Pakistan

India has allocated record volumes of rice for ethanol production, as it battles with unprecedented inventories. These are expected to grow further when the new crop arrives. This is a turnaround from the earlier shortages which led to export restrictions. The conversion of more rice into ethanol helps reduce the rice stock in the world’s largest producer and exporter. It also keeps India’s ambitious ethanol blend programme on track, despite the drop in sugar cane supplies. India lifted the last of two years' worth of export restrictions in March. The poor rains had curtailed rice production. The abundant monsoon rainfall...

The International Monetary Fund announced on Thursday that it expects the Middle East and North Africa economy to grow only 2.6% by 2025, as uncertainty stemming a trade war in the world and lower oil prices are weighing on this region. The new projection was a significant downgrade from the October projection, which predicted 4% growth. This comes at a time when the region is grappling with geopolitical tensions and a softer external market. In an interview, Jihad Azour said, "Uncertainty can impact real economy, consumption and investment... All these elements have led to a softerening of projections." The direct...

China and Pakistan are upgrading and reconstructing Pakistan's rail network, and developing its Gwadar Port, while Chinese firms can invest in offshore oil and gas development of the South Asian nation, reported the official Xinhua News Agency on Thursday. Asif Ali Zadari, the president of Pakistan, is visiting China between February 4-8. He will attend the Asian Winter Games opening ceremony. Since 2013, Chinese financial and investment support has been a boon to the struggling economy of Pakistan. Both countries share a long-standing distrust of India, their common neighbor, and want to protect themselves from U.S. influence in the region....

The Pakistani Prime Minister's Office announced that the Pakistan signed an agreement on Monday with the Saudi Fund for Development, delaying by one year the payment of $1.2 billion on oil imports. The state-run Pakistani television broadcast the signing ceremony in real time before a delegation of the fund, led by its CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad, visited Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff. The office issued a press release in which Sharif expressed his appreciation for the signing of the Oil Import Financing Facility. The office said that Pakistan would receive oil with a one-year deferred payment. The Prime...

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 0930 GMT on Friday: ** Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and Apollo Global Management have actually made a $26 billion money deal for Paramount Global, the Wall Street Journal reported. ** Britain's competitors watchdog stated that Pennon Group's. acquisition of Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water could. hurt the water regulator's capability to make contrasts in between. water companies. ** The UK's competitors regulator launched an in-depth probe. into Lindab's acquisition of British ventilation. company HAS-Vent, after the Swedish company did not provide any. undertaking following the guard dog's initial investigation....

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1930 GMT on Thursday: ** Commodities group Glencore is studying an method for Anglo American, two sources stated, a. advancement that could stimulate a bidding war for the 107-year old. mining business. ** U.S. personal equity firm Bain Capital is taking a look at. purchasing some essential assets of French tech and software application company Atos. , reported French paper Les Echos on its site,. pointing out sources. ** Pakistan will press back the deadline for business to. express interest in purchasing nationwide carrier Pakistan. International Airlines to May 18,...

After heavy rains in the north, parts of Delhi and Indian Kashmir flooded Thursday. However, weather officials predict some relief from the downpours. This year's fierce monsoon has caused immense destruction, with at least 130 deaths in August. The torrential rains in the Himlayan enclaves of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the federal territory Jammu and Kashmir and the Himlayan enclave Jammu and Kashmir have flooded many rivers to dangerous levels. After a breach in the Jhelum River embankment, authorities advised people to evacuate their homes. Omar Abdullah said on X that "the Jhelum is rising, but at...

Rescuers searched for survivors in Indian Kashmir on Friday using shovels and earthmovers. This was a day after floods caused by heavy rains left at least 200 people missing and 60 dead. On Thursday, mudslides and floodwaters swept through the village of Chasoti, sweeping away pilgrims who gathered to eat before hiking up the hill to a popular religious sight. This is the second disaster like this in the Himalayas within a few weeks. "We heard an enormous sound, and then a flash flooding and slush followed. Some people fell into the Chenab River while others shouted. "Some were buried...

A regional climate monitoring organization said that the flooding in Nepal's Bhote-Koshi River, which killed nine people this week and left over two dozen others missing, was caused by the draining of an supraglacial water in Tibet. After Tuesday's floods, which washed the 'Friendship Bridge,' linking Nepal and China, at least 19 people remain missing, including six Chinese employees of the Beijing-backed Inland Container Depot. China's official Xinhua News Agency has reported that 11 people are missing on the Chinese border. Satellite imagery from Kathmandu's International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said the flood was caused by the draining of...

Seven leaders from west and central Asia met on Friday and agreed to promote trade liberalisation, increase foreign investment and cooperation in green energy as a way to enhance regional economic integration. As part of its long-term strategy for development up to 2035 the Economic Cooperation Organization meeting also agreed to enhance transport connectivity in the region and restore areas that were affected by conflict. The summit was held under the theme of "A New Vision for ECO for a Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Future." Participants included the Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan, his Azerbaijani colleague Ilham Aliyev as well as Shavkat...

Workers in some of the world's. biggest garment manufacturing centers in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and. Pakistan are significantly exposed to severe heat as climate. change pushes temperature levels up, a report discovered on Sunday, a. problem international retailers and brand names will have to assist. address. Brand-new European Union policies make merchants offering in the. bloc, like Inditex, H&M and Nike, legally liable for conditions. at their providers, putting pressure on them to assist fund. enhancements to cool factories they source from. In Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Karachi,. the number of days with wet-bulb temperatures -...

Nearly 2 million Muslims will reach the end of the haj pilgrimage this week, however severe heat has shown fatal for hundreds who began the journey last Friday to the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. A minimum of 562 individuals have actually passed away during the haj, according to a. tally based upon foreign ministry declarations and sources. Egypt alone has actually signed up 307 deaths and another 118. missing, medical and security sources told , as. temperatures sometimes skyrocketed past 51 degrees Celsius (124. Fahrenheit). It was so harsh and the people can not...

Authorities in Pakistan battled forest fires in numerous areas, including the capital Islamabad, on Friday as the nation come to grips with heat waves and dry weather condition. Officials are yet to validate if the fires belong to the heats or due to arson. Parts of Pakistan have actually seen temperatures as high as 52.2 degrees centigrade (126 F) over the last week with South Asia sweltering in a hotter summer this year - a pattern scientists say has been intensified by human-driven environment change. Plumes of smoke might be seen increasing from a raving fire in the hills of...

A minimum of 15 individuals have passed away of presumed heatstroke in India's eastern states of Bihar and Odisha on Thursday, authorities said, with the area gripped in a debilitating heatwave anticipated to continue up until Saturday. India has actually been experiencing a blisteringly hot summer and a. part of capital Delhi recorded the country's greatest ever. temperature level at 52.9 degrees Celsius (127.22 ° F) this week, though. that might be modified with the weather condition department inspecting the. sensing units of the weather station that registered the reading. While temperatures in northwestern and main India are. anticipated to...

Delhi tape-recorded an alltime high temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius (127.22 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday as severe heat conditions grasped the north and western parts of India, triggering students to faint in schools and drinking water taps to dry up. A heat wave alert has actually remained in place for large parts of India given that recently but on Wednesday the temperature level in Mungeshpur, a largely packed corner of Delhi, crossed the 50 C mark, the weather workplace said. The Indian capital has actually had temperature levels of over 45 C in previous years however never gone as high as...

A minimum of 7 individuals have passed away in India's southern state of Kerala after much heavier than typical premonsoon rains, authorities stated, even as much of South Asia came to grips with a heatwave. Pre-monsoon rains were 18% above regular in Kerala this year, causing flooding in parts and interfering with flights at the Kozhikode airport, officials stated. According to the state's Disaster Management Authority ( KSDMA), a 70-year-old man passed away in a lightning strike in Kasaragod district on Wednesday, while siblings aged 18 and 21 died after falling under a quarry filled with water in Palakkad on...