Author: i2wtc
Chinese officials are reviewing Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus for possible technology control violations, FT reported on Tuesday.Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesMeta Platforms is set to test new subscription models across its apps, including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp in the coming months, according to a report from TechCrunch on Tuesday. The report, confirmed by a Meta spokesperson, said the subscriptions are expected to “unlock more productivity and creativity” by giving paid users access to more features and expanded AI capabilities. Meta’s recently acquired suite of general AI agents under Manus will also be scaled as part of…
8-year-old girl was given inadequate treatment at govt hospital after stray dog bit her six weeks ago KARACHI: The first case of rabies was reported in Karachi in 2026 as an eight-year-old girl from Sanghar district was diagnosed with the deadly disease on Monday. The child developed severe rabies symptoms nearly six weeks after she was bitten by a stray dog. She was subsequently shifted to Indus Hospital in Korangi where doctors confirmed the disease. At the hospital, Rabies Prevention Clinic Manager Aftab Gohar said the child had received inadequate treatment at multiple government hospitals before being referred to Indus. He said…
South DIG directs team to utilise all available resources to identify, apprehend those responsible for the incidentRescue workers search amid the debris using excavators after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi. Photo: AFP The Karachi police constituted a five-member special investigation team on Monday to probe the Gul Plaza tragedy and arrest those responsible for the incident. According to a notification issued by South Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza, the special team will be headed by the City superintendent of police (SP) (investigation) and has been tasked with “all-out and diligent efforts to arrest…
The Microsoft data center campus, currently under construction, is reflected in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, September 18, 2025.Audrey Richardson | ReutersLocal officials have signed off on Microsoft’s plans to build 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, near an existing site that the technology company is expanding. Additional data center capacity will allow Microsoft to recognize revenue that it has booked from OpenAI and other clients. Amazon, Google and Oracle are racing Microsoft to build data centers filled with Nvidia chips that can train and run generative artificial intelligence models. Finding sites for these facilities can be challenging because utilities…
A woman wearing traditional costumes visits the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival at Yuyuan Garden in east China’s Shanghai, Jan. 26, 2026. The Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival, which opened here on Monday, is a key cultural highlight in Shanghai during the Spring Festival celebration. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)People visit the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival at Yuyuan Garden in east China’s Shanghai, Jan. 26, 2026. The Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival, which opened here on Monday, is a key cultural highlight in Shanghai during the Spring Festival celebration. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)People visit the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival at Yuyuan Garden in east China’s Shanghai, Jan. 26,…
CM Sohail Afridi flags constitutional breach as federal funds for K-P remain unpaidA combined picture of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. PHOTO: FILE Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi expressed deep concern to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the federal government’s persistent failure to release constitutionally guaranteed federal funds, warning that the province faced an acute fiscal and governance crisis. In a letter addressed to the premier, CM Afridi said, “I am compelled to place on record the deep and mounting concern of the Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa regarding the persistent failure to release constitutionally guaranteed federal…
A resident shops at a supermarket in Wenhua community in Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei Province, Nov. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) — China’s chain supermarkets and convenience stores reported steady operational improvement in 2025, industry surveys have shown.A recent survey released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association revealed that 50 percent of surveyed companies reported year-on-year growth in total sales in 2025 — up from 38 percent in 2024 — while 46 percent reported an increase in net profits.Among comparable stores, standard supermarkets and community supermarkets outperformed large-format supermarkets, according to the survey.More than…
Meta’s 5-gigawatt “Hyperion” data center under construction in Richland Parish, Louisiana, on January 9, 2026.MetaThe popular narrative that artificial intelligence is the engine keeping the U.S. economy alive appears to be overstated, according to recent analyses. The AI boom has reshaped market valuations, driven large investments and record bond issuance to finance data centers, and heavily influenced gross domestic product, or GDP, especially in early 2025. This led many economists and market participants to suggest AI investment was the savior of an otherwise-stagnant domestic economy. However, a January report from MRB Partners U.S. economic strategist Prajakta Bhide reveals that consumption…
Announces inflation outlook will stay between 5-7%; industry says stance disconnected from economic realitiesState Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad speaks at the Reuters NEXT Asia summit in Singapore July 9, 2025. Photo: Reuters State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad announced on Monday that the monetary policy would be maintained at the current level of 10.5% for the next one and a half months. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Ahmad also announced a reduction in the rate for banks to deposit cash by 1%, setting it at 5%. He added that the inflation outlook was going to…
TikTok users have been deleting the app at a higher rate since the company announced that its U.S. operations would be housed in a new joint venture.The short-form video platform’s daily average app removals in the U.S. have increased nearly 150% over the past five days compared with the previous three months, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told CNBC.Last Thursday, TikTok said it had formed a joint venture to keep the video-sharing app operating in the U.S. under new American leadership. The company named Adam Presser, formerly TikTok’s head of operations, as CEO of the joint venture. Some users took…