Section: Pakistan Today (Pakistan)
Oil wars – how Kremlin’s $13 billion Indian deal almost fell apart
A multi-billion-dollar Russian deal to buy Indian refiner Essar was nearly sunk at the eleventh hour by a rival bid from Saudi Arabia as the two oil superpowers vie for supremacy across the world. The deal between Essar and a consortium led by Kremlin oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM) appeared dead in the water two months ago after Saudi state energy...
Putin, Trump speak by phone, aim for ‘constructive cooperation’
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday agreed to work toward “constructive cooperation”, including on fighting terrorism, the Kremlin said. In their first phone call since Trump won the November 8 election, they agreed to “channel” relations between Russia and the United States and “combine efforts to...
Bulgaria in turmoil after PM quits over new pro-Russia president
EU member Bulgaria faced an uncertain future Monday after centre-right Prime Minister Boyko Borisov quit following the crushing defeat of his presidential nominee at the hands of a Moscow-friendly general backed by the Socialist opposition. Critics fear the surprise win could tilt ex-communist Bulgaria, which has long walked a tightrope between...
Obama on farewell tour to Europe fearful of ‘Trump effect’
Barack Obama will travel Monday to Greece and Germany in a final official visit designed, in a strange bit of political contortion, at reassuring worried Europeans about a man he once warned was “unfit” for the presidency: Donald Trump. The irony is cruel: In the name of a peaceful transition, the American president, having thoroughly denounced...
Americans wear safety pins to show solidarity in wake of Trump’s election
People have long used ribbons, flowers, colours or badges to symbolise political causes, from the carnations of Portugal’s 1974 revolution to the orange ribbons of Ukraine’s 2004 revolution to the gel wristbands now worn to promote almost any charity. Enter the lowly safety pin. That humble but practical device is fast gaining a...
German defence minister says Trump can’t treat NATO like a business
US president-elect Donald Trump needs to clarify his views on Russia, and to understand that NATO must be treated as an alliance of shared values rather than a business, Germany’s defence minister said. “What his advisors will hopefully tell him and what he needs to learn is that NATO isn’t just a business. It’s not a company,”...
Turkey’s Erdogan hails Ataturk on death anniversary
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday hailed the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on the 78th anniversary of his death but added the country’s influence should go well beyond the borders of the state he created. Ataturk, who died on November 10, 1938, founded Turkey as a secular republic in 1923 out of the ruins of the...
NATO chief tells Trump: No conditions on defending allies
NATO’s promise to defend and protect any ally under attack is an unconditional guarantee set out in the Western alliance’s founding treaty, the organisation’s chief said on Wednesday following the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. election. During the campaign, Trump threatened to abandon U.S. allies in Europe if they do not...
Hillary Clinton makes concession call as Trump victory final
Republican Donald Trump stunned the world on Tuesday by defeating heavily favoured Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House, ending eight years of Democratic rule and sending the United States on a new, uncertain path. A wealthy real-estate developer and former reality TV host, Trump rode a wave of anger toward Washington insiders to...
Countries that have already had female leaders before US
Hillary Clinton is one step closer to becoming the first woman to lead the United States. But there are 59 other countries that beat America to that milestone. Hillary Clinton made history this spring, as the first female presidential candidate of a major U.S. political party. While this is a historic moment for the US, more than 70 countries...
