1 The New York Times on Britain suffering as a bystander to the Euro crisis. No matter what happens at the European summit meeting on the euro in Brussels, Britain is sure to lose. There is looming recognition at 10 Downing Street that if the euro falls, Britain will sink along with everyone else. But if Europe manages to pull itself together by forging closer unity among the 17 countries that use the euro, then Britain faces being ever more marginalized in decisions on the Continent. Many Europeans have been irritated by British Conservatives’ quiet satisfaction throughout the crisis with the decision not to join the euro. “Germany is the unquestioned leader of Europe,” said Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform. “France is definitely subordinate to Germany, and Britain has less influence than at any time I can recall.” Of particular concern here is the health of Britain’s financial industry, a vital economic engine at a time of slowing growth and deep cuts in government spending, which is seen to be vulnerable to new European regulations that could hurt British competitiveness in global markets.
2 The New York Times on Delhi being a difficult place for marginalized girls. New Delhi: Officially, Chandni doesn’t exist, nor is there any space for her in Delhi. Unofficially, the 14-year-old has grown up in the national capital, on its streets, one of the thousands of uncounted homeless women and girls in a city that has little time or empathy for her. “This city,” said Chandni, whose parents never registered her birth, “has less room for girls like me than it does for the crows and stray dogs.” There are three main kinds of shelters for the homeless in Delhi. The first, run and sponsored by the government, caters largely to homeless men. Two of the three permanent shelters for women, in the Yamuna Pushta and Sarojini Nagar areas, were shut down to make space for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The second kind is called a “tented shelter” — temporary structures that also cater chiefly to men. The third, as Chandni explained, is either rented — 20 rupees, or 39 US cents, is the going rate for a tarpaulin big enough to provide shelter from the winter chill — or fashioned from necessity.
Ever since her family abandoned her, when she was about 10, Chandni has managed the business of her own survival with a bitter competence. She prefers sleeping inside concrete pipes when she can, though she now has a place on the pavement. Sleeping on the pavement exposes her to a relentless stream of harassment. At present, she has a protector, a man in his 20s, who employs her to sell cheap Chinese toys at intersections and takes a generous cut of her daily earnings. “It’s better than working on my back, like the other girls do,” said Chandni. “He doesn’t beat me like the last one did.”
3 The New York Times on global banks shrinking their staff. Citigroup, which will lay off 4,500 staff in the coming months, is the latest big bank to announce extensive layoffs, following similar actions by many of its rivals that have coursed through the industry since last fall. While Citi quietly began pruning its work force this summer, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon — and almost every large European bank — have announced big job cuts.
4 The Guardian reporting on anti-Putin protests in Russia. Russia’s anti-government protest movement gathered momentum as tens of thousands of people said they were prepared to take to the streets this weekend in the biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin’s rule. The movement was triggered by a disputed parliamentary election result that protesters say wildly overstated the popularity of Putin's United Russia party. Mikhail Gorbachev, the former premier who oversaw the end of the Soviet Union, called on the Russian authorities to annul the election result and hold a new vote. "More and more people are starting to believe that the election results are not fair," he said.
More than 16,700 people indicated on Facebook their intention to gather in Revolution Square, a stone's throw from the Kremlin, this Saturday. Another 5,500 said they would attend a similar protest in St Petersburg. Protests were also being organised in more than 80 cities across Russia, including the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and the Siberian city of Surgut. There was also growing fear that the Russian authorities would step up their action against protesters. Yevgenia Chirikova, an environmental activist turned opposition leader, said she feared the Kremlin would move beyond the haphazard arrests that have so far marked its response to the protests. "Putin has no other choice than to hold on to power, shoot himself or sit in jail," she said. "The system he has built is so corrupted, and there have been so many crimes, that there is no other path. He will fight for his power." Two of the opposition's leaders, Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin, remain jailed.
5 BBC report about income inequality in India doubling in 20 years.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says the top 10% of wage-earners in India make 12 times more than the bottom 10%, compared to six times 20 years ago. The OECD says India has the highest number of poor in the world. Some 42% of its 1.21 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. "Brazil, Indonesia and, on some indicators, Argentina have recorded significant progress in reducing inequality over the past 20 years," the report, entitled Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, says. "By contrast, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa have all become less equal over time." India has also not fared well in poverty reduction, the report says. It says 42% of Indians live below the poverty line, as against the official Indian figure of 37%.
6 The Sowetan’s report that between 20,000 and 40,000 children mine gold in Mali. In a statement, HRW said that "children as young as six dig mining shafts, work underground, pull up heavy weights of ore, and carry, crush, and pan ore." It also said that many children "work with mercury, a toxic substance, to separate the gold from the ore. Mercury attacks the central nervous system and is particularly harmful to children." Children interviewed complained of regular pain in the back, head, neck, arms or joints, as well as coughing and respiratory diseases.
7 The largest democracy’s parliament is dysfunctional, says BBC. The Indian economy is crawling and inflation is nudging close to double digits. Food prices are going up. Key legislation which could help crack down on corruption needs to be tackled. The demand for a new state of Telangana hangs fire. Yet the parliament of the world's largest democracy remains in limbo. With the opposition protesting against retail reforms and forcing adjournments every day, the winter session that began on 22 November has failed to launch. There are 31 bills to be considered and passed, including the key anti-corruption bill. At its current pace, this 15th session of the parliament - which began in 2009 - may be the "most disrupted in 25 years", according to respected watchdog PRS Legislative Research. Many are asking how India can be called the world's largest democracy when its parliament, the highest representative body of a billion people, appears to be so dysfunctional.
8 Nearly half of cancers are life-style related, reports BBC. Nearly half of cancers diagnosed in the UK each year - over 130,000 in total - are caused by avoidable life choices including smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things, a review reveals. Tobacco is the biggest culprit, causing 23% of cases in men and 15.6% in women, says the Cancer Research UK report. Next comes a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in men's diets, while for women it is being overweight.
9 The BBC on Britain’s zombie debtors. Millions of Britons are likely to take out a high-interest loan in the next six months to last them until payday, a group of insolvency experts claims. R3, which represents "professionals working with financially troubled individuals and businesses", bases its claim on interviews with 2,000 people. Some 60% of those surveyed worried about their level of debt, and 45% struggled to make their money last till payday, R3 said. Payday loans are small, short-term unsecured loans designed to tide people over until they get their salary. The survey found 45% of those questioned struggled to make it to pay day, rising to 62% for 24-44 year olds. One in six are so-called "zombie debtors", who are only able to service the interest on their debts.
10 The Dawn on three bills that can save women in Pakistan. Pakistan’s women will have a great deal to celebrate if parliament can adopt the three bills concerning them that are on its agenda. A bill to turn the National Commission on the Status of Women into an autonomous body for the empowerment of women and elimination of all forms of discrimination against them has recently been introduced in the National Assembly. A bill to effectively deal with incidents of burning women with acid or otherwise is before the Senate. The measure has already been discussed threadbare by the legislators. One step more and it should become law. The third bill provides for stiff punishment for young girls’ so-called marriage to the Holy Book, or forcibly offering them in marriage to settle a civil dispute or a criminal liability, or depriving women of their inheritance through deceitful means.
11 The Economic Times on India’s subsidy math going awry. India’s extra spend on subsidies could alone increase its fiscal deficit by 1.1%, lifting it to 5.7% of GDP.
12 The Economic Times on Kingfisher airline pilots, some of whom have not been paid for two months, airing their grievances over the aircraft announcement system on flights out of Delhi.
13 Deccan Chronicle reporting about lobsters worth Rs 4 million allegedly killed by effluents let out into the sea near Tuticorin.
14 Financial Chronicle on credit default swaps coming to India. ICICI Bank, India’s largest private lender by assets, and IDBI Bank, the seventh largest public sector bank in the country, have come together to launch India’s first credit default swap (CDS) seven days after the product was cleared by the Reserve Bank of India on November 30. Public sector undertaking Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has bought the CDS cover for its Rs 5 crore loan from ICICI Bank. A CDS is similar to a traditional insurance policy where it obliges seller of the CDS to compensate the buyer in the event of a loan default. The agreement is that in the event of a default, buyer of the CDS receives the money — usually the face value of the loan — and seller of the CDS receives the defaulted loan and with it the right to recover it at some later time.
15 Financial Chronicle on Indian real estate sector trapped by debt. “The real estate sector is reeling under debt of approximately Rs 1.25 trillion as on September 31. The industry had similar debt as on March 31 and the industry has clearly failed to bring its liabilities down. Develo¬pers are paying high interest rate of 17-20%, up from earlier 12-13%. Along with it, poor sales are drying up their cash flow,” says Amit Goenka, national director of Knight Frank.
16 The Malayala Manorama on the nurses’ strike in Kerala. Nurses at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi are continuing their strike demanding better pay and welfare facilities and revocation of punitive action against their union leaders. The Deepika reports that the nurses are demanding a salary increase from Rs 4,000 (can you believe that?) to Rs 12,000 per month, and to end the bond system that encroaches on the nurses’ freedom to change jobs. (There has been criticism that the Kerala media which gave prominence to the nurses’ strikes in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkatha, have conveniently ignored the strike in Kerala.)
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