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  • Elon Musk fires more than 90% of Twitter India staff

    Elon Musk fires more than 90% of Twitter India staff

    Twitter Inc. terminated more than 90 per cent of its employees in India over the weekend, “severely depleting its engineering and product team in a prospective growth area.”

    The firing frenzy is part of global reductions by new owner Elon Musk.

    .According to persons familiar with the situation who spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, Twitter’s India offices employed just over 200 people before the cuts, leaving it with only about a dozen employees. The offices are in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

    Due to its sizable potential pool of new online users, India is a crucial growth engine for international internet companies like Twitter, Meta Platforms Inc., and Google, a division of Alphabet Inc.

    The businesses must comply with “increasingly strict regulations” intended to rein in giant digital enterprises in the country.

    According to one of the employees who spoke with Bloomberg, the product and engineering teams in India that worked on a worldwide mandate accounted for roughly 70 per cent of the jobs that were eliminated.

  • ISB police gives bike to Bykea rider whose bike burnt by PTI protesters

    ISB police gives bike to Bykea rider whose bike burnt by PTI protesters

    The Islamabad Police has handed over a new bike to Ishtiaq, whose bike was burnt by PTI protesters.

    The Incident:

    An angry mob protesting in Islamabad against the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Imran Khan set ablaze a motorcycle of a bike rider.
    According to the details, the bike was set on fire at IJP Road over minor resistance.

    In a video that is being widely shared on social media, the bike’s owner can be seen crying.

    The boy says on the video that after the death of his father, he along with his brother, ran the household by using the bike in delivery services. Clearly distressed, the boy says that he is a student of grade nine and he pays for his fee by working as a delivery rider

    Supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took to streets across the country on Friday to protest against the firing incident that injured party Chairman, Imran Khan.
    On November 3, Khan survived an assassination attempt on day seven of PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Long March’ as his container moved through Punjab’s Wazirabad.
    Following the incident, the suspect/shooter, caught by police on the scene, said that he wanted to kill Khan because “He was misleading the public.”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Muhammad Hanif Abbasi has annouced that he will hand over a new bike to the victim on Sunday.

  • Khan tells President Alvi to make a plan to give ISPR ‘operational lines’

    Khan tells President Alvi to make a plan to give ISPR ‘operational lines’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has sent a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, appealing to him not just as Head of the State but also as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to take note of “wrongdoings that undermine Pakistan’s national security”.

    Upping the ante in the war of words with the establishment, Khan in his letter raised questions about the joint press conference of the Director General (DG) ISI General Nadeem Anjum and DG ISPR Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar and asked, “How the head of Pakistan’s premier Intelligence Agency can do a public press conference?” His second question inquired how two military bureaucrats could carry out a, “highly political press conference targeting the leader of the largest and perhaps the only federal political party in Pakistan today?”

    “The parameters of a military information organisation such as the ISPR also need to be clearly defined and limited to information relating to defence and military issues. As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces I call on you to initiate the drawing up of these clear operational lines for the ISPR,” the letter stated.

    Khan further said to the President said, “You are the Head of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and you must protect its democracy and its Constitution,” asking him to ensure that no person or State institution can be above the law of the land. “We have been seeing a massive abuse of citizens at the hands of rogue elements within State organisations, including custodial torture and abductions all carried out with impunity.”

    “You hold the highest Office of State and I am requesting you to act now to stop the abuse of power and violations of our laws and of the Constitution, which ensures the fundamental rights of every citizen.”

    Khan concluded his letter by telling Alvi to protect the country’s democracy and Constitution.

  • T20 World Cup: Did PM Shehbaz predict Pakistan reaching the semi-final?

    T20 World Cup: Did PM Shehbaz predict Pakistan reaching the semi-final?

    Pakistan on Sunday defeated Bangladesh and made its way to the semi finals of the T20 World Cup , booking a spot in the last four after all odds seemed against the team.

    Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4-22 as Bangladesh posted 8-127, setting up an easy chase with Pakistan scoring 5-128 to win Sunday’s Adelaide Oval encounter with 11 balls to spare.

    Pakistan joined India, New Zealand and England as semi-finalists.

    Soon after Pakistan’s victory, the official twitter handle of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while sharing a tweet of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif wrote, “Told you, did not he?”.

    “We may not have the real Mr Bean, but we have real cricketing spirit .. and we Pakistanis have a funny habit of bouncing back :),” PM had written in his tweet, addressed to the President of Zimbabwe.
    “Mr President: Congratulations. Your team played really well today,” it added.

    The PM yesterday congratulated both Pakistan and the Netherlands.

  • After Twitter, Meta reportedly planning ‘large-scale’ layoffs this week

    After Twitter, Meta reportedly planning ‘large-scale’ layoffs this week

    With plans to layoff thousands of employees this week, Facebook parent company Meta will join a growing list of digital companies that are reducing their workforces.

    As of September 30, Meta has over 87,000 people working for it across its various platforms, which include the social media sites Facebook and Instagram as well as the messaging service WhatsApp. According to WSJ, the social media business had reduced its ambitions to hire engineers by at least 30 per cent in June, and Mark Zuckerberg had advised staff to prepare for a slowdown in the economy.

    In his announcement of Meta’s dismal third-quarter results, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the company’s headcount will not rise by the end of 2023 and might even decline significantly.

    “In 2023, we’re going to focus our investments on a small number of high-priority growth areas. So that means some teams will grow meaningfully, but most other teams will stay flat or shrink over the next year. In aggregate, we expect to end 2023 as either roughly the same size or even a slightly smaller organization than we are today,” Zuckerberg said on the last earnings call in late October.

    Profits for Meta dropped to $4.4 billion in the third quarter, a 52 percent year-over-year decline. The poor findings had a significant negative impact on Meta’s stock price, which dropped by 25 per cent in one day.

    Over the past year, the company’s market value has decreased to $600 billion.

    In a previous open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s shareholder Altimeter Capital Management stated that the company needed to streamline by eliminating positions and capital expenditures. They also stated that investors had lost faith in Meta as a result of its increased spending and pivot to the metaverse.

    Owing to increased interest rates, rising inflation, and a European energy crisis, several technological businesses, including Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc., and Snap Inc., have reduced workforce in recent months.

  • Video: Taliban govt reveals final resting place of founder Mullah Omar

    Video: Taliban govt reveals final resting place of founder Mullah Omar

    The Taliban government in Afghanistan has disclosed the location of Mullah Omar’s grave, after his passing and burial were concealed for many years. Mullah Omar was the founding leader of the Taliban.

    According to Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who spoke to Agence France-Presse on Sunday, senior officials of the movement attended a ceremony at Omar’s tomb on Sunday close to Omarzo, in the Suri area of Zabul province.

    The Taliban once again came into power in August 2021 after defeating after defeating government forces as the American troops withdrew after 20 years in the country.

    Earlier this year in June, the Taliban discovered a white Toyota jeep belonging to Omar, which was buried 21 years ago. When the US forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as a response to the 9/11 attacks, Mullah Omar hid his personal vehicle by burying it.

    The car was discovered mostly unharmed and wrapped in plastic. However, the front mirror of the car was broken.

    Omar reportedly died in 2013. However, the news of his death was not revealed by the Afghan Taliban until July 2015.

    In the video, his grave can be seen covered by a green metal barrier inside a walled enclave.

  • Hareem Shah opens up about her love story with Politician husband

    Hareem Shah opens up about her love story with Politician husband

    TikToker Hareem Shah recently discussed her love story and marriage with politician Bilal Shah on a podcast with comedian Nadir Ali. She described how her husband proposed to her and how they eventually decided to tie the knot.

    Shah said, “I met my husband in Karachi, we met randomly at an event and after that we became very good friends, it was him who proposed to me, I used to like him a lot as a friend so I was shocked when he proposed me, in start I thought he’s just joking but he was serious, I said to him to send his parents to my house and that’s how it happened.”

    Hareem also discussed the impact of social media’s trolling on celebrities, “People have a lot of negativity, I don’t pay heed to trolling because people troll a lot, the reason why I don’t pay heed to trolls, because, I have seen many media persons who lost lives after being trolled like, recently, I saw Aamir Liaquat Hussain, who was so happy and came in your show with his wife, he was fine and okay, I also talked with him along with my husband, but sooner I saw him dying, don’t you think he died because of the trolling.”

    The digital influencer recently shared a video on her Instagram in which she and Bilal can be seen sharing a loving moment.

    In the video, the TikToker can be seen hugging Bilal, holding his hand while sitting on a swing. Hareem can also be seen holding her husband’s nose as if he is irritating her.

    In another video, hecan be seen giving her a foot massage.

  • Oil industry warns OGRA of looming petrol, diesel shortage

    Oil industry warns OGRA of looming petrol, diesel shortage

    Due to limited imports and constrained domestic supplies, the oil industry has warned the government that the country may witness a shortage of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) in the upcoming days.

    The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has been written about the shortfall by the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), an organisation that represents the oil industry.

    The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) were given permission to import motor spirit/petrol and HSD in accordance with their demand in the product availability review of products for the month of November 2022, the OCAC stated. This decision followed considerable consideration.

    A shortage of 210,000 MT of HSD and 147,000 MT of gasoline was calculated during the product review. Due to restricted supply on the global market and extremely expensive premiums, it was noted at the meeting that HSD imports in November would be difficult. As a result, only PSO has so far reserved supplies from Flow Petroleum of 220,000 MT and 10,000 MT.

    Alarmingly, though, fuel import that corresponds to the expected sales volume and the stock cover has also not been scheduled. According to the OCAC letter, the importers were supposed to finalise the import plan, but as of now, there is a gap in the import plan.

    The conference with representatives from the industry held on November 1 also brought up this crucial issue, but no clear guarantees have been obtained in writing from the importing OMCs, it stated.

    According to Geo, the OMCs, who were expected to bring imports for use in October, got their shipments in the final week of the month; hence, the product wasn’t ready for usage during the month it was intended for. Similar to how OMCs who were permitted to import goods the month before for usage the following month had already used the shipments, the letter observed.

  • Exclusive: Hamza Ali Abbasi opens up about refusing Varun Dhawan’s ‘Judwaa 2’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Baby’

    Exclusive: Hamza Ali Abbasi opens up about refusing Varun Dhawan’s ‘Judwaa 2’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Baby’

    Actor Hamza Ali Abbasi is currently riding high on the success of his Pakistani feature film, The Legend Of Maula Jatt, which has garnered over 100 crores globally. During the promotions of this Bilal Lashari directorial, Hamza exclusively revealed to The Current that he refused the Bollywood film Judwaa 2 starring Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu.

    The Pyarey Afzal star said that he was approached for the film by Bollywood producer Sajid Nadiadwala however he turned the movie down for multiple reasons, but the primary reason was the turbulent relationship between India and Pakistan. Around the same time, Pakistani actors were banned from working in the Hindi film Industry.

    Hamza’s co-star Gohar also guessed the same film on being asked about the Indian film which Hamza rejected a few years back.

    The Man Mayal hero also rejected Akshay Kumar’s political thriller Baby due to its anti-Pakistan content. Another Pakistani hero, Mikaal Zulfiqar, later performed the role.

    This is How Mikaal Zulfiqar Praises Akshay Kumar for His Neutral Attitude towards Pakistan - Style.Pk
  • Siyasat pe behas: Bus passenger killed after political argument

    Siyasat pe behas: Bus passenger killed after political argument

    One man was killed and another was wounded by gunshot after a political argument among bus passengers turned violent, reports Samaa.

    The incident occurred on Sunday on the Swat Motorway near the Katlang Interchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to local police.
    Two brothers, Waqasuddin and Rahimuddin, were traveling on a bus that was headed for Taimargirah.

    Both got involved in a political argument during the bus ride. However, things got heated since neither party was willing to consider the other’s point of view.

    Unidentified passengers had an altercation with Waqasuddin and Rahimuddin but other passengers, who had not participated in the debate, intervened.

    However, the animosity persisted.

    The police said that the suspects called their relatives who forcibly stopped the passenger bus near Katlang Interchange.
    When they had both boys out of the car, they began to beat them with batons.

    Rahimuddin died on the spot while Waqasuddin was hit by bullets after a suspect pulled out a gun and opened fire.
    The injured person was quickly transported to the hospital for urgent medical care.