American singer Anna Kendrick’s runaway hit “Cups (When I’m Gone)” in the Pitch Perfect trilogy will carry you along on its happy waves as you watch it play. The enthralling beat of the song in the Pitch Perfect film series engages the listeners.  But, it is not the case with everyone as writer and podcast host Ellory Smith said on …

Pakistani celebrities came forth to voice support for Prime Minister Imran Khan ahead of the vote of confidence which has now begun in the National Assembly on Saturday. Omair Rana, Rohail Hyatt, Imran Abbas,  Shaan Shahid and many more celebrities stepped forth to extend support to PM Khan. “Whether you are in power or in opposition, the voice of truth, …

KUNDUZ: At least 14 people were killed after an avalanche hit a gold mine in a remote area of northern Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban, officials said Friday. Farid Nekfar, who heads the disaster management department of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, said efforts were ongoing to recover at least two bodies after the avalanche on Thursday afternoon. “We are in contact …

GENEVA: The arrival of Covid-19 vaccines should not tempt countries to relax efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, top World Health Organisation officials said on Friday, citing concern that Brazil’s epidemic could spread to other countries. “We think we’re through this. We’re not,” Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert, told an online briefing. “Countries are going to lurch back into …

FRANKFURT: A German court on Friday ordered a temporary halt to plans by the domestic intelligence agency to spy on the far-right AfD party for posing a threat to democracy. The Cologne administrative court ruled that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) had to await the outcome of a legal challenge brought by the AfD first. …

NEW YORK: Antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee was indicted on fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges alleging that he and cohorts made over $13 million by fooling investors zealous over the emerging cryptocurrency market, authorities said on Friday. McAfee, 75, was charged in a newly unsealed indictment in Manhattan federal court along with Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., who served as …

BAGHDAD: Pope Francis, beginning the first trip by a pontiff to Iraq, made an impassioned call on Friday for an end to the militant violence and religious strife that has plagued the country for decades, saying peacemakers should finally be given a chance. “May the clash of arms be silenced … may there be an end to acts of violence …

STOCKHOLM: A 22-year-old Afghan man was remanded in custody in Sweden on Friday, after he was accused of stabbing seven people earlier in the week, the district court said. The man was arrested after the attack on Wednesday afternoon in the quiet town of Vetlanda in the south of Sweden, home to some 13,000 people. “He was remanded in custody, …

LAHORE: WhatsApp has announced that it has made private and secure one-to-one voice and video calls available on its desktop app. According to a blog on WhatsApp’s official website, the company says: “Throughout the last year we’ve seen significant increases in people calling one another on WhatsApp, often for long conversations. Last New Year’s Eve, we broke the record for …

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has inducted a third Pakistani-American, Dilawar Syed, into his team, says a White House media statement. Mr Syed will serve as the deputy administrator of the Small Business Admini­stration (SBA), if confirmed by the US Senate. Confirming his nomination on Twitter, Mr Syed said he was “deeply humbled & honored” and will “put my heart and …