Pecker is a key witness in the case against the former US president, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payment
News from India and Pakistan - the expat heavyweights, so to say - therefore, assumes almost indispensable proportions. News about Congress president Rahul Gandhi hugging Indian PM Narendra Modi or Pakistan PM Imran Khan affectionately chauffeuring the Saudi crown prince become highlights of the day for local media here. Bilateral entertainment shows get wholesale attention from UAE media, and sporting rivalries - especially on the cricketing field - are par for the course.
It, however, gets knotty in the newsroom when the two nuclear-armed nations raise the ante of rhetoric and war of words. Following the dastardly attack in Pulwama in Indian Kashmir, emotions are charged on both sides of the border, and allegations and counter-allegations between governments are flying thick and fast. This exactly must have been the intention of the perpetrators of this despicable and cowardly act - to get the neighbours away from constructive dialogue. The media in the respective countries also seems to be going in a tizzy. Some news channels seem to have declared war between the neighbours.
Whatever the compulsions of the media outlets of those countries may be, the geographic distance affords the UAE media a vantage position from which to see that this charged atmosphere and, god forbid, a military escalation cannot be in either nation's favour. We at Khaleej Times take pride in the fact that we are a neutral newspaper in a neutral country. The KT newsroom, manned as it is by a mix of Indians, Pakistanis, Emiratis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Brits, Americans, Egyptians, Syrians, Mexicans, Kiwis, Lebanese, Singaporeans, Sudanese and Ugandans, remains a passionate, dynamic, diversely opinionated, and a fertile ground for purposeful debate and deliberations. The arguments we have (oh, we do) are measured, seasoned and based on firmly held principles.
Pecker is a key witness in the case against the former US president, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payment
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