JCCI ask Abe to join TPP talks

Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry approached PM Abe  wants the government to declare as soon as possible that the country will join negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.
JCCI made this requests in a letter delivered to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by its chairman Tadashi Okamura on Friday.
United States and ten other countries are already negotiating the TPP FTA agreement.
Japan not yet decided either to join the talks.
The  former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda said in 2011 that Japan would begin consultations with the countries involved in the talks.

Japan objects to China’s continental shelf claim

Posted on December 29, 2012 by sagarmedia

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Japan has filed an objection at the United Nations over China’s application to extend its continental shelf to areas including the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
The Japanese government on Friday submitted a document to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, asking it not to screen China’s application.
The Japanese document says Japan and China first need to set boundaries over the continental shelf in the East China Sea according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It says screening of applications to extend a continental shelf requires agreement by all coastal countries according to international law.
The Chinese government submitted its application to the UN commission on December 14th.
The document argues that the continental shelf in the East China Sea extends from the Chinese mainland to the Okinawa Trough, where the Senkaku Island chain is located.
The Senkakus are controlled by Japan but are claimed by China and Taiwan.
Based on this extension, China sets part of the outer limit of its continental shelf.

Italy's Monti to lead new coalition in polls

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti says he will lead a new centrist coalition in the upcoming parliamentary elections to continue his reform policy.Monti submitted his resignation last week after losing support from the center-right party led by his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi. A general election will be held in late February.

Monti on Friday met officials of centrist parties. He later told a news conference that he is aiming for a second mandate in office.Monti said Italy needs a political coalition that is directed at Europe and at reform instead of the traditional axis of right and left.The main issue in the election will be whether to continue Monti's fiscal consolidation and structural reform policies.

Polls show the center-left Democratic Party has the highest support. The party places importance on economic growth while rebuilding public finances.Then comes the Five Star Movement, which opposes the austerity measures, and Berlusconi's People of Freedom party.Another poll shows a majority of respondents don't want Monti to remain, due partly to the austerity measures.media agencies

"Damini" the brave soul awakens the nation

Damini succumbs to injuries at multi-organ transplant Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore the body to be flown back tonight.Back home "Damini" the brave soul awakens the nation.
E Media is  reporting  each moment of people voice and raise Q of accountability, stringent laws, fast-track courts  to take up the rape cases on priority which happen every hr across the nation, need goverance action and attention to liberate the women from the clutches parochial society. Damini  23-year-old victim of the brutal gang rape and assault in Delhi that had triggered an outrage across India died early Saturday morning in Singapore after putting up a brave battle for life for nearly a fortnight.

The girl, who was admitted to the well-known multi-organ transplant facility Mount Elizabeth Hospital here on Thursday morning in an extremely critical condition, breathed her last at 4:45 AM (2:15 AM India time).

She was earlier treated at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.

Meanwhile, an Air India aircraft has been chartered by the government and sent to Singapore to bring back the body of the gangrape victim and her family members to New Delhi.

The chartered plane, an Airbus A-319, left the IGI Airport at 0800 hours for Singapore and expected to return around 2000 hours tonight after taking off from there around 1700 hours local time, Air India officials said.

"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4.45am on 29 Dec 2012 (Singapore time)," the hospital's Chief Executive Officer Dr Kelvin Loh said in a statement.

"Her family and officials from the High Commission of India were by her side. The Mount Elizabeth Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning her loss," the statement said.

The body has been moved to the mortuary in the Singapore General Hospital and will be flown back to India by a chartered plane.

Accompanied by her family, the body is expected to arrive in Delhi in the night.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of political leaders condoled the death of the girl and paid rich tributes to the victim of the sexual assault for her brave fight.

"Damini" was raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus by six men in Delhi on 16^th December and thrown out along with her companion.

Indian High Commissioner T C A Raghavan told reporters that the family was yet to decide on the plans for the last rites back home.

He said the "Damini" fought a brave battle till the end. She was brought to Singapore for being provided good medical treatment.

The envoy "The family is shattered by this development. At the same time, they realised that best possible medical attention was given. And in the end it was the scale of injuries that proved too much for the medical attention provided to her".

He said the final few hours was a trying time for the girl's family and they bore the entire process with a great deal of fortitude and courage.

Raghavan said he has passed on the condolence message of the Prime Minister to the family in which he had spoken of the desire to make India a demonstrably better and safe place for women to live in.

Raghavan said the High Commission has received numerous messages from various quarters including the Singapore government deeply mourning the death.

He appreciated the help extended by the Singapore Foreign Ministry, the government and the Mount Elizabeth Hospital for all their support in the last two days.

Replying to questions on the shifting of the girl from Delhi to Singapore, he said consultations were held between doctors of Safdarjung hospital and Mount Elizabeth Hospital and they must have given full thought to it before taking it.

Asked whether doctors felt that she could have died to her shift from Delhi to Singapore, Raghavan said "no such sentiments was expressed to me.

Both the doctors (P K Verma of Safdarjung and Yatin Mehta of Medanta Medicity) said she was very badly injured in the assault of December 16 night".

He said the best possible treatment was given to the girl in Delhi and in Singapore and the cause of her death was "the injuries she sustained".

"All possible medical efforts were made to treat the injuries. The efforts were not successful in helping her to overcome the injuries," he said. Declining to go into the details of the family, he said they had requested that the privacy of their identity be protected.

Meanwhile, the hospital added: "We are humbled by the privilege of being tasked to care for her in her final struggle. We acknowledge the faith the Indian Government and the patient's family have placed with us to ensure the best care possible was indeed provided to her at Mount Elizabeth Hospital".

"We share their huge sadness at her passing and will work with the High Commission of India to provide the family support in this time of grief," said Dr Loh.

Late last night, the hospital said the condition of the rape victim had taken a "turn for the worse". "As of 9 pm (6:30 PM IST), the patient's condition has taken a turn for the worse. Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure," Loh had said in a statement.

"This is despite doctors fighting for her life including putting her on maximum artificial ventilation support, optimal antibiotic doses as well as stimulants which maximise her body's capability to fight infections," the CEO had said.

During her treatment in Safdarjung Hospital, the girl's condition had recorded several ups and downs. Three days after the attack, her gangrenous intestine was removed.

The beastial attack on the girl and her male friend in the bus had sparked off protests by students and women activists which took a violent turn in the capital last Saturday and Sunday.

Death for rapists was one of the demands of the protesters and the victim's demise could trigger fresh display of emotions on the streets.

A series of peaceful marches and protests were on Saturday held in the capital, including one at Jantar Mantar, to mourn the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim even as India Gate and Raisina Hill were kept out of bounds for people.

Policemen were deployed in strength in and around India Gate and Raisina Hill as well as other parts of the capital to ensure that the protests remain peaceful besides shutting down of Delhi Metro stations near the war memorial.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit requested Home Minister SushilKumar Shinde to lift restrictions on holding peaceful demonstration in memory of the victim in and around India Gate.

In one of the protests, JNU students marched from their campus to Munirka bus stop from where the girl boarded the bus in which she was gangraped and brutally assaulted on December 16 allegedly by six men.

The students announced that they will hold a night vigil at the same spot on New Year Eve demanding strong laws to punish sexual offenders.

Activists of Left parties staged a peace march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar led by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat. She said there was a need for fixing accountability.

"Unless we do this, such incidents will repeat," she said. Asked about sexist comments by politicians, she said it shows the mindset of people and that "action should be taken against them in Parliament".

At Jantar Mantar, a number of people sat on a silent protest.

However, later there were sloganeering and demands for immediate punishment of the culprits. The mourners also protested against the security lock down of India Gate and Raisina Hill where violent demonstrations were witnessed last weekend over the rape.

People started gathering at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi at around 10 AM and sat in silence.CM Delhi was not allowed to speak to the protesters.

Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas joined the protest along with some of their supporters with their mouth tied with black cloth.Kejriwal tweeted, "her death is a matter of shame and sorrow for all of us. Let's resolve that we will not let her death go in vain.”

In tweets, activist Kiran Bedi said, "today is a day of reflection and personal audit on the way we as parents and teachers are grooming boys in this country.

"Today is day of mourning on lives we have lost because of failure of our criminal justice system and resolve to not fail it in future. Today is a day to also reflect the way we project our women in media," she said.

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Dec 29 Vol 01, Issue 1114 TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES 63rd Sr Natl Basketball tips off in Punjab In all 46 teams, 25 men and 21 women are participating in the country’s top most competition played on League–cum–Knock-out basis WWE takes $45m hit as video game publisher THQ goes bust WWE is an "unsecured creditor holding a claim of approximately $45 million reflecting the entirety of the existing multi-year agreement" with THQ Gold Coast releases its vision, mission and objectives for CWG 2018 Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation targeting a $2 billion economic benefit and the creation of up to 30,000 full time equivalent jobs QPR to select 2 Indian talents from Mumbai Milind Deora Soccer Championship 2012 reaches climax, QPR FC’s head of academy Richard Allen to conduct football camp for 24 boys and 6 girls selected from this year’s tourney NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS, HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT There will be no Edition of the SportzPower Daily or The SportzPower Evening Edition on Monday, 31 December 2012 and Tuesday, 1 January 2013. We wish all our patrons best wishes for the New Year as we look forward to a super successful 2013 for the Indian Sports Sector. 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FROM THE HOME PAGE   VIEW POINT Why Pepsi and Aircel should be worried SPORTZPOWER VIEW - It will do no good for these big brands and similar others associated with the IPL to be seen supporting an event which is perceived as the root cause for the falling standards of the game, leading to national shame COMMMENTARY A Word About The Pause Ability value of the pause. It illuminates perspectives, on how even in a high adrenaline laced environment, there is always more time than one thinks one has

A moment of national grief and shame

A moment of national grief and shame

The girl who became the symbol of women’s insecurity and their courage is no more. This is a moment of national grief. The nation joins her family and friends in remembering an extra-ordinary woman who resisted a dastardly assault, who fought back and nearly won an impossible battle with death, who demanded nothing but justice from her death bed. This is also a moment of national shame.  We as a nation have failed to provide conditions in which women can lead a normal life without being subjected to indignities. We as a society have failed to evolve a culture of respect and equality for women. We as a democratic country have failed to secure elementary right to dignified life for women citizens. This is a moment of national anguish, a moment to think about thousands of lives that could have been saved, a moment to register the pain and humiliation that women have to go through every day.

This event and the subsequent developments have no doubt generated widespread outrage and justified anger. But today we must convert this into a positive resolve. Let us all resolve that we shall convert this moment into a movement to end all forms of violence against women. Let us ensure that perpetrators of this and all similar crimes get exemplary punishment, that all the laws related to violence against women are reviewed and amended, that the law and order machine and the criminal justice system is more sensitive and responsive to women, that all the systemic flaws which make such incidents possible are corrected. She is no more with us and there is nothing we can do about it, but let us ensure that no other woman meets her fate. Let NO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN be our national new year’s resolution.

Aam Adami Party stands by her family, friends and the extended national family she acquired over the last fortnight in this moment of grief. We call upon our volunteers to join the people assembled at Jantar Mantar today. We shall wear black band across our lips as a mark of respect to a national hero.  We call upon everyone to desist from any form of verbal or physical violence that would not be in keeping with the occasion and go against our resolve to end violence against women.