1 China reaffirms anti-protectionist stand (Gulf
News) China opposes various forms of trade protectionism and supports free trade,
Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said on Sunday, reaffirming Beijing’s stance amid
worries over weak global demand.
“China is willing to work with other countries to
oppose various forms of trade and investment protectionism,” Zhang told the
China Development Forum in Beijing. “We should unwaveringly push forward
economic globalisation ... we cannot stop our footsteps because of temporary
difficulties.”
Zhang said world policymakers should make the
globalisation process more “inclusive” by putting more emphasis on equality. Beijing
is struggling to cope with weak global demand and faces risks from growing US
trade protectionism as the administration under new President Donald Trump
shows an aversion to globalisation.
In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping, as a
keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, offered a
vigorous defence of globalisation and signalled Beijing’s desire to play a
bigger role on the world stage.
http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/china-opposes-trade-protectionism-supports-free-trade-1.1996491
2 US school changes map to end 500 years of
distortion (Joanna Walters in The Guardian) When Boston public schools
introduced a new standard map of the world this week, some young students’ felt
their jaws drop. In an instant, their view of the world had changed.
The USA was small. Europe too had suddenly shrunk.
Africa and South America appeared narrower but also much larger than usual. City
authorities are confident their new map offers something closer to the
geographical truth than that of traditional school maps, and hope it can serve
an example to schools across the nation and even the world.
For almost 500 years, the Mercator projection has
been the norm for maps of the world, ubiquitous in atlases, pinned on peeling
school walls. Gerardus Mercator, a renowned Flemish cartographer, devised his
map in 1569, principally to aid navigation along colonial trade routes by
drawing straight lines across the oceans.
An exaggeration of the whole northern hemisphere,
his depiction made North America and Europe bigger than South America and
Africa. He also placed western Europe in the middle of his map.
Mercator’s distortions affect continents as well as
nations. For example, South America is made to look about the same size as
Europe, when in fact it is almost twice as large, and Greenland looks roughly
the size of Africa when it is actually about 14 times smaller. Alaska looks
bigger than Mexico and Germany is in the middle of the picture, not to the
north – because Mercator moved the equator.
Three days ago, Boston’s public schools began
phasing in the lesser-known Peters projection, which cuts the US, Britain and
the rest of Europe down to size. Teachers put contrasting maps of the world
side by side and let the students study them.
The respective merits of the Mercator and the Peters
maps have long been debated. A spirited discussion about their implications
even featured on an episode of the West Wing, in which characters argued for
the Peters map to be used in US public schools and told the administration the
Mercator projection had “fostered European imperialist attitudes for
centuries”, creating an “ethical bias” for “western civilization” against the
developing world.
3 Camel the new cash cow (Farhana Chowdhury in
Khaleej Times) The price of camel milk may be twice as much as traditional cow
milk in the UAE market, but it is slowly gaining attention of health-conscious
residents for its nutrient-rich features.
Mutasher Awad Al Badry, business development manager
of Emirates Industry for Camel Milk and Products, explains the reason behind
the cost: "Camel milk production is less than cow milk production, taking
note that it is only up to 30 per cent of cow milk production.
“Also, camel breeding costs are more than cows. Cows
produce milk over the year, but with camels, the cycle is repeated once every
three years. Therefore, the cost of a litre of camel milk may exceed the cost
of three litres of cow's milk."
While Al Badry states that there are no accurate
figures about the camel milk industry as of yet, a general report by
Euromonitor titled 'Dairy in the UAE' reveals that drinking milk products
recorded a value CAGR of two per cent in 2016 and are expected to reach sales
of Dh1.6 billion in 2021.
To date, camel milk is available in original as well
as flavoured varieties - such as chocolate, strawberry and dates - to appeal to
demanding tastebuds. It is further blended into other appetising treats such as
laban, cheese, and even ice cream.
One of the key players in the consumer market is the
Emirates Industry for Camel Milk and Products with an assortment of dairy items
under the brand Camelicious. According to Al Badry, Camelicious stands as the
only camel milk brand and dairy production facility in the world to receive EU
Commission approval to export to the EU zone.
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