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  • VIDEO: Babar Azam meets Virat Kohli in Dubai ahead of Pak Vs India clash

    Team India landed in Dubai on August 23 and went straight to the nets to prepare for India’s match against Pakistan on August 28 (Sunday). Ahead of the much-anticipated match, players from both the teams met each other in Dubai.  The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video in which Virat Kohli could be seen meeting Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

    In the video, Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal were also chatting with Muhammad Nabi.

    Babar Azam retained his top spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I rankings. He is at the top of the rankings with 818 points, whereas Kohli has been struggling of late.

    Comparisons between the two had started long back and gathers steam ahead of a match between the two rival sides.

    Read more: ‘This too shall pass’, Pakistani captain Babar Azam backs Virat Kohli to regain form

    Asia Cup is all set to start from August 27 and Pakistan will be playing its first match against India on August 28 in Dubai.

    Babar and Kohli’s video has drawn massive reaction of fans from both countries. Here are some tweets.

  • Neighbour kills 7-year-old, dumps her body in water tank

    Neighbour kills 7-year-old, dumps her body in water tank

    Trigger warning: Murder

    A seven-year-old minor girl was killed in the Karpa area of Islamabad by a female neighbour and her male accomplice.

    According to the girl’s father, his daughter was burnt and her body was dumped in a water tank. After the incident, the minor girl’s father lodged a complaint against his female neighbour and her unidentified young abettor.

    In the First Information Report (FIR), the complainant told the police that his mother and wife along with daughter Maira went to their neighbor’s house to participate in Quran Khawani.

    The minor went up to the roof. After some time, the visitors smelled something burning. When they went to the roof, they saw a burning mattress but no sign of Maira. Later, Maira’s burnt body was recovered from a water tank kept on the roof.

    The complainant said his family members saw their female neighbour and an unidentified man fleeing the scene.

    Islamabad Police Operations Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) has also taken notice of the incident and directed the related police officials to arrest the suspects.

  • Qatar to invest $3 billion in Pakistan following PM Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit

    Qatar to invest $3 billion in Pakistan following PM Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit

    The state-owned investment fund of Qatar plans to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, an official statement from the office of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said on Wednesday, August 24.

    The administrative office of Qatar’s emir released the statement as Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif held official talks with Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha after a meeting with the sovereign fund official the day before.

    In the statement, the $450 billion Qatar Investment Authority announced its “aspiration to invest $3 billion in various commercial and investment sectors in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.

    The PM thanked the Qatari Emir for his hospitality and the $3 billion investment in Pakistan.

    Shehbaz Sharif is returning to Pakistan today, August 25, after his two-day official visit to Qatar.

  • Pakistani rupee extends losses, nearing Rs219 against dollar

    Pakistani rupee extends losses, nearing Rs219 against dollar

    After closing at Rs218.38 on Wednesday, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) dropped further versus the US dollar on Thursday morning during the intraday trade.

    As of 11:00am, the rupee depreciated by Rs0.61 or 0.27 per cent against the US dollar to Rs218.99 during intraday trading.

    It is worth noting that the local unit has been witnessing a downward trend since the beginning of this week. PKR fell on Wednesday for the third straight session showing a decline of 0.33 per cent.

    The fall occurs amid news that Pakistan’s cash-strapped economy may receive support from an investment of $3 billion by the Qatar Investment Authority, one of the biggest sovereign funds in the world.

    Oil prices, a crucial factor in determining currency parity, increased on Thursday as supply fears mounted in the wake of delays to Russian exports, the potential for major producers to reduce output, and the partial suspension of a US refinery.

    US West Texas Intermediate crude increased 42 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $95.31 a barrel, while Brent crude increased 59 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $101.81 per barrel.

    On Wednesday, the PKR declined by Rs7 for both buying and selling against the USD on the open market, finishing at Rs227 and Rs229, respectively.

  • Pakistani internet users may face more disruption

    Pakistani internet users may face more disruption

    Internet users in Pakistan are expected to face internet disruption in the coming days, reports Kalbe Ali for Dawn. The internet services in the country were disrupted due to flood relief work in Sindh.

    Minister of Information and Telecommunications Syed Aminul Haque said that initial reports of previous internet outages that happened this month indicated that the situation was severe and that more such incidents could be expected in the near future.

    “Due to extensive flooding, most of the pathways of underground cables have been submerged, as relief workers or locals were trying to divert flood water by digging trenches on roads and footpaths.”

    “The ministry has directed PTCL to declare an emergency so that repair work could be initiated when any such incident is reported in the system, while the PTA is constantly monitoring the quality of service,” the minister added.

    According to a technical report submitted on Wednesday by Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, the repeated internet outages were caused primarily by flood relief efforts in the Sukkur division, where fibre-optic cables were damaged by the use of heavy machinery used to drain out flood water in Sindh.

    Read more- Here’s why the internet was down in Pakistan last night

    The internet services in Pakistan suffered two major disruptions this month on August 19 and August 22.

  • Electric current was used on my penis and testes, says Gill

    Electric current was used on my penis and testes, says Gill

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill told journalist Matiullah Jan that electric current was used on his genitals. He was responding to a question on the alleged sexual abuse.

    “Yes, it is true. Electric current was used on my testes and penis. This is the sexual abuse I was talking about. I was tortured as electric current was used on my penis and testes so that I could give a statement against someone,” said Gill.

    Earlier, Gill confirmed that he was sexually assaulted in police custody.

    “Yes, it’s true”, said Gill. His statement came after PTI Chairman Imran Khan claimed that Gill was sexually abused while in police custody.

    Read more: ‘Yes, it’s true’: Shahbaz Gill confirms he was sexually assaulted in police custody

    In a series of tweets Khan said, “All the pictures and videos show clearly Gill was tortured both mentally and physically, including sexual abuse — most too gruesome to relate.”

    Read more: Islamabad court rejects plea to send Gill on physical remand

    It is pertinent to mention here that a district and sessions court in Islamabad on Wednesday, August 24, rejected a request by the Islamabad Police for an extension in the physical remand of Gill.

  • ‘Stupid, Insensitive, left Alia flabbergasted’: Fatima Khan blasts Ranbir Kapoor

    ‘Stupid, Insensitive, left Alia flabbergasted’: Fatima Khan blasts Ranbir Kapoor

    Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor landed in a controversy recently when his comment on his wife Alia Bhatt went viral on social media. Netizens felt Ranbir body-shamed Alia when he said that she has ‘pheloed’. The Raazi star is expecting her first child with Kapoor. The comment went viral on social media and the actor was slammed left, right and centre.

    Ranbir has now clarified his comment and issued an apology to fans who were hurt by his words.

    The actor, at an event on Wednesday, said that he loves his wife and that comment was a joke that didn’t land. He also clarified that it wasn’t his intention to hurt anyone. “Yes, absolutely. Firstly, let me start with, I love my wife with everything that I have in my life. And what happened on that, I think it’s a joke that didn’t turn out to be funny. I really want to apologize if I have triggered anyone. It was not my intention. So I want to say sorry to people who got offended or triggered,” said the actor. Ranbir also said that he spoke to his wife about it and she really laughed it off. “She didn’t mind it. But I do have a bad sense of humour and sometimes it falls flat on my own face. So I am sorry if I have hurt anyone about it,” the actor said at the event.

    However prior to Ranbir’s apology, actor Ahmad Ali Butt’s wife and former model Fatima Khan slammed Ranbir for his derogatory remarks.

    Fatima posted on her Instagram stories, “Stupid joke by an insensitive jerk. Poor girl was flabbergasted and speechless because of being embarrassed. Don’t know when will men understand the stress, insecurities and vulnerabilities, a woman go through during pregnancy.”

    Khan concluded by mentioning, “If such an educated man can be so ignorant, I have no hope left.”

  • India forced Twitter to hire agent, reveals former security chief

    India forced Twitter to hire agent, reveals former security chief

    According to a whistleblower statement to US authorities, a former Twitter security head said that the Indian government pressured the social media company to hire a government agent.

    Along with other security breach allegations at Twitter, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko brought up the matter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

    According to a redacted version of the lawsuit posted by the Washington Post and confirmed by Zatko’s attorney at Whistleblower Aid, he claimed that Twitter’s lax security measures would have allowed the government agent access to sensitive user data.

    Without going into further detail, a corporate source told Reuters that the claims against the Indian government have already appeared on Twitter.

    Requests for comment from the Indian IT ministry’s representatives were not immediately responded.

    “What we’ve seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack important context,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

    India is engaging in unlawful activities and content on Twitter, according to the company’s management.

    After asking a local court to reverse several government orders to remove content from the social media site and alleging official abuse of authority, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the Indian government in July.

    The case’s next hearing will take place on August 25.

    “The company did not in fact disclose to users that it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll,” Zatko’s complaint noted.

    According to Washington Post, the National Security Division of the US Justice Department and the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have received documentation corroborating Zatko’s assertions.

    CNN claims that these revelations of Twitter’s carelessness represent a serious threat to democracy and national security.

  • In Pictures: Europe’s worst drought in 500 years exposes ancient stones, WWII ships

    In Pictures: Europe’s worst drought in 500 years exposes ancient stones, WWII ships

    Europe is facing its worst drought in at least 500 years. According to the most recent Global Drought Observatory report, 47 per cent of Europe is in “warning” conditions, which means the soil has dried up.

    This summer’s record-breaking temperatures in Europe have disrupted transportation, displaced thousands, and resulted in hundreds of heat-related deaths. The recent heatwave has also fuelled destructive wildfires.

    “The combination of a severe drought and heatwaves has created an unprecedented stress on water levels in the entire European Union,” European Innovation Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in a statement.

    The low water levels have exposed long-submerged treasure and ancient stones across Europe. German World War II ships have also been exposed to drought.

    Have a look at the pictures:
    Wreckage of a World War II German warship in the Danube in Prahovo, Serbia
    World War II bomb was discovered in the dried-up River Po in Borgo Virgilio, Italy, on August 7

    Remains of a bridge on the Tiber River near the Vittorio Emanuele
    “Hunger stones” revealed by the low level of water in Worms, Germany, on August 17

    The dolmen of Guadalperal, also known as the Spanish Stonehenge, in the outskirts of El Gordo, Spain, August 3

    Similarly, receding water levels of China’s Yangtze has revealed ancient Buddhist statues. They are believed to date to some 600 years ago.

  • ‘She’s still our daughter’: Behroze Sabzwari opens up about bond with Syra Yousuf

    ‘She’s still our daughter’: Behroze Sabzwari opens up about bond with Syra Yousuf

    Actor Behroze Sabzwari has opened up about his equation with former daughter-in-law Syra Yousuf in his latest interview with a digital magazine.

    Syra is like my daughter, she should settle down again

    The veteran actor said, “Syra is my daughter, even now. If their chemistry wasn’t compatible, we can’t do anything about it, it is up to God. All the people who trolled us, that was a difficult time for us to go through, it was harsh for Shahroz, for Syra and for the families. It was a very personal matter but people think they have a right over us, it’s not like that, we all have a personal life and social media has destroyed lives.”

    The Tanhaiyaan star is supportive of Syra’s moving on and starting another family. “We’ve never seen Syra as separate from us and we never will. I’ve said to her many a time, ‘Beta, get settled down. Why not? I’m standing behind you.’ Why not? She’s our daughter and Nooreh is our life.”

    Behroze opened up about the birth of the newest addition to the family, his second granddaughter and revealed her name. “She was born on 10th of Muharram, seven to eight minutes before 12. I think that 10th of Muharram is a big day for any Muslim. It is very important to me, Shahroz and the entire family. One of our elders, in connection to that, suggested Syeda Zahra Sabzwari. This is a really big present to us from Allah.”

    Shahroz Sabzwari and Sadaf Kanwal tied the knot in May 2020 and their union attracted a lot of buzz as the timing overlapped with the announcement of Shahroz’s divorce with his ex-wife Yousuf. The couple welcomed their daughter earlier this month. It was Behroze who had announced that Kanwal was expecting in April.

    Behroze Sabzwari speaks highly of his former daughter-in-law, Syra

    Talking about the bond between the two half-sisters he said, “You cannot even imagine how excited Nooreh is, you can’t believe it, even we can’t believe it! Yesterday she was with Zahra all day and she kept her in her own room. She said to Sadaf, ‘If you want to feed her, come here and feed her’. I swear, she said to me and Safina, ‘Out, papa out.’ She calls me papa, she calls Shahroz baba, Safina mumma, Syra mimi and Sadaf Sadaf as she’s good friends with her.”

    Earlier this year the father-son duo appeared together on Nida Yasir’s morning show.

    On being asked by the host that who amongst the two is a more expressive husband, Behroze was quick to answer that he doesn’t believes in being expressive in public and finds expressive couples to be fake.

    His son Shahroz added that he doesn’t like Public display of affection and he can’t do it. He also mentioned that it’s indeed fake love that couples express in public.

    Shahroz Sabzwari and Sadaf Kanwal Nikah Pictures -

    The Teri Rah Mein star added that he finds it weird when couples sit very close to each other, its just a pretense according to him and he can even challenge on this.

    “I can challenge, its fake, yeh 2 number miyan-biwi hain, isko 2 numbri kehte hai. Dikhaway ke liye kartay hain.”

    On the work front, Sabzwari was last seen in ARY’s Teri Rah Mein.