Top Stories
Military clampdown in IOK enters 78th consecutive day
Monitoring Desk SRINAGAR: The Kashmiris continued are living in the environment of fear and uncertainty continues due to the ongoing Indian military lockdown, which entered 78th straight day, today (Monday). According to Kashmir Media Service report, besides ban on internet across all platforms, prepaid cellular services continue to remain suspended. Shops and business establishment except…
EU calls for Afghanistan ceasefire as Esper visits Kabul
Monitoring Desk KABUL: European Union officials called Sunday for a ceasefire in Afghanistan, saying the breakdown in US-Taliban talks presented an opportunity to push for a truce, as the US defense secretary made an unexpected visit to Kabul. US President Donald Trump last month declared talks with the insurgents “dead”, citing a Taliban attack that…
Nine killed after ambulance collides with trailer in Mianwali
F.P. Report MIANWALI: As many as nine people were killed when an ambulance collided with a trailer at Multan Road in Head Pakka area near Mianwali in the wee hours of Monday. The ill-fated ambulance was carrying a patient from Bhakkar to Rawalpindi when it collided with a trailer. Ambulance caught fire due to gas…
Lasbela: PM Imran Khan to inaugurate Hub Power Station today
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate 1,320MW Hub Power Station built with Chinese support in will in the Lasbela District of Balochistan, on Monday (today). According to report, after the inauguration of Hub Power Station, Prime Minister Imran Khan will reach Karachi on one-day official visit where he is scheduled to meet…
FO summons Indian envoy to condemn ceasefire violations
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Director General (South Asia & SAARC) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Faisal Sunday summoned the Indian Chargé d’affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by India along the Line of Control (LoC) on October 19 and 20, 2019. Consequent to the unprovoked firing by Indian occupation forces including use…
Hafeez assures of economic growth
Jalil Afridi Washington DC: Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Finance, Revenue and Economic growth, Dr Hafeez Sheikh assured that the economy of Pakistan is growing and that financial institutes are being strengthened. Hafeez Sheikh along with Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Reza Baqir briefed journalists at Pakistan Embassy about their recent visit…
Global
Thirty killed in DR Congo bus accident
Monitoring Desk DR CONGO: At least 30 people were killed when a packed bus came off the road and burst into flames overnight near Kinshasa, the DR Congo capital, a local official said Sunday. “The current toll is 30 dead. Eighteen others have third-degree burns,” Red Cross spokesman David Nsiala told AFP. “We are continuing…
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Greens seen gaining as Switzerland elects new parliament
Monitoring Desk BERLIN: Two Green parties appeared to have made significant gains as Switzerland elected a new parliament Sunday, while a populist right-wing party remained the country’s strongest but saw its support slip, a projection showed. The projection for SRF public television, several hours after polls closed, tallied with pre-election expectations that environmental concerns would…
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Iran’s nuclear industry 100% indigenized: AEOI
TEHRAN (Agencies): A high-ranking official at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the country’s nuclear activities have been entirely indigenized and the Islamic Republic has become self-sufficient in designing and manufacturing different types of centrifuge machines. “One-hundred percent of Iran’s nuclear industry activities have been indigenized and today, we are self-sufficient in designing…
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Hamas decries Israel’s participation in Bahrain meet
Monitoring Desk GAZA CITY: Palestinian resistance group Hamas has decried Israel’s participation in a U.S.-led maritime security meeting in Bahrain. Israel’s Channel 13 reported that an Israeli delegation would attend the event, due to open in Manama on Sunday. Israel and Bahrain do not have diplomatic relations. In a statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said…
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India: Ruling party leader asks Hindus to buy sword ahead of verdict
Monitoring Desk NEW DELHI: A ruling party leader in north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has asked members of his Hindu community to “buy swords made of iron instead of gold jewelery and silver vessels,” on Dhanteras. Dhanteras is a Hindu festival celebrated before the festival of Diwali and according to tradition, Hindus buy utensils…
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Three die after supermarket set on fire in Chile
Monitoring Desk SANTIAGO: At least three people died after a supermarket in the Chilean capital Santiago was set alight by demonstrators, while many flights into the city’s airport were suspended as crew were unable to get to work, the city’s governor said on Sunday. Santiago and other Chilean cities have been engulfed by several days…
Read MorePakistan
NAB seeks extension in Khursheed Shah’s physical remand
F.P. Report SUKKUR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has produced Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Khursheed Shah in an accountability court in Sukkur, on Monday. According to reports, NAB seeking extension in his physical remand for another 15 days in owning assets beyond means case. Amid tight security measures, the NAB officials produced PPP’s senior…
Police arrests two JUI-F leaders in capital
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Police has arrested two leaders of Jamiat Ulema Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) in Islamabad and a case was lodged against them by the police, on Monday. According to local news channel reports, Maulana Shafiq-ur-Rehman and Maulana Muhammad Irshad were arrested from Shams Colony along with banners for the JUI-F sit-in in their possession.…
No martial law threat in country, says Ch Sarwar
F.P. Report LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on Sunday said that there was no threat of martial law in the country. Talking to the media after attending the 3rd-day of Urs celebrations of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, he said that some people criticised the government, saying that it did not believe in dialogue process.…
Govt in contact with different opposition parties: Khattak
F.P. Report PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Defence and Chairman Negotiation Committee, Pervez Khattak has said that members of the panel are in contract with opposition parties including PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, ANP and maximum progress is made. Addressing a Sui gas pipeline inauguration ceremony he said that on behalf of Maulana Fazalur Rehman, Senator Ghafoor Haideri…
AGP report finds Rs2.5m irregularities in ICT affairs
Abdullah Malik ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) found 2.5 million rupees irregularities in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration affairs while purchasing plants, CCTV cameras, LEDs and LCDS back in 2015 in violations of the Public Procurement Rules (PPRA) the documents available with The Frontier Post added. According to the details twin suicide…
Afghanistan
EU calls for Afghanistan ceasefire as Esper visits Kabul
Monitoring Desk KABUL: European Union officials called Sunday for a ceasefire in Afghanistan, saying the breakdown in US-Taliban talks presented an opportunity to push for a truce, as the US defense secretary made an unexpected visit to Kabul. US President Donald Trump last month declared talks with the insurgents “dead”, citing a Taliban attack that…
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Pompeo condemns Nangarhar attack
Monitoring Desk KABUL: The US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo in a statement on Saturday condemned the attack in Nangarhar, calling it an act of “cowardice and cruelty” and said that Washington remains committed to peace in Afghanistan. Two explosives went off in a mosque in the Jaw Dara area of the Haska Mena…
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10 Taliban, ISIS men killed, held in raids
Monitoring Desk KABUL: The Special Forces killed an ISIS militant and detained 9 militants including 2 ISIS fighters and 7 Taliban during the operations in four provinces of Afghanistan. The military officials said Sunday the Special Forces arrested 4 Taliban militants and destroyed a small cache of weapons in Chak-e Wardak district of Wardak. The…
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ISIS man hailing from Iran surrendered
Monitoring Desk JALALABAD: A militant of ISIS terrorist group hailing from Iran handed over himself to the Afghan forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. According to a statement released by Governor’s Office of Nangarhar province, the 23-year-old ISIS fighter surrendered to Afghan Border Forces in Haska Mina district. The militant confessed that Abdul Ahmad…
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Governor survives car bomb
Monitoring Desk MAIDAN SHAHR: Three policemen were killed, and two of the governor’s security guards were wounded, in a car bomb in Maidan Shahr. The incident occurred in Maidan Shahr while the provincial governor, Muzafaruddin Yemen, was attending an event at the police station in the city center; however, the governor was not injured, said…
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Gang of armed robbers busted in Kabul city
Monitoring Desk KABUL: The security forces busted a gang of armed robbers in Kabul city and arrested three persons, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said. According to a statement released by NDS, the Special Forces of the directorate busted the gang in fourth police district of the city. The statement further added that the…
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Business
Services’ trade exports decrease 7.15%
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The exports of services during the first two months of the current fiscal year decreased by 7.15 percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The services exports from the country during July-August (2019-20) were recorded at $809.03 million compared to the exports of $871.35 million during July-August (2018-19), showing…
Remittances slow down in first quarter to $5.47 billion
F.P. Report LAHORE: As the country received 1.43 percent lower remittances amounting to $5.47 billion in first quarter of 2019-20 compared to $5.55 billion in the same period of previous year the Pakistan Industrial & Traders Association Front has suggested the prime minister to announce incentives for overseas Pakistanis to push up foreign inflows. In…
Digital Economy to boost GDP up to $40 billion
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: ‘Digital economy in Pakistan’ has huge potential for boosting the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up to the level of $ 40 billion, besides consolidating the local economy. Through the evolution of ‘Digital Economy’, Pakistan can rapidly achieve its economic agenda in all major sectors including trade and E-commerce, education and health…
SBS Distribution marks 10-year of excellence in IT sector
F.P. Report KARACHI: The Syed Business Solutions (SBS) Distribution on completion of 10 years of its successful operations in IT sector held a grand celebration. The company unveiled their new product line on this occasion which will be available for Pakistan’s IT & Security market. The new products include SuperMicro, Pivot3, Nexenta, Commvalut, Mobotix and…
CNIC restriction plummets cement sales per day by 50%
F.P. Report LAHORE: The cement sales in the country have declined by more than 50 percent to almost 70,000 tons per day from 145,000 tons per day mainly due to the restriction of CNIC, as majority of the dealers are unregistered. Moreover, the high inflation and huge depreciation of the rupee versus US dollar along…
SAARC Chamber stresses need for exploiting trade, investment potentials
F.P. Report LAHORE: SAARC Chamber Sunday stressed the urgent need for fully exploiting immense trade avenues and investment potentials for economic integration in the region as South Asia holds strategic position in the world. According to a message received here from Colombo the leader of Pakistani delegation Iftikhar Ali Malik, currently attending 78th SAARC Chamber…
Sports
Salah misses Liverpool trip to Man Utd, Alisson returns
LONDON (Agencies): Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has not recovered from an ankle injury in time to face Manchester United on Sunday, but goalkeeper Alisson Becker is fit to make his first appearance since the opening weekend of the season. Salah hobbled off late on in the European champions’ 2-1 victory over Leicester two weeks ago, but…
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Wales ride their luck to steal dramatic one-point
OITA (Agencies): Wales rode their luck to advance to their third World Cup semi-final when Ross Moriarty’s dramatic late try gave then a 20-19 victory over a battling France team reduced to 14 men for the final half hour on Sunday. France were leading 19-10 when lock Sebastien Vahaamahina, in a moment of madness, inexplicably…
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Banned cricketer takes part in domestic event
Monitoring Desk KARACHI: Earlier this year in April, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) banned Civil Aviation wicketkeeper-batsman Gauhar Ali for two years. PCB took this action after Pakistan Navy filed a complaint against Ali for representing Civil Aviation in Patrons Trophy Grade 2 tournament, despite being a permanent employee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police. As…
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Sri Lanka to play two Tests in Pakistan in December
F.P. Report LAHORE: After a positive response from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC), the chances of holding Test matches in Pakistan after 10 years have increased. According to reports, the SLC has shown an interest for Test matches in Pakistan in December, after successfully playing a limited-match series in the country. The Islanders recently…
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Ronaldo presented special ‘700’ jersey as Portuguese hits 701st goal
MILAN (AFP): Cristiano Ronaldo and Miralem Pjanic sealed a 2-1 win for Juventus over Bologna to consolidate top spot in Serie A on Saturday. Ronaldo was presented with a special jersey before kick-off to mark his 700th career goal scored playing for Portugal during the week. The 34-year-old hit his 701st after 19 minutes, with…
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Mike Hussey joins Australia staff for Sri Lanka, Pakistan series
SYDNEY (Agencies): Former middle-order batsman Mike Hussey has been drafted in by Australian coach Justin Langer to help mentor the side during their upcoming T20 series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He is the latest great to be brought into the fold after Ricky Ponting joined the backroom staff at the one-day World Cup this…
Read MoreFashion & Movies
Bollywood actor Sitaram Panchal passes away at 54
Web Desk MUMBAI: Peepli Live actor Sitaram Panchal breathed his last at the age of 54 on Thursday while battling cancer. He was diagnosed with lungs and kidney cancer in 2014 and continued taking medical treatment for it. He was rushed to hospital on Thursday morning as he struggled to breathe. Earlier, he had made…
Nepotism has been well discussed: Kangana Ranaut
Web Desk MUMBAI: Like film-maker Karan Johar, Bollywood starlet Kangana Ranaut too seems to have said enough on the nepotism debate. She says the issue has been well-discussed already. Kangana, who had sparked the infamous debate by calling Karan a “flagbearer of nepotism” during her appearance on his chat show Koffee With Karan, was present…
Ranveer Singh’s intense transformation in six weeks will give you serious body goals
Web Desk MUMBAI: Bajirao Mastani hunk Ranveer Singh is known for his bold and quirky fashion style and for arresting spotlight for his unconventional wardrobe. From an exotic looking rural boy in Ram Leela to a carefree urban brat in Dil Dhadkne Do, the actor experiments with unique avatars for each of his films and…
Not enough honesty in on-screen representation of women: Konkona Sen Sharma
Web Desk MUMBAI: The world of Indian cinema might be brimming with stories and may be churning out about 1,000 films a year, but Konkona Sen Sharma feels it still needs to find a balance on the gender scale. The critically acclaimed actor-director says there are not enough female film-makers and varied roles for women.…
“Simran” writer suggested I take credit for dialogues: Kangna Ranaut
Web Desk MUMBAI: Bollywood starlet Kangana Ranaut sought to dispel the controversy over the writing of the story and dialogues for upcoming film Simran, saying it was actually writer Apurva Asrani who suggested she take credit for the dialogues. Kangana was speaking at the trailer launch of the film on Tuesday and clarified that Apurva…
Never Knew if people said anything bad about my performances: Shraddha Kapoor
Web Desk MUMBAI: Shraddha Kapoor has come a long way since her sizzling chemistry with Aditya Roy Kapur and a power-packed performance in Aashiqui 2. Despite the great start, her last two movies, Rock On 2 and OK Jaanu did not perform well at the box-office. Shraddha, however, is satisfied by how her career trajectory has panned out so far. “I…
Science & Technology
SBS Distribution marks 10-year of excellence in IT sector
F.P. Report KARACHI: The Syed Business Solutions (SBS) Distribution on completion of 10 years of its successful operations in IT sector held a grand celebration. The company unveiled their new product line on this occasion which will be available for Pakistan’s IT & Security market. The new products include SuperMicro, Pivot3, Nexenta, Commvalut, Mobotix and…
NASA astronauts to perform first all-women spacewalk
Monitoring Desk ANKARA: US astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir of NASA are set to make a history by performing all-women spacewalk on Friday. The duo will begin their venture outside of the International Space Station (ISS) at 7:50 a.m. (1050 GMT) on Friday to replace a failed power controller, also known as a battery…
Galaxy S10 fingerprint flaw: Samsung to deploy software patch
Monitoring Desk SEOUL: A flaw with Samsung’s top-end Galaxy S10 fingerprint system that allows the smartphone to be opened by a third party will soon be fixed, the tech giant said Thursday. A user in the UK told the Sun newspaper earlier this week her Samsung device could be unlocked by someone else simply by…
Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service will launch on November 19th
Monitoring Desk WASHINGTON: Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service is right around the corner, and we knew nearly everything we needed to know about its launch — except when in November it’d go live for the first wave of early adopters who spent $130 for the Founder’s Edition package. We just got the answer at the…
PTCL posts double digit growth in net profit
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the nine months’ period ended September 30, 2019 at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in Islamabad on October 16, 2019. PTCL Group’s revenue for the nine months has grown year-on-year (YoY) by…
NASA found life on Mars in the 1970s but ignored it, former scientist claims
Monitoring Desk LONDON: A former Nasa scientist claims evidence of life was found on Mars in the 1970s but was ignored. Viking landers, a pair of space probes, were sent to the Martian surface more than 40 years ago to explore the planet. One of the tests they ran was known as Labeled Release, or…
Health
Govt dissolves PMDC, establishes Pakistan Medical Commission
F.P. Report ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Sunday dissolved the existing body of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and established a new organization, Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), to regulate medical profession in the country. According to an official of the ministry of national health services, President Dr Arif Alvi signed a new ordinance titled…
Mindfulness may reduce opioid cravings, study finds
Monitoring Desk NEW JERSEY: People suffering from opioid addiction and chronic pain may have fewer cravings and less pain if they use both mindfulness techniques and medication for opioid dependence, according to Rutgers and other researchers. The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the effects of mindfulness and methadone therapy on…
Another child hit by polio in Lakki Marwat, toll mounts to 54 in KP
F.P. Report PESHAWAR: The infuriated polio virus has left another child disabled for life as National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad on Friday notified a new polio case from Tehsil sarai Norang Lakki Marwat as the total count of polio cases jumps to 54 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to the details, one wild polio virus…
200 sugar diagnostic kits distributed
Ahmad Nabi LANDIKOTAL: Two hundred sugar diagnostic kits were distributed among the deserving sugar patients here on Thursday. The kits comprised sugar diagnostic machine, blood pressure machine beside all necessary medicine ,needs to the sugar effectee. In private market the kit costs approximately Rs. 10000 to 12000. On behalf of the health department, Medical Superintendent…
Rheumatoid arthritis: 4 early symptoms that can help you check its progression
Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system of the body (that’s responsible of attacking disease-causing foreign objects) mistakenly starts attacking the joints. This causes inflammation that leads to swelling in the tissue lining the joints. If the inflammation goes unchecked for long, it can damage the bones and…
Saeed Ghani inaugurates 10th Chest Pain Unit of NICVD
F.P. Report Karachi: Sindh Information, Archives and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani Tuesday inaugurated the 10th Chest Pain Unit (CPU) of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) at New Karachi area of the city and claimed that NICVD had now become the world’s largest cardiac-care hospital which was performing highest number of angiographies, angioplasties, bypass…
Travel
Qantas completes test of longest non-stop passenger flight
Monitoring Desk SYDNEY: Australian carrier Qantas has completed a test of the longest non-stop commercial passenger flight as part of research on how the journey could affect pilots, crew and passengers. The Boeing 787-9 with 49 people on board took 19 hours and 16 minutes to fly from New York to Sydney, a 16,200-km (10,066-mile)…
Finland’s ‘Be more like a Finn’ campaign joins growing list of tourism pledge initiatives
Monitoring Desk FINLAND: Finland has become the latest destination to introduce a tourism pledge, asking visitors to the country to promise to respect its nature, culture and inhabitants. Forming part of a wider sustainability drive that focuses on Finnish values and traditions, such as embracing the outdoors, foraging and recycling, the pledge requires visitors to…
Overrun by Tourists, American Cities Are Taking Aim at Hotels
Monitoring Desk CAROLINA: Peggy Malaspina, a resident of Charleston’s French Quarter neighborhood, is comfortable living among the hordes of tourists flocking to this charming South Carolina city of horse-drawn carriages, lush private courtyards, and 18th century churches. Every so often, she’ll spot someone peering into the windows of her home, assuming it’s a restaurant. If…
Nur-Sultan hosts UN urban tourism summit
Monitoring Desk NUR-SULTAN: Nur-Sultan hosted Oct. 9-10 the United National World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Summit on Urban Tourism. More than 700 delegates from 30 countries gathered to explore the definition of smart cities and smart destinations and the role of tourism in the development of cities. The two-day event, which also included the adoption of…
Saudi Arabia opens tourist visas to U.S., European visa holders
Monitoring Desk RIYADH: Tourist visas for Saudi Arabia are now available online and on arrival to holidaymakers who already hold a visa from the United States, Britain or the EU’s Schengen zone, expanding eligibility beyond an initial list of 49 countries. The conservative Muslim kingdom, relatively closed off for decades, launched a new visa regime…
Thailand: Finance Ministry approves stimulus package to spur tourism
Monitoring Desk BANGKOK: The Finance Ministry has now approved a stimulus package for the last three months of the year to boost Thailand’s tourism sector. The aim is achieve a 3% growth rate. The Thai Tourism and Sports permanent secretary Chote Trachu says the purpose is to increase the total tourist arrivals for the second…
Articles
Boris Johnson has his marketing campaign slogan prepared
Therese Raphael There was very practically a bedtime Brexit story that went one thing like this: And so, lastly, the porridge was excellent, Parliament ate up Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal after which, glad, went to mattress. The Finish. After all, lawmakers didn’t eat up and this interminable story isn’t over. Saturday’s parliamentary session as a…
War on psyche
Ruhail Andrabi Warfare has witnessed significant transformation over the decades. In the modern era of warfare, states openly confront rivals by bombing, missile attacks and heavy use of armed forces. Such as in the case of Syria by the Assad regime, in Vietnam and Afghanistan by the US. The unprecedented use of mass weaponry or…
An analysis of Tunisia’s electoral results
Hafijur Rahman Tunisia’s historical parliamentary election was held on Oct. 6, 2019, the third election after the Arab Spring. Just three weeks after the first round of the presidential race, this election was crucial for political parties due to the loss of support reflected in the votes in the presidential election. The second round of…
The Muslim ‘Euro’
Fauzia Mubarik Prime Minister Imran Khan seems keen to develop strong ties with the Muslim countries and appears cautiously looking towards creating favourable monetary deals with the Islamic economies. This reminds one about the concept of ‘Euro’. Euro is the authorized and regulated tradable currency operationalized exclusively and unanimously by 19 of the European countries.…
The fate of national identities in Middle East: A failed imitation
Mehmet Fahri Danis The prototype of the modern nation-state and the identity of “national citizen” that was born out of it began to become prevalent from the early 19th century onward as the pattern of dominant political organization. Being largely a result of Europe’s peculiar political and cultural development, this structural transformation had a characteristic…
The protest of Iraq’s ‘left behind’
Ibrahim al-Marashi The most recent protests differ radically in their demands and the harsh government response has raised the stak. On the 4th of July 2018, Iraqi rapper I-NZ released “This is Iraq,” inspired by Childish Gambino’s video “This Is America.” The Iraqi video focused on the effects of the 2003 invasion, ranging from Abu…
Editorial
Nip evil in the bud
The federal government has decided to ban Ansar-ul-Isalm, a baton laden subordinate organisation of Jamiate-ul-Isamam (F). The leadership of the party claims that it is a volunteer force, which is hard to justify if the, drill, march past and salute given to Maulana Fazalu Rehman and subsequent motorbike rally a few days ago in Peshawar…
PM’s assessment of economy
Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a tweet that his intelligent team of economic managers has achieved turnaround of economy, which was plagued by acute stagflation, bulging current account deficit, lowering production and other macroeconomic imbalances in one year of the tenure of present. The Prime Minister supported his analysis by 5.6 percent growth in…
Regulatory authority versus private hospitals
The prolonged strike of doctors in government hospitals and early end of it not in sight has provided an opportunity to private hospitals to fleece the people who seek outdoor treatment there. The doctors in private hospitals and clinics have abnormally raised their consultancy fee well above Rs.2000 and rate of blood screening test for…
Short leash
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its plenary session in Paris decided to retain Pakistan on greylist for a further period of four months till February, 2020 and urged for full compliance of all 27 points of the action plan for curbing money laundering and terror financing. The international watchdog has acknowledged that some…
Hong Kong-style riots to haunt West
Supporters of the Catalan separatist movement publicly declared to have learned from the Hong Kong demonstrators, promoting the latter’s tactics such as to “be water” and wearing masks to reduce the risk of being arrested. They seized the local airport on Monday and Tuesday, forcing a large number of flights to cancel. They also blocked…
Empowering youth
Prime Minister Imran Khan launched an ambitious “Kamyab Jawan Programme” in a ceremony held at Jinnah Convention Center Islamabad. It is a multidimensional programme of technically and economically empowering the talented youth, facilitating financial assistance for acquiring higher education and training, skill development, inculcating and refining entrepreneurial expertise and civic engagements. The total outlay of…
Arts and Literature
Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke win Nobel Prize for Literature for 2018 and 2019
Monitoring Desk LONDON: Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and Austria’s Peter Handke have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Two winners were named – one for 2019 and one for 2018 – because the prize was not awarded last year. The Swedish Academy, which oversees the prestigious award, suspended it in 2018 after a sexual…
Iran, Pakistan to boost joint cultural artistic and literary programs
F.P. Report LAHORE: At a meeting with Head of Sufi Tabassum Academy, Director of Iran’s Culture House in Lahore, Pakistan stressed on boosting cultural, artistic and literary cooperation between the two parties. According to IBNA correspondent, quoting from the public relations department of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, Ali Akbar Rezaei-Fard, Director of Iran’s Culture…
Lit & Luz Festival unites U.S. and Mexican cultures across borders, art genres
The day after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Oaxaca in February 2018, the streets of Pilsen were quieter, more tense than usual for a winter day. That’s how photojournalist Sebastián Hidalgo remembers the day, after seeing the pouring out of family members checking in on their relatives on the other side of the border using social…
Event on translation of Perveen Shakir’s poetry held in Jeddah
F.P. Report JEDDAH: Oxford University Press organized an event for its publication, Defiance of the Rose: Selected Poems by Perveen Shakir translated from Urdu by Naima Rashid, in Jeddah. The event was held at Medd Café and Roastery, in partnership with four communities— Jeddah Reads, Jeddah Cultural Exchange Company, Joy of Urdu, and Medd Café—which…
KUAF Arts Beat: Born to Pakistani Immigrant Parents in London She Now Paints Her Culture in Arkansas
Monitoring Desk LONDON: How does a London native born to Pakistani immigrants end up moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to create detailed portraits adorned in elaborate duptta scarves painted in tribute to her rich cultural history? Find out, in this conversation with painter Shabana Kauser. “If you’d said to me 15 years ago, you’re going to…
Learning Mandarin in Pakistan
Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD: Pan Yuqi, the first secretary of the culture department at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, talks about the rise in the number of young Pakistanis learning Mandarin. Q. Since a few years now, Chinese-language courses are being taught in Pakistan. How do you see this development? Mr. Yuqi: Such developments are bringing…
