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Shia pilgrimage route to Iran suspended

Source: Dawn QUETTA: Pakistan has suspended buses carrying Shia Muslim pilgrims from travelling through its volatile Balochistan province to neighbouring Iran due to security concerns after a suicide attack killed 30 pilgrims this week, officials said on Friday. A 700 km highway connecting the Pakistani city of Quetta and Iran, […]

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Cairo rocked by deadly bomb attacks

Source: Aljazeera The blast left a deep crater in the street, and was large enough to shatter windows in shops hundreds of metres away. It also caused extensive damage to the Islamic antiquities museum across the street. Witnesses said they heard gunshots before the explosion. “It was around 7am this […]

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7 setbacks for the middle class

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Five years into his presidency, Barack Obama is still falling short of his number one goal: to fix the economy for the middle class. Sure, a recovery has been underway for most of his presidency, but it’s still slow and uneven. And despite Obama’s focus on the […]

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It Takes a Generation

Source: NY Times: Over the past decade we’ve had a rich debate on how to expand opportunity for underprivileged children. But we’ve probably made two mistakes.First, we’ve probably placed too much emphasis on early education. Don’t get me wrong. What happens in the early years is crucial. But human capital […]

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The Internet is a ‘gift from God.’

Source: CNN (CNN) Careerist clergy. The super rich. And now we can add another pelt to Pope Francis’ collection: Internet trolls.In statement released on Thursday, the Pope said the Internet and social media are making people across the world “increasingly interdependent.””The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity,” […]

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A way out for new Pak army chief

Source: Asia Times: Incoming General Raheel Sharif rightly has some weighty expectations to bear; he has to reverse the decline overseen by his predecessors and improve the security situation of the country, all while restoring the prestige of the army. Raheel has had the advantage of holding a clean slate. […]

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Rouhani has emerged as a Davos darling

Source: Asia Times: By Pepe Escobar Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is at the moment the hardest-working man in (geopolitical) show business. He has just stepped into the lion’s den – or goldfish bowl; the World Economic Forum at Davos. And he charmed them all just with his “prudent moderation” strategy, […]