The Express Tribune Newsletter:June 9, 2012

Today's Headlines   Black Friday in Peshawar: Bomb tears through crowded bus, 19 dead Riaz Ahmed A powerful bomb ripped through a bus in suburban Peshawar, killing 19 people, including six women, and injuring nearly three dozen. Ensuring transparency: SC wants voting in polls made compulsory Our Correspondents Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the apex court on Friday granted legislation powers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure transparent polls in the country. India pours cold water on Siachen talks Aditi Phadnis Virtually dismissing overtures made by Pakistan for a peaceful resolution of the Siachen issue, Indian Defence Minister AK Antony on Friday cautioned India against expecting any breakthrough when defence secretaries meet in Islamabad later in June. Budget: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa govt presents pragmatic budget Manzoor Ali / Farooq Tirmizi For a party battling for its political life in an election year, the Awami National Party included, surprisingly, little populist spending in the Rs303 billion K-P budget for fiscal  year 2013.   Business Monetary policy: Interest rate left unchanged at 12% Our Correspondents The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), while stressing the need for fundamental reforms to turn around the economy, has kept the benchmark interest rate – called the policy rate – unchanged at 12% in the face of high inflation and unchecked government borrowing from banks. Planning Commission: Body steers clear of LNG import project Zafar Bhutta The liquefied natural gas (LNG) import project has hit a stumbling block as the Planning Commission has refused to extend blind support and asked the government to hire an independent consultant to assess the feasibility of the $30 billion project before moving ahead. _______________________________________________ Sports Europe tour: Pakistan aim to make Ipoh amends Our Correspondents The Pakistan hockey team, following a dismal bottom-place finish in the Azlan Shah Cup is hoping for a quick turnaround on the training tour of Europe that the team is scheduled to leave for today. Wild-card takes Pakistan to London's pools Our Correspondents Pakistan swimmers will travel to London for this year's Olympics after the sport's governing body Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) gave Israr Hussain and Anum Bandey wild cards based on their performance at the World Championships in Shanghai last year. _______________________________________________ Life & Style Truck art: A slow ride Hani Taha While truck art has become a hot design commodity gracing fashion runways and receiving international acclaim, there are only five shops stocking most of the truck art wares in the handicraft bazaar inside Zainab Market's eclectic lanes. 'Lack of brickbats would have surprised me' Our Correspondents Actor and producer Aamir Khan says he would have been extremely surprised if he didn't receive criticism for the issues he highlights on his debut TV show "Satyamev Jayate". _______________________________________________

Opinion The need to analyse past events Ajmal Kamal The 20,000-foot mountain Salman Rashid Change, a far cry... Amina Jilani Modern-day gladiators Salman Masood Our television justice system Farrukh Khan Pitafi   Blogs Game on: When Jordan flew without wings Salman Qureshi Al Libi's death: Another milestone in war against terror Ali Mehdi Stop the war Talal Khan Qaimkhani Rehman Malik: One passport and ministry short Sufiyan Rana  Poll Do you believe in horoscopes? No (85%, 495 Votes)  Yes (15%, 88 Votes)  Total Voters: 583 Links Contact us Tribune on Facebook Tribune on Twitter About us RSS Feed Subscribe to the Paper Careers Copyrights Jobs Classifieds

 

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The Express Tribune Newsletter: June 08, 2012

Today's Headlines Arsalan Chaudhry case: Chief Justice detaches self from bench Azam Khan Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has decided to distance himself from a case pertaining to a financial scandal involving his son, Dr Arsalan Iftikhar. Graduation ceremony: 14 killed in blast outside Quetta seminary Our Correspondent The city of Quetta, plagued by sectarian violence and a separatist insurgency, suffered a deadly attack outside a seminary on Thursday, which left 14 people, including five children, dead and more than 48 others wounded. Kohistan 'killings': Condemned women alive, social workers tell court Our Correspondent A group of Kohistani women who were allegedly sentenced to death for mingling with men and singing at a village wedding are alive and well, the Supreme Court was told on Thursday. Dempsey voices Pakistan frustrations over Haqqani network inaction Huma Imtiaz US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey says that there are certain issues that they have still not been able to find common ground on with Pakistan as relations remain in limbo.   Business Divided we stand: Sindh distances itself from CNG protest Zafar Bhutta / Farhan Zaheer / Shahram Haq Second day into the strike, CNG representatives in Sindh decided to call off the strike after assurance from the petroleum secretary while All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA), the country's largest association, vowed to continue the shutter-down strike. Cutting out the middle man: PASSCO struggles to overcome inefficiency Shahram Haq It was founded to create an efficient domestic market for agricultural commodities, and occasionally correct market failures. Instead, the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) has become little more than a highly inefficient conduit for delivering subsidies to farmers, a task at which most farmers allege it fails. _______________________________________________ Sports Aisam, Rojer sent packing from another semi-final by the Bryan brothers Web Desk Pakistan's top seeded tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer crashed out of the Roland-Garros men's doubles semi-finals in Paris on Thursday. 1st ODI: Sri Lanka Gul-dozed Our Correspondents A superb bowling performance followed by a disciplined run-chase helped Pakistan register a rain-affected six-wicket win over Sri Lanka and draw first blood in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series. _______________________________________________ Life & Style Truck art: A slow ride Hani Taha While truck art has become a hot design commodity gracing fashion runways and receiving international acclaim, there are only five shops stocking most of the truck art wares in the handicraft bazaar inside Zainab Market's eclectic lanes. Ali Zafar: Climbing up the ladder Hani Taha If there's one thing Sultana Siddiqui, the CEO of Hum TV, has perfected, it is the art of performance. As expected, when her company held a press conference recently to announce the fourth instalment of their Bridal Couture Week (BCW ), to be held in Karachi from April 13-15 showcasing the work of 19 designers, there was obviously rhythm, dance and festivity surrounding the whole affair. It was quite fitting really since weddings in this part of the world are all about theatrical extravaganza. _______________________________________________

Opinion Really now? Kamran Shafi Not just Haqqani's spouse Ayesha Siddiqa An honour killing in India Avirook Sen Wiping the windscreen Madeeha Ansari Ivan is now the good boy Anwer Mooraj   Blogs Rehman Malik: One passport and ministry short Sufiyan Rana Saudi official vs ASF: Who should apologise? Jalal Awan Dolly bigmouth: Thumbs down for vulgartainment Arsalan Muhammad Are journalists allowed to be pampered? Hadi Taha   Poll Panetta says the September 11 perpetrators are in Pakistan's tribal areas. Do you agree? No (50%, 381 Votes)  Yes (50%, 375 Votes)  Total Voters: 756 Links Contact us Tribune on Facebook Tribune on Twitter About us RSS Feed Subscribe to the Paper Careers Copyrights Jobs Classifieds

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The Express Tribune Newsletter: June 7, 2012

Today's Headlines   Constitution provides for trichotomy of power: PM APP Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said the democratic system in Pakistan was strengthened due to politics of reconciliation and consensus building pursued by the PPP government and its coalition partners. 'Protecting the Constitution': SC issues notices to speaker, PM, ECP in contempt case Our Correspondent Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in response to the petitions filed against the speaker's ruling in the premier's contempt case. CJP's directives: Women activists arrive in Kohistan to find facts Our Correspondent   While the Khyber-Pakthunkhwa chief secretary failed to produce the five girls before the Supreme Court, the chief justice sent a fact-finding mission comprising women activists to visit the Peech Bela union council of Kohistan. Conflict of interest: Amidst objections, CJ opens case against son Azam Khan   For the first time in the country's judicial history, a son was summoned to the apex court by his father to probe a scandal that threatened the latter's integrity. Business Onto the bandwagon: Bangladesh decides to join TAPI gas pipeline project Zafar Bhutta Bangladesh, powered by its economic growth, has decided to join the $7.5 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, which enjoys the backing of the United States and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In dire straits: Economic situation termed 'scary' Our Correspondents For a handful of people who can deliver a speech in English on fiscal policy using a PowerPoint presentation, the last two weeks have been very busy. Be it pre-budget seminars or post-budget briefings held to influence the ensuing debate over the Finance Bill in parliament, one can expect the same old, familiar speakers to show up on nearly all such occasions. _______________________________________________ Sports French Open: Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi storm into mixed doubles final Web Desk Sania Mirza and mixed doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi advanced into the final of the Roland-Garros 2012 mixed doubles finals. ODI series: Misbah's men look to start afresh Our Correspondents With little separating the two teams after the two-match Twenty20 series, marred by a poor batting display, Pakistan will look to continue their impressive record in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Sri Lanka when the two sides meet in the first game in Pallekele today. _______________________________________________ Life & Style Humaima Malick enters B-town Saadia Qamar Model-turned-actor Humaima Malick, who rose to fame with Shoaib Mansoor's Bol last year, is now set to make her entry into Bollywood with a role in action-thriller Sher. Carpets: Get on the floor Momina Sibtain Today luxury and affluence is plastered on the walls in the form of art work; exquisite, and often rare, paintings and tapestries are the focus of interior decoration. However, there was a time when the floors of houses were the most beguiling feature of a residence. _______________________________________________

Opinion Pakistan and its massive tax problem Saad Hafiz Populist to some extent: Budget 2012-13 Dr Pervez Tahir Why over-egg the pudding? Tariq Fatemi On the Turkish model Arif Rafiq Brazil and Pakistan Imtiaz Gul   Blogs Kidnapping culture: They show no remorse Jahanzeb Effendi Visa restrictions: Who draws lines around countries? Chintan Modi Sabermetrics: The art of numbers in sports Samee Zahid Will the Tsunami kill orthodox politics? Adeel Ahmed   Poll Pakistan's foreign ministry has said drone attacks are "illegal." Do you agree? No (24%, 148 Votes) Yes (76%, 457 Votes) Total Voters: 605 Links Contact us Tribune on Facebook Tribune on Twitter About us RSS Feed Subscribe to the Paper Careers Copyrights Jobs Classifieds

 

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