Author: i2wtc
KARACHI: Business leaders on Monday voiced strong frustration over the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to maintain the status quo on interest rates, announced on Monday, warning that the policy continues to choke economic growth and industrial recovery. Echoing this sentiment, Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Jawed Bilwani said, “We appeal to the central bank to act with foresight and show empathy towards the productive sectors of the economy. Pakistan cannot afford to stifle its growth potential any longer.” He expressed profound disappointment over the SBP’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%,…
Sword Health, a startup focused on helping people deal with pain through digital services, is expanding into mental health and has raised additional capital to fuel its growth.The 10-year-old company is introducing Mind, which uses a combination of artificial intelligence, hardware and human mental health professionals to treat patients with mild depression and anxiety. Sword said Mind will help users access care whenever they need it, rather than during sporadic, hourlong appointments. “It’s really a breakthrough in terms of how we address mental health, and this is only possible because we have AI,” Sword CEO Virgílio Bento told CNBC in an…
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday named 60 U-19 men’s cricketers for a Skills Assessment camp starting at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre in Multan on Wednesday. Thirty cricketers will participate in each of the first and second phases. The players in the first phase will undergo match-based skill assessment from June 18 to 23 while the second phase will run from June 25 to 30. Additionally, 10 players who have previously represented Pakistan U-19s and are eligible to feature in the 2026 ICC U-19 World Cup will be called up in the third phase of the camp. The…
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are targeted medicines that deliver chemotherapy agents to cancer cells 3d renderingLove Employee | Istock | Getty ImagesChemotherapy has long been a cornerstone of cancer treatment, saving millions of lives.But the pharmaceutical industry says a popular class of targeted cancer therapies could one day replace chemotherapy and its potential for harsh side effects. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have taken major strides in recent years, as companies including AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer and Merck are developing drugs in the space that could ease the trials of cancer treatment and make them big money in the process.Drugmakers have poured…
This photo taken on June 17, 2025 shows a scene during an escape flight test on China’s new-generation manned spacecraft Mengzhou at zero altitude in northwest China. China successfully conducted the test on Tuesday, taking an important step forward in its manned lunar exploration program. (Photo by Wang Heng/Xinhua)JIUQUAN, June 17 (Xinhua) — China successfully conducted an escape flight test on its new-generation manned spacecraft Mengzhou at zero altitude on Tuesday, marking an important step forward in its manned lunar exploration program.Conducted at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, this test signifies China’s second zero-altitude escape flight test,…
LAHORE: The Punjab government has introduced sweeping reforms to its tax system through a new finance bill presented to the provincial assembly on Monday. A major feature of the bill is a strict penalty regime targeting businesses that refuse to accept digital payments, with fines reaching up to Rs1 million. The bill also transitions the Punjab Sales Tax on Services (PSTS) regime from a “positive list” to a “negative list” system under the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012. This change aligns with global best practices and is expected to significantly expand the tax net. Under the new approach,…
ISLAMABAD: Head of a constitutional bench (CB) of the apex court has observed that transfer of a judge from one high court to another is a process, which cannot be completed without the consent of all involved. “The president has the authority to transfer a judge but the process can end if the concerned judge or the chief justice of his own high court or the chief justice of the high court where he is being transferred or the chief justice of Pakistan does not agree with it,” Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar noted. Justice Mazhar was heading a five-member CB,…
Chinese tech company Tencent is a gaming giant and the parent company of WeChat, the ubiquitous social messaging app in China.Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesTencent has spent years evolving into a gaming and social media giant in China and in the process, has built up its cloud computing capabilities.The technology firm is now looking to bring that expertise to Europe as it ramps up expansion of its cloud business overseas, Dowson Tong, CEO of Tencent’s cloud group told CNBC.”We have strengths and competence in very specific technology areas, as well as industry verticals,” Tong said in…
STOCKHOLM: Swedish double Olympic pole vault champion Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis increased his own world record again on Sunday, clearing 6.28 metres to the delight of the home crowd at the Stockholm Diamond League meet. With victory in the event already guaranteed, Duplantis broke the world record for the 12th time as he sailed over the bar at the first attempt to improve on his 6.27m effort at Clermont-Ferrand in February. The 25-year-old ripped off his shirt in celebration and raced down the track in front of jubilant spectators at the Olympic stadium built for the 1912 Games. “It’s a magical…
An aerial drone photo taken on April 8, 2025 shows people planting coix at a sand industry experimental base in Yutian County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) — China has made substantial strides in combating desertification, with 365 million mu (about 24.3 million hectares) of desertified areas turned into green land since 2012, data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration showed Tuesday.About 27.94 million mu of land has been put under protection against desertification over the past 13 years, said the administration on the World Day to Combat Desertification and…