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  • Trump holds meandering live ‘chat’ with backer Musk, after delay

    Trump holds meandering live ‘chat’ with backer Musk, after delay

    Donald Trump ran through his checklist of conspiracy theories Monday in a rambling conversation with his uber-wealthy supporter Elon Musk that was initially derailed by what the tech titan said was a technical glitch.

    In a very one-sided conversation on X, Trump vented about a “zombie apocalypse” of immigration, repeatedly blasted President Joe Biden as “stupid”, and mused about developing a new missile defense system based on the one that defends Israel.

    The Republican standard-bearer also dismissed climate change, whose sea-level rises he said would simply create more real estate opportunities.

    “The biggest threat is not global warming, where the ocean is going to rise one-eighth of an inch over the next 400 years,” he told Musk.

    “You’ll have more ocean front property, right? The biggest threat is not that. The biggest threat is nuclear warming, because we have five countries now that have significant nuclear power, and we have to not allow anything to happen with stupid people like Biden.”

    What was billed as a “no limits” conversation between the two started more than half an hour late, with many of those logging on unable to listen in live.

    Musk, the world’s richest man according to Forbes, claimed the platform formerly known as Twitter had experienced a cyber “attack.”

    Read more: ‘I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands’: Trump welcomes Musk’s takeover

    Border ‘apocalypse’

    The conversation was intended to help reinvigorate Trump’s stuttering campaign, which has flagged since Biden dropped out of the race, to be replaced by a surging Kamala Harris.

    The young men who view Musk as a hero are a prized target for Trump, whose following tends to skew older.

    More than a million users listened in live to the conversation on X. Musk, who has said he previously voted Democrat, has thrown his weight — and his wealth — behind Trump since a gunman tried to assassinate the Republican at a rally last month.

    The apparent technical difficulties come after Musk fired swathes of staff at the platform, and also served as an uncomfortable reminder that the Tesla boss had once backed Trump’s rival Ron DeSantis, whose campaign launch on the platform was also beset by problems.

    When things finally got under way, Musk said the “massive attack illustrates there’s a lot of opposition to people just hearing what President Trump has to say.”

    Trump was banned from Twitter after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021, but Musk reinstated him when he took the platform over and renamed it.

    The South African-born billionaire has emerged as a major voice in US politics, but is accused of turning X into a megaphone for right-wing conspiracy theories.

    He is one of the Democrats’ fiercest critics, leveraging his 194 million-strong following on X to assail liberal efforts to boost diversity and inclusion — what he calls the “woke mind virus” — and the White House’s handling of the southern border.

    “We have people streaming over,” Musk told Trump, likening the border to the “zombie apocalypse” depicted in the film “World War Z.”

    “It’s just not possible for the United States to absorb, you know, everyone from Earth,” said Musk, identifying himself as a “legal immigrant.”

    Read more: Elon Musk restores Donald Trump’s Twitter account

    Cost ‘cutter’

    In his “chat” with Musk, Trump returned often to a favorite theme — boasting about his relationship with autocrats like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, and insisted America would be safer under his stewardship.

    “One of the things we’re going to do is we’re going to build an Iron Dome,” he said, referring to Israel’s missile defense system.

    “We’re going to have the best Iron Dome in the world… because it just takes one maniac to, you know, start something.” Musk reiterated his strong support for Trump, saying the ex-president “was the path to prosperity and Kamala is the opposite.”

    At one point he also appeared to be touting for a job under a future Trump administration, suggesting he would like to serve on a cost-cutting committee.

    “I think it would be great to just have a government efficiency commission that takes a look at these things and just ensures that taxpayer money… is spent in a good way,” he said. “I’d be happy to help out on such a commission.” Trump appeared sold on the job application.

    “You’re the greatest cutter,” he told the man who slashed swathes of staff months after taking over Twitter.

  • CM Maryam Nawaz presents 10 crore cheque, Honda Civic to Arshad Nadeem

    CM Maryam Nawaz presents 10 crore cheque, Honda Civic to Arshad Nadeem

    Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz awarded the world champion of the javelin throw, Arshad Nadeem, with huge prizes. She reached the gold medalist’s village, Mian Channu, by helicopter, met the athlete and his family, and congratulated him on his historic achievement.

    He also awarded Arshad Nadeem Rs 10 crore and a Honda Civic car for winning the gold medal and promised to pave village roads, build a hospital, and build a university.

    After meeting with Arshad Nadeem, she left for Lahore from Mian Channu.

    Many personalities and organizations, including the federal and provincial governments and actors, have announced awards for Arshad Nadeem. After 40 years in the Paris Olympics, he won a gold medal for Pakistan and set an Olympic record for the highest throw, 92.97 meters.

  • What’s the price tag on security, protocol for judges?

    What’s the price tag on security, protocol for judges?

    Journalist Absar Alam on his show Mere Sawal yesterday revealed the details of perks and privileges used by Pakistan’s judiciary, even though it is 130th out of 142 countries in the Rule of Law index by the World Justice Project (WJP).

    Absar stated that this week, a standing committee of the National Assembly revealed some details about the cars and security used by the judiciary.

    Before delving into the details, Absar recalled former CJP Saqib Nisar’s April 2018 order suspending the security of all VIPs, remarking, “Whoever is afraid of anything, they should leave the country.”

    Absar continued, “But now there are 34 security cars for judges, 409 security personnel in just Islamabad costing about 3 crores and 68 lacs each month”

    “6 cars and 79 security individuals for bureaucrats; likewise, there are 4 cars and 41 security people for ministers,” stated Absar.

    The journalist pointed out that the planned vacations taken by the judiciary of Pakistan are a colonial legacy when the British judiciary couldn’t bear the harsh weather of the Indian subcontinent. However, it still continues to this day by the honourable judiciary of Pakistan.

  • Not a suicide; Sania Zehra was murdered

    Not a suicide; Sania Zehra was murdered

    Major developments in the death of 20-year-old Sania Zehra, a mother of two, whose death took social media by storm, have unveiled crucial details of her demise.

    Azma Bokhari, Punjab’s Information Minister, informed the media on Monday that Sania’s death was not a result of suicide. It was in fact a homicide.

    Sania’s father, Syed Asad Abbas Shah, had already claimed in the FIR that his daughter’s husband had killed her.

    The provincial minister asserted that the husband is a suspect along with his mother, as all evidence points towards their role in Zehra’s killing.

    “No evidence of suicide has been found in the Sania Zehra case. The mother-in-law and husband had put a noose around the girl’s neck together,” she said during a press conference.

    The revelations have surfaced two days after the Punjab government constituted a six-member committee to oversee the probe into the murder case. The committee was authorised to find discrepancies in the FIR’s contents and the victim’s autopsy report.

    Azma, along with Chairperson of the Women Protection Authority Hina Pervaiz Butt, updated the media that the wounds on the girl’s shoulder and neck were not due to the noose used for suicide. “Forensic lab traces such cases. Forensics have found evidence against Sania’s mother-in-law and husband,” she added.

    Hina Butt stressed that she knew it was not a suicide case after seeing photographs of the crime scene. “Evidence later revealed that the girl was murdered and hanged. Mother-in-law and husband polygraph test positive,” Butt said.

    Forensic test report

    Punjab Forensic Science Agency also submitted all its test reports stating that the forensics found no evidence of suicide.

    “All the tests and investigations show that it is not a case of suicide. Sania Zehra was killed on July 9, and her [murder] was presented as a suicide,” the submitted report read.

    Zehra’s neck was not swollen or elongated due to the noose. “The DNA of Sania’s husband and mother-in-law matched with the dupatta used as the noose,” as per the forensic report.

    The noose around Zehra’s neck did not cause her death, and the scar on the neck and shoulder was not because of the dupatta, the report added.

    “The DNA of the sample found from Sania’s nail was also matched with that of her husband,” it read.

    Earlier, the reports came out allegedly confirming that Sania hanged herself, implying that she committed suicide. The reports also asserted that she was not pregnant.

    Since the Punjab government established the suicide, The Current talked to Azma Bukhari, and she confirmed that Sania’s pregnancy could not be confirmed, blaming it on the forged post-mortem report. She said that Sania’s uterus was not opened, and the medical officer got changed at the last minute, which raised concerns about this aspect being compromised in the post-mortem investigation.

    Azma admitted that even though the parents say that she was pregnant, the government can’t confirm because the post-mortem report was influenced.

    The case so far

    On July 9, 2024, Zehra was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her home. Her father, Syed Asad Abbas Shah, reported the death to the police, accusing Zehra’s husband and in-laws of murder, claiming Sania showed signs of torture, including a broken jaw and bruised ribs.

    However, the victim’s husband, Ali Raza fled the scene and was initially not held accountable.

    The case attracted significant social media ire, prompting Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to instruct officials to investigate.

    A joint investigation team was formed, and on July 13, the body was exhumed for a forensic report which confirmed asphyxia from hanging as the cause of death.

    Husband Ali Raza was later arrested on July 20, facing charges related to forgery and dishonesty as he hid the truth of his first marriage from Sania and her family.

    Despite claiming the death was a suicide following a domestic argument, Raza was arrested again after a press conference where he shared his version of the story and framed it as a case of suicide.

    Read all the details of the case: Sania Zehra case: Hanging confirmed, pregnancy dismissed

  • ISI officials under Faiz took diamond ornaments, 400 tola gold from Top City raid, petition reveals

    ISI officials under Faiz took diamond ornaments, 400 tola gold from Top City raid, petition reveals

    The petition against former spymaster General Faiz Hameed has revealed a shocking details of the allegations filed by Kanwar Moeez Khan, the proprietor of Top City.

    The petition, filed on Nov 2023, read that Pakistan Rangers and Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) raided the Top City Housing Society office and took away gold, diamond ornaments, money and other valuables.

    The petition stated that Faiz Hameed’s brigadier cousin contacted him for a meeting after the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) acquitted him.
    The petition revealed that the former DG told Moeez that he would return all other items except 400 tola gold and cash.
    It further read that retired brigadiers Naeem Fakhar and Ghaffar of ISI ‘’forced’’ the petitioner to ‘’pay four crore rupees in cash’’ and ‘’sponsor a private TV network for a few months’’.

    Earlier, Zahida Javed Aslam, a Pakistani-born British national, filed a complaint claiming Moeez was her employee and fraudulently transferred land in his name.

  • Top 10 moments from Paris Olympics 2024 you should not miss

    Top 10 moments from Paris Olympics 2024 you should not miss

    The Paris 2024 Olympics have been full of unforgettable moments, from Yusuf Dikec’s swag to Arshad Nadeem’s historic Javelin throw. Here are the best moments of the event:

    1-Arshad Nadeem’s historic Javelin throw

    Pakistani javelin star Arshad Nadeem was competing against the world’s top Javelin players, including India’s Neeraj Chopra, who already had a lead of 9-0 against Arshad. It looked like Arshad would win a medal, but bronze or silver. But that was the day of Arshad, and his second throw was 92.97 meters, claiming the gold medal and the record for the highest throw in Olympic history.

    This was an epic moment, and the Pakistani nation was cheering on this success because this was Pakistan’s first medal in 32 years after 1992.

    2-Yusuf Dedick pistol shot

    Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec became a viral sensation at the Paris Olympics. He won a silver medal in the Mixed 50-meter Pistol event, but his unique style made him stand out. Unlike other shooters who wore ear protectors and special lenses, Dikec only wore his prescription glasses and a t-shirt with pants. He even kept his non-shooting hand in his pocket while aiming and firing. His unusual approach quickly made him famous on social media and turned him into the face of many memes.

    3 South Korean shooter with assassin-style

    Kim Ye-ji, a South Korean Olympic sharpshooter who won a silver medal in the women’s 10-meter air pistol, became an internet sensation on Wednesday. She was recognized as the breakout style star of the Paris Games.

    Wearing a black South Korean uniform zipped up to her neck, a baseball hat, and wire-rimmed shooting glasses, the 31-year-old looked very calm in videos showing her and her teammate achieving the top two shooting scores at the Olympics on Sunday.

    After her win, a 27-second clip of Kim calmly aiming, shooting, and checking her record-breaking score went viral.

    4-Imane Khelif wins the gold medal

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who faced racist attacks about her gender, won the gold medal in the women’s boxing competition. In the final of the 66 kg category, Imane beat China’s Yang Liu 5-0. She had been targeted by racist comments questioning her gender after Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrew from their fight just 46 seconds in.

    5- Zhou medal confusion

    Zhou Yaqin was confused when she saw her fellow medalists biting and copying their medals. After winning silver in the balance beam final, the 18-year-old Chinese gymnast went viral. At her first ever Games, she saw Italians Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito biting their gold and bronze medals. Zhou quickly brought her medal to her mouth but didn’t bite it, thinking it was something all medal winners had to do.

    6-Novak Djokovic wins gold medal

    Novak Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, had already achieved a lot in his tennis career: he won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, became the world No. 1, and earned over $180 million in prize money. However, he was deeply emotional when he finally won the only major award missing from his achievements—a gold medal at the Olympics.

    Usually calm, Djokovic knelt on the clay at Roland Garros, trembling and shaking. He sat on the bench and cried, his body shaking with emotion.

    7-Armand Duplantis winning celebration

    Armand Duplantis, also known as Mondo, had already won his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s pole vault. Despite this, the crowd of about 75,000 at the Stade de France in St.-Denis wasn’t ready to leave. At 24, Duplantis was now trying to set a world record for the ninth time since 2020.

    His success came from his great skill and intelligent choices. Although he grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, he competes for Sweden, his mother’s native country, which picks its team without needing Olympic trials. With a bonus of up to $100,000 for setting a world record, he carefully raises the record by just a centimetre each time. On Monday, he tried to clear a height of 6.25 meters (20 feet 6 inches). He missed twice and fell on his third try, but the bar stayed in place. He had set another record, though it was just a tiny improvement.

    8-Rebeca Andrade Queen moment

    Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles had a plan. They both wanted to be on the top of the medal stand after the final gymnastics event, the floor exercise. But Biles, the favourite, made a few mistakes, and Chiles made a few more. So, Rebeca Andrade from Brazil ended up winning the gold medal instead.

    After Chiles got her bronze medal (which was temporary) and Biles got her silver, Andrade was introduced as the Olympic champion. As she walked to the podium, making history as the first all-Black medalists in Olympic gymnastics, Biles and Chiles kneeled and bowed to her. They later called her a queen.

    9- Chinese Badminton Player Receives Wedding Proposal

    Chinese Olympian Huang Ya Qiong won a gold medal and got a marriage proposal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 30-year-old badminton player and her partner Zheng Siwei won gold in mixed doubles by beating the South Korean team Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun on August 2. After the medal ceremony, Huang’s teammate Liu Yuchen surprised her with flowers and proposed to her in front of the crowd at La Chapelle Arena.

    10-North Korean and South Korean player’s podium selfie

    After the mixed doubles table tennis final, athletes from North and South Korea put their differences aside and took a selfie on the podium. North Korea won silver, and South Korea won gold. The viral photo showed how sports can bring people together.

  • ‘No woman is safe in Pakistan’: Nimra Khan escapes kidnapping attempt

    ‘No woman is safe in Pakistan’: Nimra Khan escapes kidnapping attempt

    Actress Nimra Khan, recognized for her role in Geo TV’s drama serial ‘Umme Ayesha,’ has shared details of a terrifying experience where she escaped a kidnapping attempt.

    Nimra posted a video telling her followers,

    “I am Muslim proudly but I am sorry being Pakistani I dnt knw what should I say.”
    She begun: “Assalamu Alaikum, the nation is still alive, right? However, the purpose of this video is not to praise this country. What happened to me yesterday was horrible; do you want your sister, daughter, or wife to experience the same fate? It is not safe to send any of your girls outside of Pakistan; I guarantee you that they are not safe here. You people understand that it is ridiculous to celebrate August 14th when girls are still unsafe in Pakistan.”

    “Yesterday, I was standing near Ramada, waiting for my car when the three men came and tried to kidnap me, they harassed me. I had mobile, bag and I was waiting for my family, it was raining, those men held me on gun point were dragging me to their car but no one heard me. I did my own protection, I pushed him and started running, he had guns, and he could open fire on me. How can I say that I am safe in this country where I pay taxes when I stepped in front of a passing car? The family and Ramada staff saved me. I see why people have guards with them now; we need guards, which is probably why so many people are moving abroad. I am not safe here, and I can hire guards with my tax money,” the Umme Ayesha actress added.

  • Food & Agri Exhibition concludes with deals worth $1.2billion

    A three-day food and agri event attended by more than 800 buyers from 75 countries ended in Karachi with 330 exporters exhibiting around 500 quality products.

    Dawn reported that international chain stores, buyers and multinational companies visited the Second International Food and Agriculture Exhibition at the Karachi Expo Centre. The largest participation was from China, comprising 150-plus buyers.

    As result of 7,000 business-to-business meetings, deals worth $1.2bn were finalised, besides signing of more than 36 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) mainly in rice, processed food, seafood, kinnow, potato, lentils, chickpeas, mangoes, confectionery, meat, food and beverages, spices, cereals and oil seeds by China, Malaysia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Gambia and France.

    Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Chief Executive Zubair Motiwalla said the estimated export orders of $1.2bn will complement the target set by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his inaugural speech at the event.

    According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Commerce, $35 million worth of export contracts were signed between Pakistani and Chinese companies in the seafood sector. Additionally, several MoUs and investment interests were expressed by various companies, including HVA (dairy investment), Bolynta (potato seeds from the Netherlands), Huiyuan Beverages and Food Group (China), and METAS (Qatar).

  • PTI office raid revealed Gen Faiz’s role in facilitating PTI, alleges Omar Cheema

    PTI office raid revealed Gen Faiz’s role in facilitating PTI, alleges Omar Cheema

    Journalist Omar Cheema revealed last night on his YouTube channel, Omar Cheema Exclusive, that when authorities raided the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretariat last month, they found evidence of former spymaster Lt Gen (retd) Faiz’s “role in facilitating PTI.”

    On July 13, former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hamid was taken into custody by the army over allegations of land grabbing and snatching valuables from the owner of a private housing society

    Omar alleged, “Gen Faiz was connected to PTI leadership and trained them to bypass intelligence agencies’ supervision because he was the inside man.”

    The journalist further claimed, “The problem that the army is facing is the involvement of its own people with PTI. And the leader of all these internal dissenters is Gen Faiz.”

    He stated that the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, was getting some facilities in jail that nobody could explain until now.

    Cheema claimed that the Top City Case in which Gen Faiz was found guilty was just for optics, while the real reason was his cooperation with PTI and Imran Khan.

    “This is a big setback for Imran Khan because his biggest supporter has been arrested,” said Cheema.

    He said this indicates where the relationship between the army and the PTI is going.

  • Lahore College names history museum after Maryam Nawaz

    Lahore College names history museum after Maryam Nawaz

    Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) has dedicated its history museum to alumnus Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

    The News reported that Vice Chancellor Dr Shagufta Naz said that in politics, Maryam Nawaz has achieved significant success and became the Chief Minister of the largest province, making it the biggest goal an alumnus has achieved. “Maryam Nawaz’s remarkable success in the political arena and her recent elevation to the highest executive position in Punjab is a matter of immense pride for LCWU,” she said.

    She added that the History Museum is dedicated to Maryam, acknowledging her highest status among the alumni.

    The VC asserted that during LCWU’s centenary celebrations, a history museum was established in which biodata of prominent alumni and monuments related to the institution were collected.

    Maryam Nawaz has also been formally invited to visit the university and visit the History Museum.