Headlines:
• ECB Imposes Negative Interest Rate
• Obama Calls New Egyptian Dictator to Congratulate Him: White House
• Afghan Election Front-Runner Escapes Assassination Attempt
• CIA Drone Strikes: Embarrassment for US as Pakistan Court Orders Murder Investigation
ECB Imposes Negative Interest Rate
The European Central Bank has introduced a raft of measures aimed at stimulating the Eurozone economy, including negative interest rates and cheap long-term loans to banks. It cut its deposit rate for banks from zero to -0.1%, to encourage banks to lend to businesses rather than hold on to money. The ECB also cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.15% from 0.25%. The ECB is the first major central bank to introduce negative interest rates. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight said, “Despite being widely anticipated and in some quarters criticised for occurring too late, it is still a bold and unusual move by the ECB to take its deposit rate into negative territory.” “There has to be considerable uncertainty as to how effective negative deposit rates will turn out to be,” he added. It has been tried before in smaller economies. Sweden and Denmark, who are both outside the Single Currency, attempted to use negative rates in recent years with mixed results. [Source: The BBC]
Seven years after the global banking crisis, the ECB is still unable to force banks to lend money in a desperate bid to encourage economic activity and growth. The latest measure exposes the fallacy of using interest rates to expand and contract money supply to boost or reduce economic activity. It also confirms the fact that the super-rich are able to sit on a huge piles of cash at the expense of the rest of the society. In the Islamic economic system, the implementation of the gold standard and Islamic contracts, and inability of the super-rich to hoard wealth, will prevent the boom and bust cycles as witnessed in capitalism today.
Obama Calls New Egyptian Dictator to Congratulate Him: White House
President Barack Obama called new Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday and affirmed their commitment to a U.S.-Egyptian strategic partnership, the White House said. Sisi was sworn in on Sunday, almost a year after toppling elected President Mohamed Mursi, an ouster that Obama resisted calling a coup because it would have prompted Washington to cut off assistance to Egypt. The White House said Obama called Sisi to congratulate him on his inauguration and “to convey his commitment to working together to advance the shared interests of both countries. The president reiterated the United States’ continuing support for the political, economic, and social aspirations of the Egyptian people, and respect for their universal rights,” the White House said. [Source: Reuters].
So once again America trounces on its very own cherished values of freedom from tyranny and democracy to pledge full support to Sisi the new tyrant of Egypt. Let’s not forget America supported the ouster of democratically elected Mursi and refused to call a coup a coup. Sisi is a brutal dictator whose repression of Egyptians is far worse than the combined rule of Mubarak, Sadaat and Nasir. Egyptians must realise that their liberation from tyranny will only be possible through the re-establishment of the Khilafah. Only the Khilafah can return honour and dignity to Egypt, and grant Egyptians freedom from tyranny and persecution.
Afghan Election Front-Runner Escapes Assassination Attempt
Afghan presidential front-runner Abdullah Abdullah escaped an assassination attempt on Friday when two blasts hit his campaign motorcade in Kabul, killing at least six people just ahead of a hotly contested run-off election. It was the second attack targeting Abdullah during Afghanistan’s fractious election season, which has seen an uptick in violence with Taliban militants threatening to disrupt the polls. Abdullah said he was unhurt in Friday’s blasts but lost three of his campaign colleagues who were among six civilians killed, according to the Interior Ministry. “Based on initial police information, six people were killed and 22 others were wounded in the attack,” the ministry said in a statement. The latest assassination attempt came ahead of the second-round presidential election on June 14, which Taliban insurgents have threatened to disrupt. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Afghanistan is in the middle of elections to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled since the fall of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime. Abdullah fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed for an outright victory in the April first round and will face former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani in the run-off. [Source: Pakistan Daily Times]
No matter how hard America and its allies try to spin a positive picture about their illegal occupation of Afghanistan, the on the ground reality tells a different story. After 13 years of occupation; America has failed on all fronts to stabilise Afghanistan. What is regarded as America longest war is slowly but surely sapping America’s credibility, and exposing the limitation of its military. America is not only defeated in Afghanistan, but the venture is turning out to be a humiliating defeat, as American cannot even provide security to protect its future agents.
CIA Drone Strikes: Embarrassment for US as Pakistan Court Orders Murder Investigation
A court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered police to investigate murder allegations against a senior CIA officer as tension over drone strikes threatens to further embarrass America and its allies in Islamabad. Human rights campaigners say the decision paves the way for dozens more cases to be brought against the US and hope police will now seek an international arrest warrant for a former CIA station chief, who was hurriedly flown from the country after his cover was blown in 2010. The covert drone programme, targeting militants along the border with Afghanistan, is hugely controversial in Pakistan despite a lull this year to allow peace talks. Mirza Shahzad Akbar, of the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, welcomed Thursday’s decision, which he said came after years trying to convince police that they had jurisdiction to register cases against strikes in the remote tribal areas. “There’s no legal basis for drone strikes, so if they are happening it is a criminal act that needs to be investigated,” he said. “They have been using this issue of jurisdiction to avoid their responsibilities.” He added that with the precedent established 100 more cases might now follow. Thursday’s judgment involves a case brought by Kareem Khan, a journalist from North Waziristan, who says that his brother and son were killed by a drone strike. Press reports said Haji Omar, a senior Taliban commander, had been staying at his house when it was targeted in December 2009. Mr Khan denies the claims. In court papers lodged in 2010, he named two senior CIA figures: Jonathan Banks, Islamabad station chief, and John Rizzo, the agency’s lawyer. The episode came during a downturn in US-Pakistan relations. The Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Pakistan’s main spy outfit, is widely believed to have leaked Mr Banks’ identity. Few legal experts believe the attempt to prosecute such senior CIA figures can succeed, but it reflects public hostility to the drone programme, which is secretly sanctioned by Islamabad. [Source: The Daily Telegraph]
Do Pakistanis really need a court verdict to prove that America is at war with the country, killing and maiming thousands of innocent Pakistanis through robotic drones and the infamous Raymond Davis network? Pakistanis must realise that unless the Raheel-Nawaz regime is removed from power, America’s war against Pakistan will only increase is scope and magnitude.