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Oklahoma tornado kills 91

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 16:06 NICK OXFORD

Emergency crews and volunteers continued to work through the early morning hours Tuesday in a frantic search for survivors of a huge tornado that ripped through parts of Oklahoma City and its suburbs, killing at least 91 people, 20 of them children, and flattening whatever was in its path, including at least two schools.

Much of the tornado damage appeared to be in the suburb of Moore, where rescue workers struggled to make their way through debris-clogged streets and around downed power lines to those who are feared trapped under mountains of rubble.

Nawaz questions negotiations with the Taliban

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:51 Babar Dogar

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Mian Nawaz Sharif has said that the Taliban’s talks offer should be taken seriously.

Addressing a gathering of MPs-elect here on Monday, Nawaz asked, “Why should not he sit with Taliban and talk to them,” adding that negotiations would be in the interest of the country. He said his party was prepared to utilise every option for maintaining the rule of law and ending bloodshed in the country.

Venezuela’s best Mother’s day gift

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:20 THOMAS PONNIAH

Here is some news that the conservative critics of Venezuela's leftist government will not publicize. The Chavistas announced that a new labour law, part of which will grant recognition to non-salaried work traditionally done by women, will come into effect this week. Full-time mothers will now be able to collect a pension.

While there are a number of criticisms to be made of the Venezuelan government, the genius of the Bolivarian process is that it combines numerous forms of struggle against inequality. The most obvious lies in its commitment to economic redistribution, and measured by the Gini co-efficient, Venezuela has the lowest rate of inequality in Latin America. An equally significant form of struggle against inequality, however, lies in its pursuit of gender equity.

Unconditional Rental Apology

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 14:54 Bahram Zackarya

Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has submitted unconditional apology to the Supreme Court in Rental Power case, Geo News reported.

Counsel of Raja Ashraf filed apology letter in the court on behalf of his client.

It may be noted here that the former prime minister had written a letter for constituting a commission to probe into Rental Power case.

Cement industry dissatisfied despite soaring profits

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 11:20 Farooq Tirmizi

If there is one industry that has absolutely no reason to complain right now, it is the cement manufacturing sector in Pakistan. Profits have soared so much that it no longer makes sense to measure them in percentages, but rather how many times they have multiplied. And yet, executives in the cement industry lose no opportunity to complain about how the government is absolutely ruining their sector by not giving them all the goodies they ask for.

At an event organised by the cement industry at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on Monday, executives who spoke to The Express Tribune complained constantly that their industry was supposedly suffering financially and needed government assistance, using arguments that are simply not true.

Our Energy Crisis leads the race

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:33 Yasmeen Ali

In Pakistan, depending on your place of residing, there is no electricity from six to twenty hours a day. Whereas it has hit hard the lives of the common man, making it impossible to function on a day to day basis, it has also brought down production in industrial sectors drastically, costing contracts and jobs of millions across the country.

Bengali Wrangler continues despite ban

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 15:14 Greg Mathews

A Bangladesh factory where Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Inditex SA ITX.MX inspectors spotted cracks in the wall this month is still making Wrangler shirts for the world's largest apparel maker, U.S.-based VF Corp (VFC.N).

VF confirmed on Saturday it was still using Liz Apparels to make its clothing following an inspection ordered by the factory owner, Nassa Group, on May 12. VF, whose other clothing brands include North Face, Timberland and Nautica, said its philosophy was to "stay and improve" working conditions.

The world’s biggest pigsty is in Karachi

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 11:38 Fatima Rizvi

Ironically, the largest sty in the world is located in Pakistan. In fact it is in Karachi, known as Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) Karachi. It is an industrial estate with over 3,000 industries, shops and warehouses. SITE is managed by a quasi-government organisation called SITE Ltd while the ‘tenants’ are represented by SITE Association of Industry.

But why is this estate that contributes approximately 28% to the nation’s treasury dubbed as a mere ‘sty’?

Baig and Ali do Pakistan proud

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 11:17 Zafar Ahmad

Amidst the hue and cry about rigging in elections, the political topsy turvy and the mercury rising and crossing the boiling point, there comes good news for Pakistan. Samina Baig and her brother Mirza Ali made history by climbing the world’s highest mountain Mount Everest without using supplemental oxygen.

It is also a moment of great pride not only for Pakistan but also for India and all those who want peaceful relations between both the countries, as Samina and Mirza had in their team two Indian twin sisters, Nughsi and Tashi.