Atrocities US committed against ASIA

Between 1996-2006, The US has given money and weapons to royalist forces against the nepalese communists in the Nepalese civil war. ~18,000 people have died in the conflict. In 2002, after another civil war erupted, President George W. Bush pushed a bill through Congress authorizing $20 million in military aid to the Nepalese government.

In 1996, after receiving incredibly low approval ratings, the US helped elect Boris Yeltsin, an incompetent pro-capitalist independent, by giving him a $10 Billion dollar loan to finance a winning election. Rather than creating new enterprises, Yeltsin’s democratization led to international monopolies hijacking the former Soviet markets, arbitraging the huge difference between old domestic prices for Russian commodities and the prices prevailing on the world market. Much of the Yeltsin era was marked by widespread corruption, and as a result of persistent low oil and commodity prices during the 1990s, Russia suffered inflation, economic collapse and enormous political and social problems that affected Russia and the other former states of the USSR. Under Yeltsin, Between 1990 and 1994, life expectancy for Russian men and women fell from 64 and 74 years respectively to 58 and 71 years. The surge in mortality was “beyond the peacetime experience of industrialised countries”. While it was boom time for the new oligarchs, poverty and unemployment surged; prices were hiked dramatically; communities were devastated by deindustrialisation; and social protections were stripped away.

In the 1970s-80s, wikileaks cables revealed that the US covertly supported the Khmer Rouge in their fight against the Vietnamese communists. Annual support included an end total of ~$215M USD, food aid to 20-40k Khmer Rouge fighters, CIA advisors in several camps, and ammunition.

In December 1975, The US supplied the weaponry for the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. This incursion was launched the day after U.S. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had left Indonesia where they had given President Suharto permission to use American arms, which under U.S. law, could not be used for aggression. Daniel Moynihan, U.S. ambassador to the UN. said that the U.S. wanted “things to turn out as they did.” The result was an estimated 200,000 dead out of a population of 700,000. Sixteen years later, on November 12, 1991, two hundred and seventeen East Timorese protesters in Dili, many of them children, marching from a memorial service, were gunned down by Indonesian Kopassus shock troops who were headed by U.S.- trained commanders Prabowo Subianto (son in law of General Suharto) and Kiki Syahnakri. Trucks were seen dumping bodies into the sea.

In 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis, the CIA helped topple the democratically elected, left-leaning government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, by telling Governor-General, John Kerr, a longtime CIA collaborator, to dissolve the Whitlam government.

In 2018 after the release of a suppressed ISC (International Scientific Commission) report, and the release of declassified CIA communications daily reports in 2020, it was revealed that the US used germ warfare in the Korean war, 2. Many of these attacks involved the dropping of insects or small mammals infected with viruses such as anthrax, plague, cholera, and encephalitis. After discovering evidence of germ warfare, China invited the ISC headed by famed British scientist Joseph Needham, to investigate, but the report was suppressed for over 70 years.

Between 1963 and 1973, The US dropped ~388,000 tons of napalm bombs in vietnam, compared to 32,357 tons used over three years in the Korean War, and 16,500 tons dropped on Japan in 1945. US also sprayed over 5 million acres with herbicide, in Operation Ranch Hand, in a 10 year campaign to deprive the vietnamese of food and vegetation cover.

In 1971 in Pakistan, an authoritarian state supported by the U.S., brutally invaded East Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. The war ended after India, whose economy was staggering after admitting about 10 million refugees, invaded East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and defeated the West Pakistani forces. The US gave W. pakistan 411 million provided to establish its armed forces which spent 80% of its budget on its military. 15 million in arms flowed into W. Pakistan during the war. Between 300,000 to 3 million civilians were killed, with 8-10 million refugees fleeing to India.

In 1970, In Cambodia, The CIA overthrows Prince Sihanouk, who is highly popular among Cambodians for keeping them out of the Vietnam War. He is replaced by CIA puppet Lon Nol, whose forces suppressed the large-scale popular demonstrations in favour of Sihanouk, resulting in several hundred deaths. This unpopular move strengthens once minor opposition parties like the Khmer Rouge (another CIA supported group), who achieve power in 1975 and massacres ~2.5 million people. The Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, carried out the Cambodian Genocide, which killed 1.5-2M people from 1975-1979.

In 1969, The US initiated a secret carpet bombing campaign in eastern Cambodia, called, Operation Menu, and Operation Freedom Deal in 1970. An estimated 40,000 - 150,000 civilians were killed. Nixon lied about this campaign, but was later exposed, and one of the things that lead to his impeachment.

US dropped large amounts of Agent Orange, an herbicide developed by monsanto and dow chemical for the department of defense, in vietnam. Its use, in particular the contaminant dioxin, causes multiple health problems, including cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias, still births, poisoned breast milk, and extra fingers and toes, as well as destroying local species of plants and animals. The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems due to Agent Orange.

US Troops killed between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians, including women, children, and infants, in South Vietnam on March, 1968, in the My Lai Massacre. Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated. Soldiers set fire to huts, waiting for civilians to come out so they could shoot them. For 30 years, the three US servicemen who tried to halt the massacre and rescue the hiding civilians were shunned and denounced as traitors, even by congressmen.

In 1967, the CIA helped South Vietnamese agents identify and then murder alleged Viet Cong leaders operating in villages, in the Phoenix Program. By 1972, Phoenix operatives had executed between 26,000 and 41,000 suspected NLF operatives, informants and supporters.

In 1965, The CIA overthrew the democratically elected Indonesian leader Sukarno with a military coup. The CIA had been trying to eliminate Sukarno since 1957, using everything from attempted assassination to sexual intrigue, for nothing more than his declaring neutrality in the Cold War. His successor, General Suharto, aided by the CIA, massacred between 500,000 to 1 million civilians accused of being communist, in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-66. The US continued to support Suharto throughout the 70s, supplying weapons and planes.

Between 1964 and 1973, American pilots flew 580,000 attack sorties over Laos, an average of one planeload of bombs every eight minutes for almost a decade. By the time the last US bombs fell in April 1973, a total of 2,093,100 tonnes of ordnance had rained down on this neutral country. To this day, Laos, a country of just 7 million people, retains the dubious accolade of being the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita.

From the 1960s onward, the US supported Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The US provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, which was crucial in buttressing Marcos’s rule over the years. The estimated number of persons that were executed and disappeared under President Fernando Marcos was over 100,000. After fleeing to hawaii, marco was suceeded by the widow of an opponent he assasinated, Corazon aquino.

Starting in 1957, in the wake of the US-backed First Indochina War, The CIA carries out approximately one coup per year trying to nullify Laos’ democratic elections, specifically targeting the Pathet Lao, a leftist group with enough popular support to be a member of any coalition government, and perpetuating the 20 year Laotian civil war. In the late 50s, the CIA even creates an “Armee Clandestine” of Asian mercenaries to attack the Pathet Lao. After the CIA’s army suffers numerous defeats, the U.S. drops more bombs on Laos than all the U.S. bombs dropped in World War II. A quarter of all Laotians will eventually become refugees, many living in caves. This was later called a “secret war,” since it occurred at the same time as the Vietnam War, but got little press. Hundreds of thousands were killed.

In 1955, the CIA provided explosives, and aided KMT agents in an assassination attempt against the Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai. KMT agents placed a time-bomb on the Air India aircraft, Kashmir Princess, which Zhou was supposed to take on his way to the Bandung Conference, an anti-imperialist meeting of Asian and African states, but he changed his travel plans at the last minute. Henry Kissinger denied US involvement, even though remains of a US detonator were found. 16 people were killed.

From 1955-1975, the US supported French colonialist interests in Vietnam, set up a puppet regime in Saigon to serve US interests, and later took part as a belligerent against North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. U.S. involvement escalated further following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, which was later found to be staged by Lyndon Johnson. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities (see Vietnam War casualties). Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 source to 3.8 million.source Some 240,000–300,000 Cambodians,source23 20,000–62,000 Laotians,4 and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict, with a further 1,626 missing in action. Unexploded bomb continue to kill civilians for years afterward.

In the summer of 1950 in South Korea, anticommunists aided by the US executed at least 100,000 people suspected of supporting communism, in the Bodo League Massacre. For four decades the South Korean government concealed this massacre. Survivors were forbidden by the government from revealing it, under suspicion of being communist sympathizers. Public revelation carried with it the threat of torture and death. During the 1990s and onwards, several corpses were excavated from mass graves, resulting in public awareness of the massacre.

In 1984, documents were released showing that Eisenhower authorized the use of atomic weapons on North Korea, should the communists renew the war in 1953. The 2,000 pages released show the high level of planning and the detail of discussion on possible use of these weapons, and Mr. Eisenhower’s interest in overcoming reluctance to use them.

In the beginning of the Korean war, US Troops killed ~300 South Korean civilians in the No Gun Ri massacre, revealing a theater-wide policy of firing on approaching refugee groups. Trapped refugees began piling up bodies as barricades and tried to dig into the ground to hide. Some managed to escape the first night, while U.S. troops turned searchlights on the tunnels and continued firing, said Chung Koo-ho, whose mother died shielding him and his sister. No apology has yet been issued.

The US intervened in the 1950-53 Korean Civil War, on the side of the south Koreans, in a proxy war between the US and china for supremacy in East Asia. South Korea reported some 373,599 civilian and 137,899 military deaths, the US with 34,000 killed, and China with 114,000 killed. Overall, the U.S. dropped 635,000 tons of bombs—including 32,557 tons of napalm—on Korea, more than they did during the whole Pacific campaign of World War II. The US killed an estimated 1/3rd of the north Korean people during the war. The Joint Chiefs of staff issued orders for the retaliatory bombing of the People’s republic of China, should south Korea be attacked. Deadly clashes have continued up to the present day.

From 1948-1949, the Jeju uprising was an insurgency taking place in the Korean province of Jeju island, followed by severe anticommunist suppression of the South Korean Labor Party in which 14-30,000 people were killed, or ~10% of the island’s population. Though atrocities were committed by both sides, the methods used by the South Korean government to suppress the rebels were especially cruel. On one occasion, American soldiers discovered the bodies of 97 people including children, killed by government forces. On another, American soldiers caught government police forces carrying out an execution of 76 villagers, including women and children. The US later entered the Korean civil war on the side of the South Koreans.

In 1949 during the resumed Chinese Civil War, the US supported the corrupt Kuomintang dictatorship of Chiang Kaishek to fight against the Chinese Communists, who had won the support of the vast majority of peasant-farmers and helped defeat the Japanese invasion. The US strongly supported the Kuomintang forces. Over 50,000 US Marines were sent to guard strategic sites, and 100,000 US troops were sent to Shandong. The US equipped and trained over 500,000 KMT troops, and transported KMT forces to occupy newly liberated zones as well as to contain Communist-controlled areas. American aid included substantial amounts of both new and surplus military supplies; additionally, loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars were made to the KMT. Within less than two years after the Sino-Japanese War, the KMT had received $4.43 billion from the US—most of which was military aid.

The U.S. installed Syngman Rhee,a conservative Korean exile, as President of South Korea in 1948. Rhee became a dictator on an anti-communist crusade, arresting and torturing suspected communists, brutally putting down rebellions, killing 100,000 people and vowing to take over North Korea. Rhee precipitated the outbreak of the Korean War and for the allied decision to invade North Korea once South Korea had been recaptured. He was finally forced to resign by mass student protests in 1960.

Between 1946 and 1958, the US tested 23 nuclear devices at Bikini Atoll, using the native islanders and their land as guinea pigs for the effects of nuclear fallout. Significant fallout caused widespread radiological contamination in the area, and killed many islanders. A survivor stated, “What the Americans did was no accident. They came here and destroyed our land. They came to test the effects of a nuclear bomb on us. It was no accident.” Many of the islanders exposed were brought to the US Argonne National laboratory, to study the effects. Afterwards the islands proved unsuitable to sustaining life, resulting in starvation and requiring the residents to receive ongoing aid. Virtually all of the inhabitants showed acute symptoms of radiation syndrome, many developing thyroid cancers, Leukimia, miscarriages, stillborn and “jellyfish babies” (highly deformed) along with symptoms like hair falling out, and diahrrea. A handful were brought to the US for medical research and later returned, while others were evacuated to neighboring Islands. The US under LBJ prematurely returned the majority returned 3 years later, to further test how human beings absorb radiation from their food and environment. The islanders pleaded with the US to move them away from the islands, as it became clear that their children were developing deformities and radiation sickness. Radion levels were still unacceptable. The United States later paid the islanders and their descendants 25 million in compensation for damage caused by the nuclear testing program. A 2016 investigation found radiation levels on Bikini Atoll as high as 639 mrem yr−1, well above the established safety standard threshold for habitation of 100 mrem yr−1. Similar tests occurred elsewhere in the Marshall Islands during this time period. Due to the destruction of natural wealth, Kwajalein Atoll’s military installation and dislocation, the majority of natives currently live in extreme poverty, making less than 1$ a day. Those that have jobs, mostly work at the US military installation and resorts. Much of this is detailed in the documentary, The Coming War on China (2016). 

After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Douglas MacArthur pardoned Unit 731, a Japanese biological experimentation center which performed human testing of biological agents against Chinese citizens. While a series of war tribunals and trials was organized, many of the high-ranking officials and doctors who devised and respectively performed the experiments were pardoned and never brought to justice. As many as 12,000 people, most of them Chinese, died in Unit 731 alone and many more died in other facilities, such as Unit 100 and in field experiments throughout Manchuria. One of the experimenters who killed many, microbiologist Shiro Ishii, later traveled to the US to advise on its bioweapons programs. In the final days of the Pacific War and in the face of imminent defeat, Japanese troops blew up the headquarters of Unit 731 in order to destroy evidence of the research done there. As part of the cover-up, Ishii ordered 150 remaining subjects killed.

In 1945 during the month-long Battle of Manila, the US in deciding whether to attack Manila (then under Japanese occupation) with ground troops, decided instead to use indiscriminate carpet-bombing, howitzers, and naval bombardment, killing an estimated 100,000 people. The casualty figures show the US’s regard for filipino civilian life: 1,010 Americans, 16,665 Japanese and 100,000 to 240,000 civilians were killed. Manila became, alongside Berlin, and Warsaw, one of the most devastated cities of WW2.

US Troops committed a number of rapes during the battle of Okinawa, and the subsequent occupation of Japan. There were 1,336 reported rapes during the first 10 days of the occupation of Kanagawa prefecture alone.1 American Occupation authorities imposed wide-ranging censorship on the Japanese media, including bans on covering many sensitive social issues and serious crimes such as rape committed by members of the Occupation forces.

From 1942 to 1945, the US military carried out a fire-bombing campaign of Japanese cities, killing between 200,000 and 900,000 civilians. One nighttime fire-bombing of Tokyo took 80,000 lives. During early August 1945, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing ~130,000 civilians, and causing radiation damage which included birth defects and a variety of genetic diseases for decades to come. The justification for the civilian bombings has largely been debunked, as the entrance of Russia into the war had already started the surrender negotiations earlier in 1945. The US was aware of this, since it had broken the Japanese code and had been intercepting messages during for most of the year. The US ended up accepting a conditional surrender from Hirohito, against which was one of the stated aims of the civilian bombings. The dropping of the atomic bomb is therefore seen as a demonstration of US military supremacy, and the first major operation of the Cold War with Russia.

In 1918, the US took part in the allied intervention in the Russian civil war, sending 11,000 troops to the in the Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok regions to support the anti-bolshevik, monarchist, and largely anti-semitic White Forces. 

In 1900 in China, the US was part of an Eight-Nation Alliance that brought 20,000 armed troops to China, to defeat the Imperial Chinese Army, in the the Boxer Rebellion, an anti-imperialist uprising. 

In 1899, after a popular revolution in the Philippines to oust the Spanish imperialists, the US invaded and began the Phillipine-American war. The US military committed countless atrocities, leaving 200,000 Filipinos dead. Jacob H Smith killed between 2,500 to 50,000 civilians, His orders included, “kill everyone over the age of ten” and make the island “a howling wilderness.”

Throughout the 1800s, US settlers engaged in a genocide of native Hawaiians. The native population decreased from ~ 400k in 1789, to 40k by 1900, due to colonization and disease. In 1883, the US engineered the overthrow of Hawaii’s native monarch, Queen Lili’uokalani, by landing two companies of US marines in Honolulu. Due to the Queen’s desire “to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life” for her subjects and after some deliberation, at the urging of advisers and friends, the Queen ordered her forces to surrender. Hawaii was initially reconstituted as an independent republic, but the ultimate goal of the US was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was finally accomplished in 1898. After this, the Hawaiian language was banned, English replaced it as the official language in all institutions and schools. The US finally apologized in 1993, but no land has been returned.

Narendra Modi Story

Narendra Modi (born September 17, 1950, Vadnagar, India) Indian politician and government official who rose to become a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2014 he led his party to victory in elections to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament), after which he was sworn in as prime minister of India. Prior to that he had served (2001–14) as chief minister (head of government) of Gujarat state in western India.

After a vigorous campaign—in which Modi portrayed himself as a pragmatic candidate who could turn around India’s underperforming economy—he and the party were victorious, with the BJP winning a clear majority of seats in the chamber. Modi was sworn in as prime minister on May 26, 2014. Soon after he took office, his government embarked on several reforms, including campaigns to improve India’s transportation infrastructure and to liberalize rules on direct foreign investment in the country. Modi scored two significant diplomatic achievements early in his term. In mid-September he hosted a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first time a Chinese leader had been to India in eight years. At the end of that month, having been granted a U.S. visa, Modi made a highly successful visit to New York City, which included a meeting with U.S. Pres. Barack Obama.

As prime minister, Modi oversaw a promotion of Hindu culture and the implementation of economic reforms. The government undertook measures that would broadly appeal to Hindus, such as its attempt to ban the sale of cows for slaughter. The economic reforms were sweeping, introducing structural changes—and temporary disruptions—that could be felt nationwide. Among the most far-reaching was the demonetization and replacement of 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes with only a few hours’ notice. The purpose was to stop “black money”—cash used for illicit activities—by making it difficult to exchange large sums of cash. The following year the government centralized the consumption tax system by introducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which superseded a confusing system of local consumption taxes and eliminated the problem of cascading tax. GDP growth slowed from these changes, though growth had already been high (8.2 percent in 2015), and the reforms succeeded in expanding the government’s tax base. Still, rising costs of living and increasing unemployment disappointed many as grandiose promises of economic growth remained unfulfilled.

This disappointment registered with voters during the elections in five states in late 2018. The BJP lost in all five states, including the BJP strongholds of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The rival Indian National Congress (Congress Party) won more state assembly seats than the BJP in all five elections. Many observers believed that this portended bad news for Modi and the BJP in the national elections set for the spring of 2019, but others believed that Modi’s charisma would excite the voters. Moreover, a security crisis in Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019, which escalated tensions with Pakistan to the highest point in decades, boosted Modi’s image just months before the election. With the BJP dominating the airwaves during the campaign—in contrast to the lacklustre campaign of Rahul Gandhi and Congress—the BJP was returned to power, and Modi became India’s first prime minister outside of the Congress Party to be reelected after a full term.

In his second term Modi’s government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, stripping it of autonomy in October 2019 and bringing it under the direct control of the union government. The move came under intense criticism and faced challenges in court, not only for the questionable legality of depriving Jammu and Kashmir’s residents of self-determination but also because the government severely restricted communications and movement within the region.

In March 2020, meanwhile, Modi took decisive action to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 in India, swiftly implementing strict nationwide restrictions to mitigate the spread while the country’s biotechnology firms became key players in the race to develop and deliver vaccines worldwide. As part of the effort to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi undertook executive action in June to liberalize the agricultural sector, a move that was codified into law in September. Many feared that the reforms would make farmers vulnerable to exploitation, however, and protesters took to the streets in opposition to the new laws. Beginning in November, massive protests were organized and became a regular disruption, particularly in Delhi.

Modi’s policies backfired in 2021. Protests escalated (culminating in the storming of the Red Fort in January), and extraordinary restrictions and crackdowns by the government failed to suppress them. Meanwhile, despite the remarkably low spread of COVID-19 in January and February, by late April a rapid surge of cases caused by the new Delta variant had overwhelmed the country’s health care system. Modi, who had held massive political rallies ahead of state elections in March and April, was criticized for neglecting the surge. The BJP ultimately lost the election in a key battleground state despite heavy campaigning. In November, as protests continued and another set of state elections approached, Modi announced that the government would repeal the agricultural reforms.

Events 3.16 (after 1970)

1977 – Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War. 1978 – Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped; he is later murdered by his captors. 1978 – A Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashes near Gabare, Bulgaria, killing 73. 1978 – Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time. 1979 – Sino-Vietnamese War: The People's Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ending the war. 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah; he later dies in captivity. 1985 – Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut; he is not released until December 1991. 1988 – Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. 1988 – Halabja chemical attack: The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people. 1988 – The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded. 1995 – Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865. 2001 – A series of bomb blasts in the city of Shijiazhuang, China kill 108 people and injure 38 others, the biggest mass murder in China in decades. 2003 – American activist Rachel Corrie is killed in Rafah by being run over by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer while trying to obstruct the demolition of a home. 2005 – Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control. 2010 – The Kasubi Tombs, Uganda's only cultural World Heritage Site, are destroyed in a fire. 2012 – Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first batter in history to score 100 centuries in international cricket. 2014 – Crimea votes in a controversial referendum to secede from Ukraine to join Russia. 2016 – A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 30. 2016 – Two suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 24 and injuring 18. 2020 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever at 12.93%, an even greater crash than Black Monday (1929). This follows the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing that it will cut its target interest rate to 0–0.25%. 2021 – Atlanta spa shootings: Eight people are killed and one is injured in a trio of shootings at spas in and near Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. A suspect is arrested the same day. 2022 – A 7.4-magnitude earthquake occurs off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, killing 4 people and injuring 225.

An emerging media narrative in Pakistan is raising questions about its longstanding policy of recognition of Israel conditional on Palestinian statehood.

Opinion pieces in major newspapers, alongside guests on television talk shows and social media influencers, have opened a discussion about the prospect of unconditional recognition of Israel - something hitherto unimaginable in Pakistan, where rallies in support of Palestine can draw tens of thousands onto the streets.

The main trigger for the current round of commentary on the issue was a visit to Israel last month by a group of mostly US-Pakistani dual nationals who met Israeli President Isaac Herzog [...]

the visit caused outrage in Pakistan when it emerged the delegation included a Pakistani television journalist, Ahmed Quraishi, who was not a dual national and for whom it was therefore prohibited under Pakistani law to travel to Israel.

Quraishi was fired from his job with the state broadcaster PTV. [...]

[Imran] Khan criticised Quraishi at rallies in which he also said the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been “tasked with recognising Israel”. [...]

Writing in Israel’s Haartez newspaper, Kunwar Khuldune Shahid said Pakistan’s recognition of Israel was now “inevitable” because of Islamabad’s economic dependence on Saudi Arabia and the kingdom’s own direction of travel towards normalisation under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. [...]

An unconditional nod of approval towards Israel would send a message that Pakistan as a state has given up on the Kashmiri cause too,” said Alam. [...]

Should Pakistan’s own leaders choose to follow the Emiratis, Karim said they faced a real risk of provoking dangerous unrest. [...]

In November 2020, Imran Khan revealed that Pakistan had come under pressure from the US and other countries to recognise Israel. Asked whether he meant Muslim countries, Khan said: "There are things we cannot say. We have good relations with them.”

Rumours within Pakistani foreign policy circles suggest Saudi Arabia was one of those friendly countries pressuring Khan's government.

28 Jun 22

The West’s attempt to recruit large swaths of the global community to enlist for the sanctions war has decidedly failed, notes ‘The American Conservative’. Outside of the U.S., E.U., and a few close allies (i.e., economic dependents and military protectorates) such as Canada and Japan, practically no other countries have joined in, preempting any economic dogpile sought by the self-proclaimed defenders of democracy. Increasingly, transatlantic policy seems to be having the exact opposite effect.

As of June 9, Pakistan is the latest country to begin accepting large shipments of discounted crude oil from Russia, as much as 100,000 barrels a day. “This is the first ever Russian oil cargo to Pakistan and the beginning of a new relationship between Pakistan and Russian Federation [sic],” announced Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In the present geopolitical landscape, such a move is perceived to be in direct defiance of Western efforts to obstruct Moscow’s revenues. The motive behind Islamabad’s shifted political and economic calculations is not difficult to decipher. Nor is it exceptional.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that Moscow is now sending out 8.1 million barrels of oil a day, the highest number going back to April 2020. In January 2023, almost half of those shipments were destined for China and India, which have respectively increased as a proportion of Russia’s oil exports from 21 percent to 29 percent and 1 percent to 20 percent since January 2022.

Chinese oil imports alone jumped in May to the third highest level ever recorded. Beijing also recently issued a crude oil import quota of a whopping 62.28 million tons of allotments. This makes the total import quota amount issued by Chinese leadership 20 percent higher than that of the same time last year. At the same time, Beijing’s natural gas purchases continue to push upward, increasing 3.3 percent year-on-year in Quarter 1, with a 10.3 percent year-on-year increase in April of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Just as important, if not more so, as the massive shifts in quantity and direction of the energy trade, however, are the size and scope of the joint initiatives—usually under the leadership of Moscow and Beijing — that continue to proliferate in opposition to Western-led international organizations.

The recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum saw representatives of various economic groupings and cooperation organizations outside the Atlantic orbit meet to discuss greater interconnectivity, development collaboration, transportation corridors, as well as investment options for funding various cross border initiatives.

One of these groups is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which continues to focus on greater cooperation and integration with ASEAN nations. This year’s meeting included a notable presentation on the creation of a SCO investment bank to provide the capital necessary to facilitate such collaborative projects.

The BRICS organization featured prominently at the St. Petersburg forum as well. It also includes an important investment bank — the New Development Bank — that provides ready access to liquidity for its members, funds infrastructure projects, and facilitates increased industrial manufacturing. BRICS continues to grow in both clout and size.

A number of new countries applied for membership last year, including Iran and Argentina. 2023 has also seen membership bids from nineteen additional nations before an upcoming summit in Johannesburg this August. One of the most recent applications came from Egypt on June 14. Potential bids from important players in the energy market such as Venezuela (with direct support from Brazil’s President Lula) and the United Arab Emirates are also being discussed.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan traveled directly to the St. Petersburg forum in order to meet with Putin on June 16, where the two discussed their desire to build a closer relationship between the countries.

Gulf neighbor — and traditional U.S. ally — Saudi Arabia has to some degree also hedged its geopolitical bets. After refusing Biden’s phone calls in March of 2022 and denying his request to increase oil production to help lower international prices, Riyadh’s friendship with Washington has somewhat soured as of late. (Saudi Arabia also joined the SCO in March 2023, and is a potential candidate for BRICS membership.) In another move that will likely meet with the displeasure of its Western allies, Saudi Arabia additionally decided to move forward with further production cuts of 1 million barrels per day beginning in July.

Consider that, as discussed earlier, China alone has increased its trade with Russia by about 40 percent, and is set to reach a record $200 billion this year. Perhaps most importantly though, more than 70 percent of that trade has been settled in either yuan or the ruble, with the Russian central bank currently holding 40 percent of its reserves in yuan.

Pakistan has reportedly also paid for its new shipments of Moscow’s crude with Chinese yuan. Earlier in 2022, Saudi Arabia suggested the possibility of denominating its oil transactions with Beijing in the currency.

The present geopolitical system with all of its accompanying features is only made possible by the dollar reigning supreme as the world’s reserve currency. Champions of the present order faithfully hold that this system will be maintained indefinitely, guaranteed on the back of U.S. military might and Western economic dominance.

But the international environment is beginning to shift, as much due to the burgeoning economic alliances outside the confines of Western-backed international agencies as because of the policy decisions of those latter agencies and their U.S. patron. No recent move has acted as a greater accelerant to this shift than Washington’s decision to freeze and then seize the foreign currency reserves of the Russian Federation at the outset of the Ukraine war.

The weaponization of financial reserves has increased distrust in the present system to new heights. The end of dollar dominance may not be nigh, but it is a much more likely possibility than many in the West care to admit.

Russia has demonstrated that having an economy based on commodities and heavy industrial production matters more in today’s international environment than a narrow set of economic indicators such as annual GDP growth or per capita income. Should dollar dominance ever come to an end, this fact will be made painfully clear.

The United States and other Western countries have adopted an increasingly ideological perspective regarding the future course of economic development. Leaders choose to accept only information that aligns with their dogmatic beliefs.

A failure to remove its ideological blinders and comprehend political and economic conditions as they objectively exist will spell disaster for the Western bloc.

During the recent G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got up from the banquet table to shake hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping and have a brief conversation—their first in-person exchange in three years. Although both sides remain tight-lipped about the interaction, it nonetheless raised hopes among observers of a breakthrough in their 30-month border crisis, which began with a deadly clash in Ladakh in 2020. But any resolution that might emerge will not dispel the challenge posed by massive changes at the border undertaken by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

This marks the third straight winter that around 50,000 Indian reinforcements will spend in Ladakh’s inhospitable terrain in the northern Himalayas, warding off an equal number of Chinese troops stationed a few miles away. Despite intermittent dialogue between the two militaries, Indian Army Chief Gen. Manoj Pande recently confirmed that China has not reduced its forces at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Chinese infrastructure construction along the border is “going on unabated,” he said—confirmed by independent satellite imagery and echoed by the latest U.S. Defense Department report on China. Pande said the situation is “stable but unpredictable.” That unpredictability has become structural.

India and China have so far held 16 rounds of border talks between senior military commanders as well as numerous diplomatic and political engagements, but an agreement on actions to reduce the tensions in Ladakh has been slow to materialize. Of the seven areas in Ladakh where Indian and Chinese soldiers have faced one another since 2020, two have seen no change while the rest have seen each side take a limited step back. The challenge for India is becoming more concerning on the eastern part of the LAC—between the state of Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet—where China has an infrastructure and military advantage, putting New Delhi on the defensive.

The widening power gap between India and China—military, technological, economic, and diplomatic—now constrains New Delhi’s options on the border. It also raises tough questions for India’s geopolitical partnerships, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (known as the Quad), and its aggressive approach toward Pakistan. The border crisis will hang over India’s decision-making for the foreseeable future.

In October, the Chinese Communist Party held its 20th National Congress, and Xi assumed an unprecedented third term as leader. Among the images broadcasted at the Great Hall of the People minutes before Xi ascended the stage was a video from the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, where at least 20 Indian soldiers and 4 PLA soldiers died in a clash in June 2020. The videos showed PLA regiment commander Qi Fabao standing with his arms outstretched to stop Indian soldiers from advancing. Qi was selected to be a delegate to the Party Congress, underlining the importance of the border crisis to the Chinese Communist Party’s narrative. Harnessing nationalism, the party wants to convey that it will protect what it considers Chinese territory at all costs.

India’s military and political leaders now confront a reality at the border that should have jolted them into serious action: China has a distinct advantage over India, which it has consolidated since 2020. By investing in a long-term military presence in one of the most remote places on Earth, the PLA has considerably reduced the time it would need to launch a military operation against India. New military garrisons, roads, and bridges would allow for rapid deployment and make clear that Beijing is not considering a broader retreat. The Indian military has responded by diverting certain forces intended for the border with Pakistan toward its disputed border with China. It has deployed additional ground forces to prevent further PLA ingress in Ladakh and constructed supporting infrastructure. Meanwhile, New Delhi’s political leadership is conspicuous in its silence, projecting a sense of normalcy.

Beijing refuses to discuss two of the areas in Ladakh, where its forces have blocked Indian patrols since 2020. In five other areas, Chinese troops have stepped back by a few miles but asked India to do the same and create a no-patrolling zone. This move denies India its right to patrol areas as planned before the border crisis began. The PLA has flatly refused to discuss de-escalation, in which both armies would pull back by a substantive distance. The question of each side withdrawing its additional troops from Ladakh is not even on the agenda. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson rejected any demand to restore the situation along the LAC as it existed before May 2020. The PLA continues to downplay the severity of the situation, instead emphasizing stability in its ties with India.

If the situation in Ladakh is “stable but unpredictable,” Indian military leaders have told Foreign Policy that major stretches of the LAC’s eastern sector—2,500 kilometers (or 1,553 miles) away—are an even bigger cause of concern. In 1962, this area was the site of a humiliating defeat of the Indian Army at the hands of the PLA. Today, massive Chinese infrastructure development and troop buildup closer to the LAC has placed India at a military disadvantage. In September, Pande said when it comes to infrastructure in the area, “there is lots to be desired to be done.” Recent reports suggest at least three additional PLA brigades remain deployed in the area even after the Party Congress, further worrying Indian military planners.

China officially claims the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh, which includes the Tawang Monastery where the sixth Dalai Lama was born in 1683. Tawang was historically a part of Tibet; Chinese officials, such as Dai Bingguo, who served as China’s boundary negotiator with India from 2003 to 2013, have publicly stated that it would be nonnegotiable in a permanent settlement of the disputed border. As questions arise over the succession of the current Dalai Lama, who is 87 years old, Chinese sensitivities about Tawang will intensify—even more so when linked to its internal security problems in Tibet. In the coming years, it is likely to become a higher priority for China.

Still, it is in Ladakh that the Chinese have built up infrastructure at a frenetic pace, with only military operations in mind: roads, bridges, airfields, heliports, accommodations for troops, and storage and communication infrastructure. Pande noted that one of the biggest developments is the G695 highway, which runs parallel to the LAC and gives the PLA the ability to quickly move from one valley to another. Flatter terrain on the Chinese side already gives Beijing an advantage, now further bolstered by infrastructure—an extensive network of new roads, bridges, and heliports.

In the 1960s, the PLA needed one full summer season to mobilize and launch military operations in Ladakh for the next summer. Now, it would need a couple of weeks to undertake the same operation. Indian military planners must live with this scenario, even if the current border crisis is resolved.

Modi approaching Xi in Bali recalled a short exchange between the two leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, in 2017. Then, their conversation sparked diplomatic communications between New Delhi and Beijing that aimed to resolve a standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in Bhutan, which China claims as its territory. The talks led to disengagement, but the Chinese only stepped back a few hundred yards. They have since consolidated their military deployment and undertaken massive infrastructure development in Doklam, such as roads, helipads, and a military garrison. Even if an immediate crisis was averted, the status quo was permanently altered in China’s favor in Doklam.

A similar resolution of the Ladakh border crisis would carry bigger risks for India. Unlike in Doklam, China has entered areas in Ladakh that Indian troops regularly patrolled until 2020. Reinforcing the LAC over the vast span of Ladakh would require enhanced deployment of Indian ground forces. This permanent instability would put the Indian military under further pressure. With an already limited defense budget—China’s is more than four times as large—shifting more troops to the border would also divert resources from the Indian Navy, where multilateral cooperation with Quad partners to contest China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region is an absolute imperative.

Fearing escalation, India is forsaking even limited offensive options, such as launching a quid pro quo military operation to capture some territory in Tibet to arrive at the negotiating table with a strong hand. New Delhi’s defensive position instead seems to acknowledge its widening gap with Beijing; due to this power differential, it is unable to even use economic or diplomatic instruments to target China. After all, India’s bilateral trade with China—its biggest trading partner—reached record levels this year, with an all-time high trade deficit in Beijing’s favor. The U.S. Defense Department report on China reveals that Beijing has warned U.S. officials not to interfere with its relationship with New Delhi; Kenneth Juster, a former U.S. ambassador to India, said New Delhi doesn’t want Washington to mention Beijing’s border aggression.

India’s defensive posture plays out in its approach to diplomatic engagement and security cooperation. Unlike its Quad partners, India abstained from voting against China on the Xinjiang issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in October, and its comments on China’s crackdown in Hong Kong or aggression toward Taiwan have been guarded. Modi participated in both the BRICS summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit this year, along with Xi; Chinese delegations are still regularly invited to New Delhi for multilateral events. And an Indian military contingent participated with a PLA contingent in a military exercise in Russia this year.

The current situation along the LAC, both in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as China’s refusal to discuss issues on India’s agenda for resolving the crisis have added to the structural instability in their relationship. Chinese infrastructure development and the widening gap in power means that this instability will become permanent, even with a solution to the immediate crisis. India’s military will remain under pressure and on guard. Pande made this implicit when discussing future Indian plans on the border in November. “We need to very carefully calibrate our actions on the LAC [so as] to be able to safeguard both our interests and sensitivities … and be prepared to deal with all types of contingencies,” he said.

The risk of an accidental military escalation between Asia’s most populous countries—both nuclear powers—has increased significantly since 2020. This will continue unless Modi and Xi find a new modus vivendi. Establishing guardrails in the relationship will require political imagination and an honest appraisal of relative strengths; failing that, New Delhi faces tough geopolitical choices. It has so far eschewed any security-centric step with the Quad that could provoke Beijing, but murmurs from its partners about reticent Indian policy are bound to get louder. Meanwhile, India’s reliance on Russia for military equipment and ammunition now falls under a cloud of suspicion. And an unstable border with China prevents India from targeting Pakistan, a tactic that has proved politically rewarding for Modi.

The fundamentals of Indian foreign policy that have held steady since the years of former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru—namely, strategic autonomy and ensuring territorial integrity and sovereignty—will come under greater stress as the border crisis looms over New Delhi. Modi boasts of great ambitions for India as a “Vishwa Guru,” or master to the world—a euphemism for a global superpower. But questions raised by the situation at the border with China continue to limit him.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: India has been accused! India reportedly ordered assassinations in Pakistan!! Following the 2019 Pulwama attack, media reports indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office implemented a heightened national security strategy, which involved focusing on combating terrorist threats beyond India's borders, particularly in Pakistan and Western countries.

Pakistani investigators have asserted that the killings were orchestrated by Indian 'sleeper cells' operating from the UAE. These clandestine operatives reportedly disbursed substantial sums to local criminal elements and impoverished Pakistanis to carry out the murders, alongside recruiting jihadists under the guise of targeting 'infidels' for their cause.

Indian and Pakistani intelligence were cited as sources in the report as one Indian official claimed that India was inspired by Russia’s KGB and Israel’s Mossad as it conducted 20 killings since 2020! Interestingly, this is not the first such accusation. Last year, Canada accused Indian agents of killing Hardeep Nijjar while the US accused India of attempting the murder of Khalistani separatist Gurupatwant Pannun! The Ministry of External Affairs has denied all these allegations while calling them ‘false and malicious anti-India propaganda’! Did India really order killings? Or is India being defamed by someone?? Follow Jobaaj Stories (the media arm of Jobaaj.com Group) for more.

Pakistan’s Elections Are Being Brazenly Rigged By the Corrupt $$$ Army Generals Who Loves To Lick The Incurable Cancerous Swelled Scrotums of The United States. Why Doesn’t the U.S. Seem to Care?

— Time Magazine | BY Charlie Campbell | February 5, 2024

The One & Only AND The Legend of Legends Imran Khan! Former Illegally Ousted Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of Pakistan’s Most Popular Party PTI.

For a man staring down the barrel of a 10-year jail sentence, Imran Khan was oddly nonchalant in court last Tuesday. As his representatives argued passionately for a fair hearing, Pakistan’s ex-Prime Minister retrieved his eyeglasses, unfolded a newspaper, and did his utmost to ignore the surrounding commotion.

“At one point he looks up and says, ‘Oh, I don’t need to listen to this, it’s a fixed match, I know what the result is going to be,’” Khan’s sister, Aleema, tells TIME. “‘So why are all of you wasting your time?’”

It’s not a difficult conclusion to draw. Khan’s trial for allegedly leaking state secrets was conducted in camera inside a makeshift courtroom within a jail complex, with public and media banned. Khan’s own defense team were blocked from taking part, with the judge appointing two state-employed colleagues of the prosecution to represent the former national cricket captain instead. “When they gave the sentence, he said, ‘Oh, it’s only 10 years? I thought it would be 15,’” says Aleema. “So he’s laughing through the whole thing.”

The case heard one of more than 180 separate charges Khan, 71, currently faces and that have rendered a return to power nigh impossible for Pakistan’s most popular politician. He was back in court on Thursday on separate corruption charges related to the transfer of land for a charitable university he founded. On Saturday, he was sentenced to an additional seven years for having an “un-Islamic marriage.” “It’s becoming such a joke,” says Aleema.

But few in Pakistan are laughing as the nuclear-armed nation of 240 million stumbles towards general elections on Feb. 8. The legal onslaught on Khan dovetails with a broader purge of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which has seen thousands of workers arrested, dozens of its leaders quit under duress, its famed cricket-bat logo banned, and constituency boundary lines redrawn to allegedly benefit its opponents. Khan’s name has been scrubbed from mainstream media and his own nomination papers rejected. “Of course, there is no level playing field and no way this election can be seen as ‘free and fair,’” says Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

The obvious question is why a U.S. whose President has called democracy promotion overseas “the defining challenge of our time” has not taken a stronger stance to condemn such shenanigans. When asked at a press briefing Wednesday about attempts to muzzle the PTI, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller cut the question short, saying he couldn’t comment on the specific report because “I haven’t seen it,” before issuing the bromide “we want to see free and fair elections take place in Pakistan.”

Pakistan is, after all, a U.S. treaty ally (albeit one whose interests have not always aligned on security matters, to put it mildly.) America remains its top export destination and a key source of aid, thus retaining significant influence. A power vacuum and popular unrest serves nobody’s interests at a time when the U.S. is desperately trying to stop Israel’s war against Hamas from spilling into a broader regional conflict.

In truth, American reticence is both personality-driven and structural. Khan retained an oddly chummy relationship with the overtly Islamophobic Donald Trump, but he proved no friend to Joe Biden, fuming over the President’s failure to call him following his 2020 election victory and ranting about a U.S.-sponsored plot to oust him. (The case regarding leaking state secrets relates to allegations Khan released a confidential diplomatic cypher that he tenuously claims proves Washington pulled the strings of his ouster in an April 2022 no-confidence vote.)

American engagement in Pakistan boils down to wanting the South Asian nation to keep a lid on Islamic terrorism and stabilize relations with its historic nemesis India—and Khan’s record is poor on both. On his watch, deaths from terrorism soared dramatically while Pakistan also ranked as the world’s fifth most dangerous country for journalists. Regarding relations with New Delhi, Khan called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “racist” and “Hindu supremacist” and raised the prospect of war over disputed Kashmir. More egregiously, Khan shamelessly cozied up to both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

But the bigger issue for the U.S. is structural. Ultimately, it doesn’t much matter who holds political office in Pakistan because true power lies with its military, which has ruled the nation for over half its history and today acts as kingmaker. As one former top U.S. diplomat in Islamabad tells TIME: “When we had a [crisis], we didn’t call the prime minister—we called the Chief of Army Staff.”

General Asim Munir occupies that rarified post today, and it is he who has orchestrated Khan’s downfall after the two fell out spectacularly over military appointments and other bugbears—not least the ransacking of military properties by PTI supporters on May 9. It was also Munir’s decision to bring back three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from exile, quash his corruption conviction, repeal his lifetime ban from politics, and pave the way for a historic fourth stint in power. But as no Pakistani Prime Minister has ever completed a full term, few are betting on Shariff staying around long. Relations with Pakistan’s top brass take precedence. Tellingly, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted Munir in Washington in December.

“Given that Nawaz’s three terms in power ended with a fall out with the military, we can expect the same will happen this time around,” says Madiha Afzal, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In the near term, however, from the U.S. perspective Sharif is a safe, predictable pair of hands who won’t rock the boat with India. “The State Department seems to be quite comfortable with Nawaz Sharif,” says Tariq Amin-Khan, a politics professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. But Sharif’s record on the economy is poor and reputation for graft “really quite legendary,” adds Amin-Khan. Since the turn of the millennium, per capita GDP in Pakistan has risen by an average of just 1% annually. In 2000, the average Pakistani was some 50% richer than his Indian counterpart; today, they are 25% poorer. Headline inflation rose to 29.7% year-over-year in December owing to tax hikes and a sharp fall in the currency.

“Having been prime minister for more time than anyone else since 1990, [Sharif] must take a fair share of blame for Pakistan’s poor economic performance over this period,” writes Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist for Capital Economics, in a briefing note. Despite his spotty diplomatic and security record, growth under Khan averaged at 6% for his last two years in office, despite headwinds such as the pandemic.

The risk is that a spiraling economy overseen by a government that lacks broad popular support would set the stage for significant social unrest—chances of which would be amplified by interference with the actual voting process. The PTI is refusing to give up and has managed to register candidates for the vast majority of constituencies. With the PTI logo banned, the party has set up an online portal to show supporters which officially independent candidate has its backing. “Give me a free and fair election and I think we will run away with three-quarters [of seats] if not more,” says Raoof Hasan, PTI’s principal spokesman and a former special assistant to Khan.

Various opinion polls put Khan’s popularity at around 60% to 80% and the threat of a strong showing from his supporters may prompt the military to take more decisive action to hobble them. “The election as it is set up is already not free nor fair,” says Afzal. “The only question, in my view, is if there is overt rigging on election day.”

Street violence and any security response would, above all, make it more difficult to secure another IMF bailout—one deemed essential to avoid default and potential economic collapse. “My greatest fear is that this election is going to be called out for being a sham,” says Anita Weiss, a professor of international studies at the University of Oregon. “And there will be riots all over Pakistan that it can barely endure because of the severe economic crisis.”

As such, the Biden Administration may yet regret not taking a stronger stance to protect the democratic values it claims to hold so dear. “It would likely not have changed the overall direction of what’s happening,” says Afzal. “[But] Washington voicing concern would have given Pakistan’s military establishment pause, and perhaps softened the extent of the crackdown.”

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

East Coast Storm (1440) An intense storm system battered the northeast coast of the US Monday with high winds, heavy rain, and flooding, leaving 59 million people from Virginia to Maine under flood watches and knocking out power for more than 700,000 people. At least four people were killed in the storm. More than 500 flights were canceled across the region, particularly to and from airports in New York City and Boston, with Boston Logan International Airport seeing winds as high as 68 mph. The storm also dumped between 2 to 5 inches of rain across the Northeast.

US homicide rate falls (The Atlantic) According to data gathered from cities across America, the murder rate dropped by about 13% this year. Yes, we’re killing each other less. And it’s not just murder. FBI data for the third quarter show that every category of crime except for motor-vehicle theft is down, some of them sharply, year over year from 2022. (As for the car thefts, they seem—in one of the weirdest data flukes you’ll ever see—to have been driven almost entirely by TikTok videos showing the ease of breaking into certain Kias and Hyundais.)

Passport wait times fully recovered from pandemic, State Dept. says (Washington Post) Passport processing times have returned to pre-pandemic standards, the State Department announced Monday, with routine services taking between six and eight weeks, and expedited services two to three weeks for a $60 fee. That’s about a month faster than the estimated wait times from this March. But don’t call it a Christmas miracle. The State Department had a goal of getting back to 2020 levels by the end of this year, and processing times have been on the mend for months. The State Department credits the milestone to increased staffing levels. Since last December, the agency told The Washington Post, it has grown its workforce by 12 percent and added hundreds of additional staff in the hiring pipeline. The agency also authorized more overtime hours, even getting retirees to pitch in.

Kyiv forced to cut military operations as foreign aid dries up (BBC) Ukraine has warned it is already being forced to downsize some military operations because of a drop-off in foreign aid. Top general Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said troops faced ammunition shortages along the "entire front line", creating a "big problem" for Kyiv. It comes as billions of dollars of US and EU aid have been held up amid political wrangles. Ukraine said it hoped to boost its own ammunition industry with western help. But it relies heavily on western supplies, particularly on deliveries of long-range missiles and air defence systems, to fight occupying Russian forces.

Pakistan’s former leader Imran Khan uses AI to campaign from behind bars (Washington Post) Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan campaigned from behind bars over the weekend, using artificial intelligence in an online rally to circumvent a broad state-backed crackdown on events held by his party. The social media team from the Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, opposition party used AI to generate audio of Khan’s voice for a four-minute video clip, accompanied by graphics and previously filmed footage, that ran online Sunday night local time. In the video, Khan—who was jailed in August on corruption charges—greets his supporters and likens his time in prison to a fight for the freedom of Pakistan.

Survivors Face Subzero Temperatures After Quake Kills Over 100 in China (NYT) An earthquake killed at least 116 people in a mountainous area of northwestern China, officials and state media said on Tuesday, crumpling buildings while residents slept inside and sending people rushing into a frigid night. Rescuers were searching for survivors in rural Jishishan County in Gansu Province, the epicenter of the quake, officials from Gansu said at a news conference on Tuesday. They said the quake, which struck at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, had killed 105 people in the province and injured nearly 400 others. The quake had a magnitude of 5.9, according to the United States Geological Survey. Photos and videos shared by state media showed brick village houses that had caved in, and bedrooms buried in rubble. Hours later, rescuers were still digging people out, according to CCTV, the state broadcaster.

America Had ‘Quiet Quitting.’ In China, Young People Are ‘Letting It Rot.’ (WSJ) China’s ruling Communist Party wants the country’s young people to be ambitious, work hard and prepare for adversity. Many young Chinese aren't having it. Demoralized by a weak economy, unfulfilling jobs and a paternalistic state, they are looking for pathways out of the carefully scripted lives their elders want for them, putting themselves at odds with the country’s priorities. Catchphrases describing the mood have worked their way into everyday discourse. Last year, the phrase “let it rot” spread to describe young people who have completely given up. Companies, meanwhile, are setting their sights on a hot new growth market in China: the elderly. The country is aging much more quickly than other developing nations and has the world’s largest elderly population with more than 280 million people above the age of 60. Businesses that used to focus on babies are now targeting Chinese seniors.

New cyber warfare (Foreign Policy) Iranian fuel pumps returned to operationality on Tuesday following a cyberattack on Monday that shuttered nearly 70 percent of Tehran’s petrol services. An alleged Israeli-linked hacking group named Gonjeshke Darande, or Predatory Sparrow, claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying it was done “in response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region.” The group said it had the ability to cut off all fuel operations but chose not to out of concern for civilian safety.

Unwashed and underfed, babies born into Gaza war face hardship in tents (Reuters) The grandmother has a simple wish for her twin baby granddaughters, Alma and Salma: they should be in a clean, safe room where they can be bathed. Instead, the infants are living in a tent in a camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza. Their mother cannot breastfeed them because she is not getting enough nutrition for her body to produce milk. And they have never been bathed. Alma and Salma are part of a generation of Gaza babies born into homeless, destitute families struggling to survive Israel’s ferocious military assault on their crowded strip of land, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Their grandmother, Um Mohammed al-Jadba, struggles every day to find water to make them bottles of formula milk. She boils the water in a thermos flask on a fire outside the tent. Elsewhere in the tent camp where Alma and Salma were living, other families with babies were facing similar hardships.

Shrugging Off Egypt’s Crises, El-Sisi Gets Set for 6 More Years (NYT) Over a decade at the helm of the Arab world’s most populous country, there have been times when President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt looked like a man dangling from a ledge by the tips of his fingers. Yet, a decade later, he is still president—and back for six more years, as the results of this month’s presidential election confirm. The authorities said Monday that Mr. el-Sisi had won a third term with 89.6 percent of the vote. (Leading opposition candidate Ahmed Tantawy had pulled out months ago, claiming intimidation and violence against his campaign.) No one doubted the outcome, given all the advantages of his authoritarian grip on the country. An extra edge came from the war in next-door Gaza, which has allowed Mr. el-Sisi to cast himself as a strong leader at home and abroad, just as he did after conflicts in Libya, Sudan, Syria and beyond. This is the turbulent map that is Middle East geopolitics, a multifront five-alarm fire that has made Mr. el-Sisi, in his obstinate way, look like a rock of stability.

Choppy Waters (Foreign Policy) In the past few weeks, Yemen’s Houthi militants have conducted ballistic missile and drone strikes against at least 10 merchant vessels and a U.S. Navy ship, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. To counter such actions, Washington—along with Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, Spain, and the United Kingdom—established a joint maritime task force on Tuesday to ensure “freedom of navigation for all countries” and bolster “regional security and prosperity.” The initiative will be aided by Task Force 153, a Bahrain-based unit formed last year and led by the U.S. Navy to help safeguard the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. As countries work to combat Houthi assaults, private companies are suspending their operations in the area. BP halted oil and gas shipments through the Red Sea indefinitely on Monday after two more Houthi strikes hit the Panama-flagged MSC Clara and the Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic. Five major shipping companies from Hong Kong, Denmark, France, Germany, and Taiwan, as well as the Italian-Swiss-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company, all halted their operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, diverting many of their vessels to instead go around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa’s coast. The need to reroute shipping is fueling global trade disruptions. Delaying access to this vital thoroughfare will cause mass delays, putting supply chains at risk of collapse. Some of the world’s most convenient shipping lanes are in geopolitically choppy Middle Eastern waters.

At least 13 dead, 178 injured after a massive fuel depot explosion in Guinea’s capital (AP) An explosion and inferno at Guinea’s main fuel depot in the capital of Conakry left at least 13 people dead and 178 injured, authorities said Monday, as the West African country was assisted by other nations in managing the disaster. The massive explosion sparked the fire at the Guinean Petroleum Company depot after midnight Sunday, Guinea’s presidency said. It caused significant damage in the heart of the Kaloum administrative district, home to most government offices.

There’s No Shame in Feeling Lonely (NYT) This Christmas, Renate Bello, 56, will spend the holiday taking care of her neighbor’s dogs in Easthampton, Mass. Without any family or close friends nearby, holidays can be an especially lonely time, she said, and she longs to build deeper connections with humans. “I know a number of people,” she said. “But they are not necessarily people I would call up to say, ‘Let’s go hang out.’” Loneliness can carry a stigma in our society. People who experience unwanted solitude may assume that they are unlikable or unlovable—that they are to blame for not having more friends, community connections or a romantic partner. “This can cause profound shame, which can erode self esteem,” said Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the surgeon general and author of “Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World.” “It can also worsen feelings of loneliness, as it often pushes us to distance ourselves from others at a time when we need support most.” But the truth is, he added, loneliness is a universal human experience. “We all feel lonely at times just like we all feel hunger or thirst,” Dr. Murthy said. “There is no reason to be ashamed of being human.”

Host Muhammad Ali Raza

==Host Muhammad Ali Raza== Host Muhammad Ali Raza (Urdu, Arabic محمد علی رضاء) was born on 29th Al-Jum`ah (Friday) of the month of Muharram, 1412 (Hijri). (approximately 09 August 1991) is a Pakistani who has traveled widely as a ( Writer, Reciter & Hosting) and Anchor Person of Television Program. Muhammad Ali Raza's Associate Engineer in Electronics & Master in Urdu & Religious studies Holy Quran & Holy Bible qualifications. Muhammad Ali Raza received his middle education from Pakistan Railways Beacon House School System Lahore, completed his Associate Engineering in Electronics from Punjab Board of Technical Education, Master's education from Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad and Biblical Study from "The Salvation Army Church Pakistan" (Gospel Ministries Corps) & DV (Daily Verses Organization) Bible Institute Lahore for religious education. Among the religious teachers of Muhammad Ali Raza the name top of the list "Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri", "Dr. Israr Ahmed (late)", "Muhammad Ishaq Madni (late)", "Professor Sumel Hasret (Late)", "Pastor Rev. Jamil Nasir", "Professor Imtiaz Inayat", "Evangelist Tabish Qazi" and Pastor Stephen Youssef. Teachers in showbiz industry "Qavi Khan", "Ismail Tara", "Iftikhar Thakur", "Firdous Jamal" showbiz industry names comes in the list. His father's name is Muhammad Ashraf known as (Ashraf Lakhpati) he is a Ex. Prime Minister of Pakistan Railways Worker Union. His father has also received the world's largest labor award (Chicago Award). Muhammad Ali Raza's two Brothers Muhammad Ali Raza and Muhammad Mateen. His favorite personality is "Jesus Christ (عیسیٰ یِسُوع مسیح ابنِ مَریم) and Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan. Muhammad Ali Raza is a Businesses Man he's Chief Executive of organization (A 2 Z Printers, Royal Park)۔

==Host Muhammad Ali Raza Tv Programs== Host Muhammad Ali Raza is the leading television program hosted by the hosts to host on the most popular tv channels of Pakistan. Most of whom are the most popular programs “Mulaqaat, Shama-e-Ala Hazrat, Laws of Islam, The Karobaar, Allah Walay Log, Al-Qiyamah (القیامۃ) The Day Of Judgement", Adbi Log ( ادبی لوگ ) & Coffee with Muhammad Ali Raza etc.. There are highly appreciated programs, which led to Muhammad Ali Raza's popularity in the world. Let us tell you more about Muhammad Ali Raza's start in the showbiz industry. He won a Speech Competition in his School Life which was held at Al-Hamra Hall Lahore, which was chaired by former Chief Minister of Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and from there. His first journey in life started with Radio FM-100 and today he is popular all over the world.

==Host Muhammad Ali Raza Wife & Children== The host Muhammad Ali Raza also has a son named "Muhammad Mustafa Raza" (Urdu, Arabic: محمد مصطفےٰ رضاء ) born 06 November 2020, approximately Rabi Al Awwal 20, 1442 Al-Jum`ah (Friday). Muhammad Ali Raza says that he is very young now. I want him to do whatever he wants with his help. I love my son very much. I want him to make his father's name in the World more than me. Let him build his world and future because this time is his and the coming time is his. May God always make him Successful. My prayers and best wishes are always with my son Mustafa Raza. This is the time of our children. They can incorporate this time in their life as they wish in terms of business or leisure. Host Muhammad Ali Raza's wife's name is "Fariha Narmeen" (Fariha Raza or Fariha Ali)" may be not confirm. Success should be found only in good deeds. He says that his wife "Fariha Narmeen" Concerned about the child's future, He says that this concern is an example of Mustafa Raza's success.

==Host Muhammad Ali Raza Quran Translation== How can you forget the translation Al-Quran in the voice of Muhammad Ali Reza? If Muhammad Ali Raza is known in the world, he is just because of the translation of Al-Quran in his beautiful style. Well, so many of his work is such that because of his Knowledge in the world, but this work only. Host Muhammad Ali Raza only has God's grace that Allah has taken such a great and good work. Biggest Work of Muhammad Ali Raza, Translation of Al-Quran in this voice with "Shaikh Abdul Rehman Al Suddais". Ala Hazrat Imam "Ahmad Raza Khan Hanfi Barelvi" r.a. wrote the translation in Urdu and Hindi Language. It has been subsequently translated into other European and South Asian languages. The voice of Host Muhammad Ali Raza is the voice that rules the hearts. Every morning we start by listening to his voice, the daily recitation of the Holy Quran on television, which we listen to the translation in the voice of the host Muhammad Ali Raza and Apart from this, we get to hear and see the magic of his voice in the famous Turkish drama serial, Urdu dubbing of English films and more television commercials.

==Holy Bible in Voice of Host Muhammad Ali Raza== Not only this, there is also a record of the complete "Holy Bible (Gospel)" in Muhammad Ali Raza's voice, which is a different style of his love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christianity has a lot of love for our Muhammad Ali Raza why not Muhammad Ali Raza always says one thing which is part of God's word "God is love and loves love". Thousands of Christians enlighten their hearts by listening to the "Holy Gospel" in the magical voice of Muhammad Ali Raza.

==Host Muhammad Ali Raza Naat== Host Muhammad Ali Raza his first naat album was released in 2002 and after that numerous albums have been released. There are 47 albums release till to date. The Biggest Volume Released in Ramadan All in One Album (2002 from till now) of Muhammad Ali Raza Master's Collection International Rel-easement for this Album "Jaan-e-Rehmat Hain Mere Mustafa (ص) (Master Collection)" There are around five hundred Hamd (حمد) Naatiya Kalaاm, Manqabat (منقبت), and Poems old and latest etc..included in this album which is a masterpiece of the host Muhammad Ali Raza's own voice.

==Host Muhammad Ali Raza Poetry & Books== This is not an ordinary person, a humble and simple person, the host Muhammad Ali Raza is not only a program host, but he is also a very good poet and writer, some of his famous books “Waseela-e-Bakhshish وَسیلہءِبخشش, Unwan-e-Dard عُنوانِ دَرد, Shama-e-Ala Hazrat شَمَعِ علیٰ حضرت , Al-Qiyamah القیامہ (the World's Last Day) are the most popular books.

==Rooh-ul-Ali "رُوحُ العَلی " Soul of Ali == In the eyes of my dear friend Muhammad Ali Raza, this word (Rooh-ul-Ali) is a very important word. When I asked Muhammad Ali Raza why are you using this title? So in reply he said that I am not using this title myself, this word is a word created by my own soul that I would like to keep it as a title, I love this word very much. My friend Muhammad Ali Raza says that! All the social works that I have done in my life or all the efforts and services that I have in the showbiz industry at this time should be included in this album (Rooh-ul-Ali). Today is not the time of DVD or Cassette Recorder but the time of Internet. I want all this to be available on the Internet. Whenever my children remember me, they can easily search for me, see me and listen to me. . That's why I have named this album (Rooh-ul-Ali) which means (Soul of Ali). You can't see the soul, but I believe that you can definitely feel your soul. It has been a blessing that whenever I am present in the court of God's good guardian, I am present with the intention and belief that I have to tell this God to his servant and Alhamdulillah! Their souls speak to me. And through them I convey my concerns to my Almighty God. This does not mean that I am a sage or that I go to the courts and bow down to these pious beings. I ask for something. Don't even think that. I have a heartfelt commitment to these good people and I know what shirk and innovation is and may God protect me and my children and my friends from this shirk. My intention is to tell only that the pure and blessed Self of God Almighty is a soul which exists in every human being, the only difference is that who achieves his pure purpose by finding this soul. And Alhamdulillah! I have found that Holy Spirit and I seek my holy purpose from this Spirit and my purpose is fulfilled. Thank God! In this album of mine (Rooh-ul-Ali) there are the following lessons that I am trying to convey to you friends with the hope that on the day of judgment my good efforts will definitely become a resource (Rooh-ul-Ali) in the hereafter and my children especially my ( (Muhammad Mustafa Raza) after listening to this, the Almighty God, the One and Only, will surely make my prayers for forgiveness for me. Do it and give him a long life. My prayers and good wishes will always remain for me (Muhammad Mustafa Raza) and I hope that my Muhammad Mustafa Raza will definitely remember this and pray for me. InshaAllah. Amen!

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Events 4.4 (after 1950)

1958 – The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London. 1960 – France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan. 1963 – Bye Bye Birdie, a musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, was released. 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. 1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church. 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6. 1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart. 1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated. 1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming. 1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1975 – Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people. 1977 – Southern Airways Flight 242 crashes in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, killing 72. 1979 – Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed. 1981 – Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft. 1983 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space on STS-6. 1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons. 1987 – Garuda Indonesia Flight 032 crashes at Medan Airport, killing 23. 1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office. 1990 – The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress. 1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania. 1991 – Forty-one people are taken hostage inside a Good Guys! Electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three of the hostage takers and three hostages are killed. 1994 – Three people are killed when KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 crashes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. 1997 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Colombia is launched on STS-83. However, the mission is later cut short due to a fuel cell problem. 2002 – The MPLA government of Angola and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War. 2009 – France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO. 2010 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits south of the Mexico-USA border, killing two and damaging buildings across the two countries. 2011 – Georgian Airways Flight 834 crashes at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, killing 32. 2013 – More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India. 2017 – Syria conducts an air strike on Khan Shaykhun using chemical weapons, killing 89 civilians. 2020 – China holds a national day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak. 2023 – Finland becomes a member of NATO after Turkey accepts its membership request.

List of Presidents & Prime Ministers around the world

On the other hand, not to forget our President, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind, had successfully served his five-year tenure in office, which ended on the 24th of July, 2022. So, after the Presidential election, our next first tribal President is Droupadi Murmu. Did you know? President Ram Nath was the one who successfully completed his journey during the COVID Pandemic, especially after 2020 & 2021, when the country was worst hit by the virus, at that time, he instructed his staff to cut down expenses at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and asked them to make optimal usage of the resources and contributed his one month salary to PM Cares Fund.

So, in this article, let’s have a look at the list of the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the world as of 2022 continent-wise.

ASIAN Countries China — President — Xi Jinping, Premier of the State Council — Li Keqiang India — President — Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister — Narendra Modi Kazakhstan — President — Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, Prime Minister — Alikhan Smailov (New) Saudi Arabia — King — Salman, First Deputy Prime Minister — Mohammed bin Salman Iran — Supreme Leader — Ali Khamenei, President — Hassan Rouhani, President-elect — Ebrahim Raisi Mongolia — President — Khaltmaagiin Battulga, President-elect — Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, Prime Minister — Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene Indonesia — President — Joko Widodo Pakistan — President — Arif Alvi, Prime Minister — Shehbaz Sharif Turkey — President — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

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On this day in Wikipedia: Friday, 24th November

Welcome, 你好, Bienvenida, Benvenuto 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 24th November through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

24th November 2022 🗓️ : Event - 2022 Malaysian general election Five days after the general elections which resulted in a hung parliament, opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is officially named as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia. "General elections were held in Malaysia on Saturday, 19 November 2022. The prospect of snap elections had been considered high due to the political crisis that had been ongoing since 2020; political instability caused by coalition or party switching among members of Parliament, combined with the..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by Twotwofourtysix, 沁水湾, original work by Derkommander0916 under CC BY-SA 4.0

24th November 2017 🗓️ : Event - 2017 Sinai mosque attack A terrorist attack on a Mosque in Al-Rawda, North Sinai, Egypt kills 311 people and injures 128. "At 1:50 PM EET on 24 November 2017, the al-Rawda mosque was attacked by roughly 40 gunmen during Friday prayers. The mosque is located in the village of Al-Rawda east of the town of Bir al-Abed in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate. It is one of the main mosques associated with the Jaririya Sufi order,..."

24th November 2013 🗓️ : Event - Iran Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions. "Iran, also known as Persia and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Iraq to the west and Turkey to the northwest, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of..."

Image by See File history below for details.

24th November 1973 🗓️ : Event - Autobahn A national speed limit is imposed on the Autobahn in Germany because of the 1973 oil crisis. The speed limit lasts only four months. "The Autobahn (IPA: [ˈaʊtoˌbaːn] ; German plural Autobahnen, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːnən] ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is Bundesautobahn (abbreviated BAB), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word Bundesautobahn is..."

Image by Qualle, Xavax and Mediatus

24th November 1922 🗓️ : Event - Irish Civil War Irish Civil War: Irish nationalist author Erskine Childers was executed by the Irish Free State for illegally carrying a semi-automatic pistol. "The Irish Civil War (Irish: Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Empire. The civil war was..."

Image by National Library of Ireland on The Commons

24th November 1812 🗓️ : Birth - Xavier Hommaire de Hell Xavier Hommaire de Hell, French geographer and engineer (d. 1848) "Ignace Xavier Morand Hommaire de Hell, often known as Xavier Hommaire de Hell, (24 November 1812 in Altkirch – 29 August 1848 in Isfahan) was a French geographer, engineer and traveller who carried out research in Turkey, southern Russia and Persia...."

Image by Jules Laurens

24th November 🗓️ : Holiday - Earliest day on which Mother's Day can fall, while November 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in November. (Russia) "Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar..."

Image by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Pakistan Grants Nawaz Sharif Protection for Return from London

Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif Granted Protection from Arrest, Set to Return from Exile A significant development unfolded in Pakistan as the Islamabad High Court provided former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with several days of protection from arrest on Thursday. This legal move paves the way for his return to Pakistan, ending his self-imposed exile in London, where he sought medical treatment in 2019. Sharif's impending return to his home country comes just in time for the upcoming parliamentary elections in January. Pakistan, currently grappling with deepening political and economic turmoil, is on the brink of a critical juncture. For the past four years, Sharif has evaded justice by staying abroad after failing to appear before a Pakistani court in 2019. He recently journeyed from London to Saudi Arabia and is now set to return home on a specially arranged flight from Dubai on Saturday, according to his Pakistan Muslim League party. Sharif's Legal Odyssey: Sharif's legal saga began in 2017 when he stepped down as Prime Minister after being convicted of corruption. Two years later, he sought treatment in London for chest pains, a move granted by his successor, Imran Khan, following a court order. The medical treatment extended into a more extended stay in London as Sharif cited his doctors' advice against travel. His absence led to an arrest warrant issued by an anti-graft court in Islamabad in 2020 when he failed to return home. Notably, this same court suspended the arrest warrant until October 24, as of Thursday. In another favorable development for Sharif, the Islamabad High Court granted him bail until the same date, providing him protection from arrest in the interim, as confirmed by his legal team. Upcoming Return and Political Implications: Sharif's party celebrated the court's decisions, and his return via a special plane landing in Islamabad on Saturday is eagerly anticipated. He will head to Lahore on the same day, where he is scheduled to address a rally at a public park under stringent security measures. Nawaz Sharif, a three-time Prime Minister of Pakistan, faced a 10-year prison sentence in 2018 after a corruption case involving luxury apartment purchases in London. His successor, Imran Khan, also grapples with a corruption case and a three-year prison sentence. Khan's removal through a no-confidence vote in April 2022 saw Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, briefly assume the role of Prime Minister before stepping down to facilitate an interim government. Khan, despite his legal troubles, remains a prominent figure in Pakistan's opposition, and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, maintains a substantial following. The political landscape in Pakistan has been marked by turmoil since Khan's ouster last year. Shehbaz Sharif expressed his satisfaction with the Islamabad High Court's decision, stating that Nawaz Sharif had been unjustly disqualified based on fabricated charges. He further highlighted the absurdity of the cases against his brother. Current Challenges and Future Legal Proceedings: The Pakistan Muslim League currently faces public discontent due to inflation during Shehbaz Sharif's tenure. However, the party is keen on having Nawaz Sharif lead its election campaign, even as he prepares to appear before multiple courts in Islamabad beginning on October 24 to address remaining legal matters. Read the full article

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami party called it "shameful". Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar even ordered an investigation. Online chatter amongst Pakistani men in particular has been scathing.But what is sparking such outrage?A 24-year-old woman.Erica Robin, a Christian from the city of Karachi, is going to represent deeply conservative Pakistan at the Miss Universe beauty pageant.Ms Robin was chosen as Miss Universe Pakistan from among five finalists at a competition held in the Maldives.It was organised by Dubai-based Yugen Group, which also owns the franchise rights to Miss Universe Bahrain and Miss Universe Egypt. It said the Miss Universe Pakistan competition had received an "overwhelming" number of applications.The Miss Universe finals will be held in El Salvador in November.Backlash and support"It feels great to represent Pakistan. But I don't understand where the backlash is coming from. I think it is this idea that I would be parading in a swimsuit in a room full of men," Ms Robin told the BBC.Those criticising her nomination say she is representing a country that does not want to be represented, especially as beauty pageants are rare in Muslim-majority Pakistan.Miss Pakistan World, a pageant for women of Pakistani descent from around the world, is probably the most well-known. It was first held in Toronto in 2002 but moved to Lahore in 2020. The competition has also seen various spin offs such as Miss Pakistan Universal, Mrs Pakistan Universal and even Miss Trans Pakistan.In the competition's 72-year history, Pakistan has never nominated a representative for Miss Universe.Ms Robin recalled that during the second selection round of the pageant which was held over Zoom, she was asked to name one thing she wanted to do for her country. "And I replied, I would want to change this mindset that Pakistan is a backward country."This may be difficult, given some of the hostile responses to her nomination.Nevertheless, models, writers and journalists alike congratulated Ms Robin, with journalist Mariana Babar hailing her "beauty and brains" on X, formerly known as Twitter.But as Pakistani model Vaneeza Ahmed, who first encouraged Ms Robin to get into modelling, told Voice of America Urdu: "When these men are fine with international competitions called 'Mister Pakistan', why do they have a problem with a woman's achievement?"From rock and roll to Islamic Republic"We are a nation of many contradictions and women and the marginalised trigger us the most," Karachi-based writer and commentator Rafay Mehmood told the BBC."Pakistan is at large an authoritarian state and that reflects in the harsh patriarchal values it enables both institutionally and socially. Erica Robin and the policing she has faced is an extension of that," he added.But there exists an archive of a Pakistan that was once far more liberal.Copies of the Dawn newspaper from the 1950s to the late 1970s have advertisements of cabaret and foreign belly dancers performing at a club near the former Elphinstone Street in downtown Karachi. These nightclubs were frequented by activists, diplomats, politicians, air hostesses and young people.The historic Metropole Hotel in Karachi was also a favoured spot for singing and jazz performances.But in 1973, Pakistan's parliament created a constitution that declared the country an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion.Four years later, military leader General Zia ul-Haq overthrew the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. What followed in the decade after has been called a "draconian phase" by activists and lawyers as Islamic law was enforced and Pakistani society was drastically altered.By the mid-1980s, General Zia had even resurrected public flogging to show his commitment to Islamic law.Today, the nightclubs and bars are long gone, and the Metropole Hotel looks more like it is in danger of collapsing. Just down the road, a skeletal structure of what was initially supposed to be a casino stands abandoned.

But the yearning for a freer, more tolerant Pakistan has not gone away, and Ms Robin is just one of those pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not. The graduate of St Patrick's High School and Government College of Commerce and Economics, is adamant that she has done nothing wrong."I'm not breaking any law by representing Pakistan on a global platform. I am doing my bit to quell any stereotypes about it," she said.