Technology

MOSCOW: A smoke alarm sounded on Thursday in Russia’s segment of the International Space Station (ISS) and astronauts smelled “burning” on board, Russia’s space agency and Nasa said. The incident, which the Russian space agency Roscosmos said happened at 01:55 GMT ahead of a scheduled spacewalk, is the latest in a string of problems to spur safety concerns over conditions …

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook and iconic eyewear brand Ray-Ban on Thursday launched their new smart glasses, the latest effort in a tricky, niche market but which the social media giant sees as a step toward its future. The “Ray-Ban Stories” shades can take pictures and video upon the wearer’s voice commands, and the frames can connect wirelessly to Facebook’s platform through …

SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Wednesday ramped up cloud collaboration tools for businesses, expecting “hybrid” work routines to remain even after the pandemic has ended. The internet titan competes with Microsoft, Zoom, Facebook and others with online services that employees can use to collaborate remotely. Tech giants turned to their own tools after abandoning campuses early in the pandemic, which fueled …

Vaccine developer Novavax said on Wednesday it has initiated an early-stage study to test its combined flu and COVID-19 vaccine. The trial, to be conducted in Australia, will enroll 640 healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 70 years and who have either been previously infected with the coronavirus or given an authorized COVID-19 shot at least eight weeks …

Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC), the makers of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, has announced that it would invest $100 million in the local production of hybrid electric vehicles. The amount will be invested over the period of three years, said the company in its filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday. “We are pleased to announce that, based …

Tech giant Microsoft is investigating reports of a code execution vulnerability that can put Windows systems at risk. The announcement was made on Microsoft’s website. “Microsoft is investigating reports of a remote code execution vulnerability in MSHTML that affects Microsoft Windows,” the statement read. “Microsoft is aware of targeted attacks that attempt to exploit this vulnerability by using specially-crafted Microsoft Office documents. …

WASHINGTON: Nasa has confirmed that its Perse­verance rover has succeeded in collecting its first rock sample on Mars. “I’ve got it!” the space agency tweeted in the early hours of Monday, alongside a photograph of a rock core slightly thicker than a pencil inside a sample tube. Nasa said last week it thought it had accomplished the feat, but poorly-lit …

Tech’s hot in Pakistan these days no matter how one looks at it. You could substantiate that claim by using the inflow of investment in startups, which has already crossed $250 million with four months to go, but if anything, that doesn’t depict the true extent. A more representative way probably would be to turn to new company incorporations where …

ISLAMABAD: As the telecom industry’s market size has grown to $16.9 billion after attracting $1.2bn in foreign direct investments in the last three years, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom is aiming to roll out 5G in 2023. The ministry has said that the target has also been welcomed by foreign investors too. In a recent presentation on the …

BERLIN: Germany has protested to Russia over attempts to steal data from lawmakers in what it suspects may have been preparation to spread disinformation before the upcoming German election, the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said that a hacker outfit called Ghostwriter has been combining conventional cyberattacks with disinformation and influence operations, and …