Top Stories
Sindh govt backs down from decision to close off several Karachi neighbourhoods amid coronavirus
F.P. Report KARACHI: The Sindh government has backed down from its decision to cordon off several neighbourhoods in Karachi’s East Zone, less than six hours after ordering them sealed. According to the earlier decision, 11 neighbourhoods of Karachi were ordered by the deputy commissioner to be sealed, with police and Rangers told to ensure people…
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan soar to 5011, death toll rises to 77
F.P. Report LAHORE: Pakistan on Saturday has reported 77 deaths from novel coronavirus while the total number of cases has surged to 5011. According to details, 2,414 patients have been tested positive for the epidemic in Punjab, 1,318 in Sindh, 697 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 220 in Balochistan, 215 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 113 in Islamabad and 34…
India committing injustices in occupied Kashmir as world battles coronavirus: FM Qureshi
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday afternoon drew the attention of the international community to the human rights violations of Indian troops in Indian-occupied Kashmir amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the world. “As the world is busy battling the coronavirus, India is committing injustices in occupied Kashmir,” Qureshi…
11 Karachi UCs sealed after CM sounds alarm, says ‘stricter’ lockdown needed to control spread
F.P. Report KARACHI: Hours after Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah called for stricter lockdown measures in the province, pointing to the high percentage of positive Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, authorities in Karachi sealed eleven union councils in the city’s district east on Saturday, citing reports of several Covid-19 positive individuals residing…
Govt to decide Monday whether to ease Covid-19 restrictions: Asad Umar
F.P. Report KARACHI: Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar said on Saturday the government will decide on Monday whether or not to ease out the Covid-19 restrictions in the country. Speaking at a media briefing along with Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, he said they would present suggestions to the prime…
Govt responds to CJP’s suo motu notice on corona crisis
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: A day after Chief Justice Justice Gulzar Ahmed took his first suo motu notice on the coronavirus situation in the country, the federal government submitted a response to Supreme Court (SC) explaining the measures taken by the state to stem the spread of infection so far. The top court judge had sent…
Global
Using his own ‘metrics,’ Trump says ending US shutdown is biggest decision yet
WASHINGTON (Reuters): President Donald Trump said on Friday he faced his biggest decision yet with regard to when to re-open the US economy from its coronavirus shutdown and pledged to listen to health experts when making that determination. Speaking at a White House coronavirus briefing, Trump said he would unveil a new advisory group next…
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India to extend nationwide lockdown to tackle coronavirus
NEW DELHI / DHAKA (Reuters): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to extend a nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of the coronavirus, the chief minister of Delhi state said on Saturday, without disclosing how long the extension would be for. Earlier in the day, Modi held a video conference call with several state…
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UK coronavirus death toll 9,875, up 917 in 24 hours
LONDON (AA): The U.K.-wide death toll from coronavirus rose 917 in the last 24 hours, British health authorities announced on Saturday. The Department of Health reported: “269,598 people have been tested of which 78,991 tested positive. “As of 5pm on 10 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 9,875 have…
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Afghan forces kill 27 Taliban insurgents
KABUL (AA): Afghan security forces said Saturday at least 27 Taliban insurgents were killed in the northern Badakhshan province bordering Tajikistan. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the insurgents were killed in air and ground offensives in Warduj and Nusay districts last evening. It said nine insurgents also got injured in operations aimed…
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Muslim family’s voluntary service touches UK village
ANKARA (AA): A Muslim family’s voluntary service to drop food packets at the doors of self-isolated neighbors has touched the residents of Sudbrooke, a small village in the West Lindsey district in the U.K. “Have a good day” and “keep safe” were messages written on the two food packets delivered at the doorstep of 66-years…
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Putin, Saudi crown prince discuss OPEC+ decision
MOSCOW (AA): Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday discussed OPEC+ decision to cut oil production, in a phone talk on Friday. “The issues related to the OPEC+ talks on reducing oil production were discussed,” the Kremlin said in a statement. The two leaders agreed to continue talks on…
Read MorePakistan
Four Balochistan Ministers resign over internal disputes
F.P. Report QUETTA: The Balochistan government has once again fallen in internal disarray as four ministers of the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have resigned from their posts. According to details, differences between members of the Balochistan government have begun to escalate once again, with four more ministers of the ruling party resigning after Sardar…
Final decision regarding Hajj to be taken by 15th Ramadan: Noor ul Haq Qadri
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Federal Minister of Religious Affairs and interfaith harmony, has said that the Saudi authorities will decide whether Hajj will be held or not by the 15th of Ramadan. The Minister clarified that Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan to halt Hajj agreements until the situation becomes clearerbut Pakistan is in direct…
Several areas of Lahore sealed over coronavirus fears
F.P. Report LAHORE Several areas of Lahore have been sealed after the coronavirus cases kept rising in the provincial capital of Punjab. According to details, after the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the city, 10 areas including Raiwind, Sikandria Colony, Nawan Kot, Makhanpura, Beghum Kot Shahdara, Rustam Park Gulshan e Ravi, Small industries housing…
Khawaja brothers call on Parvez, inquire after Shujaat
F.P. Report LAHORE: PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique on Saturday called on Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at his residence in Lahore to discuss the ongoing coronavirus pandemic situation in Pakistan and to inquire after the health of PML-Q leader Ch Shujaat Hussain. Khawaja brothers lauded the efforts of Pervaiz Elahi for building…
Rs13b distributed under Ehsaas Programme so far: Asad Umar
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Asad Umar says 13 billion rupees have been distributed among 1.1 million people under Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme so far. Briefing media along with Special Assistant on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza in Islamabad on Saturday, he said Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan under which…
KP govt announces Rs1mn compensation for journalists who died of coronavirus
PESHAWAR: Advisor to Chief Minister on Information Ajmal Wazir on Saturday announced one million rupees as a compensation amount for those journalists who died due to coronavirus. Talking to media, he said the government has also set up 110 isolation centres for 3,000 patients of the coronavirus. He said 275 quarantine centres have been established…
Afghanistan
555 COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan, 18 deaths reported
KABUL (Tolo News): The number of positive cases of the coronavirus in Afghanistan reached 555 after the Ministry of Public Health reported 34 new cases on Saturday, warning people to stay at home. Addressing a press conference, Wahid Majroh, an adviser the Public Health Ministry, said the 34 cases include 8 in Kabul, 8 in…
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Torkham, Boldak passageways reopen
KABUL (Agencies): Pakistan government has agreed to reopen the Torkham and Spin Boldak, the two major passageways to Afghanistan for trade, Afghan officials confirmed. The two passageways were closed by Islamabad for several weeks for the fear of Corona virus spread. Afghanistan imports more than 50 per cent of its essentials including foodstuff from neighboring…
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We want peace and education for our children: Released Taliban
KABUL (Tolo News): Some Taliban members who were recently released by the Afghan government have said that they do not support continued fighting in the country. They also called on the Afghan government to expedite efforts for peace and pave the way for their children to get enrolled at schools. The Afghan government over the…
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‘Palace attempting to divide Abdullah camp’, says aide
KABUL (Tolo News): A spokesman for Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday claimed that the Presidential Palace is trying to “create differences” between political and former mujahideen leaders who are supporting Abdullah’s stance. Omid Maisam said such efforts will not work and that political and former mujahideen leaders will continue to support Abdullah’s side. He added that…
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India to export wheat
KABUL (Agencies): India will export 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan under a government to government (G2G) arrangement, the India Times reported. “NAFED has been asked to export 50,000 tonnes to Afghanistan through diplomatic route,” a senior official of the Indian agriculture department has told the Times. According to the report, the official said that…
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Afghan forces kill 27 Taliban insurgents
KABUL (AA): Afghan security forces said Saturday at least 27 Taliban insurgents were killed in the northern Badakhshan province bordering Tajikistan. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the insurgents were killed in air and ground offensives in Warduj and Nusay districts last evening. It said nine insurgents also got injured in operations aimed…
Read MoreBusiness
FPCCI hails Rs 100 billion packages to industrial sector by govt
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Mian Anjum Nisar has hailed Rs 100 billion packages offered to the local industrial sector as a support following current challenging situation, created due to COVID- 19 pandemic by the government. The government should take preventive measures and develop strategy…
Bulls beat bears in week-long trade, index reaches to 32,033.21 points
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The bullish trend dominated the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) throughout the week ending on Friday, April 10, as the KSE-100 index collectively witnessed increase of 411.42 points since the end of trading last Friday. The KSE-100 bench mark index touched the figure of 32,033.21points on Friday after going through some mixed trends…
G20 ministers vow to calm oil markets but quiet on output cuts
RIYADH (AFP): G20 energy ministers pledged to work together to ensure oil “market stability”, in a statement released Saturday after a virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia that did not mention production cuts. The summit came after an output cut agreement between OPEC and its allies to shore up crude prices hit an impasse, with…
Lebanon’s creditors divided over draft financial restructuring plan
Monitoring Desk LONDON: Lebanon’s international and local creditors are at odds over a draft plan on tackling the country’s crippling financial crisis. Some international holders of Lebanon’s more than $30 billion Eurobonds are broadly supportive of the proposal, which estimates Lebanon will need external financing of $10 billion-$15 billion over the next five years, and…
Pakistan won’t suffer from OPEC+ oil production cuts
Monitoring Desk KARACHI: Pakistan will not be immediately affected by an OPEC+ deal to cut production, petroleum experts say, as the country is on lockdown and demand has decreased by more than 70 percent. “I don’t think the production cut would have any major impact on prices because at this point the market is oversupplied…
SPI inflation falls by 0.44 per cent to 8.20
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on April 9, for the combined consumption group, witnessed decrease of 0.44 percent as compared to the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 124.97 points against 125.52 points registered…
Sports
Pakistan keen to host ICC events
NEW DELHI (Agencies): Pakistan have offered to host global flagship tournaments after the International Cricket Council (ICC) invited expression of interest from its members for events in the 2023-31 cycle. Pakistan last staged an ICC event in 1996 when it co-hosted the 50-overs World Cup with India and Sri Lanka and the country has been…
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Babar Azam has potential to beat Virat Kohli: Ramiz Raja
KARACHI (Monitoring Desk): Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja has said that the Men in Green’s Twenty20 International (T20I) captain Babar Azam has the ability to surpass Indian skipper and star batsman Virat Kohli. While talking during a show on a local news channel, the renowned commentator said that Azam needs an engaging atmosphere to thrive.…
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Swiss prosecutors to drop one of cases
ZURICH (Agencies): Switzerland’s federal prosecutor is about to end its investigation into former FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s deals with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to sell World Cup broadcasting rights. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said it has informed all the parties of its intention to close the case and was seeking ways…
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Henman insists Andy can still play
LONDON (Agencies): Andy Murray, whose comeback has stalled in tempo with his sport, has “a few Wimbledons left in him yet”, according to Tim Henman. Henman, who reached four semi-finals there and is an influential board member at the All England Club, which cancelled the 134th championships because of coronavirus, said Murray, 33 next month,…
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Michael Atherton looks forward to competitive Pak-England cricket series
LAHORE (APP): One of the most respected and decorated England cricketer Michael Atherton believes that Pakistan cricket team has a very good record against England in recent years in England and highly compatible cricket will be seen when the former world champion visit England this summer. “ Pakistan is always a valuable team to play…
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Home series against West Indies may be delayed: England team chief
LONDON (Agencies): England cricket team chief Ashley Giles has forecast a significant delay to the home series against the West Indies in June should the coronavirus relent sufficiently to allow the three Tests to go ahead. The county championship, comprising four-day matches, was due to start on Sunday but English cricket is shut down until…
Read MoreFashion & Movies
Cardi B donates $1m for COVID-19 relief
Monitoring Desk LOS ANGELES: In the midst of these tumultuous times, numerous celebrities are stepping forward to extend a helping hand to all those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. American rapper Cardi B has become the latest to contribute towards the battle against Covid-19 after she announced her partnership with Fashion Nova, pitching in $1,000…
Singer Selena Gomez spends $4.9 million on Tom Petty’s former Encino mansion
Monitoring Desk LOS ANGELES: Singer Selena Gomez has dropped $ 4.9 million to buy Tom Petty’s former Encino mansion. As per reports, the house was originally custom-built by the late rocker Tom Petty and his first wife, Jane Benyo, after an arsonist-set fire destroyed the Tudor-style mansion. The child actor-turned-international pop music and social media…
Netflix sets follow-up episode of the ‘Tiger King’
Monitoring Desk LOS ANGELES: A new episode of Netflix wildly popular “Tiger King” will air this weekend, bringing fans up-to-date with the lives of the smash hit zookeeper documentary’s surreal subjects. The series about a gay, mullet-wearing private zoo owner who calls himself “Joe Exotic” now in prison for murder for hire has become a…
Egyptian designer Lamia Rady turns from fashion to face masks
Monitoring Desk CAIRO: “Look for the helpers,” the American television icon Fred Rogers famously said, recalling advice offered by his mother for when a crisis hits. “You will always find people who are helping.” Among Egypt’s ‘helpers’ is the Cairo-based fashion designer Lamia Rady, who has started sewing much-needed masks for medical facilities in response…
Kylie Jenner to donate essential supplies to health workers
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: Kylie Jenner has announced to donate essential supplies to healthcare workers as US battles the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Taking to her Instagram stories she wrote, “We are so grateful to the heroes who put their own lives at risk to save ours.” According to Daily Mail, she is teaming up with Beauty…
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson reflect on good fortune after surviving coronavirus
Monitoring Desk LOS ANGELES: Tom Hanks was in Australia when he and wife Rita Wilson, both 63, came down with coronavirus Top Hollywood actors Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson are back home in Los Angeles after two weeks in hospital and self-isolation in Australia where they contracted the coronavirus. “Hey, Folks… We’re home now…
Science & Technology
Apple, Google launching software to track coronavirus through smartphones
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: Apple and Google said on Friday that they will work together to create contact tracing technology that aims to slow the spread of the coronavirus by allowing users to opt into logging other phones they have been near. The rare collaboration between the two Silicon Valley companies, whose operating systems power 99%…
How tech is helping to beat the virus lockdown blues
Monitoring Desk OSLO: Widower Per Leif Rolid lives alone on his farm, a two-hour drive from Oslo. His sense of isolation has mounted with the coronavirus pandemic, but a simple screen is helping him stay in touch — without requiring any computer know-how. Rolid, 87, has never owned a computer, smartphone or tablet. But that…
Space station crew blast off despite virus-hit build up
Monitoring Desk ALMATY: A three-man crew blasted off to the International Space Station on Thursday, leaving behind a planet overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency and NASA’s Chris Cassidy launched at 08:05 GMT from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where COVID-19 has caused changes to pre-launch…
Tribal students are facing issues taking online classes
Wajeeh Hassan PESHAWAR: As the federal as well as provincial governments have extended the vacations till May 31 amid coronavirus outbreak across the country, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has directed all the public-sector universities to go online to save the time of their students during the coronavirus lockdown and their academic year. However, this…
NFLP-Y launching its e-learning portal
F.P. Report KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan in collaboration with National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF) is implementing National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y) to impart essential financial education to Pakistani youth and school going children for strengthening of their money management skills and enhance their understanding of financial matters. National Financial Literacy…
A popular, Low-Tech way to pass the time in quarantine: Puzzles
Monitoring Desk Millions of people are preoccupying themselves in coronavirus isolation with various forms of technology, from Disney+ to DoorDash and FaceTime to Fortnite. But after a long day of distance learning or working from home, there’s only so many glowing pixels we can endure. That could explain why an old-school trade is seeing an…
Health
Time to ponder
Sheema Ayub In the midst of corona pandemic, the government has somehow dejectedly imposed lockdown that overtly makes it a widely debated decision. With comparatively low trajectory of the infected people, for the time being we are somehow doing well than the US at least. It is because its economy is sixty times greater than…
The story of MASK with Jim Carrey
Wadood Jan The BUSINESS, sounds good but may have various definitions and aspects. Everyone endeavours and prays that their business may grow rapidly. For instance, a man rushing and leaving home to reach his workplace to earn livelihood and the same while his aged mother says “son, May Allah bring prosperity to you and your…
Indonesian doctor’s death exposes heartbreaking risks of virus battle
Monitoring Desk JAKARTA: When Indonesian doctor Ratih Purwarini was buried at dusk in a Jakarta cemetery, only her son Firos saw her plastic-wrapped coffin used for coronavirus victims lowered into the grave. The rest of the family, instructed to keep a safe distance, watched the proceedings from afar: Firos standing alone by a mound of…
Melania Trump encourages face mask use with photo of herself
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: First lady Melania Trump shared a photo of herself wearing a cloth face mask in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the first member of the Trump family to publicly don a face covering. “As the CDC studies the spread of #COVID-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public…
Corona swallows welfare struggles
Wadood Jan The Corona pandemic not only has disturbed the official, educational and routine and business activities but has also interrupted welfare activities. A number of welfare organizations have been aiming to support various sectors of society but due to recent situation developed by the corona menace those welfare activities have stopped. Poor people have…
Indonesia: Possible virus treatment found in flora
JAKARTA (AA): Indonesian research teams on Thursday said they found potential compounds in local agricultural products that can fight the novel coronavirus. Dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, an internist at the University of Indonesia, said hesperidin, myricetin, luteolin and casuarinin — all of which can be found in the local tropical fruit red guava — had…
Travel
Coronavirus Threatens Greek Tourism
Monitoring Desk ATHENS: After a brutal 10-year financial crisis, Greece was on course to a promising rebound. Businesses and exports were slowly but consistently growing, and tourism was booming. With the coronavirus, however, the biggest money-making industry for Europe’s poorest economy, is in peril. This was supposed to be a record year, with this tiny,…
Hong Kong’s tourism will be back to normal by July, minister says
Monitoring Desk HONG KONG: The effects of the novel coronavirus on Hong Kong’s tourism sector is unprecedented and the city can hope to start seeing things returning to normal by July, in part by trying to develop new markets, the head of the tourism board told Reuters news agency. The coronavirus crisis has paralysed the…
Malam Jabba giving a deserted look amid looming fears of coronavirus
F.P. Report PESHAWAR: Like other parts of Pakistan, the spring season of blossoming flowers and chirping birds has also arrived in the most scenic tourism destination of Malam Jabba but the hotels lying deserted, chair-lift empty and ski resorts have been shut down due to looming fears of corona pandemic. The tourism industry is about…
Spanish hotels become medical bunkhouses in tourism meltdown
Monitoring Desk BARCELONA: Before the coronavirus pandemic besieged Europe, Kike Sarasola worried about whether he was building enough hotels to capitalize on the region’s long-running tourism boom. Such concerns have disappeared, along with the tourists. The only guests at three of his six boutique hotels in Madrid are doctors and nurses fighting the deadly disease.…
Olympics delay a blow for virus-hit Tokyo hotels
Monitoring Desk Tokyo: The shock postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has dealt a savage blow to Japan’s hotels and tourism industry, already reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Many operators have seen bookings decimated by the virus and had been clinging to the hope that the Games would help them claw back…
Global tourism to fall up to 30% due to virus: UNWTO
Monitoring Desk MADRID: The number of international tourist arrivals will fall by 20-30 percent in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus, putting millions of jobs at risk, the World Tourism Organization said Friday. This revises sharply lower a forecast made earlier this month of a decline of just 1.0-3.0 percent. The drop in arrivals will…
Articles
Secularism’s universality claim as a Western narrative
Yasin Aktay One of the most important characteristics describing the post-modern world is that great causes, stories, meta-narratives in which people would believe for the sake of which they would become mobilized in masses would become void. These meta-narratives, which played a major role in freedom, equality, socialism, enlightenment, justice, et cetera in the history…
US hegemony in peril amid COVID-19 pandemic
Shen Yi The raging COVID-19 pandemic not only challenges and tests the ability of countries to contain the virus but also has far-reaching implications for the international system, which has become a catalyst in accelerating the evolution of the current international order. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump lashed out at the World Health Organization…
Trump pushes historic deal to cut world oil output toward finish
Javier Blas, Grant Smith and Amy Stillman The world’s largest oil producers were closing in on a deal to rescue energy markets from a coronavirus-induced collapse after US President Donald Trump stepped in to try to broker a truce. An unprecedented cut of about 10% in worldwide crude production — which seemed unlikely last week…
Triumph over the pandemic vital, but how?
Burhanettin Duran United States President Donald Trump recently called the World Health Organization (WHO) “China-centric,” blaming the organization for failing to stop the COVID-19 pandemic and threatening to cut US funding. At first glance, Trump’s beef with the WHO may seem personal, in the sense that he attempts to shift the blame for US deaths…
US virus prevention efforts have become a farce that is no longer amusing
Wang Wenwen The farce that has emerged in the US Navy due to the COVID-19 pandemic is not entertaining. After Captain Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roos-evelt sent a letter on Ma-rch 30 alerting US naval commanders that COV-ID-19 was threatening the lives of his sailors, he was not just dismissed but reprimanded by…
Is the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan imminent?
Michael Kugelman In a report on April 7, NBC News broke a major story: During his surprise visit to Kabul on March 23, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to pull out all American troops from Afghanistan if President Ashraf Ghani and his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, failed to resolve a weeks-long political…
Editorial
Timely damage control
The ministry of commerce has taken back its earlier decision of allowing export of all anti-malaria drugs and imposed a ban on the export of theses medicines to keep sufficient stock for possible use in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The ban will remain in place until further decision of the National Coordination Committee (NCC),…
Taiwan should restrain from seeking attention
The Taiwan authorities have launched attacks on World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus together with Washington. In addition, addressing an online forum held by a Washington-based conservative think tank, Joseph Wu, “foreign minister” of the Taiwan island, boasted that Taiwan’s effective prevention work shows that its “democratic model” can successfully stem the spread…
Freezing FPA
Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in its meeting on Thursday, has freezed quarterly increase in electricity price by way of fuel price adjustment (FPA). But in the same meeting a summary moved by the energy division was approved, seeking therein 7 percent increase in original power tariff for foreign companies that produce coal based thermal power.…
Asfandiyar Wali on provincial autonomy
In a message on the completion of one decade of 18th Amendment to the Constitution of 1973, Central President of Awami National Party, Asfandiyar Wali has described it an important achievement in the political history of Pakistan. According to him, the legislation is reflective of the realization of the dream of the true democrat and…
Animosities of Pseudo-Kings in education department
It is an undeniable fact that the Pseudo-Kings i.e. Clerks of the District Education Peshawar, rule the empire of Elementary and Secondary Education as they have established their stronghold in this department since, ANP government. The top contender in terms of unethical behavior, ill public dealings and human resource has been DEO (M) office Peshawar,…
Cleansing the rot
A print media report reveals that Debt Inquiry Commission is submitting its report to the Prime Minister’s office next week. It was also confirmed by Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed in a current affairs programme of a Private TV Channel. He also disclosed that inquiry report on IPPs is in final stage. Debt Inquiry…
Arts and Literature
Inside New York’s thriving community of Arab immigrants Little Syria
Monitoring Desk DUBAI: In the early 20th century, New York City’s Lower Manhattan area was home to a thriving community known as Little Syria (aka ‘The Syrian Quarter’ and ‘The Mother Colony’). This enclave of Arabic-speaking immigrants traveled by ship from the Ottoman-occupied region of Greater Syria (mostly from Mount Lebanon) to New York —…
Protection of heritage sites important for all mankind
Monitoring Desk The destruction of many historic sites as a result of the Second World War prompted states to sign, in 1954, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict — the first ever treaty to prohibit acts of hostility against historic monuments. And though this would not…
Reclaiming what was lost: Nostalgia in Arab art
Monitoring Desk BEIRUT: It’s mid-February in Beirut and the visual artist Adra Kandil is discussing old photographs in a café on Bliss Street. Although in her mid-20s, she has cultivated a deep attachment to photography from the 1960s — particularly Lebanon’s Golden Age and the imagery associated with the country’s pre-war heyday. For her, such…
Art out of control
Monitoring Desk It’s interesting how, as an author, I’m often at the mercy of my characters. On some occasions, they speak to me all night making me restless and keeping me awake. On a few others, they’re at a cold war with me, and no amount of pleading helps. Recently, I shared this thought with…
Calligraphy artist Wissam Shawkat seeks to break the mold after mastering classic styles
Monitoring Desk DUBAI: “If you continue practicing calligraphy in its traditional scripts, that’s a limitation by itself,” Iraqi artist Wissam Shawkat told Arab News while explaining the need to master the craft and then innovate to push Arabic calligraphy into the future. “I mean I am not against learning traditional scripts. I’ve been doing calligraphy…
The Cat: A Natural and Cultural History by Sarah Brown
Monitoring Desk Of all the domesticated species, cats have enjoyed the most complex relationship with people — one that still leads to arguments about whether you can truly call the cat asleep by your fire “tame.” The Cat is a comprehensive, richly illustrated exploration of the natural and cultural history of this much-loved pet. Chapters…
