The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ban TikTok — the popular social media platform for entertainment videos — over proliferation of videos “spreading obscenity in society”. PHC Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan gave the order while hearing a petition against the social media platform. PTA Director Kamran Gandapur and deputy attorney generals …

Lady Gaga is reportedly holding off on paying woman associated with the return of her stolen pit bulls in case there is a possible gang involvement. For those unversed, the dogs Koji and Gustav were retuned two days after the dog-walker shooting incident occurred but according to TMZ, the LAPD has still not ruled out possible involvement on the side of …

Global singing sensations from BTS have made their way into Billboard, IFPI’s Top 10 Global Digital Singles and ARMY’s cannot contain their excitement over the news. This is BTS’s first ever nomination and in making it into the big leagues, they beat out other artists by amassing 1.28 billion streams. No sooner did the news break did ARMYs start flocking …

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to make his first official visit to the UAE on Thursday following an agreement between the two countries to establish ties, Israeli media reported. A senior official in Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the reports by Israeli public radio, Haaretz newspaper and other outlets. The reported visit would take place less than two weeks before Netanyahu faces …

MOSCOW: Russia’s X5 group, the country’s leading food retailer, announced on Wednesday the launch of a facial recognition payment system, the latest expansion of a technology that has sparked privacy and security concerns. To launch its facial recognition payment system, the X5 group, which owns the Pyaterochka convenience stores and the Perekrestok supermarket chain, has joined forces with the Visa …

ISLAMABAD: Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and Director General of Inter-Services Intelli­gence Lt Gen Faiz Hameed attended a session on Afghan peace process in Bahrain, it emerged on Wednesday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said: “Current developments in Afghan peace process, border security and necessary steps to be undertaken to facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process …

WASHINGTON: The House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to one of the largest economic stimulus measures in US history, a sweeping $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill that gives President Joe Biden his first major victory in office. The measure provides $400 billion for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350bn in aid to state and local governments, an …

PARIS: The world is missing a once-in-a-generation chance to rebuild a sustainable post-pandemic future, the United Nations said on Wednesday in an assessment showing less than 20 percent of recovery finance can be considered “green”. Although the unprecedented economic slowdown caused by Covid-19 saw greenhouse gas emissions fall dramatically in 2020, institutions from the UN to the International Energy Agency …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Min­­ister Imran Khan on Wednesday assured Uzbe­kis­tan of complete facilitation in access to Pakistani ports. Mr Khan held out the assurance during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Dr Abdulaziz Kamilov, who was on a two-day visit to Pakistan. Mr Khan, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office after the meeting, said that Pakis­tan’s Karachi …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) plea to suspend the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to hold fresh by-poll in the entire NA-75 constituency of Sialkot’s Daska tehsil. A three-judge SC bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Yahya Afridi, however, also directed the ECP to furnish complete record …