Bashir “Somchai” Ahmad wins debut fight in Singapore
PAK MMA founder, Bashir Ahmad made his ONE FC debut against Shannon Wiratchai at ONE FC: Kings and Champions on April 5, 2013 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, Bashir won the fight via unanimous decision becoming the first Pakistani MMA fighter to compete and win on an international stage. He is now 2-0 as a professional MMA fighter and will be making his second appearance later this year.
http://www.foxsportsasia.com/home/news/detail/item951998/
After almost 3 decades in the States, Bashir moved back to Pakistan to introduce MMA to the country
Acumen invests Rs 86 million in Chitral micro-hydel
Acumen, a pioneering non-profit global venture firm addressing poverty across Africa and in South Asia, on Monday announced a loan of Rs 86 million to Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) to support the creation of four community managed micro-hydel units in Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
These plants will provide 24-hour clean electricity to remote off-grid communities in Chitral district, a region with limited access to electricity. This is Acumen’s first investment in the growing rural energy sector of Pakistan. “There is a growing need for reliable power in Pakistan’s rural communities right now,” said Farrukh H Khan, Pakistan Country Director, Acumen Fund. “AKSRP’s community-based model has the potential to provide millions with access to an important basic service and revolutionise the way poor Pakistanis access energy.”
http://www.brecorder.com/fuel-a-energy/193/1183230/
Aamir Atlas wins final to become Asian Champion
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Aamir Atlas Khan brushed aside Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Mezayan in three sets to become the first Pakistani in 14 years to win the Asian Squash Championship on Sunday at the Islamabad Sport Complex.
Khan triumphed over Al Mezayan after an impressive performance with figures of 11-9, 11-3, 11-8.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Khan said the victory was the result of his hard work and he was happy to have won a title for Pakistan.
“I am very happy and I am sure that after this victory, squash in Pakistan will see better days,” Khan said. The twenty-two year old had earlier said that he was using the home advantage to his benefit.
“I knew I had advantage of home glass court and crowd, and I took advantage of both,” he said.
Khan had beaten Asyraf Azan of Malaysia 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 in the semi-final on Saturday.
He added that his expectations before the start of the tournament were low because he had just recovered from an injury; however, his goal was to win the Asian title for which he worked hard.
http://dawn.com/2013/05/05/aamir-atlas-wins-final-to-become-asian-squash-champion/
Shaun Gibson is a co-founder of Tech Britain, a resource that aims to promote all of the United Kingdoms tech clusters and foster greater links between them. He is also a technology advisor to the Cabinet Office and an advisor to the University of Manchester innovation centre. His aim is to see Manchester be a top 5 European startup cluster.
TechHub (www.techhub.com) creates spaces around the world for tech entrepreneurs to meet, work, learn and collaborate, and runs a load of great events, advice sessions and more.
TechHub provide physical and virtual spaces that enable technology startups to work smarter, develop faster and increase their chance of success. How? Through their one-vision global community. Every TechHub Member is working on a tech product.
Shaun Gibson and Doug Ward are co-founders of TechHub Manchester, UK. The two dynamic, passionate individuals are on a mission to not only connect Pakistan with Manchester’s burgeoning tech community but also to the rest of the world. In addition to helping position Manchester as a top 5 European tech cluster they co-manage Tech Britain (www.techbritain.com/), a resource that promotes the United Kingdom’s tech clusters and strives to foster greater links between them, a model they may replicate in Pakistan.
Shaun and Doug also act as Tech Cluster advisors to the United Kingdom government, specifically Number 10 Downing Street, where they meet with other heads of technology from around the UK on a quarterly basis!
The good news for Pakistan is that Shaun Gibson is coming to Pakistan. Shaun’s mission on this initial trip is to observe and engage with the startup scene, and secondly, to connect with the BEST developers in Pakistan. Shaun will be in Pakistan from the 29th April – 3rd May, 2013. If you would like to meet with Shaun during his stay, please email: usama@cloud9startups.com.
Pak tannery second best in Asia
LAHORE – The energy-starved leather industry had largest ever participation in Asian Pacific Leather Fair Hong Kong this year. More than 75 companies participated in the fair. Pakistan first time participated in global contest of tannery of the year 2013 and Pakistani tannery based at Lahore was decorated with first position in highly commended award of Asia and was declared second best tannery in Asia after Japan. The award ceremony was held in Hong Kong among hundreds of tanners from all over the world.
Royal Leather Industries based in Lahore was decorated with first position in a highly commended award
Helping Pakistani Youth Develop Skills for Employment
An estimated 103 million Pakistanis, or 63% of the population, are younger than age 25, and this number is expected to double over the next 30 years. In a landscape of endemic poverty, a literacy rate of only 53 percent among young people aged 15 to 24, and limited job opportunities, organizations like The Hunar Foundation (THF) are working to transform Pakistan’s human capital into an asset for the country.
Developing vocational skill programmes that enhance prospects of income generation for Pakistani youth is one of the national government’s key priorities for rapid economic growth. THF`s main objective is to provide young men and women with quality vocational education that meets the technical skill needs of the marketplace – leading to wage-earning capabilities for life.
To accomplish the vision of “A Skilled Pakistan,” THF plans to establish 35 purpose built Institutes of Excellence for student vocational training, and as many as four Teacher Training Centers over the next 10 years. The goal is to graduate at least 100,000 students during this time.
http://citizenibm.com/2013/04/helping-pakistani-youth-develop-skills-for-lifetime-employment.html
Indus Hospital introduces E-Cardiology in country
Indus Hospital for the first time in the medical history of Pakistan is starting E-Cardiology, which focuses on monitoring and providing immediate help to any heart patient, electronically. The Cardiology team at The Indus Hospital, along with the help of Health Information Management system, has made it possible for any image or video to be transferred from the hospital to the cardiologist’s cell phone within seconds.
Now, the staff is able to transfer an ECG, X-ray image, lab report, coronary angiogram or echocardiogram to the consultant’s phone within no time. This practice has helped save lives as the time taken for an expert decision has been minimised to a few minutes even during the night. The project has been accomplished by the Health Information Management system and the cost incurred on every transfer of image is less than Rs 6.
“It has been successfully used for the past few months and is an accomplishment for The Indus Hospital for initiating emergency electronic cardiac service which facilitates decision making through rapid and effective communication. This has and would certainly make a major difference in providing emergency cardiac care to our patients,” commented Dr Sajid Dhakam, Director Cardiac Services at Indus Hospital.
http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/1165710/
