Category: Information Technology

According to the “Global Corruption Barometer Asia 2020” report by Transparency International, India is the 2nd most corrupt country in South Asia. Maldives is the most corrupt country in South Asia.

The report states that 89% of Indians believe that the BJP-led Modi government is corrupt and its corruption is an impediment to the development of the country.

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Around 42% of Indians are of the view that PM Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind are the most corrupt personalities in the country.

Moreover, 47% of Indians think that corruption under the Modi government has increased significantly during the last 12 months.

34% are completely dissatisfied while 64% of Indians are dissatisfied with the measures taken by the government to tackle the scourge of corruption.

Around 27% of Indians are completely dissatisfied with the performance of anti-corruption agencies as well.

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More than half of the Indian population- 51% to be precise- has lost trust in the Modi government due to its corruption.

The report highlights that bribery in government institutions has plagued India.

With 89%, India has the highest bribery rate in South Asia as well. It also has the highest number of citizens- 39%- who have paid bribes in exchange for basic services such as healthcare and education in government offices.

Around 46% of Indians-the most in South Asia- have used personal connections to access a service in government offices. 42% of Indians have paid bribes to police to evade or circumvent the law.

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With 18%, India has the highest percentage of voters in South Asia who have voted after receiving bribes from politicians.

For the first time, Transparency International has also included data on sextortion.

Transparency International defines sextortion as the abuse of power to obtain sexual benefit which occurs in exchange for basic services such as healthcare and education.

Around 11% of Indians- the 2nd highest in South Asia- have fallen victims to sextortion or know someone close who has experienced sextortion.

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At 63%, India also has the highest number of people who believe they will face repercussions if they report any of the abovementioned crimes to authorities.

Transparency International has called on the Indian government to implement measures to tackle the rising sextortion rates across the country.

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Islamabad Police has apprehended a drug dealer selling drugs to students at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU).

According to a spokesperson for the capital police, the CIA wing of the Islamabad Police carried out the anti-drug operation at the directives of SP Investigation, Malik Naeem Iqbal, while DSP CIA, Hakim Khan, led the operation.

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During the operation, the authorities caught an offender named Muhammad Bashir red-handed while he was selling drugs to the students. The police have also recovered more than 1,200 grams of cannabis from the possession of the drug dealer.

Bashir, who has a previous criminal record, is an employee at the university, the spokesperson added.

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The capital police have registered a case against the accused, and further investigation is underway.

IG Islamabad, Aamir Zulfiqar Khan, and DIG Operations, Waqar Uddin Syed, have lauded the CIA team for conducting a successful operation.

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In a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced fresh coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all international passengers traveling to Pakistan by air.

The new travel advisory has once again divided incoming passengers into three country-based categories, namely A, B, and C.

Category A comprises twenty-one countries, including China, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. Passengers from Category A are not required to submit a negative coronavirus test report for traveling to Pakistan.

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Category B passengers are mandated to produce a negative PCR test for the coronavirus that has been taken not more than ninety-six hours prior to the flight.

Passengers from Category C countries, which includes Denmark, will have to undergo the COVID-19 test again at the designated airports.

Inbound travelers are also required to fill out a health declaration form.

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Flights to Pakistan will be disinfected and passengers will be seated with the middle seat vacant as a precautionary measure. Crews and passengers have been mandated to wear masks throughout the flight.

The new guidelines will stay in effect until 31 December 2020.

The CAA has also approved chartered flights for international passengers. These flights will be operational until 31 December.

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A recent publication by the Chinese Smartphone maker Oppo reveals that its custom Android skin dubbed the ColorOS has more than 370 million users globally. Almost every Oppo phone shipped comes with ColorOS on top of the latest Android OS. According to the report, the skin has been translated into more than 72 languages and is being promoted and used in over 140 countries worldwide.

The publication also reveals the timeline showcasing major developments of the ColorOS over the years. The details are as follows,

April 2013 — First version of ColorOS released on the internal testing forum.
May 2013 — Official ColorOS Weibo launched
March 2014 — ColorOS 2.0 officially began public testing.
March 2015 — ColorOS users exceeded 30 million.
March 2016 — ColorOS 3.0 released
March 2018 — ColorOS 5.0 officially released overseas.
December 2018 — Breeno smart assistant launched.
March 2019 — ColorOS 6 released.
September 2020 — ColorOS 11 was released.

The most recent version of ColorOS, as shown in the timeline, is ColorOS 11. It was an unexpected jump from ColorOS 6. However, the company believes that the new branding will help customers easily identify the version of Android its phones are running.

The company also revealed that the OPPO Find X2 and Find X2 Pro Smartphones have now started receiving the ColorOS 11 update. Other Oppo devices will start getting the update soon as well.

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The government is in the process of working out the technical and financial bids regarding the soon to be issued Eurobonds.

As per news reports, the government will also hire advisers and issue these dollar-denominated bonds early next week.

Finance Ministry Spokesperson, Kamran Afzal, spoke to the media, saying, “We will complete the process and select the advisers by the end of this or early next week”.

He informed that the government plans to raise $1 billion through these Eurobonds by December or January. “We can go up depending on the response from the international market,” he said.

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Six interested investors have applied so far, which includes global lenders like JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Citi Bank, Credit Suisse, and Standard Chartered Bank.

However, the finance ministry is yet to finalize the list of successful financial bidders. There are plans to hire two consortiums through an open competitive process. These consortiums will include five financial institutions for Eurobonds and four for Sukuk.

The appointed consortiums will have the task of assisting the government structure the bonds. They will also be responsible for managing, coordinating and executing other related activities with the issuances.

This expected bond sale will be the first by the incumbent government to raise funds. Prior to this, in 2017, Pakistan raised $1 billion in five-year Sukuk and $1.5 billion in 10-year Eurobonds.

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The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has issued a notification about the schedule for the winter break in the educational institutes. It also states that academic activities will be shifted online following the closure of the institutes due to resurging coronavirus cases.

According to the official notification, winter vacation in the province will be from 24 December to 10 January 2021, and this schedule applies to both public and private educational institutes in both the summer and winter zones. The official decision regarding the extension of the break will be taken in the first week of January.

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In the meantime, the educational institutes will officially remain closed from 26 November to 23 December due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, and academic activities will continue online.

Teachers and staff members will continue to attend the institutes in person to facilitate distance learning via online lessons and the provision of homework and assignments.

The government has also encouraged students to use the academic resources available on the Learning Management System (LMS) that it has developed.

Institutes that do not have the resources to impart online education have been allowed to call students to academic facilities on a grade basis only to assign homework and assignments, distribute learning material, and provide teaching assistance feedback guidance to facilitate distance learning.

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The government has directed all such institutions to ensure that students in all the grades are called to the academic facilities once a week on alternate days until 23 December.

The weightage of the homework and assignments will be added to the students’ overall grades at the end of the academic year.

Moreover, all the internal examinations that were originally scheduled to be held in December have been rescheduled for January 2021.

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The University of Karachi (KU) has postponed all its examinations that had been scheduled from 26 November onwards, a statement from its administration said.

“The University of Karachi has postponed the examinations scheduled from 26 November 2020, until further orders”, the notice read.

The announcement followed the federal government’s decision to close all the educational institutes across the country from 26 November to 24 December due to the second outbreak of COVID-19.

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The information came hours after the University of Health Sciences Lahore deferred all its theory and practical examinations amid increasing coronavirus cases. A notification in this regard was issued late on Wednesday.

It said that all undergraduate and postgraduate theory and practical examinations scheduled from 26 November to 24 December have been postponed until further notice due to concerns about the fast-growing pandemic.

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Earlier on Tuesday, the University of Punjab (PU) also postponed its examinations until further notice.

The second wave of coronavirus is rampant in the country. During the last twenty-four hours, Pakistan has reported 3,306 infections, 40 deaths, and 1,418 recoveries. With the current numbers, Pakistan’s total caseload stands at 386,198 with 7,843 deaths.

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