Pakistan Blocks Twitter, Citing ‘Blasphemy’ [VIDEO]

Pakistan Blocks Twitter, Citing ‘Blasphemy’ [VIDEO]
20/05/2012 by Kate Freeman on Mashable


Authorities in Pakistan blocked access to Twitter on Sunday, over mention of a contest held in 2010 asking people to draw images of the Prophet Muhammad, and a corresponding Facebook page attempting to make May 20 “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.”

At first it wasn’t clear who instituted the ban, but the Washington Post reported the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Mohammad Yaseen, said “this is not a simple decision, it is a high-level decision.”

The Christian Science Monitor reported the “Minister for Information Technology, Raja Pervez Ashraf, issued a blanket ban on the site inside the country, upping the pressure on Twitter as negotiations continue.”

The shutdown occurred around Noon on Sunday. Yaseen told reporters that Facebook had been cooperative in shutting down the offensive page, but they had heard no response from Twitter. A few hours later, the ban was lifted.

Are there any circumstances in which it’s appropriate for a government to censor social media sites? Tell us in the comments.



Source: Mashable

Mobilink Infinity and LDN Considering to Quit Operations in Pakistan

Mobilink Infinity and LDN Considering to Quit Operations in Pakistan
By Aamir Attaa · Wednesday, Apr 25, 2012 on PROpakistani.pk


Link Dot Net and Mobilink Infinity, Orascom’s fully owned subsidiaries for DSL and WiMAX broadband services and sister concerns of Mobilink, are considering to wrap up its operations in Pakistan, amid low returns and to shift the group focus on core cellular services and branchless banking.

Sources familiar with the development have confirmed ProPakistani that Infinity and LDN have decided in principle to exit Pakistani market.

However, final decision is yet to come after annual board meeting of Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited, a company under which Orascom operates in Pakistan. Meeting is scheduled for May 15th, 2012 in Islamabad.

Another source in the company told ProPakistani that decision is yet to be made, hence nothing can be said as of now. But yes, group is considering an option to quit operations in Pakistan.

Orascom had bought World On Line and Dancom to offer DSL broadband services in Pakistan. Link Dot Net, after in operations, has been facing tough competition from PTCL, country’s largest DSL broadband service provider. In addition to competition, analysts say, LDN was victim of anti-competitive practices by the telecom giant.

Moilink Infinity, on the other hand, started offering WiMAX services in Karachi back in 2008 with plans to stretch the coverage to other parts of the country. However, it contended with Karachi only especially when Orascom had capped additional investments for various markets it was operating in.

Bangladesh Cricket Board says yes to Pakistan tour, Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore, 2012, Bangladesh v Pakistan, Bangladesh news, good news pakistan, Pakistan news,

Bangladesh Cricket Board says yes to Pakistan tour
By Web Desk / AFP
Published: April 15, 2012


Bangladesh cricket team will soon be face-to-face with Pakistan in matches played at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore. PHOTO: FILE
The wait is finally over.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday confirmed its tour of Pakistan for a short one 50-over match and one Twenty20 international.
The series will revive international cricket suspended in the country three years ago.
“I am pleased to confirm the tour in which Bangladesh will play a one-day match on April 29 and a Twenty20 game the next day, both in Lahore,” Bangladesh Cricket Board president Mustafa Kamal said in a press release.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf said the confirmation is a good sign.
“I am extremely pleased that Bangladesh has confirmed the tour. Obviously this is very important for us and we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that this tour takes place in a befitting manner,” said Ashraf.
The Bangladesh cricket team will soon be face-to-face with Pakistan in matches played at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Developments in the last few weeks suggested that Bangladesh was reluctant to send its team in the absence of neutral officials which the International Cricket Council (ICC) had refused to send to Pakistan.
However, the PCB remained optimistic about the Bangladesh tour and the PCB Chairman had tried convincing BCB Chairman Mustafa Kamal time and again.
Last month’s chief executive committee meeting agreed to allow local officials for the series if there existed security apprehensions over sending neutral officials. The CEC had recommended the matter to the ICC for approval.






Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/365116/bangladesh-cricket-board-says-yes-to-pakistan-tour/

Asad Mehmood, Made the Sixth Most Powerful Telescope in Pakistan

Asad Mahmood making a Newtonian telescope

Okara: While most want to see the world, Asad Mahmood, from the small city of Okara, Punjab, wants to see the universe. It was 18-year-old Mahmood's passion that inspired him to seek the moon and stars and his determination that drove him to make the 5th most powerful telescope in Pakistan, in 2010, and the first ever made in Pakistan. 
Asad Mehmood, made the sixth most powerful telescope in Pakistan – all from items available in his native town of Okara. It was 18-year-old Mahmood’s passion that inspired him to seek the moon and stars and his determination that drove him to make the 6th most powerful telescope in Pakistan. Mehmood had never seen a real telescope in his entire life. There was no astronomy society in Okara that he could turn to; he didn’t even have an internet connection that he could use for research. After a year of failed prototypes, he made a Galilean Telescope, consisting of two convex lenses placed at a specific distance to each other. At that time, he was in Class 8.Then he upgraded, making a Newtonian telescope, which took eight months and two attempts to shape! On his first attempt the lens broke, but his spirit didn’t, and he went on to align his telescope with one of the best this nation has seen.
Mehmood’s telescope is capable of viewing clear, magnified images of the moon’s craters, Jupiter, (along with its four moons), Saturn and Venus. This telescope magnifies images to 300 times the size visible to the naked eye. Incidentally, Mehmood is the first to build a telescope of this kind in Pakistan.