Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has announced the national squad for the upcoming AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers, scheduled to take place later this month in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;According to the PFF, the team has already commenced preparations for what will be their first-ever appearance in a major international futsal competition.&nbsp;A training camp underway at Lahore&rsquo;s Liaquat Gymnasium, located within the Jinnah Sports Complex, under the supervision of head coach Sakhawat Ali.&nbsp;Pakistan has been placed in Group &lsquo;D&rsquo; of the qualifiers, alongside Iraq, Chinese Taipei, and host nation Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;The national side will begin its campaign with a match against Iraq on September 20, followed by a clash with Saudi Arabia on September 22. The group stage will conclude with a match against Chinese Taipei on September 24.&nbsp;Pakistan squad for AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers&nbsp;Goalkeepers: Mohammad Zaid, Mohammad Tahir Defenders: Mohammad Humza Khan, Hamza Nusrat, Zohair Altaf, Asif Ahmad Right Wingers: Hassaan Zafar, Abdul Hannan, Yousaf Ahmad, Shams Taj Left Wingers: Moeez Sajjad, Mohammad Bin Masud, Ariz Mahmood Strikers: Mohammad Adan, Mohammad Ali Riaz Khan, Zaid Ullah Khan

Pakistan Futsal squad, AFC Futsal Asian Cup

Football

The federation announces squad for AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers, set for debut in Group D against Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Chinese Taipei

Pakistan name squad for futsal Asian Cup qualifiers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan spinner Asif Afridi has created a new world record, becoming the oldest player in history to claim a five-wicket haul on debut.&nbsp;The 38-year-old left-arm spinner returned figures of 6-79 against South Africa in Rawalpindi, surpassing a record that had stood for more than 90 years. The previous mark was held by England&rsquo;s Charles Marriott, who took five wickets on debut at the age of 37 in 1933.&nbsp;Afridi also became the sixth Pakistani spinner to achieve the feat, joining Mohammad Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Bilal Asif, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed.&nbsp;The late-blooming spinner&rsquo;s journey has been anything but ordinary. Afridi made his first-class debut back in 2009 but spent years outside the national setup. In 2023, he was handed a two-year ban for breaching the PCB&rsquo;s anti-corruption code, serving one year before his suspension was lifted.&nbsp;Returning to the field, Afridi&rsquo;s accuracy and deceptive sliders rattled South Africa&rsquo;s middle order. He struck early on Day 3, dismissing Kyle Verreynne for 10, before trapping Tristan Stubbs&#39; leg-before for 76 with a straight delivery that skidded on. He completed his five-wicket haul when Simon Harmer was hit on the back leg while attempting a sweep.&nbsp;South Africa, who resumed the day on 230-6, went on to score 404 runs, thanks to an 89-run innings from Senuran Muthusamy and a quickfire 71 from No. 11 Kagiso Rabada.&nbsp;Pakistan leads the two-match Test series 1-0 after winning the opener in Lahore last week.

Cricket

Afridi also becomes the sixth Pakistani spinner to achieve the feat, joining Mohammad Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Bilal Asif, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed.

Asif Afridi makes history as oldest Test debutant with five-wicket haul

NAGPUR: Brandishing bamboo sticks and chanting patriotic hymns, thousands of uniformed men paraded in central India, a striking show of strength by the country&#39;s million-strong Hindu ultranationalist group. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- the National Volunteer Organisation, or RSS -- marked its 100th anniversary this month with a grand ceremony at its headquarters in Nagpur. AFP was one of a handful of foreign media outlets granted rare access to the group, which forms the ideological and organizational backbone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in power since 2014. Undermining constitution &nbsp;Critics accuse&nbsp;the 75-year-old prime minister and the RSS of eroding the rights of India&#39;s Muslim minority and undermining the secular constitution.At the parade, RSS volunteers in white shirts, brown trousers, and black hats marched, boxed, and stretched in time to shrill whistles and barked orders. &quot;Forever I bow to thee, loving Motherland! Motherland of us Hindus!&quot; they sang, in a scene that evoked paramilitary drills of the past. &quot;May my life ... be laid down in thy cause!&quot; Hindus make up around 80% of India&#39;s 1.4 billion people. Founded in 1925, the RSS calls itself &quot;the world&#39;s largest organization,&quot; though it does not give membership figures. &lsquo;Hindutva&rsquo;At the heart of its vision is &quot;Hindutva&quot; -- the belief that Hindus represent not only a religious group but are India&#39;s true national identity.<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/f8aaa21f-d7f1-4eda-8d69-1798ac80febc.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 563px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption id="isPasted">NAGPUR: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat attends the centenary celebrations of the Hindu nationalist organization at Reshimbagh Ground in Nagpur on October 2, 2025. -- Photo by AFP/File</figcaption> &quot;They are willing to fight against those who will come in their way ... that means minorities, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and other Hindus who do not subscribe to the idea,&quot; historian Mridula Mukherjee said. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat uses softer language, claiming that minorities were accepted but that they &quot;should not cause division.&quot; &lsquo;Fascist by nature&rsquo;The RSS was formed during the imperial rule of the British. But it diverged sharply from that of independence efforts by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party, whose leader Jawaharlal Nehru considered them &quot;fascist by nature.&quot; Mukherjee said archives showed &quot;a link between the RSS and fascist movements in Europe.&quot; Idealizing Nazis&nbsp;&quot;They have said, very clearly, that the way the Nazis were treating the Jews should be the way our own minorities should be treated,&quot; she told AFP. The RSS does not comment directly on such parallels, but Bhagwat claimed that &quot;today we are more acceptable.&quot; The RSS was an armed Hindu militia during the 1947 partition of India and the creation of Muslim-majority Pakistan. Gandhi&rsquo;s assassination&nbsp;Hindu extremists blamed Gandhi for &ldquo;breaking India apart.&rdquo; A former RSS member assassinated him in 1948, and the group was banned for nearly two years. But the RSS rebuilt quietly, focusing on local units known as &quot;shakhas&quot; to recruit. Today, it claims 83,000 of them nationwide, as well as over 50,000 schools and 120,000 social welfare projects. Saffron flag not India&rsquo;s tricolor&nbsp;At a shakha in Nagpur, Alhad Sadachar, 49, said the unit was &quot;meant to develop togetherness.&quot;<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f95229d8-8f64-44db-9209-ffe076b97192-RSS Safron flag.jpg" alt="RSS Safron flag.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">NAGPUR: RSS volunteers salute the organisation&#39;s flag before morning drills during a shakha, or training session, of the Hindu nationalist organisation at a park in Nagpur on October 3, 2025. -- Photo by AFP/File</figcaption></figure>&quot;You can get a lot of good energy, a lot of good values, like helping those in need,&quot; he said. At a shaka that AFP was allowed to attend, dozens of members &ndash;- many middle-aged, elderly, and not in uniform &ndash;- gathered for an hour of calisthenics and song. But in a show of symbolism, they congregated beneath a saffron flag -- the color of Hinduism -- rather than India&#39;s tricolor. Demolition of Mughal-era Babri mosque &nbsp;The RSS remains deeply political. The group re-emerged in the late 1980s, spearheading a movement that ended with a violent mob demolishing the centuries-old Mughal-era Babri Mosque in Ayodhya -&ndash; now replaced by a gleaming temple to the Hindu god Rama. Role in BJP&rsquo;s victory&quot;That was the turning point,&quot; said Mukherjee, the historian, adding that the RSS was &quot;able to create a mass mobilization on religious issues, that became at its heart clearly anti-Muslim.&quot; The group helped deliver Modi&#39;s BJP party an electoral landslide in 2014. Since then, Modi -&ndash; a former RSS &quot;pracharak&quot;, or organizer -- &nbsp;has pursued policies that critics say marginalize India&#39;s estimated 220 million Muslims, 15% of the population. Lynching and hate speech&nbsp;&quot;There has been a clear increase in terms of violence, lynching, and hate speech since Modi has taken over,&quot; said Raqib Hameed Naik, director of the US-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate. RSS leaders deny that it has participated in atrocities. &quot;Those allegations are baseless,&quot; Bhagwat&nbsp;claimed. &quot;Atrocities were never done by the RSS. And if it happens anyway, I condemn that.&quot; RSS under Modi&nbsp;Under Modi, it has expanded its reach. &quot;The RSS has been able to stir Indian society in a direction that is more nationalistic, less liberal in a Western sense,&quot; said Swapan Dasgupta, a former nationalist parliamentarian.

Asia

India's RSS is a legion of Hindu ultranationalists; it has idealized Nazis, and it re-emerged in the 1980s. It helped deliver PM Modi's BJP an electoral landslide in 2014. Under him, it has expanded its reach. 

India under Modi and RSS: eroding minority rights, undermining secularism  

Pakistan TV

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has cautioned that disinformation campaigns on social media pose grave threats to both society and national security. In an exclusive conversation with Pakistan TV on the sidelines of a strategic dialogue on social media literacy held in Islamabad, Tarar underscored the need for a comprehensive response rooted in strong legal mechanisms and enhanced public awareness. &ldquo;The main threats that we face due to misinformation and disinformation, and the lack of awareness about digital media, include threats to national security, the spread of religious radicalism, and risks to women and children,&rdquo; the minister highlighted. <div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQIKj4gDOZF/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=1080&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2F1643#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A899620%2C%22ls%22%3A360.5%2C%22le%22%3A360.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;"></iframe></div> He also warned against the growing spread of religious radicalism and extremism through digital platforms, noting that vulnerable groups&mdash;particularly women and children&mdash;remain at heightened risk of online exploitation and manipulation. Tarar commended the government&rsquo;s ongoing initiatives to counter misinformation through awareness and training programmes but acknowledged that more coordinated action is required. &ldquo;We are dealing with these challenges; more needs to be done. We need more collaboration with international partners, regional partners, and various institutions,&rdquo; he remarked.&nbsp; Also speaking to Pakistan TV, on the sidelines of the same forum, Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan Tarik Ali Khan reaffirmed Canada&rsquo;s commitment to supporting Pakistan&rsquo;s efforts in promoting digital literacy and strengthening its resilience against disinformation.&nbsp; He emphasised that fostering informed digital engagement is essential to protecting democratic discourse in the online sphere. &ldquo;We are really excited to support the strategic dialogue on building media literacy and digital resilience here in Pakistan. We are working with partners like the University of Punjab, UNESCO and the National Press Club &mdash; it&rsquo;s all about helping to prepare current journalists and the next generation on how to protect and promote safer and more democratic speech in the online space,&rdquo; Khan noted.

SAT News Desk

Calls for stronger legal frameworks, digital literacy and global collaboration to curb the threats 

Information minister flags rising dangers of disinformation, misinformation on social media  

THE HAGUE: The International Court of Justice said on Wednesday that Israel was obliged to ease the passage of aid into Gaza, stressing it had to provide Palestinians with the &quot;basic needs&quot; to survive.&nbsp;The wide-ranging ICJ ruling, quickly rejected by Israel, came as aid groups scrambled to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile ceasefire agreed earlier this month.&nbsp;While the UN&#39;s top court&#39;s &quot;Advisory Opinion&quot; is not legally binding, the ICJ believes it carries &quot;great legal weight and moral authority.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;This is a very important decision. And I hope that Israel will abide by it,&quot; UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.&nbsp;ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said Israel was &quot;under an obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities.&quot;&nbsp;That included UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has banned after accusing some of its staff of taking part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.&nbsp;The ICJ ruled that Israel had not substantiated the allegations.&nbsp;Israel did not take part in the proceedings and hit back at the findings.&nbsp;&quot;Israel categorically rejects the ICJ&#39;s &#39;advisory opinion,&#39; which was entirely predictable from the outset regarding UNRWA,&quot; foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein posted on X.&nbsp;&quot;This is yet another political attempt to impose political measures against Israel under the guise of &#39;International Law.&#39;&quot;&nbsp;Iwasawa said the ICJ &quot;rejects the argument that the request abuses and weaponises the international judicial process.&quot;&nbsp;Another Israeli official added that Israel &quot;cooperates with international organizations, with other UN agencies regarding Gaza. But Israel will not cooperate with UNRWA.&quot;&nbsp;Within hours of the ruling, Norway said it would propose a UN General Assembly resolution demanding that Israel lift restrictions on Gaza aid.&nbsp;And the Palestinian delegate to the ICJ, Ammar Hijazi, urged nations to ensure Israel complies with the court to let aid into Gaza.&nbsp;&quot;The responsibility is on the international community to uphold these values and oblige Israel, bring Israel into compliance,&quot; he told reporters.&nbsp;Before the ruling, Abeer Etefa, Middle East spokesperson for the UN&#39;s World Food Program (WFP), said 530 WFP trucks had crossed into Gaza since the ceasefire started on October 10.&nbsp;The trucks had delivered more than 6,700 tons of food, which she said was &quot;enough for close to half a million people for two weeks.&quot;&nbsp;Etefa said around 750 tons a day were now coming through, well below the WFP&#39;s target of around 2,000 tons daily.&nbsp;The ICJ said that Israel, as an occupying power, was under an obligation &quot;to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival.&quot;&nbsp;At the same time, Israel was &quot;also under a negative obligation not to impede the provision of these supplies,&quot; the court said.&nbsp;The court also recalled the obligation under international law not to use starvation as a method of warfare.&nbsp;&#39;Serious concerns&#39;The UN had asked the ICJ to clarify Israel&#39;s obligations, as an occupying power, towards UN and other bodies &quot;including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival&quot; of Palestinians.&nbsp;ICJ judges heard a week of evidence in April from dozens of nations and organizations, much of which revolved around the status of UNRWA.&nbsp;At the hearings, a US official raised &quot;serious concerns&quot; about UNRWA&#39;s impartiality, and alleged that Hamas used the agency&#39;s facilities.&nbsp;The US official, Josh Simmons, said Israel had &quot;no obligation to permit UNRWA specifically to provide humanitarian assistance.&rdquo;&nbsp;Simmons added that UNRWA was not the only option for delivering aid into Gaza.&nbsp;However, the ICJ noted that UNRWA &quot;cannot be replaced on short notice without a proper transition plan.&quot;&nbsp;Hijazi told the April hearings that Israel was blocking aid as a &quot;weapon of war,&quot; sparking starvation in Gaza.&nbsp;The case was separate from the others Israel faces under international law over its Gaza campaign.&nbsp;In July 2024, the ICJ issued another advisory opinion stating that Israel&#39;s occupation of the Palestinian territories was &quot;unlawful&quot; and must end as soon as possible.&nbsp;ICJ judges are also weighing accusations, brought by South Africa, that Israel has broken the 1948 UN Genocide Convention with its actions in Gaza.&nbsp;Another court in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, has issued arrest warrants for Israel&#39;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.&nbsp;It also issued a warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in an airstrike.

Middle East

"UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres terms it "very important decision," hopes Israel "will abide by it." 



UN court says Israel must ease aid into Gaza, provide 'basic needs'

ISLAMABAD: Poland&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski will undertake a two-day official visit to Pakistan from today, said the Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday. According to the FO, the Polish minister will be visiting at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. This would be Sikorski&rsquo;s second official visit to Pakistan; his previous trip took place in 2011. FO said that FM Dar will hold a &ldquo;one-on-one meeting as well as delegation-level talks with his Polish counterpart,&rdquo; with the two sides expected to &ldquo;discuss the full spectrum of bilateral relations.&rdquo; &ldquo;The talks will be followed by a joint press stakeout,&rdquo; the statement said. The foreign office said that the visit marks a significant milestone in Pakistan-Poland relations as the country &ldquo;remains committed to enhancing cooperation with Poland for the mutual benefit of both countries.&rdquo; The Pakistani government has taken a slew of measures to improve its bilateral relationship with multiple countries in an effort to diversify its portfolio of investments. According to the foreign office, Pakistan and Poland established diplomatic relations on Dec. 17, 1962, and Pakistan opened its embassy in Warsaw in 1969. The two sides have maintained Bilateral Political Consultations, the 9th round of which was held in Warsaw on July 4, 2025. In April 2018, the then-federal minister for defense, Khurram Dastgir Khan, visited Warsaw at the invitation of the Polish government, where the two sides signed a Bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski

Foreign Affairs

Foreign Office says FM Dar will hold a 'one-on-one meeting as well as delegation-level talks with his Polish counterpart,' the two sides expected to 'discuss the full spectrum of bilateral relations.'

Polish FM Sikorski arrives in Pakistan today on two-day official visit

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza peace deal, according to the AFP. Commenting on the move before his visit to Israel, Rubio said, &quot;I think the president&#39;s made clear that&#39;s not something we can be supportive of right now.&quot;&nbsp; Annexation moves are &quot;threatening for the peace deal,&quot; he told reporters. &quot;They&#39;re a democracy, they&#39;re going to have their votes, and people are going to take these positions,&quot; he said. &quot;But at this time, it&#39;s something that we ... think might be counterproductive,&quot; he said. Asked about increased violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Rubio said: &quot;We&#39;re concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we&#39;ve worked on.&quot; But Rubio -- the latest high-ranking US visitor to Israel following Vice President JD Vance -- voiced optimism overall for preserving the peace deal. &quot;Every day there&#39;ll be threats to it, but I actually think we&#39;re ahead of schedule in terms of bringing it together, and the fact that we made it through this weekend is a good sign,&quot; Rubio said. Knesset advance bills on annexing West BankIsraeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was retaliation for a Hamas attack. The vote coincided with US Vice President JD Vance&rsquo;s visit to Israel, who is visiting the Middle East to strengthen the Gaza ceasefire.&nbsp; According to AFP, the first text, passed by 32 members of Parliament to nine, proposed annexing Maale Adumim, a large Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem.&nbsp; The second proposal to annex the entire West Bank was supported by 25 MPs while 24 voted against, AFP said. Qatar condemns Knesset proposals Meanwhile, Qatar on Wednesday condemned in &ldquo;strongest terms&rdquo; the Israeli Knesset&#39;s decision on advancing two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, terming it &ldquo;a blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law and relevant resolutions.&rdquo; The Qatar foreign ministry called on the international community &mdash; and the United Nations Security Council &mdash; &ldquo;to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to take urgent action to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their expansionist plans and settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.&rdquo; The ministry reaffirmed Qatar&rsquo;s firm and longstanding position in support of the Palestinian cause, based on international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution, the statement said.&nbsp; Israel in the West Bank &nbsp;Israel originally captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the Six-Day War in 1967 from Jordan, and it has maintained military control, establishing a large and growing network of settlements across the West Bank. Approximately half a million Palestinians had to leave the territory due to the war.&nbsp; On November 22, 1967, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called for a &ldquo;withdrawal of Israel&#39;s armed forces from territories occupied&rdquo; during the war. In June 1980, Israel passed the Jerusalem Law, which claimed East Jerusalem, stating, &ldquo;Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.&rdquo; Then, according to the New York Times, in a televised address in 1988, Jordanian King Hussein &mdash; respecting the wishes of the Palestinian Liberation Organization &mdash; gave the territory to the Palestinian group. &nbsp; The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 between then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Washington, divided the territory into Areas A, B, and C.&nbsp; According to Al Jazeera, Area A, representing 18% of the territory, is under Palestinian control, and Area C, which represents 60% of the area, is under Israeli occupation. Area B, representing 22% of the territory, is under joint control of both governments. Annexation would be &#39;most serious violation of international law&#39;However, in 2002, Israel started building walls in the West Bank to facilitate the movement of even more Jewish settlers inside the West Bank. More than 700,000 Jewish settlers &mdash; nearly 10% of Israel&rsquo;s population &mdash; now reside within the West Bank, according to Al Jazeera.&nbsp; The pace of the settlement has increased since Israel started its bombardment of Gaza after the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters. According to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 6,000 people have been displaced from the West Bank since the start of 2024. Earlier in January, UN Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres said, &ldquo;Senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Any such annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law,&rdquo; Guterres had said. The United Nations had said earlier that the Israeli government has shown a clear intent to establish permanent control over Gaza and to ensure a majority in the occupied West Bank.

Says 'not something we can be supportive of right now'; 'threatening for the peace deal'; 'might be counterproductive'. On increased violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank: "We're concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we've worked on."

Rubio warns Israel against annexing the West Bank

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on Russia&#39;s two largest oil companies on Wednesday, complaining that his talks with Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war &quot;don&#39;t go anywhere.&quot; The European Union also unveiled a fresh wave of sanctions to pressure Russia to end its relentless, three-and-a-half-year invasion of its neighbor, which is allied with both Washington and Brussels. Trump has held off pulling the trigger on sanctions against Russia for months, but his patience snapped after plans for a fresh summit with Putin in Budapest collapsed. &quot;Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don&#39;t go anywhere,&quot; Trump said in response to a question from an AFP journalist in the Oval Office. But Trump added that he hoped the &quot;tremendous sanctions&quot; against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil would be short-lived. &quot;We hope that the war will be settled,&quot; he said alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rutte, often dubbed &quot;the Trump whisperer,&quot; said he was confident that &quot;with sustained pressure, we will be able to get Putin to the table to agree with a ceasefire, and then other talks coming after that.&quot; Separately, the EU agreed to impose new measures aimed at crimping Moscow&#39;s oil and gas revenues over the war, a spokesperson for the bloc&#39;s current Danish presidency said. That package &mdash; the 19th from the EU since the Kremlin&#39;s 2022 invasion &mdash; sought to keep the pressure on Russia in light of Trump&#39;s faltering peace push and an escalation of Russia&#39;s offensive. The sanctions came hours after Russia&#39;s latest overnight barrage on Ukraine killed seven people &mdash; including two children &mdash; and ripped into a kindergarten. Not &#39;honest and forthright&#39;&nbsp;The US sanctions represent a major stepping up of its actions against Russia and reflect Trump&#39;s growing frustration at being unable to persuade Putin to end the conflict despite what he calls his personal chemistry with the Kremlin chief. The sanctions involve a freezing of all Rosneft and Lukoil assets in the United States, while barring all US companies from doing any business with the two Russian oil titans. &quot;Given President Putin&#39;s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia&#39;s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin&#39;s war machine,&quot; US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Bessent later told the Fox Business program Kudlow that it was &quot;one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation. &quot;President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we&#39;d hoped,&quot; Bessent said, adding that Trump was &quot;disappointed at where we are in these talks.&quot; Trump this week halted plans to hold talks with Putin in Budapest, saying he did not want a &quot;wasted&quot; meeting. The Kremlin on Wednesday appeared to leave the door open for a summit, saying ahead of the sanctions announcement that preparations were still ongoing. &quot;No one wants to waste time, neither President Trump nor President Putin,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: EU oil and gas sanctions&nbsp;As part of the new EU measures, the 27-nation bloc brought forward a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia by a year to the start of 2027. It also blacklisted over 100 more tankers from Moscow&#39;s so-called &quot;shadow fleet&quot; of ageing oil vessels and imposed controls on the travel of Russian diplomats suspected of espionage. The package is scheduled to be formally adopted tomorrow, just before Ukraine&#39;s President Volodymyr Zelensky joins EU leaders at a summit in Brussels. Zelensky signed a letter of intent with Sweden earlier on Wednesday to acquire 150 Gripen fighter jets. During the latest Russian strikes, AFP journalists in Kyiv heard the buzzing of Russian drones and explosions throughout the night, and saw a pillar of smoke rising above the capital. &quot;My hands are still shaking,&quot; Kyiv resident Mariana Gorchenko told AFP. &quot;I jumped up, glad that my little one wasn&#39;t in the room where the windows were blown out.&quot; The strikes also damaged a kindergarten in Ukraine&#39;s second-largest city of Kharkiv. Ksenia Kalmykova, whose child was inside the building during the strike, told AFP that she &quot;pushed the emergency services aside and ran over&quot; after arriving at the site. &quot;Someone had cuts, someone had something else. Of course, there were hysterics,&quot; she said of the children&#39;s condition, adding &quot;thank God, everyone is alive and well.&quot;

Americas

Europe

US president says conversations with Vladimir "don't go anywhere," NATO secretary general says "with sustained pressure, we will be able to get Putin to the table to agree with a ceasefire, and then other talks coming after that."


Trump slaps 'tremendous' sanctions on Russian oil for Ukraine war

SAN FRANCISCO: Social media platform Reddit sued the artificial intelligence company Perplexity AI and three other entities on Wednesday, alleging their involvement in an &ldquo;industrial-scale, unlawful&rdquo; economy to &ldquo;scrape&rdquo; the comments of millions of Reddit users for commercial gain. Reddit&#39;s lawsuit in a New York federal court takes aim at San Francisco-based Perplexity, maker of an AI chatbot and &ldquo;answer engine&rdquo; that competes with Google, ChatGPT and others in online search. Also named in the lawsuit are Lithuanian data-scraping company Oxylabs UAB, a web domain called AWMProxy that Reddit describes as a &ldquo;former Russian botnet,&rdquo; and Texas-based startup SerpApi, which lists Perplexity as a customer on its website. It&#39;s the second such lawsuit from Reddit since it sued another major AI company, Anthropic, in June. But the lawsuit filed Wednesday is different in the way that it confronts not just an AI company but the lesser-known services the AI industry relies on to acquire online writings needed to train AI chatbots. &ldquo;Scrapers bypass technological protections to steal data, then sell it to clients hungry for training material. Reddit is a prime target because it&rsquo;s one of the largest and most dynamic collections of human conversation ever created,&rdquo; said Ben Lee, Reddit&rsquo;s chief legal officer, in a statement Wednesday. The lawsuit accuses the companies of unfair competition and unjust enrichment and alleges that some of them violated U.S. copyright laws. Perplexity said it has not yet received the lawsuit but &ldquo;will always fight vigorously for users&rsquo; rights to freely and fairly access public knowledge. Our approach remains principled and responsible as we provide factual answers with accurate AI, and we will not tolerate threats against openness and the public interest.&rdquo; SerpApi&#39;s customer success director, Ryan Schafer, said in an email: &ldquo;We strongly disagree with Reddit&rsquo;s allegations and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in court.&rdquo; Oxylabs said in a statement it was &ldquo;shocked and disappointed&rdquo; and &ldquo;will not hesitate to defend itself against these allegations.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oxylabs&rsquo; position is that no company should claim ownership of public data that does not belong to them,&rdquo; said a statement from Denas Grybauskas, the company&#39;s chief governance and strategy officer. &ldquo;It is possible that it is just an attempt to sell the same public data at an inflated price.&rdquo; AWMProxy could not immediately be reached for comment. Scraping for publicly available online data is a common practice used by businesses and researchers but Reddit compares the companies it is suing to &ldquo;would-be bank robbers&rdquo; who can&#39;t get into the bank vault, so they break into the armored truck instead. The lawsuit alleges they are evading Reddit&rsquo;s own anti-scraping measures while also &rdquo;circumventing Google&rsquo;s controls and scraping Reddit content directly from Google&rsquo;s search engine results.&quot; Lee said that because they&#39;re unable to scrape Reddit directly, &ldquo;they mask their identities, hide their locations, and disguise their web scrapers to steal Reddit content from Google Search. Perplexity is a willing customer of at least one of these scrapers, choosing to buy stolen data rather than enter into a lawful agreement with Reddit itself.&rdquo; Reddit made a similar argument in its lawsuit against Anthropic, alleging that the company ignored Reddit&#39;s appeals to cease using its content. That case was initially filed in California Superior Court but was later moved to federal court and has a hearing scheduled for January. Along with digitized books and news articles, websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit are deep troves of written materials that can help teach an AI assistant the patterns of human language. Reddit has previously entered licensing agreements with Google, OpenAI and other companies that are paying to be able to train their AI systems on the public commentary of Reddit&rsquo;s more than 100 million daily users. The licensing deals helped the 20-year-old online platform raise money ahead of its Wall Street debut as a publicly traded company last year.

Artificial Intelligence

Reddit sued Perplexity AI, Oxylabs, SerpApi, and AWMProxy, accusing them of illegally scraping millions of Reddit comments for AI training data. The lawsuit highlights growing tensions between content platforms and AI firms over data ownership and access

Reddit sues Perplexity for 'industrial-scale' scraping of user comments 

Ibrahim Babakhel

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s ruling party released a music video, &ldquo;Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai,&rdquo; earlier this month, to promote and celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi; instead, it&rsquo;s become one of the most-rejected videos in recent Indian internet history.&nbsp;The track, produced by the heavyweight label T-Series, has garnered an estimated 90 percent dislikes, with approximately 440,222 of these by Wednesday, according to independent tracking tools. On YouTube, where dislike counts are hidden, such a ratio is almost unheard of. Even the notorious YouTube Rewind 2018, the most disliked video and long held as the internet&rsquo;s ultimate cringe event, didn&rsquo;t cross the 90 percent mark.&nbsp;In the video, Bollywood regulars such as Rajkummar Rao, Varun Dhawan, and Arshad Warsi, among others, featured singing along.&nbsp;Percent-wise, the rejection is extremely rare but not unprecedented. In 2020, Mahesh Bhatt&rsquo;s Sadak 2 trailer suffered a similar digital mutiny, with roughly 95% dislikes after calls to boycott &ldquo;nepotism cinema.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;BJP IT-cell head Amit Malviya dismissed screenshots as fake, arguing that dislike counts are hidden. Yet, multiple third-party audit tools confirm the ratio, revealing one of the largest online disapprovals for any state-endorsed media project. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1978875505450586259&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=43b92c7a450fb8983d3be099a4d14e04c98508bd&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Ironically, a parody uploaded just days later: &ldquo;Godi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai&rdquo; by the YouTuber Khota Sikka amassed more likes than the original, turning satire into social commentary. <div class="fr-embed youtube-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d1Jv1Cv3Cv8?si=ImlUCGA_ZOyZhl0u" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe>&nbsp;</div>&nbsp;The episode fits neatly into a decade-long pattern of image-driven politics: hologram rallies, Modi photobooths, seaplane photo-ops, peacock-feeding videos, and the cosmetic &ldquo;city makeovers&rdquo; ahead of global summits. Each spectacle markets Modi as a brand; critics argue that each backlash suggests that brand fatigue has set in.&nbsp;What the BJP framed as a rousing anthem of hope now reads, to many, as a political remix no one asked for. The government&rsquo;s billion-dollar PR machine may still hum, but the audience seems to be reaching for the skip button.

India

India’s ruling BJP’s new promotional music video, “Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai,” has backfired spectacularly, drawing nearly 90% dislikes online. Despite official denials, third-party tools confirm massive public rejection, signaling growing fatigue with Modi’s image politics.

From melody to mockery: Modi’s anthem drowns in dislikes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces killed six militants affiliated with the group known as &ldquo;Fitna-e-Hindustan&rdquo; during a counterterrorism operation in Dalbandin, Balochistan, security sources said on Wednesday.&nbsp;According to the sources, the operation successfully dismantled a militant network believed to be operating with external support. The group, referred to by Islamabad as Fitna-e-Hindustan, linked to India-sponsored militants operating in parts of Balochistan.&nbsp;The intelligence-led operation was part of ongoing efforts by security forces to eliminate terrorist elements and maintain peace and stability in the province, the sources said.&nbsp;The militants were reportedly hiding in a mountain cave in the Dalbandin region. Security personnel kept the location under aerial surveillance before carrying out a precise strike once confirmation of the targets was obtained.&nbsp;&ldquo;All six militants were neutralized in the engagement,&rdquo; a senior security official said, adding that the operation reflected effective coordination and intelligence-sharing among Pakistan&rsquo;s security and intelligence agencies.&nbsp;The official added that counterterrorism operations will continue across Balochistan until &ldquo;the complete elimination of all terrorist elements from the province.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to Pakistan TV Digital estimates, more than 880 militants have been killed in various intelligence-based operations across the country between January and September 2025.&nbsp;Earlier this week, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, while addressing participants of the 17th National Workshop Balochistan at General Headquarters (GHQ), reaffirmed the state&rsquo;s resolve to pursue terrorists &ldquo;until peace is fully restored.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;While Pakistan seeks regional peace and stability, any violation of its territorial integrity, direct or indirect, will be met with a firm and decisive response to safeguard the lives and well-being of our citizens,&rdquo; Field Marshal Munir said.&nbsp;Officials said the latest operation in Dalbandin underscores the security forces&rsquo; determination to maintain internal stability and counter external threats aimed at undermining Pakistan&rsquo;s peace and sovereignty.

Security

Pakistan’s security forces killed six militants linked to Fitna-e-Hindustan during a targeted operation in Balochistan’s Dalbandin area. The operation, described as a major counterterrorism success, comes amid continued efforts to eliminate terrorist networks across the province.