Author: i2wtc

Federal government will provide free electric bikes to top-performing students across all educational boards in Pakistan, including the Federal Board, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday. Chairing a high-level meeting on electric vehicle (EV) promotion, the prime minister said the initiative aims to reward academic excellence while supporting the government’s broader push for cleaner, cost-effective transportation. The scheme will also prioritise economically disadvantaged individuals for the provision of electric rickshaws and loaders, helping to generate employment and reduce dependence on fuel imports. To ensure accessibility, the government is preparing a comprehensive action plan to introduce electric vehicles at affordable…

Pakistan’s Hasnain Akhtar beat Wales’ Riley Powell in the final of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) World U17 Snooker Championship in Bahrain’s Manama city on Friday to win the tournament. Hasnain won the final against his opponent 4-0. Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif’s match against India’s Brijesh Damani is also underway in the final of the IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship 2025 today. The former world amateur champion advanced to the final after securing a 4-2 win over India’s Manan Chandra in the semi-final held on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain. The frame scores were 118-6, 0-84, 25-76, 92-11,…

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 16, 2025.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty ImagesU.S. President Donald Trump is demanding a minimum of 15%-20% tariffs on imports from the European Union, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing sources.According to three people briefed on trade talks between the U.S. and the bloc, Trump has escalated his demands following weeks of negotiations over a possible framework deal, the paper said.How the EU is preparing to reach a tariff deal in…

American Express has long benefited from a focus on wealthier customers who appreciate the credit card company’s travel and dining perks.That has helped insulate the company from concerns over a spending slowdown. In the second quarter, total spending on Amex cards jumped 7%, matching the first quarter and higher than the 6% increase a year ago.But travel spending in the quarter was weaker than transactions for goods and services, and that’s specifically because airline spending has stalled out, coming in flat from a year ago, American Express said Friday.Economy class domestic airfare is the source of the weakness, Amex CFO…

Listen to article Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Friday issued a high flood warning for the Indus River at Kalabagh and Chashma, following the province’s deadliest day of the ongoing monsoon season a day earlier, which claimed at least 63 lives amid widespread urban and riverine flooding. The Flood Forecasting Division has warned that the Indus River is likely to attain high flood levels at Kalabagh and Chashma within the next 24 hours. In a letter issued to the divisional commissioners of Sargodha and Dera Ghazi Khan, the PDMA stressed the need for heightened preparedness and directed district administrations to…

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesMeta Platforms declined to sign the European Union’s artificial intelligence code of practice because it is an overreach that will “stunt” companies, according to global affairs chief Joel Kaplan.”Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI,” Kaplan wrote in a post on LinkedIn Friday. “This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act.”Last week, the European Commission published a final iteration of its code for general-purpose AI models, leaving it up to companies to decide if they…

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesEther and other crypto related stocks climbed to end the week as the GENIUS Act heads to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. Bitcoin and its proxies took a breather.The price of ether was last higher by 3.6% at $3,558.68, according to Coin Metrics, trading at highs not seen since January.On Thursday, ETFs tracking the price of ether saw daily inflows top those of bitcoin ETFs for the first time ever. The funds logged $602 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Bitcoin ETFs on the same day saw inflows…

The Federal Reserve building is seen as it goes under construction on July 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump has looked to the marble finishes and hefty price tag of the Federal Reserve headquarters to claim grounds to fire Chair Jerome Powell, with whom he has tussled for years over interest rates. But the extensive use of marble in the building is, at least in part, the result of policies backed by Trump himself.As the Fed moved forward with plans to renovate its Great Depression-era headquarters in Washington during Trump’s first term, it faced…

A Delta Air Lines plane takes off at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Dec. 24, 2021.Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFor United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, there’s his airline, his carrier’s main rival, Delta Air Lines, and then everyone else.Delta and United accounted for more than 86% of the profits posted by the seven largest airlines last year. Airline margins are notoriously thin, less than 4% last year, compared with close to 20% for big U.S. companies, according to the Airlines for America industry group. Already, the top four U.S. carriers — Delta, United, American and Southwest…

Listen to article RAWALPINDI/LAHORE: Punjab declared rain emergency on Thursday, while army troops joined the rescue efforts in the wake of flooding in low-lying areas, as heavy monsoon downpours continued to pummel the province with Rawalpindi bearing the brunt of nature’s fury with 250 millimetres of rainfall. Punjab witnessed the deadliest day of the current monsoon season, so far, with at least 63 deaths in the last 24 hours, officials said. The highest rainfall was recorded in Rawalpindi, causing flash flood in Nullah Leh, in which two people died. Rains had pummelled different parts of the country incessantly since Wednesday morning. On…