BRUSSELS. KAZINFORM – The EU welcomed the abolishment of the death penalty in Kazakhstan in a statement released on January 7, Kazinform has learnt from the official website of the European Union.
«On 2 January 2021, Kazakhstan announced its ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, becoming the 88th party. This Protocol aims at making irreversible the abolition of the death penalty, already enshrined in Constitution of Kazakhstan in 2007.
The death penalty is an inhuman and cruel punishment, which fails to deter criminal behaviour.
The EU welcomes this important step by Kazakhstan, which is in line with the world trend to abandon the most inhuman punishment,» the statement reads.
<p id="1duct0">Snowbirds are missing all the fun! While cold weather refugees in Arizona and Florida pick sand out from between their toes, Minnesotans are playing in powder, enjoying 20s and 30s and light winds, with nary a storm in sight.</p>
<p id="7Itwjc">As a rule our coldest days tend to be sunny, and having blue sky overhead is a coping skill for many of us. Character-building attributes may be put to the test in 2 weeks, when the first blistering shot of arctic air reaches Minnesota. The last 7-10 days of January may be Nanook, with a streak of subzero nights, even a daytime highs below zero as well with dangerous wind chills. It's too early for details but battery-draining air may envelope Minnesota and much of the USA by the last week of January.</p>
<p id="y3E1vz">Today's short-term forecast challenge is clouds and fog. Unusually light winds (for January) favor ice fog every night. A weak sun may be unable to burn away clouds into the weekend.</p>
<p id="ueMUOt">Mild weather lingers into next week - then the bubble bursts, as we welcome a shot of polar air.</p>
<p id="MdE6Br"><strong>Forecast Wildcard: Fog</strong>. With winds about as light as I can recall in early January any fog and low stratus clouds that form overnight may be impossible to burn away later this week, keeping daytime temperatures cooler than they would be otherwise, with a strong inversion trapping chillier air near the ground. Even with the inversion I expect temperatures a few degrees above average.</p>
<p id="nFlnVj"><strong>Numbing End to January?</strong> Models (especially NOAA's GFS guidance) are consistent in bringing much colder air into Minnesota and much of the eastern USA within 2 weeks or so. GFS may be overdoing the cold (high of -29F on January 22?) but the trends are undeniable; subzero weather is coming.</p>
<p id="xG5koD"><strong>Cold Enough</strong>. Record-breaking cold? Too early to tell, but there's now little doubt that we will be shivering through roughly the last 8-10 days of January. How long this cold phase hangs on into February is very much up in the air.</p>
<p id="DlBRrH"><strong>The Polar Vortex is Splitting in Two, Which May Lead to Weeks of Wild Winter Weather. </strong>Especially on the East Coast and New England, I might add. Capital Weather Gang has a good explainer: "<em>A dramatic spike in temperatures is occurring at high altitudes above the North Pole, where the air is thin and typically frigid. Known as a sudden stratospheric warming event, experts say it's likely to have potentially significant repercussions for winter weather across the Northern Hemisphere for weeks to possibly months. This unusually strong event may have profound influences on the weather in the United States and Europe, possibly increasing the potential for paralyzing snowstorms and punishing blasts of Arctic air, with the odds of the most severe cold outbreaks highest in Northern Europe.</em>.."</p>
<p id="227FEw"><strong>New in 2021: Atlantic Hurricane Outlook and Potential Impact</strong>. <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/01/05/new-in-2021-atlantic-hurricane-outlook-and-potential-impact/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Air%20Force%20DNR%201.5.20&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Air%20Force%20-%20Daily%20News%20Roundup" rel="nofollow">Military Times</a> has a post with an interesting analysis: "...<em>Klotzbach's team will release a more detailed forecast in April that includes a projected number of storms, but their initial look says the Guard may stay busy in 2021. "One of the big reasons why we think the odds favor an above average season at this point is that we currently have a moderate La Niña event [in the eastern Pacific]," explained Klotzbach in a phone interview. La Niña means cooler Pacific water temperatures, which in turn reduces upper-level winds that "basically tear apart" Atlantic storms. But even if a season has more storms and stronger storms, he said, "We can't say where the storms are going to go…it's all about location, location, location</em>..."</p>
<p id="b1zdlE"><strong>Amazing Earth: Satellite Images from 2020.</strong> <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/amazing-earth-satellite-images-from-2020/" rel="nofollow">NASA</a> has a link to some pretty incredible imagery; here's an excerpt of their post: "<em>In the vastness of the universe, the life-bringing beauty of our home planet shines bright. During this tumultuous year, our satellites captured some pockets of peace, while documenting data and striking visuals of unprecedented natural disasters. As 2020 comes to a close, we're diving into some of the devastation, wonders, and anomalies this year had to offer. NASA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites and instruments on the </em><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html" rel="nofollow"><em>International Space Station</em></a><em> unravel the complexities of the blue marble from a cosmic vantage point. These robotic scientists orbit our globe constantly, monitoring and notating changes, providing crucial information to researchers here on the ground. Take a glance at 2020 through the lens of NASA satellites</em>..."</p>
<p id="1A7pBp"><strong>Electric Cars Hit Record 54% of Sales in Norway as VW Overtakes Tesla</strong>. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/05/business/norway-electric-cars-vw-tesla/index.html?utm_term=16099321384190bbbeab5f301&utm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Wednesday%2C+January+6%2C+2021&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1609932138420&bt_ee=e5qK5QmL93fkSfgEs9Oy6639xc1Kk%2BiioeYKlBGrh2MfbK%2FjssJEFNXKId6iCLXY&bt_ts=1609932138420" rel="nofollow"><em>CNN.com</em></a><em> has the story: "</em><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/31/tech/apple-car-patents/index.html" rel="nofollow"><em>Battery electric vehicles</em></a><em> accounted for more than half of all cars sold in Norway last year, putting the country way out in front in efforts to kill off the internal combustion engine. And Tesla (</em><a href="https://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=TSLA&source=story_quote_link" rel="nofollow"><em>TSLA</em></a><em>) lost its sales crown to the </em><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/08/business/electric-cars-audi-volkswagen-tesla/" rel="nofollow"><em>Volkswagen Group</em></a><em>. Norway is using huge tax incentives to help ensure that every new passenger car and van sold in the country by the end of 2025 is a zero-emission vehicle. Record electric vehicle sales in 2020 means the country is now ahead of schedule, according to Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, CEO of the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV)</em>..."</p>
<p id="EvjubS"><strong>A Monster Wind Turbine is Upending an Industry</strong>. A renewable energy arms race? A story at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/01/business/GE-wind-turbine.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage" rel="nofollow">The New York Times</a> (paywall) caught my eye: "<em>Twirling above a strip of land at the mouth of Rotterdam's harbor is a wind turbine so large it is difficult to photograph. The turning diameter of its rotor is longer than two American football fields end to end. Later models will be taller than any building on the mainland of Western Europe. Packed with sensors gathering data on wind speeds, electricity output and stresses on its components, the giant whirling machine in the Netherlands is a test model for a new series of giant offshore wind turbines planned by General Electric. When assembled in arrays, the wind machines have the potential to power cities, supplanting the emissions-spewing coal- or natural gas-fired plants that form the backbones of many electric systems today.</em>.."</p>
<p id="z80CV3"><strong>Japanese Researchers Hope to Launch Satellite Made of Wood</strong>. At first I thought this was an Onion headline, and then I realized that it's real. <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/wood-satellites?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" rel="nofollow">Big Think</a> explains the rationale: "<em>NASA is currently tracking over </em><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html" rel="nofollow"><em>500,000 pieces</em></a><em> of satellite debris circling the Earth. These bits of mostly aluminum junk whip around the planet as fast as 17,500 mph and constitute a floating minefield that active and manned space vehicles have to find their way through without being struck, or worse, punctured. And those are just the bits large enough to be tracked—those bigger than a marble. There are many more too small to keep an eye on. And the situation is getting worse, with projects such as SpaceX's estimated </em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starlink-internet-satellites-percent-failure-rate-space-debris-risk-2020-10" rel="nofollow"><em>42,000 satellites</em></a><em> or Amazon's </em><a href="https://www.space.com/amazon-kuiper-satellite-constellation-fcc-approval.html" rel="nofollow"><em>Kuiper project</em></a><em>. The wood satellites being developed won't do much to solve that problem. However, they will help out with another one: what happens to space debris when its orbit decays and it falls back to Earth? We've been lucky so far</em>..."</p>
<p id="k5EmXf"><strong>20 Things That Went Strangely, Wonderfully Right in 2020</strong>. <a href="https://FORTUNE.com" rel="nofollow">FORTUNE.com</a> has an interesting list of things to be thankful for last year; here's a clip: "...<em><strong>13. It happened: the octogenarian sex symbol.</strong> In the plague year, there seemed to be nothing that slowed Dr. Anthony Fauci down—not the pressure of being the public face in the war on COVID-19, not being caught in the political crossfire, and apparently not turning 80, which the good doctor did on Christmas Eve. </em><a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/report/kff-health-tracking-poll-september-2020/" rel="nofollow"><em>A September poll</em></a><em> by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 68% of Americans have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of faith in Dr. Fauci to provide reliable information about the coronavirus—making him a rare entity in the pandemic era: somebody trusted by the vast majority of the country. But it was "</em><a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/dr-fauci-dr-birx-cold-open/4280665" rel="nofollow"><em>Saturday Night Live</em></a><em>" that captured the fullness of Fauciphilia in its Dec. 12 "cold open.</em>.."</p>
<p id="ViGapx"><strong>When You Live in Svalbard, Norway and Forget to Close the Window to the Home Office</strong>. Image courtesy of <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/kqybz1/when_you_live_in_svalbard_norway_and_forgot_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf" rel="nofollow">Wellthatsucks and Reddit</a>. Wow.</p>
<p id="NRIEC7">THURSDAY: Cloudy and chilly. Winds: SE 3-8. High: 25</p>
<p id="WmhJj6">FRIDAY: Damp with clouds and fog. Winds: NW 3-8. Wake-up: 18. High: 23</p>
<p id="5d2P3b"><strong>SATURDAY</strong>: Mostly cloudy, still quiet. Winds: NW 5-10. Wake-up: 16. High: 24</p>
<p id="QqJzoO"><strong>SUNDAY</strong>: More clouds than sun. Winds: NW 5-10. Wake-up: 17. High: 27</p>
<p id="gRc0my">MONDAY: More sunshine, a bit milder. Winds: SW 8-13. Wake-up: 20. High: near 30</p>
<p id="0umNuj">TUESDAY: Mix of clouds and sunshine. Winds: SW 8-13. Wake-up: 21. High: 32</p>
<p id="gh4Cka">WEDNESDAY: Intervals of sun, PM thaw. Winds: W 8-13. Wake-up: 20. High: 34</p>
<p id="qOQz6z"><strong>Climate Stories...</strong></p>
<p id="p4bqlq"><strong>Researchers Say Food Prices Don't Reflect Environmental Costs. </strong><a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/food-price-greenhouse-gas?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" rel="nofollow">Big Think</a> has the story; here's an excerpt: "<em>Using life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools, the researchers determined when emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane occurred in the food production process. The effects of land use, including deforestation, related to food production were also incorporated. The results were striking. Meat and dairy products are incredibly undervalued according to this measure. Pricing in the climate damage caused by their production would raise their prices by 146 percent and 91 percent, respectively. The prices of organic plant products would also rise, but by a mere 6 percent. Organic foods, in general, saw lower price increases than conventionally produced food products</em>..."</p>
<p id="Xqfgcd"><strong>Venus Was Once More Earth-like, but Climate Change Made it Uninhabitable. </strong>A post at <a href="https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/venus-was-once-more-earth-like-but-climate-change-made-it-uninhabitable" rel="nofollow">astronomy.com</a> explains: "<em>Venus is a very strange place, totally uninhabitable, except perhaps in the clouds some 60 kilometres up where</em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-1174-4" rel="nofollow"><em>the recent discovery of phosphine may suggest floating microbial life</em></a><em>. But the surface is totally inhospitable. However, Venus once likely had an Earth-like climate. According to recent climate modelling, for much of its history</em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069790" rel="nofollow"><em>Venus had surface temperatures similar to present day Earth</em></a><em>. It likely also had oceans, rain, perhaps snow, maybe continents and plate tectonics, and even more speculatively, perhaps even surface life. Less than one billion years ago, the climate dramatically changed due to a runaway greenhouse effect. It can be speculated that an intensive period of volcanism pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to cause this great climate change event that</em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006276" rel="nofollow"><em>evaporated the oceans and caused the end of the water cycle</em></a><em>.</em>.."</p>
<p id="CUXZHN"><strong>2020 Was a Year of Climate Extremes. What Can We Expect in 2021?</strong> My (very strong) hunch is that 2020 will go down in the books as the warmest year on record, warmer than 2016. We shall see. Here's an excerpt from <a href="https://TIME.com" rel="nofollow">TIME.com</a>: "...<em>A record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season landed a double blow of two </em><a href="https://time.com/5913006/hurricane-iota-climate-aid/" rel="nofollow"><em>hugely destructive storms in Central America</em></a><em>. Long-running droughts have destroyed agricultural output and helped to push millions into hunger in </em><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-water-climatechange-farming/hit-by-worsening-drought-zimbabwe-taps-funding-for-water-wise-farming-idUSKCN25D0MR" rel="nofollow"><em>Zimbabwe </em></a><em>and </em><a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1078662#:~:text=27%20November%202020,(WFP)%20reported%20on%20Friday." rel="nofollow"><em>Madagascar</em></a><em>. A super-cyclone unleashed massive floods on </em><a href="https://time.com/5846539/india-locust-pandemic/" rel="nofollow"><em>India</em></a><em> and Bangladesh. And overall, 2020 may end up </em><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/2020-likely-end-hottest-year-record-rcna199" rel="nofollow"><em>the hottest year on record</em></a><em>—despite a La Niña event, the ocean-atmospheric phenomenon which normally temporarily </em><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-much-el-nino-affect-global-temperature" rel="nofollow"><em>cools things</em></a><em> down. Though it's historically been difficult to say if single weather events were directly caused by </em><a href="https://time.com/5920387/paris-agreement-laurence-tubiana/" rel="nofollow"><em>climate change</em></a><em>, scientists have proven that many of the events that took place in 2020 would have been far less likely, or even impossible, without changes to the climate that are being driven by the warming of the Earth</em>..."</p>
<p id="eNH6VZ"><strong>Study: Warming Already Baked-in Will Blow Past Climate Goals.</strong> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-climate-change-pollution-3f226aed9c58e36c69e7342b104d48bf?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AP%20Morning%20Wire&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers" rel="nofollow">Associated Press</a> reports: "<em>The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past international agreed upon goals to limit climate change, a new study finds. But it's not game over because, while that amount of warming may be inevitable, it can be delayed for centuries if the world quickly stops emitting extra greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, the study's authors say. For decades, scientists have talked about so-called "committed warming" or the increase in future temperature based on past carbon dioxide emissions that stay in the atmosphere for well over a century. It's like the distance a speeding car travels after the brakes are applied</em>..."</p>
<p id="2wee8f"><strong>Biden Plan Looks for Buy-in From Farmers Who Are Often Skeptical About Global Warming. </strong><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04012021/biden-climate-plan-agriculture-farmers-tom-vilsack/" rel="nofollow">InsideClimate News</a> has the post; here's the intro: "<em>When the incoming Biden administration released its policy roadmap in November, it was clear that tackling climate change would be a top priority and agriculture will be a key part of a broad, cross-agency effort.The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the administration said, "has not historically received the sustained political attention of other agencies that play a role in climate policy." But it would become "a linchpin of the next Administration's climate strategy." The incoming administration's clear focus on climate change was remarkable. That it would enlist the country's farms and farmers—who are largely skeptical of climate change—in the battle was even more so.</em>.."</p>
BRUSSELS — For European Union nations, Joe Biden’s Jan. … of Portugal, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said Thursday … Washington though would please the EU no end — rejoining the Paris … .”
To smooth the way, the EU has already invited President-elect …
According to the Syrian state news agency, SANA, the attack was carried out from over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It targeted several military sites in south of Damascus.
This is the third such attack in a fortnight.
Listen to Nathan Morley’s report
The SANA report added that Syrian air defences intercepted most of the incoming missiles.
Residents say the sound of anti-air weapons could be heard over Damascus for over an hour, with television pictures showing a multi-storey building ablaze.
There was no comment from Israel.
UN officials condemn car bombings
In a separate development, the killing of civilians in separate car bomb attacks in northern Syria over the weekend has been condemned by top UN humanitarian officials for the country.
“This year, civilians in Syria will have endured ten years of crisis. These two attacks so early in the new year serve as a tragic reminder of the price civilians across the country continue to pay,” a UN spokesman said.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today announced the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding cooperation and the exchange of information with respect to certain registered derivatives clearing organizations established in the United States that are central counterparties (CCPs) recognized by ESMA under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
The MOU reflects ESMA’s and the CFTC’s commitment to strengthening their mutual cooperative relationship, which has continued to flourish under the leadership of Chair Steven Maijoor and Chairman Heath P. Tarbert.
“We look forward to building upon our strong relationship with ESMA and embarking upon a cooperative relationship with ESMA’s new CCP Supervisory Committee,” said Suyash Paliwal, Director of the CFTC’s Office of International Affairs. “The deferential approach embodied in this MOU is a major milestone in the years-long engagement between the CFTC and its EU counterparts on the implementation of EMIR as amended.”
“I am pleased to see ESMA entering a phase of closer cooperation with the CFTC,” said Chair of ESMA’s CCP Supervisory Committee Klaus Löber. “This MOU sets out the basis for the enhanced collaboration between our institutions and is an important step towards building the risk-based and outcome-focused supervision of CCPs in accordance with the amended European Market Infrastructure Regulation.”
EU-UK relations are changing following Brexit and the deal reached at the end of 2020. Find out what this means for you.
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. There was a transition period during which the UK remained part of the Single market and Customs Union to allow for negotiations on the future relations. Following intense negotiations, an agreement on future EU-UK relations was concluded end of December 2020. Although it will be provisionally applied, it will still need to be approved by the Parliament before it can formally enter into force. MEPs are currently scrutinising the text in the specialised parliamentary committees before voting on it during a plenary session.
A number of issues were already covered by the withdrawal agreement, which the EU and the UK agreed at the end of 2019. This agreement on the separation issues deals with the protection of the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens living in other parts of the EU, the UK’s financial commitments undertaken as a member state, as well as border issues, especially on the Isle of Ireland.
EU citizens in the UK or UK citizens in an EU member state who were already living there before January 2021 are allowed to continue living and working where they are now provided they registered and were granted settlement permits by the national authorities of the member states or the UK.
For those UK citizens not already living in the EU, their right to live and work in any EU country apart from the Republic of Ireland (as the UK has a separate agreement with them) is not automatically granted and can be subject to restrictions. Also, they no longer have their qualifications automatically recognised in EU countries, which was previously the case.
For UK citizens wanting to visit or stay in the EU for more than 90 days for any reason need to meet the requirements for entry and stay for people from outside the EU. This also applies to UK citizens with a second home in the EU.
People from the EU wanting to move to the UK for a long-term stay or work – meaning more than six months – will need to meet the migration conditions set out by the UK government, including applying for a visa.
Travelling
UK citizens can visit the EU for up to 90 days within any 180-day period without needing a visa.
However, UK citizens can no longer make use of the EU’s fast track passport controls and customs lanes. They also need to have a return ticket and be able to prove they have enough funds for their stay. They also need to have at least six months left on their passport.
EU citizens can visit the UK for up to six months without needing a visa. EU citizens will need to present a valid passport to visit the UK.
Healthcare
EU citizens temporarily staying in the UK still benefit from emergency healthcare based on the European Health Insurance Card. For stays longer than six months, they need to pay a healthcare surcharge.
Pensioners continue to benefit from healthcare where they live. The country paying for their pension will reimburse the country of residence.
Erasmus
The UK has decided to stop participating in the popular Erasmus+ exchange programme and to create its own exchange programme. Therefore EU students will not be able to participate in exchange programme in the UK anymore. However, people from Northern Ireland can continue to take part.
Trade in goods and services
With the agreement, goods exchanged between the UK and EU countries are not subject to tariffs or quotas. However, there are new procedures for moving goods to and from the UK as border controls on the respect of the internal market rules (sanitary, security, social, environmental standard for example) or applicable UK regulation are in place. This means more red tape and additional costs. For example, all imports into the EU are subject to customs formalities while they must also meet all EU standards so they are subject to regulatory checks and controls. This does not apply to goods being moved between Northern Ireland and the EU.
Regarding services, UK companies no longer have the automatic right to offer services across the EU. If they want to continue operating in the EU, they will need to establish themselves here.
First vice president, Amrullah Saleh in a visit to Nangarhar province said, that the “real fight” is over power.
According to Saleh Taliban have not yet replied to the question about their definition of the Islamic system, he added, the “real fight is over power, not religion”.
Saleh During the event in Nangarhar said, “we need peace with dignity and honor that ensures women’s rights” adding that “there will be no more compromise on the republic, human rights, and the nation’s flag”.
He blamed the Taliban and their allies for being involved in “all the destruction and the killing of the people in the country”.
Saleh whined, people in the areas under the Taliban influence are “poor and live like captives”, the economy of the country is badly affected, and that “we hope, we will address problems of people” who are under the Taliban influence.
This comes as President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday morning, visited Nangarhar province to meet with the provincial governor, military officers, public, writers, and cultural figures.
He was accompanied by his first vice president, cabinet member, national security adviser, parliament members, and other officials.
Europe should not be influenced by other nations in its relations with Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a meeting with Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday as reported by the South China Morning Post.
Chinese-EU relations should “not be affected by external interference” but should advance “towards win-win cooperation”, Wang said, adding Beijing regarded the 27-member bloc as a major force for a multipolar world.
“China-EU consensus outweighs differences. The two sides are partners, not systemic rivals. China and the EU should understand and respect the choices of each other’s people, actively expanding common interests and enhancing mutual trust,” he added.
The news comes as officials have hailed the deal as a success, despite criticisms over alleged human rights abuses and forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), which Beijing has repeatedly denied, the report read.
But according to a recent interview with CNN, the deal has triggered concerns in Washington, where President-elect Joe Biden’s administration aims to boost soured ties between the US and EU, as well as work with European allies.
“We are confident we can develop a common agenda on issues where we share deep concerns about China. And it’s not just on trade, it’s on technology. It’s on human rights. It’s on military aggression,” incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN at the time.
What Are the Four Aspects of Developing China-EU Relations?
The news comes after Brussels and Beijing struck the deal ahead of New Year’s Eve last year, with the agreement being confirmed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) was the “most ambitious outcomes that China has ever agreed with a third country”.
The agreement comes just days after the EU and United Kingdom struck a post-Brexit trade deal on Christmas Eve and Beijing inked the 15-member Regional Cooperative Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest deal in history, in November.
CHENNAI: The Madras high court asserted on Wednesday that the right to religion is not higher than the right to life. “Religious rights are subject to public interest and the right to life,” the HC said. If the state decides to take some action by restricting religious functions during the pandemic, we (court) cannot interfere, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said. The court made the observations while hearing a PIL moved by Rangarajan Narasimhan alleging that religious functions and rites that ought to be conducted at Trichy Srirangam Temple are not conducted as per the sacred texts but according to the whims and fancies of the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department. The petitioner wanted the court to direct the state government to constitute a committee comprising religious heads to decide the mode and manner in which such functions should be conducted. When the plea came up for hearing, the bench said when the government imposes certain restrictions to protect the life and health of the public, the same must be adhered to. However, if such religious functions can be performed with minimal participation of the public, the same can be done after following the Covid-19 protocol, the court added. Concurring, the petitioner said there are ways prescribed in the “shastras” to conduct functions in a minimal way. But only religious leaders, who are well-versed with the shastras, can suggest the same, not the joint commissioner or executive officer of the department, he said. Representing the authorities, senior advocate Satish Parasaran submitted that all mandatory religious functions are conducted by adhering to Covid standard operating procedures. The court directed the authorities to consult the religious leaders concerned as to how the festivities would be conducted. However, hygiene and Covid protocol cannot be compromised to conduct such functions, the court added. Noting that the state might consider including the petitioner in the discussions, the court directed it to file a report in six weeks as to the manner in which the functions can be conducted till July.
