Ansar Mahmood Bhatti
The world has changed since last month. The Ukraine crisis represents the most recent culmination of an extended process of estrangement between Russia and the West.After the annexation of Crimea by Russia that was veiled by referendum the tension raised in South-Eastern parts of Ukraine as well. As it was the case in the WWII that one European country annexed a part of another European state. This move disseminated a fear in Europe and pushed leading world players to retaliate.
The double standards and the world security
What is meant by New Turkey? By Aasia Khatoon Khattak
Turkey’s ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) won the local elections by getting the majority votes by 46 % on March 30, 2014. AKP’s election victory was largely unprecedented when there are ongoing and severe corruption allegations against Prime Minister Erdoğan as well as three of the cabinet ministers. All this took place while the repercussions of the Gezi Park protests in the summer of 2013 will still fresh coupled with the leakage of sound and video tapes by December 2013 suggestive of the graft claims. The Turkish public opinion fulminated with a number of protests as the common people, opposition and ruling-party politicians, the business sector, and the university youth intensely questioned and pressured the government to be frank to prove or deny the allegations of corruption. Despite the wishful thinking that the election results would end severe discussions and even after the significant victory of the AKP, the questions and claims on corruption are still holding ground.
The double standards and the world security
Ansar Mahmood Bhatti
The world has changed since last month. The Ukraine crisis represents the most recent culmination of an extended process of estrangement between Russia and the West. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia that was veiled by referendum the tension raised in South-Eastern parts of Ukraine as well. As it was the case in the WWII that one European country annexed a part of another European state. This move disseminated a fear in Europe and pushed leading world players to retaliate.
Gunmen storm S.Sudan UN base, wound dozens of civilians
JUBA: Gunmen stormed a UN base in South Sudan Thursday, wounding dozens of civilians from a rival tribe in an “unprovoked “attack before peacekeepers fought them off, the UN said. UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the assault in the war-ravaged town of Bor which also left two peacekeepers wounded, warning any attack on UN troops constitutes a war crime. Almost 5,000 civilians are sheltering inside the fortified base of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), one of the most bitterly contested regions in the four-month-long conflict splitting the country.
Olympic Committee warns Pakistan of possible suspension
BELEK: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday warned Pakistan that the country’s Olympic committee will be suspended in July unless it complies with rules banning government interference. The IOC had set a previous deadline of December 1 for Pakistan to show that its Olympic committee and sports federations are being run without interference.
S. Arabia has no hidden agenda, says ambassador
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Ali Saeed Asseri, who remained Saudi Arabia’s envoy to Pakistan for nine years, is returning to Islamabad for a second stint. Mr Asseri will succeed Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer who would be leaving after completing his tenure in a couple of months. Talking to Dawn in his office, Mr Ghadeer described his over five-year stay in Pakistan as eventful. Speaking for the first time about criticism in Pakistan of the $1.5 billion aid given by the kingdom, he said Saudi Arabia “had no hidden agenda”. During Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s visit to Islamabad Saudi Arabia donated $1.5 billion with the condition that the source of donation should not be identified.
Two Afghan poll candidates see victory as run-off looms
KABUL: Two leading candidates in Afghanistan’s presidential election each claimed on Wednesday to be winning the vote count easily, but said they would be ready to contest a second-round run-off if necessary. More than seven million people defied Taliban threats of violence in Saturday’s election to elect a successor to President Hamid Karzai as US-led troops prepare to exit the country. Unless one candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the vote, the top two names will go head-to-head in another election scheduled for late May.
IMF sees rising revenues, falling fiscal deficits in Pakistan
The International Monetary Fund is expecting increasing revenues and declining fiscal deficits and debt ratios in Pakistan over the next few years. In its Fiscal Monitor launched in Washington on Tuesday, the IMF said the debt ratio was expected to fall in the short term from relatively high levels over the past few years and general government deficit was on the decline. The IMF said the government revenue in Pakistan was expected to increase from 13.2 per cent of GDP in 2013 to 14.9pc in 2014, 15pc in 2015 and 15.4pc in 2016-17, and come down to 15.3pc in 2018-19.
IMF sees rising revenues, falling fiscal deficits in Pakistan
The International Monetary Fund is expecting increasing revenues and declining fiscal deficits and debt ratios in Pakistan over the next few years. In its Fiscal Monitor launched in Washington on Tuesday, the IMF said the debt ratio was expected to fall in the short term from relatively high levels over the past few years and general government deficit was on the decline. The IMF said the government revenue in Pakistan was expected to increase from 13.2 per cent of GDP in 2013 to 14.9pc in 2014, 15pc in 2015 and 15.4pc in 2016-17, and come down to 15.3pc in 2018-19.
Foreign inflows propel index by 288 points
KARACHI: Bulls continued to rule the roost at the stock market, collecting another 287.64 points on Wednesday to close at an all-time high of 28,941.01 points. The closing remained slightly short of the incredible 29,000 level. As the benchmark index settled near the intraday high, analysts thought it indicated that the bulls would continue to hold sway in the upcoming sessions. The current stock market boom has propelled index up by 532 points in just the three sessions this week, which including the previous week’s gains has seen the benchmark index soar by 1,824 points in only the last eight sessions.
