Despite US objections, Iran and Pakistan have reached a deal to build a multi-billion-dollar pipeline to transport natural gas between the two countries. This was reported by Iranian state television Saturday. The contract will be formally signed next month, the TV station said. More here…
The pipeline is expected to run 2,600 kilometers (1,625 miles) from Iran to Pakistan and should carry 150 million cubic meters (5.2 billion cubic feet) of gas a day.
India was viewed as a potential party to the deal, but has for now stayed away from the contract.
According to the Gulf News: “With the looming fear of a US attack on Iran it is pertinent to reanalyse the US-Iran conflict beyond conventional wisdom. Instead of defusing the crisis by labelling it as a US-Iran affair or specific to the Middle East more emphasis should be placed on international, and more importantly, regional cooperation. Sharing a 564-mile long border Iran and Pakistan could provide that regional cooperation.
“The major tipping points of the 1979 revolution and the terrorist attacks of 9/11 negatively effected geopolitics of the region. If Iran and Pakistan could bury the hatchet and strengthen diplomatic and economic ties they could play key roles as peace brokers between India and Pakistan; and between Iran and the United States.
“Furthermore, four things unite the Iranians and Pakistanis more than common cultural, linguistic and historical links: the hanging sword of a potential US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the role of Pakistan to avert such an attack; Iran’s leverage with India vis-Ã -vis Kashmir; the Baloch insurgency; and bilateral energy trade.”
Meanwhile President George Bush continues to repose full faith in his friend and protege Pakistan’s President General Pervez Musharraf. More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.