Ufone Submits CSR Projects Report to Senate Panel:
Ufone has submitted a report on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications. According to the report, it had launched a national-level comprehensive COVID-19 relief and support effort amounting to Rs. 1.9 billion as a part of the PTCL Group. During the torrential rain in Karachi in 2020, Ufone collaborated with Khana Ghar to distribute cooked food and water to the people who were affected by it. It had also organized national-level football tournaments for the youth in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan to help them showcase their skills.
Pros, Cons and How-To’s of Regulating Crypto-Currencies in Pakistan:
In a recent analysis, ProPakistani revealed how Pakistan can make billions of rupees in taxes per year by simply taxing cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. For a cash-strapped country like Pakistan, this alone should be reason enough to start the process of regulating the booming crypto market. However, in reality, there are even more benefits to regulating cryptocurrencies in Pakistan.
KP Govt. Approves the Launch of Insaf Food Card:
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has officially approved the launch of the Insaf Food Card, which will allow deserving families to have access to subsidized food items in the province. The decision of approval was made during the provincial cabinet’s meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. As much as Rs. 25.92 billion will be spent under the scheme, and every deserving household will be able to receive Rs. 2,100 per month. The scheme will benefit nearly five million people across the province.
52XRAGE Wins PUBG Mobile Pro League Pakistan with a Prize Pool of PKR 17.6M, Gears Up for South Asian Championship:
Adding to its list of innovative achievements in e-sports around the world, PUBG MOBILE, the country’s leading online battle royale platform, completed its first exclusive pro-level gaming tournament in Pakistan. The 52XRAGE ESPORTS team was declared winners of the tournament earning 186 points, including 63 kills in its 18 matches. They went up against the toughest competition in their rival teams and emerged as the ultimate champions after 25 nail-biting days of competition.
Govt to Double the Regulatory Duty on Import of Mobile Phones:
The government is considering to double the regulatory duty on the import of mobile phones to stabilize Pakistan’s worsening balance of payment condition. The new duties will vary between Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 44,000 on the import of a single device, according to sources. Five slabs of tax are outlined for the duty structure. The mobile set of Rs. 3000 on valuation of $ 30-100 the duty is proposed at Rs. 6ooo, the mobile set of Rs. 7500 on valuation of $ 101-200 the duty is proposed at Rs. 15ooo, on the mobile set of Rs. 11000 on valuation of $ 201-350 the duty is proposed at Rs. 22ooo, on the mobile set of Rs. 15000 on valuation of $ 351-500 the duty is proposed at Rs. 30,ooo, on the mobile set of Rs. 22000 on valuation of above $ 500 the duty is proposed at Rs. 44,ooo.
PSEB Invites Cloud Service Providers to Offer Services at Subsidized Rates:
The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has invited proposals from international and local cloud service providers to offer all the variants of cloud computing services in Pakistan through the PSEB Cloud Platform at a subsidized tariff. The Pakistan Software Export Board has issued Terms of Reference (ToR) to offer cloud services through a framework agreement with the PSEB. There is a need to encourage investment in establishing high-tech, resilient, and at-scale data centers in the country to offer all the variants of cloud computing services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, XaaS), according to the PSEB. These cloud computing services will be helpful in enhancing IT flexibility and responsiveness, reducing operating costs, and decreasing risk. It will also address governance and compliance issues.
GameBird’s FFPL III Champion Represents Pakistan in Free Fire World Series in Singapore:
GameBird’s FFPL III Champion team House of Blood (HOB) took part in Free Fire World Series in Santosa, Singapore, representing Pakistan amongst 18 other teams from all over the world. On the road to participating in the world series, House of Blood won FFCS (Free Fire Champion Series 2020) powered by Telenor, Free Fire Eternal Battle Season 1, and the FFPLIII (Free Fire Pakistan League) season III partnered with GameBird.
Infinix Signs MoU with Actor Feroze Khan for Its New Flagship Phone Note 12:
Smartphone brand Infinix is all set to make the sensational actor Feroze Khan the heart of their new edition of Note Series – Note 12. For this purpose, an MoU was signed between Infinix and Feroze Khan at the Mövenpick Hotel, Karachi today. Infinix is always dedicated to bringing something exciting to its customers and yet again it has done an exciting partnership with Feroze Khan to win the hearts of its fans. Infinix, being the leading smartphone company, has the goal of making this partnership the biggest in Pakistan and creating a great hype for its new smartphone Note 12.
We Will Not Roll Back Previous Government’s Incentives to IT sector: Miftah Ismail:
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail says that his government will not roll back any incentives given to the IT sector and may further augment those incentives. “Prime minister asked me if there was anything I want him to do at the upcoming World Economic Forum,” said Ismail during the Future Fest 2022, which was attended by hundreds of startups, freelancers, and people from other industries such as banks and officials of venture capitals in Islamabad recently.
Telecom Sector Attracted Over $6 Billion Foreign Investment in 4 Years: IT Minister:
The telecommunication industry attracted foreign direct investment of $ 6.1 billion from July 1, 2018, to March 30, 2022, said Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque. In his message on the occasion of ‘World Telecommunication and Information Society Day’, Federal Minister for IT said that the number of active mobile SIMs reached 193 million by March 2022 due to reforms in the telecom sector, and mobile and fixed Broadband consumers’ number saw 39.4 percent increase, he said.
vivo Launches Flagship X80 in Pakistan — Elevating Mobile Photography with ZEISS:
vivo has announced the launch of its flagship X80 in Pakistan, bringing users the “next level of premium mobile experience” with new cinematic photography features in collaboration with ZEISS. Built on vivo X series’ professional mobile photography foundations, X80 demonstrates the relentless pursuit of the perfect user experience in photography and videography with the smartphones’ flagship performance and technological innovations.
Nayatel to Increase Internet Prices Soon:
It is no news that inflation in Pakistan is on the rise these days. Almost everything in the country has fallen victim to the declining economy including cars, mobile phones, computer hardware, groceries, fuel, etc. Additionally, the government has proposed an increase in taxes for the next budget as well. The latest one to fall victim to this inflation is Nayatel, which has just announced an upcoming increase in prices. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) has recently emailed its customers informing them about the impending price hike.
North Shields woman uses Instagram to share life with Crohn’s disease:
A woman is using Instagram to show the “real side” of life with Crohn’s disease to help others with the debilitating condition. Rebekah Gardner from North Shields was diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2009 after being rushed to hospital following weeks of being unwell. The 28-year-old said from there it had been a “constant battle” dealing with the incurable inflammatory bowel disease which affects more than 500,000 people across the UK.
Buffalo shooting: NY probes ‘bone-chilling’ social media role:
New York state’s top prosecutor has launched an investigation into the role social media companies played in Saturday’s mass shooting in Buffalo. The inquiry will look at the extent that social platforms were “used to stream, promote, or plan the event”, the attorney general’s office said. The state’s governor has argued tech firms share some blame for the attack. Critics say the companies were too slow to remove the alleged gunman’s violent posts. Announcing the investigation on Wednesday, Attorney General Letitia James said: “The terror attack in Buffalo has once again revealed the depths and danger of the online forums that spread and promote hate.”
London Zoo penguin chicks named for Platinum Jubilee:
Five Humboldt penguin chicks at London Zoo have been named after famous people and events from the past 70 years in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Hillary, Apollo, Bobby, Bernie and Mac are a month old and are being hand-reared by zookeepers after their parents were unable to look after them. The chicks have spent the past four weeks indoors under a heat lamp. Toy penguins from the zoo’s giftshop have been brought in for them to snuggle up to.
President Rodrigo Chaves says Costa Rica is at war with Conti hackers:
The president of Costa Rica says his country is “at war”, as cyber-criminals cause major disruption to IT systems of numerous government ministries. Rodrigo Chaves said hackers infiltrated 27 government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities. The Conti ransomware cartel, which is thought to be run from Russia, has upped its ransom demand to $20m (£16m). The criminals posted an appeal online to Costa Ricans to “go out on the street and demand payment”. Mr Chaves held a press conference on Monday to outline his “Plan for Implementation of Cyber-security Measures”.
Liverpool: Teenager’s train announcing dream comes true:
It was full steam ahead for a teenager’s dream to announce the arrival of a train. Joshua, who is blind, addressed passengers at Liverpool’s Lime Street station when he visited with his school. The 13-year-old, from Caernarfon, Gwynedd, was cheered as he announced the 10:27 was coming into platform one. “Well done Josh!” said one onlooker. The youngster hopes to next use his new skills on the London Underground
Netflix cuts 150 US-based jobs after losing subscribers:
Netflix has made about 150 staff redundant, a month after the streaming service said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. The redundancies, announced by the entertainment giant on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce. Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company’s revenue. The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year. “These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues,” the company said in a statement.
Robot Dog Olympics takes place at MoD in Bristol:
Teams of computer programmers have taken part in a Robot Dog Olympics to develop innovative tech solutions for the British Army. Around 40 coders from across the country assembled at Ministry of Defence (MoD) Abbey Wood in Bristol. They were challenged to programme the robotic dogs to perform tasks including a 50-metre sprint and gymnastics. Chris Burton, from technology company IBM, said the event was “really interesting in terms of collaboration”.
How Gen Z is hooked on cryptocurrency and NFTs:
The lure of making a quick buck has always attracted young people to invest in risky assets. For Generation Z, it is the volatility – and the decentralised nature – of digital assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs which appeals. But they are unregulated, meaning there is little investor protection. “All my friends were talking about [cryptocurrency] so one day I just decided why not just jump in and see if I can make some money,” says 20-year-old Paxton See Tow. All he needed was his phone and trading thousands of dollars’ worth of assets was only a click away. Generation Z – also known as Zoomers – are the age group born between the mid-1990s to early-2000s. They grew up online, playing games and meeting friends virtually, so the transition is natural.