India successfully testfires nuclear-capable Prithvi II missile

India Wednesday successfully testfired the latest version of its nuclear-capable Prithvi II short range ballistic missile at Chandipur in the eastern Indian state of Orissa’s Balasore district, a senior Indian Defence Ministry official said.

“The army version of indigenously developed Prithvi II surface-to-surface ballistic missile, with a range of 350 km, was testfired at 10:30 a.m. (0500 GMT) this morning from a mobile launcher, some 20 km off Orissa’s sea coast,” the official said, on condition of anonymity.

The earlier version of the missile has already been inducted into the Indian armed force’s for its elite Strategic Force Command Special Group.

“This is the user trial of the latest version of the missile. The objective of the test is to check its compatibility once it’s inducted into the Indian Army,” he said.

India launched the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program in 1983 for achieving self sufficiency in the development and production of wide range of Ballistic Missiles, Surface to Air Missiles among others.

Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the program.

Source:Xinhua

Fear of Swine Flue and International Media

There is an ongoing fear of pandemic rise of Swine Flue in Mexico, UK, US and New Zealand

Here are links to international media on this issue

Swine flu outbreak in Mex 001  Fear of Swine Flue and International Media PakPoint.com
couple wearing masks kiss in Mexico City as a swine flu outbreak sweeps through the city. Photograph: Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images

Swine flu: fears of pandemic rise as Mexico death toll reaches 80

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/swine-flu-outbreak-mexico-pandemic

Swine Influenza (Flu)
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

Swine flu: How serious a threat?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8022102.stm

Swine flu: scientists warn over pandemic vaccine time lag
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5232198/Swine-flu-scientists-warn-over-pandemic-vaccine-time-lag.html

Swine flu: British tourists repatriated from Mexico as virus spreads
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5235493/Swine-flu-British-tourists-repatriated-from-Mexico-as-virus-spreads.html

Swine flu a further hit to Mexican tourism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/apr/27/mexico-tourism-swine-flu

Pakistan mobilises against swine flu: officials
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gVt6LF8jywS78iL3R6kSFpPFxDAQ

Pakistan gear up to avert Swine flu threat
http://www.geo.tv/4-28-2009/40871.htm

Swine flu threat, Pakistan takes preventive measures
http://www.nowpublic.com/health/swine-flu-threat-pakistan-takes-preventive-measures

Swine flu cases confirmed in UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8021813.stm

Swine Flu: UK Confirms First Cases
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/27/swine-flu-uk-confirms-fir_n_191968.html

Mexican killer swine flu: UK on alert
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5222211/Mexican-killer-swine-flu-UK-on-alert.html

Travel to countries ctruck by swine flu is ‘Haram’: Saudi Mufti

images (1) JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Mufti Sheikh Abd Al-’Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh has issued a fatwa banning leaving or travelling to countries with outbreaks of swine flu.
The fatwa says that doing so constitutes a violation of the religious law regarding saving lives.

Meera’s English Skills a must watch entertainment

images  Meeras English Skills a must watch entertainment PakPoint.comMeera’s Special English Skills a must watch entertainment



Ranbir Kapoor tipped as Bollywood’s next superstar

ALeqM5heTcROCX4ikmdhUhIxondNsaWe3g  Ranbir Kapoor tipped as Bollywoods next superstar PakPoint.comBy Shail Kumar Singh (AFP) MUMBAI — For years, Amitabh Bachchan and the three Khans — Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman — have been Bollywood’s leading male actors. But a new man now looks set to join them.

Ranbir Kapoor has received rave reviews for his latest film, “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani” (An Amazing Story Of Strange Love), and is tipped by colleagues and critics to follow his grandfather and father to acting super-stardom.

“Ranbir has all the makings of a superstar,” said the film’s director, Rajkumar Santoshi. “He is multi-talented and good-looking, too. He can carry humorous as well as serious roles with quite an ease.”

But the 27-year-old brushes aside such talk, instead preferring to build up experience in a range of films to prove his worth as an actor and not just a name in a business and country where family connections go a long way.

“Please don’t give me such titles,” he told reporters recently, referring to descriptions of him as “the next big thing.”

“I have a long way to go. I have only been in the film industry for two years and I am working hard to prove myself.

“My next film is ‘Rocket Singh — Salesman Of The Year’ for Yash Raj films, then ‘Rajneeti’ (Politics), which is a serious subject. I want to do good films and all kinds of films.”

Kapoor has had a meteoric rise to fame since he was first seen in “Saawariya” (My Beloved) in November 2007. The film did not do well, but his potential was noticed.

Last year, he had moderate success with the romantic comedy “Bachna Ae Haseeno” (Watch Out, Beautiful Girls) and then the comedy-drama “Wake Up Sid”, which was a huge hit.

In “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani”, he stars alongside Katrina Kaif, who has had an equally rapid rise since switching from modelling to movies and is now one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars.

The film — about a love-struck teenager — took 337.5 million rupees (seven million dollars) in its first five days, according to www.boxofficeindia.com, while its soundtrack has rocketed to the top of the music charts.

Taran Adarsh, a leading Hindi-language movie industry analyst, predicted that the film’s success should benefit Kapoor “to the maximum”, with Bachchan now in his mid-60s and the Khans all aged over 40.

“‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ has taken the nation by storm,” he wrote in his column on the popular www.bollywoodhungama.com website.

“It had a great start, a fabulous weekend, a solid Monday and most importantly, the film has stepped into the coveted top five openers list of all time and that is a major achievement.

“He has truly arrived now and whether his contemporaries like it or not, he has all it takes to stake a claim to the throne in times to come.”

Another film critic said Kapoor had already proved that he was more than just a famous name.

“In a country given to a continuous tradition of lineages, there are few instances when the pure class of pedigree shines brightly through the clutter,” wrote Minty Tejpal in the Mumbai Mirror tabloid.

“Even as Rahul Gandhi charms a vast, complicated country, it seems that Ranbir Kapoor can do nothing wrong. He is just fantastic throughthe film,” Tejpal wrote, referring to Gandhi, the youth leader of India’s ruling Congress party.

“Ranbir is the rare star who makes you laugh and tugs at your heart strings in the same mad beat, thus keeping you constantly charmed.”

Kaif said her co-star had inherited the acting genes of his father, Rishi, and grandfather, Raj, who remain revered figures in the industry, but he also works hard at his craft.

“You have to work with him to understand how disciplined he is on set,” the 25-year-old Kaif said. “He is very punctual and knows every aspect of film-making, which is a rare quality in actors.”

Isha Koppikar weds Timmy Narang

11 30 2009 92493 l  Isha Koppikar weds Timmy Narang PakPoint.comMUMBAI: It’s wedding season in Bollywood. A week after Shilpa Shetty tied the knot with Raj Kundra, it was the turn of actress Isha Kopikar to exchange nuptial vows with her longtime beau Timmy Narang on Sunday.

The two got married at the ISKCON Temple in Juhu in a private ceremony that was attended by close family and friends. It was a traditional Maharashtrian stylewedding that reportedly lasted for about four hours. Since the auspicious time scheduled for the wedding was 11am, it was a daytime wedding.

“I am very excited and I can’t wait to get married,” Narang, a restaurateur, told reporters before entering the temple.

33-year-old Isha wore a red and yellow sari while the groom was dressed in a cream sherwani.

An official from the temple is quoted as saying: “They brought their own priest and we just provided the hall and the food. They had a booking here from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.”

A reception was later held at night at Narang’s residence.

PTA directs Mobile Operators to ensure Qualityf Services During Eid-ul-Azha

Telecom Sector shows 20% Revenue Growth in year 2008-09

Islamabad: Telecom sector of Pakistan has shown 20% growth in its revenues by generating Rs.327.8 billion total revenues in fiscal year 2008-09 while the Government collected Rs.112 billion in the form of taxes from the sector. According to the Annual Report for year 2008-09 issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), teledensity of Pakistan stood at 62% showing a growth rate of 5.4% hence sustaining positive growth trends in the sector.

The PTA report further says that in the reported period telecom sector continued to grow positively in terms of subscription, revenues and teledensity. It managed to attract US$ 815 million Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2008-09. However, as most of the operators are foreign-based, the pessimistic outlook of global economy compelled the telecom operators to curtail the infrastructure expansion plans, still total investments in the sector stood at US$ 1.7 billion. During the year (i.e.2008-09) the sector contributed a total of Rs. 112 billion to national exchequer in the form of taxes whereas telecom imports also grew by 20% and reached US$ 1.6 billion.

The mobile penetration reached 58.2% and total mobile subscribers reached 94.3 million with more than 90% of the country having access to mobile services. The trend in subscription remained tilted towards prepaid subscription with 98% prepaid subscriptions whereas only 2% subscribers are postpaid. Although the financial strength of mobile segment remained invariable still the cellular revenues grew by 16% and stood at Rs. 212 billion at the end of 2008-09. The mobile investments dropped by 48% and reached US$ 1.2 billion in the reported year. The industry ARPU stands at US$ 2.48 showing a drop of 20% from last year.

Major milestones achieved by PTA for mobile sector include taking up the responsibility to convince the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the sector by brining down the tax rates on telecom industry which resulted in reduction in the rate of GST from 21% to 19.5%, in addition to bringing down the activation tax by 50% while reducing the import duty on mobile handsets by 66% by cutting it down from Rs.750 to Rs.250 in budget 2008-09. Moreover, cleaning of unverified SIMs and SIM activation system (789) now in place is expected to curb the unsocial activities.

During 2008-09, basic services (LL, WLL & LDI) showed a healthy revenue growth rate of 26% contributing Rs. 113 billion to thesector revenue which is around 34% of the total telecom sector revenue, however, with the declining trend fixed line teledensity reaching 2.2% with a total of 3.5 million fixed-line subscribers in the country. Wireless local loop (WLL) has been able to sustain positive growth by winning the trust of customers. The WLL teledensity stands at 1.6% with 2.65 millionsubscribers across Pakistan. Long Distance & International (LDI) operators have been in quandary for last few years due to high settlement rates and alarmingly high grey/illegal telecom traffic. PTA took notice of the situation and initiated a number of steps in close coordination with LDI stakeholders. As a result, LDIsector experienced exceptional growth, reduction in illegal traffic and improved call rates. Currently, there are 09 companies providing LDI services via 163 Points of Presence (POP’s) all acrossPakistan.

Pakistan has been experiencing proliferation of Broadband in the past two years. Broadband subscriber base grew by 146% adding 245,727 subscribers during 2008-09. There are currently 413,809 Broadband subscribers in Pakistan as compared to 168,082 in 2008. As Broadband is still in its infancy in Pakistan, therefore, penetration level is relatively low i.e. 0.26 %. Broadband connection charges for 1Mbps connection dropped below Rs. 1000/- for the first time in history which is an unusual incentive for new broadband customers.

Telecom sector showed growth in areas of Azad Jamu & Kashmir and Northern Areas of Pakistan (AJK & NAs) also as by the end of fiscal year 2008-09, total teledensity of AJK & NAs stands at 39.9% up from 33.1% last year. Cellular industry has been showing a fast-paced growth since its arrival and total subscriber number has reached 1,973,742 by the end of June 2009 while the mobile penetration has reached 33% in just 2 years. Almost 82% population of the AJK & NAs is covered withmobile services. Today more than 270 cities/villages and towns are covered by all six operators in the region. PTA has also completed licensing of WLL services in AJK & NAs and has auctioned spectrum in 3 telecom regions. It is expected that WLL will be a successful service in AJK and NAs due to cheaper rates and easy availability.

With the current global and local political and financial situation, the telecom sector had to face tough challenges in the current year. However, being a Regulator, PTA has worked diligently for the betterment of thesector so that consumers, investors and Government can all be benefited from it. Due to the reforms in the sector carried out by the Government and effective regulatory interventions of PTA signs of recovery can be seen and it is expected that during the ongoing financial year thetelecom sector would perform well and stand up to the expectations of all.

Keeping in view the vision of the present government of Pakistan, PTA worked for the betterment of the people of nation at large and for national security. It kept on promoting local businesses, attract foreign investment and increasesector contribution in national exchequer. This year PTA decided to work on following four focus areas namely Consumer Protection, Promoting ICTs, Promoting Competition and Ensuring National Security in addition to routine regulatory activities.

During the year 2008-09 PTA donated Rs. 201 million (20 Crore 10 Lac Rupees) to the â??Prime Minister’s Special Fund for the Victims of Terrorismâ?, established for the welfare and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Person’s (IDPs). Additionally, PTA in collaboration with mobileoperators , through SMS service, contributed Rs. 5.67 million to Prime Minister’s Special Fund for Victims of Terrorism and Chief Minister Punjab’s Special Fund for IDP’s. PTA employees also contributed their one day salary to the relief fund for earthquake victims of Balochistan.

In order to safeguard consumer interest and tackle their grievances, PTA launched a comprehensive complaint handling mechanism on 24th July 2009. Consumer Protection Department at PTA has received and redressed more than 80,000 individual consumer complaints since its establishment. PTA issued Consumer Protection Regulations, Anti-SPAMs Regulations to control the obnoxious & unsolicited calls andSubscribers verification Regulations. In order to encourage dialogue and input from all stakeholders, PTA arranged a public forum in Karachi on 7th August, 2009 and similar events are also in the pipeline for other cities.

The second most important focus area of work for PTA was the promotion of ICT’s in Pakistan where the Authority intended to devise an effective mechanism to introduce emerging information & communication technologies and extensive proliferation of broadband services in Pakistan. In this regard, a number of steps have been taken during the year including the establishment of regulatory platform for Government and the stakeholder’s interaction to identify core areas and develop guidelines for different ICT issues.

In order to promote competition PTA took number of steps during the reported year including Reviews of Access Promotion Charges, pricing policies of mobileoperators , interconnection guidelines, PTCL RIO etc. In addition to this a number of surveys were carried out to check the quality of differenttelecom services. PTA finalized a revenue sharing agreement between ISP’s and PTCL for providing free Dialup internet services in Pakistan. It issued directives to mobile operators for proper advertisement of Government taxes and services charges on telecom services. The deteriorating security situation in Pakistan pushed the regulator to take some major precautionary steps in order to assist Government of Pakistan in curbing the unsocial activities and security threats. In this regard a number of steps were taken including blocking of unregistered SIM, measures against elimination of gray traffic, preparing comprehensive plan for disaster management, monitoring and reconciliation of international telephony traffic and putting up system for activation of new SIM after verification. In addition to this PTA carried out research work in different areas as a result of which several consultation papers were floated in the industry to get feedback.

Khurram A. Mehran
Director (PR)

The Most Expensive SMS in Pakistan Rs 100 per SMS from Ufone to Other Networks

pakpoint ufone exposed 585x502 custom  The Most Expensive SMS in Pakistan Rs 100 per SMS from Ufone to Other Networks PakPoint.com

A friend of pakpoint.com Mr. Ijaz reported intresting thing “The Most Expensive SMS in Pakistan Rs 100 per SMS from Ufone to Other Networks” Please look at the screenshot.

This SMS rate is a part of Ufone 3 minute package

Twitter Lists Feature Disabled Temporarily

The unavailability of twitter list feature is confirmed by the official blog of the twitter. according to latest updates the twitter officials confirmed that they are recovering from this unexpected downtime. About 50 minute ago twitter was experiencing a very high rate of error which was causing a problem in the system. Responding to this high error rate the engineers attwitter disabled the list feature.

Telenor Introduced Special 5ive

Screen shot 2009 12 01 at 08.38.31  Telenor Introduced Special 5ive PakPoint.comTelenor offering 300 free minutes from telenor to telenor between 5 friends and family members. To activate call 345 from your telenor mobile phone. This new promotion is named as Telenor 5ive (i.e Telenor Five).

Petrol up to Rs66, Prices of petroleum products increased Read more: http://www.pakpoint.com/petrol-up-to-rs66-prices-of-petroleum-products-increased

11 30 2009 92515 l  Petrol up to Rs66, Prices of petroleum products increased PakPoint.comOnce again prices of petroleum products in Pakistan have been increased and OGRA has issued a notification in this regard. As per the new prices notification, petrol price has gone up from Rs 61.63 to Rs 66 per litre.

According to OGRA notification, per litre price of high octane has increased from Rs 75.59 to Rs 80.59.

Price of light diesel went from Rs54.97 to 60.22 while kerosene oil price has been increased from Rs 57.87 to Rs 62.63.

The new prices will effective from 12.00 this night.

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