[Government of Mauritius] Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam has been sworn-in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, this afternoon, during a ceremony held at the State House, in Réduit. The newly appointed Prime Minister took the oath of Allegiance and oath of Office before the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun.

[New Times] Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has affirmed the government's commitment to advancing toward the nation's Vision 2050 goals, emphasizing resilience in the face of challenges.

Abdelatty met with a number of key officials in the country and reiterated his support for Lebanon and a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Israel's military campaign against Hamas and Hezbollah could reshape Middle Eastern alliances and weaken Iran's regional influence.

• 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

Season two ends in a catfight cliffhanger and a Margaret Thatcher namedrop. Bleak.

The future president of the United States has announced a new era for the nation. I propose 10 goals that will make the next Trump administration as solid

Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

Just a week after former President Trump won back the presidency, the new administration is quickly forming, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is asking ordinary Americans to make suggestions about what policies and people should be put in place.

Voters in Washington state appeared to have approved a ballot measure that would restrict future regulations on natural gas and gas stoves.

Hong Tao Yang bought bear paws and bear kneecaps from an undercover conservation officer involved in a sting operation.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, has arrived to hold talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM), S. Jaishankar.

:

The Appellant filed an (offline) RTI application dated 31.05.2023 seeking the following information:

Page 1 of 3

"1- द ल सरकार के SC/ST DEPARTMENT 2018,2019,2020,2021,2022 तक कतना फ ड पछले चार साल म कतनी योजनाओंपर खच कया है उसक" पण ू जानकार द जाये 2- द ल सरकार ने 2014 से 2022 तक अपने व'ापन पर कतना फ ड द ल व ् द ल से बाहार खच कया है उसक" जानकार द जाये 3- द ल के मु+यमं ,ी ने JANUARY 2014 से 2023 JANUARY तक द ल से बाहार के दोरो पर कतना फ ड खच कया है उसक" जानकार द जाये 4- द ल सरकार ने पछले 8 साल म वधायक. को गाडी खर दने के 0लए कतना फ ड दया है उसक" जानकार द जाये"

:

The Appellant filed an (offline) RTI application dated 06.02.2023 seeking the following information:

Page 1 of 7

" नवेदन यह है क नेह वहार वाड मु तफाबाद वधान सभा म कर ब चार वष पहले सीवर क" लाईन डाल गई थी और अब सीवर क" लाइन से घर-घर तक सीवर कने*शन का काम चल रहा है । सीवर लाइन के -.येक मैन होल म घर0 म कने*शन करने के 1लए चार चीनी के पाइप लगाए गए थे। इ3ह ं पाइप0 म घर0 के कने*शन जोड़ने थे। ले कन उन चीनी पाइप0 से कने*शन नह ं 8दए जा रहे ह9 और म9ने होलो म कने*शन दे ने के 1लए नये सरु ाख करके पाईप लगाये जा रहे ह9 और नये सरु ाख0 क" मर;मत भी नह ं क" जा रह है और जो पहले से ह

-.येक मैन होलो म चार पाईप लगाये गये ह9। उन पाईप0 से 1स वर ओवर=लो होने पर पानी अ3दर ह अ3दर मकान0 क" नींव म जाएगा। और कने*शन के 1लये अब नये पाईप डाले जा रहे ह9 वह रोड से एक से डेढ़ फुट गहराई पर ह9 और जो मकान नीचे पड़ गए ह9 उनका 1सवरे ज का पानी म9न होल म नह जायेगा। और मैन होल म जो नए सरु ाख कये गये है उनसे मैनहोल बहुत कमजोर हो गये है अतः Aीमान जी से नवेदन है क R.T.I Act न;न1लBखत सच ू ना दे ने क" कृEया करे ।

The revised cost estimate stands at ₹17,232 crore; the project is initially proposed to come up in two phases with four corridors spanning a total length of 76 km

Ambiguity in overall control of their duties and service matters resulted in immense distress for the MSKs, says Home Minister

Godavarikhani near Ramagundam, Mancherial among locations likely to get facilities for IT firms 

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had stated, in Wayanad in Kerala, that the government would take all possible measures to lift night traffic ban through Bandipur, which had riled wildlife conservationists in Karnataka

To drain rainwater, 1,324 pumps have been kept ready and eight are currently in use. A total of 134 pumps of 100 HP are available, and 466 tractor-mounted pumps — up from 243 last year — are ready for use this time, says Minister Nehru

One of the proposals involves widening the stretch near the military land

Nara Lokesh said that of the 22,542 posts notified in 1998 DSC, 18,008 candidates were given appointment in 1999

The Minister noted that the Average Cost of Supply (ACS)-Average Realizable Revenue (ARR) gap has improved to ₹0.21 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in FY24

More than 5 lakh internship applications received so far from Youth 

'Marquez is trying to instil his philosophy, and that's going to take time. In every camp, we're getting closer to what he wants from us as a team. With time, training, and the level of coaching he has, I have no doubt we'll be a strong team in the qualifiers.'

Guest Frederica Mathewes-Green and host Fr. Barnabas Powell tackle the sometimes controversial topic of the role of women in the Church. Also learn about Frederica's brand new book - Welcome to the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is joined by Steven Christoforou and Christian Gonzalez to evaluate the state of ministry for both young people and adults in our Orthodox Churches. Several resources were mentioned. We Are Orthodoxy podcast Y2AM Effective Christian Ministry

Fr. Barnabas Powell interviews Frederica and Fr. Gregory Mathewes-Green after they recently transitioned from full time parish ministry to "retirement." Of course, they remain as active as ever in continued outreach.

AI tools are reshaping how businesses engage with their audiences.

Diaz, J F; Galloway, J M; Bringué, M; Pedersen, P K; Grasby, S E. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8716, 2020, 21 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/325466
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/gid_325466.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/gid_325466.jpg" title="Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8716, 2020, 21 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/325466" height="150" border="1" /></a>

McNeil, D H; Dixon, J; Bell, K M. Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research (Online) 2021-2, 2021, 13 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/328237
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/gid_328237.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/gid_328237.jpg" title="Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research (Online) 2021-2, 2021, 13 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/328237" height="150" border="1" /></a>

Bingham-Koslowski, N; Grey, M; Pufahl, P; Ehrman, J; Strauss, A. Geoscience Canada vol. 50, 2023 p. 118, https://doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2023.50.20
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20220635.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20220635.jpg" title="Geoscience Canada vol. 50, 2023 p. 118, https://doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2023.50.20" height="150" border="1" /></a>

It was a mixed day on the beach for the under 23 teams from Bermuda as they continued competing in the 2024 NORCECA beach volleyball tour in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The Bermuda men’s team of Alexander Southern and Braedon Cooke, and the women’s pairing of Kaylee Trott and Hailey Trott took to the courts […]

Mixed majors bowling league action at the Warwick Lanes saw the MiniMax defeat the Warriors 13 – 7, the Activators went down 12 ½ – 7 ½ to the Unpredictable, Spare Change defeated the Mix Ups 15 – 5, and the Movers & Shakers went down 16 – 4 to Fight Back. Women Scratch Game […]

Mixed majors bowling league action at the Warwick Lanes saw the Activators went down 18 – 2 to Spare Change, Fight Back defeated the Warriors 13 – 7, while the MiniMax Forwarders defeated the Movers “N” Shakers 17 – 3, and the Mix Ups defeated the Unpredictable 13 – 7. Women’s Scratch Game Tyrika Caisey […]

Apple executives have defended the relocation of the power button to the bottom of its new M4 Mac mini, citing the computer's significantly reduced size as the driving factor behind the design change. In a Bilibili video interview, Apple's Greg Joswiak and John Ternus explained that the Mac mini's form factor, now half the size of its predecessor, necessitated finding a new position for the power button. The executives said that the bottom placement allows for convenient access despite initial user criticism.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Homebase enters administration, but The Range buys up to 70 stores and the brand.

Unite Nations in Cape Town (UNIC) works alongside two local universities, building friendships with the international students for God’s kingdom.

OM Russia celebrated the 10th anniversary of the discipleship ministry.

OM Philippines will host three training sessions this month in an effort to see sustainable, transformational and developmental ministries grow in Cebu City.