Author: Nafeesa Suri

With the Indian government quoting a high price for sugar, which Nepal plans to import through a government-to-government arrangement, top Nepali government officials said they may approach Pakistan for the sweetener if India’s offer doesn’t prove sweet enough. Due to issues ranging from quality (small crystal sugar) to pricing, the process of importing sugar in a government-to-government deal to meet the Tihar festival demand has been deferred, sources privy to the matter told the Post. Nepal’s annual sugar requirement is around 270,000 tonnes. The country faces an annual deficit of about 100,000 tonnes of the sweetener, which is fulfilled through…

Cash-strapped Pakistan has sought $600 million in fresh loans from two Chinese banks as it negotiates with the IMF for the release of the second tranche of a $3 billion bailout package. According to a report by The Express Tribune newspaper, the Pakistan government is in negotiations with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank of China for a total loan of $600 million. Each bank has been approached for $300 million in financing. Negotiations are at an advanced stage and loans are expected to be received by next month, the report added. In recent years,…

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says the al-Quds Hospital, the second largest in Gaza, has ceased operations due to a fuel shortage as Israeli forces continue to bomb the besieged enclave. “The hospital has been left to fend for itself under ongoing Israeli bombardment, posing severe risks to the medical staff, patients and displaced civilians,” the PRCS said in a statement on Sunday, intensifying fears for the Palestinians seeking treatment and shelter there. “This cessation of services is due to the depletion of available fuel and power outage. Medical staff are making every effort to provide care to patients…

China views the situation in Gaza as “very serious” with the risk of large-scale ground conflict growing and because the conflict has begun to spill over in the region, state media quoted the country’s Middle East special envoy as saying. The envoy Zhai Jun, who is visiting the Middle East, noted conflict along the Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Syrian borders, according to China Central Television. This has made “the outlook worrisome,” he said. Zhai called on the international community to be “highly vigilant” and to take immediate action urging parties concerned to strictly abide by international humanitarian law and avoid a serious…

ISLAMABAD, In a significant step towards enhancing labour mobility between Pakistan and Australia, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development,Jawad Sohrab Malik Friday held discussions with   Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Neil Hawkins. The meeting was aimed at fostering cooperation and exploring new avenues to enhance labour mobility between the two countries,  said a press release issued here. The SAPM informed about the ample pool of skilled Pakistani professionals and workers ready to bolster the Australian labour market, highlighting the potential for addressing labour shortages through cooperation in various sectors. The central discussion…

India’s elderly population is predicted to double by 2050 and overtake the number of children in the country, according to the United Nations Population Fund. The number of people aged 60 and above will increase from 149 million in 2022 to 347 million in 2050, the UNFPA said in a report earlier this week. The study also showed that by 2046, the elderly in India will outnumber children aged 0 to 14 years old, and there will be a decline in people aged 15 to 59 years old. The South Asian nation is the world’s most populous country and currently has the largest youth population with…

It has been more than a year since Nepal’s central bank, the Nepal Rastra Bank, initiated amendments to the law to enable the issuance of the digital version of the Nepalese rupee. What is the status of its CBDC? Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the South Asian nation’s central bank, revealed in August 2022 its intentions to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Concurrently, the NRB appealed to the nation’s legislators to amend the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, which traditionally governs the issuance of tangible currency, to incorporate provisions for digital currency issuance. Since September 2021, the NRB has outlawed…

China’s factory output and retail sales grew at a faster pace in August, but tumbling investment in the crisis-hit property sector threatens to undercut a flurry of support steps that are showing signs of stabilising parts of the wobbly economy. Chinese policymakers face a daunting task in trying to revive growth after a brief post-COVID bounce in the wake of persistent weakness in the crucial property industry, a faltering currency and weak global demand for its manufactured goods. Industrial output rose 4.5% in August from a year earlier, data released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed,…

Police in eastern Pakistan have smashed an illegal organ harvesting ring, arresting eight people for surgically removing kidneys from hundreds of patients for wealthy people needing a transplant, authorities said Monday. The alleged gang leader, identified as “Dr Fawad,” is accused of conducting 328 operations on people to remove their kidney and selling them to clients for up to 10 million Pakistani rupees ($34,000) each, said Mohsin Naqvi, the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Fawad was allegedly assisted in the operations by an unnamed car mechanic who administered the anesthesia, Naqvi said. The chief minister said the gang lured patients from…

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday announced that it will provide LPG gas cylinders at a subsidised rate of ₹ 450 under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Ladli Bahna Yojana from September 1. The state government will bear the remaining cost of the gas cylinder. According to the government release, all consumers under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and non-Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana category registered under the Ladli Behna Yojana, having gas connections in their names, will be eligible for the benefit. The remaining amount for gas cylinder refills will be available to eligible connection holders from September 1, 2023.…