Islamabad: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has extended gratitude to all who contributed to the re-recording of the national anthem.

Addressing media in Islamabad today (Saturday), she paid rich tribute to the people who paid their role in the development of the country and made Pakistan's defense indispensable.

Congratulating the nation Pakistan's Independence Day, she said the journey of development will continue under the democratic government of Pakistan.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has organized a calendar of activities on the directions of the Prime Minister in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

She said an effort has been made to project the cultural diversity and heritage of the country.

The Minister said the National Anthem has been re-recorded after 68 years, with the participation of 155 singers, 48 musicians and 6 bandmasters.

She said the project was completed in collaboration with various departments including Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and ISPR.

The brass bands of all three armed forces also participated in this national effort.

The new compositions, recorded with excellent imaging have created a rainbow of all the cultural and regional colors of Pakistan.

The Minister also urged the opposition not to promote division and play its role for country's development by strengthening democratic values.

Any possible seizure of Russian assets by the United States will completely destroy Moscow's bilateral relations with Washington, TASS quoted the head of the North American Department at the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Saturday.

Russia's relations with the West have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a "special military operation".

The West responded with unprecedented economic, financial and diplomatic sanctions, including freezing around half of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves that stood near $640 billion before Feb. 24.

Top Western officials, including European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, have suggested seizing the frozen reserves to help fund the future reconstruction of Ukraine.

"We warn the Americans of the detrimental consequences of such actions that will permanently damage bilateral relations, which is neither in their nor in our interests," Alexander Darchiev told TASS in an interview.

It was not immediately clear which assets he was referring to.

The United States and its European allies have also frozen $30 billion of assets held by wealthy individuals with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including yachts, helicopters, real estate and art, according to the Biden administration. 

The U.S. Department of Justice was seeking broader authority from Congress to seize Russian oligarchs' assets as a means to pressure Moscow over its actions in Ukraine, a prosecutor said in July.

Darchiev also said that Russia warned the United States that diplomatic ties would be badly damaged and could even be broken if Russia is declared a state sponsor of terrorism. 

Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, Darchiev said that the U.S. influence on Kyiv had increased to the degree that "Americans are increasingly becoming more and more a direct party in the conflict".

Darchiev confirmed that Viktor Bout, an imprisoned Russian referred to by American prosecutors as one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, as well as U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan detained by Russia are being discussed in prisoner swap talks between Moscow and Washington, according to TASS.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Alphabet Inc's YouTube is planning to launch an online store for streaming video services, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The company has renewed talks with entertainment companies about participating in the platform, which it is referring to internally as a "channel store", the report said, citing people close to the recent discussions.

The platform has been in the works for at least 18 months and could be available as early as this fall, the report added. https://on.wsj.com/3w22hAv

Alphabet did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

With more consumers cutting the cord on cable or satellite TV and shifting to subscription-based streaming services, the planned launch will allow YouTube to join companies like Roku Inc (ROKU.O) and Apple (AAPL.O) in a bid to gain a portion of the already crowded streaming market.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that Walmart Inc (WMT.N) has held talks with media companies about including streaming entertainment in its membership service.

SOURCE: REUTERS