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Nusrat Bhutto, the mother of assassinat-ed former prime minister Benazir Bhut-to, has died in Dubai of a protracted illness. She was 82. The Pakistan gov-ernment postponed all political activi-ties for the 10 days following her death. She was former prime minister and founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s wife, the marriage having taken place in 1951. She was the mother-in-law of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari, who

was visiting Jordon visit, decided to shorten his trip. The funeral will take place at Garhi Khuda Bux near Larkana. Nusrat Bhutto was elected a member of the National Assembly twice from Lar-kana and even led the Pakistan Peoples Party after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged. Born March 23, 1929 in Iran’s Esfahan city, Nusrat Bhutto belonged to the wealthy Hariri Esfahani family.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto DiesWe can’t mourn a dictator. We can only say good rid-dance to a dictator who terrorized his people for 42 years. But would we be cheering the brutal execution of any-one, whoever they are. The outrageous manner in which he was killed was regrettable, uncivilised and gruesome. This is not the way of the civilised world or Muslims, to parade and violate a dead body in anyway. Just as the United States was wrong to rub out an unarmed Osama bin Laden, so, too, the Libyan rebels were wrong to mur-der the captured Gaddafi. The answer to barbarism is not more barbarism. Amnesty International is right to ask for an investigation into Gaddafi’s death. There was no op-portunity for a trial, which even by Islamic means is unlawful. In many ways his cap-ture, albeit not by US forces is compared to the capture of Saddam, who was at least cleaned up, fed and given a so called trial. The treatment of a dead body should shock the conscience but the media has played on the event with joy and celebration rather than the appalling abuse of a dead body.

Where is the O U T R A G E ?

PTI Launches Sheffield Branch

Pakistani’s living all over the world, have a vested interest in de-veloping Pakistan into a democratic and accountable country and by joining a movement for justice, self-esteem and humanity, PTI -Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (Movement for Justice) has the vision to do this. The launch took place on Sunday 16th October 2011 at St Peter’s Hall in Netheredge. With an expectation of around 40 attendees, there was an unprec-edented turnout of over 70 individuals. More inside

David Cameron under pressure toreveal coalition's Europe PolicyDavid Cameron is facing pressure from ministers and Tory backbenchers to be more open about the coalition's Europe-an policy, amid complaints the prime minister is promising more than he can deliver.As Nick Clegg dismissed Tory hopes of repatriating powers from the EU as a "smash and grab raid", one senior Con-servative warned the prime minister not to "tease" his party with unrealistic ambitions.Conservatives raised concerns after the deputy prime min-ister responded to the largest Tory rebellion on Europe by saying: "We should stop tilting at windmills about threats and challenges which simply aren't there right now." Clegg's remarks came after 81 Tory MPs defied the government to support a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. A further 15 Tory MPs are understood to have abstained, meaning that the prime minister failed to persuade more than half of his backbenchers to support government policy.The deputy prime minister appeared to take aim at Down-

ing Street when he dismissed the prime minister's pledge in the Commons on Monday to try and repatriate social and employment laws from Brussels. Clegg described this as "a smash and grab raid across the Channel" that was "neither justified nor in the interests of Britain". The intervention by Clegg alarmed Tory MPs who had been encouraged when the prime minister told MPs that he would still seek to im-plement the Tory manifesto pledge in this area."I remain firmly committed to ... bringing back more powers from Brussels," Cameron said.The prime minister appeared to reinforce his point as he in-dicated that Britain was prepared to wield its veto in nego-tiations to revise the Lisbon treaty. Germany is demanding a revision to underpin tough new rules to co-ordinate fiscal policy in the eurozone."Opportunities to advance our national interest are clearly becoming apparent," the prime minister said. He added: "Every country can wield a veto until its needs are met."

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Council’sFlat Shame

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All Parties

ConferencePage 22

Pakistan kaMustaqbil

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AllamaIqbal

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Life Long Friend of the West ?Gaddafi’s

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Families are squeezing into homes they have outgrown but do not have the money to move out of, heralding a return to over-crowding in UK housing, accord-ing to a new study. Finance firm LV= said that after decades of overcrowding declining across the country, the trend had now reversed, with the average family losing 11 sq ft of living space in the past three years. One in eight children now live in overcrowded homes while a similar number of families had made potentially un-safe modifications to their houses to create more space, the report said. A survey of more than 1,000

households found that one in 12 families could not move for fi-nancial reasons while a similar number carried out work to create extra space, such as converting lofts or partitioning rooms. One in 50 people modifying their homes admitted contravening building regulations with alterations that could be unsafe. The research also found that the number of people working from home has increased by a fifth since 2008, with make-shift workspaces being used in corridors, cupboards and under the stairs. London families were said to be the worst affected, with around one in seven families liv-

ing in overcrowded homes, twice the UK average. High property prices have forced many fami-lies to remain in a house that they have outgrown and many are re-sorting to desperate measures to create extra space. The research found that hundreds of thousands of families are now living with makeshift modifications, which could be illegal and also unsafe. Building regulations are designed to ensure that home modifications are safe and those considering modifying their home to ensure any changes they are planning to make meet regulation standards.”

Increase in Overcrowded Homes Found

Thousands of families will be placed under “unfair pressure” due to welfare system reforms that are coming into force, a charity has warned. Gingerbread urged the Government to delay plans to tell single parents not in paid work, whose youngest child is five or six-years-old, that they will be required to find a job or face potential cuts to their bene-fits. The group, which campaigns on behalf of single parents, said that at a time of rising unem-ployment, the move could “cast adrift” 100,000 people. Ginger-bread said the proposed timing of this change is disastrous and will plunge thousands of single parents into a stagnant job mar-ket with little prospect of find-ing work that fits around their caring responsibilities. It makes

much more sense to delay the change until 2013 when newly-announced childcare support will be available for part-time jobs, which will help single parents of young children balance work and parenting.”Receiving letters telling them of changes in the conditions for receiving income support, is the first step to their income support ending early next year, at which point they will have to claim Job-seeker’s Allowance, or another benefit, instead. A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We know that many lone parents want the opportunity to get back into work earlier and that work is the best route out of pov-erty. This is why we are bringing forward and increasing the sup-port we offer to lone parents.

Welfare Reforms Timing ‘Disastrous’

The Supreme Court has ruled that a ban on non-EU foreign spouses under the age of 21 coming to the UK as unlawful. The court gave judgment on a challenge to a Court of Appeal decision last December which overturned the ban as “arbitrary and disruptive”. Three appeal judges allowed challenges by two couples who had fallen victim to changes to the Immigration Rules that pre-vented non-European under 21s from obtaining visas to join their British partners in the UK as a way of dealing with forced mar-riages. Lord Justice Sedley said: “I have reached the conclusion that the arbitrary and disruptive impact of the rule on the lives of a large number of innocent young peo-ple makes it impossible to jus-tify, at least where one spouse

is a UK citizen, notwithstanding its proper objective.” The judge said it was not for the court to re-write the rule. That was for Home Secretary Theresa May to do “in the light of the court’s reasoning, unless she decides to abandon it altogether”.Today the Supreme Court upheld the appeal court ruling. Shakira Bibi is a Pakistani national. She was married on October 30 2008 in Pakistan to Suhayl Moham-med, a UK citizen. Lord Justice Sedley described how their mar-riage was a traditional arranged marriage “but there is no sug-gestion that it was forced”. In December 2008, Ms Bibi applied for entry clearance to join her husband here. It was refused by the entry clearance officer in Is-lamabad on the ground that both parties were under 21.

Ban on Foreign Young Spouses Entering the UK Overturned

October saw protests around the globe, often violent during dem-onstrations against global finan-cial policies. Demonstration in Rome gathered a thick crowd of 100,000 people in just one after-noon. At the same time thousands of people across the world took to the streets in solidarity with the month-long Occupy The Wall Street action in New York against what they called “the financial terrorism” of the authorities. Protesters convened in Germany, London, China, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Brussels, Portugal, Greece, Israel and Croatia. New York protesters said it would be

a day of international solidarity against what they called the greed and corruption of the one percent of the world’s wealthy people. Deutsche Welle said 5,000 peo-ple gathered near the European Central Bank in Frankfurt-am-Main carrying slogans “You Are Wasting Our Future” and “You Are Speculating With Our Lives”. In London, at least a thousand people of various age gathered in the City where the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is located. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange addressed the protesters from the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral after the police blocked access to the LSE.

Financial Protests Spread Across

the Globe

Correspondents wantedDon’t repress your flair to write...send it to the press. We need you to come forward and write for yourself, for the community and for hu-manity. Any news, col-umns, features, poetry or stories in English and Urdu will be considered for publication. We want your opinions, so come forward and tell us what is on your mind. Corre-spondents needed from all over South Yorkshire, Bradford, Manchester and Leeds.

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Sheffield’s Lib Dem Councillors have welcomed the final alloca-tion for Sheffield schools through the Coalition Government’s ‘pu-pil premium’. The additional in-vestment for schools with disad-vantaged children is now worth £6.5m this academic year for Sheffield’s schools, £1 million higher than originally estimated. The pupil premium is targeted at investing money in helping dis-advantaged children. Headteach-ers will have freedom to decide how to use the investment to help children from poorer families. For example, Firth Park Com-

munity Arts College will benefit by £193,000, while Hinde House School will receive £177,000. The level of investment is based on the number of pupils eligible for free-school meals. The increase of £1 million in Sheffield’s allocation comes as a result of a Lib Dem backed campaign to encourage the take up of free school meals. In year one, every school will be guaranteed an extra £488 from the Government for each deprived child. The pupil premium will be doubled next year and by 2015 the premium will be worth £2.5bn na-tionally each year.

£6.5 Million Extra for Sheffield Children

Police and partners in Sheffield have carried out a large-scale mul-ti-agency operation to tackle met-al thefts in the city. Metal thefts are a concern for many members of the public and in response to these concerns; one of the larg-est multi-agency operations so far in Sheffield to tackle metal thefts was carried out in October. The partners involved in the op-eration included, Safer Neigh-bourhood Team (SNT) officers from the east of Sheffield, along with officers from specialist de-partments, Road Crime Unit and partner agencies including Vehi-cle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), British Transport Police, SmartWater team, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Fraud Investigation Services and the En-

vironmental Protection Enforce-ment Team from Sheffield City Council. South Yorkshire Police officers from Rotherham district and colleagues from the Derby-shire Constabulary were also in-volved with this operation on their border areas with Sheffield. The operation involved officers stop-ping and checking vehicles travel-ling to scrap dealers to ensure no stolen goods were being carried. heckpoints were set up in the At-tercliffe and Halfway areas and any vehicles that may have been of interest to the checking teams were stopped. Officers were also working closely with scrap deal-ers giving out crime reduction ad-vice in a bid to tackle metal thefts. Multi-agency teams also visited scrap dealers to check documen-

tation and stock. As a result of this one day operation nine scrap deal-ers were visited and 182 vehicles were stopped and checked. Nine fixed penalty tickets were issued for traffic offences and three vehi-cles were seized.Chief Inspector Iain Chorlton, who is the Sheffield police lead for metal thefts said: “This kind of operation is an excellent example of partners working together to address the serious issue of metal thefts. I would urge anyone with any information about this type of crime to report it to the police.”If you know anyone committing this type of crime please report it to South Yorkshire Police on 0114 2202020 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Multi-Agency Operation in Sheffield to Tackle Metal Thefts

Figures revealed that each new socially rented flat, or council flat, created as part of the Park Hill devel-opment will cost the taxpayer the equivalent of at least £195,000 each. The estimated amount of tax-payer’s money com-mitted to the scheme is £39,000,000. If the total project is com-pleted then 200 coun-cil flats will be cre-ated, which equates to £195,000 of taxpay-er’s money for each new flat. If only phase one is completed, which estate agents have speculated due to a lack of interest in the private for sale flats, then the 56 council flats equates to £969,000 each. If only tranche one in phase one is completed then 26 council flats will have cost taxpayers £1,500,000 each. Lib Dems are calling on the Labour control-

led Council to approach Urban Splash, the private developer, to ask that they pick up any extra project costs. Labour have already approved £2,500,000 of local taxpayers money to be used on the project, de-

spite the already dire taxpayers value for money comparison. Cllr Shaffaq Mo-hammed, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said: “These fig-ures prove that the Park Hill project represents a ter-rible deal for the taxpayer even in the unlikely event

that the entire project is completed. The fact that Sheffield will be home to what must be the most expensive council flats in the world is nothing to be proud of.

£195,000 Council Flat Shame

Paul Blomfield is challenging the Department for Transport’s policy of installing ticket barriers at rail-way stations, even if barriers cut off pedestrian access through sta-tions. The Sheffield Central MP will now press Ministers for a full debate to be held. Paul Blomfield MP said “The Department for Transport are being very narrow-minded on barriers. Of course fare evasion must be tackled, but Ministers need to understand that our footbridge does not just lead to the platforms, but provides the only safe route to and from the city centre for people living

in Norfolk Park and Park Hill and those using the station tram stop. Barriers across the bridge have been rejected once, thanks to strong public opposition. The Department for Transport must not cut our city in two.”

Keeping Sheffield Station Bridge Open

The Coalition Government has allocated Sheffield over £1,100,000 of new investment to fund new community projects to improve local neighbourhoods, with local people themselves deciding which projects will be funded. Liberal Democrat Coun-cillors on Sheffield City Council have welcomed the news. They have urged the Labour control-led Council not to waste any time in implementing the fund so that local people see improve-ments as soon as possible. The national £80m ‘Community First’ fund is a Coalition Govern-ment programme which will pro-vide grants to community groups and local social action projects. Local people will decide which projects are funded as grants will be allocated via community pan-els.The fund will be open to bids from local charities, voluntary organisations and community groups. Sheffield’s £1.1 million allocation is split between thir-teen different wards, allocated on the basis of social issues.

SHEFFIELDERS IN CONTROL OF NEW £1,100,000

FUND Young people with learning dif-ficulties and disabilities have cel-ebrated their success in learning to travel by bus on their own at a special ceremony in the Town Hall. Independent Travel Train-ing – known as Indetravel – helps them develop the confidence to use public transport to get to school, college and work place-ments. Before its launch, they would have spent all their school lives travelling on minibuses or taxis. Now the number of young people trained to use the service

has reached 100, and the success-ful trainees were presented with certificates by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Sylvia Dunkley, and John Doyle, Business Strategy Director for the Sheffield City Council’s Children, Young Peo-ple and Families Service. Coun-cillor Dunkley said: “It was clear from the enthusiasm of the young people at the event that this train-ing has made a real difference to their lives.” Sheffield City Coun-cil’s Cabinet Member for Chil-dren and Young People, Council-

lor Jackie Drayton, said: “I am delighted with the success of this scheme. Instead of being depend-ent on transport that is provided for them, these young people are learning a life skill. This increas-es their confidence in all areas of life. Indetravel is available to all young people with learning dis-abilities, attending any school in Sheffield. For more information, visit www.sheffield.gov.uk/inde-travel or call 0114 205 3542.

Indetravel Leads The Way

Labour Councillor, Mohammed Maroof, is urging local residents to take advantage of the Coun-cil’s Free Insulation Programme, which is now set to be rolled out across Central Ward. The pro-gramme, which was launched by

the previous Labour Government and developed by the previous Labour Council has helped to fit homes with wall free cavity loft and wall insulation. The initiative was funded through investment

by the previous Labour Govern-ment to ensure that households can reduce their fuel bills and to heat their homes at a reasonable cost. Residents in Central Ward received their letters week be-ginning 24th October. However,

they can now be signed up to the scheme by calling 0800 915 9096.Labour Central Councillor, Mo-hammed Maroof, said: “I am very pleased that residents in

Central Ward will now be able to get access to the Council’s Free Insulation Scheme. Full loft and cavity wall insulation can cut heating bills significantly mean-ing that this programme is not only good for the environment,

but it will also help families bring down the cost of their fuel bills. I am urging local residents in Central Ward to sign up to this scheme.”

Labour’s Free Insulation Scheme Comes to Central Ward

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BANQUETING

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DISCLAIMER

ILM (The Knowledge) Newspaper does not represent any political, religious or any other group. It is purely for providing general information, entertainment and knowledge to its readers. ILM News does not take any responsibility of any views expressed by authors.

Some Rotherham residents will have received reminders re-garding their electoral registra-tion form over the last couple of weeks. Around 112,000 forms were sent out initially and so far around 66 per cent of households have responded. This leaves al-most 38,400 households in danger of losing their right to vote. These people are being reminded that if they fail to return the form their name and those of everyone liv-ing in their house who is eligible to vote may not be included on

the Electoral Register. The Elec-toral Register is not only used for voting purposes. Credit Refer-ence Agencies are legally entitled to use it to check details, so your credit rating can be affected if you are not included. Householders are also reminded that they are required by law to return these forms and could in extreme cases face a fine for refusing to do so or for giving false information.If you have not yet received a form please contact the Electoral Serv-ices helpline on 01709 823590.

Rotherham Households Risk Losing their Right to Vote

R o t h e r h a m councillors have set out to help children get to school safely by donning the fluorescent hat and jacket and picking up the famous “lolli-pop stick”. The safety-conscious councillors have

signed up to help provide emer-gency cover for School Crossing Patrols. Councillor’s Roger Stone, John Foden, Ian Barron, Jahangir Akhtar and Mahroof Hussain,

with more to follow, all underwent the necessary training required to perform emergency duties if any of the 67 School Crossing Patrols across Rotherham were unable to attend their stations.Leader of Rotherham Council, Roger Stone, who underwent four training sessions on two separate days before taking on the role alone, said: “School Cross-ing Patrols are genuine unsung heroes. They are out there come wind, rain or shine, making sure that both children and adults alike can cross, in some cases, some considerably busy roads, safely. “Unfortunately, there are occa-

sions where the School Crossing Patrols can’t get to work. In those instances, I felt that as Council-lors we have the responsibility to help in any way we can and if that means standing there in snow or driving rain, then, that’s what we’ll do. “Currently, we have 15 vacancies across the borough for School Crossing Patrols. It’s a vi-tally important service suited for a community spirited individual or someone who cares about their local school and children’s safety. If you’re interested in applying please look at the Council website or ask in your local Jobcentre.

Rotherham Councillors Raising The “Lollipop”

We Want Your Views!Rotherham Borough Council is once again seeking the pub-lic’s views on how the authority uses its budget. The council has to save £20.4 million next year as part of its budget-making process and the authority wants local people to indicate how they believe the coun-cil should save money by having their say about what their prior-ity issues are. To do this the authority is inviting people to complete its Budget Survey - found at www.rotherham.gov.uk/moneymatters - which asks every individual to point out what are the most important things it should be de-livering and where the money should be spent.Deputy Leader, Coun. Jahangir Akhtar, urged the public to take part. He said: “We would like you

to tell us what you think are the priority issues where you believe most Council money should go. Your views will help us to make difficult, but informed decisions

on where we should spend our money. This is a huge challenge for us all because we have a considerably reduced amount of money to spend on services cou-pled with big increases in demand for services for vulnerable resi-dents because of the economic

downturn.” Last year, from a total budget of £250 million Rotherham Borough Council had to reduce its spend-ing by £30 million. This year,

from a budget of £220 million it must reduce its spending by a further £20.4 million - equating to about £80 for every resident living within the borough. This results in services that the author-ity is able to provide for Rotherham residents next year costing about £200 less for each person than they did in 2010. Rotherham Borough

Council’s five priorities are: 1.No community is left behind; 2.Pro-viding quality education; 3.Care and protection for those people who need it most; 4.Helping to create safe and healthy commu-nities; 5.Improving the environ-ment.

More shoppers are heading to Rotherham as people choose to ‘shop local’, according to new national figures published today. While major cities have seen a drop in footfall rates, many smaller regional towns such as Rotherham have seen the number of people in their town centres rise. Rotherham’s rate for September 2011 has risen by a dramatic 32.3% compared to the same month last year. A range of in-

itiatives are helping drive the increase in shoppers and help reduce vacancy rates for town centre shops on the primary shopping streets which cur-rently stands at 14.4% - down 3.4% on July 2009. New stores have been opening regularly including just last week with the launch of the Bit-ter Sweet Boutique selling a special range of gifts, jewellery, furniture and items for the home. Those initiatives include the hugely popular Shop Lo-cal loyalty card, which currently has over 11,000 subscribers, making it

one of the most popular of its kind in the country, helping to spearhead a retail renaissance in Rother-ham town centre. With over 100 town centre shops signed up to provide discounts and offers to card-holders, since its inception last year, the Shop Local Scheme is a significant success.

More People out in Town in Rotherham

Gaddafi’s death brings to an end a colonial experiment that lasted over 40 years. Since a young Gaddafi came to power in 1969 the British, so instrumental in his demise, have been the guardian angels for a man who for years divided political opinions. He was the champion of socialist Arab nationalism, a tyrant, and murderer of this own people. For many in the political elites of the Western world he was both friend and enemy, but always a slave to their colonial interests.There will be much rejoicing at the news of his death amongst Libyans across the world, and who could blame them for his reign was built on pure brutality. Those who fought so bravely to defeat Gaddafi and lost so many lives along the way have every right to celebrate. However the celebration of the Western media and politicians should be viewed as nothing other than sensualist propaganda, the kind Gaddafi partook in during his 42 years in power.It is hard to believe that the same politicians that welcomed Gaddafi back into the fold of the ‘civilised’ world not so long ago are now so overjoyed by his demise. However this is the way of Western politics something Saddam, Ben Ali, Mubarak and

now Gaddafi have all found out. The Western policy towards the Muslim world has always been one of pursuing nothing but their interests, in the words of ex-Prime Minister Lord Palmerston: “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and per-petual, and those interests it is our duty to follow”.These are words that still ring true over 150 years after being uttered, they aptly describe the attitude the British have had to-wards their colonial approach to foreign policy and there is nothing to suggest this is about to change. The NATO strikes on Libyan troops, the secret forays into Benghazi by MI6 opera-tives and Cameron’s triumphant visit to Tripoli not so long ago all show an ideologically defeated state’s desperate attempts to re-live the days of empire.The death of Gaddafi will be seen as an opportunity to rebuild Libya in a manner which will

serve the West for as long as Gaddafi did, if not longer. The colonial self-congratulatory back slapping will be replaced with at-tempts to subvert the revolution and ensure the interests of West-ern corporates are put before the people of Libya. If anything the aftermath of the Iraq and Afghan wars serve as testament to the kind of ‘freedom’ Western inter-vention brings to a people.The truth of British sponsored rendition and torture of Muslims at the hands of Gaddafi and their complicity in his reign could eas-ily be lost in the smokescreen of sympathy Sarkozy and Cameron have been pedalling for the last few months. The legacy of Gadd-afi should not only be formed on his atrocities and tyrannical reign but on the people who give him the political strength and back-ing to carry out such actions. If it wasn’t for Western interference in the Muslim world the likes of Gaddafi and Mubarak would have been removed decades ago.The lesson from Gaddafi’s fall from grace is that tyranny can be removed at the hands of the Um-mah. The lesson from his legacy is that the Western world should in no circumstances be trusted in shaping the future for Muslims.Waseem Aslam www.khilafah.com

The End of Gaddafi, Life-Long Friend of the West

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A report published this week by the Gas Safety Trust reveals a dra-matic rise in the number of deaths resulting from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the UK since 2010. The Gas Safety Trust, the prime source for data relating to gas safety in the UK, published the Carbon Monoxide Hotspot Report 2011, which contains the reported figures of gas-related CO incidents gained from media report gathering throughout the UK. In the 12-month period be-tween 1st July 2010 and 30th June 2011 there were 50-recorded inci-dents involving CO poisoning. Of the 105 people involved in these incidents, there were 25 fatalities and 80 injuries without fatal con-sequences - over three times as

many fatalities as were reported in 2010.Clive Betts MP [Sheffield South East] attended the launch of the report in the House of Commons, Westminster to show support for the report’s recommendations to improve CO safety awareness and to reduce the number of fatalities. “This report shows the potential and real dangers from CO poison-ing. Particularly at risk are people living in private rented accom-modation, which is obviously a huge concern. It’s essential that domestic gas users; get their gas appliances serviced regularly, get an audible CO alarm, and for those with chimneys, ensure they get them swept regularly. These things are not optional extras;

they don’t have to cost a fortune, but the price of not doing them can be very high.”The Gas Safety Trust is call-ing for UK householders to be more aware of the dangers of CO, known as the ‘silent killer’ because you cannot smell, taste, hear or see its presence, particu-larly as the time for turning on central heating approaches. Octo-ber through to March is the high-risk period, during which 72% of CO related incidents occur. The number of incidents peaked in December 2010 when the UK experienced widespread snow and the coldest December for 100 years.

Dramatic Rise in Deaths from Carbon Monoxide (Co) Poisoning

Children’s social workers across the country are handling a record number of cases, with more than 74,000 children in Yorkshire and the Humber alone receiving their vital help and support in the last year. And now, in a unique two-year campaign, all 15 councils across Yorkshire and the Humber have united to make sure those standards of care will continue to improve for the most vulnerable local children. Under the ban-ner of “Children’s Social Work Matters”, the campaign aims to attract new social workers to the

country’s biggest region and raise industry standards for people al-ready in the job. It will create new opportunities and tackle miscon-ceptions about the role of a social worker – using real-life stories from members of regional social work teams who dedicate their working lives to child protection. A key element of the campaign is a new website –www.childrensso-cialworkmatters.org – which fea-tures real life video stories where some of the region’s social work-ers explain how they manage the challenges and complexities of

the job. The website also features children’s social work “champi-ons” – drawn from participating local authorities - who will deal with online questions about their role and what it takes to be a chil-dren’s social worker, working with families often living chaotic and distressing lives.A regional breakdown of the number of children helped by children’s social workers over the last year follows: *7,952 in North Yorkshire; *23,251 in South York-shire; *29,941 in West Yorkshire; *13,356 in the Humber area.

Campaign to Champion the Role of Children’s Social Workers

Barely a day goes past without another news headline proclaim-ing someone viciously attacked, robbed or worse in their own home. But the crime statistics needn’t make you feel like a vic-tim-in-waiting in your own front room. There are some easy steps you can take to make your house a safer place to be.Protect against bogus callers. Install a door chain and outside lighting – and never answer the door before you’ve checked through a spy-hole or window if you know the caller. If not, put the chain on before open-ing the door and ask for ID. Don’t be rushed into accepting their claims – keep them wait-ing even if that means calling the company they say they work for to check. And once you have let the caller in, never leave them alone while you go into a different room. Thieves often work in pairs so don’t open the front door to a stranger with-out locking your back door first.Keep doors and windows locked. Invest in good door and window locks. Check all locks before leaving the house and keep front and back doors and accessible windows locked to outsiders even when you are in. It may sound extreme, but avoid opening doors and windows wide even in summer. It’s safer to open a lot of windows a little way (and locking them to prevent them being opened further) than it is to open one or two windows far enough for someone to climb

through.Pretend you’re in when you’re not. If you’re out, try to make your house look like someone is in. That means cancelling the milk to avoid bottles piling up, asking a neighbour to collect post and leaving a light on or install-ing an automatic light on/light off system – and even a system that switches radios on and off. Other tips from the Metropolitan Police include: encourage a neighbour

to park on your drive, draw the curtains if you will be out after dark and install a burglar alarm or a dummy alarm box as a de-terrent.Keep hedges trimmed. Along with security lighting it is a good idea to keep hedges and bushes trimmed to allow clear views and avoid having places where some-one could hide. But it is also ad-visable to have a secure boundary around your back garden, which is high or awkward enough to make scaling it difficult.Get crunchy gravel. Crunchy gravel on driveways and paths will make any approach noisier –

a useful warning for household-ers and a deterrent for intruders.Check in with friends and fam-ily. If you live alone, try to ensure someone always knows where you are and that you are OK. Even a quick text to let a friend know you’re home and safe after a night out is enough.Don’t get comfortable in your own street. Stay alert when ap-proaching your home, until you are safely indoors. Have your

keys to hand so you are not fumbling on the doorstep and think of safe places you could go if you felt threat-ened, whether that be a shop, friend’s house or a pub.Carry a personal safety alarm. These devices, cost-ing as little as £5, can shock or disorientate an attacker, giving you vital seconds to get away. Pick one with the shrillest, loudest siren pos-sible.

Don’t shout about it. Avoid broadcasting – whether on sites such as Facebook or when you’re out or at work - that you live alone or will be alone in the house at a certain time. Similarly, don’t boast about your upcom-ing holidays to anyone you don’t know well.Keep keys hidden. Never leave a spare key concealed anywhere near the front door – as the Met Police note: “Burglars know all the hiding places.” Also never store keys near the front door to avoid letterbox burglaries, and never label your house keys in case you lose them.

Keep Yourself and your House Safe

The UK’s analogue TV era will come to an end on October 24 2012, it has been announced. Eighty years from the first exper-imental broadcasts, the old five-channel system will be switched off for good. The date will also signal the completion of dig-ital television switchover which started in 2008, since when mil-lions of viewers have seen cover-age boosted with extra channels and clearer pictures. The first experimental analogue televi-sion broadcasts started in August

1932. The technology was of-ficially launched by the BBC in 1936 and went on to inform and entertain viewers with coverage of landmark events such as the moon landings and classic shows from Nationwide to Morecambe and Wise. The UK’s switchover programme started in 2008. At its conclusion in 2012, inside the timetable set out by Government, more than 15 million new view-ers will have been brought into coverage for Freeview services.

Analogue TV Era to End Next October

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Terror Stop and Search Down By 90%

Police use of stop and search pow-ers under terrorism laws fell by more than 90% last year, figures have showed. Just 9,652 stops and searches were made under terrorism laws in 2010/11, com-pared with 102,504 in 2009/10, the Home Office figures showed. The significant fall comes after

the relevant sections of the Terrorism Act 2000 were repealed and replaced by much more limited powers in March following concerns from human rights campaigners. The stops led to a total of

77 arrests, less than one in every 100 searches, and none of these were terror-related. This com-pared with a total of 509 arrests using the powers the previous year, two of which were related to terrorism.

One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter, according to new research. Experts said the most likely reason for the potentially harmful bacteria festering on so many gadgets was people failing to wash their hands properly with soap after going to the toilet. The findings of the UK-wide study by scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, Uni-versity of London also revealed a tendency among Britons to lie about their hygiene habits.Although 95% of people said

they washed their hands with soap where possible, 92% of phones and 82% of hands had bacteria on them. Worryingly, 16% of hands and 16% of phones were found to harbour E.coli - bacteria of a faecal origin. Harm-ful E.coli (Escherichia coli) is associated with stomach upsets and has been implicated in seri-ous cases of food poisoning such as the fatal O157 outbreak in Germany in June. In developed countries, hand washing with soap helps to prevent the spread of viral infections, such as noro-virus, rotavirus and influenza.

Phones ‘Contaminated with Bacteria

During the time around Ramadan and Eid, Muslims increase their sense of compassion and kindness reaching out to the less fortunate and vulnerable to ensure they are not excluded. We have a greater responsibility and awareness that the poor and needy are the re-sponsibility of us all. These peo-ple can also celebrate the festivals and not be excluded due to their disadvantage. It is vital to en-courage and inspire these values into children from a young age, in order for them to realise the importance of sharing and think-ing of the less fortunate on such happy occasions. At the Yorkshire Muslim Academy, the children have been concentrating mainly two projects this year; one is the international crisis in East Africa - Our children have raised £1585 by donating their own spending money, doing chores around the house, earning the money and asking friends and family for do-

nations etc. The other project has been buying gifts for the Muslim orphans in Sheffield. Again the response has been amazing; we have been overwhelmed by the amount of gifts brought in by children and their families. Some with sweet messages such as “for a special person, Eid Mubarak”.

I And The Guardian Of Or-

phans (Whether The Orphan Be Of His Near Or Distant Rela-tion, Or Strangers) Will Be In One Place In The Next World; Like My Two Fingers, Nearly

Touching Each Other

I am a teacher at the Yorkshire

Muslim Academy and got in touch with Chrissy Meleady of the BME through whom I found out about the orphans in Shef-field. With the help of the Ma-drassa based in Masjid Umar, Sheffield, I set this charity up and gave the children a target for Ramadan. The children from the Madrassa personally delivered the gifts to the Childrens Centre which orphaned children attend. The children sent letters of ap-preciation from the Children’s centre to say thanks. The YMA students fulfilled their duties with pride and compassion and for the children who had previously no understanding of Muslims; they gained knowledge and un-derstanding of our Holy Prophet (saw) and his life. We hope to keep strong links with the centre in the future and focus our work on disadvantaged children.Muslimah

C h i l d re n A re T h e F u t u re

“There are people who control spa-cious territories teeming with mani-fest and hidden resources. They domi-nate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilizations and religions. These peo-ple have one faith, one language, one history and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate these peo-ple from one another ... if, per chance, this nation were to be unified into one state, it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and would sepa-rate Europe from the rest of the world. Taking these considerations seriously, a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never-ending wars. It could also serve as a springboard for the West to gain its coveted objects.”-- Sir Campbell Bannerman, Prime Minister of Britain [1905-08]On October 6th 2011, the Executive Council of the United Nations Educa-tion, Science and Culture Organiza-tion (UNESCO) approved Palestine’s entry into this UN agency as a mem-ber. The resolution was approved by 40 votes in favor and 4 against (the United States, Germany, Latvia and Romania), while 14 other countries abstained. UNESCO’s move to admit Palestine was vehemently criticized by America. Speaking to reporters US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton said, “I think that this is a very odd procedure indeed and would urge the governing body of UNESCO to think again before proceeding with that vote.” Just three days earlier, the US Congress ‘punished’ the Palestinian people by withholding $200 million dollars of aid. The two events clearly demonstrate that the international mood to support Palestinian state-hood is divided. America’s opposition intensified last month, when President Mahmoud Abbas again reaffirmed his commitment to seek UN approval for official recognition of the Palestinian state. On September 17 2011, Abbas said, “We are going to the security council. The world is sympathizing with the aspirations of the Palestin-ian people.” This unilateral move is detested by the Zionist state and is also opposed by America. In August 2011, Wendy Sherman, undersecre-tary of state for policy, and ranked third at the U.S. State Department cat-egorically stated: “If any such resolu-tion were put in front of the Security Council, then we would veto it.” On September 21st US President Obama publicly confirmed at the UN that the US would veto any attempts by the Palestinians for statehood. Nonethe-less, despite the frantic effort of the Obama administration to undermine Palestinian struggle for statehood, the actions of America’s surrogates in the region tells an entirely different story.

But first it is important to understand why Obama cannot make good on his desire to see a two state solution, which he defiantly defended at the UN last year. It is well known that President Obama is running for re-election in 2012 and is constrained in the amount of pressure his ad-ministration can apply on Netanyahu to commence negotiations with the Palestinians. The Jewish votes during US general elections are priceless for both democratic and republican con-tenders. Both sets of politicians vie with each other to demonstrate their loyalty to the Israeli cause in return for Jewish votes. The Republican Par-ty is exploiting Obama’s weakness to unequivocally support with the Jew-

ish state on this matter, and has started to make inroads amongst the Jewish voters, who traditionally are staunch democrats. The Jewish electorate makes up only 3% of American vot-ers, but is pivotal in the swing states of Florida and Ohio. More importantly, the Jewish community is a very im-portant constituency for fund raising, and the Palestinian statehood issues have become a significant source of concern for them. “Mr. Obama does not want to get into an unproductive fight with Israel,” said Aaron David Miller, a longtime State Department expert on the Middle East, who is now at the Woodrow Wilson Centre. Hence, the Obama administration cannot take a public stance that sup-ports the Palestinians but ignores the demands of the Jewish state. How-ever, America’s allies in the region have no such qualms, and are doing their utmost, to make the Jewish state vulnerable and to urge Netanyahu to negotiate and finalize a two state solu-tion with the Palestinians.The military junta of Egypt has used the ouster of Mubarak to give a clear indication that the thirty odd years of invincible peace the Jewish state enjoyed is now precariously poised. The attacks by militants in Sinai, the frequent disruption of gas supplies, and the recent ransacking of the Is-raeli embassy in Cairo that forced the ambassador and his staff to flee have clearly reminded the Jews how vul-nerable their border with their Egypt neighbors has become. This was made worse by the killing of Egyptian border soldiers and the subsequent pseudo apology released by Netan-yahu’s government. His government is also anxious from the rising tide of Islamic opposition to the Jewish state — a development that does not bode well for their future survival.Additionally, Turkey’s deteriorating

relations with Israel have also ac-centuated the weakness of the Jew-ish state. The expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, cessation of military ties, threat of legal action over the Marvi Marmara incident and Er-dogan’s vocal opposition to Jewish state’s treatment of Palestinians has begun to erode Israel’s confidence and increased its isolation. Erdogan’s recent statements have made Turkey extremely popular in the Arab world, which is spearheading American ef-forts to isolate the Jewish state. For instance, on his visit to Cairo he said, “Israel is the West’s spoiled child. To this day it has never executed a deci-sion by the international community. It (Israel) acts irresponsibly and with-

out hesitation in smashing human dig-nity and international law by carrying [out] assaults on international con-voys, which carry nothing but food and toys for children...”Compounded with the problematic relations with Turkey and Egypt is the growing unrest in Syria, which earlier spilled over into the Golan Heights and drove home the message to a distraught Jewish populace that its border with Syria is no longer im-pregnable. Thus in a space of a few weeks, the Jewish state finds its three pillars of territorial stability, shaken to the core, and now many Israelis are uncertain about the future.Complicating matters further, Netan-yahu now faces the actions of pro-British contingent of countries. The ‘harsh’ remarks by King Abdullah of Jordan, and the pledge of the Saudi’s to provide $200 million aid to the Pal-estinian authority to enable it to func-tion is a resounding warning that the Jewish state is fast losing old friends amongst British and American surro-gates. It is against this backdrop that Abbas has intensified his efforts for pronouncing statehood. His tongue could not have moved, unless he was given explicit permission by America to do so.America’s intention behind all of these maneuvers is to forcibly goad Netanyahu’s government to accept the fact that the Jewish state’s security is not sustainable with its neighbors, unless it commits to peace and presses ahead with the two-state solution. In a visit to the Jewish state last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that Israel was at risk of be-coming isolated and more vulnerable if it did not take steps to repair ties with neighboring countries and restart negotiations with the Palestinians. He said, “The question you have to ask is: ‘Is it enough to maintain a military

edge if you are isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena? Real security can only be achieved by a strong dip-lomatic efforts as well as a strong ef-fort to protect your military strength.” This is especially true now, as the Arab uprising has brought to the fore a new set of public expectations that cannot be simply swept under the car-pet as before. This was also echoed by Panetta. He said, “It is pretty clear at this dramatic time in the Middle East when there have been so many chang-es that it is not a good situation for Is-rael to become increasingly isolated. And that is what has happened.” Thus at home the Obama administration stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jews fully expecting their votes, but in the Middle East she uses her loyal allies and agents in the region to com-pel the Jews to pursue peace with the Palestinians and her neighbors.The Palestinian people must be care-ful not to be smitten by the actions of their neighbouring countries—par-ticularly Turkey— all of whom are working tirelessly to implement the colonialist agenda and prevent their true liberation from tyranny. How can any sane ruler of the Muslim world call for a Palestinian state that for all intents and purposes is a prison state entirely dependent on Israel for its existence? For example, Erdogan’s rhetoric pales into insignificance when measured against the wise pro-found words of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (to the Zionists expressing their in-terests in the future of the holy lands), who said, “I cannot give up even one small patch of land in Palestine. It is not something that I own as a part of my personal estate. Palestine in fact belongs to the Muslim Nation as a whole. My people have fought with their blood and sweat to protect this land, let the Jews keep their millions and once the Khilafah is torn apart one day, then they can take Palestine without a price, to have the scalpel cut my body is less painful than to wit-ness Palestine being detached from the Khilafah state and this is not going to happen ...” Whether it’s the single state solution as advocated by Britain in the past or the two-state solution promoted by the US; the people of Palestine and the Jews will never find peace under such colonialist projects. The intention of all such colonial projects is to keep Palestine in a per-petual state of conflict and consume the region in protracted wars. Jews, Christians and Muslims of Palestine would do well to look and learn from the Islamic alternative that guaranteed peace for hundreds of years under the auspices of the Caliphate state.Abid Mustafa is a political com-mentator who specializes on Mus-lim affairs and global issues. He can be reached at provokethought@hotmail.co.uk.

America’s Colonial Agenda For Palestine Is Alive And Well

Recent price hikes have increased the profit margins enjoyed by Britain’s big energy firms to £125 per customer a year from £15 in June, it has emerged. Industry regulator Ofgem said that as a re-sult of the rises the average dual-fuel bill has increased by £175 and by November will amount to £1,345. The regulator said it ex-pects profit margins to fall back next year, but said the market is still being stifled by complex tariffs, poor behaviour by sup-pliers and a lack of transparency in the market. It intends to push ahead with reforms of the market, the first of which will be the in-troduction of a simplified stand-

ard tariff, based on a simple unit price for energy used and a stand-ing charge, which Ofgem will set. Ofgem said wholesale prices had risen by 40% to £115 per custom-er over the past year and could go even higher over the next few months. Rising wholesale prices have been cited by suppliers for the recent spate of tariff hikes. Consumers are faced with a thicket of energy tariffs that can seem designed to confuse all but the most persistent and numerate consumers. More than 60 new tariffs have appeared so far this year, despite all the pressure for fewer and simpler tariffs.

Energy Price Hikes See Profits Soar

Amigos, the second name for per-fection. Amigos is a traditional Mexican style HALAL cuisine. It’s one of the few places that specialises in Halal Tbone steak, Steak pike and Sirloin steaks.It offer a variety of different choices in halal food e.g. Pasta, Tortilla, Mexican Grill, Burritos, Lasagne and many more deli-cious dishes. The food choice is fantastic and it sure tastes good.

Amigos provides another choice for an excellent food. They also cater for Weddings, Parties, Cor-porate Events and also do Home Delivery. Amigos is situated at the corner of Sharrow Lane and on 272 London Road, Sheffield, S2 4NA and they can be con-tacted on 0114 258 5900. You can also search them online and check out their menu on www.amigosmexicankitchen.co.uk

AMIGOS Halal Mexican Cuisine

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The Taj Mahal will collapse in five years unless action is taken by Indian government to strengthen its foundations, cam-paigners have warned. A group of historians, environmentalists and politicians claim that the founda-tion of the 358-year-old building in Agra, north India, has dried out and is rotting away. It was built on a foundation of mahogany posts sunk into wells fed by the

Yamuna river. But the river is running dry as a result of pollu-tion, industry and deforestation – meaning the foundations have become brittle and are disinte-grating. If the crisis is not tackled, the Taj Mahal will cave in between two and five years. No one has been allowed to go into the founda-tions for the last three decades. The River Yamuna drying up was

something the builders of the Taj Mahal never anticipated. The riv-er is a constituent of its architec-tural design and if the river dies, the Taj cannot survive. Known as one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal was built by the Muhgal emperor Shah Ja-han in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal who was buried there. The tomb attracts four mil-lion visitors every year.

Taj Mahal could Collapse in Five Years

Pakistan's former president Per-vez Musharraf has charged that arch-rival India seeks to "create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan" as part of a bid to dominate South Asia politically and eco-nomically. Musharraf said Afghanistan sends its intel-ligence staff, diplomats and soldiers to India where they are "indoctrinated against Pakistan," something he said India must stop and the United States should be concerned about. "In Afghanistan, there is some kind of a proxy conflict go-ing on between Pakistan and India," Musharraf told a leadership forum spon-sored by the Atlantic media corporation. "India is trying to create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan." It's ambi-tion, he said, is to "have a weak Pakistan so that it can be domi-nated, so that it doesn't have any confrontationist attitude which doesn't go well with India's vi-

sion of dominating the region." Musharraf said he understood

that India does not seek to take over Pakistan militarily, but rather it wants to dominate Paki-stan in the area of foreign policy, economic policy, trade and com-merce. "That is how you sup-press, you control or dominate

another country," according to the former army chief who seized

power in a 1999 blood-less coup and resigned as president in 2008. "Af-ghanistan's intelligence, Afghanistan's diplomats, Afghanistan's soldiers, all the army, security people, they all go to India for training," where they are "indoctrinated against Pa-kistan," he added. While he was in power, he said he personally of-fered Afghanistan free training but "not one man has come to Pakistan for training." Musharraf spoke after Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a "strate-gic partnership" with In-

dia on Tuesday. The partnership -- the first such pact between Afghanistan and another country - deepens already friendly Delhi-Kabul ties and aims to boost trade, security and cultural links between the countries.

India wants Afghanistan to be Anti-Pakistan Musharraf:

PROPERTY CORNER THE WORLD OF PROPERTY

by: Mohammed Mahroof BSc (Hons) MRICS Consultant: Mark Jenkinson & Son

I have recently returned from a trip to North Africa and naturally wherever I am in the world my instinct is to look at property prices and development, much to the annoyance of my family. It is clear wherever you are in the world, the concerns remain the same, around the economy, property prices and employ-ment. As you travel the world, it becomes more and more evi-dent that the world is becoming a village. News about any subject travels very quickly. Property is a major topic because it is a traditional investment for many communities in the world and people aspire to either hold or add to their portfolios.It is now quite common for in-vestors to buy property, not only in their own countries of origin, but in emerging markets across the world. In fact, I bumped into a few people on the flight back who had gone out specifically to look for property to buy, and in time settle there, as they felt the economy there was developing.Equally there are people from

all over the world who invest in property in this country, in particular in London. Prices in certain areas in the capital have not seen the difficulties faced by people in other parts of the coun-try. In fact, it has been argued that there are not enough good quality properties coming onto the market.A serious issue that has conse-quences for all of us is the sup-ply of good quality residential accommodation. It is quite clear that demand for housing is rising quicker than supply, in particular amongst the younger generation. The problem is that they are un-able to access this because of fi-nancial constraints.It is a subject which many politi-cians, governments and housing professionals areengaged in trying to find a solu-tion to. As the world population rises year on year, the need for accommodation follows suit. In this country it is being regularly commented on that the demand for housing is very strong and people unable or unwilling to

commit to a long term purchase are now turning to the private rented sector, which has seen a tremendous increase in demand.Are we seeing a change from home ownership as a major aspi-ration to renting? Acommon theme in Europe but not so in this country. I believe we are at the crossroads and only time will tell how we emerge in the next few years. I am quite convinced that property as a worldwide commodity will re-main a strong aspiration for people, as history suggests land and property along with gold have been key investments for generations. If this mindset is to change it will be a major thought migration from the present. Who knows, we might be at the begin-ning of something new.I would like to wish our readers Eid Mubarak and, as ever, if you want to contact meplease call me on 0114 2760151/0787 901 5095 or through ILM.

The number of patients who wait-ed longer than the recommended 18 weeks for NHS hospital treat-ment has risen by almost 50 per cent over the past year. New fig-ures show that almost 10,000 more people were treated outside the target waiting time in August compared with the same time the previous year. A third of local managers are now failing to meet the goal of 90 per cent of their patients being seen within 18 weeks of being referred by a GP, almost four times as many as a year ago. However there was some evidence that hospitals are clearing backlogs of patients who endured delays of more than a year before under-going operations, while the total number still on waiting lists has fallen slightly. It comes after the Coalition ended Labour’s strict

focus on targets, on the grounds it was distorting doctors’ priori-ties, and as trusts grapple with the NHS’s goal of making £20billion of efficiency savings by 2015.

As The Daily Telegraph has dis-closed, managers in at least 10 Primary Care Trusts have deliber-ately increased waiting times in an attempt to cut costs within a finan-cial year, which is alleged to mean that some patients will either “go

private or die”. Overall 45 Primary Care Trusts failed to seen 90 per cent of pa-tients within 18 weeks in August, compared with 12 the year before.

But the number of pa-tients still in the sys-tem stood at 2.61m, down from 2.65m a year earlier. The median waiting time was 8.1 weeks for in-patients, slightly less than the 8.3 recorded in August 2010 but higher than the low of 7.7 seen in April. A Department of Health spokesman said: “Average wait-ing times are low and remain stable. The

vast majority of patients still re-ceive treatment within 18 weeks. “We are committed to driving im-provements in performance and the quality of care that the NHS provides - including keeping wait-ing times low.”

Rise in Patients Waiting too long for NHS Treatment

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Using Social Media For Your Business

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Social media is more than just a tool for looking at pictures of your friends and reminiscing about times past. It’s become a tool with measurable and predict-able power that truly has a place with almost any kind of business. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are to name just a few but the ef-fectiveness of these resources to promote your business are sec-ond to none. If you haven’t al-ready created a Facebook page or a LinkedIn account I suggest you do it as a matter of urgency as it is an opportunity missed and best of all they are generally free. There are many benefits to using social media for business, but here are my top choices.1. Increased awareness of the organisation: This is one of the most obvious benefits for most businesses using social media. Whether users directly engage with your brand or not, they will still see your brand name within the networks they use. The more impressions a consumer gets of your business, the more likely they will remember your name in the future. Whether you’re a shoe retailer or a non-profit looking to gain recognition for your cause, brand awareness is vital for your continued success.2. Reputation Management: Managing your online reputation is essential within social media because your brand or industry is being talked about regardless of whether you take part in the conversation. It’s beneficial to know what your customers think about your products, cause, serv-ices etc, and with this input in mind you can react accordingly. Since social media is open to

everyone, anyone has the abil-ity to say what they want about your brand. Therefore, making sure what is being said is truthful, not necessarily positive, is key to developing the trust of your au-dience and influencing them in a positive manner. Feed back from Social Media can also inform your decision about how you deal with your clients or market your business.3. Customer Service and Feed-back: Providing support to your customers is vital to the success of any business and social me-dia is no exception to the rule. When a person reaches out to you, whether their input is good or bad it is extremely important to respond in a timely and help-ful manner. Social media pro-vides the platform for consumers to interact on a person to person level, so that they aren’t talking to a faceless representative over the phone or via email. Respond whenever a user reaches out, just not to users acting profane, mis-leading or hateful. Providing this level of service, which can be something as simple as thanking someone for mentioning your brand, is completely transparent to your entire network, showing how dedicated you are to your audience.4. Increase in new business: Social media can help act as a means of finding customers for your business, advocates for your cause or as a means to make many other beneficial con-nections. Like we’ve previously discussed, conversations are hap-pening constantly within each so-cial network and it’s just a matter of you monitoring these conver-

sations and reaping the benefit. These leads can be anything from an idea for an article to an online sale. For example, just by search-ing through Twitter you get a feel for the buzz in your industry and who’s saying what and possibly interact with interested future customers.5. Educational Asset: In any in-dustry its important to remain innovative in your field and find the best ways to continue the conversations about what you do. Since you’re here with us today learning about social media, it’s obvious you’re one of the people looking to stay ahead of the curve on a new form of media. Social media provides your brand with a free source of constant infor-mation from other brands, media outlets, friends, coworkers and even your competition.6. Competitive Analysis: In any industry it’s important to keep pace with your competitors. So-cial media merely makes this process easier by allowing for complete transparency of the content and conversations your competitors are having on their various social accounts. Social media can help keep you on track with other non-profits, busi-nesses, publications or whoever your interested in keeping tabs on or on the other side of the fence looking to partner with in the fu-ture for a promotion, campaign or some other type of partnership.If you would like to find out more about about how your business would benefit from using Social Media then do not hesitate to contact me.

By: Amar SaleemBusiness Development ManagerSheffield Chamber of CommerceEmail: amar.saleem@scci.org.uk

Housing bosses in Sheffield have sent letters to pensioners threat-ening to seize their mobility scooters – claiming the vehicles are a health and safety hazard. Several residents at flats on Little Norton Avenue in Norton, Shef-field, park their scooters beneath stairs in the flats. The OAPs say the scooters are out of the way of people coming and going – and there is nowhere else to put them. But in a crackdown on items which could impede escape

in a fire, Sheffield Homes has written to residents listing scoot-ers among ‘identified hazards’. The letter, from housing officer Steve Willis, warned residents: “If the items are not removed by one month they will become the property of Sheffield Council and will be disposed of. You may be charged for the cost of disposal.” The letter was sent despite a draft policy on mobility scooters not yet being approved by Sheffield Homes, under which tenants

might not be able to take scooters to housing schemes unless there is storage available. Sheffield Council’s Labour administra-tion has asked for the policy to be reviewed with the fire service before deciding whether to im-plement it. Sheffield Council’s opposition leader, Coun Shaffaq Mohammed, added: “I’m horri-fied Sheffield Homes is being al-lowed to make these threats.”

Mobility Scooters Risk

Millions of people whose BlackBerry smartphones were hit by service prob-lems for more than three days will be offered free apps worth at least 100 US dollars (£63). Research in Motion (RIM) has at-tracted widespread anger after millions of users of the handsets were left un-able to access email, surf the web or use the Black-Berry Messenger service.

RIM announced that a selec-tion of premium apps will be offered to subscribers as “an expression of apprecia-tion for their patience” dur-ing the disruptions. Co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis said: “Our global network supports the communica-tions needs of more than 70 million customers”.

Blackberry Gives £63 of Free Apps as Apology

Unemployment is at a record high, figures revealed last month. With talks of a double-dip reces-sion, it’s difficult to see the way out of uncertainty. The Office for National Statistics revealed unemployment has reached a 17-year high after more than 100,000

people joined the ranks of those seeking jobs. The figures reveal a record reduction of 74,000 in the number of over-65s in em-ployment. Other figures showed a 178,000 slump in employment in the quarter to August – the big-gest fall in more than two years

– and the largest-ever cut in the number of part-time workers, down by 175,000. Youth unem-ployment reached a record high of 991,000 while the number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased for the seventh month in a row to 1.6 million.

Jobless Figures Sky High

The Great Wall of China may have survived the Huns and Mongol hordes, but widespread neglect, underfunding and min-ing means that it is now falling down. In some areas as much as 80 per cent of the structure lies in ruins, all but demolished by prospectors mining for minerals. The destruc-tion was catalogued in a series of photographs which show that huge holes have been punched through the wall in some areas. One complete section of the wall has crumbled because of mining along a 94-mile stretch, accord-ing to a report and it is unknown

how many enterprises are en-gaged in mining along the Great Wall. Along other stretches, the wall has simply collapsed into a pile of rubble. The Great Wall, which runs for a total of 5,500 miles across 11 Chinese provinces, is not a con-tinuous structure but actually a series of sections built from the third century BC to the Ming dy-nasty (1368-1644). Only a small part of the wall outside Beijing has been carefully maintained, with the rest of the structure left untended. The biggest problem is not illegal mining, but simply the fact that

there is no regular maintenance. Each year, local governments report damage on their stretch of the wall to Beijing and then the central government allocates funding for worst areas. But this is not maintenance work, this is rescue work. Over the centuries, bad weather has taken its toll. In-deed, the fact that the wall con-tinues to stand at all is a tribute to the ingenuity of Ming dynasty engineers, who mixed sticky rice into the wall’s mortar. The chemi-cal bonding between the rice and the slaked lime was so tight that in many places weeds still cannot grow.

The Great Wall of China is Falling Down

www.ilmnews.com 14

Tens of thousands of British school teachers have been sub-jected to false allegations from a pupil that has placed their ca-reers at “significant” risk, new research suggests. Nearly a third of teachers has faced “hugely damaging” false claims from a student that had caused devastating consequences on their personal lives, it was claimed. The survey of nearly 8000 teachers across the coun-try found two in three educators would not intervene to break up a fight between students because of the potential risk to their ca-reer. At least 20 per cent of teach-ers feel that most pupils have no respect for them, it found while a further 92 per cent felt the law gave too much protection to pu-pils and not enough to teachers. Despite “99 per cent” of the pro-fession expressing fears about the consequences a false claim could have, four in five teachers believe protections were current-ly “inadequate”. The survey’s findings, highlight the “continuing and significant risks facing teachers”. The find-

ings come amid widespread con-cerns that hundreds of long-serv-ing teachers have had their careers ruined after being subjected to unfounded claims by children. Earlier this year the government announced that teachers will be given greater protection against lying pupils under sweeping re-forms designed to restore order to the classroom. For the first time, all teachers will be granted anonymity when ac-cused of attacking children in an attempt to curb the rise of mali-cious allegations. Also under the plans teachers would be given more powers to deal with poor discipline. According to the sur-vey, 30 per cent of teachers had a false allegation made by a stu-dent during their career. Latest figures show that about 900 children are suspended from school every day, with the major-ity for abusing or assaulting their teachers or fellow pupils. Attacks on teachers are also at a five-year high with more than 40 members of staff rushed to hospital with serious injuries in the last year.

A Third of Teachers Face ‘Devastating’

False Claims By Pupils

Sheffield Council announces a zero percent increase in council tax. Council tax is to be frozen again for next year, cash-strapped Sheffield households were prom-ised today. The Govern-ment is offering councils across the country fund-ing to pay for a council tax freeze, provided they do not increase spend-ing. Sheffield is receiving £4.9 million. Town Hall bosses had previously warned they might have to increase charges by up to three per cent - but the Government cash input means council tax will now stay at the same level for the third year run-ning.Coun Dore said the move should help ‘struggling’ households in-cluding families and pensioners. “We will accept the extra funding which has been offered, to ensure

council tax levels can be frozen for another year,” she said.Other councils around South Yorkshire have not yet revealed whether they will also be freez-

ing council tax. In Sheffield the freeze was warmly welcomed by Jacqueline Milner, of Shef-field Pensioners’ Action Group. She said: “It’s wonderful news. At least that’s one thing that is not going up when our members who are on low incomes are hav-ing to cope with rising prices in

the shops and increasing energy bills.”Sheffield Hallam MP and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said: “The Government has made it

possible for the Labour council to deliver a coun-cil tax freeze after the Lib Dem administration did not increase council tax last year and had the lowest-ever increases in the previous years.” But Sheffield Council leader Julie Dore has warned council jobs will go, and some services could face

the axe, as the authority faces an-other hefty budget cut next year.The Labour-run council must find another £52 million of savings from its current £500m budget during 2012/13. “We are cur-rently undergoing a review of all council services to see where the savings can be made,” she said.

Council to Freeze Tax

A council house tenant in Shef-field has been evicted from her home for growing cannabis plants. The 32 year old breached the conditions of her tenancy agreement at Arbourthorne, af-ter police found a ‘significant’ number of plants growing in a

bedroom. Heat lamps and an ex-tractor fan had been installed to help the plants grow. Coun Harry Harpham, Sheffield Council’s cabinet member for home, said: “Eviction is a course of action we don’t take lightly, but one we are quite prepared to take. Grow-

ing illegal drugs on the property was a tenancy breach and she has now had to suffer the con-sequences – which in this case is the loss of her home.” She has also been ordered to pay legal costs of £301.75.

Cannabis Grower Loses Her Home

Mohammed Nazir Solicitor Head of Property/Immigration, Wosskow Brown

Q & A: Sale of Property Legal Corner

Q What is a fixtures and fittings form?A A fixtures and fittings form is one of the important documents when you are selling a residential property and it pro-vides information of what items will be left in the property. Please fill this form in very carefully as it becomes part of your sale con-tract.

QWhat is a Property Informa-tion Form (PIF)A This gives details of your property and contains infor-mation and changes to the prop-erty in the past. This form should be completed very carefully and in full as this information is very important. If you are not sure about anything you should speak to your legal advisor before you hand over this form to the pur-chasers.

Q What is an Overriding Interest Form?A The Overriding Inter-est Form is a new form intro-duced into the Conveyancing process. It gives information to the purchaser’s solicitors as to whether there are any additional arrangements or rights that have been created over the property in recent years.

QWhat is the meaning of Vacant Possession in a sale agreement?A This is a very impor-tant clause of the sale agreement and it means that once your so-licitor has received the purchase funds, you will hand over pos-session to the purchaser and there will be no occupiers, items or rubbish left at the property. If you do not provide vacant possession then potentially you are in breach of contract and the purchaser can ask for damages and gain posses-

sion through the Court.

QWhat is a redemption figure and what is its importance in the sale process?A A redemption state-ment is information from the existing mortgage lender detail-ing the amount outstanding on the property. You cannot proceed without an updated redemption figure. Your solicitor will need this to complete the sale of your property as they have to give a promise to the purchaser’s solici-tors to clear the property from fi-nancial liability. In new sale con-tracts the vendor is also bound to clear any financial charges on the property but it also depends on the wording of the sale agree-ment.Disclaimer: This is information only and do not act on this information as legal advice and always seek advice from your solicitor according to the circumstances of your case.

PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf / Movement for Justice) & Chair-man Imran Khan has been in the forefront of Politics in Pakistan for the last 15 years, with little or no change in the status quo over the years. PTI is being seen as the party of choice to bring about change in the country which is stuck in a quagmire of prevailing crises including corruption, ter-rorism, economic stability and a power crisis.Pakistani’s living all over the

world, have a vested interest in developing Pakistan into a demo-cratic and accountable country and by joining a movement for justice, self-esteem and humanity, PTI has the vision to do this. The launch took place on Sunday 16th October 2011 at St Peter’s Hall in Netheredge. With an expectation of around 40

attendees, there was an unprece-dented turnout of over 70 individ-uals. The proceedings began with Shahid Ali, one of the members of the organising committee, sharing the vision of PTI and what the goals were and reiterating that this was not just a political party but a movement for change which was looking to empower the peo-

ple at the grass roots level.Amjad Khan spoke from his heart when saying, “People want change, and they believe that Pa-kistan Tehreek-e-Insaf can bring that change for a better future”.Tanveer said that he supports PTI due to the inspirational work that Imran Khan did with Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital. He

said that, “the time is now that we help PTI come in power and save our beloved motherland”.The aim of the Sheffield branch is to highlight issues within the overseas Pakistani community and to look at ways it can sup-port the movement for change for a free and democratic Pakistan where justice, self-esteem and

humanity are the visionary goals.

Contact: Shahid AliEmail: ptisheffield@hotmail.co.ukMobile: 07737139646

PTI Launch Sheffield Branch with an Unprecedented Turnout

ATI TYRESNew Part Usedall toP BraNds at warehoUse PricesFree FittiNG ~ Free BalaNceMaNy More BraNded NaMes iN stocktel: 07971 406145 • 07966 2349079:30am - 5.00pm • Mon - Fri9:30am - 4.00pm • Saturday

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www.ilmnews.com 15

ALL South Yorkshire police of-ficers are to be tagged with track-ers - in a ‘Big Brother’ move which means bosses will know their movements every minute of their shifts. Police chiefs want all officers’ radios to be fitted with tracker devices by the end of Oc-tober. The aim is that incidents which do not require specialist teams can be assigned to the of-ficer nearest the crime. The force carried out a trial in Doncaster

earlier this year and is now roll-ing out the scheme across the county. Bosses say the aim is to make more efficient use of of-ficers, with staff numbers set to drop because of £41 million of funding cuts. They admit they will be able to use the trackers to trace the movements of all of-ficers, or as a log of where they have been, but stress the technol-ogy is not being introduced to catch officers out.

Police ‘Big Brother’ Treatment

A London-based radio station that raised £160,000 for natural disasters in Asia let the money sit dormant in a bank account for almost seven years, an investiga-tion by the Charity Commission has found. An 11-month inquiry by the commission found that Sunrise Radio and sister station Kismat Radio – which are not charities – deposited £160,000 of listeners’ donations in an account named Sunrise Radio South East Asia Disaster Appeal. The Char-ity Commission has passed its report to the broadcast watchdog Ofcom, which has the power to revoke Sunrise Radio’s broadcast licence. Sunrise became the UK’s first 24-hour Asian music station

in 1989 and now reaches 2 million listeners. The charity fund, which last year had grown to £181,000 with interest, was raised through a station appeal following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and then again after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. The disasters killed tens of thousands of people and left many more homeless and at the risk of disease. The Char-ity Commission’s report said that there was “no evidence to sug-gest that the funds were at risk of misapplication” but condemned the trustees of the bank account, saying that they “did not act ap-propriately” by holding onto the money. The commission said that the money had now been taken

from the account and given it to two registered charities working in the affected areas. The report also said that the trustees, “failed to provide a sufficient satisfactory explanation or provide evidence to give reason for their delay”.Station owner Avtar Lit said it had not been able to deliver the money for relief purposes be-cause the station could not get one of its presenters a visa to go to Pakistan, and the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka. Lit admitted that in hindsight it would have been more appropriate to give the money to British registered chari-ties directly.

Asian radio stations dormant disaster relief cash

DisclaimerILM (The Knowledge) Newspaper does not rep-resent any political, reli-gious or any other group. It is purely for providing general information, en-tertainment and knowl-edge to its readers. Any views expressed by au-thors are responsible for

their own work.

Most police forces found that fewer than one in 10 of those ar-rested over the August riots were gang members and gangs “gener-ally did not play a pivotal role” in the disturbances, figures have showed. Even in London, where gang membership among those arrested was highest at 19%, most of those held were not in gangs, the Home Office figures showed. But more than a third of young people aged 10 to 17 who were involved in the riots had been excluded from school during 2009/10, other figures re-leased by the Ministry of Justice showed. This compared with just 6% of all Year 11 pupils. Two-thirds of young people in the ri-ots also had special educational needs, compared with a fifth of all pupils. And two-fifths were in receipt of free school meals, compared with less than a fifth of secondary school pupils, the fig-ures showed. The figures, which were based on matching Ministry of Justice (MoJ) records with those from the national pupil database held by the Department for Education,

showed 36% of young people - some 139 10-17-year-olds - ap-pearing before the courts over the violence and looting had received one or more fixed-term exclu-sions in 2009/10, compared with just 5.6% of all pupils aged 15. A total of 11, 3% of young peo-ple appearing before courts over the riots, had been permanently excluded, compared with 0.1% of all those children aged 15 at the start of the 2009/10 academic year. Figures showed most of those involved in the riots were aged under 20, with 26% aged 10 to 17 and 27% aged 18 to 20. Of the adults involved, 35% were claim-ing an out-of-work benefit at the time, compared with 12% of the general working age population in England and 45% of all offend-ers sentenced for an indictable of-fence last year. Three-quarters of all those who appeared in court had a previous conviction or cau-tion. Patterns emerged across all areas. MoJ officials said: “It is clear that compared to population averages, those brought before the courts were more likely to

be in receipt of free school meals or benefits, were more likely to have had special educational needs and be absent from school, and are more likely to have some form of criminal history. In terms of ethnicity, 46% of those appear-ing in court were from black or mixed black backgrounds, 42% were white, 7% were Asian and 5% were classified as “other”. But in most areas the ethnicity breakdown mostly reflected that of the resident population. Policing and criminal justice min-ister Nick Herbert said: “These figures confirm that, in the vast majority of cases, existing crimi-nals were out in force during the disturbances in August. “The fact that half of recorded crimes were for offences like stealing and looting shows that most of what we saw was motivated by op-portunity and greed. “The tough sentences that have rightly been handed down to rioters, and sub-sequently upheld on appeal, send out a strong deterrent message that society will not tolerate the appalling behaviour we saw on our streets.”

Gangs ‘Not Pivotal’ in Riots

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said Pakistan’s election to a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council “effectively rebuts allegations of Pakistan’s isolation. Pakistan emerged triumphant from one of the most hotly contested United Nations Security Council elections in years. Morocco, Guatemala and Togo were the others to secure a seat. “It demon-strated acknowledgement of Pakistan’s importance in the comity of nations,” a triumphant Gilani said in a statement. Pakistan took the Asia-Pacific seat, getting 129 votes, the minimum required, to 55 for its only rival Kyrgyzstan. The two-year term begins on January 1, 2012. Arch rival India will also remain on the council through 2012. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in a separate statement said the vote “reflects the importance and respect that Pakistan enjoys in the international community”. Pakistan

has been on the council six times, according to of-ficial media, 1952-53, 1968-69, 1976-77, 1983-84, 1993-94 and 2003-04. India and Pakistan have shared terms on the Council in 1968, 1977 and 1984.

Pakistan Hails Seat on UN Security CouncilT h i s

Qurbani p l e a s e spare a t h o u g h t for the m a n y millions of famine v i c t i m s who are l i terally d y i n g

of hunger in Africa every hour. For the millions of flood victims homeless in Pakistan, many of whom are facing destitution for the second time in the period of 12 months. While most of us are blessed with food and take our next meal for granted, these vic-tims are blighted by sheer pover-ty, for which basic food is the dif-

ference between life and death. As the time of Eid-Ul-Adha ap-proaches you can help those in needs and save lives, by donating your Qurbani through Al-Khair’s Qurbani programme “The most excellent sadaqah (charity) consists in your satisfy-ing a hungry stomach” (Tirmidhi)For those of you who will be performing Qurbani/ Udhiyah in Pakistan. Alhamdulillah this year Al-Khair Foundation shall be fa-cilitating Qurbani in Pakistan using cattle from its own cattle farm, ensuring that the animals used for Qurbani are reared in strict accordance with shariyah, while also supplying value for money animals and generating employment for the locals.Al-Khair Foundation also facili-tates Qurbani in other countries

in Asia, Europe and Africa using extremely stringent methods to carefully select the right animals for Qurbani. We constantly focus on the Islamic precepts which disqualify certain animals from being used for Qurbani; such as animals with any deformity af-fecting ears, sight, horns or teeth. Also excluded are animals which have limbs deformed, broken or damaged and sick or emaciated animals.What is the cost of Qurbani?Al-Khair will purchase the ani-mal to be sacrificed on your be-half however prices vary accord-ing each country.To Place an order(s) for Qurbani please call 0114 275 6590, 020 7084 7199 or visit www.justgiv-ing.com/qurbani

Al-Khair Foundation Qurbani Project 2011

Pakistan/Bangladesh (£) Uncooked CookedGoat/Sheep £ 70 £100Cow Share £ 40 £ 55Whole Cow £ 280 £ 380

India (£) Uncooked CookedGoat/Sheep £ 55 £ 85Cow Share £ 25 £ 40Whole Cow £ 175 £ 275

Chechnya/Afghanistan(£) Uncooked CookedGoat/Sheep £ 90 £ -Cow £ 350 £ -Cow Share £ 50 £ -

Sudan/Niger (£) Uncooked CookedGoat/Sheep (only) £ 50 £ 80

Somalia/Kenya/Ethiopia (£) Uncooked CookedGoat/Sheep (only) £ 50 £ 80

Iraq/Palestine(£) Uncooked CookedGoat/Sheep £190 £ -Cow £900 £ -Cow Share £130 £ -

Muhammad Amir Qureshi, Programme Manager AKF Sheffield.

Al-Khair Qurbani Pricing 2011:

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Most commentators and analysts are stuck in a box, when it comes to speculating about the fall of the present setup. They do not think beyond in-house change through a no-confidence motion and martial law. An out-of-the-box possibility eludes them.There are several cases before the Supreme Court in which the or-ders of the court have not been carried out. The onus lies on the Chief Executive, who happens to be the Prime Minister. So far, the court has not taken any action against him for willful defiance. Patience may not be the only rea-son; timing may be another. There may also be expediency and ex-ternal pressure.Since the Establishment has not been keen for a military takeover, the initial hope was that opposi-tion would bring about a motion for no-confidence against the Prime Minister. But ML(N), the nominal opposition, took no ini-tiative as it had been lulled by the hope that it would get its turn if it did not rock the boat. It still did nothing even after it finally real-ized that it had been hoodwinked by the foreign powers in order to protect the PPP government. ML (Q) also could initiate a motion but Moonis Elahi had the better of it. The Battle Field in Karachi: MQM is the master of the city but it has enemies it cannot ignore. People who love Karachi will not like Karachi being called a city created by dacoits and outlaws, the last of which rule openly in Lyari in the name so called peo-ple Amman Committee. Al- Qae-da knows who in Karachi is its real foe. The MQM knows it too. In Al Qaeda’s view, Karachi, with its multi- National Corpora-tions, major banks and stock ex-changes, is the weakest link; and chaos in this city would be most detrimental to Pakistan-as well as to the war in Afghanistan, as a major casualty would be NATO’s supply lines’. Unconsciously, the Sindhi PPP may like it, not real-izing the possibility that Karachi will become AL Qaeda’s city once it ceases to be MQM city. If Karachi destabilize Then you threaten to derail the whole coun-try. That is something Pakistan simply cannot afford. The latest revelation that weapons from Is-rael and other hostiles states are finding their way in the Karachi, speaks volumes about the depth of malice being faced by Paki-stan. In this complex and danger-ous environment, procurement of weapons in Karachi has become a matter of survival. A tension be-tween different factions, be they ethnic, political, religious, or oth-erwise, increase the survival in-stinct moves into the critical stage of its evolution. After thoroughly assessing the coming situation PPP’s strong partner ANP is now showing teeth, especially in Sind, but it can do little more than cause a storm in a teacup, in view of its small number in the Nation-al Assembly. With all quiet on the political front, let us consider a plausible scenario.

The Supreme Court finally takes the plunge and issues a notice for contempt of court to the Prime Minister for not implementing its orders. Despite his own initial hesitation and advice “from the above” not to respond, the Chief Executive finally decides that dis-cretion is the better part of valor and appears before the court. He has two options: a) apologize unconditionally and surrender himself to the mercy of the court, or b) refuse to plead guilty and show determination to flout what-ever orders the court may give against him. He does neither, and asks the court to decide whatever it likes.The court takes the middle course. It says it will not accept his apol-ogy, even if offered, because it will mean that it does not care much even if the highest execu-tive refuses to implement orders of the highest court. It also does not want to send the Prime Minis-ter to jail because that may create uncertainty. Therefore, it convicts the Prime Minister of contempt and sentences him to six months of imprisonment but suspends the sentence to allow him some time to leave office. If he does resign, the court will not send him to jail. However, conviction will not al-low him to remain in office.The Prime Minister chooses dis-grace where to defy will not bring honor. He offers to leave office, blaming “circumstances beyond my control” for non-compliance of the court orders. (In his heart, he knows that he will never be-come the Prime Minister again and continuing in office for some more months will not be of much benefit.) Resignation may get Gilani some sympathy, if not much public sup-port, but will create turmoil for PPP, as it will find it very hard to win majority vote for another nominee for the post, not to speak of consensus vote by the entire house that it got the last time. Nor will other parties be able to put up a consensus candidate.With nobody getting a majority vote, the National Assembly will have to be dissolved to prepare for general elections. Herein lies the rub. Gilani’s resignation will pave way only for an interim Prime Minister, who will be se-lected by the powers that be, not the President at his discretion. All hell will break loose under the interim Prime Minister. Since he will not belong to any party in Parliament and will be ineligible for election, he follows vigorous-ly one-point agenda: fight against corruption. He invigorates NAB by bringing back all honest and diligent officers, who had been sidelined or pushed out. He will also fill the post of the Chairman,

which has been va-cant for some myste-rious reason. (When it happens, it may well turn out not to be a mystery after all!) All pending as well as new corruption cases are taken up in all ear-nest. Everybody who is anybody is hauled up. Supported fully by the Establishment, courts do not hesi-tate in convicting the

guilty, however high and power-ful. Provincial Assemblies (along with provincial governments) collapse because not enough members are left to run them. Soon we find more politicians in jail than outside. Meanwhile, the interim Prime Minister approaches the Supreme Court for extension of the pe-riod for election so that the fight against corruption is completed. The court will have no objection. By the time the operation is over, not many politicians are available to contest, especially after vigor-ous enforcement of the conditions under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. A new and clean crop of politicians emerges. To paraphrase Mirza Sahiban sce-nario, “Mirza Yars” roam the de-serted streets. Military takeover? Army might be thinking that because of its vitality in the region, as has been the case in the past, U.S will tol-erate any of Army’s misadven-tures in the domestic political scenario of Pakistan. In my opin-ion, post 9/11, U.S has not spent US$ 2.1 trillion in Afghanistan and Iraq to agree a status co. It seems evident that greater civil-ian control through elected rep-resentatives in Turkey, Pakistan and Lebanon remain corner stone of US/ West’s policy in the new world order. My fears is that if Army pushes too for against the democratic setup and present re-gime, it will have to face a very sharp response from International Community. Army’s best option is to agree to a subservient role to the civilian set up and sit with the civilian Government, to lay out parameters for national security doctrine ensuring the preserva-tion of Army’s clout to the degree it to be protected and ensuing that Pakistan’s vital interests vis-a- vis India, Nuclear program and economic affairs are safe guard-ed. The aim should be to come up with bare-minimum consensus on key national security issues Some actions are more effective back stage than under spotlight. However, there may be develop-ments of serious nature that need strong action. Economic crisis de-teriorates, as IMF installment re-mains suspended. Killings in Ka-rachi accelerate. Sectarian clashes erupt suddenly in the Punjab. The Indo-American sabotage in Balu-chistan hot up. The people finally come on the streets in agitation. The country faces a situation similar to a civil war, something predicted by an American Gen-eral while talking to Najam Sethi some time ago. In such a situa-tion, all bets will be off. MUNIR AHMED BALOCHmunirahmedbaloch@hotmail.com

“How The Wind Of Change May Blow’’ House asking prices in the South have reached more than double those in the North, creating a record divide states a report from Rightmove. Southerners are typi-cally putting their homes on the market for £336,743, compared with £164,347 in the Northern re-gions, sparking fears that a “two-tier twist” could be hampering more widespread growth in the market. The £170,000 chasm is the largest in monetary terms since Rightmove’s records began in 2002.The monthly index revealed an overall 2.8% increase in asking prices, a jump of £6,533 from mid September to reach £239,672 in mid October. But this rise was driven by the South, includ-ing London, the South East, the

South West and East Anglia, which experienced a 4.7% up-surge overall. Meanwhile, the North, which for the purposes of the survey included Wales, the West Midlands, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, the North West and the North of England, fell back by 0.7% in the space of a month, to levels first achieved more than six years ago in May 2005.Properties in some of the South regions came onto the market at an all-time high. In London, the typical price was £450,210 - 2.6% higher than a previous record set in June. Kensington and Chelsea was the best-performing area of the capital, with prices up 6.6% in a month to typically reach £1,917,895. In the South East

people were asking £317,055 for their properties - up 0.2% on the previous high achieved in May 2008.A separate report last week named Bury as the top property sales hotspot in a survey cover-ing England and Wales. Halifax’s property sales report found house sales in the town had risen by 44% over the first six months of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010, more than any other town surveyed. The docu-ment put the upsurge in Bury property sales down to a marked rise in the level of activity at the lower end of the housing market, with flats and terraced homes ac-counting for 77% of the overall rise in sales.

Housing Asking Prices Show Nationwide Divide

Adeeba Malik, deputy CEO of Bradford based QED-UK, has won the Not for Profit Busi-ness Woman of the Year Award. She received the accolade at the Women in Business Awards run by Forward Ladies at a ceremo-ny held at Elland Road , Leeds , on Friday 14 October. Adeeba was recognised for her positive work with ethnic minorities fac-ing prejudice, discrimination or disadvantage around issues of immigration, race, religion,

economics and education in lo-cal communities. Adeeba was awarded an MBE for her services to ethnic minorities and business-es in 2004. Adeeba said: “I’m thrilled at receiving the award and really didn’t expect to win. It’s a privilege to be recognised amongst some of Yorkshire ’s most inspiring and dynamic busi-ness women, and a huge honour. Congratulations to Forward La-dies for organising such a posi-tive event.”

Adeeba Malik Wins Prestigious Women in Business Award

It might be time to listen to our mothers advice about posture as slouching may cause age-ing. We’re all guilty of slouch-ing over at desks, but leading experts claim that bad posture could cause us to age faster and contribute to pain and immobil-ity. According to research, from the age of 25 we all suffer from sarcopenia - the disintegration of muscle mass. On average we lose one fifth of a pound of muscle each year.The main problem is a weaken-ing of abdominal muscles caused by years of sitting in a hunched position, which places uneven pressure on the discs in the lower back. If you look around, you see many people over 50, particu-larly women, who are starting to develop this stance, and by mid-

dle age we have often developed such poor postural habits that our body and brain have simply for-gotten where things should be. Researches suggest standing up straight several times a day with your back to a wall, heels against the skirting board and your shoul-ders and head touching the wall to encourage better posture. ‘Try to maintain the position as you walk away,’ they say. ‘The more often you do this, the more accus-tomed your abdominal and back muscles become at providing the necessary support.’There is no means of preventing sarcopenia completely, but the latest research suggests the best preventative measure you can take is regular weight training to keep up muscle strength.

Stand up Straight

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani inaugurated Rs 100 bil-lion Mangla Dam raising project aimed at significantly increas-ing country’s water storage and electricity generation. Prime Minister Gilani also inaugurated the Dhani Gali bridge on River Jhelum, linking the Punjab with Azad Kashmir and replace the old narrow suspension bridge. After the upraising, the dam would have 2.88 Million Acre Feet (MAF) of additional water storage and 644 Gwh of addi-tional hydel generation, with an estimated annual benefit of Rs 18 billion.

Gilani termed the project vital for national economic develop-ment and said it would go a long way in the progress and develop-ment of the country. In the past 35 years, he said no such project for storage of water was imple-mented and said the upraising of dam would increase storage capacity and power generation significantly. He lauded the gov-ernment and private sector that helped completion of the project and said being an agricultural country, it was vital to increase the cultivated land to ensure food security.He said that it was also impor-

tant to ensure better utilization of agricultural water through brick-lining of watercourses and called for utilization of drip irrigation and sprinklers to maximize us-age of limited water for greater benefit. He said the government would soon inaugurate the Di-amir Bhasha Dam which would store six million MAF water and produce 4500 mega watts of electricity.Gilani said the government has embarked upon a new vision of initiating water storage projects on smaller watercourses and riv-ers to ensure provision of irriga-tion water in far-flung areas.

100 Billion Rupee Project to Raise Damn

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Recently Pakistan has faced one calamity after another the ter-rible earthquake in 2005, floods in 2010 and 2011 and now Den-gue fever. The country was still struggle to help the affectees of the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods, when the country faced the second round of floods. The first two disasters resulted in the death of thousands of people, the loss of many heads of cattle and destruction of hundreds of mil-lions of rupees worth of crops and property. The present floods have turned Sindh into a raging torrent, and destroyed almost all the crops, most of the houses and killed most of the cattle.Thousands have sought refuge on charpoys (local wooden beds) and any patch of dry they can find. According to media reports, the affectees have revealed that nobody from the administration has visited them or provided any relief, yet the prime minis-ter claims to have “distributed” billions of rupees among them. The president flew to ‘meet’ the flood affectees but only he found somewhere safe to land, waded into the water with his army of guards and cronies to “show” sympathy, obviously for public consumption, and then promptly took off for London for a ‘medi-cal check-up’.This year donors are reluctant to help in cash, and are providing help in kind. The reason for this is probably that donations worth billions of dollars given for the flood affectees last year vanished

into thin air.Interior Sindh, Lahore, Karachi and Hyderabad are submerged by flood water which reveals the incompetence of the “universally acclaimed” nazims of these cit-ies. Billions of rupees have been spent on show-piece projects – flyovers, bridges, expressways, etc. – and millions more on self-projection by advertisements. However, these “intelligent and expert” nazims could not look beyond their own noses to see that a proper drainage system was the most essential require-ment for these areas. A small portion of all that wasted money would have been enough to pre-vent the sufferings of the people. Why are there no rain drains on the sides of the main roads? The small manholes that do exist are chocked with plastic bags and garbage, resulting in immediate flooding.Here I would like to draw your at-tention to Nawab Qudsia Begum of Bhopal. Almost 200 years ago she paid two million pounds ster-ling to a British company to lay a proper drainage and water supply system in Bhopal to deal with wa-ter during the annual heavy rains. There were 3 x 2 feet rain drains on both sides of the roads which lead to lakes and rivers. There were water taps at approximately half kilometre intervals through-out the city and potable water was made available, free of charge, at all times. There were city lights everywhere and load shedding was unknown. The Begum also

paid about six million pound ster-ling from her own funds to the In-dian Railways to connect Bhopal to the East-West and North-South rail routes. This resulted in Bho-pal becoming a very important junction. Now that is foresight!But now first a few words about

Altaf Hussain’s speech, which hijacked all TV stations for more than three hours. It was strange to see him so healthy and fit and blowing fire after a week’s “seri-ous” illness for which he had been hospitalised. He not only blasted all the political parties, but also declared that the MQM was inno-cent of the 12th May massacre in

Karachi. All and sundry have al-ready commented on this speech. All I would like to say is that this was a sad show and below the dignity of a national leader.America commemorated the 10th anniversary of the attack on the Twin Trade Towers. Ignoring

the fact that many Americans have serious doubts about the official claims about this event, it remains a horrendous and cold-blooded act in which more than 3,000 innocent people died. Islam does not condone the kill-ing of innocent people. However, the revengeful acts subsequently committed by the US and its al-

lies, in which more than a mil-lion, mostly innocent people, were killed and in which two countries were destroyed was even more despicable.President Obama (and before him, President Bush) announced that they were not waging a war against Islam. Technically this may be true as you can’t wage a war against a religion, but that didn’t stop them from indiscrimi-nately killing millions of Mus-lims, all the while claiming to be the torch bearers of civilisation and democracy. Islam and Mus-lims are two different things!Coming back to Pakistan, the whole nation is suffering at the hands of incapable and corrupt rulers. Murders, target killings, suicide bombings, unemploy-ment, inflation, load shedding, etc. have brought this country to the brink of destruction and dis-integration. There are two main reasons for this: 1) The absence or lack of proper education and the poor family backgrounds of the rulers and 2) the totally ille-gal administrative set-up in the country.Recently I went through the elec-tion data issued by the Election Commission (EC) of Pakistan on their website on the 2008 elec-tions. According to this website the total number of registered voters is slightly more than 80 million; votes cast are about 35 million; while participation is 43 percent.Some months ago Imran Khan filed a petition in the Supreme

Court (SC) claiming that a large number of fake voters had been registered in the voters’ lists. The EC, on orders from the SC, scru-tinised the lists and found almost 35 million bogus voters whose names are now being deleted. But was it not already too late? The beneficiaries are already enjoying the perks and luxuries of the posi-tion they got thanks to this fraud. We can, therefore, simply say that almost all the present assemblies and office bearers are illegal.The proper course, after the EC’s confirmation of fake voters, should have been to immediate dissolution all the assemblies and the cabinet, appointment of a caretaker administration and fresh elections. However, as usual, there was nobody to bell the cat. The set-up that came into power as a result of this fraud has no interest in the welfare of the people or the stability of the country. It is in a hurry to make the most of the opportunity of-fered and they will be leaving (the country) at the first sound of the alarm bell.Another detestable habit adopted by most political parties is hang-ing portraits of their leaders in offices, at press conferences, etc. Does it never occur to them that all the luxuries and comforts they are enjoying are due to the tireless and sincere efforts made by the Quaid-e-Azam? It seems they want to forget that there was a selfless leader who sacrificed everything to give us this country.

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by: Dr Abdul Qadeer KhanThe Bitter Truth

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