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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    Game of Thrones continues to tease its fans.
    and this time with new pictures.
    Yes, it's actually true.
    Game of Thrones has once again given a sneak peek of the show by releasing brand new pictures from the show.
    While the pictures were released by HBO which provide the early look of the show, the GOT fans instantly dived into the sea of speculations.
    Check out the pictures below!












  2. Waqas Dar
    Tesla Inc founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said his latest company Neuralink Corp is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices.
    Neuralink is aiming to bring to the market a product that helps with certain severe brain injuries due to stroke, cancer lesion etc, in about four years, Musk said in an interview with website Wait But Why.
    "If I were to communicate a concept to you, you would essentially engage in consensual telepathy," Musk said in the interview published on Thursday.
    Artificial intelligence and machine learning will create computers so sophisticated and godlike that humans will need to implant "neural laces" in their brains to keep up, Musk said at a tech conference last year.
    "There are a bunch of concepts in your head that then your brain has to try to compress into this incredibly low data rate called speech or typing," Musk said in the latest interview.
    "If you have two brain interfaces, you could actually do an uncompressed direct conceptual communication with another person."
    The technology could take about eight to 10 years to become usable by people with no disability, which would depend heavily on regulatory approval timing and how well the devices work on people with disabilities, Musk was quoted as saying.
    In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had launched a company through which computers could merge with human brains. Neuralink was registered in California as a "medical research" company last July, and he plans on funding the company mostly by himself.


  3. Waqas Dar
    PANAMA CITY: The co-founder of the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal says the fallout has set off a "thriving" boom in the creation of tax shelters in the United States.
    Juergen Mossack, who partnered with Ramon Fonseca to create the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, said in a document obtained Thursday by AFP that after the Panama Papers leak a year ago, the number of new tax shelters created has fallen by 30 percent in Panama and elsewhere.
    "However, jurisdictions such as Delaware, Nevada and others located in the United States, where virtually no due diligence is required... incorporations are thriving!" Mossack said.
    "Whilst Panama tries hard to be whiter than white, others are profiting," he wrote.
    The Panama Papers, published a year ago in a leak of more than 11 million documents belonging to Mossack Fonseca, spurred fresh government action against the secretive world of tax fraud and evasion.
    Before the scandal exposed the global extent of offshore tax havens, Panama was the last major financial center refusing all exchange of banking information.
    But since then, Panama has adopted new legislation and signed up to the international fight against tax fraud, with all the transparency required.
    Law firms in Panama have been required to undertake due diligence -- to know their clients and the final beneficiaries of the companies they create -- since 2015.
    Mossack said US jurisdictions have "zero transparency" and that is why, after the scandal, there has been an increase in clients creating tax shelters in the US who previously would have gone to Panama.
    According to the Panamanian economy ministry, the creation of offshore companies fell 27 percent in 2016 from the prior year.
    No one has been arrested in the Panama Papers leaks scandal. In this Central American country, tax evasion is not a crime.
    But Mossack and Fonseca have been placed in provisional detention on money-laundering charges as part of a sprawling Brazilian corruption probe dubbed "Operation Car Wash."
    Mossack´s letter, written from detention, was dated April 10.
    Panama´s chief prosecutor, Kenia Porcell, said his office was cooperating with European countries investigating tax fraud revealed in the Panama Papers.
    The Panama Papers linked some of the world´s most powerful leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, former British prime minister David Cameron and others to unreported offshore companies.
    Mossack said more than 98 percent of his firm´s clients were not Panamanian nationals and that 85 percent of the companies noted in the Panama Papers were set up to comply with other jurisdictions.
    According to him, "less than one percent of all the companies incorporated" by Mossack Fonseca could have "a possible wrongful use."
    If some of the companies set up by Mossack Fonseca were used by their owners to try to cheat on their taxes "we would not have been aware of that, since no client in his right mind would tell people he has never met that he would use the company for an illegal purpose," he said.
    "Such a disclosure would automatically disqualify him from being accepted as a client."


  4. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has announced to hold a protest rally in the capital next Friday to demand resignation from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over the split verdict by the Supreme Court in Panama leaks case.
    Speaking to media after a chaotic session of the National Assembly, Khan reiterated his demand that the Prime Minister step down, following the apex court’s ruling that further investigation was needed into corruption allegations levelled by the opposition at the PM and his family.
    Citing the dissent note by two judges of the Supreme Court, Khan said the PM had lost the moral authority to rule the country.
    “Two senior SC judges [of the five-member bench] said the PM should be disqualified because he was no longer ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen’,” the PTI chief said, adding that any other ruler in another country would have stepped down after these “historic” remarks.
    “Nawaz Sharif no longer has the moral authority to be the prime minister. In any other country the ruling party itself would have demanded resignation from its ruler,” Khan said.
    “Why is PML-N distributing sweets? What are they celebrating?” the PTI chairman questioned.
    Khan said his party has invited all other opposition parties to join in the protest.
    Rejecting the JIT, he said it was not possible for the team to carry out transparent investigation if Nawaz Sharif continued to be the prime minister.
    Khan compared the current scenario with the UK where David Cameron quit after he lost the Brexit referendum, despite being elected with a landslide majority, because he lost the moral ground to lead.
    The SC, in its historic verdict on Thursday, ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation team (JIT) to carry out an investigation into how Gulf Steel Mill came into being, its sale and liabilities, how the sale proceeds ended up in Jeddah, Qatar and the UK, and how the Prime Minister's children at their tender age had the means to purchase the flats in the early nineties.
    Read more: SC order on Panama Leaks case
    The apex court also ordered the JIT to present its report every two weeks before the SC bench, and directed the Prime Minister and his sons Hasan and Hussein to appear before the JIT as and when required, which will complete its investigation within 60 days of its formation.
    The ruling PML-N declared the verdict a 'victory' for the party and said it would observe 'Thanksgiving' day on Friday. 
    At the other end of the spectrum, PTI announced it would mark Friday as the day of 'Thanksgiving and Riddance' and said it would offer 'Nawafil' after the Friday prayers to acclaim the verdict.
    Read more: PML-N observes ‘Thanksgiving’, PTI marks ‘Day of Riddance’


  5. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The opposition leader, Khursheed Shah, demanded on Friday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns from his position.
    The demand was made at a National Assembly session held Friday morning.
    However, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Sheikh Aftab said Nawaz is the elected representative of the people of Pakistan and would not step down from his position.
    But the opposition leaders said Joint Investigation Team was a "drama" and that nothing would come out of it.
    Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed were also present at the assembly session.  
    While low attendance was witnessed on the treasury benches, those present on the opposition benches stood up from their seats in protest. The leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party protested by pounding their desks.
    Since no one from the opposition or treasury benches were maintaining decorum, the speaker adjourned the session for an undefined period.  
     


  6. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Musa Gilani, including 11 others were indicted in the ephedrine quota case on Friday.
    The case was being heard by the special court judge, Irum Niazi.
    The case has been adjourned till May 12.
    The Anti Narcotics Force had alleged that Musa was involved in illegal allotment of the drug, ephedrine.


  7. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: With no clear winners or losers following the eagerly-anticipated verdict by the Supreme Court in the Panama leaks case, the ruling PML-N and the opposing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have both decided to observe Friday as ‘Thanksgiving day’.
    PML-N said it would observe Friday as 'Thanksgiving Day', after the Supreme Court declared there was insufficient evidence to disqualify Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and ordered further investigations into corruption allegations levelled by the opposition.
    The people and workers of the party would express their gratitude to the Almighty today, a PML-N spokesperson said, as the PML-N camp hailed the apex court’s verdict a victory for the party.
    At the other end of the spectrum, Imran Khan’s PTI announced it would mark Friday as the day of ‘Riddance and Thanksgiving’ to acclaim the Panama verdict.
    PTI’s central information secretary Naeemul Haq said his party would observe ‘Thanksgiving day’ across the country on the instruction of party chairman Imran Khan.
    He said that the party workers would offer “Nawafil’ after the Friday prayers.
    “Langar” (free food) would also be distributed among deserving people and prayers would be held today for the country's future, he added.
    PML-N celebrates SC decision
    Declaring the Panama verdict a victory for the party, PM’s daughter Maryam Nawaz said the petitioners had failed to prove any of their allegations and shared pictures of the celebratory atmosphere at the PML-N camp on Twitter.
    Speaking to media following the decision, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said that Nawaz Sharif, his team, PML-N, their voters and all Pakistanis who are advocates of democracy had won.
    "The order to create a joint investigation team is the victory of the PM’s point of view,” Rafique added.
    Speaking to Geo News in London, PM’s son Hasan Nawaz thanked God for the decision.
    Reacting to the apex court’s decision, the Prime Minister vowed to implement ‘in letter and spirit’ the verdict of the Panama leaks case and said that he had put himself before the court’s mercy and Allah made him successful.
    Read: PM vows to implement Panama verdict ‘in letter and spirit’
    ‘What is PML-N celebrating?’
    PTI chief Imran Khan called for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down until an investigation team ordered by the Supreme Court completed its probe.
    Terming the apex court’s verdict "a historic judgment in Pakistan's history", he told reporters on Thursday that all five members of the bench had rejected PM's explanation into his source of income and money trail that led to his children's offshore holdings.
    Read: Imran Khan says PM should resign

    PTI leadership celebrating Panama Leaks case verdict
    Khan also took to Twitter to congratulate the nation and his party workers, and told them to “celebrate their success”.
    He also questioned what the PML-N was celebrating.
    The SC verdict ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation team (JIT) to carry out an investigation into how Gulf Steel Mill came into being, its sale and liabilities, how the sale proceeds ended up in Jeddah, Qatar and the UK, and how the Prime Minister's children at their tender age had the means to purchase the flats in the early nineties.
    Read: SC order on Panama Leaks case
    The apex court also ordered the JIT to present its report every two weeks before the SC bench, and directed the Prime Minister and his sons Hasan and Hussein to appear before the JIT as and when required, which will complete its investigation within 60 days of its formation.


  8. Waqas Dar
    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he would meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington on May 16-17, in their first meeting since Trump took office in January.
    Ties between the United States and Turkey have deteriorated sharply since a failed military coup in July and disagreements over US support for a Kurdish militia group fighting Daesh in Syria. Turkey sees the group as an extension of the outlawed PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey.
    Ankara is also pressing for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in the United States who is accused by Erdogan of engineering the failed coup.
    However, Erdogan sees prospects for improvement in ties between the NATO allies under Trump. The two leaders have talked on the telephone three times since Trump took office in late January, including a call on Monday after Erdogan secured a narrow win in a referendum on constitutional changes to give the president sweeping new powers.
    Speaking in an interview with broadcaster A Haber, Erdogan said challenging the results of the referendum was beyond the remit of Turkey's Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, after Turkey's main opposition vowed to take legal action against what it said were irregularities.
    "This is nothing but an attempt to make an election with 86 percent participation into a controversial matter," he said.
    Under the changes, the president will appoint the cabinet and vice-presidents and select and remove senior civil servants without parliamentary approval. Erdogan will also be allowed to reassume leadership in the AK Party he co-founded, where under the existing order he is nominally committed to party neutrality.


  9. Waqas Dar
    BARCELONA: Scientists have discovered a fossilised footprint from about 247 to 248 million years ago in the Pyrenees mountains in Spain that they believe was made by a previously unknown species of reptile.
    The footprint was found among a series of tracks made by the ancestors of crocodiles and dinosaurs – a group known as archosauromorphs, the researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Catalan Institute of Palaeontology said in a statement.
    The scientists dubbed the new species of reptile Prorotodactylus mesaxonichnus in an article published in scientific journal Plos One.
    They believe the species looked like a crocodile but with wider legs and was about a metre-and-a-half (five feet) long.
    The researchers said the footprints suggest the tracks which they found in the Pyrenees mountains in northeastern Spain on the border with France were made by animals that used all four limbs to walk and often also left marks with their tails.
    "The new Pyrenean footprints indicate that these animals used all four limbs to walk and often also left marks with their tails," said Catalan Institute of Palaeontology researcher Josep Fortuny.
    The researchers believe the archosauromorphs dominated the river beds of the ancient Pyrenees. They said they are now looking for fossilised bones of the animals that made the tracks.
    At the time, the Earth was very different from today, with continents grouped into one supercontinent called Pangaea and the planet was recovering from a mass extinction that wiped out most animals.
    About 252 million years ago, a mass extinction devastated life on land and in the oceans. Some 90 percent of species disappeared.


  10. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 91st birthday on Friday, with the world's longest-reigning monarch taking a step back from royal duties to allow the younger generation to step forward.
    A gun salute at London's Tower Bridge and at Hyde Park will mark the Queen's birthday, a notably more low-key affair after a year of festivities to mark her hitting 90. A thousand beacons were lit around the country on April 21, 2016, and other events last year included street parties and a pageant at her Windsor Castle home.
    "I'm still alive," the Queen joked in June during a visit to Northern Ireland, one of the numerous engagements filling the royal calendar.
    But the ever-popular monarch has begun handing over duties to other royals, standing down as patron of 25 bodies at the end of last year, including the Wimbledon tennis championships.
    While her eldest child Prince Charles is heir to the throne, greater attention has fallen on his two sons William and Harry, who have taken on some of the Queen's duties.
    The arrival of Prince William and his wife Kate's two children – Prince George and Princess Charlotte – has cemented the country's positive view of the royal family.
    Prince Harry is also admired, receiving widespread acclaim this week for speaking out about seeking counselling years after his mother's death when he was a child.
    Reforming the royals
    The Queen was instrumental in bringing the royals into modern times, after ascending to the throne in 1952 as Britain's empire was in sharp decline.
    "My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service," she said in a speech to mark her 21st birthday, years before starting her reign.
    One of the most testing periods for the monarch came during the 1990s. The Queen dubbed 1992 her "annus horribilis" after the marriages of three of her four children broke down and Windsor Castle was badly damaged in a fire.
    Five years later she faced the wrath of the British public when Princess Diana died and the Queen chose to stay at her estate in Scotland rather than return to London.
    Buckingham Palace has since been careful to avoid such clashes with the Queen's subjects.
    She has remained quiet about political issues including the divisive Brexit referendum and, in January, Prime Minister Theresa May's controversial decision to invite US President Donald Trump for a state visit.
    In modernising her family's image and refusing to become political, the Queen has held on to the nation's affection. While generally in good health, she suffered a cold over Christmas and her recovery was watched anxiously.
    Despite being followed closely in her public appearances – feeding an elephant at a British zoo this month, for example – she has succeeded in keeping life behind palace doors relatively secret.
    While her love of horses and Corgis is well publicised, palace insiders have revealed that the Queen's private pastimes include crossword puzzles and a Dubonnet-and-gin cocktail before lunch.


  11. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Misbah-ul-Haq defied critics and his advancing age to take Pakistan from the depths of a major spot-fixing scandal to the world´s number one Test team, becoming their most successful captain along the way.
    The 42-year-old, who will retire at the end of the West Indies Test series starting Friday, completed Pakistan´s climb to the top of the rankings with a hard-fought draw in England in 2016, exorcising the ghosts of the tainted visit six years earlier.
    Derided for his cautious batting in the semi-final loss to India in the 2011 World Cup, and forced to retire early from the Twenty20 format, a more sensitive soul may have retreated into early retirement.
    Not so for Misbah, who started out in street cricket, weathered early trials and disappointments and has survived to become the oldest current Test player.
    Born in the city of Mianwali in the central province of Punjab, he was advised by his father, a disgruntled ex-hockey star, to put aside thoughts of being a sportsman and pursue his studies.
    His father´s untimely death briefly changed young Misbah´s priorities, and he reluctantly agreed to a job at a textiles company -- but never showed up for work.
    "It was a tough decision," Misbah recalled to AFP. "I had to fight with circumstances and finally made my mark in cricket grounds."
    In order to overcome a lack of opportunities in his hometown, he regularly commuted by train to bigger cities where he laid the foundations of his career, first in street tournaments featuring tennis balls bound in electric tape, and later at domestic level.
    His international career started with the tour of New Zealand in 2001, but he failed to make an impression and was duly dropped in an era dominated by middle-order heavyweights Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohmammed Yousuf and Younis Khan.
    But he forced himself back into contention with strong domestic performances and was a surprise pick for the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, where at the age of 33 he was Pakistan´s find of the tournament, bringing them tantalisingly close to victory over arch-rivals India with a knock of 43 in the final.
    ‘Desperate times´
    He got out to an infamous scoop shot that was seared into fans´ collective memory, as Pakistan fell short by five runs.
    "It was very disappointing to lose that final," he said. "I brought Pakistan back from a losing position but couldn´t cross the finish line and that´s the most disappointing moment of my career."
    Misbah followed up with two brilliant Test hundreds on the 2007 tour of India, but his career dived again following a poor showing on the Australia tour in 2010.
    "They were desperate times," he told AFP at the time. "You are in the eleven and suddenly you are out, it prompts you to burn all your cricket equipment in anger."
    That summer, Pakistan found itself led by a young and well-regarded captain in the shape of Salman Butt, backed by two of the best fast bowlers in world cricket, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
    But after some encouraging performances, the team and its fans were left reeling when a British tabloid spot-fixing sting led to lengthy bans and jail terms for the disgraced trio.
    Much-maligned Misbah was handed the daunting task of rebuilding, and never looked back.
    Aided by unreadable off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, his canny captaincy and calming presence helped unite a fractious team which he led to nine undefeated series (five won, four drawn) in the UAE, where Pakistan´s home matches are played for security reasons.
    In 2016, he was handed the International Cricket Council´s Spirit of Cricket award, and his current win-loss ratio stands at 24-14 -- spoilt somewhat by the consecutive whitewashes to New Zealand and Australia which prompted calls for him to finally retire.
    A last hurrah against an unfancied West Indies side may give him a fitting send-off, and Misbah believes posterity will view him kindly.
    "My legacy will be in my numbers and the respect earned by the team," he said.


  12. Waqas Dar
    LOS ANGELES: Barcelona´s Brazilian superstar Neymar, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James were among seven sports figures named Thursday in Time Magazine´s annual list of the world´s most influential people.
    Polarizing NFL free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick also appeared on the list that included pioneers, artists and leaders.
    Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein, 2016 Olympic gold-medal gymnast Simone Biles and Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Conor McGregor were also on the list of 100.
    Neymar, who joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013, is widely viewed as the player most likely to take over from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the game's stand-out performer.
    An appreciation written by England icon David Beckham calls Neymar "a once in a generation type of footballer".
    "He is a young man who at 25 is well on his way to becoming the best player in the world," the former England captain writes in Time Magazine.
    "A once-in-a-generation type of footballer who has fans on their feet whenever he gets the ball."
    Beckham also lauds the 25-year-old forward´s humility and his ability to cope with the expectations heaped on him as the talisman of the national team in football-mad Brazil.
    Brady collected his fifth Super Bowl ring in February after helping the Patriots overcome a 25-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime of Super Bowl 51.
    "But Tom´s real achievement is that he willed himself to be (the best)," US talk show host Conan O´Brien wrote of Brady.
    James was instrumental in helping his team rally from a 3-1 series deficit to stun the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
    "By making good on his pledge to bring a championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers and by investing in the promise of future generations through his foundation, LeBron James has not only bolstered the self-esteem of his native Ohio but also become an inspiration for all Americans -- proof that talent combined with passion, tenacity and decency can reinvent the possible.
    "Poetry in motion, indeed," wrote Rita Dove, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former US poet laureate.
    Kaepernick´s initial refusal to stand for the national anthem as part of his protest for racial injustice led others around the NFL to follow suit, but some have speculated it has made him less attractive to some NFL teams despite his talent.
    "I thank Colin, for all he has contributed to the game of football as an outstanding player and trusted teammate," Kaepernick´s former coach Jim Harbaugh wrote.
    "I also applaud Colin for the courage he has demonstrated in exercising his guaranteed right of free speech. His willingness to take a position at personal cost is now part of our American story."


  13. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: A known terror suspect shot dead a French policeman and wounded two others Thursday on Paris´s Champs Elysees in an attack claimed by Daesh days before a presidential election.
    Observers had long feared bloodshed ahead of Sunday´s vote in France following a string of atrocities since 2015 and the violence is likely to thrust security to the front of voters´ minds.
    The shooter opened fire with an automatic weapon on a police van on the world-famous boulevard at around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), prompting tourists and visitors to run for their lives.
    After killing the officer and injuring his colleagues just a few hundred metres from the Arc de Triomphe, the gunman was shot dead in return fire while trying to flee on foot, police sources told AFP.
    A statement from Daesh published by its propaganda agency Amaq said the attacker was "one of the Islamic State´s fighters."
    The killer, identified as a 39-year-old French man, was known to anti-terror police, sources told AFP, and raids took place at his address in a suburb to the east of Paris.
    He was arrested in February on suspicion of plotting to kill officers but was released because of lack of evidence.
    He had been convicted in 2005 of three counts of attempted murder, with two of these against police officers, sources said.
    The impact on the outcome of the French election is unclear -- Sunday is the poll´s first round -- but far-right leader Marine Le Pen, her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron, and scandal-hit conservative Francois Fillon cancelled campaign events planned for Friday.
    Up until now, surveys showed voters more concerned about unemployment and their spending power than terrorism or security, though analysts warned this would change in the event of violence.
    The shooting comes two days after the arrest of two men in southern Marseille with weapons and explosives who were suspected of preparing an attack to disrupt the campaign.
    French President Francois Hollande promised "absolute vigilance, particularly with regard to the electoral process" and paid tribute to the police.
    Hollande, who said he was convinced the shooting was a "terrorist act", cancelled a trip to Bretagne and will chair a security cabinet meeting Friday.

    Security in campaign
    Anti-immigration contender Le Pen earlier welcomed security moving to the heart of the campaign as she took part in a prime-time interview show alongside 10 other presidential candidates.
    "We are suffering the consequences of a laxity that has continued for years," she said shortly before the shooting, promising to take a hard line against extremists.
    For weeks, former banker Macron and Le Pen have been out in front but opinion polls now show there is a chance that any of four leading candidates could reach the election´s second-round runoff on May 7.
    Conservative candidate Fillon and far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon have closed the gap substantially in the last two weeks.
    "The first responsibility of the president is to protect," Macron said on the interview show. "This threat will be part of our daily lives in the next years."
    Fillon, who penned a pre-election book called "Beating Islamic Totalitarianism", declared that "the fight against terrorism must be the absolute priority of the next president."
    As the first details of the attack filtered through, US President Donald Trump said that "it looks like another terrorist attack. What can you say? It just never ends."
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her condolences.
    State of emergency
    The bustling Champs Elysees lies in the heart of Paris and is lined with shops and restaurants. It was immediately blocked by armed officers after the attack and nearby metro stations were closed.
    "We had to hide our customers in the basement," Choukri Chouanine, manager of a restaurant near the site of the shooting, told AFP, saying there was "lots of gunfire."
    A spokesman for the interior ministry paid tribute to the fast reflexes of police at the scene who managed to kill the gunman and prevent further bloodshed on a busy spring-time evening.
    A foreign tourist was slightly wounded in her knee by shrapnel during the shooting.
    France is in a state of emergency and at its highest possible level of terror alert, with jihadist-inspired assaults killing more than 230 people in recent years.
    The Charlie Hebdo magazine was hit in January 2015, sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall were targeted in November the same year, and families at a fireworks display in Nice in July 2016.
    There have also been smaller attacks, often aimed at security forces.
    Thousands of troops and armed police have been deployed to guard tourist hotspots such as the Champs Elysees or other potential targets, including government buildings and religious sites.


  14. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: A known terror suspect shot dead a French policeman and wounded two others Thursday on Paris´s Champs Elysees in an attack claimed by Daesh days before a presidential election.
    Observers had long feared bloodshed ahead of Sunday´s vote in France following a string of atrocities since 2015 and the violence is likely to thrust security to the front of voters´ minds.
    The shooter opened fire with an automatic weapon on a police van on the world-famous boulevard at around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), prompting tourists and visitors to run for their lives.
    After killing the officer and injuring his colleagues just a few hundred metres from the Arc de Triomphe, the gunman was shot dead in return fire while trying to flee on foot, police sources told AFP.
    A statement from Daesh published by its propaganda agency Amaq said the attacker was "one of the Islamic State´s fighters."
    The killer, identified as a 39-year-old French man, was known to anti-terror police, sources told AFP, and raids took place at his address in a suburb to the east of Paris.
    He was arrested in February on suspicion of plotting to kill officers but was released because of lack of evidence.
    He had been convicted in 2005 of three counts of attempted murder, with two of these against police officers, sources said.
    The impact on the outcome of the French election is unclear -- Sunday is the poll´s first round -- but far-right leader Marine Le Pen, her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron, and scandal-hit conservative Francois Fillon cancelled campaign events planned for Friday.
    Up until now, surveys showed voters more concerned about unemployment and their spending power than terrorism or security, though analysts warned this would change in the event of violence.
    The shooting comes two days after the arrest of two men in southern Marseille with weapons and explosives who were suspected of preparing an attack to disrupt the campaign.
    French President Francois Hollande promised "absolute vigilance, particularly with regard to the electoral process" and paid tribute to the police.
    Hollande, who said he was convinced the shooting was a "terrorist act", cancelled a trip to Bretagne and will chair a security cabinet meeting Friday.

    Security in campaign
    Anti-immigration contender Le Pen earlier welcomed security moving to the heart of the campaign as she took part in a prime-time interview show alongside 10 other presidential candidates.
    "We are suffering the consequences of a laxity that has continued for years," she said shortly before the shooting, promising to take a hard line against extremists.
    For weeks, former banker Macron and Le Pen have been out in front but opinion polls now show there is a chance that any of four leading candidates could reach the election´s second-round runoff on May 7.
    Conservative candidate Fillon and far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon have closed the gap substantially in the last two weeks.
    "The first responsibility of the president is to protect," Macron said on the interview show. "This threat will be part of our daily lives in the next years."
    Fillon, who penned a pre-election book called "Beating Islamic Totalitarianism", declared that "the fight against terrorism must be the absolute priority of the next president."
    As the first details of the attack filtered through, US President Donald Trump said that "it looks like another terrorist attack. What can you say? It just never ends."
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her condolences.
    State of emergency
    The bustling Champs Elysees lies in the heart of Paris and is lined with shops and restaurants. It was immediately blocked by armed officers after the attack and nearby metro stations were closed.
    "We had to hide our customers in the basement," Choukri Chouanine, manager of a restaurant near the site of the shooting, told AFP, saying there was "lots of gunfire."
    A spokesman for the interior ministry paid tribute to the fast reflexes of police at the scene who managed to kill the gunman and prevent further bloodshed on a busy spring-time evening.
    A foreign tourist was slightly wounded in her knee by shrapnel during the shooting.
    France is in a state of emergency and at its highest possible level of terror alert, with jihadist-inspired assaults killing more than 230 people in recent years.
    The Charlie Hebdo magazine was hit in January 2015, sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall were targeted in November the same year, and families at a fireworks display in Nice in July 2016.
    There have also been smaller attacks, often aimed at security forces.
    Thousands of troops and armed police have been deployed to guard tourist hotspots such as the Champs Elysees or other potential targets, including government buildings and religious sites.


  15. Waqas Dar
    The MTV Video Music Awards, one of the year's most headline-grabbing pop culture events, is returning to Los Angeles.
    The music and youth lifestyle network announced Thursday that the gala will be broadcast live on August 27 from The Forum arena in Inglewood, which is adjacent to Los Angeles.
    The VMAs have alternated between New York and Los Angeles, with Miami and Las Vegas also past host cities. The awards last year took place at New York's Madison Square Garden.
    The VMAs recognise top music videos but have become more of a made-for-television party with celebrity antics sure to trigger conversations.
    Past memorable VMA incidents include Beyonce showing off her baby bump, Lady Gaga appearing in a dress made of meat and Madonna locking lips with Britney Spears.
    The shift comes amid reports that the Grammys, the music world's biggest awards, will hold its 60th edition next year in New York rather than its customary base of Los Angeles.
    MTV, which will announce hosts and nominees later for the VMAs, again tapped Jesse Ignjatovic as the executive producer.
    He has run the show since 2007 with a style of giving wide leeway to celebrities and offering fans ways to interact, after criticism that the 2006 awards failed to spark the usual buzz.


  16. Waqas Dar
    SYDNEY: Austria and Australia are 16,000 km (9,940 miles) and two keystrokes apart, as European aircraft manufacturer Airbus discovered to its chagrin this week.
    The Financial Times, citing fine print in the company's 2016 financial accounts, reported on Monday that Airbus was being investigated by authorities in Australia for offences such as bribery or fraud.
    The Airbus accounts did indeed say Australia, but a company spokesman said that was, in fact, a typographical error.
    "It should read Austria and not Australia," he said.
    In February, Airbus said prosecutors in Vienna had initiated a formal criminal investigation against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium over alleged fraud related to a $2 billion order for the combat jet more than a decade ago.
    The typo in the Airbus accounts is the latest in a series of mix-ups between the two similarly named but culturally distinct and geographically distant countries.
    Global news network CNN was mocked by Twitter users last year for reporting Australia was building a fence on its Slovenian border.
    In 2014, then United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon mistakenly offered his gratitude to hosts Australia when he spoke at a conference in Vienna, according to an Associated Press report.
    The Airbus spokesman was unable say whether his company planned to file a new set of accounts with regulators, without the geographical gaffe.


  17. Waqas Dar
    A tongue-in-cheek action movie about a Trump-era civil war between redneck Texans and East Coast liberals will feature in the Director's Fortnight sidebar at next month's Cannes film festival, organisers said Thursday.
    "Bushwick" -- which is set in the newly-hip district of Brooklyn of the same name -- is one of five US films in the line-up which tries to take the temperature "of a divided America".
    In the shoot-'em-up film, which has already been snapped up by Netflix, a force of rightwing southern secessionists invade and lay waste much of the New York borough.
    "It's a rather amazing dystopian fairytale which tells the story of an America divided in two, which is how it is now," said Edouard Waintrop, who heads the Director's Fortnight selection, which often contains some of the best films at Cannes.
    He insisted they had not set out to survey Donald Trump's America.
    "We wanted to see how American cinema would react to the shock" of Trump's election, he said.
    "Rather than us looking for a film that tells what is going on in the US right now, we took four films which tell stories from very different positions."
    One of the most eagerly anticipated is Sean Baker's "The Florida Project" starring Willem Dafoe, which follows a group of children leading marginal lives on the fringes of the Walt Disney World theme parks in Orlando.
    "It is a film which we loved enormously and takes a very surprising look at the US of today," Waintrop added.
    Native Americans

    Another US highlight is likely to be Chloe Zhao's "The Rider", a story of rodeo riders from the Lakota tribe in North Dakota "that packs a punch", he said.
    The legendary "Driller Killer" director Abel Ferrara also made the line-up with a documentary about himself, "Alive in France", while the Canadian film "Mobile Homes" is a love story set among North American "trailer trash".
    But Waintrop also promised plenty of laughs, with the selection opening with French director Claire Denis' comedy "Un Beau Soliel Interieur" starring Juliette Binoche and Gerard Depardieu.
    While France's funniest auteur Bruno Dumont -- who had hits with his two previous absurdist comedies "Slack Bay" and "Li'l Quinquin" -- returns with a cheeky musical called "Jeanette, the childhood of Joan of Arc".
    Three Italian films also made the cut of 19 including the Martin Scorsese-backed "A Ciambra", which Italian-American Jonas Carpignano shot in a Roma community in Calabria.
    Seven female directors include Rungano Nyoni of Zambia who will make her Cannes debut with "I Am Not a Witch" about an eight-year-old girl accused of witchcraft, while Indonesian director Surya Mouly's "Marlina The Murderer in Four Acts" is "full of surprises", Waintrop said.
    Lithuanian director Sharunas Bartas also features with his film "Frost" about a couple who volunteer to take humanitarian aid to Ukraine and find themselves lost in the war-torn Donbass region.
    Cannes, the world's top film festival, runs from May 17 to 28.


  18. Waqas Dar
    Starting classes at middle school and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. would help teens arrive alert, healthy and ready to learn, US sleep medicine specialists say.
    “The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teens between 13 and 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health,” lead author of the new AASM position statement Dr Nathaniel Watson told Reuters Health in an email.
    “Biology and school start times may share the blame for teen sleep loss. A natural shift in the timing of the body’s internal ‘circadian’ clock occurs during puberty, and as a result, most teens have a biological preference for a late-night bedtime,” said Watson, a sleep specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle.
    Studies show that short sleep in adolescents is associated with poor school performance, obesity, metabolic dysfunction and heart disease, increased depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, risk-taking behaviours and athletic injuries, Watson and his coauthors write in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
    Students also have a higher risk of being involved in a car accident when they’re sleep deprived, they note. About 35 percent of teen deaths are due to car accidents.
    Previous studies on delayed school start times have shown benefits including longer sleep times, less daytime sleepiness, more participation in school and fewer absences and late arrivals, the researchers add. Later school starts have also been associated with less depression and anxiety.
    Reaction times are improved and delaying school times by one hour could potentially reduce car crashes by approximately 16 percent, the authors write.
    Watson said kids could also take steps to improve their sleep such as identifying a consistent bedtime that allows them to get at least eight hours of sleep and making a goal to be in bed with the lights out by bedtime each night.
    Students should set bedtime alarms to remind them when it is time to get ready for bed, power down all electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime and put their cell phones away at night, Watson said.
    “If parents notice their child is having extreme difficulty waking up on time for school, or experiencing significant daytime sleepiness, they should consider scheduling a consultation with the adolescent’s primary care provider or a sleep medicine specialist to evaluate for a sleep disorder, regardless of the student’s school start time,” he said.
    "The nation's leading organisation for sleep professionals has added its voice to that of other health advocacy groups such as the AMA, AAP, AACAP, CDC and American Psychological Association in support of healthy school start times for middle and high school students,” Dr Judith Owens told Reuters Health in an email.Owens, who is the director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Boston Children's Hospital, wasn’t involved in the AASM position statement but she was lead author of a similar policy statement published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2014.
    The new AASM position statement urges schools, school boards, parents and policy makers to raise awareness and promote later start times.
    “Parents and local school boards can work together to implement high school start times that allow teens to get the healthy sleep they need to meet their full potential,” Watson said.
     


  19. Waqas Dar
    German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble issued a plea to the United States to remain engaged in the global economy and not to try to score gains at the expense of other countries.
    He also repeated a rejection of charges from Trump administration officials that Germany's trade surplus is a sign of unfair policies imposed in Berlin.
    "All of us have benefited greatly" from global integration and trade in recent decades, and Washington has been a leader in the process, the official said in a speech ahead of this week's semi-annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
    The Trump administration's antagonistic protectionist rhetoric has created a tense atmosphere at the usually staid meetings of the IMF membership, and drawn a growing chorus from officials defending the global trading system, while acknowledging that some segments of society have not seen its benefits and have borne an unfair share of the costs.
    "Surely it's in America's own interest to ensure security and economic stability" in its trade partners, Schaeuble said.
    And while he said it is legitimate for a government to look out for its own interests, he warned Washington that "peace and prosperity in one country cannot come at the cost of peace and prosperity in another country."
    Trump economic officials have focused on attacking individual countries for their trade surplus with the United States rather than looking at global trade more broadly.
    Germany also will chair a gathering of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers Friday, where currencies and trade are a regular part of the agenda.
    Schaeuble acknowledged that the relatively weak euro has helped German exports, as Trump administration officials have charged, but he blamed the low-interest rates and other extraordinary stimulus measures the European Central Bank has implemented to boost the euro area's sluggish economy.
    Having warned the ECB at the outset that such policies would boost German exports, "I do not now want to be criticised for the consequences," he said.
    Schaeuble said he has met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and explained that Germany's trade surplus is the result of the high quality of the nation's exports, not protectionism, saying there are "no sensible measures" that would reduce the surplus.
    But he said he is glad to hear the ECB is beginning to discuss following the example of the US Federal Reserve in removing some of the stimulus, which can drive risky behaviour in financial markets in addition to influencing the value of the euro.
    He also said that global cooperation has put in place rules to try to prevent the behaviour that caused the crisis, warning that those lessons should not be forgotten.


  20. Waqas Dar
    PESHAWAR/FAISALABAD/GUJRANWALA: At least five people, including a policeman, were killed and four wounded in separate incidents in various cities late Thursday, police officials said.
    In Peshawar, unknown assailants opened fire on a vehicle near Patang Chowk, within the remits of Faqirabad police station. The incident left two people dead and wounded four others, police said.
    The injured persons were shifted to the city's Lady Reading Hospital.
    Policeman shot dead in Faisalabad
    Unknown assailants targeted a police picket on Sargodha Road in Faisalabad, in which a policeman was killed. The hitmen managed a clean getaway from the scene.
    Man kills step father, sister-in-law in Gujranwala
    On the other hand, a man killed his stepfather and sister-in-law in Faisalabad late this night, police said.
    A case has been lodged against the suspect and police are on a manhunt for him.


  21. Waqas Dar
    Tesla is recalling 53,000 cars to address a manufacturing defect that could prevent parking brakes from releasing, the company said Thursday.
    Tesla described the move as a "voluntary" recall taken after determining that Model S and X vehicles manufactured between February and October of last year "may contain a small gear that could have been manufactured improperly by our third-party supplier," the company said on its website.
    There have been no reports of accidents or injuries relating to the defect.
    "However, in order to be overly cautious, we are going to be proactively replacing these parts to ensure that no issues arise," the company said.
    The recall comes as Tesla remains close with General Motors as the US automaker with the highest market capitalization.
    Some analysts have expressed scepticism about the meteoric rise in Tesla shares given that the company still sells only a fraction of cars compared with GM or Ford.
    Tesla shares fell 1.1 percent to $302.24 in midday trade, giving it a market capitalization of about $50.1 billion, around $1.2 billion below that of GM's.


  22. Waqas Dar
    ZURICH: Ajax Amsterdam, trailing 3-0 and down to 10 men, scored two late goals to overcome Schalke 04 in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday while Olympique Lyonnais won a 16-kick penalty shootout against Besiktas.
    Manchester United needed an extra-time goal from Marcus Rashford to beat Anderlecht 2-1 and go through 3-2 on aggregate while a 1-1 draw away to Racing Genk was enough to give Celta a 4-3 aggregate win.
    Four-times European champions Ajax, leading 2-0 from the first leg, appeared to be on the way out as Schalke wiped out the deficit in just under an hour and then scored again early in extra-time.
    Yet, despite having Joel Veltman sent off in the 80th minute, Ajax replied with a scrambled goal from Nick Viergever and a clinical effort from Amin Younes in the last 10 minutes of extra-time to bring it back to 3-2 and win 4-3 on aggregate.
    Schalke's defeat, following Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund's elimination from the Champions League this week, meant that there were no German semi-finalists in either of the European competitions for the first time since 2004/05.
    The Royal Blues dominated the match and looked well capable of ousting their Dutch opponents, who fielded two 17-year-olds in a side with an average age of under 23.
    Leon Goretzka and Guido Burgstaller scored twice in a four-minute spell early in the second half for Schalke and it got worse for Ajax when defender Veltman was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.
    When Daniel Caligiuri headed Schalke's third in the first period of extra-time, there seemed no way back for the visitors.

    Yet Ajax never abandoned their slick passing game and grabbed an away goal when Viergever controlled a cross from Kenny Tete and managed to fire into the roof of the net with nine minutes left.
    Schalke lost their composure, were left wide open and Younes took advantage when he cut inside to score another for Ajax.
    "It’s hard to explain what happened at the end. I’m speechless really," said Caligiuri.

    Brazilian Anderson Talisca scored both goals for Besiktas as they beat Lyon 2-1 to level their tie at 3-3.
    Alexandre Lacazette replied with a superbly-taken goal for the French side, collecting a pass and lifting it over goalkeeper Fabri for his 31st of the season in all competitions.
    The first six penalties in the shootout were all converted before Dusko Tosic saw Besiktas' seventh attempt saved by Anthony Lopes, only for Christophe Jalle to send Lyon's next effort over the bar.
    Lopes then saved another, this time from Matej Mitrovic, but there was no second let off for Besiktas as Maxime Gonalons converted Lyon's eighth kick.
    United, the last remaining English side in Europe, took the lead in the 10th minute through Henrikh Mkhitaryan but Sofiane Hanni brought Anderlecht, winners of both the old European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup, back level in the 32nd minute.
    After Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who later went off with a potentially serious knee injury, wasted two great chances in the final stages of normal time, the contest went into extra time and Rashford settled the tie with a fine finish early in the second period.
    Pione Sisto scored a spectacular goal to put Celta ahead against Genk as he won the ball in midfield, burst forward and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the roof of the net.
    Leandro Trossard replied four minutes later for the Belgian hosts but they were unable to find a winner.


  23. Waqas Dar
    MANDI BAHAUDDIN: A local body representative of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Mandi Bahauddin on Thursday, police said.
    Unknown attackers fired on the vehicle of Jamshed Tarar near Jako village, Mandi Bahauddin, officials said. The incident left Tarar, chairman of Kala Shadian union council, dead.
    Three of Tarar's bodyguards were also wounded in the shooting, who were shifted to hospital.
    Police said Tarar was en route to Jako village from Qadirabad.
    They said that they were probing the incident.


  24. Waqas Dar
    MANCHESTER: Manchester United needed an extra-time winner from Marcus Rashford to defeat Anderlecht 2-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday and move into the last four of the Europa League with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
    While the result keeps open a possible path to next season's Champions League for Jose Mourinho's side, it came at a high price with defender Marcos Rojo and forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic both suffering possibly serious knee injuries.
    United took the lead in the 10th minute through Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but Sofiane Hanni brought the Belgian side back level in the 32nd.
    After Ibrahimovic wasted two great chances in the final stages of normal time, the contest went into extra time and Rashford settled the tie with a fine finish early in the second period.
    It was not the comfortable passage into the semi-finals that United might have expected with Anderlecht showing no shortage of guts and enterprising football, but it was a deserved victory for the English side.
    United, buoyed by their Premier League win over Chelsea on Sunday, started confidently and grabbed the early advantage.
    Paul Pogba played a pinpoint 40-metre pass along the ground to Rashford who, at the second attempt, found Mkhitaryan on the edge of the box and the Armenian midfielder drilled home his fifth goal in this season’s Europa League.
    There was almost a swagger about United’s approach and they twice came close to instantly doubling their advantage with Pogba seeing a firm header tipped over by Anderlecht keeper Martinez Ruben who moments later excelled again as he pushed a curling Jesse Lingard shot wide.
    But the 33-times Belgian champions, were not willing to be swept away and after a defensive mix-up Frank Acheampong outpaced Eric Bailly and fired dangerously into the side-netting.
    After Rojo was taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury, being replaced by Dutch international Daley Blind, United appeared to lose focus.
    The Belgians struck back when Youri Tielemans hammered a powerful long-range shot against the bar, Lukasz Teodorczyk got the loose ball stuck under his feet but was able to nudge it into the path of Algerian Sofiane Hanni who drove in the equaliser.
    Rashford was again the main threat after the break, shooting off target from a promising position. He then robbed Dennis Appiah, burst goalward and rounded Ruben but was forced too wide for an effective shot.
    United certainly should have been back in the lead when Marouane Fellaini headed down a cross to Ibrahimovic but the normally clinical forward shot straight at Ruben from point-blank range.
    Ibrahimovic then wasted another good opportunity, screwing his shot wide after being found in the box by Michael Carrick and a bad night got much worse for the Swede, who fell badly in the final action of normal time and picked up a knee injury.

    United were dominant and Pogba had an effort ruled out when Fellaini was adjudged to have pushed a defender as he rose to head the ball down to the Frenchman.
    The winning goal came early in the second period and Fellaini’s head was again the source, as he nodded down to Rashford who did superbly to find space for a left-foot shot into the bottom corner.



  25. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Police apprehended a suspected target killer among three suspects in different raids in Karachi late Thursday, they said.
    The law enforcers apprehended two suspects in Nazimabad area of the city. One of the arrested suspects was said to be a hitman. In another raid on Suparco Road, a gangster was rounded up.
    All of the arrested suspects were moved to different police stations for interrogation. A search operation is also underway in New Karachi area.
    Five held over aerial firing, fireworks display
    Meanwhile, four people were injured in the wake of aerial firing and fireworks display near Five Star Chowrangi, after which police apprehended five suspects involved in the incident, Geo News has learnt.
    The arrested suspects included a local office-bearer of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the centre.
    Officials said they were on a lookout for other suspects.


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