Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Express Tribune Newsletter: December 21, 2011

 

Today's Headlines

December 21, 2011

 

Whirlwind Sharif: 'Elections now – but not sponsored by military'
Saba Imtiaz

Nawaz Sharif humorously remarked to journalists on Tuesday: "I'm in form today. If they throw a bouncer at me, I will hit it outside the boundary" — and perhaps followed through on the cricketing analogy by actually managing to meet a jam-packed schedule on the day.
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National/City

Taliban is not an enemy of America: Biden
Our Correspondents
Vice President Joseph Biden said on Monday that the Taliban are not United States' (US) enemy — a statement later backed by the White House.      

Benevolence: Bureaucrats can now buy official cars, for peanuts
Shahbaz Rana
Toyota Corolla, 2006 model, well maintained. Asking price: Rs330,000. The offer above is not a fluke. It is made by the government to top bureaucrats, under its monetisation of transport facility policy recently approved by the prime minister.

Cabinet meeting: Railways, Steel Mills taken off the chopping block
Iftikhar Firdous
In a major blow to the economic liberals in government, the federal cabinet decided against the privatisation of eight of the largest state-owned companies, including Pakistan Steel Mills. 

Musharraf must answer for Benazir assassination: Malik
Zia Khan
It's been a bitterly cold winter in London. One of the city's current residents, former president Pervez Musharraf, can expect an even colder welcome on his planned return to Pakistan next month. 

Veena Malik, India in the line of fire
Abdul Manan
Some PPP members sat on Assembly Chambers steps in their socks as a way of protest on Tuesday but the highlight of the day remained Unification Bloc's criticism of Veena Malik and India.
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Business

Accountability in aid: World Bank downgrades anti-poverty programme
Shahbaz Rana
The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund seems to be losing momentum. The $250 million programme was recently downgraded by the World Bank in a report issued by the Washington-based lender's supervisory mission. 

AGP report: FBR creating hurdles in audit, inspection of taxes
Qaiser Butt
In two separate annual audit reports, the auditor general of Pakistan complained of bureaucratic inefficiency, saying the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) authorities were creating obstacles in the conduct of its audit. The audit reports were on direct and indirect taxes accounts of the federal board of revenue, for the audit year 2010-2011.
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Sports

Cricket: Defensive captains cannot last says Zaheer Abbas
Shahzada Usman
Former captain Zaheer Abbas has emphasised the need for aggressive captaincy in order to produce results over a long period of time and has said that Misbahul Haq should be more attacking in his approach, especially against a weak team like Bangladesh.  

'Nadir Magsi is Pakistan's Schumacher'
Bilal Memon
Nadir Magsi, a pioneer in promoting motorsports in Pakistan, has garnered praise after clinching the Jhal Magsi Desert Challenge 2011 in the Balochistan village on Sunday.
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Life & Style

'Send Veena Malik to hell' says Bal Thackeray
Our Correspondents
Bal Thackeray, head of the Hindu extremist party, Shiv Sena, has called for actor Veena Malik, along with other Pakistani artists working in India to be sent back, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. 

Rashid Sami: The common man's director
Saadia Qamar
Ask anyone about the good old days of Network Television Marketing (NTM) and they'll surely remember the soap opera "Jaal" and its villainous character Dr Farooq. But the man behind Dr Farooq's larger-than-life character is Rashid Sami — an actor, director and producer who has been involved in a range of versatile ventures for a long while.
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Opinion 

Nothing but democracy
Rasul Bakhsh Rais 

What the occupation of Wall Street means for Pakistan
Asif Akhtar 

10 things about memogate
Aakar Patel 

Anna Suvorova's Lahore: beloved city
Khaled Ahmed 

Is Iran the next US target?
Tariq Fatemi 

Blogs

Zulqarnain Haider: Cricketer, whistle-blower and hero
Noman Ansari 

Not with that thing on, sister
Novaira A

Banana cake with a Nutella twist
Daliah Merzaban 

Who let the dogs out?
Meiryum Ali 

Poll

In your opinion, should dual nationality holders be allowed to contest elections in Pakistan?

No (78%, 879 Votes)
Yes (22%, 247 Votes)
Total Voters: 1126

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