Top Stories
UK softens travel advisory due to ‘improved security situation’ in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: (Monitoring Desk): The United Kingdom has softened its travel advice to its citizens to reflect the improved security situation in Pakistan. “Today’s announcement is the result of a comprehensive review of UK travel advice for Pakistan, based on a wide-ranging assessment of the country’s security situation,” read a statement issued by the UK Foreign…
Govt rejects Transparency International report on corruption
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Friday told that the incumbent government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2019. While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the special assistant termed the report that revealed corruption has soared…
COAS visits Haripur, inaugurates GSR testing laboratories
F.P. Report RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday visited National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) at Haripur, ISPR said in a statement. During the visit, Army chief inaugurated state of the art Electronic Warfare (EW) and Ground Surveillance Radar (GSR) testing laboratories. Army chief lauded the role and unrelenting efforts…
Pakistan welcomes relaxed travel advisory for Britons
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Islamabad has warmly welcomed the United Kingdom government’s move of relaxing its travel advisory for British nationals due to improved security situation in Pakistan. “Today’s announcement is the result of a comprehensive review of UK travel advice for Pakistan, based on a wide-ranging assessment of the country’s security situation,” read a statement…
Malik’s half-century helps Pakistan win first T20 against Bangladesh
F.P. Report LAHORE: Pakistan, aided by an anchor role half century (58) by veteran batsman Shoaib Malik, beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the first T20 international to take 1-0 lead in the three match series here on Friday at the Gaddafi Stadium. Bangladesh elected to bat after winning the toss posted 141 for 5…
Balochistan Assembly speaker submits privilege motion against CM, own party lawmakers
F.P. Report QUETTA: Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo submitted a privilege motion on Friday against his party members, including Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, provincial Finance Minister Zahoor Buledi and Senator Sarfaraz Bugti. Bizenjo stated in the motion that the chief minister’s remarks about him were unnecessary and had hurt him. He said that…
Global
Turkey’s president to visit Pakistan next month
ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Pakistan in the second week of next month to attend the Strategic Cooperation Council meeting, besides holding bilateral talks with President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and the top military leadership. During the visit, according to sources, both sides will sign agreements on Strategic…
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Gunman kills six in Germany attack: police
FRANKFURT AM MAIN (AFP): Six people were killed and two seriously wounded in a shooting in southwestern Germany, police said on Friday. The shooter, believed to have a personal motive, launched an assault in the town of Rot am See. Police in nearby Aalen told AFP a man with a personal connection to the victims…
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Al-Aqsa grand preacher enters mosque despite Israel ban
JERUSALEM (AA): Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, managed Friday to enter the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite an earlier Israeli ban. According to Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground, Sabry was accompanied by many of Palestinian lawyers and activists. On Thursday, Sabry warned against the Israeli targeting of what he described as “the…
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Pentagon confirms 34 soldiers diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after Iran strike
WASHINGTON (Reuters): The Pentagon said Friday that 34 of its army men had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq earlier this month. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters that eight service members who had been previously transported to Germany had been moved to the United States.…
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UK to celebrate Brexit not with a bang, but whimper
LONDON (AA): A week from today, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will leave the European Union on Jan. 31 at 11 p.m. After the most tumultuous period in post-war British politics, Brexit will finally happen. When it does, however, it will not be with a bang, but a whimper. The government…
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China: 26 deaths, 881 confirmed cases of new virus
BEIJING (AA): At least 26 people have died in the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China, with most cases recorded in the central Hubei province, local media reported Friday. The symptoms of the mystery virus resemble those of pneumonia causing massive outcry in China as the country prepares to hold New Year celebrations on Saturday. At…
Read MorePakistan
Mustafa Kamal speaks out against division of Sindh in Larkana rally
F.P. Report LARKANA: Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chief Syed Mustafa Kamal said that no one could divide Sindh, lashing out at the federal and Sindh government for neglecting masses. The former Karachi mayor was speaking to a PSP rally in PPP’s stronghold Larkana where he criticised those who talked about dividing Sindh into two parts.…
PM Imran urges Pakistanis to take to streets on Kashmir Day
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called upon Pakistanis at home and abroad to take to the streets on February 5, Kashmir Day, in support of the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), who have been living under a complete lockdown since August 5 when New Delhi revoked the valley’s semi-autonomous status. He…
No coronavirus case reported in Pakistan: Dr Zafar Mirza
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr. Zafar Mirza on Friday chaired a meeting to review arrangements aimed at countering coronavirus, which has affected 890 people and claimed 26 lives in China. Speaking during the meeting, Zafar Mirza said that they were taking effective and coordinated measures aimed…
COAS, Japanese Minister discuss regional situation
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Japan Kanasugi Kenji called on Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Rawalpindi today (Friday). During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, overall regional situation and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed. The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s contributions for conflict prevention in the region and…
Another polio case reported in Sindh province
F.P. Report SUJAWAL: Another case of polio has popped up in the Sindh province as this time the virus is detected in an over three-year-old child in Sujawal area of the province. The case was detected in a 3.5-year-old child in village Yousuf Jatt of Union Council Kothi in Sujawal. It is not the first…
CM Buzdar assured passing of bill akin to ‘Zainab Alert’ for province: Asad Umar
F.P. Report KASUR: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar along with Punjab Human Rights Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine visited the house of Zainab on her second death anniversary here on Friday. The six-year-old Zainab was kidnapped, raped and murdered two years ago. Both the ministers also attended the condolence ceremony held in…
Afghanistan
Afghan economy expands 2.9 per cent in 2019
Monitoring Desk KABUL: Afghanistan’s economy grew by 2.9 percent in 2019 and is expected to grow by 3.3 percent in 2020, a World Bank report has said. Wadsam, an Afghan business news portal, quoted the World Bank report as saying that a strong agricultural growth following recovery from drought has significantly contributed to the country’s…
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Qatar supports the financing of extremist groups: Saudi Minister
KABUL (Agencies): Qatar supports the financing of extremist groups such as Hezbollah and we have problems with Qatar because it interferes in our affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has said. Addressomg the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, which devoted a special session on this occasion to…
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Afghan drought forces shepherds into desperate measures
Monitoring Desk MAZAR-I-SHARIF: Nooruddin watched helplessly as his flock of 100 sheep began to die from hunger and thirst on the dry drought-ravaged hillsides of Balkh province. Rather than let more of the prized creatures die a slow death on the dry hillsides of Balkh province in the north, he made the decision to slaughter…
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Abdullah, Karzai have no written plan for Afghanistan, says Ghani
Monitoring Desk DAVOS: President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani spoke at a side event of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday criticizing Abdullah and Karzai, saying none of them have written plans for the Afghanistan future and peace process. Ghani used the ‘your hands do not reach to take the grapes and you say…
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WJ launches probe into Satter killing
Monitoring Desk KABUL: Members of the appointed delegation by President Ghani to investigate Amer Abdul Sattar’s killing said on Wednesday that Mir RahmanRahmani, speaker of the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) of Afghanistan, is preventing them from assessing the case. After the killing of AmerSattar, President Ghani in a meeting with elders of Kapisa, Panjshir and…
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Peace talks and more excuses…!?
F.P. Report KABUL: It is unprecedented and perhaps the first time in the history of Islamic Emirate that it has shown flexibility and given preference to softness over harshness in its policy because it sees the end of the long suffering and tragedy of the Afghan nation intertwined in this stance. If this hope is…
Read MoreBusiness
European stocks hit by Trump tariff threat
Monitoring Desk NEW YORK: European stocks were hit Wednesday by US President Donald Trump’s renewed threat to slap auto tariffs on imported cars and a gloomy auto sales forecast. But Wall Street finished flat little moved either by strong earnings or a rising death toll blamed on a virus. Markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris…
PIA to conduct preliminary screening of travelers
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Following the outbreak of the Corona virus in China, the PIA will conduct preliminary screening of PIA travelers traveling from Beijing to Pakistan at Beijing Airport, in view of security issues. The PIA has issued necessary instructions to the administration and aviation staff. Spokeswoman PIA said the PIA has also requested the…
Gold imports increase by 4.78% in first half
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The gold imports into the country increased by 4.78 percent during the first half of the current financial year (2019-20) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan imported gold worth $9.168 million during July-December (2019-20) compared to the imports of $8.750 million during July-December (2018-19), showing growth of 4.78…
NICVD establishes its 15th Chest Pain Unit in Jacobabad at JIMS
F.P. Report KARACHI: National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in collaboration with the Government of Sindh has inaugurated its 15th “Chest Pain Unit” in Jacobabad at JIMS to facilitate patients with chest pain with easy access and free of cost services. Mir AijazHussain Khan Jakhrani (Advisor Prison & IPC to Chief Minister Sindh) and Honorable…
Govt to back drive to enroll 4.2m out-of-school children
F.P. Report KARACHI: Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said that the government will fully back the campaign to enroll 4.2 million out-of-school children in the province which would promote the cause of education in a manner that is necessary to establish a welfare society on the pattern of the State of Madinah. The Governor was…
PPL-funded eye camp held at Kandhkot
F.P. Report KARACHI: As an ongoing feature of Pakistan Petroleum Limited’s (PPL) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, a three-day free-of-cost surgical eye camp concluded at Taluka Headquarters Hospital, Kandhkot in District Kashmore, Sindh near PPL-operated Kandhkot Gas Field. Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital was the implementing partner. The camp, which commenced on January 20, benefitted over…
Sports
Malik’s half-century helps Pakistan win first T20 against Bangladesh
F.P. Report LAHORE: Pakistan, aided by an anchor role half century (58) by veteran batsman Shoaib Malik, beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the first T20 international to take 1-0 lead in the three match series here on Friday at the Gaddafi Stadium. Bangladesh elected to bat after winning the toss posted 141 for 5…
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Pakistan seek to retain T20 top spot against Bangladesh
Monitoring Desk LAHORE: Pakistan are seeking to hold on to the top world ranking and also prove again the country is capable of hosting international cricket when they take on Bangladesh in a Twenty20 series starting Friday. If the host team lose just one of the three matches scheduled they will slide to second behind…
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Zaheer sees BD tour as full resumption of international cricket
F.P. Report LAHORE: Former President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Zaheer Abbas Thursday said that the visit of the Bangladesh cricket team is a step forward for the complete resumption of international cricket in Pakistan. “Our country is on right track to stage international cricket and to host foreign teams in a best possible…
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Munir takes lead on opening day of 39th Chief of Air Staff open Golf Championship
F.P. Report KARACHI: Featuring around 400 leading golfers from all over the country, Chief of the Air Staff Open Golf Championship tees off at Airmen Golf Course and Recreational Park, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Korangi Creek from Thursday. Muhammad Munir has clear lead as he scored 69 (3 under par), on the first day.…
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Pakistan to host Kabbadi World Cup from Feb 9
LAHORE (Monitoring Desk): Pakistan will host a 10-country Kabaddi World Cup in Lahore from February 9. Former international Kabaddi player Syed Sultan Shah told reporters on Thursday that teams from Iran, Canada, Australia, United States, Sierra Leone, and Kenya have qualified for the event so far. India is amongst the other nations showing willingness to…
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Pakistan, Bangladesh skippers unveil T20I series trophy
F.P. Report LAHORE: Pakistan and Bangladesh will kick off the three-day T20I series on Friday at the city’s Gaddafi Stadium. The teams’ respective captains, Babar Azam and Mahmudullah, had unveiled the series trophy a day earlier. In the trophy-unveiling press conference, Azam said the team’s focus was to maintain their top world T20I ranking. If the…
Read MoreFashion & Movies
Taylor Swift’s new song ‘Only The Young’ ready to rule fans’ heart
Monitoring Desk NEW YORK: Taylor Swift, a US pop superstar, has recorded the latest track for her upcoming Netflix documentary, ‘Miss Americana’. The song ‘Only The Young’, which was co-written and co-produced with Joel Little for the “Lover” album, is set to hit the streaming service on January 31. “Miss Americana” is a Lana Wilson-directed…
Oscars 2020 confirms Olivia Colman, Rami Malek, Regina, Mahershala Ali as presenters
Monitoring Desk LOS ANGELES: The Oscars has booked its first four presenters for its upcoming 92nd annual Academy Awards ceremony and they’re all last year’s winners, will be giving the show some sheen. As per its tradition the Academy invites back its last year’s A-listers stars to pass the baton to new winners. This year,…
Gippy Grewal wants to work with Mehwish Hayat
F.P. Report LAHORE: Indian actor-singer Gippy Grewal has expressed wish to work with Pakistani actress Mehwish Hayat. In a statement, the actor said ‘Punjab Nahi Jaongi’ is his favourite film and hoped to meet Mehwish Hayat in Pakistan. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is my favourite singer, he told. Gippy further thanked Pakistanis for their hospitality…
Animated British royal comedy ‘The Prince’ to make debut on HBO Max
Monitoring Desk LONDON: Animated versions of Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will have supporting roles in a British royal family satire that will make its debut on AT&T Inc’s HBO Max streaming video service, the company said on Tuesday. The Prince, is the brain child of Gary Janetti, a producer on the…
Rockers Queen join Queen Elizabeth on new British coin
Monitoring Desk LONDON: Rockers Queen have become the first band to be celebrated on British coinage, joining Queen Elizabeth II on a new coin unveiled by the Royal Mint. The iconic British group are hailed on a coin kicking off a Music Legends series being produced by the official mint. It features Queen Elizabeth on…
Actress Mahira Khan expresses support to filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Zindagi Tamasha’
F.P. Report LAHORE: Pakistani actress Mahira Khan has expressed her support to famous filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat for his movie ‘Zindagi Tamasha’. In a post of social-networking website Twitter, Mahira said, “Time and again we are made to realise our power and our influence. A film (that people haven t seen) can make some this scared.”…
Science & Technology
The oldest crater on Earth was found in Australia
Monitoring Desk MELBOURNE: When we gaze out into our solar system and observe its several planets and many moons, one thing tends to be true of just about all of them: They have lots and lots of impact craters. Each of those scars on a planet or moon’s surface tells a story, and while Earth’s…
China’s 500-Meter FAST Radio Telescope becomes fully operational
Monitoring Desk The Five-hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST for short, is finally up and running, according to China’s official media source Xinhua. The telescope is the largest filled-aperture radio telescope in the world, and is strategically placed to take advantage of the Dawodang depression, a naturally occurring basin in southwest China. The idea…
Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups
Monitoring Desk SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc (AAPL.O) dropped plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company’s iCloud service after the FBI complained that the move would harm investigations, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The tech giant’s reversal, about two years ago, has not previously been reported.…
Asteroid twice the size of Big Ben skims past Earth
Monitoring Desk NASA is closely monitoring an asteroid with an estimated diameter of about 755 feet – larger than the Golden Gate Bridge tower or more than twice the height of London’s Big Ben – that was heading towards Earth and expected to skim past the planet on Monday. Flying towards the planet at a…
WhatsApp is only the second non-Google Android app to hit 5 billion installs
Monitoring Desk There are only a few apps on the Google Play Store to have reached the mythical 5 billion install figure, bar some of the pre-installed Google options. Third-party messaging app WhatsApp is now only the second non-Google app to do so, having amassed the figure over a decade on Android and the Play…
EU industry chief to dismiss fears strict security rules could delay 5G
Monitoring Desk PARIS: European industrial policy chief Thierry Breton is set to dismiss claims that relying on European companies to build a 5G network would delay its rollout, weighing in on an increasingly tense debate in Germany over the risk posed by China’s Huawei. In a speech at the DLD conference in Munich later on…
Health
WHO says coronavirus outbreak not a ‘global emergency’
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: After detailed deliberations on the new coronavirus virus on Thursday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) appreciated the measures taken by the Chinese government and announced that “it has not yet become a global health emergency”. The respiratory virus has claimed 18 lives since emerging from a seafood and animal market in the…
China virus death toll mounts to 25, infections spread
Monitoring Desk BEIJING: A new coronavirus has killed 25 people in China and infected more than 800, the government said on Friday, as the World Health Organization declared it an emergency but stopped short of declaring the epidemic of international concern. China’s National Health Commission said 830 cases had been confirmed so far and 25…
Forum held to curb misconception about polio drops
F.P. Report TIMERGARA: To eliminate misconception regarding polio drops from people’s minds, the district administration Dir Lower in collaboration with the Health Department arranged an open forum wherein Deputy Commissioner Saadat Hassan participated as Cheif Guest. Other prominent participants were, District Health Officer, Dr. Shaukat Ali, Deputy District Health Officer, Dr. IrshadRoghani, representative of Pakistan…
First case of coronavirus found in Saudi Arabia
DUBAI (AA): A new type of coronavirus was detected in an Indian nurse who worked at a hospital in southwest Saudi Arabia, India’s minister of state for external affairs announced Thursday. “About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Coronavirus,”…
Investigation underway regarding reason behind patients lost eyesight after eye drops
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The investigation are initiated by the federal government and management at Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital to find the reason behind an incident in which a number of patients reportedly lost their eyesight after eye drops were administered to them. According to local media reports, those patients, who have gone through operations…
TB vaccine efficacy boosted dramatically by IV administration
Monitoring Desk PITTSBURGH: Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have found that simply changing how the only licensed tuberculosis (TB) vaccine is administered can dramatically increase its protective power. The team’s study showed that administering the BacilleCalmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine intravenously rather than…
Travel
US bars issuing visas to pregnant women in a bid to control ‘birth tourism’
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump opened a new front in his battle against immigration on Thursday, barring the issuing of visas to pregnant women seeking to enter the United States for so-called “birth tourism.” In announcing the move, which takes effect on Friday, the White House said foreigners were using the visas “to secure…
Virus-related tourism ban could hurt North Korea’s economy
Monitoring Desk SEOUL: North Korea has temporarily banned foreign tourists in response to the outbreak of a dangerous new virus in neighboring China. Depending on how long the ban lasts, it could hurt North Korea’s economy, which though heavily sanctioned, has received a boost by a recent influx of Chinese tourists. Starting Wednesday, North Korea…
KP Tourism department being digitized to facilitate tourists: Atif Khan
F.P. Report PESHAWAR: Senior Minister for Tourism Khyber PakhtunkwaAtif Khan has that tangible measures were being taken to put administrative working of the tourism department on modern lines to facilitate and attract more tourists towards picturesque tourist places in the province. Chairing a high level meeting in Khyber Pakhtukhwa House, the KP tourism minister said…
State Department to take aim at ‘birth tourism’ in expected change to visa guidelines
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: An upcoming change to State Department visa guidelines is expected to take aim at birth tourism, the practice of foreign nationals giving birth on US soil to ensure their children become American citizens, according to a State Department official. The State Department official told CNN that the department is amending a regulation…
Eight Indian tourists die in Nepal
Monitoring Desk KATHMANDU: Eight Indian tourists including four children died of suspected suffocation in a hotel in Nepal on Tuesday, police said, after trying to keep warm by using a gas heater during the night. The victims were staying in Daman, a hill resort south of Kathmandu which is known for its panoramic views of…
Spain’s Tourist arrivals hit record high
Monitoring Desk MADRID: The number of international visitors to Spain hit an all-time high of 83.7 million in 2019 in a seventh straight year of records, Industry and Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said on Monday, adding that she was optimistic about 2020. Tourist arrivals rose 1 percent last year from a year earlier, Maroto told…
Articles
To secure peace and preserve Afghan political system, Ghani has to go
Arif Rafiq Efforts to secure a durable political settlement to the Afghanistan war coincide and conflict with an uncertain political transition in the country. The United States and the Taliban are once again close to signing a preliminary peace agreement that could pave the way for an end to the 18-year war. According to one…
Hide and Seek
Muhammad Bilal Sethi The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman seems to be playing hide and seek with the masses in the province. The said leader has totally ignored the led from the day he has been in chair. Apart from missing tens of convocations, he has also mishandled several important cases of the higher educational…
It’s time to end ‘Honor’ killing
Lamia Sameen Malik “O beware my Lord of Jealousy…” as Lago utters these words it sets off a chain of events that leads to Othello murdering Desdemona. Our world is full of Lago’s variants. Some do it for jealousy, others pride, and many just to find ‘acceptance’ in other people’s eyes. Honor killing is a…
CAA-NRC ripping apart India’s societal fabric
Iqbal Khan India’s recent politico-legal actions like National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Supreme Court’s decision on Babri Masjid, revocation of Article 370 etc. are having telling effects on societal fabric of India. Entire World is watching the behaviour India’s State institutions with regard to a long overdue correction. On domestic…
Does Trump have a game plan?
Abdullah Muradoglu All eyes were on U.S. President Donald Trump in June of last year. Mounting tensions between the U.S. and Iran had reached a fever pitch after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards downed two U.S. drones in the Gulf of Oman. Was Trump going to retaliate militarily? This was the million-dollar question back then. In September…
Is India fit for UN Security Council Permanent Seat?
Shehla Naz Subsequent to World War II , nations opposed to the Nazi-Fascist axis congregated in San Francisco with an eye to secure next generations from the evil of war and consented to establish the United Nations (UN). Major powers who played major role in the war against the Axis powers i.e. France, UK, US…
Editorial
India’s policy of water aggression
Indian Union Minster of Jal Shaki, while addressing a public meeting at Bernoti of district Khatoa, renewed his threat of stopping the downward flow of water in the three westerly rivers allocated to Pakistan under Indus Water Treaty (IWT) of 1960. He had made the same outburst at an election rally in the India’s Punjab…
Showcasing investment opportunities
In his extempore and informative speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Imran Khan highlighted the opportunities of foreign investment in Pakistan. He said that the country is endowed with vast reserves of mineral resources, fertile agriculture land; the highest percentage of young population, upward movement by 28 points on the World…
Hydel profit arrears
Federal government has agreed to pay hydel profit arrears Rs. 8.5 billion to Khyber Pukhtunkhwa for the purchase of electricity from two power stations of 81 megawatt Malakand P-3 and 18 megawatt Pehur. Golangol hydel power station in Chittral has also come into operation and injecting 40 megawatt into the national grid, the net profit…
US critique of CPEC debt
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, apparently for facilitating global trade, has once again come under scatting criticism by the US admiration senior officials. Addressing a gathering of members of academia and representatives of civil society at AmbWells think tank in Islamabad, Assistant Deputy Secretary of State for…
Playing ethnicity card
The leadership of Awami National Party still seems under the illusion that playing Pukhtun Card will do magic once again in reclaiming their lost vote bank in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. Addressing a public meeting at Amangarh near Nowshera, ANP Central President AsfandiyarWali announced calling a grand Pukhtun Jirga for the protection of their rights. He complained…
PM on ease of doing business
Speaking at a function of business leaders, Prime Minister Imran Khan referred to certain deregulatory measures and described them sufficient enough for improving the economic environment for fresh domestic and foreign investment. Streamlining the registration procedure for big businesses and industry and doing away with the condition of registration and getting licenses for small business…
Arts and Literature
World’s biggest literature festival kicks off in India
Monitoring Desk JAIPUR: The 13th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) started on Thursday. Known as the “greatest literary show on earth,” the five-day event brings to one venue more than 500 speakers of 15 Indian and 35 foreign languages, and over 30 nationalities. Among the festival’s participants are Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize…
A 3-year-old Malaysian boy has just become the youngest member of Mensa UK, the largest international high IQ society
Monitoring Desk LONDON: A 3-year-old Malaysian boy living in the UK has become the youngest member to join Mensa UK, the largest and oldest international high IQ society in the world, Mensa officials said. Muhammad Haryz Nadzim was invited to join Mensa after meeting with a psychologist and scoring 142 on the Stanford-Binet IQ test,…
LAC to organize ‘Folk Music Festival’ from Jan 28
F.P. Report LAHORE: Lahore Arts Council (LAC) will organize a two-day folk music competition titled “Folk Music Festival” to promote folk music from January 28 at Alhamra Art Center. According to spokesperson here on Tuesday, candidates between the ages of 15 to 30 could register themselves for participating in the competition till January 27. Audition…
Anti-polio theatre enthralls students of UoP
F.P. Report Peshawar: Students enjoy and learnt a great deal about polio eradication government initiatives on national level through a theatre and video documentary display on Tuesday at Pashtun Cultural museum. “Society needs to take cognisance of this menace as it involves our children physical , cognitive , learning and lifelong aspirations “ the writer…
The Age of Hiroshima
Monitoring Desk Authors: Michael D. Gordin and G. John Ikenberry On Aug. 6, 1945, in the waning days of World War II, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The city’s destruction stands as a powerful symbol of nuclear annihilation, but it has also shaped how we think about war…
Race is about politics Jean-Frederic Schaub
Monitoring Desk Racial divisions have returned to the forefront of politics in the US and European societies, making it more important than ever to understand race and racism. But do we? In this original and provocative book, acclaimed historian Jean-Frédéric Schaub shows that we don’t— and that we need to rethink the widespread assumption that…
