Author: i2wtc
White House Correspondents’ Association says move ‘tears at the independence of a free press’ in the US.The White House has said it will decide which journalists and media organisations can participate in press pools covering United States President Donald Trump’s administration, in a move critics have decried as an attack on press freedom. The pool system – which prioritises select television, radio, wire, print and photojournalists for coverage of smaller events – has been dominated for decades by journalists from outlets such as CNN, Reuters, ABC News, Fox News and The New York Times. Trump administration spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said…
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the United States and Ukraine had agreed to a draft critical minerals deal that, according to the president, could be worth about $1 trillion. The proposed deal is seen by many analysts as an attempt by Kyiv to win the support of the new US administration amid tensions over Washington’s outreach to Moscow to end the Ukraine war. The apparent deal comes a week after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected an earlier draft. The Ukrainian leader had earlier aired his grievance against being left out of US-Russia talks to end the Ukraine war.…
LAHORE: Pakistan will host the much-delayed 14th South Asian Games in 2026, the South Asian National Olympic Committee announced in a meeting held here on Tuesday. The games — which were supposed to be held in 2021 but was postponed due to Covid-19 — will be staged in Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad from Jan 23 to 31. The meeting — chaired by South Asian Olympic Committee Pakistan Olympic Association president Arif Saeed — was attended by the representatives of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives while an Indian spokesperson joined the meeting online. There were problems in holding…
North Miami Beach, Florida, T.J. Maxx & HomeGoods discount department store, furniture display and welcome sign.Jeff Greenberg | Getty ImagesTJX Cos. posted a better-than-expected holiday quarter driven entirely by customer transactions, indicating the off-price giant is still taking market share from department stores and other discounters as price-conscious consumers hunt for deals.The discounter behind T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods beat Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines, but it gave cautious guidance for the current fiscal year and current quarter.For its fiscal 2026, TJX is planning for comparable sales to rise between 2% and 3%, below Wall Street…
An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 25, 2025 shows tourists visiting the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. The 26th Harbin Ice-Snow World officially closed on Wednesday as temperatures rise. (Xinhua/Wang Song)HARBIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — Harbin Ice-Snow World, the world’s largest ice-and-snow theme park, officially closed its 26th edition on Wednesday evening in the city of Harbin, capital of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang Province, attracting a record-breaking 3.56 million tourist visits, said the park’s operator.This year’s attendance surpassed the previous edition by 31.4 percent, jumping from 2.71 million visits, according to data from the Harbin Ice…
Listen to article A judge handling the Mustafa Amir murder case has been stripped of administrative powers after a high court panel found irregularities in his decision to deny police remand of the accused. The ruling follows allegations of record tampering and judicial overreach, sparking concerns over the integrity of the proceedings, Express News reported. A two-member Sindh High Court bench, led by Justice Zafar Rajput, issued a detailed verdict, ordering that Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Zakir Hussain be removed from his administrative role. The court found significant procedural violations, including improper handling of remand requests and unauthorized changes to official documents.…
United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to sell $5m “gold card” resident permits to foreigners – a programme that would also come with a route to citizenship. The high-dollar visa would replace the US’s current “EB-5” immigrant investor visa for foreign job-creators, which Trump’s commerce secretary has slammed as full of “nonsense” and “fraud”. “You have a green card, this is a gold card,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday. Permanent residents who are not citizens in the US are known as “green card” holders. “It’s going to give you green card privileges plus it’s going…
In the early hours of Monday, 56-year-old Ahmed al-Amouri watched wryly as three Israeli tanks rolled into his hometown, Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. The last time he had seen tanks there was more than two decades ago when Israel sought to crush the second Intifada in 2002. This time, the scene seemed to provoke more humour than alarm. He joined bystanders who took selfies in front of the armoured vehicles or pelted them with rocks as they entered Jenin. “There’s no point bringing those tanks all the way here. The city’s empty!” the father of five said. “I…
Tesla CEO Elon Musk postponed a scheduled trip to India this week where he was to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing “heavy Tesla obligations.”Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty ImagesIndia has been striving to become a global manufacturing hub, having successfully invited major companies such as Apple to set up as well as expand production in the country.To further bolster its manufacturing prowess, the South Asian nation has been eyeing Tesla to set up its base in the country. And the carmaker that has appeared reluctant for long is now signaling interest in the market as the Indian government attempts…
Former cricketers and pundits have slammed India’s “undeniable” advantage of playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, while the other seven teams have to shuttle between three venues in Pakistan, and the UAE. India refused to travel to hosts Pakistan for the 50-over tournament, because of security concerns and political tensions, and are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. A stand-off between the rivals lasted for more than a month, leaving plans for the tournament in jeopardy until the Pakistan board finally agreed a compromise with the International Cricket Council. The deal means Pakistan will…