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2010

The Mid Term Elections in USA

By Qaisar Sultan

The midterm elections in the USA changed the political landscape for next two years. The Republican Party got the majority in the congress and closed the gap in the senate. The pendulum has swung back towards more conservative mode; smaller government and lower taxes. It is not a complete defeat of liberalism; but it is a short setback. The majority of working class in America feels that they should have decent life style; there should be high paying jobs, good housing, good health programs and education. These social programs require money that is mainly acquired through taxation on American people.Read More »The Mid Term Elections in USA

Pakistan National Savings Orgainsation to go high-tech next year

By Jawwad Rizvi

LAHORE: The National Savings Organisation (NSO) will introduce Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and a modernised website by next year, the NSO chief said on Friday.
“The savers will be able to operate their accounts from anywhere in the world,” said Zafar Sheikh, Director General NSO while speaking at the directors conference.
“It will also help us tap the savings of non-resident Pakistanis who get meagre returns on their money invested abroad.”
He said the focus of the organisation was on improving infrastructure with latest automated systems. Read More »Pakistan National Savings Orgainsation to go high-tech next year

UK visa system ‘may discriminate against Pakistanis’

LONDON: The British agency responsible for monitoring immigration may be discriminating against Pakistanis in the way it hands out visas, a report by the independent chief inspector said Thursday. John Vine, who oversees the work of the UK Border Agency, found that its staff were making it more difficult for people to enter Britain from Pakistan than from Gulf states such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Dubai.Read More »UK visa system ‘may discriminate against Pakistanis’

Honda Atlas also increases car prices from November-2010

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By Moonis Ahmed

KARACHI: Making yen’s appreciation versus rupee the main reason, Honda Atlas Cars has raised the prices of its cars by Rs 30,000 on different models, Daily Times learnt on Thursday.

Honda City manual’s price after this increase has jumped to Rs 1,325,000 as compared to Rs 1,290,000 previously. The prices of Honda City automatic have gone up to Rs 1,456,000 as compared to Rs 1,426,000. It is pertinent to mention that a day earlier Indus Motors Company had also made an increase of Rs 29,000 on some of its Corolla models. Read More »Honda Atlas also increases car prices from November-2010

LAHORE: Cell phone balance ‘crucial’ in unbalanced society

Not only youngsters, but people belonging to all age brackets and from all segments of society have developed the need to always having balance in their cell phones, irrespective of their finances. Cigarettes and movies were the ‘addiction’ of youngsters a few years back, but the new ‘thing’ that has been occupying their time is cell phones and with it the necessity of having balance in it. Calling, sending messages (sms), subscribing to different services including ring tones, Internet, jokes, news alerts consume the cell phone balance of the general public. In this scenario, people who could afford to have a decent amount in their cellular service accounts would obviously have balance, but the ones with meager incomes, Read More »LAHORE: Cell phone balance ‘crucial’ in unbalanced society

Slip and Sliding Away-By Qaisar Sultan

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One of the defining questions regarding the future of democracy in Pakistan is: Have we arrived to an impasse that may require the Hobbesian tradition of controlling disorder and chaos through a Leviathan, an absolute power- I am not suggesting unalterable idea of a military ruler. There is a breakdown of authority; and anarchy has taken hold of the roots of the state. The interests of the individuals and groups have superseded the viability of the country’s survival. Though we cannot ignore the minimalist ideals and practices of democracy; we are faced with the collapse of governance, accountability and fair representation of the will of people. The Lockean view of liberal democracy, ideally and Read More »Slip and Sliding Away-By Qaisar Sultan

The love of the loudspeaker

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By Hussain H Zaidi

 When the khatib of a mosque was asked what in his opinion constituted the most useful invention of science, his reply was “the loudspeaker”. If the same question were put to any other khatib, his answer would be the same.
In our society, there is a special relationship between a khatib and the loudspeaker so much so that it is difficult to think of the former without the latter. Just as a soldier needs to be a good shooter, a khatib must be a good speaker. And one can hardly be a good speaker without being adept at using the loudspeaker.Read More »The love of the loudspeaker

Indus Motors increases Toyota car prices from Nov-2010

By Moonis Ahmed

KARACHI: One of the auto manufacturers has raised car prices up to 2 percent on its different models following hike in Japanese currency Yen, which is now at a 15-year high against major currencies, Daily Times learnt Tuesday.

Indus Motor Company’s spokesman in a statement said that the retail prices of some Corolla variants including XLI and GLI models have been raised by Rs 29,000, which translates into a 2 percent increase; however there will be no change in Altis price. After this price hike the cost of Corolla XLI with an increase of Rs 29,000 has gone up to Rs 1,354,000 as compared to Rs 1,325,000. Similarly the price of Corolla GLI now stands at Rs 1,479,000 as compared to Rs 1,450,000 previously. Read More »Indus Motors increases Toyota car prices from Nov-2010

OBAMA-A MESSENGER OF PEACE?

ALI SUKHANVER

There is a clear difference between traveling and wandering. Traveling is meaningful and wandering is meaningless. The US president Barrak Obama is traveling to India somewhere in the mid of this month. According to the Indian media reports, this visit is chiefly aimed at improving economic and defence related relations between the two countries but the neighbouring countries like China, Iran and Pakistan are looking at this visit from a different point of view. They are taking this visit as a warning from USA that these countries must not underestimate the Read More »OBAMA-A MESSENGER OF PEACE?

Politics of energy

ayyab Siddiqui  Pakistan’s energy crisis is assuming alarming proportions, with no immediate solution in sight. Pakistan entered into negotiations with Iran and India on the IPI gas pipeline project in the mid-1990s. After inordinate delays, the agreement was finally signed on March 16 in Istanbul. India had earlier walked out of the talks. Under the agreement, Pakistan will receive 750 million CMFD (computational multiphase fluid dynamics) of gas per day by the middle of 2015 for the next 25 years. The total cost of the project is estimated at $7.4 billion.
The agreement had hardly been signed when US special envoy Richard Holbrooke reiterated US opposition to any deal with Iran in view of Washington’s standoff with Tehran on the nuclear issue. As an alternative, the US offered to assist Pakistan in obtaining liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electricity from Tajikistan via Afghanistan, within four years.Read More »Politics of energy