WORLD
Opposition grows in Pakistan against impending deal with Tehrik-e Taliban
On December 16, 2014, a group of TTP militants had stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, massacring more than 130 students. Fifteen teachers and staff were also killed in the attack, remembered as the worst terrorist atrocity in Pakistan's 74-year history, . A deal between Islamabad and the TTP now appears to be in sight after the group declared an indefinite cease-fire this month following months of parleys brokered by the Afghan Taliban.
Japan's lower house votes down no-confidence motion against Speaker
The ruling coalition, which controls the more powerful lower house of Japan's bicameral Parliament, rejected the motion, but will also have to vote on another no-confidence motion submitted by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) against the cabinet, as an upper house election looms next month, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the CDPJ, the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had done "nothing in response to soaring prices in Japan".
World's most vulnerable paying more for less food: FAO
The global food import bill is projected to rise by $51 billion from 2021, of which $49 billion reflects higher prices. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are anticipated to undergo a five-per cent contraction in their food import bill this year, while sub-Saharan Africa and the group of Net Food-Importing Developing Countries are both expected to register an increase in total costs, despite a reduction in imported volumes.
US-hosted Summit of Americas opens with absence of several key leaders
The official opening ceremony for the summit, running from Wednesday through Friday, was hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, reports Xinhua news agency. The President will lead the summit, which is being hosted by the US for the first time since the inaugural event in 1994, with leaders from North, South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean.
US House passes gun package
The package, dubbed the Protecting Our Kids Act, was passed late Wednesday in a 223-204 vote, largely along party lines, reports Xinhua news agency. The legislation would, among other things, raise the minimum age for buying a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21 years old and ban bump stocks for civilians. Senators from both sides of the aisle have engaged in gun legislation talks for a consensus on narrower gun legislation.
IMF asks Pakistan government to reopen CPEC deals
The global lender has asked the government to treat the Chinese CPEC power plants at par with the power plants established under the 1994 and 2002 power policies, highly placed sources told The Express Tribune. These plants had been set up under the CPEC framework agreement. The IMF's demand came after China's refusal in the past to renegotiate the terms of agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs).
Hindu temple vandalised in Karachi
According to The Express Tribune report, the incident took place on Wednesday at the Shri Mari Maata temple in the city's Korangi area. After receiving information of the vandalisation, the police reached the area and inspected the temple, while also deploying additional forces in the area. Sanjeev, a Hindu resident of the area, told The Express Tribune that six to eight individuals on motorcycles came and attacked the temple.
Global cases of monkeypox surpass 1,000: US CDC
As of June 6, 1,019 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in 29 countries, according to the CDC. The UK has recorded the most cases, 302 suspected and confirmed infections, followed by Spain (198), Portugal (153) and Canada (80), CNBC reported. In the wake of rising cases, the CDC also ramped up its alert to a level 2.
World faces largest cost-of-living crisis in a generation: UN report
The Ukraine conflict has trapped the people of the world between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the severe price shocks in food, energy and fertiliser markets, given the centrality of both Russia and Ukraine in these markets. The hard place is the extremely fragile context in which this crisis arrived: a world facing the cascading crises of Covid-19 and climate change, it added.
40 dead in church attack in Nigeria
The incident took place on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported. Sixty-one others wounded in the brutal attack are being treated in local hospitals, the Governor told the media in Owo, the town where the St. Francis Catholic Church is located, on Wednesday. Akeredolu added that 26 have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.
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