WORLD
IMF can't dictate Pakistan government: Finance Minister
Talking to a local media outlet, Dar said that he was not concerned whether the IMF team arrives or not to assess and finalise the pending review of the country's $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The Minister said that the IMF team is more than welcome to visit as the compliance details for the ninth review was "completely in order".
Covid emergency phase closer to end but Omicron transmission remains: WHO
"We are much closer to being able to say that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over -- but we're not there yet," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing here. The reason behind is that "Omicron has proved to be significantly more transmissible than its predecessor, Delta, and continues to cause significant mortality due to the intensity of transmission".
Pakistan's head of mission in Kabul survives assassination bid
In a statement, the Ministry said the Embassy's compound in Kabul came under attack on Friday targeting the head of mission, but "by the grace of Allah Almighty, the head of mission is safe", Geo News reported. However, a Pakistani security guard Israr Mohammad has been critically injured in the attack while protecting Nizamani, the Foreign Office said.
EU plans to criminalise violation of sanctions against Russia
It proposes to establish the same level of penalties in all member states to close existing legal loopholes and increase the deterrent effect of violating EU sanctions, reports Xinhua news agency. It aims to establish "common basic standards" for penalties, the Commission said in statement.
UK Covid cases again rise above 1 million in a week
The number of people in the UK testing positive for the virus rose by 6 per cent in the week to November 21 -- up from 972,400 for the previous seven-day period, Xinhua news agency quoted the ONThere has been a 40 per cent jump in the number of patients in hospital with flu compared to the previous week, according to weekly figures from Britain's National Health Service (NHS).S as saying on Friday. It is the first increase in nationwide infections since the week ending October 17.
Blinken designates Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia as religious freedom violators
On Friday, Blinken announced that he was giving them and seven others the designation "for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom". He called out those countries under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) which requires the government to hand out the designations periodically.
G7, allies approve price cap on Russian oil
In a joint statement released early Saturday morning, the G7 and Australia said the decision to impose the price cap, which is meant to affect oil exports worldwide, was taken to "prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine", the BBC reported. It said the move aims to "support stability in global energy markets and to minimise negative economic spillovers of Russia's war of aggression.
Europe would be in trouble without US: Finnish PM
The Finnish leader who is currently on a visit to Australia, made the remarks at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney on Friday, the BBC reported. Stressing on the need to strengthen Europe's defences since military stocks are depleting due to a constant supply flow to Ukraine, Marin said: "I must be brutally honest with you, Europe isn't strong enough right now... We would be in trouble without the US.
US and France to form united front to ask Putin to end Ukraine war
French President Emmanuel Macron has underscored his outrage over Moscow's "attoricties" in its war against Ukraine, while the US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he is open for dialogue with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The war has disrupted essential supplies from Russia and Ukraine to the rest of the world besides restricting crude oil supplies resulting in soaring oil prices breaching the $100 dollar.
US President Joe Biden's approval rating hits record high
The biggest upset for the Republicans was the loss of Trump-backed Mehmet Oz to John Fetterman in Pennsylvania and the very narrow win of Trump-backed TV Anchor Kari Lake by 500 votes against democrat's Katie Hobbs in Arizona where the Maricopa County ballot is in dispute with Hobbs not yielding. Jared Polis (D) wrested the governor's post in Colorado.
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