Iran Bans Google Search, Gmail In Favor of Domestic Network

Iran has decided to block Google Search and Gmail in the country to switch its citizen on to a domestically developed National Internet Network with an aim to improve country’s cyber security, however, it is said that ban was reaction to recently produced anti-Islamic movie.
The announcement, that came from a government deputy minister on state television, said that Google’s search engine and its email service would be blocked in the country, with no indication of whether it is a temporary blockade or permanent in nature.
Authorities said that they have informed the citizen through text messages on their cell phones.
The Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) said Google ban was connected to the anti-Islamic film posted on the company’s YouTube site which has caused outrage throughout the Muslim world. There was no official confirmation though.
Iran is considered as an overly censored state, which regularly keeps blocking internet websites.
Iranian government argues that these measures are taken to safeguard its cyberspace which has been attacked by American and other anti-Iranian nations in the past.
Iran has been long pushing to establish its Iranian Internet system which, it believes, will offer better security to nation and its citizen. Currently this National Internet System is used by state agencies however efforts are being made to bring common citizens on to the system.
Iran has been hit with computer worms and virus in past that had targeted and impacted its nuclear program.

Naltar valley

Naltar valley is very close to Gilgit and Hunza. It is 40 km (25 miles) from Gilgit and can be accessible by jeeps. Naltar is a forested (pine) village recognized for its flora and fauna and terrific mountain scenery. Now a days the communication is obtainable by the efforts of Pakistan army signal corps (SCO special communication organization). There are ski lifts under the ‘Ski Federation of Pakistan’. Transportation facility is there from Gilgit to Naltar but during a specific time after that one can arrange on his own.
In the Naltar valley there is a lake known as ‘Bashkiri Lake’. It is at a distance of 32 kilometers (20 miles) from Naltar Bala. This lake gives a breathtaking and amazing look both in the summer and as well as in winter. The road from village to “Lake” is nonmetallic and narrow along with a stream throughout this road coming from the mountains. A lot of attractive scenes are there along this road. In winter it is almost impossible to reach the lake through any vehicle due to the snow (10 to 15 feet high) on the road.

Hunza Valley

The Valley of Hunza is a gigantic mountainous valley in Gilgit division. It is located at the north of the Hunza River, at an elevation of around 2,500 metres (8,200 feet). The area of Hunza is about 7,900 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi). Karimabad (formerly named Baltit) is the core town, which is also a very famous among tourists.
Hunza Nagar one of striking and attractive place in region. It offers historical view of Altit Fort, Baltit Fort, Ganish fort and skyscraper peaks. It is roofed by high peaks namely Rakaposhi (7,788 m), Ladyfinger (6,000 m) and Darmyani Peak (6,090 m) and Lady Finger. In Hunza four major languages are spoken, Shina in Lower Hunza, Burushaski in Central Hunza , Wakhi in Upper Hunza and Burushaski in Nagar.
Nager Valley is very well-known for hunting animals such as Marco Polo sheep, brown bears, snow tigers etc. Gulmet, Faker and Bar are the famous tourist attraction places in Nagar. Golden peak Rakahposhi is located in the Nagar Valley.

Kaghan Valley

The Kaghan Valley is sited in the Northern Pakistan north-east of Mansehra District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It catches the attention of many visitors from around the countryside.
The Kaghan Valley’s distant peaks, lakes, vales, falls, streams, and glaciers remain in a perfect state, with a number of within Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park. The vale is a primary destination all through summer, from May through September. In May the temperature stuck between a maximum of 11 °C and a minimum of 3 °C.
From the middle of July to the closing stages of September the Naran-Babusar road ahead of Naran Valley is open through Kaghan Vale and over Babusar Pass. Access is limited during the downpour and winter periods. The Kaghan region can be reached by roads via the towns of Balakot, Abbottabad, and Mansehra on the Karakoram Highway. In Balakot, one may find buses and other transports to reach Naran Village and the valley.
The road from Balakot rises alongside the Kunhar River through gorgeous jungle and the towns of Paras, Mahandri, Jared and Shinu. The vale narrows beside this part and the sights are intimate panorama until raising the pass when the neighboring mountains come into expansive view. One locale enclosed by mountains and jungles and renowned for its sight is Shogran, east of the main Kunhar River. The picturesque Payee Lake, and Malika Parbat, Siri Payee, and Makra Peaks are in close proximity.

Naran

A three hours drive from Shogran takes one to Naran. It is a small visitor village opens only during the sightseer season of May to September. The rest of the time it is roofed with snow. All guests come to Naran to pay a trip to the Saif-ul-Muluk Lake (at an elevation of 10,500 feet) six miles east of town. If the road is open transportation by jeep can be agreed. If the road is closed, it is an effortless, steady 3-hour march, and the lake is a charming spot for a picnic.

Karachi

 

Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan. It is the main seaport and the main financial hub of Pakistan. According to 1998 poll its population is approximately 16 to 18 million. Karachi is one of the world’s widespread cities in terms of inhabitants and the 10th leading urban aggregation. It is Pakistan’s leading center of banking, industry, and trade. And is habitat to Pakistan’s leading corporations witch are concerned with textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is considered as nucleus of higher education in South Asia and the wider Islamic world.
Karachi was initially the capital of Pakistan until the construction of Islamabad. Karachi is ranked as a Beta world city. There are sites of seaport Karachi and Port Bin Qasim, two of the region’s major and busiest ports. After the independence of Pakistan, hundreds of thousands Urdu-speaking migrants or Muhajirs from India, East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and other parts of South Asia came to settle in Karachi, that’s why the population of this city was increased dramatically.
The area of this city is stretch over 3,527sq km (1,362 sq miles), nearly four times bigger than Hong Kong. Karachi is known by different names like, “City of Lights” and “The bride of the cities” for its dynamism, and the “City of the Quaid”. The leader and founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah), was born and buried in Karachi.

Las Danna

 

A 15 kilometers long metalled road from Bagh takes one to Las Danna. Las Danna is about 8612 feet above sea level. Las Danna is famous for its fascinating landscape and natural prettiness. From Las Danna, three roads branch off the core road, i.e. Mahmood Gali-Palangi, Haji Pir- Aliabad and Abbasspur- Hajira respectively. A visitor’s rest house is available over there for the housing.

Saiful Muluk Lake

 

The Saiful Muluk Lake is situated at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley near Naran. It is in the north east of Mansehra District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Saiful Muluk Lake is sited at an elevation of 10,578 meters (3,224 feet) above sea level it is among one of the uppermost lakes in Pakistan.
The lake is reachable by a 14 kilometers road from Naran throughout the summer season. On foot, the trek from Naran to the Saiful Muluk Lake takes about 1-2 hours. The stream is crystal clear with a slight green tone. The clearness of the stream comes from the various glaciers all around the lofty basin which nourish the lake. The climate here is fair during day time while the temperature falls to negative degrees at nighttime.
A fairy tale called Saiful Muluk, written by the famous Sufi saint Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, is related with the Saiful Muluk Lake. It is the tale of prince of Persia who fell in love with a fairy princess at the lake. The impact of the lake prettiness is of such degree that natives believe that fairies come down to the lake in full moon.
The Guardian ranked the Lake Saiful Muluk as the 5th Greatest Tourist Spot in Pakistan. Mansehra District has had a prosperous tourism industry in the past because of its numerous mountain ranges and the Saiful Muluk Lake.

Pishin Valley

The Pishin Valley is 50 kilometers away from Quetta, it is filled with abundant fruit orchards. These orchards are irrigated by ‘karez’. There is yet one more magnetism of cool waters, i.e. man-made lake with Bund Khushdil Khan. A broad variety of ducks gives tempting loveliness throughout winters. The celebrations include a lively programme of folk dancing by thousands of contributors from diverse areas. Horse jumping, trick horse riding, trick motor cycle riding, dare-devil motor car driving and a dog and hare competition are among the tourist attractions of the celebration. The most important magnetism of the show, however, remains the inspiring exhibit of the best available specimens of Pakistani domestic animals. As the sun sets over the inspiring Fortress Stadium, the site of the show, fireworks show, military tattoos and brass band display liven up the evenings and mesmerize the audience.

LinkedIn to Setup Offices in Pakistan

LinkedIn, world’s largest networking website for professionals, is making its way to start operations in Pakistan by setting up local offices in the country, reported Express Tribune citing Saleem H Mandviwalla, Chairman for Board of Investment (BOI) in Pakistan.
Chairman BOI said that board had detailed discussions with a LinkedIn Director for the move.
Mr. Saleem Mandviwalla further revealed that LinkedIn is likely to start setup offices in Pakistan by year end or early next year with initial investment of USD 10 million. “This will lead to the setting up of LinkedIn’s proper operations in Pakistan”, the chairman said.
Mr. Salaeem further mentioned that LinkedIn has shown great interest in Pakistani market which poses huge potential for internet companies with its 30 million internet users and growing.
Stats say that there are 1.2 million LinkedIn users in Pakistan, which largely consists of business professionals and decision makers of the country.
Board of Investment has said that it will use LinkedIn as an effective tool and an important platform for its business development activities.

Smart Grid for Pakistan

The whole world is buzzed by the smart grid concept and with each coming day, we are witnessing countries going for modernizing their outdated power grid infrastructure. But what is really this Smart grid phenomenon and how really is it important for a developing country like Pakistan, which is currently facing the worst energy crises of all times.
Smart grid is modern version of electric power grid infrastructure which uses communication technologies to enhance power generation, delivery and utilization.
For nontechnical fellows, electricity generated at power stations is brought back by network of power lines to cities where it is fed to our homes. Electric Meters installed in our homes, ”Black Dabbas with a rotating disc” record daily usage which is collected by the inefficient network of Wapda people once each month. This is the bottleneck in our electric infrastructure network since Wapda doesn’t have real time picture of load usage in individual homes rather it is able to get it once every thirty days.
Smart Grid apart from revolutionizing other aspects of electric infrastructure copes with this problem by communicating these meters with the main control room (aka Advanced Metering Infrastructure) so that electric utilities can have clear idea how the load generated is being utilized and for hunting down line losses due to “Kunda Culture” where every gentleman who pays his bills regularly has to bear the expenses of electric thieves.
Apart from this, load forecasting is possible for optimizing power generation. Another important aspect of Smart Grid is integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid. Solar Panels installed in homes can generate energy of their own and excess can be sold back to the electric utilities.
These ideas seem to be very captivating especially during this period when Pakistan is facing 12-18 hours load shedding. However upgrading power grid infrastructure is not a matter of seconds. It requires huge investment and careful planning to modernize the power grid which was designed decades ago.
The fundamental objective in laying out power grid infrastructure is to analyze load demand and predict its value for minimum five years. Unfortunately Pakistan is stuck at this point where our demand is exceeding the supply. It is unclear whether it’s due to poor planning or it’s politically jeopardized but the point is that it is the people and industry who are being victimized. If we are able to surpass this barrier then we should not sit contented keeping hands on hands and waiting for progressive countries of the world including our beloved Neighbor (Which by today has started conquering the space) to direct us for smart grid path rather we should look forward to it as soon as possible so that we are able to enjoy benefits of this phenomenal technology which are huge energy savings, less energy bills, fewer blown transformers and efficient load supply scenario.
Writer is a research Student in Malaysia working on Smart Power Grid Infrastructure