current account deficit narrowed by 78% in February

The country's current account deficit fell 78.46 percent to 54 545 million in February, from a sharp drop in imports to 53 2.53 billion in January.

During the first eight months of fiscal year 2022, the current account deficit crossed 12 billion and there was no sign of improvement in the external account. In February 2021, the deficit was only 40 34 million.

Data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Saturday shows that the current account deficit increased to 12 12.9 billion in the first eight months of the current financial year from 99 994 million in the same period last fiscal. There were surpluses.

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Ukrainian President Zelensky says Russia should immediately start peace talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Russia to resume talks without delay. He says this is the only way Russia can compensate for the damage done by its mistakes.

 

He described the devastation caused by the Russian aggression in Ukraine as "regrettable". He added that it was time for the Moscow government to recognize Ukraine's sovereignty and integrity.

"I want you all to listen to me now, especially the people of Moscow," he said. It's time to meet, it's time to talk. It is time to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and justice.

He said that if this did not happen then the loss of Taurus would be so great that it would take you many generations to make up for it.

It should be noted that negotiations are underway between Russia and Ukraine, but no agreement has been reached yet regarding the ceasefire.

 

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Biden warns Chinese leader backing Russia's war in Ukraine

US President Joe Biden laid out to Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday the "consequences" of any backing for Russia in its war against Ukraine, the White House said, as Beijing showed no sign of joining Western condemnation of the invasion.

The comments came during a nearly two-hour phone call between the leaders of the world s two largest economies, focusing on Ukraine, where China s close ally Russia is in the fourth week of a bloody assault.

Read more: Xi stresses joint China-US efforts for world peace, tranquillity

The White House said that Biden described to Xi "the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians."

The White House refused to characterize Xi s response to the warning or say how hard Biden pushed him. "It wasn t about making asks, it wasn t about making assessments. It was about having an ongoing dialogue," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

But she said that "is something we ll be watching and the world will be watching."

Beijing was ambiguous about Xi s position after the call.

Chinese state television CCTV reported that Xi said the war was "in no one s interest" and that "state-to-state relations cannot go to the stage of military hostilities."

Read more: Moscow accused of war crimes as Ukraine

However, there was no mention of direct criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry laid some responsibility for Russia s invasion of its neighbor to the West.

"The US and NATO should also have dialogue with Russia to address the crux of the Ukraine crisis and ease security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine," the foreign ministry noted.

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IMF raised questions over relief package announced by PM

International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised more questions over the financing of a relief package announced by the prime minister last month, Pakistan may not be able to draw the next tranche of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for over a month.

In a televised address to the nation at the end of February, PM Imran Khan had announced a reduction of Rs10 per litre in petrol/diesel and Rs5 in electricity prices. He further claimed the rates would remain stable until the next federal budget.

Official sources told Dawn that the IMF mission and Pakistani authorities remained engaged in discussions on the seventh review of the Fund programme, and decided to meet again on Monday. The sources said a final round of policy-level talks between Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and the Fund mission was being scheduled for Tuesday.

They said the IMF team asked more questions about the financing of the prime minister’s relief package. They also expressed concern over the growth prospects in view of a major cut in the Public Sector Development Programme, and wanted precise project details that would be affected by this cut.

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IHC refuses to stop ECP from acting against PM Imran

The Islam­abad High Court (IHC) declined to issue an interim order on Friday to restrain the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from proceeding against Prime Minister Imran Khan and federal ministers for allegedly violating the code of conduct during the ongoing campaign for local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ECP earlier issued notices to Prime Minister Khan, KP Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, federal ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Murad Saeed, and others for allegedly violating the canvassing rules ahead of the polls.

The second phase of local government election in the remaining 18 out of 35 KP districts is set to take place on March 31. Meanwhile, the first phase of local government polls in 17 out of 36 districts of Punjab are due in the last week of May.

After receiving the ECP notices, PM Khan and Planning Minister Asad Umar petitioned the IHC. The court registrar’s office then raised administrative objections to the petition, which were later removed by the prime minister and the petition was subsequently fixed for a hearing by Justice Aamer Farooq.

 

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Russia tells Google to stop spreading threats against Russians on YouTube

Russia on Friday demanded that Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google stop spreading what it called threats against Russian citizens on its YouTube video-sharing platform, a move that could presage an outright block of the service on Russian territory.

The regulator, Roskomnadzor, said adverts on the platform were calling for the communications systems of Russia and Belarus' railway networks to be suspended and that their dissemination was evidence of the U.S. company's anti-Russian position. It did not say which accounts were publishing the adverts.

"The actions of YouTube's administration are of a terrorist nature and threaten the life and health of Russian citizens," the regulator said.

"Roskomnadzor categorically opposes such advertising campaigns and demands that Google stop broadcasting anti-Russia videos as soon as possible."

Google removed an advertisement that was flagged by the Russian government, according to a source familiar with the matter who declined to describe it.

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Corona claims 2 more deaths across the country

Pakistan has reported 2 more deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,521,300. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 30,328 on Saturday.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 483 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Pakistan has conducted 39,067 tests in the past 24 hours out of which 483 persons were tested positive for the disease. The COVID Positivity Ratio was recorded at 1.23 percent.

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