History of United States of America

History of United States of America

Discovery, Settlements and Independence:

This roughly two and a half centuries old nation got independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and emerged as superpower in the world after the tragic downfall of Russia at the hands of Afghan fighters. However, in one way or the other, cold war still continues between the two most influential countries of the world which often seem to be in an open row over the international affairs. Concerning the Europeans’ arrival in the United States (also known as the US, the USA, the United States of America, America, or simply, the States), it was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, who was an Italian navigator, explorer and colonizer. As the four cross Atlantic voyages of Columbus were sponsored and patronized by the Spanish Catholic Monarchs, his discovery of the New World and the establishment of permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the colonization of the land by Spain. Similarly, the English, French and other European colonizers started inhabiting various island archipelagos and mainland areas of new land with promising prospects. Here it is worth mentioning that the lands of northern and southern Americas were first ever inhabited by the Asians, approximately 13,000 years ago or earlier than that.

Recognition and Constitution:

Though the Americans declared their independence as early as 1776, the American Revolutionary War, fought between Great Britain and the United States and her allies, continued till 1783 when the latter was officially recognized by the former through the Treaty of Paris. Likewise, the other combatant nations like the Dutch Republic, Spain and France recognized the independence of the country through the agreements of the Peace of Paris in the same year. However, the constitution of the country could not be adopted till September 17, 1787, which was later on ratified by the conventions of eleven states in 1788, and it ultimately went into effect on March 4, 1789. Till this time, the system of the government was run by the Articles of Confederation which went into effect in 1777 and were replaced by the United States Constitution after about eleven years

American Civil War and Reconstruction:

Immediately after securing independence from the European rulers, the juvenile nation encountered an intense internal issue of slavery. The states that were initially entering the Union were alternatively free and the slave states. As a consequence of mutual tension between the states, there broke out a civil war in the country in 1860, which became gradually widespread. They had contradiction over their representativeness in the Senate and the House of Representatives and were confronting over the issues of slavery, whether it should be expanded or restricted. On the other hand, the US federal government was against the formation of the Confederate States of America and armed forces were called for intervention. In this deadliest ever conflict of the American History, well over half a million citizens had to do away with their lives.

World Wars and the Great Depression:

The history has also witnessed the active participation of America in the two world wars, the World War I and the World War II, fought between 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1944, respectively. In the first of these wars, the US joined the allied forces against the Central Powers in 1917. After the end of this war, the following decade of 1920 witnessed widespread growth and national prosperity. However, with the end of the Roaring Twenties, there ensued the decade of the Great Depression in 1930s. The victory of the US and its allies in the Second World War, paved the way for the country for direct interference in the international politics. In this post war era, there was also witnessed profound industrial growth and mega scale technological revolution. In her struggle to become super power in the world, the country finally achieved the set goal in the last decade of 20th century with the ultimate defeat of the ex-superpower, Russia.

Painful Facts about the US:

America always claims to be the sole defender and propagator of human rights in the global scenario, but many bitter facts reveal that she is only concerned with her interests and inflicts brutality on the humanity in general for the ultimate fulfillment of these motives. Ernest Hemingway, a Nobel Prize winning American author and journalist, was severely mentally disturbed by his country’s offensive against humanity in the world wars. Here follows a brief description of some of these painstaking truths about the superpower of the world.

BY: FAHEEMJAMAL.BLOGSPOT.COM

Accountability Court Formally Begins Corruption Trial in Sharif Family's.

Accountability Court Formally Begins Corruption Trial in Sharif Family's. 

An accountability court on Wednesday formally began trial proceedings against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired captain Muhammad Safdar in three corruption references filed against the Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The prosecution's first witness, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan's (SECP) joint registrar, Sidra Mansoor recorded her statement in the Avenfield flats reference as the trial proceedings began.

Earlier, before the trial began, the three accused reached the Federal Judicial Complex amid tight security.

The court began proceedings against the three accused even though the Islamabad High Court (IHC) admitted Sharif's petition challenging the accountability court's refusal to club three separate references against him and fixed Nov 20 as the date for the next hearing.

This is the second time the former PM moved the IHC to club the three references. Earlier, the high court had accepted a petition and ordered on Nov 3 that the matter should be decided by the trial court. However, Accountability Judge Bashir had rejected the plea on Nov 8.

Sharif’s counsel sought a joint trial, arguing that the main allegation in all three corruption references was the same — that the assets under the names of Hussain and Hassan Nawaz were actually owned by Nawaz Sharif.

He pleaded that the three references had been supplemented by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report, and six of the nine witnesses were common in references 18 and 19, while two out of 10 witnesses were common in all three corruption references.

The petition said the accountability court’s order was based on a gross misreading of the “facts” on which it was purportedly based.

Earlier, the accountability court judge had held that the prosecution or the accused could not insist on conducting a joint trial of offences, even if they were similar. The accused could not justify the clubbing of all three references for a joint trial in the circumstances of the cases, the written order had said.

The accountability judge had said the request for a single trial had been made in view of the convenience of the accused, adding that if joint charges were framed, the facts of each case could get mixed up. Moreover, the offences alleged in the three corruption references were not of the same kind.

NAB REFERENCES

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court on July 28 had directed NAB to file references against Nawaz and his children in six weeks in the accountability court and directed the trial court to decide the references within six months.

The Supreme Court also assigned Justice Ijazul Ahsan a supervisory role to monitor the progress of the accountability court proceedings.

NAB had filed three references on Sept 8 against Sharif and his family, and another reference against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The three references against the Sharif family are related to the Flagship Investment Ltd, the Avenfield (London) properties and Jeddah-based Al-Azizia Company and Hill Metal Establishment.

The former premier and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all three NAB references, while Maryam and husband Safdar have been named only in the Avenfield reference.

This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Mohammad Ali Jinnah

Mohammad Ali Jinnah

If Louis Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru or Mahatma Gandhi had been aware in April 1947 of one extraordinary secret, the division threatening India might have been avoided. That secret was sealed onto the gray surface of a piece of a film, a film that could have upset the Indian political equation and would almost certainly have changed the course of Asian History. Yet so precious was the secret that that film harbored that even the British C.I.D., one of the most effective investigative agencies in the world was ignorant of its existence.

The heart of the film was two dark circles no bigger than a pair of Ping Pong balls. Each was surrounded by an irregular white border like the corona of the sun eclipsed by moon. Above them, a galaxy of little white spots stretched up the film’s gray surface towards the top of the thoracic cage. That film was an X-RAY, the X-ray of a pair of human lungs: tuberculosis was devouring the lungs pictured in the X-ray. The lungs depicted on them belonged to the rigid and inflexible man who had frustrated Louis Mountbatten’s effort to preserve India’s unity. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the one unmovable obstacle between the Viceroy and Indian unity, was living under a sentence of death.

When his friend Dr. Patel revealed this sad news to Jinnah, he received an impassive face of an old man, who was not a normal patient. It hurted when lungs were being eroded with every breath of a cold Indian salty air in Bombay, but something deep in his heart was more painful than this fatal reality that he has been blessed with death ticket by incurable cancer of TB. “Nothing” Jinnah observed his verdict as recorded by Dr Patel in May 1946 at Bombay’s Grand Railroad station, “except grave is going to turn me from the task I have been given by Moslems of India at this critical juncture of history.”

So as promised by his friend Dr Patel, no one got any hint about his criticality and pain. He never shared pain; he never showed any ridicule event due to his shaking lungs in public, since his will was unshakeable that commands his posture in great fury of debates with two enemies at same time. “Speed,” Jinnah had told Mountbatten in their maiden discussion of India’s future, was, the essence of the contract.”

It is quite easy to understand the importance of an old man in this constitutional war, who was a man of unassailable personal honesty and financial integrity, his canons were sound law and sound procedures. He never used classic politician’s techniques to win publicity, unlike Ghandhi and Nehru he never visited any jail for any breach of law of land whatever that was. Stanley Wolpert could not find better words to inscribe a historical preface about his quarter century research on one of the greatest men of history than
“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three. ……Quid-I-Azam was one of recent history’s most charismatic leaders….” [2]

Evenly charming personality among women of high prestige in India he never tumbled throughout his life. “Tall and stately,” wrote poetess Sarojini Naidu as she met him first in 1906 on the occasion of his joining Indian National Congress in annual session of Calcutta, “but thin to the point of emaciation, languid and luxurious of habit, Mohammad Ali Jinnah’ s attenuated form is a deceptive sheath of a spirit of exceptional vitality and endurance. Some what formal and fastidious, and little aloof and imperious of manner, the calm hauteur of his accustomed reserve but masks, for those who know him, a naïve and eager humanity, an intuition quick and tender as a woman’s, a humor gay and winning as a child’s –preeminently rational and practical, discreet and dispassionate in his estimate and acceptance of life, the obvious sanity and serenity of his worldly wisdom effectually disguise a shy and splendid idealism which is of the very essence of the man”

Jinnah, due to his personal skills and energy in his words, he was permitted to speak in the council’s meeting in 1912 though he was not the formal member of Muslim League. On pressing demands from Syed Wazir Hussain (1874-1947), permanent secretary of league, he agreed to join Muslim League conditionally. [4] At that time, he was just more than a lawyer, an elected member of the council from Bombay Muslim seat, and there could be no question any hidden agenda that Jinnah could had manipulated.

One cannot negate this fact that in his early political career, he was the preacher of unity among Muslims and Hindus. And he tried for their reconciliation and well he was the only man who succeeded in his efforts to bring two banks of river together, and it is history that this was the first and last attempted effort termed as Lucknow Pact.

An insight reveals that at that time Muslim League was emerging as new political force in India, and it was quite logical for Jinnah to blend these two forces against an alien ruler. And compromise actually made both parties at ease. If for a moment, both nations could had tried a joint venture for independence, things would had been shaped in a different way. But this was the case for Pakistan, since both parties actually failed for any reconciliation and both opted for their own destination. As a matter of fact, Congress shared a big portion in this context without any prejudice of reality as events especially partition of Bengal, Hindi Urdu controversy etc. And as a shrewd lawyer he always believed in a constitutional way to win the game. He warned Ghandi in Khalifaat movement episode about the blood stained consequences for Indians, as he smelled and openly declared that Indian Nation is too naïve for such a movement, whatever the silver linings are observed by the historian, miseries of Muslims simply out numbered them on any rational ground as predicted by Jinnah. It is not the question of being on the side of Muslims or Hidus, it is a simple question of your farsightedness, and Jinnah did what he thought right and what he stood aloof and did not jump into the bandwagon of publicity like Ghandhi. History recorded that Jinnah never made a mistake, a meticulous, analytical and a rational lawyer was getting tough on British day by day.

Saudi prince killed in helicopter crash near Yemen border

A helicopter carrying a high-ranking Saudi prince and other government officials crashed on Sunday in the kingdom's south near the border with Yemen, reportedly killing all eight people aboard.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said early on Monday that the crash happened in Saudi Arabia's Asir province as the official took part in a tour of local projects near Abha, some 840 kilometres southwest of Riyadh.

Security officials gave no cause for the crash, but said a search of the wreckage was underway.

The Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai, reported that the crash killed Prince Mansour bin Murquin and seven others. Prince Mansour was the deputy governor of Asir province.

In Yemen, Houthi officials offered no immediate comment on the crash, while its Al-Masirah satellite news channel reported only that the crash had occurred.

However, the crash comes after soon Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile near Riyadh's international airport after it was fired from Yemen, in an escalation of the kingdom's war against Huthi rebels.

The missile attack was the first aimed by the rebels at the heart of the Saudi capital, underscoring the growing threat posed by the raging conflict in Yemen.

The attack highlighted how the war in Yemen is increasingly spilling across the border since a Saudi-led coalition began its military intervention there in 2015.

Saudi Arabia led the intervention to prop up the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Huthis forced him into exile.

Hoping for a quick victory against what it saw as Iranian expansionism in its backyard, Riyadh has so far been unable to remove the Huthis from Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Prince Mansour

Prince Mansour was the son of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence service director and a one-time crown prince of the kingdom.

Prince Muqrin was removed as crown prince in April 2015 by his half brother King Salman in favour of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a counterterrorism czar and interior minister.

But in June, King Salman also ousted Prince Mohammed in favour of installing his 32-year-old son, the now-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as first in line to the throne.

All of these moves have cemented the young crown prince's position in power.

Further solidifying his hold was the arrests late Saturday of dozens of the country's most powerful princes, military officers, influential businessmen and government ministers in a purported anti-corruption campaign.