1 ‘Discouraged workers’ (BBC) The outlook for the global labour market has worsened from last year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) says. It called the situation an "urgent challenge" and said governments needed to create 600 million jobs over the next decade. The ILO said it was more pessimistic because of the weaker global economy. It added that globally some 1.1 billion people were either unemployed or living in poverty. One bright spot was the ILO's finding that job creation was pushed up by good economic conditions in large emerging economies in Latin America and East Asia.
In its report, the ILO said that there are 29 million less workers in the global labour force than they forecast before the economic slowdown started in 2009. Those 29 million people are referred to as "discouraged workers", or people that have decided to stop looking for work because they think they are unlikely to find a job. If these discouraged workers were counted in the total jobless figures, then that would push the global unemployment rate to 6.9% from 6%, the ILO said. That is about 225 million people worldwide.
2 China’s new corporate champs (BBC) Is China capable of producing more than inexpensive manufactured goods? The answer, increasingly, is 'yes.' In 2011, China's exports consist of more than consumer products like toys, shoes and clothing - the Middle Kingdom is exporting world-class technology through a new breed of multinational companies. Regardless of whether it is Haier in the consumer goods area, Huawei in the technology space, or Mindray in the healthcare sector - Chinese companies are making a growing name for themselves in developed markets like Europe and the US.
Chinese companies are perceived by some as opportunistic firms with a "land-grab" mentality that lacks well thought-out long-term strategy. Western executives often cite the large scale investments by Chinese companies in Africa's resources sector as an example of this type of behaviour. These same executives also argue that Chinese companies' fast growth will likely not be sustainable in the longer term due to their short-sighted business practices. In reality though, Chinese companies have been developing local innovations that are suited for their home country but can also be adapted for overseas markets to boost ongoing growth.
3 Rahul’s ploy in UP (Khaleej Times) Rahul Gandhi has succeeded in capturing substantial attention of media with his projection as a ‘kingmaker’ in India’s Uttar Pradesh state politics. Rahul is optimistic that his strategies will succeed in turning the Dalit (lower Hindu caste) vote-bank, Mayawati’s main political plank, in favour of Congress. Mayawati, a leader of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is the sitting UP Chief Minister. Rahul has earned substantial media coverage by eating at Dalits’ residence and interacting with them. But the real question is, to what degree can this media-hype be expected to turn into votes in support of Congress?
If Rahul succeeds in turning UP votes in favour of Congress, this will facilitate his stepping onto the central stage as Congress nominee for the prime ministerial position. Considering that Congress won only 22 seats in 2007 and 25 in 2003 UP assembly polls, only a magic-wand can help Rahul turn the political tide in his party’s favour. In the 2007 elections, Mayawati’s party bagged 206 seats. Rahul’s campaign has yet to cover the entire state, and Congress has taken a lot of time in finalising its candidates. There is a view that perhaps Congress has deliberately indulged in this strategy. If Congress fares well, Rahul can easily take the credit for his being in command in UP. If Congress fails, the blame may be given to the weakness of the candidates. Now, it is to be watched whether Rahul’s strategy will work or not.
4 Getting the loot back (Khaleej Times) One year ago, the eyes of the world focused on Tunisia as its ruler, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country, allegedly with millions of dollars in gold and assets on his airplane. The government of Tunisia is now working with the international community to recover Ben Ali’s ill-gotten gains. The process will be slow, complicated, and multi-jurisdictional, but it will lay down a marker for future dictators.
When other past dictators, such as Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier of Haiti, fled their countries, they often retired in comfort, living off their plundered assets in French villas and estates. This time, the international community is working to ensure that such outrages are stories of the past. The World Bank estimates that $20 billion to $40 billion is stolen every year from developing countries. International cooperation on recovering these assets is critical to the anti-corruption movement.
5 January popular for divorce (Daily Dispatch) New trends show that married couples choose the beginning of the year as the best time to file for divorce. Matthew Yazbek, attorney and partner of Yazbeks Attorneys, said divorces and separations of couples were particularly prevalent at this time of the year as a result of unresolved issues carried through from the previous year. Yazbek said spouses generally used the time before Christmas holidays to resolve emotional difficulties. These include divorces “so that they can enjoy a rather stress-free holiday and obviously a new year without the burden of pending matters which are unpleasant, particularly with regard to divorces”.
6 YouTube’s daily views at 4bn (Straits Times) YouTube is streaming four billion online videos every day, a 25% increase in the past eight months, according to the company. The jump in video views comes as Google pushes YouTube beyond the personal computer, with versions of the site that work on smartphones and televisions. According to the company, roughly 60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute, compared with the 48 hours of video uploaded per minute in May.
7 Islamist influence in Arab world (Dawn) Human Rights Watch’s criticism of western policies towards the Arab world makes eminent sense, seen in the light of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s final departure from Yemen and the victory of Islamist parties in the Egyptian elections. Mr Saleh left for the US after apologising to his people for “any shortcomings” — a gross understatement, for he leaves behind him a nation in tatters after a civil war which killed nearly 2,000 people. In Tunisia, post-Ben Ali elections last October led to the victory of an Islamist party, Ennahda, a phenomenon also witnessed in neighbouring Morocco. In Egypt, however, the victory of the Islamist parties has been sweeping after results finally became available.
We do not know what results the Libyan elections, as yet uncertain, will produce, and how Syria will go if and when President Bashar al-Assad falls. But there is no doubt that the absence of all avenues of dissent throughout the Arab world for decades helped not the liberal parties but the Islamist ones, which because of better organisation and motivated cadres managed to increase their influence with the people. The 676-page HRW report attributes highly negative motives to western democracies’ Arab policies. Briefly, it says western policies were guided by a fear of political Islam, and this made them rely on secular dictators to ensure regional stability, secure uninterrupted oil supplies, maintain peace with Israel, stifle migration to the West and crush Islamist parties. The report considers this policy counterproductive, and asks the West to accept the change which the Arab Spring has wrought, adopt pro-people policies and “abandon the autocrats and embrace rights”.
8 Slavery in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India (Dawn) The term slavery has various connotations; however the most aberrant remains the literal ‘buying and selling’ of humans for the most atrocious and abominable purposes. The atrocities carried out against humans ‘by humans’ never cease to amaze me. Contrary to prevalent beliefs, slavery was the first crime against human rights, to be recognised and abolished, but ironically it is still one of the most apparent problems of developing countries. In countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, the never-ending list of modern slavery practices is sufficient enough to raise a red flag.
Pakistan is an agriculture based economy which is one of the many reasons why feudalism is such a common ‘phenomena’ in Pakistan. Bonded labour or debt bondage is the most revolting from of contemporary slavery which is more common in agricultural countries. According to various surveys, an estimated population of 1.8 million Pakistanis are held in debt bondage. The female workers/family members are subjected to beatings and sexual abuse. Dalits, or lower-caste Hindus, face the brunt of such atrocities because they are still considered as minorities in Pakistan. Many children are trafficked to the UAE and other Arab countries, where camel races are considered a sport for the elite, also become a part of the vicious slavery cycle.
9 The Economic Times editorial: If India aspires to be a liberal democracy, it must stop banning books.
10 Growing 1% of Indians (Business Standard) Households with an annual income of Rs 1.25m are increasing rapidly. Bhashar Seetharam and Varsha Das are a double-income-no-kids couple residing in Mumbai. Together, they bring home Rs 1.8m in household income per year. They belong to a hallowed club: they are part of India’s one per cent — households having an annual income of over Rs 1.25m, shows an analysis by the Centre for Macro Consumer Research (CMCR) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) for 2010-11. The research houses call them the affluent or the rich.
The cut-off to enter India’s one per cent – Rs 1.25m – is nothing to write home about compared to global standards. The cut-off point for the top one per cent in the US varies from about $500,000 to $700,000. If one takes the lower figure ($500,000, equal to Rs 26m), it is over 20 times the Indian figure. Adjusted for purchasing power parity, it would be around 10 times. India’s one per cent club is growing rapidly. In 1993-94, the top quintile or top 20% of households in India accounted for 37% of total income. This grew to 53% of total income in 2009-10, and is expected to touch 59% by 2014-15. In contrast, the bottom-of-the-pyramid accounted for just nine per cent and middle-income 17% of total private consumption.
11 When power gets to the head (Business Line) A senior journalist in India’s Uttar Pradesh state smiled and said: “All the IAS officers are rooting for Mulayam Singh. They find it easier to work with him… And they won't have to remove their footwear either. Oh yes, access to the state’s chief minister Ms Mayawati is allowed only bare-footed, I am told! This conjured up images of a bureaucrat wiping Ms Mayawati's shoes and WikiLeaks alleging how a special aircraft once fetched Mayawati's footwear from Mumbai!
But there is general consensus on how politicians are getting more arrogant. Mr Sarat Pradhan, a journalist-cum-political analyst points out that Ms Mayawati “is excessively obsessed about her own image and wants to become immortal as a Dalit leader and, hence, so many of her own statues. But the more disturbing trend appears to be the Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi too expecting, and getting, deferential treatment from very senior Congress leaders. “Gone are the days when Congress leaders used to call him Rahul, put an arm around him, and so on. Now, it is only Rahulji,” says Mr Pradhan. It appears strange when contemporaries of Indira Gandhi address him as Rahulji,” he adds.
Mr Ramesh Dikshit, former Professor of Political Science at the Lucknow University says when they turn from “politicians to rulers, some people allow power to get into their heads and do turn arrogant.” Some of them even allow their party leaders and cadres to touch their feet. “But often politicians do not like people falling at their feet, but are unable to prevent it. Now, tomorrow, if a senior Congress leader decides to fall at Rahul Gandhi's feet, who is to be blamed” asks Mr Dikshit.
12 Infosys avoids ‘risky’ euro clients (Financial Chronicle) Worried over the intensifying European crisis, Infosys has stepped up measures to contain revenue risks and restricted its customer bases in Europe and the US to only those with a minimum international credit rating of A+. The IT major has taken the step in view of a steep increase in premium for credit risk insurance. Infosys chief financial officer V Balakrishnan said his company normally undertakes independent credit ratings evaluation. To support its own evaluation, Infosys also relies on external credit rating agencies, especially global agencies. Infosys has names like Bank of America, Wall-Mart, Deutsche Bank, General Motors, Citibank and others among its clients.
13 India bureaucracy wrapped in red tape (Mint) The image of the quintessential babu — a portly, middle-aged man clad in a safari suit or kurta, chewing paan—is as intrinsic to the national character as cricket or Bollywood. India’s bureaucracy has long had a bad reputation among its citizens and foreigners alike, and now, a new study by a Hong Kong-based organization, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc) Ltd, ranks Indian bureaucracy as the absolute worst in the region, lower even than Vietnam or the Philippines. The consultancy studied 12 Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore and China, and rated bureaucracies on a scale of one to 10 (higher being worse). India scored 9.21, comfortably worse than Vietnam and Indonesia.
This does not come as news to the millions of Indians who run into roadblocks while trying to access even the most basic services provided by the state. Attempts at reform have fallen by the wayside. And so the Indian civil services remain much the same as they were in newly independent India, although India itself has changed.
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