PSA holds its 5th Annual Banquet in University of Texas

DALLAS: The Pakistani Students Association (PSA) at University of Texas in Dallas held their largest event "PSA 5th Annual Banquet" at their campus on April 19.

The highly successful event gathered people from all walks of life and ages in the DFW area towards the mutual goal of promoting Pakistani culture.

The night was filled with musical and dance performances, delicious Pakistani food, designer and bridal fashion shows, Mr & Ms PSA Awards, and the opportunity to socialize with fellow countrymen.

The goal of PSA is to unite all of the University of Texas at Dallas through exciting events by raising awareness about our beautiful country and its traditional values. Every semester, they hold several events with a focus to bring unity amongst students and the Dallas community by organizing cultural, social, and entertainment events.

More than 200 students, professionals and community members, both with Pakistani origins and non-Pakistani graced the occasion with their presence.

The evening was also highlighted by a superb performance by Sohail Najmi, the Pakistani ghazal maestro, who volunteered his talent for the event. PSA officers Hassan Allahrakha and Hira Ahmed paid tribute to the heroes of Pakistan so that our new generations remember their services and sacrifices.

They talked about the lives of the founder of the Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Fatima Jinnah, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Abdus Salam, Abdul Qadeer Khan, Raziuddin Siddiqui and Hakim Saeed.

The event was made possible by active support from the Pakistan Society of North Texas (PSNT) officials Anjum Anwar and Salman Tabani, who attended the event to show that the Pakistani Students Association and the Pakistani community in Dallas-Fortworth area share a common goal and that they are ready to work together in achieving it.

The PSA Vice President Muhammad Muneeb Saleem stressed on the need for scholarships to facilitate higher education for international students from Pakistan at the University of Texas at Dallas to which the PSNT officers gave a very positive response.

Dr Amer Suleman represented Pakistan American Association of Texas (PAAT) as its President and encouraged the PSA officers to continue to organize such events.

The President of PSA Muhammad Ali expressed deep gratitude in his speech to the Pakistani community of North Texas for helping sponsor the event which brought together everyone to celebrate our mutual heritage and traditions.

On behalf of PSA, he thanked the fashion show sponsors, local media partners, and the performers who volunteered their time to make the show a huge success.

Dollar holds steady, eyes on Obama Asia tour

TOKYO: The dollar held steady against the yen in Asia on Wednesday, with traders looking for developments in US-Japan free trade talks as President Barack Obama starts an Asian tour.

In Tokyo midday trade, the greenback changed hands at 102.57, a touch down from 102.60 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon, while the euro bought $1.3809 and 141.66 yen, against $1.3804 and 141.65 yen.

Akira Moroga, manager of forex product group of Aozora Bank, said with Obama due in Tokyo later Wednesday investors will be keeping an eye on signs of progress in the vast Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

Work on the deal has stalled recently, with Washington and Tokyo at loggerheads over tariffs on Japanese agricultural products. Any signs of progress could help boost the Nikkei and stoke yen selling, Moroga said.

Also on Wednesday, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda repeated his view that there was no imminent need to expand its stimulus programme to reach an inflation target of 2.0 percent next year.

"At this point, there is nothing more to say than we will continue the quantitative and qualitative easing programme in its current form until we achieve our goal to generate stable 2.0 percent inflation," Kuroda told a parliamentary session.

The Australian dollar fell to 93.14 US cents from 93.75 cents after data showed Australian inflation was lower than expected in the first three months of the year. The figures raise the possibility the country´s central bank will lower interest rates to boost the faltering economy.

Also on investors´ radars is the crisis in Ukraine, which on Tuesday relaunched military operations against pro-Kremlin separatists, hours after US Vice President Joe Biden ended a two-day Kiev visit in which he warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet republic.