PAKISTAN
Telenor celebrates startup failures and mistakes with velocity duckstories:
Telenor Velocity introduces an exciting concept to the startup culture in Pakistan through DuckStories, a series of regular events that share and celebrate mistakes, and the times when things didn’t go to plan. More than 80% of startups die within the first three years of starting but we hardly get to hear about them and the reasons why they failed. As the startup scene in Pakistan is picking up its pace, it is important for startups to not only hear the success stories but to talk about the failures and learnings which build towards that success.
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3G/4G users reach 47.7 million in Pakistan:
The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan reached 47.204 million by end November 2017, said Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Number of mobile phone users in Pakistan reached 143.34 million by end November 2017 compared to 142.404 million by October 2017, and registered an increase of 0.936 million during the period under review.
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Pakistan’s forex reserves enhance by $2 billion:
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have enhanced by $2 billion due to the inflows received from foreign bonds and Sukuk in the outgoing week. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the total liquid foreign reserves of the country increased to $20.68 billion from $18.68 billion till December 08, 2017. The foreign reserves held by SBP stand at $ 14.66 billion whereas the net foreign reserves held by commercial and private banks stand at $6.02 billion.
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Idea Croron Ka Airs it’s latest episode:
Luckily we were able to watch another episode of Idea Croron Ka despite all the challenges that the team had to face. This episode was recorded when Lahore was shut down because of an ongoing protest. Despite all the hardships the leading host Nabeel A. Qadeer, Expert Business Advisor Dr. Umar Saif, investors Abbas Yousafzai, Co-founder and CTO at YotaScale and Monis Rahman, Founder at Rozee.pk not just made it to the set but also recorded 2 episodes that day.
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A visit to the zameen.com property open day event in Lahore:
We are all familiar with the concept of property exhibitions. They usually take place in big expo centres, involve dozens of exhibitors and welcome thousands of visitors over 2-3 days. So when we at ProPakistani received an invitation from Zameen.com to visit their Open Day Event we were not quite sure how was it different from their famous Expos.
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JazzCash, unilever collaborate to promote financial inclusion for women:
A collaboration amongst four Pakistan and multi-national organizations aims to enhance the availability of financial services to low-income women across Pakistan. The partnership, announced last week, brings together the technical expertise of Pakistan’s premiere mobile financial services provider JazzCash and consumer products giant Unilever Pakistan Limited.
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Telenor customers to enjoy big discounts on careem rides:
Commuting for Telenor customers across Pakistan is going to get a lot more convenient and pocket-friendly! To facilitate its customers further, Telenor Pakistan teamed up with Careem to offer free and discounted rides. The promotion entails a FREE first ride for new sign-ups of Careem from Telenor Pakistan network. Moreover, all Telenor customers who are existing Careem users will also enjoy 20% conditional discounts on as many as four rides for the duration of this campaign.
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NHA to raise highway & motorway toll rates due to inflation:
National Highway Authority (NHA) has proposed up to 8 percent increase in toll rates for commuters using national highway and motorway, besides an additional surcharge of up to Rs 50 for cash transactions through electronic toll collection while pleading that inflation rate has increased by 4.3% in 2017, it is learnt.
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ADB approves $100 million for public-private partnership projects:
Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors approved a loan agreement for $100 million that will improve and strengthen the development and delivery of public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the Punjab province. The loan from ADB will be used to finance a viability gap fund window which will enhance the commercial viability of projects and help attract private sector participation in PPPs.
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PTCL arranges sports gala 2017:
PTCL, being a caring employer, arranged Sports Gala 2017 at F-9 Park, Islamabad, in which employees and their families participated with immense enthusiasm. Syed Mazhar Hussain, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), PTCL, along with other senior executives, staff members and their families participated in the event, which marked the culminating stage of preliminary rounds of Sports competitions held in various cities of Pakistan.
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Pakistanis third most willing to fight for their country:
WIN/Gallup International, a global market researcher, ranked 64 countries based on the percentage of people who are willing to fight for their country. Their recent poll reveals that three in five people in the world are willing to fight for their country and that the difference of region plays an important role in influencing the minds of its inhabitants.
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INTERNATIONAL:
Keeping cell phones next to your body is harmful:
Warnings have been issued against the excessive use of cell phones by researchers at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The reason behind these warnings have to do with the leaking electromagnetic radiation from these cell phones and the adverse effect they have on your health after prolonged usage.
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Uber used undercover agents, court letter says:
Uber set up a covert unit tasked with stealing competitors’ secrets and engaging in undercover surveillance, a letter published by a US court on Friday has alleged. It is critical evidence in Uber’s legal battle with Waymo, the self-driving car company that accuses the ride-sharing firm of stealing its technology.
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US woman used Bitcoin to move cash to islamic state:
A New York woman has been accused of laundering bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and wiring the money to help the so-called Islamic State. Zoobia Shahnaz, 27, was charged with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering and is being held without bail. Ms Shahnaz was born in Pakistan and worked as a lab technician in the US. Prosecutors say she took out fraudulent loans of $85,000 (£63,000) in order to buy the bitcoin online.
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Schools warned over hackable heating systems:
Dozens of British schools’ heating systems have been found to be vulnerable to hackers, according to a probe by a security research firm. Pen Test Partners says the problem was caused by the equipment’s controllers being connected to the wider internet, against the manufacturer’s guidelines. It says it would be relatively easy for mischief-makers to switch off the heaters from afar.
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Million britons miss out on ‘decent’ broadband speeds:
The UK’s digital divide has narrowed but more than one million homes and offices still struggle to get good broadband, says an Ofcom report. The Connected Nations report found that about 4% of properties cannot get a broadband speed fast enough to meet their needs. Last year, about 1.6 million UK properties were in this position.
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Vodafone offers thousands early contract exit:
Thousands of Vodafone customers will be able to end their contracts early after the UK’s communications regulator raised concerns over new charges. In April, Vodafone introduced new international roaming charges for 60 countries outside the European Union, and told customers via text message. Ofcom said it had “intervened” because it had “concerns about the clarity of that text message”.
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US blames North Korea for WannaCry:
The US administration has said North Korea was “directly responsible” for the WannaCry malware attack affecting hospitals, businesses and banks across the world earlier this year. The attack is said to have hit more than 300,000 computers in 150 nations, causing billions of dollars of damage.
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Twitter suspends Britain first leaders:
Twitter has suspended the accounts of two leaders of a British far-right group shortly after revising its rules on hate speech. Paul Golding, Britain First’s leader, and Jayda Fransen, his deputy, can no longer tweet and their past posts no longer appear. The organisation’s official Twitter page has suffered the same fate.
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Post more to feel better about yourself:
Facebook has defended itself against claims that using the site can damage wellbeing and mental health. In a blogpost, it said while there was evidence it could negatively affect mood, the way it affected people was determined by how they used it. Facebook’s downsides could be combated by making more use of the site and interacting positively, it said.
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Russia meddled on twitter after UK terror attacks:
Suspected Russia-linked Twitter accounts were used to “extend the impact and harm” of four 2017 terrorist attacks in the UK, a study says. Cardiff University researchers have found hundreds of related messages in 47 accounts previously tied to Russia. Some posts were anti-Muslim in nature, while others were critical of those who held such views, they report.
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Advertising standards considers inquiry into amazon prime:
Amazon’s promise of next-day deliveries could be investigated amid customer complaints that it is failing to meet that pledge. The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is considering whether to launch a formal inquiry into Amazon. The firm’s top service, Prime, offers next-day deliveries for £7.99 a month.
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Bitcoin exchange Youbit shuts after second hack attack:
A crypto-currency exchange in South Korea is shutting down after it was hacked for the second time in less than eight months. Youbit, which lets people buy and sell bitcoins and other virtual currencies, has filed for bankruptcy after losing 17% of its assets in the cyber-attack. It did not disclose how much the assets were worth at the time of the attack.
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Robot giant fx-2 is ridden by human pilots:
A South Korean start-up has unveiled a huge robot designed to make humans stronger and more mobile. The machine is the work of Rainbow Robotics, a spin-off from South Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kaist)’s robotics lab.