Rawalpindi: Security forces killed two terrorists during an exchange of fire in Esham area of North Waziristan District.

According to Inter services Public Relations (ISPR), these terrorists were actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the terrorists.

The ISPR, in its statement, reaffirmed Pakistan Army's firm resolve against the menace of terrorism.

Sydney: Qatar will host the knockout rounds for the western half of the 2022 Asian Champions League draw in February with eight teams battling it out to decide who meets Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in the final in April and May.

Urawa secured their place in the final for the fourth time last August but the completion of the western half of the continental championship was delayed because of Qatar's hosting of the World Cup.

The eight teams, led by reigning champions Al Hilal and fellow Saudis Al Shabab, completed their group matches in a centralised venue in April last year.

Al Shabab face Uzbek outfit Nasaf Qarshi in a one-off tie on Feb. 19 in Al Wakrah, while Al Hilal play Emirati side Shabab Al Ahli at the same Al Janoub stadium a day later.

The other ties at Doha's Al Thumama Stadium over the same two days pitch Qatari rivals Al Duhail and Al Rayyan against each other and Iran's Foolad against a third Saudi club, Al-Faisaly.

The final four West Asian clubs will face off in elimination ties on February 23 with the semi-final three days later.

The competition will revert to the traditional two legs for the final with Urawa visiting West Asia on April 29 and hosting the second match in Saitama on May 6.

SOURCE: REUTERS

California: Apple sales dropped at the end of 2022 as shoppers squeezed by the rising cost of living cut back their purchases.

Sales at the iPhone giant fell 5% in the three months to December compared with the same period in 2021.

It was the biggest decline since 2019 and worse than expected.

The update came as many firms warn about a sharp economic slowdown, especially in the tech sector which boomed during the pandemic.

Apple boss Tim Cook said the firm was navigating a “challenging environment”.

He blamed the sales decline on supply shortages due to Covid-19 disruption in China - where its phones are manufactured - and a strong dollar, as well as wider economic weakness stemming from rising prices, the war in Ukraine and lingering effects from the pandemic.

“As the world continues to face unprecedented circumstances, we know Apple is not immune to it,” he said on a conference call with investors.

Apple said the sales declines occurred throughout the world and hit most of its products.

Sales of its popular iPhones were down more than 8%, and sales of Mac computers dropped 29%.

The declines hit the firm's profits, which fell 13% to $30bn (£24bn).

Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight, said the firm, like many electronics makers, is struggling to make the case that users should upgrade given “what is perceived to be incremental improvements on previous models”.

“More so when everyone is tightening their belts,” he added.

Globally the number of smartphones shipped sank 12% last year, according to market analysis firm Canalys.

Apple executives said they expected their services business, which includes Apple Pay and Apple News, to continue to drive growth, noting that there are now more than 2 billion active Apple devices around the world.

“When we look at the behavior of our installed base, we think it's very promising,” said chief financial officer Luca Maestri, while warning investors that the firm was expecting sales to continue to decline in the months ahead.

Other big tech companies also said they were feeling pressure in updates to investors.

Amazon, which has been struggling to re-ignite its e-commerce business, said sales at its online stores dropped 2% in the final three months of 2022, compared with a year earlier.

Overall, Amazon's sales in the three month period rose 9% to $149.2bn (£121bn), lifted by stronger growth in its cloud computing business.

But its profits dropped sharply, falling to near zero from $14.3bn (£11bn) a year ago, a change that chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky warned investors was likely to continue in coming months.

At Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, sales were up just 1% in the three months to December, compared with 2021, as firms cut back on advertising - the company's main source of revenue - in the face of economic uncertainty.

SOURCE: BBC