Pakistan frontier a haven for militants

Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the attempted bombing of Times Square, was heading for Pakistan -- where he was born -- when he was arrested late Monday night.

His family originally comes from a village near Peshawar in Pakistan.

Pakistan's western areas, along the border with Afghanistan, have been a haven for Islamist radicals for years, despite efforts to bring it under control.

Shahzad told the FBI he trained at a terrorism camp in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, a U.S. administration official told CNN. However, the official said investigators have nothing to corroborate his account.

It was not clear whether Shahzad was referring to North or South Waziristan.

Hours after authorities arrested Shahzad, security forces in Pakistan seized two or three people in a raid connected with the failed bombing, a Pakistani intelligence source said.

The Pakistan raid took place in a house in Karachi's Nazimabad district, where Shahzad was believed to have stayed during his last visit to the country.

Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Both U.S. and Pakistani officials warned against jumping to the conclusion that Islamists in Pakistan played a role in the attempted bombing.

"We are seeing cases of individuals who have links to a range of countries around the world who for whatever reason have become involved in extremist movements," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Tuesday, before Shahzad's claim he trained in Pakistan.

"I would be very careful about making a broad-brush statement. We value our relationship with Pakistan. We value the fact that there are many Pakistanis who have come to this country, have links to Pakistan and have become citizens of this country. We are very proud of them," he said.

A top Pakistani government minister said Shahzad had traveled back and forth from Pakistan to the United States regularly, but also said he had visited the Middle East as well.

"Faisal Shahzad first went to the United States in 2003 on a student visa. He has been going back and forth between Pakistan and the United States many times since then," Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told CNN.

"Shahzad has been visiting Middle Eastern countries," he added, but would not elaborate where and when.

When asked if Shahzad had received training by militants in Pakistan -- before Shahzad's claim was revealed -- Malik said "We don't have such information at this point."

Pakistan's military last year launched offensives against militants in the west of the country -- along the border with Afghanistan -- to try to wrest back control of its territory.

The offensives forced many residents from their homes.

But the attacks on the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat Valley and South Waziristan were inconclusive, U.S. officials suggested late last year.

In Pakistan, al Qaeda and other militants persist in planning strikes against U.S. interests in the region, a U.S. counter-terrorism official said in December.

"They've suffered some major losses, but no one should think for a second that they're down and out for good. They remain intent on harming the United States and our allies, including Pakistan, so keeping up the pressure on them is critical. That's exactly what we're doing," the official said, referring to the militants.

The Pakistani Taliban are distinct from the Afghan Taliban, although they are aligned.

The United States plans to send tens of millions of dollars to Pakistan for roads and power plants -- some of it to the Swat Valley -- the Obama administration announced in March.

source: geo news

Economic Turmoil

It's not the $700 billion bank bailout. And no, it's not the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The real economic stimulus is ... wait for it ... the recession. That's right, the Great Recession. This upside-down economy is creating entrepreneurial opportunities aplenty, so long as you can deal with a situation about as stable as a lava flow.

Results from Challenger, Gray & Christmas' job market index revealed that 8.7 percent of job seekers gained employment by starting their own businesses in second quarter 2009--way, way up from the record low of 2.7 percent during the last quarter of 2008.

Even in finance, confidence and risk tolerance are on the rise. IbisWorld, an industry market research firm, expects that after a great purge, loan brokerage services will see 40 percent growth in 2010.
Sunwest Bank, a community bank that caters to entrepreneurs, upped its total assets by more than $150 million during the worst of the financial crisis--and that was before acquiring two failing banks in July and September. "We were picking up good clients left and right," says CEO Glenn Gray. "Business owners are still seeing opportunity."

Delve further into the numbers. It appears startup rates remain steady through recessions. "Ten, 15 years from now, there will be a slew of companies that we'll point to and say they started in the recession," Kauffman Foundation senior analyst Dane Stangler says. "You don't see them yet, but you can be sure they're out there." In fact, more than half of today's Fortune 500 companies were founded during a recession or bear market.

Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter once described entrepreneurial innovation as a "perennial gale of creative destruction," forcing existing companies to adapt or fail. "Economic progress in capitalist society," he declared, "means turmoil."

How to pick the perfect European Cruise Ship

Lates News About Up Date Given how well the European Cruise market has held up in 2009, even with the recent credit crunch, it probably well worth your while to start looking into cruises scheduled for the summer of 2010, that’s if you want to make sure that you get the date, cabins and ships of you choice before all the best bargains are snapped up.

If you’ve previously this summer, been cruising the Caribbean, then choosing a ship for European waters is a whole different kettle of fish!

On a European cruise, you will find that spending time aboard ship is not one of the main activities, its the shore excursions that count. This is totally different from a Caribbean cruise experience. For example, if you have been on the atypical Caribbean cruise you will remember that you will have spent far more days at sea, so therefore the crux of you enjoyment aboard ship is what facilities and entertainments it has to offer. This differs somewhat to the European Cruise where passengers can expect to spend much less time at sea and more time travelling and touring the ports of call.

This, of course means that the criteria for picking the ideal European cruise, in my opinion should be as follows; The Itinerary, Your stay in Port and finally the expected Dress Code.

When it comes to ships, try and compare the length of time that each will be docked at port, especially if you are visiting a destinations that’s got lots too see and do, for example Venice in Italy. That way you will make the most of the time you have ashore.

Check the dress code of the ships you are looking at too, make sure that you don’t end up packing loads of formal wear and suites when the expected attire is casual, equally the opposite is true, if there lots of evening functions you will need to have enough suitable outfits for the entire cruise.

Another good tip is to not bother with getting a cabin with a sea view, since most of your travelling is overnight and you spend each day in port, there’s not much point really. Much better to save some money and get and internal cabin leaving more money to spend on the critical shore excursions and day tours. After all there not alot of point having a room with a view that you are not spending a great deal of time in.

If you are looking for casual dining options then Norwegian cruise line, Princess and Oceania are you best bets, this is a great option if you intend to spend all your time out and about each day, after all who wants to get dressed up every night when your all worn out for having some much fun exploring those European destinations!

Hot Trends in Coffee Franchises

Food Franchise Trends

Coffee is the second largest trade commodity in world, second only to the oil trade. Millions of people, located in every country in the world, consume coffee. Unlike oil, coffee is produced, primarily, by some of the poorest people in underdeveloped nations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's preliminary list of the top five coffee producing nations, during the 2003 through 2004 crop year, lists Brazil, Columbia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. These five nations produced more than 60% of the 106.86 million, industry standard, 60 kg bags of coffee.

In contrast, the Department of Agriculture lists the top five coffee consuming nations as the United States, Germany, Japan, France and Italy. These five nations consumed 55% of the world's supply of coffee in 2002. The U.S. has, historically, been the biggest coffee consumer and continues to lead all other nations, consuming 23% of the world supply of coffee in 2002.

If you are considering a coffee franchise opportunity, understand that methods to produce different varieties of coffee are well established. The bigger considerations for the coffee trade include the impact that environmentalist, social organizations and international groups will have on your business venture and the stability of coffee production.

Environmental Effects: The traditional business model for coffee growth, production and distribution is buy-low and sell-high. Much of the profit secured in the coffee trade is awarded those who market and package the product. Meanwhile, the top coffee producing nations, particularly Latin American nations, which are reliant upon coffee production to sustain its economy, realize small profits. Coffee production requires labor intense farming to grow and cultivate the crop. In an effort to meet the demands for coffee over past 30 years, some coffee growers have shifted to high yielding crops, grown outside of the natural and traditional habitat, cultivated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This transition has had negative effects on the environment, including soil erosion and pollution as well as negative impacts on the natural ecology for wildlife and bird migrations.

The tradition of coffee growing provided that the crop be mixed among trees to create a natural forest-like environment to shade the crop. This is what is termed, shade coffee. Shade coffee farms provide the benefit of two income sources. The first source is from the sale of the coffee crop, the second source of income is provided by the shading trees. Dependant upon the particular type of trees used, the trees may offer a source of fruit, lumber and other wood products that can sell for profit. In an effort to maximize profits from the sale of coffee, some growers have transitioned to high yielding crops, which provide for coffee to be grown without the ecological benefit of shading trees. Coffee produced in this environment is known as sun coffee.

The transition to sun coffee production has produced profits for those growers that were capable to implement the system. In contrast, this type of crop production has proven to have harmful effects on the environment as well as those growers that are consistently introduced to the environment. Like with most modernization efforts, the cost of the transition has been unattainable for some small farmers, even when subsidized with aid and assistance. In addition, growers forfeit the additional income associated with the tree and hardwood harvest by transitioning to sun coffee production.

Consumer Awareness: Consumers, aware of the environmental effects of the transition to sun coffee as well as its effect on wildlife and small coffee growers, have begun to reverse the damage by shifting demand to that of organically grown varieties. (World Resources Institute, EarthTrends portal, May 2001) In particular, the consumer demand for certified organic and shade coffees have escalated in recent years. The certified, organic coffee varieties sell for substantially more than gourmet and other coffee varieties, producing higher returns for growers. The time frame to re-transition from sun coffee to organic coffee crops is very labor intensive requiring an investment in new methods to fertilize and cultivate the crop, shading tress and other hardwood.

Like the transition to high yielding crops, the re-transition to shade and organic crops, often times, is attainable for small growers only with the aid of government and/or international aid. Consumer demand substantiates the actual need for such re-transitioning assistance. Continual consumer demands will necessitate the need for shade grown crops to protect the environment. The additional cost for the certification of crops, however, may not be attainable by some small farmers. Without consumer demand, growers may be forced to transition into the certified crop variety, primarily, at their own expense.

Growers producing the high yielding, sun coffee, at the expense of the environment, will continue to be looked at negatively as more consumers become aware of the damage being introduced. Likewise, as more consumers become aware of the unfair advantage that small growers experience, more consumers will become engaged in movements to bring fair compensation to small, disadvantaged growers. A "fair trade movement" has been undertaken by national and international organizations around the globe. The movement seeks to establish a fair price for small growers, distributed through cooperatives, which eliminate the middleman in bringing the crop to market. National and international groups are actively working with the major coffee companies to make them responsible to establish business practices that would increase the market for fair trade coffee.

Production Stability: As a final consideration to franchising with coffee production companies, the consumption of coffee in the US and other nations is on the decrease. Interesting, the coffee trade still continues to grow and expand. While the numbers for per-person consumption continue to decrease, the overall world population continues to grow and introduce more and more people into the tradition of coffee drinking. (The Economics of Coffee, FirstScience.com, 2003)

Between the years, 1998 and 2001, coffee prices saw a decline. Since 2001, coffee prices have steadily increased, reaching and exceeding year 2000 levels in 2004. The World Bank attributes the four year decline in coffee prices with an over abundance of coffee in the market. The decline has had devastating effects on small growers across the globe. In 2005, coffee prices soared with decreased coffee production being one of several reasons for the fluctuation. In addition to the loss of coffee production from small growers, ousted by the previous years' low prices, one of the top-five, coffee producing nations, Vietnam, has suffered adverse weather conditions that have reduced coffee production.

Sania Mirza and Shoaib's Marriage

The famous Indian tennis player Shania Mirza wedding with Shoaib Malik, famous Pakistani cricket player. As Shoaib Shania Saga grows, the Internet bombarded with fake stuff. Recently I found the following fake pictures of Shoaib and Shania's Nikkah.
People claiming Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik nikah wedding photo or pic, held in Dubai in March 2010. people viewing images online, but until now real picture is not published on the web.

The Shania home also has sought security for the three-day marriage ceremonies in the house, begins April 13 Sources in 'Qazat', or a part of the Warf board is working with Muslim marriage was interviewed by IANS that nikahnama or marriage document to be signed by Sania and Shoaib will definitely say that this is Shoaib's second marriage.

After his divorce from Shoaib Wednesday 'talaqnama "and after Shoaib signed papers and paid Rs.15, 000 for Ayesha to keep her for three months by Islamic Sharia.

BBC Bucks Iran, Enlists New Satellites to Broadcast News to Iranian People

BRITAIN — The BBC is using two extra satellites to broadcast its Farsi-language service after days of jamming it blamed on Iran.

The British state-run news organization said the move was meant to help it reach its Iranian audience as the crisis over their country's disputed election deepens. It is also a challenge to Iran's religious government, which has accused foreign broadcasters of stirring unrest, singling out the BBC in particular.

"This is an important time for Iran," BBC World Service Director Peter Horrocks said in a statement. "We hope that by adding more ways to access BBC Persian television, Farsi-speaking audiences can get the high quality news, analysis and debate they clearly desire."

As huge protests have followed the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran has moved to deprive people of independent sources of news.

BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and other sites have been blocked. Text messaging has been cut off for the past week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down. The BBC said the Hot Bird 6 satellite — which it and other broadcasters use to broadcast to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe — has been subject to aggressive interference.

Even before the presidential election, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blasted foreign broadcasters for their coverage of the campaign, accusing them of demoralizing voters and trying to drive down turnout. Shortly after Ahmadinejad's victory, he accused international media of waging a "psychological war" against the country.

The BBC has covered the protests extensively. Its Farsi service, like that of U.S. broadcaster Voice of America, is followed by many Iranians and has often carried news of clashes with police, attacks on demonstrators and arrests of opposition activists.

Ahmadinejad has bristled at the coverage: His supporters were shown earlier this week wielding signs with "BBC" crossed out in red. The U.K.'s ambassador was summoned to hear complaints from Iranian officials. In a nationally broadcast speech Friday, Khamenei accused Western broadcasters stirring up chaos.

"Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory," Khamenei said. "It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it."

The BBC said it was making its Farsi-language service available on satellite Eutelsat W2M, which it said Iranians could tune into by making a small adjustment to their satellite dishes. The BBC also said the service would soon be available on Egyptian satellite Nilesat and it was increasing the length of its Farsi radio program.

U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, based in central Europe, is also working to step up its satellite program, according to spokesman Julian Knapp. He said interference had increased "on all fronts" but said the service used a variety of ways to stream content into the country, including stepping up shortwave broadcasting.

The Voice of America, based in the Washington, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Lateralization

Lateralization
The realignment of both the cerebral hemispheres is also urgently required with the next automobile tune-up. Many exhausted and stressed out individuals throughout the world have suffered tremendously over the last few years, intensifying with the economic collapse. This raises serious question about the functionalities of senior executives, their basic business logic, financial literacy and the right-left-brain balance. Why did the business systems and financial services fail so badly? Despite all the high level education, was their vision got blurred, or capital risk management was insufficient so the real world imploded. Was it the lack of lateralization which fogged the reality? Is it time to re-discover new types and styles of educational agendas, new methods and new formats of operation? A new wave of educational programs will sweep the executive corridors. Are you newly trained and outfitted as a gladiator or you are just an old time spectator?