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Is socially responsible investing all a lie?

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It’s easier than ever to invest ethically — or, at least, to be told by marketers you are. Whether you’re actually doing it is harder to figure out.
Investors have become eager to put their money toward good in recent years. In 2020, assets under management using sustainable investing strategies in the United States reached $17.1 trillion, according to a <a href="https://www.ussif.org/files/Trends%20Report%202020%20Executive%20Summary.pdf">report</a> from the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing. That’s one of every three dollars under professional management in the country. Investments that consider environmental, social, and governance factors— <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp">or ESG</a> — are <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=esg">gaining more public attention</a>, too. There are <a href="https://www.ussif.org/sribasics">over 800</a> registered investment companies with ESG assets.
It’s good that the general public, including investors, is trying to pay attention to where money flows. What isn’t so good: Plenty of people think they’re investing in ways that match their values when in reality, they aren’t. It’s really easy to slap the ESG label onto an investment product, likely increase fees on it a little bit, and call it a day. Plenty of big investors claim they’re managing their money in an environmentally friendly, socially responsible way — and assume nobody’s peeking behind the curtain.
“What you get is an industry that knows if they put ‘ESG’ or ‘green’ on something, they can make a lot more money out of it,” said Tariq Fancy, the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, who has <a href="https://medium.com/@sosofancy/the-secret-diary-of-a-sustainable-investor-part-1-70b6987fa139">since spoken out</a> on the pitfalls of socially minded and ESG investing. “And you have a public that says, ‘If it says ESG on it, I should probably buy this.’”
“I compare it to the ’70s, when everybody was labeling their food as organic and the government was like, ‘Hey, there’s a definition to that word,’” said Nell Minow, vice chair of ValueEdge Advisors, a consulting firm that focuses on corporate governance. Currently, there’s no solid definition for ESG.
This isn’t to say that investing ethically is impossible — though there are some experts, including Fancy, who would argue that it is largely the case. Either way, it’s a much thornier issue to navigate than meets the eye. Plenty of people would be surprised to learn the fossil fuel-free fund they’ve got their 401(k) in isn’t so fossil fuel-free, or that the company providing them the fund — such as BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard — may happily vote for bloated CEO pay packages and against disclosures on items such as diversity and climate.
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<aside><q>“There’s a lot of green-washing, of woke-washing, a lot of washing within this category of ESG” —Marilyn Waite</q></aside>
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It’s also up for debate whether avoiding certain investments and divesting actually works. When investors sell off shares of a company whose practices or business models they object to, they are giving up their seat at the table and to other investors who don’t care. Divestment campaigns, like the one <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/09/23/how-will-harvard-influence-divestment-movement">Harvard</a> announced to no longer hold direct investments in fossil fuels, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/9/22/6828063/does-divestment-work">are good at drawing attention to causes and creating negative PR</a>. But in the short term, they don’t accomplish much in terms of harming companies, and in the long term, there’s debate about their financial effectiveness as well.
“The problem with the financial markets is they’re so big that you can’t possibly affect them by deciding not to own something that’s objectionable,” Fancy said. “In five milliseconds, someone who doesn’t give a shit will go buy it.”
There are steps one can take to make sure their money is aligned with their values (more on that below), but ultimately, there’s only so much individual investors can do. Regulators need to define ESG so that the people creating such funds have something to comply with, and investment professionals need to be encouraged to contemplate broader issues when advising their clients (if that’s what their clients want).
At a higher level, there’s always a question of how much good can be accomplished through investing — a corporation or industry won’t change its practices just because some people on Wall Street say so.
Most people constantly have a thousand things they’re trying to pay attention to, and what’s in their 401(k), IRA, or Betterment account isn’t generally at the top of the list.
But plenty of regular investors want to make sure they’re not harming the planet with their investments, and they think that in the long term, responsible investments will be more lucrative. They’re inclined to trust that the label on the product they’re putting their money into is accurate, and if it says ESG on it, they want to believe it.
The companies making these products are well aware of that inclination. They also know that they <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-07/many-esg-funds-are-just-expensive-s-p-500-indexers">may be able to charge higher fees on ESG products</a> because investors are willing to swallow them if they think it’s for the greater good, even if what’s in the product isn’t much different from what’s in any run-of-the-mill (and lower-cost) fund.
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<aside><q>“What you get is an industry that knows if they put ‘ESG’ or ‘green’ on something, they can make a lot more money out of it” —Tariq Fancy</q></aside>
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“There’s a lot of green-washing, of woke-washing, a lot of washing within this category of ESG,” said Marilyn Waite, a program officer in environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a nonprofit charity, and the author of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sustainability-at-Work-Careers-that-make-a-difference/Waite/p/book/9781138200487">Sustainability at Work</a>.
It doesn’t mean it’s impossible to do better; it just means it’s harder than it seems.
“Most people are invested and have no idea what they’re invested in, because most people invest in mutual funds — which are these baskets of stocks — and they only tell you on the prospectus what are the top 10 holdings,” said Andy Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility. “You may hold companies that are profiting from burning down the rainforests, profiting from private prisons, profiting from climate destruction, and you have no idea. It’s very, very difficult to figure it out.”
As You Sow has created <a href="https://www.asyousow.org/invest-your-values/">multiple tools</a> for people to learn what’s in their investments and try to decipher whether it aligns with their goals and values. People can type in a ticker or name of an ETF or mutual fund to see how it rates in terms of <a href="https://fossilfreefunds.org/">fossil fuels</a>, <a href="https://genderequalityfunds.org/">gender equality</a>, or <a href="https://gunfreefunds.org/">guns</a>, among other items.
A quick spin around As You Sow’s ratings shows this ESG marketing play in action. Behar pointed to a <a href="https://fossilfreefunds.org/fund/spdr-msci-eafe-fossil-fuel-reserves-free-etf/EFAX/fossil-fuel-investments/FS0000CAAI/F00000WP8Y">“Fossil Fuel Reserves Free” ETF</a>; according to his group’s analysis, it has holdings in 23 fossil fuel companies, including ones in coal and oil and gas. It’s under 2 percent of the overall fund, but it’s not nothing. “Why do you name a fund ‘fossil fuel reserves free’?” Behar said. “It’s marketing.”
There’s an old maxim in investing attributed to Andrew Carnegie and Mark Twain that says you should put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch the basket. If you want to invest ethically, you have to watch the basket or leave it with someone who will.
Minow, from ValueEdge Advisors, said that the easiest way to try to move your money toward doing good (or at least not something terrible) is to take a look at your 401(k). If there’s an index fund with an ESG component in there and <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18136214/impact-investing-socially-responsible-sri-report">the potential social benefits outweigh the potential costs</a>, consider choosing it. A next step, if you’re up for it, is to look at how funds vote their <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/proxy-vote.asp">proxies</a>, meaning ballots shareholders get to vote annually on various corporate issues.
In the case of many funds, the firms behind them vote on behalf of their individual investors, and because they have so many shares, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/blackrock-takes-aggressive-posture-on-esg-proxy-votes-11619775002">they have quite a bit of sway</a>. Are they voting for or against outrageous CEO pay packages? Climate proposals? Diversity requirements? Big investment managers like BlackRock <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter">say they’re paying attention</a>, but are they?
“Either they put their money where their mouth is or they don’t,” Minow said. “If a company says we’re making a commitment to be carbon-neutral by 2050 but they don’t make that part of the CEO’s pay plan, don’t listen to them, because they’re not serious about it.”
There are ways to dive in a little more, if you’re willing to put in the energy. For people who have an investment adviser, you can <a href="https://adasina.com/3-questions-investors-with-social-justice-values-should-ask-their-advisor/">talk to them</a> about your priorities, where your money is being invested, and why. To be sure, that requires thinking about what matters to you.
“What’s the issue you care about or want to have an impact on? How are you measuring that issue and your impact? And who are you working with to do that?” said Rachel Robasciotti, founder and CEO of Adasina Social Capital. Adasina works directly with social justice groups to craft its investment strategies and offers a suite of products for investors. “What social movements say to us very often is: ‘What future are you investing in?’” Robasciotti said.
If you’re up for it and you remember, you can also vote your proxy on shares of the companies you’re invested in during their annual meetings. (You should get a ballot and information from the company ahead of time, and <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/07/proxy_statement.asp">you can find a company’s proxy statement</a> on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website.) It’s a little tricky, impact-wise, because big institutions have much more voting power than individuals do, but it’s something. <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/sayonpay.pdf">And some votes are non-binding</a>, meaning management doesn’t have to do what shareholders say.
There’s also been a lot of attention and emphasis placed on divestment over the years, with <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/5/13/18282438/harvard-yale-football-game-climate-change-fossil-fuel-divestment-finance">activists pushing universities and pensions</a> to just get out of investments in fossil fuels or other arenas. There’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/9/22/6828063/does-divestment-work">disagreement among experts</a> about how well divestment works.
Proponents of divestment point out that even if it doesn’t necessarily hurt companies or affect their stock price in the short term, it can make a difference in the long term in creating negative attention. “Social movements make visible that an asset is not a good investment when they mobilize investors to leave that asset. Over time, it can become a toxic asset,” Robasciotti said. This is true even if it doesn’t necessarily hurt companies or affect their stock price in the short term.
In the short term, though, selling shares doesn’t hurt the company or really ding its stock price — someone else just comes along and picks up those shares. The shares being divested are already trading among secondary shareholders, so instead of Harvard holding shares of Exxon or Chevron, it’s just some hedge fund or other investor — often an investor that doesn’t care.
“The people who have the least social interest are the ones who end up holding the stock,” said Alex Thaler, the co-founder and CEO of Ikonik, a soon-to-be-launched trading platform that lets individual investors band together for shareholder campaigns. Proponents of divestment often point to campaigns around South Africa in an effort to bring apartheid to an end decades ago, but evidence on just how much of a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/does-divestment-work">role divestment played</a> there compared to other factors is mixed.
“The only thing that it does is allow people to cover their asses, because they can basically say, ‘I’ve washed my hands of it.’ Oil companies still exist,” Fancy said.
A small, climate-conscious activist investment firm <a href="https://www.axios.com/exxonmobil-board-seat-activist-investor-1f019368-3e8a-4da4-97a6-181922b53df5.html">secured three seats</a> on Exxon’s board of directors in a shareholder push earlier this year, which activists say could have big <a href="https://www.vox.com/22455347/exxon-board-shell-oil-news-chevron-engine-no-one">implications for its climate-related activities</a>. They wouldn’t have been able to do that had they given up their seat at the table (and, probably, if Exxon hadn’t been losing money in recent years).
As good as it feels to believe we’re doing something about the issues we care about, it’s also true that as individuals, we can only do so much. <a href="https://www.vox.com/22595896/climate-change-fire-heat-wave-anxiety">Thinking about a problem as enormous as climate change</a> can make you want to act, including through your 401(k). Indeed, some fossil fuel companies would much rather you <a href="https://www.vox.com/22429551/climate-change-crisis-exxonmobil-harvard-study">think about it through the lens of what you’re doing rather than what they are</a>. But saving the planet — including trying to help with your stocks and retirement fund — requires more than your own action and attention. The government also needs to step in.
One place to start, experts say: The SEC <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/sec-to-begin-defining-esg-more-clearly-2021-07-07">is working to define what ESG is</a>, and it needs to do more. There are many inconsistencies among ESG products, and the firms offering those products are allowed to get away with a lot. The SEC and federal prosecutors are <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-authorities-probing-deutsche-banks-dws-over-sustainability-claims-11629923018">reportedly looking into Deutsche Bank’s sustainability claims</a>, but the German bank is hardly the only one stretching the limits.
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<aside><q>“I compare it to the ’70s, when everybody was labeling their food as organic and the government was like, ‘Hey, there’s a definition to that word’” —Nell Minow</q></aside>
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The Department of Labor <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/erisa-challenges-using-esg-retirement-plan-investing-2021-09-20/">is also taking a look at its guidance</a> for ESG criteria in retirement investment plans. This can be a little wonky, but managers of retirement plans have a fiduciary duty that’s essentially to protect the investment and make money with it. And it’s not clear where issues such as sustainability and social responsibility fit into that.
Experts, such as Lenore Palladino, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, <a href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/responsible-asset-managers-new-fiduciary-rules-for-the-asset-management-industry/">say that asset managers</a> should be able to look at a bigger picture as part of their fiduciary duty. “There is this whole world of ESG funds and sustainable investing, but they all stay within the framework of essentially the only thing you can do with your money is put it into a fund, and the only thing the person managing that money should care about is increasing the value of money,” Palladino said. “They can’t also care about the status of the planet if that will contradict their ability to make money.”
People with a pension fund to live off during retirement also, presumably, want a planet to live on. Regulators need to open the door more for managers to take that into account. Palladino also said it should come with a bigger shift in how we think about investing.
“If you think the whole purpose of buying and selling shares in corporations is to raise the value of those corporations, but then you realize we as shareholders also live on the planet and deal with the negative externalities created, if you don’t allow for or even push money managers to take into account the fact that we are whole humans and we live in a society, then it’s not ethical investing in my view,” she said.
To be sure, there are significant limits in how much change can be accomplished through investing or shareholder advocacy. The federal government <a href="https://www.vox.com/22685920/democrats-infrastructure-build-back-better-climate-change">needs to act directly on climate change</a>, and corporations do too.
Fancy, the former BlackRock chief investment officer who now runs an education nonprofit called Rumie, takes a pretty nihilistic view of the entire ecosystem of socially minded and ESG investing. His argument is that ESG products are useless — a fund just shuffles some shares around between ETFs and mutual funds, slaps a label (and likely a higher fee) on top, and keeps churning. He worries it’s a “placebo” that makes people think they’re accomplishing something when they’re really not.
“If you really care about social changes, invest your portfolio as you’ve always done, which is to get the best returns and preserve your savings, and then turn to the government and push political action around solving climate change, because that’s the only level where it can actually be solved,” Fancy said.
Many of the other experts I spoke to for this story disputed that view and held that ESG investing can work — but it requires some effort on the part of investors, and it can’t be the only thing they do.
“We’re kind of ignorantly complicit in the world that we see around us because we’re supporting the companies that are in an extractive and destructive business,” Behar said. “The core of it is to know what you want and then align it with your values.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22714761/esg-investing-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-401k">https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22714761/esg-investing-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-401k</a>

vox Is socially responsible investing all a lie?

It’s easier than ever to invest ethically — or, at least, to be told by marketers you are. Whether you’re actually doing it is harder to fi...

16 Killed After Plane Crashes In Russia: Ministry

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="16 Killed After Plane Crashes In Russia: Ministry" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-10/9l2o1atg_russia-plane-crash_625x300_10_October_21.jpg" title="16 Killed After Plane Crashes In Russia: Ministry" /></div>
The wreckage of the L-410 plane at the crash site near the town of Menzelinsk.
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Moscow:
Sixteen people were killed after an aircraft carrying parachutists crashed in central Russia on Sunday, the emergencies ministry said.
The L-410 plane carrying 22 people crashed around 9:23 a.m. local time (0623 GMT) during a flight over the republic of Tatarstan, the ministry said on its Telegram channel.
"Six people were rescued, 16 were taken out without signs of life," the ministry said.
The ministry had earlier said that 15 people died and that the aircraft was carrying 23 people.
Images published by the ministry showed the aircraft broken in half with a severely dented nose. 
The six survivors were being hospitalised, the local health ministry told the Interfax news agency. 
Tatarstan head Rustam Minnikhanov was travelling to the scene of the crash, a statement on his website said. 
According to Interfax, the plane belonged to the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation and Navy of Russia, which describes itself as a sports and defence organisation.
The head of the organisation's regional branch said the parachuting club that organised the flight was not to blame. 
"We are the best, we are among the top five clubs," Ravil Nurmekhametov told TASS news agency, adding that the club had hosted European and World championships.
"Cosmonauts train here," he said. 
The Czech-built L-410 light aircraft was one of the two planes used by the club, according to its website. 
Two L-410 planes suffered fatal accidents in Russia earlier this year, leaving a total of eight people dead. 
Russia was notorious for plane  accidents but has improved air traffic safety in recent years with major airlines switching from Soviet aircraft to modern jets.
But poor aircraft maintenance and lax safety standards still lead to frequent accidents in far-flung regions involving light aircraft, with occasional large-scale tragedies.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/16-killed-after-plane-crashes-in-russias-tatarstan-2570442">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/16-killed-after-plane-crashes-in-russias-tatarstan-2570442</a>

news world 16 Killed After Plane Crashes In Russia: Ministry

The wreckage of the L-410 plane at the crash site near the town of Menzelinsk. Moscow: Sixteen people were killed after an aircraft car...

Countries Must Spend More To Protect Nature, Save Species: UN

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Environmental groups say there is no time to lose when it comes to slowing extinction rates.
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China:
The global community must invest much more and raise the scale and speed of its pledges to protect nature and prevent species loss, a senior UN official said on Sunday on the eve of a new round of global biodiversity talks.
The first part of the twice-postponed "COP15" biodiversity negotiations begin in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Monday, with the aim of generating momentum for an ambitious post-2020 agreement to reverse decades of habitat destruction caused by human encroachment and climate change.
David Cooper, deputy executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, told a briefing that ministers attending virtual meetings this week needed to show more ambition and give "clear political direction" to negotiators, who will thrash out a final deal in Kunming in May next year.
Environmental groups say there is no time to lose when it comes to protecting habitats and slowing extinction rates, especially after governments failed to complete any of the 2020 biodiversity targets agreed in Aichi, Japan a decade earlier. However, Cooper said the level of urgency was still not enough.
"Currently, most countries are spending orders of magnitude more funds subsidising activities that destroy biodiversity than we are spending on conserving it - this will have to change," he said.
The United Nations wants countries to commit to protecting 30% of their land by 2030, a pledge already agreed to by the United States and others. China has not yet made the commitment, despite implementing an "ecological protection red line" system that already puts 25 per cent of its territory out of the reach of developers.
Cooper told reporters that it was important all countries protected more of their ecosystems, but that would not be enough in itself to fix biodiversity loss, saying more commitments were required to manage the other 70 per cent.
He said the global pandemic had injected new urgency into biodiversity protection, but warned that this was not yet reflected in "business-as-usual" post-COVID-19 stimulus measures.
"We have to make sure... (the stimulus) is strengthening biodiversity and not adding to the problem," he said. "Globally, if you look around, the stimulus packages are making it worse rather than better."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/un-urges-nations-to-spend-more-on-species-protection-as-new-pact-talks-begin-2570367">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/un-urges-nations-to-spend-more-on-species-protection-as-new-pact-talks-begin-2570367</a>

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Environmental groups say there is no time to lose when it comes to slowing extinction rates. China: The global community must invest mu...

Iraqis Begin Voting In Early Election, Many Expected To Boycott Amid Distrust

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An Iraqi woman registers before voting at a polling station in Baghdad.
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Baghdad:
Iraqis headed to the polls Sunday for an early election billed as a concession to anti-government protests but expected to be boycotted by many voters who distrust official promises of reform.
Polls opened at 7:00am (0400 GMT) but few voters turned up early at one polling station at a school in central Baghdad.
"I have come to vote to change the country for the better, and to change the current leaders who are incompetent," said Jimand Khalil, 37, who was one of the first to cast her vote. "They made a lot of promises to us but didn't bring us anything."
Security was tight in the capital, with voters searched twice at the entrance to polling stations.
Airports are also closed until dawn on Monday across Iraq, where despite the government's declaration of victory over the Islamic State group in late 2017, jihadist sleeper cells continue to mount attacks.
Polls remain open until 6:00 pm, with preliminary results expected within 24 hours of closing. Dozens of election observers deployed by the European Union and the United Nations were set to monitor the vote.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi cast his ballot early in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
"This is an opportunity for change," he said.
"Get out there and vote, change your reality, for Iraq and for your future," urged Kadhemi, whose political future hangs in the balance, with few observers willing to predict who will come out on top after the lengthy backroom haggling that usually follows Iraqi elections.
But analysts are already predicting a record-low turnout for these polls, held a year early in a rare concession to the youth-led protest movement.
Dozens of anti-government activists have been killed, kidnapped or intimidated over the last couple of years, with accusations that pro-Iran armed groups, many of which are represented in parliament, have been behind the violence.
"Iraqis should have the confidence to vote as they please, in an environment free of pressure, intimidation and threats," the UN mission in Iraq said ahead of the polls.
The protests that swept through Baghdad and the south in October 2019 rocked the Shiite factions that have dominated Iraq since the aftermath of the US-led invasion of 2003.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to express their anger at corruption, unemployment and crumbling public services, and hundreds lost their lives in protest-related violence.
The protests have largely fizzled out as anger has given way to disillusion.
"Nothing will change. This election will be won by the same factions that people protested against," said 45-year-old Baghdad day labourer Mohammed Kassem, vowing not to vote.
"Musical chairs"
A new single-member constituency system for electing Iraq's 329 lawmakers is supposed to weaken the power of the traditional blocs largely based on religious, ethnic and clan affiliations.
But most analysts believe it will make the political process even less accountable.
The electoral commission said it expects to publish preliminary results within 24 hours of the close of polls.
It will likely take longer for the balance of power to emerge as the leading factions compete for the support of a larger number of independents.
The Fatah Alliance, the bloc representing many Iran-backed Shiite militias, is expected to retain its share of seats.
The list of populist cleric Moqtada Sadr, already the largest in the outgoing parliament, is expected to make gains but not enough to dominate the Shiite camp.
"The election will likely result in another fragmented parliament, followed by opaque, corrupt horse-trading among factions to form the next government," said researchers Bilal Wahab and Calvin Wilder in an analysis published by the Washington Institute.
"Few expect this election to amount to more than a game of musical chairs, and the (October 2019 protest) movement's core demands -- curbing systemic corruption, creating jobs and holding armed groups accountable -- are unlikely to be met."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iraqis-begin-voting-in-early-elections-many-expected-to-boycott-amid-distrust-2570365">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iraqis-begin-voting-in-early-elections-many-expected-to-boycott-amid-distrust-2570365</a>

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An Iraqi woman registers before voting at a polling station in Baghdad. Baghdad: Iraqis headed to the polls Sunday for an early electio...

Pakistan's Nuclear Scientist AQ Khan Dies At 85

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Pakistan's Nuclear Scientist AQ Khan Dies At 85" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-10/dtaujvho_nuclear-scientist-abdul-qadeer-khan-_625x300_10_October_21.jpg" title="Pakistan's Nuclear Scientist AQ Khan Dies At 85" /></div>
Nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was revered as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.
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Islamabad:
 Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as the "father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb", has died at 85, authorities said Sunday, having been hospitalised with Covid-19.
The atomic scientist was hailed as a national hero for transforming his country into the world's first Islamic nuclear power, but regarded by the West as a dangerous renegade responsible for smuggling technology to rogue states.
He died after being transferred to the KRL Hospital in Islamabad with lung problems, state-run broadcaster PTV reported.
Khan had been admitted to the same hospital in August with Covid-19, it said. After being permitted to return home several weeks ago, he was transferred back after his condition deteriorated.
Pakistan's President Arif Alvi said in a tweet he was "deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan", who he had known personally since 1982.
"He helped us develop nation-saving nuclear deterrence and a grateful nation will never forget his services."
Khan was lauded for bringing the nation up to par with arch-rival India in the atomic field and making its defences "impregnable".
But he found himself in the international crosshairs when he was accused of illegally sharing nuclear technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Khan was placed under effective house arrest in the capital Islamabad in 2004 after he admitted running a proliferation network to the three countries.
In 2006 Khan was struck with prostate cancer, but recovered after surgery.
A court ended his house arrest in February 2009, but Khan's movements were strictly guarded, and he was accompanied by authorities every time he left his home in an upscale sector of leafy Islamabad.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
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news world Pakistan's Nuclear Scientist AQ Khan Dies At 85

Nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was revered as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. Islamabad: Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as...

"More We Achieve...": Taiwan After Xi's "Reunification" Remark

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'More We Achieve...': Taiwan After Xi's 'Reunification' Remark" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2019-11/hr2rer6c_tsai-ingwen-taiwan-reuters-_625x300_19_November_19.jpg" title="'More We Achieve...': Taiwan After Xi's 'Reunification' Remark" /></div>
President Tsai Ing-wen described Taiwan as "standing on democracy's first line of defence".
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Taiwan:
Taiwan will not bow to pressure by Beijing and will defend its democratic way of life, President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday, following a spike in incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone.
Self-governed Taiwan's 23 million people live under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.
"The more we achieve, the greater the pressure we face from China," Tsai said in a speech marking Taiwan's National Day, adding: "Nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us."
She described Taiwan as "standing on democracy's first line of defence".
"We hope for an easing of... relations (with Beijing) and will not act rashly, but there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will bow to pressure," she added.
The two sides have been ruled separately since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Tensions have risen to their highest in decades under Chinese President Xi Jinping, who broke off official communication with Taipei following Tsai's election five years ago and ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure.
The latest flare-up has been a surge in flights by Chinese fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
Some 150 sorties were made into the zone in the days surrounding China's own National Day on 1 October -- a record number.
"Complete reunification"
Xi has made taking Taiwan a key goal of his leadership which he looks set to extend to a third term in 2022.
On Saturday, he declared in a speech that "the complete reunification of our country will be and can be realised".
He said he favoured "peaceful reunification" but his words come after months of increased military threats, including the recent surge in air incursions as well as heavily publicised military drills simulating an invasion of Taiwan.
Last year, there were a record 380 sorties. There have already been more than 600 this year.
The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan's territorial airspace. It includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China's own air defence identification zone and even includes some of the mainland.
Tsai, who has won two elections, is loathed by Beijing because she regards Taiwan as an "already independent" country, not part of "one China".
But she has also made no move to declare formal independence, something Beijing has long warned would be a "red line" that would trigger an invasion.
She has also made offers for talks with Beijing that have been rejected.
During Sunday's speech, Tsai reiterated her call for Beijing "to engage in dialogue on the basis of parity" and said she supported maintaining the current status quo between the two neighbours.
But she warned what happens to Taiwan would have major regional and global repercussions.
"Every step we take will influence our world's future direction, and our world's future direction will likewise affect the future of Taiwan itself," she said.
Polling shows the vast majority of Taiwanese have no desire to be ruled by Beijing.
Most favour maintaining the status quo although there is a growing Taiwanese nationalist sentiment, especially among younger people.
China's crackdown in Hong Kong, a city Beijing said would be a model for how it would rule Taiwan, has also done little to endear Taiwanese to assurances that their way of life would continue under communist party rule.
"As a Taiwanese I don't think we can accept (reunification), just look at what happened in Hong Kong," Hung Chen-lun, who came with his two children to watch Sunday's National Day celebrations, told AFP.
Chan Yun-ching, another spectator, said many Taiwanese simply felt helpless.
"Reunification now is not appropriate. But we are in no position to declare independence because the international community will not recognise us. It's useless," he said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
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news world "More We Achieve...": Taiwan After Xi's "Reunification" Remark

President Tsai Ing-wen described Taiwan as "standing on democracy's first line of defence". Taiwan: Taiwan will not bow t...