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Pakistan-born Asad Ayaz named Disney’s first-ever chief marketing and brand officer

WASHINGTON: The Walt Disney Company has announced the creation of a new enterprise-wide marketing and brand organisation and named Pakistan-born executive Asad Ayaz as its first chief marketing and brand officer, a role that will place him among the most senior leaders at the global entertainment giant. Ayaz, who was born in Pakistan in 1978, is the son of a senior officer of the Pakistan Air Force. He spent part of his childhood in the Middle East when his father served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Syria and Lebanon, before immigrating with his family to the United States as a teenager. Disney said the new organisation is aimed at aligning marketing teams across its businesses more closely and strengthening how the company connects with consumers worldwide. In his new role, Ayaz will lead marketing and brand strategy across Disney’s studios, streaming platforms, theme parks and consumer products. Announcing the appointment, Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said the new role ...
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Signs point to ‘imminent’ US attack on Iran

• Washington withdraws staff from Middle East bases; diplomatic contact cut off • Tehran threatens retaliation; informs Qatar, Saudi Arabia, others • Riyadh assures it won’t allow its territory to be used against Iran WASHINGTON: Tensions flared across the Middle East on Wednesday as the US began withdrawing personnel from crucial bases in the region, while Tehran warned that it would retaliate against American bases in the Gulf, if Washington initiated an attack. The catalyst for the showdown is the violent protests within Iran. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters, declaring in a Tuesday interview that “help is on the way” and vowing “very strong action” if executions of demonstrators continue. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in a press conference late on Wednesday night he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding and that he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions. ...
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Not all users, just Nayatel customers likely to face slow internet on Thursday

ISLAMABAD: Internet users in Pakistan, barring Nayatel customers, are unlikely to experience slow speeds on Thursday, according to a clarification by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and correspondence by the internet service provider (ISP). Nayatel has informed its customers via email that “an unavoidable maintenance activity” is planned on one of Pakistan’s submarine cables on January 15 (Thursday) at around 2pm, saying that it could last up to eight hours. “This may cause internet slowness across Pakistan,” the service provider said. Meanwhile, reports circulating on social media, without specifying any particular ISP, said there was a possibility of internet disruption in the country on Thursday. However, the PTA clarified in a statement that “information regarding any disruption of internet services on January 15 is incorrect and without factual basis”. “Internet services across Pakistan remain stable and fully operational. Routine submarine cable maintena...
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Denmark, Greenland in crunch White House talks as Trump ups pressure

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Denmark and Greenland’s top diplomats held high-stakes talks at the White House on Wednesday, with US President Donald Trump warning it was “vital” for the United States to take control of the Arctic island. Shortly before the meeting with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Denmark announced it was immediately boosting its military presence in strategic Greenland. Footage from CNN showed Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt arriving at the White House campus, while AFP journalists saw Rubio and Vance heading into the talks. Trump’s escalating threats over Greenland — a vast and sparsely populated autonomous territory belonging to Nato ally Denmark — have deeply shaken transatlantic relations. The 79-year-old Republican insisted ahead of the talks that Nato should support the US effort to take control of Greenland, saying it was crucial for his planned Golden Dome air and missile defence system. ...
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‘Limited options’ for Pakistan to circumvent US punitive tariff on Iran

After US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff for any country doing business with Iran, Pakistan has limited options available, but none of them are without consequences. The announcement from President Trump came at a time when protests were raging in the Islamic Republic amid a severe crackdown, resulting in the death of at least 500 people, as per a rights monitor. The statement marked a sharp escalation in Washi­n­gton’s long-running campaign of economic pressure against Iran. Issued via social media and declared “effective immediately”, the statement by President Trump seeks to recast tariffs not as a trade remedy but as an instrument of foreign policy enforcement, with global reach and few visible limits. The language of the post is categorical. Any country that maintains commercial ties with Iran, regardless of scale or sector, would see its exports to the US penalised. This is not a sanction in the conventional sense. Iran is already subject to extensive A...
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Govt planning to impose ‘export emergency’

ISLAMABAD: The government has planned to announce an ‘export emergency’ in the country and create a special cell at PM Office to address problems and complaints of the business community on an urgent basis for increasing exports by 40pc in four years and by around 200pc by 2035 for sustainable economic growth and job creation. “We will have to transform the entire system and become an export nation on an emergency basis, otherwise, the dependence on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries for financial support would continue,” said Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal at a news conference on Monday. He conceded the country’s export performance in first four months (July-October) was not satisfactory even though exports grew by around 1pc. He also said there were genuine questions and impatience why GDP was not growing fast quickly but it was a pragmatism decision of the government not to rush for growth through consumerism as was done by the previous...
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Apple chooses Google’s Gemini AI to power Siri assistant

Tech giants Apple and Google on Monday announced a multi-year partnership that will see Apple’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) features, including its Siri assistant, be powered by Google’s Gemini technology. The collaboration marks a significant shift for Apple, which has traditionally developed its core technologies in-house. A joint statement said Apple selected Google’s AI technology after a “careful evaluation” determined it provided “the most capable foundation” for the iPhone-maker’s AI ambitions. The announcement represents a rare alliance between two companies that have long competed in the smartphone market, where Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems dominate globally. However, the two rivals have maintained a lucrative partnership for years, with Google paying Apple billions of dollars annually to remain the default search engine on iPhones and other Apple devices. That arrangement has faced scrutiny from regulators, with the US Justice ...
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