Baghdad, Iraq (AFP): Hundreds of Iraqis gathered on Wednesday in front of the central bank in Baghdad to protest against a sharp fall in the local currency’s value against the US dollar, AFP journalists reported. The official exchange rate is fixed by the government and remains unchanged at 1,470 dinars for one dollar, but since [&hellip...
Nouakchott, Mauritania (AFP): Mauritania’s ex-president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz went on trial on Wednesday, accused of amassing an illicit personal fortune from his 11-year stay in power. Aziz, a 66-year-old former general, appeared in a court in Nouakchott among 10 defendants, including former prime ministers, ministers and businessmen,...
Tehran, Iran (AFP): Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has set the tackling of galloping inflation and currency devaluation as priorities for the 2023-2024 budget presented to the parliament. The pledge came as the Iranian currency touched a new low. Addressing MPs, Raisi tried to reassure Iranians about the economy which faces a serious crisis d...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Several parts of Pakistan remained without electricity even on Tuesday, following a major power breakdown that hit the South Asian nuclear country on Monday, virtually paralyzing the normal course of life. Addressing a press conference in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir claimed that t...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A major power outage struck Pakistan on Monday morning, forcing government offices, airlines, hospitals, and business centers across the country to rely on backup generators. The breakdown which occurred because of a decrease in frequency in the national grid caused widespread power outages in scores of cities and town...
ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan and Russia have agreed to complete an oil and gas export process by end of March with Islamabad paying in “currencies of friendly countries” instead of US dollars. Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov said the two countries also agreed to explore additional avenues of cooperation. “We have discu...
TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – The Secretary General of the Tunisian Labor Union (UGTT) has said that Tunisia is witnessing the social and economic consequences of “monopolized power.” During the 77th anniversary of the founding of the union, Noureddine Taboubi said: “The situation in Tunisia cannot get any worse.” He stressed that &#...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rolled over a $2 billion loan to a cash-strapped Pakistan that was payable over the next two month. “Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has rolled over their deposit of $2 billion with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as discussed by (Premier Shehbaz Sharif) with […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – Lebanon’s caretaker government on Wednesday approved opening credit lines totaling $116 million to fix the country’s electricity grid. “An advance of $62 million in favor of the electricity sector has been approved,” Prime Minister Najib Mikati told a press conference in the capital Beirut. He added that a su...
Tunis, Tunisia (AFP): Conflict-wracked Libya has donated several dozen trucks of food supplies to neighbouring Tunisia, the Libyan embassy said, months into an economic crisis that has seen repeated shortages of basic goods. A convoy of 96 trucks carrying sugar, oil, flour and rice from Tripoli passed the Ras Jedir crossing on Tuesday morning,...
