International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is set to visit Tehran for crucial talks on Iran's nuclear programme, warning just ahead of his trip that room for manoeuvre is narrowing.

Israel suffered one of the deadliest days of its ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon when six of its soldiers were killed in combat near the border.

While we often wonder post-election how the losing side’s candidates are faring, we forget that the process also takes a heavy toll on their loved ones. While President-elect Donald Trump‘s […]

The post 'We're Finally Free': Tim Walz's Children Describe Life After Election, And Kamala May Not Like the Message appeared first on The Western Journal.

For any social media conspiracy theorists that believe incumbent President Joe Biden actually voted for President-elect Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris … you might have some more fodder now. Trump […]

The post Watch: Trump and Biden 'Act Like Buddies' as They Meet in Oval Office appeared first on The Western Journal.

President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the 2024 election has given his MAGA supporters eight straight days of euphoria. In a secret-ballot vote conducted Wednesday, however, Republicans in the U.S. […]

The post 'We Don't Want You': MAGA Reacts to John Thune Becoming Senate Majority Leader, and He Won't Like What They're Saying appeared first on The Western Journal.

Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxin

President-elect Donald Trump has named Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida as his national security advisor.

Mitchell is on the Islanders NHL roster for the first time in his career.

Schmidt has become a stable, steady force along Florida's blueline since signing with the Panthers over the summer

Mike Miller helped Winnipeg make three straight appearances — winning twice — before being sidelined last year with a neck injury that ultimately ended his CFL career. On Sunday, the 35-year-old native of Riverview, N.B., will be on the field as the Bombers' special-teams co-ordinator when they meet the Toronto Argonauts in Vancouver.

The city estimates that it will cost $48 million to remove bike lanes in Toronto, a city staff report says.

As some politicians across the province show support for a forced treatment model for people struggling with mental health and addictions, the CEO of Windsor's leading treatment centre says he doesn't support that.

South Africa's metalworkers' union said it will go on strike at ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd on Thursday to protest job cuts that have impacted 107 workers.

The fight has received widespread condemnation owing to Tyson's age and the fear of possible injuries.

Sri Lanka votes today in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.

Sri Lanka votes today in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has justified the recent clamp down on beggars in the city of Abuja. DAILY POST recalls that the Minister had in October this year, “declared war on beggars because Abuja is returning to the beggar’s city”. His action attracted condemnation from those who believe that the move […]

They can be terrorists’ informants – Wike justifies war against beggars in FCT

International arrivals helped drive the operating results of Thai carriers despite the third quarter coinciding with the low season, but smaller fleets still pressure the aviation industry, resulting in consistently high airfares.

IRVING — Jake Paul is betting on himself to beat boxing legend Mike Tyson when the pair meet in the ring in Texas on Friday in what the social media star turned prize-fighter predicts will be a slugfest.

[Mozambique News Reports And Clippings] Body count now 50

• Hike in petroleum levy, imposition of GST on petroleum products not expected anytime soon
• Govt sees economic activity picking up next month due to stable rupee, lower policy rate
• Senate body points to issues in Islamic banking, fraudulent POS receipts, fake ATM notes
• 10pc levy on transport with Iran has left over 600 trucks stalled

ISLAMABAD: The Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) is reported to have expressed satisfaction over the increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio by nearly 1.5 percentage points, relieving the authorities from any push for additional tax measures through a mini-budget.

According to sources closely involved in ongoing discussions with the visiting IMF mission, the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) revenue collection target for the current fiscal year will remain unchanged at Rs12.97 trillion. Authorities have ruled out the need for additional taxes or a mini-budget, citing the IMF’s positive response.

Officials said that economic activity is expected to pick up by December in view of a stable exchange rate and a reduction in the State Bank’s policy rate, likely offsetting a tax shortfall of around Rs190 billion recorded in the first four months (July to October) of the fiscal year.

There would neither be any increase in the petroleum levy nor would general sales tax (GST) be imposed on petroleum products, the sources said after a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue presided over by PPP Senator Salim Mandviwalla.

They said the tax-to-GDP ratio had increased from 8.8pc to 10.3pc and the IMF was satisfied with this 1.5 percentage point improvement.

The sources reiterated the commitment given to the IMF that tax collection on agriculture income would start from the next fiscal year. They said that tax reforms were progressing and the draft Tax Laws Amendment Ordinance 2024 had been presented to the prime minister for approval. The ordinance contains a new family income tax return system and abolishes the concepts of non-filers and late filers.

The sources, however, hinted at tinkering with the Tajir Dost Scheme to effectively bring in traders into the tax net and said these were being discussed with the IMF mission during the ongoing meetings.

The IMF has been told that the FBR collected Rs12bn from retailers during the first quarter of 2024-25, although only 500,000 potential retailers were the target out of three million small shopkeepers.

‘Slow progress on Islamic banking’

Earlier, the Senate panel decided to call scholars of the Council of Islamic Ideology to have input on the working of Islamic banking operations in Pakistan, for which a special session would be arranged.

The central bank’s deputy governor told the panel that Riba was the main difference between conventional banking and Islamic banking.

Senator Farooq H. Naek pointed out that full implementation of Islamic banking was committed for 2027, but progress had been very slow. The SBP’s deputy governor emphasised the need for continued deliberation on Islamic banking and assured the committee that several banks were actively working towards compliance.

FBR Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial told the panel that FBR’s enforcement would be improved in the coming months after approval of a transformation plan, including enhancing the board’s operational expertise, organisational capacities and anti-smuggling measures.

Key discussions during the meeting included the contentious 10pc levy on transport and businesses between Pakistan and Iran, raised by Senator Manzoor Ahmad Kakar in a Senate session. The committee resolved to report to the house that the issue may be referred to the Standing Committee on Communications, noting that the levy, imposed with the federal government’s approval, did not pertain to the Federal Board of Revenue.

While FBR officials emphasised that this specific tax was not their responsibility, Senator Kakar raised concerns that Pakistani trucks were being unfairly taxed, with over 600 trucks currently parked due to the levy. The committee agreed to forward the matter to the Communications Committee for further deliberation.

The committee also discussed concerns raised by Senator Mohsin Aziz regarding the fee collected by FBR for point of sale (POS) services and its utilisation. The FBR chairman confirmed the introduction of a policy to penalise businesses that are issuing fake POS receipts, imposing fines of Rs500,000 and shutting down shops involved in such practices.

Senator Aziz highlighted weaknesses in enforcement, with some fake receipts circulating in the mar­ket, including a bill in Islamabad marked “tentative”. The FBR chairman acknowledged the issue and assured that enforcement mea­sures would be strengthened soon.

A key briefing by the SBP highlighted the performance of banking branches in smaller provinces, revealing that as of June 30, 2024, there were 3,334 banking branches operating in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, accounting for 20pc of the total nationwide branches. Additionally, 199 branches of microfinance banks were serving these regions, representing 13pc of the country’s total microfinance network.

Another pressing issue discussed was the problem of counterfeit currency dispensed from ATMs. Senator Kakar cited a case where a young man received fake Rs5,000 notes from an ATM. The CEO of a commercial bank assured the committee that security measures were being enhanced to address this issue.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has won the support of enough Republicans to stand as their candidate for the gavel in January.

Two opposing House GOP factions have come together to agree on raising the threshold for the motion to vacate the chair.

Entire continents, even in the tropics, seem to have been under sheets of ice.

Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.

The best way to know a city is to walk it: Simone De Beauvoir

1. Doctor stabbed by patient’s son: Demanding security, Tamil Nadu government doctors begin indefinite strike  The Hindu
2. Video | Chennai Doctors To Boycott Non-Patient Work For An Hour Amid Stabbing Incident  NDTV
3. Tamil Nadu doctors attacked: Protests erupt, no surgeries, OPDs at Coimbatore hospitals today  The Times of India
4. Video: Chennai man calmly walks away after stabbing doctor, wipes knife  India Today
5. Chennai doctor stabbing: Minister Subramanian retracts “north Indians” claim, apologises  The News Minute

President Biden plans to tell China's Xi Jinping that communication channels between the two governments need to remain open — no matter who is in the White House.

He should be prepared to stand up to an arrogant union that he’s previously supported, just as Reagan did.

Permanent tent cities are another idea Trump has for dealing with people who are unhoused. Sequestering people with mental illness or substance abuse in one place has been tried, an expert says, and "it turns into hell on earth."

PARIS — Israeli officials are insisting on maintaining a capacity to strike Lebanon at any moment as part of conditions to secure a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah, France's foreign minister said on Wednesday (Nov 13). Speaking to a parliamentary hearing after holding talks in Israel last week in Jerusalem, Jean-Noel Barrot said it was a condition increasingly voiced among Israeli officials. "Today we hear in Israel voices calling for it to keep a capacity to strike at any moment or even enter Lebanon, as is the case with its neighbour Syria," said Barrot, who held talks with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and new Defence Minister Israel Katz last week. "That is not compatible with the sovereignty of a strong country," Barrot said, referring to broader efforts to help strengthen Lebanon's governance. Several diplomats said that it would be all but impossible to get Hezbollah or Lebanon to accept any proposal that included this demand.

Munich hotels saw a spike in average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) during Expo Real, according to October preliminary data from CoStar. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets.

As the heavy rainfall continues to batter several districts of Tamil Nadu, the State Health Department has issued a public advisory warning of a potential surge in viral infections. These include dengue, influenza, and other fever-related illnesses.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who is all set to enthrall fans with his music tour in the U.S., shared that the concert feels like a homecoming for him, as he used to perform in musicals during college.

The device will arrive by March at the earliest, according to reports.

The report adds that inflation is likely to average around 4.8 per cent to 4.9 per cent for financial year 2025, higher than the RBI target of 4.5 per cent

Deputy Chief Minister points to BRS call to Maharashtra voters not to vote for Congress

The H-6 long-range bomber was used in China’s October war games around Taiwan; it flew close to the U.S. mainland for first time in June

Israeli warplanes launched a strike at dawn targeting a residential apartment in a building in the Dawhet

There are 70 Swedish companies in Tamil Nadu, employing about 25,000 people. But we want to do more, says Jan Thesleff

Wall Street is already making big bets on what take two for a White House led by Donald Trump will mean for the economy and markets