Author: i2wtc

Staff members check products in process inside a welding workshop at the north China base of FAW-Volkswagen in north China’s Tianjin, July 7, 2025.(Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) — Profits of China’s major industrial firms saw a smaller decline in June 2025, with the manufacturing sector showing significant improvement, official data showed Sunday.Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits reach 3.44 trillion yuan during the January-June period, down 1.8 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).In June, profits of…

PUBLISHED July 27, 2025 “The cattle and humans drink the same water,” says Mujahid Kaleem, a wildlife officer stationed in a stretch of the Cholistan desert near Rahim Yar Khan. He’s referring to the tobas — traditional rainwater reservoirs that are a lifeline in this arid region. Kaleem gestures toward a nearby toba, where a herd of goats and buffaloes are drinking. Moments later, two young children approach the same spot and fill a bucket to take home. When asked whether the water is boiled before drinking, the reply is terse: “No.” Waryam Maher, a resident of Cholistan, says that…

PUBLISHED July 27, 2025 LAHORE/KARACHI/PESHAWAR: It is often said that the end of one thing is just the beginning of another. For one family bidding farewell to a deceased child and multiple others praying for the survival of an ailing loved one, organ donation can be the delicate thread tying together the distant trajectories of death and life. In a heart wrenching yet inspiring story emerging from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a 15-year-old boy from Rustam, Mardan became a symbol of hope and humanity after his untimely death. Jawad Khan, critically injured in a road accident, was declared brain-dead days after battling for…

Pakistan women’s cricket captain Fatima Sana on Sunday said that her team will look to continue their winning momentum on the upcoming Ireland tour. On Wednesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board named the squads, with Fatima continuing to lead the team, as the national selection committee named a 15-member squad for the forthcoming T20 International series in Ireland. The three-match T20 series against Ireland will be played at the Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin from August 6 to 10. In their last encounter in April, Pakistan women defeated Ireland by 38 runs in a low-scoring thriller to win the opening One-Day…

By MOHAMMAD ZAFAR BALOCH | PUBLISHED July 27, 2025 QUETTA: Balochistan is witnessing a remarkable turnaround in its battle against poliovirus, with 2025 marking a period of steady progress and renewed hope. Once grappling with some of the country’s highest poliovirus transmission rates, the province now shows a significant decline in environmental surveillance positivity and—most notably—has not reported a single wild poliovirus case so far this year. In 2024, Balochistan faced an alarming situation: all 23 of its environmental surveillance (ES) sites tested positive for poliovirus, pushing the provincial positivity rate to 72%. The crisis peaked in September when 95%…

A drone photo taken on July 8, 2025 shows a monument to the Hundred-Regiment Campaign in Yangquan, north China’s Shanxi Province. The Hundred-Regiment Campaign took place in northern China from August 1940 to January 1941 during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhan Yan)TAIYUAN/CHANGSHA, July 27 (Xinhua) — Standing inside the Taihang Memorial Museum of the Eighth Route Army, Chan Cheuk Hong, a journalist from Hong Kong’s TVB, was drawn to a faded, worn-out leather suitcase.This suitcase once belonged to Zhu De, one of the major founders of the People’s Republic of China.According to Tian Yuehui, the…

PUBLISHED July 27, 2025 Iftikhar Siddiqui, a 55-year-old resident of North Nazimabad’s block S, has been mugged multiple times over the last two decades. The first time he was robbed was in 2004 when he was on his way to the bakery across the street. “I was using the bakery’s PCO for a call when a man approached me, snatched the phone receiver and slammed it shut.” Pressing a gun against his chest, the mugger slapped Siddiqui, took his phone and wallet, and instructed him not to move. For the next 30 minutes, the robbers mugged every customer entering the…

SPA FRANCORCHAMPS: Formula One champion Max Verstappen won a “cat and mouse” Belgian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday in Red Bull’s first race under the leadership of Laurent Mekies following Christian Horner’s dismissal. McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri finished second, after taking a dominant pole position for the 100km race, with the Australian increasing his advantage over team-mate Lando Norris to nine points. Norris ended up where he started, in third place on a bright afternoon at the longest and second fastest track on the calendar. Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari with Haas’s Esteban Ocon fifth and Carlos Sainz…

By MOHAMMAD ZAFAR BALOCH | PUBLISHED July 27, 2025 QUETTA: A few days ago, a graphic video surfaced on social media, shaking the collective conscience of Balochistan. It showed a man and a woman being gunned down in cold blood in the Digari region near Quetta, the provincial capital. What followed was a wave of public outrage, intense media coverage, and swift government responses. The Digari double murder, now confirmed as an honour killing, is not just a criminal case but a stark reflection of a society caught between legal responsibility and tribal authority, between constitutional rights and deeply rooted…

MANCHESTER: England captain Ben Stokes plays a shot to complete his century during the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford on Saturday.—AFP MANCHESTER: India captain Shubman Gill starred in a remarkable rearguard action as his side checked England’s bid for a series-clinching win in the fourth Test at Old Trafford on Saturday following a long-awaited century from opposing skipper Ben Stokes. Gill came in with India in dire straits at 0-2 after Chris Woakes struck with successive deliveries in the first over of India’s second innings to have Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan both caught in the slips for…