DUBAI: The helicopter crash in which Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed was primarily caused by weather conditions that included thick fog, Iran’s state TV said on Sunday, citing the final investigation report on the incident. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who was seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died when his helicopter crashed in May in a mountainous region near the Azerbaijan border. “The main reason for the helicopter crash was complicated weather conditions in the region,” the final report concluded, according to Iran’s state TV. A thick mass of fog caused…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
BERLIN: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was set to become the first far-right party to win a regional election in Germany since World War Two, based on projections from Sunday, though other parties were expected to block it from gaining power. The AfD was projected to secure 33.1% of the vote in Thuringia, ahead of the conservative party’s 24.3%, according to broadcaster ZDF. In neighbouring Saxony, the conservatives were leading with 31.9%, just slightly ahead of the AfD. The results dealt a blow to Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, with all three of its parties losing votes. The Greens…
JERUSALEM: Israel said it recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where they were apparently killed shortly before its troops reached them, triggering Israeli protests on Sunday and planned strikes over the failure to save them. The Israeli military announced the recovery of the bodies from underground in the southern city of Rafah, as a polio vaccination campaign began in the war-shattered territory and violence flared in the occupied West Bank. The bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel, military spokesperson Rear Admiral…
Former President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his forthcoming book, Save America. Trump claims that Zuckerberg could face life in prison if his company interferes in the 2024 US presidential election. Trump has repeatedly alleged that Zuckerberg played a role in swaying the 2020 election in favour of then-candidate Joe Biden, though he has provided no evidence to support these claims. In the book, which is set to be released on September 3, Trump asserts that Zuckerberg and others who “cheat” in the upcoming election will face severe consequences. An excerpt obtained by Politico…
US President Joe Biden has honoured Pakistani-American Urdu poet and writer Raees Warsi with a lifetime achievement award. New York State Assembly member Jessica Gonzalez presented the accolade on Biden’s behalf, recognising Warsi’s lifelong dedication to promoting Urdu language and literature globally. Raees has spent the past 34 years advocating for the Urdu language, achieving milestones such as organising the first-ever Urdu conference at the United Nations. The conference gained international attention. The heads of Pakistan and India, along with the UN Secretary General, acknowledged Urdu’s significance as a global language. A resolution was also adopted during the event, demanding…
JERUSALEM: Massive protests erupted across Israel on Sunday following the deaths of six hostages in Gaza, as public frustration grew over the government’s inability to secure a ceasefire deal that could ensure the release of more Israeli captives. Approximately 500,000 demonstrators, according to Israeli media estimates, gathered in cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intensify efforts to bring home the remaining 101 hostages, of whom a third are believed to have died, based on Israeli officials’ assessments. In Jerusalem, protesters blocked streets and gathered outside Netanyahu’s residence, while in Tel Aviv, aerial…
SAN FRANCISCO: Generative AI tools will save companies lots of time and money, promises Vik Singh, a Microsoft vice president, even if the models must learn to admit when they just don’t know what to do. “Just to be really frank, the thing that’s really missing today is that a model doesn’t raise its hands and say ‘Hey, I’m not sure, I need help,’” Singh said in an interview. Since last year, Microsoft, Google and their competitors have been rapidly deploying generative AI applications like ChatGPT, which produce all kinds of content on demand and give users the illusion of…
PAKISTAN is a one-sport nation, and has been for the better part of five decades. Given its sheer population, underachievement across all other sports is extremely stark. Hockey languishes outside of the Olympics. The men’s national team, with a decorated legacy, is currently ranked 16th in the world. Arshad Nadeem’s monumental achievement aside, track and field probably had its last competitive moment in the mid-1960s. Boxing and weightlifting are frequent victims of petty organisational politics. Sports journalists point out a number of factors for this multi-decade trough. Highest on the list is the shambolic use of sporting associations and federations as a…
Arne Slot passed his first major examination as Liverpool manager with a statement 3-0 win at Manchester United thanks to Luis Diaz’s double and a Mohamed Salah strike on Sunday. Slot has the unenviable task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp but has made a perfect start with a 100 per cent record from three Premier League games to sit alongside Manchester City at the top of the table. A second consecutive defeat leaves United boss Erik ten Hag already under pressure just three games into the new season. The Dutchman survived an internal review at the end of last season after overseeing…
NEW YORK: Paula Badosa reached the US Open quarter-finals for the first time on Sunday by conquering Wang Yafan as well as New York’s suffocating humidity. The 26th-seeded Spaniard came through 6-1, 6-2 for her best Grand Slam result since she considered quitting the due to a serious back injury. Despite the one-sided scoreline, the first two games on Sunday took 17 minutes to complete while Badosa saved all eight break points she faced. “It was so humid I thought I was going to die,” said the 26-year-old New York-born player of the humidity which hit 85% at noon. “I…
