Author: i2wtc

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will never be coerced, and all inimical designs to derail the country’s counterterrorism efforts will be “comprehensively defeated,” Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Friday, warning against India’s “unlawful and legally untenable hydro terrorism,” calling for a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute to ensure strategic stability in South Asia. According to the military’s media wing, the army chief made these remarks during his visit to Command and Staff College Quetta, where he addressed student officers and faculty members, touching upon operational readiness, regional stability, and Pakistan’s national security doctrine. “Pakistan’s enemies…

More than 150 people have been killed and thousands displaced after floods devastated parts of central Nigeria, local authorities said, as rescue teams continue to recover bodies and search for the missing. The flooding struck the rural town of Mokwa in Niger State following torrential rains that began late on Wednesday and continued into Thursday. The death toll has risen to 151 after more bodies were recovered nearly 10km (6 miles) from Mokwa, said Ibrahim Audu Husseini, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) on Saturday. The death toll is in reality likely to be higher, said…

President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the US Steel-Irvin Works on May 30, 2025 in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Jeff Swensen | Getty ImagesThe European Union on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump’s move to double tariffs on steel imports, warning that it “undermines” efforts to reach a “negotiated solution” in the ongoing trade war.”We strongly regret the announced increase of U.S. tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.”This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: The government has proposed a 4.2% economic growth target for the next fiscal year, on the back of the revival of both the sunken agriculture and industrial sectors, but stated that achieving the target will depend on the effective management of the economy. It has also set a 7.5% inflation target for the next fiscal year but said that the external sector may come under pressure due to multiple factors. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government will continue maintaining tight fiscal and monetary policies, marking the fourth consecutive year of fiscal consolidation, according to the proposed plan for fiscal…

The UN nuclear watchdog warns Tehran could be close to weapons-grade enriched uranium, as negotiations with the US continue.The United Nations nuclear watchdog says Iran has increased its stockpile of highly enriched, near weapons-grade uranium by 50 percent in the last three months. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday comes as nuclear deal negotiations are under way between the United States and Iran, with Tehran insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. The IAEA said as of May 17, Iran had amassed 408.6kg (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 percent –…

This drone photo taken on May 27, 2025 shows a view of the Yangpu International Container Port in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone in Danzhou, south China’s Hainan Province.In June 2020, China released a master plan to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.Series of opening-up policies have been issued to create a “foreign investor-friendly” business environment in Hainan. Local immigration authorities have implemented measures, such as the utilization of one-stop customs clearance service, to improve the customs clearance efficiency and to reduce the operational costs…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: The shortfall in tax collection widened to an alarmingly high level of Rs1.03 trillion in just 11 months of the current fiscal year despite imposing record new taxes in the budget, taking advances, withdrawing money from people’s bank accounts and blocking refunds of companies and individuals. Only in May, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) faced a mammoth shortfall of Rs205 billion despite paying 5.3% less refunds compared to last year. The embarrassing outcome brings into question the government’s strategy of collecting taxes from the already burdened classes and sectors of the economy. One of the reasons for…

For all his faults and hubris, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy possesses one unmistakable quality: courage. That became apparent during a memorable moment more than three years ago when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. A foreboding, endless column of Russian tanks and other armoured vehicles had breached the border in a pincer pattern. In the halting face of such an intimidating display of overwhelming force, defeat seemed close by. Kyiv looked bound to fall. Zelenskyy and company would be arrested or killed as a lethal exclamation point while Russian President Vladimir Putin installed a puppet regime to bow and obey.…

U.S. military personnel escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the MS-13 gang recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 31, 2025.Secretaria De Prensa De La Presidencia| Via ReutersA federal judge prevented the Trump administration from invalidating work permits and other documents granting lawful status to about 5,000 Venezuelans, a subset of the nearly 350,000 whose temporary legal protections the U.S. Supreme Court last week allowed…

Locals row a dragon boat in Zhenyuan ancient town in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, May 20, 2025. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) — As May draws to a close, the rhythmic thud of drums and the roar of cheering crowds are once again echoing across rivers and lakes throughout China.Amid splashing water and synchronized chants, dragon boats surge ahead in fierce competition as Chinese people celebrate Duanwu Festival on Saturday this year.For millennia, dragon boat racing has remained at the heart of Duanwu Festival, China’s first traditional festival inscribed on UNESCO’s list of…