Abdelatty met with a number of key officials in the country and reiterated his support for Lebanon and a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

ISLAMABAD: Following a disruption that rendered virtual private networks (VPNs) dysfunctional across the country, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said that VPN usage would be restricted in the future to curb access to pornographic content.

In a statement, the authority claimed it had so far blocked 100,183 URLs containing blasphemous content, as well as 844,008 pornographic websites.

The statement by PTA highlighting its performance came a day after the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony wrote to the regulator to ask it to block blasphemous and pornographic content.

“In addition to PTA’s proactive efforts, individuals and government organisations also report such sites,” the statement added.

The telecom regulator also claimed that approximately 20 million attempts were made from within the country to access pornographic websites on a daily basis, which were blocked at the international gateway level.

“However, users bypass restrictions via VPNs and access porn contents, PTA remains fully committed to curbing this issue, taking all necessary measures to block this content effectively,” the statement added.

In another statement, the telecom regulator said it had organised a consultation on the issue of VPN use, attended by representatives from the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication (MoIT&T), the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).

“The PTA introduced a stre­amlined VPN registration process, allowing legitimate users to register their VPNs through a new online portal at ipregistration.pta.gov.pk,” the statement said.

However, a senior executive from an internet service provider — in response to a Dawn query — said the authority was “making excuses”.

“How would they know that people are watching porn through VPNs? They have no capability to [monitor traffic through] VPNs, otherwise they would not block it,” the executive said.

He said the main target was blocking access to X and other social media platforms.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to run the Justice Department, issued his resignation letter on Wednesday.

Rep. Matt Gaetz is out of Congress, Speaker Johnson said, after he was tapped to be the next attorney general.

We spoke to the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin from Canterbury.

Justin Welby hasn’t said when he’ll go. But replacing him won’t be easy. Victims of decades of church abuse are calling for root and branch reform.

1. Horoscope 14th November, 2024: Check astrological prediction for Virgo, Sagittarius and other signs  The Indian Express
2. Horoscope Today: November 14, 2024  VOGUE India
3. Love and Relationship Horoscope for November 14, 2024  Hindustan Times
4. Horoscope Today, November 14, 2024: Read your today's astrological predictions  The Times of India
5. Aries Daily Horoscope Today (Mar 21 – April 19), November 14, 2024: Relationships will be comfortable!  India Today

With wars raging around the world and high tariffs looming, Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes says Trump's agenda may be chaotic — but she remains optimistic about possible good elements.

Bluesky may still be the underdog in the race for alternatives to X, but the once Twitter-affiliated service is gaining momentum. The app just passed the 15 million user mark after adding more than a million new users over the last week, the company said in an update.

While Bluesky is still considerably smaller than Threads, which with 275 million users is its biggest rival, there are signs that Threads users have been increasingly curious about the upstart. “Bluesky” has been a trending topic on Threads in recent days and an in-app search suggestion shows there are more than 19,000 posts about “Bluesky.” Bluesky itself has also made a push to win over Threads users in recent weeks by posting regularly on the Meta-owned service.

That effort seems to be working. A month ago, Engadget noted, the service had just under 9 million users. Its mobile app also has the top spot in Apple’s App Store, followed by Threads and ChatGPT. Its recent success also seems to be driven, at least in part, by frustration with Elon Musk and X following the US presidential election.

A recent report from web analytics company SimilarWeb found that “more than 115,000 US web visitors deactivated their accounts,” on November 7, “more than on any previous day of Elon Musk’s tenure.” The report also noted that “web traffic and daily active users for Bluesky increased dramatically in the week before the election, and then again after election day,” with Bluesky at points seeing more web traffic than Threads. (Threads’ mobile usage, however, is still “far ahead” of Bluesky.)

“In the US, Bluesky got more web visits than Threads in the immediate aftermath of the election,” the report notes. “For context, it’s important to note that both services are app centric, even though they support a web user interface.”

On its part, Bluesky seems intent on distinguishing itself from its larger, billionaire-controlled rivals. The company, which began as an internal project at Twitter before it spun off into an independent entity, has experimented with novel features like custom feeds, user-created moderation services and “starter packs” for new users.

“You're probably used to being trapped in a single algorithm controlled by a small group of people, that's no longer the case,” Bluesky’s COO Rose Wang shared in a video aimed at new users Tuesday. “On Bluesky, there are about 50,000 different feeds … these feeds provide a cozy corner for you to meet people with similar interests. And you can actually make friends again, because you're no longer tied to a dominant algorithm that promotes either the most polarizing posts and or the biggest brands, and that's the mandate of Bluesky.”

JAKARTA — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he would "always safeguard our sovereignty" when asked about the issue of the South China Sea, adding partnerships are better than conflicts and that "we respect all powers". Prabowo's comments, made while he was in Washington on Wednesday (Nov 13), came after his foreign ministry stressed that Indonesia does not recognise China's claims over the South China Sea despite signing a maritime deal with Beijing last weekend. Beijing has long clashed with Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety, based on a "nine-dash line" on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of several countries. "We respect all powers, but we will always safeguard our sovereignty. But I choose to always find possibilities of a partnership," said Prabowo, who has repeatedly said he will pursue a non-aligned foreign policy. "Partnerships are better than conflicts," he told reporters.

Newly developed lignin-based hydrogel proves to be a promising tool for wound healing and controlled drug release, according to a new study. With the

New lignin-based hydrogel represents a breakthrough in the fields of wound healing and drug delivery, offering innovative solutions for improved medical treatments.

Accor, a global leader in hospitality, is accelerating the Group’s growth in Asia securing 27 hotel signings and 8,117 keys year-to-date. The expansion encompasses twelve brands throughout eight countries, from India to South Korea and Japan.

The first of the two Orient Express yachts, will set sail in June 2026 to cruise the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Caribbean seas.

Design Hotels, the community-driven portfolio of nearly 300 independent hotels, today announced its second annual Further Forecast trend report, which explores travelers’ growing desire to build deeper connections, and how this is shaping their expectations of experiences—and in turn, the future of travel.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, has arrived to hold talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM), S. Jaishankar.

On November 12, a new poster for the film was revealed, accompanied by a caption that read, "Official entry: India. Best International Feature Film - 97th Academy Awards."

Speaking about the box-office clash, Bhushan Kumar said, "I am extremely happy for the love our film 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' is receiving from the audience. It's been only a few days since the film hit the theatres and it has already done great business...Ya, I do feel the clash between (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again)"

1. World Diabetes Day 2024: Top 5 Early Warning Signs of High Blood Sugar Levels That Appear In Morning  TheHealthSite
2. Tackling diabetes epidemic  The Hindu
3. World Diabetes Day 2024: Why type 2 diabetes often goes unnoticed, early signs of this silent killer, and associated risks  The Economic Times
4. World Diabetes Day 2024  PIB
5. 86% diabetics in India facing anxiety, depression; women more affected: Report  Gujarat Samachar

Words to tattoo on your knuckles:

Over the past couple of years, my blog hasn’t felt my own, to a degree. It’s felt like I’ve been writ­ing for an audi­ence, post­ing stuff for oth­ers rather than myself. That’s arse-backwards. A blog should be about per­sonal expres­sion. The moment you start think­ing, and writ­ing, to please oth­ers then it’s a bind; it feels less like a per­sonal exer­cise and more of a job.

A beautiful, thoughtful redesign from Mark Boulton (and a responsive one at that). Go go, read read.

The Indonesian and Australian militaries are holding joint combat drills off Indonesia’s main island of Java with about 2,000 troops training in air, maritime, amphibious and land operations

The oncologist who was attacked has been identified as Balaji Jagannath. He has been admitted in the ICU, and his condition is said to be critical

The third vessel will serve as a standby for the two vessels that are owned by Kochi Corporation

Emergency signboards and lane markings near roundabouts have not yet been introduced to streamline the traffic management

O’REILLY DESIGN CONFERENCE - get the skills and insights you need to design the products of the future. Save 20% with code ALIST

Firm inflation and hawkish signals rule out December rate cuts, says DBS Bank; but slowing growth may sway RBI, notes Barclays Research 

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick is the author of Bearing God: The Life and Works of St. Ignatius of Antioch He and Fr. Barnabas Powell discuss this Saint from the very early years of the Christian Church.

Father Barnabas Powell interviews John Sitilides, the Washington D.C.-based geopolitical strategist and professional corporate speaker, in a far-reaching conversation to explore and assess the complexities facing the Orthodox Church and its internal administrative challenges in addressing in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the hierarchical tensions between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate, Turkey's repression of Orthodox and other religious minorities, the Syria civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian divide, radical Islamism in the Balkans, the plight of Egypt’s Coptic community, and the stunning rise of Orthodox Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa.

What’s a marketer to do to earn their customers’ trust and support in being included in marketing campaigns?

PATTAYA - A foreign woman has been arrested for crashing her car into a motorcycle, killing one person and injuring another.

Bédard, J H; Saumur, B -M; Williamson, M -C; Tegner, C; Troll, V R; Deegan, F M; Evenchick, C A; Grasby, S E; Dewing, K. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8759, 2020, 7 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/327829
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