Business Leap Frontier

Recently Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, has met India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss on the proposed 7.4 billion dollar tri-nation – Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. The two countries discussed ways to crack the deadlock over this project because India has been boycotting, since August 2007, talks over tri-nation pipeline project, by reason of the transit fee demanded by Pakistani Government for passage of gas through their country.

On the other hand, earlier of this official meeting, both countries had decided to make a trilateral Ministerial mechanism to resolve a range of issues related to the project. According to the mechanism, the Oil Ministers level meeting among India, Pakistan and Iran will go on to address various issues related to the project.

While both General Motors (GM) and Chrysler have said they need instant cash injections to survive with current economy, the White House has insisted strictly it will not be rushed into providing a special lifeline for struggling American automakers. In a usual daily press briefing at the White House, Dana Perino, spokeswoman, said the Bush government would move to organize a bailout in an orderly fashion, but would not be rushed into it.

On the other hand, whereas the Bush administration is continuing its review of position of the US automakers, Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, has warned that the EU could become an industrial wasteland without European Union support for its automakers. French President has suggested assist could get the form of loans for customers to purchase environmentally friendly cars.

Recently, North Korea has announced that an Egyptian telecoms giant is going to operate an advanced mobile phone network in the country. Experts say the new attempt to set up a global icon of personal freedom into one of the world’s most tightly controlled societies.

The Korean Central News Agency official has said the third-generation mobile network will be built by famous Cairo-based Orascom Telecom Holdings. Orascom Telecom Holding SAE has been building this new network after announcing a 400 million US dollar or £267 million deal in January.

The deal provides North Korea’s mobile users with access to advanced mobile service capabilities for example video calls and high-speed Internet access. The authority said it was officially introduction the third generation mobile service in this country. According to footage from broadcaster APTN; Naguib Sawiris, Chief Executive of Orascom Telecom, said the company’s goal was for a “network that will accommodate the 22 million people” in North Korea, adding he was “surprised and astonished by the quality” and “advancement of the Korean people.”

The company has already run networks in the Middle East, Africa as well as South Asia and not shied from investing in places treated challenging and politically unpredictable, for example Zimbabwe. Orascom has hoped it intends to cover Pyongyang and most of the major cities in the country during the first year of service.

The BBC, one of the state-funded broadcasters in the UK, has offered to assist some free-to-air broadcasters survive. According to a report, the authority of BBC has announced it will share resources with others as latest digital competition catches up with broadcasters who completely rely on advertising revenue. In a news conference Mark Thompson, Director-General, has said, “The BBC knows that it is relatively certain of funding and its scale and technology places it in a privileged position to potentially assist the rest of the industry.”

On the other hand, public-service license holders in UK are obliged to show a fixed quantity of programming such as kids‘ shows and local news in exchange for tax breaks on analog spectrum and entire access to any British homes. During the last year, the BBC earned around 3.4 billion pounds in fees. Therefore, it would like funding to maintain at same rate in return for helping some other terrestrial stations.