Author: i2wtc

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) raises a finger as he speaks during a press conference, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | ReutersHouse Democrats are forming a commission on artificial intelligence to position themselves as leaders on the issue as AI companies train their focus — and campaign contributions — on Washington, D.C.The House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy, set to begin meeting this month, will work with AI companies, stakeholders and congressional committees that oversee aspects of the sector to help…

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed that the Director General of the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) be made a necessary respondent in a petition challenging the Kite-Flying Ordinance 2025. Justice Muhammad Awais Khalid, while hearing the case, noted that proposals for reviving Basant had originally been initiated by the WCLA chief. “Fundamentally, the DG Walled City must be made a respondent,” the judge remarked. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the matter involves urgent concerns of public safety and should be adjudicated without delay. The court expressed displeasure over the late arrival of the government’s lawyer,…

Google was on Tuesday hit with an EU antitrust investigation over its use of online content for AI purposes, marking the latest in a series of crackdowns from the bloc on regulating U.S. big tech companies. The European Commission said it was investigating whether Google had breached EU competition rules by using the content of web publishers, as well as content uploaded on the online video-sharing platform YouTube, for AI purposes.The probe will examine whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to that content and placing…

Severe stress contributes to widespread waterborne diseases across the country, says Asian Water Outlook reportA worker walks past inside the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila. Photo: Reuters/ File ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s lifeline – the Indus Basin Water System – is facing mounting threats from upstream water controls and deep-rooted infrastructure challenges, while over 80% of the population lacks access to safe drinking water, leading to widespread waterborne diseases, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Asian Water Development Outlook report says Pakistan remains a severely water-stressed country, with per capita water availability standing 35%…

As countries race to build domestic data centers in the name of sovereign AI, Saudi Arabia is betting on a more creative idea: data embassies. A data embassy is where data is stored outside of a country’s physical borders but operates under its laws, much like a diplomatic embassy.  The concept is not new. Estonia established the first data embassy in 2017 and there’s only been one other since, from Monaco. Both embassies are in Luxembourg and hold a backup of the countries’ critical data, set up as a security measure against cyber and climate risks.  As AI scales, the concept could gain momentum as a way to build data centers overseas — in places that have plenty of resources and power, given energy is one of Europe’s biggest bottlenecks in building AI infrastructure —…

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: With the embattled opposition party in the crosshairs of intense state scrutiny, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday said his party supports everyone’s right to participate in politics, but cautioned that those who speak against the state or its institutions do not have the right to engage in politics. Speaking at a dinner he hosted for party leaders and office-bearers at the Governor House, Bilawal questioned the delay in holding local government elections in Punjab, noting that other provinces had already conducted their local body polls. “The PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] has no future,” Bilawal told…

A view of the water tower at Paramount Studios on Oct. 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.Mario Tama | Getty Images Paramount Skydance on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, following Netflix’s announcement last week that it had reached a deal to buy the HBO owner.The company is “here to finish what we started,” CEO David Ellison told CNBC, upping the ante with a $30-per-share, all-cash offer compared to Netflix’s $27.75-per-share, cash-and-stock offer for WBD’s streaming and studio assets.Investors were certainly pleased, sending Paramount shares 9% higher and WBD’s stock up 4.4%.Another development that traders cheered…

A Long March-4B carrier rocket carrying the Yaogan-47 remote sensing satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Dec. 9, 2025.The satellite was lifted off at 11:41 a.m. (Beijing Time) and has entered the preset orbit successfully. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)JIUQUAN, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — China launched a Long March-4B carrier rocket on Tuesday to place a new satellite, Yaogan-47, into space.The remote sensing satellite was lifted off at 11:41 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, and has entered the preset orbit successfully.It will be primarily used in national land…

Government poised to do away with fixed return, run gas firms on a commercial basis ISLAMABAD: With the imminent entry of private-sector investors in the gas market, the government will restructure public utilities by ending the fixed asset return formula to run them on a commercial basis. The government has already increased the allocation of gas from 10% to 35% to the private sector from the new gas fields. So far, only two state-owned gas utilities have been functioning, but the entry of private-sector suppliers will spark competition in the gas market. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has…

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board on Monday approved a $1.3 billion loan by granting waivers against missing a few core conditions and securing a fresh commitment from Pakistan to introduce new tax measures to offset the impact of a huge revenue shortfall. In order to win the IMF board meeting date, the Pakistani authorities had agreed to fulfil two prior actions, a guarantee to issue an order to restructure an undercapitalised bank and publish the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment report – the latter hit on its political capital. The global lender approved nearly $1.1 billion under the…