From remote Baloch towns, young Pakistani creators of humanoid bot unveil ‘Bolani’

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Aziz Ullah Shahwani and Mukhtiar Ahmed Rodini, creators of Bolani, operate the humanoid robot with a smartphone outside the Physics Department of the University of Balochistan, Quetta. (AN photo by Saadullah Akhter)
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Updated 13 May 2021
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From remote Baloch towns, young Pakistani creators of humanoid bot unveil ‘Bolani’

  • Aziz Ullah Shahwani and Mukhtiar Ahmed Rodini are physics students at the University of Balochistan
  • Self-funded robot took them six months to make from scratch with ‘zero support’

QUETTA: It’s an unlikely trio in an unlikely place — two smart young Baloch students stand proudly outside their university in Quetta with an all-white, 5-foot, 4-inch humanoid robot between them.

Aziz Ullah Shahwani, 24, and Mukhtiar Ahmed Rodini, 25, are physics students at the University of Balochistan, and the robot they created, named Bolani, is their final project.

“I didn’t take any interest in technology-related experiments until I graduated school due to the absence of a physics teacher in my native district Kalat, but when I came to Balochistan for my master’s degree in physics I decided to invent something new, something no other student in the history of the university has done,” Shahwani told Arab News.

Coming from the remote Kalat and Sorab districts in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, Shahwani and Rodini are largely self-taught, and said that they received close to no financial support during their endeavor from their university or the government of Balochistan.

The two boys from distant Pakistani towns worked for six months to conquer the impossible, working on advanced 3D software, and even welding and painting the body of their robot themselves.

“While making Bolani, I learned the use of new software and 3D printing,” Shahwani said.

“Because I have designed Bolani by myself on solid work software, it was an unforgettable experience,” he continued.

Bolani is named after the famed mountain pass Bolan, roughly 127 km from the capital Quetta, south of the Hindu Kush mountains.

For now, Bolani can move forward and backward, he can move his eyes, neck and jaw and can shake hands with human beings when Shahwani gives him the command through an app installed on his mobile phone.

Rodini, who assisted Shahwani in building Bolani, said they wanted to create something new instead of submitting research papers like everybody else.

“We took assistance and guidance from our professors because after thorough searching we could not find robotic circuits and motors in Quetta ... later we installed locally purchased motors in order to finalize Bolani,” said Rodini.

“Bolani cost us Rs50,000 ($326) and due to the lack of financial assistance, we used iron and steel to shape the humanoid robot,” Rodini said.

He added there had been “zero support” from the university’s higher authorities and provincial government.

Shahwani and Rodini are now planning to upgrade Bolani with additional features like voice and face recognition sensors that will allow the robot to talk.

Prof. Ajab Khan Kasi, head of the physics department at the University of Balochistan, supervised the students while they built Bolani and said their creation was a “milestone” in the history of the university.

“It took six months to complete the robot and during this period, Aziz and Mukhtiar have done all the processes with their own hands ... even the welding, coloring and mechanical work on Bolani,” Kasi told Arab News.

“The humanoid robot has been working in nine-degree freedom, which allows him to move his hands, neck and eyes,” he said.

Shahwani said he will continue with his studies and hunt for support from the government and his university to add the sensors.

But until that happens, he added, they would not feel disappointed.

“Because we are inspired by Pakistan’s Nobel Prize winner Dr. Abdul Salam and the young Dr. Yar Jan Baloch who works as a space scientist in Cambridge University,” he added.

“We are following in their footsteps.”


Anti-immigration minister becomes leader of French conservatives

Updated 7 sec ago
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Anti-immigration minister becomes leader of French conservatives

  • Bruno Retailleau has become leader of the conservative Republican party (LR), which traces its origins to postwar leader Charles de Gaulle

PARIS: France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has called for radical action to cut immigration numbers, easily won an election to become leader of the conservative Republican party (LR), according to results released Sunday.
Retailleau won 74 percent of the vote from party members against 25 percent for Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the party in the French national assembly.
Although LR and its allies hold only 60 seats in France’s 577-member national assembly and the party candidate barely registered in the 2022 presidential vote, experts predict a better run in 2027 when President Emmanuel Macron must step down.
The LR’s last leader Eric Ciotti quit the party last year after calling for an alliance with the far-right National Rally (RN). The LR has wrangled since over its stance but has adopted a tougher line on issues such as immigration.
National opinion polls currently suggest the RN would perform well in the 2027 election, which has however been shaken by legal woes for its figurehead Marine Le Pen.
Retailleau, in his government post since last year, has emerged as one of the most high-profile ministers in the centrist-led coalition government. He said he would stay in the government but he is likely to use his victory to press his case for the presidency.
“Our political family is now able to carry our project forward for the presidential election,” Retailleau told broadcaster TF1 after the results were announced.
The LR is the successor of the UMP, which traces its origins to postwar leader Charles de Gaulle and was the party of former presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Some 80 percent of the 120,000 LR party members took part in the weekend vote for the leader. The LR membership had increased from 43,859 to 121,617 in the two months before the leadership election.


British climber breaks his own record with 19th Everest summit

Updated 18 May 2025
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British climber breaks his own record with 19th Everest summit

  • More than 50 climbers have reached the summit since the spring climbing season began this month

KATHMANDU: British climber Kenton Cool successfully climbed Mount Everest for the nineteenth time on Sunday, extending his own record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Nepali.

More than 50 climbers have reached the summit since the spring climbing season began this month, taking advantage of a brief spell of good weather and typically calmer winds.

Mountain guide Cool, 51, first climbed Everest in 2004 and has since had an expedition almost every year taking clients up the world’s highest peak.

“Kenton summited Everest for the 19th time at 11:00 a.m. Nepalese time on Sunday,” a post on his Instagram account said.

His 15th summit in 2021 tied him with American Dave Hahn for the most summits by a non-Nepali climber, and his summit the following year gave him a solo title.

Cool was once told he would not walk unaided again after a rock-climbing accident in 1996 that broke both his heel bones.

He told AFP in a 2022 interview after his 16th ascent that his Everest record was “not that amazing” in the context of Nepali climbers’ achievements.

“I’m really surprised by the interest ... considering that so many of the Sherpas have so many more ascents,” he said then.

Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa, 55, is also attempting to break his own world record for the most Everest summits with his 31st climb.


Gaza a ‘slaughterhouse,’ says British surgeon

Updated 18 May 2025
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Gaza a ‘slaughterhouse,’ says British surgeon

  • Dr. Tom Potokar: ‘It’s difficult to describe in words what’s happening here’
  • ‘Absolutely horrific’ stories amid escalating Israeli attacks

LONDON: A British surgeon working in southern Gaza has described treating severe explosive injuries and compared the Palestinian enclave to a “slaughterhouse” amid escalating Israeli attacks.

Overnight, at least 130 people were reported killed as Israeli forces launched extensive ground operations in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, forcing the closure of some of its main medical facilities.

Dr. Tom Potokar said in a video that medical staff were treating severe explosive injuries in southern Gaza.

“It’s difficult to describe in words what’s happening here (with the) constant sound of bombardment, jets overhead,” he added.

Following the Hamas attack in October 2023 that killed nearly 1,200 people, Israeli forces launched an air, ground and sea campaign on Gaza, killing over 52,000 Palestinians and displacing and injuring hundreds of thousands.

Potokar said he treated a young woman who “is not yet aware that everyone in (her) family was killed in the onslaught.”

He added: “Another day of devastation here in Gaza ... The stories coming from the north ... absolutely horrific ... particularly around the Indonesian Hospital.”

The hospital, one of the largest partially functioning medical facilities in Beit Lahia, has ceased operations due to Israeli bombing.

In the south, the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis announced that it was out of service last week, while the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah said it can no longer operate its surgical department amid the Israeli attacks.

Since March, Israel has enforced a blockade on aid, prompting a warning from UN food experts about the imminent risk of mass starvation in Gaza.


Ex-servicemen to be re-deployed as security guards in Kashmir, says Indian govt

Updated 18 May 2025
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Ex-servicemen to be re-deployed as security guards in Kashmir, says Indian govt

  • Around 4,000 veterans have been "identified" as non-combatant volunteers

SRINAGAR, India: Military veterans will be redeployed as security guards in Indian Kashmir, New Delhi said on Saturday.

The government of Jammu and Kashmir approved a "proposal for mobilising ex-servicemen to safeguard vital infrastructure across the union territory," according to a government press release.

Around 4,000 veterans have been "identified" as non-combatant volunteers, out of which 435 have licensed personal weapons, it said.

This will help by "significantly enhancing the capacity to respond effectively to localised security situations," the government added.

Veterans will work in "static guard" roles, focusing on "presence-based deterrence and local coordination."

India already has an estimated half a million soldiers permanently deployed in its part of Kashmir.

A similar veteran volunteer program took place with 2,500 veterans during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the government.


Philippines records surge in tourists from Middle East 

Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco speaks at the SKIFT Asia Forum 2025 held in Bangkok on May 15, 2025.
Updated 18 May 2025
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Philippines records surge in tourists from Middle East 

  • Philippines has been recognized as an emerging Muslim-friendly destination in recent years
  • Last year, it launched a beach for Muslim women travelers in top resort island Boracay

MANILA: The Philippines has recorded significant growth in tourists from the Middle East, the Department of Tourism said on Sunday, following various campaigns to attract more travelers from the region.

Tourism is a key sector for the Philippines, and its government has lately been trying to attract more visitors from the Middle East by creating Muslim-friendly destinations and ensuring that they have access to halal products and services. 

Those efforts, part of the Philippines’ move to diversify its economy away from dependency in the declining Chinese market, have led to a surge in international tourism arrivals from countries in the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council, Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said. 

“We are targeting markets such as the Middle East and the GCC, as well as India,” she said in a statement. 

“Because of our efforts to diversify, we are seeing, for example, from the Middle East and the GCC, an average of no less than 500 to 800 percent growth rate in terms of international tourism arrivals.”

The Philippines’ tourism sector has been recovering since the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most tourism destinations in the country to shut down and resulted in a decline of foreign arrivals by more than 80 percent compared to 2019 numbers.

As tourism started to rebound, the Middle Eastern market was among the ones showing “promising signs of recovery” last year, a Department of Tourism report said. 

The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain are among the countries showing a positive recovery rate, “signifying a steady return of visitors from the Gulf region,” according to the report. 

In 2024, the Philippines was recognized as an Emerging Muslim-friendly non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation Destination by the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index.

The index is an annual report benchmarking destinations in the Muslim travel market. 

The archipelagic country known for its white-sand beaches, diving spots and rich culture, also won the award in 2023 and has since boosted efforts to attract visitors from the Middle East.

Last year, it launched a beach for Muslim women travelers in Boracay, the country’s top resort island and one of the world’s most popular. 

The Department of Tourism also partnered with Emirates Airlines in April to jointly promote the Philippines, targeting the Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and European markets. 

“The beauty of coming to the Philippines is that it is a very diversified destination. We are able to cater to any type of traveler, whether you are a solo traveler, a couple, (or) a family,” Frasco said. 

“With the number of islands that we have and the readiness of these destinations, then we are excited to welcome people of all nationalities.”