Daily News Pakistan

Meta’s platform WhatsApp has released a fix in order to address a bug with the chat bar and the emoji keyboard, and it is available to everyone. Several beta testers experienced significant issues while trying to use the chat feature smoothly with the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.25.3.2 update, reported WABetaInfo. Specifically, the chat bar was incorrectly placed underneath the emoji picker when users opened the emoji keyboard making it complicated to transition quickly between these two elements. As users could not easily return to typing in the chat after using the emoji keyboard, the bug caused frustration. Moreover, some users discovered that dismissing the emoji picker through a gesture would temporarily restore the chat bar, however, this workaround was far from ideal, as it disrupted the flow of conversation. Affecting the overall chat experience, this issue caused interruptions in communications. Ensuring that the chat bar always appears in the proper position, the late...

US officials said on Thursday there were likely no survivors after a passenger jet carrying 64 people collided in midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy waters of Washington's Potomac river. "We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly told a news conference at Reagan National Airport. "At this point we don't believe there are any survivors," Donnelly said, adding that 28 bodies had been recovered — including one from the helicopter. As dawn broke over the crash site, emergency vessels with powerful arc lights and inflatables with diving teams could be seen moving back and forth over a wide area of the river. Donnelly said 300 first responders had been involved in the operation — most of it conducted in pitch darkness. "These responders found extremely frigid conditions, they found heavy wind, they found ice on the water, and they operated a...

Dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday, police sources and a Reuters witness said, as tens of millions gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week Hindu festival. Bodies were still being brought to the local Moti Lal Nehru Medical College hospital morgue more than 12 hours after the tragedy at the world's biggest gathering of humanity, although authorities were yet to officially announce the casualty numbers. Nearly 40 bodies were brought to the morgue, three police sources told Reuters. A Reuters witness counted 39 bodies inside the morgue. One of the three police sources and a fourth officer said all 39 were stampede victims. "More bodies are coming in. We have nearly 40 bodies here. We are transferring them out as well and handing over to families one by one," one of the sources said. There were 15 ambulances outside the morgue and about half a dozen peo...

Chinese tech company Alibaba on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model that it claimed surpassed the highly acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the Qwen 2.5-Max’s release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on not just overseas rivals, but also its domestic competition. “Qwen 2.5-Max outperforms … almost across the board GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and Llama-3.1-405B,” Alibaba’s cloud unit said in an announcement posted on its official WeChat account, referring to OpenAI and Meta’s most advanced open-source AI models. The January 10 release of DeepSeek’s AI assistant, powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model, as well as the January 20 release of its R1 model, has shocked Silicon Valley and caused tech shares to plunge, with the Chinese startup’s purportedly low development and usage...

With only two days before Israel bans operations of UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, Pakistan has warned that the move would cripple humanitarian work in war-shattered Gaza and undermine the ceasefire in the enclave. “For over seven decades, UNRWA has been a beacon of hope for millions of Palestinian refugees across the region,” Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told 15-member Council’s meeting convened on Tuesday to address the difficult situation that the agency is facing. With its extensive network of schools, healthcare facilities, and humanitarian services, he said UNRWA remains indispensable in its capacity to provide life-saving assistance, the resumption of education for children and provision of healthcare for the suffering Palestinian, pointing out that it would also be critical for Gaza’s reconstruction. UNRWA’s viability and survival was being threatened by the implementation of last October’s Israeli legislatio...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would be “unacceptable” after US President Donald Trump floated a plan to move them to Egypt and Jordan, AFP reports. “In light of recent public statements, I say very clearly that any relocation plans — the idea that the citizens of Gaza will be expelled to Egypt or Jordan — is unacceptable,” Scholz said at a town hall event in Berlin. Speaking yesterday, Scholz reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution and said the Palestinian Authority should take responsibility for the Gaza Strip. “Peace can only come about if there is the hope of a self-governing future,” Scholz said. “All those who believe that there can be a chance for peace in the region that is not based on self-government for the West Bank and Gaza in a Palestinian state — that will not work,” he said. On the other hand, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain have told the United Nations Security ...

China will host the world's first half-marathon race between humans and robots. Dozens of humanoid robots are expected to join the 21km (13-mile) race in Beijing in April, according to local media. Around 12,000 humans will race robots from more than 20 companies in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area - also known as E-Town, in the capital's Daxing district. Prizes will be awarded to the top three runners. In a statement, E-Town said companies, research institutes, robotics clubs and universities from around the world will be invited to enter their humanoid robots in the race. They must resemble humans and have a mechanical structure allowing them to walk or run, it said. They cannot be on wheels. The robots must be between 0.5m and 2m tall and have a maximum extension distance from the hip joint to the sole of their feet of at least 0.45m. Both remote-controlled and fully autonomous robots will be allowed to participate and operators will be allowed to ...

Chinese startup DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) Assistant on Monday overtook rival ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application available on Apple’s App Store in the United States. Powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model, which its creators say “tops the leaderboard among open-source models and rivals the most advanced closed-source models globally”, the artificial intelligence application has surged in popularity among US users since it was released on January 10, according to app data research firm Sensor Tower. The milestone highlights how DeepSeek has left a deep impression on Silicon Valley, upending widely held views about US primacy in AI and the effectiveness of Washington’s export controls targeting China’s advanced chip and AI capabilities. AI models from ChatGPT to DeepSeek require advanced chips to power their training. The Biden administration has since 2021 widened the scope of bans designed to stop these chips from being exported to China and used to train Chin...

Saudi Arabia’s market regulator said on Monday it would allow foreign investment in listed companies that own real estate within Islam’s two holiest sites of Makkah and Madina, as the Gulf country looks to attract more investment. The move will allow foreigners to invest in firms whose revenues rely on the Islamic pilgrimage, one of the top revenue sources for the oil-rich kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s market watchdog, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), said in a statement the move aimed to attract foreign capital and provide liquidity for present and future projects in the two cities. Saudi Arabia has said it aims to welcome 30 million pilgrims for Haj and Umrah annually by 2030. In 2019, it earned about $12 billion from the two pilgrimages, according to official data. The annual Haj pilgrimage plays a vital role in the country’s economy and upping the number of pilgrims is an integral part of its Vision 2030 economic reform agenda that aims to wean the economy off oil revenues. Sau...

Gunfire rang out across parts of Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), hours after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said they had seized it despite the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to the offensive. The armed group announced the city’s capture in a statement early on Monday, as the DRC government said their advance was a “declaration of war” by Rwanda and the UN said the capture has caused “mass panic” among Goma’s two million residents. The M23 claim came minutes before a 48-hour deadline it had given to Congolese troops to surrender their weapons expired. Its fighters also urged Goma residents to remain calm and for members of the DRC military to assemble at the central stadium. Two witnesses told the Reuters news agency rebels had entered the centre of Goma. One of them shared a brief video showing heavily armed men walking through the streets, the agency reported. The advance by the M23 rebel alliance has forced thousands ...

Nasdaq futures slumped and technology shares slid in Japan on Monday as surging popularity of a Chinese discount artificial intelligence model wobbled investors' faith in the profitability of AI and the sector's voracious demand for high-tech chips. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 2.6% and S&P 500 futures slipped 1.4% by the European morning, and shares in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) supplier Advantest fell 8.5% in Tokyo. Frankfurt-listed shares of Nvidia slipped about 7%, while those of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Meta (NASDAQ:META) fell more than 2% in early European trading. Startup DeepSeek has rolled out a free assistant it says uses lower-cost chips and less data, seemingly challenging a widespread bet in financial markets that AI will drive demand along a supply chain from chipmakers to data centres. "It's a case of a crowded trade, and now DeepSeek is giving a reason for investors and traders to unwind," said Wong Kok Hoong, head of equit...

The Israeli army has killed at least 15 people in southern Lebanon on the day its forces were due to withdraw under a ceasefire deal, according to health officials. In a statement, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that at least 83 people were also wounded as the Israeli army opened fire as people tried to return to their homes. The death toll included a Lebanese soldier, according to a statement by Lebanon’s army. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had issued a statement telling residents of more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon to not go back. The Israeli killings violate a ceasefire agreement reached in November, under which its forces were supposed to withdraw from Lebanon at 02:00 GMT on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Lebanon for the delay, saying Hezbollah has not pulled back sufficiently from the border region. Lebanon denies the claim and has urged Israel to respect the deadline. Under the terms of...

Nasa plans to fly two rockets through active aurora borealis to study the breathtaking unique lights that flash and dance across the Alaskan night sky. The rockets are expected to lift off from the Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska as part of two missions led by space physicists from Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre — Marilia Samara and Robert Michell. The mission's team wants to dive deep into why some auroras flicker, others pulsate and the rest appear to have holes in them, as per Space.com. The launch window for the missions opened on January 21 but studying the light show requires precise timing. The team will use ground-based cameras at the launch site of the rockets as well as an observatory located about 130 miles (209 kilometres) northeast of the trajectory in Venetie, Alaska where the most suitable time for the launch will be determined by observing the auroral activity. Aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, are created when charged...

The Travel and Adventure Show 2025 kicked off in New York. At this two-day event, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has set up a Pakistan Pavilion in collaboration with the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and the Consulate General of Pakistan, New York. A total of 13 Pakistani companies, provincial tourism departments, and PTDC have set up their booths at the Pavilion. The Pakistan Pavilion proudly received the award for Best Partner Pavilion at the Travel & Adventure Show 2025. The Pakistan Pavilion, under the banner of the national tourism brand "Salam Pakistan", was inaugurated by the Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, and the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Gulbar Khan. The award-winning Pakistan Pavilion showcased Pakistan's breathtaking destinations, rich cultural heritage, and a wide range of tourism services. A large number of visitors attended the Pavilion on the first day of the show,...

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced a freeze on almost all new funding for foreign assistance programmes, with exceptions for allies Israel and Egypt. The order from the US State Department on Friday also includes exceptions for emergency food programmes, but not health programmes that supporters say provide vital, life-saving services. In an accompanying memo, newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed senior officials to “ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance”. Humanitarian organisations immediately expressed alarm at the directive, voicing fears that it could contribute to global instability and loss of life. “By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States’ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on n...

Solar overtook coal in the European Union’s electricity production in 2024, with the share of renewables rising to almost half the bloc’s power sector, according to a report released on Thursday. Gas generation, meanwhile, declined for the fifth year in a row and fossil-fuelled power dipped to a “historic low”, climate think tank Ember said in its European Electricity Review 2025. “The European Green Deal has delivered a deep and rapid transformation of the EU power sector,” the think tank said. “Solar remained the EU’s fastest-growing power source in 2024, rising above coal for the first time. Wind power remained the EU’s second-largest power source, above gas and below nuclear.” Overall, strong growth in solar and wind have boosted the share of renewables to 47 per cent, up from 34pc in 2019. Fossil fuels have fallen from 39 to 29pc. “A surge in wind and solar generation is the main reason for declining fossil generation. Without wind and solar capacity added since 2019, the E...

US authorities arrested 538 migrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation just days into President Donald Trump’s second administration, his press secretary said late on Thursday. “The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals,” Karoline Leavitt said in a post on social platform X, adding “hundreds” were deported by military aircraft. “The largest [mass] deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept,” she said. Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States. On Thursday Newark city mayor Ras J Baraka said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “raided a local establishment… detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant”. The mayor said one of those detained during the raid was a US military veteran, “this egregious ac...

Tech titan Elon Musk cast doubt Wednesday on a $500 billion AI project announced by US President Donald Trump, saying the money promised for the investment actually wasn't there. The comments marked a rare instance of a split between the world's richest man and Trump, with Musk playing a key role in the newly installed administration after spending $270 million on the election campaign. In his first full day in the White House, Trump on Tuesday announced a major investment to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence led by Japanese giant SoftBank and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. Trump said the venture, called Stargate, "will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States." But in a post on his social media platform X, Musk said the main investors "don’t actually have the money." "SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority," Musk added in a subsequent post. ‘Wrong’ Musk’s sideswipe could b...

A new wildfire that broke out north of Los Angeles on Wednesday rapidly spread to more than 9,400 acres (38 square km), fuelled by strong winds and dry brush, forcing mandatory evacuation orders for more than 31,000 people. The Hughes fire about 50 miles (80km) north of Los Angeles further taxed firefighters in the region who have managed to bring two major fires in the metropolitan area largely under control. In just a few hours on Wednesday the new fire grew to two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, one of the two monster conflagrations that have ravaged the Los Angeles area. Officials warned people in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County that they faced "immediate threat to life," while much of Southern California remained under a red-flag warning for extreme fire risk due to strong, dry winds. Some 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders and another 23,000 face evacuation warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told a press conference. ...

A Chinese mine worker was killed in an attack in Afghanistan, police said on Wednesday, where the Taliban government is trying to project an image of security to encourage investment from Beijing. The Chinese citizen was travelling on Tuesday evening in northern Takhar province bordering Tajikistan when he was killed by “unknown armed men”, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Akbar Haqqani told AFP. He said the man was travelling “for an unknown reason” and without informing security officials, who typically accompany Chinese nationals on trips in the country. A translator travelling with the man was unharmed, Haqqani added. Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed the details of the killing and said the Chinese citizen was a business owner with a contract to mine in Afghanistan. China’s embassy in Kabul did not respond to a request for comment by AFP and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban government are touting Afghanistan’s vast...

Netflix shares soared in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company reported a blockbuster holiday quarter as a robust content line-up and its entry into live sports streaming brought in a record number of new subscribers. The streaming giant's stock surged over 14% to $994.36, poised to boost its market capitalization by $53 billion to about $425 billion, if gains hold. The year 2024 was pivotal for Netflix as it ventured into live sports. It partnered with WWE, broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day, and secured U.S. broadcast rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cups. "Netflix is simply running away with the streaming market thanks to excellent execution, a stellar content slate, and scale advantages," said Evercore ISI analysts in a note. The company added 18.9 million subscribers in its holiday quarter, blowing past Wall Street's estimate of 9.2 million additions for the quarter and the 13.1 million increase it posted a year ago, acco...

Turkiye has arrested nine people in connection with Tuesday’s fire at a ski resort hotel that killed 76 people. The arrests, announced by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Wednesday, included the owner of the hotel, with questions rising over the safety measures in place. The government has appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the blaze, which is believed to have started in the restaurant section of the 12-storey Grand Kartal Hotel, which sits in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu Mountains. Authorities are facing growing criticism. Witnesses and reports have suggested that the hotel’s fire detection system failed to operate. Survivors among the 238 registered guests reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident and that they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness. The hotel guests described scenes of panic as they fled and jumped from windows to escape. Yerlikaya reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed ...

A fire at a ski resort hotel in Turkiye's Bolu mountains killed 66 people on Tuesday and forced panicked guests to jump out of windows in the middle of the night. Some 51 people were injured, Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said at the Kartalkaya ski resort in northwest Turkey. The blaze began around 3:30am (0030 GMT) on the restaurant floor of the 11-storey Grand Kartal Hotel, authorities said earlier. Several fire engines surrounded the charred building, with white bed sheets tied together and dangling from one upper-floor window where guests attempted to flee. The fire comes at the beginning of a nationwide two-week school holiday, a time when skiers from nearby Istanbul and Ankara usually head to the Bolu mountains. TV footage showed several fire engines surrounding the charred hotel at the base of the ski slopes, with white bed sheets tied together and dangling from one upper-floor window. Investigators were looking into what caused the blaze, authorities said.

WhatsApp is rolling out an exciting new feature that will allow users to enhance their status updates by adding music to their photos and videos. Available now in the Android beta version (2.25.2.5), this feature is designed to make status updates more dynamic and interactive, drawing inspiration from platforms like Instagram, which already offers music-sharing options. With the update, users will see a music icon appear in the status section. By tapping on the icon, they can search for their favorite songs, artists, or trending tracks. Once a song is selected, users can add a 15-second music clip to their photo-based statuses. For video statuses, the music duration will automatically match the video’s length, providing a seamless experience. This feature is made possible through a collaboration between Meta and Universal Music Group, giving users access to a vast catalog of songs directly within WhatsApp. After successfully testing the feature in beta on both Android and iOS, Wh...

Israeli settlers have set vehicles and properties on fire under the protection of Israeli forces while also injuring several Palestinians across the occupied West Bank. Jalal Bashir, head of Jinasfut village council, was quoted as saying by Wafa news agency on Monday evening that the attacks took place in the villages of Jinasfut and Funduq, east of Qalqilya. He added that dozens of Israeli settlers raided Jinasfut and set fire to three homes, a nursery and a workshop. The settlers also set several vehicles owned by Palestinian residents ablaze. One Palestinian sustained a head injury while trying to protect his home. Several others were undergoing treatment after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers. In the southern West Bank, Israeli settlers also stormed a Palestinian home in the Masafer Yatta area. Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones south of Hebron, damaging several of them. Yesh Din, which monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian te...

Donald Trump was sworn in for a historic second term as president on Monday, pledging a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the US culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback. With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president solemnly took the oath of office beneath the huge Rotunda of the US Capitol. Beginning his speech, Trump thanked his predecessors and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying: “The golden age of America begins right now.” He said the US would flourish again and be respected all over the world from now on. “Good morning,” Trump said as he earlier entered the Capitol accompanied by ex-president Joe Biden. Asked how they felt, Biden responded, “Well.” Trump will be sworn in as US president shortly, ushering in another turbulent four-year term with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, secure retribution against his political enemies and transform the r...

China on Monday executed a man who killed 35 people in a car rampage in the southern city of Zhuhai in November, in the country's deadliest mass attack in years. On November 11, Fan Weiqiu, 62, deliberately drove a small SUV through crowds of people exercising outside a sports complex, also injuring 45 in China's worst such crime since 2014. He was sentenced to death last month, with a court saying his motives "were extremely vile, (and) the nature of the crime extremely egregious". State broadcaster CCTV said Monday a Zhuhai court "executed Fan Weiqiu in accordance with the execution order issued by the Supreme People's Court". The municipal public prosecutor "sent personnel to supervise (the execution) in accordance with the law", CCTV reported. Fan's attack sparked widespread public shock and soul-searching in China about the state of society. He was detained at the scene with self-inflicted knife wounds and fell into a coma, pol...

The Taliban's acting deputy foreign minister called on his senior leadership to open schools for Afghan girls, among the strongest public rebukes of a policy that has contributed to the international isolation of its rulers. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, who previously led a team of negotiators at the Taliban's political office in Doha before US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, said in a speech at the weekend that restrictions on girls and women's education was not in line with Islamic Sharia law. "We request the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education," he said, according to local broadcaster Tolo, referring to the Taliban's name for its administration. "In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the doors of knowledge were open to both men and women," he said. "Today, out of a population of forty million, we are committing injustice against twenty million people," he added, referring to ...

TikTok began restoring its services on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump said he would revive the app's access in the U.S. when he returns to power on Monday. "Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it," Trump said at a rally on Sunday ahead of his inauguration, adding that the U.S. will seek a joint venture to restore the short-video sharing app used by 170 million Americans. In a message to users hours before the rally, TikTok said: "As a result of president Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S." TikTok also issued an earlier statement after U.S. users reported being able to access the Chinese-owned service's website while the far more widely used TikTok app itself began coming back online for some users with just a few basic services. As of Sunday evening, the app remained unavailable for download on U.S. app stores. "In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service," TikTok said...

Outgoing US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Sunday aimed at prioritising government resources to help economically distressed American communities — a day before he leaves the White House. Biden’s order targets so-called “Left-Behind Communities” and aims to help incoming President Donald Trump, who will oversee significant spending on infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, broadband internet and other programs approved during Biden’s presidency. By one estimate, 15 per cent of the US population — around 50 million Americans — live in a distressed zip code, which is measured by poverty, unemployment, education, abandoned homes, median income and declines in jobs and businesses. The White House touted a number of programs funded over the last four years including $54 billion in investments to energy communities — coal, oil and gas, and power plant areas — as well as $210 million announced last week for six new tech hubs, $525m for job training in distressed are...