Daily News Pakistan

The United States has signed off on $385m in new weapons sales to Taiwan, the latest sign of deepening military ties that have unsettled China. The US expects to begin delivering the military equipment, including spare parts for fighter jets and radar systems, in 2025, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement on Friday. The sale approved by the US Department of State will ensure Taiwan can “meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness” of its F-16 fleet, said the DSCA. On Saturday, Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te set off for a trip to the Pacific, with planned stopovers in the US that have prompted fury from China. China claims the self-ruled democracy as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal of unification. It has long opposed US arms sales to Taiwan. While heading on Saturday to Pacific allies Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, Lai will make stops in the US state of Hawaii and territ...

WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature in the beta version of its messaging application. Users now have the ability to utilize QR codes for managing channels, which may enhance the speed of accessing pertinent information. This new functionality is currently available to beta users, offering a more efficient way to search for channels. Rather than relying solely on text-based searches, WhatsApp users can now scan a QR code to quickly access a specific group. Additionally, users can receive invitations to follow channels, as noted by WABetaInfo. The introduction of QR codes for sharing channel links also presents users with various sharing options, including the ability to include them on printed business cards. This could aid in business development and encourage users to connect via the messaging platform. Among the forthcoming features of WhatsApp is chat filtering, which will allow users to organize their conversations based on individual preferences. This anticipated feature is...

Bangladesh’s leading political parties have called for calm following widespread unrest in the country triggered by the killing of a lawyer during clashes between Hindu protesters and security forces. Public prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif died on Tuesday as angry supporters of outspoken Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari — arrested for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally — battled with police when he was denied bail. Religious relations have been turbulent in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people since a student-led revolution in August toppled autocratic ex-premier minister Sheikh Hasina, who then fled to India. The Bangladeshi National Party (BNP) and Jamaat-i-Islami — Hasina’s two main opponents during her 15-year tenure — have urged restraint. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was quoted today by the daily Prathom Alo as having said that a “defeated fascist group” was behind the latest flare-up, a reference to Hasina’s ...

Australia on Thursday passed into law a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech. The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta (META), to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million). A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January with the ban to take effect in a year. The "Social Media Minimum Age" bill sets Australia up as a test case for a growing number of governments which have legislated or said they plan to legislate an age restriction on social media amid concern about its mental health impact on young people. Countries including France and some US states have passed laws to restrict access for minors without a parent's permission, but the Australian ban is absolute. A full under-14s ban in Florida is being challenged in court on...

The Israeli military has targeted residential buildings, public facilities and infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, killing at least nine members of a family in the Nuseirat refugee camp. According to international media reports, on Thursday that Israeli ground forces were conducting a military operation seeking to expand the Netzarim Corridor – a 6.5km (4-mile) stretch established in the centre of the enclave by the Israeli military that divides northern and southern Gaza. In northern Gaza, Israeli jets carried out air raids, targeting the remaining residential buildings in the town of Beit Lahiya, killing at least four people. In the south, at least four people were killed on Thursday morning when Israeli drones attacked a group of Palestinian civilians near a camp for displaced people in the town of Abasan, east of the city of Khan Younis, according to the Wafa news agency. The United Nations said earlier this month that more than 70 percent of those confirmed killed in Gaza ...

WhatsApp has introduced a subtle yet controversial change to its messaging interface, replacing the familiar "typing..." message with a new animated speech bubble. The update, which users claim has been rolled out without much fanfare, has sparked outrage, with many expressing frustration over the new feature. The previous "typing..." indicator, which typically appeared at the top of a chat, has been replaced with a dynamic chat bubble animation that pops up below the most recent message. While the change may seem minor, it has quickly become a source of discontent for some users, with many finding it "annoying" and "unnecessary." On social media, WhatsApp users have been vocal in their criticism. One user on X (formerly Twitter) said, "Not a fan of the new typing indicator on WhatsApp," while another commented, "WhatsApp now has the three dots typing thing like iMessage and I HATE it." The new feature has been likened to ...

Bangladeshi police have arrested six people in connection with the murder of a lawyer during clashes between Hindu protesters and security forces, the government said on Wednesday. Another 21 people have been arrested “for vandalism and assaults on police” during the violence on Tuesday in the port city of Chittagong, the government statement said. Angry supporters of outspoken Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari — arrested a day earlier on charges connected to disrespecting the national flag during a rally — battled with police on Tuesday after he was denied bail. Protesters hurled rocks as security forces fired tear gas canisters, and police said a public prosecutor was killed in the chaos, naming him as Saiful Islam Alif, a Muslim. Religious relations have been turbulent in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people since a student-led August revolution forced long-time autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India. Brahmachari is the spokesman of a ne...

Hesai Group, a China-based LiDAR sensor manufacturer for autonomous driving, plans to halve the price of its key product, LiDAR, next year, reported Reuters. The move is aimed at boosting the adoption of LiDAR technology in electric vehicles (EVs). Hesai Group CEO David Li was quoted by the publication as saying: “We are moving to a stage where millions of cars sold annually are equipped with LiDAR.” Li said that reducing the price will make LiDAR technology attractive even for lower-cost EVs priced below 150,000 yuan ($20,000). For EVs priced above this, the LiDAR technology adoption rate is expected to rise to 40%, compared to the current rate of about 24% for Chinese EVs and plug-in hybrids, as per auto parts trading platform Gasgoo.com. Hesai’s LiDAR technology create three-dimensional images of a vehicle's surroundings using lasers, aiding in navigation around obstacles. The sensors are said to be crucial component of many self-driving systems. Li added: “We should see...

The Israeli government approved a truce with Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Joe Biden for his “involvement in securing the ceasefire agreement”. Netanyahu’s office said 10 ministers voted in favour and one opposed the agreement. In the call, Netanyahu told Biden that he appreciated his “understanding that Israel will maintain its freedom of action in enforcing it”, his office said. Biden said the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will take effect at 4am local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France. The accord, clearing the way for an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, was designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities, Biden said in remarks at the White House. Biden said the United States would lead a fresh effort to secure a truce in Gaza. Now Hamas has a choice to make. Thei...

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said he intended to impose sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, prompting a swift warning from Beijing that “no one will win a trade war.” In a series of posts to his Truth Social account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States’ largest trading partners with duties on all goods entering the country. “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 per cent tariff on all products coming into the United States,” he wrote. In another post, Trump said he would also be slapping China with a 10pc tariff, “above any additional Tariffs”, in response to what he said was its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling. Tariffs are a key part of Trump’s economic agenda, with the Republican vowing wide-ranging duties on allies and adversaries alike while he was on the campaign trail. Both China and Canada issued swift responses, each calling their trad...

Google and Facebook-owner Meta Platforms urged the Australian government on Tuesday to delay a bill that will ban most forms of social media for children under 16, saying more time was needed to assess its potential impact. The companies argue that more time is needed to assess the bill’s impact and await results from an age-verification trial. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government aims to pass the legislation—one of the strictest globally on children’s social media use—by Thursday, the final day of the parliamentary year. Introduced last week, the bill was open for public submissions for just one day, drawing criticism for its expedited timeline. The proposed law would require social media companies, rather than parents or children, to enforce age-verification measures, potentially using biometrics or government-issued identification. Companies found in breach could face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million). Meta criticised the bill as “inconsistent and ineffective...

Internet users across Pakistan encountered significant issues with connecting WhatsApp on Saturday, just days after the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) alerted the government of the severe repercussions of internet shutdowns and a potential virtual private network (VPN) ban. Reports from outage tracking website, Downdetector, noted a peak of 207 complaints within an hour, primarily around 10pm on Saturday, with 67% of users experiencing difficulties in sending messages, especially media files, and 16% facing problems receiving them. The disruptions in the Meta-owned instant messaging app predominantly affected Punjab, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw sporadic issues. Meanwhile, Karachi reported the most significant impact from the disruptions across Sindh, according to Downdetector's heat map. Sources within the IT industry acknowledged facing problems while sharing media files. However, no one knew what the problem was. Internet service providers also faced backlas...

Nato chief Mark Rutte held talks with US president-elect Donald Trump in Florida on the “global security issues facing the alliance”, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. “They discussed the range of global security issues facing the Alliance,” spokesperson, Farah Dakhlallah, said in a brief statement. The meeting took place on Friday in Palm Beach, spokesperson said. In his first term Trump aggressively pushed Europe to step up defence spending and questioned the fairness of the Nato transatlantic alliance. The former Dutch prime minister had said he wanted to meet Trump two days after Trump was elected on Nov 5, and discuss the threat of increasingly warming ties between North Korea and Russia. Trump’s thumping victory to return to the US presidency has set nerves jangling in Europe that he could pull the plug on vital Washington military aid for Ukraine. Nato allies say keeping Kyiv in the fight against Moscow is key to both European and American security. “What we see more and more...

The United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) concluded in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a contentious $300 billion annual global finance agreement aimed at aiding developing nations in tackling climate change. However, the intended beneficiaries of this deal have widely criticized it, calling the proposal “an insult.” A Disappointing Outcome Developing countries had initially sought over $1 trillion to address the multifaceted climate crisis comprehensively. The stark disparity between their demands and the adopted target led to deep dissatisfaction. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed his disappointment, stating on social media, “I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome, on both finance and mitigation, to meet the great challenge we face.” He further stressed that the agreement must be honored in full and on time, urging that “commitments must quickly become cash.” Divided Reactions Speakers from several developing nations voiced sharp criticism of the agreement duri...

Lebanon said an Israeli air strike in the heart of Beirut that brought down a residential building and jolted residents across the city killed at least 15 people on Saturday. A Lebanese security source told AFP that the strike had "targeted a leading Hezbollah figure", but a Hezbollah lawmaker denied any official of the Iran-backed group was present. The attack in the capital was followed by others in the city's southern suburbs after calls by the Israeli military to evacuate. Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,670 people and injured 15,413 in Lebanon since October 2023, Lebanon's health ministry said on Saturday. A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli air strike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed. "The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discu...

The artificial intelligence startup Anthropic said on Friday it had raised an additional $4bn investment from its longtime backer Amazon.com, bringing the e-commerce giant’s total investment to $8bn, underscoring big tech’s growing generative AI investments. Amazon will maintain its position as a minority investor, the company said. Its AWS unit will also be Anthropic’s official cloud provider. Anthropic also said it was working with AWS’s Annapurna Labs on the development of future generations of Amazon’s Trainium chips and plans to train its foundational models on the hardware. Britain’s competition regulator had said in September that Amazon’s partnership with Anthropic will not be referred for a deeper inquiry as it did not fall under its jurisdiction. Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, said last year it had also secured a $500m investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5bn over time.

Russia has provided North Korea with anti-air missiles and air defence equipment in return for sending soldiers to support its war against Ukraine, according to a top South Korean official. Asked what the North stood to gain from dispatching an estimated 10,000 troops to Russia, South Korea’s national security adviser Shin Won-sik said Moscow had given Pyongyang economic and military technology support. “It is understood that North Korea has been provided with related equipment and anti-aircraft missiles to strengthen Pyongyang’s weak air defence system,” Shin told South Korean broadcaster SBS in an interview aired on Friday. At a military exhibition in the capital, Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday called for developing and upgrading “ultra-modern” versions of weaponry, and pledged to keep advancing defence capabilities, state media reported. Russia this month ratified a landmark mutual defence pact with North Korea as Ukrainian officials reported clashes with...

Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safia said that the hospital in Gaza was “deliberately hit by Israeli stelling for the second day” and that “one doctor and some patients were injured”, AFP reports. Separately, the health ministry said that hospitals have only two days’ fuel left before they must restrict services. Gaza medics said an overnight Israeli raid on the cities of Beit Lahia and nearby Jabalia resulted in dozens killed or missing. Marwan al-Hams, director of Gaza’s field hospitals, told reporters all hospitals in the Palestinian territory “will stop working or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the occupation’s (Israel’s) obstruction of fuel entry”. World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of 80 patients, including 8 in the intensive care unit” at Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of just two partly operating in northern Gaza. The Israeli military has assaulted an ambulance crew a...

Meta-owned platform WhatsApp is releasing a new feature to bring a light and dark main theme colour to the business app and its accessible for some beta testers. Notably, the new feature has been designed to provide users with greater control over the appearance of the app. It does so by allowing users to customise the primary branding colour, moving away from the traditional green in order to discover new options, reported WABetaInfo. In this version, the Meta platform has automatically assigned new colours for both the light and dark themes. Particularly, the accent colour for the light theme is now black, whereas, for the dark theme, it has been set to white. The light blue accent colour, which was previously used in the WhatsApp Business app, has been replaced by these updates. Additionally, they introduce black and white icons for the app settings, chat info screen, and the business banner at the top of the chats list. WhatsApp Business has adopted black and white accent c...

Ten people were killed when a gunman opened fire on a Sufi shrine in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP on Friday. “A man fired on Sufis taking part in a weekly ritual at a shrine in a remote area of Nahrin district, killing 10 people,” the ministry’s Abdul Matin Qani said. A Nahrin resident, who knew victims of the attack, told AFP that worshippers had gathered at the Sayed Pacha Agha shrine on Thursday evening. They had begun a Sufi chant when “a man shot at the dozen worshippers”, he said on condition of anonymity. “When people arrived for morning prayers, they discovered the bodies,” he added. Attacks regularly target Sufis during rituals or gatherings in Afghanistan, a country with a very large Muslim majority but where the Taliban authorities impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, which is different from Sufism. In April 2022, 33 people, including children, were killed in an explosion that targeted a Sufi mo...

Ukraine said Russia fired a new kind of missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday and while there was debate over what kind, it appeared to be a nuclear-capable weapon that carried multiple warheads, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war. Kyiv said Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war. Three US officials said it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a smaller range. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that Russia launched a medium-range ballistic missile attack on a Ukrainian military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons. Regardless of its classification, the latest strike highlighted rapidly rising tensions in the past several days. Ukraine fired US and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite warnings by Moscow that it would see such action as a major escalation. Russ...

Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20, that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Oct 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response in Gaza. The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required. Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in airstrike but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this. In May this year, the ICC prosecutor’s office said it had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes. Israel’s milit...

Huawei is planning for mass production of its new AI Ascend 910C chip in Q1 2025. This would be a major step in the company’s chipset progress. It will eventually increase the customer base for Huawei’s AI processors in its home ground. As noted by Reuters, Huawei is ready to ramp up the Ascend 910C AI chip production by the first quarter of next year (Q1 2025). Doing so will help it in battling with its U.S. rival – Nvidia. Although there could be major hurdles in this remarkable journey. The company is seemingly ready to open a new chapter in its AI processor growth despite ongoing U.S. trade challenges. U.S. authorities are already eyeing Chinese firms these days. After discovering the TSMC-made SoC in Huawei’s AI product. Inputs reveal that the Ascend 910C production capacity is currently only 20%. Low yields of chips have been a constant problem for the company. But the OEM will probably resolve the supply issues to a greater extent in the first quarter of 2025. Huawei has ...

The United States Senate has rejected a bill that aimed to block a US weapons sale to Israel amid the country’s war on Gaza, an outcome that rights advocates say does not take away from a growing push to condition aid to Washington’s top ally. A resolution to halt the sale of tank rounds failed to advance in a 79 to 18 vote on Wednesday, with prominent progressives and mainstream Democratic senators backing the effort. Two more resolutions to halt the sale of other weapons also failed after winning fewer than 20 votes. Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the so-called Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) in September to oppose a $20bn weapons deal approved by the administration of President Joe Biden. It was the first time ever that a weapons sale to Israel was subjected to such a vote. While support for the push may appear minimal, it represents a crack in the bipartisan consensus over unconditional US aid to Israel. Beth Miller, political director at the US-based advocacy gr...

US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Linda McMahon as education secretary, putting the former pro-wrestling mogul at the helm of a department Trump has proposed abolishing. “For the past four years, as the Chair of the Board at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), Linda has been a fierce advocate for Parents Rights, working hard at both AFPI and America First Works (AFW) to achieve Universal School Choice in 12 States, giving children the opportunity to receive an excellent Education, regardless of zip code or income,” Trump said in a statement. Trump said she will fight “tirelessly” to expand universal school choice across the US. McMahon, who had been in the running for commerce secretary, headed up the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first administration and was a major donor and early supporter of the Republican president-elect when he first ran for the White House almost a decade ago. The co-founder and former CEO of the WWE professional wrestling franch...

Bangladesh’s former police chief appeared in court on Wednesday, accused of overseeing a deadly crackdown in a failed bid to suppress the August revolution that toppled the regime of Sheikh Hasina. Former police inspector general Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was flanked by serving officers as he was led into court, where prosecutors alleged he was responsible for overseeing massacres, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Eight defendants appeared in court in Dhaka, including Ziaul Ahsan, a former commander of the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, from Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, said the eight men had committed crimes “that even devils dare not do”. Islam said the former police chief was the “commander of all atrocities carried out against the student protesters”, he told reporters outside court after the hearing. Dozens of Hasina’s allies have been taken into custody since her regime collapsed, accused of i...

Bitcoin rose to a record high above $94,000 as a report that Donald Trump’s social media company was in talks to buy crypto trading firm Bakkt added to hopes of a cryptocurrency-friendly regime under the incoming Trump administration. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, has more than doubled this year. It was last at $92,104 in Asian hours on Wednesday, having touched a record high $94,078 just toward the end of the previous session. According to media reports, Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, is close to an all-stock acquisition of Bakkt, which is backed by NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange. As per reports, Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, said bitcoin’s rise to a record high was supported by the Trump deal talk report as well as traders taking advantage of the first day of options trading on the Nasdaq over BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. Cryptocurrencies have soared since the Nov. 5 US election as traders bet President-ele...

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued a warning Wednesday about a "potential significant air attack" and announced its closure, following Moscow's pledge to retaliate after Ukraine launched U.S.-supplied long-range missiles at targets inside Russia for the first time. "The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has received specific information of a potential significant air attack on November 20," the embassy stated on its website. "Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," the message continued, urging U.S. citizens in Ukraine to "be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced." The warning comes a day after a senior Ukrainian official confirmed to AFP that U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles were used in a strike on Russia's Bryansk region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the attack showed Western countries wanted to "escalate" t...

Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing Biden administration on the war’s 1,000th day. Russia said its forces shot down five of six of the missiles, which were fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. Debris of one hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said. Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 kilometres inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions. The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used, but a Ukrainian official source and a US official later confirmed it had used ATACMS. President Joe Biden gave approval just this week for Ukraine to use the ATACMS, the longest-range missiles Washington has supplied, for such attacks inside Russia. Moscow has described their potential use as an escalation that would make Washington a direct combatant in the war ...

The European Union is planning to compel Chinese companies to transfer technology to European businesses in return for EU subsidies, Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday, citing two senior EU officials. According to report, new criteria requiring Chinese businesses to have factories in Europe and share technological knowhow will be introduced when Brussels invites bids for €1bn of grants to develop batteries in December, according to two senior EU officials. The pilot could be rolled out to other EU subsidy schemes, they said. The requirements, while at much smaller scale, echo China’s own regime, which pressures foreign companies into sharing their intellectual property in exchange for access to the Chinese market. The criteria could be subject to change ahead of the tender, officials said. The plans represent part of a hardening stance from Europe towards China as it seeks to protect companies in the bloc — subject to strict environmental regulations — from being undercut...

The second week of the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has commenced, setting the stage for a decisive moment in global climate action. President COP29, Mukhtar Babayev, alongside UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and other key figures, outlined the conference's achievements and challenges during a press conference held in the Karabakh Room. Significant Milestones Achieved President Babayev began by highlighting the progress made during the conference's first week. The adoption of the official agenda marked a critical first step, overcoming long-standing differences among participating countries. Notable achievements include agreements on: Article 6.4: Establishing frameworks for carbon markets to enable countries to trade emissions reductions. Article 6.8: Promoting non-market-based climate solutions such as cooperative approaches and financial investments for sustainable development. ...

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman on Monday acknowledged the importance of virtual private network (VPN), saying that industry cannot function without it. The PTA chairman made the remarks while briefing the Senate standing committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications as the regulatory authority, earlier today, extended the deadline for the registration of VPNs until November 30. The extension came rising concerns over the misuse of unauthorised VPNs for activities such as bypassing internet restrictions and accessing prohibited content. Briefing the Senate body, the PTA chairman urged people associated with IT business to register their VPNs to avoid any inconvenience. The PTA chairman was of the view that the “common man needs VPN” amid the looming ban on the private gateways. “Freelancers and companies required VPNs.” VPN registration policy was introduced in 2016, he told the lawmakers, adding that they re...

The Kremlin has accused United States President Joe Biden of escalating the war in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles supplied by Washington to strike targets inside Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said any US decision to allow Ukraine to fire American missiles deep into Russia would mean the US was directly involved in the conflict. “If such a decision was indeed formulated and brought to the Kyiv regime, then this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of US involvement in this conflict,” Peskov said, adding that President Vladimir Putin had made Russia’s position clear in September. Ukraine has long sought authorisation from Washington to use the powerful Army Tactical Missile System, known by its initials as ATACMS, to hit military installations – and in particular airfields – inside Russia. Quoting several US officials, The New York Times and the Reuters news agency on Sunday reporte...