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Universities set to lose £5.6bn as overseas applications plummet Rise in tuition fees a key factor in growing financial threat as UK becomes a 'no-go zone'Britain is gaining a reputation abroad for being a "no-go" zone to international students – risking the loss of billions of pounds both to the economy and to uni-versities reliant on foreign students for the higher fees they pay.Restrictions on visas, the massive rise in tuition fees for European Union students at English universities and the murder of a student from India over Christmas are posing a threat to the future of universi-ties, academics warned yesterday.At stake is not only the vast extra earn-ings they bring to the economy – estimat-ed at £5bn a year – but UK universities' reputation as being world-class institu-tions in which to study. One estimate, in a report by the consultants London Eco-nomics, reckoned that Britain could lose out on nearly £8bn in income – £2.3bn lost to the economy and £5.66bn in lost fees revenue.Ministers have been anxious to crack

down on immigration and have issued fewer waivers for students."The trouble is that the Home Office is more important than the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills [which is more welcoming to international re-cruits] in Government," said Sir Peter Scott, professor of higher education at London University's Institute of Educa-tion."Also, is the media more interested in negative stories about immigrants or the positive impact of international students on the economy? Well, we know the an-swer." Dr Jo Beall, director of Education at the British Council, said that the UK was currently the second most popular overseas destination for students, behind the United States – responsible for 10 per cent of the market.However, the figure was declining "so we can't be complacent".The Latest figures from the Universities

and Colleges Admissions Service show the number of EU students applying to British universities has dropped by 11 per cent. They face the same fees in-crease to up to £9,000 a year as English students – and are finding it cheaper to study in their own countries.The number of international applications is still rising – at 13 per cent – but aca-demics at the conference believe the con-stant clamour to cut down on visas will inevitably take its toll on the numbers.In numbers£830m Cuts to university teaching funds from central Government this year – re-ducing places by 15,0009.9% Fall in applicationsto English universities this year as tuition fees treble2.3bn Potential loss of revenue over next decade from fall in EU students put off by higher fees and tighter controls on study visas

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A mob of about 200 people at-tacked Asian takeaways in Roch-dale in apparent race-related vio-lence. Windows were broken, police officers pelted with bricks and several vehicles damaged in the violence on Thursday night after the group gathered in the Hey-wood area of the city. One officer suffered bruising. Police in riot vans filled the area and eventually dispersed the crowd, arresting a

35-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.Officers were stepping up patrols in the area in case there is further unrest. A spokesman said police were “aware of the tensions in the borough that have come about be-cause of an ongoing court case in Liverpool... We ask that the com-munity acts responsibly during this difficult time.” The attack is related to an ongoing sex-groom-ing trial.

Manchester: Muslim Takeaways Attacked by Mob

Top internet firms like Facebook, Yahoo and Flickr are able to read personal text messages and pho-tographs sent via smartphones because many mobile phone apps give their developers the right to go through such content. Many phone users do not know that when they agree to the terms and conditions, they are actually giving developers the right to in-spect their personal information. In some cases, the apps also get the right to collect whatever im-ages the phone camera happens

to be seeing. Facebook, Yahoo, Flickr and Badoo have all admit-ted to reading users’ text messages through their Android smartphone apps. Many other apps -- some of them available for free -- also in-clude in their terms and conditions the rights to access users’ personal data. Twitter has also admitted that it copied lists of email addresses and phone numbers from people who used its smartphone applica-tion and stored them on its servers without taking users’ permission.

Internet Firms Spy on Personal Texts Sent

on Smartphones

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Abdul Khayum JP has been selected as the official candidate for the Labour Party in the forth-coming local elections in May this year. He is a well known figure in the public arena, having worked in the Voluntary/ Public sector for the past 24 years. He has done a substantial amount of work on behalf of the Ethnic Minority Communities in Shef-field and South Yorkshire. Re-cently, his work with Sheffield’s communities was recognised by the Pakistan Muslim Centre and South Asian Project when he was awarded the prestigious ‘Life-time Achievement Award’.As well as working in a range of different capacities, he has been an active member of Shef-field Labour Party for the past 15 years. He has already held a number of posts within the party as former Chair, and then Secre-tary of the Burngreave Branch, and Secretary of the Brightside and Hillsborough Constituency of the Labour Party.In the early 90’s he was instru-mental in helping Sheffield’s Pakistani community realise a long-term ambition to lead and manage a large Centre, as the first Development Manager of the largest community centre of its kind in the City, the Paki-stan Muslim Centre. He again worked tirelessly in neighbour-ing Rotherham to develop a simi-lar facility, the Unity Centre, for

the BME Communities. Twenty years on, both Centres continue to provide community facilities for all. He went on to become Manager of the Alliance Housing Association which worked very closely with South Yorkshire Housing Association to help en-hance and improve the provision of social housing for BME com-munities in Sheffield.In a voluntary capacity, there is a long list of the various organisa-tions, across South Yorkshire that he has worked with, in his en-deavours to ensure that statutory service providers are held to ac-count when it comes to delivery of services to Ethnic Minority Communities. He was a founder member and first Chair of the City-wide Black Community Fo-rum. He worked with S Y Police as Chair of the BME Advisory Group, helping to develop bet-ter strategies for policing in the County. He was also Chair of the Sheffield Unified Multi-cultural Education Service, which was set up to help the local Education Authority to develop more ap-propriate services for BME com-munities.After serving for 21 years, he is one of the longest serving school governors in the city having chaired the Firs Hill School Gov-ernors for 10 years. He is currently a Governor of Handsworth Community Sports College. As well as other directorships, he was a non-Executive Direc-tor on the South Yorkshire Pro-bation Board, and is currently a non- Executive Director of South Yorkshire Housing Association as well as a founder Director of the Asian Business Development Network, a first platform for Asian businesses in South York-shire. He is also a Magistrate serving on the Sheffield bench for the last eight years. Other organisations that he has worked with include the Asian Housing Association, Sheffield Literacy Campaign, Racial Har-

assment project, Tinsley Advice Centre, and Open Forum for Economic Regeneration…… and of course on top of that, he runs a very successful business as Managing Director of Red-lands Business Centre.If there is one thing that his work has given him is his substantial wide ranging experience in the areas of Housing, Community Development, Regeneration, and Education, Community Re-sources and the Judiciary as well as acting in a representative ca-pacity and advocating for people. Abdul Khayum is very commit-ted to working for local commu-nities, always striving for better local services and a better quality of life for local people. He has a strong belief in social justice and he is very passionate about creat-ing a fair and just society.It’s no wonder then, that he is so well networked and well known across the city.In an interview with ILM, he says he is delighted to have been selected as the Labour Party can-didate in Crookes. As a Pakistani, Abdul Khayum is keen to dem-onstrate that as citizens of UK, all members of the community should endeavour to participate in every walk of life including the public life of the city. This includes politics which, he says, is an important and integral part of any modern democratic soci-ety. He says we are not just Brit-ish citizens but part of the fabric of British society. He says, as a community, we are very fortu-nate to have made this country our home for the last 50 years or so. Britain has given us a great deal for which we should always be grateful, and we have also made a vast contribution to the socio-economic and political life of the country. However, in order to ensure that we become fully integrated, that we continue to develop, grow and prosper and that we enable our young people to take pride in who they are, and retain their cultural identity, we

must be more not less involved in all aspects of the life of this country.This is one reason why he de-cided to get involved in politics and joined the Labour Party in 1997. He says if elected as Coun-cillor, his primary role would be to represent the interests of the residents of Crookes ward within the Council. However, in a wider context, being of Pakistani Ori-gin, and with his background in working for BME communities, he would be well placed to help ensure that the Council fully takes into account the needs of these communities in the de-velopment and delivery of local services. He says given his long-term work advocating on behalf of local communities, he would see his election as natural pro-gression, and if elected, he would be in a much better position to exert maximum influence on po-litical decisions which ultimately impact on the lives of local peo-ple.He says one of his key priorities would be to make sure we do all we can to get young people into education, training or employ-ment. He says there is a great deal of talent, skills and abilities amongst young people that goes to waste because there just are not the facilities, mechanisms or structures to help nurture and de-velop these talents in young peo-ple. Particularly, within the BME communities and more specifi-cally the Pakistani community, under-achievement in schools, unemployment and involvement in drugs and crime is at an un-precedented and unacceptable level, and as parents, as respon-sible citizens and as community leaders, we cannot just sit back and allow these trends to contin-ue. We all have a moral respon-sibility to face these challenges and tackle these issues head on. That’s the least we can do for the sake of our future generations!

ABDUL KHAYUM JPLabour Party Candidate for Crookes Ward- Sheffield

News in Brief

It has been announced today that the Paralympic torch will be visit-ing Sheffield in recognition of the importance of disability sport in the city.The flame will be collected from London with a miner’s lantern, and carried to Sheffield for a cel-ebration at the Sheffield Fayre on 26 August. The city is one of 34 locations in Britain that will host Flame Celebrations as part of the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay.Aaron McKibbin, GB’s number one paralympic table tennis player, said: “I am so proud that the Para-lympic Torch will be coming to Sheffield. I live to play table ten-nis. It has been my life for many years now, so it’s great for me to see disability sport given this high profile in the city. I look forward to celebrating the Games coming to the UK with our very own Paral-ympic party here in Sheffield!”Councillor Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Dis-

ability sport is hugely important to Sheffield, and it is great news for Sheffield that we’ll be hosting the Paralympic, as well as Olympic, torch in the lead up to the Games. “We are home to many GB para-lympians, including the whole Table Tennis squad. We have also hosted several elite sporting events, from the Goalball World Championships in 2010 to the British Open Paralympic Table Tennis event in 2011. On top of this, we will also be home to sev-eral international teams in the lead into the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic torch arriving in the city will be the ultimate celebra-tion of Sheffield’s commitment to disability sport.”Gary Clifton, Major Events and 2012 Programme Manager for Sheffield City Council, added: “Sheffield is privileged to be wel-coming the Paralympic Torch in August, it will finish off a great summer of sport for people to get involved in. This includes the Ol-

ympic Torch relay and Olympic trials selection events for swim-ming and diving in June, the pre-games training camps in July and the Cultural Olympiade running throughout this period.”The London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay will take place from 24 – 29 August 2012. Four sepa-rate flames will be lit in London, Greater Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff and will tour the country before they are united to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame at Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Paralympic Move-ment.The Flame will then be carried on a 24 hour overnight relay to Lon-don and the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games. Director of Paralympic Integra-tion at London 2012, Chris Hol-mes, said: “We are thrilled to an-nounce that Sheffield will play host to a Flame Celebration. This new concept will involve people from all around the UK in the spir-

it of the Paralympic Movement in unique ways relevant to the area. I know that people from Sheffield will get involved in this celebra-tion and help ignite passion for the Paralympics across the UK.” Sheffield Fayre is a free commu-nity event open to all that attracts over 20,000 people. The fayre will include sport and cultural exhibi-tions and participation focusing on Paralympic sports. The first Paralympic Torch Relay took place at the Seoul 1988 Para-lympic Games. This year 3,500 people across the country have been nominated to be torch bear-ers, and the three Presenting Part-ners, BT, Lloyds TSB and Sains-bury’s, are currently choosing the successful 620 who will carry the torch during community visits and the final 24 hour relay from Stoke Mandeville to London. The re-lay will also include nominations from the British Paralympic Asso-ciation and the International Paral-ympic Committee.

Paralympic Torch Shines on Sheffield

Yahoo is threatening to sue Fa-cebook for allegedly infringing more than a dozen patents cover-ing how to personalise websites, serve adverts and run a social network.As part of a strategic review, Ya-hoo has decided it has failed to squeeze the maximum amount of value from its intellectual proper-ty and told Facebook on Monday that it believes Facebook should

be paying licensing fees. Other-wise, "we will be compelled to move forward unilaterally to pro-tect our rights", a Yahoo spokes-man said.Yahoo had grown to be one of the dominant internet companies before Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2005, but it has been eclipsed by its rival and other companies. Facebook said it has yet to fully evaluate the claims.

Yahoo may sue Facebook

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Mobile CCTV is used by a number of councils across the country. Sheffield City Coun-cil has decided it will not be targeting taxis or any other sin-gle group but instead using the system to tackle illegal parking where it is causing specific prob-lems with congestion and safety, such as parking in bus lanes or at junctions, and on zigzag lines outside schools. Enforcements will be implemented as follows; • Confirmed mobile CCTV will only be used at hotspots, with locations for en-forcement posted on the council’s website, signage in place to warn motorists, and we will notify taxi associations of the hotspots;

• Warning-only notices to go out during the initial period

of enforcement;• Mobile CCTV will initially not be used at the train station to allow a solution to the issues there to be looked at again.

In addition, SCC will: • Look to expand the number of taxi ranks in the city where possible and allow taxis to use loading bays in the evening to rank, if local businesses agree;• Tackle illegal park-ing in areas reserved for taxis at night. “These measures have been de-signed to address the issues raised by the Taxi Association and local Labour councillors and should give people confidence that mo-bile CCTV is there to keep the city moving and improve road safety.” Said Councillor Leigh Bramall in a statement.

MIGRANT work-ers will have to earn at least £35,000 a year to be allowed to settle in Britain. The crackdown could slash the number of skilled immigrants per-mitted to stay per-manently by two thirds. The Home Office will also tighten up regula-tions on foreign nannies, maids and cooks coming to Britain from outside the EU. Under current rules, skilled workers who have been here for five years have a virtual automatic right to stay permanently. As a result, the numbers applying to settle has soared from 10,000 in 1997 to 84,000 in 2010. Most are lower-skilled workers in lower-paid jobs. Ministers believe the new £35,000 pay hurdle will ensure only the "brightest and the best" make Britain their home. But the salary figure could be lower for jobs in which the coun-try has a shortage of workers — and for scientists in PhD-level jobs.

The new pay threshold was first recommended by Government advisers last year. The official Migration Advisory Committee backed the £35,000 figure, say-ing it would reduce the numbers settling here from 60,000 a year to 20,000. There will also be changes in rules to stop foreign domestic workers from outside the EU remaining in Britain. In

2010, nearly 15,700 visas were given to overseas maids, nan-nies and cooks. In the same year, 1,360 foreign domestics were given the right to settle. Under new rules, domestics from outside the EU will be allowed to come to Britain only to work for foreign visitors. They will be permitted to stay for only six months and

must leave with the visitor. And they will not be allowed to move to another employer, extend their stay or bring in their family. The only exception will be any-one working for foreign dip-lomats. Those will be able to stay until the diplomat's tour of duty ends. There will also be tougher rules to protect foreign

nannies and maids from abuse. Both the domestic and their em-ployer will be made aware of their rights and responsi-bilities.

Earn £35K to Stay in the UKNew Pay Threshold to Cut Migrant Numbers

Mobile CCTV in Sheffield

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Council house rents are to go up by inflation-busting amounts across South Yorkshire - but housing bosses blamed the rises on Government policy. Shef-field’s 42,000 council house-holds face a 7.8 per cent rise - an average of £4.87 a week. Average rents in the city are currently £62.32 per week but the sum is set to rise to £67.19. Council tenants in Rotherham will have to pay a 9.45 per cent rise and people in Barnsley face a 8.8 per cent hike - with infla-tion running at 5.2 per cent.Housing bosses say the increase is necessary because of a long-standing Government policy to increase historically low coun-cil house rents to the same level as those of housing association properties, to cover manage-

ment costs without subsidy. Rent levels have to be equalised by 2015-16 or councils suffer financial penalties.Coun Harry Harpham, Sheffield Council cabinet member for housing, said: “We are doing what the Government says we have to do. “The increase will work out at £4.87 per house-hold but what we can confirm is that we have frozen charges wherever possible to ease the burden. There will be no in-crease in charges for commu-nity heating, or service charges for furnished accommodation, temporary accommodation and burglar alarms. We understand that budgets are tight.”Housing Minister Grant Shapps defended the policy. He said: “The current rents policy has

been in place since 2002, and is there to ensure fairness in social housing, whether council or housing association homes. Social rents remain well below market levels, and housing ben-efit will continue to meet the costs for eligible tenants who cannot afford to pay.”The Government said that fur-ther rent rises are due for the two further years before rent levels between council and housing associations are equal, enabling housing to be ‘self fi-nancing’.Rents in numbers:42,000 - the number of council houses in Sheffield7.8% - rent rise in Sheffield9.45% - rent rise in rotherham8.8% - rent rise in Barnsley.

7.8% Rise in Council Rent

People who receive home care in Rotherham can expect a better serv-ice in the future thanks to ground-breaking changes now taking place. The 1800 people across the borough who get domiciliary care services can expect more flexible and local-ised support in the future thanks to major changes in the delivery of the service that will be taking place dur-ing the coming months. Rotherham Borough Council has written to all service users about the changes, which will see 15 care companies providing the home services, com-pared to the current nine. The au-thority believes this will result in a more flexible service that is far more responsive to the needs of in-dividual clients and will go beyond personal care provided in the home.

Better Care Being Rolled Out

Britons are not eating enough fruit and vegetables despite nu-tritional advice being widely available, a study suggests. A review of eating habits in 19 EU countries put the UK in 14th place. The analysis was carried out by the European Food Infor-mation Council (EUFIC).It says that on average, Britons eat 258g (9.1oz) of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with a European average of 386g (13.6oz). The UK average also falls short of the 400g (14.1oz) minimum consumption recom-mended by the World Health Or-ganisation. Only four European countries met this target: Poland (577g), Italy (452g), Germany (442g) and Austria (413g).

The EUFIC report said: “A majority of Europeans do not reach WHO recommendations on vegetables and fruit con-sumption. “Consumption varies, with higher intakes in southern compared to the northern re-gions.” The EUFIC said that high intakes of fruit and veg-etables were associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular dis-ease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.The report also acknowledges that the definition of fruit and vegetables varies between coun-tries with, for example, some nations not including potatoes or fruit juice.

UK Diets

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A major crackdown on shisha smoking in Manchester’s curry mile will be launched in the New Year. Health bosses at Manches-ter council will launch a public health campaign to warn people about the dangers of smoking the pipes. Police have also vowed to tackle law-breakers who are smoking shisha pipes indoors and say anyone caught will be given a £50 fine.More than 30 of the bars – which provide Middle Eastern hookah pipes for people to smoke to-bacco – have opened in a quarter-mile stretch of Wilmslow Road, in Rusholme, over the past three years. Shisha bars are legal but are bound by the 2007 smoking ban and can only operate in areas with three sides open for ventila-tion. But inspections by council staff and police have found some

operating in first-floor premises and rooms with no ventilation.Coun Rabnawaz Akbar, who rep-resents Rusholme, said: “There has been an idea that smoking shisha is in some way safer than cigarette smoking, but guidance from the World Health Organisa-tion says it is just as dangerous as tobacco. “It’s also against the law to smoke inside.”David Regan, director of public health for Manchester, said: “We, along with Manchester coun-cil, are developing a campaign which aims to raise awareness of the dangers to health of smok-ing shisha and of being exposed to second-hand smoke from shi-sha pipes. “This will run early in the New Year. In the last year, there has been a rapid rise in the number of shisha bars opening in Manchester, particularly in Rush-

olme. These bars are becoming popular with young adults aged 18 to 25. There is a misconcep-tion that Shisha is not as harm-ful as smoking cigarettes as it can be fruit flavoured and passes through water first. However, wa-terpipe tobacco smoking delivers nicotine and high levels of toxic compound and the health impacts are comparable to those of ciga-rette smoking. We are aware that some shisha bars have not been complying with the smoke-free legislation and have been allow-ing waterpipes to be smoked in enclosed public spaces. The cam-paign then also aims to reinforce the message that smoking Shi-sha in an enclosed public space is against the law and if you are caught doing this you could re-ceive a fixed-penalty notice of £50,” he said.

Campaign Aims to Stub Out Shisha

The National Landlords Associa-tion (NLA) is urging landlords to report the rent levels of their list property to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to help local au-thorities determine average mar-ket rents in their area.This is vital in helping the local authority gain a full understand-ing of the state of the private rented sector in the area. Further-more, it will help determine the amount of local housing allow-ance (LHA) that is paid to ten-ants on benefits.

Under the government’s cuts to LHA, payments will be based on the 30th percentile of local rents, rather than the previous 50th per-centile. Therefore, helping the VOA arrive at an accurate figure for rent levels could ultimately benefit landlords if the have ten-ants receiving LHA. Landlords can report their rents to the VOA by filling in the lettings infor-mation and collection form and emailing, posting or faxing it back to them.It follows the announcement

that the government is to recon-sider proposals to include hous-ing benefits within its ‘universal credit’ system. This would have seen LHA go directly to tenants as part of a single benefits pay-ment, which they would then need to pass on to the landlord. However, the government may now give people the option of re-ceiving the payment themselves, or it going straight to their land-lord.

Landlords Urged to Report Rents The Association of Non Stun Abattoirs (ANSA), an industry body representing traditional UK Halal slaughterhouses, welcomed the news that the proposed par-liamentary bill to ban religious slaughter of animals in the Neth-erlands had been withdrawn. It was withdrawn after a majority of Dutch senators expressed their reservations to the ban on Halal and Kosher slaughter.An agreement could be made with Jewish and Muslim slaugh-terhouses regarding the length of time that an animal is conscious before dying and the number of animals to be ritually slaughtered. ANSA spokesperson Mohammed Saleem said, “This is a positive,

sensible and welcome step. We are glad they have finally seen sense. The initial movement to ban religious slaughter was based on misconceptions and some po-litical motives. The welfare of animals is a primary concern for Muslims and Jews, and Kosher and Halal methods are both de-signed to be most compassionate to the animal. It is entirely incor-rect to equate religious slaughter with cruelty to animals. The fact is there are countless other real acts of cruelty being carried out on animals daily in industrial slaughterhouses, including under the guise of so-called ‘merciful’ methods of stunning, which merit proper scrutiny and attention. We

would advise proponents of ani-mal welfare to turn their focus to where the evidence actually leads them.”The few countries that still ban religious slaughter in Europe are mostly traceable to pre-World War II anti-Semitism.Mohammed Saleem said “This a tremendous success for our joint efforts. We said before and we re-iterate again, we stand united with the Jewish and Muslim communi-ties of the UK, the Netherlands and other countries. The reversal of the Dutch decision should send a clear message to everyone that we will be united and defend any unjust attack on all fronts.”

Welcome Withdrawal of Proposed Religious Slaughter Ban

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Almost 1,000 people have been sent to prison for an average of 14 months for their part in last summer’s riots, according to Ministry of Justice figures pub-lished last month. The official figures show that 1,483 people had been found guilty and sentenced by the

courts by 1 February for riot-related offences. This represents 55% of the 2,710 people brought before the courts so far. The MoJ figures confirm the punitive ap-proach that the courts have taken towards rioters with the 945 of-fenders who have been jailed given an average of 14.2 months.

This is four times the average sentence length of 3.7 months handed down by the courts for similar offences in 2010.The most common offences with which rioters were charged were burglary (49%), violent disor-der (21%), theft (16%), robbery (2%) and criminal damage (2%). The vast majority of cases in-volved disturbances that took place in London. A total of 1,896 of the 2,710 people have so far appeared in London courts. A further 301 have been in the West Midlands, 240 in Manches-ter, 92 in Merseyside, and 64 in Nottingham.The majority of those brought before the courts have been un-der the age of 20 with 27% juve-niles under 18. This is a younger age profile than is normally seen by the courts for similar offenc-es. The overwhelming majority were male – 89% – and 41% of defendants whose ethnicity is known were white. A further 39% were black, 6% were Asian and 12% from a mixed race background.

Labour have hit out at Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg when on the same day as it was revealed that unemployment has risen to its highest level for 16 years, the main concern of the Deputy Prime Minister has been to criti-cise the Labour council about bin collections. Figures from the Office for National Statis-tics indicate that unemployment now stands at 2.67 million and increased by 48,000 in the three months to December, with the pain being felt particularly hard in Sheffield and across the north of England. A string of recent reports confirm that the Govern-ments spending cuts are hitting northern cities such as Sheffield the hardest, whilst at the same time many wealthy areas in

southern Tory heartlands are re-ceiving minimal cuts. Council services are being hit hard and in Sheffield, Labour have been forced to take tough decisions in order to protect services for the most vulnerable.

Labour have also prioritised tackling youth unemployment through investing in the Shef-field Apprenticeship Scheme and maintaining programmes to sup-port the local economy.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan vowed to bring the people out of the grip of the landlords and described the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (Na-waz) [PML-N] as “mafias”. Addressing a rally in Umerkot district of Sindh province, the cricketer-turned-politician said the days of the landlords, “who make people their slaves”, were numbered. Khan said the cruel system, where “the poor man is sent to jail while the one who loots the country becomes presi-dent”, would be put to an end by

his party. He targetted PPP and PML-N when he said that Zardari and Nawaz leagues were not political parties but “mafias”. Khan said both Presi-dent Asif Ali Zard-ari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were on the same page in looting the nation’s money. He said his party would bring a new system of justice based on local government

England Riots: Almost 1,000 People Jailed so Far Labour tell Clegg to “Stand up for Sheffield”

“Days of landlords are numbered in Pakistan” says: Imran Khan

A lot of young people in Brit-ain are being expected by their employers to return to the class-room for unlearning the kind of language they use. Bosses say increasing numbers of young recruits are unable to commu-nicate with customers in formal English. Instead they use "text speak" and litter emails with

abbreviations and obscure ac-ronyms. Senior business figures are urging the British govern-ment to take action, as they be-lieve social networking has cre-ated an underclass of prospective employees who lack the basic skills required to secure employ-ment. Companies struggle to fill vacancies because school leavers

are unable to work as a team or communicate with colleagues and customers. Managers are also being forced to send "wake-up" text messages to young members of staff to ensure they get to work on time. Employers are taking action them- selves by sending young recruits on spe-cial training courses.

It's Time for Britons to Learn English!

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The British Museum in London has opened the first ever major exhibition on the pilgrimage, to give non-Muslims a glimpse of the heart of this world religion.“This exhibition is for every-body, Muslims and non-Mus-lims, everyone who wants to know more about this extraor-dinary phenomenon, which is one of the great religious mani-festations of the world,” said Neil MacGregor, the director of

the museum. “Hajj is the only part of the practice of Islam that non-Muslims can’t see,” he said. “It seems very important to try to explore that experience and to understand what it means to Muslims now, what it has meant through the centuries and to un-derstand how that habit of pil-grimage has changed the world.”It has taken three years and deals with museums around the world to bring together the exhibition.

The show uses priceless arte-facts, video footage, personal au-dio recordings and photographs to explore the history, journeys and experiences of millions of pilgrims who travel from around the world to reach the holy city of Mecca every year.The Hajj exhibition is the third by the British Museum in a series of sacred spiritual journeys that included “Treasures of Heaven” and “Book of the Dead”, and is

intended to improve understand-ing of the pilgrimage and Islam itself. However the exhibition, organised in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh, skirts over some of the modern problems the hajj faces. “Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam” opened at the British Museum on January 26, and runs until April 15.

The Hajj Exhibition Opens At British Museum

Former president Pervez Mush-arraf, who was to return to Paki-stan by the end of January, has postponed his arrival in view of the “emerging political develop-ments”, his spokesperson said last month. He said Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) said that the retired gen-eral has postponed his return on the advice of several senior party leaders. Musharraf had been liv-ing in exile in Britain and the UAE since he resigned from his post in August 2008, fearing an impeachment by parliament. He had announced that he will return to Pakistan between Jan 27 and 30 to lead his party in the next general elections to be held in

2013. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Musharraf will be ar-rested on his return as courts have issued arrest warrants for him. Musharraf seized power in 1999 after he dismissed the elected government of Nawaz Sharif hours after he was sacked as the army chief. An anti-terrorism court has issued arrest warrants in connection with the 2007 assas-sination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. In October last year, a court issued a warrant for his arrest over the killing of Ba-loch leader Akbar Bugti in a mili-tary operation in August 2006. Musharraf has denied all charges.

MUSHARRAFDelays Return

To Pakistan

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BANQUETING

07951943395 , 07855507125 , 01142 757 786

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Mohammed Nazir Solicitor

Head of Property/Immigration, Wosskow Brown

Q & A : Future Planning Legal Corner

More than £5.6 billion in cash is stashed away in the UK’s homes, with one in 10 people believing their money is safer there than in a bank. Excluding the contents of

their wal-lets, people t y p i c a l l y keep £218 at home, w h i l e a r o u n d one in 33 people has more than £ 1 , 0 0 0 squirreled away in their house,

the Financial Services Compen-sation Scheme (FSCS) said. This hoard, kept tucked under mat-tresses and in jam jars, is largely

unprotected, with even the top insurance policies only covering people for up to around £1,000, the FSCS warned.It suggested the large sums being kept at home could be attributed to 13% of those questioned be-lieving their money is safer at home than in a bank or build-ing society. The amount of cash people store at home has gener-ally fallen, with Britons typically keeping just under £282 in the house when a similar study was carried out a year ago. The drop could be partly due to squeezed households having less spare cash generally.

‘£5.6bn Cash Stashed in UK Homes’

Turkish surgeons claim to have carried out the world’s first quadruple limb transplant on a man whose legs and arms were amputated when he was 13. More than 50 doctors were in-volved in the 20-hour operation to attach two arms and two legs to 27-year-old Sevket Cavdar. After the operation, surgeon Serdar Nasir said: “We have good results but maybe we will lose all of the limbs. “Maybe (we’ll) lose only one or two, we have to wait, but I think for now

we have good results.”The head physician at Hacet-tepe University Hospital in the capital Ankara has appealed for blood donations in case of com-plications. While the doctors are cautious, for Mr Cavdar,the operation is one which could change his life forever.The record breaking transplant follows another failed triple transplant two months ago at another Turkish hospital in the Mediterranean province of An-talya. Following that operation

doctors had to remove a trans-planted leg after it was rejected due to tissue incompatibility.Subsequently all the limbs on Sevket Cavdar had to be re-moved due to life threatening complications. Last month, a team of doctors at Akdeniz University in Tur-key successfully performed the operation on a 19-year-old boy whose face was burned when he was a 40-day-old baby.

No one has a crystal ball and it is very important to plan ahead. Our Private Client Department is not just for our elderly clients. Planning ahead for your future is just as important if you are in your twenties or sixties. We offer practical and cost effective advice What is a Lasting Power of At-torney and what it is used for?Lasting Power of Attorney is a document which allows you to appoint someone you trust as an “Attorney” to make decisions on your behalf regarding your welfare, money or property. At-torneys can make decisions for you when you no longer wish to do so or when you lack the mental capacity. As we are all living longer, sadly ill health and mental capacity is becoming an increasingly com-mon situation faced by many. Mental incapacity is not just a problem for our elderly clients, as an accident could reduce any-one’s ability to communicate. By instructing us to prepare a Last-ing Power of Attorney, you are in effect taking out an insurance policy for the future. We highly recommend that all of our clients prepare a Last-ing Power of Attorney as no one knows what the future holds. What happens if I die without

a Will? If you die without a Will, this is called “intestate” which means you have no control over who gets what. By preparing a Will, you can ensure that your assets are distributed how you wish and try to prevent legal problems after your death by dealing with mat-ters such as who should look after your children. We recommend that each of our clients have a Will. It is particu-larly important to change your Will if you have married, separat-ed or divorced, if you are moving in with a partner or if your spouse or partner has passed away. Can the local authority use my assets to pay for any care home fees?Before you move into a care home, you will have a financial assessment with your local Coun-cil. The Council will look at your income and capital and decide how much you may have to pay towards your care home fees. If you have over £23,000.00 in capital, you could be assessed as being able to meet the full cost of your care. By leaving your share of any property in a Property Trust Will, you are in effect pro-tecting your assets from care fees. I am named as Executor in a Will but I need help to deal with

matters Dealing with a loved one’s estate after bereavement is never easy. At Wosskow Brown we under-stand that this is a serious concern and we are here to help adminis-ter the estate should you need it. From the outset, we will be able to give you a realistic price so that you know how much it is likely to cost the estate, with no hidden costs or extra charges. My mother has dementia and cannot look after her affairs. What can I do? If your mother is not able to make a decision as to her wishes, we can apply to the Court of Protec-tion for a Deputyship Order. At Wosskow Brown we can guide you through the whole process, including filling out the necessary paperwork. The Court will con-sider all the information and de-termine whether you are suitable to manage your mother’s affairs. This then means that you will be able to pay her bills, provide for her day to day needs and take care of any problems that may arise, which she cannot look after herself. Disclaimer Please note, these answers are for general information only and they do not amount as specialist advice. If you want to seek advice, please contact your solicitor.

The free insulation scheme is now moving to Central ward (including Castle, the City Centre, Highfield and parts of Sharrow). The scheme has been running since March 2009 and working with Carillion Energy Services (formally Eaga In-sulation) have signed up over 35,000 households across Shef-field. For more details on the scheme pleasesee www.sheffield.gov.uk/free-insulation There are two ways households are eligible:1) Area by area When the scheme moves to a new area of Sheffield2) Priority customers. Home-owners, private tenants and pri-

vate landlords who have some-one living in their property aged 70 or over or on income or dis-ability benefits can take up the scheme now, no matter where they live in Sheffield. Eligible benefits include: - Council tax benefit (not includ-ing single person reduction) - Housing benefit - Income support - Income based jobseekers al-lowance - Attendance allowance - Disability living allowance - Disablement pension (must include a constant attendance al-lowance) - Child tax credit (when house-hold income is £16,190 or less) - Working tax credit (when

household income is £16,190 or less) - State pension credit - War disablement pension (must include a mobility supple-ment or a constant attendance allowance) - Income-related employment and support allowance If a house is fully insulated it is can save the householder hun-dreds of pounds a year on their energy bills and can increase the thermal comfort of the home reducing health problems asso-ciated with cold damp houses. Call 0800 915 9096 (freephone) or 0114 203 9202. Lines are open 8amto 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Sheffield City Council’s Free Insulation Scheme has come to Central Ward

Muslims in Wales and England are practising their faith and passing it on to their children at much higher rates than any other religion, a new study by Welsh academics has shown. The Car-diff University study, published

online in the journal Sociology, says that the proportion of adult Muslims actively practising the faith they were brought up in as children was 77%. That com-pares with 29% of Christians and 65% of other religions. The

study also found that 98% of Muslim children surveyed said they had the religion their par-ents were brought up in, com-pared with 62% of Christians and 89% of other religions.

Muslims pass on their Faith at Higher Rates than other Religions

Doctors Perform Quadruple Limb Transplant

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Over a fifth of households in Sheffield are living in poverty and an independent commission has been set up to look into the causes and impact of inequalities in the city. Official statistics show that some parts of the city have become more deprived in the last three years and the gap between the wealthiest and poorest people in Sheffield has increased. Over 50,000 households are now be-lieved to be living in poverty in the city. Inequalities between dif-ferent groups of people are also a problem in Sheffield . For exam-ple, women have lower employ-

ment rates and more black or mi-nority ethnic people feel unsafe when out in their local area after dark compared with white British people. The Council’s Corporate Plan has highlighted tackling poverty and increasing social justice as a key issue for the organisation over the next three years.The Council found that the best way to investigate is through an independent commission that can listen to people from across the city and produce recom-mendations for making future improvements. The Fairness Commission will operate using a

Parliamentary Select Committee model and stage a short, focussed inquiry that takes evidence from individuals and organisations in a public forum. The Commission kicked off its work on Tuesday (14 February) with an invitation to Sheffield people and organisations having an interest in these issues to sub-mit written evidence on the caus-es of poverty and inequalities, and priorities for the Commission to consider. The Commission will also take oral evidence in public from a range of organisations in meetings held across the city over the coming months.

Commission to Investigate Inequalities in City

A senior Professor Sir Michael Mar-mott has warned that the Govern-ment’s austerity programme could have disastrous implications for health inequalities. Professor Marmott identifies that Gov-ernment cuts will impact on measures that affect health which identifies as em-ployment, education, income and health, child development and environment. He points to cuts to Sure Start funding as impacting on good services for early childhood and warned that wider austerity measures such as the increase in VAT will increase child poverty and also lead to greater health inequalities with the most disadvantaged being greatest affected by the cuts. Government cuts to grants

specifically focused towards the needs of the most deprived authorities are resulting in the most deprived authorities fac-ing a much more severe cut than the wealthiest areas in the country. Last year it was also revealed that the Government plan to redistribute NHS money away from areas with the great-est need by reducing the weight-ing given to health inequalities when allocating NHS funding. Labour Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Councillor Jackie

Drayton, said: The Government are cutting vital funds for children’s serv-ices which is hitting the most disadvan-taged children and families hardest and impacting on serv-ices that tackle both education and health inequalities. It is al-

ready clear that child poverty will increase as a result of unfair tax rises such as increasing VAT and cuts to childcare and other support for families, this will only lead to worsening health inequalities. “We know that there are great inequalities in Sheffield and the reasons behind this are complex, Labour have set up a Fairness Commission to look at how the council can tackle poverty and inequalities and increase social justice in Sheffield”.

Cuts to Children’s Services will Increase Health Inequalities

The Life in the UK test features a quiz about our customs and history. But when 1,000 Brits were given three multiple choice questions for a new TV show, only four per cent got all three correct and 23 per cent got none at all. The poll also found that 59

per cent feel the biggest barrier to feeling British is not speaking English. The findings feature in Make Bradford British, which airs on Thursday 1st March at 9pm on Channel 4.

A Majority of Brits Failed Questions on the New Citizenship Exam

Thousands of people rallied in Islamabad last month to protest against US drone attacks in the country’s tribal regions and the government’s decision to restore supply lines for NATO troops in Afghanistan. Political and reli-gious leaders lashed out at the US and held it responsible for insta-bility in the region and terrorism in Pakistan. They asked the gov-ernment to quit the US-led coali-tion and to form an independent foreign policy free of American influence. “Joining the US coa-lition against the so-called ter-rorism has promoted terrorism,” chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami party Syed Munawar Hussain told the

crowd at Aabpara Chowk, a busy marketplace in the heart of the capital.The rally was organized by Paki-stan Defence Council (PDC), an amalgamation of nearly 40 reli-

gious and political groups. Sever-al banned radical groups are also part of the PDC. Riot police were deployed to prevent the protestors from moving towards the parlia-ment. No violence was reported.

Thousands Rally Against US in Islamabad

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PROPERTY CORNER by: Mohammed Mahroof BSc (Hons) MRICS

Consultant: Mark Jenkinson & Son

I have not talked a lot about com-mercial property before but as the economic climate gets more chal-lenging businesses are starting to look at all their costs. Sometimes the one issue which does get overlooked is property.I remember when the market was at its peak and office rents were reaching the high teens and over £20 per sq ft in this area and a new concept was developing called “space planning” or “space audit”. Clearly the idea being to reduce fixed costs and work more efficiently.Space PlanningSpace planning in itself is a sim-ple concept but it does need a professional mind to interpret need. Space planning in large or-ganisations and the public sector is almost a recognised science.In a small office based business one needs to look at the staff numbers, how well the office is used, how many people are occu-pying the desks at any one time. You need to look at work prac-tices. It is almost certain that not all your space will be occupied at all times.

Work PracticesIf you have a mobile workforce do you need all the workstations. Many times I have seen office space which has a desk for every member of staff, yet not all of them are occupied, especially if your business is based on going out and meeting clients.Work StationsLook at your desk space and con-sider how you can make it more efficient, more adaptable, more of a work station than a desk. There are many other considerations but a short article as this will not be sufficient to go into detail. Work stations can almost be a work of art and space planners an invaluable expertise.Information TechnologyMany large organisations are heavily involved in home work-ing initiatives. Clearly this has many benefits. Staff do not need to come into the office and im-proves work/life balance. Staff can work at times that suit them. Some people work better in the morning than the afternoon and vice versa.Technology is so advance that

it is not difficult to put in place practices that utilise technology.StorageThis is another major need for business, in particular when you have a large number of files. File management through use of tech-nology has reduced the costs of occupying valuable office space.LocationThe location you occupy – what is the reason for this? Do you need to be there? Can you be elsewhere? Could you possible share with others without com-promising your independence.In this article I have merely touched the surface of this ma-jor subject. There are manyother considerations. As you probably gather, there is a great deal of sense in getting a space audit of the premises you occupy. It could potentially save you money and keep a member of staff in work, which will be good for business.

As ever, if you want to con-tact me please call me on 0114 2760151/0787 901 5095 or through ILM.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

www.ilmnews.com 8

Sheffield City Council’s plan to axe weekly collections of black bins would see up to 13,000 tonnes of extra waste a year being trucked into Sheffield. Extra waste would be imported in order to feed the incinerator, or ‘energy from waste plant’, which would see a reduc-tion in waste from Sheffield’s households. The extra tonnage equates to around 1,000 extra

trucks a year on the road. La- bour councillors are continuing to press ahead with their plan to axe Sheffield’s weekly bin col-lection service, whilst reducing recycling services at the same time. It is estimated the move would see 40 local jobs go. A £250m national fund has been announced to keep weekly bin collections. However, the La-bour Council have so far refused to bid for the extra investment.

Sheffield To Import 13,000 Tonnes Of Rubbish

Many teachers in Britain are fretting and frowning to notice how parents are sending their kids to schools even without toilet-training. Teachers have reported a huge rise in primary pupils wetting themselves in class as they are unable to use

the loo. A whopping 62 percent of the staff noticed more toilet “accidents” in junior classes in the last five years, according to a survey. This statistics rose to 71 percent among those working with three to five-year-olds. One disgruntled teacher said: “Par-

ents do not spend the time toi-let-training their children - they feel it is the school’s job.” When the Association of Teachers and Lecturers quizzed 900 members, most of them complained the problem was worsening.

British Teachers want Toilet-Trained Pupils

NATO forces would not end combat operations in Afghani-stan until the security transition to local forces completed by the end of 2014, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmus-sen has said. Rasmussen, after a meeting with NATO defence ministers, said Thursday that

the coalition was sticking to its previously agreed roadmap, which was declared in Novem-ber 2010 in Lisbon, to wind up operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. “That decision and that roadmap still stand. We are all committed to the principle: in together, out together,” he said.

“Until we reach that point, the role of our forces will gradu-ally change from combat to sup-port, based on security and the realities on the ground,” said Rasmussen. “But let me stress: we will conduct combat opera-tions throughout the transition period.”

NATO in Afghanistan to Last Till 2014

Dozens of donor organs including kidneys meant for transplant go waste every year in Britain be-cause of damages caused while being removed from dead patients, according to a survey.Figures obtained by the Daily Express have re-vealed that in 17 months till September 2011, at least 85 donor organs were damaged. Nearly half of these were kidneys. The report said that loss of such large numbers of life-saving or-gans has fuelled concern that specialist teams sent to retrieve the organs were not always adequately trained to deal with the complex surgery involved. Transplant surgeons say there should be hardly any organs injured during the removal process and

many of those injured could be repaired. “Damage at organ retrieval is generally avoidable and there is good evidence that surgical damage to organs can often be repaired, and function as well as a non-damaged organ,” said Stephen Wigmore, professor of transplant surgery at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. “There is such a huge demand for organs we have to maximise the potential to retrieve them success-fully,” he said.The National Health Service Blood and Transplant service, however, said “not all organs offered for donation are suitable for transplant”.

Donor Organs go Waste in Britain

The British government is plan-ning to store details of phone calls, text messages, email traf-fic and websites visited online as part of its new anti-terror plans. Landline and mobile phone companies and broadband pro-viders will be ordered to store the data for a year and make it available to the security serv-ices. The databases would not record the contents of calls, texts or emails but the numbers or email addresses of who they are sent and received by. For the first time, the security services will have widespread access to information about who has been communicating with

each other on social networking sites such as Facebook, The Telegraph reported.The Home Office is understood to have begun negotiations with internet companies in the last two months over the plan, which could be officially announced as

early as May. The plan has been drawn up on the advice of MI5, the home se-curity service, MI6, which op-erates abroad, and GCHQ, the Government’s “listening post” responsible for monitoring com-munications.

Britain to Store Phone, Email Records of People

More people are dialling 999 when they suspect a stroke fol-lowing a campaign to highlight key symptoms, the Government has said.The Act FAST stroke campaign is intended to show how emer-gency treatment can reduce the risk of death and disability from stroke, which affects around 150,000 people in the UK every year. Last April and May, after the adverts finished running,

the NHS in England saw a 24% rise in stroke-related 999 calls, to 229,974. The Department of Health said there was also a 16% rise in stroke sufferers being seen more quickly. Introduced under Labour in 2009, the campaign has run on an annual basis, with new adverts planned to run from the end of this month to March 25. After the first 2009 campaign, there was a 16% rise in 999 calls, followed by a 20% rise in 2010.The campaign urges people to look out for the following signs and call 999 if they spot a single one: Facial weakness - can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped? Arm weakness - can the person raise both arms? Speech problems - can the per-son speak clearly and understand what you say? Time - to call 999 for an ambulance if any one of these signs occurs.Health Secretary Andrew Lans-ley said: “Stroke is the third lead-ing cause of death in England each year and the leading cause of disability. The Act Fast cam-

paign has proved it works and we are confident the Act Fast cam-paign will once again have a very positive impact for people suf-fering from stroke. “Treatment for stroke is improving all the time, the majority of patients are being taken to specialist stroke units and latest figures show 83% see a stroke consultant within 24 hours. However, we are not com-placent and are clear that more can be done to improve results for patients.”Jon Barrick, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: “A stroke is caused by a blockage or a bleed in the brain, which cuts off the brain’s flow of oxygen and causes brain cells to die. Some people may be able to receive clot-busting treatments which can quickly restore the flow of blood to the brain and significantly re-duce the amount of brain dam-age. “Recognising the symptoms of stroke and acting quickly is therefore absolutely vital. We’re for life after stroke and we know that these adverts save lives.”

Rise In Stroke-Related 999 Calls

News in Brief

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Nationally and locally:The median waiting-time for treatment is higher now than in 2009/10;The number of people waiting more than 18 months for treatment has increased by 43% in the last year; Twice as many people are now waiting more than 6 weeks for diag-nostic tests – including for cancer and heart disease – as were waiting when David Cameron came to power.

NHS WAITING TIMES

Exciting proposals to regener-ate one of the key gateways into Sheffield was on display in the city centre recently. The displays were produced by students of the University of Sheffield’s Town and Regional Planning Depart-ment. They recognise the impor-tant historic role of Attercliffe in Sheffield’s industrial heartland and the continuing role that the centre can play as an important gateway into the city.

Proposals support the recommen-dations of Sheffield City Coun-cil’s new Action Plan for Atter-cliffe. These include enhancing the streetscene along Attercliffe Road, bringing vacant properties back into positive uses and im-proving the green spaces. They are also aimed at address-ing the high levels of heavy goods traffic that currently uses Atter-cliffe as a through route to and from other parts of the city.

REGENERATION OF ATTERCLIFFE GOES ON SHOW

10 Irene Rosenfeld CEO Kraft Foods – leader of the worlds 2nd largest food maker – in charge of 127,000 employees9 Christine Lagarde Managing Director, International Monetary Fund – the 1st woman to run the IMF – overseeing bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal8 Michelle Obama US first lady – more popular than Barack – using her position to help end childhood obesity7 Sonia GhandiPresident of the Indian National Congress – hugely influential in this populous and rapidly ad-

vancing nation6 Melinda GatesCo-founder, Co-chair of Bill & Melinda gates foundation – leads the worlds wealthiest private foundation – gives away billions to charity5 Sheryl Sandberg CEO Facebook – has grown a 70 million user base into over 750 million active “friends” today4 Indra Nooyi Chief Executve PepsiCo – over-seas 300,000 staff and $60 bil-lion annual revenues at Americas largest food and beverage busi-ness3 Dilma Rousseff

10 Most Powerful Women in the World according

to Forbes and BBC

The European Union (EU) adopted a plan to build a strong relationship with Pakistan. Welcoming the adoption, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the five-year en-gagement plan will contribute to fostering peace and stability in the region. “The EU will continue to work closely with Pakistan as it seeks to address its economic and developmen-tal challenges and provide se-curity for its people,” the EuA-siaNews quoted her as saying in a statement. Both sides are already meet-ing at senior official level to

discuss implementation of the plan. Ashton said that during her visit to Pakistan in April, she will inaugurate a strategic dialogue, based on the engage-ment plan, together with Pa-kistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. The EU called for these meas-ures in September 2010 fol-lowing devastating floods in Pakistan. The EU remains committed to support Pakistan in providing assistance for re-covery and reconstruction fol-lowing the floods, added the EU foreign policy chief.

EU Seeks Closer Ties with Pakistan

News in Brief News in Brief

The successes and achievements of police officers, police staff and partners have been celebrated at a prestigious awards cer-emony at the Sheffield City Hall. The Sheffield Police Awards took place last month.The event was also supporting the CHIL-DREN with CANCER UK charity. Sheffield District Com-mander, Chief Superintendent Simon Torr, introduced the event, followed by 20 awards presented by sponsors.

South Yorkshire PoliceSheffield Police Awards

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The cost of NHS prescriptions in England will rise 25p to £7.65 from 1 April, the government has announced. Charges for basic dental treatment will rise 50p to £17.50, with rises of up to £5 for more complex work.The changes in charges were out-lined by Health Minister Simon Burns and will be put before Par-liament soon. Doctors’ leaders say the current system is unfair and needs to be reformed in Eng-land. This latest announcement means NHS prescription charges increase again in England, while in Scotland, Wales and North-ern Ireland charges have already been scrapped. But the cost of a prescription payment certificate (PPC), which is valid for three

months, will remain at £29.10 and the price of an annual PPC will be

held at £104.Charges for elastic stockings and tights, wigs and fabric supports supplied by hospitals will also be increased. The value of vouchers

for glasses for children, people on low incomes and those with com-plex sight problems will increase by 2.5% overall.The announcement also means an increase in charges for dental treatment. The dental charge pay-able for a “band 1” course of treat-ment - examination, diagnosis and advice, includes X-rays, a scale and polish and planning for fur-ther work if necessary - will rise 50p to £17.50. Band 2 charges, covering fillings, root canal treat-ment and extractions, will rise by £1 to £48. For band 3 work, such as crowns, dentures and bridges, the cost will increase by £5 to £209.

NHS Prescription Costs to Increase

There will never be a single cure for cancer and although its in-cidence will gradually diminish over the next 50 years, it will never be entirely eliminated, ac-cording to Britain’s top scientist.Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society, said that scientific advances have helped to under-stand the fundamental mecha-nisms that turn a cell cancerous but because cancer is so many dif-ferent diseases, a universal cure is not possible.“There’s never going to be a cure for cancer because cancer is a generic term to describe a set of

widely differing diseases, with widely differing causes, that hap-

pen where cells divide out of con-trol. And most of the time, cancer is a disease of old age,” Sir Paul said in the Radio Times.“We have repair systems work-ing to repair all cell damage but over time, those damaged cells will ‘escape’,” he said. “Now this knowledge is fantastic ... It means we’re in a position where we could create drugs that will be more specific for a particular cancer. My view is that over dec-ades – it could be 50 years – the incidence of cancers will gradu-ally come down. It’s never going to be zero.”

Cancer ‘will never be Eliminated’

House prices have recorded their strongest monthly rise since July, official figures showed today.Prices in England and Wales rose by a "surprising" 1.1% in January to average £161,545, with monthly rises recorded for every region except the North West, according to Land Regis-try sales figures.London, which has had strong overseas buyer interest, record-ed a 2.5% monthly house price increase to reach £351,305, the

biggest increase of the regions.At the other end of the scale North West saw house pric-es fall by 2.1% to average £109,866.The North East saw the second biggest month-on-month in-crease, with a 2.2% rise, but re-corded the biggest year-on-year fall at 4.5% to reach £102,066.Analysts have suggested that property prices have held up due to sellers' reluctance to put their homes on the market as a result of the weak economy,

leading to "pent up" demand from buyers.Lenders and estate agents have also reported an early spring boost caused by increased first-time buyer activity in the rush to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday for this sector of the market, which ends next month.Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Econom-ics, described the general house price increases as "surprising".However he cautioned: "To-

day's data does little to alter the bigger picture that outside the capital at least, house prices are broadly stagnant in the South, but continue to edge gradu-ally lower in the Midlands and across northern England."And with the data also sug-gesting that sales were little changed, at roughly half their pre-recession highs, the bigger picture still seems to be one of a very weak market."The West Midlands recorded the lowest monthly increase,

at 0.1%, to average £128,803, while prices rose by 0.2% in the East Midlands, to reach £123,142. Prices in Wales rose by 0.9% to reach £177,078.Ray Boulger, of John Charcol mortgage adviser, said that he had seen increased activity in the market this year, not just from first-time buyers.He said the widened availabili-ty of higher loan-to-value mort-gages and the relative stability of house prices had helped to encourage the market.

"Activity levels look like being better than we had anticipated," he said. "There clearly is pent up demand."The latest figures show that dur-ing November last year house sales generally increased by 3% to 57,967 compared with the same month in 2010.The number of properties sold for more than £1 million in No-vember 2011 decreased by 4% from 524 to 528 in November 2010.

Property prices on the increase

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Labour controlled Sheffield City Council has confirmed it will drastically change the way funding is allocated to local communities, reverting back to a ‘favoured areas’ policy which unfairly skews funding into a handful of Sheffield areas at the expense of others. Under plans revealed to opposition Liberal Democrats by council officers, in 2012/13 the North East area

of Sheffield can look forward to a 13.5% increase in funding available for their Community Assembly whilst others face cuts of up to 30%. To add insult to injury, La-bour councillors will also cease all funding for local highway projects, local climate change projects and small grants to local community groups. Instead of lo-

cal people and their councillors deciding where this investment worth nearly £1,000,000 will be allocated, the money will be spent on other priorities set by Labour in the Town Hall. Table shows funding available for Sheffield’s seven Community Assemblies next year, compared to funding in the present year.

Sheffield Labour Council back to ‘Favoured Areas’ with a Bang

Community Assembly 2011/12 Pooled 2012/13 Pooled £ change % change Budget set by Budget proposed Council to be set by Council

North East 468,292 531,648 63,356 13.5East 455,571 449,991 -5,580 -1.2South 292,422 250,715 -41,707 -14.3Central 295,857 232,464 -63,393 -21.4South East 288,893 226,941 -61,952 -21.4Northern 242,681 178,488 -64,193 -26.5South West 156,284 109,519 -46,765 -29.9Total 2,200,000 1,979,766 -220,234 -10

Pakistan’s government honored the country’s first filmmaker to win an Oscar: the director of a documentary on the plight of female victims of acid attacks in this conservative society. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the prize for the documentary “Saving Face,” which chroni-cles a London-based plastic sur-geon who travels to Pakistan to treat women who have had acid thrown on them. The attacks are often carried out by angry hus-bands or spurned lovers.While Pakistan’s media and po-litical parties can often be sensi-tive to criticism, the prestige of an Oscar appears to have out-weighed any qualms the govern-ment might feel about celebrat-ing a film that shows the country in a bad light to international audiences. Pakistani Prime Min-ister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that Obaid-Chinoy would receive a

civil award for her accomplish-ment. “The pride of Pakistan is in their artistes & intellectuals. Not in bombs and bans!” tweeted lib-eral columnist Nadeem Paracha.The director for her part praised the resilience and bravery of the women documented in the film during her acceptance speech in Los Angeles. She dedicated the award to all women working for change in Pakistan. “Don’t give up on your dreams,” said Obaid-Chinoy, who co-directed the documentary with Daniel Junge.Mistreatment of women is wide-spread in Pakistan, a conserva-tive nation of some 175 million where most people are poor, only half the adults can read, and ex-tremist ideologies such as that of the Taliban are gaining traction.In 2010, at least 8,000 acid at-tacks, forced marriages and other forms of violence against women were reported, according to The

Aurat Foundation, a local non-profit. Because the group relied mostly on media reports, the fig-ure is likely an undercount.The Pakistani government re-cently stiffened the punishment for acid burnings in a landmark set of laws passed by parliament. They mandated that convicted attackers serve a minimum sen-tence of 14 years, and pay a mini-mum fine of about $11,200.The laws also criminalized other common abuses, such as marry-ing off young girls to settle tribal disputes and families preventing women from inheriting property.Rights activists praised the laws but stressed their passage was just the first step, and likely not the hardest one. It could be even more difficult to get Pakistan’s corrupt and inefficient legal sys-tem to protect women’s rights that many men in this patriarchal society likely oppose.

Pakistan Lauds Oscar-Winning Filmmaker

Police have unveiled a laser speed camera that can tell if driv-ers are using a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt from near-ly half a mile away, the Daily Mail reported. Officers say it will help in their zero-tolerance ap-proach to motoring offences. But critics say Dorset police are using the equipment to “maximise the number of offences” simply to raise funds.

The 12,500-pound Concept II is fitted with laser speed-detection equipment and a powerful cam-era that can capture motorists in the “act” of using a mobile phone while driving or not wearing a seat belt. The resolution is sharp enough to pick out an unbuckled belt at ranges of up to 600 me-tres and records image and video evidence to DVD, the newspa-per said. Project manager Brian

Austin said: “Bizarrely, officers at one of the sites in Dorchester were stunned to see a driver pass them while playing a harmonica using both hands. “He claimed that he thought he was driving while playing the harmonica quite successfully.”Officers will be able to use the pictures as evidence to secure a conviction.

Beware Drivers! Police Watching You Mile Away

Pakistan’s Peshawar city has banned the sale and flying of kites for a month -- because it is causing ac-cidents. Peshawar official Siraj Ahmed Khan announced the ban, reported Dawn, which added that the de-cision was taken follow-ing complaints. Pakistan has seen many accidents involving kite flying. Last year, a three-year-old boy was killed when the string of a kite sliced through his neck in Karachi.

Pakistani City Bars Kite Flying

Pakistan International Airline re-ceived the Best Hajj Service Pro-vider Airline award at the Sev-enth Consumer Choice Awards Ceremony held at a local hotel recently.The award was presented to PIA Managing Director Nadeem Khan Yousufzai by Minister for Information Technology Sindh Raza Haroon.The ceremony was organized by the Consumer Association of Pa-kistan where 104 manufacturing companies and service provid-ers of the country were awarded shields for their quality products and services. Speaking on the occasion, the PIA MD said that the airline had made special ar-

rangements at Jeddah for the convenience of Hajis. The airline transported over 110,726 Hajis

through 273 flights to Saudi Ara-bia, he added.

PIA gets Best Haj Service Provider Award

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Labour controlled Sheffield City Council’s decision to increase resident parking permit fees by up to 400% has been labelled a ‘betrayal’ by local Lib Dem council-lors. In particular a Shef-field Labour MP has been caught red-handed, he still has details of his campaign to reduce the fees on his website. The now Labour MP for Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield, had previ-ously launched a campaign to reduce residents parking permit fees. The campaign from when the Lib Dems ran

the Council is still on his web-site, it states “No Ifs, No Buts, No Profits. Lower the Permit Prices”. Despite this Labour councillors plan to raise an extra £352,000 from residents and businesses within a residents parking permit area. A permit for resi-dents’s first car will increase in cost from £10 to £20, for a second car will rise from £30 to £60. Charges for carers will double, permits for businesses will double in price, whilst visi-tor permits will have a 400% increase in cost from £2.50 to £10.

£352,000 Residents Parking Permit Hike

The World Minorities Alliance in Pakistan has de-cided to take out a rally in Islamabad demanding in-dependent status for the United Nations and recogni-tion of Urdu as one of the UN languages. The worldwide members organization, say that for as long as UN Headquarters are located in the United States of America , the world body would not be able to work independently. Ironically those wanting to visit the UN need a US visa as if the world body was one of the serving states of America. They are demanded shifting of the United Nations Headquarters to independent soil where the world body should have its own currency, passport, airport and visa issuing authority and a reserved seat for mi-norities in the UN. A World Minorities Alliance spokesperson warned that if the UN was not given an independent status it would not be able to avert Third World War as the League of Nations failed to save 50 million live lost during the World War Two.

Rally to Demand Independent Status for United Nations

Liberal Democrat councillors in Sheffield have welcomed the announcement of £16,425,092 new Government funding to be targeted at unemployed young people in the local region. Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Shef-field Hallam MP, announced the new fund to get unemployed young people. The move comes as just one part of the Coalition Government’s Youth Contract. For the first time funding will be targeted at 16 and 17-year-

olds with no GCSEs at A*-C who are at the highest risk of long-term disengagement. The new fund comes on the back of the announcement of a new Government-backed University Technical College in Sheffield.The Youth Contract, launched last November by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, aims to lift all young people out of unem-ployment. Key features include: • Cash payments to encourage employers to recruit young people.

• An extra 250,000 work experience places over the next three years.• At least 20,000 ex-tra incentive payments worth £1,500 each for employers to take on young people as appren-tices. • Extra support through Jobcentre Plus in the form of weekly, rather than fortnightly, signing-on meetings, more time to talk to an adviser and a Na-tional Careers Service interview.

£16.4M to get Earning or Learning

Poverty-stricken families in Britain can now set aside only 60 percent of the money they require to properly heat their homes, a charity has said. It warned that low-income house-holds are falling short of the amount required for annual bills by almost £450 a year, the Sun reported. The Barnardo’s charity said families need to spend an average of £1,165 a year to “ad-equately” heat their homes. But they can afford only 60 percent of that - around £723. The “fuel gap” of 40 percent is more than double the £200 short-fall recorded eight years ago. The charity said things were made worse by firms forcing customers who fall behind with bills to use pre-payment metres - which cost even more.

Difficult for Britain’s Poor Families to Heat Homes

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Christianity was dealt a blow when a devout care worker was told she had no legal right to take Sundays off. Celestina Mba, 57, lost her claim for con-structive dismissal after a judge ruled her employer could make her work on the Sabbath. The Baptist mother-of-three claims she was forced from her job caring for disabled children after clashing with bosses over the issue.But the tribunal ruled that keep-ing Sunday as a day of rest was not a ‘core component’ of Christianity. Miss Mba had claimed that a Muslim col-league had been treated more favourably by being given time off for Friday prayers. This was denied by her employers. Speaking after the hearing, Miss Mba said: ‘I am amazed by this decision. I thought this was a Christian country and known for its welcome and hospitality to all people. I worked hard for years at my job, and to lose it because of intolerance towards my faith is shocking to me. For me, Chris-tianity requires Sundays off. The Bible asks us to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. It’s about much more than go-

ing to Church. I spend the whole day helping others in the com-munity – some of whom have no one to be there for them.’Baroness Warsi said a 'liberal elite' was attempting to down-

grade the importance of religion in public lifeThe panel also found there was ‘no evidence’ that Muslim colleagues had been treated more favourably than Miss

Mba. Speaking after the case, Christian Legal Centre, which funded the claim, said: ‘We are extremely disappointed by this decision. Other faiths seem to be much more readily accom-modated while Christianity is often ignored.’ In 2010, Nadia Eweida lost her appeal against a decision to clear British Airways of dis-crimination by stopping her wearing a cross visibly at work. Earlier this month, a High Court judge banned prayers at council meetings in Bideford, Devon, a tradition dating back to the era of Elizabeth I, and on the same day, the Appeal Court ruled that two Christian B&B own-ers broke the law by refusing to allow a gay couple to stay in a double room.Baroness Warsi, Tory Party chairman, said a ‘liberal elite’ was attempting to downgrade the importance of religion in public life. In a speech at Lambeth Palace, the Queen described the Church of England as ‘misunderstood’ and ‘under-appreciated’.

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The first successful experiment of using mobile phones was done by the American army in September 1940. I was really surprised to know this as it was even before I was born. General usage of mo-bile phones in public started in the late 80’s in Japan. I was work-ing with a designer from Toyota Corporation Japan and accord-ing to him the Japanese started video calling on the mobile phone in early 1992, whereas in UK it started in 2003. At that time, in Pakistan, it seemed like a fantasy as the size of the phones in use was like a brick whereas his flip-over phone was much smaller. The Smart Mobile Phone, which has now become a necessity, has facilitated many usages available at hand – not only it has replaced the (hard copy) daily diary but one can now download Applica-tions commonly known as Apps on any subject and start using straight away. There are more than 5 billion mobile phone us-ers worldwide and that figure is increasing rapidly not only in the western world but also in devel-oping countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and even the poor-est countries in the African con-tinent. The basic reason is that the Internet is easily accessible almost everywhere. To capture the increasing market, broadband and cable service providers are competing with each other on faster access, competitive pric-

ing and overall better facilities. It is human nature that we want everything right now, faster and cheaper.It is progressively getting better for us as if and when (24/7) we require any kind of information on almost any topic or need we do not have to go to a library or any particular office and all we do is type few words in the appropri-ate search engine and through the internet the required information, and more, is easily accessible from the comfort of our home and or office. This is one of the rea-sons why the popularity of mo-bile phones and the Tablets is on the increase and are available on several platforms like Apple, An-droid, Blackberry and Windows. The usage of various tablets is very rapidly increasing not only in the work environment but peo-ple are using them from home to access information as well as for all kinds of shopping.More and more people are go-ing mobile and they like to buy through mobile and tablets. As we see the rapid growth in the sale and usage of smart phones, we realise the great potential there is for selling products and services to this market As mentioned ear-lier people like to buy ASAP and a business not having a mobile friendly website is not in an ideal position to sell in that market. If the website is not mobile friend-ly potential customers will not

be able to immediately access it through search engines. Also, in the current recession it is vital to increase the market and a website also enables the business to sell globally. To stay competitive in business, marketing consultants strongly advise to have a mobile friendly website where you can provide all the information about your business, perhaps including the facility to sell your products and services interactively through the internet.In the current economic climate, utilising latest technology is vi-tal, particularly for marketing. It is one of the key differences why some businesses are flourishing and others are finding difficult to survive. Therefore your business should have its presence in every marketing channel.Latest technology is available to everyone and because of the internet it is very easily accessi-ble and affordable. Whether you want to be a successful person or want to run a successful business you need to efficiently utilise the latest technology.If you want to know more about Smart Mobile phones or Tablets please visit:www.gsmarena.com and if you want to have a mobile friendly website done for yourself or your business please visit: www.ms-marketingservices.net

Mobile Apps or Websites

Over £300,000 worth of fake sports footwear has been seized in a crackdown in Sheffield.

The counterfeit sports footwear was seized in a joint operation carried out by the City Coun-

cil’s Trading Standards and South Yorkshire Police Economic Crime Unit in a carefully co-ordinated op-eration at addresses across Sheffield. Working closely with the genuine manufac-turer and border authori-ties, thousands of pairs of counterfeit Nike training shoes and other brands were tracked from their importa-tion into the UK through to addresses in Sheffield. The fake trainers are believed to originate from China and brought into the UK for a sophisticated distribution ring around the country.

Two arrests were made and en-quiries remain ongoing.

Thousands of Fake Shoes Seized in Anti-Piracy Operation

Labour controlled Sheffield City Council have revealed they will spend £400,000 on a communications campaign when they introduce their plan to axe weekly bin services. La-bour councillors are continuing to press ahead with their plan to axe Sheffield’s weekly bin col-lection service, whilst reducing recycling services at the same time. It is estimated the move would see 40 local jobs go. Previously Labour councillors have claimed that there would be no money from Government to help keep weekly collections

and making the cut would save

£2.4m in the next financial year. Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Sheffield City Coun-cil, said: “The people of Shef-field are not stupid. We don’t need Labour councillors to waste £400,000 on explaining our bin will be collected every fortnight instead of every week thanks to their unpopular plan. “This money should have been used to save some of the 550 jobs they have just announced will be axed, including the 40 jobs that will go thanks to their decision to axe weekly bins.

£400,000 To Make Us ‘Understand’ Labour’s Axe To Weekly Bins

Being Christian Doesn’t Give You The Right To Be Off Work On Sundays:

Devout Care Worker Loses Tribunal

By: Muhammed Shoaib, Chairman M S Marketing Services

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Vulnerable people and front line services will be safeguarded by Rotherham Borough Council de-spite the constraints of a massive reduction in funding. That is the basis of budget proposals recom-mended to Full Council by mem-bers of the authority’s Cabinet after hearing that for the second consecutive year the borough is facing a significant budget chal-lenge.Next year will see a budget gap of £20.4 million in addition to the £30.3 million reduction in the current financial year’s budget. These constraints in funding are greater than both the national and regional averages. Cabinet members agreed that the most vulnerable in society, local communities and vital front-line services will be supported within the budget proposals.As a result, a schedule of savings

and additional funding sources has been identified which in-clude:-* a total of almost £9.8million worth of savings across service areas* a further £2million specifically linked to reductions in staffing* 800,000 to be saved by freez-ing staff increments for a further 12 months* improvements in working prac-tices in commissioning and pro-curement to achieve £2.2million in efficiency savings* using the New Homes Bonus to support the wider council budget in 2012/2013.Rotherham’s £213.290 million budget for 2012/13 will be used in providing vital public services, the priorities being:* Keeping both adults and chil-dren safe * Investing now in preventative

and early intervention services that will help us save money in the longer term* Supporting employment and jobs, promoting new business start-ups and stimulating the lo-cal economy* Working with other agencies (eg credit unions) to ensure peo-ple on low incomes are accessing the benefits and services they are entitled to and providing loans to those in danger of being made homeless * Protecting the most vulnerable in our communities* Continuing the capital invest-ment needed for the future – in houses, schools, roads, customer services and town centre regen-eration.In addition, for the second year running, there will be no increase in Council Tax.

On-going Financial Challenge for RotherhamProblems in the digestive system should not be neglected. There are different possible digestive system disorders or diseases that are most often neglected by many people. The most common digestive problem is acid reflux or gastro-oesophageal reflux dis-ease, mostly known as heartburn. Acid reflux can affect all ages from infants to young children and more commonly adults. This disorder should be given special attention because it can lead to more serious problems that may affect the respiratory system.Acid reflux is determined through the symptoms associ-ated with it. Symptoms such as a burning sensation in the chest or throat, sneezing, or hoarseness should never be neglected be-cause these symptoms are simi-lar to heart attack. An individual with these symptoms should im-mediately consult a doctor to de-termine if they have acid reflux disease or symptoms of a heart attack. Once the doctor has di-agnosed the individual with acid reflux, you should take proper medications to aid this condition and prevent further problems.Fortunately, advancements in medical treatment have been introduced lately, making it pos-sible for individuals with acid re-flux to undergo medical surgery, as such, providing a permanent remedy for acid reflux in a fast surgical procedure. On the other hand, natural remedies to rid of the problem are an option for those individuals unable to have surgery.As most people know, acid re-flux or heartburn can occur at

any time but is likely to occur after having a heavy meal with high acidic foods. Individu-als should avoid foods that are highly acidic to prevent this con-dition to occur. Especially fried and fatty foods should be avoid-ed. These sorts of foods can lead to more severe symptoms that could affect the respiratory sys-tem. Even chocolates are consid-ered a no-no for individuals with

acid reflux because chocolates are highly acidic too.If you have been diagnosed with acid reflux, try changing your diet by choosing the right foods and eating healthy. Exclude foods with tomatoes and citrus fruits because they are very acid-ic. Also, food with spices such as garlic, onions, red or black pep-per and chilli powder can cause the condition to flare. Ginger, however is a natural remedy used to relive heartburn.Here are some foods that should

by avoided by individuals with acid reflux. Fatty foods like take-away pizza, kebabs and chips are one of the risks in triggering this painful condition. Certain veg-etables like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli causes acid reflux also. Most of all, avoid caffeine found in teas, coffee, and soft drinks. Caffeine causes acid gastric secretion that can lead to the problem.

There are other ways to aid the elimi-nation of acid reflux; this is done by limiting your food in-take. Usually heavy meals at one time can cause acid reflux so it is better to eat small p o r t i o n s of foods in every meal. Eating heavy meals can re-

sult in stomach problems due to foods unable to breakdown prop-erly for stomach consumptions, therefore causing acid reflux.Acid reflux is a condition that needs attention. It can lead to worse conditions if unattended. Individuals should take prevent-ative measures to avoid possible occurrences of acid reflux and avoid the foods that cause it. Learn to diagnose the problem and take preventative measures to limit and avoid occurrences.

Which Foods Cause Acid Reflux?

The meaning of millads has somewhat vanished. The old time milaads were spiritual and religious affairs, as they should be, with intoxicating naats, salaams and nasheeds but now these gatherings are being over-run with speeches and news. Organisation has gone out the

window as everybody wants a piece of the action. These occasions are not the same as the jummah khutbah where takreers are of the essence. Everybody seems to want the stage at these events, and the meaning is dissolved with other affairs.I H Shah

Less Speeches and More Milaads

Sheffield City Council have forced through their plan to fit cars with cameras to drive around Sheffield’s roads issuing parking tickets, despite the fact there is no evidence the move would relieve local congestion. There is no material evidence that the move would relieve congestion and a major reason for the introduction of the policy is to issue fines to motorists who drive off after spotting an approaching traffic warden. In one London borough alone spy cars similar to the ones that will now operate in Sheffield handed out a total of 18,000 fines incorrectly, before the Council took them off the road amid protests from local people.The Economic and Environmental Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee heard that it could take up to five years to issue traf-fic regulation orders outside of all Shef-field schools, so that the Council can take action against unsafe parking.

‘Spy Cars’ On Sheffield’s Streets

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S M ALI Naqvi

SHEFFIELD United Football Club is strengthening its links with India’s leading Tata Foot-ball Academy (TFA) as Euro-pean interest in the country’s football talent increases. The npower League One club es-tablished its partnership with the Jamshedpur-based Acad-emy in 2010, providing advice and coaching to support the de-velopment of more than 35 of India’s top young players aged 16-19.Jamshedpur is the seventh larg-est city in India, which has an overall population of 1.4billion people. Despite the vast array of potential un-tapped talent, India continues to be ranked 158th in world football.The Tata Football Academy has been established for more than

25 years and is ranked as the best in India. However, English Premier League sides QPR and Blackburn Rovers are looking to build their links with India by establishing their own acad-emies in the country following their recent takeovers by Indian tycoons.Sheffield United has a head start over their top-flight rivals having been involved in the de-velopment of football in India for the last two years and it is the club’s intention to help the Tata Football Academy retain its high-profile status despite growing competition.As the partnership between the Blades and TFA enters into its third-year, United have sent coach and former player Lee Walshaw to the Academy to

continue a new 12-month pro-gramme of activity to support the youngsters’ development.The partnership will also build relationships between the two organisations which could lead to mutually beneficial commer-cial opportunities. Dave McCarthy, managing di-rector of Sheffield United FC, said: “We view our relationship with the Tata Football Acad-emy as extremely important to the long-term future success of Sheffield United. Not only can we assist India to improve its standing in world football by supporting their development of players, but we are well placed to develop important commercial links into the foot-ball club. .

BRITAIN is drawing up plans to send hundreds of troops and an extra nuclear sub to the Gulf as tension mounts with Iran. Defence chiefs are convinced the UK will be swiftly sucked into any new conflict with Tehran's fanatical regime. They say it is a matter of WHEN not IF war breaks out - with 18 to 24 months the likely timescale. The Army, Royal Navy and RAF will have crucial roles if hostilities are triggered by presi-dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear stand-off with the world. The UK will first fly an INFAN-TRY battalion to the United Arab Emirates, our strong ally in the re-gion. The move would be a public

show of support, demonstrating that Britain is ready to defend the UAE it it comes under attack from Iran. The UAE is separated from Iran by just 34 miles of sea across the Strait of Hormuz. The Royal Navy has already quietly gathered seven WARSHIPS in the Gulf. Tensions were ratcheted up by the announcement of US and EU sanctions on Tehran's oil to take effect in July. It will lead to Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz — cutting off much of the world's oil. Air strikes by Israel on Iran's nu-clear facilities are seen as the most likely trigger for conflict. This is another display of utter propaganda. Iran and any other

country are well within theri rights to have a nuclear programme. America has been waging covert wars on Iran since 1953. They aren't developing a bomb, accord-ing to CIA and UK intelligence. The position Iran is in right now is to set its defences up from any attack as the US, UK and Israel are looking for a fight. Its none of our business what they do in their country. Once upon a time the UK was respected in the world but that is no longer the case because of un-noble wars. Is it because the US and UK have shares in the weapons companies they buy their supplies from.

Britain’s battle plan for war with Iran

India marked a major success in its battle against polio Satur-day by being removed from the World Health Organisation’s list of countries plagued by the crip-pling disease. WHO removed In-dia from the list after the country passed one year without register-

ing any new cases. The milestone is a major victory in the global ef-fort to eradicate polio and leaves only three countries with endemic polio —Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. India must pass an-other two years without new cases to be declared polio-free. Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh praised some 230,000 volunteers who traveled across India to vaccinate chil-dren and said India’s success against polio ”shows that teamwork pays.” ”This gives us hope that we can fi-nally eradicate polio not only from India but from the face of the en-tire mother Earth.”

India’s success in fighting polio has been credited to a partner-ship between the government, the WHO, UNICEF and Rotary In-ternational, whose members have contributed more than $1 billion to the global eradication effort.

India removed from WHO list of Polio Nations

Meera, who recently announced her retirement from the Pakistan film industry, is all set to wed Naveed Shehzad. The Lollywood actress, who even appeared on TV shows in the quest of finding a husband, has finally decided to give in to her parents’ wishes. Meera’s parents accepted the pro-posal of a Pakistani-American airline captain, Naveed Shehzad, who is also the actor’s family friend. “They are family friends from America, they have accepted our demands, hence the engagement is on,” the Express tribune quoted Shafqat Zohra Bukhari, Meera’s

mother as saying. Even Meera confirmed the news. “Shehzad is a family friend and I will be getting engaged to him on my family’s in-sistence,” she told.

However, Shehzad told the media that he has liked Meera ever since he “set his eyes” on her in 2009 at his sister’s wedding in New York. The pilot also says he prefers to

call Meera by her real name, Ru-bab. Shehzad also dismissed rumours that he had divorced his alleged first wife to marry Meera. “Ru-mours of me having kids or being married are simply untrue,” he told. Meanwhile, he clarified that the ceremony at Meera’s house was not the engagement but was just a ‘baat pakki’ and also added that the media would be informed about the ‘grand engagement cer-emony’ which will take place soon and added that. “God willing, the marriage will be held by the end of this year,” he added.

Meera gives in to her ‘Parents’ wishes

Sheffield United Strengthen Ties with Indian Football

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South Yorkshire’s new Chief Constable has been named as David Crompton, who will

leave West Yorkshire Po-lice to take up the top post. He was one of three candi-dates in the running for the job, but was the only one left when the decision was made after the other two pulled out. Mr Crompton was Deputy Chief Con-stable at West Yorkshire Police and succeeds Med Hughes, who retired from South Yorkshire’s top po-licing job in October after

seven years at the helm.

New Chief Constable Appointed Huge differences exist between Sheffield neighbourhoods which are in the spotlight as officials plan how to make the city a better place to live in the future.Some 29 neighbourhoods are among the 20 per cent most de-prived in England, due to poverty, high unemployment, take-up of state benefits and low incomes. In Burngreave, Manor Park and Manor Castle wards, 40 per cent of households are on housing benefits and 30 per cent receive other types of benefits. But Shef-field’s western suburbs - of Eccle-sall, Fulwood, Bents Green, Dore and Totley - are all in the 10 per cent least-deprived locations in the country. Just 10 per cent of people in Ecclesall and Fulwood receive housing benefits and 5 per cent claim other benefits. Other areas of high deprivation are the Parson Cross, Batemoor, Jordan-thorpe and Lowedges estates, pockets around the city centre, and Darnall. On closely similar lines are figures for life expect-ancy. Overall figures for Shef-field show early mortality rates for the city have halved for men since 1975 and reduced by 40

per cent for women. Average life expectancy now stands at 81.8 years for women and 78.2 years for men - however, there is a mas-sive variation of almost 10 years between neighbourhoods. Male life expectancy is highest in Ful-wood, at 83.27 years, followed by Ecclesall, Dore and Totley, and

lowest in Burngreave, 75.7 years. Women now live until an average of 86.78 years in Ecclesall, fol-lowed by Fulwood, Dore and Tot-ley, but 77.25 years in Burngreave - which again has the lowest fig-ure. Higher smoking and lack of exercise are also problems associ-ated with less-affluent neighbour-hoods that the authorities want to tackle. Other health challenges for Sheffield include that the overall population is expected to rise from 555,000 in 2010 to 600,000 by 2020 - with growing numbers of

older and younger people. Shef-field is becoming better-educated, with 58,500 university and 26,600 college students. Meanwhile, the proportion of residents with no qualifications has fallen from 16.6 per cent in 2008 to 12.4 per cent in 2009, and 27.7 per cent have a de-gree-level qualification. Officials say the proportion of residents with degrees is still below the UK average and some southern cit-ies such as Oxford, Brighton and Reading, where 40 per cent of res-idents are graduates. However, the proportion of graduates staying on in Sheffield is the highest of any major UK city. There are 128 languages spoken by Sheffield’s schoolchildren - evidence of the city’s growing diversity, with people from ethnic minority back-grounds now making up 17 per cent of the population compared with 11 per cent in 2001. Make-up of households is changing, with 13 per cent of households being home to single people. Some 12 per cent of households have ‘high levels’ of benefit need, and 8 per cent are pensioners needing state support.There have been dramatic im-

provements in social housing, which have been renovated at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds over the last decade. But private housing is a concern, with 45 per cent of private-rented ac-commodation classed as below modern standards, and 48 per cent of homes in the affluent south-west in need of modernisation. The city is likely to experience a shortage of housing due to the huge predicted population growth - which is set to be helped by plans to build 35,000 new homes by 2026. POPULATION change, the economic challenge, health inequalities and emergent health problems around mental illness and obesity are cited as issues in the State of Sheffield 2012 report. Future challenges are listed as cre-ating jobs, responding to public sector cuts, youth unemployment and maintaining social cohesion in the short-term. In the long-term, the city must deal with population growth and change, create more housing, improve school attain-ment and become more resilient to global problems such as energy supply and climate change, the re-port states.

Sheffield is a City of Two Halves

It is well documented that speed contributes to a significant per-centage of all crashes and a higher percentage of more serious crashes. Each year excessive and inappropriate speed kills around 1,200 people and injures around 100,000 and is the largest con-tributor to casualties on the road.I recently had the misfortune of speeding which was confirmed with a letter through the door one morning. However the police of-fered an alternative to a fixed penalty, a 4 hour speed awareness course. I took the alternative with nervousness not exactly knowing what to expect, but to my relief the course was a worthwhile eye-opener. The overall aim of the Speed Awareness Course is to explore and challenge the reasons why people speed and to help drivers develop a personal speed aware-ness strategy to prevent future lapses leading to misuse of speed. Attendance on a Speed Awareness Course is offered by the Police as an alternative to a driving convic-tion.

This offence is not recorded as a conviction and therefore motorists are not required to declare them as such. This should mean that at-tendance on a course would have

no impact on the driver’s insur-ance premium. This enables them to take ad-vantage of correcting their errant driving behaviour and enhance their driving skills through edu-cative means provided they have not attended such a course in the previous three years. 5% of crash-es occur on motorways with 6% fatalities. 25% of crashes are on

rural roads which result in 60% fatalities and 70% of crashes oc-cur on urban roads with 34% fa-talities. When I was confronted with these

figures I took a great interest in the course, which discussed a number of traffic calming measures that we often misjudge and the impact speed has on pedestrian fatalities too. I felt it was a great refresher in driving for someone who read the rules 20 or so years ago and never took another look at that “highway code” ever again. How many of us realise that there

are on average 10 changes to the Highway Code book per year? So for me that’s 200 changes that I haven’t studied or understood, and this could make all the difference

for us drivers to be aware of haz-ards on the road. I would personally like to see a national programme rolled out across the country to educate all old and ‘tired in their ways’ driv-ers. Speed is controlled for a rea-son, let’s realise it and control it. ILM Writer

MY SPEEDING PENALTY

The organisers of the 2012 London Olympics are faced with toilet trouble ahead of the mega sporting event in July. According to documents obtained from the Olympic Delivery Authority under the Freedom of Information Act, test events at the new handball and basketball arenas were rid-dled with blocked toilet prob-lems, the Daily Express re-ported. Plumbers were called out 32 times to the two test events last summer, including to one lavatory malfunction in the basketball stadium’s VIP loo.Much thought was put into the design of the Olympic Park’s thousands of toilets in an attempt to make the Games green. There are concerns that the green targets might be the

reason behind the blocked toi-let problem. The loos have wa-ter-saving dual flushes, which, when used in large commer-cial environments where the drainage pipes are far longer and shallower than in domes-tic homes, are more prone to blockages.More positively toilet facili-ties are being built at London’s Olympic Park so Muslims will not have to face Mecca while sitting on the loo.The Olympic Delivery Au-thority has said it wants to pro-duce an ideal venue for people of all cultures, faiths, ages and abilities for the 2012 Games and beyond.The Islamic religion prohibits Muslims from facing the Ki-blah - the direction of prayer - when they visit the lavatory.

London 2012 Venues Face Toilet Trouble

News in Brief

Ali Zafar receives Bollywood Award

Pakistani singer Ali Zafar he has been awarded with the “Su-perstar of tomorrow” award at the Stardust year 2011–2012 for his film – Mere Brother Ki

Dulhan. He has slowly been charming every bit of Bolly-wood through his talent and personality. Ali Zafar has pre-viously been nominated in a lot of Bollywood award shows but this will be his first award in the Bollywood. Talking to ‘our sources’, he said he was not expecting that he would get a big award, adding he was very much excited after getting this. ‘I wanted to share my happi-ness with all’, he said. Ali Za-far further said he is singer and musician first and than actor. I cannot give up singing for act-ing, he added.

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The establishment of Rugby League in Pakistan and South Asia has moved a step closer. The move is being spearheaded by former England RL international and British Asian Rugby Association (BARA) founder Ikram Butt who hopes to raise the profile of the game across Pakistan and India. At a recent meeting at the Pakistan High Commission in London Butt met with officials from the British Asian Trust, diplomats and MP Greg Mulholland, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Rugby League Group to launch the new Pakistan Rugby jersey as well as throwing his support behind the Prince of Wales’ Pakistan Recov-ery Fund aimed at assisting with rebuilding large parts of the coun-

try devastated by the 2010 flood-ing.Ikram explained: “We met at the Pakistan High Commission in London and talked about our sup-port of the charity and the develop-ment of Pakistan Rugby League. We also discussed other objectives such as bridging the gap between British Pakistanis and Pakistanis living abroad. “We view the devel-opment of Pakistan Rugby League as a catalyst to further develop the sport in India and across the whole of South Asia. There’s clearly an appetite for it and we need to en-sure that the right initiatives and planning are put in place.“We have a number of objectives with a second official Pakistan RL international planned for Dubai in

the near future. Watch this space!” said Ikram, recently awarded a Doctorate in Sport Science by Leeds Metropolitan University for his pioneering sport develop-ment initiatives within the UK and abroad.The High Commissioner of Pa-kistan to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan lauded the efforts of Ikram and added “We are proud of the ef-forts of Ikram and will continue to support him in his endeavours of the development of Rugby League in Pakistan.”The new official Pakistan RL play-ing shirt features the Pakistan Re-covery Fund on the chest with the Leeds Rugby Foundation’s logo also included on the sleeve.

Pakistan Rugby League Moves Step CloserPresident Barack Obama has apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai over an incident of burning of the holy Quran at the US airbase at Bagram in Afghanistan.The US president’s letter of regrets came only after violent antiUS protests in Afghanistan in which 14 people includ-ing two American servicemen were killed. It is not the first time that cop-ies of holy Quran have been desecrated at a US military es-tablishment. Stories of the an-tics of the US personnel in Abu Ghraib prison are still fresh in the minds of many people. Then there have been reports of extremely provocative acts by US military men to give mental torture to the inmates there; among other tricks they also desecrated the holy book.Most of the US military personnel are Christians, but that should not mean that they should dishonor the holy books of other religions. There must have been Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Bud-dhists too serving in the US forces. Even if the US military is not taught to respect reli-gious books, they should be instructed in decent behaviour.The US is a secular state. But that is not in a negative sense; it is not an anti-religious state, but the one which al-

lows its citizens full freedom of conscience to practice any religion. That does not mean to deride the faith of others. The US is supposed to be highly tolerant society. But the way the US military personnel have been behaving in their camps and bases shows that they are not only provok-ing other people but violating their own country’s high tradi-tions.President Obama’s letter of re-grets to the Afghan president is not enough. As the president and commander-in-chief of the US forces, he should punish those who desecrated the holy Quran and caused so much

bloodshed and heart burn in Afghanistan by their irrespon-sible and inhuman act. Further-more, the president should also offer apologies to the Ameri-can Muslims and those of other countries for the incident.The US personnel should also be instructed as part of their military discipline not to des-ecrate holy books of any reli-gion under any circumstances in order to avoid such ugly situation in the future.Obama was critisised by many of his opponents and country-ment, saying his apology was a show of weakness and surren-der on behalf of the US.

Desecration of Holy Quran at Us Airbase

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The United States first estab-lished diplomatic relations with Pakistan on 20 October 1947. The relationship since then has been based primarily on US eco-nomic and military assistance to Pakistan which Pakistan never seems to get enough of. Pakistan is a major non-Nato ally of the United States, even though, for some odd reason, it keeps pre-tending that it is one of the big-gest anti-US, super-duper power in the world. The United States is the second-largest supplier of military equipment to Pakistan and largest economic aid con-tributor but Pakistanis refuse to acknowledge this and insist that the equipment and the aid actu-ally come from Saudi Arabia via Dubai on flying camels.In 1955 Pakistan became a mem-ber of the US-run Central Treaty Organisation (also known as Cen-tral Free Treats Organisation). The promise of economic aid from the US was instrumental in creating the agreement. Getting the enigmatic Coca-Cola formula was also a motivation.During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the US did not provide Pakistan with military support as pledged. This generated a wide-spread feeling in Pakistan that the United States was no longer a reliable ally. According to the US it cut off weapons supplies because Pakistan military had started the war with India by us-ing its soldiers disguised as Kash-miri Mujahideen. However, the Americans did consider nominat-ing these Pakistani soldiers for the Oscars in the Best Character Actor category. They lost due to the obvious Christian-Jew bias in Hollywood.In 1971 Pakistanis were angry at the US again for not bailing them out from yet another war they started against India. Just why Pakistanis kept testing their friendship with the US by starting hopeless wars with India is any-body’s guess, but some experts believe Pakistanis found bullets and bombs better tasting than the Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies the US send instead for the Pakistani war effort.In April 1979, the United States suspended most economic assist-ance to Pakistan over concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear program

under the Foreign Assistance Act. The Pakistan government, then under the benevolent dictatorship of General Ziaul Ghaznavi, retali-ated by banning the sale of Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies and publicly flogging over 200 young men just for the heck of it.However, since God works in mysterious ways and (according to the Pakistan Ideology) is more akin to listening to the prayers of pious military generals, the Sovi-et invasion of Afghanistan forced the US to rethink about its Paki-stan policy. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan (inspired more by smuggled John Wayne movies than Karl Marx), highlighted the common interest of Pakistan and the United States in opposing the evil Soviet Union.In 1981, Pakistan and the United States agreed on a $3.2 billion military and economic assist-ance program aimed at helping Pakistan deal with the heightened threat to security in the region and its economic development needs. The deal was code named ‘LOL!’ The poised, pious, powerful Zia regime distributed the military aid among the Pakistan military, Afghan mujahideen, enterprising gunrunners, drug barons, univer-sity students and wedding plan-ners; whereas the economic aid was used to develop Pakistan’s economic infrastructure by build-ing madrassas, madrassas, ma-drassas and mosques. Pakistan with US, Saudi and divine as-sistance armed and supplied anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan, eventually defeating the Soviets, who withdrew in 1988 but left behind a number of bored Arab, Afghan and Pakistani fighters. These fighters wanted to recreate Afghanistan not like what it was just before the Soviet invasion but what Afghanistan was like on the eve of the first Bronze Age.After the Cold WarPrior to the September 11 attacks in 2001, Pakistan and Saudi Ara-bia were key supporters of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Tali-ban were a large group of herds-men who were convinced that goats were more valuable than women and sheep had more feel-ings than human beings. By 1996 they were ruling Afghanistan. The Pakistan-Saudi support to these unkempt herdsmen was an

integral part of the Pakistan mili-tary’s “strategic depth” objective vis-a-vis India, Iran, Russia and the Vatican City.After some reckless piloting by some Arabian camel jockeys who went on joyrides on planes, eventually ramming them into New York’s World Trade Centre, Pakistan, led by General Puppu Musharraf, reversed course and dumped the herdsmen after he was put under pressure by the US. US president, George W. Wuss, had threatened Musharraf, growl-ing that the US would bomb Pa-kistan back into Stone Age if he didn’t dump the herdsmen. What Wuss didn’t realise was that a back-to-Stone Age scenario was exactly what the herdsmen and their supporters in Pakistan were working for. Hee Hee.Nevertheless, imagining an age when the military was made up of club carrying half-naked ape men, and when macho men and

petite women didn’t have a uni-form fetish, and when Coca-Cola was yet to be invented, Mushar-raf joined the US in its “Error on Terror” as an ally. Having failed to convince the Taliban to hand over Osama Bin There Done That and other members of al-Calen-dar, Pakistan provided the US a number of military bases for its attack on Afghanistan, along with other logistical support such as double-talk, half-baked cakes, di-arrhea pills and a pair of poodles.Since 2001, Pakistan has arrested over 500 al-Calendar herdsmen and handed them over to the US, but they have kept the more muscular and pious looking ones for themselves, lodging them on the mountains of Pakistan’s rug-ged rock ‘n’ rolling tribal areas to tend to the military’s strategically depth sheep. In return for its sup-port, Pakistan had sanctions lifted and has received about $10 bil-lion in US aid since 2001, prima-rily military, whereas rest of the

aid is used in growing juicy grass which a majority of Pakistanis eat so that their military can keep eat-ing cake.In June 2004, President George W. Wuss designated Pakistan as a major non-Nato ally, making it eligible, among other things, to purchase advanced American military technology and Betty Crocker chocolate chip cook-ies with extra icing. Pakistan has lost thousands of lives since joining the US Error on Terror. Most were killed by the irritated Taliban herdsmen (approximately 35,000) and some by American drone attacks (approximately 9000). But many Pakistanis be-lieve most were killed by the drones (approximately 2 million) while the rest by innocent men with an abnormal combustion condition in which normal, peace loving and pious men suddenly combust in and outside mosques, shrines and markets. This condi-

tion is blamed on the tempered polio drops these poor souls were given in childhood by Zionist agents masquerading as NGO workers.Ruing its strategic mistakes in the area, new US president, Barack Obamarama, conceded that the US had made the mis-take of “putting all its eggs in one basket” in the form of General Pappu Musharraf. In Pakistan, Musharraf was eventually forced out of office under the threat of impeachment, after years of po-litical protests by lazy lawyers, confused civilians, overexcited politicians and bored mullahs.With Obamarama coming into office, the US promised to tri-ple non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion per year over 10 years, and to tie military aid to progress in the fight against mili-tants. This has rubbed the military in the wrong way which, along with its allies in the shape of fat pious men, has claimed that such

non-military progress in Pakistan is against the Pakistan Ideology. The military might have a point here because some extremely brilliant media men such as the scholarly and judicious Sangsar Abbasi (author of the acclaimed books, ‘Jews Must Die’ and ‘The Wonders of Flogging Women in Public on the Pretext of the Shari-ah Wah, Wah, Wah’) have warned that non-military progress in Pa-kistan can lead to moral corrup-tion and obscenity in the society and all that juicy grass that most Pakistanis eat will go to waste.The purpose of the new aid is to help strengthen the democratic government led by President Asif Ali Bhutto Zardari Bhutto and to help strengthen civil institu-tions and the general economy in Pakistan, and to put in place an aid program that is broader in scope than just supporting Pakistan’s military. BLAS-PHAMYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!Sorry about that. Present US-Pa-kistan relations are a case study on the difficulties of diplomacy and policy making in a multi-po-lar world (especially by men with assorted bipolar disorders). The geopolitical significance of Pa-kistan in world affairs attracts at-tention from both India and China (and for some odd reason, from Surinam as well), making uni-lateral action almost impossible from the US. This was explained in an article titled ‘Grrrr…’ by an American policy expert.In February 2011, the US admin-istration suspended high-level contacts with Pakistan after ‘The Everybody Loves to Hate Ray-mond Davis’ incident occurred. Raymond Rambo Davis, an al-leged private security contrac-tor and Sushi expert, was on an American diplomatic mission in Pakistan when he shot dead two Pakistani locals and claimed that it was in self-defense after the two attempted to rob him. Pakistan acted tough on Davis despite US demands for him to be freed be-cause he enjoyed diplomatic im-munity. However, the Pakistanis eventually let the bugger go when the US promised to increase its supplies of Betty Crocker choco-late chip cookies, but this time ac-cording to the dictates of Islamic law. That’s why Betty Crocker cookies now have the word ‘Ha-

lal’ inscribed on them.On May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 am the head of al-Calendar, Os-ama Bin There Done That was killed by a United States special forces unit led by an army of T-1000 Terminators, in the Pa-kistani city of Abburstabad. The operation, codenamed Operation Neptune Spear and Other Phal-lic Symbols, was ordered by the United States President Barack Obamarama.Numerous allegations were made that the military of Pakistan had shielded Osama Bin There Done That. Critics cited the very close proximity of Bin There’s heavily fortified compound to the Paki-stan Militancy Academy, I mean, Pakistan Military Academy. US government files, leaked by Trikileaks, disclosed that Ameri-can diplomats had been told that Pakistani security services were tipping off Osama Bin There Done That. Most Pakistanis were scandalised. They were sure that the American accusations were part of a huge international Rep-tilian conspiracy funded by west-ern multinationals, Jewish bank-ers and Congo bongo players against the Pakistan military and its fat pious allies.Al-Calendar threatened to kidnap Betty Crocker and subject her to the torture of listening to Ali Azmat talk about the political, social, cultural, scientific, spir-itual and psychological Zionist plot behind Einstein’s E=MC2 followed by hours and hours of taped Deepak Chopra lectures.Nevertheless, Pakistan remains to be a major non-Nato ally as part of the US Error on Terror. A leading recipient of US military assistance, Pakistan expects to re-ceive approximately $20 billion, slurp.Perhaps, if the US simply reduced this aid to a couple of stacks of West Virginian grass for Pakista-nis to eat?However, in the aftermath of the Osama incident, Pakistan Army cancelled a $500 million train-ing program and sent all 135 US trainers home, but not the hun-dreds of Uzbek, Chechen, Af-ghan and Arab trainers training Pakistani herdsmen in the tribal areas of Pakistan.But who’s counting.by Nadeem F. Paracha

Truth without the BitternessPAK-US Relations: A Very Analytical History

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Hadi Elected As Yemen’s New President

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was elected as Yemen's new president with 6.6 million people voting in his favour, said the country's Su-preme Committee for Elections and Referendum. Hadi, 66, who was the sole candidate in the elec-tion, will lead Yemen's transition-al government for next two years. The new president has pledged to carry out reforms during his tran-sitional term and is set to launch a national dialogue with all political factions in Yemen after he takes office. He also vowed to combat resurgent Al-Qaeda off-shoot, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The early presidential election came as part of a negoti-ated settlement initiated by neigh-bouring oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.Under the Gulf-brokered power transfer deal signed by Ali Ab-dullah Saleh and the opposition

in November 2011 in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the outgoing president handed over power to his deputy, Hadi, the only con-sensus candidate in Feb 21, 2012 poll, in return for immunity from prosecution. The election's aim was ending one-year-old massive protests against Saleh, the long-est-serving president of Yemen, ruling from 1978 until 2012. Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down after 33 years at the helm, making him the fourth vet-eran Arab leader to fall in a year of mass pro-democracy demonstra-tions that have rocked the region. Standing before a crowd of parlia-mentarians, tribal leaders and for-eign dignitaries at the presidential palace in Sanaa, Saleh formally ceded power to his deputy Ab-drabuh Mansur Hadi, pledging to support his efforts to “rebuild” a country still reeling from months

of violence. “I hand over the ban-ner of the revolution, of the repub-lic, of freedom, of security and of stability… to safe hands,” said Saleh as he stood beside Hadi and gave a farewell speech carried live on state television.Hadi will serve for an interim two-year period under a Gulf-brokered transition plan signed by Saleh last November after 10 months of protests demanding his ouster. Hadi cautioned that the past year of turmoil that has crippled the economy and unleashed nation-wide insecurity was not yet over, and appealed to Yemenis to “co-operate with the new leadership” to help the country emerge from the crisis. Presidential and parlia-mentary elections will be held at the end of Hadi’s two-year term.Saleh is the fourth Arab leader to fall since the beginning of the Arab Spring revolutions that forced the resignation of veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, and led to the gruesome death of Libya’s long-time dictator. Saleh got the best deal in return for stepping aside: he and his closest aides were granted immunity from prosecu-tion for alleged crimes committed during the brutal crackdown on dissent which left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.Hadi now faces monumental se-curity, humanitarian and econom-ic challenges that if not resolved, could threaten to derail the politi-cal settlement.

Dementia is a brain disease which often starts with memory problems, but goes on to affect many other parts of the brain. It causes changes in mood, judge-ment, personality, and makes it difficult to communicate or cope with day to day tasks. It usually gets worse over time, which means that you have to rely on other people more and more. Dementia can rarely start as early as 40 and affects about one in every 20 people over-65 have dementia. By the age of 80 about one in five are affected. Types of dementiaAlzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia. Damaged tissue builds up in the brain and forms deposits called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ which cause the cells around them to die. It also affects chemicals in the brain which transmit messages from one cell to another. Vascular dementia, where the arteries supplying blood to the brain become blocked which leads to small strokes when parts of the brain die as they are starved of oxygen. Lewy body dementia is caused by small protein deposits in the brain, and symptoms closely resembles Parkinson’s diseaseFronto-temporal dementia is caused by damage to the front of the brain and is more likely to cause personality changeMany other illnesses can cause dementia. Physical illnesses which cause memory problems include: •Kidney, liver or thy-

roid problems.•Shortage of some vitamins (al-though this is rare).•Chest or urine infections can lead to confusion and can be treated with antibiotics.•Rarer conditions such as Hunt-ington’s disease, which causes dementia in younger people. Depression can cause a “pseu-do-dementia” which can get better with antidepressants and talking therapy.Symptoms of dementiaThe condition usually develops slowly. Three main types of symptoms can appear:•Cognitive problems – it gets

harder to understand, remem-ber, think, do sums, learn new things, talk or make judgements•Functional problems – it gets hard to do complicated tasks. As time goes on, it gets harder to do the basic task of looking after yourself, like washing and dressing. •Emotional problems – your mood can change, you may lose control of your emotions, stop doing things that you enjoy and stop seeing people. Treatment of dementiaIf you are worried about your memory, see your doctor. He or she can carry out a simple

memory test, examine you physically and order blood tests. You can be referred to a specialist team to test your memory in more detail and ar-range a brain scan if needed. There are no cures, as yet, for many of these conditions and treatment depends on the diag-nosis. A group of drugs called acetyl cholinesterase inhibi-tors may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s dementia and Lewy Body dementia and an-other drug called memantine, a glutamate blocker, may protect brain cells against damage. In Vascular dementia and pos-sibly Alzheimer’s, other drugs may be of use in slowing the damage to brain cells and hence brain function, including: •Aspirin•Medication to control high blood pressure•Cholesterol lowering treat-ments such as statinsThere is a small amount of evidence that the herb gingko biloba and possibly also vi-tamin E may help delay pro-gression of the disease It’s also important to stop smoking, eat healthily and take exercise.Discuss any concerns you have with your doctor, mental health nurse or social worker. Chari-ties such as the Alzheimer’s Society are also a very useful source of advice. They can help you understand more about the illness with advice about medi-cation, care options, benefits and legal issues.

DEMENTIA

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Aaj Ki Shaam 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Sheffield Live 93.2FM15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX, UKTel : 0114 281 4082Email: info@sheffieldlive.org

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Presented by Sarbjit KaurA programme featuring dedications, requests and chit chat. Contact Punjabi Virsa at PunjabiVirsa@sheffieldlive.org

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Presented by Sajjad AhmedA mix of different flavours of Asian music from the sub-continent and chat. Presented in Urdu.

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