Author: i2wtc

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday declared the elections of the Islamabad Regional Cricket Association (IRCA) null and void following the adjudicator’s ruling. The controversial IRCA elections, held in March 2023, faced challenges from local cricket clubs. The adjudicator ultimately invalidated the polls, prompting the PCB to issue a notification removing all office bearers of the IRCA, headed by Shakil Shaikh, from their positions and barring them from performing any official duties. With this development, Islamabad joins Sialkot, Faisalabad, and Multan as regional cricket bodies currently operating without elected leadership. In these regions, the absence of an appointed…

A drone photo taken on May 15, 2025 shows harvesters working at the “Tianfu granary” core demonstration zone in Chongzhou, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. A smart agriculture competition, running from May 15 to Sept. 30, pits six human farming teams against four AI-assisted groups across 1,000 mu (or 66.7 hectares) of prime Sichuan farmland. This modern-day duel between tradition and technology offers a window into China’s quest for smart agriculture.(Xinhua)CHENGDU, June 4 (Xinhua) — Under the golden June sun, emerald rice paddies ripple across the “Tianfu granary” core demonstration zone in Chongzhou, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, where a high-stakes agricultural…

Listen to article RAWALPINDI: Security forces on Tuesday killed seven alleged terrorists during two separate operations in Kalat and Kachhi district of restive Balochistan. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations, security forces carried out an intelligence based operation (IBO) in the Mach general area of district Kachhi on reported presence of “Fitna-al Hindustan” terrorists. “During the operation, our troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense exchange of fire, sent five Indian sponsored terrorists to hell,” it said. In another IBO conducted in the Margand general area of Kalat district, security forces raided a hideout and…

Mexico says tariffs make ‘no sense’ as Canada seeks negotiations to remove the levies ongoing.In a move that has reignited trade tensions with key allies, United States President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The new rates, which came into effect early on Wednesday, raise duties from 25 percent to 50 percent. Trump says the measure is designed to bolster the struggling US metals sector. “We started at 25 and then, after studying the data more, realised that it was a big help, but more help is needed. And so that is why the 50 [percent…

Iranian supreme leader says issue of uranium enrichment remains key to Tehran’s pursuit of energy independence.Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pledged that Tehran will not abandon its uranium enrichment, rejecting a key demand in a United States proposal aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme. The comments were delivered in a speech on Wednesday as the US and Iran continue to negotiate the details of a possible new nuclear deal. The issue of uranium enrichment has remained a sticking point in the talks, with the US reportedly demanding a complete halt or low-level enrichment in…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: It was revealed during the meeting of a parliamentary panel that around 135,000 Pakistanis have sought political asylum in western countries in the last two years. The committee was also told that 52,000 Pakistanis have been deported from neighboring countries including Iran during the same period. The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis held a meeting on Tuesday. During the session, chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, the director general of passports revealed that 125,000 Pakistanis in Europe and more than 10,000 in the United States had applied for political asylum. He informed the committee that some countries do…

KARACHI: Cricket Australia (CA) has agreed to send its team to Pakistan early next year for a white-ball series, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Tuesday. Speaking during an online media interaction, CA chief executive Todd Greenburg said that Australia was keen to visit Pakistan for more tours and that discussions were ongoing with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2025–27, Australia are slated to tour Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20Is in February–March 2026. “We are trying to schedule a red-ball and white ball series in our…

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing, capital of China, June 4, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing on Wednesday. Congratulating Lukashenko again on his reelection as the president of Belarus, Xi said the two countries are true friends and good partners, treating each other with sincerity and trust.Noting China and Belarus share enduring traditional friendship, formidable political mutual trust and growing cooperation in all fields, Xi said China has always viewed and developed China-Belarus relations from a strategic and a long-term…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday approved an $800 million financing package for Pakistan to enhance tax collection and provide guarantees for securing foreign commercial loans by rejecting Indian objections. The Manila-based lender protected its neutrality by refusing to allow the use of the platform for settling political score by India. The ADB was under pressure from India not to approve the financing package but Pakistan being the founding member has all the rights to secure loans by fulfilling the agreed conditions. The ADB’s local office announced on Tuesday that the lender approved an $800 million programme…

Khan Younis, Gaza – Yazan Musleh, 13, lies in a hospital bed set up in a tent on the grounds of Nasser Hospital, his t-shirt pulled up to reveal a large white bandage on his thin torso. Beside him, his father, Ihab, sits fretfully, still shaken by the bloodied dawn he and his sons lived through on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of people gathered to receive aid from the Israeli-conceived, and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Ihab, 40, had taken Yazan and his 15-year-old brother, Yazid, from their shelter in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, to the…