Bomb Explosion In Peshawar Injures 4

PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb explosion in Peshawar injured at least four people on Sunday, police said.

According to police, the bomb planted close to a bridge near Phandu Chowk area of Peshawar. The attackers wanted to target the vehicle of Salahuddin, the caretaker of a local mosque, said the officials.

The injured were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital.

Police cordoned off the area following the blast and launched its investigation.

Gayle smashes 12-ball fifty to equal world record

MELBOURNE: West Indies batsman Chris Gayle smashed fifty from 12 balls for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League on Monday to match India's Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest half-century in T20 cricket.

Left-hander Yuvraj achieved the feat against England in a group match at the inaugural World T20 in 2007 in South Africa, smashing fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over.

Opening batsman Gayle plundered 21-year-old Adelaide Strikers bowler Greg West, playing his second T20 match, for 27 runs in the first over and hit the last four deliveries for six.

His seventh maximum took Gayle past his half-century as he deposited spinner Travis Head over the long-on boundary.

Head dismissed him five deliveries later for a 17-ball 56 with Gayle caught by wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman from a top edge.

US policies responsible for instability in region, says Sartaj Aziz

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday blamed United States (US) policies for the regional instability and urged the Obama administration to analyse the role of US and its allies in the South Asia.

Winding up the discussion on an adjournment motion moved by Senator Mushahid Hussain about US President Barack Obama's remarks that instability will continue for decades in Pakistan, Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said "Pakistan's answer to instability is the strengthening democracy in the country".

"The US created 'holy warriors' in our tribal areas during 'Afghan Jihad' and then left them as soon as the war was over, a factor which contributed to decades of instability in Pakistan and the region," asserted Aziz.

Talking about any external threats to the country's stability, Aziz added that since 2013, Pakistan is pursuing a policy of non-interference and is not taking part in other nations' wars.

The foreign affairs adviser said, "We have decided that we are not going to indulge in fighting other countries' wars now, and this policy is being pursued vigorously by the government."

"Pakistan has also taken a strong stance against terrorism, operation Zarb-i-Azb in tribal areas and operation against criminals in Karachi has helped improve the internal security situation of the country," he added.

In his last State of the Union address, US President Obama had warned: “Instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world – in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of central America, Africa and Asia.”

Obama also identified a link between militancy and instability and warned that some unstable regions might become safe havens for terrorists.

“Instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world – in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of Central America, Africa and Asia,” he had said.

Aziz had reacted to the statement the very next day and termed Obama's predictions 'away from ground realities.

Sunni mosques firebombed in Iraq after IS-claimed blasts

BAGHDAD: At least seven Sunni mosques and dozens of shops in eastern Iraq were firebombed on Tuesday, security sources and local officials said, a day after 23 people were killed there in two blasts claimed by Islamic State.

Ten people were also shot and killed in Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of Baghdad, security and hospital sources said.

At least two Sunni mosques south of Baghdad were attacked last week after a Shia cleric was executed in Saudi Arabia, triggering angry reactions in Iraq and neighboring Iran.

At the height of Iraq's civil war nearly a decade ago, such mosque attacks often unleashed revenge killings and counter attacks across the country.

Officials tried on Tuesday to head off further violence, condemning the mosque attacks as well as Monday's bombings which Islamic State said had targeted Shias.

Abdul Lateef al-Himayim, head of Iraq's government body overseeing religious sites, called them "a desperate attempt to destroy Iraqi unity", while the United Nations warned in a statement the mosque bombings could "take the country back into the dark days of sectarian strife".

Haqqi al-Jabouri, a member of the local council in Diyala province where Muqdadiya is located, said both types of attacks hurt the social fabric of the community. He blamed "undisciplined (Shia) militias" for burning the mosques.

Shia militias were crucial in keeping Islamic State from overrunning Baghdad and southern shrines during their lightning advance across the Syrian border in 2014, and have supported Iraqi forces pushing back the militants, including from parts of Diyala.

Militia elements have been accused of human rights abuses against Sunnis, allegations the groups have repeatedly denied or blamed on rogue members.

Amal Omran, a member of the Diyala council, blamed the mosque attacks on "infiltrators" seeking to smear the image of the militias.

Witnesses said some of the those killed on Tuesday had been shot inside their homes or dragged into the street and executed by gunmen wearing black and camouflage uniforms.

Police sources and local residents said the gunmen were patrolling Muqdadiya and warning families through loudspeakers to leave the city or face death.

Reuters could not verify these accounts.

The rise of the militant group Islamic State has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in the country, mostly between the Shia majority and minority Sunnis.

A surge in such violence could undermine efforts by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to dislodge the militants from large swaths of the north and west that they seized in 2014.

"It's worse than hell. I hid my two sons under a pile of clothes inside a wardrobe to avoid being discovered," said Um Ibrahim, a widow who fled to nearby Khanaqin after seeing two mosques engulfed by black smoke.

The attacks occurred in the central districts of Mualimeen, Asri and Orouba, the security sources said.

Two Iraqi journalists were also killed on Tuesday outside Baquba, Diyala's provincial capital 65 km northeast of Baghdad, according to police, a security official and their network Sharqiya TV.

They said the men had been turned back from a checkpoint near Muqdadiya run by a Shia militia. On their way back to Baquba, gunmen sprayed their vehicle with automatic gunfire.

Earlier in the day, a suicide bomber attacked a police convoy near Baquba, critically wounding a senior police officer and killing three other members of the security forces, police said.

Brigadier Qasim al-Anbuki, the local head of police intelligence, was leading a force to check tips about a suspected car bomb parked on a highway linking Baghdad to Baquba.

After reaching the site, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle near the officer's convoy, police sources said. Four others were also wounded, they added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Abadi condemned a separate attack on Monday at a mall in a predominately Shia district of Baghdad that killed 18 people. He called it "a desperate attempt by terrorist gangs after our forces' victories in Ramadi and other areas".

The Iraqi government last month claimed victory against Islamic State in the western city of Ramadi, and has slowly pushed them back in other areas.

Youtube turns local for Pakistan

KARACHI: World's largest video-sharing website. Youtube, on Tuesday announced that it has launched localised versions of the site in Pakistan.

According to a media release issued by Youtube's parent firm Google, visitors to YouTube from Pakistan will see their country-specific YouTube site by default. For instance, users from Pakistan will now see the YouTube Pakistan site in Urdu when they visit the YouTube homepage, with playlists of trending and recommended videos popular in Pakistan

"Now, users visiting the YouTube homepage from those countries will be able to see videos and playlists that are popular in their countries in their local languages and domains," read the media release.

The countries getting their local version along with Pakistan include Sri Lanka and Nepal.

“We aim to provide an even more tailored YouTube experience by launching versions that are optimised for Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. We also hope that this will pave the way for the work of local creators, personalities, and musicians to shine on the world’s largest and most vibrant video community,” said the Google spokesperson.

Fresh hopes of lifting ban:

The announcement gave fresh hopes to free speech campaigners and internet users who wanted the ban on the world's popular online video community to be lifted.

The media release also said that Youtube will continue to track government requests to remove content and will include the same in its Transparency Report.

The video-sharing website has been blocked in Pakistan since September 2012 over its failure to take down the blasphemous “Innocence of Muslims” movie that sparked furious protests around the world.

The Supreme Court ruled at the time that the site should be banned until a way was found to block all blasphemous content.

In February last year, a government official told media that the site will remain blocked 'indefinitely' in Pakistan as experts have failed to find a way to filter content deemed offensive and blasphemous.

Masked men attack Saudi intelligence compound with firebombs

DUBAI: Masked men threw firebombs at an intelligence service compound in the city of Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, activists said on Monday, in an apparent reprisal for the execution of a prominent Shia cleric earlier this month.

A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesperson said “there was a failed terrorist attempt to burn the building with Molotov cocktails” and that one of the assailants was captured.

Video footage posted on social media and dated January 9 showed several masked young men moving under cover of darkness and lobbing firebombs over the protective outer wall of a building compound.

Most of the firebombs were seen exploding on the ground inside, setting a nearby tree on fire.

The authenticity of the footage could not immediately be confirmed.

It was not initially clear who was behind the attack.

But the recording contained a footnote indicating that it was carried out by Shia youth seeking to avenge the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a vocal critic of the kingdom’s Sunni Muslim monarchy.

Nimr was among 47 prisoners put to death on January 2, most of them convicted militants.

A Saudi court convicted him in May 2014 of sedition, rioting, protesting and robbery in Qatif district, home to many of the kingdom’s minority Shias.

His arrest in July 2012, during which he was shot in the leg, prompted protests in which three people died.

Nimr’s execution angered Shias across the Middle East.

After protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, the kingdom cut diplomatic relations with Iran.

Shia activists in eastern Saudi Arabia sought to distance themselves from the Qatif attack, saying it could discredit peaceful protests that had been taking place in the area since Nimr’s execution.

Last Tuesday, four armed men set a bus carrying workers in Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing Eastern Province on fire.

State oil company Saudi Aramco said none of its employees had been injured but gave no further details.

Gervais provokes Hollywood in return to Golden Globes

LOS ANGELES: Ricky Gervais again proved his penchant for provocation on Sunday as he returned as host of the Golden Globe Awards, ribbing Hollywood's A-listers with at times uncomfortable jokes.

The sharp-tongued British comic — the host of the awards from 2010-2012 before being replaced by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler — appeared to relish his bad boy reputation as he took the stage at the Beverly Hilton.

“Shut up, you disgusting, pill-popping deviant scum!” he said by way of greeting the crowd.

“One Hollywood publication said that me hosting would mean that some film stars would stay away for fear of being made fun of. As if film stars would stay away from the chance of winning a Golden Globe — particularly if their film company has already paid for it,” he said, alluding to longstanding criticism on the process for selecting the winners.

Gervais poked fun at Olympic decathlon champion turned Hollywood celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, a pioneer for transgender rights by speaking publicly about her gender change but who was also involved in a deadly car crash last year.

“What a year she's had. She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes.

“She didn't do a lot for women drivers, but you can't have everything, can you?” Gervais said to applause.

Gervais got noticeably less laughter when he joked about French-Polish director Roman Polanski, who stays away from the United States to avoid prosecution for the 1977 statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Referring to “Spotlight,” a nominated movie about The Boston Globe's investigation into child abuse by Catholic priests, Gervais quipped: “Roman Polanski called it the best date movie ever.”

A political punch

The Briton also took aim at the presidential race in the United States with a jab at Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised immigrants.

Introducing two Hispanic stars to present an award, Gervais said: “Eva Longoria and America Ferrera aren't just beautiful, talented actresses. They are also two people who your future president, Donald Trump, can't wait to deport. “

Gervais also did not shy away from jokes about Hollywood celebrities' private lives.

He welcomed to the stage Matt Damon as “the only person Ben Affleck hasn't been unfaithful to,” in a reference to the high-profile personal relationships of Damon's friend and sometime collaborator.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association had itself said in 2011 that Gervais caused “anger and resentment” with his one-liners, explaining the mixed reaction to inviting him to return.

New showdown with Mel Gibson

But Gervais — himself a Golden Globe winner in 2004 for “The Office” — also found at least one butt of his humor capable of making a quick comeback.

The comedian introduced actor-director Mel Gibson, who earned notoriety over incidents in which he drunkenly used anti-Semitic and other racist language.

Gervais gleefully mocked Gibson at the 2010 Golden Globes and quipped Sunday: “Mel's forgotten all about it, apparently. That's what drinking does. I want to say something nice about Mel before he comes out.”

“Okay, here you go — I'd rather have a drink with him in his hotel room tonight than Bill Cosby,” said Gervais, referring to the veteran entertainer who has become a pariah after more than 50 women accused him of drugging and sexually abusing them.

Gervais, drinking beer throughout the Golden Globes, theatrically whisked his pint glass away as Gibson approached the podium.

But Gibson, at least outwardly, took the barbs in stride.

“I love seeing Ricky once every three years because it reminds me to get a colonoscopy,” he said. Immediate reviews for Gervais were not favorable, with some critics saying the host's joy in offending guests had become formulaic.

“However much the producers and (broadcasters) NBC relish the publicity that Gervais generates — and apparently, they don't know how to quit him — it's time they put more effort into shaping the broader ceremony,” wrote Brian Lowry, a critic for entertainment magazine Variety.

India declines visa to seven Pakistani pilgrims

NEW DELHI: India on Monday rejected visa applications of at least 75 Pakistani pilgrims wanting to visit a shrine near Agra on "procedural grounds", NDTV reported.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Dehli said the group, which had wished to visit the Hafiz Abdullah Shah shrine near Agra, was denied entry into India between January 11 and 18.

"The decision to deny visa was inconsistent with the vision of leadership of both the countries and against the principles of Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, 1974, between the two countries," officials in the Pakistani mission said.

However, Indian officials said that under the protocol, an organising committee or local authorities were only required "to extend logistical support" to the visa applicants.

Moreover, in this case, no organising committee or local authorities were ready to extend support to the group, officials said.

Earlier in October, spokesman for the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad said there was "no delay" in issuing visas to Pakistani citizens and their activities were continuing as per routine.

This is not the first time Pakistani citizens have been denied visa for entry into the neighbouring country.

In June 2015, Pakistan's under-17 wrestling team's hopes of competing in the annual Cadet Asian Wrestling Championship were dashed after the Indian High Commission denied them visas for the event.

In December 2015, the Pakistan volleyball team could not participate in the AVC Continental Cup Beach Volleyball Championship Central Zone, scheduled to be held in Kerala, India, from Dec 18 to 20, after it failed to get Indian visa.

Spectre-(2015) 720p DVDscr x264 [Dual Audio] [Hindi + English]

Summary:

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

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language : Hindi [Cam Cleaned]
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How Ahsan Khan and social media helped this homeless Pakistani find hope

Yesterday a video began circulating that featured a very articulate older man telling actor Ahsan Khan his life story.
But this wasn't a segment on a TV show. Khan was out in about in Karachi when he spotted the man on the streets. He was homeless and destitute and had a sad story to tell, which Khan recorded on camera and proceeded to share on Facebook.

"I found him asking for help in a market in Phase 2 in Defence," says Khan to Images. "He said he's an educated guy from Lahore and his family deserted him. I wanted to help him."

The man in the video says: "I just need a job... anything in the office except for the computer, I don't know anything about computers! But.. an office assistant? Going to and fro, photocopies, telephone... anything like that."

He goes on to say that he lost his family in a car accident, after which he was deprived of his life savings.

"I feel that a lot of actors use social media to publicise themselves or bash political parties," says Ahsan Khan. "But I feel social media also has a huge positive side. We should do something for humanity."

Soon after the video went viral messages poured in from people who wanted to help the man by offering him work. "I am ready to offer him respectable employment so he feels dignified," said one commentator on social media. "Somebody please give him a job! He'd be excellent as a call operator," said another.

Khan reveals that several people reached out to the actor offering to help the homeless man. "I feel that a lot of actors use social media to publicise themselves or bash the political parties," he continues. "But I feel social media also has a huge positive side. We should do something for humanity."

It was IT solutions company Amtech Systems that gave the man an offer of employment and "warm accommodation."

And Ahsan Khan, in a follow-up Facebook post, couldn't believe his impromptu video helped turned this extraordinary man's life around:

UAE court jails Indian 5 years for 'spying': report

ABU DHABI: A top United Arab Emirates (UAE) court on Sunday sentenced an Indian citizen to five years in prison after he was convicted of spying for his home country, a newspaper reported.

The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi convicted the man, identified as Manar Abbas, of “spying for the Indian intelligence services,” Gulf News reported on its website.

“Abbas was found guilty of passing on sensitive information about movement of military vessels at Abu Dhabi ports to officers at the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi,” the daily said, citing the charge sheet.

It gave no further details and the Indian embassy could not be immediately reached for comment. Abbas will be deported after serving his sentence.

In 2014, the UAE announced the arrest of an Asian resident suspected of spying for a foreign country by providing sensitive military information deemed threatening to the Gulf nation.

But neither the man's identity nor the country for which he was allegedly working were named at the time.

The suspect had allegedly been “exploiting his job at one of the country's ports and was seeking to illegally obtain military information considered among the national security secrets” of the UAE, prosecutors then said.

In September 2013, an Emirati court jailed a Pakistani man for three years for spying for an unnamed foreign country.

And in January that year, an Emirati married to an Iranian woman was sentenced to seven years for spying. The UAE is home to millions of foreign workers, mostly from South Asian countries.

A Guide To Using Pinterest for Ecommerce Marketing

Every social networking website provides businesses an opportunity to get closer to their customers, boost engagement and increase sales. But specifically for e-commerce businesses and websites, Pinterest is by far the most effective social network.

If you’ve been ignoring Pinterest until now, here are a few stats to get you thinking.

• Pinterest has more than 75 million registered users.
• It ranks third, after Facebook and Twitter, in terms of generating daily referral traffic.
• Almost 80% of its users are women.
• Buyers referred from Pinterest are 10% more likely to buy your products.
• Buyers are increasingly using Pinterest to find relevant products.

In short, Pinterest can play a huge role in your social commerce strategy. Not only can it send you thousands of qualified sales leads, it can also help you build a strong brand image.

Here’s how you can use Pinterest to strengthen your e-commerce marketing strategy.

Understand the Platform First

Although it has great e-commerce potential, Pinterest is still primarily a social network. So to find success, you need to reach out to your potential customers and people who might be interested in your products. The primary benefits you can get out of Pinterest are:

• Engaging with your target audience and potential customers.
• Increase visibility of your products.
• Use the Pinterest audience to build your e-commerce business.
• Get direct feedback from customers on products.
• Improve your referral traffic.

Don’t expect direct sales though. Pinterest will work as an advocate for your products and send you referral traffic. But you cannot make direct sales on it.

Encourage Pinning on Your Website

Before promoting your products on Pinterest, create a strong case for it on your ecommerce website. This includes adding the “Pin” button on all your product pages and encouraging your website visitors to follow you on Pinterest. You can use social media sharing widgets like AddThis or DiggDigg to add the relevant social sharing buttons. You can also route members to your Pinterest page by announcing different competitions and special offers for Pinterest users on your website.

Create a Pinterest Business Page

If you’re serious about using Pinterest to market your products then instead of using a Pinterest personal profile, create a Pinterest Business page. Pinterest Business profiles are specially designed for organizations who wish to engage with their customers. To get a verified Pinterest Business page, you just need to confirm your website address. This will add further credibility to your profile and also make you eligible for additional features that individual profiles don’t have.

Enable Rich Pins Greater For Engagement

Research indicates that Pins that include a price tag attract 30% more Likes on Pinterest. There are two ways of adding a price tag to your Pins. You can either add the price in the product description or you could enable Rich Pins. Similar to Twitter cards, Rich Pins is a great feature for e-commerce websites. It automatically picks up the price and stock details from your product page and displays it with your Pinterest posts.

Attract and Engage Your Followers

To be successful on any social network, you need to attract followers and then keep them engaged. To attract followers on Pinterest, shortlist other more active Pinterest accounts that are pinning about similar products. Proactively engage with the followers of those accounts by responding to their comments and answering any questions that they have left on different images. Also, whenever someone RePins or Likes your images, send them a thank you message. These small things gradually increase your followers. You can also run special contests on Pinterest and ask your website visitors to participate.

Curate Content Intelligently

For a successful Pinterest strategy, you need to be an active content curator. Don’t just share your own product pictures. Rather, Pin images from other users with similar interests. But you need to do this intelligently. Instead of pinning images from your competitors, pin images of products or things that complement your products. For example, if you’re selling sports equipment, apparel and gear, you can pin pictures of different sports personalities, or international matches being played in different countries.

Pinning images from other users adds more variety to your Pinterest profile and also helps you create new relationships, which is crucial on any social network.

Organize Your Boards and Pins

To make it easy for your followers to explore different products, organize your images in different boards. Again, instead of focusing only on your products, create a combination of original and curated boards. Create separate boards for every product category and add pictures from your website. Then create boards containing pictures that show different usages of your products in real life. Or you can create boards that contain different statistics and facts about your products. The possibilities are endless. Just make sure your profile is well organized and easy to explore.

Use High Quality and Large Images

Pinterest is a visual social network. People click only on high quality images. Make sure all your product images and Pins are of the highest quality. Research also shows that taller and larger images get much more engagement as compared to smaller images. In general, images that are 738 pixels wide and 1128 pixels high appear the best.

Add Clear Calls To Action

Research shows that Pins that have clear calls to action in their description or image content, drive almost 80% more engagement. Since your primary objective with Pinterest is to drive traffic to your e-commerce website, you should always include clear calls to action in the image description. A call to action is a sign or statement asking the user to take a specific action. For example, “Click Here”, Download Now”, “Register Now” etc. To make it more compelling, use questions or statements that require a response from the user. Combine this with different calls to action to get the most out of your Pins.

Use Pinterest for SEO

Over time, Pinterest has proved to be a great source of referral traffic for websites because of its SEO strength. To get the maximum benefit from it, use descriptive names for your images and add descriptions with every Pin, along with the product URLs. Use the keywords that best describe your products. But avoid keyword stuffing. Using too many keywords can put people off, and reduce the engagement on your Pins. Create natural descriptions and image names with keywords where necessary.

Monitor Performance With Analytics

To monitor your progress on Pinterest and see which posts are getting the highest exposure, you can use the built-in Pinterest analytics. These statistics are only available to Pinterest Business users, so you’ll need to sign up for a business page. Analytics will show you the Pins with the highest reach, exposure, comments and likes. Plus, you’ll also get details about the demographic and geographic details of your followers.

Conclusion

Pinterest is more effective in boosting e-commerce sales because it’s based primarily on visuals. By creating a strong Pinterest presence, you can brand your business very effectively and route thousands of visitors from Pinterest to your e-commerce store. If used the right way, it can be an effective social commerce tool.

Pakistan's Political Parties Must Hammer Out Rifts On CPEC: China

ISLAMABAD: China on Saturday said that relevant political parties in Pakistan must develop a consensus, forge unity and fix their differences, strengthen communication and coordination on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to create favourable conditions for the corridor.

A spokesman of the Chinese Embassy here in a statement said on Saturday: “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the consensus reached between China and Pakistan, and has won popular support from the two peoples. The CPEC faces Pakistan as a whole, and will bring development and benefits to the people of Pakistan.

“We hope that relevant parties could strengthen communication and coordination, solve differences properly, so as to create favourable conditions for the CPEC. We are ready to work with Pakistani side to actively promote construction of the CPEC projects, and bring tangible benefits to the peoples of the two countries.”

Saudi Defence Minister Arrives In Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The Deputy Crown Prince and Minister for Defence of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud, arrived in Islamabad on Sunday on a day-long official visit.

Minister of Defence Khwaja Muhammad Asif, Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and other officials received the guest on his arrival at Nur Khan Base here in the federal capital.

The Deputy Crown Prince is scheduled to meet with to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan's top military leadership during his visit.

The Saudi defence minister will also hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart over the prevailing situation in the Middle East and the Saudi-led 34-nation military coalition to combat terrorism.

The Saudi defence minister's visit follows a two-day visit by the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir to Pakistan last week.

Sources say the Saudi minister will also discuss Pakistan's inclusion and its role in a Saudi-led 34-country coalition against terrorism.

The key visit comes amid escalation in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, after Iranian protestors ransacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Iran.

Diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran – Pakistan's neighbour to the west – deteriorated as Iranian protestors reacted with fury to Riyadh's execution of prominent cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Pakistan has expressed concern over ongoing tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the Foreign Office condemning the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

APC On China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Underway

ISLAMABAD: Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal was chairing an All Parties Conference (APC) on Sunday to address reservations on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and develop political consensus on the multi-billion-dollar economic project.

The APC was being attended by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak, Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, PPP senior leader Farhatullah Babar, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaqat Baloch, PML-N leader Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Deputy Chairman Senate and JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, JUI-F’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Ahmed, and others.

Leaders of religious and political parties were expressing their views on the CPEC project.

In a separate but related development on Saturday, China urged Pakistani political parties to develop consensus and fix their differences to create favourable conditions for the economic corridor project.

"China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the consensus reached between China and Pakistan, and has won popular support from the two peoples. The CPEC faces Pakistan as a whole, and will bring development and benefits to the people of Pakistan," a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy said in a statement here on Saturday.

"We hope that relevant parties could strengthen communication and coordination, solve differences properly, so as to create favourable conditions for the CPEC. We are ready to work with Pakistani side to actively promote construction of the CPEC projects, and bring tangible benefits to the peoples of the two countries."

CES 2016: The final word

When CES first began, some 48 years ago now, it was much easier to surprise people.

Back then, without the endless stream of blogs and social media, major stories that defined our technological future made their glorious debuts here. Like the VCR, for instance - first shown at CES way back in 1970. Who could have foreseen the impact that piece of technology would have on the world?

And 11 years later, the CD was shown here before anywhere else.

These days, you rarely see entirely new things at CES. And so the show's purpose has changed somewhat - shifting into an event that is as much about spotting momentum rather than new products.

But perhaps somewhere in the vast halls of the Las Vegas Convention Centre we've seen this year's VCR - a technology that will have impact well beyond what we can predict.

Attendees - some 170,000 of them - are now heading home. And there seems to be a general consensus that CES 2016 signalled a transition year, but not a revolutionary one. The big ideas - like virtual reality, reinventing the car, or home robotics - were promising but still half-baked, a bun in the metaphorical (smart) oven.

"We're in an in-between phase, where categories like drones, virtual reality, and wearables are growing and advancing, but still have a long way to go," wrote Rachel Metz from MIT Tech Review.

The New York Times' Farhad Manjoo described CES 2016 as an "awkward adolescence" for emerging technologies.

And that's absolutely right. VR has yet to go mainstream. Drones are out there, but set to be locked in regulatory hassle for the next year at least. And wearables? Well, let's just say too many companies are still thinking about function before fashion.

CES 2016 was like it is every year: Big, overwhelming, full of terrible ideas, wasted money and overhyped nonsense.

Gone are the days where you find the "next big thing" at CES. But if the technology business is alive and well, CES is still very much its pulse.

Project Almanac (2015) 720p BRRip x264 [Dual-Audio][English DD 5.1 + Hindi DD 5.1]

Summary:
As a group of friends discover plans for a time machine, they build it and use it to fix their problems and personal gain. But as the future falls apart with disasters, and each of them disappear little by little, they must travel back to the past to make sure they never invent the machine or face the destruction of humanity.

Description:
Ratings: 6.4/10

GENRE: Sci-Fi, Thriller 


General
Unique ID : 180080634484791719556392496599350905358 (0x877A44C551B3E4D398497065436C0A0E)
Complete name : Project Almanac (2015) 720p BRRip x264 [Dual-Audio][English DD 5.1 + Hindi DD 5.1] - 
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 1.04 GiB
Duration : 1h 46mn
Overall bit rate : 1 399 Kbps
Movie name : Project Almanac (2015) 720p BRRip x264 [Dual-Audio][English DD 5.1 + Hindi DD 5.1] - 
Encoded date : UTC 2015-09-16 18:07:12
Writing application : mkvmerge v8.3.0 ('Over the Horizon') 32bit
Writing library : libebml v1.3.1 + libmatroska v1.4.2

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 46mn
Bit rate : 950 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 536 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.058
Stream size : 701 MiB (66%)
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 46mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 224 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 1s 700ms
Stream size : 170 MiB (16%)
Language : Hindi
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 46mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 224 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 170 MiB (16%)
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No