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Emmanuel Macron has warned Beijing that Europe would be forced to retaliate with “strong measures” against Chinese goods – including punitive tariffs modelled after US policy – if a trade imbalance between the two sides remains unaddressed well into 2026.Back in Paris, fresh from a diplomatic visit to China that ended on Friday, the French president told business newspaper Les Echos that China was “effectively killing their own customers” by running unsustainable surpluses while curbing imports.“I told them that if they do not react, we Europeans will be forced, in the next several months, to take strong measures and to…
Liven Pharma Limited announced on Monday that it had brought a new Rs8 million blistering packing line from China into full operation, integrating the machine into its production system after commissioning it last fiscal year. The company disclosed the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. It said that the commissioning of the blistering packing line machine was expected to result in an approximate 12–15% increase in overall production capacity. “Packaging quality is anticipated to improve significantly, resulting in better product presentation, consistency, and possibly reduced spoilage/defects,” the company informed the bourse. Pakistan’s Liven Pharma…
China’s open-source artificial intelligence models accounted for nearly 30 per cent of total global use of the technology, while Chinese-language prompts ranked second in token volume behind English, according to a report.Proprietary Western models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-5, remained dominant with a 70 per cent global share.According to the empirical study of 100 trillion tokens by OpenRouter, Chinese open-source LLMs’ global share started from a low base of 1.2 per cent in late 2024 to reach nearly 30 per cent over a few months this year. Tokens are units of data processed by AI models during training and…
ISLAMABAD: In a major shake-up for Pakistan’s telecom sector, the PTCL has kicked off a five-to-six-month fast-track takeover and merger process after securing the PTA’s approval to acquire Telenor Pakistan — a move set to reshape the market, clear the path for 5G, and create one of the country’s most dominant telecom groups. Pakistan’s long-delayed telecom consolidation is finally gathering pace, as the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) moves into the final stretch to acquire Telenor Pakistan—setting the stage for a major reshaping of the mobile market and clearing a strategic path toward 5G readiness. The PTCL has secured the…
Late one night in southern Nepal last month, whispers spread of an unusual wedding taking place. Inside a modest home, an 18-year-old girl was about to be wed to a Chinese national nearly twice her age.The match was illegal. Nepal’s minimum age for marriage is 20, and the bride’s youth alarmed onlookers. Police were called and the ceremony in Bara district was swiftly brought to a halt.But the episode shone a spotlight on the trafficking of young Nepali women into marriage with Chinese nationals, often arranged by a web of local brokers and online middlemen promising families a route out…
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Enraged farmers protesting delays in the payment of subsidies swarmed onto the apron area of the international airport on the southern Greek island of Crete on Monday, managing to evade riot police who used tear gas and stun grenades to keep them back.Images from local media showed dozens of farmers standing on the apron at the Nikos Kazantzakis international airport in Heraklion, the main town in Crete, forcing the airport to suspend all flights. Clashes also broke out near the airport of Crete’s second-largest city, Chania, with riot police using tear gas to disperse protesting farmers…
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union officials on Monday were finalizing a major overhaul of its migration system, including streamlined deportations and increased detentions, after years of fierce debate on the issue has seen the rise of far-right political parties.Since a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe a decade ago, public views on the issue have shifted. EU migration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers is down from record levels. Still, U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days issued sharp criticism of the 27-nation bloc’s migration policies as part of a national security strategy painting European allies…
Mitchell’s Fruit Farms Limited (MFFL), a Pakistani manufacturer of farm and confectionery products, has appointed new leadership, with Kashif Sajjad Sheikh named as Chairman of the Board and Usman Zafar Butt appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The appointments were confirmed during a Board of Directors meeting, the listed company shared in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. “The Board of Directors has resolved that Kashif Sajjad Sheikh is appointed as the Chairman of the Board and Usman Zafar Butt is appointed as the CEO of the company for a term of three years commencing from…
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved on Monday the immediate implementation of a comprehensive plan, including a 100 MW solar project to ensure uninterrupted, affordable, and sustainable power supply. The PM decided while reviewing a meeting on ongoing reforms in the power sector, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a press release “All relevant institutions must work in full coordination on the projects to ensure uninterrupted, reasonably priced, and reliable electricity supply to Gwadar Port City,” the PM directed. Issuing special directions for the immediate initiation of the 100-megawatt solar project in GB, the prime minister said, “The welfare and…
The Hong Kong Insurance Authority has directed insurers to move quickly to assist victims of the Tai Po fire by directly contacting policyholders to help them claim compensation for about 12,000 insurance policies, according to CEO Clement Cheung Wan-ching.Cheung on Monday updated the figures on insurance policies affected by the 43-hour blaze that started on November 26 at Wang Fuk Court, saying 35 life insurance companies – including AIA and Manulife – had identified 10,000 life, medical and annuity policies owned by residents of the estate.Another 35 general insurance companies had issued 1,800 policies covering property, personal accidents and domestic…