Trump talks drones, Ukraine, and economic plans in Mar-a-Lago presser

President-elect Donald Trump, in his first news conference since his November election victory, addressed a range of topics, from the war in Ukraine to mysterious drones flying over New Jersey, the future of TikTok, and ongoing media lawsuits, Reuters reported. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, Trump showcased the bravado and loquaciousness that characterised his first term in office, fielding questions from the press for over an hour. Trump’s tone was notably different from the often combative rhetoric of his campaign. He joked with reporters and appeared somewhat more…

Read More

US charges Iranians over deadly strike on American troops

US officials announced on Monday the arrest of two Iranian men for export violations linked to a drone strike that resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers. More than 40 other service members were injured in a drone attack at a Jordanian military base near the Syrian border in January, the Pentagon said at the time of the incident. The two men, one an Iranian and the other a naturalised American-Iranian, allegedly colluded to ship navigational components to Iran which were used in the drone that executed the strike.…

Read More

Telegram promotes extremism, new study reveals

Telegram has come under scrutiny for its role in promoting extremist content, according to a recent study from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) shared exclusively with the BBC. The report, Telegram’s Toxic Recommendations, revealed that Telegram’s “similar channels” feature, which was introduced last year, directs users to extremist material—even those simply browsing mundane topics like technology or entertainment. The study, which analysed 28,000 channels on the platform, found that the algorithm consistently pushed users toward radical ideologies. For example, when SPLC researcher Megan Squire searched for “Donald Trump,” the algorithm…

Read More

Two cops embrace martyrdom in Shangla grenade attack

SHANGLA: Terrorists carried out a grenade attack on a police checkpoint in Chakesar, District Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in the martyrdom of two policemen and injuries to three others, Geo News reported on Tuesday. According to the police, martyred cops were identifies as assistant sub-inspector Hassan Khan and constable Nisar Khan, while, Muharrar Arshad Khan, Constable Arshad Khan, and Constable Rifat are wounded. The injured cops have been transferred to a hospital in Battagram for treatment, the police added. Terrorist attacks have been rampant in the provinces of KP and Balochistan, targetting…

Read More

‘We can block VPNs but we won’t do it’, says PTA chairman

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will not block the virtual private networks (VPNs) despite having the capability to do so, the telecom regulator chief said on Monday. Addressing a launching ceremony of the PTA annual report 2024, its chairman Maj Gen (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman said: “We had said earlier that we can block VPNs but we won’t do it.” Earlier, the regularity authority decided against blocking VPNs as the government extended the deadline for registering proxies beyond November 30. However, a new date has not been announced for the VPN…

Read More

ITMD says madrassa bill became law, asks govt to issue gazette notification

In a major development, the Ittehad Tanzimat Madaris Deenia (ITMD)) — a federation of the main madrassa oversight bodies — has said that the objections raised to the Societies Registration (Amend­ment) Act 2024 became ineffective after the lapse of the designated time expired. Addressing the press conference following a meeting of the ITMD supreme council on Monday, the ITMD’s top leadership demanded the government to issue a gazette notification for the madrassa bill. The controversy arose two days ago when President Asif Ali Zardari expressed concerns that if the madrassa bill…

Read More