Author: i2wtc
Over the past five years, 71 police officers have been killed and 100 injured in 111 terrorist attacks in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a district that has been a focal point of militant violence for nearly four decades. These attacks, occurring between 2020 and 2025, have taken a mounting toll on security forces in this strategically located city at the junction of three provinces: Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This year, Pakistan has witnessed more than a 25% surge in overall violence, recording at least 3,187 violence-linked fatalities and 1,981 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and criminals, according to the Centre…
A general view of the Microsoft office building is seen in Cologne, Germany, on November 18, 2025.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesMicrosoft said Thursday that it will increase the prices of Office productivity software subscriptions for commercial and government clients on July 1.The company’s Office applications, which include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, have been facing increased competition in recent years from Google. “We are continuously investing and innovating our platform for the future,” Nicole Herskowitz, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365 and Copilot, wrote in a blog post. “In the last year, we released more than 1,100 features across…
The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that it has opened an investigation into Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Bill Pulte, who has served as an attack dog against President Donald Trump’s enemies.The congressional watchdog’s probe was requested by a group of Senate Democrats, who had asked the GAO to determine whether Pulte and other FHFA employees “misused federal authority and resources” in pursuing information about targets of Trump.”Specifically, we request an investigation into Director Pulte’s recent referrals of New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and Congressman Eric Swalwell to the U.S.…
Refreshed versions of the Tesla Model Y are shown outside a Tesla store in San Diego, California, U.S. October 21, 2025. Mike Blake | ReutersDETROIT — U.S. electric vehicle sales leader Tesla made notable strides in Consumer Reports’ influential annual auto brand rankings, cracking the top 10 overall for the U.S.The EV manufacturer jumped from No. 18 on last year’s list of more than 30 automotive brands to 10th on the 2026 Consumer Reports Brand Report Card, which was released Thursday.”They definitely have their struggles, but by continuing to refine and not make huge changes in their models, they’re able…
Is the “year of efficiency” Mark Zuckerberg back at Meta Platforms ? Shares of the social media giant rallied more than 5% to $676 each at Thursday’s highs after Bloomberg reported that Zuckerberg is set to reduce metaverse spending up to 30%. The metaverse group, which works on the company’s virtual “Horizon World” environment and Quest line of virtual reality headsets. It’s been a long time coming. Meta stock took a beating back in 2022 when, in addition to aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to combat sky-high inflation, investors grew concerned that Zuckerberg was going to spend…
A big year for local music as young hip-hop artists dominate Pakistan’s listening trendsTalha Anjum. photo: file Spotify’s biggest annual moment returns this year with a deeper look into Pakistan’s evolving music landscape, and 2025 Wrapped makes one thing clear: the country’s love for local music has never been louder. With Pakistani music consumption rising by 70%, Talha Anjum has once again secured his place as the platform’s Top Pakistani Artist for the second consecutive year, revealing a pattern where homegrown talent dominated listener habits. Anjum leads a lineup of an intergenerational mix of artists resonating across the country. Umair…
The countdown to the first 48-team World Cup begins in earnest on Friday as the draw for the 2026 finals takes place in Washington, with Donald Trump set to dominate much of the attention. The most logistically complex World Cup in history will be held across North America from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in Qatar in 2022. Friday’s ceremony, at the Kennedy Center on the banks of the Potomac River, will be a star-studded event but Trump will take centre stage. FIFA president Gianni…
People walk next to the Google Cloud logo, during the 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, March 4, 2025.Albert Gea | ReutersGoogle Cloud announced Thursday a multi-year partnership with artificial intelligence coding startup Replit, giving the search giant fresh firepower against the coding products of rivals, including Anthropic and Cursor. Under the partnership, Replit will expand usage of Google Cloud services, add more of Google’s models onto its platform, and support AI coding use cases for enterprise customers. Google will continue to be Replit’s primary cloud provider. Replit, founded nearly a decade ago, is a leader in the fast-growing AI…
PM Shehbaz Sharif had forwarded a summary to the President’s House for formal approval, as per official releaseField Marshal Asim Munir. Photo: ISPR Field Marshal Asim Munir has been appointed the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces after a formal approval from President Asif Ali Zardari. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier approved the summary for the appointment and forwarded it to the President’s House for formal approval, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office on Thursday. Field Marshal Munir will hold dual responsibilities as both Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), marking…
A sign at a NYS Department Of Labor job fair at the Downtown Central Library in Buffalo, New York, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025.Lauren Petracca | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThis is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:1. Silver linings playbookYesterday highlighted the relevance of a market adage: Bad news can actually be good news for investors. After private payroll data showed weakness in the labor market, stocks climbed as investors hoped the report would strengthen the case for an interest rate…