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7000 PIA employees to be laid off: Pak aviation minister
25Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, USA, World

7000 PIA employees to be laid off: Pak aviation minister

Pakistan’s Federal aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Tuesday announced that as many as 7,000 employees of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be laid off voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS).As per media reports, Sarwar said while PIA requires only 7000 employees to operate, it employs over 14,000 currently due to the politically influenced recruitments in the past by ruling parties.He further said that out of 14,000 employees currently working, half of the staff will be let go through VSS. “They will be given compensation,” he added.This comes despite the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) criticism of the Imran Khan government last week over its plan to sack thousands of employees of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Steel Mills and Railways and termed the decision ille...
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Stanford University enlists Kashmiri among top scientists
24Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, Singapore, USA

Stanford University enlists Kashmiri among top scientists

Bringing laurels to Kashmir, a young scientist, Dr Ahsanulhaq Qurashi has been enlisted in the top two percent scientists of 2020 by Stanford University.The list has been compiled on the basis of “multiple citation indicators and their composite across scientific disciplines.”Hailing from Karnah area of Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Qurashi was listed in energy discipline. His major research work is based on developing new materials for clean energy generation and storage, environment, and biomedical applications.Dr Qurashi completed his PhD in Nanotechnology, in 2008, from Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, South Korea and later completed his two-year post-doctoral fellowship from Toyama University, Toyama, Japan. He joined as an Assistant Profe...
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Anti-China protests gain momentum in Argentina
21Nov mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

Anti-China protests gain momentum in Argentina

Between 2005 and 2019, Argentina has received maximum investment from China amounting to US$30.6 billion, which is 39 per cent of the total Chinese investment in South America.At the heart of the new Chinese investments in Argentina, is the proposal to build 25 industrial pig farms in Argentina, which will significantly increase pork exports to China. The project involving investment of US$3.8 billion, is expected to generate annual production of 900,000 tons amounting to US$2.5 million in annual exports.As per media reports, the pig farms will be set up with Chinese investment in partnership with local producers in Argentina, which currently has 10 industrial pig farms exclusively for export to China. In addition, 25 new farms are due to start operation in the next six years, which will e...
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A headless chicken: Multiple obstacles hit CPEC’S progress
17Nov mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, Market, USA

A headless chicken: Multiple obstacles hit CPEC’S progress

 A ‘headless’ body, officially admitted as such, is supposed to be taking (or delaying) decisions in Pakistan regarding the 60 billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.The Pakistan Government’s ordinance under which the CPEC Authority (CPECA) was set up last year lapsed in July, 2020 and no fresh legal/constitutional arrangement has been made. Questioned by a parliamentary committee, the government said the body is headed by “no one.”The man placed at the top of CPECA, retired Lt. general Asim Bajwa, is working away from the office, and not drawing any salary. He was forced to resign as a Special Adviser of Prime Minister Imran Khan in October following media exposure about over 90 business firms his family has allegedly set up. He was holding dual charge and now, Kha...
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South Korea takes in 164 asylum seekers from nearly 6,000 applicants
17Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, USA, World

South Korea takes in 164 asylum seekers from nearly 6,000 applicants

SEOUL: South Korea has accepted just 164 asylum seekers this year from nearly 6,000 who applied despite COVID-19 travel curbs, government data showed. Immigration is a contentious issue in South Korea, where many pride themselves on ethnic homogeneity, even as its population of 51 million rapidly ages and the labour force shrivels. The figure of 5,896 applicants for refugee status between January and August was down about 36 per cent from the corresponding period last year, data from the justice ministry showed last week. Russians topped the list of applicants at nearly 18 per cent, followed by people from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and India. Only about 4 per cent of the 4,019 who completed the screening process were accepted or granted residency for humanitarian reasons, althoug...
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Pakistan to seek $2.7 billion loan from China for CPEC construction project
15Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China, USA

Pakistan to seek $2.7 billion loan from China for CPEC construction project

At a time when financial institutions of China are reluctant in investing in the China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), Pakistan has decided to seek USD 2.7 billion loan from China for the construction of package-I of the Mainline-1 project of CPEC.As per reports, the sixth meeting of the financing committee on ML-1 project, which includes dualisation and upgrading of the 1,872 km railway track from Peshawar to Karachi, decided that Pakistan would initially request China to sanction only USD 2.73 billion in loan out of the total estimated Chinese financing of about USD 6.1 billion.The Ministry of Economic Affairs has been directed to formally send the Letter of Intent to China next week as Beijing is expected to finalise its next year's financing plans by the end of the current month."In...
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Japan should brace for ‘leaderless era’ as U.S. turns inward, Suga adviser says
14Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, USA, World

Japan should brace for ‘leaderless era’ as U.S. turns inward, Suga adviser says

A prominent economic adviser to the prime minister says Tokyo should prepare for a “leaderless era” as U.S. global leadership gradually withers, and expand other strategic ties while bolstering its security alliance with Washington. The prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, wasted little time in congratulating U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on last week’s election win over incumbent Donald Trump, despite the latter’s refusal to concede, saying he wanted to strengthen the alliance and ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. But concerns about America’s inward turn have simmered in Japan for years, intensifying in the face of China’s growing military and economic assertiveness and persisting during the Trump presidency despite comparatively warm ties between the outgoing U.S. lea...
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Pompeo, Esper driving US’s anti-China message in India visit
11Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, USA, World

Pompeo, Esper driving US’s anti-China message in India visit

NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper are in India to drive the Trump administration’s anti-China message exactly a week ahead of America’s presidential election. With President Donald Trump in a tight race for a second term against former Vice President Joe Biden, Pompeo and Esper are seeking to play on Indian suspicions about China to shore up a regional front against increasing Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. In talks on Tuesday (Oct 27) with their Indian counterparts, Pompeo and Esper are to sign an agreement expanding military satellite information sharing and highlight strategic cooperation between Washington and New Delhi with an eye toward countering China. Just hours before the meetings began, the Trump administratio...
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South Korea Oct factory activity grows at fastest pace in more than 2 yrs
11Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

South Korea Oct factory activity grows at fastest pace in more than 2 yrs

SEOUL: South Korea's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in October, a private-sector survey showed on Monday (Nov 2), as global demand picked up from its coronavirus slump. The IHS Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 51.2, from 49.8 in September, the first expansion in 10 months and the highest reading since September 2018. The 50-mark threshold separates growth from contraction. That reflected the rise in major sub-indexes, with factory production and new orders logging their sharpest growth since April 2013. New export orders returned to growth for the first time in nine months, albeit at a subdued level. "October data marks a clear improvement in South Korea's manufacturing sector ... outright expansions in both output and new orde...
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Commentary: The world has big expectations for a Joe Biden presidency
11Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

Commentary: The world has big expectations for a Joe Biden presidency

Countries around the world hope to see huge efforts devoted to restoring US leadership and repairing alliances, say the Financial Times’ Katrina Manson, Aime Williams and Michael Peel. LONDON: Joe Biden has promised to put an end to Donald Trump’s isolationist, disruptive approach to global relations. But a Biden administration bid to restore American leadership will require time and political capital at a time when the superpower’s global role stands in doubt at home and abroad. While diplomats are not likely to hear the phrase “America First” for a while, Mr Biden will face challenges including countering China, re-entering the nuclear deal with Iran, resetting relations with Europe and dealing with the fallout of Brexit on the relationship with the UK. CHINA: LITTLE LET-UP IN PR...
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