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  • Will Smith faces lawsuit for harassment, wrongful termination

    Will Smith faces lawsuit for harassment, wrongful termination

    Actor and rapper Will Smith has been sued for sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination by a violinist who toured with him last year. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, names Smith and his company Treyball Studios Management as defendants.

    The complainant, violinist Brian King Joseph, who finished third in Season 13 of America’s Got Talent, alleges he faced sexual misconduct while working as part of Smith’s touring entourage and was later dismissed after reporting the incident.

    Joseph had posted on social media in the days before filing the lawsuit, saying he had been hired for “a major, major tour with somebody who is huge in the industry” but could not discuss certain matters because of legal restrictions. 

    He wrote, “Getting fired or getting blamed or shamed or threatened or anything like that, simply for reporting sexual misconduct or safety threats at work, is not OK. And I know that there’s a lot of other people out there who have been afraid to speak up, and I understand. If that’s you, I see you. More updates to come soon.”

    According to the lawsuit, Joseph was hired by Smith in November 2024 to perform at a show and later invited to join his tour. The filing states that Smith engaged in what it describes as “predatory behaviour” and “deliberately grooming and priming Mr Joseph for further sexual exploitation”. 

    The suit quotes Smith as telling Joseph, “you and I have such a special connection, that I don’t have with anyone else,” along with similar remarks.

    Joseph performed during the Las Vegas leg of Smith’s Based on a True Story Tour in March. During the tour, Joseph alleges that his hotel room key and bag went missing. While the bag was later recovered by hotel management, the lawsuit claims someone had entered his room while he was away.

    Returning to the room, Joseph says he found wipes, a bottle of HIV medication bearing another person’s name, a beer bottle, an earring and a note that read, “Brian, I’ll be back no later [than] 5:30, just us,” signed “Stone F”.

    Hotel security found no signs of forced entry, and the filing states only members of Smith’s management team had access to the room at the time.

    Joseph reported the incident to hotel management, Smith’s representatives and local police. He was allegedly dismissed from the tour a few days later. 

    The suit quotes a representative of Smith as saying, “Everyone is telling me that what happened to you is a lie, nothing happened, and you made the whole thing up. So, tell me, why did you lie and make this up?”

    The filing claims Joseph suffered post-traumatic stress and financial losses following his dismissal and alleges that the termination was in retaliation for reporting the incident.

  • Aircraft & explosions: Did US just attack Venezuela?

    Aircraft & explosions: Did US just attack Venezuela?

    Airplanes, loud blasts and at least one column of smoke were reported over Venezuela’s capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday, foreign media outlets reported.

    Residents in the southern part of the city, close to a major military base, experienced power outages as the explosions echoed through the area.

    The sudden detonations come after US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a naval task force to the Caribbean, raised the prospect of ground operations in Venezuela. 

    Explosions continued to be heard around 2:15 am, though their precise location remained uncertain.

    Earlier this week, Trump announced that US forces had struck and destroyed a docking area allegedly used by Venezuelan drug boats.

    The president did not clarify whether the attack was carried out by the military or the CIA, nor did he disclose the exact location, saying only that it occurred “along the shore”. If confirmed, this would mark the first known US land strike on Venezuelan soil.

    President Nicolas Maduro has not confirmed or denied Monday’s operation, but told the media on Thursday that he is open to cooperation with Washington after weeks of mounting US military pressure.

    The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and says it is intensifying efforts against narcotics trafficking in the region.

    Maduro, however, denies any involvement in drug operations, framing US actions as an attempt to topple his government and seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves – the largest known in the world.

    Washington has escalated pressure on Caracas through informal airspace closures, additional sanctions and seizure orders against tankers carrying Venezuelan oil. 

    For weeks, Trump has warned that ground strikes against drug cartels in the Caribbean would begin “soon”, with Monday’s attack being the first example.

    US forces have also conducted numerous strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting vessels that Washington claims are involved in drug smuggling. 

    The administration is yet to provide evidence linking the targeted boats to narcotics operations, sparking debates over the legality of these operations.

    The maritime strikes have proven deadly: according to information released by the US military, at least 107 people have been killed in at least 30 strikes.

  • BCCI tells SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman amid threats from Hindu hardliners

    BCCI tells SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman amid threats from Hindu hardliners

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has instructed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

    BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the decision and said the board will allow KKR to sign a replacement player if the franchise chooses to do so.

    “Due to the recent developments that are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Saikia told an India media outlet.

    Rahman was the only Bangladeshi player to be sold in the IPL 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on December 16. He was bought by KKR for Rs9.2 crores.

    Mustafizur has been a fixture in the IPL since 2016, playing for multiple franchises including Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Chennai Super Kings. The left-arm pacer has taken 65 wickets in 60 matches at an economy rate of 8.13. Last season, he returned to Delhi Capitals as an injury replacement.

    The decision follows threats from a hardliner Hindutva activists who warned they would beat up Bangladeshi cricketers if they participated in the IPL. The activists also issued a warning to Bollywood star and KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan against allowing Bangladeshi players to represent his team.

    Relations between the two South Asian neighbors have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks. Dhaka suspended visa and consular services at its missions in New Delhi and Agartala on December 22 following protests outside the facilities.

    India responded by suspending visa services at its Chittagong visa application center in Bangladesh after violent protests erupted following the death of prominent Bangladeshi activist Sharif Osman Hadi. 

    The 32-year-old activist, a harsh critic of India, died on December 18 in a Singapore hospital after masked gunmen shot him in the head in Dhaka a week earlier. Hadi played a key role in the 2024 uprising that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.

    Tensions escalated further after the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu man who was lynched and burned in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district over blasphemy allegations.

    New Delhi and Dhaka summoned each other’s envoys earlier this week in a tit-for-tat move. The visa freeze affects tens of thousands of Bangladeshis seeking medical treatment in India.

  • Police suspect ‘honour killing’ after four bodies recovered from Karachi manhole

    Police suspect ‘honour killing’ after four bodies recovered from Karachi manhole

    Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed on Saturday that four decomposed bodies discovered in a pit on Mai Kolachi Road the previous night showed multiple signs of assault and torture. 

    Police found the bodies of two males and two females in a bushy area within the limits of the Docks police station on Friday. The victims ranged in age from 10 to 40 years, while investigators believe the bodies are four to five days old.

    Authorities took the corpses to Civil Hospital, where officials completed medico-legal formalities late Friday night.

    Dr Summaiya detailed the injuries found on each victim. A boy aged between 13 to 14-years-old had sustained multiple injuries to his head, face and neck. Another boy, around age 10, sustained injuries to his throat.

    A girl aged between 14 to 15 also suffered multiple injuries to her head, face and neck. The fourth victim, a woman around 40-years-old, had evidence of injuries to her skull.

    South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told a media outlet that authorities have not yet confirmed the identities of the victims. Police moved the bodies to an Edhi morgue for identification.

    He said there was no CCTV footage from the area where investigators discovered the bodies.

    Police have not registered a First Information Report (FIR) so far as investigators wait for relatives to approach them to identify and claim the bodies. If no one comes forward, authorities will register an FIR on behalf of the state, Raza added.

    The DIG said the victims’ injuries appear to have come from an axe or a sharp-edged weapon. However, he noted that the exact cause of death will only become clear once officials finalise the autopsy report.

    Raza suggested that since three of the victims appear to be children and the fourth a woman in her 40s, they may all belong to the same family.

    “So the gruesome killing may be linked with so-called ‘honour killings’,” he said.

  • Pakistan to auction 600MHz spectrum, 5G services to follow

    Pakistan to auction 600MHz spectrum, 5G services to follow

    Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja has announced that the government would auction the 600-megahertz (MHz) spectrum next month, ultimately introducing 5G services and faster internet speeds.

    Referring to Pakistan as a “spectrum-starved country”, she said that the 600MHz spectrum auction procedure had been cleared by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the auction is expected to take place within the next two months.

    “The spectrum available for our telecom industry is extremely limited,” the minister said, adding that telecom operators were currently providing services using just 274MHz.

    “We are a country of 240 million people with only 274MHz of spectrum,” she said and compared Pakistan’s spectrum availability to that of other nations in the region.

    She noted that Bangladesh, with about two-thirds of Pakistan’s population, provides 600MHz.

    The range of radio frequencies utilised to send wireless signals for radio, television, cell phones and internet services is referred to as spectrum. Certain frequency bands within this spectrum are used by mobile technology, such as 3G, 4G and 5G. While Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are among the South Asian nations that have introduced 5G services, Pakistan has not been able to do so yet.

    The minister said Pakistan’s spectrum availability was the lowest in the region due to the absence of major spectrum auctions over the past several years. She said the upcoming auction would support improvements in existing services and pave the way for new technology.

    “It will not only improve our 3G and 4G services, but also introduce 5G in Pakistan for the first time,” she said.

    Internet connectivity, according to Khawaja, should be seen as “critical infrastructure” just like highways were in the past.

    She said internet plays a role in social sector development, economic policymaking, and national and personal security. “We cannot advance without this degree of connectivity.” 

    In order to boost economic activity and generate job prospects, she continued, connection should be viewed as an “enabling tool”.

    Khawaja said that the government was trying to make sure the auction was completed by the end of January or the beginning of February.

    The minister linked the auction to the government’s digitisation agenda under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, 2025, saying internet access was central to these efforts.

  • Pakistan’s first computer chip plant to be set up in Faisalabad

    Pakistan’s first computer chip plant to be set up in Faisalabad

    Pakistan’s first-ever computer chip manufacturing unit will be established in Faisalabad, with the Punjab government also allocating 50 acres of land for a state-of-the-art expo centre in the M-3 Industrial Estate, Provincial Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment Chaudhary Shafay Hussain announced.

    According to Hussain, the Punjab government has made important choices to expedite the colonisation of the Allama Iqbal and M-3 industrial estates.

    He said a community centre would be built for foreign workers, alongside completion of boundary walls and the establishment of a dedicated monitoring cell in both estates.

    He noted that similar actions are being taken to fully develop industrial estates throughout the province and that efforts are underway to give better banking and commercial facilities to industrial units operating in these zones.

    Speaking about industries related to agriculture, the minister stated that the government has started a program to increase cotton production, with research and development concentrated on producing high-yield, disease-resistant seeds.

    During a briefing on the Small Industrial Estate in Faisalabad, Hussain stated that interest-free loans are available via the Asan Karobar Scheme and that infrastructure-related concerns are being addressed. 

    Additionally, he declared that in 2026, three women’s training facilities would-be built-in Gujrat, Layyah, and Sahiwal; the second phase of the facility would-be built-in Faisalabad. 

    He further revealed that Faisalabad and Shymkent, a major industrial city in Kazakhstan, are being declared twin cities, a move he said would open new avenues of industrial and trade cooperation.

    Speaking on the occasion, FCCI President Farooq Yousaf Sheikh said the pace of colonisation at the M-3 and Allama Iqbal industrial estates had improved, but warned that a growing trust deficit between government institutions and the private sector was hurting exports. 

    He alleged that as many as 32 departments were harassing industrial units, adding that containers cleared by customs officials were still being stopped en route to ports.

    Sheikh also highlighted the sharp rise in production costs due to soaring electricity and gas prices, and said delays in refunds now stretching to 90 days instead of the earlier 15 had triggered a liquidity crunch for exporters. 

    He said exports could be pushed to $100 billion if a business-friendly environment and consistent policies were ensured.

    FCCI Vice President Engr Asim Munir, along with executive members and former office-bearers, participated in the question-and-answer session.

  • Big Bash: Haris Rauf under fire for failing to defend 10 runs in final over

    Big Bash: Haris Rauf under fire for failing to defend 10 runs in final over

    Haris Rauf’s struggles in death overs continued in the Big Bash League (BBL) as he failed to defend 10 runs in the final over against Brisbane Heat, handing his opponents a thrilling victory at the Gabba.

    Melbourne Stars posted a competitive 195/6 in their 20 overs, setting up what looked like a defendable total. Brisbane Heat needed 10 runs from the last over with Max Bryant 36 runs off 23 balls and Xavier Bartlett 25 off 8 at the crease. Rauf stepped up to bowl the final over, but the result was all too familiar for the Pakistani pacer.

    Bartlett took a single off the first ball, then Bryant took a double, followed by a massive six and a boundary to seal the win. Brisbane chased down the target in 19.4 overs, losing just six wickets.

    Cricket fans on social media wasted no time roasting Rauf for yet another late-over collapse. One user wrote, “Only bowler who can do this,” while another asked, “Last over isko deta kon hai? [Who gives him the last over]” 

    “Haris Rauf finally found his form,” one fan joked sarcastically. Another added, “Haris Rauf always at the crime scene,” summing up his reputation for high-pressure failures.

    “Normal day at the office for Haris Rauf,” commented another user, highlighting how this has become a recurring theme in his career.

    This isn’t the first time Rauf has crumbled under pressure in the final over. His history of late-game collapses reads like a horror story for Pakistan fans.

    In the 2022 T20 World Cup against India, Pakistan needed to defend 28 runs off eight balls. Rauf bowled the 19th over and was smashed for two consecutive sixes by Virat Kohli on the last two balls. India won that match, and what seemed like a certain Pakistan victory slipped away.

    Fast forward to the 2025 Asia Cup final. India needed 10 runs in the last over, and once again, Rauf was the bowler. He conceded those runs in just four balls, giving away 50 runs in his four overs that day.

    Then came the 2024 T20 World Cup match against the USA. Rauf couldn’t defend 15 runs in the final over, forcing the game into a Super Over. The USA went on to beat Pakistan in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.

    Despite this loss, Melbourne Stars remain at the top of the BBL table with five wins from six matches.

  • Father-in-law beats son-in-law to death in Karachi

    Father-in-law beats son-in-law to death in Karachi

    A man was killed during a dispute with his in-laws in the Sachal area of Karachi, police said, adding that the main suspect fled the scene with his sons after the incident.

    According to police officials, the killing took place in huts near Jamali Bridge on the Super Highway. An argument broke out between the victim and his father-in-law, which escalated into violence.

    Police said the father-in-law, assisted by his sons, attacked the victim with sticks during the quarrel. 

    Rescue officials said volunteers of the Chhipa Welfare Association reached the location after receiving information about the incident. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

    The deceased was identified as Ram Ji, 32, son of Sachu.

    Sachal Station House Officer (SHO) Shabbir Hussain confirmed that the homicide took place, adding that initial findings pointed to a domestic dispute. Preliminary investigations show that Ram Ji had an argument with his father-in-law. During the quarrel, the father-in-law, along with his sons, assaulted him with sticks, which led to his death, the SHO said.

    The SHO said the father-in-law escaped from the scene with his sons, while efforts to trace them and continue the investigation are underway.

  • Angelina Jolie visits Egypt’s Gaza border

    Angelina Jolie visits Egypt’s Gaza border

    Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie on Friday visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza, where she met Red Crescent volunteers and truck drivers ferrying humanitarian aid, international news organisations have reported.

    Accompanied by an American delegation and received by former and current Egyptian officials, the Oscar-winning actor walked through the aid staging area at the crossing, stopping to speak with volunteers coordinating relief efforts as Israel’s humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalates. 

    Witnesses said Jolie listened intently as workers described delays and shortages, with long lines of trucks standing idle near the border.

    A Red Crescent volunteer told Jolie that “there are thousands of aid trucks just waiting” to enter Gaza, underscoring the scale of assistance blocked at the crossing.

    According to local media reports, Jolie who previously served as a special envoy for the UN refugee agency made the visit to observe the condition of injured Palestinians transferred to Egypt and to assess the flow of humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory.

    Neither Jolie nor Egyptian authorities have issued an official statement regarding the visit.

    The Rafah border crossing was expected to reopen under the ceasefire in effect in Gaza since October, but it has so far remained closed, further constraining the delivery of aid into the enclave that has already ensured genocide.

  • Up to five percent levy on mobile imports proposed to fund manufacturing drive

    Up to five percent levy on mobile imports proposed to fund manufacturing drive

    The federal government is considering imposing a levy of up to five percent on the import of mobile phones and electronic devices as part of a proposed manufacturing policy for 2026–33, according to media reports.

    The proposed levy is expected to generate $368 million, which would be used to localise mobile phone production in Pakistan. The policy is nearing completion and is awaiting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s assent.

    The current taxes on imported mobile phones are expanded upon by the Mobile and Electronic Device Manufacturing Policy. With a focus on boosting domestic production and exports, the program seeks to transition the sector from simple assembly operations to full-scale manufacturing within the nation.

    Under the policy framework, international mobile phone brands will be encouraged to establish manufacturing facilities in Pakistan. Local manufacturers are expected to receive support to expand their production capacity. The Engineering Development Board (EDB) has set a target of achieving 50 percent localisation in mobile phone manufacturing by 2033.

    The policy also includes targets related to electronic waste recovery. Authorities aim to achieve a 70 percent e-waste recovery rate by 2033 as part of the localisation drive. In addition, the policy outlines plans to train 50,000 skilled workers over the policy period, including 15,000 specialised professionals.

    Data from previous years shows growth in local assembly following regulatory approvals. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued 37 licences for local mobile phone assembly, leading to an increase in production from 0.1 million units in 2019 to 30.1 million units.

    By 2025, domestic production is expected to meet 93 percent of market demand. During the same period, mobile phone imports are projected to decline from 16 million units in 2019 to 2.04 million units.

    Pakistan has also started exporting mobile phones to markets including the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Investments in the sector are estimated at $250–300 million, contributing to the creation of between 50,000 and 60,000 direct and indirect jobs.