WhatsApp has recently announced a new feature ‘search the web’ that would allow the user to gather information on the internet about all the sent links and images.
Not only WhatsApp but most of the social media platforms have turned into a hub of fake videos and news, since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the spokesperson of WhatsApp said: “Today, we’re piloting a simple way to double-check these messages by tapping a magnifying glass button in the chat. Providing a simple way to search messages that have been forwarded many times may help people find news results or other sources of information about the content they have received.”
WhatsApp has also included double arrows to let users know that messages have not originated from their close contact. The update also informed about the authenticity of the chain messages.
Search the web is being rolled out in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) for those on the latest versions of WhatsApp for Android, iOS and WhatsApp Web.
Huawei Technologies Pakistan is going to launch a training programme for the government employees of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
Delegation of Huawei Technologies Pakistan led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) @HuaweiPK Mr. Mark Meng, Deputy CEO Mr. Ahmed Bilal Masud and Director Government Sector (Huawei) Mr. Fawad Ul Haque called on Federal Minister for IT and Telecom @SyedAminulHaque today. pic.twitter.com/hpIewprWTA
— Ministry of IT & Telecom (@MoitOfficial) August 5, 2020
Huawei, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mark Meng, and a delegation of Huawei Technologies Pakistan called on Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque on Wednesday.
The Minister welcomed the delegation in his office and matters related to information and communication technology (ICT), connectivity, and digitization were discussed during the meeting.
CEO Huawei Pakistan briefed the Federal Minister about the company’s programs and its initiatives in the ICT sector.
The Federal Minister also praised Huawei Technologies Pakistan for it’s IT training program for government employees and development projects for ICT sector. He also assured Ministry full support to Huawei.
Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) has said that ePay smartphone application launched by the Punjab government has processed 525,339 transactions, worth record Rs1.82 billion in the form of taxes during the month of July of the current fiscal year (FY) 20-21.
ePay Punjab’s record revenue collection in the form of taxes for July 2020.
— Punjab Information Technology Board (@PITB_Official) August 3, 2020
The system was launched last year in October after the collaborative efforts between PITB and the provincial Finance Department. The ePay initiative has provided a hassle-free method of paying taxes and making other payments.
The government of Punjab has been focusing on IT-enabled solutions where citizens can avail facilities using the online platforms for payments. eBay Punjab is one such platform.
ePay Punjab is the first digital platform for Public to Government (P2G) and Business to Government (B2G) transactions in Pakistan.
Using the app, dues can be paid through the following payment channels: mobile banking, internet banking, ATM, and OTC (Over the Counter) banking transaction.
The following tax can be paid through the smartphone application
Excise and Taxation
Token Tax for Vehicle
Motor Vehicle Registration
Vehicle Transfer
Property Tax
Professional Tax
Cotton fee
Board of Revenue (BOR)
e-Stamping
Mutation fee
Fard fee
Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA)
Sales Tax on Services
Punjab Infrastructural Development Cess
Industries, Business Registration fee
Transport Department of Punjab Route Permit
Punjab Police and Traffic Challan.
It is also offering a 25 per cent cut on token tax this year if paid through the app.
China is about to complete its project of creating an alternative navigation system to rival US’ Global Positioning System (GPS), and now the batch of BeiDou, a Chinese satellite company, is ready to provide services globally.
China’s new Beidou navigation system will not only rival the United States’ GPS, but also Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and the European Union’s (EU) Galileo. More than a hundred countries including Pakistan have already started using the system the new navigation system.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a ceremony to launch the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System on Friday in Beijing. He announced China’s self-constructed and independently operated global satellite navigation system has been fully completed. pic.twitter.com/7ojfyE4AB1
The BeiDou project has more than 300,000 scientists, engineers, and technicians from 400 different domestic institutes and universities working on it.
The project was started at the beginning of the 1990s and has finally been completed in 2020. The new system was commissioned last week by the Chinese, President Xi Jinping at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.
“The completion of BeiDou-3 was due to the fact that core technologies cannot be bought or begged from other countries.”
So far, over 30k tweets have been posted with the popular hashtag #WeWantYouTubeOfficeInPAK as the users request the company to create its office in Pakistan as it will resolve many problems that Pakistani YouTubers face.
Past few days have been very stressful for me, my channel got hacked I retrieved the access later but lost monetisation, in short I won’t be able to make any revenue, im waiting for google’s response. I am not tweeting to make any new hashtag trend just here to ask u for prayers
Last week, Pakistan’s famous YouTuber Raza Samo’s account, “Awesome Speaks” got hacked and he took to social media to share the awful news.
As a result, his fans have initiated protest on Twitter for opening a YouTube office in Pakistan which will bring solutions to YouTubers in Pakistan.
While addressing to the demands, a famous TV personal turned YouTuber Waqar Zaka tweeted: “YT (YouTube) you must register at PTAofficalpk and Security exchange commission in Pakistan as you are earning from our country and not providing proper support to our users. I am willing to give you free space so please come to Pakistan.”
YouTube Space is a physical location created by the social media giant for the content creators. The space offers various facilities to the popular YouTubers for producing content. It is also a hub where multiple workshops and community events are arranged for the YouTubers.
YouTube has created both YouTube Space and YouTube offices in most of the Asian countries. Unfortunately, it does not come to Pakistan, neither YouTube Office nor YouTube space is to be found anywhere.
A vast number of YouTube accounts are from Pakistan, but due to the nonexistence of YouTube offices in the country, the users face a number of problems that takes the company forever to address.
Many tech companies have been trying to diversify their portfolio but for Sony to launch a futuristic self-driving electric (E)-car is unprecedented.
At Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 in Las Vegas, Sony surprised the world by showcasing their Vision-S sedan car, which is a fully electric concept car.
The Vision-S features 33 different sensors inside and outside of the car, multiple widescreen displays, 360 audio, and always-on connectivity, with other items installed after collaboration with companies like BlackBerry and Bosch.
The Vision-S has 200 kilowatts (kW) dual electric motors connected with all wheels which give an impressive acceleration of 0-62 miles per hour (mph) in 4.8 seconds, along with a top speed of 149 mph, which is 239 in kilometres per hour (kph).
The interior is very futuristic as one might expect. The stand-out feature is a panoramic touchscreen dashboard linked to Sony’s 360 Reality Audio that gives you a truly immersive experience while driving.
There have been reports suggesting that due to the hype surrounding the new concept car, Sony is now going to work on an actual car that we can expect to see on the roads in less than six month.
Check out Sony’s official reveal of the Vision-S sedan
Chinese phone maker Huawei has overtaken Samsung and Apple to become the top smartphone seller worldwide in the second quarter of 2020 due to strong domestic demand.
Canalys, a global technology analysis firm, revealed that Huawei shipped 55.8 million devices and they have overtaken Samsung for the first time. Samsung has shipped 53.7 million units in comparison to Huawei.
The findings marked the first quarter in nine years that a company other than Samsung or Apple has led the market, Canalys said. According to their latest report, Huawei sold over 5,000 more smartphones than Apple in the second quarter of the financial year.
According to sales data, Huawei is most popular in Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain as well as Colombia, Egypt and South Africa.
Although the sanctions from the United States (US) has choked Huawei business outside mainland China, yet it has grown to dominate its substantial home market.
Huawei said in a statement it is a sign of “exceptional resilience”. However, overseas shipment fell nearly a third in the second quarter and Canalys analyst Mo Jia warned that strength in China alone “will not be enough to sustain Huawei at the top once the global economy starts to recover”.
“Its major channel partners in key regions, such as Europe, are increasingly wary of ranging Huawei devices, taking on fewer models, and bringing in new brands to reduce risk,” Mo said.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has decided to unban popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds (PUBG) after getting assurance from the company for a comprehensive control mechanism.
Press Release: A meeting was held between PTA and legal representatives of Proxima Beta Pte Ltd (PB). Proxima Beta (PB) representatives briefed the Authority on response to queries raised by PTA with respect to controls put in place by PB to prevent misuse of the gaming platform pic.twitter.com/73hPJKLxKi
As per the details, a meeting was held between PTA officials and the legal representatives of Proxima Beta (PB), the company behind the development of the game.
PB representatives briefed the authority on the concerns and queries raised by PTA regarding the misuse of the gaming platform.
After the interaction between PTA and BP, the authorities expressed satisfaction on the commitments made by PB.
They also emphasised on proactive engagement and a profound detailed control mechanism.
The PB representatives welcomed PTA’s feedback on the issue and assured that the concerns would be taken seriously.
While the game has been unbanned, further negotiations are reportedly underway with PUBG for registration in Pakistan.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus has resigned from her post amid growing criticism for holding dual citizenship.
“Growing criticism is a distraction to my ability to execute on the long-term vision for a Digital Pakistan. It is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such issues,” said Tania, who holds Canadian and Singaporean nationality, in her resignation letter.
Criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan. In the greater public interest, I have submitted my resignation from the SAPM role. I will continue to serve my country and the PM’s vision to my best ability pic.twitter.com/BWBvBvO6uz
Furthermore, she stated that her Canadian nationality was a consequence of her birth and “not an acquisition of choice”.
TANIA&TAREEN:
According to media reports, appointments of Tania and Khurram Jamali, who formerly worked under Tania at Google, was facilitated by Jahangir Khan Tareen.
In April 2020 when the sugar scandal rose its ugly head and a subsequent probe into it led to the damning report that said Tareen prioritised his sugar mills over national interest, PM Imran Khan was disillusioned.
This led to a rift between the premier and Tareen, who, according to reports, are no longer on talking terms.
While Tareen has left the country for the time being and does not hold any direct or indirect power in the government, people cannot help drawing links between the rift and Tania’s resignation.
DIGITAL PAKISTAN INITIATIVE AND DIGITAL PAKISTAN FOUNDATIONCONFLICT:
Despite the existence of Digital Pakistan Initiative, Tania formed a nonprofit organisation called Digital Pakistan Foundation to attract foreign expatriates and talent to facilitate the digitisation process in Pakistan.
According to Tania, the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative had no Federal Budget assigned to it, neither was it under the ambit of the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) or Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), leaving it stalled and dry.
However,reportssay, Shabahat Ali Shah, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National IT Board (NITB), and Tania were not getting along well since day one.
Both Shah and Tania were working for the IT Ministry and there had been an overlap of their work, leading to turf wars.
Taking advantage of Tania’s vulnerability, Shah allegedly want her sacked as the SAPM. To that end, the Digital Pakistan Foundation scandal was reportedly intentionally hyped up and leaked to a journalist, whose thread about the scandal was later picked up by various media outlets.
Credit goes to @ImranKhanPTI as #PM of #Pakistan for taking action whenever any wrong doing is pointed out. Top govt sources say contrary to what @taidrus claims as reason for resignation, she was asked to quit following unsatisfactory replies about making a private company pic.twitter.com/KoZDYgnRKn
Good to know that this Canadian Special Assisstant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan was asked to quit she never resigned volunteerly I am told one more resignation coming soon https://t.co/ITk3wdaiAC
Meanwhile, Tania says she will continue serving in Pakistan through public and private initiatives and will always be available for the cause of ‘Naya Pakistan’.
NayaPay, an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), has collaborated with Visa, a leading global payment solution. Now they have access to Visa’s growing partner and global payments network, technology, and resources to accelerate innovation in digital payments in Pakistan.
NayaPay will enable users to open electronic (E)-Money accounts within a few minutes and make hassle-free digital payments to each other and to businesses.
NayaPay consumers and merchants can use their NayaPay Visa debit card to perform online and in-store transactions with millions of retailers worldwide as well as withdraw cash conveniently at any ATM location.
NayaPay customers can also scan Visa merchant QR codes to make payments directly through their app.
NayaPay will also facilitate cross-border money transfers for freelancers and other Pakistan-based businesses working with international clients, and households receiving remittances from their families abroad.
Users will be able to accept funds instantly and directly into their NayaPay wallets from over a billion Visa cards across the globe.
Danish Lakhani, CEO NayaPay, said: “We are delighted to have found a partner in Visa that shares our goals of making financial services simpler, more convenient and accessible to Pakistani users – the needs of whom have been overlooked for far too long. Over the past few months, we have been integrating Visa’s offerings to reinforce our issuing and acquiring capabilities and to deliver on our promise of becoming a part of citizens’ daily lives.”
“We are committed to helping fintech achieve their potential – enabling big ideas to flourish and supporting them through the reach, scale, and security of the Visa network,” said Kamil Khan, Country Manager, Pakistan, Visa.
“By joining Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program, exciting fintech like NayaPay gain unprecedented access to Visa experts, technology, and resources,” said Otto Williams, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Fintech and Ventures, CEMEA at Visa.
