Speaking on the occasion Mr. Nauman Dar said, “HBL Express is another step by HBL towards achieving its vision of supporting financial inclusion in the country. It will provide convenient and reliable banking services to the people of Pakistan.”

HBL Express will be launched with Domestic Remittances and Utility Bill Payments. The product portfolio will be expanded to include International Remittances, Mobile Wallets, G2P Payments and Corporate Solutions in the near future. To allow its agents to conduct transactions, HBL Express has pioneered in providing its agents with Smartphones equipped with a custom developed mobile application.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Kazi Abdul Muktadir expressed, “Pakistan’s branchless banking model supported by banks is considered amongst the best in the world. In a country where over 90% of the population is unbanked, HBL Express supported by the bank’s distribution network will help recruit new users to mainstream banking.”

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Raheela Khan

Pakistani national and Doha Bank executive Raheela Khan has been named a 2013 Yale World Fellow, announced Yale University President Richard C. Levin. Raheela Khan is Assistant Manager of Treasury and Investments for Doha Bank, a major Qatari financial institution. A Pakistani national born and raised in Dubai, Khan currently manages a portfolio in excess of US$600 million. She is an experienced and knowledgeable professional with a deep understanding of the financial markets of Pakistan, UAE and Qatar.

Previously, Khan was instrumental in transforming the investment culture in Pakistan through senior leadership roles at institutions such as the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange. She did this by introducing new financial products to the Pakistani market and convincing local institutions there to adopt cutting-edge international investment strategies thereby developing her domestic financial markets, which Khan believes have immense untapped potential.

In addition to her post graduate business education, Khan has attended the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Program at Said Business School, University of Oxford in 2012. Along with her professional interests, she is also passionate about social welfare and has launched a number of charitable programs in Pakistan.

Raheela Khan is among 16 World Fellows selected this year, from a pool of about 2,500 applicants. This year’s cohort brings the total number of Yale World Fellows since the program’s inception in 2002 to 238 Fellows, representing 81 countries.

The Yale World Fellows Program is the University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalization. Each year, the University invites a group of exemplary mid-career professionals from a wide range of fields and countries for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training.

This year’s World Fellows include an Egyptian diplomat, a Dutch documentary filmmaker, a managing editor with The Economist Group in London, and an advocate for transparency in the Nigerian oil sector.

“The Yale World Fellows Program consistently attracts outstanding talent,” said World Fellows program director Michael Cappello, professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. “The 16 individuals selected this year are each poised to become even more effective change-makers in their societies and around the world. This unique leadership training opportunity will no doubt inspire their many future contributions to the global community.”

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With the recent development of having to stop offering 3G data service to tourists, North Korea is becoming more of a closed country in communications and technology than ever before. Before this announcement of 3G data service discontinuation, tourists could get 3g-ready prepaid SIM cards. Most of the news about North Korea comes from Beijing-based news agencies as its tourist agencies also operate from other places.

SIM cards could have been used to make international calls, but still no internet access was allowed. North Korea is one of the strictest countries in the world when it comes to public communication system, and thus its notoriety is on the high.

Pakistan has been said to help in its nuclear programmes, but so far the government has officially denied any such accusations calling them propaganda by its enemies. However, public communications are largely developing in Pakistan and telecommunication sector is very much opened to booming and growth. North Korea on the other hand is in no way a country treading this path of openness.

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The Supreme Court of Pakistan wants to have their voices heard this election, but the Election Commission of Pakistan and the current government is not ready to feel their pressure of choosing the future public officials. The Ministry of Information Technology believes that it can deliver on the task with the help of sophisticated software, but it backs up on applying it in this election.

There is also a technical and legal loophole to it, and that is there is no legislation which would facilitate the e-voting for overseas Pakistan. But, this whole debate has led to forming a committee that will work on procedures and mechanism necessary for it to take place in the future.

There is a genuine fear that exists within the intelligence community and with NADRA, that the personal information of people will be hacked and stolen. To protect their privacy and in a sense lives, until something foolproof is made, e-voting for overseas Pakistanis is not going to happen. Around 4.5 million Pakistanis are living abroad and out of these, 3.5 million are registered voters in Pakistan and hold the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and 3.1 million hold identification with NADRA’s centre.

Hence, it is a sizeable number of Pakistanis which should be able to decide the future government on moral and ethical grounds. They are as much a part of this country’s destiny. Hopefully, these ambassadors of Pakistan will get a chance for their voices to be heard in the elections soon.

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Other major cities that will be covered with this route are Wuhan and Changsha. The Chinese officials believe that the rail route is one of the world’s most technically advanced routes. This high-speed rail route will make the journey in less than ten hours, which previously took 22 hours.

Although in the past, China has been in the news with its broken railway lines that resulted in crashes and experts also believe that some of the rail routes also contain design flaws. People have questioned the plans and called in the corruption. But the criticism like this in China does not get much attention from the government. However, this particular railway line is said to be the best one.

There are many more such advanced tracks being built across China to connect the entire country. Chinese are not very highly regarded with their train technology, however, they are sure willing to expand on their railway business, especially in a country like Pakistan, which is itself in dire need of better railway tracks and technologized high-speed bullet trains.

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SNIC has a data chip and 36 other security features. It can be used for offline and online identification, voting, pension disbursement, social and financial inclusion programmes and other services. It is expected that NADRA will replace all 89.5 million CNICs with SNICs by the year 2020. The new version was first launched in October of this year. To speed things up, NADRA has issued more than 200,000 SNICs in the last four weeks.

SNIC is a new way of covering Pakistani citizens identification with state-of-the-art technology and modern biometric facilities. SNIC can store data within a microchip, which is a way round the world.  According to NADRA’s officials, the large number of SNICs issued within this short time proves that people are taking up to it quickly.

The 36 security features that SNIC has provide it with better database management system. It decreases identity thefts and fraudulent claims. It is being hailed as a tool of good governance. Whether it be for the good governance and proves beneficial in this regard or not, it surely shows the technological development NADRA itself has gone through.

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BBM 7 Released

List of fixed issues for BlackBerry Messenger 7.0.0.121:

• Call stays ‘connecting’ for a very long time
• In the message “Missed voice” name of the contact is not visible
• ‘Not talking’ and ‘Not interested’ emoticons swapped
• Emoticons appear small, regardless of font size
• Emoticons don’t match in status message and display name after changing font sizes
• Uncaught exception or no audio when calling between 9810 and a 9981 on 7.0 OS
• Device opening a secure connection to sip.int.voip.blackberry.com but the server’s certificate contains a different domain: sip.voip.blackberry.com
• The timestamp in the email text that is forwarded from BBM Group Chat is not accurate
• Declining a phone call while in a voice chat will cause the voice chat to have no audio
• BBM contact status not updated correctly and BBM Voice icon remains disabled after Child Protection goes from enabled to disable
• While in a active phone call, receiving a BBM Voice Call will put the device in speaker mode automatically for OS 7.1.0 device
• While in a active phone call, receiving a BBM Voice Call will drop the audio for the phone call for OS 6.0 device
• After cancelling an outbound call another outbound call is placed automatically
• Chat ended with call history added twice
• Unable to restore BBM contact list for one-time recovery from SD card when SD card has 0 bytes free
• User can send voice notes while on a call using convenience key and with on screen attach button
• Device becomes frozen after receiving an MVS call during a BBM Voice chat
• When receiving a phone call while in a voice chat, there is no audio in a voice chat when ringing
• When receiving a phone call while in a voice chat, the message explaining that accepting the phone call will end the voice chat is cut off
• No menu option to activate speaker phone or headset when call screen is minimized
• Contact Voice Status appears in italics beside music symbol when replacing Music status
• NullPointerException popped up on screen after battery pull
• BBM still shows the Name of the song as status, even though the song is not playing and Show What I’m Listening To is unchecked

*Please note: BBM 7.0.0.108 is no longer compatible with BBOS 5.x devices. Support for the BBM Voice feature on smartphones running the BlackBerry 5 OS is planned for a future date.

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Previously, India had accused spies from Pakistan who were caught through their SIMs from Pakistani telecom companies. Also, there was an issue about Pakistani mobile signals crossing over to India. It usually happens because of the range that a mobile handset provides or due to the coverage that a mobile service provider might have a range of, but when two neighbours hold animosity, it becomes a real threatening problem due to lack of trust and cooperation.

However, now the public has been allowed cross-border calls and certainly this will ease tensions and bring better cooperation. Both countries’ telecom companies can come out with packages of calls and text messages, and through this economic cooperation, political negotiations can be less burdened.

There are many families having close of kin living on each side of the border and with the mobile usage growing in both India and Pakistan, people can have their preferred mode of communication. Landline connections already exist between the two states, the mobile phones services exchange will be a new element.

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Recently a Pakistani scientist, Dr. Fida M. Abbasi from the Department of Genetics at Hazara University in Mansehra, had developed Super NPT technology. It is a unique technology for increasing rice production in the country. According to the scientist, such kind of rice did not exist before and can be grown using very less water.

If properly given its due attention by the government, Pakistan can increase its rice production and the poor will get a bit relief. Agriculture is an important integral of Pakistan’s economy and rice is the central export of the country that generates billions of rupees in annual revenues. Through this Super NPT technology, Basmati and non-Basmati rice can be converted.

If implemented the new rice technology can increase revenues up to Rs.50 billion per year. Some believe that such a technology can bring the second green revolution in the world. Pakistan can create itself further rice markets for importers eager for getting high quality rice. Such technological applications in agriculture are needed to bring the economic growth both the country and its people need.

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The GNSS will orbit the earth and will provide geo-spatial positioning service. It will help in surveillance, mapping, surveying of mineral deposits, agriculture, construction, deformation monitoring, transport, aviation management, mining, computerized land management, administration, plate-tectonics studies and weather predictions.

There are several stake-holders in GNSS, including government officials, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, academicians, all of whom are interested in its prospects. The GNSS is expected to bring boost in Pakistan’s socio-economic situation. With all the facilities that the GNSS could provide, Pakistan’s economic recovery should get smooth. Although other factors are weighing heavy on Pakistan’s growth, but the technology of space satellite will ease the lot.

Now, the investors and venture capitalists are needed to provide various applications of GNSS to launch it into a successful operation. According to GSA GNSS Market Survey 2012, the current market for this satellite technology is worth $150 billion and will rise to $220 billion by 2020. All of these figures surely do seem promising for the country’s pockets given it is all managed responsibly and professionally.

The post Pakistan’s Navigation Satellite System will be Functional by June 2013 appeared first on Vsocio.

You don’t have to wait and go look around for a pizza restaurant or any pizza chain, but the vending machines will make the pizza for you just as you order, if you are in the US. The concept, if successful can spread around the world too. The Dutch company A1 Concepts is introducing pizza vending machine concept in the U.S., a nation which is considered to be too fond of pizzas. Pizzas in these vending machines are not premade, which is why they are always fresh. The process goes like something like the following:

A client has to pay for a desired pizza, then select one of the four types of pizzas available, then the machine mixes flour and water, kneads that into a dough, rolls the dough into 10.5 inch wide crust, adds toppings, cooks the pie in its infrared oven and then it is all ready to be taken away. All this is done within three minutes. Or at least, so the vending machine claims. There is not much of a choice or variety between different pizza flavours, but with time it can increase to include different tastes.

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The concept behind making these bubble-shaped rooms is to live in an efficient way, which is better for space and for environment. But this creative living comes at the price of US$10,987 for a weekend camping trip. Hence, such a fairy tale surrounding is for the pocketful lot only.

Hence, the price tag is not different than any other luxury hotel room. The bubble rooms have a diameter of 4 meter (13 feet) and a ceiling height of 3 meters (10 feet) along with an airlock. Hence, nice and cozy. The air is recycled. The furniture is great with electricity supply and sink-shower area. Interested buyers can choose between transparent and partially transparent bubbles.

The whole concept is amusing and if caught in trend can actually be the very realistic and futuristic way people can start living in co-existence with environment. Future hotels might begin such trends, especially where there are nature forests with safe animals. Also, besides hoteling chains these could also be aspired as private homes for people. Living in a dream home does cost and it could start a market for luxury architect designers. The best part of this whole deal is being close to nature, which is really good for health.

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This EMC exam is currently only available in English and has a time limit of 90-minutes. There will be 66 questions of this exam that are divided into several topic categories. Candidates should be prepared to address CLARiiON Basic Management principles and well as EMC ControlCenter Foundations, including types of EMC ControlCenter agents and their functions and tiers of the EMC ControlCenter architecture. Other topics likely to appear on this exam will include EMC ControlCenter Management, EMC ControlCenter Planning and Implementation, aspects of StorageScope Reporting, and executing business continuity operations using Symmetrix Management Console Fundamentals.

In order to best prepare for this EMC certification exam, a multi-modal study approach will likely yield the best results. Work experience, participation in appropriate EMC training courses and utilizing self-assessment tools will all combine to make the most efficient use of your study time. Good luck in your preparation, practice, and exam process as you strive to reach your career certification goals.

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The auction for the earth’s sale received 2,772 bids according to Mashable and the price was worth 9,912,356,678 Yen, or about $123,472,279. The end of bidding date was November 6. Coincidently the day is when the US President will be elected by the Americans, whose choice will definite shape the world affairs in the coming four years.

The Japanese man auctioned the earth initially at a starting price of $0.86. Seeing it in a little philosophical and poetic sense, most poor of the world could have bought the earth and claimed ownership and no more would it have been the case that the rich own this world. The Japanese man is a very individualistic view as in the description he had written that God gave him the planet and so he is now auctioning it off.

Although, there is a little bit of a thanklessness here, in my view, as God’s given earth is a great gift, and many will not auction it if they were to own it completely. But for some unknown reason, this Japanese guy decided to sell it away anyway. Furthermore, without going into his reason of why he does not want to have the earth any more or how he was ‘given’ the earth in the first place, he simply asked from the bidders to consult the shipping method. The item has no return policy and the seller asked to be given a letter purchase to show serious intent of buying.

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The deception was exposed by an investigation conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which carried its own tests and found them not to be same as the claimed mileages. In response to such a huge mistake, if it was one in the first place, Hyundai Motor America’s President and Kia America’s Vice President for Marketing and Communications simply apologized for their companies’ errors.

Due to the importance of fuel economy and fuel efficiency, it is necessary that automobile makers state exactly how much mileage their produced vehicle can give, which helps in the mathematics of keeping the monetary spending balanced for a lot of transportation companies whose main business is related to cars and fuels.

The EPA received a lot of complaints from car consumers and had to look into the issue. Now, to mend matters up, both the companies are willing to pay for the damages to the owners of the cars, both for the mileage to date and mileage in future. Such an error on both of these companies’ part, however, could have been genuine due to the fact that another testing procedure was introduced in 2010, which was the factor of road resistance.

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