PM Launches Robotics Program, $20 Million Venture Fund for Pakistan-Made Technology:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a series of initiatives to boost Pakistan’s technology sector, declaring that the country will no longer remain dependent on foreign technology and will instead develop its own advanced capabilities. Speaking at the Indus Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Expo, the prime minister launched the Spark and Elevate Program to promote robotics and autonomous systems and announced the creation of a $20 million Pakistan Venture Fund to support innovation, research, and technology startups.
JazzWorld Promotes Waste Reduction Through Rawal Dam Cleanliness Drive in Partnership with CDA and MCI:
JazzWorld, in collaboration with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), organized the Rawal Dam Cleanliness Drive at Kinara Park, Rawal Lake, to help preserve one of Islamabad’s most valued natural and recreational spaces. The activity demonstrates the organization’s commitment to reducing environmental waste, minimizing the burden on landfills, and fostering community engagement. The initiative brought together more than 200 volunteers, who actively participated in collecting nearly 2 tons of waste from the park and surrounding recreational areas using 80 waste bags. The drive ensured that responsible waste collection prevented pollution of the area’s natural ecosystem while promoting cleaner public spaces and raising awareness about waste reduction and responsible disposal practices.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 Launch with Bigger Batteries:
Samsung has launched the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9, two years after introducing the original Galaxy Watch Ultra. This year, Samsung is not launching a new Classic model. Instead, the company has upgraded the Ultra and standard Watch lineups with Snapdragon Wear Elite chips, brighter displays, and larger batteries.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 Launches Lighter and Slimmer Than Ever:
Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Flip 8, its latest clamshell-style foldable phone. The new model keeps the familiar Galaxy Z Flip design while introducing a more capable FlexWindow, enhanced Galaxy AI experiences, and updated hardware. It comes with a large foldable AMOLED display, a cover screen, dual rear cameras, 12GB RAM, and a 4,300mAh battery.
Samsung Launches First Wide Foldable Alongside Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra:
Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at its Galaxy Unpacked event in London. The standard Z Fold 8 is now Samsung’s first-ever wide foldable, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a more premium edition of the Galaxy Fold series we’re used to. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 features a 7.6-inch foldable AMOLED display with a 2448 x 1848 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The aspect ratio has been adjusted to 4:3, giving it a wider shape when opened.
Pakistan to Launch Secure Mobile Network for Govt Officials:
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has decided to launch the Pak Awaaz Secure Mobile Communication Ecosystem project to establish a sovereign and cyber-secure communication platform for government officials.According to ministry officials, the project aims to protect official communications from growing cyber threats by creating an independent and secure mobile communication environment for government users. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has granted in-principle approval to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) project.
Pakistan Single Window Launches Official Mobile App to Digitalize Trade Management:
Pakistan Single Window (PSW) has officially launched its Mobile App as part of its continued commitment to enhancing digital access to cross-border trade facilitation services. The application is now available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, extending the reach of the PSW platform by enabling the trading community to access essential trade services through a convenient and secure mobile experience.
Choosing a Premium All-Rounder Smartphone? Focus on These Three Essential Features:
Choosing a premium smartphone is no longer about selecting the device with the longest list of specifications. The best all-rounders combine strong camera performance, a high-quality display, and dependable durability to deliver a balanced package that performs consistently across different aspects of daily use. For many buyers, the camera remains the defining feature. Whether capturing travel, portraits, food, or low-light scenes, a capable smartphone camera should deliver consistent image quality while adapting to a variety of conditions. The TECNO CAMON 50 is equipped with a 50MP Sony LYT-700C Ultra Night Camera, supported by AI-powered imaging features and Super FlashSnap technology to produce detailed photos with improved clarity and color in both bright and challenging lighting environments.
Developer Creates New Engine to Run GLM 5.2 on Any PC Without Nvidia GPU:
A developer has built Colibri, a lightweight inference engine that can run Z.ai’s GLM-5.2, a 744-billion-parameter Mixture-of-Experts model, on consumer hardware without an Nvidia GPU. The project is designed to run the model on a machine with around 25GB of RAM, using CPU and local storage instead of CUDA, PyTorch, or cloud infrastructure.
OpenAI’s GPT 5.6 Broke Out, Reached Internet, Hacked Hugging Face On Its Own:
OpenAI’s GPT 5.6 Sol managed to break out of its controlled environment, got on the internet, and managed to hack Hugging Face all on its own without any human input. The incident came to light when OpenAI admitted that its AI models were responsible for the hack. A few days earlier, Hugging Face had disclosed that it had detected unauthorized access on its systems by an AI agent. OpenAI later said its investigation found that the activity was driven by its own models, including GPT-5.6 Sol and an even more capable pre-release model.
Xiaomi’s Air Purifier Cleans and Humidifies Room Within Seven Minutes:
Xiaomi has introduced the Mijia Purifying Humidifier 3 Pro, a new smart home appliance that combines air purification and humidification in one device. Xiaomi has not announced global availability as of yet, but given the popularity of Xiaomi’s gadgets in Pakistan, there is a chance we will get to see it in the local market as well.
Xiaomi Expects RAM Crisis to Stabilize, Raises Sales Target:
Xiaomi has reportedly raised its annual smartphone sales target as it expects memory and storage prices to stabilize.According to a new supply chain report, Xiaomi has increased its yearly smartphone shipment target from around 90 million units to 110 million units. The revised target comes after a difficult start to the year. Xiaomi shipped 33.8 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2026, down 19.2 percent compared with the same period last year.
Firm hacked by rogue OpenAI models says it is ‘a wake up call’:
The co-founder of Hugging Face, a technology start-up that was hacked after some of OpenAI’s most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models went rogue, said on Thursday that the incident is “a wake up call” for the industry. Thomas Wolf told the Media that “this will be one of the most common types of cyber attacks we see”, but that most companies are not aware that the “game has changed”. The ChatGPT-maker said on Tuesday that its AI models broke out of a secure test environment during a trial and launched a cyber attack. The firm said the incident was “unprecendented” and that it was conducting an investigation with Hugging Face.
The weirdest things that mess up wi-fi – and how to improve your signal:
The world runs on wi-fi, but strange things can stand in its way – including your lunch. Alex Hills is a pioneer: he was among the first people on Earth to ever battle their wi-fi connection. In 1993, he led the team that built one of the first large wi-fi networks, as a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Hills tells the story in his book, wi-fi and the Bad Boys of Radio. But “Bad Boys” isn’t a reference to his ragtag bunch of internet cowboys – it’s the name he gave to the processes that stand in the way of smooth-running wi-fi. Your home may be filled with bad boys of its own, doing everything they can to interrupt your memes. Some such disruptors are unsurprising, like thick walls. Others are a little bizarre.
China’s Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, Trump tech adviser says:
A White House adviser has accused China’s Moonshot AI of a “large scale” effort to steal the capabilities of top US artificial intelligence (AI) models. US President Donald Trump’s Science and Technology adviser Michael Kratsios said Moonshot AI carried out the campaign through what is known as distillation – when a weaker AI model extracts answers from a stronger one.
Google burning through cash with spiralling AI costs:
Google parent Alphabet saw its business continue to grow in recent months, yet growing spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure put its leftover cash into negative territory. The company’s free cash flow, the cash it maintained after paying for operations and investments, came in at negative $5.9bn (£4.3bn) for the first time in at least a decade, according to its past financial records.
OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched ‘unprecedented’ cyber-attack:
OpenAI has revealed some of its most advanced AI models went rogue and hacked a start-up after it lost control of them during a security test. The ChatGPT-maker said its agent – an AI system which can operate alone after human instruction – was being tested in a controlled environment but, after finding weaknesses, was able to escape the test limits.
YouTube star MrBeast marries Thea Booysen:
YouTube star MrBeast has tied the knot with his fiancee Thea Booysen. The pair married on Richard Branson’s private Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, according to US outlets. The 28-year-old US content creator announced he had “found MrsBeast” in a joint Instagram post, which featured images of them posing in white on their big day.
MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, is the biggest YouTuber in the world with more than 500m subscribers. Donaldson popped the question to Booysen on Christmas Day 2024 while they wore matching MrBeast-branded festive jumpers.
Amazon scam was so authentic – it got the better of me:
A man is warning others to beware after a “clever” scammer pretending to work for Amazon conned him out of £1,800. Retired charity volunteer Dorian Jones said he was initially suspicious but was caught out when he was called by a second fraudster who then “verified” the first as an Amazon employee. “It was so authentic. He got the better of me,” the 70-year-old said, adding that the scam, which happened earlier this month, got him “hook, line and sinker”.
France passes law banning under-15s from social media:
France’s parliament has approved a law to ban social media for under-15s from January 2027, making it the first European country to block young people from the platforms. The law will mean everyone in France must verify their age to access social media and comes as the UK and EU are developing their own limits in response to concerns for children’s mental health.
AI minister role boosted but tech department axed in Burnham shake-up:
The AI Minister, Kanishka Narayan, will be given a seat at the top table of government but the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been scrapped. DSIT was created by the Conservative Sunak government in 2023 – its responsibilities will now be split between other government departments.
Pupils bring WW1 stories to life with AI films:
History students at a school have been using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make films bringing World War One diaries to life. The pupils at Penair School in Truro have been using diaries of soldiers from Cornwall as the basis of their work, as part of a winning competition entry. Many tin and copper miners from Cornwall were sent to the front lines to use their experience to dig tunnels underneath German positions and plant explosives.
Mayor pledges £18m to ready London for AI shift:
The mayor of London has announced £18m to help young Londoners into work and training, as part of plans to prepare the capital for artificial intelligence. Sadiq Khan accepted recommendations from his AI and Jobs Taskforce, including an early-warning system to spot AI-driven job changes and a scheme pairing young Londoners with employers.
‘I made £100,000 of TikTok sales in one day’: The business of live shopping:
Daisy Kelly’s business was inspired by a personal problem – for years she’d been pulling out her eyelashes. She hid her habit with lash extensions, but when beauty salons closed during Covid Daisy decided to create a serum to help her eyelashes grow back.She started Glow For It from her mother’s kitchen table in 2020 while she was a student and now her business generates £6m a year in sales.
The 20-somethings betting big on tech stocks:
In her teens, Michelle Huynh, the eldest daughter of migrant parents in Australia, made a promise to her family that she would become a millionaire by the time she turned 30. The 26-year-old describes it as “a somewhat silly promise” inspired by the sacrifices her non-English-speaking parents made to raise the family.
Ofcom unable to take further legal action against suicide forum:
Ofcom said it is unable to take further legal action against a pro-suicide forum which campaigners say has been linked to over 130 UK deaths. The regulator said the site had blocked access for the “vast majority” of UK users, and it had “no further legal routes available” under the Online Safety Act.
Going with the flow: Renewable energy battery breakthrough:
A 3D-printed battery developed at Queen’s University Belfast could “make a genuine impact” on the road to net zero, say the researchers behind it. Flow batteries are seen as key to scaling up renewable energy, allowing it to be stored for when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. But they are expensive and typically use a metallic element – vanadium – that is only produced in a few places round the world.
First robot surgeries carried out at city hospital:
The first robot-assisted surgeries using 3D vision have been carried out at a city’s hospital. The Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle has used the system, which is controlled manually by a surgeon, on about 17 patients needing bowel cancer treatment and some smaller abdominal operations. The North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC), which runs the hospital, said the technology allowed surgeons to be more precise, meaning less pain and quicker recovery for patients.
How I discovered the truth about the ‘herbal’ sleeping pills I got hooked on:
Fiona Cameron has struggled to get a good night’s sleep for most of her adult life – but none of the medication available in pharmacies helped. She turned to Amazon and found a product called Hypno by Bhang, which was described as “herbal sleep aid supplements, for deep restful sleep”.