Author: i2wtc

Smoke rises near Fort Tiuna during a full blackout in Caracas,January 3, 2026. Source: Reuters The US has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, who has been taken out of the country, President Donald Trump said on Saturday. The US has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega. Donald Trump confirmed the US attack on Venezuela. “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife,…

SAN FRANCISCO — Inside Anthropic headquarters, President and co-founder Daniela Amodei keeps coming back to a phrase that’s become a sort of governing principle for the artificial intelligence startup’s entire strategy: Do more with less.It’s a direct challenge to the prevailing mood across Silicon Valley, where the biggest labs and their backers are treating scale as destiny. Firms are raising record sums, locking up chips years in advance, and pouring concrete across the American heartland for data centers in the belief that the company that builds the largest intelligence factory will win.OpenAI has become the clearest example of that approach.…

Russia and Iran broadly condemned the U.S. attack on Venezuela early Saturday, while elsewhere, world leaders called for de-escalation and said they are monitoring the situation.The Russian foreign ministry called Saturday’s strikes on Venezuela “an act of armed aggression” that is “deeply concerning and condemnable.””The pretexts used to justify such actions are unfounded …In the current situation, it is important, first and foremost, to prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out of the situation through dialogue.””Latin America must remain a zone of peace, as it declared itself to be in 2014. And Venezuela must be guaranteed…

This long-exposure photo taken on Dec. 12, 2025 shows a Long March-12 carrier rocket carrying a group of internet satellites blasting off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China’s Hainan Province. The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site located in Wenchang in the northeastern part of Hainan Island is China’s first independently designed and constructed green, eco-friendly and modern spaceport. It currently operates two all-weather, multi-directional launch pads, capable of handling heavy payloads.Wenchang is also home to China’s first commercial aerospace launch site, which has sent more than 90 satellites into their planned orbits since its maiden launch in…

A group of probationary officers pose outside the Supreme Court building with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi. Photo: INP ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has laid emphasis on the complementary roles of the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary in the state to ensure constitutional governance and to uphold the rule of law. According to an official statement, a delegation of 136 probationary officers undergoing the 53rd Common Training Programme (CTP) at Lahore’s Civil Services Academy (CSA) called on the CJP on Friday in the Supreme Court as part of mandatory exposure visits to state institutions. The delegation…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: File ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet in its meeting on Friday endorsed a series of key policy decisions, including steps to introduce a new local government system in the capital and the formal ratification of earlier committee rulings. Chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif underlined economic stabilisation and continued reform as the government’s central priorities. He emphasised that growth recorded in the first quarter of the current financial year was a sign of renewed confidence. The economy had moved from the edge of default towards a steadier footing, the prime minister said, while addressing the…

Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026.Str | Afp | Getty ImagesU.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States conducted a large-scale strike in Venezuela that resulted in the capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.Maduro and his wife were captured and removed from the country following the operation, which was conducted in coordination with U.S. law enforcement authorities, Trump said in a statement on Truth Social. No further details were provided.A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago.Explosions…

Pakistan, seven Muslim states warn of humanitarian collapse in battered enclave from Israel’s actionsPalestinians gather at a food distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on 21 May 2025, as Israel allows a limited amount of aid into the enclave. PHOTO:REUTERS ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and seven key Muslim countries on Friday voiced deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, warning that harsh winter weather combined with Israel’s severe restrictions on aid access has pushed nearly two million displaced Palestinians to the brink of catastrophe. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt,…

A child looks at a set of lanterns at an ancient city scenic area in Huangyuan County of Xining, northwest China’s Qinghai Province on Jan. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)Tourists enjoy the lanterns at an ancient city scenic area in Huangyuan County of Xining, northwest China’s Qinghai Province on Jan. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)Tourists enjoy the lanterns at an ancient city scenic area in Huangyuan County of Xining, northwest China’s Qinghai Province on Jan. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 2, 2026 shows a tourist enjoying paddle boarding at Minjiang River wetland in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian…

State Bank of Pakistan. Photo: File KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) injected Rs13 trillion through both conventional and Shariah-compliant Open Market Operations (OMOs) on Friday. In the conventional reverse repo purchase segment, the central bank accepted a total of Rs12.9 trillion in face value, translating into a realised value of Rs12.6 trillion. This comprised Rs750 billion in face value for the seven-day tenor at a uniform rate of 10.51% per annum, and the entire Rs12.24 trillion offered for the 14-day tenor, also at 10.51%. Bids for both tenors ranged between 10.56% and 10.51%, with strong participation reflected in…