Jun12017

Report: More urban Chinese smokers quit

East Asia
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China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission is planning to implement a nation-wide ban on smoking in public places by the end of 2017. [Photo/163.com]

More smokers in Chinese cities are quitting the habit compared to a decade ago thanks to regional tobacco control regulations and improved public awareness, according to a report released on World No-Tobacco Day on Wednesday.

The quitting rate — which measures the percentage of participants who quit smoking during the survey period — rose from 6 percent in 2006 to 9.2 percent in 2015, Liang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), said at a press conference in Shanghai.

“Although the percentage has increased, it is far lower than in other countries,” he said.

The report was based on five surveys performed from 2006 to 2015 in both urban and rural areas, including the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming as well as rural areas of Yichun in Heilongjiang Province and Tongren in Guizhou Province.

Around 800 smokers and 200 non-smokers in each area participated in each survey, organized by China CDC in cooperation with the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project.

The ITC project is an international research program to evaluate key policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). It is conducting surveys in at least 28 countries covering more than 50 percent of the world’s population.

The surveys in China found people in rural areas lacked knowledge about tobacco’s harmful effects to human health, apart from lung cancer.

The latest survey from 2013 to 2015 showed only 53 percent of rural participants knew smoking may lead to heart disease, 12 percentage points lower than in urban areas.

Only 35 percent of people in rural areas knew smoking could cause stroke, 5 percentage points lower than in urban areas, according to the report. “The results show tobacco control publicity is badly needed to improve public awareness in the countryside,” said Liang.

There are over 300 million smokers and 740 million people exposed to second-hand smoke in China. Over 1 million people die of tobacco use every year, with another 100,000 deaths caused by second-hand smoke exposure, figures show.

China has set a target to reduce the smoking rate among people aged 15 and older to 20 percent by 2030 from the current 27.7 percent, according to the “Healthy China 2030” blueprint issued by the central authorities last October.

Since China ratified the WHO FCTC in 2005, the country has made a number of tobacco control efforts, including banning tobacco advertisements, increasing tobacco taxes and putting forward regional smoking bans.

As of 2016, 18 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, had implemented regional smoking bans, and a draft of national tobacco control regulations in public areas is currently being reviewed, according to Song Shuli from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

“The local bans, which have covered one-tenth of our country’s total population, have provided reference for national legislation on tobacco control,” said Song.

Jun12017

Visit to Singapore

Australia
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From 2 – 4 June, I will make my first official visit as Prime Minister to Singapore.

I will deliver the keynote address at the opening of the 16th Shangri-La Dialogue, and will hold the second Australia-Singapore annual leaders’ talks with Singaporean Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is the largest and most important annual gathering of defence ministers, defence force chiefs and senior security officials in the Indo-Pacific. It provides an important opportunity to set out Australia’s vision for a stable, prosperous and rules-based region built on open economies.

My meeting with Prime Minister Lee will be a timely opportunity to exchange views on the changing strategic landscape and the importance of regional institutions, including ASEAN and the East Asia Summit, in ensuring regional stability and economic prosperity.

We will also review the excellent progress made across the four pillars of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: trade and economic, defence and security, innovation and science cooperation and cultural exchange.

Australia’s relationship with Singapore is one of the closest and most comprehensive in the region. It is a relationship built on complementary economies and shared strategic interests.

I look forward to further strengthening the links between our two economies, our institutions and our people.

Jun12017

Remarks at the Cyber Security Roundtable

Australia
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PRIME MINISTER:

Dan Tehan and I and Paul Talon and Alastair MacGibbon are delighted to be joined by you all today. Thank you very much for coming.

You are the leaders of some of, most of our biggest telco’s and some of our biggest web-based platforms; Amazon, Facebook, we’ve got a huge representation here in the telco sector.

Now we are going to have a talk about the new frontier of threats to Australia’s security.

Cyberspace is the new frontier of espionage. It is the new frontier of warfare. It’s a new frontier of threats to Australian governments, to families and businesses.

It’s also a vector for the foreign states to interfere in democracies. We’ve seen that with the Russian interference in the American elections and of course, only on Monday the newly elected French President Macron said, “During the campaign Russia today and Sputnik were agents of influence, which on several occasions spread fake news about me personally and my campaign”.

So we have the prospect of the openness of the internet, the openness of the cyberspace, being exploited. Not just by people that hack into our databases, who want to use ransomware like WannaCry, which is obviously been the most recent global example, but who also want to use that means of access, use platforms. Facebook for example, to spread fake news, to be able to disseminate a distorted view of the world and interfere with our democracy.

So we need to work more closely together.

We have great agencies, as you know. We do work, we have always worked closely but we need to be more cohesive. What we’re looking for today is an open discussion as to how all of us – telco’s, the big over the top providers, the big web-based platforms; Amazon, Facebook, infrastructure providers like NBN – can work together to ensure that we can better protect Australians, their businesses, their families, keep them safe and online.

Of course, it’s opened up extraordinary opportunities, the internet. It is the most remarkable piece of infrastructure ever designed. If you look at something as ubiquitous as the smart phone is only ten years old, is extraordinary in itself. But it does pose new challenges. It gives those who seek to do us harm greater access, access that they hadn’t had before.

So, thank you for coming and I look forward to having a very frank discussion with Dan and of course supported by Paul from the Signals Directorate and my Cyber Security Adviser, Alastair MacGibbon.

[ENDS]

May312017

Powerful and courageous performance by UKIP Leader

UKIP
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Talking about the BBC Election Debate that took place in Cambridge on Thursday night, UKIP peterwhittle.jpgDeputy Leader Peter Whittle said, “It’s clear that Paul Nuttall showed a resolve, courage and leadership that has been lacking from the rest of the Westminster establishment.

“Paul spoke to people in Britain who are living in the real world. Unlike the others he was honest, direct, and confident about the future of Britain.

“Despite a blanket of denial from the other speakers, he was prepared to talk about the real threats faced by our society. He was prepared to call out Islamic Extremism for what it is rather than simply restate the platitudes we are so used to. He was realistic about the impact of immigration on jobs and our public services.

 

May312017

Slovak Foreign Minister elected as President of 72nd session of the General Assembly

United Nations
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31 May 2017 – The United Nations General Assembly today elected by acclamation Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajèák of Slovakia as President of its upcoming 72nd session.

Following his election at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Lajèák outlined as the six priorities for his tenure: people; peace and prevention; migration; the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action; and human rights, which would guide his work as an overarching principle.

&#8220I do believe we can do more to bring the UN closer to the world’s citizen and make a real difference in their lives,&#8221 he began. With a focus on quality, he pledged &#8220not to launch any initiative that would result in additional burden, particularly for smaller States. I would rather create a streamlined agenda organized in clusters.&#8221

&#8220Indeed, it is a common goal to create a stronger United Nations able to meet the multitude of expectations placed upon it,&#8221 he underscored. &#8220To that end, I will facilitate a constructive, informed and open interaction among Member States and with the Secretary-General.&#8221

Mr. Lajèák called for greater trust between the UN and its Members, stressing that he would do &#8220his utmost to support progress on the United Nations reform agenda, which is vital to improve the efficiency and role of the General Assembly, as well as reform the Security Council into a twenty-first-century body.&#8221

Immediately after leaving the General Assembly Hall, Mr. Lajèák spoke to the press.

&#8220I’ve always believed strongly in multilateralism, with the United Nations at the very centre of it, and I want to use my mandate, when I take over from the current president, to strengthen the role of the United Nations. We live in difficult times, and therefore I believe we need the UN more than ever, and we need a strong and efficient United Nations,&#8221 he said.

Turning to peace and prevention, Mr. Lajèák explained: &#8220As a professional diplomat, I really believe that we should invest more in preventing conflict, and thus saving human lives and also saving money. There is one important event that is already mandated for April next year, which we want to use to strengthen the importance of sustaining peace and preventing conflict.&#8221

&#8220Migration is another priority,&#8221 he continued. &#8220We have to deliver on the migration compact, so this will be one of the most urgent issues during the 72nd Session. The next one is to stay focused and keep the speed and attention when it comes to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and also climate change.&#8221

The Assembly President-elect then added that the &#8220next priority is human rights &#8211 respect for basic rights and dignity of every human being. And this is an overarching principle that must be reflected in everything we do.&#8221

Congratulations abound

In his remarks to the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres offered his warm congratulations, saying: &#8220Foreign Minister Lajèák has always demonstrated an impressive command of all aspects of UN action and a strong commitment to the principles that govern our work.&#8221

The UN chief highlighted Mr. Lajèák’s strong commitment to the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate change, adding that his &#8220enthusiastic leadership in relation to the Oceans Conference represent a legacy that will never be forgotten in the United Nations.&#8221

Mr. Guterres also lauded current President, Peter Thomson, saying: &#8220You have guided this Assembly outstandingly well during the transition from one Secretary-General to the next &#8211 and you have fully supported my efforts to sharpen our focus on prevention, achieve reform, and better serve the peoples of the world.&#8221

For his part, General Assembly President Thomson offered congratulations, highlighting that his successor brings &#8220a dedicated work ethic, an unwavering commitment to multilateralism, and a wealth of experience to the role,&#8221 skills, he added &#8220that will serve him, and the United Nations, well over the coming session.&#8221

Mr. Thomson commented that he had been struck by Mr. Lajèák’s &#8220commitment to forging a United Nations fit for the 21st Century, an Organization that serves the people, one that is based on ethics and transparency, and one that promotes human rights and the rule of law.&#8221

Finally, he expressed his confidence &#8220that under Minister Lajèák’s leadership, the United Nations will be strongly positioned to advance our global efforts to sustain peace; promote human rights; and stay the course on implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.&#8221

Having served as a three-term Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, along with the UN and European Union in a number of senior conflict prevention, resolution, and mediation role, Mr. Lajèák will assume the Presidency on 12 September.

Made up of all the 193 Member States of the UN, the General Assembly provides a forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the UN Charter. It meets in regular session intensively from September to December each year, and thereafter as required.