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Belarusian T38 Stilet Short-Range Air Defense Missile System

Euclid Tsakalotos, the new Greek finance minister, at Tuesday's eurogroup meeting

Late on Thursday, the Greek government submitted its long-awaited economic reform proposal to go along with Wednesday’s request for a new three-year bailout programme.

The package sent to creditors included three documents: first is a letter from Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, which we’ve posted here; second it a more detailed letter from Euclid Tsakalotos (here), the new finance minister; and the third is what’s called the “prior actions” – a 13-page plan of reform measures that must be completed prior to winning bailout aid (here).

We will more completely gut these documents in the morning, but a few things that stand out. First, none of the documents mentions debt relief. This was a major demand of Yanis Varoufakis, Tsakalotos’ predecessor. And while it is obliquely mentioned in Wednesday’s bailout request, there’s nothing in the documents sent to Brussels Thursday night that mentions the topic.

Instead, what is interesting about both the Tsipras and Tsakalotos letters is their explicit mention of wanting to remain in the EU’s common currency. As Tsipras puts it:

With this proposal, the Greek people and the Greek government confirm their commitment to fulfilling reforms that will ensure Greece remains a member of the Eurozone and ending the economic crisis. The Greek government is committed to fully implementing this reform agenda – starting with immediate actions – as well as to engaging [sic] constructively on the basis of this agenda, in the negotiations for the ESM loan.

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AMENDMENTS 1 - 120 - Draft opinion The prevention of radicalisation and recruitment of the European citizens by fundamentalist movements
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Photo Credit: Daphne Carlson Bremer/USFWS

How Britain and the US decided to abandon Srebrenica to its fate
By Florence Hartmann and Ed Vulliamy
The Guardian

Dubbed the worst massacre in Europe since World War II, the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 has long been considered a stain on Western efforts to secure peace in the Balkans. But another recent investigation sheds new light on the West’s involvement, or lack thereof, during those weeks in July.

Elephant Watch
By Peter Canby
The New Yorker

As demand for ivory in Asia rises, offering more monetary incentives for poachers throughout the region, poachers are going to great lengths to harvest ivory, threatening Africa’s already-dwindling elephant population even further. Canby looks into poaching as it is practiced today in countries like the Central African Republic and the Congo, and profiles the scientists, activists and politicians working to end the noxious practice.

The Rule of Boko Haram
By Joshua Hammer
The New York Review of Books

While it’s one of the wealthiest and most oil-rich countries in Africa, Nigeria has been chasing political stability for quite some time. Corruption and a series of military dictatorships have weakened the country significantly, making the rich richer and the poor much, much poorer. It’s within this context that Boko Haram emerged, with its roots in one of the poorest parts of Nigeria. In this review of Mike Smith’s Boko Haram: Inside Nigeria’s Unholy War, Hammer looks into the terrorist group’s roots, the damage it’s done to the country and the military efforts against it.

Well Aimed and Powerful
By Margaret Lazarus Dean
Longreads

In this excerpt from Dean’s latest book, Leaving Orbit, Dean looks at space travel and the strange phenomenon of moon landing conspiracy theories. In recent years, the theory has, for whatever reason, picked up steam, and a staggering number of “doubters” have come forward. An era of ignorance, it seems, about spaceflight is upon us.

The Mixed Up Brothers of Bogota
By Susan Dominus
The New York Times Magazine

Two sets of fraternal twins; one big mix up. Dominus tells the story of how it happened and how they found out.

Blogs:

The Overlooked Roots of the Greek Crisis by Scott Monje
Unleashing the Patriotic Dragon by Gary Sands
Israel has Hired a Cartoonist by Josh Klemons
The Diplomatic Erosion of the SALT II Treaty: Russia Builds a New ICBM by Richard Basas
Tensions Between Russia and the West Play Out Over Srebrenica by Hannah Gais

A boy at a grave during the 2006 funeral of genocide victims at the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center. Photo Credit: Emir Kotromanić

Twenty years on, one of the largest massacres in Europe since World War II continues to spur controversy, now threatening to further divide Russia and the West.

The event in question is the Srebrenica massacre — the systematic killing of over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in and around Srebrenica in July 1995 during the Bosnian War. Srebrenica, which had been declared a “safe area” under the protection of U.N. peacekeeping units, was stormed by the Bosnia Serb Army (VRS) in the afternoon of July 10, 1995. At the time, U.N. officers in the region put out an urgent call to stop the VRS from overrunning the town. Despite repeated requests, NATO did not attempt to provide air support until July 11. Without substantial assistance, the VRS was able to drive out the U.N. peacekeepers and Dutch forces stationed there and seize the town, killing thousands.

Ten years later, U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan called it “the worst [crime] on European soil since the Second World War.”

Still, whether or not the event should be classified as a genocide continues to be a major point of contention for a number of countries, including some of Serbia’s closest allies. That controversy has reignited over Russia’s veto of a recent U.N. resolution put forward to the U.N. Security Council for a vote on Wednesday. The resolution would have formally recognized the massacre as a genocide on the eve of its 20th anniversary.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., accused the resolution of being “not constructive, confrontational and politically-motivated.” He further argued that the text, at least as it stands now, would “doom the region to tension” because it singled out war crimes committed by Bosnian Serbs.

But a number of Western diplomats have taken issue with Churkin’s characterization of the resolution, particularly because the vote had actually been delayed in order for British, American and Russian diplomats to come to a compromise on some of the language.

“We had very, very close contact with the Russians throughout all of this. Indeed, we would’ve held this debate yesterday — we postponed it for a day in order to allow for last-minute consultations with the Russians to try and get the widest support possible for this resolution,” Peter Wilson, the U.K. ambassador deputy permanent representative to the U.N., told the BBC.

“People recognize that you can’t make progress in the way that Bosnia-Herzegovina needs to make progress if you don’t recognize what happened in the past.”

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., took an even more aggressive stance, saying, “Russia’s veto is heartbreaking for those families and it is a further stain on this Council’s record.”

“This Council did everything in its power to get Russia on board with this simple resolution that did not even name the perpetrators. But Russia had a red line; the resolution could not reference the genocide in Srebrenica. It could not reference a fact.”

These diplomatic efforts aside, Russia’s veto is not tremendously surprising. Russia and Serbia are close allies. Both Putin and Medvedev have repeatedly backed Serbia’s condemnations of Kosovo’s independence, calling its efforts “immoral and illegal.” Still, with Serbia sniffing out a possible EU membership, Russia does have some cause for concern. It has seen other former Soviet satellite states fall out of its sphere of influence and gravitate toward the West. Fears of Serbia doing the same are not unfounded. Backing Serbia and its narrative about Srebrenica (Serbia denies the killings were genocidal in nature) is one way to try and keep the country in Russia’s orbit.

On Thursday, July 9th, IPI together with Oceans Beyond Piracy cohosted a two-panel event on Pan-African Maritime Goals for 2050, following the 18th Plenary Meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS). The event was in support of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on Maritime Security and Development for Africa, organized by the African Union and the Republic of Togo in Lomé, Togo, November 2–7, 2015.

Click here to view Panel 1 on YouTube>>
Click here to view Panel 2 on YouTube>>

The first panel focused on Africa’s maritime opportunities and was moderated by Ambassador John L. Hirsch, Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute. Speakers included H.E. Mr. Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Togo, who will focus on the African Maritime Summit; and Ambassador Téte António, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations, who spoke about the “2015–2025 Decade of African Seas and Oceans.” The panel was followed by a question-and-answer session.

The second panel focused on support for the African Maritime Summit. It was moderated by Samuel Kame-Domguia, Strategic Planner for the African Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIM 2050), from the African Union Commission. Speakers included: Véronique Roger-Lacan, Ambassador, Special Representative in charge of the fight against maritime piracy, France; Robert Mazurek, Director, Secure Fisheries; and John Steed, Senior Maritime Expert and Government Mentor—Global Maritime Crime Program, UNODC Global Maritime Crime. Concluding remarks were given by H.E. Mr. Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Togo.

This event is an important step in the preparation for the upcoming African Maritime Summit, where the heads of state and government of the fifty-four countries in the African Union will meet in Lomé, Togo, on November 7, 2015. The Summit will focus on actionable progress for Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIMS) that was adopted in 2012 and will address two main objectives: the fight against maritime insecurity in Africa and the promotion of the “Blue Economy.”

Related coverage:
The paradigm shift in sea piracy (American Journal of Transportation, July 27, 2015)
Global group concerned over rising piracy in SEA (BA Reports, July 13, 2015)
Netherlands to pursue ‘thorough investigation’ into downed MH17 flight (Borneo Post Online, January 22, 2015)

Outre les probables rebondissements du feuilleton grec, deux événements européens et internationaux sont à noter : la conférence d'Addis Abeba sur le financement du développement et la tenue d'un nouveau round de négociations sur le TTIP.

Students and pro-democracy activists were among those who marched to the Hong Kong government’s headquarters to protest the new curriculum, which authorities are encouraging schools to begin using when classes resume in September. Students and pro-democracy activists marching to the Hong Kong government’s headquarters in 2012 to protest the new patriotic curriculum. Vincent Yu / The Associated Press

An exhibition to commemorate the World War II victory over Japan is Beijing’s latest attempt to prop up nationalism and is part of a greater effort at patriotism that could eventually backfire. The “Great Victory and Historical Contribution” exhibition opened on Tuesday at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing. The opening marked the 78th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, regarded as the first battle of the second Sino-Japanese war. The exhibition was visited later that day by Chinese President Xi Jinping and all of the top leadership of the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee.

The exhibition comes at a time when relations between Beijing and Tokyo have soured over the last few years, largely as a result of Beijing’s dissatisfaction with the depth of Japanese apologies for war suffering and heightened tensions over competing claims to islands in the East China Sea, alternatively known as the Diaoyu or Senkaku. Beijing also frets over Japan’s recent constitutional push for greater militarism, while Tokyo claims Beijing is becoming more aggressive in asserting its maritime territorial claims.

While the exhibition includes the usual weaponry and gruesome photos, it differs little from similar war-time exhibitions found in other countries, as it is intended to serve as propaganda for furthering patriotic education. Yet the seemingly harmless exhibition can be viewed as but one in a series of efforts toward the promotion of nationalism, following last year’s creation by Xi of three new annual national holidays linked to the war. Also this week, Beijing announced on Monday the staging of 183 war-themed performances, and the screening of new movies, television shows, and documentaries intended “to increase patriotism.” Beijing will also hold a military parade in September to mark the anniversary of the end of the war in Asia.

Unfortunately, the enhanced drive by Beijing to create nationalists and promote citizen patriotism has worrisome parallels to its attempt to promote stock ownership among its citizens. The party’s attempt at hyping stock ownership and propping up share values has only increased expectations of higher and unreasonable returns, as the average price-earnings ratio reached 64 for the Shenzhen exchange (anything above 25 is considered expensive). These high valuations eventually proved unsustainable, with fears causing the markets to crash over 30 percent from their peak on June 12 and forcing Beijing to restrict trading in close to half of the market’s shares. The inability of Beijing to impose effective stabilization measures to limit the downward spiral of share selling has many Chinese now wondering just how effective their government is at overall control measures.

Could the same downward spiral happen because of rising nationalism? Were changes to the Japan constitution to allow for greater militarization, could Tokyo seek to aggressively assert its claim over the Senkaku island chain, thereby prompting a strong (and face-saving) response from Beijing? With growing patriotism and today’s social networking capabilities, angry nationalistic mobs could rise up more quickly and coordinated in provinces and cities throughout China. We have already witnessed rampant Chinese nationalism against the Japanese in recent years, as patriotic citizens burned a Panasonic factory in Qingdao, looted a Toyota dealership and Japanese restaurants, and torched Japanese-branded cars (being made in China by Chinese workers). Meanwhile, Chinese fishermen have amassed in huge flotillas to challenge fishing rights in disputed waters.

Xi’s willingness to foster a greater patriotism among his citizens is a method copied from Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution with his backing of the Red Guards. The growth of nationalism and the encouragement of a New Red Guard in China is potentially as dangerous, as it raises expectations which may spiral out of control. Growing nationalism and subsequent support for Chinese companies vis-a-vis foreign companies (through increased regulation) also has the potential to scare off new foreign direct investment. Japanese manufacturers are already reconsidering investing in China and other countries may follow.

While the excesses of Mao’s Red Guard cannot currently compare with the patriotic fervor Xi has begun to promote, China is not strengthening its cause by encouraging these nationalistic forces to draw attention in international media and is failing to draw international sympathy for its cause. Instead, China is heightening anxieties among neighboring nations and inadvertently stoking the nationalist fires of other countries who are racing to upgrade their military capabilities. By firing up nationalism, the party is shooting itself in the foot as it weakens its ability to partner with these countries (and others not directly involved in maritime territorial disputes) to secure the resources it needs for its somewhat diminished, but continued, growth.

This escalation of nationalism will no doubt backfire as countries realize the extent the party will go to in order to secure its own interest — to the detriment of its trade partners. Perhaps most importantly, though, the party must be careful not to raise the nationalistic expectations of its patriotic populace in similar ways it raised the materialistic expectations of its profiteering populace — witness the recent anger and resentment over the all-powerful party’s inability to stem losses on the Shanghai and Shenzen stock markets. The new party leadership under Xi should reconsider its approach to promoting nationalism, in light of its failure to control the stock markets, and reign in its latest effort to promote nationalism, for as Mao Zedong once said, “It only takes a spark to start a prairie fire.”

 

Combien les Etats européens dépensent-ils pour les retraites de leurs citoyens ? A quel point la part du PIB consacrée aux pensions est-elle disparate ? Un comparatif pour éclairer le débat récurrent sur la réforme des retraites.

Plenary sessions : MEPs call, in four separate resolutions, for the withdrawal of the Cambodian government's law on NGOs and trade unions; the release of Yves Makwambala and Fred Bauma in the DRC; the release of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain; and of two Christian pastors detained in Sudan, Michael Yat and Peter Yen Reith.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs call, in four separate resolutions, for the withdrawal of the Cambodian government's law on NGOs and trade unions; the release of Yves Makwambala and Fred Bauma in the DRC; the release of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain; and of two Christian pastors detained in Sudan, Michael Yat and Peter Yen Reith.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The 10 films competing for this year's Lux Prize have been revealed at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, including five by first-time directors, a mix of genres and the selection's first-ever Icelandic film. The European Parliament awards the prize to the best European film every year. At the end of the month it will be announced which three films have been short-listed for the finals, meaning they will also be screened all over the EU as part of the Lux Film Days.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Általános : Nemes László Saul fia című filmje is bekerült a Lux-díj 2015-ös elődöntősei közé. A tíz film listáját a Karlovy Vary-i Nemzetközi Filmfesztiválon hirdették ki, július végén közülük kerül ki a három döntős, amelyeket aztán Európa-szerte játszanak majd a mozik. A Lux-díj az Európai Parlament filmdíja, amelynek célja az európai mozi népszerűsítése.

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2015 - EP

Un entretien avec le grand historien israélien, qui a fait une belle carrière militaire.

Die dritte UN-Konferenz zur Entwicklungsfinanzierung im Juli 2015 in Addis Abeba soll den Weg für die Verwirklichung der Post-2015-Entwicklungsagenda ebnen. Die Serie „Finanzierung globaler Entwicklung“ der „Analysen und Stellungnahmen“ analysiert wichtige finanzielle und nicht-finanzielle Maßnahmen zur Realisierung der neuen Ziele nachhaltiger Entwicklung (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs) und diskutiert Bausteine für einen neuen globalen Rahmen der Entwicklungsfinanzierung.
Angesichts der enormen Infrastrukturdefizite, die Subsahara-Afrika (SSA) auf lokaler und regionaler Ebene in Bereichen wie Wasserversorgung, sanitären Einrichtungen, Verkehr und Energie aufzeigt, müssen langfristig Gelder für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung bereitgestellt werden. Im Vergleich zu anderen Entwicklungsregionen sind die Märkte für Lokal-währungsanleihen (Local Currency Bond Markets, LCBM) in SSA allgemein noch wenig entwickelt. Dabei könnten LCBM für alle – einschließlich der ärmsten – SSA-Länder ein wichtiges Instrument zur langfristigen Finanzierung werden und so die mit Fremdwährungskrediten verbundenen finanziellen Risiken senken. Schließlich bieten die LCBM Zugang zu alternativen Finanzierungsquellen, verringern die Abhängigkeit von ausländischen Krediten, ermöglichen eine Risikodiversifizierung und können die Auswirkungen externer Schocks lindern. Durch Märkte für Staatsanleihen in Lokalwährung entstehen außerdem wichtige Referenzmärkte für Unternehmensanleihen, welche eine weitere Möglichkeit der langfristigen Unternehmensfinanzierung darstellen.
Politikempfehlungen zur Förderung von LCBM in SSA
Wir empfehlen, die Entwicklung von Märkten für Lokalwährungsanleihen durch nationale und regionale Initiativen zu unterstützen, die das institutionelle und aufsichtsrechtliche Umfeld stärken, den Kreis der Anleger erweitern und liquidere Sekundärmärkte schaffen. Die Behörden in SSA müssen ein vorteilhaftes makroökonomisches Umfeld gewährleisten und eine geeignete Finanzinfrastruktur aufbauen.
Um finanzielle Turbulenzen zu vermeiden, ist die Liberalisierung des Kapitalverkehrs mit viel Umsicht umzusetzen, wobei die Entwicklung der LCBM mit einer stabilen Entwicklung von Institutionen und Finanzsystemen einhergehen muss. Zur Steuerung von Kapitalzuflüssen und -abflüssen sollten die SSA-Behörden geeignete Strategien für das Schuldenmanagement und die Kapitalbilanz erarbeiten und sicherstellen, dass die Mitarbeiter ausreichend qualifiziert sind, um diese umzusetzen. Zudem sollten sie durch Gewinnrückführungsgarantien die Sicherheit der Anlagen gewährleisten. Dazu ist die Durchsetzung geltenden Rechts maßgeblich.
Bi- und multilaterale Geldgeber können die Entstehung von LCBM fördern, indem sie die nötige fachliche Unterstützung bzgl. Strategien zum Schuldenmanagement bereitstellen. Die Debt Management Facility von Weltbank und IWF und das Debt Management and Financial Analysis System der UNCTAD sind gute Beispiele einer solchen länderspezifischen fachlichen Unterstützung auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen. Die Afrikanische Entwicklungsbank hat in SSA die Afrikanische Marktinitiative (AFMI) gestartet, um die Entstehung von LCBM in der Region zu fördern. Ein weiteres gutes Beispiel für die Unterstützung durch die Geldgeber ist das Global Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond (Gemloc)-Programm der Weltbankgruppe, welches die Entstehung von LCBM in Schwellenländern fördert.
Da diese Regierungen und Unternehmen lang- und mittelfristig mit Kapital versorgen können, haben sie großes Potenzial, die in SSA benötigte Infrastruktur zu finanzieren und zur Erreichung nachhaltiger Entwicklungsziele beizutragen.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg named ten countries with worst expectations for GDP growth this year. Russia is to be ranked second in terms of GDP reduction - 3.5 percent - after Ukraine's four percent. Is it possible to say that the Russian economy is one of the weakest in the world?

Depuis le 7 janvier, par le jeu des relèves, les forces armées ont déjà déployé plus de 50 000 militaires pour assurer la protection du territoire et des Français dans le cadre de l’opération Sentinelle. Ce chiffre a été atteint à l’occasion de la 6e relève qui vient de s’achever.