Mirza spurns PPP-MQM reconciliation

KARACHI: Sindh’s former Senior Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza Friday said reconciliation by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was unacceptable to him.

His supporters in large number gave him warm reception as he arrived at Ghagar Gate from Interior Sindh. Addressing on the occasion, PPP’s firebrand leader stressed he came out to rid people of thieves, dacoits and extortionists.

Disfavoring PPP-MQM reconciliation, Mirza urged people to strengthen hands of President Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto.

When asked to react to the statement given by Mirza against him, Federal Interior Minister Rehman A. Malik declined to comment.

Talking to media at Women Jail, Karachi, Malik said, “I am not meddling with any of Sindh affairs.”

Every action in Karachi is undertaken after Sindh’s Chief Minister and Governor are taken into confidence, the federal minister added. TrendPK

Emma Stone talks confidence is beauty

TrendPK.com: Emma Stone is a rising star in Hollywood, and while she is definitely beautiful, she attributes it not to her looks but to confidence.

Stone may be making her mark in Hollywood, but it would have been a lot harder if she weren’t comfortable in her own skin, states People.

“Confidence is the only key. I know a lot of people who aren’t traditionally ‘beautiful’ — not symmetrical or perfect-bodied or perfect-skinned. But none of that matters because all that shines through is their confidence, humor and comfort with themselves,” Stone said about what really makes someone beautiful.

And it seems Stone has it all as she was also named a new face of Revlon.

US faces de-industrialization, joblessness

A serious warning that all is not well has come in the form of Friday s historic downgrade of its “AAA” credit rating by Standard & Poor, which was followed Monday by plunging global stock prices.

President Barack Obama said he heard the warning. “Our problems are imminently solvable. And we know what we have to do to solve them,” he said Monday, referring to the need to rein in massive US budget deficits.

He stressed his confidence in the US economy: “We continue to have the best universities, some of the most productive workers, the most innovative companies, the most adventurous entrepreneurs on Earth,” he said.
This patriotic statement, however, obscures some less pleasant details.

If, as Obama believes, investors around the globe still give the United States a “AAA” rating, the country must first retain its uncontested currency supremacy.
Supported by a domestic financial sector and the confidence of foreign central banks, the status of the dollar is virtually intact.

“The US economy has its own problems, that we highlighted with the downgrade,” said John Chambers, S&P s managing director and head of its sovereign ratings committee.

But he added that “the dollar will remain the key international reserve currency under any plausible scenario.”
Judging by its value, though, the dollar may be losing its luster. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its annual report on the US economy in July that the dollar is now at its lowest level in decades against the currencies of major trading partners.

One problem the United States faces is a loss of competitiveness, something Americans encounter every day as the vast majority of the products they consume bear the words, “Made in China.”
“They re really starting to worry that America has lost its competitive edge. Jobs are going overseas,” said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

According to the World Trade Organization, the US share of world exports for goods fell by 12.1 percent in 2000 to 8.4 percent in 2010. More than 10,000 factories have closed in the United States since 2003, the trade publication “Plant Closing News” reports.

The loss of manufacturing jobs, in turn, has helped open growing income gaps between college graduates and unskilled workers, between regions and between ethnic groups.

To be sure, the US economy is still the queen of the service sector, and of finance in particular.
In an interview with The New Republic in February, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he had no enthusiasm for

“trying to shrink the relative importance of the financial system in our economy as a test of reform, because we have to think about the fact that we operate in the broader world.”

IMF chief economist Simon Johnson called this a fundamental error. “It is a deeply disturbing vision, one that amounts to a huge, uninformed gamble with the future of the American economy,” he said, recalling the trials of Iceland and Ireland in their financial globalization.

Increasing the finance sector s influence is a way to mask an economy of debt, a main product of banks, say certain economists. And the financial crisis showed that credit can be harmful.

In the United States “you have a big private debt overhang, in this case households,” said economist Carmen Reinhart Saturday on the Bloomberg TV channel.

Asked what that means for the future, she said “stubborn unemployment issues” and “growth that is not on par with other recoveries.”

ICC seeks co-operation from international players after Haider threats

DUBAI: Cricket’s governing body on Tuesday called for more co-operation from international cricketers after Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider fled the team hotel claiming he had received death threats.

The 24-year-old Haider, who was with the Pakistan team to play South Africa, Monday fled to London without telling the team management and Anti-corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) of the threats.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said Haider’s case highlighted the importance of sharing corruption information.

“I think we have to build the confidence amongst the players that the right thing to do is to speak to the ACSU officials if they have got anything that they want to declare,” Lorgat said.

The ICC formed ACSU in 2001 a year after match-fixing scandals hit the game badly, ending in life bans on

India: K’taka speaker disqualifies 16 dissident lawmakers

Karnataka legislative assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah Monday disqualified 16 rebel legislators, including 11 of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and five independents, hours before the trust-vote.
‘Speaker has sent the disqualification letters to all the 16 rebel legislators individually informing them that they will not be allowed to vote in the confidence motion to be moved by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa,’ an official of the legislative secretariat reported. The speaker’s action comes in the wake of the dissident lawmakers withdrawing support to the 29-month-old first BJP government in the southern state Oct 6, expressing lack of confidence in the leadership of Yeddyurappa. The 11 disqualified BJP rebels are M.P. Renukacharya, Gopalakrishna Beluru, Anand Ansnotikar, Balachandra Jarkiholi, B.N. Sarvabhouma, Bharamgowda Kage, Y. Sampangi, G.N. Nanjundaswamy, M.V. Nagaraju, Shivan Gowda Nayak and H.S. Shankaralinge Gowda. The five independents are Shivaraj S. Tangadagi, Venkataramanappa, P.M. Narayana Swamy, D. Sudhakar and Gulihatti Shekar. Of the 16 disqualified rebels, eight, including three from the BJP and five independents, were ministers who were sacked recently for revolting against the leadership.

Sonakshi in Arbaaz’s next; won’t sign any other film till Dabangg’s release

Salman Khan who is taking a very keen interest in the Dabangg debutante Sonakshi Sinha’s career has personally advised her not to sign any more films until her first film is released. Which explains why Sonakshi has turned down lucrative offers from several big banners excluding a second film with Salman Khan.

The trailers for Sonakshi Sinha’s Dabangg went on air this week. Immediately, Sonakshi Sinha made an impact on many minds including Sanjay Leela Bhansali who wants to offer her a role. But Salman who has earlier played Christopher Columbus to the likes of Bhumika Chawla (Tere Naam), Zarine Khan (Veer) and of course Katrina Kaif (who was re-launched in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya ) has already blocked Sonakshi’s dates.

Says the pretty debutante, “Yes I am doing another film for Arbaaz Khan. But we haven’t decided on the subject and other details. All I know is, that’s the only film I’ve said yes to. Otherwise I’ll wait for Dabangg to be released before signing anything.”

Sonakshi is all praise for the way Salman treated her. “Why only Salman? Arbaaz and Sohail also looked after me like a family member. I’ve been so spoilt by them that I don’t know how I’ll work with other banners where I’d just have to be very professional in my dealings.”

Was she ever intimidated by Salman?

Sonakshi laughs, “Not at all. He’s a really chilled-out guy. If I didn’t have Salman and his brothers to look after me in my first film, I don’t know how I’d have gathered the confidence to take the plunge into acting.”

She says she will only do the films and roles that make her comfortable. “That is one thing I’m sure of. I won’t do anything that would embarrass me or my parents.”

Butt open to suggestions as England loom

LEEDS: Pakistan”s novice captain Salman Butt is happy for his players to keep offering him advice during their forthcoming series against England if it helps to build a united team.

Butt, in his first match as captain, led Pakistan to a three-wicket second Test win against Australia at Headingley here on Saturday — a victory that ended a record run of 13 straight Test defeats at the hands of the Aussies stretching back 15 years.

While Pakistan were in the field, several players could be seen wanting a word with their new skipper and, while some captains might see that as a challenge to their authority, 25-year-old opening batsman Butt was delighted.

“Being humans we are never happy, when you have advice you never want it and when you do want it you say ”nobody comes and gives it to me”,” Butt said.

“I”m very lucky. The best thing they (the players) are doing is they are reading the game, they are in the game.

“It”s not that I take all the advice, but it”s important for me that every player is in the game and thinking about the game.

“If I”m open to every man, even a youngster playing his first game, then that will mean he will believe in me. So to build a team, I think this is a very important thing to do.”

Pakistan just did enough to reach their victory target of 180 against Australia here at Headingley on Saturday, although they lost seven wickets before they were able to square a two-match series at 1-1.

Only a week earlier, Australia had thrashed Pakistan by 150 runs at Lord”s, a defeat that prompted Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi to quit Test cricket.

But teenager Mohammad Aamer, well supported by fellow seamers Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul, took advantage of overcast conditions at Headingley for a match.

Mani slams PCB over security ”delay”

LEEDS: A Pakistani who was once world cricket”s top administrator has accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of dragging its feet in the bid to restore international matches to the country.

Pakistan became a no-go area for cricket”s leading nations after an armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March last year killed eight people, as well as injuring seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach.

But Ehsan Mani, a Pakistani who was president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2003 to 2006, said the PCB”s failure to submit a report on the attack meant the necessary first step for restoring the confidence of the world cricket community in Pakistan had still to be taken.

“The PCB has yet to submit a report on the Lahore attacks to the ICC, and unless and until they do so teams will continue to refuse to tour Pakistan,” Mani told media.

“By not submitting the report, the PCB has not been able to form a strategy with the ICC and until the member boards analyse that report they will continue to hesitate when it comes to touring Pakistan,” said Mani, an accountant who was born in Pakistan but has long since settled in England.

Pakistan was due to stage matches in next year”s World Cup. But the attack on the Sri Lanka bus saw the tournament restricted to the three remaining Asian Test nations of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Even before the Lahore incident, the likes of Australia repeatedly refused to tour Pakistan, where thousands have died in a decade of conflict.

The security situation led Pakistan to play its recent ”home” series against Australia, which ended with a three-wicket second Test win for Pakistan at Headingley on Saturday, in England.

Kangaroos avoid series whitewash, beat Eng

LONDON: Australia avoided the possibility of a series whitewash by beating England by 78 runs in the fourth one-day international at The Oval on Wednesday.

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Kangaroos avoid series whitewash, beat Eng

Govt proposes law on media terror images

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers have proposed a code of conduct for the electronic media to restrict their graphic coverage of militants’ terror attacks, a government spokeswoman said Wednesday.

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Govt proposes law on media terror images

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