Author: i2wtc

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: In a major policy decision, Pakistan on Friday gave Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders a March 31 deadline to leave the country or face deportation. Reports were doing rounds that Pakistan was planning to evict all Afghans from the country but this was for the first time the Interior Ministry officially confirmed the development. “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program (IFRP) is being implemented since November 1, 2023. In continuation of the government’s decision to repatriate all illegal foreigners, national leadership has now decided to also repatriate ACC holders,” read the official handout of the interior ministry. “All illegal foreigners…

Supreme Leader Khamenei responds after US president said he had sent letter to Tehran seeking new round of talks.The United States is not seeking negotiations with Iran but rather imposing demands on it, the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, after US President Donald Trump said earlier this week he had sent a letter to the Iranian leadership seeking to initiate talks on a nuclear deal. Khamenei’s comments on Saturday came after Trump said in an interview with Fox Business that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal” to prevent Tehran…

Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed three Palestinians and wounded several in the southern governorate of Rafah as Hamas and Egyptian officials meet in Cairo for talks on the future of a precarious ceasefire. On Saturday morning, an Israeli drone targeted a group of people east of Rafah city, killing two Palestinians. Our colleagues on the ground reported that one person was also killed by Israeli fire in at-Tannour, also east of Rafah. Since Friday night, Rafah has been the target of intense Israeli attacks from tanks and drones with shelling impacting residential areas, including al-Jnaina, ash-Shawka and Tal as-Sultan, the…

House Republicans unveiled a spending bill Saturday that would keep federal agencies funded through Sept. 30, pushing ahead with a go-it-alone strategy that seems certain to spark a major confrontation with Democrats over the contours of government spending.The 99-page bill would provide a slight boost to defense programs while trimming nondefense programs below 2024 budget year levels. That approach is likely to be a nonstarter for most Democrats who have long insisted that defense and nondefense spending move in the same direction.Congress must act by midnight Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is teeing up the…

Listen to article Iran has denied receiving a letter from US President Donald Trump, who claimed to have sent a message urging the country’s leadership to enter negotiations over its nuclear programme. The Iranian government has dismissed the prospect of talks, citing Washington’s ongoing sanctions as a key obstacle. On Friday, an Iranian embassy spokesman confirmed that Tehran had not received any communication from the US president. This comes after Trump stated in a recent interview that he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seeking to resume discussions over a new deal to address Iran’s rapidly advancing…

The Men in Blue will look to win back-to-back ICC titles when they face the Black Caps in Dubai on Sunday.India’s hunger for a global title remains undiminished, but there will be no desperation when they clash with New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final, opener Shubman Gill says. India ended a 13-year global title drought when they won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies last year under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Stopping that barren run, which included losing the 2023 Cricket World Cup final on home soil, has allowed them to play the big matches like Sunday’s final…

A person uses DeepSeek app on a mobile phone on Feb. 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)* DeepSeek and AI have become buzzwords at this year’s “two sessions,” a key political event that decides on China’s development agenda.* The government work report, which charts China’s course for this year and beyond, pledges support for the industry of embodied AI and also the extensive application of large-scale AI models.* National lawmakers and political advisors gathering in Beijing have called for establishing regulations to boost the AI industry and prevent misuse of the technology.by Xinhua writers Yao Yuan, Zhao Chenjie and Huang ZechenBEIJING, March…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: The government is mulling over creating new posts for top bureaucracy to increase depth in the existing pay scales. In a recent meeting, the committee on civil service reforms reviewed the idea of introducing additional pay scales – BPS-23 and 24. It also discussed the proposals of bifurcating ministries and benefits as per work load, merger of allowances and exempting the allowances from taxes. Committee members asked whether the existing basic pay scales (BPS) should be retained. Responding to that, the additional secretary of the Finance Division said that the option was considered by a working group, but…

General view of the entrance to the clubhouse at Trump Turnberry golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.Tom Bergin | ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been daubed with pro-Palestinian graffiti, with a protest group claiming responsibility.Local media on Saturday showed images of red paint scrawled across walls at the course with the slogans “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” as well as insults against Trump.”Gaza is not for sale” was also painted on one of the greens and holes dug up on the course.Palestine Action said it caused the damage, posting on social media platform X: “Whilst Trump…

Listen to article Security forces thwarted a second terrorist attack on a Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border checkpoint within a week, police officials said on Saturday. Around 15 to 20 heavily armed terrorists launched a pre-dawn assault on the Lakhani checkpoint, using rocket launchers and other heavy weapons, according to a Punjab police spokesperson, Express News reported. The attackers approached the post in small groups from multiple directions but were detected through thermal imaging cameras. Alert personnel responded immediately with machine guns and mortar fire, forcing the assailants to retreat. “There are reports of significant militant casualties, though exact figures remain unconfirmed,” the police…