This year's Oscar nominations are due out later, with La La Land likely to land as the clear frontrunner.

The modern musical romance has swept film fans off their feet, and its stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are expected to be among the nominees.

The question is - how many nominations will the film get in total, and can it equal the Oscars record of 14?

Titanic and All About Eve currently share that record, while Mary Poppins is the most nominated musical with 13.

LONDON: The UK Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Prime Minister Theresa May must get parliament's approval before she begins Britain's formal exit from the European Union.

The UK's highest judicial body dismissed the government's argument that May could simply use executive powers known as "royal prerogative" to invoke Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty and begin two years of divorce talks.

However, the court rejected arguments that the UK's devolved assemblies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should give their assent before Article 50 is invoked.

"The referendum is of great political significance, but the Act of Parliament which established it did not say what should happen as a result," said David Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court which ruled by 8-3 against the government.

"So any change in the law to give effect to the referendum must be made in the only way permitted by the UK constitution, namely by an Act of Parliament."

May has repeatedly said she would trigger Article 50 before the end of March but she will now have to seek the consent of lawmakers first, potentially meaning her plans could be amended or delayed, although the main opposition Labour Party has said it would not slow her timetable.

Last week May set out her stall for negotiations, promising a clean break with the world's largest trading block as part of a 12-point plan to focus on global free trade deals, setting out a course for a so-called "hard Brexit".

Sterling initially rose on the news that the government had lost its appeal, but it then fell over half a cent to hit day's lows against the dollar and euro after the court ruled that Britain's devolved assemblies did not need to give their assent to triggering Article 50. Sterling last traded down 0.6 percent on the day at $1.2463.

ISLAMABAD: A five-member bench led by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa resumed hearing the Panama Leaks case on Tuesday.

Counsel for Jamat-e-Islami Taufeeq Asif and his assistant Sheikh Ahsan-ud-Din completed their arguments.

During the proceedings the judges expressed their displeasure when the JI counsel made an incorrect reference to Syed Zafar Ali Shah case. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed said, "You have neither read the file, nor read the verdict."

Responding to a request Justice Asif Khosa said that should the need arise he will summon the Prime Minister.

Assistant JI Counsel told the judges that all evidence has been completed and now tough responsibility lay on their shoulders. To this the court remarked that what he was calling evidence was only ‘material’ presented in the case.

The hearing has been adjourned till January 25 (Wednesday).

SC rejects reply submitted by Maryam Nawaz

The Supreme Court rejected a reply submitted by Maryam Nawaz in the Panama Case.

“How can you submit documents without a signature?” Justice Asif Khosa asked.

During the proceedings, Maryam Nawaz’s reply was read out. “I was married in 1992 to a serving Captain who later joined the Civil Service. My husband has been paying taxes since 1986. My husband and father were targeted in an act of revenge and my husband was terminated from service illegally.”

She denied she is the beneficial owner for the London flats. "PTI will have to submit evidence," it adds.

The documents with signatures will be submitted again.

Panama Papers revealed London Flats: Imran Khan

PTI chief Imran Khan speaks outside the Supreme Court

Speaking to the media, outside the Supreme Court, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman said that had the revelation not been made in the Panama Leaks they [Sharifs] would never have accepted that they owned the London Flats.

“We have never stated that there were cases on Maryam Nawaz.  We have always maintained that Nawaz Sharif’s money is involved in the London Flats,” he said.

He added that since 1993 the ownership of the London flats had not been changed.

PTI spokesperson Naeem-ul-Haque said that no gains will be made by filing a case in the Election Commission of Pakistan.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the Panama Leaks case had reached its final phase. "Now the Prime Minister's children will have to explain how they got rich."

False allegations hurled against Maryam Nawaz: Maryam Aurangzeb

Maryam Aurangzeb speaks outside the Supreme Court

State Minister for Information Maryam Aurangzeb said that false allegations were being hurled at the Prime Minister's daughter Maryam Nawaz. Without naming Imran Khan she said, "Some people like to lie outside the Supreme Court. Imran Khan is basing his politics on Panama Papers."

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz leader Daniyal Aziz said that Imran Khan was being disrespectful towards institutions. “The Prime Minister was elected by the people of Pakistan thrice.”

During the proceedings on Monday, the court questioned links of the prime minister with the Sharif family's business.

After setting the record of cycling from Islamabad to highest international border (Khunjerab) in September 2015, this year Samar Khan has attempted another huge challenge of cycling on glaciers (Biafo Gyang) in the Karakoram ranges of Pakistan.

She is the first Pakistani and the World’s first woman to reach Biafo glaciers and cycled over there. Samar Khan is Masters in Physics and belongs to Lower Dir, KPK. She started adventure sports like Paragliding, Trekking, Mountain biking and Martial Arts few years back because of her passion towards sports & tourism.

She set out from Islamabad on 24th July, 2016 and took the route of Abbotabad, Naran, Kaghan and Babusar Top towards her destination. By covering the distance of almost 800km till the last remote village of GB; called Askoli, which is the entrance point to glaciers, she had trek for 3-4 days and found herself on icy-rock surface where she had attempted her record.

واشنگٹن (ویب ڈیسک) امریکہ نے این ایس جی میں بھارتی شمولیت کا راستہ روکنے پر چین پر تنقید کی ہے۔ امریکہ نے کہا ہے کہ این ایس جی میں بھارتی شمولیت کی راہ میں چین رکاوٹ ہے، بھارت کی شمولیت پر گروپ کا کچھ ارکان کو تحفظات ہیں۔ امریکی معاون وزیر خارجہ کا کہنا ہے کہ تحفظات دور کئے جانے کی ضرورت ہے۔

The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage popularly known as Lok Virsa and the Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) have agreed to collaborate for promotion of culture and heritage of Pakistan.

The Lok Virsa and the PMNH signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for joint collaboration in related fields here at Shakarparian, said a press release on Tuesday.

The signing ceremony was held at the Lok Virsa Heritage Museum.

Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr Fouzia Saeed and the PMNH Director-General, Dr M Khan Leghari, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions. Pakistan Science Foundation Chairperson Prof Dr Muhammad Ashraf was also present on the occasion.

The MoU requires collaborative efforts to establish and develop expertise in different projects.

The unsubstantiated dossier about Trump, Russia and possible compromising material -- compiled by a former British MI6 intelligence agent doing opposition research for Trump’s campaign opponents -- also said Moscow had incriminating video of the president-elect

The fact that intelligence agencies had offered Trump a synopsis of the dossier -- which was later published in full online by BuzzFeed -- lent the allegations credence.

But Brennan said the intelligence community was only "making sure that the president-elect was aware that it was circulating."

"I think there are some very salacious allegations in there -- again, unsubstantiated," he said, adding it was "a responsibility in the minds of the intelligence directors" to inform Trump as well as the Obama WhiteHouse of the report.

Brennan bristled at Trump’s likening of the US intelligence community to Nazi Germany, calling it "outrageous."

"I do take great umbrage at that," the outgoing spy chief said.

Pence blamed the scandal on "media bias," in an interview with CBS.

ARACHI (Dunya News) – Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will chair meeting of the Sindh Cabinet today (Monday) to review extension in Rangers’ special powers, law and order situation and various development projects in the province.

The meeting at Sindh Secretariat will be attended by the cabinet members, Sindh Chief Secretary, Sindh IG and other top officials.

Rangers’ special powers in Sindh have expired on Sunday night but the provincial government, using delaying tactics, has not yet sent summary of extension in Rangers powers to the federal government.

According to CM House spokesperson, the summary is expected to be signed today.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had previously extended Rangers’ special powers in the province on October 18, 2016 soon after assuming the office.

Rangers were given powers under Section-5 of the Anti Terrorism Act 1997 according to which Rangers personnel would be authorised to conduct a raid and arrest accused in any area of the metro

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump wants health "insurance for everybody," he told The Washington Post, no small feat in a country where millions are uninsured.

The Republican has long lashed out at President Barack Obama´s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act, campaigning on a pledge to repeal and replace it.

But the billionaire developer had never said precisely with what.

Now, however, he told the Post by phone late Saturday that he wants "insurance for everybody" while requiring drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid, the government plans mostly for the elderly and low-income Americans, respectively.

"They´re politically protected. But not anymore," Trump was quoted as saying of big pharmaceutical companies.

The White House touts the ACA -- nicknamed Obamacare -- as a success, saying more than 20 million Americans have gained health insurance through the law.

The Affordable Care Act forbids insurance companies from denying health care due to pre-existing conditions, abolishes lifetime caps on care, and allows children to stay on their parents´ plans until age 26, three provisions that have proved popular nationwide.

Democrats warn that scrapping the law could force millions of Americans to lose their coverage.

Undoing Obamacare will be a monumental task. Although the new Republican leadership in Congress has begun moving quickly to deprive the ACA of funding, it has also stressed it does not want to "pull the rug out from anyone" who might lose coverage if there is no replacement plan on offer.

And there is debate among Republicans about how -- and how fast -- to proceed without a credible replacement ready to roll out.

Without revealing much more than a pledge of "lower numbers, much lower deductibles," Trump said a proposed deal was now agreed.

"It´s very much formulated down to the final strokes. We haven´t put it in quite yet, but we´re going to be doing it soon," he said.

"We´re going to have insurance for everybody," Trump added. "There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can´t pay for it, you don´t get it. That´s not going to happen with us."

People covered under the law "can expect to have great health care," he said. "It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better."