Iranian teacher builds robot to teach prayer

TEHRAN: An Iranian schoolteacher has innovated an amusing way of encouraging young children to say their daily prayers — robotics.

Akbar Rezaie, 27, attended private robotics classes and learned to develop and assemble customized humanoid robots.

He teaches the Quran to boys and girls at Alborz elementary school in the town of Varamin, 35 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Tehran.

A Western dancing and singing doll first sparked in his mind the idea of building a local robot to present religious practice to his students.

"Once I was at a family gathering where there was a little girl playing with a doll that could dance and sing. I saw her watching the doll passionately and it made me contemplate on a making a device that can be used for both religious and entertaining purposes." He told AP Television.

He built the robot at home with basic tools and gave it the designation "Veldan," a Quranic term meaning: "Youth of Heaven."

Veldan is a humanoid robot constructed using an educational kit from the Korean robot manufacturer Robotis Bioloid.

By applying some mechanical modifications such as adding two extra engines, Akbar managed to let the robot perform praying movements, such as prostration, more easily.

"It was so exciting to me to see a robot pray. I have decided to always say my prayers too," said Narges Tajik, a third grader at Alborz School said.

He describes the robot as an educational assistance to teachers and believes that it has so far been successful in attracting students and should be mass-produced.

"As you see the children´s reaction in their faces, you realize how interesting it is to them to see how the science of robotics has been beautifully used for a religious purpose and I am sure it will be greatly effective in teaching them how to pray," he said.

He has formally registered the robot´s invention patent and its intellectual rights at Iran´s State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties, a body in charge of recognizing inventions. (AP)

 

 

 

 

China to invest $30bn in energy sector in Pakistan

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has stated that China had shown willingness to invest $30 billion in the energy sector in Pakistan, Geo News reported.

In an exclusive interview with Geo News programme Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath, Shahbaz Sharif said China would provide the historic assistance of $30 billion for power generation in the country, however, Pakistan would identify the projects.

Ukraine to unveil new premier, government

KIEV: Ukraine was set to unveil a new prime minister and cabinet on Tuesday as top Western envoys rushed to Kiev to try to find a lasting solution to the crisis rocking the economically-teetering country.

Ukraine has appealed to the West for $35 billion in aid to avoid default as the nation tilts away from Russia, following the weekend ousting of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych after days of carnage in Kiev left almost 100 dead.

Yanukovych has since been slapped with an arrest warrant for "mass murder", capping more than three months of relentless protests against his rule sparked by his November decision to spurn an historic pact with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Russia.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived in Kiev on Monday as the Ukrainian capital slowly returned to normal, with shops and restaurants in the centre re-opening, and she was due to brief the press at 0930 GMT Tuesday.

She met with interim leader Oleksandr Turchynov, who has warned that Kiev will have no alternative but to default on $13 billion in foreign obligations due this year should the West fail to come to the aid of the economically-struggling country.

Adding to the diplomatic effort, Washington is sending Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to Kiev Tuesday, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to visit Ukraine soon.

While Western powers have cautiously thrown their weight behind the overthrow of democratically-elected Yanukovych, Russia has reacted with outrage to the "mutiny" in a country with centuries-old roots to Moscow.

The United States has stopped short of endorsing Ukraine´s interim leader and called for a technocratic government to promote early elections.

Turchynov has vowed to draw up a "government of the people" and warned Russia that he expects the Kremlin to respect Ukraine´s pivot to the West.

On Tuesday, the electoral commission said the campaign for presidential polls set for May 25 had officially kicked off, though who exactly will stand for the top post remains to be seen.

Names commonly put forward include protest leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a pro-EU former foreign and economy minister; Yulia Tymoshenko, the freed opposition leader and hero of the 2004 Orange Revolution; Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate baron; and Vitali Klitschko a world heavyweight boxing champion-turned-politician.

The interim premier and cabinet set to be announced on Tuesday will have the tough tasks of keeping stability in Ukraine ahead of the polls.

AFP

New Italy PM wins confidence vote, vows ‘radical change’

ROME: Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called for a "radical and immediate change" in recession-hit Italy as he outlined his new government´s reform agenda before winning a crucial confidence vote in the Senate early Tuesday.

In an energetic and impassioned speech to parliament, Italy´s youngest-ever premier reiterated plans for rapidly overhauling the tax system, jobs market and public administration in a bid to tackle the country´s ailing economy.

"If we lose this challenge the fault will be mine alone. No-one has an alibi anymore," the 39-year-old said as his fiery speech prompted jeers and insults from opposition benches.

"This is an Italy of possibilities, an Italy of fundamental change," he said, stressing the "urgency" of implementing reforms in "a rusty country... gripped by anxiety".

Renzi, who grasped power after helping oust his predecessor Enrico Letta over failures to do enough to boost a flagging economy, later won the vote of confidence, with 169 votes in favour and 139 against, according to Senate speaker Pietro Grasso.

In his speech, he pledged to review unemployment benefits, establish a guarantee fund for small companies and comprehensively reform the justice system.

He also promised to cut the tax burden by a double-digit figure within months and pay off public administration debts.

The initial reaction from investors appeared positive, with Milan´s FTSE stock market closing up 0.48 percent after Renzi´s speech.

But small business association Confartigianato wondered where the prime minister hoped to find the money for the reforms, with its head Giorgio Merletti saying "a couple of quick sums show that there is 100 billion euros ($137 billion) to find immediately".

AFP 

Intellectual confusion

Dr Maleeha Lodhi
Several aspects of the present public discourse merit attention because of the way they are influencing national attitudes and shaping the country’s intellectual environment. Certain tendencies of thought seem to be especially prominent in discussions on television talk shows and feature frequently in public pronouncements by officials as well as in the narrative of several opinion makers. 

Some of these tendencies seem to have become habits in thinking that are contributing to the intellectual confusion prevailing in the country today. This is not to suggest that all those who influence or participate in the public debate think this way but to identify the features that represent a worrying phenomenon.

From this perspective five related aspects of the present public discourse are noteworthy. The first is an excessive preoccupation with diagnosing the country’s condition. Diagnosis is of course a good thing provided it moves the discourse to the next necessary stage to produce constructive outcomes – finding solutions to problems, and acting as a spur to action.

If the debate or discourse is only about diagnosing and bemoaning what is wrong with the country, then that becomes little more than a rant, a constant cacophony of complaints with scant purpose. Whining has never been a winning strategy for a country negotiating so many challenges. It provides no means to resolve problems or propose answers to the challenges at hand. On the contrary this attitude fosters a culture of self-pity, which drains national self-confidence and impedes the search for solutions.

The “what-have-we-come-to” refrain is perhaps more frequently heard among Pakistan’s chattering classes. This attitude absolves ‘complainants’ of the need to do anything and dodge the responsibility of thinking about how to resolve problems or generate ideas about this. It is almost as if diagnosing the country’s well-known ailments and hand-wringing is sufficient to fulfil their obligation as citizens.

Another aspect of this are endless discussions about what ‘could have been’ rather than ‘what can be’ accomplished. This is also evidenced in an obsessive concern with the past, and who did what, rather than the future. This habit of living in the past rather than learning from it is apparent in many debates at public forums, where the past is dissected, often from a partisan perspective, but rarely are pathways delineated to the future.

A related tendency is to shift blame for the country’s predicament to everyone other than ourselves. This is evidenced in the proclivity of almost every group, party or institution to blame the other rather than look dispassionately for real causes and thus ways of fixing problems. The narrative that emerges is pivoted to serve a certain interest rather than reflect reality. Worse, this distorts the national debate and encourages the general public to think we are incapable of solving our problems, which of course is far from being true.

Conspiracy theories flourish in such a ‘blame culture’ and so does the habit of finding external causes for domestic ills. The outside world is held responsible for the country’s problems. And with several opinion leaders eager to play to the gallery, groupthink takes over and few pause to question the premise of conspiracy theories. Again, shifting the blame for a problem becomes a way of escaping responsibility and fleeing from reality – and an excuse for inaction.

A culture of victimhood is also engendered. Victimhood produces a sense of impotence and the misbelief that someone else is in control of our destiny, whether as a nation or an individual. Conspiracy theories, in fact, nurture hopelessness about the future because they take away the incentive to do anything about a problem or challenge. If almost everything is someone else’s fault, it is easy to slip into a passive state and pretend there is little we can do to change that.

A third, and perhaps overarching, aspect of the public discourse is the lack of rational arguments or thinking. If rationality is the deployment of logic and reasoning to produce arguments based on facts rather than emotion, it is apparent how little of this is found, for example in comments of familiar participants in television talk shows. There are of course notable exceptions to this trend, but much too often a shallow conversation passes as debate and informed and reasoned arguments are hard to come by. 

The most egregious example of this phenomenon was the media attention given to a man who claimed to have ‘discovered’ how to run a car on water. He was paraded on television and his invention nationally celebrated until the truth inevitably prevailed – that his claim was a hoax. Yet for weeks that claim mesmerised a non-trivial section of the people, signalling – at least in that period – the triumph of irrationality.

This may be an extreme example of a tendency, which nevertheless exhibits itself in lax, unsubstantiated argumentation and non-rigorous thinking. Another aspect of this is the ease with which definitive statements or judgements are made – indicating a habit of not weighing words before speaking in public, and attaching little importance to the veracity of words that are spoken. 

This may be a reflection of intellectual laziness but words have consequences and can leave a lasting impression on the public mind. Uttered without careful thought, they compound the intellectual muddle around us. It also produces the unfortunate tendency of casually branding people unpatriotic or ‘agents’ of somebody or the other. 

A fourth aspect of the public discourse is how much it seems to be dominated by platitudes. Trite and banal statements also represent intellectual laziness. Often public officials mouth platitudes – for example “education is essential for progress” or “our sacrifices will not go in vain”– as if they are self-enforcing and simply making such declarations will convince people that is about to happen. Vacuous statements are also heard in television debates, with participants making bumper-sticker comments, devoid of any meaning and doing little to illuminate the issue under discussion.

Finally, there is the frequent propensity in the public discourse of making overstated and exaggerated claims on an issue. For example, the oft-repeated statement that Pakistan is “maal-a-maal” (abundant) with resources indicates a desire to create a make-believe world because those who state this rarely care to specify on what basis they have made this evaluation or how such assets can be leveraged. 

It is one thing to say that Pakistan’s many natural and human resources need to be exploited and to suggest credible ways to do this. It is quite another when the claim is not accompanied by data or facts to support or substantiate it and the language is so exaggerated as to lose meaning.

At times ostensibly well-educated people are heard arguing in public forums that there is a ‘foreign conspiracy’ to keep Pakistan weak and prevent it from exploring and exploiting its abundant natural resources. This utterly unsubstantiated proposition fails to answer the question of what is stopping the country from thwarting that conspiracy and taking its destiny – and its abundant resources – into its own hands.

Distorted and misleading narratives emerge from these inter- related elements of the current discourse, which do nothing to chart or illuminate the path – and policies – the country needs to follow to escape its present predicament. 

It doesn't have to be this way. The country’s leaders, including opinion leaders, have a national responsibility to find ways to steer the debate in a more positive and constructive direction and encourage discussion of options and solutions to Pakistan’s problems rather than join a collective lament about them. 

Such a discourse should aim to help construct a better future rather than mourn an unedifying past and, above all, encourage people – and themselves – to believe that we can take charge of our own destiny and that we possess the capacity to overcome challenges by our own efforts.

The writer is special adviser to the Jang Group/Geo and a former envoy to the US and the UK.

SBP launches plan for Islamic banking

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched a strategic plan to augment the growth of Islamic banking industry in the next five years.

The strategic plan 2014-2018 aims at setting a direction for the industry, which is to be pursued in the said period, according to the SBP.

Since its re-launch in 2001, the Islamic banking industry (IBI) has been growing, accounting for 12 percent of overall banking system with 19 Islamic banks offering services over a network of 1,300 branches across the country. The key focus areas of the plan are: enabling policy environment, Shariah governance and compliance; awareness and capacity building and market development.

The functional strategies and action plan for achieving the objectives in each area have been developed in consultation with the Islamic banking industry, Shariah advisors, State Bank of Pakistan Shariah board members, academicians, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

The successful implementation of the plan is likely to give further boost to the SBP drive for earning Islamic banking industry recognition as a distinct and viable system, said the SBP. Meanwhile, the SBP inaugurated a two-day workshop on Islamic banking and finance on Monday for journalists to improve their understanding.

Foreign policy, Taliban talks process

ISLAMABAD: The opposition on Monday protested in the National Assembly (NA) against not being taken on board vis-à-vis formation of a policy against terrorism and foreign relations.

They demanded of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take the parliament into confidence about talks with Taliban following continues terrorist activities. They also demanded that they be taken on board with regard to shift in foreign policy about Syria.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also boycotted the NA proceedings protesting against the government for not taking the parliament into confidence about talks with Taliban.

The opposition said the government was ‘confused’ as it is neither taking the parliament into confidence nor taking any decision. “Who is taking the decision of surgical strikes and air attacks? Has the cabinet endorsed these actions? Has the government decided to terminate its committee to talk with Taliban?” questioned PTI Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Opposition leader Khursheed Shah demanded that prime minister take the parliament into confidence about what was going on in the country and the shift in the foreign policy about Syria.

Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid said, “The cabinet is meeting Tuesday. The parliament will be taken into confidence after that.”

Khursheed Shah questioned will the prime minister take the parliament into confidence on utility of talks with Taliban following martyrdom of 23 personals of the FC. “If dialogue has ended, the parliament should be told the reasons for it,” he said.

The opposition leader said the prime minister should act as a leader of the nation and take a decision. “We always supported the prime minister and once again reiterate that the opposition will continue to support him but he should take any decision,” he added.Shah said the people forget the high power tariff and price hike as they wanted peace in the country.

He said the government has taken a complete U-turn in its foreign policy towards Syria but the parliament was kept in the dark on this issue. “In the past, we have interfered in Afghanistan and now our own country was in fire of war. Now we are again going to repeat this mistake by interfering in the affairs of Syria. We are even ready to provide missiles to those fighting Syrian government without realising what will happen next,” he added.

He said instead of interfering in Syria, Pakistan should play an active role and bring all Muslim countries on table to resolve the issue. “Being a nuclear power, why we make a shift in our policy for any other country,” he questioned.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi also questioned the U-turn into the foreign policy with regard to Syria and demanded that the parliament should be taken into confidence on this matter. “Pakistan has brotherly relations with Saudi Arab and also with Syria. But there is an impression that there is a policy shift in the Pakistan’s foreign policy so the house must be taken into the confidence. This policy shit has not only regional but also other implications,” he added.

Qureshi said Pakistan has a long border with Iran and why the Pakistan has made such a drastic policy shift.He said a sort of operation is going on in tribal agencies but there is confusion about policy of the government.Sheikh Rashid said the government should inform the house the reasons for initiation of a military action in tribal areas.

“I am worried about Pakistan,” he said, adding he believes that he was misfit in this parliament.Syed Asif Hasnain supported action against terrorists and said dialogue failed because of violent attitude of Taliban.

He said the nation should support the armed forces in their efforts to defend the country.Sher Akbar supported targeted operation in Karachi and said it should continue. He said the government had convened an APC which decided for dialogue and now another APC should be convened if an operation is to be launched.

Online adds: A meeting of National Assembly’s joint parliamentary parties of PPP, PML-Q and ANP will be held today (Tuesday) under the chair of Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah to deliberate over increasing terrorism, dialogue with Taliban, and ongoing action in Northern Wazirstan.

‘Thar Coal Project Block-II to reduce energy crisis by 10 percent’

MIRPURKHAS: A recent survey report on Thar Coal Project Block-II said the power generation from the project would fulfil the gap of the country’s energy crisis by 10 percent as it would add 660MW power to the national grid through 500kv high-tension transmission lines.

The report on the project, spreading over an area of 95.5 Sq Km, was conducted by Thar Power Company Ltd, which is to setup coal fired power plant in Thar. The project was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari in a ceremony held few weeks back.

According to the report, a copy of which is available with The News, the main component of power plant will include circulating fluidized bed boiler, steam turbine, power export system and ash handling system.

As the lignite coal will burn at a temperature of 860 degree Celsius, the ‘fly ash’ produced during the process of power generation may be used for the manufacturing of cement and other construction materials. It further said more than 200 skilled people will run the coal project in the long term while around 2000 people will be hired during the construction phase of the project.

Pak-Afghan JEC concludes

KABUL: The ninth session of Pakistan- Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) concluded here on Monday with vows to enhance bilateral economic cooperation to promote peace and stability in the two countries.

The co-chairpersons of the session Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Afghan Finance Minister, Dr Omar Zakhilwal signed the agreed minutes of the session. Acknowledging the progress made on the Central Asia- South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA) 1000 and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project, the two countries keenly looked forward to the implementation of these projects.

Realizing the importance of Kunar Hydro Power project, both the countries agreed to work together to further expand cooperation in this project.The meeting also agreed that all issues raised by the Afghan side on the implementation of Afghan-Pakistan Trade and Transit Agreement (APTTA) would be considered by Pakistan and the results will be reviewed in the relevant customs experts meeting scheduled by end of March 2014.

Pakistan side agreed to speed up the pace of work on various development projects being undertaken in Afghanistan through its financial assistance. The Afghan Government, on its part, agreed to expedite provision of electricity to the projects.

Pakistan side shared a new draft for the Avoidance of Double Taxation treaty. Both sides agreed to further discuss issues involving “Avoidance of Double Taxation” treaty at the earliest.

The Afghan side welcomed the extension of scholarship scheme for students from 2000 scholarships to 3000.A number of proposals for possible cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the areas of petroleum & natural Resources, industries & production, and agriculture & livestock were also discussed during the meeting.

Addressing the concluding session, Minister Zakhilwal said: “I firmly believe that improved economic cooperation and interdependency between Afghanistan and Pakistan not only helps bringing prosperity to our two nations, but it can also promote mutual trust between the two countries.”

Call made from KW&SB 12 minutes after Imran Farooq’s killing

KARACHI: The questions of British investigators required to be answered by Pakistani officials with regard to the gruesome murder of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq in London include details of a landline telephone number of the office of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB).

A call was made from this number to the killers in the same locality in London on mobile phone exactly 12 minutes after the incident. According to sources, the caller talked for four minutes and 22 seconds through the telephone having international roaming facility.

The details furnished with Pakistani officials by the Scotland Yard police say exactly 12 minutes after the murder of Dr Imran Farooq, a call was made from Karachi through phone number 009221-36947016 to another Karachi mobile phone number 0300-8252044 at 1739 hours and the murderer was instructed about his next step, including going into hiding.

Officials say the call was made from the number which is being used by the KW&SB in North Karachi. The number was allotted to the same office by the PTCL.The British investigation agency had been furnished details about the number, including caller’s identity who has been arrested. The Karachi Police have made sufficient headway in the case but details are being kept close to chest.

Musharraf’s plea for exemption accepted

RAWALPINDI: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), Rawalpindi, has accepted former President Pervez Musharraf plea seeking exemption from attendance in the court for one day in judges’ detention case.

The court further observed that petition from former president on permanent exemption from attendance will be decided on merit. Judge Attiqur Rehman of the ATC took up for hearing former president Pervez Musharraf application in connection with exemption on Monday.

The court inquired where Pervez Musharraf medical report is. Ilyas Siddiqui counsel for Pervez Musharraf said AFIC doctors are not providing medical report. The court should order them to provide medical report, he argued.

Judge Attiq ur Rehman said court would not issue such order. “You should present the medical report on next hearing”, he remarked.The hearing of the case was adjourned till March 7.