By John Chalmers

(Reuters) – The day after Wal-Mart Stores Inc published Simco Group’s name on its list of banned Bangladesh suppliers, the garment maker learned it had lost an order from U.S. retailer J.C. Penney Co Inc for 500,000 pairs of pajamas.

Khurrum Siddique, Simco’s head of operations, thinks this is no coincidence. He said his factories, named along with dozens of others on Wal-Mart’s “red” list of unauthorized suppliers first published on May 14, have become pariahs for Western brands that are trying to play it safe in Bangladesh after a litany of deadly workplace accidents.

June 6 (Reuters) – The day after Wal-Mart Stores Inc
published Simco Group’s name on its list of banned Bangladesh
suppliers, the garment maker learned it had lost an order from
U.S. retailer J.C. Penney Co Inc for 500,000 pairs of
pajamas.

Khurrum Siddique, Simco’s head of operations, thinks this is
no coincidence. He said his factories, named along with dozens
of others on Wal-Mart’s “red” list of unauthorized suppliers
first published on May 14, have become pariahs for Western
brands that are trying to play it safe in Bangladesh after a
litany of deadly workplace accidents.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Nawaz Sharif, who is poised for victory after Pakistan’s May 11 election, said he had spoken at length with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of rival India and would work to ease mistrust.

“Mutual fear needs to be addressed. I had long discussions,” Sharif told reporters, adding that they extended invitations to visit each other’s countries.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Nawaz Sharif, who is poised for victory after Pakistan’s May 11 election, said he had spoken at length with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of rival India and would work to ease mistrust.

“Mutual fear needs to be addressed. I had long discussions,” Sharif told reporters, adding that they extended invitations to visit each other’s countries.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Toppled in a 1999 coup, jailed and exiled, Nawaz Sharif has made a triumphant election comeback and was heading for a third term as Pakistan’s prime minister.

The polls were a landmark, marking the first time one elected government will replace another. But the vote failed to realise the hopes of many that dynastic politics would end after years of misrule and corruption.

ISLAMABAD, May 12 (Reuters) – Toppled in a 1999 coup, jailed
and exiled, Nawaz Sharif has made a triumphant election comeback
and was heading for a third term as Pakistan’s prime minister.

The polls were a landmark, marking the first time one
elected government will replace another. But the vote failed to
realise the hopes of many that dynastic politics would end after
years of misrule and corruption.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan goes to the polls on Saturday for an election that will bring the first transition between civilian governments, but the milestone’s significance may be lost on some voters who have lost faith in politics after years of corruption and misrule.

Widespread disenchantment with the two mainstream parties appeared this week to have brought a late surge of support for former cricket star Imran Khan, who could end up holding the balance of power if there is no clear-cut winner.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – When Imran Khan tumbled spectacularly off a mechanical lift at an election rally this week, a frenzy of media coverage erupted, the last thing Pakistan’s mainstream parties needed as they fend off a spoiler threatening to up-end the political order.

Khan has predicted a “tsunami” of support for his party in Saturday’s general election as voters, particularly urban youth, turn against the traditional grandees of Pakistani politics after years of misrule and corruption.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – When Imran Khan tumbled spectacularly off a mechanical lift at an election rally this week, a frenzy of media coverage erupted, the last thing Pakistan’s mainstream parties needed as they fend off a spoiler threatening to up-end the political order.

Khan has predicted a “tsunami” of support for his party in Saturday’s general election as voters, particularly urban youth, turn against the traditional grandees of Pakistani politics after years of misrule and corruption.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – When a rock-band song mocking Pakistan’s army was mysteriously blocked on Internet sites recently, no one was surprised. But, as political parties jousted their way to this Saturday’s elections, it was a small reminder of where power really lies.

There is no doubt that attempts to bury a legacy of decades of military rule have made headway in Pakistan, where – for the first time – a civilian government completed its five-year term and stood aside to allow voters choose its successor.