Friday, January 15th, 2016
China’s Xi Jinping to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran next week, Beijing’s foreign ministry said Friday, as the world’s second-largest economy seeks greater diplomatic heft in a crucial and tense region. Spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement that Xi would visit the three Middle Eastern countries over five days from Tuesday. The trip, Xi’s first to the region as president, comes amid mounting tensions over the war in Syria and after protesters ransacked and burned the Saudi Embassy in Tehran over the execution of a Shia cleric.Read More
Hindu Sena chief arrested for ransacking PIA office
NEW DELHI: Police on Friday arrested Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta in connection with Thursday’s ransacking of a Pakistan Internation Airlines (PIA) office in New Delhi. Gupta, who heads the Hindu Sena – a group of right-wing Hindu hardliners – claimed responsibility for the vandalism at PIA’s office and vented anger at Pakistan, holding it responsible for the siege at the Pathankot air base as well as at the attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif recently. “Gupta has been arrested under Sections 120B (being partyRead More
PM to head steering committee to oversee CPEC
ISLAMABAD: Participants of a consultative meeting on Friday, chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his office, decided to form a steering committee headed by the prime minister to oversee implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The meeting, which was attended by representatives from all political parties and provinces, was held to allay concerns and reservations over the construction of the economic corridor. PM Nawaz also directed fast track implementation of the western route of the corridor, as all political parties agreed to support the project, said aRead More
Obama’s statement on Pakistan not ground reality: Aziz
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has reacted strongly to a statement made by United States President Barack Obama that both Pakistan and Afghanistan were among the countries that would continue to face instability and turmoil for decades. “Whatever the US president said about instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan are his predictions and have nothing to do with ground realities,” Aziz told a breakfast meeting with Chinese scholars, diplomats and media persons organised by a think tank here on Friday. In his last State of theRead More
PM Nawaz vows to eradicate honour killings after Oscar nod
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed Pakistan would eradicate “evil” honour killings as he congratulated director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on her Oscar nomination for a harrowing documentary on the practice. “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” which follows the story of a rare survivor, was nominated in the documentary short category of the Academy Awards on Thursday. Hundreds of women are reportedly murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the grounds of defending family “honour”. Their male murderers are often “pardoned” by relatives under the country’sRead More
Pakistan beats New Zealand by 16 runs in 1st T20
WELLINGTON: Pakistan outsmarted New Zealand by stifling their feared batting barrage to win the opening Twenty20 by 16 runs at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday. Mohammad Amir may have been the centre of attention in his comeback game, but it was Shahid Afridi’s astute captaincy and the miserly bowling by Imad Wasim that made the difference. With no warm up game to acclimatise, Pakistan were rather run shy at the top and tail of their innings but still managed 171-8. But apart from a quickfire 46 off 27 by Colin Munro,Read More