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August 2010

ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission desperate for funds to save its scholars abroad

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Govt wants universities to use own resources

By Mehtab Haider

After making no payment of allocated billions of rupees for development funds in the last several months, the government has now asked the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to come up with a business plan such as utilising hundreds of acres of prime land lying idle at the disposal of universities to run educational institutions on modern lines.

Instead of focusing only on construction of huge buildings, the government is asking the HEC and its subordinate universities to devise a roadmap for improving skills and training of professors and lecturers as well as developing faculties of crucial subjects up to the desired mark.
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More dams could have reduced devastation in Pakistan

Sultan M Hali

Pakistan is still reeling under the impact of the recent spates of devastating floods, which have wreaked havoc across the country. More than 20 million people having been affected, the death toll has risen over 1600 and an outbreak of epidemic, which may cause more than 3.5 million children’s lives at risk, is causing nightmares to the people. With communication infrastructure having been devastated and schools, colleges, homes, factories and workplaces having been washed away by the deluge, it will take years and billions of dollars to rebuild the lives of people. On top of it, the tottering economy, little or no help from foreign donors and the unabated threat from terror attacks, it will be difficult for Pakistan to meet the challenges alone. Along with the sense of impending doom, there is the realization that we have been let down by successive governments, who failed in the task of water management, falling prey to political whims and deferring the decision to build more dams. The notion that flood water caused so much devastation and the surplus water in a country, which till recently was crying for more water, will see the waters rush to the seas wasted and unutilized for energy irrigation. Rivers and creeks overflowed inundating the entire areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), swamping villages and towns in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan and creating real emergency for the people of Pakistan who were least prepared to deal with such an extraordinary challenge. Incessant rains not only brought fresh waves of gushing water but also caused landslides killing many people in Northern Pakistan with districts of Skardu and Hangu most affected. The awesome deluges razed buildings of thickly populated areas leaving thousands marooned and homeless. The communication infrastructure being the worst hit impeded the relief operation. International friends and donors including UN Secretary General made emotional statements but their response remained sluggish and paltry. The people of Pakistan are optimistic that relief effort will gear up soon and their needs will be met. Read More »More dams could have reduced devastation in Pakistan

LAHORE: 11 government colleges have zero-percent passing rates in BA/BSc

* List includes colleges whose principals were suspended last year

* Failing colleges are hubs for student union politics

By Adnan Lodhi

The passing percentage of around 11 government colleges in the province in the BA/BSc annual examinations was zero percent, while that of around 70 colleges in Punjab was below 20 percent.

Three of Lahore’s colleges are also on the list of 11 colleges with zero percent passing rates, while 10 of the city’s colleges showed a below than 20 percent passing rate.
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Indian man re-launches East India Company

London—An Indian entrepreneur is relaunching the East India Company with the opening of a store in London Saturday, after buying the remnants of the British trading giant that once ruled much of the subcontinent.

The company took control of large swathes of the region during the 1700s as it expanded rapidly on the back of its trading activities, before power over India was formally handed to London in the 19th century.

But the firm, which had grown so huge it boasted its own currency and army, was dissolved in 1874. A tiny rump of the company lived on, however, consisting of its trading name and a small tea and coffee concern.Read More »Indian man re-launches East India Company

Globalization & Neo-Liberal Work Force: A Gendered Analysis of Perpetual In-Equalities

By Bushra Zulfiqar

 Globalization has yielded a series of intensified, entrenched and complex processes of economic, social and spatial restructuring of the world. It has differentiated outcomes for people depending upon their geography, social, spatial and ideological contexts. Analysing globalization stretches over multiple layers of economic, social, cultural and political realms. It is not possible to understand the global processes of economic and spatial restructuring without looking at the ways in which it has effected gendered constructs, dynamics and subjectivities. Globalization has indeed led to the re-organization of intimate relations i.e. organization of relations between people, inter and intra household dynamics, power relations and decision making processes, access and control over resources, responsibilities of monetary contribution and domestic labour. This essay will try to chart out the shifts in labour arrangements as a result of contemporary economic, social and spatial restructuring and try to identify the ways it has transformed the organization of intimate relations regarding gender roles, relations and subjectivities.      Read More »Globalization & Neo-Liberal Work Force: A Gendered Analysis of Perpetual In-Equalities

RAGING WATERS IN PAKISTAN

ALI SUKHANVER

Hard times not only boost up the morale of a nation but also bring the distressed people closer. Disasters and calamities test the valour and determination of a nation. Wars, earth quakes, floods and famines give birth to a new generation.  Since the 9/11 incident, the Pakistani nation has been passing through an endless series of repeated trials and tribulations. For the people of Pakistan, life is no more a bed of roses but they are continuously struggling hard to change this pathetic scenario. In spite of countless hurdles and endless obstructions, it is next to impossible to find even a single person in a state of depression and dejection, here in Pakistan. Be it the terrifying wave of terrorism or the sketch of the new world order drawn by the western authorities, the horrible earth quake of 2005 or the ever worst energy crisis ; the people of Pakistan are always in a state of exemplary fortitude and determination. The recent cruel series of rains and flood is no doubt the toughest trial for every one in Pakistan but you could find no feeling of despair and hopelessness even among those who have lost all they had. ‘Water water every where but not a single drop to drink’; that is the situation the people of Pakistan are facing now-a-days but they know that disasters test the valor and gallantry of a nation. So they are doing their best to prove them an undefeatable nation with all their courage and determination. After handing over the overflowing water to the sea, the rivers would again return to the normal but the consequences would be no doubt very deep rooted and painfully long lasting.Read More »RAGING WATERS IN PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD: PTCL launches EVO 3G Nitro wireless broadband

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has launched EVO 3G Nitro, the fastest EVDO RevB wireless broadband with speeds up to 9.3mbps.

With this launch, Pakistan has become the first country in the world to provide this service commercially. EVO 3G Nitro has revolutionised the three simple steps to High speed On-the-Go connectivity, Just Plug in—Click—Connect with its unprecedented speed of 9.3mbps on the downlink and up to 5.4mbps on the uplink based on 3G CDMA REV B technology.
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Are Saudis, Iranis not Pakistan’s friends anymore?

By Muhammad Akram

LAHORE: Except Kuwait, Turkey and the UAE, Pakistan has failed to receive any aid for its flood victims from any other Islamic country. The three countries have offered $5 million, $269,183 and $20,027 respectively, so far. While China with $1,479,290 and Sri Lanka with $26,667 are the only neighbouring countries that have come to the country’s aid.
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