Wikipedia has been blocked in Pakistan for hosting "blasphemous content". The move was announced after the free online encyclopaedia was given a 48-hour deadline to remove some material. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said Wikipedia failed to comply with its ultimatum. The Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts Wikipedia, said the ban meant Pakistanis would be denied access "to the largest free knowledge repository". Other platforms including Tinder, Facebook and YouTube were previously blocked in the Muslim-majority country.
Pak court to indict Khan
A Pakistani court announced it will charge former PM Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case on February 7. The 70-year-old Khan is being investigated for purchasing presents, including a pricey Graff wristwatch that he had acquired as PM at a reduced price from the state storehouse known as Toshakhana, and then reselling them for a profit. According to the media, after hearing the case, Additional Sessions Court Judge Zafar Iqbal set the indictment date for February 7. Khan was also ordered to pay Rs 20,000 as bond, the report said. On October 21 last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that Khan made “false statements and incorrect declarations” regarding these gifts.
Woman raped by two men in Islamabad
A woman was allegedly raped at gun point by two armed men in a park, police said. The incident took place in Islamabad’s F-9 area when the victim along with a male friend was strolling in a park when two armed men stopped them and forcibly took both to a nearby thicket, revealed the FIR registered by the police. “They separated the woman from her male friend. When she tried to shout, they slapped her and threatened to bring six to seven more friends. The two in turn raped her and also asked the victim about what she does for a living and warned her to “not come to the park at this time,” said the police, citing the FIR.
World’s oldest living dog
Bobi, at the age of 30 years and 268 days, has been crowned the world’s oldest living dog – and the oldest dog to ever live – by Guinness World Records (GWR). The Portuguese purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo – a breed of livestock guardian dog – has lived for double his life expectancy of 12 to 14 years, according to a statement from GWR. In doing so, the pooch, who has spent his whole life with the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros, in Leiria, western Portugal, has broken an almost century-old record held by Australian cattle dog Bluey, who lived for 29 years and 5 months between 1910 and 1939.
Astronomers spot 12 new moons of Jupiter
In a new discovery, astronomers spotted 12 new moons around Jupiter, as the total count of the number of its satellites reached a record-breaking 92. With this, Jupiter became the planet with the highest number of moons in our solar system. Saturn, which was till now the planet with the highest number of 83 moons, now stands in second place. The moons of Jupiter were recently added to the list maintained by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, said Carnegie Institution's Scott Sheppard, who was part of the team.
Canadian teenager wins $48 mn jackpot
An 18-year-old Canadian has made history by winning C$48m (£30 mn) after buying a lottery ticket for the first time. Juliette Lamour, from Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, was announced as the winner by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC), making her the youngest person to win tens of millions of Canadian dollars. Lamour, who bought the ticket on her 18th birthday, said she had forgotten about it until she heard news that someone from her home town had won the 7 January draw.
One killed as US man opens fire on passengers
A man “randomly” brandishing a firearm shot three people, killing one, in the nation’s capital that started on a city bus and ended in a Metro tunnel after passengers attacked and disarmed him. Authorities were still piecing together the chaotic series of events that left two people with gunshot wounds to the leg and Metro employee Robert Cunningham shot dead. The shooter is in police custody and has not been publicly identified. Metropolitan police department executive assistant chief Ashan Benedict praised the “heroic actions of our citizens, our community, to disarm this shooter.”
Austria expels four Russian diplomats
Austria is expelling four Russian diplomats for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spying cases, the Austrian foreign ministry said without giving specifics. The move brings to nine the number of Russian diplomats Austria has expelled since 2020, though any connection between the three separate decisions is unclear. Austria has generally been more reluctant than many other western European countries to expel Russian envoys. Two of the four diplomats declared personae non grata and ordered to leave the country by February 8 are stationed at the Russian Embassy to Austria while the other two work at the Russian mission to the UN in Vienna, the ministry said in a statement.
Iran jails couple in viral dancing video
An Iranian court has handed jail sentences to a young couple who danced in front of one of Tehran’s landmarks in a video seen as a symbol of defiance against the regime, activists said. Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, both in their early 20s, were arrested in early November after the video went viral. Haghighi was not wearing a headscarf. Women are not allowed to dance in public in Iran, let alone with a man. A revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced them each to 10 years and six months in prison, as well as bans on using the internet and leaving Iran, the US-based Human Rights Activists said. The couple were convicted of “encouraging corruption and public prostitution”.
Woman kills lookalike to fake own death
A German-Iraqi woman murdered a lookalike she found on social media to fake her own death, police have said as new details emerge of the bizarre case that first came to light last year. The body of a 23-year-old woman was found in a car in August at the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt with multiple stab wounds. Police initially said they believed the victim owned the car, but the next day identified her as someone else who looked “remarkably similar”. The 23-year-old German-Iraqi and a 23-year-old Kosovan man were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.