20130928 China Daily—FTZ to define development

Major policy changes designed to facilitate China's economic restructuring

The central government unveiled on Friday the first batch of initiatives in a general plan that set the tone and scale of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which is expected to help shape the economic landscape in years to come.

These initiatives touch on some key sectors of the economy, including finance, commerce and industry. Some of them represent major policy changes to facilitate the economic restructuring that is deemed necessary to ensure sustainable growth.

Since the idea was first broached earlier this year, the FTZ has caught the imagination of the business community because of its promise of changes that will bring new opportunities to domestic and foreign enterprises.

It is seen as a bold step in economic reform that will redefine the role of government and further open up the economy to the private sector.

Shanghai stands to benefit the most because it is expected to play host to an expanding financial services sector and become a regional hub for trade and commerce.

"These steps are all part of China's long-term blueprint as the government tries to shift the economy away from a reliance on investment toward more innovative industries," said Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which represents around 3,600 US businesses operating in the city and its neighboring provinces.

"One thing significant about the zone is its relationship to China's economic reform agenda.Because there are a lot of talks about the need to rebalance the economy and make it more market-oriented, the FTZ is a signature piece for the whole process," he said.

On the financial front, the test zone will encourage yuan's convertibility, interest-rate liberalization, and further cross-border interaction, so that companies in the FTZ will be encouraged to take advantage of both onshore and offshore markets. One thing worth noting is that it will allow the setting up of a trading platform integrated with the global markets andgradually allow foreign companies to engage in commodity futures trading and encouragefinancial innovation, said a report by the research arm of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

The guideline also provides an equal market access to foreign investors by scrapping technical restrictions and lowering quality standards in six areas ranging from finance and shipping to commercial and cultural services.

The establishment of the free trade zone is likely to ease concerns over market access, which is identified as one of the major non-tariff obstacles, said Gerry Mattios, principal of consultancy Bain & Co.

"I think a lot of companies are looking forward to the zone to overcome this barrier, because it is expected to enable foreign companies to set up operations more easily and consequently facilitate trade," he said.

Under the new guideline, foreign health and medical insurance providers will be permitted to operate in the zone on a trial basis and foreign partners will be allowed to hold larger stakes in joint venture global shipping enterprises.

The clauses include shortcuts for foreign banks to set up subsidiary or joint venture operations.

Foreign companies will also be allowed to offer "specialized telecommunications services"within the zone.

Foreign travel agencies will be permitted to set up joint ventures to provide international travel services to Chinese nationals.

As requested by the State Council, the FTZ will also explore a "negative list" management approach, which will outline restricted sectors. Any sectors not on the list will be free for entry.

"This ‘negative list' approach and new investment rules are in accordance with international practices. For example, foreign investments in the FTZ and overseas investments by local enterprises will not require official approval from government agencies, but only need to follow the ‘archival filing management' process," said the ANZ study.

Frances Cheung, an economist at Credit Agricole CIB, said in a research note: "As expected,the major focus, for the first phase at least, is on promoting trade."

20130928 BBC_Pakistani quake area struck again

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck south-west Pakistan, in a region where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week.

Reports said the quake hit remote Awaran district, killing at least 15 people and burying others under rubble.

An official told Pakistan television that communications already damaged by last Tuesday's quake had been cut off.

Efforts to help thousands left homeless by the first earthquake have struggled against poor roads and separatists.

The US Geological Survey said Saturday's tremor measured 6.8 magnitude and could be felt across Balochistan province.

Pakistan's Meteorological Department classed it as an aftershock measuring 7.2 magnitude.

Abdul Rasheed Baloch, the deputy commissioner of Awaran district, told Pakistani television that one village, Nokjo, had suffered damage to most of its buildings, leaving people trapped under debris.

"The telephone system has been damaged and we are not able to talk to someone and find out the exact information about the losses... but we have reports of severe losses in that area," he said, according to Associated Press.

Eight of those who died in Saturday's tremor were from Nokjo, officials said, with another four killed in the Mashkay area.

An Agence France-Presse reporter in Awaran said hundreds of patients being treated after the last quake fled a hospital in panic as the latest tremor struck.

Saturday's quake was felt as far away as Karachi.

An office worker there described his chair shaking: "At first I thought it was a delusion or a false feeling. But all my colleagues ran out of the office. The shakes were heavy."

Officials have estimated that about 300,000 people were affected by the earlier, 7.7 magnitude quake which levelled mud and homemade brick homes, injuring hundreds.

Many survivors have been sleeping in the open air or in tents.

Rescue and relief efforts after the earlier quake have been hampered by the region's poor road network.

Officials have appealed to separatist military groups operating in the area following attacks on army units involved in providing assistance.

Pakistan's official paramilitary force, the Frontier Corps, has been leading rescue and relief operations.

It already had thousands of soldiers deployed in the area because it is fighting a long-running separatist insurgency by Baloch nationalist rebels.

The violent force of Tuesday's 7.7-magnitude quake caused the creation of a new 200m (656ft) long island off the coast of Pakistan near the port of Gwadar.

20130928 BBC_Pakistan earthquake: Visiting an island that did not exist a few days ago

An earthquake which killed more than 200 people in Pakistan has created a new island off the country's coast.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran.

People gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is reported to be about 200m (656ft) long, 100m wide and 20m high.

Dr Simon Boxhall, an an oceanographer from the UK, said the event was "extraordinary but not unique".

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool has visited the Island.

It is one of the largest islands created this way for decades; the sea bed was raised when two tectonic plates pushed together.

Fishermen noticed the new body of land about half an hour after the quake.

It is about the size of a football field, and rises about 20 metres (65ft) above sea level.

Aleem Maqbool said there was already rubbish on the island from people who have begun visiting it.

The island could disappear within a year.

BBC_Visit to newly created island from a recent earthquake at Pakistan

BBC_Pakistan earthquake creates island off coast

20130906 晴報_傳關西今地震 大阪880萬人演習防災

日本關東周三發生6.9級地震，令日本專家串田嘉男聲稱今日關西或發生7.9級以上地震的預言「言之鑿鑿」。巧合地大阪昨進行880萬人防震大型演習，更發出手機短訊呼籲民眾隨時避難，令氣氛更緊張。

大阪政府六月公布的一份預測報告指出，若南海海槽發生巨大地震，大阪將成重災區，30米高海嘯將席捲JR大阪站附近的商業街和大阪市北區，造成土地液化、沿岸防波堤下沉，令洪水流入地勢較低的區域，面積可達94平方公里，是政府去年預計的三倍。

為防地震，大阪昨進行早已部署的880萬人防災演習，規模為日本最大。演習活動包括於學校及辦公室進行避難及疏散，早上又向市內所有手機發出「緊急」短訊，呼籲民眾在實際災害發生時，確保自身安全，並根據準確信息進行避難，即使手機調至靜音仍會響起短訊鈴聲，估計有最多518萬人收到短訊。

大阪昨進行防震演習，有教師帶同小童預演避難。(網上圖片)

20130906 Yahoo_Study: Larger tsunami from Cascadia quake

Study: Larger tsunami from Cascadia quake

Preliminary information from the latest research into the Cascadia Subduction Zone suggests the possibility of a tsunami stronger than previously believed. 

Scientists are just back from a monthlong research cruise in the Pacific Ocean off Washington state, where they were trying to find the stickiest point on a section of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the huge undersea fault that breaks loose every few hundred years, generating a massive tsunami and earthquake.

The San Andreas fault in California slides side to side, but the Cascadia Subduction Zone moves up and down. That vertical jolt is like throwing a log in the water. It generates a big wave, which can send a 40-foot surge of water at the speed of a jetliner slamming into the coasts of Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

More: Scientists map Oregon tsunami inundation zones

20130623 BBC—Malaysia declares state of emergency over smog in south

20130623 BBC_Malaysia declares state of emergency over smog in south

Smog has become an annual problem in Malaysia, but this is the first time in eight years that a state of emergency has been called, the BBC's Jennifer Pak, in Kuala Lumpur, reports.

People are angry that the authorities have not been able to address the health hazard, our correspondent says.

The smog is being blamed on illegal land-clearing fires burning near the provincial capital Pekanbaru.

Palm-oil firms - some of which are based in Malaysia and Singapore - have been accused of using slash-and-burn techniques to clear space for their plantations.

Environmental group Greenpeace International said its analysis of Nasa data between 11 and 21 June had "revealed hundreds of fire hotspots in palm oil concessions".

Slash-and-burn clearances

• Vegetation is cut down and burned to clear land for cultivation
• Cheaper than using excavators and bulldozers
• Illegal burning of forests to clear land for palm oil plantations is common in Indonesia - particularly in dry season
• Indonesia says it is investigating several palm oil companies

20130618 BBC_Singapore hit by highest haze levels in 16 years

BBC_Singapore hit by highest haze levels in 16 years

Singapore has been hit by severe haze from forest fires in nearby Indonesia, prompting a health alert from the government.

Outdoor physical activity should be avoided, and vulnerable people should stay indoors, the government said.

The haze is expected to last for the next few days, the government added.

In Singapore, the view of many landmarks and buildings was obscured by the haze, and the smell of burnt wood was noticeable in the city.

In a statement on Monday, Singapore's National Environment Agency said winds had brought over the smoke haze from fires in Sumatra, Indonesia.

'Slash-and-burn'

Singapore's Environment Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said that "for too long, commercial interests in Indonesia have been allowed to override environmental concerns".

However, an Indonesian official said that Singaporean and Malaysian investors also bore some responsibility for the fires, AFP news agency reported.

"The slash-and-burn technique being used is the cheapest land-clearing method and it is not only used by local farmers, but also employees of palm oil investors including Singaporean and Malaysian companies," Hadi Daryanto, an official at Indonesia's Forestry Ministry, said.

"We hope the governments of Malaysia and Singapore will tell their investors to adopt proper measures so we can solve this problem together."