November 2014 International Affairs

Afghan-U.S. bilateral pact approved

Afghanistans lower house of Parliament on 23rd November approved agreements that will allow
about 12,500 NATO-led troops to stay on next year as the national army and police struggle to
hold back the Taliban. U.S.-led NATO combat operations will finish at the end of this year, but the
Taliban have launched a series of recent offensives that have severely tested Afghan soldiers
and police.

The new NATO mission named Resolute Support will focus on supporting the Afghan
forces, in parallel with U.S. counter-terrorism operations. The Bilateral Security Agreement with
the United States, and a similar pact with NATO, were the source of huge friction between the
Afghan government and its allies under previous president Hamid Karzai. The new order also
allows air support from U.S. jets, bombers and drones for Afghan combat missions.

Israel as a Jewish state

Ministers voted on 23rd November in favour of a controversial proposal to anchor in law Israels
status as the national homeland of the Jewish people. The proposal would mean Israel would no
longer be defined in its Basic Laws as Jewish and democratic but instead as the national
homeland of the Jewish people.

China builds hydroelectric dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet

China has announced that it has completed a major hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra, called
Yarlung Zangbo, in Tibet. The dam is bound to enhance fears in India and Bangladesh about
flash floods and related risks like landslides involving lives of millions of people downstream.

India has repeatedly expressed concern about the dangers of damming the Brahmaputra, one of
the strongest Himalayan Rivers, in upstream areas in Tibet. China has routinely responded
saying its plans were restricted to run-off-the-river dams focused on generating electricity, which
posed little danger.

Announcing that Tibet's largest hydropower station had become partly operational on 23rd
November, China said it would be useful in "harnessing the rich water resources of the Yarlung