Author: i2wtc

Pictured here is the Ernie bot mobile interface, with the Baidu search engine home page in the background.Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesChinese tech giant Baidu has bolstered its core search platform with artificial intelligence in the biggest overhaul of the product in 10 years.Analysts told CNBC the move was a bid to keep ahead of fast-moving rivals like DeepSeek, rather than traditional search players.”There has been some small pressure on the search business but the focus on AI and Ernie Bot is a key move ahead,” Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, told…

Listen to article KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stood at $14.51 billion by the end of FY25, marking an increase of $5.12 billion from $9.39 billion a year earlier, according to provisional data released by the central bank on Wednesday. The reserves amounted to $9.39 billion on June 30, 2024, indicating a year-on-year rise of 54.5%. “This reflects a noticeable improvement in the country’s current account balance and realisation of planned inflows during the year,” the SBP noted. In a volatile fiscal year, the central bank reserves had fluctuated sharply due to debt repayments…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: Days after the army chief’s unprecedented visit to Washington, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of the Air Staff, undertook an official visit to the United States in yet another significant development aimed at strengthening bilateral defence cooperation and advancing mutual interests. This was the first visit by a serving PAF chief in over a decade, indicating the stepped up military engagements between Pakistan and the US. “The high-profile visit marked a strategic milestone in Pakistan-US defence cooperation and proved instrumental in deepening institutional ties in addition to addressing key regional and global security issues,” read…

Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, 28, died in a fiery car crash near Zamora in northwestern Spain with his brother, Spanish state-owned TV station TVE said on Thursday, citing local firefighters. Police told Reuters everything pointed to that information being correct, although they could not yet officially confirm the names. The regional fire department of Castille-Leon, where Zamora is located, said on its website a car crashed shortly after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames, with two men, aged 28 and 26, found dead. Liverpool Football Club said it was “devastated by the tragic passing of Jota.” “The club…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday appreciated the efforts by Saudi Arabia for peace in the Middle East as well as its significant role in the ceasefire understanding between Pakistan and India. The prime minister said this in a meeting with Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad Nawaf bin Saeed Al Malkiy, while fondly recalling his warm and cordial telephone conversation with the Saudi Crown Prince on June 24 to discuss the regional situation. He conveyed his respectful regards to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime…

Listen to article At least four people died, 30 are missing and 31 survived after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, the country’s Search and Rescue agency said on Thursday, as rescuers raced to find victims in the rough sea. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java province’s Banyuwangi port on its way to Bali late on Wednesday, the agency said on Thursday. The boat was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as 22 vehicles, the agency said. A search for the missing is underway although…

LAHORE: Having performed impressively in Test cricket during the past few years, Pakistan off-spinner Sajid Khan vows to play white-ball cricket for the country. The 31-year-old Sajid, who made his Test debut in 2021 at Harare, played match-winning roles in a number of Tests but has not featured in One-day Internationals and T20 Internationals. “I am trying to play T20I and One-day International cricket for Pakistan and league cricket, too. I am working on it. Insha Allah I will play white-ball cricket for Pakistan,” Sajid said while talking to reporters during the Skill Development camp, which is in progress at…

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with the media after the House Republican Conference meeting on a plan to fund the government and avert a shutdown in the U.S. Capitol on Friday, December 20, 2024.Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesThe Republican-controlled U.S. House on Thursday advanced U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax and spending megabill, after a dramatic night of voting that was nearly derailed by Republican defections.The House voted 219-213 to move the bill forward.The step to begin final debate marks a win for Republican leadership seeking to deliver on Trump’s second term policy agenda. U.S.…

A fireboat of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government performs a water gate ceremony for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy fleet in Hong Kong, south China, July 3, 2025. A fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy led by the aircraft carrier Shandong arrived here on Thursday morning. (Photo by Jia Xiaopeng/Xinhua)HONG KONG, July 3 (Xinhua) — A fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy led by the aircraft carrier Shandong arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Thursday morning, kicking off a five-day visit.At around 8 a.m., the fleet comprising the…

ISLAMABAD: Flash floods and heavy rain in have killed 64 people and injured 117 in a week across the country, a government agency said Wednesday. The highest toll was in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with 23 dead including 10 children, the National Disaster Management Authority said. Fourteen of the victims were swept away in a flash flood in the Swat Valley last week, local media reported. Flash floods and homes collapsing in heavy rain killed 21 others in the eastern province of Punjab, including 11 children, the authority said. In Sindh, 15 were killed, while five people died in southwestern Balochistan. Meanwhile, the…