Top Central Banker optimistic about China’s economic performance China’s overall economic performance is better than expected, according to Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China. Beijing’s top central banker expressed his optimism about domestic demand and financial stability in China at the International Monetary and Financial Meeting held in Washington. Mr. Zhou praised […]
China becomes world’s fifth-largest holder of gold Speculations about China’s increasing appetite for gold were confirmed today as Beijing revealed its gold holdings to the IMF. China now holds 1,054 tonnes of gold and has overtaken Switzerland, Japan and the Netherlands to become the world’s fifth-largest holder of gold. Beijing’s increased gold purchase is believed […]
Those who stumbled across the recent Guardian article “China Considers Setting Targets for Carbon Emissions” probably did not fall off of their seats like I did. But at the very least you might have involuntarily raised an eyebrow, or two, and thought “huh, now that’s a game changer.” For people who monitor developments in climate […]
No Chinese investment in African farmland China decided not to follow the growing trend of investing in overseas farmland to outsource food production. According to Niu Den, deputy agriculture minister, outsourcing food production to Africa is not an option for China. While countries like South Korea and Saudi Arabia recently accelerated outsourcing of their food […]
BUNER: Taliban militants from Swat took control of Buner on Tuesday and started patrolling bazaars, villages and towns in the district. The militants, who had sneaked into Gokand valley of Buner on April 4, were reported to have been on a looting spree for the past five days. They have robbed government and NGO offices […]
Shanghai, often recognized for its free-market tendencies and environmental leadership, is introducing China’s first municipal trading mechanism as a means to curb pollution. Last Friday, in advance of a major carbon trade industry event taking place in Beijing this week, word began surfacing in the Chinese media that Shanghai plans to pilot an emissions trading […]
LAHORE: Pakistan’s top opposition leader, former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, expressed concern Monday about a controversial peace deal with Islamist militants but backed off calls he made last month for a “revolution” to topple the government. Unable to contain an insurgency through military force, Pakistan’s government agreed last week to let Taliban militants impose sharia, […]
IN this wretched, unfortunate land, anger and despair have been wasted emotions. After all, while we may never have known how to fix things, at least we could be relatively sure that they wouldn’t get much worse. But as things begin to fall apart, the assumptions of yore are crumbling before our eyes. And the […]
TOKYO – International donors, led by the United States and Japan, pledged more than $5 billion Friday to stabilize Pakistan’s troubled economy and fight the spread of terrorism in the Islamic nation and neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. and Japan started off the one-day conference by pledging $1 billion each. Saudi Arabia added $700 million and […]
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Taliban have advanced deeper into Pakistan by engineering a class revolt that exploits profound fissures between a small group of wealthy landlords and their landless tenants, according to government officials and analysts here. The strategy cleared a path to power for the Taliban in the Swat Valley, where the government allowed […]
We remain in a state of denial. We are fully capable, we say, of handling the terrorist threat; we are going to fix our economy; all we want is trade opportunities, not aid; and we do not accept or give blank cheques. The truth is that we are in a parlous state The parliament approved […]
This article is by a progressive blogger in Lahore, (Pakistan) Raza Rumi. It was first published by Friday Times (picture of the march in Lahore – courtesy Friday Times.) Raza’s article gives voice to millions of Pakistanis who are unable to express their anger and frustration for varying reasons. Raza Rumi blogs at www.razarumi.com and edits Pak Tea House and […]
ISLAMABAD: An exhibition of paintings titled ‘No honour in killing: making visible buried truth’ by various artists opened at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts on Wednesday. Dedicated to the five victims of the brutal Nasirabad honour killings, the exhibition is an attempt to keep their memory alive via art and dialogue and seeks […]
CHRASADDA: Nine police personnel, including a DSP and an SHO, and seven passers-by were killed while 10 others were injured after a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a police checkpost on Wednesday evening. The incident took place at a checkpost where police had erected barricades after the Charsadda DPO alerted the police to […]
NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia is showing only ‘muted interest in supporting’ Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari despite Washington’s effort to help strapped Pakistan raise some $ 4 billion to $ 5 billion in immediate infusion of money, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday quoting people involved in the deliberations. As the donor nations meet […]
