Breaking Beam

Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them.

JERUSALEM — Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday dismissed any discussion of whether Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel hit anything there, a tacit acknowledgment that despite launching a major assault, few projectiles actually made it through to their targets.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments before senior military leaders didn’t touch on the apparent Israeli retaliatory strike on Friday on the central city of Isfahan, even though air defenses opened fire and Iran grounded commercial flights across much of the country.

Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on and inflames the wider region.

Khamenei, 85, made the comments in a meeting attended by the top ranks of Iran’s regular military, police, and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within its Shiite theocracy.

“Debates by the other party about how many missiles were fired, how many of them hit the target and how many didn’t, these are of secondary importance,” Khamenei said in remarks aired by state television.

“The main issue is the emergence of the Iranian nation and Iranian military’s will in an important international arena. This is what matters.”

The latest national NBC News poll finds the third-party vote — and especially independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — cutting deeper into former President Donald Trump’s support than President Joe Biden’s, though the movement the other candidates create is within the poll’s margin of error.

Trump leads Biden by 2 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup, 46% to 44%, in the new NBC News poll.

Yet when the ballot is expanded to five named candidates, Biden is the one with a 2-point advantage: Biden 39%, Trump 37%, Kennedy 13%, Jill Stein 3% and Cornel West 2%.

The big reason is that the poll finds a greater share of Trump voters in the head-to-head matchup backing Kennedy in the expanded ballot. Fifteen percent of respondents who picked Trump the first time pick Kennedy in the five-way ballot, compared with 7% of those who initially picked Biden.

In addition, Republican voters view Kennedy much more favorably (40% positive, 15% negative) than Democratic voters do (16% positive, 53% negative).

 Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan Railways (PR) Friday inaugurated two Upgraded Railways Filling and Storage Facilities in Karachi and Lahore.

The ceremony was attended by Mazhar Ali Shah, Chairman/Secretary PR, Syed Taha, Managing Director & CEO PSO, Amir Baloch, CEO/Senior GM PR, alongside senior management representatives from both organizations.

The successful culmination of Phase-I of the Facilities Modernization and Upgradation (FMS) project stands as a pivotal achievement in the relationship spanning over four decades between the two national entities.

The upgraded facilities in Karachi and Lahore are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, including flowmeters and calibration of storage tanks and tank wagons, ensuring enhanced operational efficiency and safety standards.

Speaking on the occasion, Mazhar Ali Shah said “The introduction of these upgraded facilities represents a pivotal step forward in our mission to fortify the nation’s transportation infrastructure. With these developments, we are strategically positioned to seamlessly optimize logistics and catalyze economic growth which aligns with our vision for a more prosperous Pakistan.”

Syed Taha expressed his views stating “The successful launch of the Upgraded Railways Filling & Storage Facilities marks a significant milestone in our longstanding partnership with Pakistan Railways. Together, we’re dedicated to driving innovation and setting new benchmarks for excellence in transportation, with plans to extend these enhancements to more cities in the near future, ensuring unmatched service quality and economic progress.”

Meta AI, the advanced virtual assistant developed by Meta Platforms, Inc., has expanded its reach to include Pakistan among several other countries.

Announced by Mark Zuckerberg, this expansion is part of a broader initiative to make Meta AI accessible to a global audience through platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and more.

Meta AI operates as a free, integrated service within these popular social media platforms, providing users with a variety of functionalities aimed at enhancing their online experience. By simply spotting a blue circle icon or typing @meta ai within chats, users can engage with this assistant to conduct research, plan trips, generate creative content, and much more.

As of April 19, 2024, Meta AI has been made available in English in a dozen new countries, including Pakistan, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The service, which was previously limited to the United States, aims to make everyday digital interactions more efficient and creative for its users.

One of the notable updates includes the ability to use Meta AI directly from the search features across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Users can initiate a search, receive suggestions, or ask questions on a wide range of topics including sports, entertainment, and current events, with answers provided by leading search providers.

Additionally, the AI assistant is now accessible via a new web platform at meta.ai, which caters to tasks such as email management, extensive research, and other computer-based activities.

The core of these advancements is powered by the new Meta Llama 3 engine, which represents the most sophisticated version of Meta’s AI technology to date. This enhanced AI engine promises faster and more accurate responses, thereby improving the overall user experience.

Meta Platforms has encouraged interested individuals to visit their official news site and WhatsApp blog for more detailed information about the capabilities and deployment of Meta AI. This initiative not only underscores Meta’s commitment to innovation but also its strategy to integrate AI deeply into daily digital communication and activities.

Government primary schools in Sindh have been upgraded to the status of elementary schools, as per a decision made during a meeting chaired by the Sindh Education Minister.This move comes after a review of the performance of the Sindh Education Foundation. The meeting decided to elevate the status of government primary schools to that of elementary schools, with a dedicated strategy in the works.

The Education Minister announced a phased approach to upgrade primary schools to decrease drop-out rates. Furthermore, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has tasked the minister with a special mission to minimize the number of students leaving school.

During the meeting, Education Minister Sardar Shah announced that the upcoming academic year would be dedicated to emphasizing the importance of science education. He highlighted that there are currently 874,000 students enrolled in 2,566 schools under the Sindh Education Foundation.

Earlier this year, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had given two months to the education department to reopen government schools that had been shut down due to insufficient resources.

Following a detailed report by Justice Salahuddin from the SHC, highlighting the dire state of government schools in Sindh, the court ruled to reopen these schools.

Following Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) directive, the Capital Development Authority has reversed the ban on property transfer. A letter from Additional Director Land Affectees, Riaz Khan, has confirmed the revocation of the ban initially imposed in January 2024 by the Deputy Director General Land.

Before the official ban on property transfers linked to land affectees was enforced in January 2024, an unofficial transfer restriction had already been in place for several months. Initially, the ban targeted the transfer of properties allocated to land affectees during the tenure of former Member Estate, Afnan Alam Khan.

However, it extended to numerous other cases, causing uncertainty for hundreds of buyers. The CDA distributed its plots through open auctions or allocated them to affected individuals, who later sold them on the open market.

These individuals were those whose land was acquired by the CDA, and they received plots as compensation. While the transfer of plot ownership through open auctions proceeded smoothly, the process was paused for plots allotted to land-affected persons.

This led to strong protests from the Real Estate Agents Association, who voiced their concerns at the civic authority’s premises regarding the ban on transferring titles in the land affectees’ sector.