Month: July 2023

The International Monetary Fund approved a much-awaited $3 billion bailout for Pakistan.  if implemented faithfully by Pakistan, the bailout will give it an opportunity to regain macroeconomic stability and address imbalances through consistent policy implementation.  Sharif quickly welcomed the IMF decision, saying it was a major step forward in the government’s efforts to stabilize the economy.  According to analysts, Pakistan needs at least $20 billion in the next two years to pay back foreign loans with interest.  The International Monetary Fund approved a much-awaited $3 billion bailout for Pakistan. The…

Sustainable Development Goal 2 is about creating a world free of hunger by 2030.    About 735 million people worldwide faced chronic hunger in 2022, a figure much higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.  The world is “far off track” to meet the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030, said the SOFI report.  The main drivers of global hunger were conflict-driven disruption to livelihoods, climate extremes that threatened agricultural production, and economic hardship exacerbated by the pandemic, the report said.  Some parts of the world have seen hunger…

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance will stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes” as he suggested the country was now “equal” with member countries.  On the country’s membership, he said the alliance will issue an invitation to join “when allies agree when conditions are met”.  The US and Germany have shown the most reticence on expediting membership while the conflict rumbles on.  “There’s a realization in government here that the Americans, the Germans, the French aren’t going to make Ukraine a full member of the organization…

Walt Disney is exploring options to sell or find a joint venture partner for its India digital and TV business.  Disney has faced increasing pressure due to the emergence of Reliance Industries’ streaming platform JioCinema.  A Research firm has estimated Disney+ Hotstar’s subscriber base shrank by nearly 5 million users in India after it lost the digital rights for IPL.  The source said it will be difficult to find an outright buyer in India as the enterprise value of the Indian business was seen as around $15-16 billion when Disney…

North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) off its east coast.  Japan’s Coast Guard had predicted the missile would fall about 550 km east of the Korean peninsula.  Analysts believe the North’s ICBMs can fly far enough to strike targets anywhere in the United States.   The country likely has developed nuclear warheads that can fit on rockets.  South Korean President said the North’s launch posed a direct challenge to peace in the region and the world.  Nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan held a…

Moscow would be forced to use “similar” weapons if the United States supplied cluster bombs to Ukraine, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.  Shoigu was quoted as saying that Russia was in possession of cluster munitions but had so far refrained from using them in its military campaign.  The U.S. has previously accused Russia of using cluster munitions in Ukraine and said they have had a failure rate of up to 40%, leaving the ground littered with unexploded bomblets.  Close U.S. allies including Britain, Canada, and Germany have expressed their…