Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Google smart schools arriving in Pakistan

Google smart schools arriving in Pakistan
US tech giant Google is all set to establish 50 smart schools in Pakistan's federal capital and extend different projects including teacher workshops, youth training via Google Career Certificates, and the establishment of a public Google Reference School.

The Google for Education team, alongside its local partner Tech Valley, recently convened with the Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training to present forthcoming plans for Pakistan’s education sector.

Some 50 smart schools in Islamabad will be equipped with 30,000 Google for Education IDs which include features, powered by AI, like practice sets and a suite of digital tools for enhanced collaboration and productivity, the state news agency reported.

During the meeting, discussions extended to several upcoming initiatives, including teacher workshops on Google for Education tools, the establishment of a public Google Reference School, the training of 2,000 youths in job-ready skills through Google Career Certificates, and the potential collaboration on hosting an Edutech event with the Ministry of Federal Education in Pakistan.

In March, the US tech giant reaffirmed on International Women’s Day its dedication to empowering them further with the belief that by equipping women with the skills and resources they need, the country can unlock a future filled with greater equality, inclusion, and prosperity for all.

Google also recognised the incredible potential and aims to bridge these gaps by launching several programmes to help drive stronger equality and the empowerment of women in the workforce. One such example is the Google Career Certificates programme, launched in Pakistan in 2022.

At least 50% of the programme scholarships were allocated exclusively for women, in order to increase women's access to economic opportunities and enable them to pursue their aspirations. The programme awarded 44,500 scholarships in 2023 and has committed 45,000 new scholarships for 2024 to empower more learners.

The Google News Initiative (GNI), with the support of its local partners, also trained young journalists, providing opportunities for women to gain reporting experience, and addressing the accessibility of newsrooms.

UAE braces for more heavy rains after record-breaking downpour

UAE braces for more heavy rains after record-breaking downpour
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been witnessing some extreme weather conditions lately and after devastating downpours that hit Dubai and other emirates on April 16, the country braces for heavy to moderate rainfall starting Wednesday night.

Heavy thunderstorms lashed UAE earlier this month, dumping more than a year and a half’s rain on the desert city-state of Dubai in just a few hours leading to widespread disruption and flooding.

The country encountered its most substantial rainfall in only 24 hours between April 15 and 16, since records commenced 75 years ago.

As per Khaleej Times, more spells of torrential rain are expected from tomorrow and it is not anticipated to be the same as the rainfall encountered on April 16.

Citing a weather expert from UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), the publication has reported that the days ahead will witness moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Dr Ahmed Habib said that the challenging weather situation will peak during May 2 and 3.

“This will not be like last time’s situation. This will be completely different. The UAE will see cloud formation in the south of Abu Dhabi in Al Dhafra area that’ll gradually move towards the internal parts like Al Ain area. But May 3 will be the ‘peak’ of the situation,” he said.

As per the Met Department forecasts, the weather might improve over Friday and Saturday when the low pressure will move gradually towards the south, subsequently decreasing the amount of cloud. However, light to moderate rain can still be witnessed during this period.

“The influence will also stretch eastward from Abu Dhabi due to local factors. However, on Wednesday night, another scenario will unfold.”

Habib pointed out that the country will be impacted by an extension of surface low pressure from the Red Sea, accompanied by humid southeasterly winds.

“A similar low-pressure extension in the upper atmosphere from the north will also impact the conditions.” He elaborated that consequently, clouds will migrate from Saudi Arabia towards the UAE, commencing unstable weather conditions ‘late Wednesday night’.

 

Hamas, Fatah met for Palestinian reconciliation talks in Beijing

Rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas meet in China
Rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas have met in China for talks on potential reconciliation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said that the groups’ representatives had met recently. The groups have competed for years, but the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has provoked further talks on Palestinian reconciliation.

The two groups visited China to partake in an in-depth and candid dialogue on the prospect, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. He did not specify when the meeting took place.

“The two sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, discussed many specific issues and made positive progress,” he added.

“China and Palestine share a traditional friendship. We support Palestinian factions in achieving reconciliation and increasing solidarity through dialogue and consultation. We will continue to work actively towards that end.”

Representatives from the two groups, as well as other political factions, met in Moscow earlier this year to discuss the potential formation of a unified Palestinian government.

After defeating Fatah in 2007, Hamas has been the de facto ruler in Gaza since 2007, when it defeated President Mahmoud Abbas’s long-dominant party in parliamentary elections and pushed its rival out of the enclave for its refusal to recognise the result of the vote.

Meanwhile, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in the areas it administers across the occupied West Bank.

China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October, when a Hamas offensive resulted in the deaths of about 1,139 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Hamas and other armed groups also took about 250 captives during the offensive, with dozens of people still being held in Gaza.

In response, Israeli forces have killed at least 34,535 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the coastal enclave.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to end the war.

Researchers just found more than 1,000 new solar system objects

Researchers just found more than 1,000 new solar system objects
More than 1,000 previously undiscovered space rocks have been found in the solar system after covertly interfering with other cosmic objects for decades.

A new study demonstrates how artificial intelligence and citizen scientists worked together to find the asteroids concealed in Hubble Space Telescope archive photographs, according to Live Science.

According to Nasa, more than 1.3 million space pebbles have previously been found by scientists; the majority are located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

There are probably millions or perhaps hundreds of thousands of asteroids out there that have yet to be found.

But it's likely the case that the remaining space rocks are the smallest and thus faintest entities in the solar system as a whole, making them incredibly elusive.

In the current study, 1,031 previously unclassified asteroids from historical Hubble data were highlighted by researchers and published on March 15 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Artificial intelligence that was trained to recognise the faint light streaks produced by the small space pebbles by hundreds of citizen scientists was able to identify them.

"We were surprised to see such a large number of candidate objects," study lead author Pablo García-Martín, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain, said in a statement.

Monday, April 29, 2024

World Central Kitchen to resume operations in Gaza

World Central Kitchen to resume operations in Gaza
World Central Kitchen (WCK) will resume its operations in the Gaza Strip after seven of its aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike earlier this month.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible," the charity's chief executive officer, Erin Gore, said in a statement.

WCK will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible by land, air or sea, he added.

"We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah crossing. We’ll also send trucks from Jordan. We’re exploring the maritime corridor and utilizing the Ashdod Port.

"In addition to 68 community kitchens, we’re building a third high production kitchen in Mawasi (the other two are in Rafah and Deir al-Balah)," Gore added.

The Israeli attack killed seven aid workers -- three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, a US-Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian -- on April 1.

It has triggered strong condemnation around the globe and calls for accountability, with many, including WCK founder Jose Andres, disputing Israel’s claim that the attack was a “mistake” and a case of “misidentification.”

Gore said that before halting operations, WCK had distributed more than 43 million meals in Gaza since Oct. 7.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,400 Palestinians have since been killed and thousands injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Where to watch Elon Musk's amazing Starlink satellites launch?

Where to watch Elon Musk's amazing Starlink satellites launch?
Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX is set to lift off its Starlink satellites on the top of a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station into orbit of the Earth.

The launch will be conducted with a four-hour window that is set to commence at 5:50pm EDT (2150 GMT).

The event will be live-streamed on an X, formerly Twitter, account which will begin five minutes before the lift-off.

It is anticipated that if everything goes as per the plan, the rocket Falcon 9's first stage will fall back on Earth for a vertical landing about 8.5 minutes after the launch on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, reported Space.com.

In a mission description, SpaceX said, it will be the 13th launch and landing for the booster as half of the space vehicle’s earlier 12 flights were Starlink satellite missions.

The upper stage of the rocket is set to deploy the 23 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) about 65 minutes after liftoff.

On Saturday, Elon Musk’s company launched two of Europe's Galileo navigation satellites. The liftoff was the 20th for the rocket’s first stage that the company is attempting to reuse.

China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon’s ‘hidden’ side

China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon’s ‘hidden’ side
China will send a robotic spacecraft in the coming days on a round trip to the moon’s far side in the first of three technically demanding missions that will pave the way for an inaugural Chinese crewed landing and a base on the lunar south pole.

Since the first Chang’e mission in 2007, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, China has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration, narrowing the technological chasm with the United States and Russia.

In 2020, China brought back samples from the moon’s near side in the first sample retrieval in more than four decades, confirming for the first time that it could safely return an uncrewed spacecraft to Earth from the lunar surface.

This week, China is expected to launch Chang’e-6 using the backup spacecraft from the 2020 mission and collect soil and rocks from the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth.

With no direct line of sight with the Earth, Chang’e-6 must rely on a recently deployed relay satellite orbiting the moon during its 53-day mission, including a never-before-attempted ascent from the moon’s “hidden” side on its return journey home.

The same relay satellite will support the uncrewed Chang’e-7 and 8 missions in 2026 and 2028, respectively, when China starts to explore the south pole for water and build a rudimentary outpost with Russia. China aims to put its astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Beijing’s polar plans have worried NASA, whose administrator, Bill Nelson, has repeatedly warned that China would claim any water resources as its own.

Beijing says it remains committed to cooperation with all nations on building a “shared” future.

On Chang’e-6, China will carry payloads from France, Italy, Sweden and Pakistan, while Chang’e-7 will bear payloads from Russia, Switzerland and Thailand.

NASA is banned by US law from any collaboration, direct or indirect, with China.

Under the separate NASA-led Artemis programme, US astronauts will land near the south pole in 2026 — the first humans on the moon since 1972.

“International cooperation is key [to lunar exploration],” Clive Neal, professor of planetary geology at the University of Notre Dame, told Reuters. “It’s just that China and the US aren’t cooperating right now. I hope that will happen.”

South Pole ambitions

Chang’e-6 will attempt to land on the northeastern side of the vast South Pole-Aitkin Basin, the oldest known impact crater in the solar system.

The southernmost landing ever was carried out in February by IM-1, a joint mission between NASA and the Texas-based private firm Intuitive Machines.

After touchdown at Malapert A, a site near the south pole that was believed to be relatively flat, the spacecraft tilted sharply to one side amid a host of technical problems, reflecting the high-risk nature of lunar landings.

Scientists have described the south pole as the “golden belt” for lunar exploration. Polar ice could sustain long-term research bases, without relying on expensive resources transported from Earth.

India’s Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, confirmed the existence of ice inside polar craters.

Chang’e-6’s sample return could also shed more light on the early evolution of the moon and the inner solar system.

The lack of volcanic activity on the moon’s far side means there are more craters not covered by ancient lava flows, preserving materials from the moon’s early formation.

So far, all lunar samples taken by the United States and the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and China in 2020 were from the moon’s near side, where volcanism had been far more active.

Chang’e-6, after a successful landing, will collect about 2 kilogrammes of samples with a mechanical scoop and a drill.

“If successful, China’s Chang’e-6 mission would be a milestone-making event,” Leonard David, author of Moon Rush: The New Space Race, told Reuters. “The robotic reach to the Moon’s far side, and bringing specimens back to Earth, helps fill in the blanks about the still-murky origin of our Moon.”

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Palestinians in Rafah express thanks to US university protesters

Palestinians in Rafah express thanks to US university protesters
As pro-Palestine sit-ins continue to swell across US college campuses, the Gaza Strip's displaced population shared messages of thanks for the solidarity of the students, faculty, and others protesting Israel's offensive.

Using what limited means of expressions are left in the blockaded territory, where Israeli attacks have killed over 34,400 people, Palestinian man Abu Youssef Hamad wrote in English on his tent: "Thank you students in solidarity with Gaza. Your message has been received."

Speaking to media, Hamad, 43, said Palestinians in Gaza had "no way to express our gratitude to the students protesting in America other than writing a letter of thanks on our tents."

"We thank all the students who stood with us and expressed their solidarity as a result of the genocidal war taking place in Gaza," he added.

"Thank you, American universities," was written on another of the tents set up in the southern city of Rafah, where 1.4 million displaced people from other parts of the enclave have sought refuge.

Hamad added: "We express our thanks to everyone who stands with us."

He urged students to continue the demonstrations "until the devastating Israeli war that has been ongoing in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 ends."

Students at Columbia University in New York City launched a campus sit-in on April 18 to protest their school's continued financial ties to companies supporting Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and the genocide in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian student demonstrations have since spread to other leading US universities, including California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt; University of California, Berkeley; University of Southern California; University of Texas at Austin; Yale University; University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; Swarthmore College and University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania; University of Rochester in New York; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Tufts University; and Emerson College; Emory University; and University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,400 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,400 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Tel Aviv is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Israel to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Scientists finally find signs of life on planet twice the size of Earth

Scientists finally find signs of life on planet twice the size of Earth
In a historic event, researchers have detected a gas in the atmosphere of the planet K2-18b that could be "only produced by life", according to a recent report by The Times.

This comes as scientists from the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) revealed that scientists may soon find evidence of life outside our solar system via the James Web Space Telescope (JWST), the largest telescope ever sent into space.

The planet K2-18b is located beneath a constellation Leo, orbiting a star K2-18 which is believed to be roughly half the size of the sun.

This planet is around 2.6 times bigger than the Earth and, according to the report, scientists believe that dimethyl sulphide (DMS) gas in it's atmosphere may have been produced by "phytoplankton in marine environments".

Researchers are more than 50% confident that DMS is present in the planet's atmosphere.

However, so far, they have been unable to prove that DMS could be produced in the absence of living beings. But it is not a "conclusive evidence".

JWST, launched into space in 2021, conducts infrared astronomy, revealing several wonders, including the breathtaking pictures of space it sends to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

It has already discovered planets such as Wasp-107b, a planet with mass eight times that of Earth, and the giant planets of the Orion Nebula.

US intelligence says Putin 'probably' not behind Alexei Navalny's death: report

US intelligence says Putin 'probably' not behind Alexei Navalny's death: report
The intelligence agencies in the United States have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably didn't order opposition politician Alexei Navalny's murder earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Saturday reported.

Navalny, who was 47 when he died, was a staunch critic of Putin, 71, and was killed at an Arctic prison camp in February.

His allies accused the Russian president of having him murdered and said they will provide proof to back their allegation.

However, the Kremlin has denied any involvement.

Last month, Putin called Navalny's demise "sad" and said he had been ready to hand the jailed politician over to the West in a prisoner exchange provided Navalny never return to Russia. Navalny's allies said such talks had been under way, Reuters reported.

According to the WSJ report, that cited unnamed people familiar with the matter, the US intelligence agencies had concluded that Putin probably didn't order Navalny to be killed.

It said Washington had not absolved the Russian leader of overall responsibility for Navalny's death, however, given the opposition politician had been targeted by Russian authorities for years, jailed on charges the West said were politically motivated, and had been poisoned in 2020 with a nerve agent.

The Kremlin denies state involvement in the 2020 poisoning.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday he had seen the Journal's report, which he said contained "empty speculation".

"I've seen the material, I wouldn't say it's high quality material that deserves attention," Peskov told reporters when asked about the matter.

Reuters could not independently verify the WSJ report, which cited sources as saying the finding had been "broadly accepted within the intelligence community and shared by several agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit."

The US assessment was based on a range of information, including some classified intelligence, and an analysis of public facts, including the timing of Navalny's death and how it overshadowed Putin's re-election in March, the paper cited some of its sources as saying.

It cited Leonid Volkov, a senior Navalny aide, as calling the US findings "naive and ridiculous".

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Pro-Palestinian protests at US universities spread across the country

Pro-Palestinian protests at US universities spread across the country
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations continue in universities across the United States, as they also spread to schools in Europe and Australia.

In the second week of protests calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, thousands of students are calling on dozens of universities to divest from Israel.

Some universities have been forced to cancel their graduation ceremonies, while others have seen entire buildings occupied by protesting students.

One of the latest to join the movement is The City University of New York (CUNY), where hundreds of students have set up an encampment on campus with banners with slogans like “No More Investment in Apartheid”.

Gabby Aossey, a student organiser at the CUNY protest told reporters the mobilisation of young pro-Palestinian people in the US is “beautiful to see”.

“Young people are really starting to show up and demand that schools are held accountable for their relationship with the Israeli colonisation,” Aossey said.

Across the US, university leaders have tried, and largely failed, to quell the demonstrations. The police have intervened violently, with videos emerging from different states showing hundreds of students – and even faculty members – being forcefully arrested.

Early on Saturday, police in riot gear cleared an encampment on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston. Several dozen students shouted and booed at them from a distance, but the scene was otherwise not confrontational.

The school said in a statement that the demonstration, which began two days ago, had become “infiltrated by professional organisers” with no affiliation to the school and protesters had used anti-Semitic slurs.

“We cannot tolerate this kind of hate on our campus,” the statement posted on the social media platform X said.

At Columbia University, where more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists were arrested by armed police officers on campus about a week ago, university leaders said in a statement on Friday that if the university calls the New York Police Department again, it would “further inflame what is happening on campus”.

Some university leaders and state officials have strongly condemned the protests, calling them “anti-Semitic”.

Demonstrators reject the accusation, with many Jewish activists and some Orthodox Jews joining the ranks.

“As a child of Holocaust survivors, it disturbs me to my core to see my own people perpetrating something that we’ve been through,” Jewish antiwar protester Sam Koprak told media at a campus gathering.

The protests, which have sprouted all around the globe in the near seven-month period since the start of the war on Gaza, continue to spread this week outside the US as well.

In Berlin, activists set up a camp in front of parliament to demand the German government stop exporting arms to Israel. At the renowned Sciences Po university in the French capital Paris, protesters on Friday blockaded a central campus building, forcing classes to be held online.

The latest pro-Palestine rally in Sweden on Saturday saw people marching in the streets to chants of “Free Palestine” and “Boycott Israel”.

Hundreds gathered on Saturday afternoon in central London in solidarity with Palestinians, with a smaller group organising a pro-Israel event.

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, an organiser of the march, said he expected hundreds of thousands to attend from across the United Kingdom.

“Once again, we are delivering a double message. One is to the Palestinian people, a message of solidarity. We see you, we hear you, we stand with you,” he said.

The second message, Jamal said, is addressed to the British political establishment “to end their complicity with Israel’s genocide against Palestinian people”.

Jamal dismissed critics saying that protests have been anti-Semitic.

“This tactic of conflating anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the State of Israel is a very familiar one, and is used globally by Israel to silence those who are advocating for Palestinian rights,” he said.

Yemen’s Houthis damage oil tanker, shoot down US drone

Yemen's Houthi attack oil tanker in Red Sea
Yemen’s Houthis have damaged an oil tanker and downed another MQ-9 Reaper drone of the United States as they promise more attacks in opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza.

The group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in his latest televised video address early on Saturday that “British oil ship Andromeda Star” was targeted in the Red Sea with naval missiles and was directly hit.

The US military confirmed that the group fired three antiship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea at multiple targets and damaged MV Andromeda Star. The vessel was recently sold to a company registered in the Seychelles.

“MV Andromeda Star reports minor damage, but is continuing its voyage,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X, adding there were no injuries or damage reported by the maritime military coalition led by the US that is deployed in the area to counter attacks from Yemen.

The Houthi military spokesman also said its air defence forces in Yemen also shot down an MQ-9 Reaper attack drone of the US military with a missile in the airspace of the Saada governorate “while it was carrying out hostile missions”.

The US military did not comment on the drone, but US broadcaster CBS News confirmed that an MQ-9, which costs about $30m, “crashed” inside Yemen early on Friday and said an investigation is under way.

This is the third US attack drone shot down by the Houthis since the start of the war on Gaza, with the first brought down in November, followed by another in February.

The Yemeni group made no comments about further attacks on vessels in its nearby waterways, but the US military said the anti-ship missiles fired by the Houthis also targeted MV MAISHA, an Antigua/Barbados-flagged, Liberia-operated vessel. It reported no damage.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed two attacks on a vessel – which appears to be MV Andromeda Star – some 14 nautical miles (26km) southwest of al-Mukha (Mocha) in Yemen.

It said a first explosion happened “in close proximity” to the vessel and a second attack, consisting of what is believed to be two missiles, damaged the vessel.

The Houthi military had reported targeting “Israeli ship MSC Darwin” in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, adding that it launched a number of missiles and drones at targets in the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.

On Thursday, the group had launched an attack on the US-flagged, owned and operated Maersk Yorktown, along with Israeli-linked ship MSC Veracruz, with US and UK warships defending.

The reinvigorated military activity by the Yemeni group comes after weeks of a relative lull when the number of attacks had dropped.

WhatsApp launches new feature for iPhone users

WhatsApp launches new feature for iPhone users
WhatsApp is about to become a lot easier to log in on an iPhone, thanks to a new feature that’s being rolled out.

Meta owned by Mark Zuckerberg announced the new update earlier this week via a post on X, which reads: "Passkeys are rolling out now on iOS…a more secure (and easier!) way to log back in with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode."

This new feature will make WhatsApp chats more secure and safe by allowing users to log in to the application with either face ids, touch ids or passcodes.

Although the company did not specify which IOS will get the feature, reports suggest it is compatible with iOS 17 and onwards.

A passkey is a more secure alternative to traditional login methods such as SMS verification which takes ages to appear at times.

Previously, users could access WhatsApp with a face id or passcode, however, this new feature works by storing authentication information on our device and pairing it up with the information saved up on our device to match it.

Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product in a statement, said, "Passkey verification will make logging back into WhatsApp easier and more secure. We’re excited to launch this on WhatsApp and give users an added layer of security."

US to provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine as part of $6bn defence aid

US to provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine as part of $6bn defence aid
The United States says it will supply Patriot air defence missile systems to Ukraine as part of a $6bn additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday, calling it the largest security assistance package to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion in 2022.

The package is the second this week after President Joe Biden signed a much-delayed bill to provide a total of $61bn of new funding for Ukraine.

The package also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine’s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early on Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting.

The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the

US to provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine as part of $6bn defence aid

 group, which Austin said has “moved heaven and Earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armoured vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia.

Zelenskyy had said that at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities.

“We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelenskyy said. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”

Senior US officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.

At a Pentagon news conference following the meeting, Austin said the US was working with allies to resource additional Patriot systems but did not commit to sending more US versions.

He said he has been speaking one-on-one with a number of his European counterparts in recent days to hash out this issue and others.

“It’s not just Patriots that they need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well,” Austin said. “I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet.”

Austin said he is asking allied nations to “accept a little bit more risk” as they consider what weapons to send to Ukraine.

A number of nations have expressed some reluctance to send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine because most do not have very many, and they believe they need them for their own defence.

The new US funding also includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as Switchblade and Puma drones, counter-drone systems and artillery.

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the US has sent more than $44bn worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.

Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks.

Friday, April 26, 2024

Pakistan relays US about energy requirements: FO

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday said Pakistan was in contact with the United States regarding the country’s requirements for energy.

Addressing her weekly media briefing in Islamabad, the spokesperson said she had seen the US’s statement on Pakistan’s willingness to get energy from Iran.

Earlier this week, a State Department spokesperson had warned Islamabad regarding "potential risk of sanctions" following the Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Pakistan.

"We advise anyone considering business deals with Iran to be aware of the potential risk of sanctions,' the spokesperson said.

Baloch, on the other hand, maintained that cooperation for trade on preferential basis was present between Pakistan and Iran to fulfil the former’s crucial necessities.

She said during President Raisi's three-day visit, the matter of Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline was discussed and it was also reflected in the joint statement later. Both countries cogitated about energy and electricity trade, she added.

In a 28-point joint statement on April 24, Pakistan and Iran had reiterated the importance of energy cooperation and electricity trade, despite the warning of potential sanctions hinted at by the United States following Raisi's visit.

After the Iranian head of state had departed for Tehran from Karachi, the FO issued a joint statement, sharing details about bilateral agreements, including plans pertaining to the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, set forth by both the two nations.

The FO's statement came a day after the US State Department had hinted at the risk of sanctions in light of the business deals between both nations.

Baloch also said that talks with Iran on free trade agreement were underway. “We think that controlling export has become political,” she said.

The FO spokesperson said Pakistan discussed about the trade route between Gwadar and Chabahar ports with the Iranian president. She said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran were strong.

On Israel’s atrocities in Palestine, Baloch said Pakistan condemned Israel’s barbarism in Palestine and sought international investigation of Palestinians’ ethnic cleansing by the apartheid state. She said Pakistan and Iran had the same stance on the issue of Gaza and Kashmir.

She rubbished the "2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices" issued by the US State Department. She said a suitable procedure was not adopted in preparation of the report.

PM Shehbaz to attend World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh

During the presser, Baloch also informed journalists that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be attending the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 28 to 29.

The prime minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to participate in the high-level forum where they will present Pakistan’s priorities specifically in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalising regional collaboration and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.

On the margins of the main event, both the premier and Dar will also hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, heads of international organisations bodies and other leading personalities participating in the event.

WhatsApp to soon enable file sharing without internet

WhatsApp working to allow file sharing without internet
Meta’s WhatsApp is reportedly testing the feature to allow users to share files including photos and video with nearby users without an internet connection.

The platform is also working to introduce an in-app dialler for users, Business Standard reported.

The feature that allows users to share photos, videos, documents, and other files with nearby WhatsApp users is available for testing in beta version of the platform.

However, Meta has not begun testing the in-app dialler in beta release while it is reportedly only available in the early version of the app.

According to WABetaInfo, users must be near other WhatsApp users for the new feature to work. Users will be able to share files via a locally-created network after finding the other users.

Meta has also given users the option to revoke these permissions at any time. On the security side, WhatsApp has made file sharing end-to-end encrypted similar to messages.

Days earlier, Meta added its free artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, to its social media platforms WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.

On April 18, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the decision, saying that the AI assistant can answer questions, create animations and generate images.

“We believe that Meta AI is now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use,” he said.

Earlier this year, WhatsApp added a new custom sticker creation option on iOS, enabling users to edit images from the camera roll into their unique visual combinations.

In an update, the app introduced the ability to create stickers from images.

The feature allows users to cut elements from photos for personalised visuals. The enhancement included the option to add various elements such as graphics, drawn-on updates, animated effects, and more.

US vows to strengthen security,trade partnership with Pakistan

 Vedant Patel
The US Department of State denied that there were any rifts between Islamabad and Washington after the latter imposed sanctions on four commercial entities allegedly having links to the former's ballistic missile programme.

"Absolutely not. You’ve heard me say this before. Pakistan continues to be one of our most important partners in the region," said the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel during a press briefing on Thursday.

The spokesperson said that the US continues to have a "lot of cooperation" with Pakistan's government, especially in the security space and trade sector.

"This is a robust relationship and we’ll look to continue strengthening it," added Patel, when asked if there was something going on between Washington and Islamabad.

Last week, the US State Department imposed sanctions on four entities — three Chinese and one from Belarus — for reportedly supplying items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme.

However, following the US decision to impose sanctions, the Foreign Office (FO) rejected the “political use” of export control, saying that such listings had taken place in the past as well on allegations of links to Pakistan's ballistic missile programme without sharing any evidence.

FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Islamabad was not aware of the specifics of the latest measures by the US, adding that in the past they have come across many instances where listings have been made on mere suspicion or even when the involved items were not under any control lists but were deemed sensitive under catch-all provisions.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan had pointed out many times that such items have legitimate civil commercial uses. “It is, therefore, important to avoid arbitrary application of export controls.”

She said there was a need for discussions between relevant parties for an objective mechanism to ensure access to technology in pursuit of socio-economic development.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Evidence of torture as nearly 400 bodies found in Gaza mass graves

Nearly 400 bodies found in Gaza mass graves.
Mass graves found in two hospitals in the Gaza Strip containing 392 bodies, including those of women, children and the elderly, showed signs of torture and executions, officials in the enclave have said.

On the sixth consecutive day of digging up bodies in southern Gaza, Palestinian Civil Defence officials on Thursday revealed horrifying new details about the mass graves around the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.

Ten of the bodies were found with bound hands while others still had medical tubes attached to them, indicating they may have been buried alive, said civil defence member Mohammed Mughier.

“We need forensic examination for approximately 20 bodies for people who we think were buried alive,” Mughier said.

Yamen Abu Sulaiman, the head of the civil defence department in southern Khan Younis where Nasser Hospital is located, said three separate mass graves were found at the facility – one behind the morgue, one in front of the morgue, and one near the dialysis building.

Only 65 bodies have been identified by relatives of 392 recovered due to decomposition, mutilation and torture, or other difficulties, he said, adding that bodies were “stacked together” and showed indications of field executions having taken place.

At a news conference in southern Rafah on Thursday, Abu Sulaiman called on the international community to exert pressure to “put an immediate end to this aggression against our people”, as well as for humanitarian organisations and international media to be let into Gaza to “examine these crimes”.

Mughier, who provided photographic and video evidence of the remains of children, said “why do we have children in mass graves?”, adding that the evidence shows Israeli soldiers committed “crimes against humanity”.

The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, called for an “independent, effective and transparent investigations” into the deaths.

“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law, and the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are hors de combat is a war crime,” Turk said this week.

“We want answers. We want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a $94bn foreign funding bill that will provide Israel with $17bn in additional aid despite growing international calls to restrict US assistance to the Israeli military, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

UK police arrest three over deaths of five people in English Channel

UK police arrest three over deaths of five people in English Channel
British police say they have arrested three men over the deaths of five people including a child who died attempting to cross the English Channel from France.

The deaths occurred when a small overcrowded boat carrying 112 people set out to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and panic took hold among the passengers not far from the shore.

Rescuers picked up about 50 people, with four taken to hospital, but others stayed on the boat, determined to get to Britain.

Three men, two Sudanese nationals aged 22 and 19, and a South Sudan national aged 22, were detained on Tuesday night on suspicion of “facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally”, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

“This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and brings into focus why it is so important to target the criminal gangs involved in organising them,” said NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Craig Turner.

“We will do all we can with partners in the UK and France to secure evidence, identify those responsible for this event, and bring them to justice.”

French police are also investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, alongside their British counterparts, the NCA said.

It said 55 people who were believed to have been on board the boat that arrived in Britain had also been identified.

More than 6,000 people have arrived in the UK this year via small, overloaded boats – usually flimsy inflatable dinghies – that risk being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores.

The deadly crossing on Tuesday took place just hours after Parliament passed a bill paving the way for asylum seekers who arrive in Britain without permission to be deported to Rwanda.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak argues the policy will deter people from making the dangerous cross-Channel journey.

Critics say the plan to deport people to Rwanda rather than handle asylum seekers at home is inhumane, citing concerns about the East African country’s own human rights record and the risk that asylum seekers may be sent back to countries where they would be in danger.

More than 120,000 people – many fleeing wars and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia – have reached the UK since 2018 by crossing the English Channel in small boats on journeys organised by people-smuggling gangs.

Last year, 29,437 asylum seekers made the crossing with one in five of them from Afghanistan, according to the Refugee Council.

WhatsApp to get In-app dialer for quick calling: check details

WhatsApp to get In-app dialer for quick calling: check details
Mark Zuckerberg has announced WhatsApp video calling support for Ray Ban Meta glasses.

WhatsApp is testing an in-app dialer, allowing people to easily make calls directly via the messaging app. This comes as an effort to become a one-stop solution for all calling and messaging needs of its users. Check out the details below.

WhatsApp Working on In-App Dialer
 
WhatsApp has introduced an in-app dialer in its latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.9.28 update. As you can see in the screenshot shared by WABetaInfo, users will get a dedicated number pad in the app. This will allow people to make WhatsApp calls to unsaved contacts straight from the app.

WhatsApp recently introduced the ability to message unknown numbers without saving contacts, which saves people from the hassle of saving the contacts first to message them on WhatsApp.

As of now, it’s not clear how the in-app dialler will be implemented in the app. It is safe to assume it will either be a floating button like the one for a new message or a dedicated tab in the bottom bar. The feature is currently in development phase and is expected to roll out to general users in a future update.

Mark Zuckerberg has also announced that Ray-Ban Meta glasses now support WhatsApp video calls. Users must update their WhatsApp to the latest version on the Play Store or App Store. This feature will help Ray-Ban Meta glass users make WhatsApp video calls hands-free and show things from the first-person perspective.

It can be useful when users need to show someone the process like assembling furniture, a cooking technique, or a simple view of the location they are in. The feature has started rolling out to Ray-Ban Meta glass users.

 

 

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

How to generate an AI image in a chat?

How to generate an AI image in a chat?
Meta has entered the artificial intelligence race (AI) by introducing its chatbot, Meta AI.

You can now use the chatbot across all of Meta's social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Techloy reported.

The Meta AI chatbot also lets you create images with a simple prompt "imagine".

You can use the feature to create images out of personal references or to make business advertisements by providing a description of what you want.

How to create images with Meta AI?

Open Meta AI chat on WhatsApp. If you can’t find it, just write “Meta AI” on the search bar.

In the chatbot, write "imagine" followed by what you want it to create. You can also use this feature in your personal or group chats.

To use, just open any chat you want to send, Type @ and tag Meta AI.

Followed by imagine and your text prompt. Tap on Send and your generated image will be displayed in the chat. As Meta AI is a new feature, it is still evolving and may not be the most accurate at times.

By trial and error, you can create unique and engaging images to share on WhatsApp.

Russian deputy defence minister detained on suspicion of bribery

Timur Ivanov
Russian law enforcement officers have detained Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov on suspicion of taking bribes, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin was informed of the detention of the high-ranking official, a rare move amid the offensive in Ukraine, Russian state-media reported.

Anti-corruption activists have for years criticised what they call widespread corruption under Putin’s rule.

“Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Timur Vadimovich Ivanov has been detained on suspicion of committing a crime under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code (taking a bribe),” the committee said on Telegram.

The committee did not give any more details.

The offence is punishable by a large fine or over a decade in prison depending on the details of the crime.

Ivanov is already under sanction from the European Union as the defence ministry’s top official in charge of construction of military facilities. He was the subject of an investigation published in 2022 by the banned Anti-Corruption Foundation — created by late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

It said the deputy minister oversaw and allegedly profited from the construction projects in Ukraine’s Mariupol, which fell under Moscow’s control after a months-long siege.

Huawei launches new software brand for intelligent driving

Huawei
Chinese tech company Huawei unveiled on Wednesday a new software brand for intelligent driving, marking its latest push to become a major player in the electric vehicle industry.

The new brand Qiankun, symbolising a combination of heaven and the Kunlun Mountains, plans to provide self-driving systems involving the driving chassis, audio and driver's seat, Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit, said during an event ahead of the Beijing auto show.

"2024 will be the first year for mass commercialisation of smart driving and the cumulative number of cars on road equipped with the Huawei self-driving system will top 500,000 by the year-end," Jin said.

He also expected within a year more than 10 car models adopting Huawei’s Qiankun system would hit the market.

The Shenzhen-based tech conglomerate launched its smart car unit in 2019 with the aim that it could become the equivalent of German automotive supplier Bosch of the intelligent EV era and supply software and components to partners.

Huawei said in November that the unit would be spun off into a new company which would receive the unit's core technologies and resources and take investment from partners such as automaker Changan Auto.

It has also unveiled seven EV models in partnership with Chinese automakers so far and they are selling well, Jin said.

They include three Aito brand models under partnership with Seres, the Luxeed S7 sedan co-developed with Chery, two models with Changan Auto-backed Avatr and one with Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC)-owned Arcfox.

On Tuesday, Huawei also unveiled the S9 sedan, the first model under the premium Stelato brand it launched with BAIC.

Its diversification into EVs comes amid an intensifying price war in the world's largest auto market, which is grappling with slowing sales momentum and deepening overcapacity concerns as more than 40 brands vie for consumer attention.

Earlier this month, Huawei-backed Aito offered discounts of up to 20,000 yuan ($2,760) on its new M7 SUVs until the end of April.

French MP summoned by police for questioning over support for Palestine

Mathilde Panot
Mathilde Panot, a member of parliament representing the La France Insoumise in France, has been summoned by authorities for questioning on charges of "terrorism propaganda."

Panot, known for her vocal support for Palestine, finds herself at the center of a legal storm following a statement she made on her social media platform.

The summons, issued by the Paris Police Headquarters, has sparked widespread debate and condemnation among political circles. As the deputy group leader of LFI in the parliament, Panot took to social media to announce the development, expressing her unwavering commitment to advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people.

"I will not be deterred by any summons or intimidation tactics," she asserted.

"Our stance against the genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people remains steadfast."

She further called upon the public to recognize the "disturbing attacks" being made on freedom of expression and democracy.

The news of Panot's summons reverberated beyond national borders, drawing reactions from fellow politicians, including member of the European Parliament, Manon Aubry.

In a statement posted on her social media account, Aubry characterized the summons as "unprecedented and extremely serious," urging individuals to stand in solidarity with Panot.

Similarly, MP Farida Amrani joined the chorus of voices condemning the move, highlighting the broader implications of attempting to silence voices speaking out against the alleged genocide in Palestine.

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Nasa reveals new information about Jupiter's moon Io

Nasa reveals new information about Jupiter's moon Io
Nasa has used information collected by the Juno spacecraft from Jupiter’s moon Io and created an animation that shows lava and large mountains.

The Nasa’s Jupiter mission passed several times from Io in December and January, according to the Newsweek report.

While speaking with the media at the European Geophysical Union General Assembly in Vienna, Scott Bolton, said on April 16: "Io is simply littered with volcanoes, and we caught a few of them in action."

Bolton, who is the principal investigator of Juno went on: "We also got some great close-ups and other data on a 200-kilometre-long lava lake called Loki Patera. There is amazing detail showing these crazy islands embedded in the middle of a potentially magma lake rimmed with hot lava."

According to Nasa, Jupiter has 95 officially recognised moons. Io was discovered by an Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.

The moon is the most geologically active place in our solar system with hundreds of volcanoes that can release plumes of sulfur dioxide hundreds of miles into space.

This activity is caused by intense internal friction by the powerful pull of Jupiter and its other moons. The surface of Io is composed of silicate rock and sulfur, with its atmosphere dominated by sulphur dioxide (SO2).

"The specular reflection our instruments recorded of the lake suggests parts of Io's surface are as smooth as glass, reminiscent of volcanically created obsidian glass on Earth," Bolton said.

Nasa discovers lava lake on Jupiter's moon

Nasa discovers lava lake on Jupiter's moon
Nasa’s Juno spacecraft has discovered an enormous lava lake in the middle of Jupiter's moon called "lo".

The lake named, Loki Patera, is the largest volcanic depression on Io. If it was on Earth, it would be the 13th largest lake in the world.

In the middle of the lake, there is an island which features steep mountains.

Jupiter’s Io has more volcanoes than any other body in the solar system. It is bigger than the Earth.

The new findings were announced by Scott Bolton, the principal investigator of the Juno mission, at the European Geophysical Union’s General Assembly.

He said, "Lo is simply littered with volcanoes, and we caught a few of them in action."

"There is amazing detail showing these crazy islands embedded in the middle of a potentially magma lake rimmed with hot lava. The specular reflection our instruments recorded of the lake suggests parts of Io’s surface are as smooth as glass, reminiscent of volcanically created obsidian glass on Earth," he added.

The Io flyby’s have provided the closest look ever of the innermost Jupiter moon.

As noted on Nasa's website, Io’s "constant volcanism and intense radiation make Io an unlikely destination for life."

China evacuates over 100,000 as heavy rain continues to lash south

China evacuates over 100,000 as heavy rain continues to lash south
China has evacuated more than 100,000 people as heavy rain continues to lash the southern province of Guangdong.

Authorities raised the highest level of alarm on Tuesday as the storms showed no sign of letting up. Flooding has already killed four people, with another 10 reported missing, in just the latest episode of extreme weather to hit China as climate change affects the country.

Torrential rains have been swelling rivers in Guangdong, prompting state media to warn of the risk of floods at a level “seen around once a century”.

Footage from across Guangdong showed flooded villages, farmland and cities, along with collapsed bridges and floating vehicles. In addition to the 110,000 people who have been evacuated, at least 25,000 are in emergency shelters.

In the provincial capital, Guangzhou, authorities have registered cumulative rainfall of 609mm in April so far, which is already the highest monthly volume since record-keeping began in 1959.

The sustained torrent has hit the Pearl River Delta region, a manufacturing hub and one of the country’s most populated regions, for close to a week.

Home to some 127 million people, the region usually sees heavy rains in about September. It has been experiencing more intense and more frequent rainstorms and floods in recent years.

“Please quickly take precautions and stay away from dangerous areas such as low-lying areas prone to flooding,” authorities in the coastal city of Shenzhen – China’s third largest – said as the red alert was issued.

A United Nations report released on Tuesday noted that Asia was the region hardest hit by climate change in 2023, with floods and storms at the top of the list of factors causing casualties and economic losses.

Scientists warn of increasingly extreme weather conditions as climate change driven by human-emitted greenhouse gases makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The China Meteorological Administration said in a report last November that 72 national weather stations registered record daily rainfall and 346 stations broke monthly records during the last flood season.

Meanwhile, the country has also suffered drought and intense heatwaves in recent months.

Malaysian navy helicopters collide in mid-air, killing 10 crew

Malaysian navy helicopters collide in mid-air
Ten crew members have been killed after two Malaysian navy helicopters collided in midair and crashed to the ground.

The Royal Malaysian Navy said in a statement that the two aircraft collided on Tuesday morning as they were taking part in aerial training in northern Lumut, where the navy has its headquarters.

One helicopter, an Agusta Westland AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM), crashed near the raised seating of the stadium at the complex while the second, a Eurocopter Fennec, fell near a swimming pool.

The navy said there were seven crew on board the Agusta and three on the Eurocopter. All were confirmed dead at the scene of the crash, which took place at about 9.30am (01:30 GMT)

The navy “will establish an investigation board to determine the cause of the incident”, it said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim described the incident as a “heart-wrenching tragedy” and confirmed an investigation would take place.

Videos shared on social media showed several helicopters flying above a stadium with several troops in formation in a stadium below.

One helicopter appears to hit the rear rotor of another before both plunge to the ground.

The helicopter crews were practising for next week’s Navy Day celebrations which start on May 3.

Malaysia has seen a number of helicopter crashes over the past decade.

In 2015, Jamaluddin Jarjis, then Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States and a former government minister, was among five people killed when their helicopter crashed into jungle in central Selangor state.

The following a year, six people were killed when their helicopter crashed in the Borneo state of Sarawak. The dead included then Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Noriah Kasnon.

In 2020, two people were killed after two helicopters clipped each other and crashed to the east of Kuala Lumpur.

In August last year, 10 people were killed after a private jet crashed onto a highway on the city’s west. The dead included a senior politician from the central state of Pahang and his aide, as well as two people on the ground.

Monday, April 22, 2024

Israeli military intelligence chief quits over 7 October attack

Israeli military intelligence chief quits over 7 October attack
The head of Israeli military intelligence, who last year accepted responsibility for the failures that allowed the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, has resigned, the military said in a statement on Monday.

Major General Aharon Haliva was one of a number of senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and prevent the most devastating attack in Israel’s history.

“The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I have carried that black day with me ever since,” he said in a resignation letter released by the military.

During the Oct. 7 attack, thousands of fighters from Hamas and other groups broke through the high tech security barriers around Gaza, surprising Israeli forces and rampaging through the communities around the enclave.

Some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the attack, most of them civilians, and around 250 were taken into captivity in Gaza, where 133 remain as hostages.

The attack badly tarnished the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services, previously seen as virtually unbeatable.

The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, both accepted responsibility in the aftermath of the attack but have stayed on while the war in Gaza has continued.

By contrast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far not accepted responsibility, although surveys indicate that most Israelis blame him for failing to do enough to prevent or defend against the attack.

Pro-China party on course for landslide victory in Maldives election

Pro-China party on course for landslide victory in Maldives election
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party has won Sunday’s election in a landslide, according to preliminary results.

The People’s National Congress (PNC) won 70 out of 93 seats to take full control of parliament, local media reports said early on Monday. The outcome is likely to accelerate the country’s shift away from traditional ally India in favour of China.

Boosted by three seats secured by allies, the results – if confirmed – hand the PNC a supermajority. Full official results are expected later on Monday.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is seen as pro-India, won only 15 seats against 65 in the outgoing parliament, according to local news site Mihaaru.

Only three female candidates of the 41 who contested were elected, Mihaaru reported. All three are members of Muizzu’s PNC.

A formal ratification of the results is expected to take a week and the new assembly will take office from early May.

The vote was seen as a crucial test for Muizzu’s plan to press ahead with closer economic cooperation with China after winning the presidential election last September.

The PNC and its allies had only eight seats in the outgoing parliament, which made it difficult for Muizzu to push ahead with his policies after winning the presidential election.

The MDP, which had previously a supermajority, looked set for a humiliating defeat with just a dozen seats even before the preliminary results were announced.

The Maldives, a low-lying nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 800km (500 miles) across the equator, is one of the countries most vulnerable to sea level rises caused by the climate crisis.

Muizzu, a 45-year-old former construction minister, has promised that land reclamation and building islands higher will address the challenge, but environmentalists argue such a move could exacerbate flooding risks.

He has also pledged to end the country’s “India first” policy, putting relations with New Delhi under strain. His government has asked dozens of Indian military personnel who operate reconnaissance aircraft given by India to patrol the country’s borders to leave, a move critics say could accelerate the Maldivian pivot towards China.

This month, as campaigning for the parliamentary elections was in full swing, Muizzu awarded high-profile infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies.

Opposition parties, which have been criticising Muizzu’s government over its foreign policy and the handling of the economy, sought to hold it accountable in the elections.

However, the PNC managed to grab key seats in former MDP strongholds, including in the capital, Male, Addu City and Kulhudhuffushi City in the north.

The Democrats, founded by former President Mohamed Nasheed after splitting with the MDP in 2023, lost all seats while the new party of former President Abdulla Yameen, whose corruption conviction was overturned just days ago, also lost all the seats it contested, according to provisional results and media projections.

The country recorded a turnout of 72.9 percent, according to the elections commission, lower than the 82 percent recorded during the last general elections held in 2019.

iPhone hack for 'unlimited' battery life: 'Never run out'

iPhone hack for 'unlimited' battery life: 'Never run out'
Apple iPhones are notoriously known for their poor battery life especially after the new IOS update, people have been complaining about the battery draining fast.

A tech enthusiast by the user id @t_sply on TikTok has shared an iPhone hack that will surely shock you.

He claims to have found a full proof hack that provides devices with "unlimited power."

T-SPLY's clever hack promises you'll "never run out of juice."

T-SPLY came across this potential trick while exploring iPhone settings, he said in his video that others may already be aware of this trick.

He later shared his discovery with his followers and posted a comprehensive tutorial on his TikTok account, outlining steps to achieve an "unlimited cell phone battery".

How to use the hack?

Go to iPhone settings, tap "Accessibility" and choose "Display and Text Size". From there, turn on the "Reduce White Point" setting. Toggle with the slider, and adjust according to your preference.

The only down side to doing this is that reducing "White Point" setting will make it harder for you to use your phone in bright settings such as under sunlight.

However, in iPhone phones, "Reduce White Point" and "Brightness" are two different options, and you can find the right balance between both to achieve a longer battery life as well as see your phone screen without any trouble.

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Apple to make big changes with the iPhone 17 Plus

iPhone
The iPhone 17 Pro has been the subject of several reports in the past, some of which claimed it would have a 2nm CPU, always-on features, and high refresh rate panels but now its size is also the talk of the town.

There are already reports going around about the iPhone 17 Plus that suggest the 2025 Apple model may have a smaller screen.

The iPhone 17 Plus seems to buck the trend of ever-larger screens; according to reports, it will debut in late 2024, following the release of the iPhone 16 series.

In the past, Apple has remained consistent by matching the Plus models' display dimensions to those of the more costly Pro Max models. For example, the screens on the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus were both 6.7 inches in size, which was the same as the screens on their corresponding Pro Max models.

It has been reported that Apple may be trying to make its models easier to identify from one another by changing the screen sizes of the models in its lineup.

This tactic might satisfy various user preferences, especially for those looking for a mid-sized gadget that strikes a balance between comfort and usefulness.

Apple might offer the iPhone 17 Plus at a more competitive price point, further appealing to its target market, by perhaps decreasing production costs with a smaller display.

1 dead, 7 missing after two Japanese military helicopters crash

One person was killed and seven people were missing on Sunday after two Japanese military helicopters collided before crashing into the sea, officials said.

A spokesman for Japan’s Self Defence Force (SDF) confirmed the incident to AFP, adding that one person was rescued but later confirmed dead.

Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said rescuers “spotted what are believed to be part of the aircraft in the sea, and we believe that the two helicopters crashed.”

“At this point the cause is unknown, but firstly we do our best to save lives,” Kihara told reporters.

Hours later, Kihara told reporters that the crew member who was rescued “was confirmed dead”.

He also said the ministry “discovered the flight recorders in places close to each other,” and so the “possibility is high that (the two helicopters) collided.”

Officials said the helicopters appear to have crashed during night-time training for countering submarines off the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

“The flight recorders are being analysed” while officials are interviewing the crew of a third helicopter that was joining the drill but was not involved in the accident, chief of staff Ryo Sakai of the Maritime Self Defence Force (MSDF) told reporters.

Communication with one helicopter was lost at 10:38pm local time off the island of Torishima, and one minute later an emergency signal was received from this aircraft, broadcaster NHK reported.

At around 11:04pm, the military realised that communication with the other aircraft was also lost in the same area. The Mitsubishi SH-60K helicopters from the MSDF are mainly based on and operate from naval destroyers.

The MSDF said as there were no other aircraft nor vessels in nearby waters, involvement of another country in the incident is unlikely, NHK added.

Japan is boosting defence spending and deepening cooperation with the United States and other Asian countries in response to growing Chinese assertiveness in the region and an unpredictable North Korea.

Last April, a Japanese army UH-60JA helicopter with 10 people on board crashed off Miyako island in southern Okinawa. There were no survivors.

In January 2022, a Japanese fighter jet crashed in waters off the central Ishikawa region, killing two pilots on board.

In 2019, an F-35A stealth jet crashed into the sea after taking off from northeastern Japan on a training mission, killing a pilot.

Last November an Osprey military aircraft belonging to the US military crashed off Japan, killing all eight people on board, in the latest of a string of fatal accidents.

This prompted a decision by the United States the following month to ground the tilt-rotor aircraft worldwide. Japan also grounded its fleet of the same aircraft.

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Pakistan rejects US sanctions on commercial entities: FO

 Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch
 Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan rejects political use of export controls.

Foreign Office Spokesperson on Saturday, that it is a reality that the same jurisdictions, which claim to exercise strict non-proliferation controls, have waived off licensing requirements for advanced military technologies for some countries,” it was added.

Commenting upon reports of United States’ decision to impose sanctions against commercial entities on allegations of links with Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme, she said that such listings had taken place in the past without sharing any evidence whatsoever.

Responding to media queries, the spokesperson, in a press statement, said while they were not aware of the specifics of the latest measures by the US.

In the past, they had come across many instances where listings had been made on mere suspicion or even when the involved items were not on any control lists but were deemed sensitive under catch-all provisions, it was added.

“We have pointed out many times that such items have legitimate civil commercial uses. It is, therefore, important to avoid arbitrary application of export controls,” the spokesperson said.

There was need for discussions between concerned parties for an objective mechanism to ensure access to technology in pursuit of socio-economic development, it was stressed.

The spokesperson said Pakistan had always been ready to discuss end-use and end-user verification mechanisms so that legitimate commercial users are not hurt by discriminatory application of export controls.

The spokesperson said this was leading to ‘arms build up; accentuating regional asymmetries, and undermining the objectives of non-proliferation and of regional and global peace and security’.

Google scraps minimum wage, benefits rules for suppliers and staffing firms

Google
Alphabet-owned Google is laying off an unspecified number of employees, a company spokesperson said, marking the latest cuts at the technology giant as it cracks down on costs.

The Google spokesperson said the layoffs are not company-wide and that affected employees will be able to apply for internal roles, but did not specify the number of employees impacted nor the teams involved.

A small percentage of the impacted roles will move to hubs the company is investing in, including India, Chicago, Atlanta and Dublin.

The layoffs follow a slew of job cuts across Google, and the tech and media industry this year, adding to fears that layoffs may continue as companies grapple with economic uncertainty.

"Throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities," the spokesperson added.

Employees across several of Google' teams in its real estate and finance departments have been affected, according to a Business Insider report on Wednesday. The finance teams affected include Google's treasury, business services, and revenue cash operations, it added.

Google let go of hundreds of workers across multiple teams in January including its engineering, hardware and assistant teams as the company ramps up investment and builds its artificial intelligence offerings.

Company CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly told employees at the start of the year to expect more job cuts.

US agrees to withdraw troops from Niger amid Sahel region’s pivot to Russia

US agrees to withdraw troops from Niger
The United States will withdraw its soldiers from Niger as the West African nation is increasingly turning to Russia and away from Western powers.

The US Department of State agreed to pull out about 1,000 troops from the country that has been under military rule since July 2023, US media reported late on Friday.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine met on Friday, the reports said, with Washington committing to begin planning an “orderly and responsible” withdrawal of its troops from the country.

The US built a military base in Niger to combat armed groups that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel region, which also includes Burkina Faso and Mali.

The major airbase in Agadez, some 920km (572 miles) from the capital Niamey was used for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations.

Known as Air Base 201, it was built at a cost of more than $100m. Since 2018, it has been used to target ISIL fighters and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate.

While maintaining a line of communication with the military government in Niger, the US military had started preparing for the possibility of having to withdraw, with US General James Hecker saying last year that Washington is probing “several locations” elsewhere in West Africa to station its drones.

Nigerien state television reported that US officials would visit next week. There was no public announcement from the State Department on the withdrawal and officials said no timeline had yet been set.

Niger announced in March that it had suspended a military agreement with the US and would pursue a withdrawal of its soldiers.

The US is being forced to withdraw from Niger as it is not favoured either by the ruling military or by the population that is rejecting post-colonial forces. Protesters took to the streets in the capital earlier this month to demand the departure of US forces.

Like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, the West African nation had kicked out French and European troops following the military takeover.

All three countries have now turned to Russia for support, with Moscow confirming earlier this month that it has sent military trainers and an air defence system and other military equipment to Niger as it deepens its security ties.

Along with armed groups, the conflict-ridden Sahel region is also becoming an influential route for drug trafficking, with the United Nations saying 1,466kg (3,232 pounds) of cocaine were seized in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger compared with an average of just 13kg (28.7 pounds) between 2013 and 2020.

Israel's army bombing in Rafah, killing 9 members of a family

Israel's army bombing in Rafah, killing 9 members of a family
The Israeli army bombed Gaza again, nine members of the same family were martyred by the bombing in Rafah.

Israeli army continues atrocities on women and children in Gaza, several residential houses were targeted by the barbaric bombardment on Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza City, five Palestinian youngsters were martyred in the two-day operation in the West Bank, nine members of the same family were killed in Rafah. Six women and two children were also among the martyrs.

However, in the Tulkarm city of West Bank, where the operation had just entered its second day, fighting had started out between the occupying forces and the Palestinians in the Nur Shams camp, five youngsters had been killed by the Israeli forces, and the roads had been demolished by bulldozers.

However, Israeli jets also targeted Hezbollah bases in Lebanon; as a result of this, rocket attacks were launched into northern Israel from Lebanon.

Over thirty-four thousand people lost their lives as a result of the battle.

Friday, April 19, 2024

Check out latest WhatsApp update here

Check out latest WhatsApp update here
The popular messaging application WhatsApp shows its users when their contact is active, however, it is now conducting trials of a new feature that may conveniently reveal when someone was recently online on the Meta-owned platform.

According to the Financial Express report, the messaging application will also present a list for those who were recently active, making it convenient for users to know when someone was online, with separately opening chats.

A new tab, that was recently noticed inside WhatsApp's interface, will only show a "limited number of recent active contacts", and not a "comprehensive online list of all contacts", meaning that perhaps the California-based platform is employing an algorithm to distinguish the relevant of frequently contacted individuals to appear in that specific list.

The "recently online" feature was spotted on WhatsApp for Android version 2.24.9.14, and it remains unclear when it will be rolled out for all users across the world.

Keeping the privacy in view, it could be expected that if someone turns off the time, others will not be able to see the activity information.