Naila Shuja

After years in the newsroom and in front of the camera, reading stories shaped by misinformation and disinformation, a visible shift is now emerging. International headlines are changing, the false narratives have finally hit a wall. The truth is no longer hiding &mdash; it has been brought into the open. Global media has often falsely framed Pakistan as the primary source of terrorism despite its history of counter-terrorism efforts. However, the reality on the ground is increasingly making it difficult for the international community to ignore Pakistan&#39;s actual role and the complexities of the security landscape, be it regional or international. As hard facts, data and on-ground evidence come to the fore, these long-standing narratives are now facing major challenges. Two decades, 80,000 lives and roughly $150 billion in economic loss - that is the price Pakistan has paid. Before delving further into details, one needs to understand one thing &ndash; the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been designated as Fitna-Al-Khawarij, instigates, facilitates and perpetrates terrorism in Pakistan from Afghan soil. From suicide blasts to cross-border attacks, this group is behind these heinous crimes, which target Pakistan&#39;s sovereignty and weaken its security. Since 2022, Pakistan has conducted eight major operations to combat and counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Among them are Raad-ul-Fasaad and Azm-e-Istehkam, which were undertaken to eliminate terrorist sleeper cells in the urban areas and counter the resurgence of militancy after Afghan Taliban came into power in 2021. In 2009, the National Counter Terrorism Authority was established to ensure coordination between various state institutions on intelligence sharing and policy. After the horrific APS Peshawar attack in 2014, the consensual 20-point national action plan was devised. With laws and regulations being passed to stop terror financing, Pakistan gradually gained the upper hand in tackling the menace of terrorism. With religious scholars signing the Paigham-e-Pakistan in 2018, this all-inclusive decree declared suicide bombings and domestic insurgency &lsquo;un-Islamic&rsquo;, which challenged extremist ideology. While being targeted by foreign disinformation campaigns, reports from the EU DisinfoLab exposed the huge network of these fake media outlets &ndash; all backed and sponsored by India and its agencies. Following the regional shift in 2021, the Afghan Taliban interim regime, despite their international commitments, consistently and persistently allowed Afghan soil to be used by various terrorist organizations, such as the TTP, to carry out their attacks. The support they provided to these terror outfits should have actually been directed towards the Afghan people, especially women and children. That being said, the new nexus of the India-Afghan Taliban- Fitna-Al-Khawarij has not pushed Pakistan on the back foot, but instead made the country resilient and its security forces more determined and prepared. With global media now looking closely towards Pakistan&#39;s fight against terrorism, India&rsquo;s credibility has suffered dramatically &ndash; in fact it has gone down the drain. India should therefore serve as an example for those relying on fake news. Sensational news, which India spread without any context, defied journalistic ethics and values, and only ended up tarnishing its image.&nbsp;With facts, data, and real-time evidence readily available, false narratives are no longer finding space in international discourse. This is why Pakistan stands resolute and sound as foreign accusations disintegrate from their seams. Disinformation campaigns proved false as seen during the mass shooting in Sydney&rsquo;s Bondi Beach, when major media outlets linked the shooters to Pakistan without any verification. This rush of judgment without verifying facts proves and highlights the systematic biases that Pakistan and its people face and fight on a daily basis. Naila Shuja is a news presenter at Pakistan TV Satellite.

SAT News Desk

Global narratives falsely branding Pakistan as terrorism’s source are collapsing as evidence highlights its sacrifices, counterterrorism operations, and resilience. Disinformation campaigns, especially India-backed, face exposure, while Pakistan’s role, losses, and efforts gain overdue international recognition.

Counter-terrorism, misplaced global assumptions and outdated narratives

MUMBAI: French President Emmanuel Macron begins a three-day visit to India on Tuesday, with talks focused on artificial intelligence cooperation and a potential multibillion-dollar Dassault Rafale fighter jet deal. France is seeking to expand its military partnership with New Delhi, with discussions expected on a contract for 114 additional French fighter jets. Macron and his wife Brigitte arrived around midnight on Monday in Mumbai, India&#39;s financial capital, for his fourth visit to India since taking office in 2017. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Tuesday. Macron will then travel to New Delhi for an artificial intelligence summit on Wednesday and Thursday. The visit follows New Delhi&#39;s confirmation last week that it intends to place a major order for Rafale jets, as well as the signing of a landmark free trade agreement between India and the European Union in January. New Delhi has sought over the past decade to reduce its dependence on Russia, its traditional main supplier of military equipment, turning to other countries while also pushing for more domestic production. An Indian defense ministry statement last week said the proposed purchase of Rafale jets had been cleared, with &quot;the majority&quot; of them to be manufactured in India. The statement did not specify the exact number of jets New Delhi would purchase, but a New Delhi defense ministry source said that 114 was likely. Christophe Jaffrelot, an India specialist at Sciences Po Center for International Studies in Paris, described the potential &euro;30 billion ($35 billion) deal for 114 Rafales as the &quot;contract of the century&quot; and an achievement for bilateral ties. If finalized, the jets would add to the 36 Rafales India purchased for its air force in 2016 and the 26 it has ordered for its navy. Negotiations over the additional aircraft still need to be concluded with manufacturer Dassault Aviation, but the French presidency has voiced optimism that an agreement could be reached. &#39;Good chemistry&#39;&nbsp;Modi and Macron will also inaugurate on Tuesday India&#39;s first helicopter final assembly line via videoconference from Mumbai, a joint venture between India&#39;s Tata Group and Airbus. The facility in Vemagal, in the southern state of Karnataka near the tech hub of Bengaluru, will manufacture the Airbus H125, the company&#39;s best-selling single-engine helicopter. France has emerged as one of India&#39;s defense and economic partners in the last decade. &quot;Through this visit, we seek to further strengthen cooperation&quot; with India, Macron&#39;s office said. This week&#39;s talks are also expected to address global economic uncertainty triggered by <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/china-says-canada-deal-not-aimed-at-us-after-tariff-threat" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">tariff policies under US President Donald Trump</a>, as well as China&#39;s influence in the region. Modi&rsquo;s office said discussions would focus on &quot;cementing the strategic partnership and further diversifying it into new and emerging areas.&quot; Bilateral trade between France and India, driven largely by defense and aerospace &mdash; India&#39;s commercial fleet includes a substantial number of Airbus aircraft &mdash; stands at around &euro;15 billion ($18 billion) annually. French foreign direct investment in India totals nearly &euro;13 billion ($15 billion). &quot;There is apparently a good chemistry, a good personal rapport,&quot; Jaffrelot said. One sensitive issue remains Ukraine: India has not condemned Russia&#39;s 2022 invasion and has <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/russia-says-india-has-not-said-it-will-halt-oil-purchases" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">continued buying oil from Moscow</a>. US President Donald Trump has said India had committed to halting the purchases, though that has not been formally confirmed by New Delhi. &quot;If the Indians stop buying Russian oil, they won&#39;t be blamed for abstaining at the UN,&quot; Jaffrelot added.

India

The visit comes days after New Delhi confirmed its intention to place a major order for Rafale fighter jets, alongside the signing of a landmark free trade agreement between India and the European Union in January, as France moves to deepen and expand its military partnership with India.

France's Macron eyes fighter jet deal in India

NEW DELHI: India has tightened rules governing the use of artificial intelligence on social media to combat a flood of disinformation, but also prompting warnings of censorship and an erosion of digital freedoms. The new regulations are set to take effect on February 20 &mdash; the final day of an international AI summit in New Delhi featuring leading global tech figures &mdash; and will sharply reduce the time platforms have to remove content deemed problematic. With more than a billion internet users, India is grappling with AI-generated disinformation swamping social media. Companies such as Instagram, Facebook and X will have three hours, down from 36, to comply with government takedown orders, in a bid to stop damaging posts from spreading rapidly. Stricter regulation in the world&#39;s most populous country ups the pressure on social media giants facing growing public anxiety and regulatory scrutiny globally over the misuse of AI, including the spread of misinformation and sexualized imagery of children. But rights groups say tougher oversight of AI if applied too broadly risks eroding freedom of speech. India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already faced accusations from rights groups of curbs on freedom of expression targeting activists and opponents, which his government denies. The country has also slipped in global press freedom rankings during his tenure. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a digital‑rights group, said the compressed timeframe of the social media take-down notices would force platforms to become &quot;rapid-fire censors.&quot; &#39;Automated censorship&#39; Last year, India&#39;s government launched an online portal called Sahyog &mdash;- meaning &quot;cooperate&quot; in Hindi &mdash; to automate the process of sending takedown notices to platforms including X and Facebook. The latest rules have been expanded to apply to content &quot; created, generated, modified or altered through any computer resource&quot; except material changed during routine or good‑faith editing. Platforms must now clearly and permanently label synthetic or AI‑manipulated media with markings that cannot be removed or suppressed. Under the new rules, problematic content could disappear almost immediately after a government notification. The timelines are &quot;so tight that meaningful human review becomes structurally impossible at scale,&rdquo; said IFF chief Apar Gupta. The system, he added, shifts control &quot;decisively away from users,&quot; with &quot;grievance processes and appeals operate on slower clocks,&quot; Gupta added. Most internet users were not informed of authorities&#39; orders to delete their content. &quot;It is automated censorship,&quot; digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa told AFP. The rules also require platforms to deploy automated tools to prevent the spread of illegal content, including forged documents and abusive material. &quot;Unique identifiers are un-enforceable,&quot; Pahwa added. &quot;It&#39;s impossible to do for infinite synthetic content being generated.&quot; Gupta likewise questioned the effectiveness of labels. &quot;Metadata is routinely stripped when content is edited, compressed, screen-recorded, or cross-posted,&quot; he said. &quot;Detection is error-prone.&quot; &#39;Online hate&#39; The US-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), in a report with the IFF, warned the laws &quot;may encourage proactive monitoring of content which may lead to collateral censorship,&quot; with platforms likely to err on the side of caution. The regulations define synthetic data as information that &quot;appears to be real&quot; or is &quot;likely to be perceived as indistinguishable from a natural person or real-world event.&quot; Gupta said the changes shift responsibility &quot;upstream&quot; from users to the platforms themselves. &quot;Users must declare if content is synthetic, and platforms must verify and label before publication,&quot; said Gupta. But he warned that the parameters for takedown are broad and open to interpretation. &quot;Satire, parody, and political commentary using realistic synthetic media can get swept in, especially under risk-averse enforcement,&quot; Gupta said. At the same time, widespread access to AI tools has &quot;enabled a new wave of online hate &quot;facilitated by photorealistic images, videos, and caricatures that reinforce and reproduce harmful stereotypes,&quot; the CSOH report added. In the most recent headline-grabbing case, Elon Musk&#39;s AI chatbot Grok sparked outrage in January when it was used to make millions of sexualized images of women and children, by allowing users to alter online images of real people. &quot;The government had to act because platforms are not behaving responsibly,&quot; Pahwa said. &quot;But the rules are without thought.&quot;

Stricter regulation in the world's most populous country ups the pressure on social media giants facing growing public anxiety and regulatory scrutiny globally over the misuse of AI, including the spread of misinformation and imagery of children.

India's tougher AI social media rules spark censorship fears

Pakistan TV Satellite

VIENNA: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stole the show in Vienna with his fluent German, winning the hearts of Austrians and setting an upbeat tone for Pakistan&rsquo;s renewed diplomatic outreach in Europe. His confident address in the local language drew applause from delegates and business leaders alike, marking a memorable moment during his official visit to Austria.<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;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2023437360915255454&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=81b890e00241fcbf3593adc6ac9e9b9da3d1a0ba&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2023437360915255454"></iframe></div></div> Speaking exclusively to Pakistan TV host Sana Maqboul in Vienna, Federal Minister for Information Atta Tarar said the Prime Minister&rsquo;s gesture of speaking German resonated deeply with the Austrian audience. &ldquo;I think the Prime Minister is very fluent with his German, and he surprised all the delegates by speaking very fluent German,&rdquo; the minister said. &ldquo;The delegates from the Austrian side felt very good about this gesture that the Prime Minister was speaking in their native language.&rdquo; Tarar noted that such gestures carry weight in diplomacy. &ldquo;These gestures go a long way in promoting relations between the two countries,&rdquo; he said, adding that the Prime Minister also shared his admiration for Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a cultural touch that further endeared him to his hosts. The Prime Minister&rsquo;s visit to Vienna included high-level meetings and participation in the Pakistan-Austria CEOs Forum and Business Forum. According to Tarar, the engagements were held after more than three and a half decades of limited top-level exchanges, making the trip a potential landmark in bilateral relations. &ldquo;The Pakistan-Austria CEOs Forum and the Business Forum went exceedingly well,&rdquo; Tarar said. &ldquo;There were business CEOs from both sides. They discussed issues of mutual interest and how to promote and enhance trade and investment between Austria and Pakistan.&rdquo; He highlighted significant potential in information technology, mining, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and textiles. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a long way to go, but this is a good start,&rdquo; he remarked. Tarar added that the Austrian Chancellor was delighted to welcome Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, describing the visit as &ldquo;the first of many&rdquo; expected in the coming years. An Austrian business delegation is anticipated to visit Pakistan in April, a development the minister said would be beneficial for boosting trade and investment.<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;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" 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=2023519447953326418&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=81b890e00241fcbf3593adc6ac9e9b9da3d1a0ba&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2023519447953326418"></iframe></div></div>&ldquo;The sentiment here is very welcoming,&rdquo; Tarar said, referring to both Austrian leadership and the business community. &ldquo;Even his German was a hit at the forum.&rdquo; Looking ahead, the Prime Minister and his delegation are set to travel to the United States to attend a Board of Peace meeting in Washington. Addressing the significance of Pakistan&rsquo;s participation, Tarar said the country has emerged as an important player in global geopolitics. &ldquo;I think Pakistan is now a very important player as far as global politics and geopolitics are concerned,&rdquo; he stated. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s foreign policy has never been like this. We&rsquo;ve made great advances, and Pakistan is now relevant to all international issues.&rdquo; As the delegation heads to Washington for the high-profile engagement, the minister expressed optimism about Pakistan&rsquo;s expanding diplomatic footprint, saying, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s see how things turn out in the United States.&rdquo;

Prime Minister’s visit to Vienna includes high-level meetings, participation in the Pakistan-Austria CEOs Forum and Business Forum; Information Minister Tarar says engagements held after more than three and a half decades, making the trip a potential landmark in bilateral relations.



PM Shehbaz Sharif Wins Austrian Hearts in German, MoIB Atta Tarar Calls Vienna Visit a Diplomatic Breakthrough

WEST PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Iran of the &quot;consequences of not making a deal&quot; ahead of talks between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Geneva. &quot;I&#39;ll be involved in those talks, indirectly,&quot; the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington. &quot;I don&#39;t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,&quot; Trump added. The latest talks, scheduled for Tuesday and mediated by Oman, follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran &mdash; first over Iran&#39;s crackdown on protests, and then more recently over the country&#39;s nuclear program. The United States and some European countries fear the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies. Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed, including Iran&#39;s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the Middle East. Iran&#39;s foreign ministry said earlier Monday that &quot;the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one.&quot; A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, beginning a 12-day war that Washington joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.

Americas

 US president says he will be involved in the “talks, indirectly"; US, some European countries fear that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.

Trump warns Iran of 'consequences of not making a deal'

JERUSALEM: Israel&#39;s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;state property,&quot; drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who said it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory. Israel&#39;s foreign ministry said the measure, approved late Sunday, would enable &quot;transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes,&quot; and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan criticized the move as illegal under international law. The Pakistani&nbsp;Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also rejected what it described as Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;illegal measures,&rdquo; strongly condemning attempts by the occupying power to convert areas of the territory into so-called state property and expand settlement activities. The measure is &quot;aimed at imposing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank&quot; that would undermine peace efforts in the region, Saudi Arabia&#39;s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. Jordan&#39;s King Abdullah II said the actions &quot;undermine efforts to restore calm and threaten to exacerbate the conflict,&quot; according to a statement released by the royal court. The European Union called on Israel to reverse the move. &quot;This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control,&quot; EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. &quot;We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law.&quot; UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed that point and called the move &quot;destabilizing,&quot; warning that the &quot;decision could lead to the dispossession of Palestinians of their property.&quot; He also called for the decision&#39;s immediate reversal, adding in a statement from his spokesman that &quot;the current trajectory on the ground is eroding the prospect for the two-State solution.&quot; The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the &quot;de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state.&quot; Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called the measure a &quot;mega land grab.&quot; Jonathan Mizrachi, the NGO&#39;s co-director, told AFP that the move would attribute new resources for land registration. The process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60% of the West Bank&#39;s territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control. &quot;There was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to deal with it,&quot; Mizrachi said, adding that the grey area over Area C land ownership is likely to be used against Palestinians. &quot;A lot of land that Palestinians consider theirs, they will find out it&#39;s not theirs under this new registration process,&quot; he said, believing the move would further the Israeli right&#39;s annexation agenda. Changing demography&nbsp;Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel&#39;s religious right want to take over the land. Last week, Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords, in place since the 1990s. Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority&#39;s control. The latest Israeli initiatives come in the wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to rights groups. &quot;We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave,&quot; UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement. US President Donald Trump has opposed Israel&#39;s annexation of the West Bank, saying stability in the territory helps keep Israel secure. However, Trump has held off from directly criticising the new Israeli measures, despite the international outrage. Excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Middle East

Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan criticize move as illegal under international law; Pakistan rejects Israel’s “illegal measures,” strongly condemns attempts by the occupying power to convert areas of territory into "state property."





Israel’s West Bank ‘mega land grab’ draws international outrage

LOS ANGELES:&nbsp;Robert Duvall, who played the smooth mafia lawyer in &quot;The Godfather&quot; and stole the show with his depiction of a surfing-crazed colonel in &quot;Apocalypse Now,&quot; has died at the age of 95, his wife said Monday. His death on Sunday was confirmed by his wife, Luciana Duvall. &quot;Yesterday, we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home,&quot; she wrote. Blunt-talking, prolific, and glitz-averse, Duvall won an Oscar for best actor and was nominated six other times. Over his six-decade-long career, he shone in both lead and supporting roles and eventually became a director. He kept acting in his 90s. &quot;To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything,&quot; Luciana Duvall said. &quot;His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court.&quot; Duvall won his Academy Award in 1983 for playing a washed-up country singer in &quot;Tender Mercies.&quot; But his most memorable characters also included the soft-spoken, loyal mob consigliere Tom Hagen in the first two installments of &quot;The Godfather&quot; and the maniacal Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola&#39;s 1979 Vietnam War epic &quot;Apocalypse Now.&quot; &quot;It was an honor to have worked with Robert Duvall,&quot; Oscar winner Al Pacino, who acted alongside Duvall in &quot;The Godfather&quot; films, said in a statement. &quot;He was a born actor, as they say, his connection with it, his understanding, and his phenomenal gift will always be remembered. I will miss him.&quot; As Colonel Kilgore, Duvall earned an Oscar nomination and became a bona fide star after years playing lesser roles, in a performance where he utters what is now one of cinema&#39;s most famous lines. &quot;I love the smell of napalm in the morning,&quot; his war-loving character &mdash; bare-chested, cocky and sporting a big black cowboy hat &mdash; muses as low-flying US warplanes bomb a beachfront tree line where he wants to go surfing. That character was originally created to be even more over the top &mdash; his name was at first supposed to be Colonel Carnage &mdash;&nbsp;but Duvall had it toned down, demonstrating his meticulous approach to acting. &quot;I did my homework,&quot; Duvall told veteran talk show host Larry King in 2015. &quot;I did my research.&quot; Cinema giant Francis Ford Coppola &mdash; who directed Duvall in &quot;Apocalypse Now&quot; and &quot;The Godfather&quot; &mdash;&nbsp;called his loss &quot;a blow.&quot; &quot;Such a great actor and such an essential part of American Zoetrope from its beginning,&quot; Coppola said in a statement on Instagram. A &#39;vast career&#39;&nbsp;Duvall was sort of a late bloomer in Hollywood &mdash;&nbsp;he was already 31 when he delivered his breakout performance as the mysterious recluse Boo Radley in the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee&#39;s novel &quot;To Kill a Mockingbird.&quot; He would go on to play myriad roles &mdash;&nbsp;a bullying corporate executive in &quot;Network&quot; (1976), a Marine officer who treats his family like soldiers in &quot;The Great Santini&quot; (1979), and then his star turn in &quot;Tender Mercies.&quot; Duvall often said his favorite role, however, was one he played in a 1989 TV mini-series &mdash;&nbsp;the grizzled, wisecracking Texas Ranger-turned-cowboy Augustus McCrae in &quot;Lonesome Dove,&quot; based on the novel by Larry McMurtry. British actress Jane Seymour, who worked with Duvall on the 1995 film &quot;The Stars Fell on Henrietta,&quot; took to Instagram to share a heartfelt tribute to the star. &quot;We were able to share in his love of barbecue and even a little tango,&quot; Seymour captioned a photo of herself with Duvall. &quot;Those moments off camera were just as memorable as the work itself.&quot; US actor Alec Baldwin made a short video tribute to Duvall, speaking about the star&#39;s &quot;vast career.&quot; &quot;When he did &#39;To Kill A Mockingbird&#39;, he just destroyed you with his performance of Boo Radley, he used not a single word of dialogue, not a single word, and he just shatters you,&quot; Baldwin said. Film critic Elaine Mancini once described Duvall as &quot;the most technically proficient, the most versatile, and the most convincing actor on the screen in the United States.&quot;

Film & TV

Film critic Elaine Mancini once described Duvall as "the most technically proficient, the most versatile, and the most convincing actor on the screen in the United States."

'Godfather' and 'Apocalypse Now' actor Robert Duvall dead at 95

KANDY: Sri Lanka&#39;s Pathum Nissanka scored the first century of the 2026 T20 World Cup on Monday to put his side into the Super Eights and leave Australia on the brink of elimination.&nbsp;Nissanka scored 100 not out off 52 balls with five sixes and 10 fours as Sri Lanka, chasing Australia&#39;s 181, reached 184-2 with two overs to spare in Kandy to win by eight wickets.&nbsp;A victory by Zimbabwe over Ireland in Group B on Tuesday, or against Sri Lanka on Thursday, will eliminate the 2021 champions.&nbsp;If Zimbabwe lose both, Australia will need to beat Oman in their final match on Friday by a big margin to get through on net run rate.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re in the lap of the Gods now I think,&quot; said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh.&nbsp;&quot;Lot of emotions in the room right now. Haven&#39;t been at our best. Disappointed bunch at the moment.&nbsp;&quot;We shouldn&#39;t have lost to Zimbabwe with all due respect to them and then we were under pressure.&nbsp;&quot;We will be watching the Ireland-Zimbabwe game. However, things are out of our control at the moment.&quot;&nbsp;Nissanka was involved in a 97-run stand off 66 balls with Kusal Mendis for the second wicket with the wicketkeeper-batsman posting his third fifty in the competition.&nbsp;Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan to score two hundreds in T20 internationals.&nbsp;After Mendis&#39;s dismissal, Nissanka and Pavan Rathnayake put on 76 off 34 balls to see Sri Lanka to victory.&nbsp;Nissanka played some glorious cover drives off the spinners and played some elegant flicks against the quicks.&nbsp;One of my dreams&quot;Very happy to score a hundred in a World Cup. It had been one of my dreams to be honest,&quot; Nissanka told reporters.&nbsp;&quot;Our fielding was outstanding today. We spoke about how being sharp on the field is important on a flat wicket like this.&nbsp;&quot;We knew they were 20 runs short. Here the par score is 200. The instruction was for me bat long even though the run rate kept climbing.&nbsp;&quot;We knew bad balls would come and it was important to cash in when they came along.&quot;&nbsp;Sri Lanka came into the World Cup after a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of England, but have gained momentum and have won all three games so far.&nbsp;&quot;Happy to go through to the Super Eights,&quot;said Nissanka.&nbsp;&quot;We had put in a lot of hard work but we didn&#39;t have much momentum leading up to the World Cup. Glad things are falling in line.&nbsp;&quot;Still, it&#39;s a long tournament and we need to keep fighting.&quot;&nbsp;Australia&#39;s campaign has been plagued by injuries, with pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood out with injury.&nbsp;Their captain Marsh, who missed the first two games, returned and gave them a rollicking start by scoring 54.&nbsp;Marsh and Travis Head (56) scored 104 runs off 51 balls for the first wicket.&nbsp;With Australia eyeing a total in excess of 200, Sri Lanka&#39;s slow bowlers kept them to 181 with leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha picking up 3-37.&nbsp;But in going for quick runs Australia collapsed, losing their last six wickets for 21 in 24 balls.

Cricket

Pathum Nissanka smashed 100 off 52 balls as Sri Lanka beat Australia by eight wickets, reaching the Super Eights. Australia now face possible elimination after collapsing late despite strong starts from Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head.

Sri Lanka's Nissanka leaves Australia on brink of T20 World Cup exit

DHAKA: Bangladesh&#39;s interim leader Muhammad Yunus stepped down on Monday in a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government.&nbsp;&quot;Today, the interim government is stepping down,&quot; the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.&nbsp;&quot;But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted.&quot;&nbsp;Yunus returned from self‑imposed exile in August 2024, days after the iron‑fisted government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising, and she fled by helicopter to India.&nbsp;&quot;That was the day of great liberation,&quot; he said. &quot;What a day of joy it was! Bangladeshis across the world shed tears of happiness. The youth of our country freed it from the grip of a demon.&quot;&nbsp;He has led Bangladesh as its &quot;chief adviser&quot; since, and now hands over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman on a &quot;landslide victory&quot; in elections last week.&nbsp;&quot;The people, voters, political parties, and stakeholder institutions linked to the election have set a commendable example,&quot; Yunus said.&nbsp;&quot;This election has set a benchmark for future elections.&quot;&nbsp;Rahman, 60, chief of the BNP and scion of one of the country&#39;s most powerful political dynasties, will lead the South Asian nation of 170 million.&nbsp;Rebuilt institutionsBangladeshi voters endorsed sweeping democratic reforms in a national referendum, a key pillar of Yunus&#39;s post-uprising transition agenda, on the same day as the elections.&nbsp;The lengthy document, known as the &quot;July Charter&quot; after the month when the uprising that toppled Hasina began, proposes term limits for prime ministers, the creation of an upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers, and greater judicial independence.&nbsp;&quot;We did not start from zero, we started from a deficit,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;Sweeping away the ruins, we rebuilt institutions and set the course for reforms.&quot;&nbsp;The referendum noted that approval would make the charter &quot;binding on the parties that win&quot; the election, obliging them to endorse it.&nbsp;However, several parties raised questions before the vote, and the reforms will still require ratification by the new parliament.&nbsp;The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission.&nbsp;Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded on Saturday, saying his Islamist party would &quot;serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition&quot;.&nbsp;Newly elected lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, after which Tarique Rahman is set to become Bangladesh&#39;s next prime minister.&nbsp;Police records show that political clashes during the campaign period killed five people and injured more than 600.&nbsp;However, despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has responded to the results with relative calm.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus resigned in a farewell address, urging the nation to uphold democracy, free speech, and fundamental rights as power transfers to an elected government.

Bangladesh's Yunus announces resignation, end of interim govt

PARIS: Elon Musk-owned social network X was failing to show posts to users in many countries on Monday, monitors said, the latest in a series of interruptions. X appeared to be suffering &quot;international outages,&quot; connectivity monitor Netblocks posted on the open-source social network Mastodon. The breakdown was &quot;not related to country-level internet disruptions or filtering&quot;, added Netblocks, which regularly flags technical issues with popular online services and sites, as well as interference by national governments. Its most recent posts about similar outages for X came on February 9, the day of the Super Bowl in the US, and February 1. There was also a spike in user reports of problems with X at around 0130 GMT Monday, according to aggregation website Down Detector. AFP journalists in countries including France and Thailand were also unable to access X. Spokespeople for X did not immediately respond to AFP&#39;s request for comment. Musk laid off thousands of people at the former Twitter and changed its name after buying the service in 2022. He has since merged it with his xAI company, which develops the Grok chatbot. xAI is set to in turn be absorbed by Musk&#39;s rocket firm SpaceX, with that merged entity expected to go public as early as summer this year.

Artificial Intelligence

Elon Musk-owned X faced international outages on Monday, with users in many countries unable to view posts. Netblocks said the disruption was not linked to internet restrictions. Similar issues were reported in February, while X gave no immediate comment.

X hit by 'international outages': monitors

GENEVA: Iran said Monday that the US position on Tehran&rsquo;s nuclear program had &ldquo;moved towards a more realistic one&rdquo; ahead of a second&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/swiss-say-oman-to-host-usiran-talks-in-geneva-next-week" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">round of talks</a>, as Iranian and US officials prepared to meet amid rising regional tensions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that, based on discussions held in Muscat, &ldquo;at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one,&rdquo; according to the official IRNA news agency. He said Iran&rsquo;s &ldquo;inalienable rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty were recognized,&rdquo; including the peaceful use of nuclear energy and enrichment. Iran&rsquo;s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Geneva at the head of a diplomatic and expert delegation for what Tehran described as &ldquo;indirect&rdquo; talks with the United States mediated by Oman. Iran&rsquo;s state-run IRIB said the second round of negotiations would take place on Tuesday. Araghchi said on X that he met with International Atomic Energy Agency (<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-says-cooperation-with-iaea-suspended-after-european-move-on-un-sanctions" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">IAEA</a>) chief Rafael Grossi in Geneva for a &ldquo;deep technical discussion.&rdquo; Grossi confirmed the meeting, calling it &ldquo;in-depth&rdquo; ahead of Tuesday&rsquo;s negotiations. Araghchi is also set to meet Swiss and Omani counterparts and other international officials, Iran&rsquo;s foreign ministry said. &ldquo;I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats,&rdquo; he wrote on X. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re hopeful there&rsquo;s a deal,&rdquo; adding that President Donald Trump &ldquo;always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes.&rdquo; The White House said Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump&rsquo;s son-in-law Jared Kushner were dispatched for the talks. Tehran and Washington restarted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-fm-looks-to-more-nuclear-talks-but-warns-us" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">negotiations</a>&nbsp;this month after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, triggering a 12-day war during which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities. Key sticking points include Iran&rsquo;s stockpile of enriched uranium, which had reached 60% purity before the war. More than 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium were last seen by nuclear watchdog inspectors in June. Iran has said the material remains under the rubble of nuclear sites struck during the conflict. Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to reduce its enriched uranium stockpile to zero. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any deal must involve removing all enriched uranium from Iran and ending its enrichment capability. Israel has called for Iran to have &ldquo;no enrichment capability&rdquo; and for all enriched material to be transferred abroad. Iran insists on its right to enrichment but has said it is prepared to dilute its highly enriched uranium if all sanctions are lifted. Dilution involves blending enriched uranium with other material to lower its concentration below a specified threshold. Baqaei said Iran would press for the lifting of long-standing US sanctions that have deepened the country&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-nuclear-deal-officially-ends-as-un-sanctions-return" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">economic crisis</a>. &ldquo;Time is of the essence for us. Our people are under the pressure of oppressive sanctions, and reason and logic demand that we lift these sanctions as soon as possible,&rdquo; he said. Iran&rsquo;s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifts sanctions. &ldquo;If we see the sincerity on their part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement,&rdquo; he said. Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said Tehran was seeking a deal that would generate economic benefits for both countries, particularly in aviation, mining, and oil and gas sectors. &ldquo;For the agreement to be viable, it is essential that the United States also be able to benefit from it in areas with strong and rapid economic return potential,&rdquo; he was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. The talks come as Iran&rsquo;s Revolutionary Guards began military drills in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. State television said the exercises aim to prepare for &ldquo;potential security and military threats.&rdquo; Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the Strait, through which about 20% of global oil passes. Tensions have escalated after Washington deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Gulf following nationwide protests in Iran. Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Tehran, first over the reported crackdown on the protests, and more recently, over the nuclear program. On Friday, he said a change of government in Iran would be the &ldquo;best thing that could happen.&rdquo; Demonstrations against Iran&rsquo;s clerical authorities were held in several cities abroad over the weekend, including in the United States. Inside Iran, protesters have continued to shout slogans against authorities despite the crackdown. Switzerland has represented US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations following the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.

Asia

Iran says Washington’s approach to its nuclear program has shifted in a more realistic direction ahead of fresh talks, according to foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, who shared the view following discussions.

Articles by Naila Shuja