Author: newsdesk

  • Inquiry launched in girl’s alleged rape at Okara railway station

    Inquiry launched in girl’s alleged rape at Okara railway station

    Trigger warning: rape/sexual violence

    An inquiry has been ordered into an alleged rape incident that took place at Okara Railway Station earlier this month.

    The incident happened on May 10. The prime suspect offered the rape survivor a free ticket, suggesting that he would help her travel all the way to Karachi from Okara for free.

    He later took her to the parcel branch of the railway station where he allegedly raped her. The rape survivor informed the police after reaching Karachi.

    Karachi Cantt Station Police have registered a case against the prime suspect Haseeb.

  • US embassy in Pakistan issues security warning, cancels appointments

    US embassy in Pakistan issues security warning, cancels appointments

    The US Embassy in Islamabad has announced the cancellation of all routine consular appointments scheduled for Monday due to security concerns. The embassy issued a security alert on Sunday, stating that there is a possibility of road closures and/or traffic delays, which could impede the movement of people.

    The alert clarified that although the embassy is still operational, it is limiting the movements of its personnel to official and mission-essential travel only. The US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, however, are open for routine consular appointments, according to the notification.

    US citizens who are traveling in-country are advised to be aware of potential disruptions to mobile phone service and have contingency communication plans in place. The embassy urges US citizens to remain vigilant and maintain good situational awareness of their surroundings. It also recommends that they pay attention to local media for security updates and planned road closures.

    Furthermore, the US embassy strongly encourages its citizens to avoid large gatherings, unnecessary travel, and comply with all established security checkpoints. It is essential to take the necessary precautions and maintain a high level of security awareness to ensure personal safety while traveling in Pakistan.

  • IMF denies seeking $8 billion fresh financing from Pakistan in bailout talks

    IMF denies seeking $8 billion fresh financing from Pakistan in bailout talks

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has denied recent reports that it is seeking fresh financing from Pakistan, stating that Pakistan’s external financing requirements have remained unchanged throughout talks with the Fund.

    The clarification comes after a report by the Express Tribune suggested that the IMF had increased its demand for additional financing to $8 billion, up from an unmet condition of $6 billion, in order to ensure debt repayments for the May-December 2023 period.

    According to Reuters, IMF Resident Representative Esther Pérez Ruiz confirmed that the country’s external funding requirements had not changed, and that discussions were centered around a review to unlock $1.1 billion in financing as part of a $6.5 billion IMF package.

    Despite ongoing talks, a staff-level agreement on the review has been delayed since November, and the IMF has reiterated that commitments on external financing from friendly countries will be necessary before it can release bailout funds.

    Pakistan’s central bank reserves currently stand at $4.38 billion, equivalent to barely a month’s worth of imports.

  • Naila Kiani becomes second Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest

    Naila Kiani becomes second Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest

    Naila Kiani has successfully scaled world highest mountain Everest (8848.86 m) on Sunday morning, becoming the second woman to do so.

    She scaled the mountain with Nepali climber Pasang Temba Sherpa.

    Samina Baig was the first woman mountaineer from Pakistan to scale Everest in 2013.

    Before this, she climbed Annapurna I in Nepal, K2, Gasherbrum I and II.

    As per media reports, Naila Kiani is the first Pakistani woman climber to summit five peaks over 8,000m.

  • Here is the new schedule for postponed board exams

    Here is the new schedule for postponed board exams

    The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Peshawar (BISEP) on Saturday announced new dates for exams that were postponed due to the law and order situation of the country.

    As per the new schedule, the exam for 10th-grade mathematics will be held on May 19, 9th-grade mathematics on May 20, 10th-grade chemistry on May 22, and 9th-grade chemistry on May 23.

    The rest of the exams, including biology and Pakistan studies, will be held as per schedule.

    On the other hand, schools In Punjab that were closed due to countrywide protests against the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, were reopened on Saturday.

    The former Prime Minister reached his Zaman Park residence in Lahore late on Friday night from the capit

  • ‘Agr Sharif family money laundering me beqasoor hai to mein ajj se Mahira Khan hun’: Rabya Kulsoom

    ‘Agr Sharif family money laundering me beqasoor hai to mein ajj se Mahira Khan hun’: Rabya Kulsoom

    Following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, many celebrities have come forward to voice their opinion on the matter.

    Actor Rabya Kulsoom too took to Instagram stories to voice her opinion in a rather sarcastic way.

    “Aagr MQM ko Karachi mein fasad hone par afsos hai, aur agr Zardai ne 27th December (Bibi kay qatal) par aman qayem rakha huwa tha aur aagr Sharif family money laundering me beqasoor hai to mein ajj se Mahira Khan hun, Jao jo karna hai kar lo,” she wrote on Instagram.

  • Google’s Bard is a more powerful, accurate AI chatbot than ChatGPT

    Google’s Bard is a more powerful, accurate AI chatbot than ChatGPT

    Google has opened up access to Bard, its AI-powered chatbot, to English speakers in many parts of the world. The waitlist for access to the chatbot has been removed after two months of limited testing.

    Some people believe that Bard is simply a clone of ChatGPT, but this is not the case. Bard is much more advanced than ChatGPT, as it has access to the latest news and events. This allows Bard to provide more comprehensive and informative responses to users’ questions.

    Bard and ChatGPT 4 are both large language models, also known as conversational AI or chatbots. They are trained on massive datasets of text and code, and they can communicate and generate human-like text in response to a wide range of prompts and questions.

    However, there are some key differences between the two models.

    Bard

    1. Bard is trained on a massive dataset of text and code that includes information from the internet. This gives Bard a wider range of knowledge to draw from, and it allows Bard to answer questions in a more comprehensive and informative way.
    2. Bard is also able to access and process information from the real world through Google Search. This gives Bard a real-time view of the world, and it allows Bard to keep its answers up-to-date.
    3. Bard is designed to be informative and comprehensive. It is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, and it is able to access and process information from the real world through Google Search. This gives Bard a wide range of knowledge to draw from, and it allows Bard to answer questions in a comprehensive and informative way.

    ChatGPT 4

    1. ChatGPT 4 is trained on a massive dataset of text, but it is not trained on information from the internet. This means that ChatGPT 4 has a more limited range of knowledge, and it may not be able to answer questions as comprehensively as Bard.
    2. ChatGPT 4 is also not able to access and process information from the real world. This means that ChatGPT 4’s answers may not be up-to-date.
    3. ChatGPT 4 is designed to be creative. It is trained on a massive dataset of text, and it is able to generate human-like text in response to a wide range of prompts and questions. This makes ChatGPT 4 a good tool for generating creative content, such as poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc.

    Bard and ChatGPT 4 are both powerful large language models. They can both communicate and generate human-like text in response to a wide range of prompts and questions. However, Bard has a wider range of knowledge, it is able to access and process information from the real world, and it is designed to be informative and comprehensive. ChatGPT 4 is designed to be creative. Ultimately, which model is better for you depends on your needs.

    It is currently unknown whether Bard will remain free. Google has not made any announcements about its plans for Bard’s pricing model. However, it is possible that Google may choose to make Bard a paid service in the future. This is because Bard is a very powerful and versatile tool that could be used for a variety of purposes, such as generating content, writing code, and translating languages. As such, Google may believe that it can charge a premium for access to Bard.

    On the other hand, Google may also choose to keep Bard free. This is because Google has a history of providing free access to its products, such as Gmail and Google Drive. Additionally, Google may believe that making Bard free will help to promote its other products and services.

    Ultimately, it is up to Google to decide whether Bard will remain free or not. However, it is likely that Google will make a decision about Bard’s pricing model in the near future.

  • ‘Kaptaan, aap larae jeet gaye’; celebrities congratulate Khan on being set free

    ‘Kaptaan, aap larae jeet gaye’; celebrities congratulate Khan on being set free

    After the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the cricket fraternity came together to support the ex-cricketer. Khan was one of the greatest all-rounder of the cricket and mentored such players las Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzimam UL Haq and Aqib Javed.

    Former fast bowler Waqar Younis tweeted right after Imran Khan’s release and congratulated him.

    “Won the fight but long way from winning the War. Congratulations Skipper @ImranKhanPTI ALLAH pak aap ko apna hifzoimaan main rakha #Ameen #PakistanZindabad “

    A day earlier, the PTI chairman got blanket relief from the IHC as authorities have been barred from arresting the deposed prime minister in any case till Monday morning (May 15).

    In the first relief, a two-member special divisional bench granted two-week bail to the former prime minister in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, and later, the court barred authorities from arresting him till May 17 in any new case filed against him till May 9 — the day he was detained in the corruption case, which led to deadly protests.

    Then, he sought transitory bail in four cases lodged against him in Lahore, in which the court awarded him bail till May 22 in the Zille Shah murder case, then, another bench barred authorities from arresting the former prime minister till the morning of May 15 while hearing the bail petition filed against three terrorism cases.

    Khan was arrested in a corruption case involving a property tycoon. The former prime minister had immediately approached the high court for release but it had declared his arrest “legal”.

    However, the apex court released him on May 11 after concluding that he was taken into custody in violation of rules by law enforcement agencies.

    Since being ousted from office last April, Khan has waged a tempestuous campaign for snap elections and fired unprecedented criticism at the coalition government and military who he blames for pulling him from power.

    He has accused senior military and government officials of plotting a November assassination attempt that saw him shot in the leg during a rally.

  • ‘Went from one relationship to another’; Priyanka Chopra opens up about her dating life

    ‘Went from one relationship to another’; Priyanka Chopra opens up about her dating life

    Priyanka Chopra recently appeared in “Call Her Daddy” podcast, in which she opened up about her dating life among many other things. Chopra revealed that she jumped from one relationship to another before taking a break.

    “I did not give myself time at all between relationships… I think I worked a lot and I always ended up dating the actors that I worked with. And I think that I just thought I had an idea of what a relationship should be like, and I kept seeking that and trying to fit the people that came into my life, into my idea of that relationship,” said Priyanka.

    She said that before meeting her now husband, Nick Jonas, she took two years off, adding that she did not date Nick at that time because she did not want to keep repeating mistakes.

    Talking about her past relationships, Priyanka said that she had normalised the idea of “giving the power in such a skewed way” that she never stood up for herself. “I literally would become like a doormat and I was like, ‘okay, that’s fine.’”

    The actor further said that she came to the realisation that getting into a new relationship soon after one ended wasn’t good for her.
    “I reached a point in my life where I was like, what the f**k are you doing? Like, this is getting self-destructive at this point when I had to choose me, I had to be like I don’t owe no one anything except my family and myself, the people who truly love me.”

    “When you are in relationships where you stop recognising who you are, you stop having your own identity, or you stop knowing what it is, what you want for yourself, what your goals are, then you are invisible. And, I just started feeling invisible in my relationships,” she added.

  • PM Shehbaz will visit Corps Commander House in Lahore to show unity

    PM Shehbaz will visit Corps Commander House in Lahore to show unity

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will visit Lahore today to examine the aftermath of the protests Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held in the Cantt area.

    Along with Interim Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Mohsin Naqvi, he will visit the Corps Commander’s House in Lahore, with the PM scheduled to go to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) to meet injured officials in order to show his support to the army.

    It is pertinent to mention that after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, many of his supporters barged into the Corps Commander’s House and damaged the property, burning the building and looting personal possessions.

    The Corps Commander House is Jinnah House, a property owned by the founder of the country which he willed to the state.

    In an unusually harsh-worded statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that May 9 would go down in history as a “dark chapter”.