Author: admin

The International Monetary Fund on Friday welcomed reform progress by Pakistan, saying its policy efforts under the IMF-supported programme have helped stabilise the economy and rebuild market confidence. According to IMF spokesperson and Director of Communications Julie Kozack, Pakistan is currently implementing an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and an IMF staff team is expected to visit the country starting February 25 for discussions on the third review under the EFF and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Kozack said Pakistan’s policy efforts under the EFF have contributed to macroeconomic stabilisation and a gradual restoration of…

BERLIN: “Flies,” a Berlin Film Festival competition entry, is a tale about how opening up to others could allow in something special, said its Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke. “It’s a story about loneliness, about grief, about how to connect with other people,” he told Reuters ahead of the premiere. Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here. The movie draws a parallel with opening a window to let out a fly buzzing around your home – and inadvertently allowing something positive in. “When there’s a fly at your home, when you open…

Ibrahim Zadran dedicated his player of the match award to coach Jonathan Trott as the Afghanistan opener’s unbeaten 95 helped secure an 82-run win over Canada on Thursday, ending their Twenty20 World Cup with a consolation victory in Group D. South African-born Trott, a former England international, was appointed as Afghanistan’s coach in July 2022 and it was announced in November he would be leaving after this tournament. During his tenure, Afghanistan reached their first T20 World Cup semi-final in 2024, and fell just short of reaching the semis at the 50-over World Cup in 2023. “He has supported me,…

LOS ANGELES: Lionel Messi kicks off a critical season for Major League Soccer this weekend as the rapidly growing US domestic league seeks to cash in on a huge spike in interest from the upcoming World Cup. Messi – MLS’s undisputed flagship star – will lace up his boots for a fourth year with Inter Miami, who take on South Korean ace Son Heung-min’s Los Angeles FC in Saturday’s opener at the 70,000-capacity Memorial Coliseum. It is a suitably splashy start for a season that will be split in two by the 2026 World Cup, which takes place across the United States,…

WASHINGTON: FIFA will spearhead a $75 million fund to rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza that were destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Donald Trump and the sport’s governing body said Thursday. Trump made the announcement in Washington at the first meeting of his “Board of Peace,” an amorphous institution that features two dozen of the US president’s close allies and is initially focused on rebuilding the Gaza strip. “I’m also pleased to announce that FIFA will be helping to raise a total of $75 million for projects in Gaza,” said Trump. “And I think they’re soccer related,…

LAHORE : The Punjab School Education Department has issued a notification enforcing a standard dress code for teachers in public schools across the province. According to the notification, wearing a black gown during teaching hours has been made mandatory for all teachers. Male teachers have been advised to wear simple shalwar kameez or pants and shirts, while female teachers have been directed to wear decent and modest attire. The new dress code will be strictly implemented in all public educational institutions starting from February 23, 2026. In addition, teachers have been instructed to wear closed shoes or appropriate sandals to…

The rise in Britain’s youth unemployment rate to a 10-year high is posing tough questions for the country’s centre-left government about its policy of phasing out a lower minimum wage for younger workers. Official figures this week showed Britain’s jobless rate for people aged 16-24 rose to 16.1% in the final quarter of last year, up from 13.8% in the middle of 2025 and a record low of under 9.2% during the Covid-19 pandemic. Youth unemployment in Britain now exceeds that in the euro zone. Many business groups and economists blame a sharp increase in the minimum wage alongside last…

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has warned that Iran has no more than 10 to 15 days to strike a “meaningful” deal over its nuclear programme, or face what he described as “really bad things”. Speaking in Washington, Trump signalled that the US could take action if talks fail, sharpening the stakes in an already tense stand-off. His remarks come amid a major US military build-up in the Middle East, underscoring the urgency of the deadline and raising fears of fresh escalation if diplomacy falls short. Amid a massive US military build-up in the Middle East that has fuelled fears of a…

ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court of Pakistan has temporarily stayed proceedings in a defamation case filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against the PTI founder and has issued a notice to the Prime Minister seeking his response. The case, involving a claim of Rs10 billion, will be scheduled for urgent hearing. During the hearing, Justice Ayesha Malik noted that no representative appeared for the other side and highlighted her dissenting note in the case. Previously, a two-judge bench had upheld the trial court’s decision to terminate the founder’s right to defend due to his absence. The founder’s counsel, Ali Zafar,…

The United States has thanked Pakistan for supporting President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and for joining the Board of Peace. In a post on X, US State Secretary Marco Rubio shared an image with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Rubio mentioned in the post that he met PM Shehbaz to appreciate “Pakistan’s ongoing support of@POTUS’s Peace Plan for Gaza and for joining the Board of Peace.” “In our meeting, we discussed the importance of our strategic relationship on critical minerals development and counterterrorism,” the state secretary added. Responding to Rubio’s tweet,…