Pakistan News

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2009-08-18T12:06:00.001+06:00

Eunuchs beat professionals in cricket match

2009-08-17T11:52:00.001+06:00

SUKKUR: Perhaps for the first time in the country’s recorded history, a cricket match was played between a team of eunuchs, Sanam eleven, and Olympia eleven, professional cricketers at the Jinnah Municipal Stadium on Sunday.

Sanam eleven easily beat Olympia eleven in the ten-over match organised by the secretary of Sukkur Hockey Association, Arif Mehmood, in connection with the Independence Day.

Interestingly, he had requested a number of government officials and local politicians to attend the match as chief guest but they flatly refused the ‘honour’.

The chairman of district sports committee and nazim of union council-2, Khursheed Azam Shamsi, got over the taboo and accepted to become the chief guest.

Source: Dawn News

Earthquake in twin cities

2009-07-27T17:54:00.001+06:00

ISLAMABAD:Tremors hit Islamabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, Mardan, Noshera, Manshera, Butgram, Balakot and other areas. According to Met office, the magnitude of the tremors was recorded 5.2 on Richter scale

Sufi Mohammad being interrogated for militant links

2009-07-27T17:51:00.000+06:00

PESHAWAR: Pakistan began investigating Monday the detained cleric who brokered a failed peace deal that put three million people under sharia law but was shattered by renewed Taliban fighting.

Sufi Mohammad, father-in-law of the Taliban cleric who masterminded a two-year uprising that ravaged the Swat valley, was arrested Sunday on the outskirts of Peshawar.

‘The federal government has set up an investigation team of security agencies and Sufi Mohammad will be formally charged on the basis of its findings,’ said Arshad Abdullah, law minister in North West Frontier Province.

‘The investigation is under way,’ he told AFP.

Official Gmail Blog: Unsubscribing made easy

2009-07-27T17:50:00.000+06:00

Official Gmail Blog: Unsubscribing made easy

We believe you should only get the mail you want to get. Some of you already use the "Report Spam" button on all kinds of unwanted email, and for that we're very thankful: the more spam you mark, the better our system gets at weeding out junk mail.

Unsubscribing from mailing lists and newsletters you subscribed to a while back but no longer want to receive should be just as easy. Searching through individual messages for little unsubscribe links is too big a pain —you should be able to unsubscribe with a single click.

So we just launched something that makes this all work better, both for Gmail users and big email senders. Now, when you report spam on a legitimate newsletter or mailing list, we'll help you unsubscribe. After clicking report spam, you'll see a little dialog like this:

'copernicium' new entry into periodic table

2009-07-17T09:21:00.001+06:00

It will be called "copernicium", with the symbol Cp, in honour of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicus deduced that the planets revolved around the Sun, and finally refuted the belief that the Earth was the centre of the Universe.
The team of scientists who discovered the element chose the name to honour the man who "changed our world view".
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) will officially endorse the new element's name in six month's time in order to give the scientific community "time to discuss the suggestion".
Scientists from the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany, led by Professor Sigurd Hofmann, discovered copernicium in fusion experiments in 1996.
"After IUPAC officially recognised our discovery, we agreed on proposing the name (because) we would like to honour an outstanding scientist," said Professor Hofmann.
Copernicus was born 1473 in Torun, Poland. His finding that the planets circle the sun underpins much of modern science. It was pivotal for the discovery of gravity, and led to the conclusion that the stars are incredibly far away and that the Universe is inconceivably large.

Zardari, Nawaz to meet today

2009-07-17T09:18:00.000+06:00

Zardari and Nawaz would meet today at Raiwind. They are encountering each other after a period of 8 months. Meanwhile SC will also disclose the decision on Plan Hijacking case

Shumaila Rana asked to resign

2009-07-17T09:07:00.000+06:00

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) investigation committee has demanded the resignation of MPA Shumaila Rana in a credit card theft scandal but Shumaila has refused to resign immediately, a private TV channel reported.

According to the channel, the MPA has requested the committee to give her two days time to prove her innocence. An investigation committee was formed on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif, consisting of Senators Pervaiz Rasheed and Raja Ishfaq Sarwar. The committee had also asked the MPA to either get bail or hand herself over to the police so that investigation process can be completed. Talking to the channel, Senator Raja Ishfaq Sarwar said the committee had asked the MPA to resign from her provincial assembly seat if she was not able to prove her innocence. Sarwar said he spoke to Shumaila, who claimed that the woman, whose credit card she used, owed her money and gave her credit card to Shumaila to withdraw that amount.

Julie Chen

2009-07-17T08:42:00.001+06:00

Julie Chen, the host of the famous reality show,"Big Brother", is pregnant. When you watch the show, "Big Brother 11″, later tonight, you will observe that host Julie has put on some weight. CBS President Les Moonves is Julie's husband. The couple is expecting to a have a baby boy.

Julie shares the gender of her unborn baby to Craig Ferguson on 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'. She was there to promote the eleventh season of the famous show Big Brother. "Big Brother 11″, will premieres tonight. She is also the stepmother of Adam, Michael and Sara. The fans of this hit reality show are so excited about this show and they will specially notice Chen as interviews departing participants every week.

Chen was married to Moonves in December, 2004. Just after the latest season of the show "Big Brother 11″ ends in October, Chen and Moonves baby will be born. On CBS, Chen is also co-hosting "The Early Show", alongside Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. She is been a part of the United States version of the reality show, "Big Brother".
Julie Chen has an experience of 14 years, as a newscaster. She is better known as a famous television personality but she is also journalist and a producer for CBS.

Julie Chen

Julie Chen and Les Moonves

USA WINS SOFTBALL...

2009-07-17T08:40:00.001+06:00

SURREY, British Columbia, Canada | Former University of Alabama outfielder Brittany Rogers went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored three runs to help the U.S. national team defeat Venezuela 10-0 in a game that ended in the early hours of Thursday morning at the Canada Cup international softball tournament.

Rogers batted in the leadoff position, while former Crimson Tide teammate Ashley Holcombe drew a walk in her only pinch-hit at-bat. The U.S. improved to 7-0 with the victory.

Rogers has played in six games, starting five, and leads the team with a .857 batting average. She is 6-for-7 with a double and an RBI, has drawn two walks and is 3-for-3 in base-stealing attempts. Rogers has scored seven runs and also has been errorless in the outfield.

Holcombe is batting .250, appearing in six games with one start. She is 1-for-4 with two runs scored and has drawn three walks.

What LOX IS?

2009-07-17T08:37:00.000+06:00

Lox is salmon, typically a filet, that has been cured, and then often it is cold smoked. The cold smoking does not cook the fish, resulting in its characteristic smooth texture similar to the raw product.

Variations on the name are lox (Yiddish), lax (Swedish), laks (Norwegian and Danish) and lachs (German).

Pepsi in Pakistan

2009-06-25T10:35:00.000+06:00

I am not sure how much those guys would be saving per bottle, doesn’t seem to me like a big margin.

Tight security at islamabad entrance

2009-06-19T22:00:00.000+06:00

Tight security at islamabad entrance

Official Meeting cum Family Reunion!

2009-06-02T09:42:00.001+06:00

(SUN DOG)Strange Phenomena Captured on Cell Phone Camera

2009-05-27T16:01:00.000+06:00

In the month of February my colleague captured a strange phenomena on my cell phone camera while coming to the office – There was a bright light near the actual Sun – The light was bright enough that at first he thought it to be the SUN visible behind the clouds – But as a matter of fact there were no Clouds in the close proximity and as a reflex action he looked at the actual SUN just besides it in surprise J. Anyways, he was unsure of the phenomena and forgot till the time he just came across an article today about “Sun Dog”

The attached snaps were taken while driving so Not the best quality pictures but still you can figure out what he observed

http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-dec1107-sun_dogs.63cecab.html

N Korea successfully conducsts a nuclear test

2009-05-25T09:25:00.001+06:00

North Korea has successfully Conducted an underground nuclear test.

The news confirms earlier reports by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is reported to have convened an emergency security meeting.

Yonhap quoted an unnamed official from South Korea's ruling party.

Both South Korea's and the US geological agency said they detected a seismic tremor early on Monday that indicated a nuclear explosion.

Biggest Container Ship in the World

2009-05-14T13:08:00.000+06:00

Shah Sharabeel is back with "Tom, Dick And Harry"

2009-04-02T00:59:00.006+05:00

Shah Sharabeel is now back with "Tom,Dick and Harry". Organized by Warid Telecom, it was full comedy gala.

Please visite http://www.waridtel.com/ for fur ther details

Attack on police academy leaves 11 dead, 150 injured

2009-03-30T13:04:00.000+05:00

‘The number of killed is at least 11,’ a police official outside the police training ground in Manawan said.

However, given the heavy amount of cross-fire as police attempted to flush out the remaining terrorist, the death count may end up being much higher.

‘The number of casualties may be more’ a police officer said.

The incident took place between 7 and 8 am on Monday morning, as trainees were participating in a morning parade. Eyewitness accounts estimate some 10 militants carried out the attack, and at least 11 explosions have been heard so far. According to reports, some of the attackers entered the academy wearing police uniforms.

The police and special forces remain locked in pitched with the attackers who are hidden inside various buildings at the site, as emergency services are scrambling to evacuate the wounded to nearby hospitals.
Dawn’s Lahore correspondent Husnain Ghayoor met with injured policemen at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital.
According to Basim Wahaj, a constable who sustained a leg and arm injury during the attack at the academy, “there was a general parade when terrorists threw grenades and then started firing. Everyone fell down and no one tried to retaliate. There were no security guards at the academy, and even if there were a few around they had no guns or bullets.”Another constable, Mohammad Ilyas, who was also transported to Mayo Hospital, explains that there was no let up in firing all through Monday morning.

Pest attack ravages wheat crop in Sindh

2009-03-30T13:02:00.000+05:00

Calling government’s announcement of establishing procurement centers merely an eye wash, Rashdi said that in the absence of such centers the growers and producers were compelled to sell their commodity at the rate of Rs700 to Rs750 per 40kg in the open market. The government had promised to purchase wheat at the rate of Rs950 per 40kg, he said, but it seemed a distant dream.
The wheat is cultivated on 2.2 million acres of land in Sindh; Rashdi said and added that damages were mostly caused in Upper Sindh. The wheat production would be reduced as the growers in the absence of certified seeds had sown ‘Bakhar seed’ which was banned in Punjab. The virus comfortably attacked on this variety and grains were drastically affected. The growers under the situation were anxiously waiting for the early opening of procurement centers so as to sell out their yield, said Arif Mahisar President Sindh Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association.
‘When you don’t have the stock of the required quantity of gunny bags how could the growers sell out their stocks to the government’ said Noor Khoso a grower in Mirokhan. He said his crop in Deh ‘Koor’ and Deh ‘Kalhora’ was severely damaged due to the fresh spell of rain. Also the virus attack had squeezed the number of grains in the plant.

Maradona makes dream debut as Argentina coach

2009-03-30T12:55:00.000+05:00

Maradona as he enters the pitch as coach before the World Cup qualifying match.—Reuters/File Photo

BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona made a dream home debut as Argentina coach when his side demolished Venezuela 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday while Uruguay and Colombia followed suit with home wins.

Uruguay beat South American group leaders Paraguay 2-0 while Colombia ended a five-match goal drought as they overcame struggling Bolivia by the same score.

Paraguay stayed top of the 10-team South American group with 23 points from 11 games while Argentina went second, four points behind. Brazil, third with 17, visit Ecuador, seventh with 12, on Sunday.

Uruguay moved into fourth place with 16 points, ahead of Chile on goal difference, and Colombia climbed to sixth with 14. Chile are away to table-propping Peru on Sunday.

The top four teams qualify for South Africa and the fifth plays off against the fourth team from the CONCACAF zone.

BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona made a dream home debut as Argentina coach when his side demolished Venezuela 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday while Uruguay and Colombia followed suit with home wins.
Uruguay beat South American group leaders Paraguay 2-0 while Colombia ended a five-match goal drought as they overcame struggling Bolivia by the same score.
Paraguay stayed top of the 10-team South American group with 23 points from 11 games while Argentina went second, four points behind. Brazil, third with 17, visit Ecuador, seventh with 12, on Sunday.
Uruguay moved into fourth place with 16 points, ahead of Chile on goal difference, and Colombia climbed to sixth with 14. Chile are away to table-propping Peru on Sunday.
The top four teams qualify for South Africa and the fifth plays off against the fourth team from the CONCACAF zone.

Major cyber spy network uncovered

2009-03-30T12:49:00.002+05:00

There is no conclusive evidence of Chinese government involvement
An electronic spy network, based mainly in China, has infiltrated computers from government offices around the world, Canadian researchers say.
They said the network had infiltrated 1,295 computers in 103 countries.
They included computers belonging to foreign ministries and embassies and those linked with the Dalai Lama - Tibet's spiritual leader.
There is no conclusive evidence China's government was behind it, researchers say. Beijing also denied involvement.
The report, Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network, comes after a 10-month investigation by the Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), which comprises researchers from Ottawa-based think tank SecDev Group and the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies.

Mergers in telecom sectors expected

2009-03-30T09:18:00.001+05:00

LAHORE: Following acquisition of commercial banks, mergers in the telecommunication sector are on the cards as a delegation of China Mobile Communication Corporation (CMCC) is visiting Pakistan to talk with other mobile operators.

The News has learnt that the OMCC delegation is headed by its vice chairman and included project director for overseas investments.

Expected mergers in telecom are likely to change the shape of the industry by the end of this year. Mergers of commercial banks were seen recently in the country after the global financial crunch which also affected growth of Pakistani financial sector as well.

Famous mergers in the financial sector encompassed Union Bank Ltd with Standard Chartered Bank and ABN-Amro Bank with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Similarly, PICIC Commercial Bank has merged into NIB Bank. The banking and telecom sectors have seen unprecedented growth during the last three years or so.

However, owing to the current economic slowdown, growth of these two sectors like others had also nosedived. The telecom sector is currently working to reduce its operational costs by shedding employees who were hired during the last five years.

Industry sources said at least two major companies would be merged into one by the end of this year which would intensify competition in the telecom sector. It is learnt that China Mobile Pakistan (CM-PAK) is in serious talks with other cellular operators of Pakistan in a bid to expand its network. In this regard, some initial talks had taken place earlier. Now a second round of talks has started which would likely lead to a deal or open the way for more discussions.

The CMCC delegation is due to meet other operators in the next two days. It is expected that the visiting delegation would give initial offer to other operators for acquiring their network.

The CMCC delegation will also check performance of Zong in order to expand its network. When contacted, Zong Chief Executive Officer Qain Li confirmed that the CMCC delegation is currently on a visit to Pakistan. It is looking into the possibility of a business venture, he added

Afghan soldier shoots dead US pair

2009-03-28T16:20:00.001+05:00

US forces run training programmes for the Afghan army and police
An Afghan soldier shot dead two US coalition troops and wounded a third before turning the gun on himself, a statement from the US military said.
One coalition soldier was killed on the spot, while the other died later of his wounds, the statement said.
"The Afghan National Army soldier reportedly killed himself immediately after the incident," it added. The motive for the shooting is unclear.
Some 70,000 foreign troops are stationed in Afghanistan.
The shootings took place in the north of the country at 1420 local time (1020 GMT).
The US statement quoted Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak as expressing his sorrow about the incident and promising an investigation.
"It is too early to speculate, but the investigation will bear out the truth," he was quoted as saying, adding that "full corrective action will be taken".

US to seek Iran help as per reviewed policy on Afghanistan - GEO.tv

2009-03-27T10:31:00.000+05:00

"US to seek Iran help as per reviewed policy on Afghanistan
Updated at: 0744 PST, Friday, March 27, 2009
NEW YORK: United States (US) is set to announce its new Afghan policy and it will step up seeking assistance from countries including Russia, China, India and Iran.

According to Geo news correspondent in New York Sami Ibrahim, the fundamental features, of the new US’s reviewed policy on Afghanistan, have been unearthed while as per fresh US strategy, its policy will base on provision of intensive training to Afghan forces along with NATO troops to fight against Taliban insurgency.

Countries in the region like Pakistan, Iran, India, Russia, and China will help US to win terror war in Afghanistan against Al-Qaeda operatives.

He said that US will lift its war expenditures up to sixty per cent according to new policy and will direct countries in Nato to sent their additional troops for Afghan polls."

Six members of a family arrested on criminal charges

2009-03-27T10:28:00.000+05:00

Six members of a family including mother, two young sisters and two brothers of an alleged ringleader of the gang were arrested by the Civil Lines Police on the charges of street crimes, police said.

A police team constituted under the supervision of SP (CIA) Rana Muhammad Shahid and DSP (Civil Lines Circle) Raja Taifoor Akhtar busted the racket and arrested Imtiaz Hussain Jafery, son of Ghulam Kazim Jafery, resident of Shaheen Town, Rawalpindi. The police, later, picked up his elderly mother, Perveen Fatima, his two sisters - Sakina Kazim and Zainab Kazim - and two brothers Ali Raza and Hasnain Raza from his house and implicated them in the FIR, terming them as gang members."

Ex-cricketer Ijaz Ahmed arrested in Rs.10-million scam

2009-03-27T10:26:00.000+05:00

DAWN.COM –Cricket Ex-cricketer Ijaz Ahmed arrested in Rs.10-million scam: "Ex-cricketer Ijaz Ahmed arrested in Rs.10-million scam
Thursday, 26 Mar, 2009 05:48 PM PST Ijaz Ahmed being taken away by the police —AP LAHORE: Former Pakistan batsman and former member of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s national selection committee, Ijaz Ahmed was arrested in Lahore on Thursday.
Police officials at the Gulberg police said two property dealers had filed a complaint against Ijaz, 40, for issuing them cheques that had bounced.
The value of the cheques is put at 11 million rupees.
‘They have filed a forgery case against Ijaz who is under arrest now,’ police official Rana Jabbar said.
‘We have arrested him today,’ Jabbar told The Associated Press. ‘Ijaz had got bail from the court, but it expired Thursday and we arrested him.’
Pakistan’s former test captain Salim Malik, the brother-in-law of Ahmed, denied that his relative had committed any wrongdoing.
‘The truth is that these property dealers owe money to Ijaz and they have registered a false case against him,’ Malik said."

DAWN.COM | Sport | Controversy likely to sour F1 season opener

2009-03-27T10:25:00.000+05:00

DAWN.COM Sport Controversy likely to sour F1 season opener: "The new Brawn GP team, which has been comfortably quickest in pre-season testing, and the other two teams are using innovative but contentious rear diffusers. - Reuters/File photo. MELBOURNE: The Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams Formula One teams faced an attempt to bar them from the Australian Grand Prix on Thursday in a controversy that threatens to sour Sunday’s season-opening race.
The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said Red Bull, Renault and Ferrari had lodged protests on the grounds that the rivals’ cars did not comply with technical regulations.
The FIA said representatives of the three teams had been invited to appear before the race stewards at the Albert Park circuit.
The new Brawn GP team, which has been comfortably quickest in pre-season testing, and the other two teams have been using innovative but contentious rear diffusers – a key part that governs the quick and smooth flow of air under the car to increase down force."

Madonna 'to adopt second child'

2009-03-27T10:23:00.000+05:00

BBC NEWS Entertainment Madonna 'to adopt second child': "Pop star Madonna is to travel to Malawi in a bid to adopt a second child, government officials from the African country have told the BBC.
The 50-year-old is expected to arrive at the weekend and attend a procedural hearing at the High Court on Monday.
She recently told Malawian newspaper Nation that she had been considering another adoption, but wanted the support of the authorities.
Madonna's official adoption of David Banda was confirmed last year."

Drone Attacks to continue

2009-03-26T11:20:00.000+05:00

U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials are drawing up a fresh list of terrorist targets for Predator drone strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, part of a U.S. review of the drone program, according to officials involved. Pakistani officials are seeking to broaden the scope of the program to target extremists who have carried out attacks against Pakistanis, a move they say could win domestic support. The Obama administration is weighing the effectiveness of the program against the risk that its unpopularity weakens an important ally. Underlining the fragility of the situation, the U.S. believes Pakistan's top intelligence agency is directly supporting the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan, even as the U.S. targets those groups, says a person close to the deliberations. The Central Intelligence Agency's drone program is important to Washington because areas of Pakistan remain a haven for Taliban and al Qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan. The Obama administration is reviewing how it uses missile strikes to target militants on the border, according to national-security officials, as part of a broad review of its strategy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan. The administration considers the program a success, and the program isn't expected to be significantly curtailed. But officials familiar with the review say it could change the pace and size of the program, and make some technical refinements in an effort to hit targets faster. The review seeks to determine under what circumstances drones should be used, the officials say. The broader reassessment could be announced as soon as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter. The review is believed to address plans for increasing troops and combating drug trafficking in Afghanistan, as well as strategies for strengthening institutions of civil government and building the economies in both countries. President Barack Obama has declared the war in Afghanistan is a key foreign-policy priority, and the U.S. is sending an additional 17,000 troops to amplify U.S. efforts there.

Goodbye Mr Taseer

2009-03-26T11:16:00.000+05:00

According to sources during the first meeting, which was held prior to PPP's provincial Parliamentary meeting, the PM underlined that the world has set an eye on Pakistan especially the situation in Punjab. He said that a strong and stable Punjab is significant for stability in Pakistan.

Sources say that during the meeting the PM and Governor Taseer discussed a host of issues regarding the prevailing political chaos.

Gilani also informed Governor Taseer regarding his meeting with PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif in Raiwind.

Governor Taseer briefed the PM regarding his meeting with the PML-Q for forming a government in Punjab. Sources said that different options had been reviewed to end governor rule.

According to a private TV channel, a second meeting took place at the Lahore airport prior to the PM's departure for Islamabad.

Gabol in favor of Balochistan

2009-03-26T11:15:00.001+05:00

QUETTA: With the judicial crisis behind him, President Asif Zardari will on Thursday get down to exploring ways and means for redressing Balochistan’s grievances, according to Nabil Gabol, the minister of state for ports and shipping.

Mr Gabol, talking to reporters after meeting JWP president Talal Bugti here on Wednesday, said the president had formed a committee for the resolution of pressing problems relating to the province. The minister is a member of the body.

The Balochistan issue had become important after the restoration of the judiciary. ‘Balochistan is Pakistan’s heart.’ Mr Gabol said Balochistan and Pakistan ‘cannot prosper without each other’.

The minister accused former president Pervez Musharraf of ‘murdering Nawab Bugti, Balaach Marri and other Baloch nationalist leaders,’ and called for his trial.

Shoaib optimist against Australia

2009-03-26T11:13:00.001+05:00

Australia are now much easier to beat than before and if we play our best we can beat them in the series,’ Akhtar told AFP.

‘We have a very good chance of beating them.’

Pakistan plays Australia in five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from April 22 to May 7.

Akhtar said Australia had lost some key players, which had weakened them.

‘They are still the world's top team, which they proved by avenging their defeat against South Africa,’ he said of Australia's 2-1 series win over South Africa this week.

‘But they still miss the likes of (Adam) Gilchrist, (Matthew) Hayden, (Glenn) McGrath and (Shane) Warne who were top class players. If even one of them came to the party, it spelt doom for the rival team.

Streaming games service launched

2009-03-26T11:10:00.002+05:00

The service will be available later in the year and charge a monthly fee

After seven years in stealth mode, a Silicon Valley start-up has launched a "revolutionary" video game service that offers new competition to consoles.

OnLive, which launched at the Game Developer Conference, promises to deliver on demand video games via the cloud to the PC, Mac or TV.

The company said it can provide high quality gaming on low end machines.

"We think this moment, this day will be remembered as the beginning of a new era," said OnLive boss Steve Perlman.

"This is huge. This is transparent cloud computing. This is really really important for the industry.

The MicroConsole connects the TV to the internet

"This will open up creativity, allow for new experiences and new kinds of expression that have never been available before," Mr Perlman told an audience of analysts, industry types and journalists at a ritzy unveiling of the product at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.

The innovation behind OnLive rests in its video compression technology which instantly streams video via the internet so that it appears "effectively instantaneously."

Isreel T shirts

2009-03-24T09:13:00.003+05:00

JERUSALEM – Israel's military condemned soldiers for wearing T-shirts of a pregnant woman in a rifle's cross-hairs with the slogan "1 Shot 2 Kills," and another of a gun-toting child with the words, "The smaller they are, the harder it is."
The T-shirts were worn by some Israeli Defense Force soldiers to mark the end of basic training and other military courses, the newspaper Haaretz said.
The appearance of the T-shirts followed allegations of misconduct by Israeli troops during the three-week Gaza war. Palestinian officials say about 1,400 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis died, three of them civilians.
The army said it would not tolerate the T-shirts and would take disciplinary action against the soldiers involved, although it was not clear how many wore the shirts or how widely they were distributed.
The military sought to portray the T-shirts as "tasteless" humor and condemned the soldiers involved, saying in a statement that the shirts "are not in accordance with IDF values."
They were not manufactured or sanctioned by the military.
The shirts' existence was first reported Friday by Haaretz and later on broadcasts by Israeli radio and television.
Haaretz showed pictures of five shirts and said they were made at the unit level — indicating that they were made for small numbers of troops, perhaps several dozen at a time. It said they were worn by an unknown number of enlisted men in different units. The Tel Aviv factory that made many of the shirts, Adiv, refused to comment.
Few in the Palestinian territories appeared to be aware of the T-shirts. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it "reflects the brutal mentality among the Zionist soldiers and the Zionist society."
Hamas-controlled media consistently glorify attacks on Israelis, and cartoons in Palestinian newspapers frequently use anti-Semitic images of Jews as hook-nosed, black-hatted characters.
Hamas also mocked Israeli suffering, staging a play about its capture of an Israeli soldier in which it makes fun of the serviceman crying for his mother and father.
Israel's military has come under increasing scrutiny after soldiers alleged that some troops opened fire hastily and killed Palestinian civilians during the Gaza war, including children, possibly because they believed they would not be held accountable under relaxed open-fire regulations. The military has ordered a criminal inquiry into soldiers' accounts published in a military institute's newsletter.
On Monday, the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, defended his troops.
"I tell you that this is a moral and ideological army. I have no doubt that exceptional events will be dealt with," Ashkenazi told new recruits. Gaza "is a complex atmosphere that includes civilians, and we took every measure possible to reduce harm to the innocent."
The Gaza offensive, launched to end years of rocket fire at Israeli towns, ended Jan. 18.
Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups fire rockets from heavily populated areas, and Israel says Hamas is to blame for the civilian deaths because it leaves the military no choice but to attack them there.
U.N. human rights experts said Monday that Israeli soldiers used an 11-year-old Palestinian as a human shield during the Gaza offensive. The military ordered the boy on Jan. 15 to walk in front of soldiers being fired on in a Gaza neighborhood and enter buildings before them, said Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. secretary-general's envoy for protecting children in armed conflict.
Israeli army spokesman Capt. Elie Isaacson denied the military used human shields, saying "morals and high ethical standards are paramount" in the army.
Uzi Dayan, a former Israeli deputy chief of staff, said he was "shocked but not surprised" by the T-shirts.
"I spent many years in the army and I know that if you don't pay attention all the time, these things can happen. These are very young people in a combat situation, so you need to have a finger on the pulse," he said.

Mukhtar Mai marries police officer

2009-03-18T18:10:00.002+05:00

MULTAN: A gang-rape victim who shunned custom and rose to global fame by speaking out about her case has defied another local taboo – she just got married.
Mukhtar Mai is now the second wife of Nasir Abbas Gabol, a police officer who was assigned to protect her as her case gained notoriety. He said she was reluctant to accept his offer and that he threatened suicide when she turned him down.
Mai was gang raped at the order of a tribal council in the eastern province of Punjab in 2002 to punish her family for her brother's alleged affair with a woman from a higher-caste family. There were also allegations that the boy had been molested by members of the other family, and that the accusations of the affair were used to cover up the crime.
Rape victims in Pakistan face severe social stigma and diminished marriage prospects, prompting many to commit suicide. But Mai went public and challenged her alleged attackers in court, attracting international attention and becoming a women's rights activist.
She was named Glamour magazine's Woman of the Year, and now runs a school in her southern Punjab province village of Meerwala. The case against her attackers is still in the court system.
Mai told AP Television News after the nuptials that she'd never completely ruled out marriage.
'When you do marriage you have to have faith in your partner,' she said.
Her new husband told the AP on Wednesday that he was enraptured by Mai's 'extreme courage.'
'I will do whatever is possible to help my wife in her efforts aimed at raising her voice for the rights of women,' he said.
Mai initially refused his offer because Gabol was already married and discouraged him from divorcing his first wife.
Gabol said he was so desperate to marry Mai that he threatened to kill himself unless she relented. Fearing he would carry out his threat, Gabol's first wife met with Mai and persuaded her to marry.
The wedding took place Sunday and a reception is planned for the weekend.

Changes made while viewing google mail conversations

2009-03-18T09:04:00.001+05:00

Gmail's threaded conversations are useful because they keep your messages in context -- you don't have to look for previous messages to see what people are talking about. But sometimes, when many people are replying to the same conversation, you open a conversation and quickly wish you hadn't because you don't have time to read all the new messages right then.

You could mark the conversation as unread, but this makes all the messages in that conversation unread. And the next time you open the conversation you have to remember which messages you already read and which ones you didn't get to yet. Since we at Google send and receive a lot of email, we found this pretty annoying. So we decided to fix it.

Now if you're reading a conversation that had unread messages when you opened it and you mark it unread, Gmail will only mark those messages that were unread when you opened the conversation in the first place. It's a small change, but it's the little things that can make a UI feel right or wrong, and we hope this makes Gmail a little bit more right.

Though we realize this change would also be useful when reading mail on your phone (people mark stuff unread on their phones so they'll remember to come back to it on their computers), for now it only works on your desktop browser.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/small-but-helpful-change-to-mark-as.html

Microsoft Surface 2nd generation

2009-03-16T13:09:00.003+05:00

A second generation of Microsoft's Surface computing device is two to three years away, the South by SouthWest Festival has heard.

Developer Joe Olsen, whose company Phenomblue writes applications for the Surface, said he had been told the device was still in the development stage...

Accident just happened near murree.

2009-03-13T17:41:00.000+05:00

Accident just happened near murree. Military cargo truck fell down from a cliff

UK Bomb Plot Linked with Pakistan

2009-03-12T23:15:00.002+05:00

Mohammed Momin Kwaja canadian from Pakistani parest in now being connected to UK fertilizer bomb plot. Khawaja grew up in the suburbs of Canada's capital, Ottawa, and was a mild-mannered child who enjoyed hockey. A software developer, Khawaja worked in the technical support department of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and had a good knowledge of electronics.
According to BBC ,of Pakistani origin, he became fascinated by radical Islamist politics, and its focus on conflicts in the Muslim world. He kept up to date on events in the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Chechnya through the internet.

Introducing Google with voice

2009-03-12T23:07:00.002+05:00

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-comes-google-voice.html

Lots of talk about Google introducing an instant messaging client, using the Jabber technology. I think this will be a voice enabled IM product, which will be released in order to match the “talk” features of Yahoo and MSN. Google Rumors reports that the talk.google.com domain has become active, and sends you to google.com/talk which shows a 404 message. There is already news that Google is running a Jabber server. Jabber already has a deal with AOL, and from the looks of it, is fast becoming a platform of choice for voice-over-IM.
> The Jabber Extensible Communications Platform (Jabber XCP), known for its’ highly programmable presence and messaging framework and unique capability to bridge applications, networks, devices, multi-media, and protocols, is extending even farther.

China Mobile introduces Postpaid packages

2009-03-12T10:53:00.003+05:00

Zong (China Mobile) has introduced it's postpaid service. It was anticipated that their postpaid packages would be much more cheaper as compared to other operators but they proved it wrong.

Pros

Airtime rate is same for on net and off net calls so you don't have to worry which network you are calling to

Cons

Same interconnect charges are applied to all postpaid packages, in other operators, the more the line rent, the less the call charges for other operators,

Furthermore for packages with more line rent, one ends up paying more for on net call from free minutes.

Good cop bad cop

2009-03-12T09:32:00.002+05:00

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said he would discuss lifting of governor's rule in the Punjab with President Asif Ali Zardari today (Thursday) on his return from Iran.

"I will take up the issue with the president today on his return from Iran and will also urge the president to let the provincial assembly choose a new leader of the House," he said while speaking at a dinner hosted by him in honour of senators at the Prime Minister's House here.

The prime minister said he also called the Punjab governor to Islamabad on Thursday and together with the president they would discuss a way out of the present political crisis. The prime minister said he wants lifting of governor's rule in the Punjab at the earliest and would request the president to let the provincial assembly ascertain who commands the majority.

17 Killed in Germany Shooting incident

2009-03-11T23:10:00.001+05:00

BERLIN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Wednesday's school shooting in Germany has risen to 17, including the 17-year-old gunman shot dead by the police, officials said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the shooting spree as an appalling crime, adding that Wednesday is a day of mourning for the whole of Germany.

The gunman, reportedly a former student of the school, went on the rampage around 9:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT) at the Albertville high school near the southwestern German city of Stuttgart, slaying at least 16 people.

Nine students and three teachers at the school were among the killed, local officials said at a press conference, adding the gunman had entered three classrooms.

Danny Boly now up for BOND

2009-03-11T14:51:00.001+05:00

Danny Boyle is reportedly set to direct the next James Bond movie.

The British director - whose film Slumdog Millionaire bagged a whopping 8 Oscar gongs at the recent Academy Awards - has been asked by Bond boss Barbara Broccoli, who now heads the huge 007 franchise at EON Productions, to take charge of Daniel Craig's third outing as the suave spy, according to British newspaper The Sun.

A source tells the publication, "Danny is the man of the moment and he is being bombarded with offers from studios.

"He has been offered the chance to direct the 23rd Bond film by Barbara. The EON team love his vision and think that it would work perfectly for the new look of Bond.

"Danny has always insisted he is more interested in the film than the money.

Snoop Dog joins the nation of Islam

2009-03-11T14:49:00.000+05:00

According to hiphopdx.com, this past Sunday, Snoop Dogg attended the Nation of Islam's annual Saviours Day in Chicago, donating $1,000 to the organization. He sat behind Minister Louis Farrakhan, and later said that he will always seek the minister out. Referring to himself as a “leader of the Hip Hop community,” Snoop told other followers that he would share information he's learned in the Nation with others.

“When you get a speech from Minister Farrakhan, it's about a mirror, it's about looking at yourself,” Snoop told The Associated Press after the event. “It's about seeing yourself and what you can do to better the situation…We're doing a lot of wrongs among ourselves that need correcting.”

When asked if he planned to become a member of The Nation, Snoop replied that he had already joined the movement.

“I'm already in the Nation, that's why I'm here,” he said. “I'm an advocate for peace. I've been in the peace movement ever since I've been making music. My whole thing is not about really trying to push my thing on you. It's just about the way I live, and I live how I'm supposed to live as far as doing what's right and representing what's right. That's why I was here today.”

Do you own a container...?

2009-03-11T12:19:00.001+05:00

Section 114 has already been imposed on Tuesday March,11,2009, and media is reporting that government has ordered the mass arrests of politicians and lawyers in Punjab. Islamabad and police has started to hijack large trucks with containers around Islamabad.

-Police raids in Lahore on homes and offices of PMLN leaders Bilal Yaseen(MNA) and Ajaasam Sharif (MPA).
-Army and Rangers to deployed in ’sensitive’ Districts.
-Police Raids at residence of PMLN MPA Raheela Khadim Hussain and Waseem Qadir.
-Raid at Residence of PMLN MNA Imran Shah in Sahiwal.
-Jamat-e-Islami claimes that 25 of their workers have been arrested
-Despite section 144 Shahbaz Sharif to hold Public meeting tommrow.
-crack down in Karachi also started

Shooting Spree in Alabama

2009-03-11T12:12:00.002+05:00

A single gunman carried out the killings before turning the gun on himself, the Public Safety Department said in a statement.

"This is a very complicated investigation that is unfolding," the department said.

Police began to uncover the grisly rampage when four adults and a child were found shot dead inside a residence in the town of Samson.

"It is believed the gunman left that location, traveling on Alabama route 52 where he shot at a state trooper's vehicle, striking the vehicle seven times and slightly wounding the trooper due to broken glass," said the department.

The shooter, who was not identified, gunned down another individual at Samson Pipe and Supply.

He apparently killed another victim at a service station before heading to Reliable Metal Products where he "fired an estimated 30-round burst."

View Google Calendar offline

2009-03-09T12:47:00.001+05:00

In addition to offline access to Gmail while you're traveling or without a strong internet connection, you can now see your Google Calendar events when you're disconnected. Offline Calendar lets you view your existing schedule and events, but not edit them, so you don't have to print out calendars the night before a trip. This feature has been available to businesses and schools using Google Apps for about a month; we're now turning it on for everyone.

Official Gmail Blog: View Google Calendar offline

Slumdog slapped by father

2009-03-09T08:55:00.000+05:00

Slumdog Slapped by Father

'I was being naughty. I did not want to give the interview because I was tired so he slapped me but he loves me,' said Azharuddin, who came back Thursday to his tarpaulin-covered lean-to home.

Azharuddin -Azhar to his friends, plays the young Salim, elder brother of the film's central character Jamal.

Azharuddin's father Mohammed Ismial, who suffers from tuberculosis and sells cardboard to eke out a living, told the news agency, 'My child was very tired and bored but I had committed to one journalist. I felt badly when he refused him He is my child and I just slapped him but I feel sorry now,' Ismial said.

Close Zone...Animated Clip showing GAZA

2009-03-08T01:40:00.002+05:00

Closed Zone - The best bloopers are a click away

Can you define Adeguate Security...?

2009-03-08T01:36:00.000+05:00

There had been no previous attacks on or threats to cricketers in cricket?crazy Pakistan, and as such the organizers of the match series were confident that everything would go as planned, though some countries refused to play there for security reasons.
On security it mentions that it was being claimed by some quarters that Sri Lankan team had not been provided with adequate security. “What is adequate security? No security is adequate where terrorism is concerned. In a world where the Pentagon has come under a terror attack and well protected world leaders have perished at the hands of terrorists, there is always an element of risk in any kind of security arrangement.”
Even if there had been a security blanket in Lahore on Tuesday, terrorists would still have struck. “They are so fiendishly motivated and fanatically determined to cause bloodletting. There is hardly anything that a bunch of indoctrinated lunatics with a death wish is not capable of.” “Our cricketers are precious to us and we heaved a sight of relief when they escaped death and returned home safely. Now that the boys are back, we must put the unfortunate Lahore episode behind us.”

Iran will not beome Nato Route

2009-03-07T13:00:00.000+05:00

Iran will not beome Nato Route(Courtesy of Dawn)
BERLIN: The Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow NATO to use its territory to transit non-military supplies to war-stricken Afghanistan, a senior Iranian legislator announced here.

Talking at a press briefing at the Iranian Embassy in Berlin, Alaeddin Boroujerdi said, "Iran is not interested in becoming a logistic bridge for NATO to Afghanistan."

Boroujerdi reiterated Iran's principled opposition to NATO's presence in Iran.

He made clear that the western military alliance had no place in Afghanistan for a "permanent presence" in the country.

The Iranian MP urged NATO to come up with an exit strategy for Afghanistan.

He added that the continuing deployment of NATO would only "lead to more extremism and terrorism."

Lahore, Sold....! (Courtesy of Dawn...Khalid Hasan)

2009-03-07T00:08:00.001+05:00

Lahore, Sold....! (Courtesy of Dawn...Khalid Hasan)
Noor Naghmi, a Pakistani-American entrepreneur from Lahore, has crossed the first hurdle in making his dream of building another Lahore in rural Virginia come true.

Naghmi, son of well-known Radio Pakistan, Lahore, broadcaster Abul Hasan Naghmi, who was Bhaijan to millions of children against Mohni Hamid's Aapa Shamim, has bought all 235 acres of the tiny hamlet of Lahore in Orange County, Virginia, an hour's drive from Washington's Fairfax county where he lives and finances mortgages and related deals. Lahore, Virginia, is not new, having come into existence in late 19th century. The name was picked out randomly from a book on India. The place where only a few families live and whose only general store is now closed, came to attention when Pakistani journalist and Voice of America broadcaster Akmal Aleemi, driving with a few friends in the countryside came across a sign on the road that said 'Lahore'. He stopped, explored the place, talked to its few residents and wrote a feature article on his "discovery" in a Lahore, Pakistan, newspaper. That was when young Noor first became aware of the existence of another Lahore, different from the one where he was born and from where he immigrated with his family to America in the 1970s.

Deal finalized, maulana. According to ju

2009-03-06T20:03:00.000+05:00

Deal finalized, maulana. According to jui leader a deal has been finalized between sharif brothers and the government.

Nawas sharif in Lahore, staging a nation

2009-03-06T19:57:00.000+05:00

Nawas sharif in Lahore, staging a nationwide protest against establishment

Laskhar e Tayyaba might be behind 3/3 Attack

2009-03-06T15:04:00.002+05:00

The initial probe suggested that a group of "headstrong" LeT activists, who went underground and hid in the garrison city of Rawalpindi after the crackdown on the terrorist group and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah, had acted on its own and carried out the attack, the Dawn newspaper quoted its sources as saying.

Police trying to find a scapegoat

2009-03-05T08:59:00.003+05:00

LAHORE: Police detained several suspects connected to the attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Pakistan, but said Wednesday they had made no progress in tracking down the group of gunmen that wounded seven players and killed six police guarding them.
Reports said the SIM used in the Lahore attack was registered in the name of a man from Rahim Yar Khan. The man in question, Shahzad Babar, has been arrested and is being shifted to an unknown location in Lahore.

Unsung Heroes of 3rd March 2009

2009-03-03T22:46:00.000+05:00

SriLankan Cricket Team attacked in Pakistan

2009-03-03T10:06:00.003+05:00

Several members of the Sri Lankan cricket team have been injured after gunmen fired on a convoy carrying cricketers in Pakistani city of Lahore.
The convoy was carrying Pakistani and Sri Lankan cricketers to a ground, which is hosting a Test match between the two sides.
Reports quoting Sri Lankan authorities say at least two Sri Lankan players were seriously injured in the incident.
Unconfirmed reports say some policemen had been killed by the shooting.
The incident happened on the road from the teams' hotel to the Gadaffi stadium, where a Test match is being held.
"It appears that our team bus was targeted on the way to the match. It appears that four of our cricketers have been injured and taken to the hospital," a Sri Lankan cricket official told an Indian TV channel from Colombo.

'Slumdog Millionaire' makes way to oscar

2009-02-23T13:24:00.002+05:00

Beating out 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' 'Frost/Nixon,' 'Milk' and 'The Reader' for Best Picture, 'Slumdog' was also awarded Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Song, Original Score, Sound Editing, Film Editing and Best Director.
Upon receiving his Oscar, director Danny Boyle jumped up and down "in the spirit of Tigger" for his children, a promise he made to them years ago, and singled out the people of Mumbai, saying, "all of you who helped us make the film, and all of those who didn't, you dwarf this guy (Oscar)." Winning the top honor of the night and surrounded by his overjoyed cast, producer Christian Colson said, "Together we've been on an extraordinary journey. …What we had was a script that inspired mad love for everyone who read it."

Google Earth goes into oceans

2009-02-04T09:01:00.002+05:00

First up, there's been great anticipation about a rumored 'Google Ocean'. Well, Google has met the anticipation of new ocean data - but, they're not releasing a separate product. It's all in Google Earth 5. First, we now have 3D bathymetry. Those new blue ocean floor magery is not just a 2D relief map - they are now 3D terrain. Move your mouse over the ocean and you'll see below sea level elevations (negative numbers). But, the real surprise is when you first start flying towards the ocean and tilt your view. You now see an ocean surface! And, if your graphics card is new enough, you see wave motion on the surface.
The real pleasure comes when you fly under sea surface. You can both see the 3D bathymetry and see the surface above you for a real submarine-like experience!
And, there is a huge amount of new ocean related layers. Under the Layer pane in the lower left you'll see a new "Ocean" layer folder. The folder contains a number of interesting new layers including material from National Geographic, Cousteau Society, BBC, NOAA, and more. There are locations of shipwrecks, tracks for ocean expeditions, GPS tracks of sea animals, and lots of information about the ocean environment. This was significant enough that Al Gore came to make the announcement. More on all of this in future posts. Especially given my interests in the ocean.

New Obama in Town

2009-01-28T17:16:00.000+05:00

Fortune teller.... previously a parrot, now a "ROBOT"

2009-01-28T09:18:00.003+05:00

As the time passes on and technology improves, we begin to feel it's impact on our routine lives. In Allahbad India forutune tellers have taken one step ahead by using a "ROBOT" instead of a parrot to tell future

"Sasha Fierce" Or Beyonce

2009-01-28T09:02:00.002+05:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Just like the "Seinfeld" episode where George wanted everyone to call him "T-Bone," Beyonce Knowles would like to be known by a bold new name.
The R&B singer has christened herself "Sasha Fierce" for her new double album, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," due in U.S. stores on November 18, and has released a lengthy justification for the comical moniker.
"I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am," the former Destiny's Child frontwoman said in a statement.
"Sasha Fierce is the fun, more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken side and more glamorous side that comes out when I'm working and when I'm on the stage."
Additionally, she has set up a cryptic MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/sashafierce) that gives a "lucky person" the opportunity to receive a personal message and a gift bag valued at $500.
As George found out, nicknames usually do not work when they are self-bestowed. His colleagues thought he should be called Koko the monkey. In real life, rapper Eminem had better luck with his alter ego "Slim Shady," which he said came to him while he was on the toilet.
Beyonce released her previous solo album, "B'Day," to coincide with her 25th birthday in September 2006. It debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart and yielded the No. 1 single "Irreplaceable."
"I Am ... Sasha Fierce" will be distributed by Columbia Records.
(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Official Gmail Blog: Watch videos right in Gmail chat

2009-01-27T17:38:00.000+05:00

My friends always hate it when I multi-task in other tabs while chatting with them (they can tell because of my obviously delayed reactions...). But sometimes it's not my fault: if they send me a link to a YouTube video, I have to open another tab in order to watch it. To help with this, we've just added a new feature to Gmail chat: YouTube and Google Video previews. If you receive (or send) a link to a video in a chat message, you'll see a preview of the video right in your chat window.Click the preview, and the video will play right there. Just remember to say something every once in a while or your friends will probably catch on that you're enjoying the dramatic chipmunk more than their conversation...
Official Gmail Blog: Watch videos right in Gmail chat

Ahmad Hasan Dani Legendary Archeologist, Historian Dies

2009-01-27T16:41:00.000+05:00

Legendary archeologist, historian and linguist, Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani has passed away in Islamabad today at age 89; born on June 20, 1920.
Among Pakistan’s most noted authority on South Asian History and Archeology, Dr. Dani was author of several books and received national and international recognition for his remarkable work. He was under treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad where he died today.Dani has left behind his wife, three sons Dr Anis Ahmad Dani (World Bank), Navaid Ahmad Dani (PTV), Junaid Ahmad Dani (Action Aid), daughter Fauzia Iqbal Butt, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
An erudite writer of history and an evergreen tree of knowledge, Dr Ahmad Hasan Dani spent his entire life to establish a better world by providing his study of history, an attribute which made him an extraordinary scholar, at home and abroad.
Ahmad Hasan Dani was a key figure in setting up of several museums in Pakistan and his vast publications have set the pace for future course of action in this vital field in the country. Late Dr. Dani had been extensively engaged in excavation works on the pre-Indus Civilization site of Rehman Dheri. He also made a number of discoveries of Gandhara sites in Peshawar and Swat Valleys, and worked on Indo-Greek sites in Dir.
From 1985, he was involved in research focusing on the documentation of the rock carvings and inscriptions on ancient remains from the Neolithic age in the high mountain region of Northern Pakistan along with Harald Hauptmann of Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, University of Heidelberg. In 1990–91, he led the UNESCO international scientific teams for the Desert Route Expedition of the Silk Road in China and the Steppe Route Expedition of the Silk Road in the Soviet Union.
He was Emeritus Professor at the Quaid-e-Azam University and the director of Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations. Throughout his career, Dani held various academic positions and international fellowships, apart from conducting archaeological excavations and research. As a prolific linguist, he spoke more than 14 local and international languages and dialects (French, Turkish, Persian, Bangla, Pushto, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Tamil, Punjabi, Sindhi, Seraiki, Broshiski and Karoshti - apart from English and Urdu).

Reinstatement of the Chief Justice of Pakistan?

2009-01-26T17:09:00.001+05:00

by Gul Bukhari —
‘The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind’. Like a storm the lawyers’ movement swept Pakistan in 07 uniting the country like never before. During the year it achieved remarkable successes, sending waves of euphoria through the country when finally the Chief Justice was re-instated in July. But it was not to last: with a terrible blow at the hands of a military dictator, the movement, together with the Constitution itself was struck down, chained and cuffed – Martial Law was imposed and the entire superior judiciary was sacked and imprisoned.
In February 08 the manacles’ keys were transferred to the newly elected democratic government. Then tragedy struck: the democrats threw away the keys. The Quran and Hadith had only enjoined upon them to make promises, not to keep them. The movement failed – it was only a storm pitted against a larger force no less formidable or evil than Tsunami itself. In another country on January 20th, 2009 the formidable Tsunami transformed itself from the God of Destruction to the God of Change and fresh winds started to blow. In Pakistan, the struggle for justice revived - but in 09 not to fail. It is no longer pitted against the Tsunami.

Urijah Faber defeats Jens Pulver in 1st round

2009-01-26T11:26:00.000+05:00

After their classic fight at WEC 34 last June Jens Pulver and Urijah Faber went at it one more time. Faber (22-2) proved the first win wasn’t a fluke as he rocked Pulver (22-11-1) with some big shots and sank in a guillotine until the ref stepped in early in the first round.
Faber appears to be on the doorstep of a rematch with Mike Brown should he retain his title in March when he faces Leonard Garcia. After the fight Faber said to Brown after the fight “I want my belt, give me my belt”.
Pulver has now lost three straight fights in the WEC and you have to wonder what’s next for him. He was tearful in the post fight interview and wondered out loud if he was still relevant in the WEC but said “Fuck that. I’m not done”.

All Survive Jet's Splashdown in Hudson River

2009-01-16T10:14:00.001+05:00

NEW YORK, Jan. 15 -- Darren Beck, a 37-year-old marketing executive, had just settled into Seat 3A of a Charlotte-bound passenger jet Thursday afternoon when he heard a sickening thump.
"We were gaining altitude, everything seemed normal, and there was a very, very loud bang on the left-hand side," he said in a telephone interview, hours later, from the unexpected venue of Manhattan's Pier 79. Beck watched aghast from his window seat as the spinning jet turbine began to kick and slow down, "almost like something was stuck in a washing machine."
"You'd hear thump-thump-thump-thump, and then the pilot came on, and all he said was, 'This is the captain speaking. Brace for impact,' " Beck recalled. The flight attendants, still strapped in for the initial ascent, "kept saying, 'Keep your head down -- brace for impact.' They said it over and over, chanting it."
Thus began the drama of US Airways Flight 1549, which was apparently crippled by a midair encounter with geese and ditched into the Hudson River within minutes of takeoff from La Guardia Airport. Facing life-and-death choices, the pilot steered away from a catastrophic crash in the Bronx or in northern Manhattan, but the 155 passengers and crew soon faced new peril as their 80-ton aircraft began to sink in the river's frigid gray current.
Scrambling for the exits and carrying the helpless, they perched ankle- and then knee-deep atop the wings as an improvised armada of tour boats and ferries streamed to their rescue. It was a race to escape before the listing Airbus A320, submerged already on the starboard side, disappeared.
Most of the passengers stood in shirtsleeves, fleeing without their life jackets, and a few fell into 36-degree water on a day when the air temperature barely reached 20 degrees. Some passengers began to wail, but witnesses described a scene of level-headed teamwork to evacuate the weak and infirm, including an infant and an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, who steered the aircraft to a skittering splashdown that left the fuselage intact, was hailed as a hero by aviation experts and political leaders including Gov. David A. Paterson, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and President Bush. The mayor said Sullenberger, as befits a captain, twice walked the length of the sinking plane to make sure he was the last to depart.
Molly Schugel, 32, who sat in a mid-cabin exit row, said screams were audible and that there was "definitely fear in the plane." But she and her seatmates used their last airborne moments to scan the emergency diagrams on the exit hatch.
"We're all studying the door, what to do," she said. "Every plane you fly has different handles. The guy next to me, soon as we hit the water, he opened the door within seconds, and we got out."
Schugel, a Bank of America executive, came to regret her choice of three-inch heels.
"They were very cute," she said, but they offered little purchase atop a wing slick with jet fuel and water. "We had to go out to the very narrow part to let more people out on the wing. I was trying to take them off, holding onto the lady next to me, and then I'm barefoot on the wing. I don't know if it was a wave or what, but I slid right off the wing into the water
Submerged to her shoulders and gasping, Schugel said she knew she would not last long in the cold. A stranger from the row in front of her, risking his own footing, reached to fish her out. Someone inflated the emergency ramp, but in the chaos, it overturned, and no one could clamber aboard.
Before police and Coast Guard vessels could respond, the Hudson's commercial flotilla converged on the scene. Ferry, tour boat and tugboat crews tossed life vests to the stranded passengers and began hoisting them up ladders. Soaked and shivering, Schugel had to plunge back into the river and swim a few feet to reach the first arriving boat. On deck, she then turned her attention to a fellow passenger who had suffered a deep gash in her leg and was bleeding heavily.
Grabbing a belt from one of the men, she recalled: "I tied it as tightly as I could, and we elevated her leg to stop the bleeding. The most amazing part was, I saw no pushing, no shoving. I saw nothing but help and compassion."
Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on West 46th Street, watched the events unfold a few hundred yards offshore from the deck of the decommissioned aircraft carrier. He said, "When you would think there would be profound chaos, there was profound calm."
Witnesses reported one engine in flames as the pilot banked south at the George Washington Bridge, lining up for a high-risk landing he could attempt only once. Moments before, he had reported a double bird strike in which geese clogged and snuffed out both his engines.
Sullenberger, the pilot, has an extensive background in aviation safety, according to his online résumé, with 40 years of aviation experience and about 20,000 flight hours in jets, propeller planes and gliders. He flew F-4 jets in the Air Force before beginning his civilian career, and now gives speeches on aviation safety, the résumé indicates
Safety experts expressed surprise that a commercial jet with modern engines could be brought down by a flock of birds. Bird strikes are common and cause tens of millions of dollars in damage to commercial aircraft but rarely lead to crashes nowadays.
Al Haynes, the pilot of a United Airlines DC-10 hailed as a hero for helping guide the stricken plane to a crash landing in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989, said Sullenberger and his co-pilot did a fantastic job keeping the plane away from populated areas. He said the crew was also lucky because the crash occurred during daylight and good weather.
"The water was the only choice he could make," Haynes said. "He had to make a quick decision, and I give him and his crew a lot of credit. The guy just did a tremendous job getting it onto the water."
By some amalgam of skill and providence, Flight 1549 came to rest smack in the center of converging ferry lines run by New York Waterway and Circle Line. "I could not believe what I saw -- 20 yards to the left or right, and it could have hit a pier or a building," White said.
Within minutes, White's telephone began to ring. The security staff at Bank of America, one of the Intrepid's biggest funders, said 22 of their employees -- Schugel among them -- were aboard the flight and asked for urgent help in caring for them.
Capt. Ed Weber of Circle Line tours said firefighters ordered him to steer his nearest boat, the Circle Line Manhattan, toward the sinking plane.
"They shot onto this boat really fast and said, 'Get out,' " he said.
Divers plunged bareheaded into the water. They searched inside and beneath the plane, then called the all-clear.
"It's a miracle," Weber said. "It's cold. I was freezing to death. I don't know how they survived."
Beck, the Lending Tree executive, said he had flown all over the world on business but never bothered to read the seat-pocket emergency cards. "I wasn't sure what to do" as the plane fell from the air, he said later. "I tried a few different positions. I ended up putting my arms on the chair in front of me and covering my head and face. All I could think about was that movie 'Airplane' where they say, 'Assume crash positions,' and everybody lays on the ground."
Shaking as he held his mobile phone, he summed up his afternoon: "Not that I'm an expert in plane crashes, it being my first one, but it went fairly smoothly."
Staff writers Heather Landy in New York and Del Quentin Wilber and Spencer S. Hsu in Washington and staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.

Costa Rica rocked by earthquake

2009-01-09T15:00:00.000+05:00

Residents of San Jose, Costa Rica, took to the streets today just after lunch as an earthquake registering 6.1 on the Richter scale shook the capital city. Windows broke, walls cracked and landslides were triggered in the countryside but so far no casualties have been reported.

The epicenter of the quake at 1:21 local time was just 20 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of the capital, the U.S. Geological Survey reports, and originated 8.6 miles (14 km) beneath the Earth's surface. Aftershocks have been reported throughout the afternoon.

Costa Rica is located in the middle of Central America and makes up part of the "Ring of Fire" circling the Pacific Ocean; it is home to several active volcanoes, including Poas, which erupted just last year and Arenal, which erupted in 2007. A similar strength quake in 1910 killed at least 700 people in the city of Cartago; more recently a temblor measuring 6.4 shook the capital in November 2004, killing eight.

For more on such earthquakes and the surprising places they occur, see ScientificAmerican.com's guide to earthquakes.

Credit: USGS

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

2009-01-07T21:31:00.000+05:00

We're Apple fans, but this is too funnnnnny.

Pink Panthers' trail glitters with jewels

2009-01-05T09:36:00.003+05:00

Their timing was as impeccable as a tourbillon watch, a luxury timepiece whose name means whirlwind.

And after the diamond thieves disguised in women's wigs and flowing foulards had vanished, police detectives on several continents pondered a trail of more than €100 million in jewelry heists over the last four years and wondered whether the so-called Pink Panthers had struck again.

The whirlwind started near closing time, a favorite moment for diamond thieves to strike. As the second hand ticked, four men - three dressed as women with long blonde tresses, sunglasses and winter scarves - stood in front of an intercom and demurely requested to enter the deluxe Harry Winston jewelry store on Avenue Montaigne. It was a chilly evening within the golden triangle of boutiques that includes Dior, Chanel and Gucci, the ornate facades and trees resplendent with Christmas lights.

Buzzed in, the men rolled a small valise on wheels into the hushed inner refuge. Then they pulled out a hand grenade and a .357 Magnum. As Parisians strolled unawares past the store's wrought-iron gates, the robbers smashed display cases and barked out orders - and the names of some of the Harry Winston employees. They spoke French with strong Slavic accents.

Will Earth pass through the galactic plane in 2012?

2009-01-05T09:33:00.001+05:00

Will Earth pass through the Milky Way’s galactic plane in 2012? And if so, what could that mean to Earth?

Much ado has been made of the winter solstice sun aligning with the galactic plane on December 21, 2012. But according to the computational wizard Jean Meeus (page 302 ofMathematical Astronomy Morsels), the solstice points were alignment with the galactic equator as recently as the year 1998.

In other words, the 2012 alignment isn’t unique. Consider the view from our local star, the sun. As seen from the sun, Earth crosses the Milky Way’s galactic plane (also called the galactic equator) twice a year, every year.

Or consider the view from Earth. As seen from Earth, the sun crosses the galactic plane – also called the galactic equatoron our sky – twice a year, every year. All of this is just part of Earth’s normal motion, as projected on our sky’s dome, as we travel around the sun and through the galaxy. Quite by coincidence, the ecliptic – the projection of the Earth’s orbital plane onto the stellar sphere – intersects the galactic plane near the solstice points. That’s why these points are so near each on our sky’s dome.

However, it’s true that the sun on the December solstice doesn’t return to the same exact spot in front of the backdrop stars every year. The solstice point slowly but surely moves westward through the stars at about one degree per every 72 years. (For reference, the sun’s diameter equals about 1/2 degree.)

Nine wins rights to Nigel Lythgoe show Superstars of Dance

2009-01-05T09:32:00.000+05:00

AFTER a wild bidding war So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe has sold the rights to his latest TV venture to Channel 9.

The British personality was in Australia to film a segment for Channel 10’s So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) and pitch the format for new program Superstars Of Dance to commercial networks Seven, Nine and Ten last month, settling on Nine’s offer.

While Lythgoe and his professional partner Simon Fuller have harvested a strong working relationship with Ten through the Idol and SYTYCD franchises, in the end it was a case of money talks.

“Despite very competitive bidding from all the local commercial networks, we are thrilled to have added this exciting new series to Nine’s slate for 2009,” said Nine’s head of acquisitions Les Sampson.

DHA Commercial Avenue Ballot Results

2008-12-31T09:44:00.002+05:00

Congratulations to list of successful candidates of DHA commercial Avenue

http://www.dhai.com.pk/dhacomave/index.php

Annual Kennedy Center Honors

2008-12-31T09:35:00.000+05:00

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced the selection of the individuals who will receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2008. Recipients to be honored at the 31st annual national celebration of the arts are: actor Morgan Freeman, singer George Jones, director, singer, actress, composer and producer Barbra Streisand, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who.

Mike Shanahan Fired

2008-12-31T09:33:00.000+05:00

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Mike Shanahan was fired by the Denver Broncos after a 14-year tenure during which he coached the team to 138 wins and two Super Bowl titles.

The Broncos missed the National Football League playoffs for the third straight season after losing their final three games to finish 8-8. With a postseason berth on the line, Denver was routed by the San Diego Chargers 52-21 in its regular-season finale.

“A change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos,” owner Pat Bowlen said in a statement. “This is certainly a difficult decision, but one that I feel must be made and which will ultimately be in the best interests of all concerned.”

Shanahan, 56, had coached the Broncos since 1995, compiling a 138-86 record and winning Super Bowls with John Elway at quarterback after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Since Elway retired 10 years ago, the franchise is just 1-4 in the postseason.

Shanahan also held the title of vice president of football operations and was in charge of the team’s personnel decisions. He’s the fourth coach to be fired since the NFL’s regular season ended two days ago. Also terminated were Eric Mangini by the New York Jets, Rod Marinelli by the Detroit Lions and Romeo Crennel by the Cleveland Browns.

Among current NFL coaches, only Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans had a longer tenure with the same team than Shanahan. Fisher has been with the Titans since 1994.

Shanahan also coached the Raiders in 1988-89 and had two separate stints as an assistant with the Broncos under former coach Dan Reeves before taking over the team.

“I appreciate the 21 years that Mike Shanahan has given to the organization as an assistant and head coach, and the two Super Bowl wins in that time,” Bowlen said. “His contributions hold a special place in Broncos history.”

Official Gmail Blog: A holiday break to play with all the new stuff

2008-12-30T16:35:00.000+05:00

Google has come up with a bundle of new applications for the new year like

Themes.
SMS Chat.
Calendar tasks.
Google Labs.

For complete detail please see the original post

Official Gmail Blog: A holiday break to play with all the new stuff

Tension between Pakistan and India to sooth a bit (Pakistan)

2008-12-30T16:01:00.001+05:00

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has proposed India to withdraw its forces at peace positions and make forward airbases de-activate to defuse tension between the neighboring countries.

In a policy statement issued here on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said positive developments were made during last 48 hours regarding present Pak-India situation.

Foreign Minister said tension has been decreased after contacts made between director general military operations.

About Indian External Minister Pranab Mukherjee statement regarding ultimatum, Qureshi said the statement had proved that Pakistani stance was just and it was admitted that no evidences were given to Pakistan.

He thanked the Chinese government for its efforts for defusing tension between Pakistan and India.

Foreign Minister said Pakistan is ready to send a high-level delegation to India to assist in the investigations of Mumbai attacks.

One year has passed on Benazir Bhutto

2008-12-29T09:48:00.000+05:00

The exit to the parade ground where Benazir Bhutto delivered her final speech has been transformed.

Workmen are putting the finishing touches to a small shrine marking the place where she was killed, elevating her to an almost saint-like status.

Posters plaster the walls, recordings of historic speeches boom from a speaker, hundreds of photographs are stacked on tables set up on the pavement.

Seasoned party worker Safdar Abbasi is remembering his leader's last words, in an election campaign she never finished.

Very soon the Bhutto name may start to disappear if the party fails to deliver this time

Zaffar Abbas
Dawn newspaper editor

Obituary: Benazir Bhutto

Life in pictures: Benazir Bhutto

"I think she was pretty charged that day and the speech that she gave, it was probably one of her finest speeches in recent memory," he says. "She took the crowd along."

Getty Images photographer John Moore recalls her last moments.

"I guess I was 20m [yds] ahead of the car, and I heard three shots fired," he says.

"As she moved down through the sunroof, I raised my camera. And just as I took the first photograph is when the blast occurred and there was complete chaos.

"People running, there was debris flying through the air, pieces of the vehicle, pieces of rubbish, pieces of human beings, all in the air."

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's most internationally recognised politician, shocked the country and the world, and devastated her supporters.

But what has been the political impact of her death?

Uncertain times

On one level, it has been huge: her Pakistan People's Party came first in the general election, bolstered by a sympathy vote. For the first time in more than a decade, it formed a national government.

Pakistan has issued a commemorative coin to mark the aniversary

Five months later, former military leader Pervez Musharraf was forced to resign as president. He had made a deal to share power with Benazir Bhutto. Without her, it fell apart.

"I think one person who really must have regretted deeply at a very personal and political level her passing away was Mr Musharraf, because he lost his job," says Senator Mushahid Hussain, a member of the party that supported the now retired general.

Mr Musharraf was replaced by Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari. Dogged by a reputation for sleaze, Mr Zardari has rocketed to the most powerful civilian position in the country.

But one year on, his government is no more popular than Mr Musharraf's, and the problems it faces are worse: an Islamist insurgency threatening to spiral out of control, an economy in meltdown and dangerous tensions with India.

These uncertain times have compounded the sense of loss represented by Benazir Bhutto's death.

"All of us are missing her physical presence," says Safdar Abbasi.

"I think just her physical presence would have mattered a lot. And today without her, even though the PPP is in the government, there's a big vacuum that has been created, and this vacuum, I don't know what our present leadership has in mind to fill it."

'Different stature'

The present leadership is seen by many to be unable to cope with the multiple crises facing the country.

Bhutto died in a gun and bomb attack which killed some 20 other people

Would Benazir Bhutto have done better? Her track record in power was mixed at best. But she was a politician and leader of a different stature than her husband, according to Mr Hussain.

"Benazir had more experience, more knowledge of the workings of the Pakistani power structure," he says.

"Mr Zardari has been out of Pakistan, he's been out of power and he has a very poor team. It's basically his personal friends, buddies and cronies, most of whom were out of the power structure and who do not have government experience."

Zaffar Abbas, the Islamabad editor of the local Dawn newspaper, also decries government incompetence but, while acknowledging Mrs Bhutto's "capability, experience and style," he blames her "because she never encouraged people to come up and be groomed as politicians who could take the lead in running the affairs of the party.

"So what we see today is a bunch of mediocre people who are running the party."

Sorely missed

What then is the legacy that this iconic Pakistani politician leaves behind?

"I think it's the Bhutto legacy, which addresses the key problems of the people of Pakistan," says Mr Abbasi, who worked alongside her for 25 years.

"Madame Bhutto and her father [party founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto], their connection with the people of Pakistan was in trying to address these problems, and that has to carry through."

However, Mr Abbas believes any impact she had will be more transient.

"More than the legacy, more than the politics, more than the aims and objectives, it's the name which matters in South Asian politics," he says.

"Very soon the Bhutto name may start to disappear if the party fails to deliver this time."

For now, though, Benazir Bhutto is very much remembered in Pakistan - and sorely missed.

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Turn an email into a Google doc

2008-12-18T18:04:00.000+05:00

More than once, I've had a conversation over email and later realized that the information contained in the messages would make a great starting point for a document. So I built an experimental feature for Gmail Labs that does just that: with one simple click, "Create a document" converts an email into a Google Docs document.

No more copying and pasting the text from your email -- just open the message you wish to convert, click the "Create a document" link on the right side of the page, and voila, you have a brand new document which you can then modify and share!

Even if you're not interested in converting any of your current messages into documents, you can easily open up a blank doc by hitting g and then w (just make sure you have keyboard shortcuts on).

To turn on this feature, go to the Gmail Labs tab under Settings, select "Enable" next to "Create a document" and hit "Save Changes" at the bottom. Though we're temporarily missing the "Send feedback" link for this feature on the Labs page (oops!), we're still anxious to hear what you think. Permalink

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Turn an email into a Google doc

Google bringing people closer

2008-12-16T12:44:00.000+05:00

Official Google Blog: @Twitter: Welcome to Google Friend Connect

Google talking of neutrality again

2008-12-16T12:43:00.000+05:00

One of the first posts I wrote for this blog last summer tried to define what we at Google mean when we talk about the concept of net neutrality.

Broadband providers -- the on-ramps to the Internet -- should not be allowed to prioritize traffic based on the source, ownership or destination of the content. As I noted in that post, broadband providers should have the flexibility to employ network upgrades, such as edge caching. However, they shouldn't be able to leverage their unilateral control over consumers' broadband connections to hamper user choice, competition, and innovation. Our commitment to that principle of net neutrality remains as strong as ever.

Some critics have questioned whether improving Web performance through edge caching -- temporary storage of frequently accessed data on servers that are located close to end users -- violates the concept of network neutrality. As I said last summer, this myth -- which unfortunately underlies a confused story in Monday's Wall Street Journal -- is based on a misunderstanding of the way in which the open Internet works.

Edge caching is a common practice used by ISPs and application and content providers in order to improve the end user experience. Companies like Akamai, Limelight, and Amazon's Cloudfront provide local caching services, and broadband providers typically utilize caching as part of what are known as content distribution networks (CDNs). Google and many other Internet companies also deploy servers of their own around the world.

By bringing YouTube videos and other content physically closer to end users, site operators can improve page load times for videos and Web pages. In addition, these solutions help broadband providers by minimizing the need to send traffic outside of their networks and reducing congestion on the Internet's backbones. In fact, caching represents one type of innovative network practice encouraged by the open Internet.

Google has offered to "colocate" caching servers within broadband providers' own facilities; this reduces the provider's bandwidth costs since the same video wouldn't have to be transmitted multiple times. We've always said that broadband providers can engage in activities like colocation and caching, so long as they do so on a non-discriminatory basis.

All of Google's colocation agreements with ISPs -- which we've done through projects called OpenEdge and Google Global Cache -- are non-exclusive, meaning any other entity could employ similar arrangements. Also, none of them require (or encourage) that Google traffic be treated with higher priority than other traffic. In contrast, if broadband providers were to leverage their unilateral control over consumers' connections and offer colocation or caching services in an anti-competitive fashion, that would threaten the open Internet and the innovation it enables.

Despite the hyperbolic tone and confused claims in Monday's Journal story, I want to be perfectly clear about one thing: Google remains strongly committed to the principle of net neutrality, and we will continue to work with policymakers in the years ahead to keep the Internet free and open.

P.S.: The Journal story also quoted me as characterizing President-elect Obama's net neutrality policies as "much less specific than they were before." For what it's worth, I don't recall making such a comment, and it seems especially odd given that President-elect Obama's supportive stance on network neutrality hasn't changed at all.

Official Google Blog: Net neutrality and the benefits of caching

Google started a new architecture competition

2008-12-16T12:38:00.000+05:00

Google has started a new architecture competition using google sheckup, here is what they say

Chilly weather, hot chocolate, holiday celebrations... I'm proud to kick off our sweetest SketchUp modeling challenge ever: the first annual Google SketchUp Gingerbread House Design Competition. To make it a little easier to design the gingerbread house of your dreams, I modeled a blank house to get you started. Go ahead and download it from the 3D Warehouse, then follow the instructions in the file.

I also built a selection of decorations (candy canes, gumdrops, wafer roof tiles) that you can use to spiff up your model. Of course, you're welcome to do anything you like; it's your masterpiece. When you're finished, don't forget to label your gingerbread house with the tag "gingerbread2009" and upload it to the 3D Warehouse. The competition deadline is January 4th at midnight, Pacific Standard Time.

This undertaking is all about having fun with SketchUp, so the prizes will be glory based. (What did you expect: a gingerbread flat-screen TV?) We'll award the following prizes, and announce the winners here and on the SketchUpdate about a week after the competition closes on January 4th.

1st, 2nd and 3rd place – for the best overall gingerbread houses in the collection
The 'Sprinkles' Prize – for the best additions to the base model (the crazier, the better)
The 'Swirl' Prize – for the best use of Dynamic Components in the model
The 'Sweet-tooth' Prize – for the most creative use of a single candy ingredient in a model

If you're looking for inspiration, take a gander at what folks did with Santa's sleigh last year. Have fun, and happy holidays.

Official Google Blog: Gingerbread architecture for all

The Terrorists turned out to be Indian Recruits, ( Attacks on Mumbai)

2008-12-16T09:57:00.001+05:00

A Pakistani lawyer C M Farooque claimed that many people, including Ajmal Kasab, were arrested before 2006 from Kathmandu by the Indian agencies with the help of Nepalese forces, reports The News Daily.

He said Ajmal Kasab went to the Napalese capital on a business tour. His application regarding his arrest was lying pending in the Nepalese Supreme Court in which a reply was sought from Nepalese forces and Indian High Commission.

While talking to the Geo News, C M Farooque Advocate said the Nepalese forces arrested almost 200 people including Ajmal Kasab before 2006 and his application in this regard was lying pending in the Nepalese Supreme Court in which Nepalese forces and Indian High Commission were made

George Bush Get’s Shoes Thrown At Him

2008-12-15T09:33:00.000+05:00

A surprise visit by US President George Bush to Iraq has been overshadowed by an incident in which two shoes were thrown at him during a news conference.

An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.

The US president has now continued to Afghanistan to inspect troops there.

He arrived before dawn at Bagram air force base, and is due to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai.

Earlier in Baghdad, Mr Bush and Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki signed the new security agreement between their countries.

The pact calls for US troops to leave Iraq in 2011 - eight years after the 2003 invasion that has in part defined the Bush presidency.

If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw

US President George W Bush

Speaking just over five weeks before he hands over power to Barack Obama, Mr Bush also said the war in Iraq was not over and more work remained to be done.

His previously unannounced visit came a day after Defence Secretary Robert Gates told US troops the Iraq mission was in its "endgame".

Official Google Blog: Google Chrome (BETA)

2008-12-12T10:55:00.000+05:00

Since we first released Google Chrome, the development team has been hard at work improving the stability and overall performance of the browser. In just 100 days, we have reached more than 10 million active users around the world (on all seven continents, no less) and released 14 updates to the product. We're excited to announce that with today's fifteenth release we are taking off the "beta" label!

Google Chrome is a better browser today thanks to the many users who sent their feedback and the many more who enabled automatic crash reports, helping us rapidly diagnose and fix issues. Some of the areas where we've made great progress include:

Better stability and performance of plug-ins (particularly video). Video and audio glitches were among the most common bugs fixed during the beta period. If you had problems watching videos with Google Chrome in the past, you should be pleasantly surprised with the performance now.

Even more speed. Google Chrome starts up fast, loads pages quickly, and just keeps getting faster. Since the first beta, the V8 JavaScript engine runs 1.4 times faster on the SunSpider benchmark and 1.5 times faster on the V8 benchmark — and there is more speed to come.

Official Google Blog: Google Chrome <S>(BETA)</S>

Google Calendar's Gmail and SMS Integration

2008-12-12T10:50:00.000+05:00

Google's recently launched Calendar application was pretty impressive at launch, but seems to keep getting better every day. One of the recent additions I've taken a liking to is the SMS add feature that allows users to add new events to their calendar by texting them to GVENT from a mobile device. It uses the calendar's natural language calendaring feature to appropriately place events in the correct time slot. For example, a user could text any of the following:

lunch with bob tomorrow at 1pm
Wedding on May 19th in Stillwater at 6pm

to add events into the appropriate time slots.

The latest addition I've seen is an integration between Gmail and Google calendar that automatically detects events listed within your emails and turns them into quick adds for your Google Calendar. For example, here is a portion of a recent email I received about some Earth Day events:

The following box appeared along the right column of my Gmail window alongside the above message:

So Google was able to determine that there were events listed within the email and create "Add to Caldendar" links for each event. In this case, I clicked on the Garlic Mustard Pull event, clicked save on the Quick Add form, and immediately found the event on my Google Calendar:

It's not a perfect system yet. For example, I don't think there is a way to adjust the alarm time before individual events via SMS today. This is important since the default 10 minute warning isn't particularly useful for events more than 10 minutes away from where I may be. At launch, the calendar allowed for recurring events, but didn't have a way to delete recurring events. That bug was quickly resolved.

The integration between Gmail and Google Calendar goes both ways by pulling the Gmail address book into the Google Calendar's Guests feature. Adding or inviting guests to events is a snap since Google Calendar will autocomplete the addresses of anyone in your Gmail contacts.

Personally, I'd like to sync my Treo with Google Calendar rather than relying on SMS for all of my event reminders. For example, there may be times where I've turned my phone off, but would still want to be reminded of events I'd scheduled for myself. Creating a week long view where full days can be viewed without scrolling would be a big improvement as well. Google's created one heck of a powerful web based calendaring system already. Where do you think they'll take it next?

Listen to this article posted by Ed Kohler on April 29, 2006 11:29 PM | Permalink
More posts about Gmail , Google
Official Gmail Blog: Really new in Labs this time: SMS Text Messaging for chat

GRAMMY Museum Grand Opening

2008-12-04T13:00:00.001+05:00

GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. 200, Los Angeles

Most museums invite you to look at art. Ours invites you to experience it. Celebrate the creativity and vitality of music at the GRAMMY Museum. With interactive exhibits that give you a behind-the-scenes look at how music is created, produced and performed, the GRAMMY Museum will educate and inspire musicians and fans alike.

World Aid's Day

2008-12-01T15:12:00.001+05:00

The South African National Aids Council (Sanac), with representation from all sectors of government and civil society, together with Nedlac, have agreed that at 12.00 noon today, the Deputy President will ask all people in South Africa to stop and observe and act on World Aids Day.

From individuals to organisations, from government departments to schools, all people will be called on to stop what they are doing so that the country can come together to focus on how we are going to stop the HIV epidemic, stop new HIV infections and stop deaths.

World Aids Day 2008 will embody the collective commitment of our government and society to adopt a bold and brave new approach to HIV and TB.

We urge you to join us on this day. Act now. Forward this message.

Spread the word!

Under the theme of “Leadership and Unity to stop HIV, Aids and TB” the 15-minute national stoppage is an opportunity for all South Africans to think and talk about HIV and Aids.

People are encouraged to hold discussions in workplaces and schools, in homes and in the streets.

Sanac has produced a “Key Messages” document to guide these discussion (download it from the website).

World Aids Day 2008 will be unprecedented and historic in the global history of Aids and will inspire people in South Africa and across the world.

Our vision is to use this day to promote actions that will stop HIV and to start a truly national social mobilisation on HIV, Aids and TB.

National Event on World Aids Day

At midday the church bells of St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town will be rung to mark the start of a national minute of silence.

In Durban, at Sahara stadium, the Minister of Health will then address the nation, followed by the Deputy President.

They will be joined by the executive director of UNAids (Dr Peter Piot), King Goodwill Zwelithini, the Premier of KwaZulu Natal, and leaders from civil society living with HIV.

Other senior leaders – from government, civil society, business and labour – will also assemble to demonstrate unity.

These speeches will be covered live on SABC2 from 11.30am, as well as on many SABC and independent radio stations. Simultaneously around the country there will be thousands of other events.

Pledges of support:

l Current and former Archbishops of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, Njongonkulu Ndungane and Desmond Tutu have all endorsed the mobilisation. They are calling on other religious leaders to do the same.

They called on churches to integrate messages about HIV into their services yesterday and for all churches to ring their bells to start the minute’s silence today;

·l The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, will hold a special service at St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town today. HIV counsellors will be on hand to provide information and will also offer testing for HIV;

·l A specially prepared sermon will be given in all mosques, and a special message will be sent to all Muslim schools, Muslim-owned businesses, and Muslim-run e-mail lists in South Africa;

·l Former president Nelson Mandela will release a statement through his organisation 46664; www.46664.org.za will carry key messages and actions and will be a portal where organisations and individuals can find out what they and their companies/organisations can do during the 15-minute Focus on Aids;

l Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has endorsed the campaign;

·l Judge Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, will issue a statement in support of South Africa today;

·l The UK development Minister, Ivan Lewis, visited South Africa from November 28-30 to recognise South Africa’s efforts;

Inside AdWords: Google TV Ads program targeting enhancements

2008-11-27T14:59:00.000+05:00

As a designer, you use drawings to communicate much more than just the appearance of spaces or objects. Great drawings "set the tone"; they provide a window into the actual experience of your ideas. Drawings also help communicate the state of your design: Where are you in the process? What level of feedback from your clients is appropriate? Is it time to talk about the roof tile, or are you still working out the building massing? Good drawings lead to good conversations, and that leads to better design.

Style Builder lets you take hand-drawn lines (or any other lines you create) and apply them as edges in a SketchUp model. Now you can make your 3D models look like sketches, abstracting out the things you're not ready to discuss, and bringing forward the things you do. Styles you create in Style Builder are also totally unique; no one else will be able to make drawings that look like yours.

Check out this video to see how Style Builder works:

Posted by Bryce Stout, Product Manager

[NFGB] Link - from Official Google SketchUp Blog
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Inside AdWords: Google TV Ads program targeting enhancements

Inside AdWords: Display ad builder best practices

2008-11-27T14:58:00.000+05:00

Last week, we posted about recent improvements we've made to the display ad builder. Now we'd like to share some best practices for using the tool. Hopefully these tips will help you get off to a running start with your new display campaigns:

Customize your ads to make them stand out. Here are some ways you can do that:

Choose the color scheme of your ad, like the background and font color, to align it with your unique product and brand.

Ensure text and images are a proper fit. Review all available ad sizes for each template to ensure that the text displays properly and images fit the ad slot. Upload images and logos that fit the recommended specifications we display as you create your ad.

Try out different templates. You can see which one yields the best performance and optimize accordingly.

Consider transparent PNG graphics. They can make your ads look more professional by matching the background of both the image and the ad.

Consider separating your display ads into their own ad group. This will allow you to:

Set unique bids for your display ads. For example, you may want to bid more competitively for you display ad, since it has to rank high enough to place above the other ads competing for the same spot.

Use unique keywords for your display ads, without impacting the performance of your text-only ad groups, especially those running on search as well as the Google content network.

Double-check your ads to ensure they meet the following criteria:

Your display URL should be visible. If it's the same color as the ad's background color, it won't be visible to the user.

Uploaded images should be less than 50KB. Otherwise your ad won't be eligible to run.

Now that you're armed with these tips on creating effective display ads, please try out the display ad builder and let us know how it's working for you. If you want to learn more about the tool, please visit the display ad builder site.

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Inside AdWords crew

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 1:25 PM

Inside AdWords: Display ad builder best practices

English Medium School Bus in India

2008-11-27T14:55:00.000+05:00

Where there is a will, there is a way...

Pakistan in top 10 Failed States

2008-11-27T14:52:00.000+05:00

According to foreignpolicy website Pakista is now ranked among first 10 failed states in the world, and just some points away from Afghanistan. This happens when you fight someone else's war. Our leaders should now realize that now they should make some important changes in the foreign policy. International aid would not help in improving this country's situation, instead they should build confidence among the poeple and try promoting our own values.

India to plot a new attack: Mumbai Attacks Nov 27 2008

2008-11-27T09:08:00.003+05:00

November 27, 2008

The remains of a taxi near the Western Express Highway in Mumbai.

Photograph: PTI

November 27, 2008

A person injured in the terror attack being rushed to a hospital in Mumbai. Photograph: PTI

November 27, 2008

The area near the BMC headquarters and the CST station, deserted after the attacks. Photograph: PTI

November 27, 2008

CST station, where many people were killed in the gunfight between terrorists and the police.

Indian navy 'sank Thai trawler'

2008-11-26T11:21:00.000+05:00

The owner of a Thai fishing trawler has said the Indian navy sank it off Somalia's coast last week after wrongly assuming it was a pirate "mother ship".

Wicharn Sirichaiekawat said the Indian frigate had attacked the Ekawat Nava 5 while it was being hijacked by pirates.

He said one of the crew had been found alive after six days in the Gulf of Aden, but that another 14 were missing.

The Indian navy has insisted the vessel fired in self-defence at a pirate ship which had been stacked with explosives.

Almost 40 ships have been seized by Somali pirates so far this year.

Earlier, the authorities in Yemen confirmed pirates had captured a cargo ship carrying building material off the country's coast. They said the pirates were demanding a ransom of $2m (£1.3m).

The latest incident came days after the Saudi oil tanker, Sirius Star, was hijacked. It was earlier moved further north up the Somali coast.

'Self-defence'

Mr Wicharn told reporters in Bangkok that the Ekawat Nava 5 had been headed from Oman to Yemen last Tuesday to deliver fishing equipment when it was approached by Somali pirates in two speed boats in the Gulf of Aden.

We fired in self-defence and in response to firing upon our vessel

Commodore Nirad Sinha
Indian Navy spokesman

The pirates were in the process of boarding the vessel and seizing control when the Indian navy frigate, the INS Tabar, sailed into view and demanded it stop for investigation, he added.

"The sunken ship which the Indian navy claimed was a 'mother ship' of pirates was not the 'mother ship' at all," he said.

"The pirates wanted to take our ship to Somalia."

Mr Wicharn said he had learnt the fate of his trawler from a Cambodian crew member who had survived the INS Tabar's bombardment and had been rescued by a passing ship after six days adrift in the Indian Ocean.

The sailor was now recovering in a hospital in Yemen, he said.

Later, an Indian navy spokesman insisted that the Tabar had fired only upon a pirate "mother ship" which had threatened it.

"We fired in self-defence and in response to firing upon our vessel. It was a pirate vessel in the international waters and its stance was aggressive," Commodore Nirad Sinha told CNN.

Following last week's incident, the Indian navy said in a statement that the Tabar had spotted a pirate vessel while patrolling 285 nautical miles (530km) south-west of Salalah, Oman. It said those on board had been armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

When it demanded the vessel stop for investigation, the pirate ship had responded by threatening to "blow up the naval warship if it closed on her", the statement said.

The pirates then fired on the Tabar, after which the Indians retaliated and there was an explosion on the pirate vessel, which then sank, it added.

India is one of several countries currently patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. France, India, South Korea, Russia, Spain, the US and Nato also have a presence in the region.

Inside AdSense: Optimisation Essentials (Part III)

2008-11-26T10:36:00.000+05:00

So what can you do to ensure your ad units get noticed? Place your ads where users are likely to look.

We've also made a heatmap to show you where the best placements are on a typical page. Great positions include:

Inside AdSense: Optimisation Essentials (Part III): "Optimisation Essentials (Part III)
Position for performance - be noticed"

Inside AdSense: The forecast is clear in Google Ad Manager

2008-11-26T10:35:00.000+05:00

If you're a publisher who sells advertising space directly to advertisers, you might have experienced times when you've been unsure about how much inventory is available for you to sell. Google Ad Manager can help you learn what you have available to sell by forecasting your future inventory and subtracting off what you've already sold.

A Helpful Analogy

To put this into context, pretend for a minute that instead of a website, you run a popular destination hotel. Instead of selling space to advertisers, your job is to book hotel stays for guests. You receive all kinds of requests to book hotel rooms: two rooms for a one-week family vacation, 100 rooms for a three-day conference, a suite for a weekend getaway. In order to book these reservations, you have to know both how many rooms your hotel has and how many rooms are already booked. For a hotel, this is fairly straightforward. You know exactly how many total rooms the hotel has, and you can subtract how many rooms are booked for each night.

For a publisher, it's not as straightforward. Since the amount of inventory you have to sell is directly tied to your site's traffic, it can vary day by day. It's also complicated because there's flexibility in how you meet your obligations. If an advertiser has booked advertising space on your Finance and Entertainment sections, for example, you can serve more ads on the Finance page and fewer on the Entertainment page. To compare to a hotel, it's like you have the flexibility to substitute two single rooms for one double room. Because of the variability of traffic and the flexibility in how you can satisfy your reservations, it's hard to kno

Inside AdSense: The forecast is clear in Google Ad Manager

‘Dancing With the Stars’ winner

2008-11-26T09:56:00.000+05:00

After four consecutive male winners on “Dancing With the Stars,” it was finally ladies’ night.

Kristi Yamaguchi was named the new “Dancing” champ on the show’s season finale, becoming the first woman to win the ABC dance-off since its inaugural season. The figure skater came into the final contest Tuesday with a perfect score and bested fan favorites Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente to claim the mirrorball trophy.

“This is definitely for all those women out there to continue to be strong,” she said after the show, hoisting the prize above her head.

The Olympic gold medalist was clearly the most talented dancer on this season’s competition, regularly landing atop the judges’ scoreboard. But viewer votes count just as much, and with the audience 75 percent female, men have had the edge. Last season ended with a shocker when race-car driver Helio Castroneves upset Spice Girl Melanie Brown.

“Obviously the fans are the deciding factor here,” Yamaguchi said, “and I can’t say enough to thank them.”

She also had plenty of fans among her fellow competitors, who said she deserved the title.

Taylor, the massive but graceful pro football star, called Yamaguchi “just perfect,” adding that he “grew up watching her compete for our country.” De la Fuente, who was eliminated early in the two-hour season finale, said “it was impossible to beat her.”

His professional partner, Cheryl Burke, agreed. “Kristi deserved it more than any other woman in any other season,” she said. “It’s about time that a woman wins.”

Yamaguchi’s athletic background helped make her a winner, said judge Carrie Ann Inaba, because athletes know how to channel criticism into competition.

“She was technically great and she was doing incredible choreography,” Inaba said, adding that Yamaguchi’s performance personality emerged throughout the season. “She was able to really develop her crowd-pleasing skills and that’s what set her over the top.”

The judge acknowledged on Monday’s show that men often fare better in the ballroom, saying “they have a natural tendency to be more crowd-pleasers.”

“When men get on the floor and you’re watching the male power, it’s unbeatable,” Inaba said after Tuesday’s show. “It generates this sort of excitement on the dance floor that’s really hard to touch.”

Winning the “Dancing” crown doesn’t quite compare to winning an Olympic gold medal, Yamaguchi said, but it’s still “a fun, amazing experience.”

“It’s not just this (trophy) but what it represents,” she said. “It’s all the hard work and the time spent together and the friendships made, challenging yourself and learning something new.”

Though Taylor and de la Fuente didn’t win, each was victorious in his own way. Besides forming a close friendship with each other, Taylor, an aspiring actor, has taken meetings with Hollywood heavyweights, and de la Fuente learned an important life lesson.

The actor ruptured a tendon in his biceps while dancing on April 28, but delayed the surgery necessary to repair it so he could continue in the contest.

“It’s about wanting something in life and going for it,” he said. “In this case it was a dance show, but it can be anything that you’re afraid of. Go for it. Do it. The reward that you get when you put your heart, your soul, everything you’ve got in something, it’s priceless.”