Hi all

 Does anyone here have any knowledge of the Pakistani Make-up industry or some links to the some make-up Manufacturers?

All support would be greatly appreciated.

 Many thanks

Yaz

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the world to speed up aid to Pakistan after devastating floods which the government says have affected 20 million people.

Mr Ban is in Pakistan to visit PM Yusuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, whose handling of the crisis has been widely criticised.

The risk of epidemics in flood-hit areas is now seen as a serious threat.

On Saturday, the UN confirmed at least one case of cholera among the victims.

Pakistan's Monsoon Floods

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• Science behind Pakistan's flood

"I'm here also to urge the world community to speed up their assistance to the Pakistani people," Mr Ban told reporters as he arrived.

"We will try to mobilise all necessary assistance and remember that the whole world is behind the people of Pakistan in this time of trial", he said, adding he would report back to the UN General Assembly first thing this week.

Despite the scale of the disaster, Pakistan officials have expressed concern about the international community's response.

On Saturday, Pakistan's UN envoy Zamir Akram told the BBC that the immensity of the devastation was only now being recognised, and that so far there had not been enough help.

The UN on Wednesday launched a $459m (£294m) appeal for emergency aid, but says billions will be needed in the long term.

At the scene

There will be some very practical discussions about the pace of the relief operation and what can be done to make if effective. Everybody involved seems to agree that it is not keeping pace with the demands at the moment.

The focus is on actual delivery of relief supplies. People are all too well aware - even if they are some distance from the flood-affected areas - that, nearly three weeks into this disaster, people's lands and homes are still being inundated by flood waters, that they are still having to be moved, sometimes at very short notice. There is still a rescue element to this.

There are a larger number of helicopters now involved, more American ones alongside 57 Pakistani helicopters, the PM said on Saturday; that's critical because a lot if this is still about getting rapid access to the people who need it most.

The US is at the forefront of the relief effort, having donated at least $70m to the country, which is a key regional ally in fighting terrorism.

The US has also sent military helicopters to rescue stranded people and drop off food and water.

Pakistan's government itself has been dogged by accusations that it has been slow to respond to the crisis, and Mr Zardari has been criticised for not cutting short a trip to Europe as the crisis unfolded.

Flood levels are expected to surge even higher along parts of the already dangerously swollen Indus river, with disaster officials saying "major peaks" were expected next week in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

On Saturday, Mr Gilani said 20 million people had been affected by the country's floods, a much higher estimate than the UN's 14 million.

"Unfortunately, the recent unprecedented torrential rains and devastating floods have made more than 20 million people homeless, destroyed standing crops and food... worth billions of dollars, washed away bridges, roads, communication and energy networks," he said.

There were still flood victims to be reached, but the government was leaving no stone unturned, he said.

The UN had previously said the region's worst flooding in 80 years had affected 14 million out of Pakistan's 180 million population and killed

  Women of Afghanistan Under Taliban Threatextraordinary women of a war-torn nationFawzia KoofiThe former deputy speaker of parliament, Koofi is very outspoken on women's issues. "Reconciliation will not bring peace to Afghanistan," she says. "Peace is a result of democracy. You have to include everyone in that process, including women." She is running for a second term in parliament but fears that new election rules may make it more difficult to succeed and that outspoken women like her will be sidelinedRobina Muqimyar JalalaiIn 2004, Muqimyar was one of Afghanistan's first two female representatives at the Olympics. She is now running for parliamentMozhdah JamalzadahPart Oprah, part Hannah Montana, The Mozhdah Show, hosted by Jamalzadah, is the latest sensation to hit Afghanistan's television screens.SakinaWhen Sakina was 14, her family sold her into marriage with a 45-year-old man who had a carpet-weaving business. "I didn't know about marriage," she says. "I didn't know about relations between men and women." He used her as an indentured servant and beat her with weaving tools when she didn't work fast enough. Once, when she dropped some tea glasses, the family cut off all of her hair. She ran away. Now she is trying to get a divorce, which her in-laws refuse to grant because, they say, they paid good money for her.PrisonersNasimgul, left, and Gul Bahar, holding another inmate's child, are serving time in the Afghan women's detention center in Kabul. Even under the new government, Afghan society still imprisons women for crimes that are never ascribed to men, like running away and adultery, further stunting women's progress.Zohal SagarSagar lost her father and two brothers in the war. Her mother hopes they can leave Afghanistan and find a new life in CanadaThe Abadini FamilyThough Afghan women are no longer required to wear burqas, as they were under Taliban rule, many women still wear them out of tradition or fear. The younger generation of Afghan women want more liberal and open ways of living in Afghan society.AishaAisha, 18, was dragged from her home by the Taliban after running away from her husband. Despite her pleas that her in-laws had been abusive, that they had treated her like a slave, that she had no choice but to escape, a Taliban commander said she must be punished, lest other girls in the village try to do the same thing. Aisha's family members carried out the punishment: her brother-in-law held her down while her husband sliced off her ears and nose, then left her to die. She is now hidden in a secret women's shelter, where she was taken after receiving care from U.S. forces. By Canadiandoll

9. Lost City of HelikeIn the late 2nd century AD, the Greek writer Pausanias wrote an account of how (4-500 years earlier?) in one night a powerful earthquake destroyed the great city of Helike, with a Tsunami washing away what remained of the once-flourishing metropolis.The city, capital of the Achaean League, was a worship centre devoted to the ancient god Poseidon, god of the sea. There was no trace of the legendary society mentioned outside of the ancient Greek writings until 1861, when an archeologist found some loot thought to have come from Helike - a bronze coin with the unmistakable head of Poseidon.In 2001, a pair of archeologists managed to locate the ruins of Helike beneath the mud and gravel of the coast, and are currently trying to peice together the rise and sudden fall of what has been called the "real" Atlantis.8. The Bog BodiesThis mystery may even be a problem for those legendary investigators from CSI and the like! The bog bodies are hundreds of ancient corpses found buried around the northern bogs and wetlands of Northern Europe. These bodies are remarkably well preserved, some dating back 2,000 years. Many of these bodies have tell-tale signs of torture and other medieval "fun", which have made some researchers postulating that these unfortunate victims were the result of ritual sacrifices.7. Fall of the MinoansThe Minoans are best known for the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, but it is in fact the demise of this once-great civilisation that is more interesting.. While many historians concentrate on the fall of the Roman Empire, the fall of the Minoans, who resided on the island of Crete, is an equal, if not greater mystery.Three and a half thousand years ago the island was shaken by a huge volcanic eruption on the neighbouring Thera Island. Archeologists unearthed tablets which have shown that the Minoans carried on for another 50 years after the eruption, before finally folding.Theories of what finally ended them have ranged from volcanic ash covering the island and devastating harvests to the weakened society eventually getting taken over by invading Greeks.6. The Carnac StonesEveryone has heard of Stonehenge, but few know the Carnac Stones. These are 3,000 megalithic stones arranged in perfect lines over a distance of 12 kilometers on the coast of Brittany in the North-West of France.Mythology surrounding the stones says that each stone is a soldier in a Roman legion that Merlin the Wizard turned in to stone.Scientific attempts at an explanation suggests that the stones are most likely an elaborate earthquake detector. The identity of the Neolithic people who built them is unknown.5. Who Was Robin Hood ?The historical search for the legendary thief Robin Hood has turned up masses of possible names. One candidate includes the Yorkshire fugitive Robert Hod, also known as Hobbehod or Robert Hood of Wakefield.The large number of suspects is complicated further as the name Robin Hood became a common term for an outlaw. As literature began to add new characters to the tale such as Prince John and Richard the Lionheart the trail became more obscure. To this day no one knows who this criminal really was.4. The Lost Roman LegionAfter the Parthians defeated underachieving Roman General Crassus' army, legend has it that a small band of the POWs wandered through the desert and were eventually rounded up by the Han military 17 years later.First century Chinese historian Ban Gu wrote an account of a confrontation with a strange army of about a hundred men fighting in a "fish-scale formation" unique to Roman forces.An Oxford historian who compared ancient records claims that the lost roman legion founded a small town near the Gobi desert named Liqian, which in Chinese translates to Rome. DNA tests are being conducted to answer that claim and hopefully explain some of the residents' green eyes, blonde hair, and fondness of bullfighting.3. The Voynich ManuscriptThe Voynich Manuscript is a medieval document written in an unknown script and in an unknown language. For over one hundred years people have tried to break the code to no avail.The overall impression given by the surviving leaves of the manuscript suggests that it was meant to serve as a pharmacopoeia or to address topics in medieval or early modern medicine.However, the puzzling details of illustrations have fueled many theories about the book's origins, the contents of its text, and the purpose for which it was intended. The document contains illustrations that suggest the book is in six parts: Herbal, Astronomical, Biological, Cosmological, Pharmaceutical, and recipes.2. The Tarim MummiesAn amazing discovery of 2,000 year old mummies in the Tarim basin of Western China occurred in the early 90s. But more amazing than the discovery itself was the astonishing fact that the mummies were blond haired and long nosed.In 1993, Victor Mayer a college professor collected DNA from the mummies and his tests verified that the bodies were all of European genetic stock.Ancient Chinese texts from as early as the first millennium BC do mention groups of far-east dwelling caucasian people referred to as the Bai, Yeuzhi, and Tocharians. None, though, fully reveal how or why these people ended up there.1. Disappearance of the Indus Valley CivilizationThe ancient Indus Valley people, India's oldest known civilization had a culture that stretched from Western India to Afghanistan and a populace of over 5 million. le-India's oldest known civilization-were an impressive and apparently sanitary bronze-age bunch.The scale of their baffling and abrupt collapse rivals that of the great Mayan decline. They were a hygienically advanced culture with a highly sophisticated sewage drainage system, and immaculately constructed baths.There is to date no archaeological evidence of armies, slaves, conflicts, or other aspects of ancient societies. No one knows where this civilization went.

Cleaner wins acclaim after handing in $50,000 cash

A Pakistani hotel employee has won acclaim after handing in over $50,000 (£33,000) in cash that had been left behind by a guest.

Essa Khan, 51, discovered the money in $100 notes left in the room of a Japanese worker at the Serena Hotel in Gilgit.

Mr Khan, who earns about 21,000 rupees ($235; £153) a month, says he never considered keeping the money.

He has been invited to receive an award from a state governor for his honesty.

"My duty with the hotel and my family upbringing teaches me nothing else," he said.

"Times are hard for everyone, but that doesn't mean we should start stealing and taking things which do not belong to us."

The father-of-five says he hopes the incident will help portray his country in a good light.

The Pakistani government has been riddled with accusations of corruption.

"I want people around the world to know that there are many good people in Pakistan - everybody is not a terrorist here."

Hotel manager Rajid Uddin told the BBC there had been similar instances where lost items had been returned, but none "on this magnitude".

He said the guest had been relieved when the cash was found.

"He was naturally very worried as he wasn't able to figure out where he had lost the money," he said.

Mr Khan said he had already received an award from the hotel, and that Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, had congratulated him and invited him to Lahore for a ceremony.