The Pakistani rupee showed a slight improvement against the US dollar, appreciating by 0.07% in the inter-bank market during Wednesday’s opening trading hours. By 10am, the rupee was trading at 278.73, marking a gain of Re0.2 against the greenback. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the rupee closed at 278.93 on Tuesday. The rupee appreciated by 0.08% against the US dollar in the interbank market during the opening hours of trading on January 8. Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday (today), driven by technology stocks and improved investor sentiment following positive trends on Wall Street. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb…
Author: Web Desk
Karachi: Easypaisa has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by becoming Pakistan’s first Digital Retail Bank to receive commercial approval for the commencement of regular digital banking operations from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) under its Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks. The approval to launch commercial operations was granted to Easypaisa Digital Bank on January 28, 2025, in an official licensing ceremony held at the State Bank of Pakistan. With this approval, Telenor Microfinance Bank has been converted from a “Microfinance Bank” to a “Digital Retail Bank,” and will now operate under the name “Easypaisa Digital Bank” (Registered name:…
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has signaled potential tax reforms aimed at easing the burden on the country’s salaried class. Speaking at the Pakistan Business Council’s (PBC) “Dialogue on the Economy,” Aurangzeb acknowledged the disproportionate tax burden on salaried workers and emphasized the need for a review of the current tax brackets. He clarified that this was a personal viewpoint and refrained from making definitive commitments. However, the minister did pledge to simplify the tax filing process for salaried individuals to make it more convenient. He stressed that the government’s budget process for the fiscal year 2025-26, which begins in early…
Musk turned to his X on Wednesday, revealing plans to bring back the two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), saying he will bring them back “as soon as possible.” NASA’s space crew, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, went to the ISS on Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June 2024. President Trump posted on Truth Social, stating, “I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go get’ the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.” He concluded his post by wishing the Tesla founder the best of luck for his mission.…
According to BBC, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the US is looking into whether the new artificial intelligence technology by Chinese company DeepSeek poses a national security threat after the American navy banned its members from using the chatbot due to “potential security and ethical concerns associated with the model’s origin and usage.” Leavitt, who also restated US President Donald Trump’s remarks that DeepSeek should be a wake-up call for the US tech industry, said, “I spoke with (the National Security Council) this morning, they are looking into what (the national security implications) may be.” Moreover, the…
On Wednesday, January 29, the tech giant claimed that its latest update surpasses the highly popular and discussed DeepSeek-V3, as reported by Reuters. Qwen 2.5 Max was launched on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a time when most people are taking a break from work and social media altogether. The unusual timing of the launch points to the pressure DeepSeek is exerting not only on international competitors but also on its domestic rivals. Alibaba’s cloud unit made an announcement on its official WeChat account, stating, “Qwen 2.5 Max outperforms… almost across the board GPT-4, DeepSeek-V3, and Llama-3.1-405B,”…
According to Sky News, scientists from the University of Oxford believe that this planet might have conditions that could support life. The planet, HD 20794, is six times more massive than Earth. It orbits a star similar to the Sun, within the “habitable zone.” The planet is 20 light-years away, and scientists think it is positioned at the right distance from its star to potentially support liquid water on its surface. Dr. Michael Cretignier, a postdoctoral research assistant at the university’s physics department, said, “Excitingly, its proximity with us means there is hope for future space missions to obtain an…
This comes after DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, introduced a rival to ChatGPT, which has become extremely popular recently. According to The Guardian, the app has also become the most downloaded free app in both the UK and the US. The new low-cost AI caused a $1 trillion loss in the value of the leading US tech stock index this week. Experts are now concerned that it might spread false information and that the Chinese government could potentially misuse users’ data. Michael Wooldridge, a professor at Oxford University who studies AI, suggested that it’s not unrealistic to believe that the…
According to Tennis365, Keys, who lifted her first-ever Grand Slam trophy by defeating two-time defending champion Aryana Sabalenka, will not be able to play in the ATX Open in Texas due to the WTA’s top 10 rule for WTA 250 events. In a statement, the ATX Open organizers said, “As a 250-level tournament, the ATX Open is permitted to feature just one Top 10 player unless the defending champion returns as a Top 10 ranked player. Only in that circumstance could two Top 10 players compete in our tournament. This helps to ensure balanced competition across all WTA events held…
The 24-time Grand Slam winner, who disappointed fans with a mid-match retirement during his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev last week, withdrew from the Serbia Davis Cup tie due to an injury he sustained during the tournament’s quarterfinals against Carlos Alcaraz. The Serbian Tennis Federation (TSS) confirmed that the world no. 6 will miss the tournament ahead of the first-round qualifying tie against Denmark, scheduled for January 31 to February 2, 2025, in Copenhagen. Serbia’s captain Viktor Troicki said, “We are weakened by not having Novak, but we are still going for the win. The Danes have a great…
