The Londoner

DOHA, Qatar - (AP) -- Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump. "Thank God that our country is an oil producer and the price of gasoline is one of the lowest," al-Kubaisi said, filling up his Toyota Land Cruiser at a gas station in Doha . "God has given us a blessing." To those looking for a global response to climate change , it's more like a curse. Qatar -- the host of U.N. climate talks that entered their final week Monday -- is among dozens of countries that keep gas prices artificially low through subsidies that exceeded $500 billion globally last year. Renewable energy worldwide received six times less support -- an imbalance that is just starting...

More than 40,000 people have been moved into shelter as a powerful typhoon hits the southern Philippines. Typhoon Bopha made landfall on Mindanao early on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain and wind gusts of 210 km/h (130mph). The storm has caused widespread power cuts, travel disruption and flooding in areas at risk of landslides. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Bopha comes a year after Typhoon Washi killed more than 1,500 people in the southern Philippines. On Monday, President Benigno Aquino urged people in the typhoon's path to take Bopha seriously. "It could be the strongest to hit the country this year," he said. "But we can minimize the damage and loss of lives if we help each other." The eye of the 600-km wide storm was moving west at 26 km/h and was expected to sweep over southern and central provinces before reaching the South China Sea on Thursday, forecasters said. ...

By Sikander Hayat I have always been very interested in Gwadar and have been a keen observer of the scaremongering that Western and Indian media have been spreading for a long time. They have never understood what Gwadar really is and what are its implications for the people of Baluchistan . Their only concern is China and how China has helped Pakistan build this port of Gwadar to achieve its own strategic objectives.  To understand Gwadar you have to understand Balochistan and its sense of deprivation over last many decades. Balochistan has no proper urban centres apart from the capital city of Quetta and this capital city lies on the Pakistan Afghanistan border. It has suffered hugely from the influx of Afghan refugees and general law and order condition over the border in Afghanistan . It does not make sense to have a capital of a large entity like Balochistan on a volatile frontier and then to hope that this city will become the engine of growth of all of...

By Sikander Hayat Since Hasina Wajid has come to power in Bangladesh, relations with Pakistan are steadily going downhill. Pakistan has no borders with Bangladesh , there is no water or land issue and there is no reason for the Bangladeshis to keep hating Pakistan. A different generation of Pakistanis was responsible for the separation of Bangladesh and whatever took place in 1971. If a country wants better relations with another country, she will do that despite any issues and if a country wants to pick a fight than again it does not need a reason. Currently, Hasina Wajid's government is trying to rake up dirt at every possible moment. Here are some of the issues which this government is using to make sure that they always use Pakistan as a safe whipping boy: 1. War reparations2. Apology for civil war in East Pakistan3. Division of assets4. Opposing Pakistan at the WTO 5. Treason trial against those who supported the united Pakistan ( East & West) One can un...

TSUNAMIS that struck in the South Pacific on Tuesday September 29th were nowhere near as devastating as the waves that hit countries around the Indian Ocean in December 2004. Then, an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude caused a tsunami that claimed an estimated 230,000 lives. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, the waves this week were triggered by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake that took place some 120 miles (195km) south of the Samoa group of islands (see map). On Wednesday another earthquake, well over 7 magnitude, was reported off Sumatra, in Indonesia. Over 100 people were thought to have died in Samoa and American Samoa, which together have a population of some 250,000. American Samoa was reportedly hit by four separate waves. Another seven people were killed in Tonga, several hundred kilometres farther south. Witnesses described fleeing from waves 4.5 metres tall which swept people, cars and other debris as far as 100 metres inland. Many Samoan settlements are coastal and bo...