Category: Uncategorized

  • WhatsApp will delete accounts if user data not shared with Facebook

    WhatsApp has decided to share more user data with other Facebook companies to provide a more coherent experience to users across its services.

    It will share account registration information, phone numbers, transaction data, service-related information, interactions on the platform, mobile device information, IP address, and other data collected based on users’ consent, a new update says.

    This data sharing policy with Facebook and its other services doesn’t apply to EU states. The update is expected to go into effect next month.

    The “key updates” concern how it processes user data, “how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats,” and “how we partner with Facebook to offer integrations across the Facebook Company Products.”

    In a notification quoted by a tech website, Whastapp said it will delete the accounts after “120 days of inactivity .i.e. not connected to the app.”

    “This effectively means that, while the profiles will remain inactive, WhatsApp will eventually end up deleting the accounts after 120 days of inactivity (i.e. not connected to the app) as part of its efforts to “maintain security, limit data retention, and protect the privacy of our users.”

    Facebook Company Products refers to the flagship Facebook app, Messenger, and Instagram, Boomerang among others.

  • Facebook bans Donald Trump indefinitely

    Facebook bans Donald Trump indefinitely

    A day after various social media platforms, including Twitter, temporarily suspended US President Donald Trump’s accounts, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Trump’s account has been banned indefinitely.

    “The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” Zuckerberg said in a statement posted on Facebook. “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.”

    “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

    On Wednesday, Twitter suspended Trump’s account. In a series of tweets, Twitter Safety tweeted:

    As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy.

    This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked

    Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.

    https://twitter.com/twittersafety/status/1346970431039934464?s=21

    This happened in the wake of the siege of Capitol Hill by pro-Trump mob. Trump released a video on Wednesday night in which he continued to claim he won the election and told supporters who stormed the Capitol: “We love you.” According to the BBC, Snapchat also stopped Trump from creating new posts, but did not say if or when it would end the ban. YouTube also removed the video.

    While his social media accounts remain suspended, Trump released a statement through White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino. It said:

    “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”

  • Newsletter- 7th January 2021, Thursday

    Newsletter- 7th January 2021, Thursday









    *|MC:SUBJECT|*

    The Current Insider
    Thursday, 7th January 2021

    I don’t get it. Why would you send someone who could not choose his words to represent you with the Hazara community who are mourning a devastating loss? PM Khan has requested the Hazara families, who have not buried their murdered family members for the past four days, to bury their dead and said that he will come and meet them ‘very soon’. The families have been doing a sit-in in Quetta, requesting the PM to come and listen to their concerns. The PM sent his special assistant Zulfi Bukhari instead who asked the community members, ‘How will the PM benefit from coming to visit you?’ It really makes one’s heart break. This community that has faced such massive tragedy over the years, and they barely make the headlines. 

    It might also be because our news is always so depressing that we turn to entertainment to make our lives feel a little better. In the past year, most of our followers have read entertainment stories, and it seems it’s because they want to escape — and not deal with the reality of what we live in. Our dramas are no less. They reflect what happens in our society but with such mirch masala that we can’t help watching it. Ashar and Ayesha break down what dramas are super hits this week. Oh and did you hear? Bigshot Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is making a movie about Lahore’s Heera Mandi and rumour has it that Alia Bhatt is playing the leading role. He might also be in talks with Aishwariya Rai and Deepika Padukone but one thing is for sure — it will be big. Although a good Bollywood movie makes for a great Saturday night, it kind of sucks that our history and culture is going to be shown in an Indian movie. We should be the ones making this movie — but then, have we given the space for a Pakistani Sanjay Leela Bhansali to grow?

    Rumour also has it that the Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly decided to remove Misbah-ul-Haq as the Pakistan cricket team’s coach and will bring in a foreign coach after the home series against South Africa and if you haven’t heard already, rumours online suggest that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are getting a divorce after seven years of marriage. 

    No particular reason to smile today except this video of the Nawaz brothers and their take on Ahmed Shah’s viral video and as promised, the team got together to do a small New Year celebration yesterday. Here is a picture of all of us making a “C” for Current except only one of us actually managed to do a C. Spot the one who got it! 

    Until tomorrow, 
    Marium

    Current Baba’s Prediction

    No matter how bad things get, or how hopeless life may seem, you can always go home and watch Netflix with a nice cup of chai. So sab theek hojaayega, bus aap ne Ghabrana nahin hai.

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  • Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    After Afghanistan asked Pakistan to return the bodies of the Afghan citizens who were killed in an attack on Hazara coal miners in Mach, Balochistan, Chief Minister Jamal Kamal has asked people to cooperate.

    In a letter to the Foreign Ministry’s Camp Office in Quetta dated Jan 5, the Consulate General said: “As you know, in the terrorist incident that took place in Mach area of Bolan district of Balochistan province by the anti-governments and joint terrorists of the two countries, seven Afghan citizens are among the victims.”

    It said that the heirs of “three martyrs have requested that their dead bodies be transferred to Afghanistan”. “Therefore, your esteemed office is kindly requested to contact the relevant authorities to grant permission for transferring the mentioned three corpses via the Chaman-Spin Boldak Corridor.”

    In a tweet, CM Kamal wrote: “Afghanistan Government has asked Govt of Pakistan to hand over bodies of their three Hazara Community citizens whose heirs have requested Govt of Afghanistan. Therefore, we request the people to cooperate with us in this matter as requested.”

    11 coal miners, who belonged to the Hazara community, were killed by the terrorists in a sectarian attack in Mach, Balochistan, last week.

    The families of the slain miners are protesting for the past five days against the killings on Quetta’s Western Bypass. They have refused to bury their dead till the in person security assurances from the prime minister. But the PM has refused to visit, saying he will come to condole with them very soon.

  • Masks no obstacle for Japan’s new facial recognition system

    Masks no obstacle for Japan’s new facial recognition system

    Japan’s NEC Corporation has introduced a new facial recognition system that identifies people even when they are wearing masks.

    As per reports, the technology firm had already been working on a system to meet the needs of allergy sufferers who wear masks — a common practice in Japan — when the Covid-19 pandemic prompted it to accelerate development.

    The system determines when a person is wearing a mask and hones in on the parts that are not covered up, such as the eyes and surrounding areas, to verify the person’s identity. Users register a photo of their face in advance.

    NEC says verification takes less than one second and claims an accuracy rate of more than 99.9pc.

  • England women cricket team to make maiden tour of Pakistan in October

    England’s women cricket team will make its first tour to Pakistan this year in October, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced. As per details, two Twenty20 Internationals and three one-day internationals will be played between both sides.

    The team will play Twenty20 matches on October 14 and 15 along with their men’s side while the one-day internationals will be played on October 18, 20 and 22.

    All the five matches will be played at Karachi’s National Stadium.

    “World champions England accompanying their men’s side for their first-ever tour to Karachi is an extremely powerful and strong announcement for Pakistan, our women’s cricketers, as well as for the global sport,” said PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan, in a statement.

    “The three ODIs against the world champions will assist the Pakistan women’s side to access, gauge and fine-tune their ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 preparations as they aim to produce improved performances than in the past,” he added.

    Talking about the tour ECB Managing Director of Women’s Cricket Clare Connor said: “We are absolutely delighted to be making this historic announcement today.”

    “The England Women’s cricket team has never toured Pakistan before so this is another important step in our history and journey,” she said further.

    England’s men cricket team will also visit Pakistan after 15 years for a short tour. Unlike the women’s cricket team they will only play two Twenty20 matches.

  • ‘Happy Trolling’: Faryal Mehmood claps back at trolls

    Faryal Mehmood’s latest photoshoot has created quite a stir on social media with netizens criticising the actor for her choice of outfits.

    However, Faryal did not let the trolls win and clapped back by posting another photo from the same photoshoot, writing: “This is for the social media trolls. Hoping this platform provides you with that moment of importance you needed to assure your self-righteousness.”

    “Happy Trolling!,” she added.

    Meanwhile, Faryal also limited the comments on her latest posts.

    Earlier this week, Ayesha Omar hit back at a social media user who called her out for her choice of outfit.

  • Stocks hold gains to cross 45,000 points threshold for first time since May 2018

    The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) gained over 500 points on Wednesday to cross the 45,000-point threshold for the first time since May 2018.

    Global equity markets also showed a positive trend. Profit reported that the buying activity was observed across the board. According to the newspaper, “Exploration & production and oil & gas marketing sectors rebounded strongly, whereas cement and fertilizer sectors continued with previous day’s positive momentum.”

    “International crude oil prices jumped significantly on the conclusion of agreement among OPEC+ countries, which became the basis for an uptick in E&P stocks. Cement sector leaped on the expectation of an increase in cement price in the northern region, while banking sector contributed positively in anticipation of annual results.”

    Express Tribune reported that the trading volumes lifted to 664.5million shares due to strong investors’ interest. The market outlook also remained positive due to the government’s decision to settling circular debt with the independent power producers (IPPs), though partially.

    Moreover, the petroleum product sales that rose in double digits also helped the bullish trend. “Oil sales were up 16% to 1.59 million tons in December 2020 compared to 1.37 million tons in the same month of 2019,” the report said.

    It further stated that the State Bank of Pakistan’s report on the Pakistani economy also played a role in rallying the stock market. According to the central bank, the economic activity in the country has been largely restored to pre-coronavirus levels in the first quarter of the current financial year.

  • TikTok launches new video competition in Pakistan

    TikTok launches new video competition in Pakistan

    TikTok has announced a competition for its users in Pakistan for the first time. Contestants can participate in the competition ‘1 Million Audition’  by sending creative videos.

    The #1MAuditionPK campaign started on January 6 and will continue till January 22. The campaign invites all TikTokers to showcase their creative streak, across various talent categories.

    TikTokers in Pakistan will have to use the #1MAudition hashtag for the campaign. They can also add the category in which they would like to compete such as #1MAComedy, #1MATalent, #1MASing&Dance.

    There will be nine winners in each category. Winners will be selected based on video quality and engagement on the video. The final winners will be announced on January 22.

    TikTok will gift a voucher worth US$1000 to one winner in each category. The runner up in each category will get an $800 voucher and while the second runnerup will receive $500. 

    This campaign was launched in 2018 in many other countries by TikTok.

    As per a press release, the move is aimed to encourage and promote creative expression in Pakistan.

  • Bilawal, Maryam to visit families of slain Hazara miners

    Bilawal, Maryam to visit families of slain Hazara miners

    The opposition leadership, including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, will visit the families of the Hazara coal miners who were killed in a sectarian attack in Mach, Balochistan, last week.

    The families of the slain miners are protesting for the past five days against the killings on Quetta’s Western Bypass. They have refused to bury their dead till the in person security assurances from the prime minister. But the PM has refused to visit, saying he will come to condole with them very soon.

    In a statement, Marriyum Aurangzeb, the PML-N spokesperson, confirmed the visit of Maryam to Quetta on Thursday. She said the PML-N VP will visit the victim families to express condolence on behalf of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.  She will be accompanied by PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, Khurram Dastgir, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair, the statement said.

    On the other hand, Bilawal will visit the Hazara mourners along with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and members of the Sindh Cabinet. The PPP chief will offer condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the attacked claimed by the Islamic State.

    On Wednesday, the PM had asked Hazaras to bury their loved ones, saying the state was taking measures to put a stop to such attacks against the minority Shia community. He had also blamed a neighbouring country for the attack.