Author: i2wtc

Listen to article LANDI KOTAL: The Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is set to reopen on Tuesday (today) after successful talks during a jirga between designated religious, political, and tribal elders from both sides, the head of the Pakistani delegation announced on Monday. Pakistan delegation head Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi told The Express Tribune that the Afghan side also agreed to halt illegal construction, and both parties decided that any future construction at the disputed border point would only proceed with mutual consensus. The Torkham border was closed on February 21 following rising tensions between the border forces of the two…

Pictured here is the Ernie bot mobile interface, with the Baidu search engine home page in the background.Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesChinese tech giant Baidu has released two new artificial intelligence models as it vies to regain its leading position in the country’s fiercely competitive AI space. The Baidu models launched Sunday included the company’s first reasoning-focused model, as well as its first move into an open-source licensing strategy. However, experts told CNBC that while the release of the models is a positive development for Baidu, they also highlight how it is playing catch up as its Ernie bot…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, to negotiate with the sugar mills a reduction in the prices after his earlier decision to allow export of the commodity led to 2,200% increase in its export and 19% surge in the prices this year. The per-kilogramme price of Sugar has shot up to an average of Rs172 as of last Friday – Rs27 per kg higher than the same week of the last year, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The Rs1 per kg increase takes out Rs2.8 billion from…

ALLOW this to be an emotional tribute to the memory of Syed Abid Ali, cricket hero of one’s childhood when cricket was played as a gentleman’s game. Abid Ali, who passed away at 83 in California last week, played cricket as an all-rounder and had all the attributes of the fine gentleman that he was. Making his Test debut against Australia in Brisbane, Abid Ali revealed his bowling prowess. In his first-ever Test match, he claimed six wickets for 55 runs, a remarkable feat that announced his arrival on the international stage. In the same Australia series, enthusiasts recall, he…

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose inside the hatch connecting Boeing’s Starliner to the International Space Station onNASAThe two U.S. astronauts who had been at the International Space Station for nine months after their faulty Boeing Starliner capsule returned without them are finally heading home.NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left Earth in June on a test flight that was originally intended to last about nine days.But their stay was extended after thrusters on Boeing’s Starliner capsule “Calypso” failed during docking, raising concerns about the ship’s ability to carry them home. The agency ultimately sent the capsule…

Israel has launched a major assault on Gaza, shattering the fragile two-month-old ceasefire between its forces and Hamas. Israeli air strikes across the territory early on Tuesday killed at least 232 Palestinians, many of them children, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said. The dead included at least 77 people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and at least 20 people in Gaza City in the north, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Israeli strikes also hit locations in central Deir el-Balah and Rafah in the south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military to take “strong action” against Hamas…

ZHEJIANG, CHINA – MARCH 16 2023: A view of the logo of ERNIE Bot, an AI chatbot service developed by Chinese search engine Baidu, March 16, 2023.Long Wei | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesShares of Chinese tech giant Baidu were trading up 10.7% in Asia on Tuesday, as investors appeared to react positively to the release of two new AI models over the weekend.  Baidu released two new artificial intelligence models on Sunday, including the latest version of its foundational “Ernie” model and a new reasoning model that it said rivaled DeepSeek’s R1 model. CNBC is not able to verify these claims.A…

Captain Salman Agha top-scored with a rapid 46 as Pakistan posted 135-9 off 15 overs in the rain-reduced second T20 against New Zealand on Tuesday. The home side will chase 136 in Dunedin to go 2-0 up in the five-match series after winning the opener by nine wickets in Christchurch on Sunday. Salman launched a recovery after Pakistan were sent in and lost opener Hasan Nawaz without scoring for the second time in the series. They were 19-2 in the fourth over before the skipper embarked on a 28-ball knock that featured four fours and three sixes. Shadab Khan was…

* The Chinese economy has maintained good growth momentum, starting the year on a steady note with sound industrial performances and impactful macro policies.* During January and February 2025, most key indicators saw solid increases, employment remained generally stable, and new quality productive forces continued to grow.* The country’s sound economic performance in the first two months has laid a good foundation for success in meeting its annual growth target.BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) — The Chinese economy has maintained good growth momentum, starting the year on a steady note with sound industrial performances and impactful macro policies, official data revealed…

Listen to article Finance ministry has refuted reports attributing a statement to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb regarding any change in government employees’ salaries, Express News reported. In a clarification issued on Monday, the ministry stated that the finance minister did not make any such announcement on the floor of the National Assembly. It added that reports suggesting otherwise are “not based on facts.” “The finance minister did not mention any revision of pay scales or salary increases for government employees in his speech,” the ministry said. The clarification follows earlier reports claiming that the upcoming federal budget does not include any proposal…