Bank is seeing growing Muslim population, primarily due to immigrants from various countries such as Somalia, Afghanistan and Iran AUGUSTA, Maine – Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston, Maine, has come up with a solution that will allow devout Muslims to own homes without paying interest. The bank’s CEO, Neil Kiely, pointed out that denyi...
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 [...
