Canoandes, Rafting in the Colca Canyon,Arequipa, Peru. (Will Continue)

This breathtaking panorama of Tokyo is the second largest photo in the world

Photography group 360Cities seems determined to capture every major city in the world in as much detail as possible. Shortly after putting together a360-degree panorama of London and breaking the record for world's largest photo in the process, the group's founder Jeffrey Martin set his sights on Tokyo for his next project. This latest panorama may not trump his old record, but at 180 gigapixels, it's still the second largest photo ever taken.
Back in September of 2012, Martin spent two days on the roof of the Tokyo Tower's lower observation deck to shoot the 10,000 individual images that would eventually form the completed panorama. Each photo was shot with a Canon 7D digital SLR fitted with a Canon 400-mm f5.6 L lens. The camera was mounted to a Clauss Rodeon VR Head ST robotic panorama rig, moved to three spots around the tower, and programmed to automatically capture the entire vantage point.

Fujitsu Technology Solutions sponsored the project and provided the Celsius R920 workstation that pieced together the final panorama into an image that viewers can explore by panning and zooming in on the scenery. Even with 192 GB of RAM and a 12-core processor, the computer needed 12 weeks to process the image, plus some extra time to convert it into an interactive panorama for online viewing.

It may fall well short of breaking the record for the world's largest photo, which clocked in at a mammoth 320 gigapixels, but this is still the largest photo of Tokyo ever made. The full image measures 600,000 x 300,000 pixels, which would produce a photo stretching 100 m (328 ft) wide and 50 m (164 ft) tall if it were printed at a normal photographic resolution. From the camera's viewpoint of 20 stories high, it's possible to spot specific structures and landmarks up to 30 km (18 miles) away, including the city's tallest building, the Tokyo Skytree.

The level of detail seen in the panorama is remarkable. Zooming into some areas, you can easily make out an individual person's face, read license plates, and even peek inside some shop windows. There are a few stray glitches here and there (lighting that shifts unnaturally, buildings merged with plants, duplicated people and cars, etc.), but they don't detract from the stunning snapshot of the city laid out before you.

Source: 360cities, Gizmag.

Nagoya Univ. denies manipulation of data in Novartis drug trials

Nagoya University released an interim report Friday denying its manipulation of data on clinical trials for the Diovan hypertension drug of Novartis AG.

The university was the first to deny the manipulation among five universities that conducted clinical trials of the Swiss company's drug. It became the fourth to announce a report on the clinical trials, whose data were possibly changed.Nagoya University conducted the clinical trials in question from October 2004 to July 2010 on 1,150 hypertension patients with complications such as diabetes at 46 hospitals in order to compare the effectiveness of Diovan with that of a similar drug.
Based on the trials, the university said in an article in a U.S. science journal in 2012 that fewer Diovan users were hospitalized for cardiac arrest.
Of the other universities, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Jikei University have admitted data manipulation, and Shiga University of Medical Science has said it could not rule out the possibility of manipulation.

Source: NewsOnJapan

China continues rights abuses even as labour camps ditched -Amnesty

China is increasingly using extra-judicial "black jails" and drug rehabilitation centres to punish people who would formerly have been sent to forced labour camps, rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday. 

China vowed last month to do away with hundreds of labour camps, as part of a landmark package of social and economic reforms. Official news agency Xinhua has said there are 350 such camps across the country, with up to 160,000 inmates.

But many of those in extra-judicial jails and rehabilitation centres are being punished for their political or religious beliefs, the London-based rights group said.

"It's clear that the underlying policies of punishing people for their political activities or religious beliefs haven't changed," said Corinna-Barbara Francis, Amnesty's Chinaresearcher.

"The abuses and torture are continuing, just in a different way."

China's Justice Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment.

The camps are part of a controversial programme called re-education through labour that lets police detain political and religious dissidents for up to four years without any judicial process.

Such dissidents include petitioners, government critics, members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong and petty criminals.

Amnesty, in a report based on more than 60 interviews with families, lawyers and former inmates conducted over five years, found the use of other forms of extra-judicial detention, especially drug rehab facilities, had widened and could supplant the labour camp system.

Source: Reuters

Japan to bolster military, boost Asia ties to counter China

Japan will boost its military spending in coming years, buying early-warning planes, beach-assault vehicles and troop-carrying aircraft, while seeking closer ties with Asian partners to counter a more militarily assertive China.

The planned 2.6 percent increase over five years, announced on Tuesday, reverses a decade of decline and marks the clearest sign since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office a year ago that he wants a bigger military role for Japan as tension flares with Asia's other big power over islands both claim.

Abe's top priority has been reviving a long-sluggish economy, but he has also pledged to strengthen Japan's military and boost its security profile to meet what he says is a threat from China's rapid military buildup and recent actions to back its claims to Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea.

"China is attempting to change the status quo by force in the skies and seas of the East China Sea and South China Sea and other areas, based on its own assertions, which are incompatible with the established international order," Japan said in its first national security strategy, one of three plans approved on Tuesday.

"China's stance toward other countries and military moves, coupled with a lack of transparency regarding its military and national security policies, represent a concern to Japan and the wider international community and require close watch."

Abe's government also vows to review Japan's ban on weapons exports, a move that could reinvigorate struggling defence contractors like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.

The policies, including a five-year military buildup plan and a 10-year defence guideline, call for stronger air and maritime surveillance capabilities and improved ability to defend far-flung islands through such steps setting up a marine unit, buying unarmed surveillance drones and putting a unit of E-2C early-warning aircraft on Okinawa island in the south.

Japan will budget 23.97 trillion yen (142.4 billion pounds) over the coming five years for defence spending, up from 23.37 trillion yen from the previous five years.

Under current procurement practices, the five-year spending would have been 24.67 trillion yen, but the government expects to save 700 billion yen from streamlining procedures to cut costs, officials said.

Military spending had fallen for 10 years until Abe boosted the defence budget 0.8 percent this year. The Defense Ministry is seeking a 3 percent rise in the year from next April, the biggest increase in 22 years, although much of the growth reflects higher import costs due to a weaker yen.

Source: Reuters

GSK to stop paying doctors to promote drugs - NY Times

GlaxoSmithKline Plc  will stop paying doctors to promote its products, Chief Executive Andrew Witty said in an interview with the New York Times, in a move that could be a first for a major drug company.

GSK will also stop tying compensation of sales representatives to the number of prescriptions doctors write, the NY Times said. 

The company's decision comes at a time when GSK faces allegations of illegal payments to Chinese doctors and officials.

Chinese police have accused GSK of funnelling up to 3 billion yuan ($494 million) to travel agencies to facilitate bribes to boost its drug sales. The accusations are the most serious against a multinational in China in years.

However, in the interview Witty said that the proposed changes were unrelated to the investigation in China, and are part of a yearslong effort "to try and make sure we stay in step with how the world is changing."

Witty declined to comment to the newspaper on the Chinese investigation because he said it was still underway.

Source: Reuters

China says six arrested after deadly riot in Xinjiang

Chinese police have arrested six people they suspect of taking part in a riot near the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, in the restive far western Muslim region of Xinjiang, in which 16 people were killed, the regional government said.

The arrests, reported by the Xinjiang government in a statement on an official news site late on Monday, came a day after Chinese police shot and killed 14 people during the riot. Two policemen were also killed.

The government statement called the incident "an organised, pre-meditated, violent terror attack".

"The gang repeatedly gathered to watch violent, terrorist videos, promoted extremist religious ideology, manufactured explosive devices and guns, conducted test explosions several times and planned to carry out violent terrorist activities," the Xinjiang government said.

China has previously called some of the violence in Xinjiang the work of Islamist militants plotting holy war.

On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry stopped short of directly blaming Islamist militants but said a "violent terror gang" attacked police with explosives.

The Xinjiang government said the "terror gang" made up of 20 members was formed in August and was led by a person they named as Hesen Ismail.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the charges. Foreign journalists are often harassed and sometimes denied access to sensitive areas in Xinjiang.

A police officer reached by Reuters on Monday in the county where the incident occurred said it was "not convenient" to provide any additional information.

Source: Reuters

Wildfire destroys homes along California's scenic coast at Big Sur

A wildfire that erupted in a scenic stretch of California's central coastline late Sunday night has destroyed at least 15 homes and forced many residents to evacuate, county and fire officials said.

The fire in Big Sur - the stunning, mountainous region south of the Monterey Peninsula that reaches into the Los Padres National Forest - grew to 550 acres by late Monday afternoon.

Some 300 firefighters were battling the blaze by Monday afternoon and more were expected to arrive on the scene by nightfall, Madsen said.

Four air tankers and four helicopters were dropping fire retardant on the flames from above, but the fire had remained entirely uncontained, Madsen said.

"This is an area that hasn't burned in quite a while and there's a real buildup of dead and decadent vegetation," Madsen said. He said strong gusts of wind overnight caused the fire to spread and the area's steep terrain has hindered fire crews from digging containment lines.

Between 15 and 20 homes have been claimed by the fire and residences along Pfeiffer Ridge Road and Sycamore Canyon Road were evacuated overnight, said Monterey County spokeswoman Maia Carroll. It was not immediately clear how many homes were threatened or evacuated.

Source: Reuters

China: Smaller cities present big job opportunities for 7 million college graduates

Finding a job is hard enough for China’s 7 million college graduates, and it’s especially so for its art students. In an age of commerce and fast economic change, there are simply fewer employers in sight despite a rising number of art related schools. Wu Haojun takes a look at just how tough the job market is for Beijing’s Peking Opera students and where the opportunities lie.

In an era of modern entertainment, is there still a place for traditional arts and an even more pressing question: what about the job prospects for those who dedicated their lives to studying the art form.

Even though the students here today are among the elite of the elite in their field.. the pressure can still get the best of them.

For students of various art disciplines, finding work is now tougher than ever. It’s estimated that only 50% of students who majored in art-related fields, find jobs shortly after they graduate, and even less, 20% to be exact, get to apply what they learned to their profession.

In such a competitive market, employers get to be a bit pickier than usual.

But not all is doom and gloom for the country’s art talents, at least outside the mega cities.Local theater groups from across China have come to the capital city in hopes of luring the best talent. Yet despite the tough job market, many are unwilling to leave the big cities.

Many students here cite better career development in the big cities as one of the top reasons for staying, and that reflects a broad sentiment among students of other majors as well. Meanwhile, some experts are advising that if the students look carefully enough, small places may offer big opportunities.

Source: CCTV

Airlines from 3 more countries comply with China's ADIZ rules

Air companies from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, say they will comply with China’s new rules, agreeing to submit their flight plans before flying across China’s Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea.

An official from Vietnam Airlines says China’s ADIZ lies on its flightpath to Japan. He also says it is usual to send flight plans to relevant countries when flying across their air defense zones. Thai Airways International has 76 flights to Japan every week.

And from the beginning of this month, the company has sent its flight plans to China. The company says this is conducive to flight safety, and in accordance with common practices.

Since China set up its air defence identification zone last month. Five countries including the US, and South Korea, have already said they will comply with the new rules.

Source: CCTV

Shinzo Abe: is Japan's PM a dangerous militarist or modernising reformer?

The escalating battle of nerves between Japan and China over a disputed island chain has focused the international spotlight on Shinzo Abe, Japan's pugnaciously conservative prime minister, who is carrying the heavy responsibility of war and peace on his hunched shoulders.

As east Asia's leading nations talk tensely of war and peace, Abe's critics say it is his brand of unrepentant, rightwing nationalism that has helped push the region to the brink. His supporters say Abe is rightly, finally standing up for Japan.How Abe might react if China's unilaterally imposed "air defence zone" over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea triggers armed clashes is a serious international concern. The US is pledged to come to Japan's aid should it be attacked, while hardliners in China's military leadership would welcome a fight over what they call "core interests". There is potential for a head-on superpower collision.
Since taking office as prime minister for the second time a year ago, stocky, tousle-haired Abe, 59, has avoided hotheaded actions and kept his political powder dry. But he is no patsy, either. Nobody knows for sure which way he may jump, if push comes to shove.

Source  theguardian

Japan provides 10.46 bil. yen aid to Laos for infrastructure projects

Japan announced Sunday it will provide Laos with an aid package worth 10.46 billion yen to help the Southeast Asian country build infrastructure.

"I hope that our aid will contribute greatly to Laos' economic development," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a joint press conference with Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong after their talks at Abe's office.While Southeast Asia is recognized as a center of growth, financial disparities in the region remain between the more developed states such as Singapore and less developed ones including Laos.
The signing of an estimated 9.5 billion yen loan agreement, along with more than 900 million yen in grants, was done in the presence of the two prime ministers.
The yen loans will be disbursed to a project to expand the international airport terminal in the capital Vientiane and another project to support poverty reduction, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.
The grants will partly help in a bridge construction initiative in the southern part of Laos, the ministry said.

Source: NewsOnJapan

China: Funding, market key in push for urbanization

As urbanization increases in China, the role of the market and the availability of funds to pay for the changes are vital, officials and experts said.

Even as new-type urbanization has become the latest catchphrase in China, a lot of detailed and difficult work still needs to be done, said Li Tie, director-general of the China Center for Urban Development at the National Development and Reform Commission.

The issue can be distilled to two questions: "What is the prime concept in China's new-type urbanization?" and "How can this concept be carried out, given the flow of millions of farmers into cities?"

Li said at the Sanya Forum on Sunday that the first question was answered at the Communist Party of China Central Committee urbanization meeting, which concluded on Saturday in Beijing.

The closed-door conference clarified that China's urbanization must focus on quality development with no focus on immediate results. But the two-day meeting failed to provide a road map for doing so, he said.

According to a statement released after the central urbanization work conference, urbanization is the road that China must take in its modernization drive, and it offers an important way to address rural problems.

"One principle of urbanization is respecting the rules of the market and avoiding arbitrary decisions made by local governments. The government should go back to its original role of supervision," he said.

The widely expected development plan for the country's medium- and long-term urbanization, which is expected to offer guidance on how to turn the concept into reality, is being revised to incorporate advice from the urbanization meeting, the statement said.

China's urbanization level is 52.6 percent in terms of permanent urban residents, compared with 80 percent in Western countries.

However, only one-third of the Chinese population possesses a city hukou, which qualifies a resident for better social welfare services than a rural hukou does.

About 250 million former farmers who are now migrant workers have moved to cities, leaving parents and children in rural areas, with the expectation of being recognized as an urban resident. As urbanization is unveiled on a larger scale and land reforms are rolled out, more farmers are expected to move into cities.

Although the State Council said last year that a hukou system reform will be launched, it has not yet released any details.

But Saturday's statement of urbanization did set out a basic principle for the reform. It promises to fully remove hukou restrictions in towns and small cities, gradually ease the restrictions in midsize cities, set reasonable conditions for settling in large cities, while strictly controlling the population in megacities.

As the curtain of new-type urbanization is about to open, Wang Jianlin, president of Dalian Wanda Group Corp Ltd, said it is crucial to first figure out how the urban society can absorb the millions of former farmers, including providing them job opportunities, welfare, education and public services.

"In other words, it is a matter of how the society could find enough and sustainable money to do this," he said, "If the government cannot solve this problem, new-type urbanization will only be an empty concept."

Hong Qi, president of China Minsheng Banking Corp, said the central and western provincial areas, where the drive for economic growth were not as strong as eastern cities but the urbanization will mostly take place, have to find their own way to raise money.

"Issuing government bonds to sponsor quality enterprises and encouraging social investment in industries with local characteristics, such as the tea industry and tourism, can all boost local economic momentum," he said.

Source: China Daily

Syrian crisis calls for international wisdom

The Syrian crisis, which witnessed few ups and many downs this year, is in dire need of international wisdom to help end the conflict and ward off its spillover effects.

The crisis started more than 33 months ago and reached a tipping point in August following accusations that the Syrian government launched a deadly chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus, violating international regulations and inciting worldwide outrage.

Syria denied the charges and accused opposition forces of fabricating the issue to frame the government and force foreign intervention.

The chemical attack, which claimed hundreds of lives, prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to consider military action against the Syrian government.

In September, UN inspectors concluded chemical weapons were used in an attack in the Ghouta area of Damascus, but did not say explicitly who was responsibility for the attack.

To the surprise of the world, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad allowed international inspectors to destroy Syria's chemical weapons in compliance with an agreement brokered between the United States and Russia.

The move averted the threat of U.S.-led military strikes, giving diplomacy a chance to work.

The United Nations said in late November a "Geneva II" conference, meant to broker an end to the Syrian crisis, was scheduled to begin on Jan. 22 in Geneva, offering a chance for the Syrian government and the opposition to meet at the negotiation table for the first time.

The world's major powers are eager to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict as early as possible, partly out of fears of the increasing threat posed by jihadists.

The number of jihadists joining the conflict has been steadily rising, according to reports, and it is feared they could establish a base for al-Qaida, which would threaten security in neighboring countries and Europe. Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri said recently he views Syria as a promising staging ground.

Belgian Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said up to 2,000 European jihadists were fighting against the Assad regime.

She and French counterpart Manuel Valls warned those jihadists could return to their original countries and become more radicalized.

"The danger of al-Qaida, which President Obama had said dwindled dramatically, has risen once again and is posing a menacing danger to the entire world, making it incumbent on all concerned parties to work to solve the Syrian crisis as soon as possible," political analyst Ali Refai said.

"Even if the Syrian crisis has been born out of national demands, it has now been totally hijacked by radical extremists, whose presence in Syria is a global threat," Refai said.

Western officials have hinted they might need to start talking to the Syrian regime again, suggesting the jihadists' threat is much bigger than that of the current Syrian government.

Even the Syrian opposition groups have shown willingness to engage in dialogue with the government due to the growing threat from al-Qaida-affiliated jihadist groups, such as the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. They have sent signals they want a rapid solution which could curb the jihadists' increasing power.

Concern has grown in Europe and many other nations about the growing risk the jihadists might pose for their countries once they return from Syria.

The Syrian government has made it clear it is ready to engage in the peace talks, but voiced determination to go on with its fight against terrorism.

Syrian armed forces have recently scored many new victories on several fronts against the rebels, recapturing a series of strategic towns and positions, and the army is still well in control of the Damascus, the government's stronghold.

The army's significant progress against the rebels has almost extinguished the opposition groups' hopes of military success, forcing them to accept the fact that dialogue is the only way to end the conflict.

"It seems that the world has come to a conclusion that violence will not end on the battlefield... The better place to end the Syrians' suffering is definitely Geneva," said Samar al-Hafez, a senior Syrian journalist and political analyst.

She said most Syrians had become convinced the crisis needs vigorous diplomatic efforts and a lot of international wisdom.

Esam Khalil, a Syrian lawmaker, told Xinhua the "Syrian crisis has reshaped the political landscape of the entire world," adding "the next step is the phase of international consensus."

Khalil, along with military expert Turki Hasan, said the international community must make concerted efforts to halt the support the radical rebels are getting, and choke off their smuggling routes in a bid to give the political solution a chance in Geneva.

Source: Xinhua

Syrian F.M. : Al-Qaida militants kill over 100 Syrians near Damascus

"Radical rebels from the al-Qaida  linked Nusra Front have massacred more than 100 people in a suburb of the capital Damascus", the country's Foreign Ministry said Monday.

In a letter sent to the UN to complain about the terrorists' crimes in the country, the Foreign Ministry said "the Nusra Front and the so-called Islam Brigade carried out a new massacre last Wednesday in the Adra Umalyeih suburb of Damascus, adding that the hard-liners had burnt the houses of the state servants in the area and took a large number of civilians as human shields".

The ministry also lambasted Arab news outlets that offer a media cover for the terrorists, saying those outlets financed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar are inciting sedition and killings in Syria.

It said that radical rebels from more than 80 countries are pouring into Syria, urging the UN member states to denounce the terrorism that Syria is subject to.

The Syrian army started on Friday a wide-scale offensive against the radical rebels in Adra, a military source was cited by Syria's mainstream media as saying.

"The large-scale military operation aims at dislodging the al- Qaida-linked Nusra Front fighters from Adra, a couple of days after the fighters stormed the town, killing tens of people, including state servants, and burning houses in that area.

The Nusra has also slaughtered people from the Alawite minority in Adra and placed their heads in the most popular market in the town.

"Unites of our military forces have started storming the rebels ' positions in Adra," the Syrian military source said, stressing the army's determination to "amputate the sinful hand of terrorism. "

The source added that "the criminals and those who support them will pay a steep price for the crimes they are committing against our people."

Al-Qaida-linked groups such as the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant have taken advantage of the anti- government movement in Syria, emerging as a serious force among the rebel groups.

The radical rebels stormed Adra following their defeat in three major towns in the rugged al-Qalamoun region north of Damascus, namely al-Nabek, Deir Attieh and Qara".

Source: Xinhua

Putin playing the tough guy again.

"Russia confirmed Monday that it has deployed its tactical Iskander-M missiles along the borders with NATO countries, insisting the deployment did not violate international treaties.

"The deployment of Iskander missile battalions on the territory of the Western Military District does not violate any respective international agreements," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the defense ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.

Some Western media has reported earlier that Russia deployed these systems in its westernmost isolated Kaliningrad region and along its border with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The missiles deployed are said to have a range of 400 kilometers, which thus do not fall under a category of the middle- range missiles banned by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between Moscow and Washington.

In 2011, the then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned that Russia would station Iskander tactic missiles in Kaliningrad and southern Krasnodar region, should the United States implement its phased approach to the anti-missile defense program, which Moscow has repeatedly warned may cause "ice-age" in relations with the United States".

Source: Xinhua

Narita users during Winter holidays seen up 6.5 percent

The number of travelers using Narita International Airport near Tokyo during the year-end and New Year holiday period is expected to increase 6.5 pct from a year before to 1,275,900, up for the third straight year, the airport's operator said Monday.

The forecast covers the period from Friday to Jan. 5, according to Narita International Airport Corp. The number of outgoing passengers is estimated to peak on Dec. 28 at some 50,000, while that of incoming passengers will be the largest on Jan. 4 at about 49,500, the company said.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Tokyo's Imperial Palace to be open to public

The Imperial Palace in Tokyo will be open to the public for the first time ever in May and October next year, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.

The move is designed to commemorate the 80th birthday of Emperor Akihito this year, agency officials said.

Areas for which public access will be allowed will include Seiden Matsu no Ma State Function Hall, Homeiden State Banquet Hall and Chowaden Reception Hall.

Source: Jiji Press

China: Xinjiang police attacked by rioters

Police in northwest China’s Xinjiang region shot dead 14 people during a riot late on Sunday in which two policemen were also killed.  According to the local government, the incident took place in a village near the old Silk Road city of Kashgar.

A mob threw explosive devices and wielded knives as police went to arrest criminal suspects. An investigation is underway. We’ll follow the case and bring you the latest in our later programs.

Source: Xinhua

Xinhua Insight: China contains local government debt

Chinese leaders have made cleaning up government debt a crucial task for next year, threatening to tighten fiscal discipline to defend financial stability.

Resolving risk associated with local government debt was a main theme of the Central Economic Work Conference that ended last Friday. The conference traditionally sets the tone for following year's economic policy.

Local government thirst for borrowing grew during the investment and construction binge that was part and parcel of a stimulus in 2008 to buffer against the global financial crisis. Since then, officials across the country have vied with one another to launch heavy industry and infrastructure projects that ensure skyrocketing economic growth and thus a fast track to promotion. A substantial proportion of the money invested was borrowed.

During the conference, the central leadership resolved to change an administrative mindset obsessed by GDP growth, only days after the Communist Party of China decided on a new system to evaluate officials, which includes local government debt as an important indicator.

"Designating government debt as a key task is a response to market concerns," said Ding Shuang, Senior China Economist at Citi. "It's expectation management, telling the market that local government debt will not expand without restraint."

"The risks are not impossible to diffuse if the central government pays adequate attention," Ding added. "The implied scenario here is to first tackle the increment. If the debt stops ballooning, China's debt level will decrease as its GDP grows."

Escalating local government debt has raised concern that hidden debt problems could bring instability to the banking system. so China's policymakers are vigilant against financial risk.

The National Audit Office (NAO) estimates local government debt at around 10.7 trillion yuan (1.64 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2010. As the government debt level kept rising, the NAO announced a nationwide audit of government debt in July, but the results have yet to be published.

Many local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) have seen their cash flow stagnate or decline, while their debt levels have risen, according to a report released by Moody's earlier this year.

Among 388 city construction companies the rating agency surveyed, only 53 percent of them have sufficient cash to cover estimated debt and interest payments in 2013 without resorting to borrowing more. Local government debt has been a major feeder of China's shadow banking. The regulators have banned banks from directly providing loans to LGFVs after realizing they had lent too much, but local governments are still able to have their ambitious investments funded irregularly through instruments like trust loans and wealth management products.

Analysts say many shadow banking activities are actually new channels designed by and for banks to pump money to LGFVs. Local governments are willing to pay much higher interest rates than other bidders, as the current fiscal system imposes few restrictions on debt.

"Local government debt is China's biggest medium-term risk. Local governments can't be allowed to add to their borrowing without limit," said Jian Chang, Chief China Economist at Barclays. "The core issue is to work out standards to restrain the current financing which does not take cost into consideration."

At the conference, the leaders promised that strict procedures for raising debt would be put into place.

Analysts said local governments would have a harder time to borrow next year, especially if they try to pay old debts with new borrowing.

"We believe that local government bonds will gradually replace LGFV borrowing from banks and shadow bank channels, and thus reduce the non-performing loan risk faced by banks," said Ma Jun, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank Greater China.

To establish an effective bond market in which prices truly reflect risk, the central government must dampen expectations that it will bail out default by local governments.

A statement released after the conference said local governments are to be responsible for their debts.

While the rising debt may undermine financial stability, few expect a wave of default even though GDP growth is dipping.

"The possibility of massive defaults is very small," Ding said. "To roll over a debt is still easy, and local governments are able to at least pay the interest."

Moody's does not expect widespread LGFV defaults. "We are not aware of any bond default having occurred," the rating agency said last month. "We believe that government would step in to prevent such a scenario and avoid the potential loss of liquidity in the market."

Source: Xinhua

Chinese FM outlines diplomatic priorities for 2014

Wang stressed the country's traditional friendship with other developing countries, noting that China will expand cooperation with Africa, implement its aid commitments and push for new breakthroughs in trade and economic ties with Africa.

China will also enhance cooperation with Arab countries and Latin America, Wang said, vowing to struggle for justice and preserve the interests of developing countries.

He highlighted China's strategy for a Silk Road economic zone and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, noting China will strive for an "early harvest" in those efforts.

Wang also pledged to promote multilateral and bilateral free trade talks, including finishing talks with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Australia at an early date, upgrading its FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and pushing forward the China-ROK-Japan FTA talks.

"China will face the member states of the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks with an open attitude, as well as other regional or cross-region FTA initiatives," Wang said.

China will also actively participate in international economic governance reform, he noted.

Source: Xinhua

North Korea: Execution breaks key link with China

"The stunning execution of Kim Jong Un's powerful uncle strips China of its most important link to North Korea's leadership and deepens concerns over how the unruly neighbor will proceed onBeijing's key issues of nuclear disarmament and economic reform.

Facing heightened uncertainty, Beijing will likely avoid for now any response that might boost panic or paranoia inPyongyang, where China is both valued and resented as a key backer of Kim's regime.

"It's like when you have a gas leak. You want to be very, very careful not to set off any sparks," said Jingdong Yuan, an expert on northeast Asian security at the University of Sydney.

At the same time, China is likely dusting off its contingency plans for instability or even a regime collapse that could see thousands of refugees swarming across its borders, put the North's nuclear facilities at risk, and prompt action by the U.S. and South Korean militaries, Yuan said.

"This is not a welcome development as far as China is concerned," said.

Long considered Kim's mentor and the country's No. 2, Jang Song Thaek formed a key conduit between Pyongyang and Beijing because of his association with the government of Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, along with his support for China-backed reforms to revive the North's moribund economy.

Jang met with top Chinese officials during their visits to Pyongyang, and in 2012, Jang traveled to China at the head of one of the largest North Korean delegations ever to visit the Chinese capital to discuss construction of special economic zones that Beijing hopes will ensure North Korea's stability.

His execution on a myriad of charges from treason to drug abuse further diminishes China's narrow influence on the government of the younger Kim. Despite being North Korea's only significant ally and a crucial source of trade and aid, Beijing has been unsuccessful in persuading North Korea to rejoin six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, while its overwhelming desire for stability along its northeastern border prevents it from getting overly tough on its neighbor.

Jang's execution comes at delicate time in bilateral relations. While Kim's father made a number of visits to China, the new leader has yet to travel outside North Korea and has repeatedly defied Beijing's calls not to launch missiles and stage nuclear tests. That has in turn spurred Beijing to make unusually bold criticism and sign on to tightened U.N. Security Council sanctions, arousing an angry response from Pyongyang.

"Kim has now finished consolidating his power and doesn't need to take drastic change in his foreign policy. Jang was merely a person who offered advice and implemented policy," Wang said.

China's response to Jang's dramatic purging has been extremely low-key, emphasizing that the issue is North Korea's internal affair and expressing its hopes for stability and economic development. Along with stifling panic, Beijing may be hoping that its non-intervention will spare some of Jang's pro-China associates from being targeted for removal under the North's policy of collective punishment".

By Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press

Jaswant Singh*: Asia’s Historical Furies *India's Finance Minister 1996,2002-2004,India's Foreign Minister 1998-2004

"A country’s foreign policy is supposed to be aimed at advancing its national interest. But, in large parts of Asia, the national interest – whether building commercial ties or bolstering security – is often subordinated to history and its hold on the popular imagination. As US Vice President Joe Biden just discovered on his tour of Japan, China, and South Korea, the American novelist William Faulkner’s observation – “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – could not be more apt.
"One commonly cited example of this is the relationship between India and Pakistan.
Indian P.M. Singh  and Pakistan P.M. Sharif recognize recognize the vast economic potential of enhanced bilateral trade ties, and the progress that they have sought in this area is clearly in both countries’ national interest. But their diplomatic overtures have been quickly stymied by those who cannot accept such reasoning".

"Perhaps Asia’s most dangerous case of historical obsession is to be found in the relationship between China and Japan. The current dispute in the East China Sea over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands (the Diaoyu Islands in China) would likely be less tense if the atrocities of the Sino-Japanese War were not rehashed so often in contemporary Chinese life.

  In fact, Japan has attempted to atone for its past actions, including by offering enthusiastic support to Deng Xiaoping’s efforts to open up the Chinese economy. The trillions of yen that Japanese businesses have invested in China since the 1990’s – not to mention the transfer of critical technologies – could not have been about profit alone (and, in any case, Japanese investment has benefited both economies).

  But, while these efforts have helped to deepen Japan’s economic ties with China, they have not had the transformative impact on bilateral relations that one might have expected. Indeed, their relationship is now characterized by what the Japanese call seirei keinetsu (cold politics, hot economics).

  Bad history also stalks the relationship between Japan and South Korea – a particularly revealing case, given how closely their strategic interests align. Here are two democracies, both among America’s closest allies, unable to overcome the burden of the past. For South Koreans, it is a heavy burden, rooted in Japanese colonization and the myriad horrors of World War II. But the simple fact is that both countries would benefit substantially, in security terms in particular, from effective cooperation.

  In fact, serei keinetsu defines the Asian status quo: countries that cannot seem to overcome their historical animosities when it comes to foreign policy readily acknowledge that better relations means better economies. East Asia, in particular, has experienced an unprecedented surge in intra-regional trade, investment, and even tourism over the last two decades.

Japan could go a long way toward helping its neighbors overcome the poisoned past that it shares with so many of them as a result of its old imperial ambitions. Just as US President Richard Nixon’s unyielding anti-communism uniquely suited him to establish diplomatic relations with China, Abe, an affirmed nationalist, may be the Japanese politician best able to blend contrition for the past with forthrightness about the present.

  "The good news is that Abe has shown signs of this kind of courage. At a 2006 summit with Chinese leaders during his first stint as Japan’s prime minister, he agreed to establish a joint commission, involving historians from Japan, China, and elsewhere, to study twentieth-century history. The idea was that the commission could make unbiased recommendations about contentious issues like the contents of history textbooks and even the Yasukuni shrine, a nationalist pilgrimage site where the remains of Japanese war criminals, among others, are interred.

  If Abe revived this initiative today, he could help to dampen the regional antagonism he faces in trying to make Japan a “normal” country, with a military capable of participating in collective regional defense. Such an initiative may not work with China, where the government still uses the war with Japan to rouse nationalist sentiment. But countries like South Korea that are feeling the pressure of China’s rise – as demonstrated by the current furor over China’s unilateral expansion of its air defense zone – may well reciprocate such an effort. That alone should be reason enough for Abe to act".

Source:  Jaswant Singh*,Project Syndicate 

             *India's Finance Minister 1996,2002-2004

              India's Foreign Minister  1998-2004

   It seems that Japanese P.M Shinzo Abe is now far away from its 2006 openess to overcome the 

poisened past  of World War II events, he acts now like the hawkish wing of his party. And with that position it is very unlikely to dampen Sino-Japanese antagonism.

Famous Chinese figures with "their own" craters

Throughout history, objects and places have been named after leading inventors, explorers and scientists, in honor of their contributions to mankind. Believe it or not, the same holds true with the craters on the moon.

And a number of famous Chinese figures are on that select lunar list. The first to have had one of the moon’s craters named after him was Zu Chong-zhi, a Chinese mathematician who lived in the 5th century. He accurately calculated the constant Pi, which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, to six decimal places.

The second Chinese to be immortalized on the moon’s pockmarked surface is Wan Hu, an official from over 600 years ago who wanted to be the first man into space. Legend goes he strapped himself to a chair equipped with 47 small rockets and two small kites.

Sadly, he was killed in the ensuing explosion. Next to receive the lunar honors were Cai Lun, the man who invented paper, and Bi Sheng, who came up with the movable type printing press. But, of all the Chinese figures to have craters named after them, none can surpass the Goddess Chang’e. Though Chinese myth says the Goddess resided on the moon with her rabbit for thousands of years, she was only given her own crater in 1976.

Source:CCTV

U.S. Closing Market View

"U.S. equities rebounded from two consecutive weeks of loses in positive fashion, posting solid gains in today's session. M&A news and upbeat eurozone business activity reports provided the catalyst, helping to somewhat soothe anxiety over increased speculation that the Federal Reserve could begin to rein in its asset purchases as soon as its two-day meeting which begins tomorrow. Meanwhile, Treasuries finished modestly lower amid the uncertainty, and after reports showed domestic industrial production exceeded forecasts, domestic manufacturing data showed modest expansion and 3Q productivity was revised solidly higher."

"The Dow Jones Industrial Average  rose 130 points (0.8%) to 15,885, the S&P 500 Index gained 11 points (0.6%) to 1,787, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 29 points (0.7%) to 4,030. In moderate volume, 672 million shares were traded on the NYSE, and 1.9 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. WTI crude oil rose $0.88 to $97.48 per barrel, wholesale gasoline gained $0.01 to $2.64 per gallon, and the Bloomberg gold spot price rose $2.24 to $1,240.93 per ounce. Elsewhere, the Dollar Index-a comparison of the US dollar to six major world currencies-was 0.2% lower at 80.07.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint Corp. , which was acquired by Japan'sSoftBank Corp. earlier this year, is working toward a possible bid for rival T-Mobile US Inc. , in a deal worth more than $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. T-Mobile US, controlled by Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG , was created by a merger between T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS Communications Inc. None of the companies have commented on the report, while CNBC's David Faber noted that he has not been able to come up with any information suggesting the two companies are in talks about a deal. Shares of DTEGY were nicely higher, while S traded modestly to the upside. However, SFTBY and TMUS were solidly lower. 

In other M&A news, Singapore's Avago Technologies Ltd.  announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire California-based LSI Corp.  for $11.15 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.6 billion. The companies said the deal creates a highly diversified semiconductor company with about $5.0 billion in annual revenues. LSI traded over 38% higher, while AVGO also gained solid ground. 

Moreover, American International Group Inc.  announced that it has agreed to sell its aircraft leasing business International Lease Finance Corp. to Netherlands-based AerCap Holdings NV for cash and stock with a total value of about $5.4 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, AIG will hold approximately 46% of the common stock of AER. AIG was higher, while AER rallied over 30%." 

Source: Charles Schwab,U.S. Closing Market View

Art Basel World's Premier Modern and Contemporary Art Show

Art Basel stages the world's premier Modern and contemporary art shows, held annually in Basel,Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Founded by gallerists in 1970, Art Basel has been a driving force in supporting the role that galleries play in the nurturing of artists, and the development and promotion of visual arts. 

In addition to showing exciting works by world-renowned artists, Art Basel is always innovating, thus expanding its platform for new artists who represent the vanguard of the visual arts. Its worldwide reputation – earned over the last forty years – for showing work of the highest merit, and attracting the world's leading gallerists and collectors, has made Art Basel the place where the art world meets.

In 1970, a few Basel gallerists put their passion and determination behind an ambitious vision, and now, over forty years later, Art Basel is recognized as the premier international art show, providing a platform for artists and gallerists from around the world. 

OUR ROLE

The dynamic relationships between art galleries, their artists, private collectors and public institutions play an essential role in today's artworld, and connecting the international art community has been Art Basel's goal since its beginning. .  

OUR SHOWS

Three annual shows bring the artworld together in some of the world's most exciting venues:Basel, in the heart of Europe;Miami Beach at the nexus of North and South America; and Hong Kong, the gateway to Asia.

TALKS ARCHIVE

Some of the most prominent and respected figures in the international art world have shared their knowledge, ideas and expertise during Art Basel's Salon and Conversations Series. Both extensive and engaging, more than 200 of these thought-provoking and wide-ranging exchanges are available in our video archive. 

Source: Art Basel