Pakistan is looking to clinch a staff-level agreement (SLA) on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout of more than $6 billion this month after addressing all of the lender’s requirements in its annual budget, state minister for finance told Reuters. The country has set challenging revenue targets in its annual budget to help it win approval from the IMF for a loan to stave off another economic meltdown, even as domestic anger rises at new taxation measures. “We hope to culminate this (IMF) process in the next three to four weeks,” Minister of State for Finance, Revenue and Power Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Wednesday,…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Pakistan’s privatisation commission is addressing concerns voiced by those qualified to bid for the country’s national airline about a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ban on the carrier, an official said on Wednesday. The privatisation of the loss-making state-owned enterprises has long been on the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s list of recommendations for the country, which is seeking to strike a deal with the fund for a longer term bailout this month. The privatisation commission pre-qualified six consortiums for bidding in June and expects to conclude the privatisation process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by next month. Usman Bajwa, secretary of the commission, told a briefing the…
Menlo Park (California, US): Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would lift its blanket ban on the word shaheed after a year-long review by its oversight board found the social media giant’s approach was “overboard”. The company has been criticised for years over its handling of content involving the Middle East, including in a 2021 study Meta itself commissioned that found its approach had an “adverse human rights impact” on Palestinians and other Arabic-speaking users of its services. Those criticisms have escalated since the onset of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in October. The oversight board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, started its review last…
PARIS: More than 200 centrist and left-wing candidates pulled out of France’s legislative election runoff by a Tuesday deadline, in a move President Emmanuel Macron hopes will block the far right from winning power. France votes on Sunday in the final round of snap legislative polls Macron called seeking a “clarification” in politics after his camp was trounced in European elections last month. His gamble backfired, with the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen winning the June 30 first round. But the key suspense now is whether the RN can get enough seats to form a government. Faced with the prospect of…
LONDON: With the UK general election just days away, all eyes are on constituencies with large Muslim populations. Discontent over Labour’s perceived lacklustre response to the Gaza conflict has sparked a rise in pro-Palestine independent candidates, threatening Labour’s dominance in these areas. Labour has historically enjoyed robust support from British Muslim voters. However, recent polling by Hyphen, a publication dedicated to issues faced by Muslims across the UK and Europe, reveals a notable decline in this backing. In 2019, a whopping 86 per cent of British Muslims voted for Labour. This figure has plummeted to 63pc amid growing dissatisfaction with Labour’s stance on…
WASHINGTON: Democrats shocked by Joe Biden’s dismal debate performance last week urged the US president on Tuesday to be transparent about his mental fitness as he faced the first call from his own side to drop out of the election. Some supporters have expressed growing doubts about the 81-year-old following last week’s televised showdown with Donald Trump, after Biden stumbled over his words and lost his train of thought — exacerbating fears about his age. Congressman Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to make way for another candidate. “Recognising that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always…
GAZA STRIP: Israeli forces carried out deadly strikes on Tuesday on southern Gaza and battled fighters after the army again ordered Palestinians to leave areas near the besieged territory’s border with Israel and Egypt. Witnesses reported intense bombing and shelling around Khan Yunis, southern Gaza’s main city from which Israeli forces withdrew in early April after a devastating months-long battle. A hospital source in the city said shelling killed eight people and wounded more than 30 others. The bombardment came after a rocket barrage at southern Israel claimed by the Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas. This was followed by an…
Survivors of India’s deadliest stampede in over a decade on Wednesday recalled the horror of being crushed at a vastly overcrowded Hindu religious gathering that left 121 people dead. A police report said more than 250,000 people attended the event in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, more than triple the 80,000 organisers had permission for. On Wednesday morning, hours after the event, discarded clothing and lost shoes were scattered across the muddy site, an open field alongside a highway. People fell on top of each other as they tumbled down a slope into a water-logged ditch, witnesses said. “Everyone — the entire…
The leaders of Russia and China were in Kazakhstan for a regional summit, seeking to harden anti-Western alliances and press their influence in the strategic Central Asian region. Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Wednesday morning for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — a Beijing-led regional bloc that covers Central Asia, India and Iran. Moscow and Beijing have deepened their political, military and economic ties since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, the pair see the SCO as…
Authorities in Russia’s mostly-Muslim North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Wednesday temporarily banned women from wearing the niqab, after simultaneous attacks targeting churches and synagogues killed 22 last month. In a statement posted on the Telegram messenger app, the Dagestan Muftiate said it was introducing a “temporary” ban on the niqab after an appeal from Russia’s ministry of nationality policy and religious affairs. Reports following the attacks on June 23 said one of the gunmen had planned to escape wearing a niqab. The muftiate, a religious organisation representing Dagestani Muslims, said that the ban would remain in place “until the identified threats are eliminated…
