LAHORE : The PACRA has upgraded the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating of East West Insurance Company Limited (EWI) to ‘A’ (Single A) (previously A-). The rating denotes strong capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. The rating incorporates management’s ...

As Syria continues its descent into an anarchic civil war and Iraq is increasingly ravaged by sectarian infighting, a terrifying vision of the future of the Middle East is increasingly coming into view. In his 2008 book “Israel and the Clash of Civilizations”, the veteran British ...

UNITED NATIONS – An estimated 600,000 migrant workers are tricked and trapped into forced labour across the Middle East, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) reported Tuesday at the first regional conference on human trafficking, The UN agency highlighted in particular the visa ...

DILI (AFP) - The UN ends its peacekeeping mission in East Timor Monday after 13 years in Asia’s youngest nation following a bloody transition to independence as the country faces the challenge of tackling rampant poverty. UN forces first entered the territory around the vote for independence ...

A car bomb attack in front of a church and close to a restaurant in the east Syria city of Deir Ezzor killed at least five people Saturday, a watchdog said, while the regime blamed the blast on "terrorists."The attack further eroded a ceasefire the main warring parties in Syria had agreed for the ...

DILI - Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta has lost his bid to be re-elected East Timor president, failing to make it to a run-off in the country’s second presidential vote as free nation, preliminary results showed Sunday. The results pointed to a second-round showdown between the opposition ...

BALIBAR, East Timor - East Timor went to the polls Saturday in a presidential election seen as a crucial test for a young democracy taking charge of its own security as UN forces prepare to leave. Voting that got off to a slow start after polls opened around 7:00am (2200 GMT Friday) picked up ...

ISLAMABAD – Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Oe and his wife arranged a reception to commemorate the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake here on Monday night.Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, was the chief guest. Diplomats, ...

WASHINGTON - The US military plans to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran and intensifying fighting in Yemen, The Washington Post reported Saturday.Citing unspecified procurement documents, the newspaper said the Navy is converting an ...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party vice president Babar Awan on Tuesday recalled the Agartala conspiracy case in the backdrop of the court’s order regarding the non-implementation of its December 16, 2009 judgment on NRO. Talking to mediamen at Supreme Court building, Babar Awan said ...

AMMAN - Palestinian and Israeli negotiators will meet for the first time in more than a year in Jordan on Tuesday to discuss stalled peace talks, the Jordanian foreign ministry said on Sunday."Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Tuesday will host a meeting including the Quartet as well as Israeli and ...

In the past three decades, the Middle East has been the location of three successful popular revolutions, in which ordinary people successfully overthrew their governments: Iran (1979), Egypt (2011) and Tunisia (2011). Bahrain, Syria and Jordan have also been experiencing democratic uprisings and ...

Washington is enjoying a mostly pleasant summer. The Atlantic seashore two hours away is packed with carefree beach-goers of all ages. Looking at them you wouldnt think that US politics had sunk to the lowest level of dysfunction in the memory of veteran Washingtonians. Public opinion towards ...

LAHORE Al Mustafa Welfare Trust (AMWT) has started fund raising campaign for the help of drought victims of East Africa, says a press release. The organisation will collect funds to providing the food items, shelters, medicines, milk and cloths for the affected people. Chairman AMWT Abdul Razzaq ...

AHMEDPUR EAST - The Local Administration has established two Ramazan Sasta Bazaars and 12 Fair Price shops here in Subdivision Ahmedpur East to provide the public with daily-use items on subsidised rates. This was stated be Assistant Commissioner (AC) Imtiaz Ahmed Khan while talking to newsmen ...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - A teenager was shot and wounded during clashes between Israeli police and youths in east Jerusalem on Friday, medics said, as Palestinians launched events to mourn the 1948 creation of the Jewish state. A Palestinian Red Crescent spokesman said they had treated nine people, ...

LAHORE (PPI) - Petroleum exploration work has gained the momentum as the Makori East is likely to bring additional 5,000 barrel per day of oil because the Domail-1 and Makori East-01 have entered into testing phase of drilling. As per the latest drilling updates on Pakistan Petroleum Information ...

LAHORE An impressive century (109) by Rana Adnan enabled East Zone Whites to win the PCB Lahore Region Inter-district Cricket title as they outplayed North Zone Whites by nine wickets in the last league match at the LCCA ground. Rana Adnan slammed nine fours during his 164-minute stay at the ...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli companies, affected by the slowdown in Europe, are increasingly looking east, to China, India, South Korea and Japan for their high-tech exports. Europes economic weakness forces us to look to the east, and to China in particular, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said ...

NEW YORK - A day after a snowstorm with near-blizzard conditions, people living in cities and towns on the US East Coast awoke to sunshine Thu-rsday and the daunting task of digging their way back to normalcy. In New York, residents slipped, slided and sloshed their way back to work and school ...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A huge blizzard dumped a blanket of thick snow over the US east coast Saturday, paralysing the region and snapping power lines to thousands of people as hazardous roads killed at least two. The monster storm, dubbed Snowpocalypse and Snowmageddon, stretched thousands of miles ...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - In a confidential report obtained by AFP on Thursday, the European Union accused Israel of actively pursuing the annexation of Arab east Jerusalem and undermining hopes for peace with Palestinians. The annual report drafted by the EU heads of missions in Jerusalem accused Israel ...

BRUSSELS (AFP) - A row broke out between Israel and the European Union Tuesday over a draft EU proposal that east Jerusalem should become the capital of a future Palestinian state as part of a Middle East peace deal. At the heart of the diplomatic spat is a suggestion by the Swedish EU president ...

NAIROBI (AFP) - Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese bulk carrier Monday northeast of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, as the marauding sea bandits hunted their prey ever further from base to wrong-foot naval patrols. According to the European Unions anti-piracy naval mission (EU NAVFOR), the ...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US image has vastly improved in much of the world thanks largely to the election of Barack Obama as president, although many Middle East nations remain wary of the United States, a survey said Thursday. While Americas image has been dramatically boosted around the globe, ...

LONDON (AFP) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank pledged Friday to invest 24.5 billion euros to fight the financial crisis in central and eastern Europe. The two-year joint initiative, worth the equivalent of 31 billion dollars, ...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso agreed Tuesday to resist "protectionism" and to jointly address the "problem" of North Korea's missiles, the White House said. The White House said in a statement that the two leaders agreed during their Oval Office ...

MIRPURKHAS - Karachi East disabled team have won the all Sindh wheelchair cricket tournament by defeating Sanghar team by 56 runs on Friday at Gama Stadium Mirpurkhas. All Sindh wheel chair cricket tournament was held at Gama Stadium Mirpurkhas under Gulistan-e-Mazoreen center Mirpurkhas with the ...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AFP) - The Catholic leader in the Holy Land Thursday prayed for Mideast peace, telling the faithful at the traditional birthplace of Jesus the silent night of Christmas overpowers the voice of guns. "Peace to Bethlehem and all the inhabitants of the Holy Land," Latin Patriarch ...

LAHORE - The Dubai-based Emirates Airline has won the 'Best Middle East/African Airline' award. An announcement to this effect was made in a statement issued here on Saturday. It said that the Emirates added another set of coveted accolades to its trophy collection, winning the 'Best Middle ...