Author: i2wtc

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the schedule for the HBL Pakistan Super League X, set to commence from April 11, with defending champions Islamabad United taking on two times champions Lahore Qalandars at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The six-team tournament will see 34 matches played from April 11 to May 18. Lahore’s newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium is set to host 13 matches, including two eliminators and the final. The upcoming edition will feature an exhibition match played in Peshawar on April 8. The teams of the match will be confirmed in due course. The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium…

Boring machines, high-grade shutters, and debris removal machinery were brought to the location to assist rescuers.Operations have continued for the seventh day to rescue several workers who remained trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel in southern India. More heavy equipment has been deployed to hasten the search as India’s South Central Railway announced on Friday that its rescue team had joined the mission to locate the trapped workers in the town of Nagarkurnool in Telangana state. Spokesman A Sridhar said railway experts have the expertise in cutting heavy metals using equipment such as a plasma cutter and Brocho cutting machine.…

 China’s AG600 large amphibious aircraft are pictured at a flight test base in Pucheng County of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, July 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) — China’s AG600 large amphibious aircraft on Friday completed all of its prior-certification flight test subjects, a key step toward achieving its airworthiness certification target, announced the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).The Chinese independently-developed AG600 aircraft on Friday accomplished the compliance flight test subject of combustible liquid discharge at a civil aircraft flight test center in Pucheng County in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, the AVIC said.Over the past two years, the…

Israel says unclear if there is ‘common ground to negotiate’.Talks have started in Egypt for the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza, the first phase of which ends on Saturday. Officials from Israel joined mediators from Qatar and the United States in Cairo on Thursday for “intensive discussions”, Egypt’s state information service said. US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, may join the talks. Talks over the second phase of the ceasefire are meant to negotiate a complete end to the war, including the return of all remaining living captives in Gaza and the complete withdrawal…

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat in the crucial Champions Trophy Group B match against Australia in Lahore on Friday. Tournament debutantes Afghanistan will reach the semi-finals if they win today. They have kept the same team that beat England by a thrilling eight runs. They lost their first match of the 50-over competition against South Africa by 107 runs. Steve Smith-led Australia will themselves reach the semi-finals with a win. They kept the same team that beat England by five wickets in their first match. Their second match, against South Africa, was washed out.…

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump at a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C.Carl Court | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesU.S. President Donald Trump signaled the U.K. could broker a “real trade deal” and escape tariffs amid ongoing negotiations sweetened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Thursday visit to the White House.When asked during a joint press briefing whether Starmer had convinced Trump to avoid additional levies on Britain, Trump said, “He tried! He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned…

Listen to article The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety has announced the Zakat Nisab for the year 2025, specifying the deduction threshold for bank accounts. The new regulations state that Zakat will be deducted from accounts with a balance of Rs179,689 or more on the first day of Ramadan, which falls on March 1 or 2, 2025. The ministry has informed banks that Zakat will be applicable on saving accounts, and similar types of accounts, while current accounts will remain exempt. Accounts with a balance lower than Rs179,689 on the first day of Ramadan will not be subject to Zakat…

Here are the key developments on the 1,100th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Here is the situation on Friday, February 28: Fighting A woman and a child were killed in a drone attack on an ambulance in the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russian state news agency RIA reported. The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 107 drones out of 208 launched by Russia overnight. The air force said another 97 drones had been “lost” and did not reach their targets. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had foiled an attempt by Ukraine’s military intelligence service…

Listen to article Pakistan’s democracy ranking fell six spots in 2024, placing it among the “top 10 worst performers” in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index. Pakistan ranked 124th globally, scoring 2.84, and was classified as an authoritarian regime. The index, which evaluates democracy trends across 165 countries and two territories, categorizes nations based on electoral processes, government functioning, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. The global study noted an overall decline in democracy worldwide, with authoritarian regimes becoming increasingly entrenched. Nearly 40% of the global population now lives under authoritarian rule, with 60 countries classified as such. The index observed…

LAHORE: The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has announced on Thursday that the 35th National Games and the inaugural National Youth Games will be held in Karachi and Lahore, respectively, later this year. The National Games are scheduled to take place from May 6 to 16, while the National Youth Games will be held from Sept 7 to 13. The decision was made during the POA Executive Committee meeting on Thursday, chaired by POA president Arif Saeed. “The committee approved the first-ever National Youth Games in Lahore,” POA said in a press release. “The event, aimed at athletes aged 14-17, will…