Author: i2wtc

After the long telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, which followed on the heels of US-Ukrainian talks in Jeddah last week, the war in Ukraine seems to be entering its final stages. Both Moscow and Kyiv appear to agree with Trump’s pursuit of a peace settlement, though the details of their positions regarding the specifics remain hazy. Kyiv has agreed to Washington’s proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire followed by peace talks. Freezing the conflict before starting peace talks was not what Ukraine had wanted, but the prospect of losing more territory, infrastructure, human…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure targets in Ukraine for 30 days after a phone call with US President Donald Trump. Putin ordered the Russian military to stop strikes against energy facilities, the Kremlin said in a statement following a lengthy phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday. But he stopped short of accepting a broader US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has said it is ready to implement. Russia’s leader raised concerns that such a truce could be used by Ukraine to mobilise more soldiers and rearm during a pause in the…

Packages ride on a conveyor belt during Cyber Monday, one of the company’s busiest days at an Amazon fulfillment center on December 2, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo | Getty ImagesThe Federal Trade Commission is going after an e-commerce company that allegedly took millions of dollars from consumers as part of a “passive income” scheme, which spun up Amazon storefronts on their behalf and promised “insane returns” that were higher than the stock market.The FTC said Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against the company, called Click Profit; its co-founders Craig Emslie and Patrick McGeoghean; and two other business…

A Taco Bell fast-food restaurant and drive-thru at dusk in Gastonia, North Carolina.Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesTwo chipmakers are teaming up.Yum Brands is partnering with tech giant Nvidia to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in its restaurants.The restaurant company, which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, said on Tuesday that the collaboration will allow Yum to roll out AI order-taking, Nvidia-powered computer vision and restaurant performance assessments fueled by AI.As tech giants compete in an AI arms race, restaurant companies have also been using the technology to stay ahead of rivals by improving their…

Listen to article Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is exploring Karachi’s growing sports scene, visiting a newly established paddle sports facility at Bagh-e-Ibn-e-Qasim. The facility has been set up by Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab. The PPP leader was joined by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, and other officials. During the visit, Bilawal played paddle alongside Mayor Murtaza Wahab Wahab and CM Murad Ali Shah, enjoying a friendly match that highlighted the growing popularity of the sport in Karachi. The leaders later posed for a photo, symbolising their collective commitment to promoting sports and…

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrives to attend the opening ceremony of Siliconware Precision Industries Co. (SPIL)’s Tan Ke Plant site in Taichung, Taiwan Jan. 16, 2025. Ann Wang | ReutersNvidia announced new chips for building and deploying artificial intelligence models at its annual GTC conference on Tuesday. CEO Jensen Huang revealed Blackwell Ultra, a family of chips shipping in the second half of this year, as well as Vera Rubin, the company’s next-generation graphics processing unit, or GPU, that is expected to ship in 2026.Nvidia’s sales are up more than sixfold since its business was transformed by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT…

Listen to article Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced the launch of the first-of-its-kind “Aghosh” program, under which mothers of children under two years old and pregnant women will receive Rs 23,000 in financial assistance. According to reports, a statement issued by the Punjab government stated that in the first phase, financial aid will be given to mothers of newborns and pregnant women in 13 districts under the ‘Aghosh’ program. The program will initially be implemented in Dera Ghazi Khan, Taunsa, Rajanpur, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, and Kot Addu. Additionally, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalnagar, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Khushab, and Lodhran are also included…

The quartet bordering Russia proposes withdrawing from the Ottawa treaty, but add they have no plans to use landmines.Poland and the Baltic states plan to withdraw from an international convention banning the use of landmines, citing potential military threats from neighbouring Russia. The defence ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia said in a statement on Tuesday that they “unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention”. The statement argued that the security situation in the region has “fundamentally deteriorated” since the treaty was ratified in 1999 by more than 160 nations, although neither Russia nor the United States signed up.…

Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks during the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGeneral Motors and Nvidia have agreed to a strategic collaboration that includes the automaker using several products and artificial intelligence services from the tech giant for its next-generation vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems and factories.The companies on Tuesday announced that the new initiatives include building custom artificial intelligence systems using Nvidia compute platforms, including “Omniverse with Cosmos,” for optimizing GM’s factory planning and robotics.The Detroit automaker also…

Customers shop at a Target store in Rosemead, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)Economist Kimberly Clausing said in a recent interview with The New York Times that high tariffs could reduce imports, harm U.S. production and cost jobs, calling the moves a “good starting point” of the goal to “weaken America’s position in the world.”WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy, including a universal steel and aluminum tariff of 25 percent and global reciprocal tariffs starting from April 2, has sparked widespread concern over its economic impact…