Europe falls from grace in the eyes of the world

May 13, 2012

London, May 13: Europe and the EU have seen their influence around the world wane over the past 12 months due to the worsening financial crisis in the region, according to a BBC World Service Poll.

Just 48 per cent of people from around the world surveyed for the 2012 Country Ratings Poll said the EU had a “mostly positive” influence. In 2011 poll, 56 per cent rated the EU as a force for good.

While the EU has seen its reputation crash, China has risen remarkably during the same period. The survey shows that 50 per cent now rate China as a positive influence, up four points from 2011.

Sam Mountford, director, GlobeScan, which conducted the poll with Pipa, told Khaleej Times that Europe is no longer seen as “the bastion of stability” that it once was. “It's a remarkable shift but not all that surprising considering what's happened over the last year.”

At the other end of the scale, Iran and Pakistan were the two lowest-rated countries that featured in the survey. Last-place Iran was viewed to have a “mostly negative” influence by 55 per cent of respondents. Pakistan was looked at unfavourably by 51 per cent.

India recorded little change in 2012, keeping a 40 per cent positive view rating and a 27 per cent negative result, down one per cent.

The US, a country that had shown steady growth in the poll since 2007, saw its popularity wane this year. Positive views on US influence dropped one per cent from 2011 down to 47 while negative views climbed two points to 33.

The poll was conducted among 24,090 people who were asked to rate the influence of 16 countries and the EU as “mostly positive” or “mostly negative”.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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