Author: i2wtc
Listen to article The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan have reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to an official IMF statement released today. The staff-level agreement, which is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, includes access to around $1.3 billion under the RSF for climate resilience and sustainability efforts over the next 28 months. Additionally, the agreement provides Pakistan with approximately $1.0 billion under the EFF, bringing total disbursements under the program to around $2.0 billion. This agreement comes…
Kyiv, Ukraine – Small groups of infantrymen backed by armoured vehicles, multiple rocket launchers, drones and fighter jets are trying to seize a village. They have been attacking it for days despite heavy counterattacks, shelling and drone strikes, spring rains, wet ground and the lack of life-saving foliage on the trees around the village that hides camouflage-clad soldiers. “The situation remains tense,” a war correspondent concludes. What sounds like a bland, repetitive report from eastern Ukraine is in fact a dispatch of pro-Kremlin war correspondent Yuri Kotyonok from the Russia-Ukraine war’s brand new front line. The region is Belgorod in…
PARIS: World Athletics said on Tuesday it had approved the introduction of a cheek swab test to determine if an athlete is biologically female. Sebastian Coe, the head of the international track and field federation, said the decision taken by the body’s decision-making council was a “really important” way of protecting the female category. “It’s important to do it because it maintains everything that we’ve been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female women’s sport, but actually guaranteeing it,” Coe said in a press conference after the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.…
Attacks on US warships and Israeli military sites come hours after raids reported in Yemen’s Saada and Amran provinces.Several air strikes have hit northern Yemen, according to the Houthis, who said they carried out attacks on United States warships in the Red Sea and launched drones at military sites in Israel. Houthi-affiliated media reported on Wednesday that at least 17 strikes hit Saada and Amran, blaming the US for the attacks. The rebels’ Ansarollah website said US warplanes carried out “aggressive air raids … causing material damage to citizens’ property”, but gave no details of casualties. According to Al Masirah…
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: Italian deputy premier Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday he would like to see Russian and Ukrainian athletes compete at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics next year, if their countries have stopped fighting. The leader of the far-right League party, a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government who has responsibility for infrastructure, was speaking at the inauguration of the Winter Olympics bobsleigh track in Cortina d’Ampezzo. “Given that there are peace talks (on the Ukraine war) going on at the moment, and that the Olympic spirit should be what brings people and athletes together, I hope… the Milan-Cortina…
Listen to article ISLAMABAD: A day after it was urged to reconvene the top-level security huddle, the federal government on Tuesday tasked Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with engaging the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), accepting his offer to mediate between the ruling coalition and the opposition. Speaking on a private TV channel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advisor and senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said the government was open to reconvening the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) if Bilawal brought PTI to the table. “Bilawal Bhutto is already part of the government. If he successfully mediates between PTI and the…
Milwaukee Bucks’ championship aspirations are in jeopardy, with star Damian Lillard diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis.Milwaukee Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, the team announced. According to the Bucks, Lillard is on a blood-thinning medication that has stabilised his condition, and he will continue to undergo testing. The team did not provide a timetable for Lillard’s return on Tuesday, only saying updates would be provided as appropriate. “Damian’s health is our No. 1 priority,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “We will support him as he moves through his weekly…
Istanbul, Turkiye – The scent of tear gas lingered over Sarachane Square in Istanbul as thousands gathered over the weekend to protest against the arrest of the city’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, outside the municipal headquarters. The popular politician, whom Turkiye’s main opposition party has chosen as its candidate for the next presidential election, was arrested on March 19. Since then, protests have erupted daily, with demonstrators now calling for the government’s resignation. To Imamoglu’s supporters, the decision to detain and remove him from office is Turkiye’s longtime leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tightening his grip on power. For the government and…
FAISALABAD: Peshawar and Lahore Blues completed the semi-finals line up of the National T20 Cup as they beat Faisalabad and Sialkot, respectively on Monday night here at the Iqbal Stadium. Peshawar got over the line against Faisalabad in a close encounter as they won by three wickets with only four balls to spare. Peshawar’s Mohammad Amir Khan, after claiming three victims with the ball, struck two sixes in his unbeaten six-ball 14 after walking in at 120-7 in the 18th over to make sure Peshawar chase the 139-run target and secure a semi-final berth. Earlier, Faisalabad had opted to bat…
Listen to article Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP-M) chief Akhtar Mengal has announced to lead a long march on March 28 from Wadh to Quetta against the detention of BYC leaders. Taking to his X handle, the BNP-M chief mentioned that he would lead long march, “which is against the arrest of our daughters and disrespect of our mothers and sisters.” He invited the Baloch community, including men, women, elders and youth to participate in the long march. “It is not only the matter of our daughters’ arrest but it is a question of our national dignity, our honour and out existence,”…