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Violent clashes between Hamas forces and local armed fighters have broken out across Gaza in recent days. Opponents of Hamas describe it as an act of intimidation and attempt to assert control on the ground before the arrival of an Arab or international force

ISLAMABAD: The rise of generative artificial intelligence and widespread digitalisation could displace both men and women from jobs, with the latter likely to experience a significantly higher rate of impact, thereby worsening gender inequalities in the workplace, a United Nations policy update warns. Globally, 27.6 per cent of jobs held by women are potentially exposed to automation or major changes from generative AI (GenAI), compared to 21.1pc of jobs held by men, the report from the UN Department of Social Affairs (DESA) found. These risks stem from structural inequalities, gender biases embedded in technology, and uneven access to digital resources. The impact is expected to be felt most acutely in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, where women are concentrated in clerical jobs, education, and public administration — sectors with high exposure to GenAI. Urges govts to close digital gender gap by ensuring affordable internet and digital skills training for women This trend follows a historical...

SAN FRANCISCO: A US judge has granted an injunction barring Israeli spyware maker NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users but slashed a $168 million damages award at trial to just $4m. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled on Friday that NSO Group’s behaviour fell short of a “particularly egregious” standard needed to support the jury’s calculations on a financial penalty. But in the ruling, she said the court “concluded that defendants’ conduct causes irreparable harm, and there being no dispute that the conduct is ongoing” the judge granted WhatsApp owner Meta an injunction to stop NSO Group’s snooping tactics at the messaging service. “We applaud this decision that comes after six years of litigation to hold NSO accountable for targeting civil society members,” WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart said in a statement. Evidence at trial showed that NSO Group reverse-engineered WhatsApp code to stealthily install spyware targeting users, according to the ruling. The spyware was repeatedly redesigned to escape detecti...

Vehicles loaded with timber are a recurring sight on the roads of Jand in Attock | Photos by the writer In the early hours of an August morning, when mist still clings to the ground, the sound of axes and chainsaws echoes from village thickets across the south-western tehsil of Jand in Punjab’s northern Attock district. “By the time the sun is fully up, truckloads of timber have already left for markets far away,” says Muhammad Ramzan, a 62-year-old farmer from Kanni village, pointing toward a barren patch where a small forest once stood. “These trees took decades to grow, but only hours to fell,” he tells Eos. This is a pattern across villages in Jand and adjoining areas in Attock, where an entrenched network of illegal loggers, transporters and middlemen — called the ‘timber mafia’ — is stripping the hillsides at a pace the land cannot recover from. While data remains limited, the Punjab State of Environment Report 2024 notes that forest cover accounts for only about three percent of the land, amounting to ...

Deze week hoor je het verhaal over de moord op Jurjen, een doodgewone Friese man.

• Border remains closed for trade and transit for 6th consecutive day • Red Zone area briefly opened to repatriate Afghan refugees QUETTA: Calm prevailed on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border on Saturday after the extension of a ceasefire between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces, with no untoward incident reported from any area of the Chaman sector, where heavy clashes had erupted in the early hours of Tuesday last week. Although the border crossings at Chaman and other entry points have closed for the past six days, Pakistan partially reopened the border in the Red Zone area to facilitate the repatriation of undocumented Afghan refugees. “Under tight security, several hundred Afghan refugee families, including women and children, along with their belongings crossed into the Afghanistan over the past three days, a senior official said. The border was opened for three days, while it remained closed for the other three due to intense fighting at four locations in the Chaman sector,” he added. Following the ...

• Registrar questions maintainability, saying a procedure for such requests already exists • Justice Arbab Tahir to hear petition along with office’s objections on Monday ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has raised objections to a petition filed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi seeking permission to meet PTI founder Imran Khan at Adiala jail. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir is scheduled to hear the petition, along with the registrar office’s objections, on Monday. The petition was submitted by KP Advocate General Shah Faisal through Advocate Ali Bukhari on behalf of the provincial chief minister. The petition argued that a meeting with the PTI founder was essential to discuss matters pertaining to provincial governance and the formation of a new cabinet. However, the IHC registrar’s office objected to the maintainability of the plea, noting that the court had already adjudicated similar matters and had laid down a procedure for seeking permission to meet the PTI founder. The office questione...

Сооснователь и гитарист популярной американской ню-метал группы Limp Bizkit Сэм Риверс ушел из жизни. Ему было 48 лет.

• Aurangzeb expects $1.2bn tranche by Dec 31, trade deal with US ‘within weeks’ • Says govt ‘close to deciding’ fate of Roosevelt Hotel • Backs global financial reforms to ease climate burden • Briefs World Bank president on govt’s flood response WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Saturday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot impose any conditions on Pakistan that go against the country’s national interests. Speaking at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, the minister said that all the reforms undertaken so far under IMF programmes were consistent with Pakistan’s own economic priorities and had contributed to improving the national economy. “Please name any IMF-suggested reform that is not aligned with our national interest,” he asked in response to a question. Mr Aurangzeb announced that the IMF is expected to release the $1.2 billion tranche pledged under last week’s staff-level agreement by Dec 31. “The Fund’s executive board will soon meet to review the agreement, and the...

A Jewish lawyer was arrested in London for wearing a Star of David necklace, with police claiming it could “antagonize” protesters, sparking outrage and condemnation from Israeli officials.

Israel is a multilingual society held back by a monolingual digital financial system.

Technical analyst John Bollinger identified potential W bottom patterns in Ether and Solana charts, suggesting a major move could follow. Renowned technical analyst John Bollinger has identified patterns in Ether and Solana charts that could suggest a big move ahead, especially if something similar happens with Bitcoin. John Bollinger has identified “potential ‘W’ bottoms” in Bollinger Bands, a volatility indicator that he invented, on Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) charts, but the pattern has yet to form on the Bitcoin (BTC) chart, he said.  ETH and SOL appear to be setting up double bottoms while Bitcoin is still forming its base. A ‘W’ bottom in Bollinger Bands is a bullish reversal signal that indicates potential upward price movement. Read more

• Cautious optimism after Qatar-mediated talks with Afghanistan on cross-border violence • Taliban regime seeks confirmed coordinates of TTP hideouts; pledge to address concern • FO says govt to press Afghan Taliban to honour commitments • Tarar rebukes ICC over ‘biased, premature’ comment on ‘airstrike deaths’ ISLAMABAD: Qatar-mediated talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan were held on Saturday amid cautious optimism on both sides for de-escalation following a week of deadly cross-border clashes, though a breakthrough remained uncertain in the absence of concrete Taliban commitments on ending terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil. The meeting, held in a cordial atmosphere, continued well into the night behind closed doors in Doha. Participants of the Doha dialogue reportedly kept shifting their stance on the continuation of talks. Initially, both sides considered adjourning the negotiations for a week, but later agreed to reconvene on Sunday. However, the latest word from sources familiar with the closely gu...

• Says Palestinians want dignity, calls northern Gaza a ‘wasteland’ • Relief stalled as Israel insists Rafah crossing to stay shut until Hamas returns remains of all prisoners • Nine members of a family killed when Israeli forces fired at bus JERUSALEM: The United Nations aid chief on Saturday took stock of the monumental task of restoring dignity and hygiene for Palestinians struggling to survive amid Gaza’s devastation, as he witnessed residents digging latrines among the ruins, while Israel and Hamas exchanged more bodies. A convoy of white UN jeeps carried relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to see a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation — this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland — and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP. The densely populated cities of the Gaza Strip, home to mor...

• SJC tightens code, bans social, diplomatic functions for superior court judges • Sets protocol on allegations, places limits on foreign invites • Reviews 74 complaints; 70 closed, three to proceed ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Saturday approved far-reaching amendments to the Code of Conduct for superior court judges, barring them from engaging in public controversy or media interaction, particularly on political questions, and introducing new restrictions on social and diplomatic activity. Chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, the meeting was attended virtually by Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, while Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar attended in person. Under a substituted Article V, judges are prohibited from speaking, writing, debating or commenting publicly on controversial matters and on political questions, even where questions of law arise. Judges are not to interact with the media, especially ...

Mt. Gox trustees face a deadline on Oct. 31 to complete Base, Early lump-sum, and Intermediate repayments for Bitcoin creditors (BTC), with roughly 34,689 BTC still sitting in Mt. Gox-linked wallets as the clock ticks down. The Tokyo court extended the original cutoff date of Oct. 31, 2024, by one year after processing delays and […] The post Mt. Gox repayments due Oct. 31: Will a supply wave hit BTC? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Pakistan en Afghanistan zijn een onmiddellijk staakt-het-vuren overeengekomen tijdens besprekingen in de Qatarese hoofdstad Doha.

British anti-Israel groups voiced support for a London protest chant calling to “put the Zios in the ground,” days after an Oxford student was arrested for inciting racial hatred at the rally.

Another teenager has been evacuated from the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region.