Their Businesses Went Virtual. Then Apple Wanted a Cut.


By BY JACK NICAS AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3jLGOEj

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Six more die in rain-related incidents in Karachi

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At least six people lost their lives in rain-related incidents on Friday as heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in Karachi, bringing up the toll in three days to 14. Following a rain forecast, different areas of the port city continued to receive moderate to heavy showers under the influence of a monsoon system that is present over Karachi. The most rain was recorded in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed neighbourhood, which received 94.7mm of rain during two spells. The Shah Latif police said Ruqayya Mubeen Shah, 38, was working at home in Bhains Colony when she got an electric shock and died, adding that her body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Similarly, Sawera Ghulam Mustafa was at home in Baldia Town’s Mawach Goth when she got electrocuted, according to the local police, who said her body was taken to the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). In Manghopir, Raqeebullah Sardar Khan, 23, got an electric shock from a wire at home, said the police, adding that his body w...
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PTI working on development as it considers Karachi its own unlike PPP's Sindh govt: Asad

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The PTI-led federal government is working on development projects in Pakistan's southern port city as it considers the metropolis "its own", Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar said Sunday, claiming that its counterpart under the PPP in Sindh did not have the same views. Speaking at the inauguration of the PTI's regional office in Shah Faisal Colony, Asad Umar said the ruling party "considers Karachi as [its] own and [the PPP] does not; therefore, the PTI is working on various development projects in the city. Umar was accompanied by members of the Sindh Assembly, including PTI lawmakers Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Jamal Ahmed, and Adeel Ahmed. "You don't consider Karachi as your own but we will continue to work here. When the federal government tries to work in Sindh, obstacles are put in its way. "The local government system in Sindh does not meet the spirit of the Constitution. The local government should have all the powers but that'...
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Joint Opposition to move no-confidence motion against NA Speaker Asad Qaiser

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The Opposition has decided to jointly move a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, sources said Wednesday, after two days of ruckus in the Lower House. The development came during a meeting of Opposition party leaders in Islamabad, where they decided to form a committee that would draft a plan of action to move the no-confidence motion. Yesterday's proceedings in the NA marked the "darkest day for democracy in Pakistan's history," the Opposition leaders observed, according to the sources. "The Speaker has failed to fulfil his constitutional, legal, democratic, and parliamentary responsibilities [...] he is the protector of every parliament member, but [he has failed in his duties] and is not qualified to hold office anymore," they said. The leaders demanded that a parliamentary committee be established with equal representation — from treasury and Opposition benches — to probe the ruckus that had transpired in parliament. ...
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What Do You Want to Know About Cancer?

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Cancer is an umbrella term for a large group of diseases caused when abnormal cells divide rapidly, and spread to other tissue and organs. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Cancer Growth and Metastasis In a healthy body, the trillions of cells it’s made of grow and divide, as the body needs them to function daily. Healthy cells have a specific life cycle, reproducing and dying off in a way that is determined by the type of cell. New cells take the place of old or damaged cells as they die. Cancer disrupts this process and leads to abnormal growth in cells. It’s caused by changes or mutations in DNA. DNA exists in the individual genes of every cell. It has instructions that tell the cell what functions to perform and how to grow and divide. Mutations occur frequently in DNA, but usually cells correct these mistakes. When a mistake is not corrected, a cell can become cancerous. Mutations can cause cells that should be replaced to survive instead of die, an...
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CPEC extend to Afghanistan says China

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Beijing welcomes Afghanistan’s active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure plan proposed by China, and is willing to push for extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corri­dor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday as he made a surprise visit to Kabul. Wang met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss political and economic ties, including starting work in the mining sector and Afghanistan’s possible role in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, according to a statement from an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman. Read more:  Ukraine pleads for help as Joe Biden heads to summit China was willing to promote the extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, making the latter a bridge for regional connectivity, Wang said on Thursday . He also said China hoped Afghanistan would fulfil its commitment of not allowing any external forces to use its territory as a tool to oppose neighbours, or harm the ...
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Former PM's close aide Shahzad Akbar's name placed on ECL

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The federal cabinet amended the Exit Control List (ECL) on Tuesday on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry, removing 22 names from the no-fly list and adding 10 people to it, while giving a one-time permission to three people to leave the country. Those added to the ECL included Shahzad Akbar, who served as adviser on interior and accountability to former prime minister Imran Khan, and Ziaul Mustafa Naseem. Both names were included in the ECL based on cases pertaining to a private housing scheme. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, received a briefing from the Climate Change Ministry on the effects of climate change in the country. The ministers were informed that Pakistan was among the top-eight worst affected countries because of the climate change. It was underlined in the briefing that there was a dire need for immediate implementation of ‘Mitigation and Adaptation” mechanism. It was suggested that a documentary about the issues confronting Pa...
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PM Imran Khan approves pay raise for protesting government employees

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Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved an increase in the salaries of government employees a day after they protested in Islamabad. Sources say a government negotiating team comprising Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan called on the premier Thursday. In the meeting, the officials of the Ministry of Finance gave a briefing and detailed information about the burden on the national exchequer due to the increase in salaries. Sources said the Prime Minister, after briefing the officials of the Ministry of Finance and the negotiating committee, approved the increase in the salaries of government employees, but this approval will also be sought from the Cabinet. Earlier today, it was reported that successful talks were held between the government committee and representatives of the federal government employees protesting for a raise in salaries. Sources said a delegation of the government ...
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New on Sports Illustrated: First Full Saturday of College Football Makes for an Unusual Top 10

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What happens when we rank only the college football teams that have played a game thus far? After the uncertain roller coaster of a summer, after the Big Ten and Pac-12 bowed out, after more than two dozen teams suspended workouts for COVID-19 outbreaks, after nearly 100 college players opted out, after a half-dozen season openers were suspended, after all of that, the highs and lows, the lulls and peaks, we had the first full Saturday of college football. And whether or not you believe they should or shouldn’t be playing, Saturday was a glorious return to the closest thing of normalcy in American sports. The 19 college games unfolding on our televisions included lovely upsets ( hello, Ragin Cajuns! ), incredible trick plays (thank you to Arkansas State), colorful broadcasters (ESPN analyst Mike Golic ate a donut live on air) and a historic first (Notre Dame got its first ever conference win). It started early. Booming through our televisions (or computers or phones) were the fa...
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President Alvi hopes Ali Sadpara, other K2 climbers are safe

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President Arif Alvi hoped that mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara and other climbers who were part of an expedition to ascend the second highest peak of the globe, K2, without oxygen would be fine. “I hope that Ali Sadpara and other fellow climbers will be fine,” he said in a message posted from his personal Twitter account. مجھے امید ہے کہ علی سدپارہ اور ان کے ساتھی کوہ پیما خیریت سے ہوں۔ یہ بہت بہادر کوہ پیما ہیں۔ ہم ان کی سلامتی کے لئے دعا کرتے ہیں۔ آپ کے اس تھریڈمیں اچھی معلومات ہیں https://t.co/1dsXM3T6HH — Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) February 6, 2021 He lauded the courageousness of these mountaineers and said that all of them would pray for their safe return. A Twitter message from the official account of the Government of Pakistan also prayed for the safe return of Muhammad Ali Sadpara and other fellow mountaineers. Prayers for safe return of our hero Muhammad Ali Sadpara and his fellow mountaineers! — Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 6, 2021 Earlier in ...
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No one can snatch away jobs granted by parliament: Bilawal

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Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday said that "no one can snatch away jobs given by the parliament", vowing to appeal a Supreme Court verdict that declared a PPP-era law unconstitutional and illegal. Under the PPP-era Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act (SERA) 2010 law, a number of people had been employed or given promotions who had been forcibly sacked from various institutions and departments by successive governments during 1996 and 2007. The SC, however, found that the SERA extended undue advantage to a certain class of citizens, thereby violating fundamental rights under Articles 4, 9 and 25 and being void under Article 8 of the Constitution. Earlier this month, PPP had appealed to the Supreme Court to review its verdict that declared SERA 2010 illegal and unconstitutional. In his address today to a worker's convention in the city, Bilawal said that PPP will provide relief to all those people from whom jobs have been snatched. Speaking of the three-ye...
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