by TIM STRANGLEMAN Neither faith in, nor critiques of the idea of meritocracy is new. Michael Young’s famous 1958 book The Rise of Meritocracy argued that class privilege and advantage were likely to be amplified as financial and cultural capital passed across generations in families. Each new generation would benefit from existing structural advantage created by their parents and even grandparents. They might …

By Ali Rehmat China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has strengthened decades-old Sino-Pak economic relations. The $60 billion CPEC project is part of the $5 trillion One Belt One Road (OBOR) that China considers as ‘project of the century’. OBOR links 68 countries and facilitates trade and connectivity in Asia, Europe, and Africa through mega projects of roads, bridges, energy, ports, railways …

KRASLICE, (Czech Republic): In the winter of 1978-79, Afghanistan’s communist regime deployed a hit squad to find and kill Babrak Karmal, the high-profile ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Fearing for his life, Czechoslovak authorities secretly hid Karmal and his family in a remote hunting lodge in the dense forests straddling the border with East Germany. The family-of-six lived covertly for a year …

From October 10 to October 13, the George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies hosted the “Crafts and Couture from Central Asia” festival. The festival was organized during the 20th Annual Central Eurasian Studies Society Conference (CESS 2019). The cultural event brought together artisans from Central Asia and private collections from both the US and Canada, displaying a wide range …

Abominable tells the story of a young girl living in Shanghai and a yeti Herald Report A newly released animated children’s film triggered a territorial controversy in South East Asia. A half-second blip in the film aggravated a decades-old geopolitical controversy in Southeast Asia in October, writes Grennan Milliken in the GlacierHub, an online news portal. The film about a lovable yeti and …

Innocent girls continually paying the price of cursed marriages without their consent   By Suhail Ahmad Daughters, as the Quran emphatically endorses, are the blessings of Divinity. In contrast, like other orthodox societies of Pakistan, people in Chitral, as being deeply and loosely connected with religion, treat their girl children in a quite miserable way. From cradle to grave, women …

Zeeshan Ali Ahmed shows a novel way of community service by rebuilding old hut at Batura valley an ultimate destination of tourists By Asif Sakhi PASSU: Life must have some objectivity and dedicating your time as a community service, could be one of the best objectives in life, Zeeshan Ali Ahmed, a young architect who is rebuilding a historic hut …

Use of cat’s eyes or road studs as a speed breaker is causing serious environmental hazards and economic losses By Ali Rahmat Everywhere in the world, the cat’s eye is used for an indication of the limits of roads. It guides the drivers on where the road ends and what are the limitations of driving in a specific lane. Unfortunately, …

Gul Hamad Farooqi Last month eight members of a poor workers’ family – two brothers, their mother, wives, and three children – perished when their house caught fire after a gas cylinder blast in Ayun, upper Chitral.  They were brought to the District Headquarters Hospital Chitral but couldn’t be provided treatment due to a lack of facilities and staff. The …

Bank of Karomber Lake. — Photo by author “My Love!I am the receding sunshine on the mountains,the running wind on the lake,the fading chant of the shepherd.I’m the story that’s overDon’t call me or recall me for I’m gone now once and for all.”(Translated from a Wakhi song) As the blue waters of Karomber Lake bathe in the sun’s golden …