The Institute of Space Technology on Tuesday said Pakistan’s “historic” lunar mission iCube-Q will be launched on May 3 at 12:50pm on board China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe from Hainan, China. According to the Institute of Space Technology (IST), the satellite ICUBE-Q has been designed and developed by IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency Suparco. ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface. Following successful qualification and testing, iCube-Q has now been integrated with the Chang’e 6 mission. Chang’e 6 is ..read more

Uber – one of the major ride-hailing apps – has decided to cease its operations in Pakistan, Business Recorder reported. It was limited to Lahore after the company ended its operations in five other cities in 2022. It will be taken over by subsidiary Careem in Punjab’s provincial capital. “We’ve made the decision to cease operating the Uber app in Pakistan,” an Uber spokesperson told the news outlet in a statement on Tuesday. “Our subsidiary brand Careem will continue to operate, with the Careem app offering ride-hailing services across Pakistan and earning opportunities for drivers.’’ This co ..read more

The EU on Tuesday launched an investigation into Meta’s Facebook and Instagram over concerns the platforms are failing to counter disinformation ahead of EU elections in June. The probe is under the EU’s new Digital Services Act, a landmark law that cracks down on illegal content online and forces the world’s biggest tech companies to do more to protect users online. The European Commission said it suspected Meta’s moderation of adverts was “insufficient” and that an increase in paid spots in those conditions could harm “electoral processes and fundamental rights, including consumer protection ..read more

China will send a robotic spacecraft in the coming days on a round trip to the moon’s far side in the first of three technically demanding missions that will pave the way for an inaugural Chinese crewed landing and a base on the lunar south pole. The mission will also include a payload from Pakistan Since the first Chang’e mission in 2007, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, China has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration, narrowing the technological chasm with the United States and Russia. In 2020, China brought back samples from the moon’s near side in the first sample retri ..read more

Chinese technology company ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has stated that it has no plans to sell the popular video-sharing app despite a recent US law that requires its sale or face a ban in America. ByteDance announced on its official account social media platform Toutiao. “ByteDance doesn’t have any plans to sell TikTok,” the company wrote. The company’s response came after a report by The Information suggested that ByteDance was exploring the potential sale of TikTok’s US operations without its algorithm. Read more TikTok CEO expects to defeat US ban: ‘We aren’t going anywhere ..read more

Samsung is facing a shortage of its S24 smartphones in Pakistan after the unprecedented demand for its flagship phone, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. “Samsung Electronics is working hard to meet the demand of our customers, and we anticipate sales will resume shortly,” the South Korean company said in an emailed statement. The handsets have been in hot demand since their launch earlier this year. They are assembled locally in the country. It is more expensive than the rest of the phone from the range. Galaxy S24, with 256GB space and 8GB RAM, is available at Rs269,999.00. Mobile companies pro ..read more

TikTok’s chief executive said on Wednesday that the company expects to win a legal challenge to block legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden that he said would ban the popular short video app used by 170 million Americans. “Rest assured - we aren’t going anywhere,” CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted moments after Biden signed the bill that gives China-based ByteDance 270 days to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban. “The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again.” Biden’s signing sets a Jan. 19 deadline for a sale - one day before his term ..read more

Google fired around 20 more workers who participated in protests denouncing the company’s cloud computing deal with the Israeli government, The Washington Post reported. The latest development brings the total number of workers fired in the past week over the issue to more than 50, said the activist group representing the workers. A spokesperson for Google confirmed it had fired more workers after continuing its investigation into the April 16 protests. The firings come several days after chief executive Sundar Pichai told employees in a companywide memo that they should not use the company as ..read more

Mobile services will remain suspended on specific routes in Karachi from 3:00pm on Tuesday till 8:00am on 24 April 2024, said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on Tuesday. In a statement, the PTA said that the decision was taken on the directives of the interior ministry. The city administration has already declared a public holiday in the city today. “This decision is being taken to ensure the security of the dignitary’s visit to Karachi,” it said. This comes with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Karachi. There were reports of suspension of mobile phone services after he land ..read more

The popular messaging app, WhatsApp, is reportedly developing a new feature that will revolutionize file sharing for its users. Leaked information suggests that the company is actively working on a mechanism to enable individuals to share photos, videos, music, and documents even without an internet connection. The leaked screenshots from the latest WhatsApp beta for Android provide insights into the permissions required for this upcoming feature. One crucial aspect of this innovation is the ability to detect nearby phones that support offline file sharing. WhatsApp will scan nearby devices th ..read more