KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Protesters blocked roads and staged rallies across Pakistan on Monday against the latest increase in power tariffs, with the country’s caretaker government mulling over giving some relief to inflation-hit citizens. Tens of thousands took to the streets in dozens of major cities and remote towns, blocked roa...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Thousands took to the streets across Pakistan on Sunday to protest rising power bills, some violently, forcing the power companies to seek police security. Interim Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar summoned an urgent meeting with power authorities to “review” the situation after angry protesters block...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions. According to a joint statement by Bank Indonesia (BI), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and the Bank of Thailand (BOT), three MoUs are signed providing a framework for cooperation to promote bilateral tr...
According to a report by Asian Development Bank, more than 155 million people in region were living in extreme poverty in 2022 MANDALUYONG, Philippines – The COVID -19 pandemic and the rising cost of living have led to a significant increase in poverty in developing Asian countries. According to a report by the Asian Development [&helli...
New members Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will join the economic bloc from January 2024 JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) has announced its first expansion, inviting six new countries. The new members Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopi...
LONDON (AA) – British police announced Tuesday that it formally charged Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Nigerian oil minister, with bribery-related offenses. Madueke, 63, who also served as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was a key figure in the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2015. An inves...
Niamey, Niger – AFP A convoy of around 300 supply trucks arrived in Niger’s capital Niamey on Monday as Burkina Faso came to the aid of its sanctions-hit neighbour. The West African bloc ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger after army officers toppled president Mohamed Bazoum in a coup last month. Benin and Nigeria closed their [&hell...
Beirut, Lebanon – AFP Hundreds of Syrians staged a general strike on Sunday against deteriorating living conditions and price hikes, local media reported, amid a series of sporadic demonstrations in the country’s regime-held south. The rare strike in Sweida province comes after the government this week lifted fuel subsidies, dealin...
TRIPOLI (AA) – Libya’s central bank on Sunday announced its reunification after being split into two for nearly a decade due to the country’s long-running civil war. The bank in a statement said it has become a “unified sovereign institution” after a meeting in the capital Tripoli between central bank governor Saddek El Kaber and [...
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) – Nigeria on Thursday announced the release of $241 million to tackle a food shortage in the country. Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state said the money will be spent on buying food and distributing it to citizens as the government’s response to inflation and insufficient food supplies following the removal of ...
