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  • Govt hints at relocating jailed Imran Khan

    Govt hints at relocating jailed Imran Khan

    Advisor to Prime Minister (PM) on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has hinted at the possibility of relocating jailed former premier Imran Khan in case of security or health concerns.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Sanaullah said that arrangements could be made under special provisions if any security or health issues arise.

    “However, nothing of the sort has so far been discussed,” he clarified.

    Sanaullah said that the decision to conduct the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder’s trial within jail premises was also made to ensure his safety. “If he [Imran Khan] is brought to the complex where courts are situated, it could be very dangerous,” he said, adding that it was also the reason why no one had objected to it.

    When asked if the verdict in the Al-Qadir Trust case against Khan had been deferred as part of the ongoing negotiations between the government and PTI, the former Punjab Law minister said the two had nothing to do with each other. The delay might have to do with the relevant judge’s unavailability, he added.

    “We [incumbent government] and the PTI are on the same page that the verdict in this case will not affect the negotiations,” Sanaullah said.

    It merits a mention that the government and the PTI have finally broken ice with negotiations formally starting to end the political deadlock that had been continuing for nearly three years.

    Both PM Shehbaz Sharif and the jailed PTI founder have formed negotiation committees in a bid to end tensions surrounding the crackdown on the opposition party.

    With talks continuing despite temporary setbacks, the former ruling party has so far put forth two key demands that include the formation of a judicial commission comprising to investigate the May 9, 2023, and November 24, 2024, events, besides the release of all the political prisoners.

    The talks had hit a roadblock amid the PTI’s refusal to submit its demands in writing without discussing it with party founder Khan amid an alleged ban on his meetings with the negotiation committee in jail.

    With the members of the PTI committee meeting Khan earlier this week, they were permitted to the submit their demands in writing, ending the deadlock.

    While a third round of talks is still awaited, the government has also asked the PTI to provide names of jailed party workers for discussion on their potential release from jail.

    Separately, unverified reports have also claimed backchannel talks between the PTI leadership and state authorities for the provision of relief to the incarcerated former PM as well.

  • Ankush Bhuguna’s harrowing scam experience: 40 Hours of fear, lies, a fake arrest

    Ankush Bhuguna’s harrowing scam experience: 40 Hours of fear, lies, a fake arrest

    Ankush Bhuguna, a popular Indian YouTuber, recently shared a shocking experience on Instagram.

    He received an international call informing him of a cancelled parcel order. The automated message asked him to press zero for more information. When he did, he was connected to someone pretending to be customer support, who claimed his parcel was seized by the police for illegal content.

    Things escalated quickly as Ankush was told the police had an arrest warrant and they could take him into custody anytime. Despite denying any knowledge of the parcel, his call was transferred to a fake police officer via a WhatsApp video. The imposter also accused him of serious crimes like money laundering and drug trafficking, demanding his cooperation.

    Ankush was threatened with career ruin and told to remain quiet, hand over his bank details, and send the money demanded. The YouTuber was terrified and felt trapped, crying and pleading for help. His ordeal lasted over 40 hours until his friends intervened and rescued him.

    This scam is part of a growing problem in India, where fraudsters use fear to trick victims into transferring money, and Ankush became one of the many who have fallen for such scams, which cost Indian citizens millions each year.

    The YouTuber warned others in an Instagram video describing the incident, which has been viewed over seven million times and widely shared.

  • Muhammad Asif Wins SAARC Snooker Championship 2025

    Muhammad Asif Wins SAARC Snooker Championship 2025

    Pakistani snooker star Muhammad Asif has claimed victory in the third South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Snooker Championship 2025 on Friday.

    In the final held in Colombo, Asif defeated Sri Lanka’s Talha Ishrat without dropping a single frame, securing the title with a flawless performance. 

    This win adds another accolade to Asif’s impressive career.

  • PIA resumes flights to Paris after 4.5 years: A gateway to revival

    PIA resumes flights to Paris after 4.5 years: A gateway to revival

    Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) saw the departure of the first flight of the national carrier to Europe after four and half years. Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) flight PK-749 took off on Friday Afternoon carrying 330 passengers and 14 crew members, as per Express Tribune.

    The moratorium in PIA’s services to Europe came about as a direct consequence of a post-crash speech by then-minister Ghulam Sarwar, who had claimed without any evidence that 40 percent of PIA’s pilots were flying with fraudulent licenses. Mr. Sarwar’s speech detrimentally impacted the airlines credibility and the airline lost its goodwill with customers which it had earned over the years.

    Nevertheless, after PIA flight 8303 crashed in Karachi, the company lost the rights to fly to various high traffic destinations such as the United States, Canada and the European Union (EU). Aviation Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif conceded that the national carrier had lost ‘hundreds of billions’ of rupees over the four and a half years when profitable routes remained closed off to Pakistani airlines.

    The inaugural flight ceremony was attended by a multitude of high profile senior officials such as the PIA CEO Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, Khawaja Asif, director generals of both the Civil Aviation and Pakistan Airport Authority.

    Mr. Asif commended the hard work PIA officials have displayed for Europe to reopen its airports to Pakistan. He also expressed great dissatisfaction with his predecessor, the former aviation minister, whose statements Mr. Asif believes negatively impacted the aviation sector.

    Mr. Asif also lamented the national carrier’s huge debt burden which stands at a staggering 800 billion rupees which the airline accrued while lucrative routes remained closed.

    With the first flight to Paris today serving as the gateway to future operations in the European Union and neighboring countries, PIA is on track to regain some of its former glory. Mr. Asif even announced that PIA will begin flights to the United Kingdom very soon.

    The Minister’s aspirations for additional routes aside, PIA intends to operate two flights between Islamabad and Paris a week. The first two flights are already fully booked and PIA is indicating that demand is not expected to slow down.

    This is because passengers having to fly to and from Pakistan and France faced excessive costs in the absence of PIA’s flights. However, with an increase in the supply of airlines offering to fly between the two destinations, airfares are expected to drop further.

    With PIA in control of lucrative routes and more routes to potentially open up, such as the United Kingdom, the airline could seem more attractive to investors. Speculators are expecting that PIA’s privatization could pick up pace with the company set to generate healthy cash flows in the upcoming periods.

  • ‘Real-world harm’ if Meta ends fact-checks, global network warns

    ‘Real-world harm’ if Meta ends fact-checks, global network warns

    WASHINGTON: A global network on Thursday cautioned that there would be “real-world harm” if Meta expands its decision to do away with fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram while refuting Mark Zuckerberg’s assertion that this kind of moderation is tantamount to censorship.

    Countries like Australia and Brazil are alarmed by the surprise announcement of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, this week to drastically reduce content filtering regulations in the US. 

    The tech tycoon said fact-checkers were “too politically biased” and the programme had led to “too much censorship”.

    But the International Fact-Checking Network, which includes AFP among its dozens of member organisations globally, said the censorship claim was “false”.

    “We want to set the record straight, both for today’s context and for the historical record,” said the network.

    Facebook pays to use fact checks from around 80 organisations globally on the platform, as well as on WhatsApp and Instagram.

    There could be devastating consequences if Meta broadens its policy shift beyond US borders to programmes covering more than 100 countries, the International Fact-Checking Network warned.

    “Some of these countries are highly vulnerable to misinformation that spurs political instability, election interference, mob violence and even genocide,” the network said.

    “If Meta decides to stop the programme worldwide, it is almost certain to result in real-world harm in many places,” it added.

    AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook’s fact-checking scheme.

    In that programme, content rated “false” is downgraded in news feeds so fewer people will see it and if someone tries to share that post, they are presented with an article explaining why it is misleading.

    Zuckerberg courts Trump

    Meta’s policy overhaul came less than two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office and it aligns with the Republican Party’s stance.

    Trump has been a harsh critic of Meta and Zuckerberg for years, accusing the company of bias against him and threatening to retaliate against the tech billionaire once back in office.

    Zuckerberg has been making efforts to reconcile with Trump since his election in November, meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and donating one million dollars to his inauguration fund.

    The Meta chief also named Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) head Dana White, a close ally of Trump, to the company board.

    Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network, said Tuesday the decision came after “extreme political pressure.”

    The move “will hurt social media users who are looking for accurate, reliable information to make decisions about their everyday lives and interactions with friends and family.”

    Australia said Meta’s decision was “a very damaging development”, while Brazil warned it was “bad for democracy”.

    Meta’s move into fact-checking came in the wake of Trump’s shock election in 2016, which critics said was enabled by rampant disinformation on Facebook and interference by foreign actors, including Russia, on the platform.

  • Mehwish Hayat’s fun birthday bash: Celebrities, cake, and endless glamour

    Mehwish Hayat’s fun birthday bash: Celebrities, cake, and endless glamour

    If only there was a reality show about how to throw the perfect birthday party—Mehwish Hayat would definitely be the host.


    Renowned actress Mehwish Hayat recently celebrated her 37th birthday on January 6.

    She shared photos and videos of the event on Instagram, which was attended by her mother, fellow actors, and other people from the entertainment industry. 


    Many celebrities, who were all dressed in stylish black outfits, attended the celebration. The birthday cake was also decorated in black and white, adding a touch of elegance to the event.


    Fellow actors congratulated Mehwish Hayat on her special day, sharing their best wishes for her.

    Fans also took to social media to express their love and best wishes for her future.


    Check the post below:

  • Teenagers burn father alive after rape allegations

    Teenagers burn father alive after rape allegations

    Two teenage step-sisters were arrested for killing their father by setting him on fire after alleging that he molested them. 

    The two were arrested in Punjab’s Gujranwala city, where they had confessed to burning their father on January 1. 


    The father was taken to Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, where he succumbed to his injuries on January 7.”The girls said that they decided amongst themselves to find a ‘permanent solution’,” Rizwan Tariq, a senior police official in the city, told an international news agency.  They then took petrol from a motorcycle and set their father on fire as he slept, he added.


    The two girls, aged 16 and 12, told the police officials that the deceased had been raping the eldest girl, his stepdaughter, for a year and had twice attempted to molest the younger girl.


    Their mothers — who are both married to the man — knew about the abuse but were not aware of the revenge plan.


    The police further informed that one of the wives has also been arrested while the second is being questioned.


    “We expect to present them before the court in a few days, as soon as we finish the investigation,” the police official said.


    On January 7, it was reported that two step-sisters living in the same house as their father, Ali Akbar, 45, tied him up with ropes and set him on fire in Gujranwala on January 1, 2025.

    A case has been registered on the complaint of Akbar’s sister, Bilqis Bibi, who stated that she was informed about the incident by her other sibling on the phone, who told her to reach Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, where Ali Akbar was being treated. She further stated in the First Information Report (FIR) that her brother had married twice, and the two women lived together. She accused the victim’s wives, named Saira and Nazia, of assisting the two teenage girls in intoxicating the victim and setting him on fire. 


    She even claimed to have the recorded confession of the four women.

    A private media outlet reported that Akbar had married three times and had 10 children before his first wife died. He was now living with two wives and all the children in a rented house. 

    As per the FIR lodged by the victim’s sister, one of the suspects is the daughter of Akbar’s third wife with her former husband, while the second suspect is the daughter of his second wife. Police have taken the two wives and the teenage girls into custody.

    In a confessional statement to the police, the girls admitted to tying up their father while he was asleep and setting him ablaze using petrol extracted from a motorbike.

    Moreover, a case has been registered under Sections 302, 324 and 34 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

    Read more: Daughters burn father to death in Gujranwala

  • Hollywood celebrities lose homes in LA fires

    Hollywood celebrities lose homes in LA fires

    Film and television stars are among hundreds of people who have lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires that have ravaged parts of the world’s showbiz capital.

    These are some of the best-known celebrities who have been impacted by the blazes this week:

    – Paris Hilton –

    Hotel heiress Paris Hilton, 43, said she watched her seafront Malibu home burn to the ground on live television, writing on Instagram that she was “heartbroken.”

    “My heart aches for those still in harm’s way or mourning greater losses. The devastation is unimaginable,” Hilton wrote.

    She later shared a video of her five Pomeranians in the back of a car and said she was traveling to a hotel to take shelter.

    – Anthony Hopkins –

    Two-time Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, perhaps best known for his role in “The Silence of the Lambs,” reportedly lost his luxurious home.

    Pictures appeared to show the 87-year-old’s property burned to the ground, though Hopkins has yet to issue a public statement.

    – Jeff Bridges –

    Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges, known for cult classic “The Big Lebowski,” lost the Malibu home that he shares with his family, a representative told entertainment news site TMZ.

    – Billy Crystal –

    “When Harry Met Sally” star Billy Crystal said the home he had lived in for 46 years was destroyed, with only a tennis court remaining.

    “Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” Crystal, 76, said in a joint statement with his wife Janice.

    – Eugene Levy –

    US media reported that a home belonging to “Schitt’s Creek” and “American Pie” actor Eugene Levy burned to the ground.

    Levy had previously told the Los Angeles Times how he traveled through black smoke to evacuate his celebrity-studded neighborhood.

    – John Goodman –

    “Roseanne” actor John Goodman’s home was burned to the ground, according to photos published by People Magazine that showed a pile of smoldering rubble.

    Goodman, who co-starred in “The Big Lebowski,” had not issued any public statement on his property.

    – Mark Hamill –

    “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill told followers on Instagram that he had fled his Malibu home with his wife and pet dog, escaping down a road flanked by active fires.

    Hamill, 73, did not confirm if his house was destroyed but said his family were “fleeing for our lives.”

    – Jennifer Grey –

    “Dirty Dancing” star Jennifer Grey lost her home to the blaze, her daughter wrote on Instagram.

    “Last night my mama’s house was burnt to the ground,” Stella Gregg wrote on Instagram, adding that Grey was safe.

    – Cary Elwes –

    “The Princess Bride” star Cary Elwes said on Instagram that his home was destroyed after he and his family evacuated.

    Elwes, 62, had earlier shared a video driving along the winding LA hills that showed an orange blaze in the distance, describing the scene as “biblical.”

    – Adam Brody –

    Golden Globes nominee Adam Brody (“Nobody Wants This,” “The OC”) and his actress wife Leighton Meester (“Gossip Girl”), who were on the red carpet on Sunday, reportedly lost their home in the Pacific Palisades.

    People magazine obtained pictures of their home engulfed in flames.

    – Miles Teller –

    “Whiplash” star Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh Teller had their home destroyed by fire, according to photos published by People magazine.

    Teller, who also appeared in “Top Gun: Maverick,” did not publicly comment.

    – James Woods –

    Emmy-winning actor James Woods posted a video on X showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his Pacific Palisades property.

    “I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one,” said the 77-year-old Woods.

    – Jamie Lee Curtis –

    Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to evacuate, writing on Instagram: “Our beloved neighborhood is gone. Our home is safe. So many others have lost everything.”

    She announced on Thursday that she was giving $1 million to those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles.

  • FIA launches probe into Maryam Nawaz’s AI video

    FIA launches probe into Maryam Nawaz’s AI video

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Wing has initiated an inquiry into individuals involved in editing and spreading doctored images and videos of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on social media.

    The doctored images and deepfake videos circulated on the internet after Nawaz, while accompanying Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on January 5, greeted the Emirati President with a handshake.

    Lahore’s FIA Cybercrime Wing has stated that action will be taken against individuals involved in uploading AI-generated videos and fake images – whether the culprits are situated in Pakistan or abroad.

    The News quoted FIA sources who have reported that 10 social media accounts have been identified for allegedly spreading fabricated content intended to propagate negative narratives.

    Deepfakes that manipulate genuine audio, photos, or video of people into false likenesses are becoming increasingly convincing and easier to make as AI enters the mainstream.

    In May 2022, the FIA Cybercrime Wing arrested a man in Peshawar on charges of circulating fake videos of Maryam Nawaz on social media, specifically on X (formerly Twitter).

    Doctored images and fake videos are used to discredit individuals’ roles in society, and politicians, actresses, and well-known social media activists have been victims of this in recent years.

    Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari had been the victim of the deepfake video. 

    In an interview with the Associated France Press (AFP), she voiced the urgency of tackling fake images Bokhari asserted that the judiciary and the system of police need to be modernised to counter such issues as deepfake videos are frequently used to discredit women.

    In Pakistan, where media literacy is poor, AI is weaponised to defame women in the public sphere with sexual innuendo deeply damaging to their reputations in a country with conservative mores.

  • 2024 breaks records as the hottest year in human history

    2024 breaks records as the hottest year in human history

    2024 has officially become the hottest year ever in human history.

    The average global temperature in 2024 was recorded as 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, marking it the hottest year in human history. The significant increase was confirmed by the European climate agency Copernicus, which stated that the average temperature for 2024 was 1.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

    In fact, 2024 may have been the hottest year in the last 100,000 years. Previously, 2023 held the record for the hottest year, with the global temperature being 1.48 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial times.

    The primary reason for the rise in temperature is the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas, which has adversely affected lives and livelihoods across the globe. The 2015 Paris Agreement aimed to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius, but that goal has already been surpassed.

    Data from the climate agency also highlights that on July 10, 2024,  44 percent of the Earth’s surface experienced extreme heat. Additionally, July 22, 2024, was recorded as the hottest day in history.

    Experts believe that carbon dioxide emissions reached record levels in 2024, indicating insufficient progress in finding alternatives to fossil fuels. The first half of the year saw a temperature rise partly due to the El Niño phenomenon, a climate pattern that warms a large part of the Pacific Ocean, raising global temperatures.

    However, even after El Niño subsided, the second half of 2024 did not see a decrease in temperature intensity. Scientists suggest that an unexpected factor might have contributed, potentially accelerating future temperature rises.

    The European agency pointed out that the climate crisis caused by extreme heat is now unmistakable, with the intensity and duration of heat waves reaching levels once thought impossible.

    Experts warn that this is just the beginning, and future years may continue to set new heat records. 

    By the end of this century, 2024 might be remembered as one of the cooler years.