NUST Students Design Pakistan’s First-ever Hybrid Car

Prototype of Pak-Wheeler's Hybrid car design
A group of Eleven Mechanical Engineers, named as Pak-Wheelers, from E&ME College are participating in the upcoming Eco-Shell Marathon in July 2010 with their Hybrid car, that happens to be first ever hybrid designed in Pakistan.
The event will feature around 100 teams from all over Asia competing for the top spot on the Sepang International Circuit, which is also used for Formula One racing. The winning criterion for the Eco-Shell Marathon is simple: Whichever team gets the best mileage out of a single liter of fuel.
Pak-Wheelers say that their design and simulations are complete, but they are waiting for Prodigy's body to be completed. Team is likely to begin live car-tests by the end of May, 2010.
"Our initial design was giving us a mileage of around 450 kilometers to a liter but we managed to improve that number to more than 700 km/liter after switching to a hybrid model," said Faizan Zafar, a team member of Pak-Wheelers. "We have optimized the car according to the track," Hassan Ali added.
People initially laughed at the group's ambition and project goals. But now, the proud and joyful faces of their friends and families tell a different story.
The group came up with the idea at a birthday party back in July 2009. They were inspired by another team from Pakistan Navy Engineering College who had participated in the Shell Eco-Marathon Europe 2009 in Germany.
They presented their idea to Ikhlaq Khatak, an associate professor at the College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (CEME) at NUST, who encouraged and mentored them to pursue it. Then onwards, Yahya Hassan Khan, Abrar Mehmood, Hafiz Awad Awan, Syed Hassaan Ali, Farrukh Ali, Raheel Ansar, Faizan Zafar, Zafarul Islam, Muneeb Shah, Muhammad Abdullah, Majid Ghafoor and Hassan Ali, started working on various aspects of the car's design and its simulations.
Getting companies to sponsor the project was particularly hard. "Initially, we pitched our proposal to some 50 companies. Only BMW Pakistan responded to our pitch," Hassaan said. Later, other companies started coming on board. "We are currently receiving funding from Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, NUST, Hypercomp and the Pakistan Army," he added.
The group is still short of their projected expenses, managing to raise only Rs 1.4 million of the Rs 2.2 million costs they originally estimated. This sum includes the cost of transporting the car to and back from Malaysia. "We want to be able to hoist Pakistan's flag in Malaysia," Hassaan said.
"We want to be able to show a new face of Pakistan to the world, one that is considerably different than what the western media is showing," he added, reciting the team mantra, "For some teams it's a car, For some teams it's a project For us, it's an ideology An ideology to prove that Pakistan can be constructive."
By the way:

• A hybrid vehicle combining a combustion engine with an electric motor to increase its efficiency.
• It harvests energy lost during breaking and reuses it for running.
• It uses super capacitor banks to store energy.
• The petrol engine produces a constant energy of 3.5 British horsepower and the remaining power comes from the super capacitor banks.
• It uses a carbon-fibre body.

More details about the car can be found on the team's website,

How Not To Be Sleepy During Daytime

Nearly everyone has days when they feel sleepy. But for some people, excessive sleepiness actually gets in the way of daily work, childcare, and even leisure activities. This is known as hypersomnia, recurrent sleepiness that makes people want to nap repeatedly, even at work. Poor sleep habits are often the cause of daytime sleepiness. Problem sleepiness can also be caused by certain illnesses and medications. And mental conditions such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety are very commonly linked to sleep problems. Even missing just a few nights' sleep, or not getting enough uninterrupted sleep, can slow you down and sour your mood.

To improve nighttime sleep and avoid daytime sleepiness, here's some tips to help you avoid going through more groggy and crabby days: -

1. Get adequate nighttime sleep.

Most adults need seven to nine hours a night, and teenagers usually need a full nine hours. Many of us succumb to shaving an hour or two off our sleep time in the morning or at night to do other things. Block out eight or nine hours for sleep every night.

2. Reduce distractions.

You shouldn't read, watch TV, play video games, or use laptop computers in bed. Don't do your bills or have heated discussions in bed either. They may leave you sleepless.

3. Set your wake-up time.

Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including on weekends. Stick by that for the first few weeks or even months to establish a rhythm. This process of always getting up at the same time helps to anchor the circadian rhythm. And if you do that and have a bad night, you'll also to be sleepier the next bedtime.

4. Earlier bedtime.

Another approach to getting into a consistent schedule is to try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for four nights. Then stick with the last bedtime. Gradually adjusting your schedule like this usually works better than suddenly trying to go to sleep an hour earlier.

5. Regular mealtimes.

Regular mealtimes, not just regular sleep times, help regulate our circadian rhythms. Eating a healthy breakfast and lunch on time — rather than grabbing a doughnut and coffee in the morning or a late sandwich on the run — also prevents energy deficits during the day that will aggravate your sleepiness. Plan to finish eating meals two to three hours before bedtime.

6. Exercise.

Regular exercise (30 minutes a day on most days) offers multiple benefits for sleep. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, generally makes it easier to fall asleep and sleep more soundly. Exercise also gives you more daytime energy and keeps your thinking sharp. And if you exercise outside in daylight, you get still more benefits. Sleep experts recommend 30 minutes of exposure to sunlight a day because daylight helps regulate our sleep patterns. Avoid exercising within three hours of bedtime.

7. De-clutter your schedule.

"If you don't think you can allow seven or eight hours for sleep, then you need to look at your schedule and make some adjustments, Move some activities from nighttime to early evening or from early to late morning. Try to eliminate tasks that aren't really important. Getting enough sleep at night will help you function better during your remaining activities.

8. Go to bed only when you're sleepy.

If you go to bed when you're just tired, you probably won't be able to fall asleep. Distinguish between the feeling of sleepiness and being tired. Get into bed when you're sleepy — eyes droopy, you're drowsy, you feel like you're nodding off. It's a very different kind of feeling.

9. Avoid late day nap.

Late afternoon napping can make daytime sleepiness worse if because it can interfere with nighttime sleep.

10. Bedtime ritual.

A relaxation routine before bedtime can help you separate from the day — especially from activities that are over-stimulating or stressful, making it difficult to sleep. Try meditation, soaking in a hot bath, listening to soothing music, or reading a book. A cup of herbal tea or warm milk can also be soothing, but skip those if they cause you to wake at night to go to the bathroom.

11. Avoid alcohol

People often think that alcohol helps sleep, but it actually robs you of deep sleep, which is essential for feeling well rested. When the effects of alcohol wear off during the night, you'll probably be wide awake again.

Sometimes it takes a combination of medication and behavioral therapy to eliminate daytime sleepiness, but it can be done. Undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorders are probably the greatest cause of daytime fatigue and sleepiness. A sleep specialist can design a treatment program for you that treats the underlying sleep disorder and helps you develop better sleep habits and attitudes though cognitive behavioral therapy.

Salman Taseer Assassination Points To Pakistani Extremists’ Mounting Power

Judiciary goes by the “notes” they receive form the government agencies on cases they are dealing with and don’t exercise their real power independently to bring out the truth about a case, especially in “terror” related cases.. Pakistan: Salman Taseer’s Tragic Assassination And The Blasphemy Law. October 2009 to flush out the Pakistani Taliban. and claimed some success. Despite the. There are other important points that need to be. noted about the elections in NWFP: the. Holger Awakens: Pakistani Governor Speaks Out Against Blasphemy. Eu, eu news, european union news, news, european union, europe, europa, news eu, news european union, euro news, Union Europenne, Union Europenne Messages, europe messages, Europische Union Nachrichten, Nachrichten Europische Union, EU. IHC formally starts functioning The News International SHN-Media Renaissance Connection – Pakistan :: Headlines WHITHER PAKISTAN BUFFALO, N.Y. — Longing for the early years of the Bush administration, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been consumed by anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, convinced American officials are now working against him, according to a diplomatic cable. EU News – European Union News November 2008 abc an opinionated politically incorect. After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Mr Zardari represents the. Zardari proves his point sif Zardari like most of other Pakistani politicians is a mortal. Globe and Mail Salman Taseer assassination points to Pakistani extremists‘ mounting power Washington Post The governor of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most populated province was shot dead Tuesday by one of his bodyguards who told.






KARACHI, PAKISTAN – One of Pakistan’s most openly progressive politicians was gunned down Tuesday in an act that violently highlighted extremists‘ tightening grip on the country even as the beleaguered government struggled to stay in. Governor Punjab Salman Taseer killed in gun attack.. ISLAMABAD: Gunmen killed the governor of. And Pakistani media suggested Ahmad was behind at least two failed assassination attempts on Musharraf, the most recent of which. The U.S., as the Saudis matched every penny, handed hundreds of millions of dollars over to Pakistani intelligence each year to divvy amongst violent Muslim Brotherhood-influenced extremists in Peshawar called the mujahideen.. According to Steve Coll in Ghost Wars, U.S. officials actually welcomed Pakistan’s expanding influence over Afghanistan and were willing to ignore ISI’s Islamist radicals itching to take power who were already openly hostile towards America. The killing of Salman Taseer was the most high-profile assassination of a political figure in Pakistan since the slaying of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, and it rattled a country already dealing with crises. There is mounting evidence that these attacks were perpetrated by locals, and were clearly intended to humiliate the Pakistani government and. But I guess I can concede the point to you that terrorism inside India is a lot more diverse than in Pakistan..



The Guardian Salman Taseer assassination points to Pakistani extremists‘ mounting power Washington Post The governor of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most populated province was shot dead Tuesday by one of his bodyguards who told. Tragedy in Lahore Pak Tea House Pakistan Khappay Salman Taseer assassination points to Pakistani extremists‘ mounting power. Washington Post The governor of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most populated province was shot dead Tuesday by one of his bodyguards who told interrogators he was. Salman Taseer assassination points to Pakistani extremists‘ mounting power Washington Post. The GuardianSalman Taseer assassination points to Pakistani extremists’ mounting powerWashington PostThe governor Read More. Since 1975, an award-winning forum for political, cultural and literary ideas.. Trained to fight Indians in open plains in conventional warfare, the Pakistani army is finding it hard to mount a counterinsurgency against its own people in remote mountainous regions. Extremists are now. Salman Taseer assassination points to Pakistani extremistsapos mounting power – Washington Post The killing of Salman Taseer in the capital was the most high-profile assassination of a political figure in Pakistan since the slaying of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. in the Tomila district late last week. The most significant of these was a earthquake that measured 2.3 on the Richter scale and occurred at 5:22 pm on January 1, 2011. The earthquake was felt by residents of Cajamarca, near the Mount Machin..

Salmaan Taseer’s murder — the death of reason

Salmaan Taseer’s brutal murder at the hands of a policeman is a cruel reminder of where we have landed ourselves: in a dark morass of irrationality lorded over by pernicious ideologies. Taseer was a representative of the federation in the largest province of Pakistan. Yet, as his death shows, he was very vulnerable to the deep-seated prejudice within the state and society. A target of the reactionaries and of bigots, he became a symbol of resistance against the Talibanisation of Punjab.




A scion of Urdu’s great poet MD Taseer, he was a self-made businessman and a staunch supporter of democracy in the country. He had a long history of struggle against Zia’s dictatorship. After his political hibernation, Taseer emerged as the PPP’s formidable voice of reason. His recent brave act of leading a campaign against the sentencing of Aasia Bibi rallied Pakistan’s moderate Muslims and its intelligentsia who felt emboldened by his courage. Whilst his party dilly-dallied on the issue of revising the blasphemy laws ultimately succumbing to expediency, Taseer remained firm on his position.



In Pakistan, injustice is the norm and anyone choosing to defy this norm is likely to be crushed. Such is the case with our former governor who will be remembered as a brave man of principles.



The implications of this tragic development are manifold: First, that resistance against the state-sponsored bigotry will further dwindle. Who will dare to take public positions on issues such as discriminatory laws and abuse of religion? Second, the Punjabi jihadis will celebrate this victory and further strengthen their position in the rural hinterland where militancy is bred and exported. Political parties sharing power in the province have appeased the militants or entered into political pacts with them. Third, it appears that a section of the security apparatus designed to protect public functionaries — as it has failed to protect ordinary citizens thus far — is both penetrable and prey to extremist leanings.



Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the confounded investigation of her murder demonstrate two things: our civilian investigation and prosecution agencies are dysfunctional and that the security establishment is above the law. Taseer’s murder is yet another blow to Pakistan’s liberals and moderates alike. The worst part is that if they are eliminated, there is no guarantee of a fair investigation and trial. This is why the flawed strategy of appeasing jihadis here or in Afghanistan is so fatal for Jinnah’s Pakistan. Whatever is left of that original vision of Pakistan is now under grave danger.



If the PPP and the PML-N have to survive as political actors and present viable alternatives to the fascists and extremists, then they will have to get this murder investigated, unearth the conspiracy that must have preceded this act of terror and punish the perpetrators.



Salmaan Taseer, RIP. This country did not deserve you.

Pakistan Governor's Murder Hurts Zardari After Flight of Political Allies

Pakistan’s embattled President Asif Ali Zardari was weakened further by the assassination of a senior aide in the country’s most prominent political killing since the 2007 death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.




The killing yesterday by a policeman of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, 65, deprives Zardari of his top operative in the country’s most populous province just as their Pakistan Peoples Party has been abandoned by two allied parties, robbing it of a majority in parliament.



Taseer’s slaying is a “major setback for Pakistan, which is trying to get out of this vicious cycle of violence and worsening economy,” said Talat Masood, an independent political consultant and retired lieutenant general based in Islamabad. The killing “will certainly weaken the party position in Punjab,” Masood said in a telephone interview from the capital.



Punjab, which generates more than half of Pakistan’s economy, became the center of a growing political challenge to Zardari yesterday, when the province’s dominant politician, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, demanded that the government accept his proposals to fight corruption and reduce annual inflation, Asia’s highest at more than 15 percent.



Pakistan’s benchmark stock index rose 0.3 percent to 12,140.84 at the close after falling as much as 0.7 percent earlier. The rupee fell 0.2 percent, the most in over a week, to 85.80 against the U.S. dollar.



Foreign Investment



“Foreigners will withdraw their investments in a knee-jerk reaction,” said Asif Ali Qureshi, head of research at Invisor Securities Ltd. in Karachi. “They will see political instability as increasing and extremists getting stronger. There will be a negative impact on business and investment.”



Taseer’s funeral was held at the Governor’s House in Lahore, the capital of Punjab and wreaths were laid on behalf of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Schools, businesses and government offices were closed in the province.



Law Minister Babar Awan said the assassination was a “political murder” and the “result of criminal negligence.” It raises “many questions about security,” Awan told reporters in Lahore. “The real conspiracy behind his murder needs to be unveiled.”



Secretary of State Hillary Clinton strongly condemned Taseer’s death, calling it a “great loss.” In a statement, she said that the U.S. commitment to Pakistan remained unshaken. “I admired his work to promote tolerance and the education of Pakistan’s future generations,” Clinton said.



Floods, War



Taseer’s murder and Zardari’s eroded parliamentary base will narrow the government’s hopes of passing laws to broaden the tax base and cut the government deficit -- steps that the International Monetary Fund says are needed to stabilize the economy.



“The government hasn’t succeeded in meeting the demands of the IMF, which has resulted in it delaying aid payments,” said Sayem Ali, an economist at Standard Chartered Pakistan Ltd. in Karachi. “Widespread violence in the country, amid high inflation, floods and war, will shift their focus away from the management of the economy,” he said.



A police bodyguard of Taseer shot him in the back 27 times with an AK-47 rifle as he stepped into his car from a restaurant a mile from Zardari’s office in Islamabad, The News newspaper reported today. The policeman surrendered to authorities, telling them that he killed the governor for his campaign to repeal Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which is supported by Islamic religious conservatives and opposed by secular political groups and human rights organizations.



Blasphemy Laws



Zardari nominated Taseer as governor after their party’s election victory in 2008, a win fueled partly by public sympathy over the killing of Bhutto, Zardari’s wife. Taseer has been outspoken in his criticism of Islamic militancy and sparred with Zardari’s main political foe, the Punjab-based Sharif.



Islamic religious parties and militants condemned Taseer after he intervened in the high-profile blasphemy case of Aasia Bibi, a Punjabi Catholic woman sentenced to death in November by a court that said she had insulted the prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. After Taseer visited Bibi in jail and persuaded Zardari to consider clemency for her, religious parties massed thousands of men who condemned him in protests in Karachi, Lahore and Multan on Dec. 31.



The governor’s killing “is alarming in many ways, since it shows the narrowing level of tolerance in society,” said Saeed Shafqat, director of the Center for Public Policy and Governance at Forman Christian College in Lahore.



Taseer’s Influence



Taseer’s influence was buttressed by his role as chief executive officer and owner of Media Times Ltd., which operates the Business Plus television network and the Daily Times, one of Pakistan’s main English-language newspapers. He was minister of industries from 2007 to 2008 and also owned the Worldcall telecommunications group.



Human rights groups including London-based Amnesty International say the blasphemy law, introduced by the former military ruler, General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, has been used to harass Pakistan’s religious minorities and should be overturned.



Among top Pakistani leaders, Zardari has been the most vocal in criticizing Islamic militants and the most supportive of the U.S. campaign against Taliban guerrillas, which has included missile attacks in Pakistan’s border zone with Afghanistan.



News of Taseer’s killing came as Sharif gave the government three days to accept demands for a crackdown on corruption and take steps to reduce inflation that was accelerated by the country’s most destructive monsoon floods in August. Otherwise, he said, his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) will launch a campaign for parliament to vote out Gilani.



Gilani must sack officials accused of graft, withdraw a Jan. 1 increase in gasoline prices and cut government expenditure by 30 percent, Sharif said. A Sharif spokesman, Siddique-ul-Farooq, said later by telephone that his party had decided to postpone its ultimatum for “three days of mourning” for Taseer.

Pakistan Crisis Deepens, Governor Shot Dead

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The governor of Pakistan's central Punjab province, a senior member of the ruling party, was shot dead by one of his bodyguards on Tuesday, deepening a political crisis in the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.


Salman Taseer, a liberal politician close to President Asif Ali Zardari, had no day-to-day role in the central government, but his killing in broad daylight at a shopping center in Islamabad reinforces the sense that the government is incapable of stabilizing the Muslim country of 170 million.

The shooting occurred two days after a key partner in Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's coalition bolted for the opposition in protest over fuel price policies, leaving him without a parliamentary majority and struggling to save his government.


The United States is looking to Pakistan to tackle homegrown militants and help it turn the war around in Afghanistan, where U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops are fighting the Taliban.

"The crisis of governance has been exposed by this murder. It has also exposed how deep-rooted is the problem of terrorism in Pakistan," political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said. "The government is in real trouble."

A witness said Taseer was stepping out of his car at a shopping area when he was shot in one of Pakistan's most high-profile assassinations since former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in 2007.


Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Taseer was killed because of his opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy law, which rights groups say is often exploited by religious extremists and ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores.
Islamist groups have been angered by what they believe are government plans to change or scrap the law.

The shooting left blood stains in the parking area at Kohsar shopping center in Islamabad, which is popular with foreigners.

"The governor fell down and the man who fired at him threw down his gun and raised both hands," said the witness, Ali Imran.



IMF LOAN
The turmoil could make it harder for the government to push through economic reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has been propping up Pakistan's economy with an $11 billion loan agreed in November of 2008.


Still, Pakistan's stock market, which rose 28 percent last year, has remained relatively stable this week and some investors seem ready to ride out the turbulence.

"Political instability and volatility is always part of the story when investing in Pakistan," said Andrea Nannini, manager of the HSBC New Frontiers Fund in London, before news of the assassination emerged. "Although (the coalition defection) might increase volatility in the short-term, we believe in the long-term the market is attractive."

Earlier, the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said it would not demand a vote of no confidence in Gilani because to do so would deepen instability in the country.
Sharif told a news conference he would present the government with demands such as the scrapping of fuel price rises and the dismissal of ministers accused of corruption, and gave it a week to agree.

He also threatened to evict members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) from the Punjab provincial government, which his party dominates. Sharif suggested there might be a need for new national elections, but did not say when.

Like the PML-N, the second biggest opposition party said it would not push for a no-confidence vote, suggesting the opposition may prefer to wear down a weak prime minister by blocking legislation or holding protests to force an early election.

BLASPHEMY LAW

The blasphemy law came under the spotlight after a court in November sentenced a Christian mother of four, Asia Bibi, to death in a case stemming from a village dispute.
The law has widespread support in Pakistan, which is more than 95 percent Muslim, and most politicians are loath to be seen as soft on the defense of Islam. The government has said it did not intend to change the law.

Taseer visited Bibi in prison in a campaign for her release. He wrote on his Twitter page last Friday: "I was under huge pressure sure 2 cow down b4 rightist pressure on blasphemy. Refused. Even if I'm the last man standing."

Malik said the bodyguard, identified as Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, confessed and had been arrested.


"Salman Taseer is a blasphemer and this is the punishment for a blasphemer," Qadri said in comments broadcast on Dunya television.

His hands and legs bound by nylon rope, the bearded Qadri smiled confidently as he spoke to reporters from the back of a police truck just after killing Taseer and surrendering.

"It is yet another grim reminder of what is at stake in Pakistan, strengthening the political system in Pakistan, creating durable civilian institutions and helping Pakistan reduce politically-motivated violence," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

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