Headlines:
- US Stock Markets Follow Global Drop over Chinese Economy Concerns
- Pakistan’s Biggest Child Abuse Scandal Unearthed in Punjab
- Statues of Stoned Women Placed in Prague in Protest against Islam
US Stock Markets Follow Global Drop over Chinese Economy Concerns
US stocks rallied late on Wednesday afternoon following an earlier worldwide markets slump due to concerns about the health of the Chinese economy. The major US stock indices end the day roughly flat, after having dropped by between 1-2% in earlier trading due to investors worries that the world’s second-largest economy may be in worse shape than had been believed after China took the surprise move of devaluing the yuan for the second consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had touched a six-month low earlier in the day, ended the day flat at 17,402 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 0.1% to 2,086 and the Nasdaq, which had dropped as much as 1.7% at one point, closed up 0.15% to 5,044. US companies with the biggest exposures to China including car companies and Apple, for whom China is key growth area, had been the biggest fallers. But they recovered late in the day to end roughly flat or higher. The earlier US markets slide had followed drops on stock markets around the world. In China the Shanghai composite lost 1.03%, while the Nikkei fell 1.58%, or 327.98 points. The FTSE 100 closed down 1.4%, Germany’s DAX lost 3.3% and France’s CAC 40 was 3.4% lower. Analyst fear that a slowdown in China’s growth could have a ripple effect on the whole of the global economy. “China’s currency moves will hurt appetite for risky assets such as equities and commodities,” Rajeev De Mello, head of Asian fixed income at Schroders in Singapore, said. “While it is too early to say whether this is the beginning of a sustained devaluation of the yuan, other central banks may be forced to follow suit and that may trigger a fresh round of currency weakening around the emerging world.” Guillermo Felices, an analyst at Barclays, said: “Risky assets remain under pressure. A key market concern is that the latest (Chinese) measures respond to much weaker Chinese growth than expected.” [Source: The Guardian]
Nearly 7 years after the collapse of Lehman brothers, it appears that the global economy is again on a brink of another financial crisis. This time around, IMF, World Bank and other institutions will not be able to bail out indebted governments.
Pakistan’s Biggest Child Abuse Scandal Unearthed in Punjab
A gang of criminals active since 10 years, involved in countless cases of extreme child abuse has come to light in Ganda Singh Wala area of Kasur in Punjab province. Investigations revealed around 400 videos were made of 280 victims of abuse by the gang of over 25 criminals. Several parents of victims were consistently blackmailed and coerced to pay lacs of rupees as they were threatened that the gang would release the videos in public. Families in the locality are helpless as officials all along have been apathetic to the incidents. District Police Officer (DPO) Kasur, Rai Babar Saeed said that they have recovered 60 to 70 video clips from which the perpetrators are being identified and action will immediately be taken against them. Punjab Home Minister, Shuja Khanzada, speaking to Geo News, contradicted various statements by police officials in Kasur and confirmed that the incidents have in fact taken place albeit not in the numbers being portrayed in the media. He went on to say that the case is indeed terrible and shameful, adding that no stone will be left unturned during investigations. He further said that every guilty criminal involved will be brought to justice. Meanwhile, DPO Kasur as well as RPO Kasur later today alleged that there is actually a land dispute linked in the background, adding that two groups from the village are involved in the dispute. DPO Kasur added that only seven complaints have come up so far while six suspects have been taken into custody. He also said that the numbers being depicted in the media are being exaggerated and neither is there any atmosphere of fear in the village. However, this contradicts reports of several clashes erupting all day long between the angry families of victims and police officials. [Source: Geo TV]
While the country reels in anger, Pakistan’s politicians are busy pointing their fingers at each other. However, the abuse of children commenced in 2005, and this means that the Musharraf, Zardari and Sharif governments all failed to stop this evil crime. The sooner the Pakistani people get rid of these idiotic politicians and re-establish the Khilafah state the sooner peace and justice will return to Pakistan.
Statues of Stoned Women Placed in Prague in Protest against Islam
The followers of the We Do Not Want Islam in the Czech Republic and the Bloc Against Islam groups Wednesday morning installed the torsos of the women stoned to death in order to warn of the danger of Islam, Prague police spokesman Tomas Hulan has told journalists. The effigies covered by white cloths tainted with colour as blood and surrounded by stones have appeared in a number of places in Prague, Hulan said. The police are dealing with the affair, but they have not come across any breach of the law, he added. The installations include the captions such as “Pregnant after Rape” or “She was unfaithful” pointing out the alleged reasons for being stoned to death. The statues of the women stoned to death are to warn of Islamic barbarism and the violence committed against women, Artur Fiser, spokesman for We Do Want Islam, told CTK. “Islamic barbarism is infiltrating us with a growing speed, but it has not touched upon majority society,” Fiser said. [Source: Prague Daily Monitor]
Europe’s ideological onslaught against Islam continues unabated. Islamaphobia is spreading at an alarming rate within Europe the bastion of freedom and religious tolerance. This time Czech Republic is mocking Islam and the authorities are doing nothing to confront it. Where is the Imam of the Muslims who can protect the honour of Islam?