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ISLAMABAD : The 81st meeting to review progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal. The session brought together key stakeholders to assess ongoing developments across sectors including infrastructure, power, petroleum, water resources, food and agriculture, and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), said a press release issued here on Wednesday. During the meeting, the Karakoram Highway (KKH) project came under discussion, where it was shared that a Chinese technical delegation is expected to visit Pakistan shortly to review various aspects of the project,…

NEW YORK : Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, underscored Pakistan’s longstanding commitment to UN peacekeeping and called for renewed international action on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He was addressing the UN Security Council briefing today on “Adapting Peace Operations for the Pursuit of Political Solutions – Priorities and Challenges.” Ambassador Asim noted that Pakistan has contributed over 235,000 peacekeepers to 48 missions across four continents, with 182 personnel sacrificing their lives in service to peace. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s position as one of the top troop contributors and a founding member of the UN…

The ongoing spell of monsoon rains across Pakistan is expected to persist for another two days, according to the Meteorological Department. As the country braces for more wet weather, authorities have issued alerts for potential urban and riverine flooding in several regions. Meteorological Department Deputy Director Irfan Virk told  that July witnessed 25% more rainfall than average across the country. However, the province of Sindh recorded lower-than-normal rainfall during this period. Looking ahead, Irfan Virk warned that August is also likely to experience above-average rainfall, increasing the risk of flooding in urban centers and along major rivers. PDMA issues flood…

Pakistan and New Zealand have expressed discontent with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) qualification system for cricket at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, according to a report in The Guardian. The ICC recently confirmed that Team GB will receive an automatic place in the men’s tournament at LA 2028, following the adoption of a regional qualifying format favoured by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The system is intended to ensure geographic diversity at the Games. However, the decision has reportedly caused frustration in Pakistan and New Zealand, who are likely to be excluded from the six-team competition. India and Australia…

The 33rd National Book Expo was held from July 25 to 28 in southwest China’s Chongqing, with over 1,000 exhibitors from across the country taking part. The main venue of the event was the Chongqing International Expo Center, with additional branch venues set up in Chongqing’s Nan’an and Dazu districts. Among these, the Jiangnan Book Market branch venue in Nan’an District featured three thematic exhibition sections: “Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression,” “Works by Local Authors,” and “Lao She and Chongqing,” offering book lovers a rich intellectual feast. The Dazu branch…

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to the World Youth Conference for Peace on Tuesday. Xi pointed out that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Eighty years ago, the Chinese people, alongside the global community, through bloody and arduous fights, completely defeated fascism, achieving the hard-won peace. Emphasizing that the future of peace depends on the youth, Xi said that he hopes young people from all countries take this conference as an opportunity to exchange ideas, enhance understanding and forge friendships.…

The Chinese and U.S. teams held “in-depth, candid, constructive” discussions on economy and trade over the past day and a half in Stockholm, said a senior Chinese official on Tuesday. Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice minister of commerce, made the remarks while briefing the press following the meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism in Stockholm, Sweden. According to Li, the talks followed up on the consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state on June 5. “The economic and trade teams of both countries held…

The fifth volume of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” has been published by Foreign Languages Press in both Chinese and English and is now available at home and abroad, according to an official statement issued Wednesday. Four volumes of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” have been published in multiple languages since 2014. The latest volume contains a compilation of 91 pieces of spoken and written works of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, from May 27, 2022 to December 20, 2024, along with 41 photographs taken during this period of time. It…

BRUSSELS : Norwegian browser maker Opera (OPRA.O) filed a complaint about U.S. tech giant Microsoft (MSFT.O) to Brazilian antitrust authority CADE on Tuesday alleging its Edge browser has an unfair advantage, underscoring the long-running rivalry between the two companies. Opera complained to the European Commission in December 2007 about Microsoft (MSFT.O) tying its Internet Explorer browser to its Windows operating system. The case eventually ended with a 561 million-euro ($648 million) EU antitrust fine for the U.S. company. In July last year, Opera took the Commission to court for exempting Edge from the Digital Markets Act, which aims to rein…

ChatGPT and other popular AI chatbots are pushing people towards psychosis, according to a new report. Co-authored by NHS doctors, the study warns that there is growing evidence that large language models (LLMs) “blur reality boundaries” for vulnerable users and “contribute to the onset or exacerbation of psychotic symptoms”. The research follows dozens of reports of people spiralling into what has been dubbed “chabot psychosis”. Hamilton Morrin, a neuropsychiatrist at King’s College London who was involved in the study, described chatbot psychosis as a “genuine phenomenon” that is only just beginning to be understood. “While some public commentary has veered…