by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Islamabad : Pakistan is set to appoint a new ambassador in Washington as the US has announced travel restrictions on Pakistani diplomats across the country starting from Friday, the media reported on Thursday.
Pakistan’s top envoy to the US Aizaz Chaudhry has announced to leave the post following the announcement of the restrictions.
On Wednesday, Chaudhary said hat the embassy had received the agreement for the new ambassador, Ali Jahangir Siddiqui, on Tuesday, paving the way for his appointment, reports Dawn news.
Siddiqui was nominated by the Prime Minister in March.
He said that instead of the mandatory six weeks, he has only requested for three weeks for winding up his engagements in the US capital.
“I am a civil servant and I obey orders from Islamabad,” said Chaudhary. “I served my country with honour and dignity and I am ready to leave now.”
Chaudhary is expected to leave his job on May 29, only two days before an interim government is expected to take charge in Islamabad.
Siddiqui can stay for the next three months if the coming interim government agrees to keep him.
Under the travel ban, Pakistani staffers will have to seek prior permission from US authorities if they have to travel beyond the imposed 40 km radius, reports The News International.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Washington : US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will withdraw his country from the Iran nuclear deal, a decision that immediately drew global frustration and outcry.
The pullout of the US from the deal, which eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country limiting its nuclear program, risks sparking an arms race in the Middle East, experts said, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a televised speech from the White House, Trump announced the exit. He said that he will not sign the waiver of nuke-related sanctions against Iran, but re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Tehran and nations it has business links with.
Trump repeated his rhetoric against Iran and the deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying it had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.
The JCPOA “allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium” and “lifted crippling economic sanctions” on Iran in exchange for “very weak limits” on its nuclear activity, “and no limits at all” on its efforts to expand regional influences, he said.
“The deal’s sunset provisions are totally unacceptable,” He said. “If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Everyone would want their weapons ready by the time Iran had theirs.”
The US will impose “the highest level” of economic sanctions on Tehran, he said. “Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States.”
As for the possible exacerbation of trans-Atlantic division over his decision, Trump only said that “we are unified in our understanding of the threat, and in our conviction that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Trump’s decision came on the heels of visits to the US by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Macron even proposed a last-ditch side plan to appease Trump, but had failed to convince him.
The White House said later that Trump had “directed his administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing sanctions related to the JCPOA,” and “the re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.”
“Those doing business in Iran will be provided a period of time to allow them to wind down operations in or business involving Iran,” it added. “Those who fail to wind down such activities with Iran by the end of the period will risk severe consequences.”
US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin noted in an announcement that “sanctions will be reimposed subject to certain 90 day and 180 day wind-down periods”.
“At the conclusion of the wind-down periods, the applicable sanctions will come back into full effect. This includes actions under both our primary and secondary sanctions authorities,” he added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US “will be working with our allies to find a real, comprehensive, and lasting solution to the Iranian threat.”
Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran deal signed between Iran and the six world powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US has sparked domestic and global concerns.
In a joint statement released by Macron’s office, French, German and British leaders regretted the US decision.
Macron, Merkel and Theresa May reiterated their “continued commitment” to the Iran nuclear deal, stressing that it “is of particular importance to our shared security.”
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, under whose administration the deal was signed, said in a Facebook post that Trump’s announcement is “so misguided” and “a serious mistake.”
“The JCPOA is working,” Obama said, adding that “the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East” without the landmark deal.
Europe will abide by the JCPOA, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, adding she was “particularly worried” about the possible repercussions of Trump’s decision.
For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that his country will remain in the deal, adding he has asked the Iranian foreign minister to initiate negotiations with the European partners as well as China and Russia over the fate of the deal.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on April 27 that China expects the deal to remain intact and be treated seriously.
“China calls for all related parties to strengthen dialogue and coordination” over the deal, she said.
Experts from the Washington-based Arms Control Association also denounced the decision. Daryl G. Kimball, the group’s executive director, said Trump’s announcement “is an irresponsible act of foreign policy malpractice” and “a twofold abrogation of US commitments.”
“Through his reckless actions, Trump is precipitating a proliferation crisis rather than working with our allies to develop a long-term diplomatic strategy to build on the agreement in the years ahead,” Kimball said.
Brookings Institution senior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that “the risk is his decision will spark an arms race in the Middle East.”
“Iran may restart its nuclear programme and that could propel Saudi Arabia to develop its own nuclear programme. The region is likely to become more volatile and chaotic as a result of the deal nullification,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Nikki Haley
United Nations : The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has said that President Donald Trump’s “communication style” has made her uncomfortable and has proven to have complicated relationships in the diplomatic sphere.
“He has his communication style, but you are not hearing me defend that,” Haley was quoted as saying in a CBS interview.
Haley illustrated her disagreement with Trump citing a tweet of February when he accused Latin American countries of turning a blind eye on drug trafficking, Xinhua news agency reported.
“They’re laughing at us, so I’m not a believer in that, I want to stop the aid,” Trump said in the tweet, referring to the US aid to the region.
Haley later embarked on a trip to Honduras to reconcile and reassure local authorities on US foreign policy.
“If they get education and they get training, then we know that they’re going to be productive,” Haley said.
“If there is anything that he communicates in a way that I’m uncomfortable with, I pick up the phone and call him,” Haley said in the interview and added that Trump had been receptive of her opinion.
Trump has been known to make sensational claims and blunt assertions on social media, which he said helps him get his “unfiltered” message across but has created controversy and sometimes even rifts in the delicate world of diplomacy.
With his unconventional style, Trump has also created strains with American long time allies in Europe and Asia.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Marketing Basics, Markets, Networking, Online Marketing, Social Media, Technology, World
San Francisco : Learning from the Facebook fiasco, Google has rolled out new policies for verifying election advertisers in the US that require additional verification for anyone who wants to purchase an election ad on Google in the country.
“As a first step, we’ll now require that advertisers confirm they are a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, as required by law,” Kent Walker, Senior Vice President at Google, said in a statement late Friday.
This means advertisers will have to provide a government-issued ID and other key information.
“To help people better understand who is paying for an election ad, we also require that ads incorporate a clear disclosure of who is paying for it,” Walker added.
The move comes in the wake of strong evidence that Russia used social media and online ads in an attempt to influence the 2016 US Presidential election.
Google will soon release a new “Transparency Report” specifically focused on election ads.
This report will describe who is buying election-related ads on its platforms and how much money is being spent.
“We’re also building a searchable library for election ads, where anyone can find election ads purchased on Google and who paid for them,” Walker noted.
Google is already investing in keeping its own platforms secure and working with campaigns, elections officials, journalists, and others to help ensure the security of the online platforms that they depend on.
“We’ve developed a range of ‘Protect Your Election’ tools with Alphabet’s ‘Jigsaw’ that are specifically tailored for people who are at particularly high risk of online attacks,” said the Google executive.
“We’ve partnered with the National Cyber Security Alliance and Digital Democracy Project at the Belfer Centre at Harvard Kennedy School to fund security training programmes for elected officials, campaigns, and staff members,” Walker said.
In order to prevent election interference on its platform, Facebook has also introduced new changes to increase transparency and accountability for electoral ads and pages.
To get authorised by Facebook, advertisers will now need to confirm their identity and location.
“Advertisers will be prohibited from running political ads–electoral or issue-based–until they are authorised,” Rob Goldman, Vice President, Ads at Facebook, said recently in a blog post.
Facebook is also investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and adding more people to help find advertisers that should have gone through the authorisation process but did not.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Sanjiv Kataria,
Time was when, if you aspired to study abroad, you wouldn’t look beyond the US and the United Kingdom with their prestigious colleges and great institutions of higher learning, many of them with an Ivy League tag. They still exist, but a plethora of restrictions of late on internships, on-job training, work permits and the uncertainty around H-1B visas have led students and parents to cast the net wider.
Countries like Canada, Australia, Singapore and, of late, Dubai have emerged as hot favourites due to the growing number of opportunities to study, find remunerative work and options to settle down.
But before you jump to a country of choice, you need to answer questions like: What is it that really interests you? What would you like to achieve? What do you enjoy doing? These are not inane questions but important pointers to your future career. With the jobs as we know them to be today set to change vastly or disappear in the next 5-10 years due to tectonic technological changes, students looking for a satisfying and successful career will have to seriously ponder the road ahead.
Here are a few parameters for you to consider when comparing Universities:
* Compare the QS rankings of the short-listed colleges. The reputed British agency, QS, compares top universities globally on parameters like research, teaching, employability and internationalisation — and the institute’s stature.
* Consider the academic excellence and research facilities, but also check out the innovation, entrepreneurship and employability focus of the University.
Remember, employability means not just employment and getting a job, but equipping you with the skills, the knowledge and tools to be able to succeed in your career.
Of all these parameters, check out specifically the focus the university places on employability of students, making sure to find out if they have a well-researched and thought through Professional Development Program (PDP) tailored for international students to enhance their career success.
* It is normal and expected of students not to know what they want to do. Check out if the PDP for an international student like you will give systematic opportunities to experience, say, an Australian, Singaporean or a Canadian workplace culture, facilitate internships, the recruitment process and prepare you for a global career — through interactive sessions. Also check out how the programme will equip you with inputs so that you as an international student “stand out”.
* Do enquire what options are available for international students for networking and sharpening the communication skills to boost your employability, besides helping you with effective resumes, interviewing tips and mock interviews.
* What career advice can you expect to maximise employment outcomes? Does the University’s placement division organise career fairs and seminars? If yes, how often are recruiters invited to the campus? Do the invitees to the career workshops include international alumni who have made a success of their careers? Where does the university rank on employer reputation on QS?
* One of the important parameters to consider would be the state of the health of the economy. Many of you would be surprised to learn that Australia has been recession-free for the past 26 years while the strong economies of Singapore and Canada have experienced a blip or two during this period. Australia’s economic success often goes unnoticed because it is not promoted as much as the UK and the US.
* Compare starting salaries for graduates or post-graduates, especially from your area of study across Universities and the cost of living of shortlisted countries. Some countries prescribe minimum wages based on qualifications and industry and you would do well to compare them.
* While most popular courses to pursue abroad among Indian students are Business, Information Technology, Engineering, Science and Architecture, you would do well to check how the programme of your choice ranks in the preferred University.
* Look for institutions where scholarship awards are offered to only a few students based on merit-based scores that are usually above the minimum cut-off prescribed for admissions. Best to avoid institutions that offer scholarships as a bait to every foreign student more as a price-off than on merit.
* Another point for Indian students to consider is how easy is to transfer to the education system. How compatible and similar is it to Indian 10+2+3 education structure? Since universities in the US insist on a 10+2+4, only those following an under-graduate engineering and architecture programme of four years or more can go in for higher education.
* Your safety and congenial weather conditions are equally important considerations when going abroad to study. I would recommend a safe and student-friendly place like Sydney any time over an extreme weather location in America and Canada where the weather, for majority of the year, can be harsh and below freezing point.
(Sanjiv Kataria, who served as brand custodian for NIIT for nearly two decades, is a communications counsel. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sanjiv.kataria@gmail.com )
—IANS
