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Eyewitness account of Shehbaz Sharif case proceedings

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On February 10, former Chief Minister and current leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, was brought to court along with his son Hamza Shehbaz, to attend a hearing on the money laundering case filed against the two.

Shehzad Hussain Butt Profile Shehzad Hussain Butt

On February 10, former Chief Minister and current leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, was brought to court along with his son Hamza Shehbaz, to attend a hearing on the money laundering case filed against the two.

Proceedings began at 9:30 am, ten minutes after which Shehbaz Sharif took to the rostrum and informed the court that his lawyer was not there yet. He then asked to speak to the court, stating that what he had to say was relevant to his case. Justice Jawadul Hasan allowed the President of Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) to talk after he insisted on doing so.

The PML-N leader said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a 58-volume reference against him which includes such charges as money laundering, kickbacks and other serious allegations. “Similar charges were levelled against me by Britain’s Daily Mail after which I filed a defamation lawsuit against the paper. On February 5, the Judge hearing the case has said that the report was falsified, while the lawyer for Daily Mail has admitted that no proof of money laundering was found,” Shehbaz Sharif told the court. AT this point, the Honorable Judge said that they might not have proof but NAB says it does have proof. Shehbaz Sharif replied that if even a paisa worth of corruption is proved, he will apologize and walk away.

Justice Jawadul Hasan then extended a major offering to the former Chief Minister. He asked Shehbaz Sharif if the court in London had given its verdict. “If you think a British judge has given a verdict in your favor and it can benefit you, attach a copy of the decision and write an application that you should be acquitted. We will give our own verdict.” Upon hearing this, Shehbaz Sharif said that he does not yet have a copy of the British court’s verdict.

Then he let lose a litany of accusations against the officials who are investigating his case. “They conspired against me. All these documents were given to Daily mail,” he told the court. At this point, the prosecutor told Shehbaz Sharif he is not sticking to the case at hand. “The London court has nothing to do with this case nor is NAB party to the Daily mail case,” he stressed, adding that the British court has not given a full verdict but only heard opening proceedings. “Don’t link this case to the one in the London court,” he admonished Shehbaz Sharif, who made his way to his seat and sat there while witness statements were recorded.

Towards the end of the hearing, Shehbaz Sharif’s assistant offered him a headphone, which he sanitized and then put in his ear. On the other end of the Watsapp call were former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif’s younger son, Salman. Shehbaz Sharif told them that on this particular hearing, only Uzma Bokhari, Maryam Aurangzeb and Ata Tarrar had come to meet him.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 17.

The writer is Bureau Chief Lahore at GNN.

 

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Technology

TikTok is testing AI-generated search results

On TikTok, ChatGPT-generated results appear for some search queries, along with a more general “search highlights” feature. Not all queries have AI answers.

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TikTok is testing a more robust search results page, including using generative AI. The feature appears to be a new and is called “search highlights.”

A snippet of AI results appear at the top of some search results pages, and clicking into the section opens a new page with the full response. In quick tests, I was able to find AI results for queries about recipes or topics like “best laptops 2024.”

TikTok search results page for “chia seed pudding recipe” showing AI results at the top. Clicking the result takes you to a full screen page.TikTok search results page for “chia seed pudding recipe” showing AI results at the top. Clicking the result takes you to a full screen page.
Clicking the result takes you to a full screen page.
Screenshot: TikTok

A page explaining the results says that the material is generated using ChatGPT, and that TikTok displays the content “when [the algorithm] finds them relevant to your search.” The feature appears to be limited so far: not all queries have AI answers.

TikTok’s AI search results page say the material is from ChatGPT and the algorithm displays the answers when they are relevant to a search.TikTok’s AI search results page say the material is from ChatGPT and the algorithm displays the answers when they are relevant to a search.
The feature is called “AI Smart Search”
Screenshot: TikTok

There’s also a similar feature called “search highlights” that are not labeled as AI-generated. Those, too, show up at the top of search results, but it’s not clear where that information is coming from, like whether it’s summarizing videos or taken from someplace else. TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the features.

The video platform has steadily added more features to its in-app search. Last fall, TikTok began testing adding Google Search results to its in-app results page that essentially acted as a link back to Google. TikTok has also experimented with adding links to Wikipedia, IMDb, and other websites directly in the app’s search results page.

TikTok is trying to harness some of the habits its users — especially younger people — have developed on the app. Many younger users treat TikTok like a search engine, opting to look up restaurant or product recommendations in the app instead of using platforms like Google Search. And like Google, TikTok now seems to be leaning into AI results by including them above creator content.

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Pakistan

NA suspends Tariq Bashir Cheema for current session over Zartaj Gul's issue

The MNA already tendered apology to the PTI leader

Published by Faisal Ali Ghumman

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Islamabad: The National Assembly (NA) on Friday suspended PML-Q MNA and ex-minister Tariq Bashir Cheema from today’s session after he allegedly used abusive language against PTI leader and SIC MNA Zartaj Gul Wazir.

Cheema delivered a speech in the assembly on Thursday, during which he was interrupted by Gul who pinpointed the Bahawalpur University case in which Cheema’s son was a suspect.

Gul's remarks angered Cheema who then went to Gul’s seat and was seen whispering something in her ear.

As soon as he returned to his seat, opposition members started gathering in front of the speaker’s dais and lodged a strong protest, alleging that Mr Cheema had used very objectionable and abusive language and demanded action against him.

After the opposition benches approached the speaker and recorded their protest, Cheema tendered an 'unconditional' apology. Gul also accepted the apology.

 

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Technology

Dell leak details next-gen Windows on Arm chips, 29-hour laptops, and more

A Dell document has revealed future XPS plans, next-gen Qualcomm chips, and more. It looks like a summer of Windows on Arm is about to begin.

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We already know Dell is getting ready to launch a new Arm-powered variant of its popular XPS 13 laptop, but now a confidential document has leaked a lot more details on Dell’s future XPS plans. VideoCardz has obtained and published a 311-page document from Dell that goes into detail on the XPS 13 — that’s due soon — and when we can expect to see Qualcomm’s next-generation chips for Windows on Arm.

Qualcomm-powered Snapdragon X Elite laptops look set to debut next week, with Asus announcing it has a new “AI PC” ready to launch on Monday — the same day Microsoft is holding a Surface and Windows event all about Windows on Arm. Dell’s own XPS 13 variant running the Snapdragon X Elite leaked just a few days ago, and this new document from VideoCardz reveals it will ship in three versions that have different displays (FHD, QHD+, and OLED).

The leaked Arm-powered XPS 13 model.The leaked Arm-powered XPS 13 model.
The leaked Arm-powered XPS 13 model.
Image: Dell (via VideoCardz)

This latest leak confirms that Dell is planning to refresh its XPS 13 Plus from 2022, with a touch bar on the top row of the keyboard and only two USB-C ports for I/O. Battery life will naturally vary per model, but web browsing is listed at around 13 hours on the FHD+ display, more than 12 hours on the QHD+ version, and around 9 hours on the LG Display OLED variant. Local video playback is rated at more than 29 hours on the FHD+ version, which if accurate is an impressive improvement on the current crop of Windows laptops.

There’s also a mention in this leaked document of a new “tandem OLED” panel from LG Display that will be used in this upcoming XPS 13. LG Display first introduced tandem OLED panels in 2019 primarily for automotive displays, but it expanded to 17-inch foldable tandem OLED panels last year. Apple just launched a new iPad Pro with a tandem OLED panel, which uses two OLED layers to improve brightness and the lifespan of the panel.

The XPS 13 battery life estimates for the QC (Qualcomm) models.The XPS 13 battery life estimates for the QC (Qualcomm) models.
The XPS 13 battery life estimates for the QC (Qualcomm) models.
Image: Dell (via VideoCardz)
Dell’s future XPS plans.Dell’s future XPS plans.
Dell’s future XPS plans.
Image: Dell (via VideoCardz)

While Dell’s leaked document is dated from August 2023, the plans are all leading up to a release of the XPS 13 Qualcomm models in June — a date we’ve heard rumored for Microsoft’s next Arm-powered Surface devices. Microsoft is also rumored to be moving to OLED on its Arm-powered Surface Pro 10 model, so it’s possible we’ll see tandem OLED there too.

The document also hints at Qualcomm’s timing for its next-generation Snapdragon chips for laptops. Dell lists “QC Oryon V2” in the second half of 2025, with QC standing for Qualcomm and Oryon the name of the CPU tech Qualcomm acquired from Nuvia in 2021. A V3 of these chips is listed for late 2027, suggesting there might be a significant gap between revisions.

A next-generation XPS 14 is also listed for a January 2026 release with the Oryon V2 chips or Intel’s Panther Lake CPUs, alongside an updated XPS 13 model with Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs and Qualcomm’s Oryon V2 chips. Dell is also expecting next-gen Nvidia GPUs in early 2025, with a refresh due in early 2026. Nvidia hasn’t yet launched its rumored RTX 5000 series, which are expected to be based on its Blackwell architecture, and Dell’s slides from 2023 could already be out of date in terms of Nvidia’s release schedules.

Microsoft is holding its Surface and Windows AI event on Monday May 20th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET, and The Verge will be covering all the announcements live. Microsoft is also holding its annual Build developer conference from May 21st-23rd, so it looks set to be a busy week for Windows on Arm announcements and everything AI.

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