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WhatsApp opposes bill seeking to break end-to-end encryption on private messages

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Meta-owned WhatsApp opposed new legislation by the United Kingdom seeking to break end-to-end encryption on private messaging citing a threat to the privacy of billions of people around the world. 

“Private messages are private. We oppose proposals to scan people’s private messages, and we’re proud to stand with other apps to defend encryption and your right to privacy,” wrote Will Cathcart, who is the WhatsApp head, on Twitter. 

The messaging app penned down a letter which opposes the legislation that “opens door to trying to force technology companies to break end-to-end encryption on private messaging services”. 

“The law could give an unelected official the power to weaken the privacy of billions of people around the world,” the letter stated. 

The letter, mutually signed by several other companies, said that any company, government or person should not have the power to read personal messages. The companies said they will continue to defend encryption technology. 

“We’re proud to stand with other technology companies in our industry pushing back against the misguided parts of this law that would make people in the UK and around the world less safe,” it said. 

They also urged the UK government to address the risks that Online Safety Bill poses to everyone’s privacy and safety. 

“Around the world, businesses, individuals and governments face persistent threats from online fraud, scams and data theft. Malicious actors and hostile states routinely challenge the security of our critical infrastructure. End-to-end encryption is one of the strongest possible defences against these threats, and as vital institutions become ever more dependent on internet technologies to conduct core operations, the stakes have never been higher,” it added. 

The letter said that the bill would open a door to routine, general and indiscriminate surveillance of personal messages, hence, compromising the security and privacy of users.  

The companies urged the government to ponder over the bill as
“weakening encryption, undermining privacy, and introducing the mass surveillance of people’s private communications is not the way forward.”

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Moon train operations are planned by NASA.

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The goal is to construct the first lunar train system, which will enable safe, independent, and effective cargo transportation on the moon, according to robotics specialist Ethan Schaler of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

He went on, “The day-to-day functioning of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s will depend heavily on a robust, long-lasting robotic transport system.”

The Flexible Levitation on a Track, or FLOAT, is the name of the proposed lunar rail system. According to NASA, the establishment of a railway system on the moon is “critical to the daily operations.”

According to the space agency, the primary objective of FLOAT is to offer transportation services in regions of the moon where astronauts are engaged in activities. To do this, cargoes of lunar soil and other materials will need to be transported to various regions of the moon.

Each robot will be able to transport cargo of various sizes and shapes at a pace of roughly 1 mph (1.61 km/h), according to Dr. Schaler.

Notably, NASA also declared new initiatives last month to create and test new vehicle models intended for moon exploration.

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Business

Pakistan’s lunar mission ‘ICUBE-Q’ reaches the moon orbit.

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Pakistan’s lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) entered orbit around the moon on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s historic lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) launched from Hainan, China, on Friday aboard China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft.

According to the IST, the satellite ICUBE-Q was planned and developed in partnership with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

The ICUBE-Q orbiter is equipped with two optical cameras to image the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after successfully qualifying and testing it.

Chang’e6 is the sixth lunar exploration mission launched by China.

The launch event was streamed live on the IST website and social media platforms. Chang’6, China’s Lunar Mission, will land on the Moon’s far side to collect surface samples before returning to Earth for further research.

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Education

The establishment of IT labs in Islamabad’s educational establishments

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SIFC was established to improve the ease of doing business for potential investors through a “Whole of Government”Approach”—achieving optimal horizontal-vertical synergy and facilitation by the Pakistan Army—and to attract investments from friendly countries in selected sectors through an empowered organisation that serves as a “single-window” platform for facilitation.

The children will learn the newest skills in these state-of-the-art IT labs, expanding their employment prospects.

These IT laboratories will be constructed in sixteen degree colleges spread throughout various parts of Islamabad.

Students will take six-month courses in artificial intelligence (AI), game development, data science, and block chain in these IT labs.

Approximately 1,000 students will have access to courses in the first phase, which is being implemented in response to market demand.

The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission has worked with esteemed universities such as NUST, National Skills University, COMSATS, and NUML to produce these courses.

The second week of this month will mark the start of these classes. For these courses, about 3,600 students have signed up.

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