Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada

Saudi Arabia has officially reopened its embassy in Damascus, marking the first time in nearly 12 years. The announcement was made by Abdullah Al-Harees, the acting Saudi Chargé d’Affaires in Syria, during a ceremony attended by Syrian ministers, senior officials, and members of the diplomatic community. Al-Harees described the reopening as a historic milestone in the relationship between the two countries and reaffirmed the embassy’s commitment to enhancing bilateral ties. The ceremony saw participation from various dignitaries and intellectuals, underscoring the significance of the event. This move represents a major shift in Saudi-Syrian relations, which had been strained since Bashar…

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BRUSSELS: The EU’s top court on Tuesday delivered two major victories in the bloc’s battle to rein in tech giants by ruling against Apple and Google in separate legal sagas with billions of euros at stake. The decisions give a boost to the bloc’s outgoing competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, who had suffered a series of setbacks in EU courts against her decisions. Putting an end to a long-running legal battle, the European Court of Justice ruled that the iPhone maker must pay 13 billion euros in back-taxes to Ireland. “Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover,”…

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Apple’s new iPhone 16 failed to excite investors with long-expected Artificial Intelligence (AI) features still in test mode even as an industry-first tri-fold phone from Huawei raised the stakes in a battle to dominate the global smartphone market. Apple’s shares fell 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, a day after the US tech giant unveiled its new iPhones that sport hardware-level integration for applications based on artificial intelligence but with limited changes to the external design. The phones will use AI features — dubbed Apple Intelligence — to improve the company’s voice assistant Siri as well as enhance the camera. Those features will…

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PARIS: Italy kept up their perfect start to the UEFA Nations League on Monday, while France got the better of Belgium and Erling Haaland struck a late winner for Norway against Austria. The Italians built on an impressive win away in France at the weekend as they beat Israel 2-1 in a game played on neutral territory in Budapest due to the security situation in the Middle East. Goals in each half from Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean were enough for Italy to win in a subdued atmosphere at the Bozsik Arena, home of Honved. Luciano Spalletti’s team have reacted…

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GREATER NOIDA: Ground staff used electric fans in a desperate bid to dry the pitch in the Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand Tuesday, but play was called off for a second straight day with one official calling it “a huge mess.” The one-off Test at Afghanistan’s adopted home near India’s capital New Delhi was supposed to start on Monday, but the toss is yet to take place because of rain and the poor condition of the Greater Noida ground. On Tuesday, groundsmen covered areas of the pitch in anticipation of more rain, while others waved electric fans over the…

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LAHORE: The Pakis­tan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday abruptly announced the postponement of the National U-19 Inter-region Cricket Tournament following the opening days’ play of the first round of three-day matches, which had commenced across the country’s regional centres. In a short press release, hours after the announcement, the PCB said the decision was taken “due to unavoidable circumstances.” The board did not respond when Dawn reached out for a detailed explanation. The event was featuring 18 teams — one each from 14 regions and two apiece from Lahore and Karachi — and the officials of the sides received the PCB’s postponement…

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HONG KONG: Australia endured another disappointing evening in Asia’s World Cup qualifying on Tuesday as Graham Arnold’s side were held to a 0-0 draw by hosts Indonesia while Saudi Arabia claimed a late 2-1 win over China. Hassan Kadish’s 90th minute header earned victory for the 10-man Saudis, who moved onto four points from their opening two games in Group ‘C’ of the third phase of qualifying. There was frustration, too, for Asian Cup holders Qatar, who drew 2-2 with North Korea in Vientiane in Group ‘A’ in a game that was suspended for 20 minutes in the second half…

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LONDON: Ben Stokes returns as captain for England’s three-Test tour of Pakistan next month while Brydon Carse could make his debut just weeks after completing a ban for breaches of betting rules. Stokes will skipper the side after missing the 2-1 home series win against Sri Lanka with a hamstring injury. Opener Zak Crawley is also in the squad announced on Tuesday after missing the same series with a broken finger. Bowling all-rounder Carse, who returned to action in late August after serving a three-month ban for historical betting violations, appears to be the main beneficiary of a year-ending elbow…

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ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aur­a­­­ngzeb has said that structural reforms are being undertaken in the power sector to improve its efficiency and service delivery. During a meeting with the K-Electric delegation on Tuesday, the minister said the reforms included the reconstitution of the boa­rds of directors of Dis­cos by bringing in professionals from the private sector and reducing the number of government nom­i­nees to bring in more efficiency in the boards and improve overall service delivery. The KE team discussed its seven-year plan that incl­udes future investme­nts in transmission and distribution with a target of additional power generation of 2,172 MW by…

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ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to speed up transferring ongoing development projects to provinces under the dissolved Public Works Department (PWD), requiring provinces to complete formalities within a week. Chairing a meeting on Tuesday, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal stated that while the projects were being transferred to the provinces, the funds granted to them under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) would continue. He requested provinces submit names of ministries overseeing projects slated for transfer to the Planning Division within a week. It was agreed that the PSDP projects would be transferred to the provincial governments as soon as…

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