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The federal government has proposed an increase of nearly 20% in the defence budget for the upcoming fiscal year, allocating a total of Rs2,550 billion, according to the 2025–26 budget presented in the National Assembly. According to details, this has marked a massive rise from the current year’s allocation of Rs2,122 billion, although actual defence expenditures were expected to reach Rs2,181 billion by the end of the fiscal year. For the Pakistan Army, the proposed allocation for the next fiscal year stands at over Rs1,165 billion, compared to Rs1,009 billion allocated in the current year. The revised expenditure estimate for…

From ancient Central Asia to today’s China and Central Asia cooperation, the pomegranate’s journey unites us all! The Forbidden City Chamber Choir drops a soul-stirring song – “The Pomegranates Turning Red” – bringing past & future with peace, unity, and harmonic bliss! Actually after the China-Central Asia Summit in 2023, six pomegranate trees were jointly planted by all the participating heads of state, symbolizing that the six countries are closely united like pomegranate seeds. Let’s enjoy this touching melody symbolizing unity and cooperation in the new era!

Chinese President Xi Jinping and President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso sent congratulatory letters to the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Wednesday.

China will further advance comprehensive reforms in the vibrant southern city of Shenzhen and push for greater innovation and opening-up in the city, according to a set of guidelines unveiled Tuesday. The guidelines, issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, highlighted a new batch of reform measures for Shenzhen to break institutional barriers in education, science and talent development. They emphasize strengthening the integration of innovation, industrial, capital and talent chains, while exploring new pathways, scenarios and platforms for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) cooperation. They aim to pioneer…

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday met respectively with some African counterparts who came to China for the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province. These African foreign ministers include Kenya’s Musalia Mudavadi, Senegal’s Yassine Fall, Tanzania’s Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Namibia’s Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, Botswana’s Phenyo Butale and Angola’s Tete Antonio. When meeting with Mudavadi, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China is willing to work with Kenya to implement…

ISLAMABAD : The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved the budgetary proposals for the fiscal year 2025-26. Chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the special cabinet committee deliberated on the budget proposals and accorded its approval to the Finance Bill. The cabinet meeting also okayed the budgetary proposals to be presented before the National Assembly for its onward consideration. Finance Minister briefed the cabinet on the upcoming budget.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab has warned of a prolonged heatwave gripping Punjab, with scorching conditions expected to persist until June 13. According to the PDMA spokesperson, temperatures across the province are running up to 7°C above normal, with intense heat forecast for major cities, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Rawalpindi. Southern Punjab districts, such as Multan, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Sahiwal, are bracing for particularly severe heatwave conditions. The Meteorological Department reported extreme temperatures across the region. Bhakkar recorded a high of 49.5°C, with a “feels-like” temperature of 53°C due to humidity. Sargodha hit 46°C…

A mysterious outage has hit ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, leaving thousands of users worldwide frustrated and disrupted. According to outage monitoring website Downdetector, reports of the disruption began pouring in around 12:10pm IST, with over 1,000 complaints registered in the UK and almost 500 in the US. The error message, which has caused widespread panic among users, reads: “If this issue persists, please contact us through our help center at (link unavailable)” Users have taken to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to express their frustration and concern, with many reporting issues with the web…

A Pakistani government delegation led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari briefed the All Parties Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pakistan at the British Parliament, warning that India’s aggressive posture and recent actions could endanger regional and global peace. Addressing the APPG at the historic Westminster Palace, Mr Bhutto-Zardari highlighted India’s unilateral decisions, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and repeated attacks on civilian populations along the Line of Control (LoC), terming them “blatant violations of international law”. The Pakistani delegation also drew attention to what it described as India’s “unsubstantiated and politically motivated allegations” following the Pahalgam…

Iran on Tuesday executed nine members of the militant Islamic State (IS) group who had been detained following a deadly clash with the country’s paramilitary forces in 2018, according to the judiciary’s official news outlet. The Mizan news agency reported that the militants were involved in an armed confrontation with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that resulted in the death of three Iranian troops. The executions were carried out by hanging, the standard method of capital punishment in the Islamic Republic. Iranian authorities did not disclose further details regarding the identities of those executed or the exact location of…