August 2015

Finally, the Iran nuclear deal is a reality now. It resolves the long-brewing crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. The West led by the US had been harbouring grave reservations about its avowed peaceful nature, accusing Iran of clandestinely seeking to make a nuclear bomb. On its part, Iran always denied these allegations insisting its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes …

The new playing conditions for Tests, One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) came into effect with the Bangladesh-South Africa cricket series that started in Mirpur, Bangladesh from Sunday 5th July, 2015. FULL LIST ODI – Fielding Restrictions No more compulsory catchers required in Overs 1-10. No more batting Powerplay. 5 fielders allowed outside the circle in overs 41-50.

Geo-Economics of Connectivity June 29: Countries from five continents formally signed up to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a potential rival to the Washington-based World Bank. Australia was the first country to sign the articles of association creating the AIIB’s legal framework. The Politics of Parlays July 08: The first round of talks brokered by Pakistan between representatives of …

PAKISTAN HOCKEY FEDERATION Pakistan hockey team, being in loose conditions since long, is now officially out of the 2016 Olympics to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The failure to qualify shows the pathetic conditions Pakistan’s national game is facing nowadays. The sole responsibility of this fiasco lies with the Pakistan Hockey Federation as it has been reluctant to …

Finally, the third umpire has turned down Imran Khan’s appeal. The Judicial Commission that was formed in April this year after PTI-PML (N) agreement, after holding 39 hearings, has given its verdict. The JC in its Final Report has termed the elections largely free and fair by saying that “the 2013 general elections were in large part organized and conducted …

National, International News & MCQs NATIONAL June 16: PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari lashed out against what he called “the character assassination of his party” and warned the military leadership that if they did not stop, he would expose the misdeeds of many generals. June 16: The heads of higher education commissions from eight member countries of the South Asian …

Ethnicity is a socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience. Ethnicity or social differentiation is one of the enormous social complexities faced by most contemporary societies. Historically, ethnicity is the legacy of conquests that brought diverse people under the rule of a dominant group; of rulers who in …

Fourteen years after the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the bloc has finally delivered on its earlier pledges to enlarge its membership. The SCO member states that include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have remained unchanged throughout those years, a rare thing in international organizations. However, at SCO’s Ufa Summit, two major South Asian nations, Pakistan and …

Drive Against Domestic Violence and Gender Discrimination  “No nation can rise to the heights of glory until your women are side by side with you.” Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Contrary to the developed countries, where women are hand in glove with men in every walk of life irrespective of any so-called gender bias, the plight of the womenfolk in the …

“Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development.” (Kofi Annan; Former Secretary General of the UN) The terms “governance” and “good governance” are being increasingly used in development literature nowadays with bad governance being termed as the root cause of all the ailments within societies around the world. Major donors and international financial …