Author: i2wtc

Pakistan’s salt exports to China experienced a notable 40% increase in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC). From January to March 2025, Pakistan exported over 13.64 million kilograms of salt to China, amounting to $1.83 million in value. During the same period in 2024, exports totalled $1.30 million. The growth reflects strengthening trade relations between the two nations under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework and China’s rising demand for high-quality industrial and edible salt. Ghulam Qadir, Trade and Investment Counsellor at Pakistan’s…

Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the U.S.Julia Demaree Nikhinson | Getty ImagesAs tech’s megacap companies enter first-quarter earnings season this week, get ready to hear one word on repeat: uncertainty.President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs has created market chaos this month — including five days of massive moves for the Nasdaq — as investors try to gauge the future…

This photo taken from Jingshan Hill on Aug. 12, 2024 shows the skyscrapers of the central business district (CBD) on a sunny day in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li Xin)BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) — Private enterprises in China continued to expand steadily, amid government efforts to spur growth in both the private sector and the broader economy, data from the top market regulator showed Monday.The number of private enterprises in the country exceeded 57 million by the end of March, accounting for 92.3 percent of all businesses nationwide, according to data from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).In the…

Listen to article Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has commended Pakistan’s textile sector for achieving a record $13.613 billion (approxiamately Rs3,793 billion) in exports during the first nine months of the current fiscal year — a 9.38% increase compared to the same period last year. According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), this growth underscores the textile industry’s resilience and its continued role as the backbone of the country’s export economy. The Prime Minister praised both the government’s economic policies and the private sector’s tireless efforts in driving this progress. March 2025 alone recorded $2.64 billion (approx. Rs737 billion) in…

Pope Francis died on Monday morning, the Vatican announced, days after he was discharged from hospital after undergoing treatment for a complex respiratory infection. He was 88 years old. His death, 12 years after he was declared pope, has prompted renewed questions about who will succeed him as leader of the Catholic Church, one of the oldest and largest religious institutions with up to 1.39 billion followers. Here’s what you need to know about what could come after Pope Francis, whose social justice ideals and global vision have transformed the Church. Who will be the next pope? A successor has…

Neeraj Chopra will tick off an item in his bucket list with an eponymous javelin competition in Bengaluru next month but the poster boy of Indian athletics has also added a new one to it — watching a Diamond League event in the country. The Neeraj Chopra Classic on May 24 will be a World Athletics Gold category event featuring former world champions Anderson Peters and Julius Yego, 2016 Olympic winner Thomas Roehler and American Curtis Thompson among others. Chopra, who won the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but settled for silver behind Arshad Nadeem in Paris last year,…

Listen to article Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has passed away at the age of 88, the Vatican confirmed on Monday. His death marks the end of a 12-year papacy that was often characterised by both reformist efforts and significant internal challenges. Pope Francis had faced numerous health problems in recent years, including surgeries and ongoing ailments, which had affected his ability to fully carry out his duties. The Vatican has not yet announced details regarding his funeral or the process of selecting his successor. On Sunday, Pope Francis appealed for an immediate ceasefire in…

Pope Francis, the Argentinian pontiff who brought the plight of the world’s most marginalised back to the centre of the Roman Catholic Church’s attention, has died aged 88, the Vatican announced on Monday. A charismatic communicator with a friendly demeanour, Francis succeeded in broadening Catholicism’s appeal at a time of growing disenchantment towards the Church, an institution embroiled in financial and sexual scandals. Throughout his papacy from 2013 to 2025, the pope stripped the Vatican of some layers of opacity and connected with the concerns of common people. He highlighted the plight of the poor and that of prisoners. Francis…

Pope Francis greets people as he attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023. Guglielmo Mangiapane | ReutersTributes and condolences poured in from around the world following news of the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88.Francis, who was elected the church’s 266th pope after the retirement of Benedict XVI in 2013, was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, born in Argentina to Italian-Argentinian parents.He made waves during his papacy as a reformer who often rattled the Catholic Church’s most conservative…

Access to el-Fasher and nearby camps ‘dangerously restricted’, with up to 450,000 people estimated to be on the move.Aid organisations are struggling to respond to the deepening humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s North Darfur, being driven by attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the United Nations has warned. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said in a statement released late on Sunday that access for humanitarian aid remains “dangerously restricted” in the capital city of el-Fasher and surrounding areas, where the RSF has launched multiple attacks over recent weeks. Those attacks have triggered a mass exodus from…