Author: i2wtc

KARACHI: Ahtesham Humiyun and Hassan Usmani registered convincing wins to set up the 21st Westbury National Tennis Championship final in the Under-18 category here at the Karachi Club on Tuesday. Ahtesham swept aside Muzammil Bhand 6-2, 6-3, while Hassan downed Muhammad Yahya 7-5, 6-0 to book their spots in the final. Romaisa Malik, meanwhile, routed Safa Afzal 6-1, 6-0 in the girls U-18 semi-final. In the men’s quarter-finals Kashan Tariq overpowered Asif Ali Bachani 8-2 and Ismail Aftab beat Taimoor Ansari with the same score. Eschelle Asif delivered a flawless 8-0 victory over Taiba Yar Baig in the women’s last-four…

Aerial photo taken on Feb. 15, 2019 shows the China-financed solar power plant Garissa Solar in Garissa County, Kenya. (Xinhua)China’s economic growth is “far beyond the borders of China” and is driving growth in Africa and other parts of the world, particularly in developing countries.VIENNA, July 16 (Xinhua) — Bashir Bayo Ojulari, CEO of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), hailed China’s clean energy development and the country’s role in driving world economic growth during a recent interview with Xinhua.Ojulari made the remarks last week when he was attending the 9th Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) international…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: Moody’s, a global credit rating agency, on Tuesday inquired about the implications of missing a key target of increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio to 10.6% in the last fiscal year, as Pakistan made an emphatic pitch for an upward revision in the current junk rating. The credit rating agency also asked about progress in trade talks with the United States and whether the central bank was still exercising any control over imports and the exchange rate market, according to officials privy to the meeting details. Moody’s raised these questions during a session with Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. Minister…

MANAMA: Pakistan’s campaign at the IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship saw contrasting fortunes on Tuesday as Mohammad Asif stormed into the last 16 while compatriot Shahid Aftab bowed out following hard-fought battles. Asif, who won the Saarc Championship last year, delivered a masterclass in the last 24 round, dismantling Wales’ Tony Morgan 3-0. The 42-year-old displayed formidable break-building, sealing victory with runs of 55 [74(55)-10], a near-perfect 90 [106(90)-0] and 61 [89(61)-11]. Asif now faces Mohamed Shehab of the UAE in Wednesday’s last 16 round. Earlier, current national champion Shahid exited the championship after a 4-2 defeat to Qatar’s Bashar…

A flock of sheep graze between solar panels at a solar photovoltaic power plant in Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, April 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)XINING, July 16 (Xinhua) — Standing at the heart of a 609-sq-km photovoltaic park located in the Talatan Gobi Desert in Gonghe County, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, China Arab TV correspondent Ayoub Bechrouri enthusiastically began recording his report with his smartphone.Behind him stretches a captivating “blue sea” — an endless expanse of photovoltaic panels covering the landscape. Beneath these gleaming solar arrays, verdant grasslands thrive where flocks of sheep graze…

Listen to article The United Kingdom has removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, clearing the way for Pakistani airlines to apply for flight operations to the country, UK’s Air Safety Committee announced on Wednesday. Though Pakistani carriers can now apply to operate flights to the UK, each airline will still need to secure the necessary permits from the UK Civil Aviation Authority through a separate application process. The move follows years of technical collaboration between the UK’s Air Safety Committee and Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), with officials confirming that sufficient improvements have been made since Pakistan was first listed in…

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced a revamped three-tier departmental cricket structure for the 2025-26 domestic season, marking a significant development in the country’s domestic setup. Set to commence in August and conclude in May 2026, the season will feature over 40 departmental teams divided across three grades — I, II and III. The structure introduces promotion and relegation mechanisms aimed at enhancing competitiveness. Grade-III, a new addition to the structure, will feature a two-day tournament scheduled for March-April 2026. Teams in this tier have been selected based on their performances in the 2024-25 President’s Trophy Grade-II.…

An icon of ASML is displayed on a smartphone, with an ASML chip visible in the background.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesASML reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates with the its key net bookings figure ahead of consensus.However, the chip equipment giant missed analyst expectations for revenue guidance in the current quarter and warned of the possibility of no growth ahead.Here’s how ASML did versus LSEG consensus estimates for the second quarter:Net sales: 7.7 billion euros ($8.95 billion) versus 7.52 billion euros expectedNet profit: 2.29 billion euros vs 2.04 billion euros expectedIn its own previous forecast issued in April, ASML had said…

Listen to article Pakistan is re-entering global financial markets amid signs of macroeconomic stabilisation, with plans for its first Panda bond and ongoing talks for preferential tariff access with the United States to support an export-led growth strategy, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday. In a virtual briefing with Moody’s Investors Service, the finance minister outlined the country’s macroeconomic turnaround, reform agenda, and external sector stabilisation efforts.  Aurangzeb was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad. The engagement, held at the Finance Division, was part of Islamabad’s broader outreach strategy to regain investor…

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during the Goldman Sachs Investor Day at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2023. Brendan Mcdermid | ReutersGoldman Sachs is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings before the opening bell Wednesday.Here’s what Wall Street expects:Earnings: $9.53 per share, according to LSEGRevenue: $13.47 billion, according to LSEGTrading Revenue: Fixed income of $3.28 billion, equities of $3.65 billion, per StreetAccountInvesting Banking fees: $1.9 billion, per StreetAccountGoldman Sachs is set up to be a beneficiary of several trends in the second quarter.Trading desks across Wall Street have benefited as President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have…