Pakistan the Champions.........

Asif (L) and Sajjad (R) showed lion’s heart as they stabilised the sinking ship by winning the fourth game to make it 3-1.PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Pakistan represented by World Champion Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sajjad came back from 3-0 to win the IBSF World Championship defeating Iran 5-3 in a thrilling final in Carlow, Ireland.

Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) President Alamgir Sheikh – who is in Ireland with the team – said it was another landmark for Pakistan snooker.

“It’s another big moment in Pakistan snooker as we’ve become IBSF World Team Champions,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune.

He said Pakistan had finally arrived in snooker globally as the number of titles won by Pakistani cueists had continued to increase impressively in last 12 months.

“This victory suggests that we have got great talent,” Sheikh said adding that he had predicted that Pakistan had ‘a deadly duo’.

The team in green had been in great form throughout the event – often proving untouchable in initial stages while their confidence grew as difficult matches came their way.

However, their nerves were seriously tested by Iran’s duo of Amir Sarkhosh and Soheil Vahedi, who managed to build up a solid lead of 3-0 as Pakistan struggled to match them with nerves and stakes high.

But Asif and Sajjad showed lion’s heart as they stabilised the sinking ship by winning the fourth game to make it 3-1.

With one frame in bag, the Pakistani duo started to play with more confidence and went on to win next two frames easily as the score was tied at 3-3 in the best of nine-frame finale.

As the match got evenly poised, both sides started to play with caution which resulted in two closely fought frames but it was Pakistan that triumphed ultimately winning with game scores of 33-70, 18-68, 9-74, 88-20(83), 67-11, 87-15, 75-43 and 58-35.

For Asif, it was another feather in his cap as he added world team championship title to his collection. However it was the first major title for Mohammad Sajjad, who had vowed that he would not remain in the shadow of Asif.

‘Government should give due respect to champions’

Sheikh added that both the players deserve all the credit to show a great talent in such a tense match and their heroics should be respect by government and corporate sector.

“Being 3-0 down in a final can shake anyone but the way Asif and Sajjad fought back was itself an achievement. They were fantastic under pressure, which is a trait of real champions and I hope they’ll be given due respect by the government, corporate sector and Pakistan Sports Board (PCB),” he stated.

Sajjad could get wildcard: Sheikh

The PBSA chief further said after winning this title, Pakistan could see Sajjad participating in IBSF World Championship to be held in Latvia in November.

“Sajjad could be given wildcard on the basis of his performances and he might represent Pakistan as the fourth player in world championship alongside Asif, Imran Shehzad and Shahid Aftab,” Sheikh concluded.

The IBSF World Snooker Championship also known as the World Amateur Snooker Championship is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation

Social media: redefining the way we interact

According AC Nielsen, in the year 2012 users spent 20% of their time on computers and 17% of that time was spent on the social networks alone. CREATIVE COMMONS

ISLAMABAD: Since ancient times, different symbols, signs and facial expressions have been used by man to communicate. In the past man used to make use of drawings or use sounds to let know other people about any important information when  verbal communication was not possible.

Now in the 21st century, advancement in technologies have paved the way for virtual means of communication. The impact of these technologies can also be seen in society, government policies and the corporate world.

The aforementioned means of communication can be coined into one popular term known as “Social Media”. This term sticks in everyone’s mind because of its unique characteristic of participation, content sharing, information exchange and much more.

Modern technology and the potential for growth and innovation is almost limitless and we cannot overlook the fact that modern applications of technology are evolving the way we conduct our lives and our businesses. In fact, according AC Nielsen, in the year 2012 users spent 20% of their time on computers and 17% of that time was spent on the social networks alone.

From calculators to computers, technology is at our fingertips to make life easier and comfortable but as we can see, modern day life is so jampacked that even children are not getting adequate time to mingle with their friends and classmates. Is this all because of the really busy schedule or is there any other cause?

“Social media is about sociology and psychology more than technology,” said Brian Sollis.

No doubt social media helps people connect irrespective of where they live. Where social media was believed as advancement in technology to make life far simpler, it has not been the case in reality. Social media has started to make people complacent about their relationships. A commonly held belief is that social media has created a life which does not need any real interactions among the people

“Our social tools are not an improvement to modern society; they are a challenge to it,”  says Clay Shirky.

Social networks were created as a bridge to connect people, however the reality is completely different. Instead of being connected relationships are getting disconnected. As Clay Shirky said, social tools are creating a challenge to the society. This is mainly because instead of using social media as a tool, people have started to replace their social life with the social media. They believe that talking to friends and family on social media is the same as interacting in real life. Social media has helped share a lot of content amongst the people but what it has also done is that it has created a false sense of belief in minds of people that the relationships can be built on such interactions and sharing.

The writer is a Project Assistant at Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

Doing business in Pakistan: learn from sub-national peers

Pakistan needs to further improve the business environment to make it easier to set up and operate a business. DESIGN: JAHANZAIB HAQUE

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, with a population of approximately 180 million and an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 4.9%, is the fifth largest market in the entire Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions (after India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Egypt). It has a youthful population and a large middle class of approximately 30 million. With English as the lingua franca of the business community, a highly evolved services sector that contributes 60% of the GDP, and a legal system based on Anglo Saxon traditions, Pakistan has a number of attributes that make it an attractive market for multinational firms.

The World Bank’s 2013 ‘Doing Business Report’, which surveys the ease of doing business in international markets, ranked Pakistan at 107 among the 185 economies surveyed. By comparison, regional competitors China and India ranked 91 and 132 respectively.

In Pakistan doing business is easier in Faisalabad and Multan, and more difficult in Quetta and Hyderabad. Continued reforms have reduced start-up time and costs, but the number of procedures remain high. Business start-up takes on average 21 days and costs 20.2% of income per capita. Business start-up costs ranges from 13.2% of income per capita in cities with online registration to 26.2% of income per capita in Sialkot, where businesses continue to register in person.

Pakistan performs relatively well in starting a business, both regionally and globally. Globally, Pakistan stands at 98 in the ranking of 185 economies on the ease of starting a business; while India stands at 173.

According to the data compiled by Doing Business 2013, it is easier to start a business in Islamabad than in any other Pakistani city—it only takes 16 days and costs 13.2% of income per capita. In contrast, the business start-up process is most difficult in Gujranwala, where it takes 24 days and costs 24.5% of income per capita.

Despite the same regulatory framework, there are differences in the time and cost needed to start a business in Pakistan, mainly due to differences in the efficiency of local branches of national agencies, practices at the local government level, and variations in the use and availability of online services.

Economies around the world have taken steps to make it easier to start a business, streamlining procedures by setting up a one-stop shop, making procedures simpler or faster by introducing technology and reducing or eliminating minimum capital requirements. Many have undertaken business registration reforms in stages, and they often are part of a larger regulatory reform programme.

In some countries, the process of business registration, obtaining construction permits, advancing credit and starting business is straightforward and affordable, while in others it is so cumbersome and time-consuming that entrepreneurs either bribe officials to speed up the process or simply run their businesses informally. The consequences of greater barriers to entry are particularly severe for vulnerable groups such as youth and women, who are more likely to operate in the informal sector as a result.

In spite of significant security threats and familiar emerging market concerns over import permit regulation (IPR), contract enforcement and governance issues, the Pakistani market offers many attractive trade and investment opportunities. With regard to investment, the market has few restrictions on the movement of capital: no shareholding restrictions (outside of a few sensitive sectors), no work permit issues, no technology transfer requirements; and it has a large and sophisticated entrepreneurial class.

Pakistan has a rapidly developing infrastructure, well-established legal systems, comprehensive road, rail, and sea links; and good-quality telecommunications and information technology services. The country is strategically located and serves as a regional hub for access to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China, Turkey, and the Central Asian republics.

In order to accelerate the pace of business growth, there is no need to reinvent the wheel: it is sufficient to start by introducing reforms that have been successfully implemented in other cities. In fact, Pakistani cities have a lot to gain from adopting the best regulations and practices that are working elsewhere in the country.

For example, reducing business start-up procedures to 16 days, like they do in Islamabad, would shorten starting a business almost to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 13 days. Fast construction permit approval, like in Peshawar, would mean that dealing with construction permits also becomes faster in Pakistan than the OECD average of 157 days. To register property in 30 days, like in Lahore, would put Pakistan on the same level as Austria. A low tax rate, like in Islamabad, would fix the total tax rate at 26.0% of commercial profit, similar to Ireland. Importing a container to a Pakistani city with such regulations would take 18 days and exporting would take 20 days, comparable to Italy. Resolving a commercial dispute would be as speedy as in Faisalabad (730 days), and faster than in Cyprus.

In addition to this there are many more regulations Pakistani cities can learn from each other and adopt good practices already working in the country. Pakistan needs to further improve the business environment to make it easier to set up and operate a business.

Requiring fewer procedures to start a business is associated with a smaller informal sector. Formally registered businesses grow larger and are more productive than informal ones. Upon formal registration, entrepreneurs can access courts and credit, supply more important customers, and avoid harassment from government officials or the police. Furthermore, formal enterprises pay taxes, adding to government revenue, which ultimately leads to economic growth.

The writer is a researcher at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute

Why and How KSE became the World second-best performing market this year..

In KSE’s case, the individual industries are relatively very small, hence, these members have specialised in maximising returns from small industries with many small markets, rather than a few large ones. PHOTO: FILE

DUBAI: 

The Karachi Stock Exchange has broken its all-time record this year, proving a point to the world by becoming the second best performing market on the planet, where only Japan’s stock market has been able to perform better.

When the biggest economies seem to be struggling, investors have looked to explore smaller markets to gain speedy returns, giving way to markets such as Mexico and the Philippines, but there are reasons why Pakistan has outperformed all three of them.

The first and foremost reason is the investor moratorium applied in January last year by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), in collaboration with the KSE it allows foreign investors to bring investments to Pakistan with no questions asked about the money’s origin and sources, allowing black money to make its way to the whitening mill, with the SECP’s will.

This passing of the amnesty not only brought foreign investment into KSE but also encouraged local owners of undocumented wealth to enter the formal economy and let that money revolve around the taxman. This moratorium is to stay until June 2014, and has had an enormous effect on the KSE, more than doubling the daily average traded volume.

Here’s another huge reason why KSE has been rocking it out. The SECP allows anyone to own 100% shares in any company in Pakistan, not only that, but he can take out as much profit as he wants, as long as he pays taxes – all income after taxes is remittable outside Pakistan.

Owning 100% of foreign shares is a big deal, most countries don’t allow majority stakes, especially large developing countries like India, China, Brazil and Russia, making Pakistan’s markets more bankable.

Here’s to explain the third reason for the great performance. Most markets rely on technical indices working off large markets, meaning that the index can make long jumps if a particular market has good investments. At most, 30 markets do the trick worldwide, because beyond that number, investor fatigue sets in. It becomes harder to keep track of all the numerous smaller markets as the total number grows.

But, surprisingly, KSE is the opposite. It has way more than 30 markets, making it unique in the world. Then how does it cope with investor fatigue? KSE has a small community of members, 300 odd, at the latest count and they have been in the business for generations, specialising in markets rather than sectors, which allows them to know the KSE inside out and do effortless cross-market play.

Most large stock players worldwide specialise in industries such as pharmaceuticals, energy, technology, etc and stick to it – the very reason why Warren Buffet never invests in the technology sector.

In KSE’s case, the individual industries are relatively very small, hence, these members have specialised in maximising returns from small industries with many small markets, rather than a few large ones.

And to run such a busy stock exchange that has probably the most number of markets in the world requires a state-of-the-art trading engine. The software named KATS, which is a KSE trademarked name, acronym to Karachi Automated Trading System, is what drives trading at the Karachi Stock Exchange. All markets are accessed through the KATS terminal for trading, monitoring and regulatory compliance.

When regulations change or new markets are introduced, the new module is simply plugged in to the KATS infrastructure, making it extremely scalable and robust, apart from being a legendary in-house custom created masterpiece that beats Silicon Valley-based market leaders in performance metrics such as throughput.

All these winning hands and arms of the KSE machine form the second best performing stock exchange in the world. Despite its market cap being a mere $52.7 billion and the country’s economy projected to grow only 3.6% this year, as compared to its competitor developing countries, KSE has invincibly risen more than 40% this year, showing it out to the world how magnetic it is to the dollar, despite the city’s worrying law and order situation.

The writer runs a software company in Dubai.

Conspiracy or just Incident??

Additional sessions judge's wife shot by 10-year-old son. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: Additional Sessions Judge Arif Mehmood’s wife Asia Bibi (35) died after she was shot by their 10-year-old son in Nawab Town area on Monday.

Soon after the incident at 9:15am, police reached the home of the judge in Nawab Town area and arrested the boy A*, sources told The Express Tribune. They also recovered the weapon – a 12 bore gun with an empty cartridge – from the scene.

His mother was taken to Jinnah Hospital where she died after about three hours. Police sources added that the judge reached the police station and abused police officials present, saying that the incident was an accident, while demanding to know why his son was arrested.

His wife’s body was handed over to him and he took it to his native city in Mianwali.

Sources in the police said that the judge and his wife had developed clashes over some domestic matter and used to exchange harsh words. Asia had accused her son of favouring his father. On Monday she snubbed her son as the judge had left for office. The child pulled out the gun and shot her, they stated.

However a duty officer at the police station claimed the incident was an accident as the gun went off when the boy was cleaning it in the morning

Samsung denies cheating on Note 3 benchmarks

Samsung has been forced on the defensive yet again over reports that its top-notch smart phones are cheating at benchmark tests.

The Korean company has denied its Galaxy Note 3 superphone exaggerates its performance when it detects well-known benchmarks running, as was claimed Tuesday in an extensive, well-documented report on the Web site Ars Technica.

"The Galaxy Note 3 maximises its CPU/GPU frequencies when running features that demand substantial performance," Samsung said in a statement to CNET UK.

Read more of "Samsung defends Galaxy Note 3 benchmarking shenanigans" at Crave UK

iPhone 5S fingerprint spoof could lead to ID theft, German researchers says

A photograph of the fingerprint used to open an iPhone 5S could lead to identity theft, researchers say. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters

A German security company says spoofing the iPhone 5S's fingerprint reader can be used to beat the phone's "remote wipe" facility to carry out identity theft.

SRL demonstrates the hack on its website. It relies on the phone's owner using a number of defaults in the setup of the phone. It does not work against iPhones without a fingerprint reader.

The identity theft relies on the user enabling Touch ID on the iPhone 5S, having the "Control Center" facility available in the lockscreen so that the Airplane mode can be enabled rapidly, and not having two-factor authentication turned on for email accounts, especially their Apple iCloud account which is required to set up the device. Touch ID is an optional setting, but the others are default settings for the device.

SRL points out that Airplane mode can be enabled on a stolen phone from the lockscreen, which turns off wireless connectivity and so defeats the remote wipe facility.

It then shows that a photo taken with an older iPhone 4S of the phone owner's fingerprint can be good enough to create a "fake finger" on a laminated sheet, which is then lightly stuck to a real finger. That method was demonstrated by the Chaos Computer Club soon after the iPhone 5S's release.

Having created a spoof fingerprint to unlock the device - which must be done within three attempts or a passcode request is triggered, which is not available through a stolen phone - SRL points out that the attacker can see the owner's email address in the settings, and so can use an Apple website to request a password reset. That will be sent to the phone - and by rapidly turning off the Airplane mode to collect the email and then grabbing the password reset, and taking over the account. They could then put the phone back in Airplane mode.

Without two-factor authentication - which is an optional safeguard for iCloud, Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail accounts - there would be no way for the phone's owner to prevent the account takeover. Two-factor authentication provides a method to revoke permissions for various devices and accounts. It is presently available for iCloud accounts in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The Control Center facility can also be removed from the lock screen in the Settings.

SRL said that the hack proved that "using fingerprints as credentials for local user authentication has two shortcomings when compared to passwords - limited revocation" (because fingerprints cannot be changed) and "credential spread" (because we leave copies of our fingerprints anywhere we touch).

They suggest that fingerprint readers still need to improve further. "Fingerprint spoof prevention would better be based on intrinsic errors in the spoof-creation process or on fingerprint features not present in latent prints (and become much harder to steal). Examples of such spoof-detection features are air bubbles contained in the glue often used for spoofs and minute details that are visible through a fingerprint sensor but not in a latent print," the researchers write. It suggests that a simple comparison of such air bubbles - which show up in their sensor data as white bubbles, which aren't found with real fingerprints - would "challenge hackers to improve their spoofing techniques