Author: i2wtc

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 departs Los Angeles International Airport en route to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Sept. 19, 2024.Kevin Carter | Getty ImagesAlaska Airlines is buying more than 100 Boeing jets, a purchase that the carrier’s fleet chief said will ensure it has locked in sought-after order slots through the middle of the next decade to expand. The order, Alaska’s largest ever, announced Wednesday, includes 105 yet-to-be-certified Boeing 737 Max 10 jets. Alaska is also buying five 787-10 Dreamliners, using its previous purchase options for those long-haul jets as it charts international expansion.Shane Jones, who oversees Alaska Airlines’ fleet, revenue…

A staff member sorts parcels at a management center of ZTO Express in Helan County, Yinchuan, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — China’s postal industry processed 216.5 billion delivery items in 2025, an increase of 11.5 percent year on year, according to data released at the 2026 national postal work conference on Wednesday.The courier sector alone handled 199 billion parcels, marking a 13.7 percent growth from 2024.Zhao Chongjiu, head of the State Post Bureau, said at the conference that the postal industry’s total business revenue reached 1.8 trillion yuan (about 256.5…

Trump to redirect crude supplies from China as Washington tightens grip on Venezuelan energy sectorVenezuela oil. Photo: AFP (file) Caracas and Washington have reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts. The agreement is a strong sign that the Venezuelan government is responding to Trump’s demand that they open up to US oil companies or risk more military intervention. Trump has said he wants interim President Delcy…

An electric air taxi by Joby Aviation sits at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City, Nov. 12, 2023.Roselle Chen | ReutersJoby Aviation on Wednesday said it bought a 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, as the air taxi maker gears up to meet its production goals for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts, also known as eVTOLs. The company said the new location, its second in Ohio, more than doubles the size of its manufacturing footprint. The company also reiterated plans announced last year to more than double production capacity to four aircrafts a month by 2027.CEO JoeBen…

This photo taken on the 79th floor of the Tianjin World Financial Center on Jan. 1, 2026 shows the scenery at sunrise in Tianjin, north China. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — China’s equity market kicked off 2026 with strong momentum, reinforcing growing confidence among domestic and international institutions, with technology-related sectors broadly regarded as the primary growth driver.On Wednesday, China’s A-share market hit fresh records, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.05 percent to 4,085.77 points, marking its highest level in over a decade. The index also logged its 14th consecutive daily gain, surpassing the previous record set…

Naqvi, Chinese interior minister agree to deepen security cooperation, counterterrorism coordination Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday announced the establishment of a special protection unit in Islamabad to ensure the security of Chinese citizens, calling their safety a top priority for Pakistan. Naqvi made the announcement during a visit to the headquarters of China’s Ministry of Public Security, where he was received by Chinese Interior Minister Wang Xiaohong. The two held a three-and-a-half-hour meeting covering Pakistan-China relations, counterterrorism cooperation, police training exchanges and other areas of mutual interest. Both sides agreed that the joint working group on internal security…

An American flag flies at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, on Sept. 12, 2025.Mario Tama | Getty ImagesThe Warner Bros. Discovery board on Wednesday once again unanimously recommended that WBD shareholders reject a hostile takeover offer from Paramount Skydance. The board said it continued to believe the Paramount bid is “inferior” to a previously announced deal with Netflix to buy WBD’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion. “We have a signed merger agreement with Netflix, it’s a compelling value, a clear path to closing and protections for our shareholders if something stops the close, whatever that might be,”…

People exercise at Waizhuang Park in Huzhou City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, April 14, 2025. (Photo by Yi Fan/Xinhua)BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — The health literacy rate among Chinese people rose by 1.82 percentage points year on year to reach 33.69 percent in 2025, announced the National Health Commission on Wednesday.The health literacy rate among urban residents reached 36.68 percent, while that among rural residents was 30.58 percent, reflecting respective increases of 1.94 and 1.47 percentage points compared to 2024, according to the ministry.The health literacy gap between the less-developed western region and the eastern and central regions narrowed in…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday emphasised that privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remains a top government priority, highlighting the sale of 75 per cent of PIA shares as a first step in a wider reform drive. Chairing a high-level meeting on the affairs of the Privatisation Commission at the Prime Minister’s House, the premier directed that the pace of reforms within the Commission be further accelerated to ensure efficiency, transparency and credibility in the privatisation process. The meeting was informed that the privatisation of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) has been planned in two initial batches. In the first batch,…

A State Department contractor adjusts a Pakistan national flag before a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on the sidelines of the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism at the State Department in Washington February 19, 2015 Photo: Reuters ISLAMABAD: A high-level Senate delegation led by Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan will pay an official visit to the United States from January 20 to 25, 2026, the Senate Secretariat announced on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a broader thaw in Pakistan-US relations over the past year. The Secretariat described the…