Dr Arsalan announces open global tender for Reko Diq

 

DUBAI: The son of the ex-chief justice of Pakistan, now at the centre of a huge controversy over his appointment, says the multi-billion dollar Reko Diq gold mines will be awarded through an open global tender to the highest bidder.
Dr Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, now vice chairman of the Balochistan Board of Investment, told me in a telephone talk that his father came to know about his new job through the media but then asked him to serve the people with full responsibility.

He dismissed the conspiracy theories about his appointment to sell multi-billion dollars gold mine Reko Diq through a backdoor deal as rubbish.“I would ensure that Reko Diq was given through an international tender, with maximum transparency, to ensure the rights of the Balochistan people,” he stated categorically several times during the talk.

PTI leader Imran Khan had stated at a huge rally in Bahawalpur that Arsalan was appointed VC of the BOI to repay ex-chief justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry for his complicity in rigging the 2013 elections in favour of Nawaz Sharif.

In an upbeat mood and dismissing his critics as just politicians playing politics, Arsalan emphasised repeatedly that neither Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, nor his sons or anyone in the federal government had any role in his appointment.

“I am a Baloch and now my fourth generation lives in this province. I have a right to serve it. The federal government has nothing to do with my appointment. The CM has said on the floor of the house that it was his personal decision. He is an honourable, clean and a nationalist person. He wanted to bring a team which could do something and deliver for the province.”

Arsalan revealed that he had in the past two years brought investments of millions of dollars into Balochistan. “Since 2007, I have been doing my independent business and I am an entrepreneur, everything is my own, my business, social life, everything is my own thing. I have contacts with people in Balochistan from my childhood and we have been living here for four generations now. My father came to know about this through the media. He knew nothing but when he heard it the only thing he told me was that I have a heavy responsibility and I will have to serve the people in any capacity.”

Asked wheter this meant his father had approved of the appointment, he said: “He never interferes in my matters, He never approves or disapproves anything concerning my matters. He has kept it like this. Neither I will interfere in his matters and nor he will do so in my matters.”

Asked about Reko Diq and how would he respond to criticism that he, Dr Malik, Hasil Bizenjo, the PM’s family and some old ousted companies had ganged up to give Reko Diq to them through a deal, Dr Arsalan said: “I laugh at political leaders who say things and make allegations on hearsay. In BOI our work is to channelise things. There are other opportunities and projects in Balochistan. We are there to project it and then put up to the govt, cabinet and provincial assembly. Our job is limited. Whatever project it is, we will ensure transparency and interests of the people of Balochistan. We will not compromise that in any case, come what may. We have been stopping corruption. To expect anything out of the way for anyone would be wrong. Whatever will be in the interest of the people, for their good, we will do. No favourtism will be done.”

Dr Arsalan has already made plans for the road forward. “Our first presentation to the chief minister will be given soon and we will place two core things before the CM. First will be the law and order and security for investors and the second would be complete transparency in projects, including Reko Diq.

“Before starting anything, we will hold external audits, from 2010 to-date. Every year an external audit by international companies will be done. It will be as crystal clear as a glass.”

On Reko Diq, Dr Arsalan is very clear. “It would be an international open tender. That’s how it should be done. The best bid and the option should be accepted. It would be open for all and advertised in international magazines, newspapers. We will see what the people get and the major share comes to the locals”.

“And let me tell you the father I represent, I can assure that with me around nothing like a backdoor deal is possible. The way forward will be given in a presentation within a week or 10 days as everyone was busy in the budget. The way forward will be opened to the public.”

Global refugee numbers highest since WWII: UN

 

GENEVA: The number of people driven from their homes by conflict and crisis has topped 50 million for the first time since World War II, with Syrians hardest hit, the UN refugee agency said Friday.
The UNHCR said there were 51.2 million forcibly displaced people at the end of 2013, a full six million higher than the previous year.

"The numbers we are announcing today do not represent good news. On the contrary, they represent a quantum leap in forced displacement around the world," said UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres.

"For the first time since the Second World War we had in 2013 more than 50 million people displaced by conflict or by persecution, either crossing borders or within the borders of their country," he told reporters during a visit to Lebanon.

Lebanon and other countries neighbouring Syria have borne the brunt of the refugee crisis sparked by that nation´s civil war.

The civil war in Syria is largely to blame for the global increase, the UNHCR said in its annual report, released on World Refugee Day.

Since the conflict erupted in March 2011, a total of 2.5 million people have fled Syria, with 6.5 million more displaced inside the country.

The Central African Republic and South Sudan crises have also sparked new waves of displacement, while enduring violence in Afghanistan and Somalia has continued to feed the numbers.

"The world has shown a very limited capacity to prevent conflicts and to find a timely solution for them," said Guterres.

"And so since conflicts erupt, impunity and unpredictability become the name of the game, and the consequences are dramatic for those millions and millions of people suffering so much," he added.

The spiralling numbers have huge implications for aid budgets, and place massive strains on nations on the front-lines of refugee crises, the UNHCR said.

Its data covers three groups: refugees, asylum-seekers, and the internally displaced.

Refugee numbers reached 16.7 million people worldwide, the highest since 2001."The number of new refugees last year was 2.5 million, the highest number since the Rwanda genocide," of 1994, Guterres noted.

A total of 6.3 million have been exiled for over five years, the agency said, not including five million Palestinians aided by the UN Relief and Works Agency, a separate body.

Overall, the biggest refugee populations under UNHCR care came from Afghanistan, Syrian and Somalia, who together form over half the global total.

The world´s top refugee hosts were Pakistan, Iran and Lebanon.The regions with the largest refugee populations were Asia and the Pacific, with a total of 3.5 million.

Sub-Saharan Africa totalled 2.9 million and the Middle East and North Africa, 2.6 million. (AFP)

Samsung Galaxy S5 makes global debut

SEOUL: The latest version of Samsung's flagship Galaxy smartphone went on sale worldwide Friday, days after the electronics giant announced it was facing a second consecutive quarter of profit decline.

The Galaxy S5 has a lot riding on it to steer the South Korean firm's profit-making machine back on track as growth in smartphone sales slows, with mature markets like North America and Europe near saturation.

Reviews of the S5 have mostly concluded that it is one of the best high-end smartphones on the market, but there is also a general consensus that it lacks the "wow" factor needed to differentiate it from its predecessors and competitors.

"It can swim, but it won't make any waves," was the verdict of the Wall Street Journal, referring to one innovation in the S5's waterproof covering.

"The Galaxy S5 is a good phone. It earns an unreserved recommendation," said the Washington Post.

"But the truth of the matter is that there's really nothing here that's worth breaking your contract to buy," it added.

Samsung's mobile unit has been the driving force behind the record profits of recent years, and it needs the S5 to perform well as a retort to doom-mongers who say the company lacks a clear strategy to flourish in an increasingly competitive, saturated market.

Samsung made more than 30 percent of all smartphones sold in the world last year, nearly twice the share of its arch-rival Apple.

But on Tuesday, the company estimated its first quarter operating profit at 8.4 trillion won ($7.96 billion), marking a second straight year-on-year decline.

As well as the constant challenge from Apple, Samsung has had to face the rapid expansion of smaller rivals like China's Huawei, which has pressured it into rolling out cheaper handsets to woo consumers in emerging markets, especially China.

-- Falling smartphone prices --

In a sign of the challenge the company faces, the S5 was priced lower at its commercial launch Friday than the previous S4 model.

Research firm IDC estimated the average selling price of smartphones will fall to $265 globally by 2017 from $337 in 2013 and $387 in 2012.

Samsung is believed to have reduced its marketing spend on the S5 and is also under pressure to set aside more cash for legal bills as years-long patent battles against Apple continue.

The two have locked horns in patent suits in several nations involving design and technologies on their smartphones and tablet computers.

A fresh patent trial opened in the United States last week, with Apple vowing to prove that Samsung flagrantly copied iPhone features and should pay more than $2 billion in damages.

Major handset makers have recently stepped up efforts to develop wearable devices, seen as a new source for growth -- though few have managed to garner large consumer excitement or sales.

Samsung's first Internet-enabled smartwatch, introduced last September, was greeted coldly by consumers who viewed it unfashionable. Its second edition, the Gear 2, was launched in February.

Apple is believed to be planning its own smartwatch launch soon, while Google is moving towards a wider consumer launch of its Internet-enabled eyewear Glass.

 

Use of drones should be under global law

 

GENEVA: The United Nations called on all states on Friday to ensure that the use of armed drones complies with international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, backing a proposal from Pakistan.
A resolution presented by Pakistan on behalf of co-sponsors, including Yemen and Switzerland, did not single out any state.The United States is the biggest armed drone user in conflicts, including those in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia.

“The purpose of this resolution is not to shame or name anyone, as we are against this approach,” Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Zamir Akram told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). “It is about supporting a principle.”

The United States prizes drones for their accuracy against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. Pakistan says they kill civilians and infringe its sovereignty.“The United States is committed to ensuring that our actions, including those involving remotely piloted aircraft, are undertaken in accordance with all applicable domestic and international law and with the greatest possible transparency, consistent with our national security needs,” Paula Schriefer, US deputy assistant secretary of state, told the talks.

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 27 states in favour to six against, with 14 abstentions at the 47-member Geneva forum. The United States, Britain and France voted against.The resolution urges all states to ensure that any measures employed to counter terrorism, including armed drones, comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of precaution distinction and proportionality.

The text voiced concern at civilian casualties resulting from the use of remotely-piloted aircraft or armed drones, as highlighted by the UN special investigator on counter-terrorism Ben Emmerson in a recent report.It called on UN human rightsexpert discussions on armed drones and report back in September.

The United States, Britain and France said it was not appropriate for the forum to put weapons systems on its agenda. The Obama administration preferred to discuss drones under an initiative of Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which it hoped would provide a “non-politicised forum” where military experts can discuss law of war issues, Schriefer said.

Akram, speaking before the vote, said opposition “can only lead to the conclusion that these States are guilty of violating applicable international law and demonstrate that they are afraid of being exposed in the expert panel”.

A separate UN human rights watchdog called on the Obama administration on Thursday to limit its use of drones and to curb US surveillance activities.The heavy mandate in favour of the resolution came about despite stiff opposition and intensive lobbying against the resolution by the US, the UK and France. As a result several European Union countries which are currently members of the Council were forced to change their votes. However, they refused to vote against the resolution and abstained. The only exception was Ireland which took a principled stance in support of the resolution.

According to the Pakistan’s Mission in Geneva, the adoption of the resolution by heavy majority underscored the success of Pakistan’s diplomacy in garnering international support for its principled position on the use of armed drones in violation of international law. This would further strengthen the country s efforts to address the issue of drones, it added.

Rajapaksa says rivals trying to oust him with global support

PTI Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has blamed opposition parties of trying to engineer his downfall with international support. 

 

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has blamed opposition parties of trying to engineer his downfall with international support saying his government “is being punished for ending terrorism”.

Campaigning for his ruling coalition in the two Provincial Assembly elections to be held next Saturday, the Sri Lankan President accused the opposition on Saturday of becoming a pawn to anti-Sri Lanka forces.

“They know they can’t win people’s hearts and win so they expect international support to topple the government,” Mr. Rajapaksa said in the southwestern town of Kaluthara.

“Madam (Navi) Pillay (UNHRC chief), U.S., U.K., all are moved against us by the Tamil diaspora,” he said on the UNHRC resolution to be voted on later this week in Geneva.

“We are being punished for ending terrorism. We did not fight Tamils, we only fought terrorism,” Mr. Rajapaksa stressed.

He appealed to the voters to send a powerful message to the international community.

“We will not tolerate any foreign interference and that will be the message,” he said.

The Sri Lankan President has opted to hold two Provincial elections both in the Sinhala-majority areas — the Western and Southern provinces, as a test of his popularity.

The U.S.-moved resolution is being dubbed by the government as action to try Mr. Rajapaksa in the international criminal court for alleged war crimes during the final battle with the LTTE.

Sri Lanka is facing its third U.N. Human Rights Council resolution in as many years, censuring the country on its lack of progress on human rights accountability and reconciliation with its Tamil minority after the civil war ended with the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009.

India had backed the previous two resolutions.

No Indian university in top 100 global list, Harvard voted best

None of the IITs have made it to the top 100 of a global list released by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings on Thursday. 

CHENNAI: None of India's 700 universities and 35,539 colleges has made it to the top 100 list of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings released on Thursday.

This means that academics don't think too highly of the capabilities and work of our higher educational institutions.

The ranking, drawn on the findings of an invitation-only academic opinion survey, is based on the subjective judgment of around 60,000 senior, published academics considered as "the people best placed to know the most about excellence in our universities".

Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the US lead the list followed by the UK's University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. Agency reports said that Punjab University, the alma mater of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, found a place in the unranked section of 226 - 300. It is followed by the IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee between ranks 351 and 400.

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is ranked highest among Indian institutions, at just below 200, from its 130th place last year. IIT-Bombay figures among the 210-220 group, and IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kanpur are ranked below 250.

The US has the most representation with more than 45 institutions figuring in the top 100 followed by the UK with 10 institutions, Germany with six and Japan and Australia with five. India is the only BRIC country that is not represented in the top 100 list. China has two of its institutions on the list while Brazil and Russia have one each.

Though based on perception experts said the reputation ranking cannot be taken lightly. In his article 'Credit check' on the website, Times Higher Education Rankings editor Phil Baty said that reputation is the currency of global higher education today, and is accepted by scholars, students, donors and industry.

"In today's academy, reputation is the currency: research has shown that institutional standing is the top consideration for academics when moving jobs, is vital for the formation of international collaborations, and is essential in persuading philanthropists to give and industrial partners to invest," Baty said.

According to data put together by the Institute of International Education on international student mobility in 2012, the number of foreign students registered in Indian higher education institutions in 2012 is 27,000, much lower than in other Asian countries like China (3.28 lakh) or Japan (1.37 lakh).

"Personal experience has shown that IITs are incredibly highly valued in institutions like MIT or Caltech. When we host international delegations in the realm of technology, we find that IITs are as good as any other institution," said R Nagarajan, dean, international and alumni relations, IIT-Madras. But he maintained the stand that it was unfair to compare IITs which are technical institutions with universities that also ran other courses.

VIT University chancellor G Viswanathan said that the visibility of Indian institutions outside the country is poor. "If we want to be known outside the country, we must have partners around the world and get international accreditation. Senior institutions like the IITs are only taking the initiative to get international students or faculty," he said.

No, China is not the ‘Cookie Monster’ of global commodities

HONG KONG — China's coming for your water. Your food. Your oil. Your iron ore.
The country has a “voracious appetite.”
At least that's the drumbeat you've been hearing in headlines over the last several years.
With nearly 1.4 billion people and a surging economy, it’s easy to see why China’s resource demand has shaken world markets and generated outsized fears.
After all, oil prices spiked to an all-time high in 2008. Food prices hit a record high in 2011.
True, China has launched an impressive series of projects to secure mines, farmland, and water resources, from Brazil to Zimbabwe to Papua New Guinea.
Given all that it’s easy to think that China may be single-handedly driving the world into a desperate, dangerous contest for Earth’s dwindling resources.
The reality, however, is more complicated.
Elizabeth Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations helps cut through the hype in her new, co-authored book, "By All Means Necessary: How China’s Resource Quest Is Changing the World."

She spoke with GlobalPost about the risks and realities of China’s strategy for securing raw materials. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
GlobalPost: Your book talks about the significance of China’s push into the outside world. What are the main effects, from an economic point of view?
Elizabeth Economy: The consequences are across the board, whether you’re talking about global economics, global governance or international security. I think on the economic front, China’s quest for resources has certainly contributed to rejuvenating some economies, particularly resource-rich economies. And, it has certainly contributed to price rises in the case of some commodities.
What were the biggest surprises of your research?
One of the most interesting things we found was China’s impact on the iron ore market. You’d tend to think that China’s going to come in and just drive up prices. But in fact iron ore prices had traditionally been negotiated in a very structured way between large consumers and large producers. When China came in, thousands of producers came too, and this made the market more flexible, instead of rigid. That was one surprise.
Another surprise was that Beijing is not really the puppet master controlling trade and deals in the way we think it does. [China’s National Development and Reform Commission] will go out and put together a package for a country, but it doesn’t mean the Chinese companies want to participate. In Brazil, for example, only about 30 percent of the promised investment in 2007 has been realized. It’s especially these big promised investments that don’t come to fruition.
I think we’re beginning to see that Chinese companies, particularly the private firms, realize that the projects China proposes are not necessarily money-making. About 67 percent of all [China's] foreign direct investment is money-losing.
In what aspects is China’s quest causing real friction?
One issue is the extent to which China at home is really China abroad. At home, Chinese companies do not typically do environmental impact assessments. When they go abroad they act the same way. When I was in Brazil, [Chinese investors] would assume that the Brazilian officials could simply appropriate land from the public.
They’re also learning what the US learned in the ‘60s and ‘70s, which is when you get into bed with ugly leaders, and then those leaders fall out of power, the people in those countries remember you as tied to those leaders. In Zambia, certainly in Myanmar, there’s a lot of mistrust because they see the Chinese as having done a lot of deals with an authoritarian, dictatorial government.
I think China is beginning to understand it needs to take stock of what people believe. China investment usually operates only at the top level, and they thought they didn’t need to consult with local communities.
There’s no doubt that there’s been a backlash in a number of countries against Chinese resource investment. On land issues there have been protests in Kazakhstan and the Philippines. Brazil and Argentina passed land laws that they said were not developed directly in opposition to China, but appeared just when China was going out in full force.
What sort of new pressures does this put on China’s government? In other words, what sort of challenges does this global push for resources create for China?
One big challenge is the export of Chinese labor. Much of the Chinese labor exported isn’t for [extracting] the resources themselves but for the infrastructure projects that surround the resources.
You also see in Africa small scale Chinese farmers who go in to support the Chinese communities that grow up. So you have almost self-sufficient communities, and this has bred a lot of resentment — not only because of the sense that the Chinese keep to themselves, but when the Chinese come in and announce these big investment deals, there’s a fear that these jobs will be taken by Chinese workers.
There’s a very strong feeling — I’ve heard this from Chinese diplomats — that other people don’t work as hard as the Chinese. They say, “In Africa they all want to sing and dance and don’t want to work on weekends.” That’s an area of strong conflict.
This is an area where I think they need to be more sensitive to local concerns. But I don’t see any sign that they are changing.
How does China’s global push compare to what other emerging economies have done?
When you look back to the 1970s and ’80s, all major powers went out and sought resources. In the 1970s, Japan commanded 10 percent of global oil output, and China today commands 11 to 12 percent. We don’t want to demonize China in this regard, because in some ways it’s following the trajectory of all developing powers.
What challenges does this create for the United States?
In terms of what it suggests for the US, on the sheer demand side, it suggests a need for new technologies. For example, one of the things China’s rare earth embargo [against Japan] triggered in 2010 was the need to develop alternative sources of rare earth metals. Ideas of conservation and recycling, these are processes that can be triggered by Chinese demand.
On the global security front, given what’s going on now with the South China Sea and East China Sea, it’s important to disentangle resources from security. I think, yes, resource security plays into China’s strategic drive, but China’s security policy is really driven by a different consideration: China’s desire to assert its power, and the sense that China is not simply a regional power but a global power.
What is the biggest misperception about China’s resource quest?
I’d say it’s that China is the Cookie Monster of global resources, gobbling up everything everywhere it looks. The reality is, if you look at the biggest overseas agricultural investment, Canada is first, the US is second, and China is third.
China is responsible for a substantial portion of foreign direct investment, but I think there’s this sense that they are sucking up all the resources, and are a massive investor across all continents. In fact, they are nowhere near the biggest overseas investor. They are the fourth largest overseas investor in Africa, the third largest in South America, third in Southeast Asia, and so on.