The tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar is an oasis of peace and prosperity in the volatile Middle East. While neighbouring Bahrain convulsed with social unrest and a brutal government crackdown, Qatar ‘a gleaming, wealthy sovereign nation’ has been largely untouched by the revolutions sweeping across the Arab world. Fuelled principally by large liquefied gas/energy projects and high oil prices, …

While Nato and the US forces are preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Afghanistan government is increasingly interested in boosting its relations with regional powers such as Russia and China. Conversely, both Moscow and Beijing are concerned about the future of Afghanistan after US withdrawal. Mr Karzai’s visit to China speaks volumes about Afghanistan’s efforts to strengthening its relations with …

Two decades of rapid economic growth and surging international trade gave India the economic and strategic heft to go with its world-wide vision and voice. The current slump threatens to bring back the lowest economic numbers in twenty years. The sagging Indian economy shall burden both India’s domestic politics and its global strategic goals. Manmohan’s recent visit to Washington may …

America is going through an identity crisis, unsure whether to embrace high taxes and a bigger state, and reluctant to play the role of world policeman On 30th September, the federal government of the United States of America closed for business. Congressional Republicans refused to fund its activities so long as they include the provision of ‘Obamacare’, the President’s signature …

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated on September 16 every year. This event commemorates the date of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987. The theme of 2013 is ‘A healthy atmosphere, the Future We Want’. Background In 1987, representatives from 24 countries …

WORLD TIMES ACADEMY proudly has the best faculty in town comprising more than five PhDs and many of the serving CSPs. The first week at the World Times Academy was full of learning and experience. Orientation Lectures Orientation lectures of all the compulsory subjects were delivered in the first week.  Our in-house counsellors and Mr Adeel Niaz (The Project-Head of …

For all your queries about CSS, PMS, PCS and other Competitive Exams, please write to us or email at the following address: CSS GURU Jahangir’s World Times 121-D, Gulberg II, Lahore. email: cssguru@jworldtimes.com Dear CSS Guru I want to appear in CSS 2014 exams and my subjects are Sociology, Journalism, Sindhi, Psychology and Public Administration. Please advise me on the …

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft officially is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometres) from our sun. Voyager 1 has been travelling for about one year through plasma, or ionized gas, present in the space between stars. Voyager is in a transitional region immediately outside the solar bubble, …

The United Nations was founded with the stated aim of maintaining peace among nations, but the reality is that not only has it consistently failed to thwart international conflicts, but it has also played no small part in causing them. One instructive case study was its role in its early years of helping to create the still-unresolved Israel-Palestine conflict. According …

Unlike the determined and united response to Qaddafi in 2011 (as a result, among other things, of his attempts to physically harm Arab leaders), which included the use of force on the part of Qatar and the UAE, the Arab countries so far have not taken a firm stand, and have certainly not united against Syria. The Arab world remains …