Bank of Khyber Partners with NIFT ePay to Propel Digital Payments- in Pakistan:
Bank of Khyber and NIFT ePay once again join hands to propel digital payments in Pakistan. This partnership is an extension to an existing arrangement in which BoK customers can make digital payments to 400+ NIFT ePay merchants using their bank accounts. The recent partnership has enabled BoK to offer credit and debit card acceptance services to their merchants. This will allow their merchants to use NIFT ePay payment gateway for accepting digital payments using credit and debit cards.
Samsung to Copy a Highly Useful iPhone Feature Soon:
It appears that Samsung is planning to follow in Apple’s footsteps once again. We lost the headphone jack and charging bricks too recently, but this time, it may just be an upgrade. Apple’s satellite Emergency SOS on iPhone 14, via Globalstar, might soon be on Samsung Galaxy, according to ET News.
PTA Organizes Workshop on GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index:
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), organized a workshop on GSMA’s Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI) at PTA Headquarters today. The workshop focused on the GSMA’s MCI with the objective to improve Pakistan’s future MCI scores by understanding how indicators were assessed and how effectively PTA and other stakeholders can collect and share data with GSMA.
Poor Govt Policies, High Taxes Ruining Telecom Sector: GSMA:
There is a significant risk of Digital Pakistan not being realized in the current market and regulatory environment, together with the exacerbating impact of recent macroeconomic developments, says Global Mobile Industry Association (GSMA). The Association in its latest report on Pakistan “Making Digital Pakistan a reality”, stated that aggregate mobile ARPU is now below $1 in Pakistan – one of the lowest in the world (the global average is $8). Annual inflation in Pakistan rose to more than 27 percent in August 2022 (the highest level in 47 years) on the back of flood-related disruptions to food supply chains and challenging global monetary conditions.
Here Are the Most Followed Pakistanis on Twitter:
There are many notable Pakistani names on Twitter including celebrities, politicians, influencers, journalists, and more. The list of most followed Pakistan accounts is dominated by politicians including Imran Khan, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and Asad Umar, but which of these rank the highest?
USF has Awarded Projects Worth Nearly Rs. 125 Billion So Far:
The Universal Service Fund (USF) has so far awarded 123 projects worth approximately Rs. 124.8 billion in subsidy under its flagship programs and empowered more than 26 million people living in over 12,000 mauzas, covering over 120 districts across Pakistan. This was revealed by USF Chief Executive Officer Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary while briefing the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GMSA) Asia-Pacific (APAC) team which visited the Fund office to learn about the progress of USF work.
Amazon Finally Fixes Account Deactivation Issues Faced by Pakistani Sellers:
Amazon has resolved issues with automatic account deactivation for sellers around the world, including Pakistan. Amazon told sellers that their accounts will no longer be automatically deactivated, but they must ensure proper implementation of account health policies. Amazon’s new ‘Account Health Rating’ policy comes as big news for sellers all over the globe. Under the said policy, sellers will be obliged to keep their account health rate above the limit of 250, but if it recedes, they will be given 10 more days to improve their rating.
EFP Recognizes foodpanda as a Leader in Women’s Empowerment:
foodpanda has been recognized by the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan (EFP) as one of the ‘top 10’ organizations in the country facilitating women’s empowerment through its business. The recognition comes as a part of EFP’s research across 250 organizations that practice and enable women’s empowerment. The research aimed to understand the different ways in which companies have introduced inclusive policy reforms to boost female entrepreneurship. The research also assisted in shaping EFP’s National Publication on Women Empowerment, with 10 Best Business Case Studies picked from the 250 enterprises, including foodpanda.
Jazz Recognized for Gender Inclusive Workplace at UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards:
Jazz has been conferred with the UN Women Asia-Pacific 2022 WEPs Award for a Gender-Inclusive Workplace. This award recognizes organizations that have incorporated the right measures to make themselves the preferred employer for women. “Inclusivity is a big part of everything we do at Jazz. We have incorporated policies and global best practices to pave the way for gender equality within the organization,” said Sabahat Bokhari, Director Diversity and Inclusion at Jazz. “This recognition validates our holistic approach towards empowering women and renews our vigor as we move forward in our journey of creating a digitally inclusive ecosystem in Pakistan,” she added.
Honor 80 SE and Earbuds 3i with ANC Launched for Only $70:
Honor has launched three new phones in China just now. The Honor 80 and 80 Pro bring premium specifications for a high price tag, but the Honor 80 SE is the affordable version starting at only $335. The Chinese brand has also launched the Honor Earbuds 3i which brings Active Noise Cancellation for cheap. Despite being the cheaper variant, the Honor 80 SE has the same 6.67-inch OLED panel with 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It even has support for 1 billion colors and 1920Hz PWM dimming.
Pakistan Business Users to Benefit From Availability of SAP Build:
SAP announced the launch of SAP Build, a powerful new low code offering to unleash the power of business users, launched at the SAP TechEd conference in Las Vegas, USA, recently. SAP Build empowers users of all skill levels to create and augment enterprise applications, automate processes, and design business sites with drag-and-drop simplicity. It brings the best of SAP’s low-code offerings together in a unified development experience.
Elon Musk says Twitter will offer ‘amnesty’ to suspended accounts:
Elon Musk says Twitter will provide a “general amnesty” to some suspended accounts from next week. This came after he started a poll on Wednesday asking Twitter users whether accounts that had “not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam” should be let back on the social media platform. Several accounts, such as that of former US President Donald Trump, have already been reinstated by Mr Musk.
Why Donald Trump isn’t returning to Twitter (for now):
Donald Trump loves Twitter. In 2017, he said he wouldn’t have become president without it. “Twitter is a wonderful thing for me, because I get the word out… I might not be here talking to you right now as president if I didn’t have an honest way of getting the word out,” he said. After Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk reversed Mr Trump’s permanent suspension, you might have thought the former president would jump at the chance to come back. But so far, he hasn’t taken up that offer.
Bargains galore in the market for office furniture:
Funky green chairs. Dark wood for the desks – no white melamine, definitely not. And it has to be wheelchair-friendly. That’s what Jane Brearley, chief executive and founder of start-up Intent Health, had in mind when she was setting up her firm’s new office in central London. Accessibility and aesthetics were key – but it didn’t matter if the desks and chairs had already been used by someone else. That just meant they came at a bargain price. “I probably saved about 19, 20 grand by kitting out with second-hand furniture,” she says.
Mercedes-Benz to introduce acceleration subscription fee:
Mercedes-Benz is to offer an online subscription service in the US to make its electric cars speed up quicker. For an annual cost of $1,200 (£991) excluding tax, the company will enable some of its vehicles to accelerate from 0-60mph a second faster. It comes after rival manufacturer BMW offered a subscription feature earlier this year – for heated seats. Mercedes has confirmed to BBC News it currently does not plan to introduce “Acceleration Increase” in the UK.
Police text 70,000 victims in UK’s biggest anti-fraud operation:
Detectives have begun contacting 70,000 people suspected of being victims of a sophisticated banking scam. The Metropolitan Police is sending text messages to mobile phone users it believes spoke with fraudsters pretending to be their bank. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described an “enormous endeavour” in gathering evidence after the discovery of an online fraud network. There have been more than 100 arrests so far, and one man has been charged.
Irish arrests in global anti-fraud operation:
Six people have been arrested in the Republic of Ireland as part of an international investigation into a global financial scam. The investigation involved a website enabling fraudsters to commit a type of cybercrime known as spoofing. Users of iSpoof.cc could impersonate trusted corporations to get sensitive information from victims and defraud them.
Estonian duo accused of $575m cryptocurrency scam:
Police in Estonia have arrested two men suspected of running a $575m (£485m) cryptocurrency scam involving hundreds of thousands of victims. Estonian police investigated the case with the FBI, and US authorities want to extradite the pair – Estonians Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin. The two 37-year-olds allegedly got people to invest in a cryptocurrency mining service called HashFlare and a fake virtual bank called Polybius. A US indictment has been issued.
Holiday swindlers: The rise of digital travel scams:
Digital travel scams are a growing “systemic and global” problem, according to the World Tourism Organization, a branch of the UN. Dozens of Brazilian women have been finding this out the hard way, after paying for luxury holidays from a man whose Instagram account sparkles with opulent hotels and exotic locations. Last December Maria (not her real name) decided to have a break from the heat of the Australian summer, and to take her family on a skiing holiday to Europe. It was her first trip since the pandemic and she wanted it to be special. So she paid $20,000 to a travel agent, Rafael Bessa, a fellow Brazilian who had been recommended by a friend, and made the long flight north.
Nexperia: Keep tech plant in Chinese hands, say staff:
Staff from the UK’s largest chip plant have urged ministers to allow the facility to stay in the hands of its Chinese owners. Nexperia was ordered by UK ministers to sell its 86% stake in the Newport site, due to national security concerns. About a dozen members of the Nexperia Newport Staff Association, which says it is “in disbelief”, travelled to Westminster to put their case to MPs. The UK government said it wanted to ensure jobs were protected. Newport Wafer Fab was acquired by Dutch-based technology company Nexperia, a subsidiary of Shanghai listed Wingtech, in July 2021.
Meta claims US military link to online propaganda campaign:
“Individuals associated with the US military” are linked to an online propaganda campaign, Meta’s latest adversarial-threat report says.
The campaign was the first major covert pro-US propaganda operation taken down by a big-tech company, independent researchers said in August. It supported the US and its allies, while opposing countries such as Russia, China and Iran. But experts said it was largely ineffective. On Facebook, 39 accounts, 16 pages, and two groups were removed, as well as 26 accounts on Instagram, for violating the platforms’ policy against “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”.
Zara McDermott and disordered eating: ‘I don’t feel as alone anymore’:
A documentary raising awareness of disordered eating has been praised by people managing their own conditions. Former Love Island star Zara McDermott released her BBC Three documentary this week, revealing her personal struggles. Amy Collins, 22, first noticed a change in her eating habits during the Covid lockdowns, when charity Beat says its referrals soared. Now recovering, Amy says raising awareness was a passion of hers and the documentary helped her feel less alone. Disordered eating is often defined as eating difficulties or behaviours that might not necessarily meet the criteria for a clinically diagnosed eating disorder.
China claims youth gaming addiction resolved:
Young people in China have curbed their addiction to video games, a report says. The claim is made by the China Game Industry Group Committee, affiliated to the gaming regulator. And it may raise hopes officials – who once attacked video games as “spiritual opium” – may soften the country’s severe gaming restrictions. Since August 2021, children have been banned from gaming for more than three hours a week.