China ends one child policy, amid other changes ...

As 2013 ends, China announced some loosening of its one-child policy after 43 years. Under the new policy, couples will be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. Previously, a couple could generally only have a second child if both parents were only children.

Not sure this is that groundbreaking, but the Chinese government apparently thinks it is worth it.

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A most likely outcome of a family in the past 43 years. Lots of little princes being raised ... photo from offbeatchina.com

Slightly less common, raising a single daughter, as males have been preferred. Much less common, and more so in rural areas, are families with two children ... photo from america.aljazeera.com

Background

In 1980, China announced the family planning policy intended to control its population growth, and curb other social and environmental impacts within the most populous nation on earth. The Chinese government maintains the policy has averted 400 million births through 2009, though other demographers bracket the slowdown to about 200 million. According to a 2011 article in a Boston newspaper, "Cai and Wang Feng, director of Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, ... argue that between 1979 and 2009, China averted 200 million births, half the government estimate. They arrived at the number by calculating what the population would have been if China had maintained its 1979 fertility rate of 2.75 and comparing it to the 2009 fertility rate of 1.7 and population."

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Chinese girls had an elevated risk in their early years, due to a deeply patriarchal view of the sexes. Photo from the UK Daily Telegraph

While the policy was officially called the family planning policy, it quickly became known as the "one-child policy" though there were many exceptions. For example, rural families were allowed to have a second child if the first child was a girl or was disabled, and ethnic minorities were exempt. Families in which neither parent has siblings were also allowed to have two children."

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China's population density across the landscape - graphic from zonu.com

The policy was typically criticized for the methods used to make sure the policy was followed. The policy has been implicated in an increase in forced abortions, female infanticide, and under-reporting of female births, not to mention the concept of giving the state control over family reproduction. The government officially reserved and used the right to financially fine families for not complying. From the start, the policy roused the scorn from human rights advocates, and over time it has become increasingly unpopular in China's modernizing population.

What is next in store for China's demographics? Photo from the UK Daily Telegraph

Economically, some experts note the policy has created a notable imbalance in the sex ratio, which floats nearly equal everywhere, but in China is 117 males for every 100 females. The policy has also raised concerns over the larger demographic of older folks, supported by a smaller number of younger workers.

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Nice chart showing populations of the nations and regions on our globe. Graphic from commons.wikimedia.org

No more official labor camps

From the UK Daily Telegraph we read, "Also on Saturday, the National People’s Congress adopted a resolution to abolish the re-education labour system, according to the official Xinhua News Agency and the state-run China Central Television.

State media said all those serving time in the labour camps would be set free starting on Saturday, but that the penalties handed out before the abolition would still be considered legitimate, a provision aimed at preventing the victims from suing the state and seeking redress.

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One such camp is actually a carbonized thermal parts factory - Photo from the New York Times

Established to punish early critics of the Communist Party, the penal system was retooled to focus on petty criminals. In recent years, however, it had been used by local officials to deal with people challenging their authority on issues including land rights and corruption."

So, China is on the move, dropping some more onerous social policies, but leaving its approach to Tibet (a rebellious province) in place, as well as more assertive announcements regarding the South and East China seas.

China maintains a firm hand in Tibet, photo from claudearpi.blogspot.com

Beijing's air pollution remains startling ...

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masks and dimness are the rule of the day for many northern Chinese cities, photo from www.dailytech.com

but as most Americans know first-hand, the Chinese factories that produce the smog are providing nearly everything we use or want.

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Containers on one ship heading from China to US. And yes, it is just a coincidence that Cosco Holdings (one of the larger shipping companies) has the same name as the US chain of Cosco stores ... photo from China Daily.

Central African Republic and South Sudan torn

Tribal and religious divides have torn up fragile lives in two African countries the past weeks.

The CAR, a former french colony, with a population of nearly 5 million. Graphic from New York Times

The Central African Republic - one of the most poverty stricken countries of the world - is in trouble from an increasingly religion-tainted conflict between Islamists and non ... From a Deutsch Welle article, "Some 10 to 15 percent of the Central African Republic's population are Muslims. Most of them live in the far north, on the other side of swampland that is impassable for six months of the year. The region is regarded as an underdeveloped enclave in an already poor nation: No schools, no hospitals, no roads." The article goes on to explain that much of this region looks north to Sudan and Chad, "They seek medical treatment in a hospital in Nyala, Sudan. They send their children to Quran schools in Khartoum."

The [latest round of] conflict began in March this year, when previous president, Francois Bozize, was ousted in a coup when the Seleka alliance took over. The Seleka opposition was led by Michel Djotodia, who declared himself the new President. However, in the months that have followed, a stricter brand of Islam began to emerge at least as the excuse of what were increasingly lawless actions by Seleka soldiers and allies. In November, when Christian groups were being brutally attacked, Christian militias formed and fought back. France intervened, sending in a peacekeeping force trying to separate the two sides. There it stands, as the German article says, "Once again, a country the size of Texas rich in natural resources faces a dismaying choice. Should the brutal Muslim rebels be ousted, the likely winner will be the country's unpopular kleptocratic former Christian president. Regardless of religion, it is the population that is suffering in this civil war."

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In these brutal, ethnic and religious conflicts, the middle ground erodes, people are forced to take sides, and are at risk either way for their choice. Photo from Al-jazeera.com

South Sudan, the world's newest independent state, suddenly sees tribal hostilities boiling over.

South Sudan, often portrayed in terms of its break from The Republic of Sudan to the north, and adjacent to the heartbreak in Darfur. Graphic from www.medicalteams.org

South Sudan erupted in hostilities between the two largest ethnic groups in the country, the Dinka and the Nuer. While there are some subtle religious overtones to this conflict, the identity of both groups is much more aligned to their tribal heritage, which has much in common.

Last week, soldiers from the Nuer tribe revolted in their barracks and over the past several days, declared they had seized control of Bor, Jonglei State's capital city, located in central South Sudan. The Nuer revolt is headed (kind of) by Riek Machar, the South Sudanese Vice President who was sacked in July this year by President Salva Kiir. But as with all these conflicts, clarity is precious. As a BBC article describes it, "While acknowledging that forces loyal to Riek Machar had taken control of Bor, the army also said Maj-Gen Peter Gadet Yak had mutinied, taking with him some troops. What is not clear is if troops loyal to Mr Machar are working together with those of Maj-Gen Gadet, or if in fact they are the same soldiers. But it is likely, because of the history of relations between the two, and because of their background. They are both Nuers, while President Salva Kiir is Dinka.

If the two are indeed in control of Jonglei, it is possible that they might try to overrun the neighbouring oil-producing states of Unity and Upper Nile. This will mean the oil-reliant economy could come under their control."

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The conflict threatens the cohesiveness of South Sudan, along with oil fields the backbone of this newest country. Graphic from Voice of America

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An anxious father holds his daughter .. photo from the NY Times

Two conflicts - both could legitimately be called civil wars, joining similar conflict in Libya and Syria as 2013 winds down.

Teatree has emphasized this Christmas song in the past years - "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" written by the American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, as our country's civil war raged in 1863. His wife had died two years earlier and one of their sons was gravely wounded in one of the Civil War battles ...

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
'There is no peace on earth, ' I said
'For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.'

verse - see link below,
verse - see link below,

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.'

This year, if one can get to this youtube presentation, there are other darker and less sanitized verses to the poem which seem apropos this conflict ridden season ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8br_t4rp5NU

May our prayers and actions be to this end.

As Christmas nears, oddities all around

One always hopes that a spirit of compassion and tolerance rises a bit, as a major event in Christianity nears around the world. And while there are numerous instances of that occurring that don't make the news, the opposite seems to ring true for what does end up "in print."

So, two oddities of the season

In South Africa, as Nelson Mandela is laid to rest in his ancestral homeland, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu is not invited. Between the two men, South Africa's transition to representative democracy was made without a spasm of violence as so many feared. These two leaders had a long history; an AFP article quoted Tutu, ""Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral," Tutu said in a statement. "Had I or my office been informed that I would be welcome, there is no way on earth that I would have missed it."

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South Africa's Desmond Tutu delivers a speech during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on December 10, 2013 (AFP, Pedro Ugarte)

The article continues, "Earlier, the Nobel laureate's daughter, Mpho Tutu, who heads his foundation, told AFP that he would not attend because he "is not an accredited clergyperson for the event".

Tutu's account of the events was at odds with that given by the government of President Jacob Zuma, which the clergyman has publicly criticised. Amid public outcry, the presidency insisted that Tutu was on the list of invited dignitaries to the burial. "I have been checking and he is definitely on the list," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told AFP, saying he was "taken aback" by the news that the man known fondly as the "Arch" was not invited. "The Arch is not an ordinary church person, he is a special person in our country and he is definitely on the list," said Maharaj, promising to sort out any misunderstanding that may have arisen."

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Mandela's wish was to be buried in his home in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape region of the country. It is a dry, sparse land, neglected economically, but hauntingly beautiful ... AFP/Getty Photo from a UK Daily Mail article

The retired archbishop has been critical of President Jacob Zuma's "graft-tainted" administration. And so the world will now watch how the SA government conducts itself and the country's future now that a great moral anchor has passed. The Mandela family itself is embroiled in a feud over burial plots, and one of Mandela's grandsons, Mandla Mandela, plans to create a Mandela shrine, hotel and football stadium in nearby Mvezo.

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Mandela's small home village of Qunu lies near the ocean, halfway between Port Elizabeth and Durban, near the little mountain symbols (Drakensberg) on this map from blog.afrikascout.de

North Korea summarily dispatches one of its own

Not much positive in this story. Just the latest savage purge by a communist leader, this time in the last remaining wreck of a country with that form of government. The boyish-looking, 30-yr-old third generation dynasty leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, turned on his uncle and had him executed for vague accusations of treason. The official Korean News Agency referring to who was just 10 days ago, the number two man, explained that Jang Song Taek was 'despicable human scum.'

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North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un. Apparently thinking himself worthy of his position, he has collected a number of titles, "Marshal of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea"; "First chairman of the National Defense Commission"; "First secretary of the Workers’ Party"; "Chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission"; "Member of the Presidium of the party’s Political Bureau"; "Supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army," Photo from www.frontpagemag.com

As an NBC news article describes the unfortunate deceased, "Kim's uncle by marriage, Jang Song Taek ..." was executed for treason, and also accused of "corruption, womanizing, gambling and taking drugs."

A tough crowd - Uncle included - who live in a world of paranoia and self-comfort while the hoi polloi eke out a subsistence living. Speculation has it that Kim is consolidating, that the execution was highly publicized to entrench his grip on power while sending a message to long-time regent types. Unfortunately it may also be signalling, perhaps, a tighter, more ruthless descent into despotism.

Here, the departed Uncle Taek (left) is hosting then Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2012. Photo from Ma Zhancheng / Xinhua via AP, file

China, North Korea's closest ally, has shrugged off the matter as a domestic affair... But then, former NBA star/narcissistic-whack job Dennis Rodman is also heading to North Korea next week to train its national basketball team, undeterred or concerned over the bigger picture.

As mentioned, oddities all around.

Dennis Rodman, alias "The Worm" and "Dennis the Menace" (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast, AP)

The World Trade Organization announces progress ...

There are these global institutions out there that we tend to lose track of, yet provide frameworks within which the nations on our small globe interact. One we hear about a lot - the UN with its headquarters in New York - has many forums dealing with security, peacekeeping, development, women and children's rights, etc.

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In front of the UN headquarters in New York, a gift from Luxemborg. Photo from visit.un.org

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are more obscure in what they do. The World Bank, according to its website, "provide[s] low-interest loans, interest-free credits, and grants to developing countries. These support a wide array of investments in such areas as education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management. Some of our projects are co-financed with governments, other multilateral institutions, commercial banks, export credit agencies, and private sector investors."

The IMF is, according to its website, "an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."

The WTO, according to its website, develops agreements between groups of nations, that "cover goods, services and intellectual property. They spell out the principles of liberalization, and the permitted exceptions. They include individual countries’ commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and keep open services markets."

All three institutions have their critics, and examples abound where agreements or sets of principles have hurt or hindered development and prosperity as much as foster it. Developing nations often charge that these institutions are oriented to serve the developed nations interests as much if not more than those without political or economic clout. Prosperous Asian nations in the past decade have also been asking when they will have a turn at leadership positions, and capitalism is clearly the economic approach favored over other models (though one might ask what is the alternative... certainly communism was not a success story).

Indeed, it has been customary for the IMF to be led by a Western European (currently France's Christine Legard), while the World Bank has from its 1944 beginning been led by an American (currently Dr. Jim Yong Kim). Both headquarters are in Washington D.C.

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>Christine Legard, President of the IMF, photo by Adam Sage Paris, The Times

World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, photo from World Bank website

The World Trade Organization, however, is a slightly different animal. Though also headquartered in the developed nation and storied city of Geneva, Switzerland, the leadership has rotated much more globally, especially in the past decade. (From 1948, WTO - formerly GATT - leadership has come from the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Thailand, France, and now Brazil).

Brazilian Roberto Azevêdo, has taken on the WTO leadership position since September 2013, photo from www.valor.com.br

The buried lead

If the reader is still here (ha ha), this context brings us to the most recent announcement of a successful round of trade talks that took place this week in Bali, Indonesia. WTO member nations debated a variety of arcane issues around growing trade among themselves, but India made the headlines by championing the rights of developing nations to "protect" their food growing sectors, in the face of developed nations' push of additional opportunities for their own agricultural industries to export grain and other food commodities.

From the Washington Post before a final agreement was reached, "A possible World Trade Organization deal moved closer to approval Friday after a row over food subsidies was set aside following hours of global negotiations that went late into the night. Trade ministers had come to the four-day WTO meetings on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali with little hope that a slimmed-down agreement would be reached, with India refusing to budge on a provision that could endanger subsidies for grains under a policy to feed its poor. ... The meetings in Bali were seen as crucial after more than a decade of inertia, with failure possibly signaling an end to WTO’s relevance as a forum for multilateral trade negotiations among its 159 member economies."

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WTO chief Avezedo shakes hands with Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan (hosting the conference), AFP photo from Sonny Tumblekaka

The bottom line is that India's stance to protect national food growing sectors was accepted (for now), streamlined customs guidelines reached, and global trade could increase up to $1 trillion from its current level in the near future. And for the WTO, broad international agreements were highlighted compared to an increasing number of regional trade pacts that had been growing as alternatives to international understandings. In Teatree's opinion, it is refreshing to see an important developing nation, India, standing up to business as usual, as well as a Brazilian leader injecting a personal urgency into often comatose negotiations at these events. (Food security - always behind the scenes of world trade talks.)

Ukraine still pulled east and west

Ukraine is a country of nearly 45 million, located in Eastern Europe. As one of the larger countries in the old Soviet bloc, it has remained torn in terms of geopolitics after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Whereas the Baltic States, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and several others have all oriented themselves towards Western Europe, this country has never made the jump. It, along with Belarus, have maintained trading and political ties with Russia, though Ukraine's population has steadily indicated its preference to look to the West.

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Ukraine's ambivalence towards both Russia and Western Europe is greatly influenced by its location. It and Belarus have common borders with Russia and farthest from the historic Western European countries who were the original founders of the European Union. Graphic from www.feriasalimentarias.com

Ukraine made the news this week with another outburst of protests and political tension. What was supposed to be a signing of trade and financial agreements as a first move towards membership with the European Union, turned into a row, then street protests after Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich - swayed by threats or inducements from Russian President Putin - pulled back from the step.

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Ukraine President Yanukovich again facing massive unrest. He was driven from power the first time in December 2004 during the "Orange Revolution." During the run for the Presidency in 2004, he was accused being involved with poisoning a political rival, Viktor Yushchenko, as well as the more recent jailing of another rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, which has been deemed illegal by the EU. Photo from blogs.ft.com

The history of Ukraine since the Soviet breakup in 1991 has been mainly ugly, with tainted and divisive elections, along with poisonings and imprisonment for two high profile Presidential candidates that have the fingerprints of Yanakovich supporters if not personal. Still, Yanukovich has leveraged his core support that lies to the east of the nation into the seat of power over the past 11 years beginning with his first appointment to Prime Minister in 2002. (See the post Ukraine, Poland, football and boycotts on May 5, 2012)

This map, from www.sras.org/ukraine, shows support for Russia, and thus for leaders supporting that tie, in shades of blue

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Street protests against Yanukovich's decision to "look east" to Russia, Photo from worldnews.nbcnews.com

While Yanukovich has little support in Western nations, and is viewed as corrupt and oppressive, the painful truth is that Russia's President Putin made it clear to Ukraine that signing agreements with the EU would mean immediate and severe reduction of trade and vital energy supplies with Russia. And because Russia structured the economies of most of its satellite nations during Communism to support the mother country's needs, the infrastructure in these newly liberated countries remain susceptible to Russian influence.

Expect continued turmoil in this large eastern European nation.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/iraq-death-toll-grows-as-security-deteriorates-20131201-2yjgu.html

Big steps by big players ...

In the past 48 hours, some rather large developments among the world's big players. Agreements large and small regarding nuclear power and climate change, along with a unilateral decision on ocean boundaries. Whether these developments pan out, represent progress or rather a kicking of the can down the road, or even constitute taking steps backward, remain to be seen.

Iran and the Big Six sign "historic" nuclear deal

An early CNN reports, "A historic deal was struck early Sunday between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear program that freezes the country's nuclear development program in exchange for lifting some sanction while a more formal agreement is worked out. The agreement -- described as an "initial, six-month" deal -- includes "substantial limitations that will help prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a nationally televised address.

The deal, which capped days of marathon talks, addresses Iran's ability to enrich uranium, what to do about its existing enriched uranium stockpiles, the number and potential of its centrifuges and Tehran's "ability to produce weapons-grade plutonium using the Arak reactor," according to a statement released by the White House. Iran also agreed to provide "increased transparency and intrusive monitoring of its nuclear program," it said.

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From the UK Daily Telegraph ...
John Kerry meets with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the Iran Nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: JASON REED/AP

The world's media will cover this story repeatedly over the next few days. Let's hope it is meaningful.

UN climate change conference pulls out a fragile agreement

One day ago, the French AFP reports, ""Just in the nick of time, the negotiators in Warsaw delivered enough to keep the process moving," said climate analyst Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute. But climate economist Nicholas Stern warned that "the actions that have been agreed are simply inadequate when compared with the scale and urgency of the risks that the world faces from rising levels of greenhouse gases, and the dangers of irreversible impacts."

Rich and poor nations have been at loggerheads ever since the talks opened on November 11 over who should do what to curb the march of planet warming. In particular, they clashed over sharing responsibility for curbing climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions, and about funding for vulnerable countries....

Emerging economies like China and India objected to any reference in the Warsaw text to "commitments" that would be equally binding to rich and poor states and failed to consider historical greenhouse gas emissions. Developing nations, their growth largely powered by fossil fuel combustion, blame the West's long emissions history for the peril facing the planet, and insist their wealthier counterparts carry a larger responsibility to fix the problem. The West, though, insists emerging economies must do their fair share, given that China is now the world's biggest emitter of CO2, with India in fourth place after the United States and Europe."

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From the UN news centre, "Ban Ki-moon addresses UN climate change conference in Warsaw, urging negotiators to rise to the challenge and pave the way to a binding climate deal by 2015. UN Photo/Evan Schneider"

China defines its new Pacific Ocean defense zone

From Pakistan's International News, we read, "The Chinese Defence Ministry on Saturday issued a map of an East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone that includes a chain of disputed islands also claimed by Japan, triggering a protest from Tokyo. Beijing also issued a set of rules for the zone, saying all aircraft must notify Chinese authorities and are subject to emergency military measures if they do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing. It said it would “identify, monitor, control and react” to any air threats or unidentified flying objects coming from the sea. The rules went into effect on Saturday.

In Tokyo, Junichi Ihara, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, protested by phone to Chinas acting ambassador to Japan, Han Zhiqiang, saying the zone is “totally unacceptable,” according to a ministry statement. Ihara also criticised China for “one-sidedly” setting up the zone and escalating bilateral tensions over the islands. Both Beijing and Tokyo claim the islets, called Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. Protests erupted throughout China last year to denounce the Japanese government’s purchase of the islands from private ownership."

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From the BBC, a graphic showing the new China defense line ...

Teatree notes that this zone in the East China Sea is not referring to Chinese claims in the South China Sea, where the Philippines and Vietnam and others are resisting Chinese claims. And to top off THAT area, it didn't help tensions when China initially offered less aid to The Philippines regarding the typhoon, than did the Swedish store business, Ikea.

Maldives, where is it, and who was elected

Not a great deal of earth-shaking news this week: Syria continues its deadly internal conflict with international proxies and extremist groups backing various factions; Iran and the West continue to negotiate over nuclear development in that country; the Philippines continues to struggle with the aftermath of the super typhoon which hit its islands so hard.

So, repeatedly in the news was an election drama in the small country of Maldives. It might be time to check in on this land.

First, where is it?

Maldives is a collection of islands off the SW coast of India. Map from worldatlas.com

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The collection of islands in count is nearly 1200 such protrusions out of the Indian Ocean, with a double chain of 26 atolls as the major framework. The population is just under 329,000, which makes it similar in numbers to Iceland, though much less than the least populated state in the US - Wyoming with its 576,000 citizens. Map from worldatlas.com

A Mr. Abdulla Yameen was sworn in as 6th President of Republic of Maldives, one day after he defeated former President Mohamed Nasheed in the presidential runoff election. However, there was apparently high drama over the past months, as the Times of India reports, "Abdulla Yameen was sworn in as the new president of the Maldives on Sunday after a shock run-off victory over favourite Mohamed Nasheed, ending nearly two years of political turmoil that plagued the nascent democracy and raised international concerns over the country's future. Yameen, the half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was sworn in as the 6th president of the Maldives by Chief Justice Ahmad Faiz at a special session of the Parliament ..."

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President Yameen at swearing-in ceremony conducted by Chief Justice Faiz. From various reports, Yameen, 54, an economist and a candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) won the runoff with over 92% of the population voting. Photo from www.haveeru.com.mv

The article goes on, "Maldives has witnessed political turmoil since 46-year-old Nasheed resigned under duress in February 2012 in a controversial transfer of power. Nasheed conceded defeat in Saturday's run-off after a bitterly fought battle and said he was pleased that the country finally had a democratically elected leader."

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Ex-President Nasheed, who leads the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) votes here in an apparent happy state (Teatree assumes, with his wife) in a losing effort during the runoff. Photo from the Washington Post

Again from the Times of India, "The Maldives had failed to elect a president in three attempts since September, raising concerns in the international community that the fledgling democracy may slip back to authoritarian rule. The international community led by the US and India had called for the democratic process to be resumed. The Commonwealth, European Union and the US had called for democratic process to be observed.

In the first round of elections held in September, Nasheed led over Yameen and Jumhooree Party candidate Gasim Ibrahim but failed to secure a more than 50 per cent of the votes. But before a run-off could be held, the results were annulled by the supreme court which cited irregularities in the voters' list. A second attempt to hold the polls on October 19 was thwarted by police after another Supreme Court ruling.

The re-vote finally took place on November 9 and Nasheed again comfortably led in the first round but could not cross the half-way mark, resulting in Saturday's run-off with Yameen. The Commonwealth on Thursday suspended the Maldives from the Commonwealth ministerial action group (CMAG), a first step towards expulsion from the 53-member organization for failing to uphold its shared democratic values. However, following the inauguration of Maldives' new president Yamin, the CMAG removed the country from its formal agenda."

President Yameen immediately stated that the major goal for the country was to secure political stability, then seek to restore an economy that had been shaken by the past year of unrest.

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Male, the capital of Maldives, holds about 1/3 of the total population, was once known as the King's Island, (and looks unreal to Teatree). Photo from ocean.nationalgeographic.com

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Heavily oriented to tourism, this resort also looks amazing and unreal. Photo from 15pictures.com

Issues everywhere.

While Maldives works on rebuilding its image, a recent hubbub implies many matters to deal with. "A newly wed Sikh couple from UK recently went to Maldives for vacation. Upon arrival they discovered Maldives had a policy against the Kirpan. The couple were very distressed as their Kirpans were seized from them by Airport Security. The security informed the couple that Maldives is an Islamic country and serious violations of local laws may lead to a prison sentence. Public observance of any other religion other than Islam is prohibited, including materials deemed contrary to Islam. The security officials referred to the Sikh Kirpan as part of what they considered to be “idols for worship."

This picture shows the geography of islands sprinkled within the national boundaries. Photo from http://www.sikh24.com.

What is a Kirpan?

This is a kirpan, worn by baptized Sikhs. Photo from torontosun.com (Teatree thinks Maldive security might have a case ...)

Western bikinis are apparently not religious

Photo from www.maldiveisle.com

Pakistan and Afghanistan linked by latest militant death

While the devastating cyclone that ravaged The Philippines was appropriately the focus of media coverage, a pair of deaths in Pakistan this past week highlighted one of the most enduring and foreboding global trouble-spots.

In Pakistan, a US drone strike on November 1, killed Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a compound in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal district. According to an AFP news article, "The death of its young, energetic leader represents a major setback for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a coalition of factions behind some of the most high-profile attacks to hit Pakistan in recent years."

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The recently deceased Hakimulla Mehsud who had been under a US$5 million dollar bounty) - photo from the Voice of America new agency

Mehsud was the head of the ultra-extremist Taliban coalition, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The killing angered Pakistan officials who had hoped to begin peace talks with this group. And in quick response, the TTP leadership selected an even more extreme replacement, Mullah Fazlullah. There apparently was some resistance among the 40-plus governing council members to the choice, but that is likely to be expected in a fractious, murderous coalition of men who wish not only to themselves live in the 12th century but impose their vision on the rest of us.

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The new TTP commander, Mullah Fazlullah, is the notorious leader of the men who shot teenage activist Malala Yousafzai last year -

With that death and aftermath past, another Islamic fundamentalist leader, Nasiruddin Haqqani, was killed in Pakistan in the past few days. This time, it was not a lethal drone strike from the air, but from a gunman on a motorcycle in the town of Islamabad itself, Pakistan's capital. Haqqani had close ties to the Taliban in Afghanistan, and his faction, the Haqqani network, is considered by the International Security Forces there one of most formidable foes in that country.

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Nothing new here, a list of competing extremist factions in Afghanistan - graphic from wikipedia

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Much more difficult to find are graphics showing just how little or much control there is in Pakistan by the government or extremists - map from www.cimicweb.org

Questions are being posed:

What was Haqqani doing in Islamabad?

Just as Pakistan was embarrassed when Osama bin laden was found hiding within a mile of Pakistan's foremost military academy, the Haqqani killing in the capital city has raised again the accusations that Pakistan's armed forces and intelligence services are severely compromised with the presence of extremists and mixed loyalties.

Is this killing a precursor of conflict within the broader extremist coalition?

Apparently, relations between the Haqqani network and the TTP have been never been close, and most recent increasingly tense. Furthermore, an article in the Christian Science Monitor noted, "Just last week, The New York Times reported on emerging fractures in the Haqqani network at home in Afghanistan.
…[M]urmurs of discontent have broken out on the Haqqanis’ home turf. As the Haqqanis themselves — Jalaluddin and Sirajuddin, his son, who now leads the group — shelter across the border in Pakistan, support has turned to resentment in some corners.
Most startlingly, leaders of Mr. Haqqani’s native Zadran tribe in Khost Province say they have formally broken with the feared militant network. “The tribe now understands who Mr. Haqqani works for,” said Faisal Rahim, a former Haqqani commander and head of the Zadran Tribal Council, referring to Pakistan’s support for the network. “His war is not a holy war. It’s a war for dollars, for Pakistani rupees and for power.”

And now a book ban?

To conclude the disturbing set of events, a book written by Malala Yousafzai, the 14-yr old girl shot for attending school, has been banned in Pakistan. From the UK Daily mail, "Education officials in Pakistan have banned the memoir of Malala Yousafzai, the teenager shot by the Taliban, from 40,000 schools as she 'represents the West'.

I Am Malala - apparently a troubling book that is dangerous to read, according the Pakistan's education establishment.

Adeeb Javedani, president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, said his group had banned the book from the libraries of all affiliated schools. He said Malala, 16, was representing the West, not Pakistan."

So, it is possible that the recent drone strike and the more recent assassination of Haqqani is ushering in a more open inter-faction conflict, as well as a more extremist ideology (if that is possible). All of this is occurring within Pakistan which possesses nuclear weapons, even as ISAF forces in Afghanistan prepare to leave by the end of 2014. Pakistan, based on a prominent education official's decision on a book, also faces continued challenges to what sort of society it wishes to build ...

Not a particularly positive trajectory...

Some hope in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Teatree last posted on the DRC nearly two years ago - 11/27/11 - which by and large remains a troubled, anarchic nation-state, at least in much of the east of this huge African country (2/3rds the size of Western Europe and 1/3the size of the US) with a population of 75 million.

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The DRC compared to Western Europe - graphic from the BBC

The DRC compared to the US - graphic from www.reddit.com

The news this week is that the nation's military supported by UN forces have beaten the main rebel group in the east of the country, the M23, in a series of battles, now taking all towns once controlled the group. The M23, in turn, have offered a cease-fire.

In a recent BBC article, "Last Monday the UN special envoy to DR Congo, Martin Kobler, said the group was all but finished as a military threat in DR Congo. His comments came after government forces captured five rebel-held areas, including one where the rebels had a big military training camp. ... The government forces have been backed by a UN intervention brigade deployed earlier this year to confront the M23 and other armed groups.

The rebels briefly occupied the eastern Congolese city of Goma in November 2012 before pulling out under international pressure. The M23 rebel movement is named after a 23 March 2009 peace deal that ended four years of rebellion in eastern DR Congo."

So we shall see whether there has finally been a significant breakthrough of this most recent flareup of conflict in the rich country. The current rebel group is only the latest of a string of separatists in the long running war which, since 1998 has resulted in nearly 5.5 million deaths. The conflict itself is a consequence of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that ended with nearly 1 million killed in a three month period.

For a sorry look back on the tragedy of this country, read DR Congo: Cursed by its natural wealth at www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24396390

The presence of a UN Force Intervention Brigade (FIB)was a first for the international agency that usually does not receive authority to enter into offensive operations. According to an article at www.defenceweb.co.za, "The FIB is the first UN peacekeeping force to ever be given an offensive mandate. It is under the command of Tanzanian Brigadier James Mwakibolwa and the more than 3000 strong brigade is made up of soldiers from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania."

A few pictures of this land and its people in the heart of Africa ...

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Beautiful terraced land is testimony to the small landowner diligently at work, and the roads a testimony to the lack of investment in infrastructure. Photo from www.studentsrebuild.org which is a Care website with lots of pictures of its own ...

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Women in their colorful wraps - a French speaking country, with lots of tribal languages(though one wonders why these words are in English ...). Over 800,000 Congolese are internally displaced in the east of the country, with entrenched poverty, ever-present sickness, and insecurity the unfortunate consequences. Photo from endgenocide.org

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As so often, lots of small groups quietly working at local improvement. Photo from womenthrive.org

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Such richness, beauty, isolation, and potential! Photo from www.algybrinton.com