The Express Tribune Newsletter: May 11, 2012

Today's Headlines

State visit to UK: Britain pledges 'enduring friendship' with Pakistan

Our correspondents

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani arrived at 10 Downing Street on Thursday to meet with his British counterpart David Cameron and review the progress made under the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and the UK.

Certification rules: Amid talks headway, US panel proposes conditional aid

Kamran Yousaf / Huma Imtiaz

Even as a key US Congressional panel placed strict conditions on financial and military assistance to Pakistan on Thursday, diplomats and officials in Islamabad said the estranged allies were on the verge of a breakthrough in negotiations.

Operations review: Red Cross suspends work in Pakistan

Our Correspondents

The Red Cross on Thursday suspended most of its aid projects in Pakistan and recalled foreign staff to the capital, following the brutal murder of a staff doctor.

Punjab rioting: Protests bring 'power' brokers to Presidency

Irfan Ghauri

As power shortfall hit 8,000 megawatts on Thursday, protests fanned across Punjab, prompting the president to convene an emergency meeting on the energy crisis late Thursday night.


Business

ESCAP report: UN urges Pakistan to subsidise agriculture

Shahbaz Rana

The United Nations (UN), in its latest report on Asia, has advised Pakistan to provide agricultural subsidies and introduce modern technologies to increase per acre yield, arrest rising food prices and alleviate hunger.

Pay up, or else: PARCO seeks advance payment for oil supply to PSO

Zafar Bhutta

Pak-Arab Refinery Company (Parco) has warned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) that it will stop the supply of fuel if the latter does not introduce a mechanism according to which it will open letters of credit to make advance payment for oil supply rather than getting deliveries on credit.

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Sports

Cricket: Professor Hafeez handed Pakistan's future

Our Correspondents

The Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) plans for the future gained further momentum as it named separate squads for all three formats while also naming Mohammad Hafeez as the team's Twenty20 captain, ending Misbah's reign at the helm.

Aisamul-Rojer march into Madrid Open quarter-finals

Our Correspondents

Pakistan's top-seeded tennis player, Aisamul Haq Qureshi, along with his Mens doubles partner Jean-Julien Rojer, fought their way into the third round of the Madrid Open to set up a date with his former partner Rohan Bopanna.

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Life & Style

Manto: How relevant is the writer today?

Saadia Qamar

57 years after his death, Manto remains one of the most relevant sub-continental writers in present times. The Express Tribunespoke to current writers regarding the writer's influence.

Out by Royal Park, the 'soul' of film lays dying

Rabia Mehmood

On the third floor of Atif mansion in Royal Park Lahore, Ustad Jahangir gets his canvas, colour palate and brushes out, mixes paints and starts finishing the purple colored dress of a woman in a scene from Heer Ranjha.

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Opinion

The merry-go-round

Kamran Shafi

Breaking the feudal lords

Asad Rahim Khan

The missing link

Salman Masood

Different folks in school

Prakash Belawadi

Military & the media

Afia Shehrbano Zia
 

Blogs

Bringing cricket back, the South African way

Ahmad Fuad

Build your froyo tower at Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt

Saira Malik

Why won't NADRA recognise the Kalasha?

Sikandar Khan Kalasha

Refund policy: The end of university looting

Syed Nadir El Edroos

Poll

Have you ever experienced sexual harassment at work? 

No (354 votes, 78%)

Yes (99 votes, 22%)

Total Voters: 453

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Dunya TV

Dunya TV


Rahim Yar Khan: Minor girl slaughtered

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>According to police, Abdur Rasheed of Chak 99-P and his wife were in their field when some unidentified persons entered their house and killed their 3-year-old daughter Rania.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Rasheed suspected his neighbourer Sohail for the crime. Police have filed a case against three persons, including Sohail and arrested on accused. <br />&nbsp;</p>


Pentagon chief says Al Qaeda has a presence in Syria

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday (May 10) that he had &quot;no information&quot; if Al Qaeda had any involvement in two suicide car bombings that killed 55 people and wounded 372 in Damascus.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Syria&nbsp;s foreign ministry said the attacks were a sign that the major Arab state was facing foreign-backed terrorism and urged the U.N. Security Council to combat countries or groups supporting such violence.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>When asked at a Pentagon news conference if the United States believed Al Qaeda was involved in the attack, Panetta responded, &quot;I have no information to that effect - as to whether or not they&nbsp;re involved there. Obviously, the situation in Syria remains of a great concern. The ceasefire does not appear to be working, and Annan himself has indicated concerns about whether or not parties are abiding by the ceasefire. We continue to urge Assad to step down.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>There must be a change there. They&nbsp;ve lost their legitimacy by huge number of deaths that are taking place in Syria. And again, we are working with the international community to try to make sure we take all steps necessary to try to do what we can to implement the necessary political reforms, to have Assad step down, and to try to return Syria to the Syrian people. This is not easy. There are no easy courses here, but I think the most important thing we can do now is to continue to work with the international community to bring pressure on Syria to do the right thing.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The US defense secretary did acknowledge Al Qaeda&nbsp;s presence in Syria.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;Al Qaeda anywhere is a concern for us, and we do have intelligence that indicates that there is an Al Qaeda presence in Syria. But frankly, we don&nbsp;t have very good intelligence as to just exactly what their activities are. And that&nbsp;s the reason we can&nbsp;t really indicate specifically what they are or not doing, but they are a concern, and frankly, we need to continue to do everything we can to determine what kind of influence they&nbsp;re trying to exert there.&quot;<br />&nbsp;</p>


Pakistan unlikely to attend NATO summit in Chicago

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Pakistan&nbsp;s chances of attending the forthcoming NATO summit in Chicago, on May 20 and 21, have almost died down following a deadlock in Pak-US relations. Both countries have adopted tough positions on their respective demands and a resolution in the immediate future appears highly improbable.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The US administration had previously termed Pakistan&nbsp;s participation in the Chicago summit as critical for the endgame in Afghanistan. Several American officials had repeatedly urged the Pakistani leadership to participate in the Chicago summit for lasting peace and stability in the region.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>However, the expectations on both sides took a nosedive when bilateral relations hit a new low following the NATO attack on Salala check-post on November 26 last year, which resulted in killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan suspended the NATO supply routes in protest and has demanded an apology from the US for resumption of these routes.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It is reliably learnt that the US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Marc Grossman has made an effort to convince Pakistan for resuming NATO supply routes and attend the Chicago summit. The remaining contentious issues, he advocated, could be discussed simultaneously as the US was ready to listen and address &quot;genuine&quot; Pakistani concerns.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>However, the talks reached a stalemate when the Pakistani leadership, following the extensive parliamentary review, conveyed to the US administration in plain words that nothing short of an apology on the Salala incident was acceptable before moving forward on rebuilding trust and bilateral relationship.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Even the offer made by Marc Grossman for releasing Pakistan&nbsp;s outstanding Coalition Support Fund (CSF) worth $1.2 billion, which has been withheld since December 2010, in case the country agreed to re-open supply routes, could not achieve the desired ends.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Following this apparent deadlock, the US administration has decided against inviting Pakistan to the Chicago summit, in a bid to covey its displeasure on the latter&nbsp;s reluctance to succumb to the American demands. The other purpose of this decision, sources informed, was to make Pakistan realize that critical decisions on Afghanistan could be taken even without Pakistan&nbsp;s participation.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The spokesperson of the US State Department, Victoria Nuland played down the question of inviting Pakistan to Chicago summit. &quot;The guest list is still something that we&rsquo;re working on, particularly in the context of the ISAF meeting, which will have a larger participation&quot;, she stated while declining to comment when asked about their administration&nbsp;s expectations about Pakistani participation.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In an earlier briefing, US Special Representative to NATO, Ivo Daalder, termed Pakistan a very important country for the stability of the region and including Afghanistan. He was responding to a question regarding importance of Pakistan&rsquo;s participation in the NATO summit as well as the endgame in Afghanistan.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;The issue of which countries are going to be coming to Chicago is still under discussion at NATO, and we hope and expect that those issues will be resolved soon&quot;, Ambassador Daalder said while going to discuss the suspension of ground supply routes, invariably establishing a correlation between the two.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;As you know, we are in active bilateral consultations as well with a NATO participation in those consultations on finding ways to open the ground lines of communication through Pakistan into Afghanistan, which have now been closed for about six months,&quot; he pointed out.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;Opening up these ground lines is extremely important for the stability of Afghanistan and the ability for our troops in Afghanistan to have the kinds of resupply of resources that is necessary. Those negotiations are ongoing and we hope they can be completed successfully very soon,&quot; the US envoy hoped.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC<br /><br />&nbsp;</p>


Trade deficit increased to 45 percent

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>According to Pakistan Institute of Statistics the total volume of exports during the 10 months of current fiscal year was $19.39 billion which is 3.48 percent lower than the same period in the previous year.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The total volume of imports during the 10 months of current fiscal year was $37.04 billion which is 14.81 higher than the previous year. Thus the trade deficit for July-April period was $17.65 billion. The trade deficit for the same period during the previous year was $12.17 billion.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Pakistan, India talks on Siachen on June 11-12

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Military representatives from Pakistan and India will meet for talks on the Siachen glacier dispute on June 11-12 in Islamabad.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The last round of talks on Siachen was held in Delhi by the Defence Secretaries of the two countries almost a year ago.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Defence Secretaries of the two nuclear-armed rivals will discuss ways to resolve the issue.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Siachen, the world&nbsp;s highest militarized zone, has been an outstanding issue between Pakistan and India as the border is not clearly demarcated in the glaciated region.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Indian Defence Minister A K Antony informed the Lok Sabha that President Asif Ali Zardari during meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his visit to Ajmer Sharif on April 8 had proposed removal of troops from Siachen.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Saadat Hassan Mantos 100th birthday today

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Saadat Hassan Manto was born in Samrala, in the Ludhiana district of the Punjab in a Kashmiri Muslim family of barristers, on May 11, 1912.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Saadat Hasan Manto received his early education at Muslim High School in Amritsar, but he remained a misfit throughout in school years, rapidly losing motivation in studies, ending up failing twice in matriculation. His only love during those days, was reading English novels.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In 1931, he finally passed out of school and joined Hindu Sabha College in Amritsar, which was already volatile due the independence movement, soon it reflected in his first story, &nbsp;Tamasha&nbsp;, based on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>After his father died in 1932, he sobered up a bit to support his mother. The big turning point in his life came, when in 1933 at age 21, he met Abdul Bari Alig, a scholar and polemic writer, in Amritsar who encouraged to him find his true talents and read Russian and French authors.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>He is best known for his short stories, &nbsp;Bu&nbsp; (Odour), &nbsp;Khol Do&nbsp; (Open It), &nbsp;Thanda Gosht&nbsp; (Cold Meat), and his magnum opus, &nbsp;Toba Tek Singh&nbsp;.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Manto was also a film and radio scriptwriter, and journalist. In his short life, he published twenty-two collections of short stories, one novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays, two collections of personal sketches.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Manto was tried for obscenity half-a-dozen times, thrice before 1947 and thrice after 1947 in Pakistan, but never convicted. Some of his works have been translated in other languages.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Aisam, Roger in Madrid Open quarter-finals

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Pakistan tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his partner Jean-Julien Rojer beat top-seeded pair of Mike and Bob Bryan in the second round of Madrid Open and qualified for the quarterfinals.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Losing the first set 4-6, Aisam and Roger rallied back to take the second set 6-4. The third set was decided on tie-breaker in which Aisam and Roger wrapped up the match with 18-16 win.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Aisam and Roger will meet pair of Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi in the quarter-final today.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Congress committee approves new curbs on Pakistan aid

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Armed Services Committee of the US Congress has approved the National Defense Authorization Act 2013 worth $642 billion, including new limitations on security assistance to Pakistan, on Thursday by a 56-5 majority vote.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The bill includes military and defense-related assistance by the United States to foreign countries including Pakistan. It places some additional limitations on Pakistan for reimbursement of the counterinsurgency support funds. The resumption of NATO supply routes have been made part of the bill, in order to enable to US administration to release the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to Pakistan.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the approved draft, The US Secretary of Defense has been asked to submit a report in the Congress about any new mechanism adopted by Pakistan for use of NATO supply routes and the difference in cost incurred from last year. Action against IEDs, a long-standing demand of the US administration and lawmakers, besides prevention of proliferation of nuclear-related material is also required from Pakistan in the bill.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The US Secretary Defense is also required to certify that Pakistan is supporting US counter-terrorism efforts against Al Qaeda and Haqqani network, as well as other domestic and foreign terrorist organizations (which have not been named in the draft). The bill also wants timely issuance of visas from Pakistan for the US officials involved in counterterrorism and assistance programmes in Pakistan.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Not more than 10 percent of the funds allocated to Pakistan could be disbursed before the submission of report by Secretary Defense. Other than supply routes, action against IEDs and Haqqani network, other conditions were in the bill during previous years as well for provision of coalition support fund (CSF) to Pakistan, which was first instituted in 2003.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;The bill places appropriate conditions on aid to Pakistan. It is imperative that Pakistan support our counterterrorism efforts and work to prevent the interdiction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to Afghanistan,&quot; House Armed Services Committee&nbsp;s Ranking Member, Adam Smith said during the hearing.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The bill has recommended reduction in the overall security assistance to foreign countries by nine (09) percent, as part of the strategy to reduce Pentagon budget. The bill will now be tabled on the floor of Congress for voting next week. Congress has a Republican majority, which is in opposition in US at the moment. After Congress, it will be tabled in Senate, where Democrats are in majority.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The bill only becomes law after it is approved by the Senate and signed by the US president. Other provisions related to sanctions against Iran, war operations in Afghanistan, additional funding for drone operations and placing a bar for transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to US are also part of the bill.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC<br />&nbsp;</p>


Richardson set to be new ICC chief executive

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Former Test wicketkeeper David Richardson is set to succeed fellow South African Haroon Lorgat as the new chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the global governing body announced Thursday.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Richardson&nbsp;s name will go forward for approval by the ICC annual conference at its meeting in Kuala Lumpur in June 28 after being chosen by the ICC board.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>He was one of four candidates, believed to have included England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive David Collier, who were interviewed for the post in Mumbai last weekend.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If confirmed, Richardson&nbsp;s appointment would be ground-breaking for two reasons: he would be the first former international cricketer to hold the post of ICC chief executive since its creation in 1993 and the first to be already working for world cricket&nbsp;s governing body.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Johannesburg-born Richardson, 52, a qualified lawyer, has been the ICC&nbsp;s general manager for cricket for the last 10 years having previously represented South Africa in 42 Tests and 122 one-day internationals.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;It is a great honour to be nominated to be chief executive of the ICC,&quot; Richardson said in a statement issued from its Dubai headquarters. &quot;I am delighted with this opportunity and thank the ICC board for their approval.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;It has been a privilege to serve as ICC general manager-cricket, and that work will continue until such time as the ICC annual conference ratifies my nomination. I am looking forward to working closely with all the membership and stakeholders in the game.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;It is an honour to be following a fellow South African, Haroon Lorgat, in this role. I have learnt a lot under his leadership and thank him for his support in the last four years.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>ICC vice-president Alan Isaac, who led the search for Lorgat&nbsp;s successor, said Richardson would provide &quot;continuity&quot;.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;David Richardson was an outstanding candidate who not only had important knowledge of the ICC administration, its staff and its operations but also has unquestioned cricketing knowledge having represented his country so admirably,&quot; Isaac said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;His appointment will provide continuity and a smooth transition after Haroon Lorgat steps down after ICC annual conference in Kuala Lumpur at the end of June,&quot; the New Zealander added.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;I would like to put on record my appreciation for Haroon and what he and the ICC staff have achieved in the last four years.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Richardson is now in line to become the fourth ICC chief executive, with Lorgat having followed the Australian duo of David Richards (1993-2001) and Malcolm Speed (2001-2008).<br />&nbsp;</p>


Prince Charles turns Scotland TV weatherman

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Television audiences watching the weather forecast in Scotland received an unexpected surprise on Thursday (May 10) as Britain&nbsp;s Prince Charles delivered the local weather report for the region.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Dressed in a dark suit, blue shirt and striped tie, Charles looked the consummate professional as he gestured towards the map behind him, describing the wet and cold conditions in store for Scotland over the coming days.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;There will be snow for the higher grounds of the highlands and Aberdeenshire. The potential for a few flurries over Balmoral, who the hell wrote this script?&quot; he exclaimed jestingly with the broadcaster&nbsp;s staff on air.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;A cold day everywhere with temperatures of just 8 Celsius and a brisk northeasterly wind. Thank God it isn&nbsp;t a bank holiday&quot; he said as hearty chuckles were heard in the background.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The move comes as part of the prince&nbsp;s attempts to appear more accessible and less aloof to the general public. His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall also tried her hand as being a weather girl.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall are visiting Scotland as part of their annual Holyrood Week, visiting the BBC&nbsp;s Scotland office as it celebrates 60 years of broadcasting.<br /><br />&nbsp;</p>


Olympic flame heads off on journey to London

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>The countdown to the London Olympics began with the kindling of the Games torch on Thursday (May 10), sparking a relay that will culminate with the lighting of the Olympic stadium&nbsp;s cauldron at the opening ceremony on July 27.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Liverpool-born Greek swimmer Spyros Gianniotis started the seven-day Greek leg of the relay before the flame is handed over to London organisers on May 17 and flown to Britain a day later.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The second torchbearer was 19-year-old Alexander Loukos, a Briton of Greek origin, with Chris Theodoropoulos, a local basketball player, and Japan&nbsp;s Yuy Umehara, also among the first to run with the famed flame.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;It was a very good feeling. I feel excited about what I did. It&nbsp;s a great honour to do something like that and I&nbsp;m amazed about the people that are here,&quot; Theodoropoulos said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>A strong police presence around the ancient site, and in the town of Olympia, made sure the event went off without a hitch.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Four years ago human rights activists briefly disrupted the Beijing Olympics ceremony.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>People watched and applauded the runners as they made their way through Olympia, an obviously popular tourist destination in Greece thanks to its link with the Olympic Games.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The 70-day British leg of the relay will use 8,000 torchbearers and travel 12,800 km around the country, taking in 1,018 communities and the 1,085-metre summit of Snowdon, before ending inside the Olympic stadium on the opening day of the Games.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The relay will also take in landmarks around Britain with the flame travelling by canal boat, cable car, tram, steam train, hot air balloon and even motorcycle sidecar on the Isle of Man TT course.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>More than 95 percent of the population will be within an hour of the route.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Sharifs misleading the masses, says Shazia Mari

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>In a press conference at Sindh Secretariat, she alleged that Nawaz Sharif had always tried to come into power from back doors and with the support of un-democratic forces. Once again he has started various tactics to derail democracy which the country now has, after a long struggle and sacrifices.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>She criticised Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, and other central leaders of PML-N for their negative statements and comments for the elected PPP-led Government which enjoyed a heavy mandate from all over the country.&nbsp;Shazia Marri also criticised Mumtaz Bhutto for his shift in politics, from Sindhi nationalist to politics of federation.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;He has betrayed the people of Sindh for whom he had given nationalist slogans for at least the last three decades,&rdquo; she remarked.<br />She referred to his (Mumtaz) different statements in the past, where on record he had been very critical of Nawaz Sharif and his party.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Sindh Information Minister said that hundreds of thousands people will participate in a PPP public meeting at Kamoon Shaheed, at Sindh-Punjab border, scheduled for 12th of this month.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;This meeting will be a strong warning for those elements who have launched a campaign to harm the democracy,&rdquo; she said.<br />She said that arrangements for this programme were almost final.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Shazia Marri said that Kamoon Shaheed is the place where Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto once held a sit-in to protest against construction of Kalabagh dam.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>She said that Pakistan People&rsquo;s Party does not believe in ruling the country but has devoted itself for democracy, upholding the supremacy of the constitution and the Parliament, safeguarding the rights of the people and the rule of law in the country.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Shazia said Nawaz Sharif should apologise people of Sindh as he was the first political leader who started politics on the basis of nationalism.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Lose weight and become pregnant

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Obese women who are trying to conceive should try dieting before immediately turning to IVF treatment, as women who lost weight were three times more likely to fall pregnant, a new study has found.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Half of the women who lost weight became pregnant within a year compared with just one in seven of those not on a strict diet, the first randomised trial of its kind has shown.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity, in Lyons, France, is believed to be the first to randomly assign obese women undergoing fertility treatment to a strict diet for 12 weeks or to receive only information about healthy eating.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Of the 49 women in the trial, conducted by Dr Kyra Sim, The Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders at the University of Sydney, Australia, the women on the diet lost more than 14lbs or 6.6kgs and their waist measurement dropped by an average of 3.6 inches or 9cm compared with just under 4lbs or 1.8kgs and 1cm for the women not on the diet, the Telegraph reported.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The women who dieted needed fewer cycles of IVF to fall pregnant, saving on average 5,865 pounds per pregnancy.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;A weight-loss intervention, incorporating dietary, exercise and behavioural components, is associated with significantly better pregnancy and economic outcomes in a group of obese women undergoing assisted reproductive technology,&rdquo; Dr Sim said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>


End loadshedding in 24 hours: President

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>The President chairing a meeting in Islamabad on Thursday night on energy crisis has directed concerned authorities to overcome power shortage within twenty four hours.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>He said stern action will be taken against those responsible if load shedding is not controlled. The President said long and short term planning should be evolved to resolve the energy crisis.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Minister for Water and Power&sbquo; Syed Naveed Qamar and Minister for Petroleum Dr. Asim Hussain attended the meeting among others.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Even good cholesterol may not be good for heart

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>A sub-class of high-density lipoprotein (HDl) cholesterol, known as &quot;good&quot; cholesterol, may not protect against coronary heart disease (CHD) and in fact may be harmful, says a study.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This is the first study to reveal that a small protein, apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III), that sometimes resides on the surface of HDl cholesterol may elevate heart disease risk and that HDl cholesterol without this protein may be especially heart protective.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;This finding, if confirmed in ongoing studies, could lead to better evaluation of risk of heart disease in individuals and to more precise targeting of treatments to raise the protective HDl or lower the unfavourable HDl with apoC-III,&quot; said Frank Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at Harvard School of Public Health and senior study author.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>A high level of HDl (good) cholesterol is linked with low incidence of CHD. But trials of drugs that increase HDl cholesterol have not consistently shown decreases in CHD, leading to the hypothesis that HDl cholesterol may contain both protective and non-protective components, the Journal of the American Heart Association reported.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Blood samples collected in 1989 and 1990 from 32,826 women in the Brigham and Womens Hospital-based Nurses Health Study were examined, along with blood samples collected from 1993 to 1995 from 18,225 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Stud, according to a university statement.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>During 10 to 14 years of follow-up, 634 cases of coronary heart disease were documented and matched with controls for age, smoking, and date of blood drawing. The researchers compared plasma concentrations of total HDl, HDl that has apoC-III, and HDl without apoC-III as predictors of the risk of CHD.</p><p><br />&nbsp;</p>


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