Author: i2wtc

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the government’s rationale behind the windfall profit tax, probing whether ordinary price hikes could be treated as extraordinary profits. A five-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard arguments from petitioners’ counsel Ahmed Jamal Sukhera. Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi asked: “If petrol rises from Rs150 to Rs200, would that be windfall profit? If sugar goes from Rs160 to Rs170, would that still count?” Sukhera argued that the tax unfairly targeted a few sectors. “If three or four people benefit while the majority incur losses, how can tax be imposed?” he said, noting…

Pakistan and India players in action during their SAFF U-17 Championship match on Monday.—Courtesy SAFF COLOMBO: Pakistan twice came from behind in an enthralling SAFF Under-17 Championship clash against India, only for their arch-rivals to go ahead for a third time and eventually clinch a 3-2 victory at the Colombo Racecourse Stadium on Monday that secured top spot in the group. Goals in each half by Pakistan’s Mohammad Abdullah, from the penalty spot, and Hamza Yasir had levelled the Group ‘B’ clash at 2-2 by the 70th minute but India’s substitute Rahan Ahmed found the winner in the 73rd to…

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (L), and Jensen Huang CEO of Nvidia.ReutersABILENE, Texas – Sam Altman had a deadline. OpenAI’s CEO was headed to Texas to unveil his company’s next big infrastructure push, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wanted in on the action. Through a series of hurried negotiations, late-night calls and last-minute contract tweaks, the two giants of artificial intelligence struck a $100 billion partnership on Monday, hours before Altman boarded his flight to Abilene, a city of about 130,000 residents roughly 180 miles west of Dallas. It helped that Huang and Altman had been part of President Donald…

Massive floods in Pakistan have struck both the rural heartland and industrial centres for the first time in decades, causing billions of dollars in damage while straining food supplies, exports and a fragile economic recovery. The government had been optimistic about 2026, pencilling in 4.2% growth on the back of a rebound in farming and manufacturing after the economy was stabilised under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout. Instead, record monsoon rains since late June, amplified by dam releases from India, have submerged large swathes of Punjab and Sindh, the two most populous and economically vital provinces. While waters…

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa will be without injured captain Temba Bavuma for their Tests in Pakistan next month, but Quinton de Kock will come out of One-day International retirement to play in both white-ball series on the all-formats tour. South Africa begin the defence of their World Test Championship title with a two-match series in Pakistan, starting in Lahore on October 12, but must do so without influential batter Bavuma, who has a calf strain. “Naturally, we are disappointed not to have Temba available,” South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said. “He has been such an important leader and batter for us…

ISLAMABAD: The tax authorities have admitted that the entire current gap of Rs3.6 trillion in sales tax collection cannot be eliminated due to the fragmentation and informality of the retail sector, in an assessment that underscores the challenge of pooling due taxes from all economic sectors. The assessment has recently been shared with the Prime Minister’s Office, indicating that in the retail sector alone, the tax gap was nearly one-tenth, or Rs310 billion. However, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) also claimed it collected Rs874 billion in the last fiscal year through enforcement measures. The Express Tribune had sent questions…

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) winger Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d’Or on Monday as a reward for his starring role in the club’s Champions League triumph last season, while Spain’s Aitana Bonmati claimed the women’s prize for the third year in a row. Dembele, 28, edged out Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal to succeed Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri, who took the trophy in 2024, as the winner of the most prestigious individual prize in football — an award that for many years had been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Former Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona forward Dembele, who was…

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue speaks to reporters in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2025.CNBC | Evelyn ChengBEIJING — A highly anticipated meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents is more likely to take place next year than this fall, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Tuesday.”We’re looking forward to getting together, as President Trump said, and potentially in the near future, but certainly next year,” Perdue said. His comments came during a press conference with a group of U.S. lawmakers on a rare visit to Beijing — the first since 2019.After a call Friday with Chinese President Xi…

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud (L) co-chair the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)Speaking via videoconference, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the historic New York Declaration “marked the beginning of an irreversible path toward ending the humanitarian catastrophe and ending occupation,” calling it “the embodiment of an independent State of Palestine.”UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) — France, Belgium and several other countries on Monday joined the…

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan has called on the public to attend the mass rally, scheduled for September 27 in Peshawar, describing it as a demonstration for the nation’s freedom. The PTI leadership in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has declared its upcoming September 27 rally in Peshawar a milestone in the push for the release of its jailed party founder. The rally is scheduled to be held near Ring Road Motorway Chowk in Peshawar, beginning at 4 pm. “The media’s voice has been strangled. This rally is for the nation’s freedom. The party has been instructed to make it a success,” said Aleema…