Author: i2wtc

Authorities in Lahore have completed construction of what they describe as the country’s most advanced urban road, located in central Lahore, officials said on Monday. Known as Route 47, the 4.5-kilometre thoroughfare runs through Kalma Chowk and links several major arteries of the city, including Ferozepur Road, Gulberg Main Boulevard, Walton Road and the Lahore Ring Road. The project, which cost an estimated Rs9 billion (around USD 32 million), was carried out by the Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (CBD Punjab). “This road is the central boulevard of the country’s most modern commercial district,” said CBD Punjab CEO Imran…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have increased global financial stability risks. This warning was part of the IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report released on Tuesday, as world financial leaders meet in Washington to discuss the uncertainty caused by the tariff policies. The IMF pointed out that Trump’s tariff rate surged past levels reached during the Great Depression, which saw tariffs rise as high as 60 percent during one of the worst economic periods in modern history, a downturn that led to more than 12 million Americans losing their jobs. Global ripple effect The…

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media, next to Tesla CEO Elon Musk with his son X Æ A-12, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | ReutersElon Musk said on Tuesday that he doesn’t like high or unpredictable tariffs, but any decision on what happens with them “is entirely up to the president of the United States.”Speaking on his company’s first-quarter earnings call, with tariff-related uncertainty swirling across the economy, Musk said Tesla is in a relatively good position, compared to other U.S. automakers, because it has “localized supply chains” in North America,…

Public schools across the United States are facing a financial reckoning in 2025 as federal pandemic relief funds expire and student enrollment continues to decline, according to data from the Georgetown Edunomics Lab.The funding crisis stems largely from the end of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, which pumped billions of federal dollars into school districts during the Covid pandemic. As of September 2024, those funds have dried up, leaving an estimated 250,000 education jobs, worth $24 billion in labor, in jeopardy.”We actually warned school districts in advance, be careful about this money,” said Marguerite Roza, director of…

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesWarner Bros. Discovery is taking a page out of Netflix’s playbook.In an apparent move to crack down on password sharing outside the home, the company’s streaming service Max has launched a new feature it is calling Extra Member Add-On. Similar to Netflix’s paid sharing model, the new feature allows users to add an extra person who does not live in the same household as the primary account holder to their subscription for a monthly fee.Priced at $7.99 a month, the friend or family member of the account owner gets their own stand-alone account under…

Listen to article The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has released a comprehensive breakdown of current mobile service tariffs in the country, including charges for voice calls, data, and SMS. The disclosure comes amid growing public concern over high usage costs and taxes. According to PTA, the basic “Pay As You Go” (PayG) tariffs—applicable when users are not subscribed to any packages—range between Rs3.2 and Rs3.6 per minute for voice calls. Data usage is billed at Rs3.3 to Rs5 per megabyte, while SMS costs between Rs2.15 and Rs2.5 per message. However, mobile users face a significant tax burden. A Rs100 card recharge effectively…

Tariffs are estimated to cost GE Aerospace more than $500m this year.GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp has advocated re-establishing a tariff-free regime for the aerospace industry under the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft during a meeting with United States President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, in an interview with the news agency Reuters, Culp said the company’s position was “understood” by the administration, adding that the zero-duty regime has helped the US aerospace industry to enjoy a $75bn annual trade surplus. “I have argued that it was good and would be good for the country,” Culp told Reuters. Trump’s…

Mahdawi, a Columbia University student now being held at a prison in Vermont in the US, says he has faith in the ‘ability of justice’.A Palestinian man who led peaceful protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza as a student at Columbia University, and was recently detained during an interview about finalising his US citizenship, has said he’s “in good hands” at the Vermont prison where he is being held. Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was arrested on April 14 in Colchester, Vermont. He met on Monday with US Senator Peter Welch of Vermont, a Democrat.…

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 22, 2025.Kevin Lamarque | ReutersPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has “no intention” of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term leading the U.S. central bank ends next year.”None whatsoever,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked to clarify that he did not seek Powell’s removal. “Never did.”The comment represents a dramatic shift for Trump, who has recently ramped up his rhetoric against Powell and declined to rule out the possibility of taking the unprecedented step of firing him.U.S. stock futures rose…

Listen to article Senior officials from Pakistan and Russia agreed on Tuesday to enhance their collaboration in combating terrorism, particularly in Afghanistan and the broader region, as both nations face growing security threats from armed militant groups, the Foreign Office said in a statement. The meeting, held in Moscow as part of the 11th session of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group to Counter International Terrorism, was attended by key officials from both sides. Pakistan’s delegation, led by Special Secretary (United Nations) Nabeel Munir, and Russia’s side, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, focused on the evolving nature of terrorism in the…