The Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has declared that visiting Kaaba in the metaverse will not be considered a ”real Hajj”. After a month-long discussion, Diyanet concluded that metaverse visit of the Kaaba can be performed, but won’t count as real worship. The metaverse version of Kaaba became controversial among Muslims globally following Saudi Arabia’s “Virtual Black Stone Initiative” event in December 2021.
Winter Olympics 2022 will be seeing only one participant from Pakistan- 26-year-old Muhammad Karim from Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan’s lone soldier will represent 220 million countrymen in the Alpine Skiing Slalom event on Feb 16. Pakistan’s four-member contingent left for Beijing on Tuesday from Lahore and will reach Beijing on Wednesday.
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor faced calls for a boycott of its cars from Indians incensed over a tweet from the account of its Pakistan partner that expressed solidarity for the people of the disputed territory of Kashmir. The row erupted on Sunday, when posts on behalf of Hyundai’s partner Nishat Group appeared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram commemorating the sacrifices of Kashmiris struggling for self-determination.
The Pakistan Air Force’s latest jets equipped with near-stealth features, can easily dodge India’s advanced tracking system. The PAF expects to add 50 JF-17 fighter jets built jointly with China to replace old aircraft and upgrade capability against India’s missile defense system. A rollout ceremony was held in December and the new JF-17 jets will fly at the national day military parade on March 23.
Extremism in India has reached new heights, after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leader accused Shahrukh Khan of spitting at Lata Mangeshkar’s funeral. Khan paid tribute to the legendary singer by reciting a dua [prayer] but when he lowered his mask to blow air on her — a customary act known as phoonkna — some people claimed he spit on her.
LUMS Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad, has been named the AIB International Educator of the Year for 2022 by the Academy of International Business (AIB). AIB is one of the top international business and management organizations worldwide. The AIB has more than 70 countries in its membership. The AIB promotes excellence in education by advancing the highest professional standards in international business and management.
Google has launched its first Gaming Growth Lab in Pakistan. The Lab, a five-week virtual programme is designed to help emerging mobile-gaming enterprises expand their offerings and grow their businesses. The launch marks Google’s commitment to helping accelerate the digital gaming industry in Pakistan. The programme will be delivered in both English and Urdu. It will commence on March 1.
One of Pakistan’s leading universities, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has introduced for the first time, an academic program on Cryptocurrency. LUMS will use five million STX tokens (currently equivalent to about PKR 670 million or US $4.1 million) granted by Hiro to develop and build educational programmes that will enable faculty and students to research blockchain, cryptocurrencies, distributed-ledger technology and more.
Australia’s first visit to Pakistan since 1998 has received a final all-clear. The tour, which comprises three Tests, three ODIs and a T20I, has been on the cards since November 2021. Both boards have been making steady progress towards the series going ahead, and now after a final pre-trip security briefing Cricket Australia has given its full endorsement.
Truck It In, a road freight tech platform, has raised another $13 million in seed funding. According to the startup, it is the “largest” funding in the trucking space in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) region. The latest round brings the total raised capital by the company to $17.5m, which will support Truck It In’s mission to transform Pakistan’s road freight industry.