Category: Information Technology

Mari Petroleum Company Limited has planned to undertake mineral mining projects in Balochistan as part of the National Resources (Private) Limited (NRL).

According to the notification to the PSX, the scope of the projects will involve exploration, survey, extraction, excavation, mining, and sale of produced minerals.

MPCL, in the initial stages, will acquire approximately up to 20% equity share in NRL.

ALSO READ

SBP and FBR to Develop a Platform to Internationalize E-Commerce in Pakistan

The company has entered into an agreement with Y.B. Pakistan Limited, Arif Habib Equity (Private) Limited, Liberty Mills Limited, and Reliance Commodities (Private) Limited pertaining to a joint venture arrangement through a company (National Resources (Private) Limited).

The joint venture is subject to necessary regulatory approvals from relevant authorities, including clearance from the Competition Commission of Pakistan, under the Competition Act, 2010, and in due course, the grant of necessary license(s) and lease(s).

As part of its long-term growth strategy, MPCL is evaluating multiple opportunities in near core and non-core sectors to diversify its business including mineral exploration in the prospective areas of the country.

The province of Balochistan is believed to be rich with reserves of natural minerals including petrol, gas, copper, coal, iron, marble, sulfur, chromite and etc.

The federal and provincial governments are focusing presently to speed up the exploration of minerals in the province.

ALSO READ

ECC Principally Approves Waiver of Taxes for the Telecom Sector

In this connection, National Resources Private Limited is being activated whereas the Balochistan government decided to make two recently established mineral exploration companies autonomous including the Balochistan Mineral Explo­ration Company and Balochistan Mineral Resources Company.

Continue Reading

The Ministry of Science and Technology has announced a special video game certification program for youngsters looking for a job in the video game programming and animation industry. The announcement was made on Twitter by the Federal Minister of Science and Technology, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain.

ALSO READ

Oxford Claims Video Games Are Good For Health

The minister said that they are looking to make people a part of the $900 million programming industry. He said that this new program is especially targeted at those uninterested in studying and looking into video game development instead. According to him, the certification program should prove to be a “game-changer” for many.

The tweet does not reveal any details, but since the Minister talks about Smartphone games, we can expect the program to lean more towards phone apps and games. There is no official announcement regarding the program on the Ministry’s website, but we can expect to see more details once there is an official publication.

We will update this space as soon as there is more information. Stay tuned.

Continue Reading

Twitter is one of the first social media platforms that changed its algorithm to curb the spread of misinformation. The changes mainly included giving users warnings and blocking accounts that tweeted disputed information.

The most recent change also involves a warning message. Twitter users already get a warning when they retweet a tweet that holds potentially misleading information. Now, the users who even like a tweet that has been labeled as potentially misleading will get a warning message.

This news was recently announced by the platform in a Tweet.

According to Twitter, labeling tweets as misleading and prompting users who retweet the information has helped curb quoting flagged tweets by 29%. However, the method was not successful in reducing un-quoted Retweets.

Hence, the social media platform decided to add a new warning message in the hopes that it will restrict the number of likes on potentially dangerous tweets and news about sensitive topics such as the US presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where Twitter users appreciate that the platform has partially stopped the spread of misleading information, many users are still yearning for features like an edit button, folders for categorizing bookmarked tweets and searching for a user’s tweets based on keywords.

Continue Reading

The Pakistan Cricket Board today terminated the contracts of Pakistan Super League’s WMTR, Fantasy and Clip rights holders following a series of contractual breaches despite issuance of repeated requests and constant reminders for compliance of obligations.

The PCB had entered into three-year agreements with Khaleef Technologies Incorporated in 2019 in relation to Wireless Mobile Telephony & SMS Rights, digital clip rights, Fantasy League Platform and App Development rights for the Pakistan Super League.

However, following severe breaches, including non-payment of the rights fee and non-submission of the requisite payment securities despite several assurances, the PCB terminated the contract, whilst adding that it reserves the right to avail all further legal remedies available to it against Khaleef Technologies Incorporated, including but not limited to seeking compensation for losses and recovery of unpaid amounts under the agreement.

ALSO READ

Indian Star Calls Babar Azam a Million Dollar Player

PCB had in good faith and to ensure this partnership continues in a professional way and in the best interest of both the parties, engaged in a series of discussions and dialogues with Khaleef Technologies Incorporated, which were followed by reminders in which they were requested to honor their contractual obligations.

Despite several genuine attempts at resolution, Khaleef Technologies Incorporated continued to breach the contract. This ultimately had left PCB with no option but to terminate their contract.

PCB is the ultimate custodian of PSL’s reputation and brand value and will do whatever is required to ensure no commercial partner undermines or undervalues it.

Continue Reading

According to a recently published study, the spread of Coronavirus is driven by only a small percentage of those who contract it, otherwise known as superspreaders, with children and young adults playing a key role in transmitting the virus.

Researchers at the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI), Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California have carried out what has now become the largest contact tracing study to date.

ALSO READ

This Device Detects Coronavirus Using Your Breath Within 30 Seconds

The study was conducted in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to track the infection and mortality rate of 575,071 individuals who were exposed to 84,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Of the total confirmed cases, 71% of the individuals did not infect any of their contacts while 8% of the individuals were responsible for more than 60% of the new infections.

Moreover, the study found out that the chances of passing on the Coronavirus in communities and households stood at 2.6% and 9% respectively.

ALSO READ

HEC Announces New Scholarship for Bachelor’s, Master’s, And PhD Degrees

It added that children and young adults played an important role in spreading the virus in both communities and households.

Ramanan Laxminarayan, the study’s lead researcher and a senior research scholar at PEI, has said:

The study captures the extraordinary extent to which COVID-19 hinges on superspreading. It presents the largest empirical demonstration of superspreading that we are aware of in any infectious disease. Superspreading events are the rule rather than the exception when one is looking at the spread of COVID-19, both in India and likely in all affected places.

What are your thoughts on the story? Let us know in the comments section.

Continue Reading

According to reports, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 6 draft is set to be held in Karachi in the second week of December.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is looking to host the draft in an outdoor event at the National Stadium, Karachi due to the sudden rise in the COVID-19 cases in the country. Alternatively, the draft may be conducted online.

ALSO READ

Shahid Afridi Eyeing a Future Role in PCB

The draft has previously been held in Islamabad, Lahore, and Dubai. Karachi is likely to be the latest venue to host the draft.

The fifth edition of the PSL concluded last week with Karachi Kings winning their first PSL title by defeating Lahore Qalandars in the final. The tournament was originally scheduled to end in March but it had an extended delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PCB has already shifted its focus to next year’s PSL with the draft for the PSL 6 set to be held within the next couple of weeks.

ALSO READ

Babar Azam Not Afraid of Losing Captaincy

The PSL 6 is scheduled to be played in February–March 2021 and will be the second tournament to be held entirely in Pakistan. The final decision of the venues and schedules will be taken after assessing the COVID-19 situation in the country, but for now, it is set to be played at the original dates.

All the PSL franchises will be looking to strengthen their teams with exciting new additions.

Continue Reading

To equip students with the fastest data connectivity for distant and e-learning programs, Zong has introduced a comprehensive data package called ‘Taleem Bundle’ for the students of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).

The signing ceremony took place at AIOU where Zong 4G’s Director Govt and Corporate Sales & Services Mr. Farhan Zakir, and AIOU Chairman & Dean Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood signed the agreement in presence of Moied Javeed, Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Zong 4G, and other key representatives from both the organizations.

Zong 4G’s partnership with AIOU is a testament to Zong’s relentless focus on digital inclusion for the masses and youth, an area in which Zong continues to dominate with market-leading services, products, and solutions. Zong 4G is a frontrunner of the ICT-powered digital transformation in the country helping key sectors adopt digitization and providing them with innovative tools to keep abreast with the global digital revolution.

“Taleem bundle is a joint venture of AIOU and Zong 4G which will enable e-learning and encourage students to benefit from distant-learning, Zong 4G is aligned with Government of Pakistan’s ambition of a Digital Pakistan and our partnership with AIOU is in-line with our commitment of enabling the country’s development through digital solutions,” said the spokesperson of CMPAK Zong 4G.

The largest, widest, and fastest 4G network of the country is focusing on digital inclusion and supporting students with the best data connectivity in Pakistan. The strategic collaboration will enable seamless connectivity and unmatched services to these students for an enhanced learning experience.

“We are grateful to Zong 4G for its contributions and support in developing customized data bundle for our students at a very nominal cost. Through the partnership, we aim to provide social service to those students who are from humbler backgrounds and cannot afford to access their education online,” said AIOU Dean Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood.

He added, “With over 1.4 million current student enrollments, AIOU is constantly developing professionally and is committed to progress that’s in line with the evolving global trends. With partnerships like this, we can accomplish these goals faster and more efficiently.”

Zong 4G is the leader of digital transformation in Pakistan. Being the pioneer of 4G in the country and the first mover of 5G technology in Pakistan, Zong 4G is committed to excellence and innovation.

Continue Reading

The Government of the Punjab has introduced the ‘Insaf Medicine Card’ for patients with contagious diseases.

Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar distributed the cards to the patients with hepatitis, AIDS, and tuberculosis (TB) in an inaugural ceremony on Sunday.

The ceremony was attended by the provincial Health Minister, Dr. Yasmeen Rashid, SACM Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Secretary Primary & Secondary Health, Secretary Information, and other concerned officials.

ALSO READ

Pakistan Wants to Host Afghanistan Cricket Team by 2022

The Insaf Medicine Card holders will be able to avail of free medicines for the specified diseases across the province.

In the first phase of this initiative, free medicines will be provided to 9,862 AIDS patients, 23,560 hepatitis patients, and 70,047 TB patients.

How to Receive the Insaf Medicine Card
Individuals affected by the above-mentioned diseases will undergo a simple procedure to receive their cards. The cards will be issued upon the completion of the process that includes biometric verification through original identity cards at either the concerned Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) or the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ).

Addressing the gathering for the ceremony, Chief Minister Buzdar said that the government is nearing its goal of establishing a state like Madinah, and projects like the Punjab Ehsaas Program, the Sehat Insaf Card, and now the Insaf Medicine Card are proof of it.

ALSO READ

Shireen Mazari Deletes Tweet After French Envoy Calls Out Fake News

Free Treatment for All
Buzdar has directed the THQs and district hospitals to establish separate desks for patients with hepatitis, AIDS, and TB.

Thanking Allah Almighty for giving him a chance to serve the masses, he vowed to extend the facility of free treatment in all public hospitals across the Punjab in the near future.

“The day is not far away when every citizen of Punjab will have access to free treatment in public sector hospitals; this is our commitment,” he asserted.

Continue Reading