In mid-2015 when he started his presidential campaign, many would hardly believe he was a runner for the top US slot. As a businessman, author, TV host, entertainer; Donald Trump’s life is a jumble of successes and failures.

Born on 14th of June 1946, Trump inherited real estate business from his father Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump who was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. In 1971, Trump was given control of his father’s business and he renamed it as Trump Organization. He took part in large construction projects and by 1973, Trump became president of the Trump Organization -- overseeing company's 14,000 apartments across the country.

Trump built his 58-story Trump Tower, a skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan in 1982; and wrote his first book “the art of the deal” that earned him millions besides fame and pride. By end-80s, his repute led to depiction of villain in the hit movie -- “back to the future-2”.

He then incepted Trump Airline and a ferry service called Trump’s Princess. Later in 1988, Trump acquired the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Built at the cost of $1.1 billion, Taj Mahal was opened in April 1990 and was tagged as the most expensive casino. 

Trump’s transitory downfall began in October 1991, when he ceded fifty percent casino ownership to the bondholders in exchange for lowered interest rates. With a financial crunch in real estate, he sold out his airline and yatch and instead invested in entertainment.

Trump owned part or all of Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. In 2000, he started his TV show “the apprentice”, became executive producer besides hosting NBC’s reality show.

Trump is a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) fan and a friend of WWE owner Vince McMahon. He has hosted two Wrestle Mania events in the Trump Plaza and has been an active participant in several of it’s shows. He authored another book, “the art of comeback’’, in which he described how he fought with difficulties and reemerged. 

Trump’s political career has had lacked consistency. Beginning in 1987 as Republican, he switched to Reform Party in 1999; from 2001 to 2009, he again joined the Republican camp. Trumps real ambitions for presidency started in 1988.

In June 2015, Trump once again announced his bid for presidency, with his early drive targeting illegal immigrants and Muslims. Trump remained in the world headlines for his aggressive statements against his rival Hillary Clinton. He faced stark criticism for bragging about women and was considered a non-serious candidate.

But the eve of Nov. 08 not only stunned America but the entire world as Trump’s ballot boxes contained majority votes. This shock is persistent even today, and in many parts of the US it has turned into anger and frustration.

Across the globe, a number of countries are keeping their fingers crossed. Though Sino US relations are important but Chinese media termed Trump victory as political shock, but Trump as ‘not bold enough’ to carry out his election pledges.  It is also reported that Beijing is preparing its strategy to coup with a possible trade war with Trump administration, and it may be a tit for tat reply.

 Unlike China, India is happy and in fact it is willing to make Trump era as India-US era. Trump Organization has some business investments in India with a multi-story Trump tower in Pune. On its part, Pakistan is pursuing a wait-and-see policy. Pakistanis considerably backed Hillary due to Trump’s Muslim-bashing and India-tilt as well.

Donald Trump will take charge of his office early next year; the US and the world has to withstand the 70-year unpredictable leader.

More than three quarters of $46 billion of the planned Chinese-led investment in Pakistan will be implemented by next year as part of the world’s second-largest economy’s flagship Silk Road plan.

“Out of this $46 billion, we have been so far able to energize about $35 billion,” Pakistan’s Planning, Development and Reforms Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview in London. “By energising means these are projects either in advanced implementation or in a stage of financial closing.”

It’s part of an initiative the Chinese government calls “One Belt, One Road 

Imran Khan intends to fight a decisive battle against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over Panama Leaks both in the Supreme Court as well as on the media, armed with his firebrand team of lawyers cum television hosts. 

An indication why he and veteran lawyer Hamid Khan could not get along.

With the trio of senior lawyers Babar Awan and Naeem Bokhari and television host Fawad Choudhry as the party's main spokesman, Imran clearly made his intention clear as how he wants to contest the Panama case, inside and outside the Supreme Court, something which Hamid Khan had opposed.

It appears as Imran now wants to become more aggressive outside the court and would create media hype through faces known to the media, who also do their own shows. 

While Naeem Bokhari, is not doing any talk-shows at the moment but he is an articulate host. Both Babar Awan and Fawad Choudhry also do their own shows on two different television channels. Besides this they regularly appear on television channels as analysts.

With Hamid Khan out of the picture and his trusted aide Naeem-ul-Haque placed at an arm’s length, and Fawad Chaudhry as the go-to person for the media— Imran’s anxiety in this case is visible.

How much will this strategy work out depends on what happens inside the Supreme Court in the next Panama Leaks hearing on November 30? It would be interesting to watch the trio of Bokhari, Awan and Choudhry.

Imran’s planned strategy seems to keep the issue alive. Even if the party faces a setback inside the Supreme Court, the trio would be able to hold their heads high outside the court.

Babar Awan and Fawad Choudhry are considered to have close links with the Pakistan People’s Party. They can become a bridge between the PPP and PTI. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari sent a goodwill message to Fawad, while the new PTI leader regards Bilawal as a visionary leader.               

It is also interesting to note that Imran had given preference to Awan over Aitzaz Ahsan, who too has been giving PTI Chairman free legal advice. Awan had not only defended Zardari and Benazir Bhutto's 'Swiss Account' case but is also PPP lawyer in the petition demanding 're-trial' of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's alleged judicial murder.     

Sources said while Imran personally was more in favor of Aitzaz and had publicly appreciated his position, he did not support the move of fighting the case in the Parliament and as Joint Opposition, which Aitzaz always pleaded.

This is the decisive phase or final innings in Imran Khan's politics before the next general elections after his back to back setbacks since Judicial Commission findings over election rigging.

Imran's differences within PTI, is also quite known as Hamid Khan belong to the group which had supported former PTI Chief Election Commission, retired Justice Wahjiuddin's ruling on party's election rigging against Jehangir Tareen and others. 

After Hamid Khan distanced himself from Panama case, Imran got so frustrated that he indirectly hit back to Hamid, by saying, “I had won several matches with weak teams as well." 

This itself was admitting that his present legal team was “weak” despite being competent.

After these changes in the PTI approach it is no more a mystery why Hamid Khan had disassociated himself as he believes that the case in the Supreme Court, could only be won if fought professionally and not politically.

Babar Awan's choice was never an easy decision for Imran, because of their past differences. Awan defended Benazir-Zardari's 'Swiss account' case and his position remains unchanged, while Imran still believes they transferred money in Swiss banks. Yet, the two come on one page over Panama Leaks. But, what will happen if both Imran and Awan would meet the press, and be asked about Swiss accounts? 

Imran likes the aggression in Babar Awan, the reason for his liking of veteran Sheikh Rahseed Ahmad was also for the same reason. But, will they be able to deliver?

While Mr Naeem Bokhari, who has recently joined PTI, will be the lead lawyer in this case, all eyes would be on the role of PPP's associated leader, still considered close to former President, Asif Ali Zardari. 

Interestingly, Babar Awan is not only veteran in his field but is also known to the media for more than one reason.  

It would be quite interesting if Awan had taken Zardari into confidence in taking PTI's case particularly at a time when some PPP leaders like Latif Khosa had termed PTI’s case as weak.

Bilawal demanded Sharif to accept his four demands before December 27, and return of Zardari by the second week of December.

Awan also has the capacity to bridge the gap between Imran Khan and Zardari, but at what cost. Imran believe that both Sharif and Zardari had looted Pakistan while Awan has given a clean chit to PPP leader in Swiss case.

But, Awan also knows that Zardari has amazing flexibility in politics but always plays his cards according to the situation. If today, he criticized Imran in his interview with Hamid Mir, he would not hesitate in meeting him, if situation demanded.

Problem would be on Imran's side as he has hired a lawyer, who would be trying to proof a Panama Leaks case against Sharif, without supporting the perception that both Sharif and Zardari are corrupt.    

There has been lot of diversity in Imran Khan's approach towards politics and like his marriage's track record his political track record is also marred with controversies. 

PTI has also taken a risk by hiring Awan, as he has strained relations with the judiciary since the days of the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry due to which once he was even suspended by the SC.

His presence may further dilute the presence of Naeem Bokhari, who otherwise has a charming personality and also known to media, but, is soft as compared to Awan.

During the very first hearing of the case it was clear that Imran is not happy with Hamid Khan, when they came out from the Supreme Court, PTI Chairman looked quite anxious as to why the SC, did not start day to day hearing and was advised by Hamid Khan, to wait for the reply from Sharif.

So, one wonders whether the real reason was media or PTI for Hamid Khan, as it is now clear that Imran wants to take on both fronts and is not happy with the performance of Hamid Khan. With the kind of evidence submitted by PTI, in the case what additional evidence will Awan submit? 

It appears that PTI's legal team may do three things in the next hearing. (1) Oppose the formation of Judicial Commission and may ask the bench to hear the case, and, (2) may request the SC to summon the Prince of Qatar. (3) Reopen the LNG case and its link with Saifur Rehman.     

Hamid Khan shoul d not have any complaint against the media, which by and large has supported Imran and PTI's position over 'Panama’, and some have even become the 'judges rather journalists.' So, it is better if Hamid Khan, should look towards problems within the party of not providing him enough material other than press clippings, TV talk shows and some excerpts from Asad Kharral's book.   

PTI and Imran Khan, have certainly made 'Panama papers' a national issue against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as it all came by chance and he used it quite well except that by creating too much media hype he raised his own party and media's expectation about the possible outcome. 

What if they lose this case? What will be PTI's politics in the post Panama case? Will the initiative shift to the PPP which is gearing up for the movement in 2017, the year of election campaign.

ISLAMABAD: This was a dull morning of November 27, 2013. Khawaja Asif and Pervez Rashid were asked to rush to the prime minister house. Neither of them knew why they had been summoned. (Umar Cheema)

hey exchanged notes to determine the probable reason. The situation that unfolded later proved all their guesses wrong. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met them in the porch. He was visibly composed and relatively quiet. He had made important decisions that nobody from the cabinet knew. A car approached them. The PM and his confidants boarded it and the cavalcade moved towards Punjab House.

Nawaz Sharif was going to share his best-kept secret: the new army chief. However, before doing that, he thought to start from what he had decided about the accompanying colleagues. He turned to Khawaja Asif sitting in the back seat, “Khawaja Sahb: I have appointed you the defense minister.” It was quite surprising for the both cabinet members travelling with him. Khawaja Asif already had the portfolio of the water and power.

How this decision would be interpreted by the stakeholders was the most important question. Incidentally, weeks before, Khawaja Asif had been put off the camera telecasting the coverage of a military parade he had attended along with the PM.

However, before the wisdom behind the PM decision could be ascertained, another announcement came. Senator Pervez Rashid was the person being addressed this time. “Pervez Sahb, I have given you the additional portfolio of the Law Ministry,” the PM said.

Neither Khawaja Asif nor Pervez Rashid had any previous experience of the newly assigned ministries. The defense assignment was critical due to the political reasons. The portfolio of law and justice had its own challenges. A lawmaker of legal background is allotted this assignment.

Neither of them asked why they’re picked. The question-answer session had yet to start. The PM then answered the million dollars question: “Who will replace Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani? Raheel Sharif will be the next army chief,” the PM told his colleagues.

This was the first time any cabinet member had come to know about the new chief and it was the most surprising decision he had shared with his colleagues. One of them had heard his name for the first time.

Incidentally, all three of them had suffered terrible ordeals after the military takeover of Gen Pervez Musharraf. They had spent the worst times of their lives together in the Attock Fort. Questions were many and the answers were awaited.

Here they broke the silence. “How did you come to this decision,” one of them asked. “We want to know the plausible reason to our satisfaction,” he continued. And the PM was ready to answer.

“I had interviewed three generals for this slot,” Nawaz Sharif told his colleagues. The interviews with two of them followed by lobbying through strong but notorious references who would approach me for pressing on the selection of their favourites, he further explained. If the people with tainted background are their referees, the PM wondered, what kind of these generals would be.

The situation was different in the case of Gen Raheel Sharif. He didn’t either flatter me or promise anything beyond the call of his duty during the course of interview, the PM told his colleagues. Also, no person had approached me for recommending his candidature, he further explained. Rahil Sharif’s family background further convinced me to conclude the selection process, the PM said, adding the decision was made purely on merit.

Meanwhile, they reached Punjab House where Shehbaz Sharif, Ch Nisar, Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ahsan Iqbal were present. The PM shared these decisions with them too.

As the hunt is on for new army chief and hectic lobbying is in progress, there are several three-star generals in the race. What will be the merit this time depends on the experience that Nawaz Sharif has had with Gen Raheel Sharif. Sincerity with the civilian administration will take precedence over the seniority list. This is what has been the consideration of every PM; they faced different consequences though.

MONTPELLIER: Police are searching for an armed man after finding a dead woman in a retirement home where 60 monks are living in southwestern France, sources close to the matter said on Friday.

According to one source, a caretaker contacted the police after escaping from the home in Montferrier-sur-Lez about 10 kilometers north of Montpellier.

On entering the building, police found the body of an elderly woman who had been stabbed several times, the source said.

"Nothing at this stage would indicate that this would be a terrorist act," another source said.

France is on heightened alert and has been under a state of emergency since a wave attacks last year.

HAIFA: Wildfires tore across central and northern Israel on Thursday, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee the city of Haifa, as leaders blamed arsonists for some of the blazes and branded them 'terrorists'.

Television pictures showed a wall of flames raging through central neighborhoods of Israel's third largest city. Firefighters dowsed a petrol station with water as the blaze edged closer. The fires have been burning in multiple locations for the past three days but intensified on Thursday, fueled by unseasonably dry weather and strong easterly winds. 

 

"Every fire that was caused by arson, or incitement to arson, is terrorism by all accounts. And we will treat it as such," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters gathered in Haifa. "Whoever tries to burn parts of Israel will be punished for it severely."

Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan referred to "arson terrorism" and said there had been a small number of arrests, providing no other details.

"It's likely that where it was arson, it goes in the direction of nationalistic," Police Chief Roni Alsheich told reporters, without going into further detail.

With fires burning in the forests west of Jerusalem, around Haifa, on central and northern hilltops and in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the government sought assistance from neighboring countries to tackle the conflagration.

Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and Russia offered help, with several aircraft already joining efforts to quell the blaze, dropping fire-retardant material to try to douse the heaviest fires and stem their spread.

Netanyahu said he had asked for a "Super Tanker" fire fighting aircraft to be sent from the United States.

The Palestinian Authority had offered assistance as well, he said.

A thick haze of smoke hung over Haifa, which rises up from the Mediterranean Sea overlooking a large port. Schools and universities were evacuated, and two nearby prisons transferred inmates to other jails, a prisons service spokesman said. Patients were moved out of a geriatric hospital.

WORRYING FORECAST

A lack of rain combined with very dry air and strong easterly winds have spread the fires this week across the center and north of the country, as well as parts of the West Bank. Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed but no deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Jewish Home party which supports settlements in the West Bank where Palestinians seek statehood, said on Twitter that arsonists were disloyal to Israel, hinting that those who set the fires could not be Jewish.

"Only those to whom the country does not belong are capable of burning it," he said in a tweet in Hebrew.

Haifa's mayor said he feared for the city and called on residents with water sprinklers to turn them on to help keep the flames at bay. Those leaving their homes were urged to go to sports stadiums and other safer locations.

Highway 443, which links Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as it cuts through a southern flank of the West Bank, was temporarily closed to morning rush-hour traffic as flames reached the city of Modi'in, about half way between the two conurbations.

BEIJING (AFP) - At least 67 people were killed when part of a power station under construction in China collapsed Thursday, state media reported, the latest industrial accident in a country with a dismal safety record. A cooling tower platform plunged to the ground in the early hours, trapping an unknown number of people beneath it, the official Xinhua news agency said.

State broadcaster CCTV put the toll at 67, with local reports saying one person was still missing and two others injured. Pictures of the scene in Fengcheng, in the central province of Jiangxi, showed a grey mass of concrete slabs, steel girders and twisted metal splayed in a heap on the ground inside a large round structure.

Hard-hatted rescue workers in neon jumpsuits carried bodies out from the site on stretchers wrapped in orange sheeting. A total of 32 fire engines and 212 military personnel had been deployed to the scene, the Jiangxi provincial fire department said on a verified social media account.

The construction of two 1,000-megawatt coal-fired power units at the Ganneng Fengcheng power station began last July and was expected to be completed by early 2018, the local Yichun city government said on a verified social media account last year.

The expansion was budgeted to cost a total of 7.67 billion yuan (now $1.1 billion), it added.

The main investor for a previous expansion project at the plant suspended trading in its shares on the Shenzhen stock exchange Thursday afternoon, stating that "significant events" that could not be disclosed could impact its share price.

Its shares had fallen 3.41 percent by midday.

Industrial accidents are common in China, where safety standards are often laxly enforced.

In August a pipeline explosion at a coal-fired power plant in the neighbouring province of Hubei killed 21.

Earlier this summer more than 130 people were taken to hospital after chemicals leaked from a plant in eastern China.

In April a chemical fire burned for 16 hours in the coastal province of Jiangsu after an explosion at a facility storing chemicals and fuel, requiring 400 firefighters to quell the flames.

Last December, the collapse of a gypsum mine in the eastern province of Shandong left one person dead and 13 others unaccounted for, with four miners only rescued after being trapped underground for 36 days.

A total of 19 people had been found responsible for the incident, Xinhua said Thursday, with three managers arrested and 16 other local officials "punished". The agency did not give further details.

The owner of the collapsed mine committed suicide by drowning himself at the scene soon after the collapse, Xinhua said.

He will not be subject to criminal liabilities, it cited investigators as saying.

PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) - Donald Trump began to broaden the base of his future cabinet Wednesday, nominating two conservative women including a critic, after his earlier picks rewarded campaign loyalists.

Trump’s nomination of South Carolina’s 44-year-old governor, Nikki Haley, as US ambassador to the United Nations will be seen as a sign he is ready to forgive some foes to raise a bigger tent. But his choice of wealthy activist Betsy DeVos, a champion of alternatives to local government schools, as education secretary, was another victory for social conservatives.

Trump’s one-time presidential rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, appeared to be next in line for the nod -- reportedly as housing secretary -- after he posted on social media that an announcement was imminent.

Trump’s choice of Haley for the UN was announced amid reports that Trump is considering another vocal critic -- former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney -- for the key post of secretary of state. And it followed a cordial chat between Trump and The New York Times, a newspaper he considers hostile, in which he softened his stance on climate change, torture and prosecuting his defeated rival Hillary Clinton.

The 70-year-old property tycoon also told the Times that he is "seriously, seriously considering" appointing widely respected retired Marine general James Mattis as his defense secretary.

The UN ambassador post is of cabinet rank and if Haley -- a staunch conservative with no foreign policy experience -- is confirmed by the Senate she will become a powerful figure in world diplomacy, despite previously clashing with Trump.

As one of two women tapped so far for Trump’s cabinet, the daughter of Indian immigrants also injects a measure of diversity in a group that until now consisted solely of men.

Murdered churchgoers

Last year, after a white supremacist murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, Haley supported a decision by legislators to remove the Confederate flag from the state house.

The decision drew protests from racist groups. This year, while campaigning for Trump’s primary rival Marco Rubio, Haley called Trump out for his failure to repudiate the Ku Klux Klan.

"I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we are," she declared.

Trump, true to form, responded with one of his trademark Twitter insults, declaring: "The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!"

Trump’s choice last week of the self-described "economic nationalist" Steve Bannon, head of the right-wing news platform Breitbart, as his chief strategist delighted white supremacists.

But on Tuesday, after video emerged of fans of the so-called alt-right making straight-armed salutes and chanting "Hail Trump," the president-elect disavowed the movement.

Campaign rhetoric

As he works with his advisers in his luxury Mar-a-Lago golf resort outside Palm Beach, all eyes will be on the appointments he makes for a sign of the direction his administration will take.

When it comes to security threats and global issues, the president-elect has reportedly received just two classified intelligence briefings since winning the presidency, far less than his immediate predecessors, according to the Washington Post newspaper.

The Republican’s limited engagement with his team of intelligence analysts has some officials questioning the real estate mogul’s commitment to national security or international affairs, arenas in which he has no significant experience.

When Trump’s November 8 election victory still seemed an unlikely prospect, many Republicans and conservative policy experts condemned his anti-Muslim rhetoric, his affinity for Russia or his isolationist and protectionist positions.

Many of these figures are now moderating their tone and looking for work, whether they are lured by the prospect of a powerful job or are keen to serve US interests as a moderating influence inside a Trump administration.

The former Iraq and Afghan war commander, retired general David Petraeus -- who resigned as head of the CIA after he was caught sharing classified data with his mistress -- made his pitch on Wednesday.

"If you’re asked, you’ve got to serve, put aside any reservations based on campaign rhetoric, and figure out what’s best for the country," he told BBC Radio.

In May, Petraeus described hardline rhetoric like Trump’s threat to ban all Muslims from traveling to the United States as "toxic" and "corrosive to our vital national security interests."

This week a Trump aide was photographed carrying notes on a border security plan into Trump Tower. The first three points were legible in the picture, and pointed to stringent vetting for Muslim visa applicants.

Trump and his family will stay at Mar-a-Lago through Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend. More meetings will be held on Monday with transition officials, his press office said.

Meanwhile, erstwhile Democratic candidate Clinton -- who lost to Trump by carrying a minority of the electoral college which decides the election outcome -- saw her national lead in the popular vote tally pass two million votes.

HILLA (AFP) - A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 80 people, mainly Shiite pilgrims, south of Baghdad Thursday, as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the jihadists. The huge truck bomb blast ripped through a petrol station where buses packed with faithful returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Karbala were parked, officials said.

However, the protest was called off on security personnel’s assurance.Kismat Baig was shot 12 times by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Thursday morning after which she was immediately shifted to Services Hospital where she succumbed to injuries. The actress was travelling with her driver and assistant who also sustained severe wounds.Moreover, Kismat Baig’s funeral prayer would be offered today.