Tag: AP

  • Kate and William spotted leaving Windsor Castle after apologising for photo manipulation

    Kate and William spotted leaving Windsor Castle after apologising for photo manipulation

    Hours after Kate Middleton apologized for “any confusion” caused by an edited family picture, she was photographed leaving Windsor Castle alongside husband Prince William on March 11.

    The photos, published by the Daily Mail, showed the couple sitting next to each other in the backseat of a car as Kate—who is reportedly recovering from abdominal surgery—looked out of her window. The prince was heading to the Commonwealth Day services while his wife, Kate, the princess of Wales, was heading to a ‘private’ appointment, the publication said.

    Earlier, Kate issued an apology over an altered official photo that saw news agencies, including AP and AFP pull the image from their systems.

    “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” Kate wrote in a statement.

    Background

    A recently released image of Kate Middleton, issued by Kensington Palace to put all rumors about her health to rest, has ended up creating new controversies.

    Various news agencies have issued notices not to use the image of Kate and her three children, including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty Images, and Agence France-Presse (AFP). All three on Sunday night withdrew it and told media outlets to “kill” the photo from their systems and archives because they believe that it has been manipulated.

    The AP said the photo had been withdrawn because upon “closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image” and the photo showed an “inconsistency in the alignment” of the left hand of Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte.

  • Media agencies claim Kate Middleton’s recent image was manipulated

    Media agencies claim Kate Middleton’s recent image was manipulated

    A recently released image of Kate Middleton, issued by Kensington Palace to put all rumors about her health to rest, has ended up creating new controversies.

    Various news agencies have issued notices not to use the image of Kate and her three children, including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty Images, and Agence France-Presse (AFP). All three on Sunday night withdrew it and told media outlets to “kill” the photo from their systems and archives because they believe that it has been manipulated.

    The AP said the photo had been withdrawn because upon “closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image” and the photo showed an “inconsistency in the alignment” of the left hand of Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte.

    The AFP said the image could not be used as it had been “altered” without elaborating.

    Reuters said it had deleted the image “following a post-publication review”.

    Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The photo was posted on the royal couple’s official X account on Sunday accompanied by a caption thanking the public for their “kind wishes and continued support over the last two months” and wishing the public a Happy Mother’s Day.

    The image was reportedly taken by Kate’s husband, Prince William, during the past week on the grounds of Windsor Castle just outside of London.

    Background

    The release of the image, which remained online on Sunday night despite the withdrawal notices, came after Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate, 42, had been hospitalised for surgery and would take a break from official royal duties until after Easter.

    The lack of details about the reasons for her surgery and her prolonged absence from the public has prompted a plethora of speculation and conspiracy theories about her condition.

    Kate last appeared in public on Christmas Day while attending a church service at the royal family’s Sandringham estate.

    Read more: Kate Middleton appears in public, putting coma rumors to rest

  • ARY News paid Rs1 million to forensics firm to check Saqib Nisar’s audio: Dawn

    ARY News paid Rs1 million to forensics firm to check Saqib Nisar’s audio: Dawn

    Primeau Forensics, the United States of America’s (USA) forensic audit company, confirmed on Wednesday that inspected the leaked audiotape of former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar forwarded by a private news channel of Pakistan, ARY News, reports Dawn.

    “It was a specific thing that we did for our client and we are not discussing it with anyone,” a company representative told Dawn. “We have no press release.”

    He said the client, ARY News, had the report, and “only they can share the details with others”.

    ARY asks for forensic audit:

    “According to ARY News, the audit of this 45-second file showed two reverberences in the voice as the person spoke from two different locations. The voice was clearer during the last 20 seconds as it came from a closer range.”

    “ARY News claimed that when it asked Primeau Forensics if the recording was of the original conversation or came from an edited tape, the company said the two parts of 20 and 25 seconds each were recorded in a different environment.”

    “Primeau Forensics told ARY News that it believed the unknown Fact Focus clip was generated from at least two different sources”.

    “They observed two different reverberences, indicating that the first portion of the audio was likely recorded in a different environment than the second portion”.

    Primeau Forensics, an audio-video image forensic expert- has more than 30 years of experience in the field. As per their official website, their experts have processed over 5,000 audio, video, and image forensic investigations and provided expert testimony in over 500 cases in local, state, and federal courts.

    ARY News claimed that it had paid Rs1 million for the audit.

    The US-based company has worked for attorney generals of multiple US States, CNN, AP, and other major organisations. ARY News claimed that it had paid Rs1 million for the audit.

    ‘Please run the news in UK/USA. Only in Pakistan, these news channels can lie & defame’: Ahmed Noorani

    Ahmed Noorani, the journalist who broke the news of the leaked audio of Saqib Nisar, tweeted, “Anxiously waiting for the ARY to air news against me and my expose of Saqib Nisar audio in UK & USA so I can send a legal notice & proceed against it.”

    “I am disappointed so far. Please, run the news in UK/USA. Only in Pakistan, these news channels can lie & defame. Stop being cowards.”

    Leaked audio of Saqib Nisar:

    In November, leaked audio of a conversation allegedly claimed that Saqib Nisar was the person who passed on the directions of handing down conviction to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz only because the “institutions” wanted the former prime minister penalised in order to bring ahead Imran Khan.

    As per the leaked audio, reported by Ahmed Noorani for Fact Focus, Chief Justice Nisar instructed that Mian Sahib (Nawaz Sharif) and his daughter (Maryam Nawaz) must be sentenced even though it is unfair.

    “Whether it is fair or not, it has to be done,” he conveyed to the person on the other end. “Regardless of the merit, we will have to do it (sentence Nawaz Sharif), and even to his daughter,” said Justice Nisar.

    Saqib Nisar denies the audio clip, says never contacted any judge

    While speaking to Fact Focus, Justice Saqib Nisar said that he never contacted any judge of accountability court to order him to pass any verdict against Nawaz Sharif or his daughter. “Why I would do that,” Saqib Nisar questioned adding, “I have no grudges against Mian Nawaz Sharif.” He said that no one from the Pakistan Army or the ISI ever contacted him or pressured him on this count.

    Samaa News claims CJP Nisar’s leaked audio ‘pieced together’

    Later, Samaa TV, a private news channel ran a news story and claimed that the former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar’s clip appears to be pieced together from two separate speeches of former CJP.

  • Gaza under attack

    Gaza under attack

    Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City demolished three buildings and killed at least 33 people on Sunday, including12 women and eight children. This has been one of the deadliest attacks since the start of the recent attacks against Palestinians by the Israeli forces.

    On May 12, Israeli airstrikes a building in Gaza that housed the offices of 14 media organisations. According to a report in TRT World, on May 7 and May 10, Israeli security forces fired rubber bullets and injured at least eight Palestinian and international journalists covering the protests at the Temple Mount complex and Al Aqsa mosque.

    Yesterday, Israeli forces a building in Gaza that housed several media outlets, including Al Jazeera and the Associated Press (AP). A statement by AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said: “We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organisations in Gaza.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that the US government “communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility”.

    These words by the White House Press Secretary sound hollow because ever since the Israelis started attacking hapless Palestinians during the Holy month of Ramzan, the international community, especially the US, has not condemned Israel for its aggression. We did not hear the US or others condemn the attack on journalists when Arab journalists in Palestine were being attacked by the Israeli forces. The way the Al Aqsa mosque was stormed by the Israeli forces during the final Friday prayers in Ramzan, the way the unarmed Palestinians were sprayed with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, the world community should have condemned it unequivocally. But what do we hear: US President Joe Biden saying: “Israel has a right to defend itself.” There was no mention of how Israel is an occupying force that will continue to attack and kill unarmed civilians, including children.

    In a report released last month, the Human Rights Watch said Israeli authorities are committing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. The 213-page report titled, ‘A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution’, should be read by every world leader in order to understand the gravity of the situation. Today, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has opened an emergency meeting over the situation in Palestine. Several countries that are part of the OIC have recently had recognition deals with Israel. No wonder we have seen a muted response from those countries. Pakistan has been asking the world to come to the aid of Palestine and stop this madness. Unfortunately, the world has become a silent spectator when it comes to Israel’s war crimes. Silence is not an option. We all must speak up for Palestine.