Author: (PEN)

LAHORE – As Pakistan is witnessing a record-high food inflation, a challenge of food insecurity has emerged for the country – a natural consequence of the rising prices and reduced purchasing power. The only way to tackle the issue is to decrease the input cost for reducing production expenditures for farmers and thus bring the food prices down. However, Pakistan also regularly witnesses fertilizers’ shortage, especially urea, which enables the black market to manipulate the situation and make these essential inputs even more expensive for the farmers. Moreover, it also results in spending precious foreign reserves on urea imports to…

Manchester City clinched their inaugural UEFA Super Cup title, edging past Sevilla in a dramatic penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in Athens in a thrilling showdown on Wednesday. Youssef En-Nesyri’s towering header during the first half handed the lead to the Spanish side, setting the stage for an intense battle on the pitch. Despite Manchester City’s European champion status, their performance failed to showcase their trademark finesse, struggling under the scorching Greek sun. Nevertheless, Cole Palmer’s well-executed header breathed new life into City’s chances, forcing the contest into a gripping penalty shootout. Exemplifying exceptional composure under pressure, Manchester City…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rectified its mistake of not including several important feats in a recent video after backlash for ignoring former captain Imran Khan. The cricket board was under severe criticism for the last 72 hours after it excluded not only Khan — a cricketer-turned-politician — but other players who have made the nation proud in the sport. Not only fans, but several notables — including Wahab Riaz, Urooj Mumtaz, and Wasim Akram — also took an exception with the board’s move and demanded an apology. In the latest video, the board said it has launched a…

SINGAPORE: China, the world’s biggest renewable equipment manufacturer, will set up a recycling system for ageing wind turbines and solar panels as it tries to tackle the growing volumes of waste generated by the industry, the state planner said. China has ramped up its wind and solar manufacturing capabilities in a bid to decarbonise its economy and ease its dependence on coal, and it is now on track to meet its goal to bring total wind and solar capacity to 1,200 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 758 GW at the end of last year. But as older projects are…

LAHORE: The interim Punjab government has ordered a high-level inquiry after a mob set fire to a number of churches and vandalised Christians’ homes during a rampage on Wednesday, with authorities saying over 100 people had been arrested. The mob made its way through a predominantly Christian area on the outskirts of the industrial city of Faisalabad after allegations spread that the Holy Quran had been desecrated. “This was a well thought out plan to disrupt peace and a high-level investigation is underway regarding the desecration of the Holy Quran and incidents that take place afterward,” a spokesperson for the…

BEIJING (PEN): In a development for Pakistan’s transportation sector, a joint venture between Chinese and Pakistani companies is set to commence production of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, commonly known as rickshaws in the country. The collaboration is expected to bring about positive changes in the local market, reducing carbon emissions and promoting eco-friendly transportation options. The joint venture was formed in April by Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Benling Group, Chinese battery manufacturer Dongjin Group and Pakistani auto company Crown Group to leverage their expertise to introduce cutting-edge electric mobility solutions to the Pakistani market. Two-wheelers and three-wheelers…

China’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent speech company iFLYTEK on Tuesday launched a new version of its AI-powered large language model, Spark Desk 2.0. The new model serves as a major upgrade of both coding and multi-modal capabilities, said Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFLYTEK, at a launch held in Hefei, the capital of east China’s Anhui Province. According to Liu, the model’s coding capabilities have improved in terms of code generation, completion, error correction, explanation and unit testing generation. As a multi-modal model, Spark Desk 2.0 can read and analyze pictures, generate photos, and create pictures and short videos…

China on Wednesday said its economy is still a major engine for the world’s economic growth, in rebuke to claims that a slowing Chinese growth might pose risks to the global economy. Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said China’s economy keeps recovering and moves towards improvement generally. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.5 percent year on year in the first half of 2023, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed in July. The figure was “significantly” higher than the 3 percent, by which China’s GDP…

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for closer cooperation between China and South Asian countries. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China welcomes South Asian countries to share the benefits of its development at the opening ceremony of the seventh China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. China and South Asian countries should deepen strategic mutual trust, support each other in international and regional affairs, jointly advocate open regionalism, build closer regional cooperation, safeguard the interests of developing countries, and defend international justice, he said. He urged…

China is ready to expand all-round and all-field cooperation with Laos, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, said. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with visiting Lao Vice President Pany Yathotou on the sidelines of the seventh China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. Noting that China and Laos are both socialist countries with similar ideals and shared strategic interests, Wang said China is ready to continue to work with Laos to trust and support…