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  • No negotiations – Newspaper – DAWN.COM

    No negotiations – Newspaper – DAWN.COM

    IT seems like the appeal from Kot Lakhpat Jail has fallen on deaf ears. “[…] The time for negotiations has passed,” comes the missive from Adiala — a curt response to a recent letter from other jailed PTI stalwarts who had suggested a political settlement with the ruling parties. “Now, there will be no negotiations of any kind with anyone; there will be protests only on the streets so that the nation can get rid of the puppet rulers imposed by force,” party chief Imran Khan is reported to have said. The rest of the party is expected to fall in line. “I am issuing a clear message: whoever cannot shoulder the responsibility for this movement must separate themselves [from the party]. Whoever has kneeled before them should remember that, after some time, they will crush you and the people [too] will not forgive you [for failing to stand up].”

    It is a rather combative stance to take for a leader who seems to be running out of options. But “This is not just about political revenge anymore — it’s about every citizen’s rights being stolen,” Barrister Gohar Khan, de jure chairman of the PTI, told the press after meeting the PTI chief in jail. It will certainly be difficult for the government to challenge the PTI chief’s motivations for announcing another protest movement. “The Constitution, the law and justice have all been buried after the 26th Amendment,” the former prime minister’s statement reads. “We have lost all faith in the courts’ ability to give us justice, and the people of Pakistan have no option but to launch a nationwide protest movement to escape this quicksand of lawlessness.” He is not the only one thinking and feeling this. But is public sympathy alone going to be enough to provide his planned protests enough momentum? It does not appear so.

    The PTI certainly does not seem to have learnt from its past experiences. Once again, Mr Imran Khan has given in to the temptation of issuing an ultimatum. Aug 5, which will mark two years of his incarceration, will be the day the new protest movement should reach its peak, he has said. That gives the party not even a month to prepare, organise and trigger the “second Pakistan Movement” he hopes for. This expectation seems unrealistic considering how divided and dispersed the PTI appears to be at the moment. The party’s public support has not disappeared, but its organisational command centre remains cut off from the public, meaning mass mobilisation depends entirely on supporters’ personal initiatives. Without a strategy in place, it seems Mr Khan may be setting the PTI up for another damp squib, of which the party should have had enough of by now. Perhaps he should consider other options.

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • Actor Humaira Asghar may have died months ago: Karachi police – Pakistan

    Actor Humaira Asghar may have died months ago: Karachi police – Pakistan

    KARACHI: Model and actor Humaira Asghar Ali, whose partially decomposed body was found a day earlier in her rented DHA apartment, may have died several months ago, police said on Wednesday.

    The 32-year-old actor was found dead when police, accompanied by a bailiff, broke open the door of her fourth-floor apartment in Ittehad Commercial, Phase VI.

    DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that police surgeon Summaiya Syed along with SSP-South Mahzoor Ali visited her flat and they suspected that she might have died around six months ago.

    Elaborating, he said that the date of expiry of the bread and packaged milk kept in the refrigerator was September 2024.

    Similarly, two SIMs in her cell phone were dead /inactive since September 2024 as per the call data record obtained by investigators. Besides, he said that power supply to her flat was disconnected in October 2024 reportedly by the KE ostensibly over non-payment of dues.

    The police said the adjacent flat was empty during the period in which she was believed to have died.

    Family refuses to take body

    The DIG said that her family lived in Lahore and when the police approached them they, particularly her father, refused to take the body for burial.

    Later, he said, the deceased’s brother-in-law approached the police and he was expected to arrive here on Thursday (today) to meet with the police.

    As people learned that her father refused to take the body, prominent showbiz personalities approached the police, expressing their willingness to perform the last rites and arrange the burial, the DIG said.

    “We shall hand them the body in case the family refuses,” he added.

    He said that the cause of the death could be ascertained only after receiving chemical examiner’s report.

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • Safe disposal of hospital waste key to prevent diseases: minister – Newspaper

    Safe disposal of hospital waste key to prevent diseases: minister – Newspaper

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday emphasised that the safe disposal of hospital waste is a crucial and effective step in protecting the public from diseases.

    He made these remarks while addressing a ceremony organised by the Indus Hospital and Health Network on the occasion of the provision of yellow vehicles for infectious medical waste disposal.

    Speaking at the event, the minister said, “Prevention is better than cure. If we don’t take precautionary measures, diseases will overtake us.”

    He highlighted that, with the support of the Global Fund, Indus Hospital has provided specialised medical waste disposal vans in 15 districts across Pakistan, including the federal capital, Islamabad, where one van will be handed over to the district health officer (DHO), Islamabad.

    Mustafa Kamal warned that hospital waste is extremely hazardous and, if not properly managed, becomes a source of disease transmission. “Protecting people from disease is our topmost priority,” he stated.

    Also addressing the gathering, Dr Abdul Bari Khan, President of Indus Hospital, said that progress in the health sector is not solely dependent on constructing new hospitals or supplying modern equipment.

    “These vehicles reflect our commitment to infection control, environmental safety, and sustainable healthcare,” Dr Bari stated. “We are grateful for the support of the federal government and hopeful that this model will be replicated across the country.”

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • Microsoft’s stock gets an upgrade. Why these analysts say it’s underappreciated in AI.

    Microsoft’s stock gets an upgrade. Why these analysts say it’s underappreciated in AI.

    By Britney Nguyen

    The sustaining growth of the company’s AI revenue and cloud platform Azure are not fully priced into the stock, Oppenheimer analysts say

    Microsoft Corp.’s stock was upgraded on Wednesday by analysts who expect investor interest in the company’s artificial-intelligence revenue to only increase as the company’s cloud business continues to grow.

    As the growth of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Azure cloud platform “remains strong,” that not only supports the stock’s valuation but gives the company opportunity to deliver upside due to the fast rate of expansion, according to the Oppenheimer analysts. Meanwhile, they see investors embracing Microsoft “as one of the long-term AI winners in software.”

    The Oppenheimer team upgraded Microsoft’s stock to outperform and set a price target of $600, about 20% above Tuesday’s close.

    According to the analysts, Microsoft’s AI business is experiencing “sustaining robust growth” that isn’t fully reflected in the stock price. Also not reflected is the potential for Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing business to post a reaccceration of growth in fiscal 2026, they said.

    “Further, Microsoft is one of only a few vendors in the software industry capable of delivering a Rule of 60 business profile and at unprecedented scale, which we think lends good support to premium multiples,” the analysts said. The Rule of 60 refers to whether the combination of a company’s rate of revenue growth and its margin on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization adds up to 60.

    The analysts said Microsoft’s shares are their “top large-cap idea” for investors in AI and cloud companies “and should be a core holding” for those looking to own shares over the long run.

    However, they said a key risk for Microsoft could lie with its Copilot AI offerings. The value proposition and use cases for its Copilot AI assistant so far “have been underwhelming,” the analysts said, referencing their own research. If enterprise software customers start thinking that they’re investing in AI technology that isn’t available yet, AI adoption could decline, they said.

    “This could lead to more constrained deployments and a significant slowdown in spending growth for [Microsoft’s] AI technology,” the analysts said, adding that Azure’s usage and financial growth would be affected, potentially eroding Microsoft’s credit “as a perceived AI winner.”

    Another risk to keep in mind is that Microsoft could also be more cautious about its guidance for fiscal 2026, the analysts said, given macroeconomic uncertainty.

    According to the Oppenheimer team, “investors are underestimating the potential for Microsoft’s AI business to drive durable consumption growth for Azure and scale fast in the agentic AI era” because of the lack of excitement around the first iteration of Copilot. But that view could be “too conservative” if investors are assuming that Copilot Studio, which allows users to build customizable AI agents, and Microsoft’s other AI tools “will have a similar early life-cycle outcome as Copilot.”

    Overall, in Oppenheimer’s view, the tech giant “is a formidable and strategically positioned AI supplier in software” and has a clear path toward reaccelerating growth for its commercial offerings and Azure platform as adoption grows for AI agents that can perform tasks autonomously.

    -Britney Nguyen

    This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. 

    
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    Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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  • Warrants against Parvez Elahi withdrawn – Pakistan

    Warrants against Parvez Elahi withdrawn – Pakistan

    RAWALPINDI: The Accountability Court of Rawalpindi on Wednesday withdrew the arrest warrants issued against former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi following his appearance before the court after repeated absences.

    Accountability Court Judge Sheikh Ejaz Ali cancelled the warrants and restored Mr Elahi’s bail bonds.

    The case relates to Bahria Town’s alleged illegal occupation of 684 acres in Rakh Takht Pari and 732.5 acres in the Loi Bher forests.

    Takht Pari, located six kilometres from Rawal­pi­ndi near G.T. Road, spans a total of 2,210 acres and was transferred to the forest de­­­partment on Aug 4, 1856.

    According to a Punjab government report, the land consists primarily of natural shrub forest, dominated by Phulai and Sanatha bushes.

    Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, representing Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz in the Supreme Court, defended his client by highlighting his charitable contributions, including the provision of medicines to the underprivileged and food to the needy. However, the court, while acknowledging Mr Riaz’s philanthropy, remarked that the case was akin to the saying: “Rob Peter to pay Paul.”

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • Grok under fire for posts praising Hitler, insulting Islam – Newspaper

    Grok under fire for posts praising Hitler, insulting Islam – Newspaper

    • Turkiye blocks chatbot’s content for ridiculing Erdogan, religious values
    • Jewish advocacy group slams anti-Semitic comments

    PARIS: Billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok came under fire on Wednesday for anti-Semitic comments, praising Adolf Hitler and insulting Islam in separate posts on the X platform.

    One series of comments, which included insults directed at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, led a court there to ban the posts in question.

    These were just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Musk’s AI chatbot, which has already been accused of promoting racist conspiracy theories.

    The CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino, resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday, but there was no known connection to the latest blowup over the Grok chatbot.

    Screenshots on X showed several posts made by the bot in which it praised Nazi leader Hitler, who sought to exterminate Jewish people, and claimed Jews promoted “anti-white hate”. The chatbot, developed by Musk’s company xAI, was criticised by Jewish advocacy group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for answering multiple user prompts with the questionable posts.

    In Turkiye, a court announced it was blocking access to a series of messages from Grok on X, which it said had insulted Erdogan and Islamic religious values.

    Poland is going to report xAI to the European Commission after Grok made offensive comments about Polish politicians, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

    Poland’s digitisation minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, told RMF FM radio on Wednesday that the government will ask Brussels to investigate the chatbot’s offensive comments about its politicians.

    “I have the impression that we are entering a higher level of hate speech, which is driven by algorithms, and that turning a blind eye or ignoring this today… is a mistake that may cost humanity in the future,” he said.

    Posts removed

    Grok removed what it called the “inappropriate” social media posts on Tuesday after complaints from X users and the ADL.

    “We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” Grok posted on X.

    “Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.”

    Musk posted on Wednesday that the incident was prompted by a user who was seeking a controversial statement from Grok “and obviously got it”. Grok was “too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed,” Musk added.

    Last Friday he posted to say they had made significant improvements to the Grok chatbot, ahead of the release of the company’s latest AI model Grok-4.

    Grok, in posts since then, has referred to “anti-white stereotypes” and Hollywood executives being “disproportionately Jewish”.

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • OBITUARY: Zubeida Mustafa: adieu to a trailblazer – Newspaper

    OBITUARY: Zubeida Mustafa: adieu to a trailblazer – Newspaper

    She was recognised for her professional work through various local and international awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by the International Women’s Media Foundation in 2012.

    Zubeida Mustafa

    A PIONEER in women’s journalism in Pakistan and a dedicated voice for the marginalised, Zubeida Mustafa passed away on Wednesday evening in Karachi. She was 84.

    Known to her colleagues at Dawn as ‘Mrs Mustafa’ or ‘ZM’, she spent 33 years at the paper, retiring in 2008 after serving as assistant editor.

    During her over three-decade tenure at Dawn, Mrs Mustafa helped bring out numerous supplements and satellite publications such as the education page and Books & Authors, the first dedicated English-language magazine focusing on book reviews and literary matters brought out by a mainstream paper in the country.

    ZM was educated at St Joseph’s Convent in Karachi, and later attained a Master’s degree in International Relations from Karachi University. She also attended the London School of Economics, but could not complete her studies at that institution.

    She began her professional life at the Karachi-based Pakistan Institu­­te of International Affairs, and was later approached by Dawn‘s editor Ahmad Ali Khan to work at the paper. She considered Khan Sahib a major influence, and in an interview with Newsline termed him “a very progressive man and a champion of women’s rights“.

    But as Zohra Yusuf noted in a review of ZM’s autobiography, “in her own quiet way, [she] exercised a significant influence on the newspaper’s journey”. This included bringing the “women’s perspective” to the paper’s editorials. Zubeida Mustafa’s editorials, and later columns, focused on a wide variety of subjects, including international affairs, education and issues of the marginalised and the downtrodden.

    As Dawn’s op-ed editor Ayesha Azfar, who worked with Mrs Mustafa noted, “Her last column for op-ed appeared in March this year, after which she was finding it increasingly difficult because of her failing health. She was legally visually impaired, and it is remarkable the way she managed to do her columns, to regularly attend seminars, and keep up her interest in education — she wrote a book on that — women, and health amongst other subjects.”

    ZM edited numerous books and wrote two: her aforementioned biography My DAWN Years — Exploring Social Issues and Reforming School Education in Pakistan & the Language Dilemma. She was recognised for her professional work through various local and international awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by the International Women’s Media Foundation in 2012.

    Pakistan Herald Publications Limited had launched an award named after her in 2013, titled the ZM Award For Journalistic Excellence to recognise her contribution “both to Dawn and to the field of journalism in Pakistan”.

    Activist and columnist Naeem Sadiq said he knew Zubeida Mustafa for 30 years. “She was a good friend. She had lunch with us about a month ago and wanted to come again. She was a great woman, it is the nation’s loss. She taught us values and professional ethics. She was a very progressive lady. She wrote on human rights, issues of the handicapped. She set standards in ethics and morality,” he observed.

    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan mourned her loss and observed that she “championed social, cultural and language rights like few. She was a comrade-in-arms and stood by the disadvantaged and oppressed”.

    A condolence statement from the Karachi Press Club noted that she “was not just a journalist; she was an institution”.

    “Her work on social issues, education, and health was particularly impactful, demonstrating her deep empathy and dedication to improving the lives of ordinary citizens,” KPC President Fazil Jamili and Secretary Sohail Afzal Khan said, adding that she leaves a “legacy that will continue to inspire generations of journalists”.

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • June was hottest on record in western Europe – World

    June was hottest on record in western Europe – World

    PARIS: Western Europe sweltered through its hottest June on record last month, as “extreme” temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, the EU climate monitor Copernicus said on Wednesday.

    Globally, this past June was the third warmest on record, continuing a blistering heat streak in recent years as the planet warms as a result of humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases.

    The previous hottest June was in 2024 and the second hottest was in 2023, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. Sweltering extremes were particularly pronounced in Europe, which is warming several times faster than the global average.

    Millions of people were exposed to high heat stress across parts of the continent as daily average temperatures in western Europe climbed to levels rarely seen before — and never so early in the summer.

    Several countries recorded surface temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with heat of up to 46C in Spain and Portugal, Copernicus said. Samantha Burgess, the EU monitor’s Strategic Lead for Climate, said the impact of the heatwaves in Europe was “exceptional”, intensified by record sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean — which hit an all-time daily maximum in June.

    “In a warming world, heatwaves are likely to become more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe,” she said. The two heatwaves — from June 17 to 22, and again from June 30 to July 2 — were linked to heat domes trapping warm air over affected regions, prolonging the stifling weather, and worsening pollution and wildfire conditions.

    Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and much of the Balkans saw some of the hottest “feels-like” temperatures, which measure the impact on the human body by taking into account factors like humidity. Maximum feels-like temperatures north of Lisbon hit 48C, around 7C above average and associated with “extreme heat stress”, said Copernicus.

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • Hamas offers to free 10 prisoners for sake of ceasefire – World

    Hamas offers to free 10 prisoners for sake of ceasefire – World

    • Netanyahu follows Trump’s optimistic line on ceasefire hopes
    • Rubio announces sanctions against outspoken UN expert Francesca Albanese
    • Six children among 26 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

    JERUSALEM: As Israel fell in line with US President Donald Trump and his optimism about the prospects for a ceasefire and prisoner-release deal in Gaza, Hamas called the talks difficult due to Israel’s “intransigence”, but said it was working seriously to overcome hurdles.

    The Palestinian group announced it would release 10 prisoners amid ongoing peace efforts, but clarified that the agreement still had several sticking points, including the flow of aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and ‘genuine guarantees’ for a permanent ceasefire.

    The announcement came after four days of indirect talks brokered by Qatar.

    “Despite the difficulty of negotiations over these issues until now due to the intransigence of the occupation, we continue to work seriously and with a positive spirit with the mediators to overcome the hurdles and end the suffering of our people and ensure their aspirations to freedom, safety and a dignified life,” the group said.

    Hamas has vowed “Gaza will not surrender” and a Palestinian official close to the ceasefire talks indicated that Israel was still holding back a deal by refusing to allow free entry of aid in Gaza.

    One Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations in Doha said the Israeli delegation was “mostly listening rather than negotiating, which reflects Israel’s ongoing policy of obstruction and sabotaging any potential agreement”.

    Meanwhile, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu – who met with top officials in Washington – struck a more upbeat note, in line with President Trump’s hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza this week or the next.

    “I think we’re getting closer to a deal,” Netanyahu told Fox Business Network. “There’s a good chance that we’ll have it.”

    Sanctions on UN expert

    Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctioning of UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, following her criticism of Washington’s policy on Gaza.

    The action was supposedly taken over the outspoken UN rapporteur’s “efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives”, Rubio claimed..

    The Italy-born expert, who has consistently been a leading voice speaking for Palestinians, released a damning report earlier this month denouncing companies she said “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide” in the occupied Palestinian territories.

    Rubio also attacked her for “biased and malicious activities,” and accused her of having “spewed unabashed antisemitism (and) support for terrorism.”

    He said she escalated her contempt for the US by writing “threatening letters” to several US companies, making what Rubio called unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue prosecutions of the companies and their executives.

    Gaza strikes

    Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Wednesday that 26 people were killed in Israeli strikes, at least six of them children.

    “The explosion was massive, like an earthquake,” said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who witnessed one of the strikes, which prompted frantic scenes as people scrabbled in the rubble for survivors.

    “The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered,” he added, calling it “a horrific massacre”.

    Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025

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  • ED books 29 celebrities for endorsing betting apps

    ED books 29 celebrities for endorsing betting apps

    The Enforcement Directorate in India has opened a money laundering investigation into nearly 30 actors, social media influencers, and YouTubers accused of promoting illegal online betting platforms, deepening a government crackdown on digital gambling operations that have surged in popularity.

    The probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, was launched after local police in several cities, including Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, filed complaints linking celebrity endorsements to illegal gambling activities. Those under investigation include prominent actors such as Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati and Prakash Raj, as well as television personalities and online content creators with large followings on YouTube and Instagram. Among them are Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash, Manchu Lakshmi, and TV hosts Sreemukhi and Shyamala, and YouTubers like Harsha Sai, Bayya Sunny Yadav, and Local Boi Nani are also under scrutiny.

    Authorities allege that the celebrities promoted platforms such as JeetWin, Parimatch and Lotus365, which are suspected of laundering significant sums of money through paid promotional campaigns. The Enforcement Directorate is expected to issue summonses in the coming weeks.

    Several of the celebrities have denied wrongdoing, stating that they terminated contracts with these platforms over ethical concerns. But the case has drawn attention to the influence of celebrity marketing in the growing digital gambling sector, where online betting apps are often promoted under the guise of gaming or philanthropy.

    Complaints from individuals, including one who reported losing more than ₹3 crore, claim that the celebrity-backed promotions encouraged gambling habits and led to substantial financial losses. The investigation underscores the challenges regulators face in policing online gambling in India, where laws dating back to the 19th century are being tested by the rise of digital platforms and influencer marketing.

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