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Two sides of the equation THE act of helping the poor can be witnessed on a regular basis. But it seems that in Pakistan it reaches its peak during the holy month of Ramazan, when most of us try and indulge in virtuous deeds...		An impulse for charity THE study, Philanthropic leadership and development: perspective from Pakistan, carried out by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP), headed by Shehnaz Wazir Ali,...
Acid test IN THE life of a high profile player, sooner or later, comes a time when he is compelled by circumstances to enter the arena of events for Acid Test. With due recognition to his expertise in finance,...		Run Forrest run RECENTLY, I saw the most disturbing sight ever in my life: a madman, possibly a drug addict, was running naked in the middle of the almost deserted I.I....
Love bites FOR long we have been reading and hearing love stories and folk tales such as those of Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, and Sohni Mahival. All these characters, we know, reached the...		Learning about Islamic banking SOME think of it a fancy new fad. While others believe that it took a long time to come. Whatever the argument, Islamic banking has now entered our system of economy....
Where credit is due THE first thing you notice at Yar Mohammad’s furniture-making workshop at the Artisan’s Colony in Bhitshah is a small TV perched on a chair. “It is for these people,”...		The phenomenon of migratory birds THE migratory birds that alight on Sandspit backwaters every winter in Karachi represent at least 20 countries....
The wonders of Iran WE started our journey to Iran from Tehran, the capital, which is a huge city of about 12 million people. It is a sprawling metropolis without much character or immediate attraction for tourists. The older part of the city does have covered bazaars and a few mosques that one can visit....		A story of courage and determination BACK in 1990 when Nazir Masih was found to be HIV positive in the United Arab Emirates where he was working, it was difficult to accept the veracity of the news. In this respect, a question that has reared its head is: how to break such a news to family members of an Aids victim....
The youth takes over INTERNATIONAL Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB), (celebrated on the second Sunday of December every year), is all about encouraging young people to express their views and ensuring their opinions, thoughts and dreams are widely heard....		Hot Seat YES, he loves reading books. One would expect him to be an ardent reader as he holds a Masters degree in English literature from the prestigious Government College, Lahore....
Absolute freedom on the airwaves! OVER the last several years, the number of satellite television channels in Pakistan has grown remarkably. Of course, some attractive programmes with fresh ideas have also been presented on some new channels,...		Remembering the Crusades THE crusades, also called the holy wars, undertaken by the European Christians to recover from the Muslims the holy land — Jerusalem — a city considered sacred equally by the Muslims,...
The males go on trial ALL the male writers of Urdu, dead and alive are now on trial. Each and everyone will be summoned in the female court, where he will face the charge of having a bias against women....		From elation to annihilation BY the time the tour came to an end, the English camp made for a miserable sight. They lost the Test series 0-2 and the One Day contest 2-3....
The cheering never stops ON the morning of December 15, I rush to join my friends where we had decided to congregate. We are all supposed to be at the stadium at 9am to avoid the chaos that always accompanies the beginning of every important affair....		Defeated once again PAKISTAN’S gamble to include England’s Zeeshan Rehman, a Fulham Club defender, with the hope of winning the SAFF championship resulted in big humiliation as we were beaten in the semifinal, while...
Asian hockey is the biggest loser AND so the Champions Trophy campaign came to nothing. But it could have been worse, mind you. It was just by the skin of their teeth that the Pakistanis were able...		We are not buried THEY say that an earthquake measuring over 11 on a Richter scale may split the earth in two. (This might not be as bad as it sounds since this may rid our part of the world of USA and its damning influence for good)....
Mosaic: Toxic sites in Iraq to be made safe CLEAN up of a highly polluted industrial site south of Baghdad is being launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), following a study of environmental ‘hot spots’ in Iraq....		Newsmaker When Sir Elton John and David Furnish walked out of Guildhall in Windsor, on Wednesday last, they were ‘man and man’. Well, what else would you call a gay couple who have tied the knot in a civil ceremony?...
Health Interactive Q: My daughter is seven years old and is having several white spots on her body. The first spot was noticed last year on her left foot....		From the scrapbook Here is a Christmas card that Late Pope John Paul II sent to Haroon Simon in reply to an Xmas card that Haroon had sent the Pope the previous year....
Quake diplomacy This refers to Quake diplomacy by Ashfak Bokhari, published on November 20, 2005. I disagree with Mr Bokhari on the Greek-Turkish relationship example, mentioning which, he compares it with Indo-Pak quake relationship and suggests that an advancement in this relationship should be made....		From Here, There, and Everywhere ST. PETERSBURG: A woman walks in front of illuminated installations in the shape of a snowman and Christmas trees in the centre of the city. Orthodox holidays are celebrated several days later in Russia than in other European countries....