to end 2014 with a record sale of 1.8 lakh units.
“In line with business expansion, the company also made strong progress in expanding its dealership network during the year, and crossed the milestone of 200 dealers in the country in November 2014,” he added.
The company plans to rope in another 100 dealers by the end of the next fiscal, and take the total tally to 300 facilities by March 2016.
Elaborating on the launches during the year, he said that the new Generation City, which was launched in January, had sold more than 71,000 units till November 2014.

Reliance seeks immediate start of KG-D6 cost recovery dispute

With its KG-D6 cost recovery arbitration stuck for three years, Reliance Industries has sought immediate start of the proceedings for early resolution of the dispute.
Naming former UK judge Sir Bernard Rix as its arbitrator in place of former Chief Justice of India S. P. Bharucha, who quit earlier this month, RIL through its legal counsel has written to the Oil Ministry seeking start of the proceedings from next month, sources privy to the development said.
Bharucha was earlier RIL nominee on a three—member arbitration panel, which is to decide if the oil ministry was right in disallowing over $2.3 billion of KG-D6 cost as output lagged targets.
He, however, recused himself after the government challenged his nomination more than two—and—half years after his nomination.
The government felt he had not disclosed all previous associations with RIL and that his arbitration could create doubts about his independence and impartiality. The company, in the letter, expressed “distress” at the attempts of the government to remove Justice Bharucha from the panel of arbitration.
Bharucha, it said, has an impeccable reputation and it was “unfortunate” that the government chose to demonstrate, in the course of an international arbitration, that it did not have faith in a former chief justice.

SpiceJet submits a revival plan to govt.

Troubled budget carrier SpiceJet submitted a revival plan to the government on the basis of a proposed investment of $200 million from founding promoter Ajay Singh and US-based JP Morgan Chase.
“It was a constructive meeting,” the airline’s Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor told reporters after he submitted the plan to Civil Aviation Secretary V Somasundaran at the Ministry headquarters here.
He was accompanied by Mr. Singh, the original promoter who is reinvesting in the carrier. Maintaining that there was “no outstanding” as of now with any oil marketing company, he said with 18 operational Boeing aircraft, Spicejet was currently flying 230 flights a day.
“Spicejet has many well wishers including Ajay Singh,” the COO said. Besides Mr, Singh, a fund managed by JP Morgan Chase would also be one of the investors.
The potential investors are likely to buy stake from current promoter Kalanithi Maran by infusing USD 200 million within a month to help the airline stay afloat.
The airline has already received Rs 17 crore from the investors, official sources earlier said, adding that “it has wiped off all its dues to the oil companies“.