Month: May 2026

Unification Ministry white paper marks departure from Yoon-era pressure tactics, eyes trust-building with Pyongyang South Korean President Lee Jae Myung listens to a reporter’s question during a press conference to mark the first anniversary of the December 3, 2024, martial law declaration by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, at the Blue House in Seoul, South … Read more

Unidentified naval vessels, speedboats, drones detected near Gaza-bound flotilla in Mediterranean UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. PHOTO:REUTERS UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese urged Mediterranean countries on Monday to protect a Gaza-bound … Read more

[ ISLAMABAD: In recent years, the annual federal budget of Pakistan has become a stereotypical exercise of repackaging and introduction of new taxes to increase the revenue and rhetoric of austerity measures. It is quite difficult to find any bold or game-changing ideas to go beyond a narrow fiscal umbrella. Interestingly, as preparations for the … Read more

[ Pakistan’s economic trajectory being shaped by complex interplay of external shocks, internal policy responses The government wants to accelerate economic growth to lower rising poverty and unemployment, but the IMF was of the view that Pakistan has not yet reached a stage where it can afford sustainably higher economic growth. PHOTO: Reuters KARACHI: Pakistan’s … Read more

[ ISLAMABAD: “At the beginning of a dynasty, taxation yields large revenue from small assessments. At the end, taxation yields small revenue from large assessments” – Ibn Khaldun. Ibn Khaldun wrote these lines centuries ago, long before the arrival of missions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), quarterly review meetings and “mini-budgets”. He nevertheless understood … Read more