TECNO Mobile Receives Prestigious Award from the President of Pakistan for Technology Transformation and Financial Inclusion of Women:
TECNO Mobile, a leading player in the mobile phone industry, was honored with an award for its outstanding contributions to technology transformation and financial inclusion of women by His Excellency, Mr. Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The prestigious event took place at Awan-e-Sadar, gathering distinguished industry leaders, policymakers, corporate executives, startups, and companies excelling in financial inclusion of women and technological advancements. The theme of the event was “Embracing Financial Inclusion & Business Transformation.”
World’s First ‘Resilient’ SIM That Can Automatically Switch Network Providers is Finally Here:
Deutsche Telekom and Tele2 have unveiled the world’s inaugural resilient SIM (rSIM), promising uninterrupted network connectivity for IoT devices and mobile internet users. This innovative technology, developed in collaboration with global telecommunications giants, autonomously monitors network status and seamlessly switches between providers to minimize disruptions.
PTA Receives Nearly 20,000 Complaints Against Telcos in January 2024:
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) received 19,160 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in January 2024, out of which, 19,031 (99.3 percent) were resolved. Official data revealed that the complaints were received against various telecom operators, including cellular mobile operators (CMOs), Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), long-distance international (LDI) operators, wireless local loop (WLL) operators, and internet service providers (ISPs), during January.
3G/4G Users in Pakistan Increase By 1.11 Million in January 2024:
The number of cellular subscribers increased from 189.44 million by the end of December 2023 to 190.18 million by the end of January 2024, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data revealed. The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased from 127.68 million by the end of December to 128.79 million by the end of January. The cellular teledensity increased from 78.93 percent by the end of December to 79.11 percent by the end of January. Total teledensity increased from 80 percent by the end of December to 80.2 percent by end of January.
PTA and FIA Conduct Successful Raid Against Illegal SIM Seller in Raiwind:
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Zonal Office in Lahore, in close collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle, conducted a successful raid against the franchisee of a mobile phone company located in Raiwind. This franchisee was found to be involved in the illegal issuance of SIMs. During the raid, 256 active SIMs were discovered. The FIA team confiscated these active SIMs along with 16 BVS devices as evidence. 01 person was also apprehended on the premises by the FIA team. FIA is currently investigating the matter further. PTA had filed a complaint with FIA earlier based on information regarding the illegal issuance of SIMs by the sale channel.
Introducing the Long-Lasting Value Beast: realme Note 50 Available in Pakistan for PKR 23,499:
In the rapidly evolving smartphone market of Pakistan, realme has made yet another impactful entry with the launch of its latest offering – the realme Note 50. Priced at an accessible PKR 23,499/-, the realme Note 50 stands out as an ‘Entry-Level Powerhouse’ offering a suite of features that solidify its moniker, the ‘Long Lasting Value Beast’. The realme Note 50 comes with a stylish and sleek profile, boasting a 7.99mm ultra-slim body that is both eye-catching and comfortable to hold. The 6.7″ 90Hz HD+ display is a standout feature, delivering a vivid and responsive experience, whether you’re scrolling through your feed or engrossed in the latest TV show. The display’s 90Hz refresh rate ensures that motion is smooth and clear, enhancing the overall user experience.
Nayatel Partners with ExitLag to Deliver Lag-Free Gaming Experience Across Pakistan:
Nayatel, one of the leading telecommunication companies in Pakistan, has partnered with ExitLag to bring one of the best network and ping optimization solutions to Pakistani gamers at a fantastic price. Almost every Pakistani gamer is familiar with this scenario – you are playing a competitive match and find yourself in a clutch situation. Right as you are about to engage the enemy, your connection suffers from ping spikes and packet loss, and you end up losing the fight.
myco and BSports Partner to Revolutionize Digital Sports Streaming Landscape:
In a groundbreaking move set to redefine the landscape of digital sports streaming in Pakistan, BSports, the nation’s premier digital sports streaming channel, and Myco, the innovative global web3 streaming platform launched from UAE but rapidly expanding within Pakistan, proudly announce an asset merger for myco Pakistan business through a transformative 3 Million USD deal. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. This strategic collaboration comes to life under the banner of Myco, with the highly anticipated Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 having just kicked off.
FIA, ISI, IB, PTA and NADRA to Investigate Social Media Campaign Against Elections:
Amid mounting concerns surrounding slanderous campaigns targeting the Election Commission and government officials on social media, the caretaker government has taken a decisive step by announcing the establishment of a new Joint Investigation Team (JIT) aimed at conducting thorough investigations. The JIT will be headed by an FIA official. It will include members from ISI, IB, PTA and NADRA, according to the official notification. The decision underscores a growing recognition of the damaging effects of misinformation and deceptive tactics on public opinion, particularly in the context of electoral processes.
Zong 4G & BaKhabar Kisan Have Partnered to Promote Urban Farming/Agri-Tech in Pakistan:
Zong 4G, Pakistan’s leading telecommunication organization Zong 4G, has collaborated with BaKhabar Kisan to facilitate seamless communication between the Farmers and Agri Experts to make informed and timely decisions, maximize yield and financial benefits to their livelihoods. BaKhabar Kisan is a comprehensive agricultural knowledge platform for farmers throughout Pakistan offering expert guidance on weather, crop and livestock advisory, modern agricultural practices, and disaster management. It facilitates the connection between the farmers and Agri experts, promoting modern agricultural practices through personalized Agri content.
MG CKD Plant Achieves Cloud-Based SAP S/4HANA Implementation:
MG Motor Pakistan has achieved a significant milestone in its technological journey with the successful adoption of Cloud-Based SAP S/4 HANA, positioning itself among a select group of local automotive industry leaders embracing advanced technology. This momentous step, backed by a $100 million investment, not only underscores MG Motor’s commitment to delivering global standards of quality and innovation but also marks a proud 100 years of legacy.
Why some cyber-attacks hit harder than others:
The British Library used to be my unofficial office. Once I even argued that for writers, the British Library was the best aspect of living in London. But the UK’s national library now feels a bit like a throwback to pre-internet times. Books have to be ordered in person, using paper slips. Much of its digital content is inaccessible. The problems trace back to a ransomware attack in October 2023, which paralysed IT systems. The Russian hacker group Rhysida claimed responsibility, and demanded a ransom of 20 bitcoin (equivalent to £600,000 at the time). After the British Library refused to pay up, and following an online auction of stolen data, the hackers leaked the nearly 600 GB of private information on the dark web. It wasn’t until January 2024 that the online catalogue became useable again, and even this was an incomplete version.
The ‘mind-bending’ bionic arm powered by AI:
I was born without lower arms and legs, so I’ve been around prosthetics of all shapes and sizes for as long as I can remember. I’ve actively avoided those designed for upper arms for most of my adult life, so have never used a bionic hand before. But when I visited a company in California, which is seeking to take the technology to the next level, I was intrigued enough to try one out – and the results were, frankly, mind-bending. Prosthetic limbs have come a long way since the early days when they were fashioned out of wood, tin and leather. Modern day replacement arms and legs are made of silicon and carbon fibre, and increasingly they are bionic, meaning they have various electronically controlled moving parts to make them more useful to the user. What the company I visited, Atom Limbs, is doing is combining a range of cutting-edge innovations, including artificial intelligence (AI), into a next-generation bionic arm.
FF7 Rebirth reviews: Critics say Final Fantasy sequel ‘a joy to play’:
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been hailed as a “stunning recreation of a classic” in the first reviews of the game. The follow-up to 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake is the second part of a trilogy based on the beloved 1997 original. A PlayStation 5 exclusive, the game’s been praised for improvements to its prequel. But some reviewers have warned that it will take players dozens of hours to wade through the sheer amount of content in the game. Final Fantasy 7, released on the original PlayStation, introduced many westerners to Japanese role-playing games and gave gaming one of its most beloved casts of characters. And in Rebirth players once again resume the role of spiky-haired mercenary Cloud Strife and team-mates including Aerith, Tifa and Barrett. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier called Rebirth a “a stunning recreation of a classic”, and “a joy to play and look at, with a phenomenal soundtrack, confident writing and dozens of delightful activities”.
Google to fix AI picture bot after ‘woke’ criticism:
Google is racing to fix its new AI-powered tool for creating pictures, after claims it was over-correcting against the risk of being racist. Users said the firm’s Gemini bot supplied images depicting a variety of genders and ethnicities even when doing so was historically inaccurate. For example, a prompt seeking images of America’s founding fathers turned up women and people of colour. The company said its tool was “missing the mark”. “Gemini’s AI image generation does generate a wide range of people. And that’s generally a good thing because people around the world use it. But it’s missing the mark here,” Jack Krawczyk, senior director for Gemini Experiences said on Wednesday.
India farmers’ protest: X admits to taking down posts and accounts:
Social media major X (formerly Twitter) has admitted to taking down accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests in India. The site has claimed it took down the pages after the Indian government sent them “executive orders”. The orders were “subject to potential penalties, including imprisonment”, X said in a statement, adding that it “disagreed with these actions”. X’s clarification was shared on their official handle @GlobalAffairs. Several activists had earlier complained about their posts being removed. X user and Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair wrote on Monday that “many influential X accounts” of reporters, influencers and prominent farm unionists covering farmers’ protest in India were “suspended”. Mandeep Punia, a journalist, told the Media that his account and that of his news platform – Gaon Savera – have been withheld. “We are professional journalists covering rural India. We are reporting from the ground and the government doesn’t want that. The government is blocking our voice, but equally this also affects our livelihood, our means of earning a living,” he said
Nvidia: Boss says AI at ‘tipping point’ as revenues soar:
The boss of the world’s most valuable chip maker Nvidia said artificial intelligence (AI) is at a “tipping point” as it announced record sales. The technology giant reported that revenues surged by 265% to $22bn (£17.4bn) in the three months to 28 January, compared to a year earlier. For the year as a whole, turnover more than doubled to $60.9bn. “Accelerated computing and generative AI have hit the tipping point,” said Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. “Demand is surging worldwide across companies, industries and nations.” Nvidia also forecast a 233% jump in its quarterly revenues for the current quarter, beating analysts’ estimates.
AI tool to aid organ transplants nominated for NHS award:
A method using artificial intelligence (AI) to assess potential transplant organs has been shortlisted for a national NHS award. Known as OrQA – Organ Quality Assessment – the technology scans images of organs to look at suitability for kidney and liver transplants. The tool was created by the University of Bradford and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Medipex NHS Innovation Awards will be presented on 13 March. It is hoped OrQA, which uses similar AI technology to facial recognition, could result in up to 200 more patients receiving kidney transplants and 100 more liver transplants a year in the UK, its creators said. Researchers are working to expand the technology to assess other organs including the pancreas, heart and lungs.
Wicked Little Letters: Olivia Colman on why abusive notes were original trolling:
In the spring of 1920, the House of Commons scheduled a debate on one of the most pressing issues facing the country at that time – who was behind the slew of profane letters being sent to well respected members of a community. For months, Littlehampton, a small seaside town in Sussex, had been alight with rumours over who was sending sweary and scandalous letters. A well-respected, pillar-of-the-community Christian, Edith Swan pointed the finger at Irish foul-mouthed neighbour Rose Gooding. The showdown between the two neighbours is the basis for period comedy drama Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Colman as Edith and Jessie Buckley as Rose. “Parliament absolutely debated it and it was covered by all the broadsheets at the time,” Colman tells the Media. “The fact the nation was gripped by this I found to be hilarious.” Colman’s co-star Buckley says the letters “sent the whole country into a frenzy” and was “the sort of sensationalist trolling you would expect in the modern day”.
How AI is helping the search for extraterrestrial life:
There are between 10 and 50 billion potentially habitable worlds in our galaxy, says Bill Diamond. It makes his job rather difficult. Mr Diamond is the chief executive of the US-based research organisation Seti Institute. The letters “Seti” are an acronym for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. “Seti, as an endeavour, is looking for science and technology beyond the solar system as evidence of life and intelligence, and that’s by and large a needle in a haystack problem,” he says. “We’re looking for something that is likely exceedingly rare, and may be very difficult to find and extract from the background phenomena that you’re observing at the same time.” But new tools are helping the search. The ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to both handle massive datasets – and to spot anomalies – is transforming the hunt for alien intelligence. One such project involves a Seti Institute partnership with the US’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico. This federal facility uses radio frequencies to study celestial objects, such as planets, stars and asteroids.
Jack Sweeney: The planespotting student who angers Taylor Swift and Elon Musk:
A university student from Florida has made a habit of getting under the skin of some of the world’s richest and most powerful people. How? By telling the rest of us where their private planes are – and how much carbon they emit. Jack Sweeney would like to clarify a few details. For one thing, he thinks Taylor Swift has some good tunes. However, he believes – despite the threat of legal action – that anybody should be able to see where her private jet is headed, and how often it flies. “I like to be fair,” he told the BBC in an email. “I try to share everyone’s info no matter who it is.” But it is specifically information about the locations of private planes of the rich and powerful – posted to his social media accounts – that has repeatedly made the 21-year-old the subject of news stories and legal threats. On Monday, Mr Sweeney posted a photo of his lawyer’s response to Ms Swift’s demand that he take down his @TaylorSwiftJets account, which tracks the singer’s flights. The letter, which was dated last month, argued that the jet-tracking account “is engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift’s legal rights”. The photo was captioned with a Swiftian reference: “Look What You Made Me Do”. Mr Sweeney is the son of an airline maintenance operations controller and a teacher, and grew up in the suburbs of Orlando. He says he has always had an interest in aviation and technology, and particularly in Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla companies.
Xbox games coming to Nintendo Switch and PS5 named:
Four games that were formerly exclusive to Microsoft will soon be available on rival consoles. Hi-Fi Rush and pirate game Sea of Thieves are coming to Sony’s PS5 only. Meanwhile, narrative adventure game Pentiment and co-op game Grounded will be on PS5 as well as Nintendo Switch. It follows Microsoft’s announcement in February that four Xbox exclusives would soon appear on rival platforms, in what some considered a major change of direction for the industry, Until now, it had not been known what those titles were. Two of the games were revealed on Wednesday in a Nintendo Direct, an online showcase for the firm, before Microsoft confirmed the full list in a blog post. “These multiplayer titles available will bring more people together and continue to grow their communities of players,” said head of Xbox game studios Matt Booty. Neil Watton, editor of TheXboxHub, said fans would not be too surprised by the names of the games that were chosen to appear on other consoles, after several weeks of rumours.
London’s BT Tower: Landmark to be turned into a hotel after £275m sale:
The BT Tower, a well-known landmark in London, is set to be turned into a hotel after it was sold for £275m. Opened in 1965 by then Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the 177-metre (600ft) tower was used by television broadcasters for sending signals. It was London’s tallest building for 16 years until the NatWest Tower in the City of London was built. The tower’s former owners, BT Group, announced on Wednesday it had sold it to MCR Hotels. The announcement has been welcomed by the architectural heritage campaign group C20, which says it hopes to see the revolving restaurant reinstated.
Don’t dry your iPhone in a bag of rice, says Apple:
If your iPhone gets wet don’t dry it in a bag of rice, Apple has advised. Despite the technique’s popularity, experts have long warned against it, with tests suggesting it doesn’t work. And now the tech giant itself has published guidance telling users it could result in small particles of the grain damaging their devices. The firm said people should instead gently tap out any liquid, with the phone connector facing down, then leave it to dry out. Despite the increasing sophistication of smartphones, popular approaches for fixing them if they have been dropped in water remain rather unsophisticated. Apple has taken the opportunity to steer users away from several of them. As well as avoiding bags of rice, it also advises against drying a wet phone using an “external heat source or compressed air”, meaning radiators and hairdryers should be avoided. Nor, it suggests, should users try inserting “a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel” into their phone.
Cambridge collaboration allows users to explore Antarctica using VR headsets:
A new project will allow people to walk in the shoes of polar explorers using virtual reality (VR) headsets. The project, created by Anglia Ruskin University and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) in Cambridge, aims to share the stories of the continent’s past using modern technology. Immersive Antarctica was available at Cambridge’s Polar Museum on Wednesday. It helps make the remote continent’s history “accessible”, say creators. The VR headsets enable people to experience the sights and sounds of the frozen continent in the southern hemisphere. The programme was made possible by a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the University’s StoryLab research institute and the UKAHT charity, with input from the British Antarctic Survey.
Lockbit: UK leads disruption of major cyber-criminal gang:
The UK has led an operation to disrupt what is thought to be the world’s largest criminal ransomware group. The National Crime Agency (NCA) has infiltrated systems belonging to Lockbit and stolen its data. The organisation is believed to be based in Russia and, by volume, be the most prolific ransomware group selling services to other criminals. On Monday evening, a message appeared on Lockbit’s website, saying it was “now under control of law enforcement”. The operation is being billed as one of the most significant disruptions of the cyber-criminal world. The FBI, Europol and other countries have also been involved in the long-running operation but it is the first of its kind to be led by the UK. Criminals use Lockbit to hack into computers belonging to companies and organisations and lock users out until a ransom is paid. They often also steal data and threaten to release it. The group emerged around 2019 and has established itself as a dominant player. Some estimates suggest it holds around 20-25% of the market for ransomware.
Helldivers 2 boss says ‘get game later if you’ve got no cash’:
The developer behind smash-hit Helldivers 2 has advised fans not to spend their “last dollar” on the game. Arrowhead Studios’ online shooter has been a runaway success since it launched on 8 February, breaking player records for publisher Sony. But the unexpected popularity has put a strain on the game’s servers, with many struggling to log on. That hasn’t stopped sales, but Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has said: “If you have no cash, get it later.” In Helldivers 2, you’re a member of a team of soldiers dropped on to an alien planet and tasked with surviving attacks from waves of giant, insect-like creatures. The game released to rave reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay and its references to 90s sci-fi satire Starship Troopers. It’s been an especially big hit with PC gamers, easily beating records set by previous PlayStation Studios titles such as God of War. Despite server problems – with fans left waiting in long queues to start matches – the buzz around the game has been huge. And when one gamer urged others to stop “hyping up” Helldivers 2 because he had “no money” to buy the £35 ($40) title, Arrowhead boss Johan had some advice.