Pakistan clinches 14 medals at Asian Indoor Rowing Championship in Thailand
For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
The Asian Indoor Rowing Championship was organized by the Asian Rowing Federation from May 26 to 31 in Pattaya, Thailand, to showcase the talents of indoor rowers from across Asia.
Unlike traditional rowing competitions held on water, this championship features athletes competing on indoor rowing machines, such as the Concept2 ergometer, simulating the rowing experience in a controlled environment.
'Competing against 25 countries, the Pakistani squad stunned traditional powerhouses such as India, Iran, Thailand, South Korea and Japan,' Radio Pakistan said in a report on Monday.
'Despite being a small contingent, the Pakistani rowers delivered an outstanding performance that defied expectations.'
According to a local news outlet, Pakistan won 10 gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
Key contributors included Pakistani rowers Abdul Jabbar and Muhammad Shahzad, who won one gold and one silver each.
Tayyab Iftikhar earned one silver medal and one bronze, the report added.
Radio Pakistan said the athletes received a grand welcome from the Pakistan Rowing Federation (PRF) upon their return to the country.
It highlighted that the athletes' performance marked 'a new era for rowing' in Pakistan. PRF President Hamdan Nazir and Chairman Rizwan-ul-Haq also praised the players for their outstanding achievements.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump says Japan will invest $550 billion in US at his direction. It may not be a sure thing
President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying. 'Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit,' Trump said Thursday. 'They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money.' He said 90 percent of any profits from the money invested would go to the US, even if Japan had put up the funds. 'It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus,' the Republican president said on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25 percent to 15 percent, including on autos. A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10 percent of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the US economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans. What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration. The president has claimed to have brought trillions of dollars in new investment into the US, though the impact of those commitments have yet to appear in the economic data for jobs, construction spending, or manufacturing output. The framework also enabled Trump to say other countries are agreeing to have their goods taxed, even if some of the cost of those taxes are ultimately passed along to US consumers. On the $550 billion, Japan's Cabinet Office said it involves the credit facility of state-affiliated financial institutions such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Further details would be decided based on the progress of the investment deals. Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, upon returning to Japan, did not discuss the terms of the $550 billion investment. Akazawa said he believes a written joint statement is necessary, at least on working levels, to avoid differences. He is not thinking about a legally binding trade pact. The US apparently released its version of the deal while Japanese officials were on their return flight home. 'If we find differences of understanding, we may have to point them out and say that's not what we discussed,' Akazawa said. The US administration said the fund would be invested in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, computer chips, and shipbuilding, among other industries. It has said Japan will also buy 100 airplanes from Boeing and rice from US farmers as part of the framework, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would be evaluated every three months. 'And if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25 percent tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products. And I can tell you that I think at 25, especially in cars, the Japanese economy doesn't work,' Bessent told Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' Akazawa denied that Bessent's quarterly review was part of the negotiations. 'In my past eight trips to the United States, during which I held talks with the president and the ministers,' Akazawa said, 'I have no recollection of discussing how we ensure the implementation of the latest agreement between Japan and the United States.' He said it would cause major disruptions to the economy and administrative processes if the rates first rise to 25 percent, as scheduled on August 1, and then drop to 15 percent. 'We definitely want to avoid that, and I believe that is the understanding shared by the US side,' he said. On buying US rice, Japanese officials have said they have no plans to raise the current 770,000-ton minimum access cap to import more from America. Agricultural Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan will decide whether to increase US rice imports and that Japan is not committed to a fixed quota. Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has suggested that the Japanese agreement is putting pressure on other countries, such as South Korea, to strike deals with the US. Trump, who is traveling in Scotland, plans to meet on Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade. 'Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it for him,' Lutnick said Thursday on CNBC. 'Pretty amazing.'
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
PM Sharif orders swift release of funds for remittance scheme after record $38.3 billion inflows
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the finance ministry to release funds on a priority basis for the Workers' Remittances Incentive Scheme, reaffirming his administration's commitment to facilitating formal remittance flows after overseas Pakistanis sent a record $38.3 billion in the last fiscal year. The scheme, introduced in 2023, aims to encourage Pakistanis living abroad to use official banking channels instead of informal networks such as hawala or hundi. It offers benefits including simplified digital transfers, priority processing, fee waivers and reward points for frequent or high-volume senders. The program is also integrated with Roshan Digital Accounts (RDAs), which allow non-resident Pakistanis to invest in domestic stocks, real estate and government securities. 'Overseas Pakistanis are our strength and a national asset,' Sharif said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office. 'Their hard-earned remittances play a vital role in Pakistan's development, and the entire nation, including myself, holds them in the highest regard.' The prime minister noted that remittances have not only helped meet Pakistan's rising import bill but have also contributed to strengthening foreign exchange reserves. 'From laborers to entrepreneurs, every overseas Pakistani is playing a part in the country's progress,' he added. Sharif said the surge in remittances during FY2025 was key to achieving Pakistan's first current account surplus in 14 years. He also pledged to remove administrative and procedural bottlenecks in the remittance system, calling for it to be made 'simpler, more transparent and more efficient.' Remittances form the backbone of Pakistan's economy, providing a vital source of foreign exchange that eases pressure on the current account and supports millions of households through spending on education, health care and daily needs. In times of crisis, they have served as a financial lifeline, helping stabilize reserves and maintain macroeconomic balance.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
China's Premier Li Proposes Global AI Cooperation Organization
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday proposed establishing an organization to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence, calling on countries to coordinate on the development and security of the fast-evolving technology. Speaking at the opening of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Li called AI a new engine for growth but said governance is fragmented and emphasizing the need for more coordination between countries to form a globally recognized framework for AI. The three-day event brings together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of escalating technological competition between China and the United States - the world's two largest economies - with AI emerging as a key battleground. "Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules," Li said. "We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible." Washington has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could enhance China's military capabilities. Despite these restrictions, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from US officials. Li did not name the United States in his speech but he warned that AI could become an "exclusive game" for a few countries and companies, adding that challenges included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange. GOVERNANCE PLAN China wants to share its development experience and products with other countries, especially those in the Global South, Li said. Also on Saturday, China released an action plan for global AI governance, in which it invited governments, international organizations, enterprises and research institutions to work together and promote international exchanges including through a cross-border open-source community. The plan proposes accelerating digital infrastructure such as clean power, new-generation networks and data centers, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry. The AI conference is an annual government-sponsored event in Shanghai that typically attracts major industry players, government officials, researchers and investors. Saturday's speakers included Anne Bouverot, the French president's special envoy for AI, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as "the Godfather of AI", and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has in past years regularly appeared at the opening ceremony in person or by video, did not speak this year. Besides forums, the conference features exhibitions where companies demonstrate their latest innovations. This year, more than 800 companies are participating, showcasing more than 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, according to organizers. The exhibition features predominantly Chinese companies, including tech giants Huawei and Alibaba and startups such as humanoid robot maker Unitree. Western participants include Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon.
