The Lucky One day

The first one day match between India and Pakistan turned out to be one of the most interesting ever. Not only was it one of Pakistan’s closest victories but there were several aspects that made the match one for the history books.

Turn of events: Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first. Pakistan began with an astounding bowling getting half of India’s team out before they could reach a hundred. However, things started to change once the Pakistani giant, Muhammad Irfan, took the ball. India started to gain momentum again. It was not long before they managed to earn two hundred and twenty seven runs. If that was not enough, Pakistan’s early batting was not exactly good. This could be seen when the first person to bat, Muhammad Hafeez was struck out on the first ball.

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US-Pak to discuss new CSF deal next year

The flow of US financial aid for the armed forces in the fight against terrorism has officially ended because Pakistan is reportedly not forwarding any pending bill to the US. However, the two sides will discuss a new mode of anti-terror funding next year.

According to sources, the pending bill under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) was to be submitted by the end of the year, but Pakistan is not billing the US for the expenses incurred on the war against terror.

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Pakistan in 2012: A year in review

The year 2012 was no less tumultuous for Pakistan than any other year. Starting from the Supreme Court and former premier Gilani at loggerheads to the return of Tahirul Qadri’s (untimely) arrival on the political scene, Pakistan has seen a healthy share of ups and downs this year. NATO supply routes were resumed, terrorism continued, Metro Bus project was initiated – it is difficult to remember when one event ended and the other began. For the purpose of simplification and to refresh the previous year, Spearhead Research put together a year in review, a compilation of all important news Pakistan saw.

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Immy K revolutionaries and the future of ‘burger’ activism

Before we start some of the core arguments of this piece,I must give a little background of myself. I am,what the general Pakistani public calls,‘a burger’. I don’t want to be,of course. I don’t like the association. I brag of my Baloch descent and try to squash the burger in me as violently as possible. But I am a burger,nonetheless. Reading Urdu is a little hard for me. One of my readers called me a part of the ‘2 percent secular breed that lives abroad and is not aware of the ground realities’. I concede to the entire statement – except I do not live abroad.

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Gordon Brown appoints Yousafzai UN advisor on Global Education

LONDON – Ziauddin Youasfzai, father of teen education activist Malala Yousafzai’s, was on Sunday named the United Nation’s Special Adviser on Global Education.

Former British prime minister and UN Special Envoy Gordon Brown announced the appointment of Ziauddin as an adviser to assist the UN in getting every child to school by the end of 2015.

Gordon Brown said more than 32 million girls were not going to school and Ziauddin, a former teacher and headmaster, would play a critical role in helping remove the discrimination and barriers that prevented girls from attending school.

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Meeting dark clouds

Alternatives to combat change world leaders do not seem to want to look at

Doha talks on climate change finally came to an end after a 2 week deadlock over the extension of the Koyoto protocol. Nearly 200 delegates from various countries came to an agreement to cut greenhouse emissions in the next eight years. At the same time, US refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol, Russia had objections to it, India and China were excluded from it.

They called it a ‘modest but essential’ step forward. Any person with the faintest notion of the gravity of the situation would tell you that this is no step in any direction. President Barack Obama in his re-election speech seemed to have finally taken a stand on the growing fears of climate change. Less than a month later, not only did his administration fail to submit a decisive treaty to curb carbon emissions, but also refused to increase funding to help developing countries reduce theirs. This is not to say that the United States has not played its role in reducing its carbon emissions at all. According to the International Energy Agency, US emissions have dropped 7.7 percent since 2006 - "the largest reduction of all countries or regions." But this was countered with China’s increase in greenhouse emissions by 9.3 percent and India’s 8.7 percent. China is the world’s biggest polluter and India ranks as number four.

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Iran’s indigenous YouTube

Iran has launched its own video-sharing website after the country deemed YouTube’s content inappropriate. The website aims to attract Persian-speaking users and promote Iranian culture, according its ‘About Us’ section.

The website is called ‘Mehr,’ which means ‘affection’ in Farsi. It has its own Facebook page dedicated to providing links to its content, including Iranian-produced music clips.

Tehran has censored YouTube since 2009, in the wake of the controversial elections that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

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KASHMIR: TIME TO MOVE FORWARD

Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid’s recent wish that: ‘it is high time India and Pakistan move forward together hand-in-hand’, is rather captivating. Recent overtures from both sides clearly indicate that two neighbouring countries want prosperity in the region and for that they agree that resolution of all disputes, including Kashmir, is a priority.

Pakistan has all along been pursuing this objective. It is unfortunate that some of very meaningful peace processes between the two countries went astray on one reason or the other. As Pakistan is likely to be a beneficiary in case of equitable resolution of most of territory related disputes, Pakistan is always keen to see the conclusive phase of the efforts aimed at resolving these issues. Unfortunately, the two countries have not been able to achieve anything worthwhile in territory related disputes.

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Wrestling for Peace Festival appreciated by many

World’s famous Japanese wrestler Mohammad Hussain Inoki and his team entertained spectators with a fine display of free-style wrestling here at Qayyum Sports Complex on Wednesday.

The one-day ‘Inoki’s Wrestling for Peace Festival’ was organised by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department. Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain, sports minister Syed Aqil Shah and a large number of spectators warmly welcomed the Inoki-led wrestlers.

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Jimmy Carter condemns drone strikes

Former US President Jimmy Carter has slammed American drone strikes in other countries, stating that killing civilians in such attacks would infact nurture terrorism.

“I personally think we do more harm than good by having our drones attack some potential terrorists who have not been tried or proven that they are guilty,” Carter said in an interview with Russia Today.

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Caught in the middle

It has been over two-and-a-half months since Youtube was banned in Pakistan over the anti-Islamic video that Google refused to take down despite repeated requests by the Pakistani authorities. In a world of increasingly free internet and easier information sharing, the question remains what degree of control are we to allow our governments and internet corporations in our internet usage.

It is important to understand how Youtube (and by default, Google) makes its money. As with all internet-based businesses, Youtube sustains itself through ads. Pakistanis would not have experienced this while using it in Pakistan because Youtube does not advertise in the country. But if it did, before the start of a trending video, there would be a strategically placed commercial with duration of around one to two minutes. Irksome for some users, these ads usually have the option of skipping them after 30 seconds. So is the Youtube ban in Pakistan bad business for Google? After all, if Youtube does not make money off ads in Pakistan, why should it matter to the internet giant if the sixth most populous country is not using its services?

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Facts about Pak Army

The army should not indulge in politics. Definitely not. The army should not be buying off politicians. No question about it. Every citizen of Pakistan, whether an army general or a civilian minister, should be punished if found guilty by a court of law. Absolutely no debate about that one either.

Yes, the army would have to learn that a unidimensional national security strategy singularly focused on ‘defence’ cannot guarantee the longevity of the Pakistani nation-state. Yes, our future really depends on three ‘Ds’, not one. And they are: defence, development and diplomacy. Let us now dissect some long-held myths:

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What the vote counts for

29 November 2012: despite aggressive lobbying by the US and Israel, 138 member states voted for uplift of Palestine’s status, 41 (including Australia) abstained while only 9 voted against. France, Spain and Belgium voted in favor, while the US, Israel were only able to convert Canada, Czech Republic, Panama, Palau, Nauru, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to their cause. Even after the highest world forum has made its decision to acknowledge Palestinians’ right to self determination the United States remains loyal to her ally. The United States has threatened to withhold funds to the Gaza strip; Netanyahu condemned President Abbas for spreading hatred and war crime rumors. He criticized Abbas for blowing the matter out of proportion; for his hypocrisy in preferring the General Assembly over a trip for ‘peace talks’ with the Likud government in Jerusalem. So how successful has dialogue between the two been?

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