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Pakistani Bus in 'The Canadian Museum of Civilization', Ottawa, Canada.

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Female Pakistani Journalist Honored

Zubeida Mustafa was the first woman to work in Pakistan’s mainstream media. That was more than 30 years ago. Today, because of Zubeida’s courage to use her voice, report on other women’s voices, and argue for hiring policies that would allow women to occupy all positions in the newsroom, life is different for women in Pakistan.

“I wanted to create space for women and I thought if there were more, it would give them strength,” says Zubeida.

On Monday night in Los Angeles and last week in New York, Zubeida Mustafa was honored by the International Women’s Media Foundation and the U.S. media elite with the Courage in Journalism Lifetime Achievement Award.


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At the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards in NYC, L to R: Christiane Amanpour, Asmaa al-Ghoul, Zubeida Mustafa, Khadija Ismayilova, Cynthia McFadden and Martha Raddatz.

Tabby Biddle: U.S. Media Elite Honor Female Pakistani Journalist for Her Courage
 
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Mohammad Asif claims World Snooker Championship title

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif defeated England’s Gary Wilson in the final to win the IBSF World Snooker Championship on Sunday in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Asif, who was unbeaten in the tournament, defeated Wilson 10-8.

In a best of nineteen frames match, Asif was leading through most of the final and was 6-3 up at the break. Pakistan’s number one cueist started off well reaching 3-1 but later made mistakes which Wilson took advantage of to win the the fifth and the sixth frames to level the scores at 3-3.

Wilson made a comeback after the break, levelling the scores at 8-8. At this point in the match, Asif demonstrated brilliant cue control to win the seventeenth and eighteenth frame to clinch the title.

President of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association, Alamgir Sheikh, termed the victory a turning point for snooker in Pakistan.

“Asif worked very hard to win this and it is a very big victory, a turning point for the sport in Pakistan. I hope the government takes notice and supports these boys,” Sheikh said while speaking to Dawn.com.

Asif was the third Pakistani to reach the final of the world event and the second one to win it. Before him, Mohammad Yousuf won it in 1994 while, in 2003, Saleh Mohammad was defeated by Pankaj Advani of India.

Mohammad Asif claims World Snooker Championship title | DAWN.COM
 
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Pakistani IT companies win four silver awards

KARACHI: Pakistani IT companies have bagged four silver awards at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards 2012 in Brunei Darussalam, held on December 5, announced Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITeS (P@SHA) on Thursday.

The Centre for Advanced Research in Engineering (CARE) secured the silver award in the communications category while gKrypt – a product of Tunacode Private Limited – got the award in the security category.

Pi-Labs Inc’s product, Candy Pot and Feed Garfield Gaming Engine, also bagged the silver award in new media and entertainment and NUST and Centre for Advance Research in Engineering – in a joint submission on “Early Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy without Invasive Die Injection” – got the award in the research and development category.

Pi-Labs is a startup based out of Karachi. They develop apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone8. Their app Candy Pot has consistently remained among the top five apps in five app stores worldwide

Tunacode is also a startup that came out of National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islam*abad. They develop security software. A bunch of their applications are being used by American companies and are highly rated in encryption technology.

P@SHA’s delegation was smaller than previous years as only six technology products competed for the awards, the statement said.

APICTA judges from 16 economies evaluated the categories in which Pakistan participated. The judges, according to P@SHA, praised the consistently high standard of technology products Pakistan has presented year after year.

This year, the Pakistani team benchmarked its products against 153 products from the region. Over the years, the event has become a platform for the best technology companies of the region to meet and form potential partnerships with each other.

Pakistani IT companies win four silver awards – The Express Tribune
 
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A lesson in life: Volunteering at the SIUT

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“Those of us who are in this world to educate — to care for — young children have a special calling: a calling that has very little to do with the collection of expensive possessions but has a lot to do with the worth inside of heads and hearts. In fact, that’s our domain: the heads and hearts of the next generation, the thoughts and feelings of the future.” — FRED M ROGERS

It would be perfectly believable if Dr Adeeb Rizvi had himself said these words, for he is indeed striving, and successfully accomplishing, exactly that. The renowned kidney specialist and founder of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant (SIUT), has committed himself to not only treating kidney and liver patients for free, but to in fact create a generation of compassionate and socially responsible young men and women through a vigorous student volunteer programme that he conducts at his hospital.

How successful is he in achieving this lofty goal? Well, take for example Mohammad Ali, who was in the first batch of this programme six years ago and has since then been promoted to the position of ‘Captain,’ supervising new volunteers.

“Simply getting up early in the morning felt like a task on the first day of work at SIUT. Cleaning bathrooms and sweeping floors was awful, and I really wasn’t fond of kids,” he says, admitting that he was least bothered by anyone’s troubles as long as they did not affect him or his loved ones. “Now after six years, I ask for more work, decorate the Paediatrics Ward and don’t even hesitate to change the nappies of minor patients.”

The student volunteer programme was initiated in 2006, and so far 3,000 students in 150 batches have completed the course. Volunteers, divided into groups of ten and supervised by ‘captains’ and ‘co-captains’ (former volunteers who have become regulars), are required to buy lab coats that allow them entry into wards, operation theatres, dialysis rooms and out-patient departments. Serving in various wards and cleaning is mandatory.

Volunteers are given an orientation on Nursing, Gastroenterology, General Infection, Cardiology, Patient Care, Radiology and diabetes by senior doctors, who even let them observe kidney transplant surgeries and offer Q&A sessions. Recently, the syllabus was updated to include information about the organ donation law in Pakistan and bioethics. Altogether, it’s 30 hours of lectures and activities spread over five days.
The programme not only has humanitarian value, it also imparts practical training to school children and educates them about medical issues and procedures in a way that other hospitals offering volunteer programmes do not. “We have designed a course in which they learn [how to extend] moral help, learn how to coordinate between doctors and patients and also learn first aid,” says Kishwer apa, as she is affectionately called at the SIUT, an organisation she has been associated with since 1972. For her, watching often spoiled students transform into caring individuals is proof of a job well done.

Take the example of one volunteer who says, “According to my friends and mother, I was an extremely impatient and rude person. I never thought of cleaning even my own room, and for me poverty was associated with our house maids and servants only. But here I weep every day and can’t stop my tears from coming when I see such helpless people who don’t have money, health or, most importantly, love in their lives.”

Then there’s the grandmother who thought her grandson had things too easy in life and had never learned responsibility. Until he volunteered at the SIUT, that is. Now, she says, “he gives me medicines regularly and often checks on me during the night. He polishes his shoes himself and doesn’t allow our servants to do his errands for him.”

Principal Minhas is also all praise for the positive changes she has seen in her own students. “A group of students used to regularly terrify and play tricks on the school gatekeeper. But once they were back from their volunteer programme, they starting giving him relief during home time by taking over his position at the school gate and monitoring the kids. That way, the guard is be able to say his prayers and eat.”

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For complete article
A lesson in life: Volunteering at the SIUT – The Express Tribune
 
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Parkour in Karachi

The word AMAZING would be an understatement!!! Do watch the video

Parkour in Karachi on Vimeo

Vernin U’Chong started jumping around at home at an early age – around when he was six or seven. It was only when he watched a documentary on parkour and free running later in life did he realize that what he was doing was an actual sport. After a little research he took his passion to a whole different level. He is the one of the pioneers of parkour and free running in Pakistan and has inspired many youth into the sport. Vernin is also a professional athlete and has taken part in many national and provincial games. In the recent Sindh games in 2012, Vernin took the gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay races.

Meanwhile his brother, Neil U’Chong, who also practices parkour, has also been break dancing in Pakistan for many years now and has been teaching it to children from his community for around half a decade. He now teaches at the Body Beat Recreational Centre and trains various people in break dance. Neil is also a graffiti artist, who practices the mantra that it’s not vandalism if someone wants it to be done on their property. He has been appointed to do graffiti for various television commercials and also promotes the activity if it is done legally.

For those who are new to this urban sport, parkour was developed in the 1990’s by David Belle in France. The sport is a training discipline that has been developed out of military obstacle training courses. The point is to move from point A to point B, overcoming all obstacles in between. It is a non-competitive sport and all one needs is a good pair of sneakers and the city is your playground.

Parkour in Karachi | Entertainment | DAWN.COM
 
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Pakistan sweep skiing competition in Korea

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani skiers clinched two top positions at a skiing competition called Dream Programme – 2013 held in Gangwon Province, the Republic of Korea, said a press release on Monday.

President Ski Federation of Pakistan (SFP) Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan congratulated Noor Muhammad and Shah Hussain of Naltar Ski School who won the gold and silver medals respectively at the event. He hoped that the success would significantly boost the SFP’s ventures in national and international ski events.

The winning skiers also met with the Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Choong-joo Choi who appreciated the performances of the budding players.

The Dream Programme was initiated by Gangwon Province in 2004 to promote winter sports in countries where winter sports facilities were not fully developed. Pakistan joined the programme in 2011.

This year, around 150 participants from 40 countries took part in the training after which athletes were divided into groups and competitions were held among them.

Pakistan sweep skiing competition in Korea – The Express Tribune
 
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Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy makes us proud again!

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Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was presented the ‘Crystal award’ by Hilde Schwab at the World Economic Forum meeting for her efforts in promoting human rights and women’s issues through film. The award was given at the official Crystal Award ceremony held at the World Economic Forum Congress Centre, Congress Hall in Davos, Switzerland.

The World Economic Forum introduced the Crystal Award to honour personalities who are highly regarded as both cultural Leaders and global citizens committed to improving the state of the world in 1995.The award pays tribute to the decisive role that culture and art play in the creation of global understanding and peace and is presented every year at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.

Alongside Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the session awarded Charlize Theron, actress and founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and Vik Muniz, artist and member Global Agenda Council, on the Role of the Arts in Society. The ceremony was chaired by Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Past winners include A R Rahman, Amitabh Bachan, Muhammad Ali, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Richard Gere.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy makes us proud again! « Style On Paper
 
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Scuba diving off the coast of Karachi

Scuba diving off the coast of Karachi on Vimeo

Meet Yousuf Ali of the Karachi Scuba Diving Centre (KSDC) and his daughter Rosheen – both teach people how to scuba dive and snorkel in Karachi. A breezy hour-long drive from the city and on towards the Mubarak Village is where the duo take Karachi’s adventure seeking crowds.

From Mubarak Village, people are taken to Charna Island on a boat, where they can experience diving, snorkeling and exploring the extensive marine life the Arabian Sea has to offer. However, as Ali explains in the video, the operations of an oil refinery are about to start in the area, which might just destroy this marine haven.

The KSDC has been in existence for the last 30 years, they promote environmental protection of all kind, especially underwater protection, and take groups for reef cleaning and conservation of the extensive coral reef life down below.

Recently Ali has worked with the WWF to catalog the different kinds of species the sea has to offer – they have compared the species cariation off the coast of sandy beaches versus rocky beaches in the country as well.

View the video to see exclusive footage of the various fish species, corals, plants and other marine life and hear the stories of beginners, amateur and veteran divers of the city.

Scuba diving off the coast of Karachi | Pakistan | DAWN.COM
 
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Amazing and optomistic read. I hope we have critics of Pakistan come here and read this too though I fear they'd tie this to another sinister plot.
 
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