PTCL broadband internet service down in Karachi - Humari Technology

Karachi: One of the biggest telecommunication & DSL internet provider in Pakistan and ex-state institution, Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) has failed to maintain its fine service and now is completely down in different areas of Karachi, the business hub of Pakistan.

According to sources, service of PTCL has been creating problems for around 4 days in different areas of Karachi and nearly 1,00,000 commercial and domestic users facing severe problems due to this crisis.

Sources said that the problems occurred due to old devices installed in the system. These devices have been working since 2006 but the maximum age of the devices is 2 years.

It is pertinent to mention that different businesses are working on Saturday in Karachi despite two-weekly offs. But the disruption in service creating many problems for the users.

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US: Reality show on lives of Muslims to be launched

New York:  Reality TV welcomes a brand new program in the United States which follows the lives of American Muslims and makes its debut on Sunday. 

According to press statements from the cable channel, ”All American Muslims” deal with the same small and large issues of life that other Americans encounter. A new eight-part series on TLC that premieres November 13 will try to answer that question by following the lives of five very different Muslim-American families.

The show, “All-American Muslim,” was filmed in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit that’s known for its large Arab-American population and America’s largest mosque.

It promises to go “inside the rarely seen world of American Muslims to uncover a unique community struggling to balance faith and nationality in a post 9/11 world.”

According to reports, the show’s producers selected a diverse group of people and topics. It will cover segments on sisters who are polar opposites (one wears a headscarf and prays daily, the other has tattoos – forbidden in Islam– and is married to an Irish Catholic). It will also follow the story of a high school football coach, and newlyweds.

The media kit hopes to show people who “share the same religion, but lead very distinct lives that often times challenge the Muslim stereotype.” Additionally, the series will also delve into the hot topics of post 9/11 life for Muslims and gender roles in Islam.

The show’s ambition to provide an encompassing portrayal of an entire faith community takes it into risky territory.

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Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi likely to resign today

Rome: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is supposed to resign on Saturday after the lower chamber of the parliament passed a set of reforms, paving way for an emergency government and ending the 17-year political era in the European country.

Berlusconi agreed to step down once the bill was passed earlier this week when it became clear he could no longer garner support to keep his coalition government intact.

In a statement issued after his final cabinet meeting, Berlusconi confirmed he would go to see President Giorgio Napolitano to hand in his resignation, bringing an end to one of the most scandal-plagued periods in recent Italian history.

The definitive approval of the package by the lower house will mark the final act of the Berlusconi government. He is expected to hold a last cabinet meeting and then go to the Quirinale Palace and hand his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano.

His resignation will trigger a series of events over the weekend and most likely conclude on Sunday night or Monday morning with the formation of new government headed by former European Commissioner Mario Monti.

Global markets panicked earlier this week because of the sustained political turmoil in the euro zone’s third largest economy, and Italy’s borrowing costs shot above a “red line” of 7 percent.

On the other side hundreds of demonstrators gathered at government buildings on Saturday celebrating the imminent departure of Berlusconi, who has been Italy’s longest serving prime minister.

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UN says poverty in India higher than Pakistan

New Delhi: India has the world’s largest number of citizens living under the poverty line, with 612 million, according to a UN report.

Despite of the impression that India economy is fastest growing in the world, it has been ranked as poorer than its neighboring Pakistan, Daily Telegraph said quoted report of United Nations on global poverty.

The report also finds more ‘gender equality’ in conservative Pakistan than in ‘tolerant’ India.

Its findings amount to a wake-up call for a nation which has taken great pride in its rapid economic growth and the increasing clout of its billionaire business leaders but has failed to share the spoils with its poor. Britain’s Department for International Development has pointed to this chequered progress to justify its continuing aid to India.

The Human Development Report reveals that while India ranks slightly above Pakistan in its level of ‘human development’ – based on life expectancy, schooling and per capita income – its wider poverty level is worse than Pakistan.

In absolute terms, 41.6 per cent of India’s 1.1 billion people earned less than 78 pence per day compared with 22.6 per cent of Pakistan’s 173 million.

The report quotes its ‘multi-dimensional poverty index’ which includes measures of schooling, child mortality, nutrition, access to electricity, toilets, drinking water, and hygienic living conditions, and reveals India is poorer.

More surprisingly, India is ranked below Pakistan and Bangladesh on gender equality which reflects maternal death rates, teenage pregnancies, access to education, and the number of women parliamentarians and in the workplace.

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Indo-Pak Express-Aisam,Bopanna wins Paris Masters final

Paris: Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his Indian partner Rohan Bopann defeaed Julien Benneteau and  Nicolas Mahut to clinch the title of Paris Masters Tennis Tournament.

Aisam and Bopanna defeated the French duo in straight sets with score 6-2,6-4.

Earlier in semi-finals, the seventh-seeded Pak-Indo pair won straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (7)  over the third seeded Belarusian-Canadian combination after battle of one hour and 27 minutes.

On Friday, they had shocked second seeds Michael Llodra and Nead Zimonjic 3-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the quarter-finals of the euro 2,750,000 event.

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