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771 - 780 from 1018 . In "Opinion / OP-ED"
Iran: A date with freedom!
THIS is not the first time that mass demonstrations against the regime have erupted in Iran, and it appears that they will not be the last. The recent demonstrations continued for days in a number of cities across Iran, including the capital Tehran, all calling for an immediate withdrawal from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The protesters called for the suspension of state spending on the regime’s adventures abroad, asking the government to rather combat poverty and corruption at home. They condemned and insulted the symbols of the regime, such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.There are many good reasons for the start of such demonstrations in such an intensive form. The most important reason is that there is a whole generation which grew up in the...
January 08, 2018

Iran: A date with freedom!

Dealing with price increase
THREE major things happened at the beginning of the year 2018, the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT), gasoline prices went up and price of power too was hiked such that the electricity bills were recalibrated in a bid to stem wastage — the more electricity one used the more one paid. Despite the fact that these three measures were announced many months before these prices hikes took effect at the beginning of 2018, the dawning of the New Year with these changes seemed to have still surprised people and there were some overreactions at gas stations and retail stores.These measures were sweeping in the Saudi economic structure, as they were part of the ongoing reforms in order to ease the pressure on the government, and also to curb what has been described as an over spending on...
January 08, 2018

Dealing with price increase

The impoverishment trap
Poverty in Arab countries is the result of erroneous policies. Many of the solutions designed by Arab countries to improve living standards have proved to be ineffective. Creating job opportunities in the public and private sectors for citizens can in fact exasperate not decrease poverty because jobs offer fixed monthly income. In other words, a person who lives on a monthly fixed income will go nowhere in terms of improving his financial status and will spend his whole life waiting for an increase in salary or a bonus every now and then.Superpowers work hard to make poverty rampant in developing countries. The best example is the United States, which does this openly through promoting certain economic policies in the name of globalization. Any country that wishes to become advanced...
January 06, 2018

The impoverishment trap

It’s Islamabad’s obligation to repatriate stranded Pakistanis
THE Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC) recently organized a symposium in Jeddah on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the ‘Fall of Dhaka’ (East Pakistan). The function drew attention to the miserable conditions of a quarter of a million stranded Pakistanis who have been languishing in squalid camps for years without access to the basic amenities of life in various parts of Bangladesh. These Pakistanis stood by the Pakistan Army during the civil war that was fought by the Pakistani Army on one side and the militia of the Awami League Party on the other, resulting in the defeat of the Pakistan Army and victory of Bengalis after the intervention of India in favor of Bengalis.Several leaders of the Pakistani community in Jeddah attended the symposium, titled “Repatriation of...
January 03, 2018

It’s Islamabad’s obligation to repatriate stranded Pakistanis

Storm in a teacup
The Kingdom recently organized the King Salman World Blitz and Rapid Chess Championships in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia hosted the world chess tournament for the first time.Chess masters from across the globe were invited to play each other for a grand prize. More than 200 grandmasters, including the world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, took part in the tournament. Other major players who participated included the incumbent World Rapid and Blitz Champions Sergey Karjakin of Russia, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, world No. 2 Levon Aronian of Armenia, No. 3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India.The championship offered a record total prize fund of $2,000,000 with the open events having individual prize funds of $750,000 each. There were 30 prizes...
January 03, 2018

Storm in a teacup

Gulf El Dorado and Dubai dreams
What an eventful year 2017 has turned out to be for the Middle East! This is the year that may be known for the great Gulf divide. The GCC crisis couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time for the region, already battling the unsettling effects of the long slump in oil prices and the global economic slowdown.This is the year that also saw dramatic changes in Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy and the birthplace of Islam of course. The Kingdom is opening up fast and is arguably changing for the better.The freedom of movement granted to Saudi women, including the historic decision of allowing them to drive, under the new Saudi leadership is only a small and but significant part of this change.Goes without saying it is a heartening development. Some cynics suggest that the Saudi...
January 02, 2018

Gulf El Dorado and Dubai dreams

Iranian Spring — finally!
WHEN Iranians protested, mostly in Tehran, for the best half of 2009, they were angry about the rigged presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated his “reformist” rival Mehdi Karroubi. The “Green Revolution,” was about government change—not the regime change. It was led by an elite, educated and well-to-do metropolitans supporting the reformist movement.Recent protests are different in many ways. It started in Mashhad, a conservatively religious city, and the birthplace of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where some 160,000 angry investors lost their life savings in a fraud residential project.Banks owned by the Revolutionary Guards suddenly closed down wiping out all deposits. And many companies haven’t paid salaries for up to a year!For a couple of...
January 02, 2018

Iranian Spring — finally!

2018 budget: Worthy of Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia has announced a SR 978 billion budget for 2018, describing it as the largest budget in its history in terms of spending. Perhaps the most significant contribution to the budget this year was its adoption of an advanced method of financial engineering to expand the “tools” in the hands of the state in an unprecedented manner. The budget, which in the past has been 90 percent dependent on oil revenues, is this year not more than 50 percent based on revenue from oil. The remainder is 30 percent from non-oil revenues, 12 percent from public debt and 8 percent from government funds.An important and very striking point is that although the budgeted expenditure for 2018 is SR 978 billion, it represents only 88 percent of the total expenditure. This indicates two important points....
January 01, 2018

2018 budget: Worthy of Vision 2030

The Bitcoin trap
People are always attracted to, or run after, new investment opportunities. Sometimes they do this without due diligence. They run after every chance there is to make a profit in the simple hope that they will be able to double or triple their investment by making a quick buck in a new or uncharted venture.This is human nature and that’s what people who offer these investment opportunities hope to play upon. Only educated persons or expert investors who calculate every step and evaluate the risk and study the market before making a new investment are the ones who usually succeed.However, an inexperienced person, who is blindly running after wealth thinking that his money will double without any risk, will on many occasions part with his money rather than make more. His only calculation...
January 01, 2018

The Bitcoin trap

2018: Year of football, Trump and technology
Early in 2018, I will scrounge around for tickets for the football World Cup in Russia. The year belongs to football. From 14 June to 15 July, we will forget political spats, economic woes and social injustices and adore the beautiful game.Elsewhere in 2018, Donald Trump will continue to astonish us with measures to save American jobs for Americans. He is a businessman and may even tackle the American debt of $19.8 trillion through ingenious trade deals with China and Japan. He may even start constructing the promised wall along the borders of Mexico. Expect the unexpected, from Trump. Hopefully his business instincts will prevail over his politics.Angela Merkel will gradually and sadly lose shine. She had been the beacon light of Europe. Theresa May will spend sleepless nights negotiating...
December 30, 2017

2018: Year of football, Trump and technology

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