LOCAL Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called India’s statement on a possible change in its ‘no first use’ policy of nuclear weapons as “shocking and irresponsible” Earlier in the day, the Indian defence minister had announced that despite the fact India has stuck to its commitment of ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons, the future policy will depend on the situation, which analysts said introduced a level of ambiguity in a core national security doctrine. In a press conference held in Islamabad, Foreign Minister Qureshi said that the Foreign Office had held deliberations on the statement by the Indian defence minister and formed a position on the matter. He then proceeded to read out a response by the FO, which he said he was doing so that no verbal statement of his own can be misconstrued. “The substance and timing of the Indian defence minister’s statement is highly unfortunate and reflective of India’s irresponsible and belligerent behaviour. It further exposes the pretense of their no first use policy to which we have never accorded any credence,” he said. “‘No first use’ pledge is non verfiable and cannot be taken at face value. Especially when development of offensive capabilities and force postures belie such claims. Police in Rawalpindi have arrested a couple who allegedly kidnapped, sexually abusing, blackmailing and recording inappropriate videos of dozens of girls City Police Officer (CPO) Mohammad Faisal Rana said that the action was taken soon after a complaint was lodged on August 3 by a victim, an MSc student of Allama Iqbal Open University. The accused couple, identified as Qasim Jahangir and Kiran Mehmood, confessed to the sexual assault of 45 girls, taking their photographs and making videos of at least 10 victims. According to the complaint, the accused admitted to have kidnapped several girls of ages 8-12 with the help of his wife and subjected them to similar heinous crime. Police also recovered photographs and video clips from the accused house. The police official said that the couple had sold the videos and photos to an international porn website. Maleeha Lodhi has said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir voices were heard today at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council The UNSC held a consultative meeting on Friday to discuss the Kashmir issue as Pakistan urged the world body to implement its own resolutions on this 70-year-old dispute. The meeting had been called by China on Pakistan’s request to discuss the prevailing situation in occupied Kashmir. In the closed door meeting, briefings were given on the situation and consultations will take place to decide how to proceed further. In a media briefing following the conclusion of the meeting, Ambassador Lodhi said that the meeting had been called within 72 hours after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had written a letter requesting the same. “We are grateful to China in also joining us in calling this meeting,” she added. “The voice of the Kashmiri people, the voice of the people of occupied Kashmir has been heard today in the highest diplomatic forum of the world. Four people were killed after a loud explosion rocked a madressah located in Kuchlak area on the outskirts of Quetta Twenty-two others were also wounded in the blast that took place after Friday prayers, Inspector General of Balochistan Police Mohsin Hassan Butt said. They were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta. The imam of the mosque inside the seminary, located 25km from the city of Quetta, was killed in the explosion, IG Butt told DawnNewsTV . “The blast was carried out through a timed device that was planted under the wooden chair of the prayer leader,” said Quetta police chief Abdul Razzaq Cheema. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. “The death toll could increase as some of the victims were seriously injured,” Shafqat Janjua, a police official, told Reuters . GLOBAL Malaysian authorities have called Indian preacher Zakir Naik for questioning after he allegedly made racially sensitive remarks The move comes after several ministers demanded Naik’s expulsion on Wednesday after he said Hindus in Malaysia had “100 times more rights” than the Muslim minority in India. Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India, has come under fire for comments allegedly pitting the country’s ethnic and religious minorities against the ethnic Malay majority, who are predominantly Muslim. Police would question Naik and several other individuals and groups for making “racially-tinged statements” and for spreading false news that affected public sensitivities, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said. “I would like to remind all parties, including non-citizens, that enforcement agencies under my ministry will not think twice to take legal action against anyone who attempts to threaten public harmony and peace,” Muhyiddin said in a statement. Hundreds of protesters in Indian-occupied Kashmir clashed with police, with tear gas and pellet-firing shotguns being used to disperse residents With the central government fearing protests and unrest, the Muslim-majority region has been under lockdown since the first week of August, when the Indian government stripped the region of its autonomy. Police fired tear gas and pellet-firing shotguns to disperse residents who tried to march down the main road in the main city of Srinagar after Friday prayers. Protesters hurled stones and used shop hoardings and tin sheets as improvised shields, as police shot dozens of rounds into the crowd. No injuries were reported. “We are trying to breach the siege and march to the city centre but police is using force to stop us,” one protester told AFP , adding that three people were injured in Thursday’s clashes with police officers and reservists. Rashida Tlaib has rejected Israel’s offer to allow her to visit her grandmother in the occupied West Bank because of the oppressive conditions A critic of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, she had been blocked by Israel from making an official visit. But it said a private visit could go ahead after she agreed “not to promote the boycott of Israel during her stay”. Ms Tlaib and fellow Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar had originally been due to make an official visit to the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Sunday. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, Israel denied permission for the visit to territory it controls. Ms Tlaib and Ms Omar have voiced support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign – which aims to put economic pressure on the Israeli government – because of their opposition to Israel’s policies towards Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Israel’s interior ministry said it had given Ms Tlaib permission for what it termed a humanitarian visit to family after she had promised in a letter to “respect conditions imposed by Israel”.In a series of tweets on Friday, she categorically rejected Israel’s offer – even though it meant she would not see her grandmother. “Silencing me & treating me like a criminal is not what she wants for me,” she said of her grandmother. “It would kill a piece of me. I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in.” After failing to overturn a police ban, Zimbabwe’s main opposition group has called off anti-government protests in the capital Harare at the last minute However, protesters who had already gathered in the city were violently dispersed by police. Several were hurt. The opposition said the ban exposed the “fascist” government’s true colours. The demonstration was called in protest at the government’s handling of the economy, but police said they had evidence it could turn violent. There is a heavy police presence and the city centre is subdued, with most shops closed. About five million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, according to the UN.
SPORTS Former world number one Andy Murray says he will play no part in this month’s US Open The 2012 champion had intended to play doubles in New York, but says “doubles is done for me for the time being”. Instead, he will play singles at next week’s ATP event in Winston-Salem, before considering entering a tournament on the Challenger Tour during the US Open. “I’m not going to play doubles at the US Open,” Murray told BBC Sport. “My goal is to get back playing at the level that I want to on the singles court, and I’ve decided that I need to focus all my energies on that right now,” Murray added after he and Feliciano Lopez reached the doubles quarter-finals in Cincinnati. “The US Open, doubles and mixed, can be another couple of weeks that you are slowing things down.” Frank Lampard says social media companies need to do more to stop players being targeted after racial abuse aimed at Tammy Abraham The 21-year-old suffered the abuse after missing the decisive penalty in the Uefa Super Cup shootout defeat by Liverpool on Wednesday. Chelsea have already condemned the “abhorrent posts” aimed at Abraham. “Tammy is more than disappointed. I am disgusted by a so-called Chelsea fan,” Lampard said. “I don’t know how it’s allowed on the [social media] platforms. It’s too easy, so something needs to be done. “I’m so angry for Tammy and angry for us as a club because that’s not what we’re about, the club does a lot of work against discrimination on all levels.”It’s a setback when these things happens. “I have spoken with Tammy, he is a strong character. He’s infectious, he is a great young man and his football career is ahead of him. It will be a test of his character that he shouldn’t need.” England’s charge through the Australia batting was halted by more rain on another wet day at Lord’s The home side reduced the Ashes holders to 80-4 – trailing by 178 – on the third day of the second Test before rain wiped out the final two sessions, to go with the abandonment of the first day. In the 24.1 overs possible, England’s bowlers recovered from a poor start to pressure Australia into losing three wickets for 11 runs. As they allowed the tourists to move from 11-1 to 60-1, England were in danger of wasting perfect bowling conditions. But debutant Jofra Archer took his first Test wicket, followed by one each for Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad. Still, England were unable to find a way to remove prolific Australia batsman Steve Smith, who remains on 13 not out. TECHNOLOGY Instagram has officially added a way for users to easily report fake posts on its app A new tool being rolled out out lets Instagram users tap a “report” option on-screen when they see a post they deem dubious, then tap a “false information” tag to prompt review by third-party fact-checkers, according to Facebook spokeswoman Stephanie Otway. The option was expected to be available to all Instagram users by the end of this month. Such prompts will be one of several “signals” used to determine whether content should be scrutinised by fact-checkers, who will determine their veracity. “Starting today, people can let us know if they see posts on Instagram they believe may be false,” Otway said. YouTube will now stop copyright holders from earning money through manual claims made on small music clips The US-based video hosting website is limiting copyright holders for putting up manual claims against music clips which are either too small or are unintentional. The new rule will stop the copyright holders from claiming small music clips, like 5-seconds for a song, used in other videos as a mode for monetization. The rule will also apply on unintentional music caught on a media, like that because of radio on passing cars.As the policy is enforced next month, the copyright holders won’t be able to monetize from the ad-generated revenue of the video, based on the fact that the small music clips were used in the video. The copyright holders would still be able to choose if they would like to have the video blocked or stop the video-creator from making money. It should be noted here that the limit only applies to the manual claims and the copyright holders would still be entitled to monetization when a YouTube filter itself detects a music clip used in some other videos.
According to a report, visitors to a major UK shopping centre could have been scanned by facial-recognition cameras without knowing it Big Brother Watch said the trial at Meadowhall in Sheffield was part of a UK-wide facial recognition “epidemic”. The shopping centre’s owner said data was “deleted immediately” after the month-long police trial in 2018 ended. The Information Commissioner said she was “deeply concerned” about the use of the technology in public spaces. Elizabeth Denham has launched an investigation into a facial-recognition system being used in the King’s Cross area of London. Big Brother Watch’s chief executive Silkie Carlo said: “There is an epidemic of facial recognition in the UK. “The collusion between police and private companies in building these surveillance nets around popular spaces is deeply disturbing,” she said. ENTERTAINMENT Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been fined $395,000 for mimicking a presidential alert on the programme The show replicated the alert tone three times, which is illegal, during a sketch mocking the warning system. On the same day the programme aired, 3 October last year, the alert was officially tested nationwide. As part of the trial, more than 200 million US mobile phones received a test “Presidential Alert” notification. The alert system, which is designed to warn of major threats such as missile attacks, natural disasters and acts of terrorism, is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). In the event of a national emergency, US President Donald Trump would be in charge of ordering the agency to activate the warning system. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) can be sent by state and local public safety officials , the National Weather Service, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as well as the president of the United States. They look like text messages, but are designed to alert people with a unique sound and vibration. Mehwish Hayat calls out Priyanka Chopra for her jingoistic response to being questioned about war-mongering in an Op-Ed in CNN The Load Wedding star penned an op-ed for CNN, calling out faux celebrity activism and the responsibility that comes from an influential position. “Chopra’s response to her questioner in LA, as well as the February tweet, did have the effect of both shining a light on the crisis in Kashmir, and forcing many of us to think about celebrity activism, its uses — and its abuses.” She added, “Celebrities who act as charity spokespeople should always focus on humanitarianism. Chopra — again, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador — should not be using her voice to legitimise a regime opposed to the values she claims to represent.” “Rather than use her position as a US-based celebrity to broaden what it means to be an Indian celebrity, she has fallen into the same jingoistic role that her fellow countrymen are forced to adopt at home.” Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan is facing calls for a boycott, after its star voiced support for Hong Kong’s police force Chinese actress Liu Yifei, a naturalised US citizen, reposted a viral pro-police comment on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The territory has been convulsed by sometimes violent pro-democracy protests over the past 10 weeks. Rights groups and the UN have accused the police of a heavy handed response. Ms Liu had shared a Weibo post from the government-run Beijing newspaper People’s Daily that read (in Chinese): “I also support Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now.” The post adds in English: “What a shame for Hong Kong.”