Pakistan & Gulf Economist Pakistan's Business Financial Magazine
Pakistan News:
Ministry of IT & un launch agrisurge 2020 innovation challenge in Pakistan:
Consequent to the framework collaboration agreement signed between Ministry of IT (MoIT) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of UN on March 25, 2020, to jointly work for the development of agriculture sector of Pakistan, using technology, ‘AgriSurge 2020 Innovation Challenge’ was virtually launched by Mr. Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Federal Secretary MoIT and Ms. Minà Dowlatchahi, FAO Representative in Pakistan.
The ceremony in this regard was held at the Ministry of IT & Telecom last Thursday. Senior officers of the Ministry of IT and Ignite were also present on the occasion. Under the ‘AgriSurge 2020 Innovation Challenge’, Ignite in collaboration with FAO, has called for innovative solutions that can revolutionize the agriculture sector in Pakistan through 4th Industrial Wave (4IW) tech.
China praises Pakistan for collaboration in satellite launch to compete against GPS:
China has indicated enhanced cooperation with Pakistan over BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Chinese satellite navigation system similar to US’s Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia’s GLONASS, and the European Galileo systems. Ran Chengqi, Director General of the China Satellite Navigation Office which oversees BeiDou, lauded Pakistan’s efforts and said Pakistan was the first foreign country to use China’s BeiDou.
Just recently, China successfully put the final satellite into the orbit of the BeiDou-3 navigation system, further advancing the country as a major power in space against the US. A total of 35 satellites make up the BeiDou-3 navigation system that is worth $10 billion. Collectively, there are 55 satellites in the BeiDou constellation.
Govt asked to bring amazon and paypal to Pakistan:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given the federal government two weeks to submit its reply over the absence of quality e-commerce services in Pakistan. Chief Justice IHC, Athar Minallah, sent out notices to the commerce and information technology sectors for failing to meet the requirements quoted in the e-commerce policy, which has kept mega-companies like Paypal and Amazon at bay.Notices were served in response to a petition filed by Hafeez Junaid, an aggrieved person from Islamabad who believes that flawed policies and non-implementation were the reason why major e-commerce companies don’t enter Pakistan.
Tiktok now launches business App:
TikTok has primarily been a platform for entertainment and social interaction up until now, but that is about to change soon with an upcoming update. The social media giant has announced that it is launching TikTok for business which will serve as a marketing solution for brands. TikTok for business will give brands and advertisers tools to engage with the TikTok community through storytelling, while collaborating with creators through the Creator Marketplace. It will also allow brands to find suitable partners for ad campaigns.
Realme updates x3 with 120hz display & snapdragon 855 for cheap:
Realme updated its X3 lineup of upper mid-range phones last month with the X3 Super Zoom, and now it is being followed up by the vanilla X3. As the name suggests, the base Realme X3 lacks the periscope camera found on the Super Zoom edition, but otherwise, the two phones are almost identical.There are no differences in terms of design or display. It has the same 6.6-inch LCD with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The top left corner has a pill-shaped punch-hole cutout that features a dual front camera setup. The phone features a glass back with a quad-camera setup on the top left corner. The fingerprint sensor can be found on the side and doubles as a power button.
Sony is offering up to $50,000 for finding security issues in ps4:
Sony is looking to enhance the security for the Playstation 4 and the Playstation Network with a bug bounty program that will help research, discover, and patch out vulnerabilities and bugs on the console. Sony’s new Playstation Bug Bounty program is offering cash payouts to those who discover vulnerabilities of all kinds in the system. At the time of writing, the program has already received more than 88 bug reports and a sum of $173,900 has been paid with an average payment of $400.
Xiaomi launches a mini pc with its own processor:
Xiaomi’sYoup in crowd funding platform is typically home to smart gadgets and home appliances but it is now featuring an interesting and unexpected new release. The Chinese brand has unveiled the Ningmei CR100 mini desktop PC that is powered by the Intel J4105 SoC and is available for only $211.The machine is only slightly larger than a smartphone and weighs 760 grams. It features a compact design with dimensions measuring 192 x 188 x 54mm, which makes for a portable and convenient mobile office experience.
‘Google for startups’ launches accelerator program in Pakistan:
‘Google for Startups’ (GFS) has launched a 3-month, online accelerator program to nurture high-potential, early-stage tech-startups across Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The program is committed to supporting homegrown entrepreneurs to implement their solutions while enriching local ideas to evolve. In the last few months, COVID-19 has ushered in an era of profound changes to the way we live and work, causing businesses to rethink strategies and product roadmaps.
Huawei y6p unboxing & first impressions:
The Huawei Y6P has just been launched in Pakistan as one of the Chinese brand’s latest budget phones. The price of the handset is currently unknown, but since it is powered by the Helio P22 SoC, has a 720p screen and 4GB/64GB memory configuration, we can expect it to cost between Rs.20,000-25,000.The box brings a warranty card and the usual items such as a SIM ejector tool, paperwork, and a 10W micro USB charger. There is no protective case included, but you do get a pair of earphones.
PUBG mobile loses to call of duty in downloads:
Call of Duty Mobile has surpassed 250 million downloads worldwide in 256 days and has broken PUBG’s record of 236 million in the same time period. The massively popular shooter game also generated more revenue than any other mobile game in the period. Call of Duty Mobile, jointly developed by Tencent and Activision, was launched back on October 1, 2019. Since then, the mobile game garnered 250 million downloads while PUBG accumulated 236 million and Fortnite (iOS launch only) only gained 78 million in the same time frame.
International News:
Why Huawei’s days in the UK could be numbered:
The UK government is inching towards taking a decision on Huawei’s role in the UK’s 5G and fixed-broadband networks. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) — a branch of the intelligence service GCHQ — has documented all the facts ahead of giving its view. And civil servants at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are weighing up the financial consequences of ordering a ban or new limits. In theory, a decision could come as soon as next week but it is likely to take a bit longer. Those following developments would be forgiven for having a sense of deja vu. It was only in January that the UK government announced, following a lengthy review, that the Chinese firm could continue to provide equipment and expertise to the UK networks, albeit with a new cap on its market share.
US phone giant verizon joins facebook ad boycott:
US telecoms operator Verizon has become the latest major company to pull advertising from Facebook platforms.The company joins Ben and Jerry’s and a growing list of firms boycotting the social media giant over its handling of controversial posts. Verizon is believed to be the biggest advertiser so far to back the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. Other than its namesake platform, Facebook’s social media brands also include Instagram and WhatsApp.
Google to auto-delete users’ records by default:
Google is changing its default settings to automatically delete some of the data it collects about users. Web and app activity, including a log of website searches and pages visited, as well as location data, will now be wiped after 18 months. YouTube histories — including which clips were watched and for how long — will be erased after 36 months. The changes apply to new accounts only but existing users will soon be shown new prompts to adjust their settings. The announcement comes as Google and other big technology companies’ data-collection efforts and business practices face increased scrutiny.
Olympus quits camera business after 84 years:
Olympus, once one of the world’s biggest camera brands, is selling off that part of its business after 84 years. The firm said that despite its best efforts, the “extremely severe digital camera market” was no longer profitable. The arrival of smartphones, which had shrunk the market for separate cameras, was one major factor, it said. It had recorded losses for the last three years. The Japanese company made its first camera in 1936 after years of microscope manufacture. The Semi-Olympus I featured an accordion-like fold-out camera bellows, and cost more than a month’s wages in Japan.
O2 sends surprise refund cheques after 15 years:
Mobile network O2 has been sending some of its former customers refunds, 15 years after the end of their contracts.Several people posted on Twitter that they had received a letter and cheque from parent company Telefonica stating: “You’ve got a refund.” Some were suspicious that the letter was sent by cyber-fraudsters. But O2 confirmed that it had sent cheques to a group of people who were over-charged more than 10 years ago — with interest.
Google to pay for ‘high quality’ news in three countries:
Google says it will pay some news outlets for “high-quality” stories that it uses amid pressure from publishers. Part of the initiative will require Google to pay for its users to access news stories otherwise locked behind a so-called paywall on certain websites. The first sites to join are in Australia, Brazil, and Germany, with a product launch set for later this year. It comes as authorities in some countries investigate how tech firms use news content without paying for it.
Virgin media broadband offline in london again:
A network problem at Virgin Media left many customers in London without internet access.Thousands of customers reported issues on the Down Detector website, and complained on social media that they could not work from home. Virgin Media said the issue only affected broadband customers in some areas of London. It said the problem had been fixed and apologized for the situation. “We’re pleased to say the London broadband issue is now fixed. We’re sorry once again and we realise this was a frustrating situation for those affected,” it said. Customers in Clapham, Ealing, Putney and Stanmore were among those complaining on Twitter.
Does anyone have a working contact-tracing App?:
There are certainly countries in the world that would dispute that. Germany’s app is up and running and India says its app has had 131 million downloads and traced 900,000 people to tell them to isolate. At Prime Minister’s Questions on 24 June, Boris Johnson said: “No country in the world has a working contact-tracing app.” He had previously challenged Labour leader Keir Starmer to name a country that has a “functional” contact-tracing app. He replied: “Germany — app working 15 June — 12 million downloads.” Contact-tracing apps are downloaded to people’s smartphones and the idea is that if somebody tests positive for COVID-19, the app will be able to report whether they have been in close contact with anybody else who had downloaded the app.
Trump administration claims Huawei ‘backed by chinese military’:
The US Defense Department has determined that 20 top Chinese firms, including Huawei, are either owned by or backed by the Chinese military. The list, seen by US media, features video surveillance firm Hikvision, China Telecoms, China Mobile and AVIC. The determination could lay the groundwork for new US financial sanctions against the firms. It comes as the US has pressured other countries, including the UK, to bar Huawei for national security reasons.
Illegal lockdown parties hosted in online rentals:
Lockdown parties hosted in properties booked via online sites, including Airbnb and Booking.com, are putting “communities at risk”, the Bed and Breakfast Association has said. Hosts and residents have complained of groups of up to 30 breaking social-distancing rules and taking drugs. There are reports of several such parties in the past month. Airbnb said it had gone further than its rivals to protect public health during the pandemic.
Twitch starts banning users over abuse:
The game streaming site Twitch says it has started banning users following protests about abuse. In a statement online the streaming giant said it has “prioritised” dealing with the “most severe cases” of sexual abuse. It says it’s assessing cases “as quickly as possible”, and will be issuing permanent suspensions to some users. Dozens of women have recently claimed they have been sexually assaulted by people in the gaming industry. Streamers across the world had avoided Twitch to bring this to the attention of the company’s bosses.
