 |  | | China Myths Debunked |
 WE all know the facts: In
1949 when the Communist
Party took over, China had
been mired in civil wars
and dismembered by foreign
aggressions; its people had suffered
widespread famine; average lifeexpectancy
was a mere 41 years.
Today, it is the second largest economy
in the world, a great power with global
influence, and its people live in
increasing prosperity; average life
expectancy has reached 74 years.
But the assessment has to go deeper
than that, for reasons none other than
the apparent discomfort, if not outright
disapproval, Western political
and intellectual elites feel toward the
Communist Party´s leadership. Five
misconceptions dominate... |
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| |  | | THE CAMERON
COLLAPSE |
| PETER Oborne, writing in
the conservative Daily
Telegraph, recently suggested
that the
Conservative British Prime
Minister, David Cameron, was not
merely in a mess, he "is in a sewer."
That seems about right. Cameron
lost it over Rupert Murdoch. He
showed staggering lack of judgment
in hiring Andy Coulson, the former
News of the World editor, as his first
director of communications at
Downing Street, a hubristic decision
made against the best advice and
apparently with a dual aim: to show
he was not an old Etonian "toff" and
to get favourable treatment from the
37 percent of the British print media
owned by Murdoch.
He then spent a fair chunk of time
during his first year in office in 26
meetings with various News Corp
honchos, including Rebekah
Brooks, who was... |
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Pakistan’s former envoy has sweet memories of Qatar stay
LN MALLICK
DOHA PAKISTAN’S former ambassador to Qatar M Asghar Afridi said he has some very sweet memories of his stay in the country.
Speaking at a reception hosted by the Pakistani community at Shatter Abbas Restaurant on Tuesday, Afridi said he made many friends during his tenure and would love to visit the country whenever there was an opportunity.
“I am fortunate that I did not only enjoy the cooperation of the community members but also earned deep respect from them,” Afridi said.
Haji Gul Yousef and Abdul Janan Bangash hosted the event that was attended by a large number of community members and embassy officials.
Afridi, who was in Doha on a private visit, left Qatar in March at the end of his tenure as ambassador.
Afridi, who was also chairman of Pakistan Education Centre’s board of governors, endeared himself to all sections of the Pakistani community.
He had very close and intimate relations with the community members.
Over 50,000 new visas were issued for Pakistanis during his tenure.
In recognition of his role in enhancing Qatari-Pakistani relations, the Qatari leadership bestowed upon him the Sash of Merit.
The PEC also witnessed unparallel development during his tenure.
Malik Sarfraz Khan expressed appreciation for the services rendered by Afridi for the welfare of the community.
Khan said: “I can proudly say that he lived up to the high expectations of the community members.” Afridi served the community twice, once as second secretary in the 80s and later as ambassador.
Haji Gul Yousef said Afridi was popular among Pakistanis.
“Because of his good nature, he established deep-rooted relations with the community members,” he said.
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