Category: Technology

Local Media Only Maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment is essential to the TikTok experience. We use a combination of technologies and moderation strategies to detect and review content that violates our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines

(https://support.tiktok.com/ur/privacy-safety/community-policy-ur), and we implement penalties including removing videos and banning accounts when there are violations. Our H2 2020 Transparency Report shows that we aggressively and proactively take down inappropriate content in Pakistan.

This highlights our commitment to complying with local laws. In fact, we have enhanced moderation capabilities in Pakistan, with our local-language moderation team growing close to 250% since September. At the same time, TikTok is built upon the foundation of creative expression.

We are committed to continue working closely with the PTA to further strengthen our safeguards on behalf of our users, but we are also committed to ensuring our users’ rights to express themselves creatively on the platform, in line with our policies. We have faith that by working with the authorities to explain our policies and demonstrate our dedication to user security, we can arrive at a resolution that would allow TikTok to continue serving the millions of users in Pakistan who have found a home for creative expression on our platform.

STOCKHOLM: Nokia has struck a deal with Samsung to license patents covering its innovations in video standards, the Finnish telecom company said on Thursday.

While the companies did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement, Samsung will make royalty payments to Nokia.

Nokia’s patent portfolio is composed of around 20,000 patent families, including over 3,500 declared essential to 5G.

The deal comes months after rival Ericsson filed a lawsuit in the United States against Samsung in a dispute over royalty payments and patent licenses.

The US International Trade Commission said last month it would open an investigation after Ericsson claimed Samsung had infringed on some of its patents in 4G and next generation 5G wireless cellular communications infrastructure systems.

In view of prime minister’s vision for maximum facilitation to taxpayers under FHB guidance, a Centralized Income Tax Refund Office (CITRO) has been established at the FBR for taxpayers by releasing income tax refund payments directly into their bank accounts in an transparent manner. This would work in an end-to-end automated manner.
Member IR (Operations) inaugurated the launch of CITRO by processing the first batch of Income Tax refund claims for payment through dedicated VPN tunnel established between the FBR and State Bank of Pakistan. This is indeed another milestone achieved by the organization through incessant efforts of Member IR Operations and Member IT of FBR.
This system would eliminate human interaction between the tax authority and taxpayers as well as ensuring quick relief to the business community.
The FBR is in the process of enhancing this automation process to the next level by creating linkages between all federal and provincial departments as well as large numbers of withholders, so that verification and processing of refund claims can also be made in a machine-enabled environment.

MOSCOW: From cameras criss-crossing the city to payment systems popping up at metro gates and supermarket checkouts, facial recognition is rapidly taking root in Moscow.

The initiative has gained ground since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with authorities using it as a tool to enforce lockdown measures while Russians increasingly turn to contactless payments.

But as the network grows with plans to expand across Russia, the technology is celebrated by some while alarming rights activists who warn about creeping state surveillance.

The latest development came Wednesday, as the country´s leading food retailer X5 group announced the rollout of a facial recognition payment system at dozens of its Moscow supermarkets. It said some 3,000 stores across the country will feature the technology by the end of the year.

“This is convenient for customers since they don´t have to carry a wallet or take their phone out of their pocket,” X5´s innovation director Ivan Melnik said.

“They can just use a button and pay with their face.” X5, which developed the technology along with the Visa payment system and Russia´s state giant Sberbank, promises that the system will protect user privacy, saying that it is secure against identity theft and transactions are encrypted.

Some Muscovites welcomed the digital revolution.

“It´s great because the 21st century is the era of technology,” 28-year-old banker Andrei Epifanov told media at a Moscow supermarket.

Visa said Wednesday its research showed that 70 percent of Russians plan to use the payment system, with the pandemic triggering increased demand for contactless transactions.

The service will only be available at self-service checkouts for Sberbank customers after the bank recently allowed its users to set up facial recognition so as to pay from their accounts.

Beyond supermarkets, Muscovites will now also be able to use facial recognition technology to pay for metro rides, the Interfax news agency reported earlier this month.

To use the “Face Pay” system, metro riders must have a bank account that has their biometric data on file, metro security service head Andrei Kichigin told Interfax. The collection of Russians´ biometric data is an initiative that authorities are working to expand, frustrated over slow progress since its launch in 2018, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.

It said authorities are hoping to increase the number of people who have signed over their biometric data from the current total of 164,000 to 70 million over the next two years.

“Without the delivery of biometrics, some public services may become inaccessible remotely,” a source close to the digital development ministry´s plans told Kommersant.

The increasing collection of biometric data and a sprawling network of some 100,000 facial recognition cameras in Moscow has sparked concerns from activists over state surveillance.

The worries began in particular when at the start of the pandemic Moscow used the surveillance cameras to monitor compliance with lockdown measures.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) OPPO launched its latest OPPO A15s in Pakistan today. Designed with a Bigger Storage and a Bigger Screen, OPPO A15s enables users to enjoy entertainment without restriction. Coming for PKR 25,999, the smartphone will be available in two colours Fancy White and Dynamic Black.

Under the hood, OPPO A15s boasts a bigger storage capacity, along with a high capacity 4230mAh battery to suit your needs. With a stylish look that’s thin, sleek and sits comfortably in your hand, OPPO A15s boasts an immersive 6.52-inch screen that’s easy on the eye for a comfortable viewing experience. For photography buffs, OPPO A15s is packed with AI Triple Cameras to help you capture clear shots instantly without extra effort.

All five colours will come with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. OPPO A15s will be available for purchase at OPPO’s official website and in the market.

BERLIN: Vodafone Group said on Tuesday it would seek to raise up to 2.8 billion euros ($3.32 billion) in proceeds by floating infrastructure unit Vantage Towers in Europe’s largest initial public offering of 2021.

The UK-based operator set the price range for the flotation of Vantage Towers on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at 22.50 to 29 euros per share, implying a total market capitalisation of up to 14.7 billion euros.

The base offer size is 2 billion euros, but there is scope to increase it to 2.8 billion euros through an “upsize” option and an over-allotment option for lead managers on the deal, Vodafone said.

In an indication of strong demand, the bookrunners on the deal said there were enough orders on the first day of the placement to cover the basic offering.

The valuation of Vantage tops a strong crop of European IPOs this year that has featured Polish e-commerce firm InPost, German used-car trading platform AUTO1 and British footwear brand Dr. Martens.

The deal would also be the largest European telecoms IPO since Belgacom in 2014, and Germany’s largest listing since Knorr Bremse in 2018, both of which raised $4.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Proceeds from the offering of existing shares will accrue to Vodafone, leaving Vantage with a free float of 19.1% from the base offering, rising to 24.6% should the increased offer be placed.

Vantage CEO Vivek Badrinath has said he would consider issuing new shares or borrowing to fund tower acquisitions, amid a flurry of dealmaking in Europe as operators sell mast assets to pay for network upgrades.

Vodafone said that infrastructure investor and operator Digital Colony and Singapore-based global equity fund RRJ had agreed to be cornerstone investors and buy a total of 950 million euros in shares.

The offer period is due to end on or around March 17, with the first day of trading the following day.

Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UBS are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal. Barclays, Berenberg, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Jefferies are joint bookrunners.

 

 

NICOSIA: Cyprus, Israel and Greece signed an initial agreement on laying the world´s longest undersea power cable linking their electricity grids. The memorandum of understanding on the 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) EuroAsia Interconnector was signed in Nicosia by Cyprus Energy Minister Natasa Pilides and her Israeli counterpart Yuval Steinitz, while Greece´s Kostas Skrekas joined them by videoconference. The three ministers, in a joint statement, said they agreed “to promote cooperation to examine the possibility of planning, as well as the potential development and implementation of the project”. It was a “major step forward” in integrating renewable energy sources, they said, without giving cost estimates.

Steinitz said it would allow Israel “to receive electricity backing from the power grids of the European continent in times of emergency and… significantly increase reliance on solar power generation”. The project aims to connect the electricity grids of Israel, Cyprus, and Crete in Greece through a 2,000-megawatt undersea cable. The first phase is expected to be operational by 2025, linking the three countries to energy grids in Asia and Europe, said Pilides. The European Commission had acknowledged it as a key “Project of Common Interest”, making it eligible for EU financing. The power cable would boost “energy security” for Europe and end the isolation of Cyprus as the only non-interconnected EU member state. Israel, Greece and Cyprus have forged a regional alliance based on energy as the three countries also aim to explore and exploit natural gas resources.

Through its existing Shining-Star program, Huawei also offers women developers special incentives to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. Participants from this program who develop outstanding projects with big potential will have the opportunity to be featured in future campaign sand invited to other official Huawei events.

The HUAWEI Women Developers program is now open to women developers from around the world.

Flat battery to full charge in just five minutes — an Israeli start-up has developed technology it says could eliminate the “range anxiety” associated with electric cars. Ultra-fast recharge specialists

StoreDot have developed a first-generation lithium-ion battery that can rival the filling time of a standard car at the pump. “We are changing the entire experience of the driver, the problem of ´range anxiety´… that you might get stuck on the highway without energy,” StoreDot founder Doron Myersdorf said. The innovation could eliminate the hours required to recharge an electric car, he said. Hundreds of prototypes are being tested by manufacturers. His company, based in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, is backed by four key investors: German automobile manufacturer Daimler, the UK´s British Petroleum and the electronic giants Samsung and TDK. Myersdorf, who set up the company in 2012, has tested the battery on phones, drones and scooters, before tackling the big prize of electric vehicles.