Iran Pakistan Joint Issue. Milad Tower Tehran & Meenar-e-Pakistan Lahore.

Pakistan Diplomatic Relations With Thailand. Minar-e-Pakistan. Victory Monument Tower. Issue date:- 13-12-2011

60Th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Between Pakistan And Thailand Commemorative Postage Stamp December 13, 2011:- Minar-e-Pakistan:- Minar-e-Pakistan is a tall minaret in Iqbal Park Lahore, built in commemoration of the Pakistan Resolution. The minaret reflects a blend of Mughal and modern architecture and is constructed on the site where on March 23, 1940, seven years before the formation of Pakistan, the Pakistan resolution demanding the creation of Pakistan, was passed. This was the first official declaration to establish a separate homeland for the Muslims living in the South Asia. Pakistan now celebrates this day as a national holiday each year.
The foundation stone was laid on March 23, 1960. The construction took eight years of time, and was completed in 1968. The Minar was completed on 31 October 1968. The base of the minaret is about 8 meters above the ground. The tower rises about 60 meters on the base, thus the total height of minaret is about 72 meters above the ground. The unfolding petals of the flower-like base are 9 meters high. The diameter of the tower is about 97.5 meters (320 feet). The base platform is shaped like a five-pointed stars and encloses two crescent shaped pools. There is a central spiral staircase rising up with 162 steps.
At the base, there are floral inscription on ten converging white marble Commemorative plaques. The inscription include the text of Lahore Resolution in Urdu, Bengali and English, and Delhi Resolution’s text, witch was passed on April 9, 1946. On different plaques, Quranic versis and 99 attributes of God are inscribed in Arabic calligraphy, whereas National Anthem of Pakistan in Urdu and Bengali, the founding father of Pakistan, in Urdu, Bengali and English, as well as few couplets of Allama Iaqbal are inscribed.
The monument attracts visitors from all over Pakistan, as well as the inhabitants of Lahore. The large public space around the monument is commonly used for political and public meetings. Today, the minaret provides a panoramic view to visitors who can climb up the stairs or through an elevator. The Parks around the monument include marble fountains and an artificial lake.
Victory Monument:- The Victory Monument is situated on Phahonyothin road (Kilometer 0.0), Bangkok. Before building the monument, it was called “Intersection Sanam Pao” After being built, the area become the roundabout linking three main roads which are Phahonyothin road, Ratchawithi road and Phayathai road. It was constructed in 1941 in order to praise the heroic actions of soldiers, policemen and civilians who sacrificed their lives in the dispute between Thailand and France on the demarcation between Thailand and other Indochinese nations. The foundation stone laying Pholphayuhasena and it was inaugurated on 24 June 1942 by Field Marshal Pleak Pibulsongkram.
M.L Pum Malakul was the architect of the Victory Monument. He designed this monument pursuing 5 inspiration; as follows:
- joint actions of the 4 armies,
- courage of every personnel soldier, policemen and civilian,
- weapons that the military used to fight,
- Important incidents that caused both parties to open the fight, and
- public attention.
Architecture:- Every soldier is usually armed with bayonet so the architectg uses 5 bayonets to stand together in the pattern of carambola petal, pointing the sword up to the sky and turning the sharp edge outwards. The monument is built of reinforced concrete decorated with marble. The 50-meter-high bayonet above the monument hall’s ceiling was used to be the storage of ashes of persons who died in the dispute between Thailand and France on the demarcation between Thailand and other Indochinese nations.
The exterior at the base of bayonet has the coppered sculptures of the officers from the 5 assemblies- the Army, the Navel, the Air Force, the Police and the Civilians. These sculptures are two times oversized the normal warriors. Prof. Silp Bhirasri commanded the sculptor team which comprised of his students.
Outer wall of the hall is the copper plate inscribed with 801 names of the persons who sacrificed their lives in this dispute, including who died in service of the country from many wars during 1940-1954.
Importance:- Apart from being a very important monument in remembrance of the people who sacrificed lives for the country, the Victory Monument has the importance as the starting point of Phahonyothin road and the center of transportation; namely bus, BTS sky train, van express service that link people to many areas all over Bangkok and upcountry. Therefore, it is currently one of the most important transportation hubs of Bangkok. Moreover, it is an important landmark near public hospitals, shopping mall, and express way.
On the 6th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Pakistan and Thailand, Pakistan Post is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination on December 13, 2011.

Join Hands together to Combat Breast Cancer. Health. Issue Date 30-11-2011.

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign In Pakistan Commemorative Postage Stamp November 30, 2011:- We cannot imagine the suffering and pain of 40,000 women who eventually succumb to breast cancer every year in Pakistan. Their pain ripples across families through generations.
There is one thing though that is even more dangerous than breast cancer – and that is indifference! Lack of awareness and negligence is the crux of the problem. As a result, Pakistan has the highest number of deaths from breast cancer among all countries of the world!
This is despite the glaring fact that with early diagnosis a patient’s chances of survival are more than 90%!
Pink Ribbon – An Emblem of Hope:- Pink Ribbon Pakistan has been addressing breast cancer issues since 2003. With its nation wide breast cancer awareness campaign, its aim is to make this cruel disease a premier health concern. Pink Ribbon Pakistan is dedicated to fight breast cancer at every stage.
Current challenges and how we dare to overcome them:- One of the great challenges Pink Ribbon faces is getting people to talk about the disease and be more open about it. In Pakistan, especially women, avoid discussing about the issue even when they feel they need to. Because of this and when breast cancer if finally detected, it is usually too late. Illiteracy and lack of proper infrastructure is huge hindrance in spreading awareness about breast cancer. The myths and misconceptions prevalent in the society also add to the growing number of breast cancer cases. To counter this problem, Pink Ribbon is running a massive awareness program for women with the aim to spread the word to every nook and corner. Considering the recent trend of breast cancer on a rise amongst young girls, Pink Ribbon has a youth program with colleges and youth volunteers. This way Pink Ribbon hopes to prevent the disease among those at risk.
Prevention is better than cure especially for breast cancer. On 31st March 2009, Pink Ribbon took the initiative of providing free mobile mammography service to women in urban and rural areas of Pakistan. The Mammography Bus was launched in collaboration with PAEC contribution for the women of Pakistan and suburb areas. It is sensitizing them about early detection as well as empowering them to defeat this silent killer before it can endanger their precious lives. Pink Ribbon has extended its outreach in over 52 districts across Pakistan in all 4 provinces and Azad Kashmir.
Pink Ribbon Month:- October is celebrated as the international month of Breast Cancer awareness worldwide. This year too Pakistan’s premium awareness campaign, Pink Ribbon is doing what is needed at various levels, by raising public awareness about the disease, highlighting the role of research into the causes of breast cancer and promoting the significance of early detection of breast cancer in terms of better treatment and survival. Such activities are carried out all year round but the month of October is special.
We need ever more support to extend our message across the nation ensuring that none of us will have to bear the horror of losing a mother, a sister, a wife, or a daughter.
About Breast Cancer:- According to an estimate of the World Health Organization, over 1.2 million people will diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide this year.
Breast cancer is one of the oldest types of cancers and also the most common form among females. Breast cancer’s basic definition is “an uncontrollable growth of breast cells”. When cells divide and multiply rapidly, they form a lump, called tumor. Nearly 80% of findings on mammogram are not cancers. They are usually benign tumors, a cyst, or some other non-cancerous condition. A tumor is defined as cancer only when it can invade nearby tissues and organs and damage them. Then it is called malignant.
Breast cancer is an important health issue, which is of growing concern, for an increasing number of women in Pakistan, though it also affects men albeit in very small numbers.
Raising public awareness about breast cancer is of singular importance as it is the necessary first step that will go a long way towards alleviating the burden of this disease among Pakistani women.
The purpose here is to put some facts to light, removing some misconceptions and suggest some options for the future with reference to breast cancer care in Pakistan.
The burden of new cases of breast cancer from Pakistan has been reported to be the highest amongst all Asian countries with one out of every ninth women in the country at a high risk. As compared Pakistan, neighboring India has a rate of one in twenty two women at a high risk of breast cancer.
The reasons for such a high burden of breast cancer in Pakistan are mainly ignorance, illiteracy, eating habits and a state of obliviousness.
On Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in Pakistan a commemorative postage stamp of Rs. 8/- is being issued by Pakistan Post on November 30, 2011.

Trades of Yesteryears II stamp issue from Luxembourg

A joiner cuts, planes, knocks, embeds, assembles…
Joinery is an activity somewhere between carpentry and cabinetry. The placement of most flooring, for instance, is carried out sometimes by a carpenter, and other times by a joiner. Cabinetry is generally reserved for the joiners’ most delicate work, in particular the making of furniture. Joiners are building professionals who traditionally work in wood. They manufacture and place doors, windows, and cupboards. They provide measurement services. Their professional discipline is joinery but also the arrangement of insulating materials as well as light ironwork.
The Potter
The appearance of pottery was an essential step in the history of civilisation and goes back to the Neolithic era. The first pottery items, baked in the open, were matt and porous, and of a sombre colour. A silicabased coating that made them watertight was also discovered very early on. Earthenware is a pottery item with an opaque white or tinted tin glazing. Earthenware items, intended for a rich clientele and made by renowned manufacturers, reached their pinnacle in the 18th century. They became more common among the wider population when the privileged classes turned to porcelain.
The Stonemason
A stonemason is an artisan who hews stones used to build or restore buildings.
But they are not just artisans. Their design skills allow them to develop and refine their perception of forms and shapes. Skilful with their hands, a stonemason’s motions are precise and sure. Before beginning work on a historic monument, they study different architectural styles and acquire basic knowledge of the history of art. Another indispensable quality: meticulousness. A tool slipping or an exaggerated groove can lead to a work in the making being irreparably damaged.
The Printer
Printing uses a collection of technologies that enable the reproduction of the written word and of illustrations in large quantities, generally on paper, in order to be able to distribute them widely. In 1440, Johannes Gensfleisch, better known by the name of Gutenberg, had the idea of using movable characters in lead, thereby inventing modern typography.
For a long time, printers remained at the level of a small artisan. Nevertheless, even though wages were low, the work was considered prestigious. Since books remained costly objects, typographers were constantly in contact with wellread men. A printer also had an important privilege: the right to carry a sword.
Jacques Doppée: painter, designer, watercolourist, engraver.
Educated in Belgium at the Académie royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles and at the Ecole des Arts d’Ixelles, he specialised in medieval techniques. Jacques Doppée is inspired by nature and has a fondness for landscapes and beach views. He also creates stylised and floral subjects or insects represented graphically and in great detail. As an author of postage stamps, he has already designed numerous stamps for the Belgian and Luxembourg post services and even for the Faroe Islands.

Christmas stamp by Aland Post

"I frequently recur to nature", says Helene Schmitz, the photographer behind this year's Christmas stamp depicting a hyacinth. She is universally recognized for her close-up pictures of flowers.
The Stamp Committee of Åland Post caught sight of Helene when she had her flower portraits on exhibition at the Åland Museum a few years back. Having decided upon the 2011 Christmas stamp theme, the Committee contacted Helene who accepted the commission. "Typical Christmas colours are not my favourite colours, so I was pleased when I realized that I was asked to shoot a white hyacinth".

The hyacinth was photographed in the autumn of 2010 and the stamp now appears, one year later. A beautiful close-up photo of a white hyacinth illustrates the FDC, and the first day cancel is designed as a hyacinth flower.

International Year of Forests - stamps by UNPA

The United Nations Postal Administration has issued three mini-sheets of eight stamps to commemorate the International Year of Forests.
Designated by the United Nations General Assembly, 2011 is the International Year of Forests. During this Year, everyone from Governments and the United Nations system, to major groups and other forest-related organizations are coming together to raise awareness on strengthening the sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.
United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon said, "By declaring 2011 as the International Year of Forests, the United Nations General Assembly has created an important platform to educate the global community about the great value of forests - and the extreme social, economic and environmental costs of losing them".

Subway of Algiers postage stamps

The Algerian Post has released a set of two stamps dedicated to the construction of subway in Algiers.
All studies of urban transport in the city of Algiers conducted since 1970, led to the recommendation of the development of a subway for traffic rehabilitation. The subway will deal with the population explosion and the need for public transportation responding the requirements of comfort and security, and providing regular transport availability. It will also save space for communities and reduce environmental damage (air pollution and noise).
Design studies and engineering of the Algiers metro, completed in 1982 defined a subway scheme consisting of three lines totaling 56 km of line and 54 stations. Line 1 from the first stage of the Algiers metro will contain 10 stations (including 9 underground) of 9.5 km. 14 modern and comfortable trains are planned for the operation on the first metro line. Each such train with a length of 108.5 m can carry 1234 people and reaches the top speed of 70 km/h. A stretch of 4 km between "Bachdjarah" and "El Harrach", consisting of four stations would be commissioned in winter 2012, two extensions of Line 1 are planned for 2012 and 2013.

Christmas 2011 stamp from Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Post is issuing a stamp celebrating the coming Christmas 2011. The Christmas 2011 stamp shows a happy family seated around a table and eating biscuits. Christmas decorations, including a tree, garlands, and golden stars, emphasize the festive side and magic of the moment.
The stamp was created by Luxembourg artist Muriel Moritz, illustrator of children's books, school books, and exhibitor. Muriel Moritz runs workshops for children at the Academie d'ete de Luxembourg (CEPA) and at Kulturhuef Grevenmacher.

Sheep stamps from Algeria

The Algerian Post has issued a set of two stamps illustrating the widespread breeds of sheep in Algeria: Ouled-Djellal and Hamra.
The "Ouled-Djellal" sheep composes the largest ethnic group of Algerian sheep, occupying most of the country with the exception of some areas in the southwest and southeast. This is the true sheep of the steppe, the most suitable to nomadism. This is an all-white sheep. Wool covers the entire body to the knees and hocks, his head is white with spiral horns. Their long and strong legs support walking for long distances. This is a breed resistant to arid zones; it uses very different highland pastures of the steppe and rangeland of Sahara.
The "Hamra" breed is a dark-skinned animal with black mucous membrane. Its head and legs are brown red, almost black. The wool is white with brown red. The sheep has medium spiral horns. The range of this race is located in the southwest, it is found also in the foothills of the Saharan Atlas. It is considered the best beef breed in Algeria because of the delicacy of its meat and the roundness of its lines. This is a breed highly resistant to cold and icy winds from the steppes of Oran.

New Christmas stamps from Norway

This year's Christmas stamps by Norway Post are dedicated to old postcards.
Anyone who has had the pleasure of sifting through piles of old postcards will have noticed the great variety in this pictorial material.
The oldest Norwegian postcards date back to the 1880s and even then Christmas cards were predominant. Norway's Christmas gnome was an important feature then and he has been a familiar figure on Norwegian Christmas cards ever since.
As card manufacturers learned more about marketing, they began to appeal to people's emotions. When Christmas celebrations focusing on children and family grew in popularity, romantic Christmas traditions came to the fore, particularly Christmas Eve customs. Going to church by horse and cart, bringing home and decorating the Christmas tree and close-up shots of oat sheaves with bull finches and titmice are recurring themes. Christmas in the country is almost a whole genre in itself, with a prevalence of cliches from well-to-do farming communities: sleigh rides, Christmas parties and the romantic farming life. Food and drink are also well represented. The menus are something of a mixture, often showing a full spread of cakes, fruit, chocolate, meat dishes and desserts.
During the Prohibition (1917-26), Christmas gnomes were often used humoristically to convey a view of Norwegians' alcohol habits.
Children are the subjects of the postcards on this year's Christmas stamps. Children are often part of the scene, especially when it comes to Christmas preparations or opening parcels. Parcels are of course another frequent Christmas card motif - before, during and after opening.