Pakistani Rights Activist Khurram Zaki Shot Dead In Karachi

Prominent Pakistani rights activist Khurram Zaki was shot dead while having dinner with a friend at a restaurant here, and his NGO blamed "Takfiri Deobandi militants" for the killing.

Zaki, 40, was with his journalist friend Rao Khalid when two attackers arrived on a motorcycle, sprayed bullets at them and sped away, the media quoted police as saying.

Rao Khalid and a bystander were critically wounded in the attack.

The News International said Zaki suffered multiple bullet wounds. The attackers used a 9mm pistol. Ten spent bullet shells were found from the scene of the crime.

A former journalist, Zaki was an active campaigner for human rights and edited the website and Facebook page "Let Us Build Pakistan (LUBP)", which claimed to "spread liberal religious views".

LUBP Editor in Chief Ali Abbas Taj offered condolences "to Pakistani nation on the martyrdom of Zaki" and said he was second from the editorial team of LUBP to be killed by Deobandi militants.

"For the last one year, Zaki was a target of a systematic hate campaign by Deobandi fanatic Shamsuddin Amjad of the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in collaboration with the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP)."

Taj said "hateful and violence inciting posters" against Zaki had been published recently by the Facebook page run by the pro-Taliban fanatics of Jamaat-e-Islami.

According to his Twitter profile, Zaki was the former head of current affairs for TV Channel News One, where he looked after infotainment and religious programming.

Zaki's website Lubpak.com is currently blocked in Pakistan, Dawn News reported today.

Zaki was last in the media limelight alongside activist Jibran Nasir in a campaign against Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz for inciting hatred against Shia Muslims.

The campaigners had managed to get a case registered against Aziz.

Rights activist Sabeen Mahmud, who was also gunned down in Karachi, had also taken part in the protest against Lal Masjid.

According to social media, Zaki was also a research scholar, blogger as well as human rights activist.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) condemned the killing and demanded the immediate arrest of the murderers.

"Zaki's murder is condemnable. Incidents of targeted killing are occurring in spite of on-going operations in the city," the MQM said.

LUBP described Zaki as a staunch critic of the systematic attacks on Shia Muslims, Sunni Sufis Muslims, Christians and other communities in Pakistan at the hands of Deobandi militants.

"In boldly highlighting and supporting the rights of Sunni Barelvis, Shias, Sufis, Ahmadis, Hindus and Christians, his contribution as citizen journalism was much bigger than all journalists combined in Pakistan.

"His death is the grim reminder that whoever raises voice against Taliban and Jamaat-e-Islami Deobandi mafia in Pakistan will not be spared. And when they have to murder, they never fail."

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/

Google Maps May Need a License, IRCTC Data Leak, and More News This Week

It's been an interesting week in tech news, with both scientific development and consumer tech ticking along nicely.

There have been some major developments from India, but one of the most important bits of news that we came across was that the government might be working on a law that could would make it mandatory for Google Maps to get a license in India. According to a draft bill, the Ministry of Home Affairs is planning a law where you need a government license to acquire and to disseminate map data; and there are huge fines if this is not the case. There are also huge fines for "incorrect" depictions of India's borders. While the idea of a law around geospatial information makes sense, the specifics of the draft could be worrying.

The next piece of news from India is also really big - the Mumbai police warned that data had been hacked from the rail ticket booking site IRCTC, which is the biggest e-commerce destination in the country. It later turned out that this was not the case, but there was still serious cause for concern as officials admitted customer data might have been sold, and an enquiry is being conducted. IRCTC has three crore active and registered users, so the information of these users and their cards could be at risk, though officials assured all sensitive information is encrypted before it's stored.

Another huge piece of news for Indian tech enthusiasts was the announcement of carrier billing for Google Play, launched on Idea. This allows people to pay for apps without a credit or debit card - instead, the money is deducted from your prepaid balance, or added to your postpaid bill. Gadgets 360 first reported this on Tuesday, but one development we learned on Thursday was that Idea is charging a convenience fee for all transactions. This could be a spanner in the works - if it's cheaper to use a debit card, and people are anyway not used to paying for apps, then this mode of payment might not catch on. Idea did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.

Continuing the theme of big stories, Reliance Jio has started to roll out its 4G services to the public. It's not the open market yet, but the company has launched an employee referral program through which Jio employees can invite up to 10 people to join the network. These users will get 10GB free voice and data for three months, and also get access to "premium applications" for live TV, video on demand, news, and cloud storage.

Possibly the most exciting tech news right now is that SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform early on Friday. The rocket went into space, came down from a height of around 25,000 miles, and then landed on a floating platform. It's an incredible achievement with far reaching possibilities, though of course, that's all going to be off in the future.

In Brazil, there were some developments around the use of WhatsApp. On Tuesday, a judge ordered carriers to block WhatsApp for 72 hours, a move that affected 100 million users. This was struck down the next day by another judge, but it shows how vulnerable the services that we all rely on actually are.

Meanwhile, one of the more humorous developments took place recently, when the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that it cracked an iPhone 5s, at the same time the FBI was struggling with an iPhone 5c. Apple can't be happy about this news, but it's probably even more upset by the fact that a Chinese court rejected its trademark over the iPhone name. The court declared that a leathermaker can use the iPhone name for its handbags and phone cases. Meanwhile, long-time HTC fans might be saddened (if unsurprised) as the company continues to struggle. The company has seen dismal sales of its new flagship in China, and it's very promising VR division just become a new company.

Source: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/

Canada wildfire: Images show Fort McMurray devastation

Pictures obtained by the BBC show large parts of the Canadian city of Fort McMurray in ruins following a devastating wildfire.

The exact scale of the damage is difficult to assess, as access to the city is restricted.

Officials have given few details other than to report that 1,600 homes and other buildings have been destroyed.

However, people who have seen the damage say whole neighbourhoods have been wiped out.

One picture shows the ruins of many houses, with a car untouched by fire. In another, a destroyed church is surrounded by rubble.

Some parts of the city, in the province of Alberta, have been defended resolutely and are still standing.

The city's airport suffered only minor damage despite being licked by flame and engulfed by smoke.

Only the "Herculean" efforts of fire fighters saved the facility, says Scott Long of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

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• The images of whole neighbourhoods in ruins are shocking but they will not surprise the people of Fort McMurray who fled knowing that their city was in danger of being consumed by fire.
  The fire in the province of Alberta covers 850 sq km (328.2 sq miles), and the entire city of almost 90,000 people was evacuated three days ago.
  Most fled south but some of those who headed north have been airlifted to safety.
  A police-escorted convoy of 1,500 vehicles was passing through the city along the only safe route to Edmonton and Calgary to the south, but police have told the BBC it has has been suspended because of flames up to 200 feet high on both sides of the road.
  It will take approximately four days for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to escort all evacuees from sites north of Fort McMurray, authorities said.
  For nearby communities though the danger has not receded.
  Officials are predicting that it will be "weeks and weeks" before the fire is completely out. The region has not had significant rain in two months.

The skies above the empty and smouldering city are full of strange shapes.

There are clouds that billow like bright white cauliflowers, boiling rapidly as they change by the second.

There are clouds illuminated by vertical streaks of a dull red from the fires on the ground.

And there are giant clouds stretching as far as the eye can take in with a single glance, great walls of smoke blown sideways by the strong winds.

The helicopters - almost 150 of them, we are told - look puny in the face of such a dramatic display of nature's power, but occasionally they do seem to be making progress in slowing the fire's march across the plains.

Ultimately though, says Bill Stewart, co-director of the University of California's Center for Fire Research and Outreach, only nature can stop it entirely. Source: BBC News

Elections: Labour's Sadiq Khan promises a 'better' London

Labour's Sadiq Khan has vowed to do all in his power to make London "better", as he was sworn in as the new mayor.

Referring to his council estate roots, Mr Khan, the city's first Muslim mayor, said he wanted all Londoners to have the same opportunities he has had.

It comes as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon defended Conservative Zac Goldsmith's campaign, describing it as the "rough and tumble" of politics.

The much-criticised campaign questioned Mr Khan's alleged links to extremists.

Mr Khan beat Mr Goldsmith, by 1,310,143 votes to 994,614, giving him a larger personal mandate than either of his predecessors, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.

He has announced he will step down as MP for Tooting, meaning a by-election will be held to elect a new representative in Parliament.

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• Hamilton bid to lead UKIP in assembly
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The former Labour minister's victory in London ends eight years of Conservative control of City Hall.

It has also given a boost to Labour after its poor performance in Scotland's election which saw it slump to third place behind the Conservatives.

Following on from its London success, Labour has also won Bristol's mayoral contest, with candidate Marvin Rees beating the incumbent, independent George Ferguson, by a comfortable margin.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed Mr Rees' victory, saying in a tweet: "Another Labour mayor who will stand up for their city!"

But Mr Corbyn was absent from Mr Khan's swearing-in ceremony earlier on Saturday.

Mr Khan - who nominated but did not vote for Mr Corbyn in the Labour leadership contest - said he was "not sure" why, adding: "We'll have to find out what he was doing."

More than 300 million Indians suffer from a crippling drought

In the blistering sun and swirling dust, farmer Dhananjay Hanumant Suryavanshi squats on his empty land and caresses the parched earth.

“There is only one thought that runs over and over again in my head. Will there be good rain this year? Will there be good rain this year?” Suryavanshi, 25, said.

Four years of drought here and crop loss have forced his family to take two loans and sell a third of his land, and driven him to do menial labor. In January, his mother gave up. She drank a bottle of pesticide and fell dead near the holy basil plant in the courtyard.

Relentless drought coupled with a record-breaking heat wave and bad farming practices in the western state of Maharashtra have slashed farm output and driven farmers to desperation.

This year is the worst in decades, officials say, because most farmers are also burdened by years of accumulated debt as they continue to deplete the precious groundwater.
Dhananjay Hanumant Suryavanshi, 25, shows a picture of his mother, who drank a bottle of pesticide and fell dead near a holy basil plant in the courtyard in January. The burden of drought-induced loan is fueling farmer suicides in India. (Rama Lakshmi/The Washington Post)

About 330 million Indians are struggling under grueling heat and drought conditions across 10 states this year, the government said, severely harming the economy of a nation where nearly half the people rely on farming.

Reservoirs and rivers here in Maharashtra’s drought districts are almost dry, and a 50-car train now delivers water to Latur city, near Suryavanshi’s village. Thirsty Indians place long, serpentine lines of plastic pots and drums at the municipal water tank and village wells, and fights have broken out at water pumps.

In many places, children have turned into porters for their families, running up and down with water pots all day. A 12-year-old girl collapsed and died last month here in the searing 111-degree heat after she made five trips to fetch water.

“My whole family is in a constant state of panic over water,” said Kasi Mali, as she placed her pots in a long line. “I have missed many hours of my work as a laborer because I stand here.”

Nearly 30 percent of Indians in cities and 70 percent in villages rely on water pumped from deep underground, because the tap water supply is either insufficient or non-existent.

Only 17 percent of India’s farms have access to surface irrigation projects. Most farmers rely on the elusive annual rain or pump water from underground.

The practice has depleted the country’s groundwater supply precipitously, alarming environmentalists and raising concerns about India’s future agricultural output. Water levels have declined in 47 percent of India’s village wells over the past decade, the government said.
Indian village women carry drinking water in plastic containers on their head as they walk back to their village after collecting it from an almost dried-up well in Samba district on April 29. (Channi Anand/AP)

In Latur city,there is no groundwater even 700 feet down, residents say. In the villages nearby, the water table is in far worse shape, in some places dropping to 1,000 feet below the surface.

Environmental experts have repeatedly warned that the water table will disappear soon if India’s water usage is not regulated.

“We have gone on digging so aggressively in the last 10 years to draw water for our crops that we have used up the groundwater that is meant for the next two generations,” said Raju Dongare, a farmer. “But what else could we depend on? There were no canals or pipes coming to our farms.”

Experts also say that the drought is not a natural disaster but a consequence of decades of bad farming practices.

In recent years, the state government allowed the proliferation of sugar factories owned by local politicians, which led to a sort of gold rush among farmers here to cultivate water-guzzling sugar cane, said Pradeep Purandare, former professor of water studies at the Water and Land Management Institute.

Seventy percent of the water from the state’s dams goes to cane farms. But cane growers have drawn on groundwater, further sapping the aquifers.

This year, somewhat belatedly, the administration in Latur district launched a drive to encourage farmers to shift away from cane to oil seeds, lentils and soybeans.

“There is a mind-set among farmers that only sugar cane crop fetches good returns,” Pandurang Pole, the chief district official, said.

Latur district’s groundwater situation can sustain only 12,300 acres of cane cultivation, he said. But the area has about 10 times that much land under cultivation.

Repeated droughts have pushed tens of thousands of farmers to leave their villages to look for work in India’s overburdened cities and towns.

In Matola village, about 500 people, mostly men, have left in just the past six months. Many of the women and children left behind are selling their cattle in distress.

“There is no water in the sky or under the earth; there is nothing left here,” said Bai Gidappa Pawar, as she poured freshly ground chili powder into a jar in her kitchen. In December, her husband left for Pune city with their 16-year old son to work in a quarry. “There is not a single family here that does not have a loan hanging over its head.”

The burden of drought-induced loans is fueling farmer suicides across India. There were 12,360 suicides by land-owning farmers and farm laborers across India in 2014, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, up from 11,772 the previous year.

Since January, 43 farmers have killed themselves in Latur district alone, including Suryavanshi’s mother.

His mother was driven to take her life after the family lost more than $4,400 because of bad harvests in the sugar cane and soy bean crop in the past three years. He was unable to pay the hospital bills to treat his father’s cancer, who died three years ago. To feed his family, Suryavanshi and his brother now load boulders on to a truck for eight hours in the sun, earning less than $3 a day to feed their children.

His farm is barren now. The oppressive heat of the sun beat down on him, as he said he cannot afford to feed his buffalo for long.

He said his mother did farm labor for others and brought home extra money. That helped.

He feels her absence keenly.

“In spite of all the problems, my mother’s presence was like an umbrella protecting me from the harsh sun,” he said.  Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com

AP 12th Inter 1st/2nd(First)(Second) Year Results 2016 results(BIEAP)cgg gov in

AP Inter first Year Result 2016: Board of Intermediate instruction of Andhra Pradesh will discharge the principal year results in, the end week of April 2016. Hopefuls can check their outcomes on the official site of Andhra Pradesh i.e., www.bieap.gov.in. The load up has discharged the second year time table of twelfth class on the official site. From the time table, the Telangana Senior Intermediate exams were planned on the month of March 2016. Such a variety of candidates are enlisted or these exams in the AP states from various branches of this class. After the effective finish of exams, the applicants can check for their outcomes on the site of the board. In our site, we gave the immediate connection to the second year of Intermediate aftereffects of AP, by tapping the beneath connection we can straightforwardly the entrance the outcomes 2016.

About AP Board: Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education was perceived in 1971. The Board of Intermediate Education fortifies the fantasy of world-class instructing in Andhra Pradesh through magnificence administration, drives and support. It's goal to rehashed advancement of instructing in the Andhra Pradesh. It complete and performs distinctive undertakings that include directing examinations, concocting of courses of learning, giving relationship to schools, recommending course layout, giving the way, administration and support for all learning foundations.

Andhra Pradesh Board First Year Exam 2016

Name of the Board: Andhra Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, (BSEAP)

Exam Name: BSEAP first year Exams

Exam Date: March 2016

AP twelfth or First Inter Results Release Date: April 2016

Official Website: www.bieap.gov.in

Andhra Pradesh Board second Year Results 2016 Roll Number Wise

In Andhra Pradesh, the competitors went to for first entomb exams in Junior and Senior levels. The halfway stamps and the general pass rate of this board are expanded in raising way. In 2015, the general pass rate is 85% of the four lakhs understudies and in this year, we can expect the 90% of the above four lakhs understudies. Hopefuls can check their right results on the official site after the announcing of AP twelfth class results 2016. Along these lines, researchers can check the outcomes by move numbers too. Hopefuls can check their outcomes from the April month to get the right points of interest.

Check Andhra Pradesh Senior Inter Results from Name Wise

Hopefuls who compose the primary year exams this year in AP state will acquire the outcomes in the month of April as a year ago the outcomes were pronounced in the meantime. When results are issued, you can ensure your first – year middle of the road aftereffects of Andhra Pradesh through the immediate connection that will be given here. For this, the understudies need to send the code through portable in the course of action that official powers will declare to the official numbers that will be given by board and you will acquire comes about specifically to that versatile number.

Bury Results 2016: AP state Board will be soon announcing the Results for the Inter first and second year last examinations which the understudies can have the capacity to access by taking after the official site www.bieap.gov.in. Leading body of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh is the main body in the state that assumes the liability of controlling the procedure of Intermediate instruction in the state for both the Junior and Senior levels. Consistently, the board leads the examinations for both the first and second year understudies all the while in the month of March. For the scholarly year 2015-16, the board had discharged the timetable and has directed the examinations as needs be effectively. The greater part of the lakhs of understudies who have enrolled for these exams have showed up according to the calendar in different test focuses somewhere around 02nd and nineteenth March 2016 for first year and somewhere around 03rd and 21st March 2016 for the second year.

As the exams are presently effectively finished, every one of those understudies from various junior universities that are under the board's association are currently sitting tight for the assertion of the Results. Consistently, the state board will be discharging the first and second Inter Results on its official site www.bieap.gov.in. Then again, there are some informal sites that are trailed by the greater part of the understudies to see their Results from eras.

There are few locales like Schools9, Sakshi, Eenadu, Bharatstudent which are devoted keeping in mind the end goal to give all the data identified with the AP State Board Exams consistently including the Results. For this scholarly year additionally, the understudies who are willingly sitting tight for the Results can just take after any of these locales other than the official site in order to get to the data identified with the Results furthermore get to the imprints sheets once the Results are authoritatively announced.

Check Your AP first, second Inter Results 2016 @ Schools9, Sakshi, Eenadu, Bharathstudent, www.bieap.org

At the point when there is one and only authority site utilizing which the Results can be gotten to, it will be troublesome for the understudies to become more acquainted with the needed data rapidly on account of the overwhelming activity. For the year 2016, lakhs of understudies have showed up for the Inter board exams including both the first and the second year. At the point when the Results are pronounced and the understudies are expected to get to the Results, they may need to invest a considerable measure of energy get their Marks sheets stacked on the official site as there will be numerous understudies dynamic on the site at the same moment in this way bringing about the substantial movement. The understudies can now dispose of such issues by taking after various informal destinations which are well known in such manner. Here we are giving the rundown of few of such destinations which have been under the same procedure since long.

www.bieap.gov.in

www.schools9.com

www.sakshi.com

www.eenadu.net

www.bharatstudent.com

Andhra Pradesh Inter Board Results 2016:

Leading body of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh was built up in the year 1971 with a goal to control the arrangement of Intermediate training in the state. It directs and controls the working of the lesser universities and the nature of the instruction in the entire state. AP Inter board was shaped as a different body once the consolidated state was bifurcated into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The body is set down in order to determine the courses of study, recommend syllabus, and reading material. Aside from controlling the procedure of instruction, it even gives association to numerous Institutions that offer Intermediate course. Consistently, the board leads the first and second Inter examinations and discharges the Results alongside the endorsements to the understudies.

Name of the Board: Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh

Name of the Exam: AP Board Inter Exams 2016

Official Website Link: www.bieap.gov.in

Date of the Exams: Between 02nd and 21st of March 2016

Classification: AP first and second Inter Results 2016

Date of Declaration of the Results: By the most recent week of April 2016.

AP Board Intermediate Results 2016 and Marks Sheets:

Every one of the understudies who have been sitting tight for the affirmation of the AP state Board Inter Results 2016 can just continue tailing this space in order to get to the Results which are relied upon to be pronounced in the month of April 2016. One may need to take after the procedure specified underneath in order to get to the Results once they are authoritatively proclaimed.

Visit the official site of the AP Inter board www.bieap.gov.in.

In the landing page of the board, hunt down the connection "AP Inter first/second Results 2016" by looking through the page.

When discovered, click on the connection and enter the required subtle elements like your name and lobby ticket number and 'Submit'.

Your Results status alongside the subject shrewd imprints sheet will b showed on the screen which can be put something aside for future reference.

Hopefuls who have gone to the AP State Inter exams 2016 ought to note that the barricade will be accompanying the first and second Years Advanced Supplementary exams in the month of June/July 2016. Stay tuned to the official site www.bieap.gov.in for more data identified with the Results. Be in contact with this space as we will likewise be posting all the most recent redesigns right here on this page for the comfort of every one of our perusers.

Facebook drops marked substance limitations for distributers

Advertisers typically pay publishers and social celebrities for branded video or advertorial campaigns based on how many people see that branded content. And Facebook can be a super-easy way to get that content in front of a lot of people, especially if a publisher or celebrity can post that paid-for content to their own Facebook page for free distribution and maximum profit. But distributing paid-for content organically on a Facebook page without Facebook’s permission has been against the company’s rules. Not anymore.

On Friday, Facebook dropped its restriction around how branded content can be distributed on its social network. Anyone who runs a verified Facebook page — a publisher, brand or celebrity, for instance — can now post articles, videos, photos, links or other content to that page that someone else paid for without needing Facebook’s permission or cutting the company in on the proceeds.

The move potentially opens the floodgates for publishers and other creators to make more money by producing content for brands and keeping a larger chunk of it. Facebook’s billion-person daily audience offers a lot of eyeballs for their branded content, and now they can sell brands on those eyeballs without splitting any of that revenue with Facebook.

Of course, that assumes that publisher’s branded-content posts will receive the same level of organic distribution in people’s news feeds as their non-branded organic posts. If people engage with the branded posts as much as they do with the normal posts, that should remain the case. But Facebook has a history of shutting down the organic reach of content that’s too promotional.

There’s another catch: any eligible account posting content paid for by a brand to its Facebook page has to tag the brand so that the top of the post carries the line “[Publisher] with [Brand].” That tagging creates a way for marketers to be notified when a publisher posts content that’s paid for by their brand so that they can share it or promote it as an ad.

Example of the branded content on a Facebook post.
Facebook will require pages to tag brands when posting branded content organically.
It’s unclear whether Facebook’s branded-content tag will be enough for the Federal Trade Commission, which has been cracking down on branded content that’s not properly labeled. The FTC’s disclosure guidelines aren’t very clear. For example, the organization said in December 2015 that disclosures like “Presented by [Brand]” or “Brought to You by [Brand]” could suffice, “depending on the context” when they’re attached to content that an advertiser paid for but did not create or influence.

An FTC spokesperson was not immediately able to comment on whether Facebook’s tagging system complies with the FTC’s guidelines. We’ll update this post when we hear back.

Update: The FTC has decided it doesn’t want to say anything about Facebook’s branded content tags specifically, but its spokesperson sent over a statement. “All advertising promotional messages should be identifiable as advertising, regardless of where they appear. As our guidance for businesses on native advertising notes, everyone who participates directly or indirectly in creating or presenting native ads should make sure that ads don’t mislead consumers about their commercial nature,” the FTC said.

The branded-content tags also let Facebook know if a piece of content is branded. That knowledge could be used by Facebook’s computers to start automatically recognizing branded content. That system would be handy if ever Facebook saw all of the money publishers and creators were making from posting branded content on Facebook and decided that, actually, it does want a cut. But there’s a chance that Facebook will follow YouTube’s example and will keep things free in order to curry favor with companies building businesses — and entertaining audiences — on its platform.

The branded-content tags will also help Facebook make sure paid-for content doesn’t violate its branded content policies. Those policies prohibit pages from inserting traditional ads, like pre-rolls and banners, into a piece of branded content, as well as title cards spotlighting a sponsor or graphical overlays.