Author: i2wtc
DPM appreciates Saudi Arabia’s continued support for Pakistan’s efforts towards achieving lasting peaceDeputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar discussed current situation of region with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin. PHOTO: RADIO PAKISTAN Pakistan and Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern over ceasefire violations in Lebanon on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). The concern was raised during a telephone conversation between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the statement said. Dar appreciated Saudi Arabia’s continued support for Pakistan’s efforts towards achieving lasting peace. Both leaders stressed the…
A mechanical hand is on display at the Robot Mall, world’s first embodied intelligent robot 4S store, on August 13, 2025 in Beijing, China. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Alibaba Cloud is investing in a new type of artificial intelligence designed to better replicate the real world using a different approach from chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.The shift recognizes the limits of “large language models” trained primarily on text. Instead, developers are starting to focus more on “world models” built on videos and real-life physical scenarios.To jump on the trend, Alibaba led a 2 billion yuan…
Interior minister meets US Charge d’Affaires to Pakistan Natalie Baker, discusses arrangements for high-level talksInterior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and US Charge d’Affaires to Pakistan Natalie Baker. SCREENGRAB Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured US Charge d’Affaires to Pakistan Natalie Baker on Thursday of foolproof security ahead of the arrival of high-level foreign delegations in Islamabad on Friday for the US-Iran ceasefire talks. The meeting came a day after Pakistan brokered a US‑Iran two‑week ceasefire. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Iran and the US, along with their allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire ‘everywhere, including Lebanon,’ effective immediately. He invited…
Both leaders express satisfaction over de-escalation achieved so far, underscore importance of maintaining ceasefireField Marshal Asim Munir calls on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday. Photo: PMO Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Thursday reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to providing complete support to Iran and the United States in reaching a peace agreement following their earlier two-week ceasefire. Earlier on Wednesday, the prime minister announced that Iran and the US, along with their allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere, including…
A US Postal Service (USPS) post office is near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 5, 2025.Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty ImagesThe U.S. Postal Service, citing what it called a “severe financial crisis,” on Thursday announced a proposed set of price hikes across its mail products, which would include a four-cent increase on First-Class Mail Forever stamps.The increases, if approved, would lead to a first-class stamp costing 82 cents, effective July 12.The agency’s proposal to the Postal Regulatory Commission would increase costs to mail letters and postcards by 4.8% if approved. The proposal…
Oil storage containers and facilities of the TotalEnergies refinery in Leuna, Germany PHOTO: REUTERS Oil prices rose on Thursday as doubts over a fragile two-week Middle East ceasefire raised concerns that energy flows through the crucial Strait of Hormuz will remain restricted. Brent crude futures were up $1.96, or 2.07%, at $96.71 a barrel at 0325 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.60, or 2.75%, to $97.01 a barrel. Both benchmark prices fell below $100 per barrel in the previous trading session, with WTI recording its biggest decline since April 2020, on initial expectations for the ceasefire…
President Donald Trump speaks to press at the White House, in Washington, April 6, 2026.Kyle Mazza | Anadolu | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump on Thursday said that Iran “better stop now” if it’s charging fees to oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.Trump’s warning in a Truth Social post put even more strain on the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran less than two days after it began.Trump said Tuesday evening that the U.S. would agree to a two-week suspension of hostilities against the Islamic Republic on the condition that it agree to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE…
As per notification, revised dates for these examinations will be announced in due courseGirls Higher Secondary School Jacob Lines examination centre in Karachi. PHOTO: JALAL QURESHI/FILE ISLAMABAD: Examinations scheduled for April 9 and 10 at three centres in Islamabad have been postponed following official directions issued in view of ongoing diplomatic activities in the federal capital, according to a notification. According to a notification issued by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), “In view of ongoing diplomatic activities in Islamabad, the examinations scheduled on April 9 and 10 at the following examination centres are hereby postponed.” The…
Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a talk session with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at an event titled “Transforming Business through AI” in Tokyo, on Feb. 3, 2025.Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty ImagesWith Anthropic gaining momentum in the booming AI market, OpenAI sent a memo to investors this week slamming its chief rival for “operating on a meaningfully smaller curve,” and characterizing the company as compute constrained. OpenAI said it’s planning to have 30 gigawatts of compute by 2030, while it expects Anthropic to have roughly 7 to 8 gigawatts by the end of 2027, according to the memo,…
‘This is a victory for diplomacy and dialogue,’ Rizwan Saeed Sheikh says in interview with CNNPakistan’s Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh in an exclusive interview with CNN. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh said that Pakistan had been working diplomatically for weeks, and the successful announcement of the ceasefire between US and Iran, and the opening of negotiations was a direct result of these efforts. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Sheikh discussed the country’s diplomatic efforts in facilitating the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. “This is a victory for diplomacy…