De facto versus de jure – 3 By Ardeshir Cowasjee Ayub Khan. — File photo In the British army, upon which were modelled the armies of India and Pakistan, ‘field marshal’ was the highest military rank. A field marshal never retires — the rank is conferred for life. The British chief of the imperial staff was usually a field marshal as was the chief of the defence staff when that office was created, and certain members of the royal family are accorded the rank. Current practice since the 1990s is that no field marshals are routinely appointed in peacetime — … Continue reading Field Marshal Ayub Khan

Smokers’ Corner: The passion for Bhutto Nadeem F. Paracha The majority of Muslims in Pakistan are ensconced in the popular Barelvi creed of Islam that is the mainstay of Muslims in the subcontinent. It reassures the enshrinement of the traditional Sufism that prevailed due to a long period of interaction between Islam and the esoteric strains of Hinduism and other faiths of India. ‘Folk’ Islam became the dominating creed of the rural peasant, the urban proletariat and the semi-urban petty-bourgeoisie. It incorporated the anti-clergy elements of Sufism, and a more relaxed fiqh, fusing these with accommodating forms of worship and … Continue reading Time for Islam in Pakistan?

Countdown on for shuttle launch Discovery’s crew arrived in Florida on Thursday The US space agency (Nasa) has started the countdown clock ahead of Monday’s launch of the space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle is due to launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at daybreak – around 0621 local time (1121 BST) on a 13-day mission. Discovery will haul equipment and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) in a container called a multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM). The shuttle’s seven crew members arrived in Florida on Thursday. At a news briefing on Friday, Nasa test director Steve Payne said that all … Continue reading Monday’s launch of space shuttle Discovery CANCELLED?

Eugene Terreblanche killed in South Africa Mr Terreblanche wanted a separate white homeland South African white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche has been killed on his farm in the country’s north-west. Mr Terreblanche, 69, was beaten to death after a dispute over unpaid wages, local media reports said. Two people are said to have been arrested. Mr Terreblanche, who campaigned for a separate white homeland, came to prominence in the early 1980s. He became the champion of a tiny minority determined to stop the process that was bringing apartheid to an end. They apparently attacked the leader because they were not … Continue reading Pro Serb Extremist Terreblanche killed in South Africa!

Afghanistan Mullahs in London to bridge cultural divide Emily Buchanan BBC News world affairs correspondent Hajji Meherdell is against premature withdrawal of British forces Their faces etched from years of conflict in the war-torn deserts of Helmand Province, four senior Islamic scholars step into a pod on the London Eye. As the giant wheel turns they stare in silence at the city spread beneath them; the River Thames, the Houses of Parliament and miles beyond. It is their first time ever in Britain. As they soak up the sights, they know this visit is about much more than tourism. It … Continue reading Mullahs against premature withdrawal!

Hi there! Meet orphaned Karmann, the waving wombat nursed back to health by humans By Mail Foreign Service She may only have a tiny heart – but luckily for Karmann the orphaned wombat, she was rescued by an animal lover with a large one. The helpless little creature owes her life to a driver who rescued her from the pouch of her dying mother, who had been run over in East Gippsland, Australia in early March. Karmann was rushed to the Warrandyte Wildlife Shelter in Melbourne, where she is to spend the next three months of her life being cared … Continue reading Waving wombat nursed back to health!

Monster of the deep: Shocked oil workers catch TWO-AND-A-HALF-FOOT ‘woodlouse’ By Daily Mail Reporter This deep sea creepy-crawly gave oil workers a fright, after the unexpected visitor hitched a ride on a submarine sent from a rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The beast normally lives 8,500ft under water and this specimen is thought to be the largest giant isopod ever found at this depth. Questions were raised over its authenticity because of the release date of pictures – April Fool’s Day. However experts have been quick to verify the find. From head to toe, I’m two and a half … Continue reading TWO-AND-A-HALF-FOOT ‘woodlouse’!

Filipinos whipped and nailed to crosses in terrifyingly realistic re-enactment of the Crucifixion By Mail Foreign Service Devout Filipinos have been nailed to crosses and whipped in an annual ritual to mark Good Friday. Dozens of people were crucified in villages across the Roman Catholic country, in one of the world’s most bizarre practices to mark the day when Christians believe Jesus Christ was put to death. The event drew more than 10,000 Filipino and foreign spectators. Painfully devoted: Ruben Enaje, a 49-year-old sign painter, was nailed to a cross for the 24th time as his way of thanking God … Continue reading Whipped and nailed in the name of religion?

The old-age ‘offenders’: Generation of elderly turned into criminals By Paul Bentley Rollerblader Pensioner Geoff Dornan, 71, who appeared in court for Rollerblading dangerously in public Record numbers of pensioners are being criminalised for trivial offences by target-driven police. Officers arrest 40 senior citizens every day in Britain on average, official figures show. Their crimes range from failing to pay a fine for overfilling a wheelie bin to not wearing a seatbelt or chopping a neighbour’s hedge without permission. Many are being punished for the first time after decades of abiding by the law. Critics say these ‘easy collar’ arrests … Continue reading Many Elderly turned into criminals by British Taliban Police!