WASHINGTON: Two leading economists — Atif Mian and Reza Baqir — have warned that the current political crisis will have tremendous economic ramifications, but they also hoped that it leads to key structural adjustments in the decision-making process. In a recent discussion on Pakistan’s economic future, which Mr Mian posted online earlier this week, both economists emphasised the need to …

KARACHI: The outgoing Sweet Eid has left a bitter aftertaste for many garments, shoes and artificial-jewellery sellers, as inflation-bitten citizens tightened their purse strings because of significant price hikes across the board. The traders have mostly blamed the rupee’s depreciation and the central bank’s curbs on imports for higher prices. Kapra Market, commonly known as Kagzi Bazaar and located near …

ISLAMABAD: The government expects inflation to remain high in the coming months and it may hit an all-time high of 38 per cent in April, driven by hikes in food and energy prices. “The inflation is expected to remain in the range of 36-38 per cent for April,” the finance ministry said in its Monthly Economic Update and Outlook released …

TOKYO: The abortion pill will become available in Japan for the first time after the health ministry approved the drug used to terminate early-stage pregnancy. Abortion is legal in Japan up to 22 weeks but consent is usually required from a spouse or partner, and until now a surgical procedure had been the only option. The ministry said in a …

TEHRAN: An Iranian cleric was stabbed on Saturday during an apparent road rage incident in Qom, state media said, days after the fatal shooting of a leading cleric. After crashing and injuring two pedestrians, the driver jumped out of his car and attacked “one of the victims who was a cleric” with a knife, Qom police chief Amir Mokh­tari said, …

PARIS: Armed robbers raided the Bulgari luxury jewellery boutique in the swanky Place Vendome in central Paris in broad daylight on Saturday, making off with an estimated several million euros’ worth of items, police and prosecutors said. Three people who arrived on two motorbikes entered the store in the popular tourist district at around 1:45pm local time, a police source …

ISLAMABAD: South Asia is one of the regions most at risk due to extreme heat but the majority of its urban areas are ill-equipped to deal with the phenomenon, which is increasing in frequency, severity and complexity due to climate change. This was stated in a new World Bank report which said that the region, home to a quarter of the world’s …

HOUSTON: In the latest mass shooting to hit the United States, a gunman shot dead five Hondurans including an eight-year-old child at a house in Texas, officials said on Saturday. Investigators believe the gunman had been firing his AR-15-style gun in a neighbouring yard when the victims asked him to stop, as they were trying to get a baby to …

Eleven people died and nine were hospitalised after a gas leak in Ludhiana in the northern Indian state of Punjab, a state lawmaker said on Sunday. A team from the National Disaster Response Force was at the site along with a team of experts to determine the cause and source of the leak, said Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina, a member …

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s political crisis echoed in the US House of Representatives on Friday night when a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee highlighted the need for the United States to side with democracy and not with the leaders more pliable to Washington. On Saturday, Congressman Brad Sherman, a record 13th-time member of the House from California and an influential …