APEC leaders agree to address ‘unfair trade practices’

DANANG, Vietnam - Asia-Pacific leaders on Saturday agreed to address "unfair trade practices" and urgently called for the removal of "market distorting subsidies," in contrast to communiques they have issued in the past.

A joint statement issued by 21 countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) following their meeting in Vietnam showed the influence of United States President Donald Trump, who has vowed to rewrite trade pacts he sees as unfavorable to the United States.

"We will work together to make trade more inclusive, support improved market access opportunities, and address unfair trade practices," the statement read.

"We urgently call for the removal of market-distorting subsidies and other types of support by governments and related entities."

In the statement, the leaders also agreed on the need to improve the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) "negotiating, monitoring and dispute settlement functions." The 2016 statement was not critical of WTO.

Also in contrast to last year's statement which made no mention of bilateral trade, the leaders noted the "importance of bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements."

The change in the trade language shows the influence of Trump's "America First" policy. Trump has said he prefers to do bilateral trade deals, and in one of his first acts as president pulled the United States out of the ambitious Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

Ahead of his trip to Asia, Trump last week called the US trade deficit with China "embarrassing" and "horrible".

A separate joint statement was issued by APEC ministers earlier on Saturday, three days later than planned because of wrangling over traditional language that the United States wanted to change.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Obama says Trump doesn't know much about foreign policy

WASHINGTON, United States - President Barack Obama scathingly dismissed White House hopeful Donald Trump's foreign policy proposals on Friday and warned that the world was watching the upcoming US election.

At the end of a summit on nuclear security that Obama hosted in Washington, he was asked about Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea develop their own nuclear weapons.

"The statements you mentioned, what do they tell us?" Obama demanded, rhetorically.

"They tell us the person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean peninsula or the world generally."

Trump, the Republican frontrunner, says he wants US allies to pay for more of their own defense and allow costly American forces to disengage from their regions.

Obama damned this as naive and an abdication of American leadership that would upset close allies and make the world a more dangerous place.

"I've said before that, you know, people pay attention to American elections. What we do is really important to the rest of the world," he said.

"Our alliance with Japan and the Republic of Korea is one of the foundations, one of the cornerstones of our presence in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

"It has underwritten the peace and prosperity of that region. It has been an enormous boon to American commerce and American influence," he said.

The US alliance has brought peace to countries that had fought fierce wars in the past.

"So you don't mess with that. It's an investment that rests on the sacrifices that our men and women made back in World War II when they were fighting throughout the Pacific.

"And we don't want somebody in the Oval Office who doesn't recognize how important that is."

Obama added that concern about Trump's comments had come up on the sidelines of his summit meetings with world leaders.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

French chefs cook up a storm for climate

LE BOURGET, France - France pulled out its culinary big guns Monday for one of the greatest kitchen challenges ever: cooking lunch for the largest one-day gathering of world leaders in history.

Five chefs, each awarded stars by the demanding judges of the Michelin food guide, joined forces for a gastronomic tour de force to defend France's culinary reputation at a climate summit in Paris.

Undaunted by the challenge of catering to banquets with their familiar perils of rubber chicken and agonisingly long waits, the quintet sought to tempt the palates of 150 leaders, from US President Barack Obama to China's President Xi Jinping or Russia's Vladimir Putin.

"It was a very good lunch, a surprising lunch, very friendly and relaxed," Albanian President Bujar Nishani told AFP after leaving his table.

Judging his meal "very tasty and delicious", Nishani said his lunch was prepared with organic foods, "which go very well with this climate summit".

Albania’s leader said he washed lunch down with a glass of champagne to celebrate "cooperation and friendship".

He was among the 170 guests, including the leaders, to be wined and dined at the heavily-guarded Le Bourget conference centre on the northern outskirts of Paris.

Diners sat at 20 tables, the Elysee presidential palace said.

President Francois Hollande hosted the likes of Obama, Putin, Xi, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the table of honour.

- 'Impress with our cooking' -

All the dishes left the kitchen for the tables in less than an hour so as not to delay leaders trying to avert a global climate catastrophe, said Guy Krenzer, of the fine-food Paris caterer, Lenotre.

All five Michelin-starred chefs -- Yannick Alleno, Alexandre Gauthier, Nicolas Masse, Marc Veyrat and Christelle Brua -- volunteered their services for the 75-minute meal, which broke more than 12 hours of back-to-back speeches by leaders and was accompanied, naturellement, by the finest French wines.

"A lunch reflecting France's environmental and gastronomic excellence... but without ostentation," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the president of the conference, told reporters on Sunday as he described his hopes for the meal.

The feasting began with a "Modern Freneuse turnip soup with scallops cooked in floral steam", followed by "Free-range poultry from Licques, stuffed celery preserve with truffles and parsleyed creamed spinach," according to the menu.

The cheese course was an organic Reblochon from France's Mont Blanc region, and dessert a traditional Paris Brest cake with stewed citrus fruit and a "light praline cream".

The wine selection included a white Meursault 1er Cru "Santenots" 2011, a red Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Chateau Beychevelle 2009, and the Champagne a Philipponnat Cuvee 1522 -- with a fruit juice option for those averse.

"There are no showy or very expensive ingredients," said Alleno, the three-starred chef who presides over the kitchens of the Restaurant Ledoyen on the Champs Elysee before the lunch.

"We will aim to impress with our cooking instead."

Meanwhile, in the centre of Paris, President Francois Hollande chose to entertain Obama not in the gilt splendour of the Elysee Palace, but at L'Ambroisie, a restaurant with three Michelin stars in the Place des Vosges square.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and US Secretary of State John Kerry were among 14 people who sat down to dinner at the exclusive eatery.

Established in the fashionable Marais quarter in 1986 by Bernard Pacaud and his son Mathieu, L'Ambroisie is considered a leader in classic French gastronomy, say food critics.

Its regular items include chestnut soup with a velvet mousse, sole braised in yellow win e with white truffles and langoustine feuillantine, Le Figaro said in a 2013 review.

"The bill is quite hefty -- expect around 350 euros ($369) a head... but it was good," the conservative daily opined.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Protesters push leaders to avert climate catastrophe

PARIS, France - Masses of people joined a worldwide wave of marches on Saturday demanding leaders craft a pact to avert a climate catastrophe when they gather in a still-shaken Paris.

From Australia to New Zealand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Japan, people rallied at the start of a weekend of popular protests pleading for world powers to overcome the logjams when the UN climate summit officially opens in the French capital Monday.

"Protect our common home," declared placards held aloft as thousands gathered in Melbourne, with those sentiments echoed also on the streets of Johannesburg and Edinburgh.

Some 150 leaders, including US President Barack Obama, China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, will attend the start of the Paris conference, which is tasked with reaching the first truly universal climate pact.

The goal is to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), perhaps less, over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by curbing fossil fuel emissions blamed for climate change.

If they fail, scientists warn of a world that will be increasingly inhospitable to human life, with superstorms, drought and rising sea levels that swamp vast areas of land.

On the eve of Saturday's protests, French President Francois Hollande warned of the obstacles ahead for the 195 nations following more than two decades of bickering.

"Man is the worst enemy of man. We can see it with terrorism," said Hollande, who spoke after leading ceremonies in Paris to mourn the victims of the deadly November 13 bombing and shooting attacks that sowed terror in the French capital.

"But we can say the same when it comes to climate. Human beings are destroying nature, damaging the environment. It is therefore for human beings to face up to their responsibilities for the good of future generations."

- Compromise call -

Potential stumbling blocks in Paris abound, ranging from financing for climate-vulnerable countries to scrutiny of commitments to curb greenhouse gases and even the legal status of the accord.

The last attempt to forge a global deal -- the ill-tempered 2009 Copenhagen summit -- foundered upon divisions between rich and poor countries.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he was optimistic of success in the talks, which are due to end on December 11, but emphasised all sides must be prepared to compromise.

"I am urging the world leaders that they must agree on the middle ground, there is no such perfect agreement in this world," Ban told France 24 television on Saturday.

Briefing reporters at the summit venue, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius highlighted four key issues still dividing nations but also voiced optimism about success.

He pointed out the number of nations that had submitted plans on how they intended to fight climate change -- a key part of the planned Paris agreement -- had risen to 183 and covered 95 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

"This is extremely good news," he told reporters.

Speaking alongside Fabius, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the voluntary carbon-curbing pledges would still put Earth on track for warming of between 2.7 and 3.5 C.

While emphasising this was not nearly enough, Figueres said the pledges had moved the world away from warming of up to six degrees.

"That is fundamental progress," she said, adding the Paris agreement could "chart the path" for continued improvement in the years ahead to keep warming to between 1.5 and 2 degrees C.

The diverse group of 53 Commonwealth nations, which represents a third of the world's population, also pledged Saturday to work for an ambitious and legally binding Paris agreement.

Commonwealth leaders issued the statement after holding their biennial summit in Malta, where they also agreed to set up a billion-dollar "Green Finance Facility" for environmental projects.

- Human chain after Paris attacks -
Protest organisers say they expect hundreds of thousands to take to the streets globally this weekend, with rallies planned for Sunday in Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Kiev and Mexico City.

In Paris, French authorities cancelled two demonstrations following the onslaught by gunmen and suicide bombers which killed 130 people at restaurant terraces, a concert hall and the national stadium on November 13.

People rallying this weekend have declared their solidarity with activists unable to rally in Paris with a social media campaign tagged #march4me.

Activists still plan to create a two-kilometre (1.2-mile) human chain along the original march route on Sunday.

They will break the chain as they pass the Bataclan concert hall, where the worst violence claimed 90 lives, as a mark of respect to the victims.

Protesters also plan to leave scores of shoes on Place de la Republique square to symbolise the thousands left frustrated in their plans to march.

In a sign of the urgency of the talks, the start of the climate negotiations themselves, conducted by bureaucrats, were brought forward to Sunday on the eve of the official opening.

The Paris conference will gather some 40,000 people, including 10,000 delegates from 195 countries.

About 2,800 police and soldiers will secure the conference site, and 6,300 others will deploy in Paris.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama vows effort to eliminate Islamic State

G20 set to agree that migration a global problem

BELEK, Turkey -- U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Sunday to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State in Syria and prevent it from carrying out attacks like those in Paris, while European leaders urged Russia to focus its military efforts on the radical Islamists.

Speaking at a G20 leaders summit in Turkey, Obama described the killings in Paris claimed by Islamic State as an attack on the civilised world and said the United States would work with France to hunt down those responsible.

The two-day summit brings Obama and fellow world leaders just 500 km from Syria, where a four-and-a-half-year conflict has transformed Islamic State into a global security threat and spawned Europe's largest migration flows since World War Two.

"Traditionally the G20 has been a forum primarily to discuss economic issues facing the globe ... (but) the sky has been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago," Obama said in a statement after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"The United States and its allies will redouble efforts to find a peaceful solution in Syria and prevent Islamic State militants from perpetrating attacks like those in Paris."

Obama and his Western allies now face the question of how the West should respond after Islamic State again demonstrated it posed a threat far beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

Washington already expects France to retaliate by taking on a larger role in the U.S.-led coalition's bombing campaign against Islamic State.

But European Council President Donald Tusk said Russia too should focus its military operations on Islamic State, rather than on the Syrian opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad, urging cooperation between Washington and Moscow.

"It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh (IS) and for sure the cooperation between the United States and Russia is a crucial one," he said.

Obama-Putin handshake

Russia joined the conflict a month and a half ago with air strikes in Syria, but has been targeting mainly areas controlled by the moderate Syrian opposition fighting Assad, its ally, rather than Islamic State, its critics say.

Turkey and Western allies, by contrast, want Assad out.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed the renewed sense of urgency to find a solution to the war in Syria after the Paris attacks, adding the world had a "rare moment" of diplomatic opportunity to end the violence.

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have no formal bilateral meeting planned. As the leaders moved into place for a group photo on Sunday, Putin approached Obama and they shook hands, exchanging words for only a few brief moments.

Obama is also seeking to coax other European and Middle Eastern countries into more tangible steps to show their military commitment and will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, U.S. officials said. In a call late last month, the two leaders affirmed the need to cooperate in fighting Islamic State.

Obama said he had also discussed in his meeting with Erdogan the progress made by foreign ministers in Vienna, who on Saturday outlined a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, although differences over Assad's fate still remained.

Migration concerns

The coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris on Friday puts Obama and other leaders of the world's major economies under increased pressure to find common cause.

It remains to be seen, however, whether Washington itself has an appetite for much deeper involvement after already stepping up air strikes and committing small numbers of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State.

The Paris carnage, in which 129 people were killed in attacks on a concert hall, restaurants, bars and a sports stadium, also poses a major challenge for Europe, with populist leaders rushing to demand an end to an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

In a diplomatic coup for Europe and for Turkey, the G20 leaders will agree that migration is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters, although it has yet to be accepted by all and is due to be published only on Monday.

Europe and Turkey, the most heavily hit by the crisis, had been pushing for the G20 to recognize the issue as a global problem and help to deal with it financially, despite opposition from China, India and Russia. A million migrants from the Middle East and Africa are expected to come to Europe this year alone.

According to a separate statement due to be released later on Sunday, a draft of which was also seen by Reuters, they also agreed to step up border controls and aviation security in the wake of the Paris attacks, which they condemned as "heinous."

The summit follows not only the Paris attacks but also comes two weeks after a suspected bomb attack on a Russian airliner killed 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula.

It also comes just over a month after two suspected Islamic State suicide bombers blew themselves up in Ankara, killing more than 100 people in Turkey's worst such attack.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

 

 

Toronto Earthquake 2010

An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 was felt in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, as Canada prepares to host Summit 2010 G8/G20 and dozens of world leaders welcome.

The seismic tremor was felt over lunch about 1:45 pm and seems to have lasted for more than 15 seconds. According to geological data the epicenter about 60 kilometers north of the capital in Ottawa Ontario.
In downtown Toronto, the earthquake had a greater impact on the hi-rises, causing more influential than the base of the building that forced some employees to leave their workplace.