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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    Popular communication app WhatsApp has now introduced end-to-end encryption for iPhone users who have backed up their interactions on iCloud, a move that came softly and swiftly after it did so for Android phones back in 2016.
    “The messaging app reportedly introduced the security measure in 2016, but only confirmed the move this week,” The Independent said on Wednesday.
    The latest development makes it even more challenging for government agencies to tap into iPhones and WhatsApp communications.
    Governments of various countries have been actively engaged in trying to get access to exchanges made on WhatsApp and it has been a burning issue over the past few months. While Android phones are a whole different case, Apple makes sure to protect its users’ privacy by going out of the way, often facing the authorities’ frustration and wrath.
    End-to-end encryption entails that messages shared back and forth between a sender and a recipient are scrambled in a way that they become unreadable. Only the people involved in a conversation hold the ‘key’ to access these locked messages.
    “Not even WhatsApp” can read a conversation, the company mentioned, adding that “this is because your messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and you have the special key needed to unlock and read them. For added protection, every message you send has its own unique lock and key”, the publication reported.
    Before this move, iCloud-backed WhatsApp texts were saved in readable form.
    Earlier, there was uproar regarding the company’s well-built security measures to ensure user privacy when UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd slammed WhatsApp’s safeguarding techniques following the Westminster terror attack.
    “It has emerged that the attacker, Khalid Masood, sent a WhatsApp message moments before launching his assault, and Ms Rudd accused the Facebook-owned app of providing terrorists with a place to ‘hide’,” the media outlet said.
    In addition, London-based think-tank Quilliam’s Nikita Malik commented that communication and social media apps have been utilised by Daesh-inspired terrorists. “In a lot of other incidents people have shared material. […] It can act as a sort of a modern suicide note to explain their justification,” she told The Independent.


  2. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The infamous capital gunman Sikandar was awarded a 16-year prison sentence on Thursday by the anti-terrorism court (ATC) hearing the case.
    ATC Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi also imposed a fine of Rs110,000, ordering that failure to pay the amount would lead to a six-month increase in the sentence.
    The court also ordered that Sikandar’s wife, Kanwal, be exonerated of all charges.   
    On August 15, 2013, Sikandar, armed with automatic weapons and accompanied by his wife and two children, had driven into the middle of Constitution Avenue in Islamabad where he fired into the air and started a standoff with the authorities which lasted well into the night.
    As negotiations were under way, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Zamrud Khan attempted to wrestle the culprit, following which Sikandar broke free and was shot, injured by the police.
    A case was registered against him under Section 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad.


  3. Waqas Dar
    The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be a landmark tournament for all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who becomes the first ever Pakistani cricketer to feature in his sixth successive tournament.
    Only eight other players have featured in six Champions Trophy tournaments: Ricky Ponting (Australia), Rahul Dravid (India), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis (both South Africa) and Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara (all Sri Lanka).
    Shoaib made his tournament debut in the Colombo event in 2002, going on to play in the 2004 and 2013 events in the United Kingdom, 2006 event in India and 2009 tournament in South Africa.
    The 35-year-old has scored 326 runs and taken 10 wickets in 15 ICC Champions Trophy appearances. With 247 ODIs to his name, he will be aiming to become the 42nd player overall to play in 250 or more ODIs when he walks out to play the third match against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on 12 June.
    “I am happy to be part of the Pakistan squad in a quality event like the ICC Champions Trophy,” Shoaib said, in a press release by the ICC. “If I look at the company of players who have played in the six events to date, I feel humbled and honoured as these gentlemen are some of the finest our sport has ever seen.

    Shoaib Malik in action during Pakistan vs India match in 2009 ICC Champions Trophy/Getty Images
    “The Champions Trophy is one of the most important events for Pakistan in recent times for a number of reasons. As the ODI squad, we need to re-establish ourselves as one of the top ODI sides by putting up strong performances against all teams. This will help our global ranking and help us to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Strong performances are also important to boost the morale of our team and millions of well-wishers back home and around the world,” he said.
    “In this perspective, I think I personally have a bigger role to play in the tournament than just performing with the bat and the ball. I need to help the younger guys to overcome their nerves and showcase the talent they possess to themselves and the world that'll be watching.”
    Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is one of the nine Pakistan players who will be making their ICC Champions Trophy debuts.
    The ICC has confirmed the squads for the upcoming tournament, scheduled to be held in the United Kingdom from 1-18 June.
    PAKISTAN: Sarfraz Ahmad (captain), Ahmad Shahzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz.
    AUSTRALIA: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade and Adam Zampa.
    BANGLADESH: Masrafe Mortaza (captain), Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mehedi Hasan Miraj, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sanjamul Islam, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarker, Tamim Iqbal and Taskin Ahmed.
    ENGLAND: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
    INDIA: Virat Kohli (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Umesh Yadav.
    NEW ZEALAND: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Ross Taylor.
    SOUTH AFRICA: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir.
    SRI LANKA: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Lakshan Sandakan and Upul Tharanga.


  4. Waqas Dar
    The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be a landmark tournament for all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who becomes the first ever Pakistani cricketer to feature in his sixth successive tournament.
    Only eight other players have featured in six Champions Trophy tournaments: Ricky Ponting (Australia), Rahul Dravid (India), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis (both South Africa) and Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara (all Sri Lanka).
    Shoaib made his tournament debut in the Colombo event in 2002, going on to play in the 2004 and 2013 events in the United Kingdom, 2006 event in India and 2009 tournament in South Africa.
    The 35-year-old has scored 326 runs and taken 10 wickets in 15 ICC Champions Trophy appearances. With 247 ODIs to his name, he will be aiming to become the 42nd player overall to play in 250 or more ODIs when he walks out to play the third match against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on 12 June.
    “I am happy to be part of the Pakistan squad in a quality event like the ICC Champions Trophy,” Shoaib said, in a press release by the ICC. “If I look at the company of players who have played in the six events to date, I feel humbled and honoured as these gentlemen are some of the finest our sport has ever seen.

    Shoaib Malik in action during Pakistan vs India match in 2009 ICC Champions Trophy/Getty Images
    “The Champions Trophy is one of the most important events for Pakistan in recent times for a number of reasons. As the ODI squad, we need to re-establish ourselves as one of the top ODI sides by putting up strong performances against all teams. This will help our global ranking and help us to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Strong performances are also important to boost the morale of our team and millions of well-wishers back home and around the world,” he said.
    “In this perspective, I think I personally have a bigger role to play in the tournament than just performing with the bat and the ball. I need to help the younger guys to overcome their nerves and showcase the talent they possess to themselves and the world that'll be watching.”
    Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is one of the nine Pakistan players who will be making their ICC Champions Trophy debuts.
    The ICC has confirmed the squads for the upcoming tournament, scheduled to be held in the United Kingdom from 1-18 June.
    PAKISTAN: Sarfraz Ahmad (captain), Ahmad Shahzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz.
    AUSTRALIA: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade and Adam Zampa.
    BANGLADESH: Masrafe Mortaza (captain), Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mehedi Hasan Miraj, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sanjamul Islam, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarker, Tamim Iqbal and Taskin Ahmed.
    ENGLAND: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
    INDIA: Virat Kohli (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Umesh Yadav.
    NEW ZEALAND: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Ross Taylor.
    SOUTH AFRICA: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir.
    SRI LANKA: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Lakshan Sandakan and Upul Tharanga.


  5. Waqas Dar
    Legendary Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan says he is anxious in the company of newer artists, “because they are so well-developed in their craft,” an Indian media outlet reported on Wednesday.
    Big B spoke about how actors younger than him are more honed and bring a fresh energy, although he, himself, has been in the movie industry for more than four decades now, Times of India reported citing an exclusive interview with Bombay Times out today.
    The celebrated film veteran is geared up for Ram Gopal Varma-directed Sarkar 3 – the third in its franchise – to hit cinemas on Friday, May 12. His co-stars include Yami Gautam and Jackie Shroff.
    The renowned artist also shed light on how the Internet and social media have become a major part of daily life, adding that it brings its fair share of cons as well. “I need to be a little cautious about what I say on social media because it could be misinterpreted,” he stated, stressing on how netizens dog celebrities’ moves online and react right away to any update they post.
    Bachchan discussed controversies surrounding Varma’s tweets as well, saying that his friend “has the quality of an honest man and nobody wants to appreciate that”.
    Having worked in The Great Gatsby, the actor explained how he doesn’t worry about Bollywood films striving to be at par with those from Hollywood. “I turn around and ask […], 'When is Hollywood going to make films like us?'” he says.


  6. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: A civilian embraced martyrdom while two others were injured in yet another incident of unprovoked firing by Indian troops at the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria announced.
    Ceasefire violations by India continued along the LoC at Tandar, Sabzkot, Khuiratta, Baron, Bagsar and Khanjar sectors, resulting in the martyrdom of M. Rizwan and critical injuries to two civilians, including a woman, Zakaria said on Twitter.
    The injured were identified as Wilayat Bibi and Abdul Aziz.
    “We condemn Indian acts of deliberate targeting of civilians,” the FO spokesperson said.
     
     


  7. Waqas Dar
    SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is planning to intensify its crackdown on so-called clickbait websites, saying it will begin giving lower prominence to links that lead to pages full of deceptive or annoying advertisements.
    The downgrade of the links was expected to take effect beginning on Wednesday on News Feed, the home page of Facebook where people go to see posts from friends and family.
    Facebook said it wanted to downplay links that people post to websites having a disproportionate volume of ads relative to content or deceptive or sexually suggestive ads along the lines of "5 Tips to be Amazing in Bed" or "1 Crazy Tip to Lose Weight Overnight!"
    Links to websites with pop-up ads or full-screen ads also would be downplayed, it said.
    People scrolling through their News Feed are often disappointed when they click on such links and do not find valuable information, Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's vice president of ads and business platform, said in an interview.
    "People don't want to see this stuff," he said. "We're just trying to figure out how to find it and rank it further down News Feed when possible."
    Facebook uses a computer algorithm to determine which posts people see first from friends and family, and it frequently refines the algorithm to keep up with spam or other concerns.
    The company said in August it was adjusting the algorithm to downplay news stories with clickbait-style headlines, a style of headline that intentionally withholds information or misleads people to get them to click on them.
    In December, facing criticism that hoaxes and fake news stories spread too easily on Facebook in the run-up to the US presidential election on November 8, the company made it easier for people to report those kinds of posts.
    Facebook, the world's largest social media network with 1.9 billion monthly users, has enormous power with its algorithms to potentially drive traffic to media publishers or stymie it.
    The company said it reviewed hundreds of thousands of websites linked to from Facebook to identify those with little substance but lots of disruptive or shocking ads.
    Bosworth declined to name any websites Facebook wants to target. He said only publishers of spam needed to worry about seeing less traffic, and other publishers could see their traffic go up.
    "This is a small number of the worst of the worst," he said.


  8. Waqas Dar
    BEIJING: An earthquake rocked China´s western Xinjiang region on Thursday, killing eight people and injuring another 23 as more than 1,500 homes crumbled, state media reported.
    The shallow 5.4-magnitude quake struck at 5:58 am (2158 GMT Wednesday) 213 kilometres (133 miles) south-southwest of the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, the US Geological Survey said.
    Some people were buried after their adobe homes collapsed, said Wang Fuyou, Communist Party chief of Taxkorgan county, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
    Rescuers were searching for people trapped in the rubble in Quzgun, the worst-hit village, which has a population of 449, Wang said.
    More than 1,500 homes collapsed in Quzgun, Xinhua said.
    More than 9,000 people were relocated in the region while 1,000 soldiers and 1,500 civilians were participating in rescue efforts, the agency said.
    Xinhua said the injured were taken to hospital.
    The People´s Daily posted a photo on Twitter of a building in complete ruins. Other photos, all from the official earthquake monitoring centre, show ceiling panels on the ground in one building and products on the floor in a store.
    The remote and sparsely populated area is close to the border with Tajikistan.
    China is regularly hit by earthquakes, especially its mountainous western and southwestern regions.
    In February 2003 a powerful 6.8-magnitude quake killed 268 people in Xinjiang and caused significant damage.


  9. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Election Tribunal’s verdict on PS-114 Karachi election and ordered re-election in the constituency.
    In its judgment on Sindh Assembly's constituency PS-114 Karachi, the apex court decided against PML-N candidate Irfanullah Marwat’s appeal challenging his disqualification by the Election Tribunal.
    Irfanullah Marwat had won provincial assembly election on a PML-N ticket in 2013 general elections.
    MQM’s Abdur Rauf Siddiqui, who was the runner-up, had challenged Marwat's success before the Election Tribunal.
    In 2014, the Election Tribunal had declared the polls in PS-114 constituency of Karachi, held on May 11, 2013, null and void and ordered to hold fresh elections.
    Marwat had then challenged the Tribunal’s decision in the Supreme Court.  


  10. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: The Pakistan Ambassador to US Aizaz Chaudhry on Wednesday said that Pakistan is determined to root out all kinds of terrorism and will not let its soil be used to stage attacks against any country.
    Pakistan’s envoy to the US was speaking to journalists who met him in Washington DC.
    Chaudhry explained that peace in Afghanistan is directly linked to peace in the region, saying Pakistan is willing to work with the relevant stakeholders to bring peace to the country.
    Read more: Aizaz discusses Afghan peace, border stability with US NSA
    “Pakistan has made tremendous sacrifices in the war against terror,” he said, adding that the Pak-Afghan border area was cleared of terrorists as part of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. “Terrorism had an adverse impact on Pakistan’s economy,” he stated, adding that, “now, however, foreign investors, including those from the US, are now heading towards Pakistan for investment purposes.”
    He stated that Pakistan’s negative image is an issue of the past, and urged the international community to look at Pakistan from a fresh perspective.
    Read more: Security, economic situation in Pakistan has improved tremendously: Aizaz Chaudhry
    “Pakistan has made substantial progress on the economic and security fronts, and is on the path towards sustainable economic development,” he stated further.


  11. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin public hearings on Pakistan’s decision to execute Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav from Monday, May 15, according to statements released from the international court.
    The Indian media on May 10 claimed that the ICJ stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence.
    However, the Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday said that the Foreign Office was still analysing the Indian petition and the ICJ's authority on the case. 
    “The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by India,” said a statement released by ICJ on Wednesday night.
    Read more: Pakistan reviewing India's petition for Jhadav case in ICJ: Sartaj Aziz
    The ICJ will hear India’s observations in the first session and that of Pakistan in the second session, according to ICJ's latest press release.
    The hearing will be streamed live and on demand (VOD) on the ICJ’s website, as well as on the United Nations online television.
    According to a press release issued on Tuesday from The Hague-based ICJ, India requested the United Nations' judicial organ to provide relief "by way of immediate suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused".
    Read more: India pursuing Jadhav’s case to divert attention, says Khawaja Asif
    India contended that it was not granted consular access to Jadhav, which was in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. India also claimed that it learned about the death sentence by way of a press release.
    Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a Counter-Intelligence Operation from Mashkel area of Balochistan for his involvement in espionage and sabotage actives in Pakistan.
    Read more: India moves ICJ against RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav death sentence
    Pakistani officials, according to sources, responded that they do not know of any such decision. Without hearing the other party (Pakistan, in this case), no such decision by the ICJ would be applicable to Pakistan, the officials were quoted as saying.
     


  12. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin public hearings on Pakistan’s decision to execute Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav from Monday, May 15, according to statements released from the international court.
    The Indian media on May 10 claimed that the ICJ stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence.
    However, the Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday said that the Foreign Office was still analysing the Indian petition and the ICJ's authority on the case. 
    “The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by India,” said a statement released by ICJ on Wednesday night.
    Read more: Pakistan reviewing India's petition for Jhadav case in ICJ: Sartaj Aziz
    The ICJ will hear India’s observations in the first session and that of Pakistan in the second session, according to ICJ's latest press release.
    The hearing will be streamed live and on demand (VOD) on the ICJ’s website, as well as on the United Nations online television.
    According to a press release issued on Tuesday from The Hague-based ICJ, India requested the United Nations' judicial organ to provide relief "by way of immediate suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused".
    Read more: India pursuing Jadhav’s case to divert attention, says Khawaja Asif
    India contended that it was not granted consular access to Jadhav, which was in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. India also claimed that it learned about the death sentence by way of a press release.
    Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a Counter-Intelligence Operation from Mashkel area of Balochistan for his involvement in espionage and sabotage actives in Pakistan.
    Read more: India moves ICJ against RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav death sentence
    Pakistani officials, according to sources, responded that they do not know of any such decision. Without hearing the other party (Pakistan, in this case), no such decision by the ICJ would be applicable to Pakistan, the officials were quoted as saying.
     


  13. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Criminal gangs are tricking East Europeans into sham Scottish marriages with Asian men - selling the women for ***, labor and passports - in an expose that campaigners say reveals the extent of human slavery worldwide.
    The cross-border story of how destitute women are lured from Romania and Slovakia with the promise of work in Western Europe, then sold in Scotland as slaves is told in a BBC television documentary to be aired on Wednesday.
    Anti-slavery activists said the story was no surprise, with an estimated 46 million people living in some form of modern slavery around the globe.
    "Sadly, the issue of sham marriage and sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and girls is not a new phenomenon," said Justine Currell, Executive Director at Unseen, an anti-slavery group.
    "This story highlights the depths that these gangs will go to make a profit, regardless of the terrible consequences for the individual," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
    "We must put a stop to this horrendous practice by locking up those responsible and protecting those most at risk of exploitation."
    HUMANS FOR SALE
    In the documentary - "Humans for Sale" - Europe's police agency Europol said Scotland was being targeted by non-European nationals, often men from Pakistan and India, who need to marry a European national to stay in Britain.
    The expose showed how the women are sold to the men by East European criminal gangs, and can end up facing sexual abuse and domestic servitude.
    "After the marriage, they (the women) are kept under control by the traffickers and are exploited as domestic service by the husband, but also raped and sexually exploited by fellow nationals of the traffickers," said Angelika Molnar, head of the agency's trafficking unit.
    British government figures estimate between 10,000 and 13,000 people are living as slaves in Britain alone.
    In 2015, it passed the Modern Slavery Act, introducing life sentences for traffickers and forcing companies to disclose efforts to make their supply chains free from slavery.
    Worldwide, the estimate leaps to 45.8 million, according to the Global Slavery Index, which is an annual study of slavery around the world. Women and girls are especially vulnerable, and the documentary found one Slovakian girl who had been trafficked to Glasgow on three separate occasions.
    The programme looked into dozens of suspicious marriages in Scotland and analyzed how many of the couples were divorced after five years – the minimum time an applicant must live in the country before applying for permanent residency.
    Of 70 suspicious marriages that were registered in one Glasgow district, 40 percent ended in divorce just after five years, according to the investigation.
    The BBC team also visited Roma communities in Slovakia where poverty and desperate living conditions make women particularly vulnerable to trafficking gangs.
    By Thomson Reuters Foundation


  14. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI/HYDERABAD/MULTAN: The local authorities in different parts of the country have issued orders for security and cleanliness arrangements on Shab-e-Barat, which will be observed Thursday night.
    According to a statement, Water and Sanitation Agency Multan Managing Director Muhammad Qasim has directed officers concerned to make special arrangements for supply and drainage of water on Shab-e-Barat. He has asked officers of all the sewerage divisions to ensure necessary facilities are in place at mosques, imambargahs and other places of worship.
    The District Municipal Corporation Karachi South had started a few days backs arrangements for cleanliness around graveyards as well. DMC South Chairperson Malik Muhammad Fayyaz issued orders that proper lighting be ensured at graveyards as people go there to say prayers at the graves of their loved ones. He also directed the officials concerned to take steps for the smooth flow of traffic.  
    To ensure security arrangements, Sindh Inspector General of Police AD Khawaja had directed a few days back all the deputy inspectors general to prepare contingency plans to protect the life and property of people.
    The IGP also ordered that effective steps be taken to bar the purchase or sale of fireworks and any other explosive material and to also stop aerial firing.
    He said anyone found involved in such activities will be immediately taken to task.
    Moreover, he said no one should be allowed to make encroachments at and around graveyards, shrines and other holy places on Shab-e-Barat.


  15. Waqas Dar
    A shallow westerly wave is affecting upper & central parts of the country and likely to persist for the next few days, the Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasted on Thursday.
    Hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country today.
    Explore: 7 easy hacks to beat the heat
    However, rain and dust thunderstorms with gusty winds are expected at a few places in Quetta, Zhob, Makran, Sukkar, Larkana, Sh. Benazirabad, D.G. Khan, D.I. Khan, Malakand, Hazara, Mardan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi divisions, Islamabad, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir.
    Past weather
    The weather remained hot and dry in most parts of the country. However, rain and thunderstorm with gusty winds occurred at isolated places in Malakand, Lahore divisions, FATA, and Kashmir.
    Rainfall in the last 24 Hours (mm)
    KP: Kalam 05, Parachinar 04, Chitral, Dir, Drosh 02. Kashmir: Kotli 03, Rawalakot 02, Garidupatta 01. Punjab: Okara 03.
    Yesterday's highest temperatures
    Dadu, R.Y. Khan, Jacobabad, Sibbi 47°C,  Bahawalnagar  46°C, Sukkur, Noorpurthal,  Larkana, Turbat, Sh. Benazirabad, Rohri, Khanpur, Moenjodaro 45°C, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad 44°C.
     
     
    Data courtesy: Pakistan Meteorological Department


  16. Waqas Dar
    Pakistan’s legendary batsman Younis Khan was given a guard of honour by the West Indies team as he walked in to bat on the first day of the third and final Test on Wednesday.
    Windies captain Jason Holder and his men lined up to form a guard of honour as the veteran batsman came in to bat in the second-last innings – probably even the last – of his international cricket career.
     

    Younis Khan walks in to bat, Pak vs WI 3rd Test

    West Indies players line up to form a guard of honour for Younis Khan, Pak vs WI 3rd Test

    Younis Khan walks onto the pitch as WI players form guard of honour, Pak vs WI 3rd Test
    Pakistan were in a dominant position at 169 for two at stumps on a rain-shortened first day of the Windsor Park Test, driven by an unbeaten 85 by Azhar Ali and 55 from Babar Azam. Younis Khan was not out at 10.
    Both Younis and captain Misbah-ul-Haq are retiring from international cricket at the end of this match, as Pakistan chase their first Test series win in the Caribbean.
    The three-match series is level at 1-1.


  17. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: London police on Wednesday charged three women, including a mother and daughter, with terrorism offences and conspiracy to murder after a raid during which one of them was shot.
    The charges were announced followed the April 27 operation at a home in north-west London, during which 20-year-old Khawla Barghouthi was arrested and Rizlaine Boular, 21, was shot by police.
    Boular´s mother Mina Dich, 43, was arrested the same evening in Kent, southeast England.
    The Metropolitan Police was given permission to hold the women for an extended period of questioning and they were charged on Wednesday with preparation of a terrorist act and conspiracy to murder.
    Counter terrorism officers had been monitoring them ahead of the raid, police said at the time of the arrests, without giving detail of the nature of the terrorism plot they were allegedly behind.
    The women are due to appear in court on Thursday.
    Seven other people arrested as part of the terrorism probe have been released from custody, including three women aged 18-19.
    Britain´s national terror threat level has been "severe", meaning an attack is highly likely, since August 2014.
    The northwest London raid came hours after a man was arrested near the British parliament in possession of three knives.
    Khalid Mohammed Omar Ali, 27, has been charged with preparing terrorist acts in relation to that incident and faces further charges related to alleged bomb-making in Afghanistan.
    His arrest followed the March 22 attack near parliament by Khalid Masood, 52, who drove into pedestrians, killing four, then stabbing a police officer to death before being shot dead by an armed officer.


  18. Waqas Dar
    Little kids who have a consistent bedtime routine and limited screen time may get better at regulating their emotions, a recent study suggests.
    That could be one reason they have a lower risk of childhood obesity than peers with erratic schedules who watch lots of television, the authors say.
    While excessive screen time and insufficient sleep have long been linked to obesity in adults, the current study offers fresh insight into why these connections may hold true even in early childhood, researchers note in the International Journal of Obesity.
    Kids who had better emotional regulation at age 3 were less likely to be obese by age 11 than children who weren't as good at controlling their feelings and impulses, the study found.
    "We found that 3-year-old children who had household routines around bedtimes, mealtimes and screen time were more likely to also have better emotion regulation," said lead study author Sarah Anderson, a public health researcher at Ohio State University in Columbus.
    "Both lack of a regular bedtime and poor emotion regulation increased risk for later obesity," Anderson said by email. "These two factors were independent of each other; the link between bedtimes and obesity could not be explained away by a child's inability to regulate their emotions," she noted.
    For the study, researchers analysed data on 10,955 kids born in the UK from 2000 to 2002, including parents' descriptions of household routines and children's behaviour at age 3 as well as measurements of kids' height and weight at age 11.
    By age 11, about 6 percent of the kids were obese.
    When they were 3 years old, 41 percent of children always had a regular bedtime, 47 percent always had a regular mealtime and 23 percent were limited to no more than an hour of television or video-watching time daily. All of these things were linked to better emotional regulation, the study found.
    The preschoolers had average emotional regulation scores of 2 out of a possible 5 points. And each one-point decline in emotional regulation at age 3 was associated with 38 percent higher odds of obesity by age 11.
    At the same time, inconsistent bedtimes at age 3 were independently associated with 87 percent greater likelihood of obesity by age 11.
    Fewer than one in 10 kids had inconsistent mealtimes, and children who always had a consistent meal routine were more likely than other kids to also always have regular bedtimes.
    Researchers expected to find irregular mealtimes associated with obesity as well, but they found the opposite. Children who rarely if ever had regular mealtimes at age 3 were less likely to be obese by age 11.
    The study isn't a controlled experiment designed to prove how routines or emotional regulation directly influence the risk of obesity in kids. The focus on children born over just a few years in the UK also means the findings might not represent what would happen for kids born at different times in other places, the authors note.
    Still, the results highlight the health benefits of regular bedtimes, said Dr Sujay Kansagra, a pediatric sleep researcher at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
    "Of course, it's also very likely that the same parents that are able to implement schedules and routines have better self-regulation themselves," Kansagra, who wasn't involved in the study, said by email. "Therefore, their children may also benefit, either by modeling their behaviour or due to a genetic predisposition."


  19. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Five of a family were injured in a shooting in Karachi late Wednesday, while police rounded up eight suspects in different raids, officials said.
    Unknown persons opened fire inside a house in Jamshed Road area. Rescue sources said the incident left five people injured, including three women.
    Sources informed Geo News that firing occurred during robbery inthe house. Unknown robbers, after looting valuables, lined-up family members and opened fire on them.
    The injured were shifted to a hospital.
    Meanwhile, police cracked down on criminals late this night, apprehending six suspects, involved in street crimes and drugs dealing, from Saudabad.
    Officials seized weapons, mobile phones and drugs from them. A case was also registered against the suspects.
    Two more street criminals were held in Nazimabad area, police said. Weapons, mobile phones, a stolen motorbike and side mirrors of different cars were recovered from the suspects.
    They were booked on charges of theft and muggings.


  20. Waqas Dar
    CARACAS: Deaths of babies soared by 30 percent last year in Venezuela, hit by shortages of food and medicine in an economic and political crisis, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
    Deaths of mothers in childbirth soared by two-thirds meanwhile, according to the data published online by the ministry -- the latest such figures since 2015.
    It said 11,466 babies younger than one year old died in 2016, up from 8,812 the year before. The report gave no comparative rate in relation to the number of births.
    Among the causes of infant death it cited were septicemia, pneumonia, premature birth and breathing difficulties.
    The report said 756 women died in childbirth, just under 66 percent more than the previous year.
    Cases of malaria rose by 76 percent to more than 240,000.
    Medical associations thought the disease had been eradicated in Venezuela but say it has re-emerged during the past three years of crisis and reached epidemic level in 13 of the country's 24 states.
    The collapse in prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports has left it short of cash to import medicine and basic goods.
    Deadly unrest broke out last month with the opposition demanding elections to replace President Nicolas Maduro, whom they blame for the crisis.


  21. Waqas Dar
    NEW YORK: Snap Inc has many similarities with archrivals Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, but shareholders are eager to avoid one in particular when the social media company reports earnings on Wednesday for the first time since its initial public offering: a plunging stock price.
    Investors delivered a stern message of disappointment to Facebook and Twitter when they posted debut quarterly scorecards following their IPOs. Twitter shares cratered 24 percent the following day, while Facebook's tumbled 11 percent, drops that stand to this day as the biggest one-day losses for both.
    While Facebook's shares recovered from the drubbing within two quarters and trade at nearly four times their $38 IPO price, Twitter’s shares never completely regained lost ground and currently trade down nearly a third from their $26 IPO price.
    The options market is already positioned for a double-digit swing in Snap shares by the end of this week.
    One key to Snap, the owner of the wildly popular Snapchat messaging app, dodging a similar reception from the market rests on whether its user growth and engagement measures meet investors' expectations as Facebook aggressively copies its most successful features.
    The earnings report and subsequent conference call after the bell "will be make it or break it" for Snap, said Eric Kim, co-founder and managing partner at Goodwater Capital.
    The stock, which started trading in March in the largest tech IPO since Facebook's in 2012, jumped 44 percent on its debut, but has since fallen 5.5 percent from that day's closing price. On Wednesday, the shares were down 1.11 percent to $23.06.
    FOCUS ON USER GROWTH
    Wall Street expects Snap to post a quarterly loss of 19 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Analysts expect revenue of close to $158 million, roughly four times the $38.8 million figure from a year earlier, but down about 5 percent from $165.7 million for the fourth quarter of last year.
    But investors will focus on Snapchat's user numbers and how the service is holding up against encroachments by rivals.
    In recent months, Facebook has launched Facebook Stories, a near-identical clone of Snapchat's most popular feature, also called Stories. The feature lets users post a string of videos and photos that disappear after 24 hours and is also available on other Facebook services, including Instagram and WhatsApp.
    "Much of the call should be around Stories as it represents the bulk of Snap's future value given the importance of video advertising to the company's relatively nascent business model," Goodwater's Kim said.
    Facebook recently announced that Instagram Stories alone had reached 200 million daily active users (DAU), eclipsing Snapchat's year-end overall DAU count of around 161 million.
    JPMorgan expects Snap's first-quarter DAU to grow to 166 million, while Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co Inc is targeting 173 million.
    Snap still may have an edge over Facebook with its active user base aged between 18 and 34, many of whom visit more than 18 times a day and are a highly coveted group for advertisers.
    "Our favorable outlook on Snap stems not only from the company's ability to innovate and cater to millennials in high value markets, but also capture publisher content and consumer mindshare as video consumption grows on digital," said James Cakmak, an analyst at Monness, Crespi.
    A POPULAR SHORT
    Despite a modest rally in Snap shares in recent weeks, short sellers - who aim to make a profit by selling borrowed shares and buying them back at a lower price later - have not let up in placing bearish bets, according to Ihor Dusaniwsky, head of research at financial analytics firm S3 Partners.
    "We saw $100 million worth of short selling in this past week, ahead of the earnings and Snap short interest stands at $946 million, which is the highest level since the IPO," he said.
    Meanwhile, options market activity suggests a swing of about 13.5 percent in either direction by Friday, based on the price of certain options expiring this week.
    "Snap's option activity was bullish last week, but the bears came out in greater force just two days before earnings," said David Russell, senior manager at online broker E*Trade in Chicago.
     


  22. Waqas Dar
    The birth of nine Cambodian royal turtle hatchlings has sparked hope for the future of a species on the brink of extinction, conservationists said Wednesday.
    The baby turtles hatched this week, three months after a villager discovered a 14-egg nest in sand along a river in southwestern Koh Kong Province -- the only place where the reptile is still found in Cambodia.
    The freshwater turtle, also known as the southern river terrapin, was thought to be extinct in Cambodia until 2000, when a small population was re-discovered in the Sre Ambel river.
    The Wildlife Conservation Society (WSC) and Cambodian government have been desperately trying to protect the species ever since with a program that hires former egg collectors to search for and protect nests, instead of harvesting the eggs.
    "I am proud of the result, especially to be part of conserving Cambodia’s royal turtles from extinction," villager Long Sman, who helped guard the nest of the latest hatchlings, was quoted as saying by the WSC.
    The turtle species acquired its name because only Cambodia's royal family was historically allowed to consume its eggs.
    The nine new hatchlings will join around 200 others in a nearby conservation centre "for feeding, raising and possibly breeding in the future," the WSC said in a statement.
    The group warned that sand dredging, illegal logging and fishing remain critical threats to the small number of royal turtles in the wild.
    Only one nest was found this year compared to two nests found in 2016 and three nests in 2015, said WSC's technical advisor Som Sitha.
    "This is a big concern for royal turtle conservation," he added.
    Deforestation and poaching have devastated many species in Cambodia, one of Asia's poorest and most corrupt nations.
    Last year tigers were declared "functionally extinct" in the country, with the last big cat seen on a camera trap in 2007.
    In its haste to develop, the government has been criticised for allowing firms to clear hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest land -- including in protected zones -- for everything from rubber and sugar cane plantations to hydropower dams.


  23. Waqas Dar
    SAN JOSE: Nvidia Corp announced a partnership with Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday, saying the Japanese car maker would use Nvidia's artificial intelligence technology to develop self-driving vehicle systems planned for the next few years.
    Toyota will use Nvidia's Drive PX artificial intelligence platform for its autonomous vehicles planned for market introduction, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in his opening keynote at the company's GPU Technology Conference in San Jose.
    Nvidia came to prominence in the gaming industry for designing graphics processing chips, but in recent years has been a key player in the automotive sector for providing the so-called "brain" of the autonomous vehicle.
    Nvidia, which also has partnerships with Audi and Mercedes, is among the more popular technology partners in the self-driving car race. Its partnership with Toyota is the latest in a string of alliances between tech companies, automakers and suppliers in the fast-growing sector.
    Nvidia's Drive PX supercomputer fuses incoming data from the car's hardware such as cameras and radar and uses artificial intelligence to help the car understand and react to its environment.
    "We're talking about not just development now but the introduction of vehicles into the market," said Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director of automotive. "Now we have the biggest (automaker) in Japan using our Drive PX platform."
    In January, Nvidia and Audi said the German automaker would use the Drive PX to help it put autonomous vehicle on the road starting in 2020. Nvidia is also co-developing with Mercedes a project to come to market within the next 12 months, both companies said in January.
    Toyota, which last year set up a U.S.-based Toyota Research Institute (TRI) to focus on AI and robotics, envisions a dual-track development of autonomous technology. It is simultaneously developing full self-driving cars while also working on what it calls "guardian angel" partially autonomous technology that may still require involvement from drivers.


  24. Waqas Dar
    The White House slapped down calls for a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia, after the US president abruptly fired his FBI director.
    Trump's shock dismissal of James Comey -- the man overseeing federal investigations into suspected Kremlin interference in the 2016 vote -- has sparked a political firestorm in Washington and plunged his young presidency in turmoil.
    Furious Democrats suggested the FBI's work will now be hopelessly tainted and demanded a special prosecutor akin to those appointed during Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal or the run-up to Bill Clinton's impeachment.
    "We don't think it's necessary," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, batting back that demand.
    Sanders said the White House wanted the FBI probe -- and parallel congressional investigations -- to continue and to wrap up their work. "No one wants this to be finished and completed more than us."
    The White House says Comey's firing was motivated solely by concerns over his handling of the high-stakes probe into Hillary Clinton's emails.
    A US official said the president had been "losing confidence" in his FBI chief for several months, and that after watching Comey testify before Congress as part of the Russia probe last week Trump was "strongly inclined to remove him."
    The president personally defended his summary dismissal of Comey and rejected suggestions it was linked to the Russia investigation.
    "He wasn't doing a good job, it's very simple, he was not doing a good job," Trump told reporters as hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the White House chanting "shame on you!"
    His comments came shortly after Trump hosted Russia's top diplomat at the White House, in his highest-level Kremlin encounter since taking office.
    Fabrications

    Trump described an Oval Office meeting with Sergei Lavrov, the highest-profile Kremlin official to visit the White House in years, as "very, very good."
    Under Comey, the FBI concluded that Russia tried to sway the election in Trump's favor through an influence and cyber-hacking campaign.
    The bureau has been probing whether Trump's campaign colluded with such an effort -- something the president rejects as "fake news."
    Lavrov, who last set foot in Washington in August 2013, dismissed all claims of election meddling as "fabrications."
    In a sharp new development, the Senate Intelligence Committee announced Wednesday it issued a subpoena to Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn for Russia-related documents, which he had previously declined to provide.
    Flynn was sacked for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with the Russian ambassador to Washington.
    Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores denied reports that Comey had asked for more resources to intensify the probe shortly before being fired.
    "(I) don't know how else I can spell this out. The story is just wrong," she told AFP.
    Trump's decision to terminate Comey's tenure, effective immediately, stunned Washington and drew comparisons to the Watergate scandal that brought down Nixon.
    The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, on Wednesday dismissed calls for a special prosecutor. He said such an individual would only "serve to impede the current work being done."
    But Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said even among Republicans there was a "growing feeling of disquiet and doubt about the direction that the president is taking."
    He raised the prospect that White House stonewalling on a special prosecutor could trigger a drastic congressional response.
    "I would oppose confirmation of a new FBI director until there is support for a special prosecutor," he told reporters.
    Backlash

    A defiant Trump took to Twitter to defend his decision, vowing: "James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI."
    "Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!"
    But White House officials privately expressed surprise at the level of backlash, particularly from leading Republicans.
    Several members of the president's own party, including Richard Burr -- head of the Senate Intelligence committee -- sought to distance themselves from the White House.


  25. Waqas Dar
    Cable station FXX announced on Wednesday it had ordered an animated series starring hit Marvel anti-hero Deadpool, with Golden Globe-winning actor Donald Glover leading the creative team.
    The show will capitalize on 20th Century Fox's "Deadpool" movie, which made $780 million -- 13 times its budget -- last year, with Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking mercenary nicknamed "The Merc with the Mouth."
    Scheduled to debut in 2018, the as-yet untitled series -- which is being provisionally called "Marvel's Deadpool" -- will be produced by Marvel Television with FX Productions and ABC Signature Studios.
    "How much more fun could this be? Deadpool, Donald and FX -- the perfect fit for the Merc with the Mouth," said Marvel Television chief Jeph Loeb.
    "We're thrilled that our relationship with FX that started with 'Legion' continues with what is sure to be a groundbreaking show in adult animation."
    It was not clear whether Reynolds will be involved in the 10-episode series, with none of the voice actors yet announced.
    FXX, a cable entertainment channel owned by Fox's FX Networks, is carried in 85 million homes.
    Glover and his brother Stephen, the award-winning creators of "Atlanta," the highest-rated comedy in the history of FX Networks, will be the showrunners, executive producers and main writers.
    The multi-talented Glover -- who is also a Grammy-nominated musician, performing under the stage name Childish Gambino -- won two Golden Globes for acting and producing the show.
    Already a mainstay in the Marvel family, he can next be seen in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," and then as Lando Calrissian in a "Star Wars" spin-off due for release in 12 months before appearing in "The Lion King" in July 2019.
    "Donald Glover is an incredibly gifted and versatile artist who'll bring the untitled Marvel's Deadpool series to life with the same intense, singular vision as his breakout hit 'Atlanta,'" said Nick Grad, president of original programming at FX.
    "With the success of 'Legion,' we’re looking forward to again partnering with Marvel Television to create a series that is bold, striking and entirely original."
    Marvel Television's portfolio includes ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and, for Netflix, "Daredevil," "Luke Cage," "Jessica Jones," and "Iron Fist."
    It also makes "Avengers" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" for Disney XD as well as co-producing on "Legion" for FX.
    The company has six new series in the pipeline for Netflix, ABC, Freeform and Hulu.


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