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☆ Pakistan security forces pause Imran Khan's arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsPakistan security forces pause Imran Khan's arrestPostedPakistani security forces withdrew from around Imran Khan's home on Wednesday, putting a halt to clashes that had erupted after police tried to arrest the former prime minister for not showing up in a case against him related to selling state gifts. Rachel Graham reports.

☆ Factbox: Fresh turmoil in Pakistan as former PM Imran Khan faces arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a court-ordered arrest by police in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday amid clashes between his supporters and law enforcement personnel. Here are key details of the situation:- Court orders to arrest Khan came in a case pertaining to his selling state gifts given by foreign leaders while he was prime minister. - Police say a court in Islamabad ordered Khan's arrest for not appearing before it despite repeated summons. - If convicted, Khan faces being barred from holding public office, which would be a setback for the cricketer-turned-politician with a national election scheduled for November. Reporting by Islamabad bureau; Editing by Alison Williams and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fires burn outside Imran Khan's home following clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsFires burn outside Imran Khan's home following clashesPostedPakistani police and supporters of Imran Khan fought pitched battles on Tuesday outside the former prime minister's home in the eastern city of Lahore, injuring several on both sides, ahead of his possible arrest, a government spokesman and witnesses said.

☆ Clashes between Pakistan police, former PM Khan's supporters injure several
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A few hundred Khan supporters gathered outside his house after a police team arrived from Islamabad to arrest him on a court order, government spokesman Amir Mir told Reuters. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers started the violence, which injured several police officials, Mir said, adding, "If Imran Khan ensures his presence in the court, it will be good, otherwise the law will take its course." "If something happens to me, or sent to jail, or they kill me, you've to prove that this nation will continue to struggle even without Imran Khan." Several of Khan's supporters were injured when the police resorted to teargas shelling, witnesses said. The workers started pelting the police with stones and bricks, and in response police directed a water cannon at them and in some cases baton charged them, he said.

☆ Startup by Ex-Apple Executives Raises $100 Million, Partners With OpenAI, Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Aaron Tilley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A startup founded by former Apple Inc. executives unveiled a new investment round of $100 million and partnerships with OpenAI , creator of ChatGPT, as well as Microsoft Corp.Humane Inc., founded by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno , plans to launch a product this spring that incorporates artificial intelligence into a consumer device.

☆ Pakistan police and ex-PM Khan's supporters clash, injuring several
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The clashes erupted in the eastern city of Lahore ahead of a Khan's planned rally to kick-start his election campaign, but which the government then banned. The former premier has been demanding snap polls since he was ousted in a parliament vote of confidence last year. Twelve workers of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested, he added. Khan's aide Shafqat Mahmood said several of the workers were injured in the clashes, which, he termed, "fascist tactics." Live TV footage showed the police using extensive teargas shelling on several spots around Khan's Lahore home, with a couple of the workers seen bleeding.

☆ Startup from ex-Apple team raises $100 million, works with OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Humane Inc, a startup founded by former Apple Inc (AAPL.O) employees, said on Wednesday it has raised $100 million and will release its first products this spring. Sam Altman, OpenAI's founder and a previous Humane investor, participated in funding round on Wednesday, the company said. Humane also said that Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which has built a massive cloud computing infrastructure specifically for AI, took part in the funding round. Humane said it will partner with Microsoft's cloud to bring Humane's software services platform to market. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ What's behind Pakistan's energy blackouts and power outages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Emaad Akhtar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This January, much of Pakistan's population of nearly 230 million people plunged into darkness, bringing widespread disruption to people and industries for almost 24 hours. But the problem is not energy supply. "Both outages were caused because there were fluctuations on the transmission lines, which have not been updated for quite some time." In 2020, nearly 20 percent of Pakistan's energy was simply lost during transmission, distribution and delivery. Pakistan's energy problems are having a cascading effect on the country's economy, which is on the verge of collapse.

☆ Pakistani police serve arrest warrants to former PM Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistani police on Sunday served arrest warrants to former prime minister Imran Khan to ensure his appearance in court on charges of misusing his office to sell state gifts, authorities said, after Khan's supporters tried to prevent police entry into his home. The Federal Investigation Agency then filed charges against him in an anti-graft court, which last week issued the arrest warrants after Khan failed to appear in court despite repeated summons. He led countrywide protest campaigns to press for an early vote last year and was shot at and wounded at one of the rallies. Chaudhry said the government wanted to sow political chaos and avoid an early election by arresting the former premier, who was still popular among the country's youth and urban voters. Islamabad police said in a statement that when Khan wasn't found at his residence in Lahore, they served the arrest warrants.

☆ Former Pakistan PM Khan gets court protection against arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, along with his supporters walks as he leaves the district High Court in Lahore, Pakistan February 20, 2023. Khan has had a number of cases registered against him since a parliamentary vote ousted him from power last year. Khan appeared before the Lahore High Court late on Monday along with hundreds of supporters, witnesses said. The case pertained to alleged violence by his supporters during protests last year, which Khan is charged with inciting. The government denies cracking down on Khan and his party, and says it is not interfering in various cases against him.

☆ Imran Khan can have a future in politics if he pursues the democratic path, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailImran Khan can have a future in politics if he pursues the democratic path, foreign minister saysBilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s foreign minister, says he believes Imran Khan can have a future in politics if he stays democratic path.

☆ Promoting FTX was their side hustle. Now they’re left to pick up the pieces
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Kateryna Onyshchuk | Istock | Getty ImagesThe first time Gabriel Trompiz heard about the FTX student ambassador program was through a LinkedIn message. Trompiz promptly applied through the link he was sent and became an FTX campus ambassador shortly afterward. So you teach them about cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology and most importantly the benefits of using FTX," he told CNBC's Make It. Elsewhere in Nigeria, Imran Yahya was an FTX campus ambassador at Bayero University. I was like, I was part of the people saying FTX was too big to fail Fortunate Atueyi Former FTX Student Ambassador

☆ FTX promised students in Africa up to 40% commission for getting their friends to trade on the now-bankrupt crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX recruited students in Africa to get their friends to sign up to trade crypto on its platform, per CNBC. The now-bankrupt crypto exchange promised "brand ambassadors" the chance of up to 40% commission. Meanwhile, FTX told African customers that investing in crypto would protect them from inflation. In August, FTX Africa tweeted that students who signed up as brand ambassadors would get a chance to earn up to 40% commission by inviting their friends to join. Yahya, who promoted the crypto platform at Nigeria's Bayero University, told the outlet: "As an ambassador, you preach using it."

☆ U.S. delegation to visit Pakistan as two sides seek to repair ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet will lead a delegation to Pakistan this week as Washington and Islamabad seek to repair ties strained under former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The U.S. delegation will visit Bangladesh and Pakistan from Feb. 14-18 to meet with senior government officials, civil society members and business leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Monday. Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament last April, had antagonized the United States throughout his tenure. Washington and Pakistan's National Security Council, a body of top civil and military leaders, dismissed his accusations. "The delegation will also reaffirm the strong security cooperation between our nations," the State Department said on Monday.

☆ Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 3,400
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A man carries a girl following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 6, 2023. People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. Rescuers carry out a girl from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. He said their shared four-story building collapsed just as he, his wife and three children ran toward the exit. Rescuers stand on rubble of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria, February 6, 2023 in this handout image.

☆ Reactions to Pakistan ex-President Musharraf's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pakistani former President Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, after years in self-imposed exile. SHASHI THAROOR, INDIAN POLITICIAN, SAID ON TWITTER"Once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the UN & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP"MOSHARRAF ZAIDI, CEO OF TABADLAD, AN ISLAMABAD-BASED THINK TANK"The most important legacy Gen. Musharraf leaves behind predates his time as president. The 1999 Kargil War permanently altered ...

Faced with a shortage of US dollars, Pakistan only has enough foreign currency in its reserves to pay for three weeks of imports. Long lines are forming at gas stations as prices swing wildly in the country of 220 million. Pakistan’s currency, the rupee, recently dropped to new lows against the US dollar after authorities eased currency controls to meet one of the IMF’s lending conditions. The country has been spending more on trade than it has brought in, running down its stock of foreign currency and weighing on the rupee’s value. Pakistan's usually bustling ports, like this one in Karachi, have ground to a halt as the country grapples with a severe shortage of foreign currency.

"I can't imagine Pakistan not going on a back-to-back IMF programme." Pakistan's debt problemsPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s main election challenger is former cricket star Imran Khan, who was removed from the job last April but retains popularity. "There is just a long-term indebtedness problem," said Jeff Grills, the head of emerging markets debt at Aegon Asset Management, who held Pakistan bonds until the floods hit. Most of Pakistan's bonds are still trading at less than half their face value. Reuters GraphicsDIFFICULT TIMESSuch a restructuring of Pakistan's bonds would represent its first international default since 1999, according to the Bank of Canada-Bank of England Sovereign Default Database.

[1/2] People wait for their turn to get fuel at a petrol station in Peshawar, Pakistan January 30, 2023. If we don't have LCs (letters of credit) open right now, we might see shortages in the next fortnight," a senior official at one of the oil companies told Reuters. Oil traders, however, are shunning countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to an acute shortfall of foreign exchange. State-owned refiner Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Ltd have left a flurry of fuel tenders unawarded in the last couple of months. Pakistan bought only 223,000 tonnes of gasoline in December versus 608,000 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, data from Kpler showed.

☆ Suicide bomber kills 28, wounds 150 at mosque in NW Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Security personnel cordon off the site of a mosque blast inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on January 30, 2023. Police between 300 to 350 worshipers were inside the mosque when the bomber detonated his explosives. A survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb went off. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist suicide attack" in a Twitter posting. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since November when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces.

☆ Tens of millions without power after Pakistan suffers major outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Much of Pakistan was left without power for several hours on Monday morning as an energy-saving measure by the government backfired. The outage was reminiscent of a massive blackout in January 2021, attributed at the time to a technical fault in the country’s power generation and distribution system. According to the minister, during winter, electricity usage typically goes down overnight. A Metro station is closed after major power outage in Lahore, Pakistan on Monday. Pakistan is grappling with one of the country’s worst economic crisis in recent years amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

☆ Pakistan's Imran Khan says his party to dissolve two local assemblies on Dec. 23
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Saturday that his party would dissolve two provincial assemblies next week, earlier than scheduled, in an attempt to build pressure on the federal government to hold early general elections. Khan's party controls two of the country's four provincial assemblies. "Next Friday (Dec. 23), we will dissolve the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies," Khan said while addressing a gathering of his supporters in the eastern city of Lahore. If the two provincial assemblies are dissolved earlier, separate polls would have to be held for them within 90 days, which could throw up legal problems. He added that elections in the two provinces would mean holding polls in 66% of the country, and so the government might as well hold general elections.

☆ TikTok may push potentially harmful content to teens within minutes, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —TikTok may surface potentially harmful content related to suicide and eating disorders to teenagers within minutes of them creating an account, a new study suggests, likely adding to growing scrutiny of the app’s impact on its youngest users. The CCDH said the app recommended videos about body image and mental health about every 39 seconds within a 30-minute period. TikTok said it continues to roll out new safeguards for its users, including ways to filter out mature or “potentially problematic” videos. TikTok said it does not allow content depicting, promoting, normalizing, or glorifying activities that could lead to suicide or self-harm. Still, the CCDH says more needs to be done to restrict specific content on TikTok and bolster protections for young users.

☆ 'Sort Of' is about a nonbinary millennial. Its star hopes to change how we see each other
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Sabi, who is nonbinary, not only navigates love and dating in Toronto but also hopes to be understood by their Pakistani immigrant family. Baig spoke to CNN about what it means to feel seen and how “Sort Of” might help some viewers achieve that feeling. Wanting to feel seen is another thread that runs through the show. When we feel seen, when we feel understood, we feel a lot less lonely in the world. We work with writers and directors who are trans, nonbinary, South Asian, people of color.

☆ Why extremism experts say it's worth discussing the Colorado shooting suspect's pronouns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Attorneys for the alleged gunman in the deadly shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado said in court filings the suspect is nonbinary and uses “they” and “them” pronouns. In court appearances this week, Aldrich’s lawyers and District Attorney Michael Allen used he/him pronouns for Aldrich, but Aldrich’s attorneys referred to their client as “Mx. It’s unclear whether the public defenders were accidentally using he/him pronouns for Aldrich, and their office has not returned a request for comment. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said, regarding the suspect’s pronouns, “The defendant will be identified as the defendant throughout proceedings,” but declined to comment further on both legal teams using he/him pronouns for Aldrich in court. Holt said the response from Carlson is another part of why he believes it’s worth questioning the suspect’s claim.

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