Imran Khan's Party Backed Candidates Take Oath As Speaker, Deputy Speaker

Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party-backed independent candidates Babar Saleem Swati and Suriya Bibi on Thursday took the oath as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly.

Mr Swati, 62, who was elected from PK-37 Mansehra-II constituency in the provincial polls on February 8, secured 89 votes against 17 obtained by the Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Ehsan Ullah Khan.

Similarly, Suriya Bibi, 40, who won from the Chitral's PK-1 seat, secured 87 votes in the elections and won the slot of Deputy Speaker.

Suriya is the first woman elected on a general seat in Chitral's history after securing 18,914 votes against the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl 's (JUI-F) Shakeel Ahmed, who could get only 10,533 votes.

Outgoing speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered the oath of the new custodian of the house.

The Chief Minister designate Ali Amin Gandapur will take oath of the leader of the house in the KPK assembly on Friday.

The oath-taking ceremony of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker came a day after the newly elected lawmakers of the KPK assembly were sworn in on Wednesday.

The KPK assembly has a total strength of 145 members, including 10 women and four minorities elected against reserved seats.

The allocation of the reserved seats has not been notified as the matter is currently being heard by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In the February 8 elections, Mr Khan's PTI-backed independent candidates obtained a clear-cut majority in the provincial legislature with 90 seats to form the third consecutive solo government in the restive province.

The PTI-backed independent candidates have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to receive its share of reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.

The SIC is an alliance of Islamic political and religious parties in the Muslim-majority country, which represents followers of the school of Sunni Islam.

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Three-Time Ex Pak PM Nawaz Sharif Takes Oath As Lawmaker In Assembly

Three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday took oath as an ordinary lawmaker in the 16th session of Pakistan's National Assembly, days after giving up his bid to lead the country for a record fourth time.

A quirk of fate following the poor show in the electoral battle led Nawaz, 74, the supremo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to abandon his claim to the prime minister's position to his younger brother Shehbaz, 72.

Mr Sharif is back in Parliament after seven long years when he had to step down as the premier following his disqualification in 2017.

His terms as the prime minister include the first from 1990-1993, then 1997-1999, and the last from 2013-2017, none of them for a complete five years. He returned from London to Pakistan in October last year, ending his self-imposed exile to lead his party in the February 8 elections.

However, he could not achieve his ambition to become Pakistan's prime minister for a record fourth time since his PML-N failed to garner enough seats in the elections, forcing him to nominate his younger brother to become the premier for a second time.

Shehbaz earlier served as prime minister when the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's government was ousted in April 2022. The PML-N party president served as prime minister for 16 months till August 2023 when fresh elections were announced.

On Thursday, amid protests by Imran Khan's party members against alleged vote rigging, Nawaz Sharif took oath along with his brother Shehbaz.

"Historic visuals from the 16th National Assembly oath-taking ceremony!" the PML-N X handle posted along with the hashtag #MeraQuaidPhirSeAya and a 1:18 minute video.

The video showed the smiling elder Mr Sharif entering the Parliament, then walking towards the many members of his party and shaking hands, with all the while a party song that said 'Sher Aaya' (Lion Nawaz Sharif has come) playing in the background.

According to the Constitution, a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government.

Independent candidates - a majority backed by 71-year-old jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party - won 93 National Assembly seats. The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.

That left PML-N and PPP to ally along with four smaller parties to keep Khan's PTI out of power. As part of the arrangement, instead of Nawaz, it was Shehbaz who was to don the premier's hat, a deal said to have the backing of the powerful military.

The nomination of Shehbaz Sharif as the next prime minister by Nawaz Sharif, who himself was eyeing the plum post for a record fourth time, had surprised many within and outside the party.

However, the PML-N leaders and Nawaz Sharif's daughter Mariam Nawaz, have reiterated that Nawaz Sharif is not quitting politics and he would continue to guide the party.

Ironically, a pinned post from the President PMLN's X handle still reads: "The President of PMLN Shehbaz Sharif, during the news conference, reaffirmed that Quaid PML-N Nawaz Sharif will become the Prime Minister." 

On Wednesday, Nawaz Sharif expressed the hope that Pakistan will come out of difficulties in the next two years by taking difficult decisions as his party is all set to form a coalition government in the Centre.

"I believe the next 1.5 or 2 years will be difficult but we have to stay united [during the difficult times] and face our opponents," he said while addressing the parliamentary party meeting.

"Pakistan will come out of the difficulties in the next 1.5 to 2 years," he said. The three-time former premier said Pakistan is "badly injured" and the difficult decisions were the need of the hour to resolve the country's woes.

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US Army is cutting over 24,000 posts despite ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine I KNOW WHY

Washington: The US Army is slashing the size of its force by about 24,000, or almost 5 per cent, and restructuring to be better able to fight the next major war, as the service struggles with recruiting shortfalls that made it impossible to bring in enough soldiers to fill all the jobs. The cuts will mainly be in already-empty posts — not actual soldiers — including in jobs related to counterinsurgency that swelled during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but are not needed as much today. About 3,000 of the cuts would come from Army special operations forces.

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People Without Tails? Scientists Identify Genetic Mutation Behind Condition

Director James Cameron's "Avatar" movies are populated by a species of outsized blue beings resembling humans, except with tails. So why does our species lack a tail, considering that our evolutionary forerunners in the primate lineage had them?

Scientists on Wednesday identified what might be the genetic mechanism behind the tailless condition of us and our ape ancestors - a mutation in a gene instrumental in embryonic development. The tail was a feature of most vertebrates for more than half a billion years, and its loss may have offered advantages as our ancestors moved from the trees to the ground, they said.

The researchers compared the DNA of two groups of primates: monkeys, which have tails, and hominoids - humans and apes - which do not. They found a mutation in a gene called TBXT that was present in people and apes but absent in monkeys. To test the effects of this mutation, the researchers genetically modified laboratory mice to have this trait. These mice ended up with either a reduced tail or none at all.

"For the first time, we propose a plausible scenario for the genetic mechanism that led to the loss of the tail in our ancestors. It's surprising that such a big anatomical change can be caused by such a small genetic change," said New York University Langone Health geneticist and systems biologist Itai Yanai, who helped lead the study published in the journal Nature.

The absence of a tail may have better balanced the body for orthograde - upright - locomotion and eventually bipedalism, said geneticist and systems biologist Bo Xia of Harvard University and the Broad Institute, the study's lead author.

The mutation that led to the tail loss, according to the researchers, occurred roughly 25 million years ago, when the first apes evolved from monkey ancestors. Our species, Homo sapiens, appeared roughly 300,000 years ago.

The evolutionary lineage that led to apes and people split from the lineage that led to today's Old World monkeys, a family that includes baboons and macaques. Hominoids today include humans, the "great apes" - chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans - and the "lesser apes" - gibbons. The earliest-known hominoid, called Proconsul, was tailless.

Hominoids evolved the formation of fewer tail vertebrae, losing an external tail. Vestiges of a tail remain in humans. A bone at the base of the spinal column called the coccyx, or tailbone, is formed from fused remnants of tail vertebrae.

For many vertebrates, a tail has helped with functions like locomotion - think of propulsion by fish and whales - and defense - as with dinosaurs that wielded tails with clubs or spikes. Some monkeys and some other animals have prehensile tails that can grasp objects like tree limbs.

"A tail may be advantageous when you live in trees. As soon as you transition to land, though, it may be more of a liability," Yanai said.

The advantages obtained by going tailless appear to have come with a cost. Because genes may contribute to multiple functions in the body, mutations that confer an advantage in one area may be detrimental in another.

In this case, the modified mice showed a small increase in severe birth defects, called neural tube defects, of the spinal cord, resembling spina bifida in people.

"This suggests that the evolutionary pressure to lose the tail was so great that, despite creating the potential for this condition (neural tube defects), we still lost the tail," Yanai said.

It is an interesting thought experiment to ponder whether humans could have evolved with tails. The Na'vi people of "Avatar," alas, are science fiction.

"I'm a fan of James Cameron's 'Avatar' - it's just a beautiful world, and the Na'vi people use their tails for direct communication," Xia said. "I hope to ask James why he created Na'vi people with tails."

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Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi indicted in graft case: Report

Islamabad: A Pakistani court indicted jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday on charges that they allegedly received land as a bribe during his premiership, his party said.

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New York Medical School Scraps Tuition Fees After $1 Billion Donation

A New York medical school will scrap tuition fees after receiving a "transformational gift" worth $1 billion from a wealthy benefactor, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's parent organization said in a statement.

The charitable donation is one of the largest ever publicly received by an educational institution in the United States and will see the almost $60,000 undiscounted annual tuition fee become zero.

The school, and its affiliated hospital the Montefiore Medical Center, are located in the Bronx -- New York City's poorest borough, where health outcomes are some of the worst in the state, according to official statistics.

A clip of the announcement being made on campus, posted to social media, showed an auditorium of students reacting rapturously, cheering, screaming and applauding.

We are profoundly grateful that Dr. Ruth Gottesman, Professor Emerita of Pediatrics at @EinsteinMed, has made a transformational gift to #MontefioreEinstein—the largest to any medical school in the country—that ensures no student has to pay tuition again. https://t.co/XOy9HZLbfD pic.twitter.com/1ijv02jHFk

— Montefiore Health System (@MontefioreNYC) February 26, 2024

"Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a transformational gift from Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D., Chair of the Einstein Board of Trustees and Montefiore Health System board member," the organization said in a statement late Monday. 

"This historic gift -- the largest made to any medical school in the country -- will ensure that no student at Einstein will have to pay tuition again."

All current fourth-year students will be reimbursed their spring 2024 semester fees and from August all future students will receive free tuition, the statement added.

Gottesman, 93, is a former clinical professor of paediatrics at Einstein and the wife of David Gottesman, a former Wall Street financier. They were significant donors to the school during his lifetime.

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Maldives ex-FM exposes 'lies' of President Muizzu, says 'no Indian armed soldiers stationed in country'

Male: The former Maldivian minister of foreign affairs, Abdulla Shahid, said on Saturday that the claims made by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu about "thousands of Indian military personnel" were just another in a string of lies, adding that there are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in their country.

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Explained: What Sweden's NATO Entry Mean To The Baltic Sea Region

Sweden's NATO membership bid, submitted in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, cleared its final hurdle as Hungary's parliament voted to ratify it on Monday.

Accession to the US-led alliance means stark changes for both Sweden's defence and the geopolitical balance in the region.

- Why did Sweden decide to join NATO? -

At the end of the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, Sweden adopted an official policy of neutrality.

Following the end of the Cold War, the neutrality policy was amended to one of military non-alignment.

While Sweden has sent forces to international peacekeeping missions, it has not gone to war for more than 200 years.

The last conflict it fought was the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814.

Despite its neutrality, it pursued an active foreign policy, championing human rights and being a top aid donor per capita, sometimes being labelled a "humanitarian superpower".

But while remaining outside NATO, Sweden has formed ever-closer ties to the alliance, joining the Partnership for Peace programme in 1994 and then the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997.

However, a majority of Swedes were long opposed to full membership and it was considered a taboo among the Social Democrats -- Sweden's largest political party.

Former Social Democrat defence minister Peter Hultqvist even declared in the fall of 2021 that he could "guarantee" that he would never participate in a process to join NATO.

Only months later, Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine led to a dramatic shift in both public opinion and among political parties.

A broad majority of the Swedish parliament voted to apply for membership, which the country did -- along with Finland -- in May 2022.

- What does Sweden bring to NATO? -

For a long time, Swedish policy dictated that the country needed a strong military to protect its neutrality.

But after the end of the Cold War, it drastically slashed its defence spending, turning its military focus toward peacekeeping operations around the world.

In 1990, defence spending accounted for 2.6 percent of gross domestic product, shrinking to 1.2 percent by 2020, according to the government.

Spending started to increase again following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In March 2022, after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine, Sweden announced it would increase spending again, targeting two percent of GDP "as soon as possible".

In late 2023, Sweden's government said military spending would exceed the two percent goal in 2024.

Combining its different branches, the Swedish military can field some 50,000 soldiers, about half of whom are reservists.

Its air force includes more than 90 of its domestically developed fighter jet JAS 19 Gripen, and it has a Baltic Sea navy that includes several corvettes and submarines.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also said in January that his country was ready to contribute troops to NATO's forces in Latvia.

After Hungary's parliament ratified the bid Monday, Kristersson said Sweden stood "ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security."

Sweden and Finland joining NATO also means that the Baltic Sea becomes surrounded by alliance members, with some analysts dubbing it a NATO lake.

"It's the final piece of the puzzle on NATO's map in Northern Europe that is now falling into place," Robert Dalsjo, an analyst at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), told AFP.

- What are the implications for Sweden's defence? -

As a member of NATO, the country's military calculations change in several key aspects.

"Sweden has for a long time worked from the presumption: 'We'll solve the task alone'," Jan Henningson, a researcher at the FOI, told AFP.

"That changes now," he added, explaining that defence will now need to be conducted within the alliance.

"Now we'll have to learn to be a team player. And we'll have to adjust to the fact that we are not preparing to defend just Swedish territory, but allied territory," Dalsjo noted.

For Sweden, joining the alliance also upends its traditional thinking of power relations in a potential conflict.

"Traditionally, we have thought that we are a small state and whoever attacks us is much bigger," Henningson said.

But when it comes to the economy and demographics, "NATO is much larger than Russia," according to Henningson.

"We are no longer David in all aspects, so to speak," Henningson said -- a change that is not lost on Sweden's military.

"It'll be a quite impressive force with hopefully the combined might of 32 countries from Turkey in the south all the way up to Svalbard" in the Arctic, Swedish army chief Jonny Lindfors told newspaper Dagens Nyheter in December.

He added that he thinks the extra strength would make the risk of a conflict breaking out less likely.

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Zelensky Says 31,000 Troops Killed In 2 Years Of War With Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday his country's victory "depends" on Western support and that he was "sure" the United States would approve a critical package of military aid.

He also said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in two years of war with Russia, in a rare admission of military losses. 

"Whether Ukraine will lose, whether it will be very difficult for us and whether there will be a large number of casualties depends on you, on our partners, on the Western world," Zelensky said. 

He spoke at a press conference in Kyiv dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia's invasion at a time when Ukraine has been weakened by a shortage of ammunition and the blocking of US aid in Congress. 

"There is hope for Congress, and I am sure that it is going to be positive, otherwise I do not understand the world we will start to live in," Zelensky said. 

The aid has been blocked amid resistance from Republicans.

For the first time, Zelensky put a number on Ukraine's military losses in two years of brutal fighting with Russia, saying "31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in this war."

"Not 300,000 or 150,000, or whatever (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his lying circle are saying. But each of these losses is a great loss for us," he added. 

Both sides are believed to minimise deaths of troops. 

Asked if he would talk to Putin, Zelensky said: "Can you talk to a deaf person? Can you talk to a man who kills his opponents?" 

Putin's main opponent Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison this month. 

"He sees himself (in power) by 2030, we would like to finish with him sooner," Zelensky added, mocking an upcoming presidential election in Russia that is likely to extend Putin's long rule until 2030.

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Indian Embassy 'strongly' raises Jaahnavi Kandula's case with US authorities

The Indian Embassy in the United States has sought a review of the US prosecutor's decision to not pursue criminal charges against the Seattle police officer who killed 23-year-old Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula, saying the matter has now been referred to the Seattle Attorney General.

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G7 Nations Call On Russia To "Fully Clarify" How Putin Critic Navalny Died

Leaders of the G7 nations on Saturday called on Russia to "fully clarify" how Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny came to die in prison last week.

Their statement came hours after a spokesperson for Navalny's team said the Russian authorities had finally handed over his body to his mother following his death in an Arctic prison colony.

"We call on the Russian government to fully clarify the circumstances around his death," said the statement.

"We also pay tribute to the extraordinary courage of Alexei Navalny and stand with his wife, children, and loved ones," it added.

"He sacrificed his life fighting against the Kremlin's corruption and for free and fair elections in Russia."

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New Pak Government Likely By March 2; Presidential Poll Before March 9

With a power-sharing deal already inked, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party are moving ahead with plans to form a coalition government by March 2 and hold the presidential election before March 9, according to a media report on Friday.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by three-time Prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be backed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has agreed to form a new government after the February 8 elections resulted in a hung Parliament.

Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, 72, is set to return to the top post after his elder brother Nawaz, decided to nominate the PML-N president for premiership. The party has clarified that the three-time former prime minister did not want to lead a government in which the PMN-L does not have a majority in Parliament.

Both parties won fewer seats than candidates backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Quoting sources, The News International reported that serious consideration is being given to the proposal to hold the presidential election before March 9 as the newly elected assemblies across the country will take oath by February 29 and a new government be in place by March 2.

Incumbent President Dr Arif Alvi's five-year tenure officially ended in September of last year. However, the dentist-turned-politician, who was a senior member of Khan's PTI before being appointed to the post in 2018, continued to stay in the office even after the expiration of his stipulated constitutional term.

The PML-N, PPP, and their allied parties want the presidential election to be held by March 8 before the completion of the current tenure of the Senate and for the Senate elections to be held after the president is elected.

When contacted, PPP senior leader Senator Farooq H Naek said that according to Article 41, read with the second schedule of the Constitution, the presidential election has to be held within 30 days of the general elections.

"This means that the presidential election is to be held before March 9", he was quoted as saying by the report.

President Alvi, 74, had agreed to perform his duties until the appointment of his successor as the assemblies were dissolved in August and the elections were not held as per the constitutional time limit.

PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, 68, will likely return to the presidency as earlier this week the Bilawal-led party and PML-N agreed to nominate him for the constitutional office as a joint candidate in return for helping Shehbaz Sharif form the government at the Centre under a power-sharing agreement.

To form a government, a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

The power-sharing deal was finalised after no political party secured a simple majority in the February 8 elections, forcing parties to join hands in their bid to form a government and deny a chance to Imran Khan's PTI to return to power.

Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal have said that they have the required support to form a coalition government.

In the polls, Mr Khan's PTI-backed independent candidates secured victory on the most National Assembly seats (92) followed by the PML-N (79) and the PPP (54).

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League (N) president and prime minister-designate Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met delegations from MQM, the Muslim League (Q) and the Balochistan Awami Party and discussed issues related to the country's situation and political cooperation.

"It is everyone's responsibility to save the country from economic threats," Shahbaz Sharif said and vowed to move forward unitedly to serve the people.

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UK To Limit Stakes For Online Games To Curb Gambling Addiction

The UK government announced Friday that it would introduce stake limits for online slot games in a toughening of regulations designed to help protect people from the dangers of gambling.

From September, adults will be restricted to £5 ($6) per spin while 18 to 24-year-olds will be limited to £2.

As of now, there are no limits on stakes, unlike on physical gaming machines in casinos and betting shops.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport described the move as a "landmark moment" for the regulation of online gambling.

It said in a statement the laws would "counter the increased risk of significant harm and life-changing losses" from online slots.

However, Charles Ritchie, who co-founded the charity Gambling With Lives after his son took his own life after battling gambling addiction, said the games would "remain highly addictive".

"They are high-speed products, and really until there is action taken on the speed of play then they will remain addictive," he told BBC radio.

The government says that young people are particularly susceptible to gambling addiction.

In 2019, it cut the maximum bet on electronic gaming machines in betting shops -- called fixed-odds betting terminals -- from £100 to £2.

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Chinese 'research vessel' to arrive in Male amid India-Maldives tensions

Against a backdrop of strained relations between India and the Maldives, a Chinese research vessel has made its way into the waters surrounding the island nation, with plans to dock in its capital, Male. The 4,300-ton Xiang Yang Hong 03, classified as a 'research' vessel, is tasked with mapping the floor of the Indian Ocean.

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Putin Critic's Mother Shown His Body, Claims Russia Wants Secret Burial

Alexei Navalny's mother Lyudmila on Thursday accused Russian investigators of planning a "secret" funeral for her son and said she would not agree to it.

"They want this to be done secretly, with no farewell. They want to bring me to the edge of a cemetery, to a fresh grave and say: here lies your son. I don't agree to this," she said in a YouTube video.

There was no immediate response from Russian investigators.

Navalny, 47, Russia's best known opposition politician, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony last week. His team and family have alleged that the Kremlin murdered him, an allegation the Kremlin has angrily rejected.

His mother said she had been shown his body and death certificate. Navalny's team said the death certificate stated that the opposition politician had died of natural causes.

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"Frightening": YouTubers Split Over OpenAI's Video Tool Sora

US firm OpenAI debuted a tool last week that can generate highly realistic snippets of video from just a few lines of text, leading content creators to wonder if they are the latest professionals about to be replaced by algorithms.

Reactions to the tool, called Sora, have ranged from head-over-heels enthusiasm to alarm over the future direction of the industry.

YouTuber Marques Brownlee called it "frightening" and "threatening" to see an AI doing his job.

On the other hand, Caleb Ward, one half of AI filmmaking duo Curious Refuge, told his YouTube followers he could not wait to get his hands on the tool.

Yet both Ward and Brownlee agreed that it was a massive moment for their industry.

"I can't stress enough how big a deal this is for the filmmaking and creative world," said Ward, who recently went viral with a trailer he created for a Wes Anderson-style Star Wars movie.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said in its announcement that Sora was not yet available to the public.

The announcement did not specify use cases but said "a number of visual artists, designers and filmmakers" had been chosen to help test it.

'Like an amoeba'

The firm accompanied its statement with sample videos including a stylish woman walking along a Tokyo street, a cat waking up its owner in bed, and a group of charging woolly mammoths.

The internet immediately lit up with awe and praise, as is common with OpenAI products.

"I was shocked by their quality," Anis Ayari, an AI engineer and streamer known as Defend Intelligence, told AFP.

He suggested the tool could one day be used to create entirely virtual presenters.

But there were also plenty of dissenters who felt the videos were still firmly stuck in the "uncanny valley", where glitches in otherwise photo-realistic images can leave viewers feeling queasy.

Commentator Ed Zitron wrote that in OpenAI's cat video "the owner's arm appears to be part of the cushion and the cat's paw explodes out of its arm like an amoeba".

He wrote in his newsletter that AI video tools were too expensive and resource-hungry to ever be genuinely useful.

And styles of clips could not be harmonised, making the tools useless for creating anything other than tiny snippets.

AI fatigue

Sora enters a marketplace that is heating up, with Google, Stability AI and several other smaller players already in the game.

YouTube itself announced last September it was developing a tool to let creators make AI-generated videos and background pictures.

However, the tools already available have hardly taken the world by storm.

French streamer FibreTigre said he had tried AI video tools but ended his experiment.

He said he was worried about the ethics of using tools trained on other artists' work, and ultimately the programs did not do their job well enough.

"They're just ugly," he said of AI videos.

He said he could see a future where viewers would have a "huge amount of fatigue" with AI and would cherish anything that was not artificial.

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World Needs "Trillions" Of Dollars To Tackle Climate Change: COP28 President

The world needs "trillions" of dollars to spur on the green transition and tackle global warming, the head of last year's COP28 climate talks said Tuesday, warning that political momentum can evaporate without clear action.

COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber hailed progress made at UN negotiations last year in Dubai, where countries agreed to triple global renewables capacity this decade and "transition away" from polluting fossil fuels.

But the deal lacked important details, including on funding, putting the onus on this year's COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan.

With impacts accelerating as global heat records are smashed, experts say that funding agreed this year will also play an important role in encouraging governments to toughen up their decarbonisation targets.

Sultan Al Jaber said finance was "the key enabler of positive change at the speed and scale" needed.

"But not normal scale finance -- we need finance at every level," he said, at an event in Paris organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Countries are expected this year to hammer out a new target for the amount of annual support rich nations will provide to poorer ones for their energy transitions and adaptation to climate impacts from 2025.

The failure of wealthy nations to meet their previous goal of $100 billion per year by 2020 has soured trust, with indications the target was likely reached only in 2022.

Needs already far outstrip the money available. The UN-backed climate finance expert group has estimated that emerging economies except China will need to spend around $2.4 trillion a year by the end of the decade.

"The world must now raise the bar to address the challenge we face," Sultan Al Jaber said.

"We need to start thinking trillions, not billions."

'Believe in numbers'

Recognition of the scale of support needed has put the focus on expanding sources of funding.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are under pressure to initiate sweeping reforms to align their lending with the Paris deal goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

Other initiatives under discussion include new taxation, especially on polluting industries, as well as redirecting fossil fuel subsidies into green development.

The United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and the 2025 COP host Brazil are launching an initiative to maintain global focus on keeping the 1.5C goal alive.

Sultan Al Jaber warned that there was a risk that "political momentum can dissipate and then fade away or disappear between COPs".

IEA chief Fatih Birol said the energy agency, which has become a key player in promoting the energy transition, would offer countries help to beef up emissions-cutting targets, with enhanced decarbonisation plans expected this year and in 2025.

He also announced a new mechanism from March 1 to measure the gap between countries' goals and the actions being taken.

"We trust the governments that they will do what they said they will do, but at the IEA, we believe in numbers," he said.

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Brazilian President compares Israel's offensive in Gaza to Holocaust, Netanyahu responds

Addis Ababa: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday accused Israel of committing 'genocide' in Gaza, comparing its actions to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany during the time of World War II. Lula's comments struck a raw nerve in Israel, a country established as a haven for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust, where millions of Jewish people were killed under Adolf Hitler's regime.

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Donald Trump hit with $355 million penalty, 3-year ban for fraudulently inflating property price to get loans

New York: In a major blow to former US President Donald Trump before the elections, a New York judge imposed a USD 364 million penalty for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders. Besides, Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.

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Shirtless UK Passenger Punches Air Steward After Destroying Plane Toilet

In a shocking incident, a shirtless passenger punched an air steward in the face after destroying the plane's toilet. The incident happened on February 7, aboard a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Heathrow, Metro reported. Footage of the incident which has surfaced online showed the 35-year-old man punching the steward who was knocked so hard he fell to the floor. 

Stunned by his vile outburst, other passengers tried to intervene and stop him and finally managed to tie his hands together. A fellow woman passenger sitting just a few seats away managed to capture the ordeal on camera. The video has now gone viral on social media websites. 

Watch the video here:

A 35yo unruly British man was arrested after his flight from Bangkok to London Heathrow landed following a cowardly attack on a Thai Airways member of staff.

The man went berserk minutes after the flight took off on Feb 7 and proceeded to smash up the aircraft's toilet. pic.twitter.com/k391Ab5Phs

— ThaiMythbuster (@thaimythbuster) February 16, 2024

She said, ''He was in the toilet and he started screaming and shouting. He started smashing the door and it came away from the hinges. An older guy – in the white t-shirt – tried to get him out. A fight broke out and he ended up smacking the flight attendant. I think he broke his nose.''

Amid the chaos, passengers were warned the flight might have to divert to Dubai if the man didn't calm down, but fortunately, the plane was able to continue on its journey.

The woman added, ''Two passengers sat either side of him and kept pulling him down. We had to put up with his shouting. He was being very verbally abusive. It was rough. People were swapping seats and moving kids to the back of the plane.''

Upon landing in London, he was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and endangering an aircraft.

The Met Police said: "We met the aircraft on arrival and a 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and endangering an aircraft. He remains in custody. Another man was taken to hospital. His condition was assessed as not life-threatening.''

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Pakistan: Imran Khan's PTI to sit in opposition in Centre and Punjab, claims 'biggest voter fraud'

Islamabad: Incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday announced that it will set in the opposition benches of the National Assembly and the Punjab provincial assembly, while maintaining its claims of 'voter fraud' and rigging in the February 8 elections. The decision was announced by PTI leader Barrister Ali Saif under the directives of Imran Khan, Dawn reported.

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Hamas Threatens To Suspend Ceasefire Talks Unless Gaza Aid Increased

Hamas threatened Saturday to suspend ceasefire talks unless urgent aid was brought into the north of the Gaza Strip, where aid agencies have warned of a looming famine.

"The movement intends to suspend negotiations until aid is brought into northern Gaza," a senior source in the Palestinian militant group told AFP.

"Negotiations cannot be held while hunger is ravaging the Palestinian people," he said, asking not to be identified as he is not authorised to speak on the issue.

Talks have been held in the Egyptian capital Cairo this week to bring about a pause in fighting in Israel's four-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza.

The outcome of the negotiations is still unclear and Israel is preparing to move into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah as part of its mission to destroy Hamas for carrying out the October 7 attack.

But there have been mounting calls, including from Israel's closest international allies, not to go into the city, because 1.4 million displaced Gazans sheltering there have nowhere else to go.

The UN's World Food Programme has warned that Gazans are inching closer towards famine, with concern highest about the north of the coastal territory because aid agencies are unable to get in.

The head of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA in the Palestinian territories, Andrea De Domenico, said he had "no idea" how an estimated 300,000 people still in the north had survived.

"What we managed to bring up there is absolutely not enough. It is pure misery," he told AFP this week.

Calls have increased for more trucks carrying aid to be allowed into Gaza, but Israel has tightened checks it says are necessary to prevent Hamas leaders from escaping and arms being smuggled in.

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'Waiting for right moment': Biden announces to visit Ohio train accident site a year after derailment

Ohio: US President Joe Biden waited for almost a year to visit the Ohio train accident site. However, the White House backed the timing of his trip with a defence which could genuinely blow one's mind. "The presidential candidate was waiting for the "right moment" to travel the region," this is what the White House has said amid massive backlash. The Republicans alleged he was ignoring the victims of an explosive fire caused by a train derailment.

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Boss Of Indian-Origin Staffer Behind Child Abuse Site Jailed In UK

A British mechanic who created and moderated sites dedicated to child sexual abuse on the dark web with the help of an Indian-origin staffer has been jailed for 16 years by Chester Crown Court in north-west England.

Nathan Bake, 28, sentenced on Wednesday, is one of three UK-based moderators of a site called ‘The Annex' who were identified by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of an investigation targeting those behind the site.

His staffer, 33-year-old London-based psychiatrist Kabir Garg, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by a UK court last year. He was also a moderator of the site and sat just below Bake in its hierarchy.

“Bake was one of a select number of individuals that played a vital role in ensuring The Annex continued to run and was able to facilitate child sexual abuse on a global scale,” said Daniel Waywell, NCA's Senior Investigating Officer.

“He started as a user himself, but worked his way up the rankings by actively sharing a substantial amount of material and encouraging the discussion of horrific abuse, thus gaining the trust of other moderators. Such was his dedication to this global community of paedophiles that he also committed his time, on top of his day job as a mechanic, to running and setting up other dark web sites that assisted their offending,” he said.

The Annex, which is no longer active, had around 90,000 global members who used it to share and discuss some of the most extreme kinds of abuse material, involving "hurtcore" and the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers.

As the head moderator, Bake was second in command of the entire site, which was run by an American man, who was sentenced to life in prison in the US in January.

Besides Garg, Bake was responsible for managing around 29 staff members and worked with them to enforce the site's rules and ensure it continued to run smoothly.

“Garg was involved in facilitating child sexual abuse on a significant scale. He used the dark web to access a global community of paedophiles sharing and discussing horrific crimes against children," NCA's Adam Priestley said at the time of Garg's sentencing in June 2023.

"He then ensured he was such a trusted and respected member that he was invited to become a member of staff, involved in its daily management. This organisation and willingness to enable other offenders raise his criminality to a higher, more appalling level,” he added.

Like Bake, Garg is also subject to a Serious Harm Prevention Order and is on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The NCA said it worked with a number of international partners to target this group of moderators. A further 14 men have been charged in the US for their roles in helping to run The Annex, with eight receiving sentences of between six and 28 years.

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Maldives deports 186 foreigners, including 43 Indians, for visa violations and drug offences

Male: The Maldives has deported 186 foreigners, including 43 Indians, on charges of crimes like visa violations and drug-related offences, according to local media reports. The highest number of people deported belonged to Bangladesh at 83, followed by 43 Indians, 25 Sri Lankans and eight Nepalis.

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PM Modi emplanes for Qatar after concluding his successful visit to UAE

Abu Dhabi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday emplaned for Qatar to begin the second leg of his two-nation visit after concluding a successful visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), by signing several bilateral agreements and inaugurating the historic BAPS Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi. 

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Indian Man Arrested In Nepal For Possession Of Undocumented Gold And Silver

An Indian national was arrested on Tuesday on charges of possessing undocumented gold and silver in Nepal, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided a jewellery shop in Pokhara city and arrested its owner Surjit Singh, 40, for smuggling gold and silver.

Police recovered unaccounted 7.782 kg gold, 6 kg silver ornament and Rs 68 lakh cash from his possession.

According to police, Singh is a resident of Medinipur in West Bengal and was running the jewellery shop. During a preliminary investigation, it was found that there was no supporting document against the recovered gold and silver. 

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Kamala Harris Says She Is "Ready To Serve" Amid Joe Biden Age Concerns

US Vice President Kamala Harris said she was ready to serve as leader, in a Wall Street Journal interview published Monday, as voter concerns mount about President Joe Biden's age in an election year.

The 59-year-old Harris has faced growing scrutiny about her own abilities as the first in line to the presidency should Democrat Biden, 81, be incapacitated or stand down.

"I am ready to serve. There's no question about that," Harris told the newspaper when asked whether voters' concerns about Biden's age meant she must convince them of her credentials.

Everyone who sees her on the job "walks away fully aware of my capacity to lead," said Harris, the first Black, South Asian and female vice president in US history.

The interview was carried out two days before a stinging special counsel report portrayed Biden as elderly and forgetful.

Special counsel Robert Hur's probe into Biden's handling of classified documents said the president should not face charges but damningly said he would come across to a jury as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

The White House has hit back hard at the report, noting that Hur interviewed Biden when he was under intense pressure the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Harris also sprang to Biden's defense, branding the special counsel's report as "politically motivated."

Harris has taken on a growing role in Biden's reelection campaign, focusing on subjects including abortion, ahead of November's vote in which he is expected to face a rematch with former president Donald Trump.

Republicans have frequently targeted Harris and polls show the former California senator suffers from low approval ratings, like Biden himself.

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Hungarian President Katalin Novák resigns over child sexual abuse pardon scandal

Hungarian President Katalin Novák on Saturday handed over her resignation after a public outcry over a pardon she granted to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case. The 46-year-old announced her decision in a televised message that she would step down from the presidency, an office she has held since 2022. 

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Ukrainian, 71, Accused Of Espionage, Other Crimes Dies In Russian Jail

A 71-year-old Ukrainian man died in Russia in December awaiting trial for espionage and other crimes, human rights organisation Memorial said on Sunday, citing court documents.

Several Ukrainian citizens have been accused of espionage by Russia following the start of what the Kremlin calls a special military operation almost two years ago.

Memorial said there was little information about Viktor Demchenko, who was thought to have died at a pre-trial detention facility in the southern Rostov region. His case was sent to a military court in the city of Rostov-on-Don in August.

TASS news agency said the court had closed the case against Demchenko, also accused of participation in a "terrorist group" and illegal possession of arms and munitions, due to his death.

It cited law enforcement officials as saying he died on Dec. 31 from the consequences of a stroke he had suffered earlier.

It was unclear why information about Demchenko's death had emerged only weeks after.

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US: Indian-origin executive dies after being assaulted in Washington, police launch homicide probe

Washington: In a disturbing incident, a 41-year-old Indian-origin executive died after he was assaulted outside a restaurant in downtown Washington a few days ago, according to investigators. This is the sixth death incident of an Indian-origin individual that has led to worries about a spree of targeted incidents.

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Why Young Pakistanis Voted For Imran Khan's Party In Pakistan Elections

Below huge wall-mounted photos of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Naila Khan Marwat cheered with scores of young volunteers on election night whenever counts on TV channels suggested their candidate was in the lead.

Then she returned to her laptop to collect complaints of alleged electoral rules violations from candidates, compiled with 50 other young women to give to party lawyers launching legal challenges.

Marwat, 26, worked until the early hours of Friday at the party headquarters in Pakistan's capital, tracking the results closely, a more confusing task than usual after former cricket hero Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters were barred from running as PTI candidates and using the cricket bat party symbol. They had to run as independents.

"We have memorised all of the symbols and all the names of our candidates," said Marwat, a law student. "We know every candidate and every symbol."

Pakistan voted on Thursday in a critical general election as it struggles to recover from an economic crisis and battles violence in a deeply polarised political environment.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared victory on Friday, saying his party has emerged as the largest and would talk to other groups to form a coalition government.

Final results were unclear due to an unusual counting delay, but independents, most backed by PTI, accounted for the biggest group with 92 of the 225 seats counted by 1600 GMT, doing much better than expected and taking many by surprise.

Khan was ousted from power in 2022, jailed in August and has received multi-year bans from taking part in politics over a series of corruption and criminal charges.

PTI's strong showing suggests a possible protest element spurring turnout and the enduring resilience of Khan's support, analysts said. If the independents cannot form a government on their own, their large number could make Pakistan more unstable, they fear.

PTI supporters said the playing field was unfair, including a day-long cut in mobile services during polling on security grounds after a series of militant attacks. The PTI relies heavily on its social media presence, including automated social media responses that helped citizens find their polling booths and PTI-backed candidates.

Pakistan's election commission has said it will look into allegations of violations.

"PTI is definitely here to stay. It may have been hollowed out and cut down to size, but ... its support base remains large and loyal," said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. "Khan remains a force to be reckoned with, even from his jail cell."

Young, Enduring Supporters

That support base, at odds with powerful army generals, has been grappling with a military-backed crackdown. The party alleges the crackdown gathered pace ahead of Thursday's vote as the military sought to keep it out of the race, a charge the army denies.

Some analysts and voters have said that public perception of military involvement in politics may have driven Khan supporters to the polls, alongside frustration at months of soaring inflation and anger at the three prison sentences Khan has received.

"One of the reasons the military may be concerned is that there are signs of some genuine grassroots support," said Maya Tudor, associate professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, adding the mobile services suspension on election day, after authorities had reassured people there would be no blanket communications failure, was a possible sign of worry.

Marwat, the law student, said she joined PTI in 2016 and cast her first vote for it in 2018, drawn by its leader who she saw as being "true" to Pakistan. Khan's sentences galvanised her and many of her peers, she said.

"Haven't you seen the other great leaders? Like Nelson Mandela? ...There are so many great leaders who have been in prison and they are suffering a lot," she said. "But things change."

Pakistan's elections have long been marred by accusations of rigging and the imprisoning of political figures. While the turbulence is not new, analysts and supporters say PTI's responsive campaign that cuts across demographics is.

With its celebrity sportsman figurehead and social media presence, PTI is also popular with Pakistan's huge youth population that is growing every election cycle. Newspaper Dawn estimated Pakistan added 10 million since the 2018 election.

One of them, software engineering student Nayaba Akhtar, 21, said she was inspired to vote for a PTI-backed independent.

"It feels great," she said. "I'm sad Imran Khan isn't here, but I'm happy my first vote is for Imran Khan."

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Hamas "Open" To Discuss Ceasefire Despite Rejection Of Initial Offer

Hamas still wants to discuss a ceasefire in its war with Israel, a Palestinian official close to the group told AFP Thursday, despite a rejection of its initial offer.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed the organisation's ceasefire proposal, calling it "bizarre" and vowing to press on with military action until "total victory".

The Palestinian official said a Hamas delegation would meet Egyptian officials in Cairo from Thursday, who would then work with Qatari representatives to find more common ground.

"We expect the negotiations to be very complex and difficult but Hamas is open to discussions and the movement is keen to reach a ceasefire," added the official, who is familiar with the negotiations.

"The two parties will hold several rounds of negotiations indirectly," he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on this sensitive issue.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials on his latest visit to the region to try to broker a deal.

He called on Wednesday for Israel to tone down its rhetoric as the war, sparked by Hamas fighters' deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, entered its fifth month.

On the Israeli side, some 1,160 people died, while 250 hostages were taken, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel says 132 are still in Gaza, and 29 are thought to be dead.

In Hamas-run Gaza, at least 27,840 people have been killed, the health ministry said Thursday, in Israel's retaliatory offensive. Civilians made up the bulk of casualties on both sides.

The Palestinian official based in Gaza said the talks in the Egyptian capital would concentrate on the first phase of a proposed ceasefire, which would last "about six weeks".

During that time, talks would take place about an exchange of hostages for women and children held in Israeli prisons.

"Hamas' response, which reached Egypt and Qatar and was seen by the United States and other parties, included an offer to release detained Israeli children, women, the elderly, and the sick," the official added.

"In return, Israel would release a number of Palestinian prisoners, which will be discussed starting today (Thursday)."

The first phase would include allowing 400 to 500 aid trucks carrying food, medicine and fuel to enter Gaza daily, with widespread concerns about a humanitarian crisis in the territory.

Talks during the first pause in fighting would look for a deal on the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and a return of the displaced, the official said.

"Hamas will insist that Turkey and Russia stand alongside Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and France to ensure the implementation of the agreement in all its stages, including a permanent ceasefire and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip," the official added.

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Top US Official Says "Can And Will" Deliver More Ukraine Aid

The United States "can and will" deliver further military aid to Ukraine, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan vowed Wednesday as NATO's chief stressed such support was "vital".

"There is no alternative to the United States stepping up to the plate and providing a level of resources that allow Ukraine to have the artillery, the air defence systems and the other capabilities they need," Sullivan told a news conference alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"Time is of the essence," he said, adding: "We're going to stay focused on that and we believe we still can and will deliver it."

Stoltenberg reinforced the message, saying: "It is vital that the United States Congress agrees on continued support for Ukraine in the near future."

"I count on all allies to sustain their commitment," he said.

Their words of support for Kyiv, made in NATO's Brussels headquarters during a visit by Sullivan, come as Republicans in the US Congress block a bill to renew American funding for Ukraine.

The Republicans, who are positioning themselves for US presidential elections in November, have tied passage of legislation to immigration curbs.

President Joe Biden has blamed Donald Trump -- his predecessor and likely rival in the upcoming elections -- for encouraging the blockage.

This month will mark the two-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv's fightback is backed with material from many NATO countries, especially the United States.
 

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Donald Trump To Appeal Denial Of Immunity By US Court

Donald Trump will appeal a court ruling that he is not immune from prosecution as a former president and can be tried over an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, his spokesman said Tuesday.

"If immunity is not granted to a president, every future president who leaves office will be immediately indicted by the opposing party," Steven Cheung told news agency AFP after the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia published its decision.

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Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, face of Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's, to participate in elections

Islamabad: A new political party named Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, believed to be a new face of the banned groups of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, is participating in Thursday's general elections, according to a media report. A BBC Urdu report has said some of the candidates nominated by this organisation from different cities of Pakistan are those who are either relatives of Hafiz Saeed or have been associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa or Milli Muslim League in the past.

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Indian-Origin PMs Of UK, Ireland Oversee Historic Power-Sharing Pact

The Indian-origin Prime Ministers of the UK and Ireland, Rishi Sunak and Leo Varadkar met on Monday to oversee a historic power-sharing pact in Northern Ireland, where a devolved government took charge after two years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met at Parliament Buildings, Stormont Castle, in Belfast as they hailed efforts to restore devolution in Northern Ireland.

They also met political leaders separately, including First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, who head the devolved region's executive. Pengelly belongs to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

"Now it's time to get to work," said Rishi Sunak after his meetings.

"We've worked very hard and succeeded in protecting Northern Ireland's place in the union and built on what we achieved with the Windsor Framework to ensure the smooth flow of trade in the UK and all the benefits that are there as a result of Brexit can be seized," he said.

While Southampton-born Rishi Sunak's roots connect with Punjab, Dublin-born Leo Varadkar has his familial roots in Maharashtra.

In a readout of the historic discussions between the British Indian and Irish Indian leaders, Downing Street said Rishi Sunak began by congratulating the Ireland rugby team for their emphatic win against France in the Six Nations contest on Friday.

"This had been a challenging time, but patience had proved key to a deal. Now that the institutions were up and running again, he wanted to see all three strands functioning equally well. The sense of relief and optimism from people in Northern Ireland had been very striking and made it all worthwhile," reads the Downing Street statement.

Both leaders agreed that a "stable, effective and successful" Northern Ireland - part of the United Kingdom and sharing a border with Ireland - benefitted the UK-Irish relationship immensely.

The British government has already pledged to provide a financial package worth GBP 3.3 billion, described by Rishi Sunak as "generous and fair", to any newly-formed executive at Stormont.

The return of power-sharing came after months of negotiations involving the government and the DUP of Northern Ireland. It withdrew from power-sharing in February 2022 protesting the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, agreed between the UK and the European Union (EU).

Last week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson announced his party had reached a deal with Number 10 that means no "routine" checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. He said on this basis, and with legislation passed at Westminster to implement more changes, his party would return to government.

Writing in the visitors' book at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar wrote: "Delighted to be here on an important day for Northern Ireland and to witness devolved democracy and the Good Friday Agreement operating once more." The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998 by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern, backed by then US President Bill Clinton, brought an end to 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles.

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US-led international coalition conducts strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen

In a joint effort, the United States and the United Kingdom, supported by allies including Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted additional strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized that the coalition aims to send a clear message to the Houthis, warning of consequences if they persist in their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels.

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Canada Extends Ban On "Foreign Ownership" Of Housing By 2 Years

Canada on Sunday announced a two-year extension to a ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing, saying the step was aimed at addressing worries about Canadians being priced out of housing markets in cities and towns across the country.

Canada is facing a housing affordability crisis, which has been blamed on an increase in migrants and international students, fueling demand for homes just as rising costs have slowed construction.

"As part of using all possible tools to make housing more affordable for Canadians, the ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing, which is currently set to expire on January 1, 2025, will be extended to January 1, 2027," Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

The Canadian government has said foreign ownership also has fueled worries about Canadians being priced out of housing markets in cities and towns across the country.

Last month, Canada announced an immediate, two-year cap on international student permits and said it would also stop giving work permits to some students after graduation as it seeks to rein in record numbers of newcomers seen aggravating a housing crisis.

Rapid population growth fueled by immigration has put pressure on services such as healthcare and education, and has helped drive up housing costs. These issues have weighed on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's support, with opinion polls showing he would lose an election if one were held now.

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India agrees to 'replace' military personnel in Maldives' three aviation platforms by May 10

India-Maldives tensions: Amid uneasy ties between India and the Maldives, both countries on Friday agreed on a "set of mutually workable solutions" to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms in the island country. According to the Maldives foreign ministry, India has agreed to "replace" military personnel in three aviation platforms by May 10.

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US Issues Travel Advisory For Americans Ahead Of Pakistan Elections

The US has issued a travel advisory for American citizens visiting Pakistan and asked them to exercise caution ahead of the general elections scheduled for February 8, and also warned of potential poll-related violence.

The US Embassy in Pakistan on Friday issued an advisory and asked its citizens to remain vigilant and aware of the locations of political rallies occurring in areas they intend to visit.

The advisory said on February 8, election day, areas around polling stations may be crowded and US citizens not eligible to participate in Pakistan's elections should avoid them.

The mission noted that political parties in Pakistan were campaigning actively, such as taking out marches, rallies, and speeches, which are intrinsic to any democratic process. However, it further said that such public gatherings have the potential to block traffic, disrupt transportation and create obstacles to free movement and safety.

The advisory also cautioned that in some instances, political activities in Pakistan have been targeted for violence. Scores of pre-poll attacks on political parties have been reported this week from the troubled provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The US mission advised American citizens not eligible to participate in Pakistan's elections to avoid visiting areas around polling stations on February 8 as they may be crowded.

There could also be disruptions to internet and cellular service leading up to and throughout election day, it said.

It also provided recommendations such as avoiding areas of large public gatherings, exercising caution if one unexpectedly finds themselves in the vicinity of a large gathering or demonstration and reviewing one's personal security plans.

The embassy urged US citizens to monitor local media, keep a low profile and also carry their identification documents and cooperate with police.

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Cash-strapped Pakistan assures Maldives of helping 'development needs' amid uneasy ties with India

India-Maldives row: Amid strained relations between India and the Maldives, cash-strapped Pakistan on Thursday assured Male of support to address the "pressing development needs" of the island nation during a telephonic conversation between Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and Pakistan's caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. The leaders discussed various ways to strengthen bilateral ties, said Muizzu's Office in a statement.

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"Internal Matter": India On Maldives Opposition's Move To Impeach Muizzu

India on Thursday refused to comment on the internal political situation in the Maldives.

The island nation has been reeling under political upheaval with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) planning to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu over his government's handling of certain thorny issues.

"These are internal matters of Maldives and we would not like to comment on them," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

He was replying to questions relating to the political situation in the Maldives, during a media briefing.

The MDP announced plans to impeach the president after clashes broke out in Parliament on Sunday between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers over differences over the approval to four members of Muizzu's cabinet.

Muizzu, 45, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year.

The ties between India and the Maldives are witnessing some strain since he came to power in November.

Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the president that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country.

Last month, the Maldivian president asked India to withdraw all Indian military personnel deployed in the island nation by March 15 even as the two sides held the first meeting of "High-Level Core Group" in Male that primarily focused on the contentious issue.

Asked about the visit of a Chinese survey vessel to the Maldives, Jaiswal said India always keeps a close eye on developments that impact its economic and security interests.

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