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  • Gold price remains steady at Rs214,300 per tola with no fluctuations

    Gold price remains steady at Rs214,300 per tola with no fluctuations

    The cost of 24-karat gold in the local bullion market remained unchanged at Rs214,300 per tola on Tuesday, according to the Karachi Sarafa Association. 

    Similarly, the prices for both 10-gramme 24-karat and 22-karat gold stood at Rs183,728 and Rs168,416, respectively. 

    Last week, a decline in international prices led to a Rs1,700 drop in the domestic market for 24-karat gold per tola.

    Silver prices also maintained stability in the domestic market, with 24-karat silver selling at Rs2,600 per tola and Rs2,229.08 per 10 grammes. Meanwhile, on the global stage, international spot gold traded near $2,025.7 as of 12:50 pm, marking a 0.35 per cent increase for the day.

    Investors are closely watching for the release of crucial US inflation data later today, which may provide further insight into the timing of the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate adjustments.

  • After less than stellar performance, what is PML-N camp thinking?

    After less than stellar performance, what is PML-N camp thinking?

    The general elections of February 8 pulled many surprises, the least of which was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) managing to win the largest number of seats despite not having a symbol or even a party.

    But another surprise was the poor performance of supposed front runners, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Although the party managed to get 79 seats, it still fell way short of expectations.

    So what is the party thinking now? More importantly, what is party head Nawaz Sharif, welcomed back in October 2023 with much fanfare, going to do?

    According to veteran journalist Nusrat Javed, Nawaz is not going to do much. Talking on Public TV, Nusrat Javed said that Nawaz has shut himself off from nearly everyone and can only be enticed to come out for meeting major players, including Asif Ali Zardari. Nusrat Javed said that Nawaz is no longer interested in becoming a Prime Minister once again. “Mujhay kyon bullaya” is the mantra, said Nusrat Javed.

    However, a party insider told DAWN that Nawaz is still very much in the running for become the Prime Minister for a fourth term. “As of now, Nawaz Sharif has not been ruled out as a candidate for the PM’s slot. Since the PML-N has to lead the federal coalition, many within the Maryam Nawaz camp feel why shouldn’t [the elder Sharif] take the driving seat,” the insider told DAWN.

    The party’s senior leader and one of Nawaz’s close aided, Khwaja Asif, has said that the former Premier is not disappointed with the results of the election in which PML-N did not manage to get a simple majority, leaving it at the mercy of a buoyant PPP for forming the government.

    Talking on Geo News, Asif said, “We are aware of the shortcomings but will fulfil our promise of giving relief to the masses after coming into government.”

    He also expressed caution about the power-sharing formula that is being talked about, with PML-N ruling for three years and then PPP taking over for the remaining two.
    “It would be unwise to hand over the government to another party after bringing stability,” he remarked.

    So there you have it. What the PML-N ultimately decides to do is still unclear. Perhaps we will know more as the days unfold.

  • Pressure mounts on Israel for Gaza ceasefire

    Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Israel faced growing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire, as it planned an incursion into the southern Gaza city Rafah where more than a million Palestinians are trapped.

    CIA Director William Burns was due in Cairo on Tuesday for a new round of talks on a Qatari-mediated ceasefire that would temporarily halt fighting in exchange for Gaza freeing hostages.

    His planned visit comes after Washington and the United Nations warned Israel against carrying out a ground offensive into Rafah without a plan to protect civilians, who say they have nowhere left to go.

    “Wherever we go there’s bombing, martyrs and wounded,” said Iman Dergham, a displaced Palestinian woman.

    On a visit to the White House Monday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II pushed for a full ceasefire to end the four-month-old war.

    “We cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah. It is certain to produce another humanitarian catastrophe,” said the monarch whose country hosts a large number of Palestinian refugees.

    “We cannot stand by and let this continue. We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end.”

    After rejecting Gazas’s terms for a truce last week, Israel conducted a predawn raid in Rafah on Monday that freed two hostages and killed around 100 people.

    Netanyahu hailed the overnight operation freeing Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Luis Har, 70, as “perfect”, while the Palestinian foreign ministry said the deaths of dozens of Gazans amounted to a “massacre”.

    The rare rescue mission under heavy air strikes came hours after Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden, who reiterated his opposition to a major assault on Rafah.

    But Netanyahu has defied pressure from key ally and military backer Washington, insisting that “complete victory” cannot be achieved until the elimination of the militants’ last battalions in Rafah.

    While meeting with the units that freed the two hostages, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said there would be “more operations” soon and pledged to see “Gaza destroyed”.

    “In my opinion, the day is not far.”

    No safe place

    Rafah has become a last refuge for over half of Gaza’s population, who are pressed up against the Egypt border in makeshift encampments where they face outbreaks of hepatitis and diarrhoea, and a scarcity of food and water.

    Netanyahu has said Israel would provide “safe passage” to civilians trying to leave, but foreign governments and aid groups — as well as Gazans — wondered where they could go.

    “As it is, there is no place that is currently safe in Gaza,” said United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

    When asked about an evacuation mission, he said the UN would “not be party to forced displacement of people”.

    The UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk warned that “an extremely high number of civilians” would likely be killed or injured in a full Israeli incursion into Rafah, which could also spell the end of the “meager” humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

    “It’s almost famine here, we’re almost out of flour in the north region,” said a man in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia. “We can’t even find food and drinks for the children.”

    ‘Time is running out’

    Israel’s operation to free the two hostages left Rafah with bomb craters and piles of rubble.

    The United States said it was deeply concerned by the reports that around 100 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in the early Monday raid.

    The State Department also called for Israel to investigate the “heartbreaking” killing of six-year-old Gazan Hind Rajab.

    Her body was recovered on Saturday along with two relatives and two Red Crescent workers who went to find her after her family’s car came under fire while trying to flee an Israeli advance on Gaza City.

    “I will question before God on Judgment Day those who heard my daughter’s cries for help and did not save her,” Hind’s mother Wissam Hamada told AFP.

    At least 28,340 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry.

    Militants also seized about 250 foreign and Israeli captives from southern Israel, around 130 of whom Israel says are still held in Gaza including 29 who are presumed dead.

    The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group warned that “time is running out for the remaining hostages”, urging the Israeli government to “exhaust every option on the table to release them”.

  • ‘Better than a real man’: Young women turn to AI boyfriends

    ‘Better than a real man’: Young women turn to AI boyfriends

    BEIJING: Twenty-five-year-old Chinese office worker Tufei says her boyfriend has everything she could ask for in a romantic partner: he’s kind, and empathetic, and sometimes they talk for hours.

    Except he isn’t real.

    Her “boyfriend” is a chatbot on an app called “Glow”, an artificial intelligence platform created by Shanghai start-up MiniMax that is part of a blossoming industry in China offering friendly – even romantic – human-robot relations.

    “He knows how to talk to women better than a real man,” said Tufei, from Xi’an in northern China, who declined to give her full name. “He comforts me when I have period pain. I confide in him about my problems at work,” she told AFP. “I feel like I’m in a romantic relationship.”

    The app is free – the company has other paid content – and Chinese trade publications have reported daily downloads of Glow’s app in the thousands in recent weeks.

    Some Chinese tech companies have run into trouble in the past for the illegal use of users’ data but, despite the risks, users say they are driven by a desire for companionship because China’s fast pace of life and urban isolation make loneliness an issue for many.

    “It’s difficult to meet the ideal boyfriend in real life,” Wang Xiuting, a 22-year-old student in Beijing, told the publication. “People have different personalities, which often generates friction,” she said. While humans may be set in their ways, artificial intelligence gradually adapts to the user’s personality — remembering what they say and adjusting its speech accordingly.

    ‘Emotional support’ 

    Wang said she has several “lovers” inspired by ancient China: long-haired immortals, princes and even wandering knights. “I ask them questions,” she said when she is faced with stress from her classes or daily life, and “they will suggest ways to solve this problem”. “It’s a lot of emotional support.”

    Her boyfriends all appear on Wantalk, another app made by Chinese internet giant Baidu. There are hundreds of characters available — from pop stars to CEOs and knights – but users can also customise their perfect lover according to age, values, identity, and hobbies.

    “Everyone experiences complicated moments, loneliness, and is not necessarily lucky enough to have a friend or family nearby who can listen to them 24 hours a day,” Lu Yu, Wantalk’s head of product management and operations, told the outlet. “Artificial intelligence can meet this need.”

    ‘You’re cute’ 

    At a cafe in the eastern city of Nantong, a girl chats with her virtual lover. “We can go on a picnic on the campus lawn,” she suggests to Xiaojiang, her AI companion on another app by Tencent called Weiban. “I’d like to meet your best friend and her boyfriend,” he replies. “You are very cute.”

    Long work hours can make it hard to see friends regularly and there is a lot of uncertainty: high youth unemployment and a struggling economy mean that many young Chinese worry about the future. That potentially makes an AI partner the perfect virtual shoulder to cry on. “If I can create a virtual character that… meets my needs exactly, I’m not going to choose a real person,” Wang said.

    Some apps allow users to have live conversations with their virtual companions — reminiscent of the Oscar-winning 2013 US film “Her”, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, about a heartbroken man who falls in love with an AI voice. The technology still has some way to go. A two- to three-second gap between questions and answers makes you “clearly realise that it’s just a robot”, user Zeng Zhenzhen, a 22-year-old student, told AFP.

    However, the answers are “very realistic”, she said. AI might be booming but it is so far a lightly regulated industry, particularly when it comes to user privacy. Beijing has said it is working on a law to strengthen consumer protections around the new technology.

    Baidu did not respond to AFP’s questions about how it ensures personal data is not used illegally or by third parties. Still, Glow user Tufei has big dreams. “I want a robot boyfriend, who operates through artificial intelligence,” she said. “I would be able to feel his body heat, with which he would warm me.”

  • Model Saheefa Jabbar Khattak slams brands for delaying payments

    Model Saheefa Jabbar Khattak slams brands for delaying payments

    Famous actress and model Saheefa Jabbar Khattak has slammed Pakistani brands for delaying payments for their advertisement campaigns.

    Taking to Instagram, Khattak wrote, “I’m fed up with these big brands and multi- billion-dollar companies. It’s a recurring nightmare, negotiate low payments, impose a ridiculous 90-120 day payment cycle and then, to top it off, delay payments while boasting about how much work they’ve given us. Enough! Paying for our services isn’t a favor; it’s a transaction. We’re not here to endure your payment delays – we’re the ones selling your brand. Cut the excuses and pay us for our craft.”

    The model went on to stress that regardless of the amount, artists shouldn’t be obliged to justify their financial needs to the brand repeatedly. “What’s owed to me should be paid without constant explanations. It’s exhausting to keep reminding the team that I need my payment to maintain my financial cycle. As an artist, the repeated requests for my own payment feel utterly disrespectful.”

    “I can’t fathom how these mediators, drawing their salaries from these brands, can be so rude. Phrases like “what’s the big deal, wait for the payment” or “we won’t work with you with this attitude” are unacceptable. Their repeated responses like “I’ve told you a hundred times, the purchase team is sorting this” showcase incompetence. Sir and Ma’am, you lack the ability to communicate with someone frustrated due to your own incompetence and shortcomings.”

    Journalist and fashion model Minahil Rehman also shared a post on social media, writing, “Another day, another rant about non-payments and it makes me wonder when it’ll ever end?”

    “Saheefa Jabbar Khattak rants about brands that wrap up campaigns and then consistently delay payments and are rude with models who are only left with no choice but to ask for payment that is rightfully their’s! Unprofessionalism can lead to the ruin of an industry and it doesn’t look like things are getting any better in Pakistan.”

  • New PM’s oath may be administered by Arif Alvi’s successor

    New PM’s oath may be administered by Arif Alvi’s successor

    President Arif Alvi won’t administer the oath to the new prime minister because a successor will be elected before the premier’s election.

    Members of the newly elected National Assembly (NA) might take their oath on February 26, three days before the deadline to convene the house for its first session, with a similar ceremony happening the next day.

    The members, who have been elected for both houses, would no longer be members of the provincial assembly if they took the oath in the national legislature.

    Parliamentary insiders informed The News on Monday evening that they must conduct the election for the Senate’s 53 members, chairman/deputy chairman, and subsequently the president of the country, before March 8. They emphasised the limited time available for organising the presidential poll.

    The sources said that if the election of the president is held a week earlier, incumbent Arif Alvi will not administer the oath but the new president will. The sources pointed out that once the members of the national and provincial assemblies take the oath, they will be eligible to cast their vote first for Senate elections.

  • After a not-so-victory victory, what is Nawaz thinking?

    After a not-so-victory victory, what is Nawaz thinking?

    The general elections of February 8 pulled many surprises, the least of which was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) managing to win the largest number of seats despite not having a symbol or even a party.

    But another surprise was the poor performance of supposed front runners, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Although the party managed to get 79 seats, it still fell way short of expectations.

    So what is the party thinking now? More importantly, what is party head Nawaz Sharif, welcomed back in October 2023 with much fanfare, going to do?

    According to veteran journalist Nusrat Javed, Nawaz is not going to do much. Talking on Public TV, Nusrat Javed said that Nawaz has shut himself off from nearly everyone and can only be enticed to come out for meeting major players, including Asif Ali Zardari. Nusrat Javed said that Nawaz is no longer interested in becoming a Prime Minister once again. “Mujhay kyon bullaya” is the mantra, said Nusrat Javed.

    However, a party insider told DAWN that Nawaz is still very much in the running for become the Prime Minister for a fourth term. “As of now, Nawaz Sharif has not been ruled out as a candidate for the PM’s slot. Since the PML-N has to lead the federal coalition, many within the Maryam Nawaz camp feel why shouldn’t [the elder Sharif] take the driving seat,” the insider told DAWN.

    The party’s senior leader and one of Nawaz’s close aided, Khwaja Asif, has said that the former Premier is not disappointed with the results of the election in which PML-N did not manage to get a simple majority, leaving it at the mercy of a buoyant PPP for forming the government.

    Talking on Geo News, Asif said, “We are aware of the shortcomings but will fulfil our promise of giving relief to the masses after coming into government.”

    He also expressed caution about the power-sharing formula that is being talked about, with PML-N ruling for three years and then PPP taking over for the remaining two.
    “It would be unwise to hand over the government to another party after bringing stability,” he remarked.

    So there you have it. What the PML-N ultimately decides to do is still unclear. Perhaps we will know more as the days unfold.

    ‘What a joke’; PTI’s Khosa on PMLN’s two PM plan

    PTI’s Latif Khosa, who won in Lahore against PML-N’s Khwaja Saad Rafique, has said that the only party poised to form the government is PTI as they are the clear winners of the February 8 general elections.

    Commenting on PML- N and PPP’s reported plan to ‘share the Prime Minister slot’ if they make an alliance, Khosa said, “What joke is being done with democracy?”

    “Who are they — who have been rejected by the people — to divide among themselves…No Assembly or Parliament can function without Imran Khan.”

    He also added that since PTI was a registered party, the winners should not be called Independents, should be given reserved seats and allowed to make the government with Imran Khan as their leader.

    Khan is currently in jail, serving sentences in three cases.

    Not a good idea to hand over government to another party after three difficult years:  Khawaja Asif

    PML-N senior leader and former defence minister Khawaja Asif has rebutted alleged claims that Nawaz Sharif was despondent after the February 8 election result not adding up in the party’s favour.

    While speaking with Shahzeb Khanzada on a Geo News program on Monday, Asif asserted that “We are aware of the shortcomings but will fulfil our promise of giving relief to the masses after coming into government. PTI is habitual of crying foul after every election,” adding that PPP has also accepted the results.

    He claimed that independent candidates are joining PML-N by choice and that the party is not offering them any bribes.

    A crucial meeting with MQM, according to Asif, went well. The veteran politician said that while Karachi has problems related to water and terrorism, Nawaz Sharif has solved the problems of the city before.

    He also stated that the party will make Punjab an example as to how the government should be run in the provinces while admitting to the shortcomings and promising to provide service and relief to the people.

    Pointing towards PTI, he said the party has a pattern of delaying every election. PPP, on the other hand, has accepted the election results and PML-N’s seats have started to increase, whereas independent candidates want to come join on their own.

  • Arisha Razi’s shendi dance videos set social media ablaze

    Arisha Razi’s shendi dance videos set social media ablaze

    Arisha Razi has gotten married and a series of events took place to mark the event. She had events like Dholki, Mayun, Dua E Khair, and Game Night. Last night was her Shendi event (a mix of Mehndi and Wedding) in Karachi. Arisha wore opulent and beautiful red clothes.

    Now, videos of her dancing at the wedding are getting popular on Instagram. She danced to famous songs and her fans really liked her moves.

    Allure Salon & Spa did her makeup and hair, making her look beautiful. She wore a stunning outfit from Ali Xeeshan Theater Studio that matched her hair and makeup perfectly. Her jewelry was from Opal by Madiha Ihsan.

    Check the video below:

  • 27 women candidates won in general elections

    27 women candidates won in general elections

    As the general elections are over and results tabulated, 27 women candidates have emerged victorious in the February 8 polls, 11 more than in the 2018 elections.

    This time, 882 women candidates contested for national and provincial assembly seats. Among them, 312 women contested for the NA, and 570 for provincial assemblies. This shows a notable rise in the number of women participating as candidates in the 2024 elections.

    111 political parties had nominated 275 women candidates to contest the elections for general seats, making up 4.6 percent of the total of 6,037 candidates they have fielded.

    In 2018, 183 women ran for seats in the National Assembly (NA), but only eight of them managed to win. Among the winning women, four secured seats in Sindh, three in Punjab, and one in Balochistan. None of the women candidates won a general seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    This time a record 27 women have been elected from all five assemblies — 12 from NA, 11 Punjab Assembly, two from the Sindh Assembly, and one from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

  • Quetta Gladiators to remove Sarfaraz Ahmed from captaincy

    Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Quetta Gladiators has decided to remove captain Sarfaraz Ahmed from the captaincy after eight years.

    Gladiators owner Nadeem Umar said in a special conversation with Geo News that Sarfaraz Ahmed wants to take a break from the captaincy of the team himself. Coach Shane Watson will decide who the new captain will be after consulting team management.

    According to Geo sources, it is believed that Rilley Rossow or Saud Shakeel is being considered to replace him as the captain, and the decision will be taken in the next two to four days.

    Quetta Gladiators have also replaced coach Moin Khan after eight years. He has been made the team director while Shane Watson has been given coaching duties.

    Nadeem Umar added that the old family of Quetta Gladiators has started coming together again, with team mentor Sir Viv Richards joining the team next week. “We wish Kevin Pietersen also comes in some role with Quetta Gladiators,” he said.

    PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators won the 2019 title under the captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmed, while the team has played the final in 2016 and 2017.