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Pakistan

PTI protesters, police clash at D-Chowk amid downpour in Islamabad

Police detain several activists from Jinnah Avenue

Published by Faisal Ali Ghumman

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Islamabad: Fresh clashes broke out between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists and Islamabad police at D-Chowk amid a downpour on Saturday.

As the heavy rainfall minimised the effects of tear gas, a large number of protesters moved towards D-Chowk, prompting police to detain several activists from Jinnah Avenue.

Both sides indulged in confrontations from morning as protesters pelted stones and retaliated against police actions. Earlier, demonstrators successfully removed obstacles to advance towards D-Chowk.

 

 
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Sports

Jets looking to break one of NFL's longest offensive TD droughts

New York is looking to score three touchdowns for four straight weeks as well as move to 3-1 on the season.

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A look at what's happening around the New York Jets: 1. Party like it's 1996: It was perhaps the ugliest season in Jets history -- 1996, the year they went 1-15 under Rich Kotite. For older fans, it's a haunting memory, best left buried in the recesses of the history books. But, wait! Out of that muck comes this shiny nugget: Despite the losing, the Jets scored three offensive touchdowns in four straight games that season, something they haven't done since (the quarterback was Frank Reich, who would become an NFL head coach). Nearly three decades later, they will try to equal that feat Sunday after scoring three in each of the first three games. By far, the Jets (2-1) own the longest active drought without a four-game streak of three offensive touchdowns, according to ESPN Research. We're talking 18 years longer than the next-closest team -- the Denver Broncos, whom they face at MetLife Stadium in Week 4. Is that mind-boggling or what? Typically, teams average about 2.5 touchdowns per game, so stringing together a few good games doesn't seem that hard. Then again, offense is hard for the Jets, who generated a league-low 18 touchdowns in 2023 and haven't produced a top-10 scoring offense since 2008. The man who presided over last season's mess, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, can take some satisfaction in seeing positive results, thanks to a huge boost from a healthy Aaron Rodgers. Hackett downplayed the early results, saying there's plenty of room for improvement. "The expectation is to score touchdowns, and a lot of them," Hackett said. "That's what we're hunting." 2. All on the wrist: Keen observers may have noticed a subtle change in Rodgers' game-day attire. He's wearing a wristband with a play sheet, something he didn't do in his only appearance last season. He used a wristband during his last few seasons with the Green Bay Packers under coach Matt LaFleur, whose system is like Hackett's in that it's very wordy -- common for a West Coast-style offense. The play sheet helps streamline the process. 3. Zach's back: Three quarterbacks drafted by the Jets are on other teams. Two of them, Sam Darnold (Minnesota Vikings) and Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks), are a combined 6-0. The third is Zach Wilson, who is attempting to reboot his career as the Broncos' QB3 after three disappointing seasons with the Jets. The Jets had nothing but kind things to say about Wilson. The consensus opinion: A talented player who needed to get out of the New York pressure-cooker, giving him a chance to mature in a less stressful environment. "I still stand here and believe that he's going to have a hell of a career," coach Robert Saleh said. Rodgers said he still keeps tabs on Wilson, adding that they communicate "here and there." He considers Wilson a "little brother" even though their relationship was reportedly strained last season. Rodgers said he hopes his former understudy can benefit from a reset in Denver. Wilson, drafted No. 2 overall in 2021, wanted out last season and was traded before the draft. The Jets didn't get much in return -- a sixth-round pick for Wilson and a seventh-rounder. 4. Well-traveled pick: If you're wondering what happened to that draft pick from the Wilson trade (No. 203 overall), well, the Jets used it in a draft-day swap with the Vikings. The Jets gave up that pick, along with the 10th pick, to acquire the 11th pick and two other draft choices. In a way, the Jets helped the Vikings secure what could be their quarterback of the future, J.J. McCarthy, chosen 10th overall. At 11, the Jets happily selected the player they were prepared to take at 10 -- tackle Olu Fashanu, who makes his first start Sunday. 5. Another Brick in the wall? Rodgers said Fashanu reminds him of former Jets tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who retired in 2016. That's quite a compliment, considering Ferguson is a member of the team's Ring of Honor. Size-wise, they're virtually identical: Ferguson, 6-foot-6, 310 pounds; Fashanu, 6-foot-6, 312, based on their scouting-combine measurements. Ferguson was always considered a quiet, consistent worker. Fashanu is developing the same reputation. Ferguson was a Day 1 starter in 2006. Fashanu is replacing right tackle Morgan Moses (knee). It probably will be a two- or three-game gig. One thing to remember about Fashanu: He's new to right tackle, having played left tackle his entire life. His experience at right tackle consists of 42 snaps -- 14 last week, 28 in one preseason game. 6. Undefeated on long rest: Let's face it, Rodgers has produced countless positive trends in his career -- he didn't win four MVPs by accident -- but this one is particularly noteworthy considering the circumstances: He's 13-0 in home games with at least nine days rest, per ESPN Research. His stats in those games: 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions and an average of 295 passing yards. He's facing the Broncos on nine days rest. 7. Reddick fine check: It's another lost game check ($792,000) for holdout Haason Reddick, bringing his four-week total to $3.16 million in lost salary. Additionally, he has accumulated $4.5 million in mandatory fines, plus another $1.4 million in discretionary fines. If the holdout extends beyond the fourth week of the regular season, which is now, the team is allowed to recoup 1/18th of what remains from his pro-rated signing bonus. That occurs each week, maxing out at $2.74 million. He already has sacrificed roughly half the pro-rated bonus because of his holdout. 8. Fixed in a snap: They were some of the toughest days of Joe Tippmann's football life. Early in training camp, out of the blue, he started misfiring with his shotgun snaps. His high snaps made Rodgers seem like he was on a pogo stick. Tippmann credited Rodgers with helping him through the ordeal. His quarterback offered advice and encouragement, even joking that he wanted Tippmann to purposely fire snaps at his feet. That lightened the mood. "I have all the trust in the world with him, especially with him getting me right, getting me on the same page as him," Tippmann said. 9. A Surtain look: Receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, trying to explain Garrett Wilson's intensity, mentioned the tattoo on the receiver's arm: "TTWFO" -- 'Til the wheels fall off. Wilson will need to employ that mindset as he battles through a period in which he's drawing extra attention from defenses. Jefferson said the coaches "have to do a better job of moving him around" the formation, including the slot, to create favorable matchups. On Sunday, he's expected to see a lot of Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II. 10. The Last Word: "That's old news ... I honestly haven't thought about it until you just brought it up." Rodgers on whether Sean Payton's derogatory comments last year about Hackett will be a source of motivation Sunday. Rodgers was injured for last season's game against Denver -- aka Hackett-Payton I.
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Technology

The Pentax 17 is low-stakes analog photography fun that doesn’t feel like a toy

The Pentax 17 half-frame film camera is special, and it can save you money by taking twice the pictures on a single 35mm roll. You just have to spend $500 on one first.

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The Pentax 17 feels special. As a new $500 film camera from a major brand, it’s unique simply for existing. But more than that, it embraces the joy and style of analog photography without slipping into kitsch. It’s some of the most fun I’ve had with a camera.

I spent ample time testing the Pentax 17 after its announcement, shooting on a road trip and even at a show at a local punk club, and I ran a handful of rolls of color (Kodak UltraMax 400, Portra 800) and black-and-white (Kodak Tri-X 400) film through it. I even tried getting funky with some very expired color film, including cross-processing a roll of decades-old E6 slides (positive film) to C41 color negatives. (Cross-processing is simpler than it sounds. You’re essentially just having a photo lab swap the chemicals they normally use, but it leads to unexpected results with the potential for wild color shifts.)

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The results consistently impressed me, even when I leaned on the built-in flash for some low-light indoor photos. Images can be pretty sharp, even up close in macro mode and with the 37mm-equivalent lens shot wide open at its f/3.5 maximum aperture.

While I love getting nerdy and pixel-peeping shots from full-frame cameras with high-end lenses, I can acknowledge that sharpness and resolution don’t matter as much on a half-frame point-and-shoot film camera. You’re likely to view the scanned film images on small screens or uploaded to social media like Instagram, where pretty much anything can look fine. But the Pentax 17 does have a punch to its images that you’re not going to get as consistently with cheap film cameras like the $40 Kodak Ektar H35. 

<em>The six focus ranges are represented by simple icons, which are visible in the viewfinder via a small window.</em><em>The six focus ranges are represented by simple icons, which are visible in the viewfinder via a small window.</em>PreviousNext

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The six focus ranges are represented by simple icons, which are visible in the viewfinder via a small window.

The H35 is also a half-frame point-and-shoot, though it’s less than a tenth the price of the Pentax 17, but its focus-free lens means most subjects are going to look same-y, without any depth. The Pentax is a “fun” camera, but it’s still a much more serious image-making tool.

I once scoffed at half-frame, but now with high film costs and viewing photos on phones, it feels right

The Pentax 17 operates a lot like most analog cameras before it, with a manual advance lever, film rewind crank, and a simple yet bright viewfinder with frame lines for an approximation of your composition. There really aren’t many modern affordances given, aside from a CR2 battery hidden beneath the built-in grip that powers the camera and its partially automatic functions.

<em>Shot on Kodak Portra 800. The band is </em><a href="https://www.bitbrigade.net/"><em>Bit Brigade</em></a><em>, who I cannot recommend enough if you’re into retro video game music and speedruns.</em><em>Shot on Kodak Portra 800. The band is </em><a href="https://www.bitbrigade.net/"><em>Bit Brigade</em></a><em>, who I cannot recommend enough if you’re into retro video game music and speedruns.</em>PreviousNext

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Shot on Kodak Portra 800. The band is Bit Brigade, who I cannot recommend enough if you’re into retro video game music and speedruns.

You can set the mode dial to Auto and let the camera take care of everything, locking the focus to cover most subjects one meter away or farther. But the Pentax 17 is most engaging, and yields the best results, when you take some control — selecting your focus range on the lens and choosing a preset exposure mode. The camera’s mode dial has color coding for modes with or without flash, and a simple bokeh option to ensure the lens is shot wide-open to get as much pleasing background blur as it can produce.

Embrace spontaneity but with some thought and care put in

By manually setting one of six focusing ranges, you get to sample a bit of the “shoot from the hip” street photographer’s life, dancing with your subjects as you try to estimate how far they are from the camera to ensure focus. It’s a practice that gets you looking at the whole scene in front of you rather than squinting through a viewfinder, and there’s nothing like getting your film back to find you nailed the shot — or, by contrast, you got some unexpected and charming surprises.

<em>Shot on expired Lomography Lomo 400 Color Negative.</em><em>Shot on expired Lomography Lomo 400 Color Negative.</em>PreviousNext

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Shot on expired Lomography Lomo 400 Color Negative.

As excellent as the Pentax 17 is, this method may turn off some enthusiasts who always want proper full-manual control (a camp I normally fall into, frankly). I’m used to being meticulous with my shots when using a film camera since each one costs money whether you’re sending your roll to a lab or developing yourself. But the Pentax 17’s half-frame format — with each roll able to capture up to 48 or 72 exposures instead of 24 or 36 — helped me relax a little and ease into the semi-automated exposure mode and preset zone ranges.

In exchange for a smaller image that doesn’t print or scan as large, shooting half-frame gives you a sense of low-stakes freedom. It was no longer such a big deal to take a chance on a quick snapshot that could be too dark or too blurry. Just point and shoot, hope for the best, and be delighted when the film comes back from the lab.

I have to concede that the Pentax 17’s simple modes are a perfect fit for this style of shooting, even if part of me always wishes for manual controls. And the vertical framing feels more akin to our default orientation when picking up a phone (the most casual of snapshot cameras).

<em>Shot on Kodak Tri-X 400.</em><em>Shot on Kodak Tri-X 400.</em>PreviousNext

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Shot on Kodak Tri-X 400.

The Pentax 17 has charm to it. From its compact size and solid-enough build quality to its quirky design, it could be a great companion to document your everyday life. It oozes a slightly eccentric style, and its casual, yet not too casual, approach to film photography brings a touch of magic to even the mundane.

Embracing the Pentax 17’s approach rewards you with lovely, timeless-looking shots. Sure, you can get used film cameras with more features for less money, like the Pentax K1000 and 50mm f/2 lens, which was my first film camera (though I think it cost me only $80 to $100 back in 2006). But you’re always rolling the dice with used cameras, especially on some models that are difficult or impossible to repair these days.

And of course, you can spend much more on a street photography camera with more features and better build quality, like a Leica M rangefinder (I imagine my old Leica M6 is feeling betrayed that I’ve fallen for a lowly Pentax). But the stakes are much lower when each photo has a built-in 50 percent discount and the results are just as fun.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

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