Ismaili News

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 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8321663.stm


For the people of Iran and Turkey during the 16th and 17th centuries, trying to predict the future produced some incredible works of art.
The illustrated texts known as Falnama: The Book of Omens are being displayed together in a new exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington.
The artwork on display has come from: Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum, New York; Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul; Arthur M. Sackler Gallery; Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Geneva; The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.




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Friday, October 23, 2009
By Our correspondent
CHITRAL: Norwegian ambassador Robert Kvile has reiterated his government’s commitment to ensure the integrity of the Norwegian-funded Rs1 billion Integrated Area Development Project in Chitral.

This he said while addressing a function hosted by the district government. Speaking on behalf of the nazims, PPP-S’s district councillor from Koh, Abdul Wali of raised a number of important issues and sought answers from the Norwegian ambassador.

He said that people wanted to know why the Norwegians had preferred a profit-making organisation instead of a non-profit agency for the management consultancy of the project. He said Chitral had AKDN institutions, IUCN and AKRSP whose record was that they did good projects at economical costs.

Wali also said the most important body of the project was the steering committee, but its constitution was unknown and neither were its deliberation and how it made its decision known to the public.

He said the steering committee of the project must be broad-based and ensure transparency and oversight of the project. Wali also wanted to know the basis for selection of the three valleys for initiation of the project this year.

He said that if poverty was the basis, Yarkhoon and Arandu should have been selected. “In absence of criteria for implementing the project, it should have been spread out equally across the underdeveloped parts of the district,” he argued. The ambassador assured the gathering that he would ensure that the project was both effectively and efficiently implemented and would visit Chitral in March next year to see it himself. He said that if the management firm failed to do this, it would be made answerable for the matter.

 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=204646



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Kabul is a chaotic capital, but at the heart of the city is a rebuilt garden where noise and guns don’t permeate. Reporter Alex Helmick takes a walk through maybe the most peaceful place in Kabul.

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By By Our Correspondent

LAHORE WITH the political will and support of the Punjab government and the technical assistance by the Aga Khan Cultural Service, the rehabilitation of the Walled City will be completed within the 20 years under the ongoing Walled City Project. This was stated by Masood Khan, the technical director Aga Khan Cultural Service, Pakistan, (AKCSP) during a briefing on the Cultural and Sustainable Development Project being executed in the Walled City at Sahahi Hamam, inside Delhi Gate here on Wednesday. Masood Khan said about 12 per cent work had been completed on the Walled City Project. He said the AKCSP had initiated the project back in 2007 and a considerable amount of work had been done. He said it was a public private partnership project for the preservation, rehabilitation and development of the Walled City. He said the worldís biggest GIS (Geographical Information System) which had 172 attributes to provide all the details about the Walled City, was a result of the detailed surveys conducted about the plots, buildings, streets, roads, historic monuments and places. Masood said one of the parts of the historic Walled City, Shahi Guzar Gah, starting from the Delhi Gate to the Fort, had been rehabilitated partially. He said it was the work of some eight to nine months and the community and the local residents had also been involved in the project. He said the state of the affairs was very dismal in the Walled city, especially due to the poor distribution system of the utility services and the transport system. He said that the General Bus Stand and its surroundings were the biggest devastating factor for the destruction of the grand cultural heritage and its monumental architectural heritage. He said that Mian Shahbaz Sharifís personal initiative and a strong political had made a lot of difference and made the work easy. Earlier, the Director General of the Walled City Project Oriya Maqbool Jan told the representatives of the media that the Shahi Hamam at Delhi Gate was the biggest Spa and Royal Baths in the entire central Asia and it had the biggest dome. He said that the Walled City had been subjected to many atrocities, including fires at the time of independence, especially in the Rang Mehal area, the post-partition scenario even brought the walled city to the brink of extinction with the conversion of a vast area into markets. He said that the General Bus Stand at Badami Bagh was the cancer of Lahore which had eaten up the glory of the Walled City. He said the Walled City project would bring back the lost glory of the Walled City. Its pertinent to note that the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif was also given a similar briefing on the Walled City Project at the Lahore Fort by Masood Khan and Oriya Maqbool Jan.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=204514



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October 22nd, 2009


The Development Credit Bank was established in the year 1930. The main promoter of the bank is the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) which holds over 26% stake in the bank.

AKFED is an international development agency dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and building economically sound enterprises in the developing world. It had co-promoted HDFC in India in the late seventies. AKFED operates as a network of affiliates comprising 90 separate project companies. Employing over 30,000 people, it reported annual revenues in excess of US$1.5 billion. The Fund is active in 16 countries in the developing world.



A new generation private sector bank, DCB has 80 state-of-the-art branches across 10 states and two union territories. The bank also provides access to more than 18000 ATMs across the country. Currently, the bank has around 1800 employees and a balance sheet size of approximately Rs. 6400 crores. The recently launched Initial Public Offering enjoyed a phenomenal success, being oversubscribed 35 times.


Mr. Murali M. Natrajan is the current Managing Director and CEO.


DCB offers DCB Home Loan, DCB Auto Loan and DCB Home Equity Loan among many others. Recently the bank has launched DCB Advantage Credit Card.


http://www.bankbazaar.com/guide/development-credit-bank/



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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Arshila Jiwani, a 13 year-old middle school student, raised over $2,000 to contribute to the funds raised at Atlanta Partnership Run/Walk that will take place on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. On top of her extracurricular activities, Arshila developed ideas to raise money for Aga Khan Foundation USA (AKF USA) and reached out to fellow students like Rozina Mossa, Gohar Llalani and Simren Dhani for help with fundraising.



Arshila first began fundraising for the Partnership Run/Walk and reaching out to the community by passing out flyers at school and texting her friends information about the Foundation. With the help of her school principal, Ted Lombard, Arshila expanded her fundraising and outreach activities to organize candy fundraisers, position informational posters around the school, arrange student and teacher fundraising activities and speak on the school’s morning announcements, urging kids to participate in the Partnership Run/Walk and fundraising activities. Recently, Arshila expanded her fundraising efforts to local businesses including the Panda Express in Peachtree City and Bruster’s Ice Cream. At the Panda Express, Arshila was able to raise over $230 by asking the manager to donate 15% of the profits earned in one evening at the eatery to the Foundation.



100% of funds raised at Partnership Run/Walk go directly to the projects supported by the Foundation. The cost of organizing the Run/Walk is completely underwritten by AKF USA and in-kind contributors. No contributions are used for administrative costs. Since 1995, PartnershipsInAction events have attracted over 280,000 participants, raising $32 million.



AKF USA, established in 1981, is a private, non-denominational, non-profit international development organization committed to alleviating poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. AKF USA is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org), a network of private, non-denominational, development agencies around the world, established by His Highness the Aga Khan to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, improve living conditions and opportunities.



Last year, over 6,800 youth, families, businesses and community leaders participated in the 2008 Atlanta Partnership Walk, which raised over a million dollars for Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. projects in the developing world. Encourage your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to hit the pavement for the 2009 Partnership Run/Walk and show their support for ending global

poverty.



To register for the Partnership Run/Walk

 please visit http://www.PartnershipsInAction.org/5k


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