1 NATO plans force to counter Russia (San Francisco
Chronicle) NATO leaders this week will be asked to approve creation of a
high-readiness force and the stockpiling of military equipment and supplies in
Eastern Europe to help protect member nations there against potential Russian
aggression, the alliance's secretary general said.
"The Readiness Action Plan will ensure that we
have the right forces and the right equipment in the right place, at the right
time," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. "Not because NATO wants to attack
anyone. But because the dangers and the threats are more present and more
visible. And we will do what it takes to defend our allies."
President Barack Obama and leaders of NATO's other
member countries open a summit meeting Thursday in Wales that is expected to be
dominated by how the US-led alliance should react over the long term to Russian
actions toward Ukraine and the implications for security in Europe.
Rasmussen said alliance officials have drafted a
detailed plan that "responds to Russia's aggressive behavior" but
also equips NATO to respond to all security challenges, wherever they may
arise. At its core: a proposed new force that Rasmussen said could be composed
of several thousand troops contributed on a rotating basis by the 28 NATO
countries. Backed by air and naval assets, the unit would be a
"spearhead" that could be deployed at very short notice to help NATO
members defend themselves.
2 Incredible comeback of HMV (Zoe Wood in The
Guardian) It's one of the biggest musical comebacks of all time. High-street
music retailer HMV says it is close to wresting the title of UK's biggest music
and DVD retailer back from Amazon as Britons rediscover the charm of actually
going into a shop and buying a CD or a record.
Regaining its high-street crown would be a
remarkable achievement for HMV, which went bust just 18 months ago, felled by
the toxic combination of declining physical music sales, expensive shop rents
and huge debts. The stricken business was rescued by the little-known
turnaround firm Hilco, which also has Habitat and Clinton Cards on its books.
Its chairman Paul McGowan says the commonly held
view that digital (music) was killing the physical "was never true".
"Only 30% [of music buyers] switched to digital – 70% of the market is
still physical." It's only a "matter of time", he adds, before
HMV reclaims the top spot from Amazon, which banks 20% of UK music and DVD
sales versus HMV's 19%.
Key to HMV's resurgence has been an increase in live
performances, with more than 300 acts ranging from Ed Sheeran to Megadeth
pitching up in stores to plug their latest releases. With annual sales of close
to £500m, HMV is half the size it used to be, with just 125 stores in the UK.
Hilco closed loss-making stores and stopped selling iPads and tablets, instead
returning to HMV's traditional stomping ground of band merchandise such as
T-shirts. It is now back on the expansion trail with new stores planned in the
UK and Ireland.
3 India, Japan hope to be counterweight to China
(Mitsuru Obe & Niharika Mandhana in The Wall Street Journal) The leaders of
Japan and India have pledged to step up defense and economic cooperation as the
two Asian powers aim to build a strategic counterweight to China.
As India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, begins
to outline a vision for his diplomatic policy, he is on a tour of Japan this
week, where he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have emphasized rapidly
growing ties between Asia's two biggest democracies, as well as a budding
personal friendship between them.
A joint statement signed by the two leaders was
heavy on plans for cooperation in the security area. Growth in security
cooperation will be matched by closer economic and trade ties. Mr. Abe unveiled
a plan to double the amount of Japan's direct investment and the number of
Japanese companies operating in India in five years, and pledged a total of 3.5
trillion yen in Japanese investment over the next five years. Mr. Abe also
expressed hopes to introduce Japan's shinkansen bullet-train technology to
India.
While the two leaders didn't mention China by name,
the presence of the nation whose growing military
capability and aggressive
territorial behavior have alarmed its neighbors was palpable. In a speech to
business leaders, Mr. Modi took a swipe at China as he discussed the need for
India and Japan to forge a closer partnership to promote peace and prosperity
in Asia and counter an "expansionist" mind-set. It was seen as a
veiled reference to China, which is embroiled in territorial disputes with both
New Delhi and Tokyo.
India has been at the center of Mr. Abe's strategy
to build closer diplomatic and defense alliances with nations in the
Asia-Pacific. In January, Mr. Abe visited Delhi, where he viewed a military
parade on Republic Day. In July, Tokyo joined a military exercise with India
and the US known as Malabar. Japan's easing of weapons exports rules under Mr.
Abe has also raised expectations that Japan may soon provide military aircraft
to India.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/indias-prime-minister-narendra-modi-wants-closer-ties-with-japan-to-counter-china-1409555754
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