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While the rest of the world gears up to usher in the new year with celebrations from Thursday night, Nepal is probably the most festive country in the world that will enjoy new year merrymaking virtually throughout the year.

New Year Eve celebrations already started in earnest Tuesday by the ethnic Tamu community, also known as the Gurungs, whose new year starts from Wednesday.

The Gurungs are a warlike people from central Nepal, who form over 2 percent of Nepal’s 27 million population and have their own culture and language.

Now scattered worldwide, the new Tamu year or Lhochhar — which is also the year of the tiger –is being celebrated in Nepal.

In Nepal, the government has declared Wednesday a public holiday for the community and the President, Ram Baran Yadav, issued a message.

Two days later, Nepal will march with the rest of the world to usher in 2010, as per the Gregorian calendar, with parties and festivals.

However, while the parties will stop in the rest of the world soon after that, Nepal has its traditional new year coming up in April.

On April 14, Nepalis will celebrate the start of the Nepali new year 2067, as per the Bikram Sambat calendar, an eastern calendar founded by an Indian ruler and still observed by the traditional people in both countries.

Nepal has cultural ties with both its southern neighbor India and northern neighbor China.

In February ever year, it also celebrates China’s Tibetan new year.

Hundreds of Buddhist monasteries in Nepal will usher in the Tibetan new year on Feb. 14, an event marked by lighting butter lamps and prayers.

Around October-end, Nepal will have another New Year bash when the Newar community, the original inhabitants of the capital Kathmandu Valley and a people famed for their business acumen and artistic skills, celebrate the Newari new year.

It will be the beginning of the Newari year 1131, following the Nepal Sambat calendar that was founded by a respected trader, Sankhadhar Sakhwaa, who, according to legend, transformed sand into gold by alchemy and paid off the collective debt of the nation to the king, thus liberating them.

Sakhwaa is regarded as a national hero and Nepal hails the calendar with great pride since it was drawn up by a commoner and marks the age of liberation.

Last but not the least, the Newari new year festivities will be followed by more partying around December-January when the Kirantis, an indigenous community from eastern Nepal, usher in Yele Sambat — the Kiranti new year.

There are about 1.5 million Kirans who will celebrate the calendar named after their first king, Yelamber Hang.

The outgoing 2009 proved a very tough year for the European Union (EU). The worst financial turmoil in decades has plunged the combined economy of the 27-nation bloc to its bottom.

While a precarious rebound is underway, the next year would be a crucial test for the EU to manage all risks and sustain the economic recovery

　 WORST RECESSION ON RECORD

The financial turmoil, which originated in the United States last September and soon spread to Europe, dragged the EU economy into the deepest, longest and broadest-based recession in the history of the 27-nation bloc.

It was estimated by the European Commission that the EU economy is set to shrink 4 percent this year, the biggest fall in output since the Second World War, and the cumulative output loss of 5 percent since the recession started in the second quarter of 2008,or some four times as much as the average loss in the previous three recessions.

Fortunately, confidence indicators and hard data since the summer have increasingly showed signs of improvement in the economic situation.

After negative growth in four consecutive quarters, the EU economy expanded by 0.4 percent quarter on quarter, marking the end of what has been known as the “Great Recession.”

But the outlook remains uncertain as the better-than-expected rebound was underpinned by the massive support provided by governments and central banks worldwide. As such support depends on the ability of the banking sector to increase the present levels of lending to the economy, it would eventually scale back.

The commission forecast in November that the EU economy would grow by 0.7 percent in 2010 and 1.6 percent in 2011, much lower than the around three-percent growth in the past years.

THREE MAJOR RISKS AHEAD

As its economic recovery is gathering momentum, the EU is faced with three major risks, namely a still fragile financial system, swelling government deficits and rising unemployment.

Despite billions of euros the EU governments spent on financial bailouts, European financial markets remained under stress. The global markets shivered at the news that Dubai World was delaying debt service, only to reveal how fragile and nervous they are.

Another risk is the EU’s soaring public finance deficit pushed up by financial bailouts and economic stimulus. The overall government deficit in the EU is expected to reach 7.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010, far beyond the 3-percent ceiling set by the EU’s stability and growth pact.

The seriousness of ballooning deficits was highlighted by the recent downgrading of the credit worthiness of Greece by the international rating agency Fitch, which led to concern of the deteriorating economy.

Similarly, public debt, bearing the brunt of the crisis, is expected to reach 79.3 percent of GDP by 2010 in the EU.

Swelling government deficits and debt are threatening economic stability and long-term sustainability.

Meanwhile, the continued, albeit more moderate, increase in unemployment is a source of concern both socially and economically.

The recession has caused deterioration in the labor market. In October, unemployment rate in the EU rose to 9.3 percent. It was set to increase further, reaching 10.3 percent in 2011.

Rising unemployment would dampen consumption, a key engine of economic growth.

NEXT YEAR CRUCIAL

The forthcoming 2010 will be a challenging and decisive year for the EU economy to sustain the emerging recovery amid a host of risks.

Looking back on 2009, solid groundwork has been put in place to go ahead. Recognizing that the economy cannot rely on government support forever, EU finance ministers decided in October to start fiscal consolidation in 2011 at the latest. Furthermore, countries deep in debt should begin to consolidate its deficit earlier than2011, according to a EU document.

This means some EU member states have to consider phasing out their economic stimulus as early as next year.

But the timing of the exit strategy is crucial since an early end to fiscal stimulus would hurt recovery, while a late withdrawal would increase the risk of inflation and threaten long-term stability.

Meanwhile, the year 2010 will be crucial for making progress in financial sector repair as the banking sector continues to be under stress.

The EU is reworking its financial market supervisory architecture. To better bolster the stability of European financial markets in future, a new European Systemic Risk Board would monitor macro-prudential risks and issue warnings and recommendations for policy action if risks are judged significant.

In addition, three European supervisory authorities for banks, insurance and securities markets would be created with a view to unifying supervisory practices among member states and to ensuring efficient handling of a financial emergency.

The new system was expected to take place in the course of 2010to help maintain the EU’s financial and economic stability.

China’s electrified railway mileage has surpassed 30,000 kilometers, ranking the second in the world, said the China CREC Railway Electrification Bureau Group (CCREBG) on Saturday.

It achieved the goal with the completion of a 1,422.2-kilometer electrified railway line which connects Beijing and Lehua in south China’s Jiangxi Province on Saturday, according to the CCREBG.

The project, involving an investment of more than 7.6 billion yuan (or1.112 billion U.S. dollars), will increase the trains’ speed from 120 kilometers to 160 kilometers per hour and raise the transportation volume from 3,500 tonnes to 6,000 tonnes by each train.

The operation of this railway links the electrified railways in the country’s central and eastern regions, and it would help to ease transportation strains on the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, according to the CCREBG.

The strong cold front that has been sweeping across most of north China over the past two days has brought a sharp temperature drop of up to 30 degrees centigrade to some hit areas.

The National Meteorological Center has issued second-level, or orange, alerts on the cold storm that brought fresh gales of up to force 8 to the affected areas, the China News Service reported.

The center forecast temperatures in parts of the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as well as Shaanxi, Shanxi and Hebei Provinces to fall to 30 degrees below zero.

The cold will continue to affect most parts of the country in the following two days, according to the forecast.

China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission said Thursday more efforts will be made to ensure electricity supply and safe operation of thermal power system.

“One of the priorities was to ensure the stable and safe operation of thermal power plants,” the SERC said in a statement on its website.

Power supply resumed Thursday in parts of the northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region where the cold snap had caused large-scale power cuts one day earlier.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

SHENYANG, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — Northeast China’s Liaoning Province closed 14 of its 15 highways Friday, due to a cold snap that hit the region on Thursday night bringing freezing temperatures and snow.

The meteorological station in Shenyang, Liaoning’s capital, issued a snow storm alert Friday morning, and forecast that temperatures would drop to 24 degree Celsius below freezing on Saturday in the province’s northern areas. Full story

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — A cold wave is expected to bring strong winds and sharp temperature drops in most parts of eastern China over the next three days, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast today.

Temperatures in north China, central and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia, as well as regions along the Yellow River and Huaihe River would drop by 8 to 12 degrees Celsius.

British Prince William slept a night on a London street for experiencing the situation of being homeless, according to news reports on Wednesday.

The prince spent the night in a sleeping bag next to rubbish bins in central London in an organized event by a homeless charity Centrepoint.

The charity’s chief executive slept next to the prince and said they were frightened as a moment came that they were nearly hit by a road sweeper.

It is reported that they woke up in the street at 6 o’clock on the morning and walked to the West End to meet other participants who were also experiencing the homeless’ sleep.

A spokesman from St. James’s Palace said, “Prince William took away from the experience the importance of tackling all the issues that cause people to be homeless and stay homeless, from drug dependency to mental health problems.”

Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the University of Macao’s (UM) new campus on Hengqin Island Sunday afternoon, calling for concerted efforts to build the university into a world top-notch one.

The president arrived at the campus accompanied by Chui Sai On, the newly sworn-in Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission, was briefed on the construction of the campus and the general outline to develop Hengqing Island.

He said that the building of the new campus caters to the need of Macao’s social development, especially in the high education sector.

The move also reflects Macao SAR government’s special attention on education and central government’s strong support to Macao’s education development.

The building of the campus is also a vivid embodiment of the advantages of “one country, two systems”, he said.

An island of 106.46 square km, Hengqin is situated in the south of Zhuhai, a coastal city of China’s southern province of Guangdong. It is separated from Macao by the Pearl River Estuary.

Hengqin is currently under the jurisdiction of Zhuhai city, but, on June 27, 2009, the ninth session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress passed a bill to give the Macao SAR jurisdiction over 1.09 square kilometers of land located on the eastern coast of the island, where UM’s new campus will be built.

Being a prestigious public school in Macao, the UM currently occupies a hilly strip of no more than 0.05 square km, and it has just over 6,600 students due to limited land.

With a larger area, the new campus will have a minimum accommodation capacity of 10,000 students and better education and research facilities.

Construction of the campus is expected to complete within 3 years.

The president said that he hoped the new UM will be turned into a world top-notch university with first-class facilities, teaching faculty, talents and achievements to contribute more to Macao’s talent cultivation and social and economic development.

“The development of Hengqin Island is a major decision by the central government,” he said, hoping Guangdong and Zhuhai will take concrete steps to turn Hengqin into a pilot zone for the cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under “one country, two systems.”

Hu also hoped Hengqin will become a pilot zone for deepening reform and opening-up and promoting scientific and technological innovation, and a new platform to promote industry upgrading on the west bank of the Pearl River.

The groundbreaking ceremony began at 4:00 p.m. Amid a warm applause, Hu unveiled a memorial plaque and then, shoveled earth on the cornerstone, marking the formal start of the campus construction.

Before leaving the campus, the president wrote for the UM an inscription “love the motherland and love Macao, study extensively and do things earnestly.”

Hu left Macao on Sunday afternoon after wrapping up his two-day tour to the special administrative region.

A senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Friday stressed the need of strengthening inspection to intensify intra-party supervision and maintain discipline.

He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remarks during a meeting of the central leading group set up for the CPC’s inspection work.

Intra-party inspection was formulated as part of the CPC’s intra-party supervision mechanism in 2003.

Intra-party inspection is key to enforcing the CPC’s disciplines, stepping up party building and maintaining social stability, He said.

He urged inspection authorities to give top priority to the enforcement of the party’s political disciplines.

Pfizer Inc, the world’s largest drugmaker, is doubling its presence in China over the next three years and intends to make its products more accessible to people in rural areas.

The company plans to expand its presence from 180 to over 360 cities by 2012, said E Allan Gabor, president of Pfizer North Asia, in an exclusive interview with China Daily yesterday.

Gabor said China would be one of the top markets for Pfizer next year.

“Ultimately we want to be in 630 cities, and that will take a few more years,” he said. “China is the most important developing market for us. If we put the country’s aging population and urbanization together, it truly makes it a unique market.”

The expansion indicates that Pfizer not only intends to expand its presence in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but also in central and western China.

The Chinese government recently announced its intention to revamp the medical care system in the country over the next three years and said it would invest 850 billion yuan ($124.49 billion). By this, the government intends to add 500 million people to the healthcare system, mostly from rural areas.

According to recent government regulations, farmers are entitled to a maximum medical compensation equivalent to six times their individual income. Healthcare companies saw this an excellent opportunity to tap the market in rural China.

Gabor, however, admits that complexities would increase as Pfizer expands into newer destinations. “When you go from tier-1 cities to tier-2 cities, from tier-2 to tier-3 and from tier-3 to tier-4, it is not the same business model and complexities vary,” he said.

A big explosion was heard Tuesday morning in central Baghdad.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Saturday had a joint interview with journalists from Japanese and the Republic of Korea (ROK) media ahead of his visit to four Asian nations including the two countries.

Xi will pay an official visit to Japan, the ROK, Cambodia and Myanmar from Dec. 14 to 22, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Japanese media include Kyodo News, Asahi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nihon Hoso Kyokai and Fuji TV. The ROK media include Yonhap News, Joong-ang Ilbo, Korean Broadcasting System and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.

Following are the highlights of the interview:

CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS

Xi said with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao’s successful meetings with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, relations between China and Japan have had a good start and maintained a good development momentum. The Chinese government always pursues a friendly policy towards Japan from the strategic and long-term point of view.

China is willing to carry out more exchanges and cooperation with Japan based on the guiding principles agreed by the two sides, and promote the bilateral strategic and reciprocal relations, Xi said, adding he hopes his visit will contribute to this end.

ESTABLISHMENT OF EAST ASIA COMMUNITY

Xi said the proposal of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to establish an east Asia community shows the importance Japanese government attaches to and its active stance on east Asia regional cooperation. This idea accords with the trend of Asian integration, and is also the common goal of the countries within this region. It is a systematic project to construct such a community, which should be base on reality and meanwhile take a long-term point of view. The most important thing to do at present is to strengthen dialogue and negotiation between countries so as to form consensus.

CHINA-ROK RELATIONS

Xi said China and the ROK have maintained a sound development of relations, with frequent contacts of state leaders and expanding economic cooperation and trade.

The two nations have designated 2010 as Visit China Year and 2012 as Visit Korea Year. Xi said he hopes the two countries will joint hands to well prepare for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the 2012 Yeosu World Expo, and take them as important platforms to further promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Xi said to further develop the China-ROK relations is conducive to the two people’s interests and regional peace, stability and prosperity. China will work with ROK to strengthen the friendly cooperation and be good neighbors, good friends and good partners forever.

He expected his visit to consolidate the two countries’ exchanges and cooperation, and promote the China-ROK strategic partnership of cooperation.

CHINA-ROK FREE TRADE ZONE

Xi said to expand trade and economic cooperation is an important part of China-ROK relationship, and a great impetus to promote the ties. He hoped relevant departments of the two countries will speed up their work to create conditions for an early start of official negotiations on the free trade zone.

COOPERATION AMONG CHINA, JAPAN AND ROK

Xi said Asia is one of the most vigorous and promising regions in the world. China, Japan and ROK are major countries in the region. To strengthen cooperation among them not only conforms to their own interests, but also benefits Asia and the world as a whole.

The nations should grasp the historic opportunity to expand cooperation, give play to their cooperation in promoting the east Asia cooperation and contributing to the construction of an east Asia community, Xi said.

SIX-PARTY TALKS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA NUCLEAR ISSUE

Xi stressed it’s China’s consistent position that the Korean Peninsula should be denuclearized, that the issue should resolved through dialogue and peaceful ways, and that the peace and stability of the Peninsula and northeast Asia should be maintained.

China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting the six-party talks process, Xi said. He added that China hopes the relevant parties will also work together to resume the six-party talks as early as possible. To continue the nuclear talks process and fully implement the three goals agreed by the Joint Statement of September 2005 is in the common interests of all parties.

CHINA’S MACRO-ECONOMIC SITUATION AND RESPONSE TO FINANCIAL CRISIS

China’s annual central economic conference concluded not long ago, Xi said. Confronted with the severe challenges brought about by the financial crisis and extremely complicated international and domestic situation, China timely introduced and comprehensively implemented a package plan and related policies, which has relatively fast reversed the declining trend of the economic growth.

As a result, the momentum of economic recovery has been gradually enhanced and the domestic demand kept increasing rapidly. Economic structure rebalance and energy saving and emissions cut have been actively pushed forward. The reforms and opening-up in major areas have been deepened and people’s livelihood has been improved, said Xi.

Under the conditions that China’s import and export trade has declined about 20 percent and its external demand contributed minus 3.6 percent to the economic growth rate, China has realized an increase of 11.3 percent in its domestic investment and consumption and an economic growth rate of 7.7 percent in its first three quarters this year.

China’s overall economic situation has rebounded. However, many uncertain factors still exist in its internal and external environment, Xi noted.

He said, the Chinese government will further strengthen and improve its macro-control measures and continue a proactive fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policy, so as to promote the stable and relatively rapid growth of the economy.

He said China will continue to take a responsible attitude in international cooperation on dealing with the economic downturn and make its due contribution to the economic recovery at an early date.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Xi said the climate change has brought about severe global challenges, which can not be coped with by any country alone but through the cooperation of the international community.

As a developing country, China has adopted a series of active measures in energy saving and emissions cut and made remarkable progress in recent years, said Xi.

China announced on Nov. 26 that it would reduce the intensity of its carbon dioxide emissions per GDP unit in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent from the 2005 level, which fully reflected its firm determination in making utmost efforts to tackle the climate change.

Xi said the UN climate change conference being held in Copenhagen could provide an important opportunity for the international community to reach consensus and address the issue together.

Xi called on the international community to adhere to the principles laid out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali road map, especially that of “common but differentiated responsibilities” and make joint efforts for the positive achievements of the conference. China is willing to enhance coordination with various countries and play a constructive role in this process.