Author: i2wtc

TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday his country would never surrender, as Iranian military unleashed a volley of hypersonic missiles at Israel on the sixth day of war between the longtime enemies. The barrage of missiles came hours after Israel said it had destroyed Iran’s internal security headquarters in Tehran, and reported a new wave of attacks targeting missile systems and storage sites in the country’s west. Khamenei – in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran –warned the United States against becoming involved in the conflict, after President…

Urgent international calls for restraint appear to be falling on deaf ears as the world braces for intensifying conflict in the Middle East.All eyes are on the White House, as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs carrying out direct military strikes on Iran. Such an act would represent a dramatic deepening of U.S. involvement in what has thus far been limited to attacks between Iran and U.S. ally Israel.Smoke blankets the sky above Tehran, Iran, following explosions in the capital after the Israeli army hit Iranian targets, on June 18, 2025.Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty ImagesThe Kremlin warned Thursday that U.S.…

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Wednesday gave the green light to Pakistan’s largest financial restructuring scheme aimed at eliminating the crippling circular debt in the power sector. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the federal cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister House and approved a series of key decisions ranging from energy sector reforms to diplomatic and institutional recognitions, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said. The Debt Plan, designed to restore financial stability in the energy industry without burdening the national budget, aims to eliminate Rs1,275 billion in circular debt over the next six years. The approved scheme includes refinancing…

Google suffered a setback Thursday after an advisor to the European Union’s top court recommended it dismiss the tech giant’s appeal against a record 4.1-billion-euro ($4.7 billion) antitrust fine.Juliane Kokott, advocate general at the European Court of Justice, advised the court to throw out Google’s appeal and confirm the fine, which was reduced in 2022 to 4.125 billion euros from 4.34 billion euros previously by the EU’s General Court.”In her Opinion delivered today, Advocate General Kokott proposes that the Court of Justice dismiss Google’s appeal and, therefore, uphold the judgment of the General Court,” the Luxembourg-based ECJ said in a…

Mercer Island, a wealthy enclave just outside Seattle.Danita Delimont | Gallo Images Roots Rf Collection | Getty ImagesA version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.The United States is home to the most millionaires of any country, with a tally of 23.8 million in 2024, according to a new report by UBS. The Swiss bank estimated the U.S. minted some 379,000 new millionaires last year, or more than a thousand each day, for an increase of 1.5%.Mainland…

A Unitree G1 humanoid robot blows a kiss at an exhibition hall of Unitree Robotics in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, April 23, 2025. (Xinhua/Han Chuanhao)BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) — China’s surging technology innovation is rewriting the playbook for foreign investors, with the country’s booming tech sector having reshaped expectations regarding its long-term growth potential.The latest example came as Goldman Sachs unveiled a list of what it has identified as China’s Prominent 10, a move reminiscent of the Magnificent Seven, a group of high-performing and influential stocks in the U.S. tech sector.The top 10 Chinese stocks, most of which are…

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance signed a five-year long-term financing facility for $1 billion, the government said in a statement on Wednesday. Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) served as the sole Islamic global coordinator, while DIB and Standard Chartered Bank acted as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. “The Ministry of Finance has signed a syndicated term finance facility of $1,000 million partially guaranteed by a Policy-Based Guarantee of the ADB Programme ‘Improved Resource Mobilisation & Utilisation Reform’,” according to a press release. “The facility is a landmark transaction for the Government of Pakistan that demonstrates strong support from leading financiers in…

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold6 at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris. The tech giant said the foldable device is thinner and lighter than its predecessor.Arjun Kharpal | CNBCSamsung will unveil a thinner version of its flagship foldable smartphone at a launch likely set to take place next month, as it battles Chinese rivals to deliver the slimmest devices to the market.Folding phones, which have a single screen that can fold in half, came in focus when Samsung first launched such a device in 2019. But Chinese players, in particular Honor and Oppo, have since aggressively released foldables that…

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned until Thursday (today) the hearing of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge transfer case. A five-member constitutional bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, presided over the hearing. During proceedings, the Advocate General for Punjab advanced his arguments, stating that West Pakistan was made a single unit in 1955 through the Pakistan Governor General Order. As a result, all high court-level courts were consolidated into one, and a seniority list was compiled based on the judges’ appointment dates. However, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked that the situation in the…

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 25, 2025 shows a view of the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Song)HARBIN, June 19 (Xinhua) — The world’s largest ice and snow theme park, Harbin Ice-Snow World, will introduce a range of new summer tourism offerings, including immersive performances and an international beer festival, to provide visitors with a uniquely refreshing summer experience.The move marks a strategic expansion for the park, which is famous for its winter attractions, as it seeks to attract global tourists year-round.Sun Zemin, deputy director of the marketing department at Harbin Ice-Snow World,…