Aqeel Ahmed

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg      SAN FRANCISCO: Social media giant Facebook Monday announced over $9 billion in quarterly profits, hours after a US news collective published a deluge of withering reports arguing the company prioritizes its growth over people´s safety.      The social media giant has been battling a fresh crisis since former employee Frances Haugen leaked reams of internal studies showing executives knew of their sites´ potential for harm, prompting a renewed US push for regulation.      Facebook released results showing its profit in the recently-ended quarter grew to $9.2 billion -- a 17% increase -- and its ranks of users increased to 2.91 billion.      Facebook executives said on an earnings call that the tech titan would have brought in even more money if not for Apple updating its iPhone operating system to thwart advertisers tracking app users for ad targeting without permission.      "Ove...

     SAN FRANCISCO: Pokemon Go maker Niantic on Tuesday began rolling out a Pikmin Bloom smartphone game in its latest collaboration with Japanese video game icon Nintendo.      Pikmin Bloom's launch comes 20 years after the debut of the original video game created by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, and is a rare step by the company to let its beloved titles be played on hardware other than its own.      "It does reflect a strong, ongoing partnership with Nintendo," Niantic chief executive John Hanke said, providing an early look at the new game.      "Nintendo has been part of the Niantic story since the beginning."      Niantic collaborated with Nintendo on a free Pokemon Go smartphone game that market-tracker SensorTower estimates has generated more than $5 billion in revenue from in-app purchases since its release in 2016.      "Pokemon Go continues to be a powerhouse in the global mobile gam...

Scott Disick seemed to be in business mode after his shock split from  Amelia Hamlin and his ex Kourtney Kardashian's recent engagement. The 38-year-old reality TV star appeared on Instagram to promote the 'NEW reflective nylon tracksuit' by his brand Talentless on Tuesday. 'This piece is the perfect layering item for fall/winter and available in only 2 colors - CHROME and MERLOT,' touted Disick to his nearly 26million followers. The father of three proved to be his own best advertisement as modeled the tracksuit in chrome. He accessorized the athleisure ensemble with some large shades. He posed indoors in front of a wooden pillar with his hands in his pockets. The post comes just days after Disick was spotted out in West Hollywood with a new lady by his side. Scott Disick is fresh out of a relationship with 20-year-old model Amelia Hamlin, who broke up with him in September after he was exposed for allegedly sending petty DMs about Kourtney's PDA-packed relatio...

     Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry announced early Wednesday that the Saudi government will be depositing $3 billion into the central bank to support Pakistan's reserves.      According to the statement: "The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) announced the issuance of the Royal Directive to deposit an amount worth of US$3 billion into the State Bank of Pakistan to help the Pakistani government support its foreign currency reserves and support it in facing the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic." In addition, a royal directive was issued "to finance the oil derivatives trade with a total amount of US$1.2 billion throughout the year" The statement said that these directives "confirm the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's ongoing stance in supporting the economy of the sisterly Republic of Pakistan".      Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar followed with a statement saying that the Saudi Development Fund has "generously announced for Pakistan an o...

       ISLAMABAD: The number of daily COVID-19 infections continued to decline in Pakistan as the country reported 572 fresh cases during the past 24 hours, data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed Tuesday morning.      As per NCOC's stats, the country logged below 10 fatalities from coronavirus in a single day for the second consecutive day today.      572 fresh COVID-19 infections were reported after 42,096 tests were taken across the country in the last 24 hours, pushing the countrywide tally of such cases to 1,269,806. As per NCOC's data, six people lost their lives to the virus in the last 24 hours.      A day earlier, Pakistan recorded the lowest daily COVID-19 death count of 2021 after less than 10 people lost their lives to the virus over a period of 24 hours, NCOC data had showed. It had placed the daily death count at nine.      Apart from this, 310 people recovered from th...

     ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as the new Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with effect from Nov 20, putting an end to speculations and guessing games on the matter. “The prime minister has seen and approved the appointment of Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as DG ISI, with effect from November 20, 2021, from the panel of officers at para-6 of the summary.      “The incumbent ISI DG, Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, will continue to hold charge as the ISI chief till November 19, 2021,” says a notification issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. The PMO also shared a press release, which said Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday. The meeting, it noted, was part of the ongoing consultation process between the prime minister and the army chief about the timing of change of command in ISI and selection of the new DG IS...

KABUL: The Islamic Emirate on Monday welcomed the reopening of the European Union’s office in Kabul, saying that the step could be the beginning of engagement with European countries. “The decision of the European Union to reopen its office in the near future is a good step and it is in the interest of the people of Afghanistan,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate. “They will evaluate their work from the vicinity.” According to a report in the Financial Times, the European Union is considering restarting its political activities in a limited way in Kabul. The report said that the move is not intended to recognize the current government in Afghanistan. “As we have repeatedly said, this is not a sign of recognition. We want to be able to better assist the Afghan people who need our help by being closer and, inevitably, we need to engage with the Taliban,” said Nabila Massarali, EU spokesperson. With the collapse of the former government and the Taliban takeov...