Here is the Monday, January 4th, 2010 edition of what’s making news and interesting reads from around the world. Also please note that off to the left there are two widgets with updates on news from Asia and the world in a separate page: Around Asia & Around the World New Feeds.
Japanese PM Hatoyama Wants a More Equal Relationship with the US
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan said Monday he wants to press for more equal ties with the United States. In a televised speech on New Year’s Day, PM Hatoyama said it is important “for both sides to be able to firmly say what needs to be said, and increase the relationship of trust.”
Hatoyama also reiterated his determination to find a mutually acceptable solution to a row with the United States over the relocation of a U.S. Marine base on the southern island of Okinawa within the space of several months. Not only are Okinawans opposed to a plan to move the Futenma base to a different part of the island, but the tiny pacifist Social Democratic Party has threatened to leave Hatoyama’s ruling coalition if the plan goes ahead unchanged. More from Agence France Presse.
Abbas Visits Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh
The President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas will visit with Egyptian Hosni Murbarak on Monday in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on the tip of the Sinai peninsula. It is expected that President Mubarak will encourage the Palestinian leader to restart peace talks with Israel. On Sunday, the Qatar-based news network Al-Jazeera reported that Obama’s administration supported Egypt’s vision for a Middle East peace plan that would include a complete halt of construction in West Bank settlements as well as the release of senior Palestinian officials from Israeli prisons. More this part of story in Haaretz.
The other relevant development is that Egypt and Saudi Arabia have quietly working behind the scenes to effect a reconciliation between the Hamas and Fatah. Hamas and Fatah have been feuding since March 2007 when Hamas took over control of the Gaza Strip. More on the joint Egyptian-Saudi diplomatic effort from Al Jazeera.
Gordon Brown Bets £100 Billion on Wind
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will launch a £100 billion green power revolution when he awards a raft of development contracts to build a new generation of offshore wind farms. The hope is to provide at least a third of the UK’s energy from wind power by 2020. The plan is also critical component of Brown’s plan to cut British carbon emissions. The full story in the Times of London.
US Lifts HIV Travel Ban
The US has lifted a 22-year immigration ban which has stopped anyone with HIV/Aids from entering the country. President Obama had said when he announced the lifting of the ban that such a restriction was not compatible with US plans to be a leader in the fight against the disease. The new rules come into force on Monday and the US plans to host a bi-annual global HIV/Aids summit for the first time in 2012. More from the BBC.
South Korean Firms Win UAE Nuclear Deal
Nuclear Power Daily reports that South Korea won a landmark deal to build four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates. A South Korea-led consortium beat U.S. and French rivals and clinched a $40 billion deal to build and operate four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates, in one of the world’s biggest nuclear power contracts, Seoul’s energy and industry ministry said Monday. The deal marks South Korea’s first export of a nuclear power plant and its single largest overseas construction project in terms of value, it said. With the deal, South Korea becomes the world’s sixth exporter of nuclear power plants.
Angola’s State Oil Company Wins Rights to Develop Two Iraqi Oil Fields
Energy Daily reported that Angola’s state oil company, Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol), had won the rights to develop the Qayara and Najmah fields, which between them contain an estimated 1.66 billion barrels of oil, in Nineveh province. The agreement is a 20-year deal.
It’s a remarkable development when you think of it. Previously, most oil development projects were the province of major oil companies in the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Italy but now Angola, which recently became Africa’s largest oil produce,r is making a bid to become a global player in the energy field. Sonangol is a parastatal firm. Sonangol said the move to drill abroad was part of a strategy to bolster Angola’s global image. The oil company is also eyeing exploration opportunities in Brazil, Ecuador and the tiny African island state of São Tomé and Príncipe.