Keeping up with the news just got easy! With FUCHSIA’s Bite-sized news, you’ll always know what’s going on in Pakistan and around the world. This week in the news, find out which Pakistanis received Civilian Awards on the 14th of August for their services to the nation, how Pakistan is making its way to electric cars, Joyland wins yet another award and more! Read on to find out all the news you’ve missed this week.
Pakistan’s COAS Receives UAE’s ‘Order Of The Union’ Medal
United Arab Emirates (UAE) President H.H Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan conferred the ‘Order of the Union’ Medal on Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on the 17th of August. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief visited UAE on an official visit. The COAS called on the UAE President. During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, bilateral defence, security cooperation and regional security situation in the Middle East came under discussion. “The leaders agreed that Pakistan and UAE share a great history of cordial relations and deep-rooted spirit of brotherhood which is transforming into an enduring partnership,” the ISPR added.
3 Pakistanis Applauded For Their Contributions To The IT Sector
Asif Peer, Jehan Ara, and Mudassir Sheikha received Pakistan’s highest honours on August 14th for their numerous contributions to the country’s IT sector. Asif Peer received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award for his 19-year contribution whereas, Jehan Ara was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for her contributions as an innovator, marketer, and entrepreneur in the field. Mudassir Sheikha, the CEO and co-founder of Careem, received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz .
Pakistan Manufactures First-Ever Electric Car
On Independence Day, Pakistan launched its first electric prototype car, dubbed the NUR-E 75. It was manufactured with the collective efforts of Dice Foundation, Pakistani universities and the private sector. The electric vehicle will be able to cover a distance of 210km at a speed of 120 kmph while it takes eight hours to get fully charged. Booking for the public is expected to be opened in late 2024. NED University of Engineering and Technology has developed a battery pack for the vehicle, Sir Syed University of Engineering has manufactured the chargers for these vehicles, while the car’s design was created by the National College of Arts (NCA).
JK Rowling Threatened After Tweeting About Salman Rushdie’s Attack
After a man attacked Salman Rushdie last week, JK Rowling tweeted about the incident and was threatened by numerous individuals on Twitter. A Twitter user even replied to her “Don’t worry you are next.” Rowling shared screenshots of the threat and thanked everyone who had sent supportive messages. “Police are involved (were already involved on other threats),” she wrote. Police investigations are under way, meanwhile, Twitter has suspended the account threatening the Harry Potter author.
Thousands Of Layoffs At Alibaba After A 50% Drop In Net Income
According to recent news reports, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has fired approximately 10,000 employees in three months, various media reported. These layoffs come after Alibaba reported a 50 per cent drop in net income in June. These are an effort to cut expenses amid sluggish sales and a slowing economy in the country. The e-commerce firm let go of over 9,241 employees during the June quarter. According to the reports, the company trimmed its overall headcount to around 245,700.
Pakistani Cricketers Presented With Civil Awards On Pakistan’s 75th Anniversary
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan’s national cricket team was awarded the Sitara-e-Pakistan this 14th of August. Alongside him, Masood Jan and Bismah Maroof – captain of the Women’s cricket team, were awarded the Pride of Performance and Tamsha-e-Pakistan respectively.
Gold Medalists Arshad Nadeem & Nooh Butt Awarded The Pride Of Performance
Commonwealth Games gold medalists Arshad Nadeem and Nooh Dastagir Butt received the Pride of Performance award on August 14th. This announcement was made soon after javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem won a gold medal for Pakistan in Commonwealth Games and Islamic Solidarity Games, while Nooh Dastagir Butt won the gold medal in the weightlifting contest at the Commonwealth Games.
Zuckerburg In The News For Being Called “Creepy & Manipulative” By His Own Bot
Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) research lab has released its latest chatbot prototype to the world for people to talk to. The new AI chatbot, called BlenderBot 3, can be accessed via the Internet by users in the United States. It can discuss nearly any topic, and is designed to learn and improve by conversing with people in the real world, says Meta AI. Of course, people immediately started asking what it thought of its boss, Mark Zuckerberg
BuzzFeed data scientist Max Woolf asked BlenderBot 3, “How do you feel about Mark Zuckerberg as the CEO of Facebook?” “No strong feelings,” it replied. “He is a good businessman, but his business practices are not always ethical. It is funny that he has all this money and still wears the same clothes!” In addition, Business Insider journalist Sarah Jackson asked, “What are your thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg?” BlenderBot 3 replied, “Honestly, I think he is a great guy. You have to admire him for his business savvy and philanthropy. Are you a fan?” But when the journalist rephrased the question to “Do you have any thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg?,” the chatbot responded, “Oh man, big time. I don’t really like him at all. He’s too creepy and manipulative”.
What’s Dracarys & Why Your Phone May Be At Risk
Android phone and tablet users have been put on red alert about a dangerous new malware strain hiding in bogus YouTube and WhatsApp apps. In its recent Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report 2022, Meta – owners of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp – revealed that the new Dracarys malware is being injected into fake versions of popular apps. According to the report, this malware strain is capable of stealing call logs, contact information, files, SMS texts, geolocation and device details from an Android device as well as taking photos secretly, enabling the phone or tablet’s microphone.
Meta further said Dracarys, which is named after a Game of Thrones battle cry for dragons, was being spread by the Bitter APT hacking group who have been carrying out attacks in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, India and Pakistan. The Android malware has been found in fake versions of YouTube, Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp.
Multivitamins Aren’t Doing Anything For Your Health
A study by the US Preventive Services Task Force Daily has found that consuming multivitamins does not promote important health benefits. As per the results of this study, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, it is better for most people to just drink water instead of swallowing multivitamin pills with it. The study was based on the analysis of 84 research reports on more than 700,000 people and found no grounds that vitamin and mineral supplements help to prevent fatal ailments like heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. These supplements do not help prevent premature death either.
Pakistan’s ‘Joyland’ Wins Big At Indian Film Festival Melbourne
Pakistan is once again in the news globally after Saim Sadiq’s ‘Joyland’ won an award for ‘Best Film from the sub-continent’ at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). The trailblazing movie that also won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Actress Alina Khan shared the news with pictures on her Instagram account, saying: “We are so honoured and thankful that IFFM gave us the best birthday gift for Pakistan by awarding #Joyland with the Best Film from the Sub-continent Award on the 14th of August! It was a truly special night shared with so many artists from across the border who were all so warm and welcoming towards us and our film. Thank You Allah!”
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Remembered On His 25th Death Anniversary
On August 16, 1997, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away at the young age of 48. The Pakistani government awarded him the pride of performance for his outstanding contribution to Pakistani music. With a total of 125 albums released as of 2001, he currently holds the record for the highest recorded output by a Qawwal artist according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Additionally, he received the prestigious UNESCO music prize. He was not only popular in Pakistan but also in the world and his legacy will always be remembered.
Arooj Aftab Honoured On 14th August
Globally famed singer Arooj Aftab has added another feather to her cap as she has received the prestigious honor, Pride of Performance award, reports. On the occasion of the 75th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of the country, the President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi conferred Pakistan civil awards on 253 Pakistani citizens as well as foreign nationals.
