Section: Pakistan Today (Pakistan)
Colombian journalist honoured for tackling taboos on wartime rape
When journalist Jineth Bedoya went to Bogota’s maximum-security prison 16 years ago to interview an infamous paramilitary warlord, little did she know the visit would mark her life and convert her into a leading rights activist. Bedoya never made it to the interview but instead was kidnapped, gang-raped, tortured and left on the side of a...
OPEC agrees on modest oil output curbs in first deal since 2008
OPEC agreed on Wednesday modest oil output cuts in the first such deal since 2008, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia softening its stance on arch-rival Iran amid mounting pressure from low oil prices. Read more: OPEC agrees to limit oil output at 32.5 mn barrels per day “OPEC made an exceptional decision today … After two and a half...
Kashmiris ask UN Chief to take up Indian brutalities with Security Council
Leaders from Kashmir delivered a letter on Monday to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, seeking his personal intervention to take up the Kashmir dispute with the Security Council, saying tension over the lingering issue could lead to a nuclear war between Pakistan and India. The letter was delivered to the UN Secretary-General on the day Indian...
Israel risks FIFA ban over occupied land row
At an average match, Ariel City attracts fewer than 100 spectators at home in a West Bank settlement — yet they have been called one of Israel’s “most important” football clubs. That’s because they, along with five other Israeli clubs, play their matches in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, considered occupied land by the...
Rio Paralympics 2016 end with music and relief
Rio said farewell to the 2016 Paralympics on Sunday in a closing ceremony showcasing Brazil’s passion for music and celebrating what many consider to have been a surprisingly successful Games. The famous Maracana football stadium was packed, with the Paralympians themselves seated across the field, as proceedings kicked off with fireworks....
Putin’s party dominates in Russia parliament vote
Russia’s ruling United Russia party on Sunday cruised to an easy victory in parliamentary polls that could pave the way for President Vladimir Putin to glide to a fourth term in 2018 elections, partial results showed. The ballot for the 450-seat State Duma was smooth sailing for authorities desperate to avoid a repeat of mass protests last...
German restaurant throws Muslim woman out ‘for refusing to remove veil’
A restaurant owner in Germany has provoked outrage after reportedly ordering a niqab-clad Muslim woman to leave the establishment when she refused to remove it. Christian Schulz, the manager of a Seekrug restaurant in Bielefeld, western Germany, asked the woman to remove the full-face veil as she sat in the busy beer garden during an annual light...
Aligned with Russia in Syria, Pentagon awkwardly treads on new terrain
For Pentagon officers who cut their teeth during the Cold War, the prospect of U.S. battlefield cooperation with Russia in Syria is not only uncomfortable. It’s also unprecedented. Against that background, the reactions of U.S. military officials range from caution to outright scepticism over a Geneva-based “joint integration centre” that...
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait ‘least friendly countries in world’
A report by InterNations that surveyed over 14,000 respondents found Taiwan to be the friendliest country in the world. The ranking was based on ease of settling in and finding friends. Uganda and Costa Rica took the second and third spot respectively. Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait were found to be the least friendly countries. Here is...
Ukraine and Russia wage war — in global courts
After Russia snatched the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Kiev the new authorities installed by Moscow set about taking over one of Ukraine’s largest banks as well as shipyards and hotels. The state lender has now fired back by filing a massive claim with a court in The Hague — one of the multiple cases being fought by Kiev on a new...
