International

Russian forces pounded frontline cities in eastern Ukraine with air strikes and artillery attacks, while US officials stepped up efforts to locate the source of a leak of classified US documents, including those on Ukrainian counter-offensive plans. The Russians pressed on with their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region where several cities and towns came under heavy bombardment, Ukraine’s general …

All new artificial intelligence (AI) products developed in China will be required to undergo a “security assessment” before being released to the public, a sweeping new draft law by the country’s internet regulator showed on Tuesday. “Before providing services to the public that use generative AI products, a security assessment shall be applied for through national internet regulatory departments,” the …

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan warned the international community on Monday that unregulated sale of weapons and military equipment was a threat to world peace. Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on the need to regulate weapon sales, Pakistani representative Ambassa­dor Aamir Khan said that ultra-nationalist and hegemonic policies of some states had further complicated the situation. In a 2020 report …

KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti media outlet has unveiled a virtual news presenter generated using artificial intelligence, with plans for it to read online bulletins. “Fedha” appeared on the Twitter account of the Kuwait News website as an image of a woman, her light-coloured hair uncovered, wearing a black jacket and white T-shirt. “I’m Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with …

DHAKA: A cleric and three village elders were arrested in Bangladesh on charges they ordered a woman to be caned and stoned after she was accus­ed of an extra-marital affair, police said on Monday. Police said Hamida Sul­tana was “caned 82 strokes” and “stoned 80 times” with small brick pieces after an imam issued a fatwa punishing her last week. …

ANKARA: Turkiye launched its first aircraft carrier on Monday, aiming to extend its drone capabilities from land-based to naval operations amid increased regional tensions as war rages in Ukraine on the other side of the Black Sea. The TCG Anadolu can handle only light aircraft, chiefly helicopters and jets that can take off from shorter runways. It is 232 metres …

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden did everything on Monday to look and sound like someone running for re-election — but again insisted he has no official announcement to make. The 80-year-old Democrat has delayed an expected campaign launch for months, while teasing repeatedly that his intention is to run. Hosting hundreds of members of the public at a festive Easter event …

ISLAMABAD: All three pillars of the state — the executive, legislature, and judiciary — on Monday vowed to safeguard the Constitution, at an event held to celebrate 50 years of the Constitution at Parliament House, which was also addressed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa. At the Golden Jubilee Convention of the 1973 Constitution, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and three other …

Houston Iftar Dinner Hosted by HSC & SCH. Welcomes Mayor Turner and Other Dignitaries to Accommodate Over 2300 Guests for Iftar By: Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada Houston:, as every year, hosted the grand Houston Iftar Dinner, which was organized in partnership with Houston Sister Cities and the City of Houston. The 24th annual Iftar dinner, held at the Bayou City …

SHANGHAI: Tesla will build a new facility in Shanghai to make its Megapack batteries, Chinese state media reported on Sunday. The factory, which will have an initial capacity of 10,000 Megapack units per year, is expected to “start production in the second quarter of 2024”, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The US electric car maker says its Megapacks are …