Pakistan win first Test against South Africa

Pakistan on Friday defeated South Africa in the first Test by seven wickets taking a lead of 1-0 in the two-match Test series.

Debutant Nauman Ali finished with 5-35 and Yasir Shah took 4-79 as South Africa slumped to 245 all out in their second innings on the fourth day on a wearing National Stadium pitch that favoured spin bowlers.

Pakistan, needing 88 for victory, lost openers Abid Ali, Imran Butt and Babar Azam for a total of 52 runs before achieving the target in 22.5 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

The second Test starts on February 4 in Rawalpindi.

Azhar Ali was 31 not out while Fawad Alam -- who hit a fighting hundred in the first innings -- hit the winning boundary.

It was only Pakistan’s fifth victory against South Africa in 27 Tests.

Anrich Nortje bowled Abid in the first over after lunch and then had Butt caught behind to finish with figures of 2-24.

Azam, on his Test captaincy debut, was dismissed leg before by Keshav Maharaj.

It was a spinners’ battle on a brownish wicket, allowing Nauman to record figures of 7-73 and Yasir 7-133. In contrast, South Africa’s spinners managed just four wickets.

Pakistan had taken a crucial 158-run first innings lead, thanks to a fighting century from Fawad and half centuries from Faheem Ashraf and Azhar.

The writing was on the wall as South Africa lost nightwatchman Maharaj on the first ball of the day, bowled for two by pacer Hasan Ali.

South African skipper Quinton de Kock had a miserable 50th Test as he followed his 15 in the first innings with just two runs as he was caught off a lazy push off Yasir.

Temba Bavuma, who scored 40, added 42 for the seventh wicket with George Linde before being the last man out as Nauman took the last four wickets in a rapid 22 balls.

He dismissed Linde for 11, Kagiso Rabada for a single run, and Anrich Nortje for a duck, before removing Bavuma, to become the 12th Pakistani bowler to take five wickets in an innings on his debut.

South Africa are on their first tour of Pakistan for 14 years.

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Pakistan records 1,644 new corona infections, 46 deaths in last 24 Hrs

Pakistan has recorded 46 more coronavirus-related deaths in past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 11,560,reported on Friday.

According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the COVID-19 has claimed 46 more lives and 1,644 fresh infections were reported.
In the past 24 hours, as many as 2,167 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and 2,133 patients are still in critical condition.

The total count of active cases is 32,726.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 541,031.

A total of 43,381 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 496,745 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 7,848,316 samples have been tested thus far.

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Pakistan records 1,644 new corona infections, 46 deaths in last 24 Hrs

Pakistan has recorded 46 more coronavirus-related deaths in past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 11,560,reported on Friday.

According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the COVID-19 has claimed 46 more lives and 1,644 fresh infections were reported.
In the past 24 hours, as many as 2,167 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and 2,133 patients are still in critical condition.

The total count of active cases is 32,726.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 541,031.

A total of 43,381 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 496,745 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 7,848,316 samples have been tested thus far.

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Apple becomes world's biggest smartphone seller with record shipments

Apple Inc’s smartphone shipments jumped 22 per cent to record levels in the fourth quarter, making it the world’s biggest seller, while those for Huawei plunged as US sanctions took effect.

An expanded number of models and a new look for the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple’s first 5G-enabled devices, tapped pent up demand for upgrades, especially in China.

Shipments hit 90.1 million phones, a record for any quarter, giving it global market share of 23.4pc, data from research firm IDC showed.

“In China, Apple seized the perfect opportunity to capture Huawei’s market share in the high end, when the latter has essentially not enough supply even though demand for the brand is still there,” said Nicole Peng, who tracks China’s smartphone market at Canalys.

The data comes on the heels of Apple reporting record holiday quarter sales on Wednesday, with revenue crossing $100 billion for the first time.

Sales in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, surged 57pc.

“We had two of the top three selling smartphones in urban China,” Chief Executive Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview, adding that upgraders in particular had set an all-time record in China.

As is often the case in the fourth quarter when it launches new products, Apple took the top spot from Samsung Electronics.

The South Korean firm saw a 6.2pc year-on-year increase to 73.9 million devices, giving it market share of 19.1pc.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, unsurprisingly, suffered the most pain, with shipments tumbling a record 42.4pc to 32.3 million.

The Chinese tech powerhouse has been battered after the previous US administration blacklisted it on national security grounds, preventing overseas companies from supplying it with key parts including semiconductors.

Huawei is now in early-stage talks to sell its premium smartphone brands P and Mate, two people with direct knowledge of the matter have said, a move that could see the company eventually exit from the high-end smartphone-making business.

According to IDC, it now ranks fifth compared with the No 2 ranking it had only two quarters earlier.

But research firms Counterpoint and Canalys, which also released data on Thursday, pegged Huawei at number six, marking the first time in years that it has fallen out of the top five in their rankings.

China’s Xiaomi Corp, the number three seller, saw its shipments soar 32pc while shipments for fourth-ranked Oppo climbed 10.7pc, according to IDC.

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WhatsApp posts first Status update to ease users' privacy concerns

WhatsApp has started to use its own Status feature update in a bid to allay users' concerns that the app will not violate their privacy.

Bought by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps of all time, used by an estimated two billion people across the globe.

However, ever since its announcement a few weeks ago that WhatsApp has the right to share user data across its other units such as Messenger and Facebook, users around the globe have been switching to other messaging platforms.

The user data included phone numbers, locations and other information.

"We'll let you know about new features and updates here," read WhatsApp's first ever Status post. "One thing that isn't new is our commitment to your privacy."

WhatsApp clarified to users that it "can't read or listen to your personal conversations as they're end-to-end encrypted", which has been one of the main causes of concern for people, businesses and even some governments.

However, WhatsApp has not said that it was planning to reverse its move and seems adamant on its data-sharing decision.

WhatsApp had sent in-app notifications to users, informing them that if they did not agree to its new terms then they won't be able to access the service after February 8, 2021.

Ever since WhatsApp introduced its new terms, users around the globe are switching to Signal and Telegram, its rival messaging platforms.

Khilji, who is also a director at digital rights organisation Bolo Bhi, had said that one-to-one conversations between users will “remain encrypted”.

However, he explained WhatsApp will provide “some information” to its parent company Facebook.

Khilji had said WhatsApp will now be able to share a user’s status, mobile being used, internet and the phone number and IP address being used by an account.

“They will use this information to target you through Facebook ads,” the Bolo Bhi director had said.

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WhatsApp posts first Status update to ease users' privacy concerns

WhatsApp has started to use its own Status feature update in a bid to allay users' concerns that the app will not violate their privacy.

Bought by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps of all time, used by an estimated two billion people across the globe.

However, ever since its announcement a few weeks ago that WhatsApp has the right to share user data across its other units such as Messenger and Facebook, users around the globe have been switching to other messaging platforms.

The user data included phone numbers, locations and other information.

"We'll let you know about new features and updates here," read WhatsApp's first ever Status post. "One thing that isn't new is our commitment to your privacy."

WhatsApp clarified to users that it "can't read or listen to your personal conversations as they're end-to-end encrypted", which has been one of the main causes of concern for people, businesses and even some governments.

However, WhatsApp has not said that it was planning to reverse its move and seems adamant on its data-sharing decision.

WhatsApp had sent in-app notifications to users, informing them that if they did not agree to its new terms then they won't be able to access the service after February 8, 2021.

Ever since WhatsApp introduced its new terms, users around the globe are switching to Signal and Telegram, its rival messaging platforms.

Khilji, who is also a director at digital rights organisation Bolo Bhi, had said that one-to-one conversations between users will “remain encrypted”.

However, he explained WhatsApp will provide “some information” to its parent company Facebook.

Khilji had said WhatsApp will now be able to share a user’s status, mobile being used, internet and the phone number and IP address being used by an account.

“They will use this information to target you through Facebook ads,” the Bolo Bhi director had said.

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Russian MPs vote for extension of N-treaty with US

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the extension of a key nuclear pact was a positive development in reducing global tensions, as lawmakers unanimously voted to ratify the agreement to prolong New START in a rare moment of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

“No doubt it is a step in the right direction,” Putin said at the World Economic Forum summit being held virtually this year, addressing the body for the first time since 2009.

But the Russian leader warned: “The situation can still develop unpredictably and uncontrollably if we sit on our hands.” Earlier in the day 399 Russian lawmakers in parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, voted in favour of extending the agreement, with no votes against or abstentions. The upper house ratified the treaty extension later on Wednesday.

Putin submitted a bill extending the accord that both houses of parliament quickly ratified after the Russian leader and new US President Joe Biden held their first phone call Tuesday evening.

The New START treaty is the last remaining arms reduction pact between the former Cold War rivals.

The Kremlin hailed the extension of the pact for five years. “This is a good timeframe, which will allow us to work well — if the political will exists — to either further extend it or (agree) a new text of the agreement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Signed in 2010, New START caps to 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington, which control the world’s largest nuclear arsenals.

The agreement, which is due to expire on February 5, is seen as a rare opportunity for compromise between Moscow and Washington, whose ties have dramatically deteriorated in recent years.

Biden signalled a tough US stance on Russia in his phone call with Putin, raising concerns over human rights and “aggression” against Ukraine.

The US leader also raised a raft of worries about the Russian authorities’ treatment of opposition members, including the “poisoning of Alexei Navalny”, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

But the agreement to extend the New START pact raised hopes for greater stability between the world’s two most heavily armed nations, drawing a line under the uncertainty that entered under Donald Trump, whom Biden replaced last week.

The accord was signed by then-US president Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and was seen as a key component of Obama’s efforts to “reset” ties with the Kremlin.

Still, Peskov stressed on Wednesday that major differences between Moscow and Washington remained, indicating that a new reset was out of the question. “Of course so far there are no conditions for a reset,” Peskov said.

“It is enough that the presidents yesterday stressed the need to continue dialogue, having noted the existence of rather serious disagreements,” he added.

Talks on the nuclear arms reduction agreement last year had stalled over Trump’s insistence that China also become a party to the pact, even though Beijing made clear it would not participate. The Trump administration voiced willingness for a one-year extension ahead of the deadline but talks broke down over US insistence on tougher verification that Russia has frozen its nuclear work.

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