ISLAMABAD: Projecting core inflation at 12.4 per cent, fiscal deficit at 7.4pc and higher debt levels despite better revenues in FY20, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday began discussions with Pakistan authorities over its first quarterly review of the $6 billion 39-month economic programme. Informed sources said the visiting IMF mission had preliminary discussions on first quarter (July-September) data …

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday said he could release segments of video from the dramatic US raid that killed Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria. “We may take certain parts of it and release it,” Trump told reporters. The operation by US special forces in Syria took place Saturday, culminating in the death of the fugitive leader who …

WASHINGTON: The body of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea by the US military after he killed himself during the weekend raid on his Syrian hideout, a Pentagon source revealed on Monday. No details were given on where or when the body was disposed of, but it paralleled the 2011 sea burial of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after …

MANILA:  A 6.6-magnitude quake struck the southern Philippines Tuesday, authorities said, rattling buildings and sending terrified locals fleeing into the streets. The shallow tremor hit the island of Mindanao in the same region where a deadly quake struck earlier this month, the US Geological Survey said, adding there was no tsunami threat. Philippine authorities said they expected damage after the strong …

US automaker Ford said Monday it would lay off about 450 employees in Canada as it ends production of two vehicles currently assembled there. This month, Ford stopped making the Lincoln MKT at its Oakville assembly plant west of Toronto, and will discontinue the Ford Flex SUV by the end of November, a company spokeswoman told AFP. The decision is …

United States officials have said the body of militant Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea, as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend. Syrian Kurds claimed to be a key source of the intelligence that led Americans to Baghdadi after years of tracking the man behind a …

Saudi Aramco aims to announce the start of its initial public offering (IPO) on November 3, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, after delaying the deal earlier this month to give advisers time to secure cornerstone investors. Separately, Aramco has not approached the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) to invest in the IPO, the sovereign wealth fund’s managing director Farouk …