Author: Ali Qasim

TikTok Limits use of APP for under 14 teens

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Chinese short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, said on Saturday that all of its authenticated users below the age of 14 will now access the app in a “youth mode”, in its push to shield the young from inappropriate content.

In the youth mode, under-14 users can only access the app for up to 40 minutes a day, and only between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., Douyin, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, said in a statement.

The measure to protect the young was the most stringent in the history of the platform, Douyin said.

Chinese regulators have tightened their grip over the internet this year, policing it for violations of core socialist values. Authorities have particularly called for minors to be better protected from online dangers including “blind” and “chaotic” worship of internet celebrities.

Popular social messaging app WeChat, owned by Tencent, also has a “youth mode”, which when turned on, limits young users’ access to some games and functionalities such as payments or the ability to find nearby friends.

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“The Unmasking” Pak short film on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy won best film award in Istanbul.

Posted on by Ali Qasim
Lahore (NUT-DESK)
The Unmasking, a 15 minutes long, Pakistani short film on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy has won best foreign short film award in Istanbul, Turkey and Ali Khan, Danish Wakeel with Talal Farhat perform in Unmasking.
The film has been written and directed by Khalid Hasan Khan; an award winning filmmaker, who had won best film award for his debut feature film, ‘HOTAL’ from the Delhi International Film Festival in 2013.
Unmasking deals with the subject of covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, at the same time dismissed social media myths causing a slow vaccination rate around the world especially in developing countries. Have a look on trailer link given below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvNenoKRWqg
The short film is a purely a work of fiction and tackles the anti-vax message that is being peddled to misguide the mass population from availing the benefits of vaccination program.
Khalid Hasan Khan had produced documentaries like “An Early Sunset”; on the lost glory of Lyari footballers, telecast on Ten Sports: “Iron Slaves”; about the lives of ship breakers of Gaddani, an Official Selection of “Workers of the World United Film Festival, Broadway, New York: Murder of Mystic; about the devastation of the Indus Delta mangroves, selected by “DC Environmental Film Fest” for “Green Short Films”.
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Pakistan Realtor Federation participated in Bahria Town Awareness seminar on FATF Regulation and Registration

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Islamabad (NUT-DESK):

Bahria Town Management and AAA Associates hosted a seminar on “awareness of FATF regulations and registration” on 17th September, 2021. The event was organized at Pearl Continent, Rawalpindi. The honorable chief guests on this auspicious occasion were Directors HQ Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Nasir Ahmed, and Zafar Iqbal, President Realtor Federation Sardar Tahir and Chairman Realtor Federation Musarat Ejaz Khan.

Pakistan has been on the FATF’s grey list for strategic deficiencies in its counter-terror financing, anti-money laundering and proliferation financing rules since June 2018. The Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions has sought cooperation of real estate associations all over the country to meet requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in relation to non-financial businesses and professions to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. The seminar aimed to assist Estate builders regarding the new regulations and hoped that Estate Builders would continue to comply with the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) laws and regulations.

The guest speakers Directors HQ Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Nasir Ahmed and Zafar Iqbal apprised members of real estate associations about the FATF’s requirements in relation to DNFBPs and called for collective efforts of the government and real estate agents to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Ejaz Khan and Sardar Tahir, Chairman and President of the Federation of Realtors Pakistan, and office bearers of Real Estate Associations partook in the seminar and assured the builders about the positive aspects of these regulations.

In this seminar various estate builders from twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi participated. The sole purpose of the event was to address challenges pertaining to construction industry amid FATF crises.The seminar was followed by delightful dinner.

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Facebook launches new messaging, business tools for brands

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore(NUT-DESK)

Facebook is rolling out new ways for businesses to find and chat with potential customers on its apps, the social media company said Thursday, as it seeks to become an online shopping destination.

The new features will help Facebook, already a leader in digital advertising, offer personalised shopping experiences to its users, said Karandeep Anand, vice president of business products at Facebook.

Businesses will now be able to add a button on their Instagram profiles to let people send a WhatsApp message to the company with one click.

Integrating WhatsApp is particularly important for customers in countries such as India and Brazil, where the Facebook-owned messaging app is widely used, Anand said.

Facebook said it will begin testing the ability for brands to send emails through Facebook Business Suite, a feature that lets businesses manage their presence across the social media site’s apps, in order to simplify how companies reach customers.

It will also test new work accounts to let employees manage business pages without needing to log in with their personal accounts.

The new business tools come a day after WhatsApp began testing a new feature in São Paulo, Brazil, to let users find shops and services through a directory in the app for the first time, part of an effort to bolster ecommerce on the service.

 

Pak vs NZ: New Zealand team cancels Pakistan tour citing ‘security alert’

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Just before the start of first ODI, the New Zealand cricket team has cancelled its tour of Pakistan Friday after informing the PCB of a “security alert”.

A press release by the PCB confirmed the statement.

“Earlier today, New Zealand Cricket informed us they had been alerted to some security alert and have unilaterally decided to postpone the series,” reads the press release.

“Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Government made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand Cricket of the same. The Pakistan prime minister spoke personally to the prime minister of New Zealand and informed her that we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team,” it added.

The PCB said that the security officials with the New Zealand team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the Pakistan government throughout their stay here.

“PCB is willing to continue the scheduled matches. However, cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last-minute withdrawal,” stated the PCB.

Interior minister to hold press conference

Interior minister will hold a press conference at 5:00pm to shed more light on the matter, said sources.

Sources further told Geo News that players of both teams were told to remain in their rooms and not venture out.

Sports journalist Alia Rasheed said Pakistanis in general and Islamabad, Rawalpindi fans in particular are extremely disappointed at the match getting cancelled.

WhatsApp rolls out new business directory to promote e-commerce

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)
World famous messaging WhatsApp has announced the business directory to quickly find local businesses within WhatsApp. “This feature may not be available to you right now, but it will be rolled out for more people later,” WABetainfo wrote.

In order to bolster e-commerce on its services, a new test has been rolled out which allows users to find shops and services through a directory in the app.

“This could be…the primary way that people start a commerce process in WhatsApp,” Matt Idema, Facebook’s vice president of business messaging, said in an interview with Reuters this week.
WhatsApp, unlike Facebook and Instagram, does not run ads in its app. Idema said previously businesses were promoting their WhatsApp numbers on packaging or websites or using Facebook ads to bring users into chats on WhatsApp. The messaging service has increasingly courted business users, with a specialised app for small firms and an API, or type of software interface, for larger businesses to connect their systems, which generates revenue.

As online retail has continued to boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook has pushed in-app shopping features across its apps. In June, Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s Shops feature would expand to WhatsApp in several countries. In recent years, WhatsApp also has also launched shopping tools like product catalogues and shopping carts.

WhatsApp said the new test would include thousands of businesses in categories like food, retail and local services across certain São Paulo neighbourhoods. Idema said India and Indonesia were good next candidates to expand the feature.

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Malala proud of her ‘friend’ Angelina Jolie

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Malala Yousafzai is all praise for Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie whose youth guide Know Your Rights and Claim Them has been published by Amnesty International.

“I’m proud of my friend Angelina Jolie and Amnesty for writing Know Your Rights, a book to give children the knowledge they need to stand up to injustice in their own lives around the world,” Malala wrote, sharing a photo of her with the actor.

Angelina opened up on the guide two weeks ago, saying she was humbled to meet people who have been working for a cause.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CT4f0N_LGNv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“Children have rights just as adults do and they should have the power and agency to claim them,” she said. “Over the last couple of years, I have been working with Amnesty and Geraldine Van Bueren [British human rights lawyer] on a book that aims to help young people do just this.”

Angelina hoped that the book and her online series with Amnesty will help young people understand their rights.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTUk2ter3j9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“To the children and young people who are reading this: You have rights that are equal in status to that of any adult,” said Malala. “No one has the right to harm you, to silence you, to tell you what to think or believe, to treat you as if you don’t matter, or to prevent you from participating fully in society.”

Malala’s post has received over 300,000 likes in just hours.

 

Fahad Mustafa and Humayun Saeed congrats Ahsan Khan for becoming goodwill ambassador for child rights

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Ahsan Khan has been appointed a goodwill ambassador for children’s rights by the National Commission on the Rights of Child. Several celebrities, including Humayun Saeed and Fahad Mustafa, congratulated Ahsan on his appointment. Ahsan Khan shared the details via his instagram handle:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CT3mSnYIhTc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“I’m proud to be part of the great NCRC initiative,” Ahsan wrote, sharing a photo of him signing the agreement. “Protecting the rights of our children is protecting our future.”

The NCRC describes itself as “an enabling, responsive and protective society for children to enjoy their rights with dignity.”

“You are an inspiration and role model to many in Pakistan for highlighting children issues through media and art,” NCRC said of Ahsan. “You deserve a special appreciation for profiling the issue of child abuse for social awareness and bringing a positive change in lives of many children.”

Ahsan’s 2016 drama serial Udaari, in which he played the antagonist, was praised for highlighting child abuse.

“Neglect, cruelty, unfairness, injustice, and abuse damage the minds and hearts of children destined to take over our nation, as they attain adulthood,” Ahsan continued. “It is profoundly irresponsible – and downright immoral – to leave the future in the hands of individuals whose souls have been damaged by the denial of love, respect, protection, education, dignity, and justice.”

Ahsan believes denying children their rights make us “bad Muslims, bad Pakistanis and bad humans”.

Several celebrities, including Humayun Saeed and Fahad Mustafa, congratulated Ahsan on his appointment.

 

 

After 18 years, New Zealand will play first ODI on Pakistani soil today

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Pakistan are all set to host New Zealand for a three-match one-day international series after a gap of 18 years, as the two teams finally square off today at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The tourists will play their first match on Pakistani soil since 2003, with  today’s matchset to be the fourth encounter between the two sides at the Rawalpindi stadium, with Pakistan having a 3-0 edge over the Black Caps.

The two sides last faced off in 2019 during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Birmingham where Babar Azam guided his side to a six-wicket victory with a heroic century.

New Zealand, the top-ranked ODI team in the ICC Rankings and the 2019 World Cup finalists, will take to the stadium today with the confidence of a 3-0 sweep against Bangladesh in March. The Kiwis will be looking to continue their winning streak.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed his excitement over the series taking place between the two sides in Pakistan after over a decade-and-a-half.

“Finally, the day has arrived and our entire camp is very excited to play New Zealand at home. We have practiced hard for this series and I am sure we will take full advantage of our home conditions,” said Babar in his pre-series media conference held online.

“We have a balanced squad and I remain optimistic about our chances in what promises to be an exciting series. I am sure fans at the stadium and millions watching us on screens will enjoy these matches.”

New Zealand captain Tom Latham reciprocated Babar Azam’s excitement.

“We know it is special for Pakistan to have cricket in their country and we are excited to be here. Pakistan are a quality side and they have some talented white-ball players in their line-up,” said Tom.

“We have the desired fire-power in our ranks to win this series and I am sure our batters and bowlers will rise to the occasion and make this historic series memorable for us.”

 

PUBG: New State crosses 40 million pre-registration mark.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Krafton has disclosed that its popular mobile game PUBG: New State now has over 40 million pre-registrations on Google Play and App Store.The announcement came after its second Alpha Test in 28 countries last month.

The South Korean-based game developing company said that pre-orders have opened in India, the country which has played an important part in getting that many registrations. Krafton mentioned that the milestone was completed because of the enthusiasm and popularity it has over the world.

“We have been able to achieve this level of success because of fan enthusiasm globally and their belief in PUBG Studios work,” said New State’s Executive Producer Minkyu Park.

He added: “We are now focused on taking the valuable feedback we received during PUBG: New State’s second Alpha Test and polishing the game before its official launch later this year.”

Moreover, Krafton mentioned that it will officially announce the release date in October.

“We are devoting all our resources to ensuring PUBG: New State meets the expectations of our fans, both in terms of entertainment and stability,” he said.

PUBG: New State, which is designed by PUBG Studios, will be a free-to-play experience on Android and iOS this year.