Category: Information Technology

A Pakistan Army cadet has been conferred with the Best Foreign National Military Cadet award at the Royal Military College (RMC), Duntroon, Australia.

According to the official statement issued by the DG ISPR, Muhammad Haris Mairaj of 141 Long Course has been declared the overall best foreign national military cadet at the passing out parade at the RMC Duntroon.

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DG ISPR, Major General Babar Iftikhar, added that it is a testament to the highest training standards of dedicated and committed junior leadership of the Pakistan Army.

Cadet Muhammad Haris Mairaj, Pak Army declared overall best foreign national Military Cadet @ passing out parade held @ Royal Military College, Duntroon, Australia today. This is a testament to the highest training standards of dedicated & committed Junior leadership of Pak Army. pic.twitter.com/csqmAlwxvJ

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) December 2, 2020

Last month, RMC Duntroon had organized a special memorial service to pay tribute to the martyred Pakistan Army officer, Lieutenant Nasir Hussain, who was also a graduate of the military college.

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Representatives of Pakistan and Australian Armies laid floral wreaths on RMC War Memorial to commemorate the services of Lt. Hussain for his nation.

Lt. Nasir Hussain had embraced martyrdom in an IED explosion in North Waziristan on 3 September.

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A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) official has finally admitted that the plane crash near Havelian in 2016 had been the consequence of a technical fault.

PIA’s Technical Director confessed this on Tuesday before a two-member bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) that included Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.

The bench heard the case about the investigation into PIA’s flight PK-661 in which forty-eight passengers including Junaid Jamshed and the former DC Chitral had died.

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The official informed the court that the fault had occurred in the left engine of the plane and that the other engine had been working properly at the time of the crash.

When the court inquired about the turbine blades that had malfunctioned, the official responded that it had been due to a fault in the design of the aircraft.

“We have learned a lesson from the incident,” he added.

However, the court rebuked the official saying, “People spend money on tickets, but what is the use if their lives are at risk?”.

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Justice Mazhar asked if the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had identified the person responsible for the fault in its investigation report.

“You let the plane fly despite it having a technical fault. Who is responsible for it?” the court questioned.

The court also inquired about whether PIA had ensured that the rest of its ATR aircraft were safe for travel after the accident.

The PIA official affirmed that all the necessary safety protocols are in place and that new software has been installed to aid in avoiding accidents.

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Shahida Mansoor Janjua, the mother of the deceased pilot, Ahmed Mansoor Janjua, had claimed in court that her son had been forced to fly the defective plane in addition to being pressured into flying three flights a day.

“He was under pressure,” she had remarked. After the Assistant Advocate-General of Sindh referred to the CAA’s report in which PIA has been held responsible for the crash, the court reprimanded him over his ignorance of its contents.

“Why didn’t you read the report before the hearing? Don’t you want the report to be discussed here?” it demanded.

The SHC has postponed the hearing until 17 December and has ordered PIA and the other concerned parties to submit their replies in light of the new information.

It also directed PIA to submit the ATR’s maintenance report on the next date.

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution on legalizing cryptocurrencies and crypto-mining. With that, KP Assembly has become the first legislative assembly to have approved a resolution in the favor of cryptocurrencies in Pakistan.

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Assembly anonymously passed my resolution on #Cryptocurrency & #Cryptomining. Indeed #Pakistan progressing towards digitalisation to compete the world. Kudos to @ZiaBangashPTI & @fawadchaudhry for their hard work and dedication in the field. https://t.co/id2LUnnGBo pic.twitter.com/TbQvYDsMEl

— Dr Sumera shams (@SumeraShams) December 2, 2020

According to details, PTI MPA, Dr. Sumera Shams, introduced the resolution in the provincial assembly on Wednesday. The draft of the resolution states current trends suggest that digital currencies will replace paper currencies in the future.

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While several central banks around the world have registered and issued cryptocurrencies, many countries, including the US, have taken concrete steps towards introducing and legalizing cryptocurrencies.

Keeping these developments in view, the KP government calls on the federal government to register and officially introduce cryptocurrencies after enforcing necessary legislation, the draft concludes.

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The HEC has notified that after 31 December 2020, the two-year MA, MSc degrees would be no longer recognized. According to sources close to the Commission, the two-year MA and MSc degrees are being phased out from 2021 onwards.

Students pursuing two-year MA and MSc degrees after 31 December 2020 will not receive HEC-certified degrees.

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A letter issued by the HEC to higher education institutions said that at the 31st meeting of the Commission, it was decided to phase out the two-year MA and MSc degree programs.

The letter further informed the heads of the institutions to ensure implementation of this decision and also to notify students through other means, including their websites and electronic mail.

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With the arrival of winter holidays and school vacations, Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has introduced up to 30 percent discount on domestic flights operating between Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Peshawar from December 3, 2020, onwards.

Passengers would now be able to travel between these cities on a one-way minimum fare of Rs. 8,500 and a round trip minimum fare of Rs. 17,000. Previously, PIA used to charge Rs. 12,275, and Rs. 24,600 for one-way and round trip, respectively.

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PIA Spokesperson, Abdullah Khan, said that the purpose of the discount is to facilitate people so they can go to their homes and loved ones during these holidays at an affordable price.

He said that a lot of families intend to travel during this time, but they do not due to cost concerns. He said inventory is available, and people can benefit from these fares on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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Samsung, Oppo, and Xiaomi, which were set to release their first smartphone of 2021 in February or March, have pulled forward the launch events to either December or January.

Last week, the Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station announced that Xiaomi Mi 11 series would go public in January next year as the smartphone is due to get into the production phase soon. The device has already been sent in for Network Certification.

However, disregarding the leak, the infamous tipster Ice Universe recently tweeted that Xiaomi is set to unveil its 2021 flagship with the latest Snapdragon 888 SoC by the end of this month. He further revealed that the handset would pack a display that curves at all sides.

Exclusive: Xiaomi Mi 11, the first mobile phone with Snapdragon 888, will be released at the end of December, with a four-curved screen design, which is its protective film. pic.twitter.com/fYbWq8tSUB

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 3, 2020

In terms of specifications, previous leaks and rumors suggest the smartphone will flaunt a 108 MP camera system topped with a 30x zoom lens and an ultrawide lens capable of doubling as a macro lens. The maxed-out Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro will have a similar design but will come with a 120Hz display with QHD+ resolution. Fine details regarding the Vanilla Mi 11’s display are still under wraps.

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Free of cost vaccinations against COVID-19 will begin in September 2021 in Pakistan, the Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services, Dr. Nausheen Hamid, announced on Wednesday.

She tweeted, “The PTI government will provide the coronavirus vaccine free of charge to people. Government will start the vaccination from the second quarter of 2021”.

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The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, stated that in the first phase, the vaccine will be administered to frontline healthcare workers followed by the elderly population. In the third stage, the common public will be given the vaccine.

He added that the cabinet has approved Rs. 150 million for the procurement of the vaccine and that the government will be requested for more funds, if necessary.

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There are a few companies that have been shortlisted for vaccine procurement as well.

The coronavirus vaccine approved by China’s CanSino Biologics is undergoing clinical trials in Pakistan, and the response to the trial is quite positive.

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Central Development Working Party (CDWP) held a meeting on Wednesday, chaired by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan. In the meeting, CDWP approved four projects worth Rs. 16.02 billion and recommended one project worth Rs. 37.91 billion to ECNEC for consideration.

CDWP also agreed on the “COVID-19 Responsive and Other Natural Calamities Control Program” worth Rs. 70 billion.

Additional Secretary Planning, Abdul Aziz Uqaili, along with senior officials from Planning Commission and Federal Ministries and Divisions, attended the meeting while representatives from provincial governments participated through video link.

Projects related to physical planning and housing, health, education, and information technology, were presented in the meeting.

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A project related to physical planning and housing, titled “Construction of Islamabad High Court Building at Islamabad (Revised)” worth Rs. 4989.26 million was approved in the meeting. The project will see to the construction of Islamabad High Court on already acquired plots measuring 2,20,000 sq ft in Sector G-5, Islamabad. The scope of works includes the construction of the courts, auditorium, car parking, roads, plumbing works, and woodworks, etc.

CDWP agreed with the recommendations of the committee for the project, titled “COVID-19 Responsive and Other Natural Calamities Control Programme,” worth Rs. 70 billion with proposed changes. The PC-1 of this project proposed to facilitate the national program to improve facilities at 50-50 basis financial support in district and tehsil headquarter level hospitals across all provinces, separate public health surveillance for both humans and animals, a national program for water sanitation and hygiene, and improvement in local infrastructure.

AJK and GB would also be covered under the project financing.

Two projects related to education were presented in the meeting. The first project, namely “Support to Basic Education Development Project AJ&K” worth Rs. 5971.55 million and the second project, titled “Basic Education for All Project AJ&K” worth Rs. 1580.201 million, were approved by CDWP.

A project related to information technology was also presented in the meeting. The project, namely “Phase-II of Pak-China OFC project for Establishment of Cross Border OFC Network (Khunjrab-Gwadar-Karachi) along CPEC Routes” worth Rs. 37,915.899 million, was referred to the ECNEC for further approval.

The project aims to provide an alternate path for international connectivity through the northern border of Pakistan with China and to provide continuous uninterrupted connectivity between the northern and southern borders of the country by establishing multiple rings for a secure and uninterrupted communication network, etc.

The second project, titled “Establishment of National Aerospace Science & Technology Park” worth Rs. 3481.584 million, was approved in the meeting.

Two position papers related to industries and commerce were also approved in the meeting. The papers, titled “Establishment of Hub Special Economic Zone” worth Rs. 2287.844 million and “Remodeling and Expansion of Karachi Expo Center” worth Rs. 2677.42 million, were also presented.

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A position paper related to water resources was presented as well. The paper, namely “Nai Gaj Dam” worth Rs. 46555.29 million, was approved by the CDWP. The project envisages the construction of a 194 ft high central core earth-fill dam with a gross storage capacity of 0.30 million acre-feet and live storage of 0.16 MAF to irrigate 28,800 acres of land.

The CDWP approved four concept clearance proposals, namely “Electricity Distribution Efficiency Improvement project” worth Rs. 375.73 million, “National Firewall System” $100 million, “National Social Media Application” worth $145 million, and “Establishment of Pak-Korea nutrition Centre to improve Child and Community Nutrition” worth Rs. 1464.210 million.

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