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In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers...

1. China in Africa

Chinese firms abusing Zambian miners - rights group
Chinese mining companies in Zambia, Africa's biggest copper producer, are routinely flouting laws designed to protect workers' safety and the right to organise, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. In a report likely to pile more pressure on Chinese firms to clean up their labour practices, the New York-based body urged newly elected president Michael Sata to follow through on campaign promises to stamp out abuse of workers in the sector.
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Chinese investment positive for Africa, US senate was told
Chinese investment in Africa has had a positive impact on Africa in the long run, a US senate committee was told on Tuesday. "In terms of China's long-term investment in the continent, and its impact in the long term, I think I am going to basically give a positive response to that," David Shinn, former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, testified at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. "If the African countries don't have much-improved infrastructure, they are never going to improve their economies. They cannot continue at the level of what they were ten years ago in terms of infrastructure," he said.
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2. In Other Emerging Powers News

Brazil and Gates Foundation to improve agriculture in Africa, Asia
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday announced a partnership with the government of Brazil aimed at improving agricultural productivity among small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The Memorandum of Understanding with the Brazilian Agency for Cooperation (ABC) will lead to collaboration on a number of potential projects ranging from developing more productive and nutritious staple crops, improving soil and water management techniques as well as reducing crop loss after harvest, according to a statement received in Accra from the Foundation.
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South Africa-Politics: Agriculture minister attends second BRICS meeting
The South African Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, attended the second meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development which reviewed progress made in the implementation of the Moscow Declaration themed "Making Joint Efforts for World Food Security". The Moscow declaration was signed in 2010 at the first meeting of BRIC Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development. The BRICS Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development who participated in the meeting are from Brazil, Russia, India, the People's Republic of China and South Africa.
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BASIC countries show united front ahead of Durban meet
India, China, Brazil and South Africa – the BASIC group of developing countries – on Tuesday sought to bridge their differences and strike a common position ahead of this month’s climate change conference in Durban, calling on the West to ensure the extension of the Kyoto Protocol as well as step up financial and technological assistance to developing countries. The Durban conference, they said in a joint statement, “should achieve a comprehensive, fair and balanced outcome” and “clearly establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol,” which the statement described as “the cornerstone of the climate regime” and “the essential priority” for the summit’s success.
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BASIC nod to India's stand on climate talks
Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan notched a victory at the BASIC talks in Beijing with China and other countries cutting across groups strongly backing India's demand for centre-staging discussions on equity, IPR and trade in UN climate change negotiations on Tuesday. While noting that the emerging economies, along with other developing countries, had committed more to fight climate change than the rich countries, India's restored stance on climate change also found support from China and Brazil.
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3. Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

Chinese firms build bridges with communities in Africa
Bernard Ogalola, 52, joined China Road-Bridge Co (CRBC) in Kenya in 1986 and has been working for the company ever since, witnessing its change and growth in his country. Whereas some Chinese employers in Africa have been criticized for their failure to transfer skills or provide many job opportunities to local people, Chinese companies in Africa have made progress in recent years by improving labor relations and shouldering more social responsibilities. Ogalola said his first impression of the company was its large number of Chinese employees and supervisors who couldn't speak English, which led to misunderstanding and even conflicts.
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Don't Bet on the BRICs
In their Oct. 26 plan to resolve the Continent’s debt crisis, European leaders pledged to increase the size of the euro zone’s bailout fund from €440 billion ($604 billion) to €1 trillion. The money won’t come entirely from Europeans themselves. Responding to Western requests, Chinese officials are considering whether to contribute some of their $3.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves to the European Financial Stability Facility or possibly a new bailout mechanism set up by the International Monetary Fund. China also has signaled interest in investing in Greek infrastructure and buying up some of Athens’s debt. As Theodoros Pangalos, Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister, told reporters, “The Chinese deal in real things, in merchandise. And they will help the real economy in Greece.”
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