Author: i2wtc

ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal conceded on Thursday that the provincial National Finance Commission (NFC) share of 57.5% was untouchable due to reservations by the federating units, as Punjab’s readiness to share defence spending failed to win support from the other provinces. The concluding session of the two-day Pakistan Governance Conference revealed the positions of the four provinces and the Centre on the next NFC award. It emerged that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh held almost similar positions, while Punjab appeared to be toeing the Centre’s line. The federal government seemed willing to concede to ground realities, but its view on making…

An attendee holds a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Moms sign at the end of a press conference announcing of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) intent to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the nation’s food supply, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 22, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz | ReutersPresident Donald Trump is careening toward the Make America Healthy Again iceberg after issuing an executive order to boost the domestic production of a key herbicide called glyphosate. Democrats see an opportunity to steer the health-conscious movement back to their…

72 Taliban operatives killed in Op ‘Ghazab Lil Haq’; Multiple Afghan posts, arms depot destroyedA videograb from Express News shows the aftermath of an airstrike on an Afghan arms depot in Nangarhar province. ISLAMABAD: At least 72 operatives of the Afghan Taliban regime were killed while several others were wounded as Pakistan launched ‘Operation Ghazab Lil Haq’, delivering a “robust and effective response” to unprovoked firing from across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Thursday night. As the border clashes continued in several districts of former federally-administered tribal areas, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) struck and destroyed a large ammunition depot in Afghanistan’s…

This report is from this week’s The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.Back in 2011, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen published the now well-worn words: “software is eating the world.”Now, a debate is raging around how much software AI will eat.Many of the world’s most valuable software stocks have seen major selloffs in recent months as investors got jittery and worried about the future of the once-vaunted software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model.Investor concerns center around fears that corporates will buy fewer software licenses as tasks carried out by SaaS tools will be undertaken by AI.Salesforce has dropped 21%…

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is pictured on Sept. 25, 2025, in Berlin.Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty ImagesOpenAI has closed a $110 billion funding round, a financing that’s more than double the size of its last raise a year ago, which was a record for a private tech company.Amazon invested $50 billion, Nvidia invested $30 billion and SoftBank invested $30 billion in the round, OpenAI said in a release on Friday. The investment boosts OpenAI to a $730 billion pre-money valuation, which marks a big jump from its $500 billion valuation in a secondary financing in October. Other investors…

A staff member drives a cart to collect waste from households in Nankai District of Tianjin, north China, Nov. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — China has issued new technical standards aimed at better regulating the disposal and recycling of waste electrical and electronic products, controlling pollution, and protecting the environment.These standards are a revision of the 2010 standards, and will take effect on March 1 this year, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.Ministry spokesperson Pei Xiaofei told a Friday press conference that China, as the world’s largest manufacturer and consumer of electrical and electronic products,…

ISLAMABAD: In another legal reprieve for the government, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that tax authorities may conduct raids without prior notice and without the existence of a pending case against a taxpayer, a decision that significantly reinforces enforcement powers under tax law. The judgment, authored by Justice Aamer Farooq, observed that Parliament has vested wide-ranging authority in tax officials to ensure compliance with revenue laws. The court stated that it cannot read into a statute any condition that the legislature has not expressly provided. Rejecting the argument that a raid conducted in the absence of a formally…

This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.Happy Friday. I spent last night watching a love triangle play out in the Broadway musical “Chess.” So, it’s only fitting that we bring you the latest updates on Netflix and Paramount Skydance’s battle for Warner Bros. Discovery in this morning’s edition.Stock futures are sliding before the bell. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are coming off a down day.Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:1. Plot twistAn aerial view of the Paramount logo displayed on the water tower at Paramount…

Offers full support to strengthen institutions working against illegal immigration ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held important meetings in Rome with his Italian, Spanish counterparts and the migration minister of Greece on the sidelines of a four-nation conference aimed at tackling illegal immigration. The interior ministers of all four countries participated in the conference hosted in Rome to discuss coordinated strategies to curb illegal migration. Italy, Spain and Greece praised Pakistan for its effective measures, noting a 47% reduction in illegal migration towards their countries. The three European nations also endorsed Pakistan’s proposal to block illegal migration through legal pathways,…

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – SEPTEMBER 19: Customers line up outside an Apple store ahead of the launch of the iPhone 17 series at Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) on September 19, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The iPhone 17 line represents the next generation of iPhones and accessories set to hit international markets. (Photo by Annice Lyn/Getty Images)Annice Lyn | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesAnalysts are forecasting the worst-ever decline in the global smartphone market in 2026, as dwindling memory supplies continue to drive up prices of devices.The worsening memory crisis could see the global PC and smartphone markets shrink…