Author: i2wtc

ISLAMABAD: The country’s polls oversight authority has postponed by-elections at nine different National Assembly and Punjab Assembly constituencies in view of floods. Most of these seats had fallen vacant after conviction of PTI lawmakers in May 9 rioting cases and their subsequent de-seating. According to an official notification issued on Thursday, the ECP postponed by-elections at NA-66 Wazirabad, NA-96 Faisalabad, NA-104 Faisalabad, NA-129 Lahore, NA-143 Sahiwal, PP-73 Sargodha, PP-87 Mianwali, PP-98 Faisalabad and PP-203 Sahiwal. It said the polls body would announce new dates for the elections “once the situation improves”. The by-elections were earlier scheduled for September 18 and…

News anchors work at Newsmax’s booth during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024.Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty ImagesA federal judge dismissed Newsmax’s antitrust lawsuit against Fox News just two days after it was filed, but will allow the right-leaning media outlet to resubmit an amended version.Newsmax’s five-count civil complaint against Fox is an impermissible “shotgun pleading” because four of the counts “incorporate all preceding allegations,” Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in the order dated Thursday in southern Florida federal court.Doing so causes each count “to carry…

ISLAMABAD: Salaried individuals have paid 21% more in income tax during the first two months of this fiscal year, contributing Rs85 billion, showing that the nominal reduction in rates in the budget was insufficient to ease their financial burden. Compared to Rs70 billion in income tax payments during July-August of the last fiscal year, their contributions surged to about Rs85 billion this year, government sources told The Express Tribune. They paid roughly Rs15 billion, or 21% more, despite the government having nominally reduced their income tax rates in this year’s budget. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb acknowledged that the relief was…

Google was on Friday hit with a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.45 billion) antitrust fine from European Union regulators for anti-competitive practices in its lucrative advertising technology business.The European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, accused Google of distorting competition in the so-called adtech market by unfairly favoring its own display advertising technology services to the detriment of rival adtech providers, advertisers and online publishers.It also ordered Google to “bring these self-preferencing practices to an end” and “implement measures to cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain.” The company has 60 days to respond.”Today’s decision shows that Google…

Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesPowerball fever is spreading as the jackpot hits $1.7 billion — making it the third-largest prize in U.S. lottery history.The enthusiasm for the gargantuan pot is fueling business on Jackpocket, a lottery courier owned by DraftKings and available in 16 states.DraftKings said 15 million Powerball tickets have been ordered using Jackpocket during this Powerball run. Powerball ticket sales on the platform increased 130% day over day from Wednesday to Thursday this week. And sales on Wednesday alone increased 200% from the previous week.Lotto.com and Jackpot.com also offer online lottery sales.As of…

Guests are pictured at the venue of 2025 Global South Media and Think Tank Forum in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Sept. 5, 2025.Some 500 journalists, scholars, government officials and entrepreneurs from 110 countries or international and regional organizations convened Friday in southwest China’s Yunnan Province for the 2025 Global South Media and Think Tank Forum.Within five days of meeting, participants will brainstorm and contribute their wisdom to translate the forum theme, “empowering global south, navigating global changes,” into tangible solutions for practical projects. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei)An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 3, 2025 shows a city view in Kunming,…

NURGAL: Four nights and days since the earth shook and levelled his home in eastern Afghanistan, Khan Zaman Hanafi thought he had endured the worst, until the rain came. The 35-year-old farmer says his village has “been forgotten by the government and aid groups”. “It’s raining and we’re being left to live in the open,” he told AFP from a cornfield where he has been sleeping with his family, away from the wreckage of their village, Shelt. In these valleys — once known as smuggling routes and corridors for fighters moving to and from Pakistan before the Taliban returned to…

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has reported a significant oil and gas discovery at its Dhok Sultan-03 well in District Attock, Punjab. This marks the second hydrocarbon find in the Dhok Sultan Block and is among the deepest oil discoveries in naturally fractured carbonate formations in the Potwar region. According to PPL, the well was drilled after extensive geological, geophysical, and reservoir engineering studies. The company said optimisation of well design helped overcome drilling challenges, saving both time and cost. PPL, operator of the Dhok Sultan Block with a 75 percent working interest, partnered with Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL),…

Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom.Martin H. Simon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBroadcom shares soared 15% on Friday after the chipmaker said on its earnings call that it had secured a new $10 billion customer. Analysts quickly pointed to OpenAI.Following a better-than-expected earnings report late Thursday, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan told analysts that a fourth large customer had put in orders for $10 billion in custom artificial intelligence chips, which the company calls XPUs.”One of these prospects released production orders to Broadcom, and we have accordingly characterized them as a qualified customer for XPUs,” Tan said. He added that the order…

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett called Friday’s new jobs report number “a little bit disappointing,” but added, “I expect it’s going to revise up.”Hassett’s comments on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” came shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by only 22,000 in August.That is less than one-third of the 75,000 new jobs expected by economists who were surveyed by Dow Jones ahead of the report.Hassett later Friday told Fox News that BLS has been “struggling with bad response rates” to surveys about jobs. He also pointed to a Goldman Sachs study on Thursday,…