Blog

  • Pakistanis will get slow Internet on Thursday

    Pakistanis will get slow Internet on Thursday

    Internet users in Pakistan will have to deal with slow internet speed tomorrow (Thursday). As per Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the internet speed in Pakistan will be slow on April 21 from 2 am to 7 am, meaning overnight on Thursday, due to a power reconfiguration activity on a section of the international submarine cable.

    “Alternate measures to provide uninterrupted internet services to users will be taken to meet capacity requirements and to return to full functionality as quickly as possible. The availability of internet services will be as usual throughout the country” The PTA said in a tweet.

    Last night the photo-sharing app Instagram was down globally for several users. Most users were unable to access profiles or refresh the feed, for hours.

  • 90’s favourite Nokia is gearing up for a comeback with new devices

    90’s favourite Nokia is gearing up for a comeback with new devices

    Nokia was confronted with a major challenge following the judicial decision in the lawsuit brought against HMD Global. To refresh your memory, a business called VoiceAgeEVS LLC sued the Finish giant in German courts for illegally deploying VoLTE technologies in Nokia handsets.

    Nokia Mobile in response, filed a complaint, which was dismissed, resulting in the withdrawal of smartphones from some European countries. HMD takes intellectual property rights carefully, according to Nokia Mobile, and is ready to provide and acquire licenses on conditions that are fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory.

    Pursuant to VoiceAgeEVS LLC’s discontent with HMD’s legal exercises, a partial ban on Nokia smartphones was imposed. Nokia has already taken measures to ensure that enhanced voice service (EVS) is no longer integrated into its devices sold in Germany, allowing for uninterrupted distribution. In Germany, Austria, and other European nations, phones like the Nokia XR20 and X20 are now eligible for sale in online stores.

    Read more: PTA records 1.73 million new 3G, 4G users in one month

    Nokia C21 is the latest addition to the C-series family, as announced by HMD Global, the house of Nokia devices.

    The new Nokia C21 adds even more value to the popular C-series by preserving the exceptional build quality, hallmark security assurances, and all-day battery life. It costs Rs17,000 and offers improved photos, privacy, and speed for a more enjoyable experience.

  • Twitter reacts to only five women in Shehbaz’s cabinet

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet members took oath on Tuesday. In the new setup, the cabinet has 31 federal ministers, three ministers of state and three advisers in the first phase, as has been said by the coalition government.

    As usual, the federal cabinet includes less ratio of females. The list includes:

    Marriyum Aurangzeb – Minister for Information

    Shazia Atta Marri- Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme

    Hina Rabbani Khar- Minister for Foreign Affairs,

    Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha- Adviser to PM on Finance

    Sherry Rehman- Minister of state for Climate change

    Following the oath-taking, social media users criticise the induction of only five females in the new federal cabinet.

    https://twitter.com/meinhiburihun/status/1516276827769212931?s=20&t=RsZ9tvKjcuEwfqKS0mnnYA

    https://twitter.com/jawismm/status/1516345385631035398?s=20&t=RsZ9tvKjcuEwfqKS0mnnYA

  • Egypt court cuts TikTok influencer’s sentence to three years

    Egypt court cuts TikTok influencer’s sentence to three years

    An Egyptian court has reduced TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam’s 10-year “human trafficking” sentence to three years, a judicial source has said.

    The source told the AFP news agency on Monday that despite Hossam’s jail time being cut, she was also fined 200,000 Egyptian pounds ($10,740) by the Cairo Criminal Court.

    The targeting of female influencers has rekindled a heated debate in Egypt over what constitutes individual freedoms and social values.

    Hossam was first arrested in 2020 and, along with another influencer named Mawada al-Adham, was sentenced to two years for “attacking society’s values” in online videos. She was detained after posting a video on Instagram explaining how women could earn up to $3,000 by broadcasting videos using the video creation platform Likee, which authorities interpreted as promoting women selling sex online.

    An appeals court acquitted the pair in January last year, but they were later charged with “human trafficking” – a charge Hossam reportedly incurred for telling her 1.3 million followers that girls can make money by working with her on social media.

    Then aged 19, she was sentenced in absentia and arrested last June.

    Adham received a six-year sentence and a 200,000-pound fine. She is still behind bars.

    Hossam’s lawyer Hussein al-Baqar confirmed to AFP that the sentence had been reduced. As she has already served 21 months including time under investigation, “she can be released in June or July”, Baqar said, adding the latest sentence could still be appealed.

  • Drug Smuggling: SC bars Czech model from leaving Pakistan

    Drug Smuggling: SC bars Czech model from leaving Pakistan

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday stopped Czech model Tereza Hluskova from travelling abroad in drug smuggling case.

    According to ARY News, Tereza Hluskova was sentenced to eight years and eight months in jail by a sessions court in April 2019. She was arrested at Lahore airport for attempting to smuggle heroin from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi on January 10, 2018.

    The court acquitted her last year in November and was released from prison the same month.

    On Tuesday, the apex court issued notice to Czech model and stopped her from leaving the country on the request of Pakistan customs.

    The counsel for Customs contended in the court that Tereza Hluskova was sentenced to eight years in prison by the trial court for smuggling drugs and was later on released by LHC.

  • ‘Our relationship with Pakistan has been a vital one’: US

    ‘Our relationship with Pakistan has been a vital one’: US

    United States Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said that his country wants to work closely with the newly-formed government of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on regional and international issues and termed the US-Pakistan relationship as a “vital one”.

    In a press briefing, he said: “For almost 75 years our relationship with Pakistan has been a vital one.” “We look forward to continuing that work with the new government in Pakistan across regional and international issues. This is work that has the potential to promote peace and prosperity in Pakistan and throughout the region.”

    Price added that the US viewed Pakistan as an “important stakeholder and partner” with whom the country is engaging to bring about a stable and secure Afghanistan.

    The statement is of great significance for bilateral relations as it has come after a series of allegations by Shehbaz’s predecessor Imran Khan. He had repeatedly blamed the US for backing the joint Opposition to oust him from power through a no-trust motion. Khan also came forward with a threatening letter that he claims is from the US.

    It is pertinent to mention that since Biden came into power and the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, US-Pakistan relations have been standing on the edge of a precipice.

    Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on becoming the new Prime Minister of Pakistan and vowed to continue cooperation with the new government.

  • Olympian Talha Talib writes to weightlifting federation after positive dope test

    Olympian weightlifter Talha Talib has written a letter to the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) after his dope test was found to be positive.

    In his letter to PWF, Talha wrote: “he had no idea about the presence of a prohibited substance in his body,” stating that he would “never even think of violating doping rules.”

    He further said: “he could have made an unintentional mistake, which could be due to lack of knowledge, and for that, he tenders apology to everyone ”.

    On April 8, Talha Talib failed to get a negative result of the dope test on which he got banned from taking part in the Birmingham Commonwealth games and the Olympics.

    Prior to this, Talha Talib won the country’s first-ever medal at the World Weightlifting Championship last year in Uzbekistan by winning a Bronze in the snatch event in the 67kg category. He has come into the limelight when he missed two points to get a medal for Pakistan in the last Olympics. 

  • Two govt officers killed in DI Khan gun attack

    Two govt officers killed in DI Khan gun attack

    Two government officers have been killed in a gun attack carried out by unidentified men in Dera Ismail Khan city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    According to a report by ARY News on Monday, the police officials told the media that unidentified assailants have killed two officers of KP’s excise and narcotics control department at Darazanda Bypass of Dera Ismail Khan city.

    They added that the slain officers included Inspector Rukhsar and ASI Waseem who were targeted in the gun attack during duty hours.

    Earlier in the month, five policemen had been martyred in a rocket attack carried out by terrorists in Dera Ismail Khan.

  • Fact check: Did Judge Nasira Iqbal write a statement in favour of Imran Khan?

    Fact check: Did Judge Nasira Iqbal write a statement in favour of Imran Khan?

    Claim: Justice (R) Nasira Iqbal made a statement in favor of Imran Khan, validating his conspiracy theory

    Fact: It was a doctored statement that Nasira Iqbal denied having ever made

    A message attributed to Justice (retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal is being widely shared on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.

    “I will tell you what crime you committed Dear IK. I have been asking why IK had to be removed immediately rather than wait for 16 months to complete the term. So here is the answer,” says the message, which then goes on to state that there was a conspiracy to oust Khan because he was taking measures that would have made Pakistan “come out of slavery” and thus the United States (US) was left with no choice but to remove him from power.

    When asked by anchorperson Abdullah Sultan on Geo News if the message being circulated was indeed written by her or reflect her views, Justice Nasira denied this and said it was a fake message being falsely attributed to her.

    “I am not on social media. I don’t subscribe to Facebook. I have not given any statement. I don’t like giving political statements in any case. I don’t know who these troublemakers are who have put out something in my name. And why do they use Allam Iqbal’s name? This is quite inappropriate. Whether Imran Khan is right or wrong does not concern me,” said Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal.

    Verdict: FALSE

  • FIA picks up 24 over social media campaign against Pak Army

    FIA picks up 24 over social media campaign against Pak Army

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested more 24 persons on charges of launching a smear campaign on social media against the Pakistan Army. According to officials, the arrests were made during raids conducted in 11 cities.

    According to the FIA officers, the arrested people have been accused of initiating a “hate trend” against Pakistan Army on Twitter. Until now, 19 people have been charged under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Pakistan Electronic Crime Prevention Act  (PECA) for unleashing a smear campaign against the Army on social media.

    On Monday, the FIA carried out raids in various cities including Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad to arrest people who were behind targetting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Army.

    According to media reports, the cases will be heard by the authority concerned under the anti-terrorism laws. All cases have been shifted from the cyber crime wing to the anti-terrorism wing.

    The Counter-Terrorism Wing Director Humayun Sindhu is leading the investigation process under anti-terrorism laws.

    On April 12, FIA arrested six people under similar charges to propagate a propaganda campaign against COAS and Army across the social media.