Monday Mornings are never as bad when you have Breakfast and the Papers to give you the morning’s headlines…

China and Japan hold key bilateral talks ahead of APEC summit

The leaders of China and Japan have met for the first time in several years in an attempt to reduce tensions over a group of contested islands in the South China sea. President Xi Jiapang and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held brief and tentative talks this morning, and whilst there does not appear to have been any direction discussion of proposals relating to the ongoing question of the sovereignty of the islands, this is nonetheless an important step forward in establishing a more amicable relationship between the worlds second and third largest economies.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/11/china-japan-leaders-hold-talks-beijing-201411104626592285.html

Catalonia Independence: 80% vote for split

Catalan voter have gone to the polls and given a clear message to the spanish government: the majority want independence. This was not a legally binding referendum, as was the case with the recent Scottish referendum on independence. The Spanish government has imposed questionable legal restrictions on the constitutionality of expressions of self determination from Catalonia, which make this result advisory in nature. Despite this, the Spanish government cannot continue to indefinitely block, derail and delegitimise Catalan calls for independence. This is an issue that will not go away.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/catalonia-independence-80-vote-to-split-from-spain-9850332.html

European Arrest Warrant

The Commons will today debate British participation in the EU-wide European arrest warrant. The Prime Minister has argued that joining the scheme will ensure Britain is better able to fight organised European crime, and that the plan will help to ensure that there are no ‘safe havens’ for criminals who could in other circumstances border hop to avoid arrest. The Prime Minister also pointed out that there are stringent procedural checks in place to avoid the illegitimate extradition of British Citizens, such as a British judicial veto over extradition orders. Tory backbenchers have however voiced concern over participation in the scheme, arguing that it is another example of the increasing concentration of political power that EU institutions can wield. Interestingly, the Home Secretary Theresa May has today come out on live TV and stated that Britain will not be a part of a European wide justice system. This could be interpreted in a number of different ways, and debate will be lively.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11220224/Theresa-May-says-Britain-will-not-be-part-of-pan-European-justice-system.html