Flood-affected villagers travel with their belongings as they evacuate Sajawal town in Sindh. PHOTO: AFP Media watch is a daily round-up of key articles featured on news websites, hand-picked by The Express Tribune web staff. Pakistan floods: Taliban vows to kidnap foreign aid workers “According to information available to the US government, [Pakistan militant group] Tehreek-e-Taliban plans to conduct attacks against foreigners participating in the ongoing flood relief operations in Pakistan,” the official said. (telegraph.co.uk) UN for direct donations in Swiss, Pak bank accounts While urging more international donations, Washington’s aid chief warned during a visit to the country that … Continue reading Media watch: Terrorist threats and lack of trust

tribune.co.uk t An Afghan military helicopter rescuing flood-affected Pakistani villagers in Shahdadkot district. PHOTO: AFP US Army Brigadier General Michael Nagata on Thursday told the mediathat US military contribution in Pakistan’s northern area, which includes the Upper Dir, Swat Valley and Kohistan regions, currently includes 230 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and 19 helicopters. Four Air Force and Marine Corps C-130 cargo planes are delivering supplies in other areas of Pakistan, Nagata said. Commenting on the reaction of Pakistani civilians to US forces working in their country, Nagata said, “They’re grateful. I’ve seen many occasions where they’ve approached US and … Continue reading More aid flows into Pakistan

By Rafia Zakaria The story of the two brothers, Hafiz Mughees and Hafiz Muneeb is by now well known, as is the image of their bloodied, beaten and bruised dead bodies; the tragic symbols of a nation’s mutilated conscience. — File photo It was Aug 15, the day after the country’s 63rd birthday, a day already mired in misery as hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis roamed the land in search of dry ground. In the midst of this, another tragedy unfolded in Sialkot, whose brutality seemed unparalleled even in the shadow of such pre-existing despair. The story of the two … Continue reading The meaning of Sialkot

“Slumdog” helps usher in Hollywood’s Indian era Cast members of the Oscar winning film “Slumdog Millionaire,” (L-R) Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Freida Pinto and Madhur Mittal pose at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood, California in this February 22, 2009 file photograph. – Reuters LOS ANGELES: Maybe it’s the success of “Slumdog Millionaire.” Perhaps it’s because corporate outsourcing is now a very real – and frustrating – part of Westerners lives. Or perhaps it’s because India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and its influences have finally spread to Hollywood. Whatever the reason, Indian actors have officially … Continue reading Bollywood Hollywood

BOOK REVIEW: Suspense stories, but real —by Dr Amjad Parvez Jurm-o-Saza Ki Sachi Kahaniyan By Ijaz Ahmad Butt Takhleeqaat; Pp 192; Rs 180 When this reviewer was young, the trend of reading detective stories and watching suspense movies was very much in. One would see people reading Jasoosi Digests all the time. Even our state TV channel would sometimes telecast plays based on stories of crime and punishment. We used to be glued to our seats watching Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ starring Anthony Perkins or ‘The Birds’ starring Suzanne Pleshette. As time passed, this trend gradually vanished. Our next generation does … Continue reading Jurm-o-Saza Ki Sachi Kahaniyan

PURPLE PATCH: Beauty in secret —Deborah Rodriguez The women arrive at the salon just before eight in the morning. If it were any other day, I would still be in bed, trying to sink into a few more minutes of sleep. I would probably still be cursing the neighbour’s rooster for waking me up again at dawn. I might even still be groaning about the vegetable dealers who come down the street at three in the morning with their noisy, horse-drawn wagons, or the neighbourhood mullah, who warbles out his long, mournful call to prayer at 4:30. But this is … Continue reading Beauty in secret

PENSIEVE: Structural integrity failing! —Farrukh Khan Pitafi Revolutions I would have believed in, but unfortunately my country does not want a French Revolution for the sake of real change but in search of our own Napoleon Bonaparte. However, countries with far weaker structural integrity have survived in history and may survive for good You must watch the ‘Star Trek’ series, especially its prequel titled ‘Star Trek Enterprise’ and the culmination of its timeline called ‘Star Trek Voyager’. What? Think I am being silly? I thought so too when somebody told me to do so. But then I came across Michiko … Continue reading Structural integrity failing!