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  • AI giants to unveil pact to fight political deepfakes in year of crucial elections worldwide

    AI giants to unveil pact to fight political deepfakes in year of crucial elections worldwide

    Tech giants including Meta, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI are working on a pact to jointly crack down on AI content intended to deceive voters ahead of crucial elections around the world this year, companies involved said Tuesday.

    Currently under negotiation by the companies, this so-called “accord” on deepfakes and other dangerous content is set to be announced during the Munich Security conference on Friday.

    “In a critical year for global elections, technology companies are working on an accord to combat the deceptive use of AI targeted at voters,” a spokesperson for Meta said in an emailed statement to AFP on Tuesday.

    “Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and others are working jointly toward progress on this shared objective,” the statement added.

    According to the Washington Post, which first reported the existence of the project, the companies will agree to develop ways to identify, label and control AI-generated images, videos and audio that aim to deceive voters.

    The idea comes as big tech companies are under considerable pressure over fears that AI-powered applications could be misused in a pivotal election year.

    Meta, Google and OpenAI have already agreed to use a common watermarking standard that would tag images generated by their AI applications, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot or Google’s Gemini (formerly Bard).

    Recent examples of convincing AI deepfakes have only heightened worries about the easily accessible technology.

    Last month, a robocall impersonation of US President Joe Biden pushed out to tens of thousands of voters urged people to not cast ballots in the New Hampshire primary.

    In Pakistan, the party of former prime minister Imran Khan has used AI to generate speeches from their jailed leader.

  • ECC approves Rs7.49 billion Ramzan Relief Package

    ECC approves Rs7.49 billion Ramzan Relief Package

    In a significant move to provide relief to the general public during the upcoming Ramazan, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in its latest meeting chaired by the Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, approved the Ramzan Relief Package-2024.

    The approved package, with a net amount of Rs7.49 billion, is specifically designed to benefit targeted beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). This allocation is part of the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24.

    During the meeting, the committee also discussed and gave the green light to a summary from the Ministry of Commerce’s Tariff Policy Wing.

    The summary pertained to “Individual Tariff Rationalization Proposals from Different Sectors for Review of Custom Duties.” Following thorough deliberations, the committee advised that tariff rationalization should be coordinated with the overall trade policy.

    Furthermore, a proposal related to the “Permission to Import Wheat and Export of Wheat Flour under Export Facilitation Scheme 2021” was presented by the Ministry of Commerce.

    The ECC not only approved this proposal but also directed the relevant ministries to prepare comprehensive plans aimed at enhancing opportunities for value-added exports.

  • PPP is not interested to be part of government in centre, says Bilawal Bhutto

    PPP is not interested to be part of government in centre, says Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that his party is not interested in being part of the government in the centre. He also said that the PPP didn’t get a mandate and that “I’m not a candidate for Prime Minister.”

    The PPP Chairman said that PPP is not in a position to form a government at the centre, adding that PTI has said that it will not hold any talks with PPP, and PML-N is the only party that invited us to join the government at the centre.

    “We have decided that we are not in a position to be a part of the federal government. The former foreign minister said that we will not take ministries into the federal government, but we will vote for PML-N’s candidate for prime minister.

    He further said that we want the government formation to be completed soon and the country to come out of the crisis.

  • PTI decides to form government with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen in centre and Punjab

    PTI decides to form government with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen in centre and Punjab

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Rauf Hassan has said that his party will form a government with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) in the centre and Punjab. He also said that PTI will form the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

    MWM has one National Assembly (NA) seat, and JI has seven provincial assembly seats in KP. On the other hand, MWM has no provincial assembly seat in Punjab.

  • Why Ali Amin Gandapur should NOT be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister

    Why Ali Amin Gandapur should NOT be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister

    Imran Khan, former Prime Minister and founding Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated former federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur as the party’s candidate for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister post.

    But his nomination has sparked outcry on social media in the light of the atrocious allegations against him.

    In 2017, eight men stripped and paraded a teenage girl in Garahmat village of Daraban tehsil in Dera Ismail Khan.

    The incident took place on October 27 when a 16-year-old girl was stopped by men as she was on her way home. They then stripped her naked and forced her to walk in the village for an hour.

    The girl screamed for help but was ignored by witnesses who were “scared” to help her.

    She was allegedly ‘punished’ for her brother’s actions who, three years prior, had allegedly entered into a relationship with a girl from the village.

    PTI MNA Dawar Khan Kundi wrote a letter to Imran Khan, pointing out Gandapur’s — the-then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Minister — involvement in enabling the incident.

    “I visited the family a week before and they asked, in fact, requested me to make sure that Ali Amin Gandapur, revenue minister KP, may be forced and asked to withdraw his support for the criminals,” Kundi wrote in the letter, dated November 8.

    Gandapur denied the allegations and visited the girl’s family, ensuring them that he will arrange her marriage and take any financial responsibility needed.

    On the contrary, the girl revealed that during her statement admission to the police, she was “threatened” which hindered her in giving all the details.

    “When I started recording my statement, the police officer didn’t write it correctly. Instead, he wrote only what he wanted to”, Geo news quoted her as saying.

    While on one hand Imran Khan posted on X (formerly Twitter) with regard to FIR filed against the perpetrators and the arrests, he, nonetheless, deemed the allegations against Gandapur as false and instead announced that he would expel Kundi from the party.

    Apart from his involvement in the case, he also has a reputation for foul language. To quote an example, in one of his addresses to the public, in reply to one of Maryam Nawaz’s comments, “Jaisa moun waisay thapar”, he said that she shall get “slapped” for the insights he has on her.

  • PSL season 9 trophy unveiled

    PSL season 9 trophy unveiled

    The trophy of season nine of Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been unveiled in Lahore on Tuesday. PSL 9 will be held in four cities- Karachi, Lahore, Multan- while Rawalpindi will host the final on March 18 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

    Like the previous edition, 14 matches of PSL 9 will be played at Multan Cricket Stadium and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from February 17 to 27.

    After that, action will shift to Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi and National Bank Stadium in Karachi where 16 matches will be played from February 28 to March 12. In the opening match, two-time champions and current title holders Lahore Qalandars will face Islamabad United, winners of the 2016 and 2018 editions.

  • Man kills wife and children before committing suicide in Chakwal

    Man kills wife and children before committing suicide in Chakwal

    The head of a household in Chakwal, suffering from financial problems, committed suicide after killing his wife and children.

    According to the police, Shafqat Saleem committed suicide after killing all four of his children and his wife in Muzdalifah Town area in Chakwal city.
    Police say that Shafqat Saleem shot himself after calling the police on the 15 helpline. His other victims were two daughters aged 14 and 16 years, and two sons aged 13 and 17 years.

    According to the preliminary investigation as reported by Geo, the victim had financial problems that he could not cope with.

  • Ali Amin Gandapur will be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister

    Ali Amin Gandapur will be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister

    The founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has told media that senior leader of his party and member of the provincial assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, will be the chief minister of the province.

    According to the results of general elections, PTI-backed candidates have a simple majority in the KP province.
    Imran Khan also said that his party is ready to talk with all parties except the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

  • Mahira Khan denies pregnancy rumours

    Mahira Khan denies pregnancy rumours

    Newly-wed Mahira Khan has denied rumors that she is pregnant after her marriage to longtime friend and beau Saleem Karim.

    Talking about the rumors on social media, the superstar said, “It is not true that I am pregnant, and I have not left the Netflix series.”

    Her statement came in response to news carried by Indian media which said that Mahira Khan is expecting a second child after her marriage, and will become a mother by August or September this year.

    Indian media reports cited a user’s post on Reddit on February 10 that claimed Mahira Khan had pulled herself out of several projects because she was pregnant.

    The report said that the 39-year-old actress has withdrawn from two major projects including the OTT series ‘Jo Bachey Sang Samet Lo’.

    Although the post has been deleted on Reddit, rumors circulated until the actress denied them.

  • Video: Football player killed by lightning during match

    Video: Football player killed by lightning during match

    A football player was killed by lightning during a soccer match in Indonesia, causing panic in the stadium.

    It can be seen in the video that the football players were playing a friendly match on the field when it suddenly started to rain with thunder and lightning. According to local media, a 35-year-old player of the “FLO” Subang team, Spitan, was killed by lightning.

    The tragic incident is the second incident of lightning striking an Indonesian footballer in the past 12 months. A young soccer player in Bujonegoro, East Java, was killed by lightning during the 2023 Soeratin U-13 Cup. In 2023, a 21-year-old Brazilian footballer was also struck by lightning on the pitch.