"WSJ: Ukraine's False Spark for Oil Prices

         The Wall Street Journal reports,it is characteristic for oil prices to jump at the first whiff of a potential conflict, and Brent crude obliged Monday with a 2% increase, taking it back above $110 a barrel. But Ukraine's crisis is, if anything, likely a bearish development for oil.

Ukraine's own oil supply is negligible. Russia's, at about 11 million barrels a day, is vital. But its sheer size means a broad embargo encompassing all major oil-consuming nations mean that is both highly unlikely and likely unenforceable. If anything, the crisis could encourage a release of strategic oil stocks on the part of the U.S. and allies. In the longer term, it could swing U.S. politicians toward allowing more exports of crude oil.

Meanwhile, the threat to demand is real, and warning signs have appeared immediately. Russian stocks dropped 12% Monday, part of a broader selloff of equities around the world. And yields on havens such as U.S. Treasurys fell.

Crimea has spooked a world that was already nervous, especially about emerging markets reliant on foreign capital flows facing pressure from the Federal Reserve winding down its bond-purchasing program.

That matters because developing markets are projected by the International Energy Agency to account for more than 100% of global oil-demand growth this year; consumption in the developed world is poised to fall slightly. Weaker currencies make oil-import bills higher. In India and Brazil, for example, oil priced in local currency is more expensive than in 2008, when it peaked in dollar terms.

An increasing oil burden on economic growth, predicated on broad geopolitical risk rather than a specific threat to supply, won't offer sustained support for prices. Oil bulls should find the Russian bear lives up to its name.

China: Survivors of terrorist attack recount nightmare

The events of Saturday night in Kunming are deeply engraved in the mind of Xie Qiming, who narrowly escaped death in the terrorist attack at the city's railway station.

The 48-year-old policeman intervened to stop the butchering of unarmed civilians, saving many from death and injury, but he was injured in the process.

Lying in a hospital bed, his head and nose marked by serious hacking wounds - one more than 20 centimeters long - Xie recounted his actions on the day he describes as a nightmare.

"I shot at them but fell to the ground during the fighting. After the shots, the terrorists turned their attention to the police and several of them surrounded me and stabbed me like crazy," he said. "There is no humanity in them."

Xie is from the Beijinglu Police Station, the closest to the attack, and four police officers from the station were the first to respond. He survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, which was damaged by the attackers.

When the officers arrived, the attackers were running out of the ticket hall, attacking people with long knives.

Xie and his colleagues tried to stop the attack, which is when Xie was injured. In addition to the deep cuts, his skull was fractured, and at the time of writing he was awaiting further surgery.

"A wave of fierce anger rose up in my mind, and we all forgot to think about the possible danger to us," said Hu Zhe, 23, a police officer trainee at the Beijinglu Police Station.

Having no firearm, he fought the terrorists with a wooden baton, but it got broken in the fighting. He sustained a 6-centimeter wound to his left eyebrow.

Wan Weiqing, a neurosurgeon from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, learned of the attack at 2 am on Sunday and took the first flight to Kunming, where he has been helping the victims.

He said that 71 victims are being treated at the Kunming First People's Hospital, most of them with severe multiple injuries.

"There is one victim whose rib, breastbone, lung and even heart were all injured in one chopping action. The attackers had obviously prepared and practiced for a long time," he said.

Zhou Hongmei, director of the Medical Reform Office at the Yunnan Health Department, said a team of medical experts including 29 doctors had arrived in Kunming by Monday night. They have been working at the five hospitals treating victims of the attack.

Chen Min, a Neurology Department nurse at Kunming First People's Hospital, said the department usually had seven nurses in the daytime and three at night. "But all the other nurses who were not on duty returned to the hospital voluntarily on Saturday night," she said.

In the past three days, none of them had more than 10 hours of rest.

"The crucial factor in saving lives in such incidents is treatment without delay," said Chai Wenzhao, associate director of the Intensive Care Unit in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Chai has participated in many emergency rescue efforts.

He said that the victims will need psychological counseling once their physical injuries have been dealt with, because the emotional impact of such an incident can be severe.

Four psychologists from Anding Hospital in Beijing have begun treating some of the victims

Private equity investors are cautiously returning to Asian markets

Private equity (PE) investors are cautiously returning to Asian markets, this time with greater savvy.

Capital began flowing into the region after the global financial crisis, but that was reversed in 2011 and 2012 because investors sought relatively cheap deals in the safer developed markets depressed by the crash.

Investors have been more reticent to invest in PE following the crisis. In a survey of 50 managers worldwide, Private Equity International found it had raised $586 billion between 2008 and 2013, about 17 percent less than in the five years to 2007. In 2007 alone, 18 mega funds raised $182 billion.

The total value of PE deals dropped 16 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, according to management consultancy Bain & Co.

PE investments are growing again, particularly in China, some parts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a few other Asian markets where opportunities again beckon.

A study by London-based research group Preqin of 100 institutional investors in June 2013 found that 50 percent thought Asia presents the best opportunities among all emerging markets.

But investors are now much more cautious and regulators less likely to spread the welcome mat without careful consideration.

"In 2013, European and American markets recovered, which is obvious. Capital was withdrawn (from Asia). The Asian market was less active in 2013," says Li Yao, CEO of the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, a PE fund with investment from the Chinese government.

"Asian emerging markets' performance in 2013 was not as good as 2012," he says. "The market stepped into a fluctuation period in 2013."

But interest is definitely rising among investors.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), one of the world's largest PE outfits, raised a record $6 billion to invest in Asia last year. It is the largest single pool of investments in the region. TPG, one of its competitors, also raised a fund that exceeded its $5 billion target. Carlyle Capital raised $3.5 billion. Bain Capital raised $2.3 billion in 2012.

Preqin said Asian funds managed to attract $30 billion in 2012.

China: Chalco reverses losses in 2013

The Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. (Chalco), the listed arm of the country's largest maker of lightweight metal, said it made net profits of 948 million yuan ($154.87 million) in 2013, reversing heavy losses in 2012.

Total revenues last year hit 173.04 billion yuan, up 16 percent year on year, according to the company's unaudited annual business report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Saturday.

The company attributed the loss-to-profit transition to better management and control over spending as well as capital operations.

It also said a reduction in costs in the production of aluminium oxide and aluminium electrolyte attributed 530 million yuan of profits.

Source: ChinaDaily

With too few borrowers, Japan's regional banks are urged to merge

Japanese regulators are increasing the pressure on regional banks to consolidate, worried that shrinking populations outside the nation's major cities will leave lenders too weak to stand on their own.

After direct prodding from the head of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) for the more than 100 regional banks to slim down through mergers or takeovers, the regulator has set up meetings with regional bank presidents to grill them on their long-term business plans.

The agenda is implicit but clear, bankers and regulators say: show how you plan to survive over the coming decades as local economies wither, or look for tie-ups. The FSA's push will likely accelerate a process, dictated by demographics, that had been expected to take decades, banking industry insiders say.

Top executives at regional banks have shown no public signs of moving toward consolidation. They tend to be local heavyweights, reluctant to share power by merging with other lenders and diluting their status. "Many bank presidents are thinking it's not going to happen on their watch," said an executive at one regional bank.

"Regional banks are feeling growing pressure from authorities to consider consolidation," said Natsuko Ishida, a financial sector analyst at Moody's Japan. "Bank executives who were thinking about consolidation in a timeframe like 10 years are now under pressure for a shorter time span."

Source: NewsOnJapan

Why young people in Japan will work for companies that don't exist -- yet

A 10-year-old in Japan today will likely be hired by a company that does not exist yet. That's because, according to two researchers from Hitotsubashi University and Nihon University here in Japan, Japanese companies created after 1996 contributed a net positive of 1.2 million new jobs. But older companies shed a net 3.1 million jobs in that time.

It’s not news that startups are the jobs engine for Japan. It’s the same in the United States.But what is troubling is that according to research from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania using World Bank data, Japan, ranks dead last among modern, industrial nations in the average annual entry rate of new enterprises. In other words, Japan is reliant on new companies for jobs but creates the fewest new businesses.
There are many reasons Japan lags in entrepreneurship. One is that Japan dramatically under-utilizes women.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Japan's plutonium stocks no reason for concern - IAEA chief

There is no reason for concern that plutonium held by Japan could be diverted for nuclear arms purposes, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Monday, after objections raised by China in another dispute between the east Asian neighbours.

Last month, Beijing said it was "extremely concerned" by a report that Japan has resisted returning to the United States more than 300 kg (660 lb) of mostly weapons-grade plutonium.

Japan's Kyodo news agency said that the United States had pressed Japan to give back the nuclear material, which could be used to make up to 50 nuclear bombs. Japan had balked, but finally given in to U.S. demands, Kyodo said.

The material was bought for research purposes during the 1960s and the two governments will likely reach an official agreement on its return at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in March, an official at Japan's Education Ministry said.

Japan also has plutonium contained in spent nuclear fuel at civil reactor sites and reprocessing plants - totalling 159 tonnes at the end of 2012, according to Japanese data posted on the website of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Source: Reuters

Special Report: China on a fresh start of reform

At a corner of the Aegean Sea along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf lies the ancient Port of Athens -- Piraeus. Merely a dozen kilometers away from central Athens, it has long been the largest passenger port in Europe, bustling with ferries and cruisers.

Miles away to the west of the passenger terminal, there is also a real buzz in the container piers: towering cranes hoisting containers from giant ships by the water and trucks loaded with containers rumbling around in the yard. One logo is particularly striking - COSCO.

Since the largest Chinese shipper took over container operations at Pier II, Piraeus has enjoyed brisk growth of cargo traffic, and the pace has picked up even further since the June 2013 inauguration of Pier III. It became the third largest container port in the Mediterranean Sea last year, and its potential is yet to be fully tapped.

Behind the upswing of COSCO' s shipping and port services is China' s manufacturing boom, which has turned the once industrially backward country into "the factory of the world" and seen "Made in China" products closely woven into the life and work of people in virtually every corner of the world.

Such epic transformation is the main theme of the Chinese story since the inauguration of its opening-up and reform more than 35 years ago. Yet undeniably, the splendid process has also brought about some side effects that are now too dangerous and damaging to wait another day to deal with.

As Chinese political advisers kicked off their annual national meeting Monday in the Chinese capital, which formally lifted the curtain on this year's "two sessions," Beijing was enveloped in a thick pall of smog.

The inescapable canopy of air pollution is an alarming reminder that, after more than three and a half decades of rapid development, China has now reached a critical juncture similarly significant as the one in the late 1970s. But this time around the holy grail is a sustainable socioeconomic development model.

Late last year, the Communist Party of China Central Committee decided at a key plenary session to deepen reform in an all-round way, pledging to further improve China's economic structure and growth pattern, among others.

During their ongoing annual conferences, Chinese lawmakers and political advisers are expected to pool their wisdom and translate the epochal decision into concrete state policies and measures.

The impact of the decision and the upcoming policies on the world is very likely to equal that of their counterparts three and a half decades ago.

CLOSER ECONOMIC SYMBIOSIS

Change is already afoot in that direction.

Thanks to China's efforts in economic restructuring, the denotation of the "Made in China" label is gradually shifting: Clothes and shoes are being replaced by much fancier stuff like laptops and bullet trains; the nation that used to clothe the world is now equipping it for better development with innovative products and cutting-edge technology.

An illustrative example is China' s high-speed rail systems. Boasting high performance and competitive prices, Chinese speedy trains have become increasingly attractive across the world. The first Chinese-built high-speed railway on foreign land was completed in Turkey in mid-January, and other cooperation deals have been reached with Thailand, Hungary and Serbia.

The mounting popularity of Chinese express trains, along with the global expansion of such Chinese behemoth manufacturers as SANY Group, is vividly emblematic of the rising status and influence of China's manufacturing sector.

The China-world economic symbiosis, however, is not confined to textiles and steel. Something less visible yet no less important is picking up momentum as well, and is playing an increasingly contributive role in undergirding the international trade.

That is the internationalization of the Chinese currency. Thanks to its unique advantages, Hong Kong has established itself as an offshore RMB center, but several others are catching up.

In April 2012, the City of London launched an initiative to turn the Square Mile into a center for RMB business. Besides, "red-back" business is gaining steam in Singapore too. Meanwhile, more and more countries have reached local currency settlement arrangements with China, promoting its international use.

Because of Washington' s flirtation with sovereign default, the world' s confidence in the dollar has been eroded. Worldwide traders are propelled to look for options, and the yuan is offering them a promising alternative.

During the "two sessions," representatives from across the country will explore ways to build upon the past progress and further push forward China' s economic and financial reform, which will benefit both China itself and the world at large.

THE BEIJING SOLUTION

On Sept. 3, 2013, some 20 African civil servants from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, began their first lesson under a tailored training program on public administration at China's National School of Administration in Beijing.

The project is just one of many. China's success has become a paragon that scholars and officials from across the world are eager to study and learn from. The reform policies due to be hammered out at this year's "two sessions" will add to the valuable trove of Chinese experience.

Without any doubt, some of the new measures will be about urbanization, a buzzword of the year and one of the hottest subjects during the "two sessions" at lower levels.

Analysts have predicted that the central points of a "human-centered" urbanization process will include lowering the barriers for China's 230 million migrant workers and 70 million non-local urbanites to settle in the cities where they work and live, and removing restrictions on hukou, or household registration, in towns and small cities.

Given that China spent 30 years to reach the level of urbanization that took Britain some 200 years and the United States 100 years, the future chapters of China' s urbanization story are also worth expecting.

Beneath the surface of China's successful story is a vein of pragmatic and strategic thinking. It is thanks to such thinking that China has decided to focus more on the quality rather than the speed of its economic development.

In essence, what China has been doing is thoroughly studying its own actualities and external environment, actively drawing lessons from the successes and failures of other countries, and eventually coming up with its own solutions based on the former and supplemented by the latter.

As China' s trajectory has eloquently proved, different conditions need different approaches, and every country can find its own way forward based on its national realities. History will not end in the way Francis Fukuyama has predicted.

Source: Xinhua

Xinhua Commentary: Nothing justifies civilian slaughter in China's "9-11"

China was outraged and the world shocked after separatists from Xinjiang knifed down innocent civilians at a crowded train terminal in Kunming Saturday night.

It was a typical terrorist attack and also a severe crime against the humanity.

It was China's "9-11."

Any explanation for the attack, like those in previous cases elsewhere in China, would be feeble at the bloody scene, where mothers, sons and daughters were slaughtered by strangers. Nothing justifies such a carnage against innocent civilians.

This was a random attack, with the sole purpose of causing the greatest casualties and impact within the shortest period of time.

It seems that the terrorists have had their way. Their killing spree has left 29 dead and over 130 injured, shrouding the southwestern city and the whole nation in terror.

This is not the first time that terrorists from Xinjiang launched deadly attacks over the past months, years and decades. In October 2013, Xinjiang separatists on a vehicle slammed into the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, killing five and injuring 40.

The latest attacks in Beijing and Kunming have clearly indicated a despicable trend that separatists are targeting civilians out of Xinjiang.

It also showed a shift in their attack strategies from targeting symbols of the government, such as public security stations and police vehicles, to roadside civilians.

If the proliferation of their terrorist attack is not reined in, more innocent people will fall victim.

The latest attack showed that China's recent decision to set up a state security committee, headed by President Xi Jinping, to improve systems and strategies to ensure national security is very timely and necessary.

A nationwide outrage has been stirred. Justice needs to be done and terrorists should be punished with iron fists.

Countries and institutions such as the UN and France have condemned the attack. More voices of condemnation are expected.

Anyone attempting to harbor and provide sympathies for the terrorists, calling them the repressed or the weak, is encouraging such attacks and helping committing a crime

WSJ What Could Cause a Ukraine Default?

      The Wall Street Journal reports,''Ukraine’s economic and political crisis may be heating up, but Kiev still has enough emergency cash reserves to cover its obligations for the next two months.
But what would it take to push the country into default? Tensions escalating over Russia’s Crimea incursion, Moscow increasing natural gas prices and any delay in international bailout talks, say economists''.
“The military stand-off heightens Ukraine’s risk of default,” says Lilit Gevorgyan, a senior sovereign risk analyst at the IHS consultancy, in a research note.

If the military standoff turns into violent conflict, pitting the interim government in Kiev against Moscow and pro-West Ukrainians against their pro-Russia countrymen, the hyrvnia could fall much deeper into the danger zone.

“We suspect geopolitical risks emerging in the Ukraine are not likely to dissipate anytime soon,” said Eric Green, a TD Securities analyst.

Moscow could also raise the price it charges for the natural gas Ukraine depends on from Russia. To keep Kiev in the Kremlin’s political orbit, Russia has long kept fuel export prices below-market. The cheap imports allowed the government to subsidize lower fuel prices.

But with the IMF estimating that overall energy subsidies in Ukraine topping 7.5% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2012, any upward pricing adjustment has hard-hitting consequences.

The IMF wants a phased-in natural gas price hike to relieve the burden on government finances.

“Yet to do it too fast will be very disruptive, and likely to plunge the economy into further turmoil,” said Brown Brothers Harriman’s currency strategy team said in an email to clients.

Russian President – and former KGB officer – Vladimir Putin knows that. To press Ukraine and the Western officials trying to support the fledgling government in Kiev, Mr. Putin could end the 33% price discount agreed with the now-ousted pro-Russian government last December when the contract comes up for review in April. He could also insist on Ukraine paying off its overdue natural gas bills worth $1.5 billion.

To help buy time for negotiations, the IMF can offer a short-term line worth $1 billion within week. Other countries have also talked about similarly-sized options to encourage the new government.

But for the longer-term, large-scale financing Ukraine needs over the next couple of years to stabilize the economy could prove elusive.

“Without the expected financial assistance from Western donors, Ukraine is likely to default,” Mr. Gevorgyan said.

Europe Ties with Russia

WSJ, Russia's Power Play Hits Economic Weak Spot

         The Wall Street Journal reports,''markets experienced a classic flight to safety Monday, with stocks down, bonds up and emerging markets falling further from favor. But the harshest judgment was reserved for Russian assets: The RTS stock index plunged 12%, Russian dollar-denominated sovereign bonds fell and the ruble dropped sharply against the dollar".

Russia hasn't faced quite the same pressures as other emerging markets that have been grappling with the impact of U.S. monetary policy this year. But the country already had problems even before the Ukrainian crisis hit. Russia's current account risks moving into deficit and the central bank is forecasting growth of just 1.5%-1.8% this year. January's data showed a sharp drop in fixed investment, a contraction in industrial production and slowing retail sales growth, Royal Bank of Scotland  notes. Russia's actions in Ukraine will only be a further red flag for foreign investors.

The ruble in particular looks like a weak point, despite the country's stock pile of $493 billion in foreign-exchange reserves. The currency has already come under severe pressure this year, falling more than 9% against the U.S. dollar. The Central Bank of Russia responded to the volatility Monday with an emergency rate hike of 1.5 percentage points to 7%, a move that it described as "temporary."

But Russia's central bank is caught in a tricky spot: rates rises threaten to push the economy into recession, but failing to tighten policy could lead to a rout in the ruble and higher inflation. For the moment, further ruble weakness seems unavoidable, particularly since the central bank is in the midst of moving to a more flexible exchange-rate regime.

Economic sanctions from Western countries look more likely than military intervention. But Mr. Putin may be gambling that Europe will stop short of measures that could seriously destabilize the Russian economy, such as major restrictions on trade. Russia is clearly reliant on revenues from trading in oil and gas. But by the same token, Europe needs Russian energy supplies: Russia accounts for 31% of European Union natural gas imports and 27% of crude oil imports, Citigroup notes. Asset freezes and travel restrictions might be less dramatic, but could yet cause problems for Mr. Putin, as Russia's political and business elite have increasingly become global players.

Geopolitical risk is always hard for investors to assess: it is impossible to predict how the crisis in Ukraine will play out. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Putin's apparent political ambitions to keep a grip on Ukraine are a stronger force than the undoubted costs his tactics could inflict on Russia's economy. Until that becomes clearer, investors have good reason to shun Russia.

Asian Shares Inch Lower

      The Wall Street Journal reports, "Asian stocks mostly edged lower on Tuesday, while the cost of oil pulled back, as the selling sparked by the crisis in Ukraine moderated.

Although Japan and South Korea continued to weaken, the moves were small, as the situation in Ukraine hadn't deteriorated significantly and stocks had already sold-off in the previous session. On Monday, Ukraine accused the Kremlin of taking border posts and increasing the size of its forces in the Crimea''.

Japan's Nikkei fell by 0.3% as the yen softened slightly against the dollar in Asian trade. The dollar was last at ¥101.53 compared with ¥101.44 late Monday in New York.

"The immediate and likely largest impact from the risk-off sentiment due to the crisis in the Ukraine may have already passed," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea's Kospi was down just 0.2% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added less than 0.1%.

The price of oil, which had jumped 2.3% on Monday, also eased early on Tuesday. Nymex crude fell by 0.2% to $104.70 a barrel.

The situation in the Ukraine is the latest crisis to hurt sentiment this year, and the performance of global markets overnight was broadly negative with stocks in both the U.S. and Europe dropping on Monday. Russia was hit the worst, as the Micex index plunged 11% and the ruble touched a record low against the dollar.

Asia has already weathered shocks from a number of emerging markets in 2014, which has put much of the region in the red for the year. Most notably, investors were spooked by concerns over unrest in Turkey and renewed fears over the state of China's economy. As a result, stocks spent much of February recovering from a sell-off that started in January.

Hostile emergency meeting at the United Nations security council ends.

10.54 p.m. GMT

The “feisty” emergency meeting on Ukraine has just wrapped up at the UN security council, the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington (@EdPilkington) reports:

It turned into a pretty feisty slanging match between the Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, on the one hand, and the combined might of the US, UK and France on the other.

Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, addressed Russia’s professed desire to protect the rights of Russian speakers in the Crimea. “There are so many options available to Russia to safeguard the rights of ethnic Russians short of military action,” she said. “So the very simple question today is why not support international efforts, why not support an observer mission, why not pull back your forces instead of sending more?”

Churkin insisted he was open to observer missions, which encouraged the UK representative Sir Mark Lyall Grant to ask him directly would he agree to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe sending observers to Crimea. The Russian ambassador looked uncomfortable at that suggestion.

“We are not talking about the OSCE,” he said bluntly.

As frustration levels rose, Churkin lashed back at the repeated accusations from his fellow ambassadors that Russia was fabricating the truth about its military intervention.

“There’s too much disinformation going on,” Churkin said, using the exact words that had previously been levelled against him.

Source: theguardian

Remarks of Ambassador Samantha Power at the emergency meeting of the UN security council

10.39 p.m. GMT

Excepts of full remarks of Ambassador Samantha Power  to the emergency meeting of the UN security council :
“Listening to the representative of Russia, one might think that Moscow had just become the rapid response arm of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,” she began. “So many of the assertions made this afternoon by the Russian Federation are without basis in reality.”

Let’s begin with a clear and candid assessment of the facts.

It is a fact that Russian military forces have taken over Ukrainian border posts. It is a fact that Russia has taken over the ferry terminal in Kerch. It is a fact that Russian ships are moving in and around Sevastapol. It is a fact that Russian forces are blocking mobile telephone services in some areas. It is a fact that Russia has surrounded or taken over practically all Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea. It is a fact that today Russian jets entered Ukrainian airspace. It is also a fact that independent journalists continue to report that there is no evidence of violence against Russian or pro-Russian communities.

Russian military action is not a human rights protection mission. It is a violation of international law and a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the independent nation of Ukraine, and a breach of Russia’s Helsinki Commitments and its UN obligations.

Source: the guardian

Swarming critics of the Russian military intervention in the Crimea ,at the UN security council

9.22 p.m. GMT

Swingeing criticism of the Russian military intervention in the Crimea is continuing to pour out of the UN security council, writes Ed Pilkington (@EdPilkington), “with the Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin listening impassively to the pasting he is receiving”:

Gerard Araud, the French ambassador, said the current events reminded him of when he was 15, listening to the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. “Russia seems to be coming back to its old ghosts playing an old fashioned role in an outdated setting,” Araud said.

The UK representative to the UN, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, put it more pithily: “The pretense is now over.” He accused Russia of fabricating details of threats in Crimea to justify its hostile actions and concluded: “This is not 1968 or 1956.”

Vitaly Churkin,says to UN Security Council the events that led Russia to use its armed forces in Ukraine

 8.55 p.m. GMT

Ed Pilkington reports from the emergency UN security councilmeeting that Vitaly Churkin, the Russian diplomatic representative at the UN, has just shown the other members of the council what he claimed was a letter from Viktor Yanukovich, the ousted president of Ukraine who is now in exile in Russia.

In the letter, the former leader of the troubled country calls on the Russian president Vladimir Putin to use his military to invade parts of Ukraine. Churkin reads:

“As the legitimate elected representative, I say the events in Kiev have resulted in Ukraine being on the brink of civil war. The rights of people in Crimea are being threatened. Under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terror. I would call on the president of Russia, Mr Putin, to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish peace and defend the people of Ukraine.”

Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, has just taken the floor with this acerbic riposte: “So many of the assertions made this afternoon are without basis in reality”. 

Source: theguardian

There may be some daylight between the US thinking on sanctions and the EU version.

A European diplomat tells Guardian Washington correspondent Paul Lewis (@PaulLewis) thatA European diplomat tells Guardian Washington correspondent Paul Lewis (@PaulLewis) that there may be some daylight between the US thinking on sanctions and the EU version. “I expect we will not be 100% in line with the suggestions made by the US so far in relation to sanctions,” the source said:

In the EU there are all sorts of different views about how the problem should be tackled. We might be of the opinion that in order to keep talks with Russian open, we should not yet resort to sanctions at such an early stage.”

The source added that the consequences of imposing sanctions are less severe for the US than in the EU, which is significantly more reliant upon Russian trade and gas exports. Japan, a key member of the G8 group of western nations, is also believed to be anxious about punitive measures that could harm the wider global economy. “I expect we will not be 100% in line with the suggestions made by the US so far in relation to sanctions,” the source said:

Source: theguardian 

Quinta edizione del concorso fotografico nazionale di fotografia geografico - ambientale, aperto a tutti i cittadini residenti in Italia.

Il concorso è aperto a tutti i cittadini residenti in Italia; 

Obiettivo Terra, scatta tu!

La fotografia è la vostra passione e amate la natura? "Obiettivo Terra", promosso da Fondazione UniVerde, è il concorso che fa per voi. Si può partecipare entro il 23 marzo.

di CHIARA BORACCHI

Il contest giunge quest’anno alla sua quinta edizione. Obiettivo terra, che si svolge in occasione dell’Earth Day (22 aprile), è promosso da Fondazione UniVerde e Società Geografica Italiana Onlus e ha lo scopo di valorizzare e pubblicizzare il patrimonio ambientale dei parchi nazionali e regionali italiani.

Cosa devono sapere i partecipanti La partecipazione a Obiettivo Terra è gratuita. Si concorre con una sola fotografia (pena l’esclusione dal concorso), da caricare esclusivamente online sui sitiwww.fondazioneuniverde.it, www.societageografica.it e www.green-city.it, dal 20 gennaio 2014 e non oltre il 23 marzo 2014. Al vincitore, che sarà decretato il prossimo 16 aprile, andranno un premio di 1.000 euro e una targa – ricordo. La foto prima classificata sarà anche oggetto di una maxi-affissione nella Capitale.

 A chi fosse curioso di vedere le foto più belle di Obiettivo Terra 2013, segnaliamo la mostra di giovedì 6 marzo alle ore 17.00, all’Hotel NH President, allestita in occasione del convegno La forza della natura. L’evento, di cui LifeGate è media partner, è promosso da Fondazione UniVerde e Società Geografica Italiana Onlus.

Regolamento della 5ª edizione del concorso 

“Obiettivo Terra” 

La Fondazione UniVerde e la Società Geografica Italiana Onlus indicono la quinta 

edizione del concorso fotografico nazionale di fotografia geografico - ambientale 

“Obiettivo Terra”, in occasione della 44ª Giornata Mondiale della Terra 

(22 aprile 2014), per valorizzare il patrimonio ambientale dei Parchi Nazionali e 

Regionali d’Italia. 

Requisiti di Partecipazione 

- Il concorso è aperto a tutti i cittadini residenti in Italia; 

- il soggetto fotografato dovrà necessariamente rappresentare un’immagine di 

un Parco Nazionale o Regionale italiano. (L’elenco completo dei Parchi 

Nazionali e Regionali è consultabile sul sito di Federparchi www.parks.it); 

- con la candidatura della fotografia il concorrente ne certifica l’autenticità e la 

titolarità; 

- la fotografia candidata non deve essere già stata oggetto di premiazioni in altri 

concorsi di carattere nazionale; 

- la fotografia candidata non deve in alcun modo ledere alcun diritto di terzi né 

violare le leggi vigenti; 

- in ogni caso l’autore manleva l’organizzazione da tutte le responsabilità, costi e 

oneri di qualsivoglia natura che dovessero essere sostenuti a causa del contenuto 

della fotografia; 

- non potranno partecipare al concorso i dipendenti delle società ed Enti pubblici e 

privati coinvolti nell’organizzazione del concorso. 

Modalità di Partecipazione 

- La partecipazione è del tutto gratuita; 

- la candidatura della fotografia dovrà avvenire attraverso i siti 

www.fondazioneuniverde.it, www.societageografica.it, www.green-city.it, a 

partire dal 20 gennaio 2014 e non oltre il 23 marzo 2014 in occasione del primo 

week end di primavera. Farà fede la data di caricamento della foto. 

- ogni partecipante può candidare soltanto una fotografia pena l’esclusione dal 

concorso; 2 

- la fotografia candidata non si può ritirare e non si può chiedere la candidatura di 

un’altra fotografia in sostituzione di quella inviata; 

- per poter candidare la propria fotografia occorre accedere ai siti 

www.fondazioneuniverde.it, www.societageografica.it, www.green-city.it, 

entrare nell’area dedicata al concorso Obiettivo Terra 2014 e compilare la scheda di 

registrazione con i dati anagrafici (Cognome, nome, luogo e data di nascita…), 

almeno un recapito telefonico e altri dati richiesti quali il nome esatto del Parco 

Nazionale o Regionale e l’area del Parco dove è situato il soggetto fotografato; 

- l’indicazione errata dei dati richiesti può portare all’esclusione della foto dal 

concorso; 

- sono escluse dalla partecipazione al concorso tutte le aree protette che non 

siano Parco Nazionale o Parco Regionale e non riportate nei relativi elenchi 

consultabili sul sito di Federparchi. 

Esclusione candidature 

La Fondazione UniVerde e la Società Geografica Italiana potranno, a loro 

insindacabile giudizio, escludere fotografie candidate, nel caso le ritengano fuori 

tema, di scarsa qualità, indegne, non conformi ai requisiti richiesti nel presente 

regolamento o per qualsiasi altro motivo ritenuto valido. 

La Fondazione UniVerde e la Società Geografica Italiana potranno altresì escludere, 

sempre a loro insindacabile giudizio, gli autori che hanno un comportamento non 

consono a una leale competizione o per qualsiasi altro motivo ritenuto valido. 

Concessione Licenza e autorizzazione al trattamento dei dati personali 

Il partecipante concede alla Fondazione UniVerde e alla Società Geografica Italiana 

una licenza d’uso completa, non esclusiva, irrevocabile e a tempo indeterminato della 

fotografia inviata. 

La licenza concessa comprende anche la possibilità di sub-licenza a terzi. 

Il nome dell’autore verrà in ogni caso sempre indicato. 

Ogni partecipante autorizza la Fondazione UniVerde al trattamento dei dati personali 

ai sensi della Legge 196/2003 e successive modifiche, per tutti gli adempimenti 

necessari all’organizzazione e allo svolgimento del concorso. 

Caratteristiche tecniche delle Fotografie 

- Saranno ammesse soltanto foto in formato digitale, a colori, di risoluzione 

minima 1600x1200 pixel o 1200x1600 pixel in formato orizzontale o verticale e 

che non superino i 10 Mb; 

- le foto inviate devono essere quelle “originali” ottenute da un unico scatto; 

- non sono ammesse foto ritoccate, sovrapposizioni, fotomontaggi e foto manipolate; 

- non sono ammesse foto con scritte sovraimpresse, bordi o con altri tipi di 

addizioni o alterazioni. 

 3 

Criteri 

I criteri fondamentali sulla base dei quali saranno selezionate le fotografie sono: 

aderenza all’obiettivo del concorso, originalità, qualità tecnica e qualità artistica. 

Pre-selezione 

Le fotografie saranno oggetto di una pre-selezione a cura della Fondazione UniVerde 

e della Società Geografica Italiana. 

Selezione finale e decretazione del vincitore 

La selezione finale con decretazione del vincitore avverrà ad opera di una giuria di 

esperti in materia geografico - ambientale, scientifica, sociologica, mediatica e 

fotografica. 

Il giudizio della Giuria è insindacabile e inappellabile. 

Il vincitore sarà informato non appena si avrà il responso della Giuria e dovrà 

presenziare alla cerimonia di premiazione. 

Tutti i partecipanti riceveranno una e-mail di invito alla cerimonia di 

premiazione sulla casella di posta indicata nel modulo elettronico di 

registrazione. 

Risultato 

Il risultato del concorso, con il nome del vincitore e la foto vincitrice, sarà 

riportato sui siti www.fondazioneuniverde.it, www.societageografica.it, 

www.green-city.it . 

Premio 

Al vincitore sarà assegnato un premio di € 1.000 (euro mille) e gli verrà donata una 

targa - ricordo dalla Fondazione UniVerde e dalla Società Geografica Italiana. 

La fotografia vincitrice sarà esposta su una maxi-affissione a Roma. 

Il premio verrà consegnato durante la cerimonia di premiazione che si svolgerà 

a Roma il 16 aprile 2014. 

Vincitore 

Il vincitore, su richiesta della Fondazione UniVerde, dovrà fornire, pena l’esclusione 

dal concorso, ulteriori dati anagrafici e tutte le informazioni ritenute necessarie. 

Menzioni speciali 

Saranno inoltre selezionate, tra le foto pervenute, le vincitrici delle menzioni speciali 

alla migliore foto di ognuna delle seguenti categorie: 

- Alberi e foreste 

- Animali 

- Area costiera 

- Paesaggio agricolo 

- Agricoltura familiare 4 

 (2014 Anno Internazionale ONU dell'Agricoltura Familiare) 

- Borghi (2014 Anno Europeo per la Conciliazione tra la vita lavorativa e la vita 

familiare) 

Potrebbero essere previste altre menzioni speciali. 

La selezione verrà fatta dalla Fondazione UniVerde e dalla Società Geografica 

Italiana solo tra le foto ritenute conformi al regolamento. 

I vincitori della sezione Menzioni speciali riceveranno una targa in occasione della 

cerimonia di premiazione del 16 aprile 2014 a Roma. 

I vincitori saranno avvisati non appena si avrà il responso della Giuria e 

dovranno presenziare alla cerimonia di premiazione o designare un sostituto per 

il ritiro della targa. 

Aggiornamenti Regolamento 

La Fondazione UniVerde e la Società Geografica Italiana si riservano di integrare e 

modificare, attraverso i siti www.fondazioneuniverde.it, www.societageografica.it, 

www.green-city.it il presente regolamento, al fine di garantire un corretto andamento 

del concorso. 

Accettazione Regolamento 

La partecipazione al concorso implica la totale accettazione del presente regolamento. 

Controversie 

Per qualsiasi controversia sarà competente il Foro di Roma.