Author: i2wtc

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has directed all Pakistan Army units deployed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) to intensify relief and rehabilitation efforts for communities ravaged by unprecedented monsoon floods, issuing special operational orders to reinforce local response. According to security sources, the army chief has dispatched additional troops to the hardest-hit zones while senior military commanders coordinate closely with civil authorities. “Every soldier’s one‑day salary has been dedicated to flood‑affected populations,” the sources said, adding that over 600 tonnes of army rations have also been donated to bolster relief supplies. Complementing ground efforts, the Corps of Engineers…

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a joint press conference after concluding their talks in Anchorage, Alaska, the United States, on Aug. 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)ANCHORAGE, United States, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared at a joint press conference on Friday after concluding their talks in Anchorage, the U.S. state of Alaska.The talks, held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in the city of Anchorage, lasted about three hours.It was the first face-to-face meeting between the presidents of the two countries since 2021. ■U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and…

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on July 8, 2025. David A. Grogan | CNBCOpenAI is preparing to sell around $6 billion in stock as part of a secondary sale that would value the company at roughly $500 billion, CNBC confirmed Friday.The shares would be sold by current and former employees to investors including SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and Thrive Capital, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be named due to the confidential…

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had made “great progress” during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.”There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” he told reporters during a joint press conference after the meeting.Trump and Putin met face-to-face for almost three hours over Moscow’s war in Ukraine on Friday, the Kremlin said, as the two world leaders sought an end to the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years.Trump and Putin, along with top foreign-policy aides,…

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi is facing criticism after Supreme Court (SC) committee minutes revealed that he ignored a majority decision last year to form a full court to hear petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment. The three-member committee, operating under the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 to form regular benches, was chaired by CJP Afridi in late October last year, with Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar as members. The majority — Justices Shah and Munib — had ordered the petitions be fixed before a full court on November 4, 2024. According to the…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the Challenge Group Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and welcomed a $100 million investment by the Chinese garments giant, Challenge Fashion Private Limited, aimed at boosting Pakistan’s textile exports and industrial capacity, Radio Pakistan reported. Speaking during a meeting with a delegation from the Chinese group, led by Chairman Huwang Weiguo, he expressed Pakistan’s commitment to elevating its strategic and economic partnership with China to greater heights. “Pakistan and China enjoy a time-tested friendship that has stood resilient through every challenge,” PM Shehbaz said. “We are pleased to see our economic relations grow stronger,…

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg departs after attending a Federal Trade Commission trial that could force the company to unwind its acquisitions of messaging platform WhatsApp and image-sharing app Instagram, at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2025. Nathan Howard | ReutersSen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Friday that he will investigate Meta following a report that the company approved rules allowing artificial intelligence chatbots to have certain “romantic” and “sensual” conversations with children.Hawley called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to preserve relevant materials, including emails, and said the probe would target “whether Meta’s generative-AI products enable exploitation,…

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during U.S. President Donald Trump’s press conference about deploying federal law enforcement agents in Washington to bolster the local police presence, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington D.C., U.S., August 11, 2025. Annabelle Gordon | ReutersFBI Director Kash Patel and his foundation won a default judgment in their defamation lawsuit against a blogger who publicly accused Patel of being a “Kremlin asset,” of trying to overthrow the U.S. government, and of planning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.Patel and the Kash…

RAWALPINDI/ KARACHI/ LAHORE: The Chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA) and the martyrs of Karbala was observed in Karachi with religious reverence and solemnity. The central mourning gathering (Majlis-e-Aza) was held at Nishtar Park under the auspices of Pak Muharram Hall, where renowned scholar Allama Shahenshah Naqvi delivered a sermon on the tribulations of the Ahl-e-Bait. Following the Majlis, the main Chehlum procession began and proceeded along MA Jinnah Road to Imambargah Ali Raza, where congregational Zuhrain prayers were led by Allama Nazir Abbas Taqvi. The procession then followed its traditional route, passing through Sea Breeze, Empress Market, Tibet Centre, Jama…

Brendan Blumer, Chairman of of Bullish and Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, Bullish a cryptocurrency exchange operator, pose with staffs during the company’s IPO at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., August 13, 2025. NYSEThe Bullish IPO this week took on added significance, perhaps because of the company name.When shares of the Peter Thiel-backed cryptocurrency exchange more than doubled out of the gate on Wednesday before finishing the day up 84%, it was the latest sign that the tech IPO bulls are back in business.In July, design software vendor Figma more than tripled in its New…