The agreement, which would be subject to approval by the IMF board, has faced an eight-month delay….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said a staff-level agreement for a crucial bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is “very close” and expected in the next 24 hours, Dawn reported.
The Pakistan government is racing against time to unlock at least USD 1.1 billion under the lender’s ninth review of a USD 6.5-billion Extended Fund Facility agreed in 2019. The programme expires on Friday.
“We are very close to signing a staff-level agreement with the IMF. I think it should come sometime tonight or maximum within 24 hours … We have finalised everything,” Dar told Reuters late on Thursday, according to Dawn.
The agreement, which would be subject to approval by the IMF board, has faced an eight-month delay.
The funds under discussion would offer some respite amid an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves, as per Dawn.
A total of USD 4 billion has already been released. Dar had earlier told the media that the government was working on a mechanism to try to unlock the full USD 2.5 billion pending under the IMF programme.
It was unclear what portion of the funds would be released in the announcement he expected in the next 24 hours, as per Dawn. (ANI)
The SCO Council of Heads of State is scheduled to take place on July 4, and will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually…reports Asian Lite News
Chinese President, Xi Jinping, will attend the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), being hosted by India, next week, Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
“At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend via video conference in Beijing the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and deliver important remarks on July 4,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced Friday, as per Xinhua News Agency.
The SCO Council of Heads of State is scheduled to take place on July 4, and will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually, according to the statement released by SCO.
As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair. Heads of the two SCO Bodies – the Secretariat and the SCO RATS – will also be present. Heads of six international and regional organizations have also been invited, viz. UN, ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU and CICA.
“The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym was coined by the Prime Minister at the 2018 SCO Summit and stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment. These themes have been highlighted during our Chairmanship of SCO,” the statement read.
“India has set up new pillars of cooperation under its Chairmanship – Startups and Innovation; Traditional Medicine; Digital Inclusion; Youth Empowerment; and Shared Buddhist Heritage. In addition, India has worked towards fostering greater people-to-people ties that celebrate the historical and civilizational bonds between our nations. These include the various socio-cultural events hosted by Varanasi under the framework of the first-ever SCO Cultural and Tourist Capital for 2022-23,” the statement added.
India’s Chairmanship of SCO has been a period of intense activity and mutually beneficial cooperation between Member States. India has hosted a total of 134 meetings and events, including 14 Ministerial-level meetings. India remains committed to playing a positive and constructive role in the organization and looks forward to a successful SCO Summit as the culmination of its Chairmanship.
The rotational presidency remains with India until September 2023. In 2022, India assumed the presidency of the SCO, marking a significant milestone in the country’s role in regional cooperation and its endeavour of advocating for an integrated neighbourhood. (ANI)
Michelle Obama said that the decision to strike down race-based affirmative action in college admissions “breaks her heart” thinking about the future of students, reports Asian Lite News
The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-based admission programs at the University of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, The Washington Post reported.
This comes amid reports of the university’s policies discriminating against White and Asian applicants by giving preference to Black, Hispanic and Native American ones. In a 6-3 judgement, the apex court gutted affirmative action in college admissions, that use race as a factor.
The majority voting judges included Chief Justice John G Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
“The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual–not on the basis of race,” Chief Justice John G Roberts said in the ruling while writing for the majority.
“Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenged bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the colour of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” the order stated.
Roberts said the admissions programs at Harvard and UNC “lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful endpoints.”
“University programs must comply with strict scrutiny, they may never use race as a stereotype or negative, and — at some point — they must end,” he wrote.
In a dissenting stand, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in defence that “equal educational opportunity” is a “prerequisite” to achieving racial equality in our nation.
“Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress. It holds that race can no longer be used in a limited way in college admissions to achieve such critical benefits. In so holding, the Court cements a superficial rule of colourblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter,” she said in the ruling.
Along with Sotomayor, Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson also dissented against the ruling. However, Jackson recused herself from the Harvard case because she served on a board at the university, The Post reported.
In the North Carolina case, Students for Fair Admissions alleged that the flagship university’s policies discriminated against White and Asian applicants by giving preference to Black, Hispanic and Native American ones, The Post reported.
On the other hand, the case against Harvard accused the university of discriminating against Asian American students by employing subjective standards to limit the numbers accepted.
Notably, the issue of affirmative action has long been a matter of debate in the US.
As recently as 2016, the court upheld an affirmative action program at the University of Texas, concluding for the third time that educational diversity justifies the consideration of race as one factor in admission decisions.
The ruling has also drawn reactions from the political circles, and contrary from both sides.
Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama expressed disappointment at the apex court’s ruling to gut affirmative action from college admissions.
“Like any policy, affirmative action wasn’t perfect. But it allowed generations of students like Michelle and me to prove we belonged. Now it’s up to all of us to give young people the opportunities they deserve — and help students everywhere benefit from new perspectives,” Obama said in a succinct statement, also providing links to various organizations focused on equality in education.
Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society. But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions—it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table.
Expressing disappointment, former first lady Michelle Obama in a lengthier statement recalled being one of the few black students in her college.
In a lengthier statement, the former first lady took a more personal tone.
“Back in college, I was one of the few Black students on my campus, and I was proud of getting into such a respected school. I knew I’d worked hard for it. But still, I sometimes wondered if people thought I got there because of affirmative action. It was a shadow that students like me couldn’t shake, whether those doubts came from the outside or inside our own minds,” she said.
“But the fact is this: I belonged. And semester after semester, decade after decade, for more than half a century, countless students like me showed they belonged, too. It wasn’t just the kids of colour who benefitted, either. Every student who heard a perspective they might not have encountered, who had an assumption challenged, and who had their minds and their hearts opened gained a lot as well. It wasn’t perfect, but there’s no doubt that it helped offer new ladders of opportunity for those who, throughout our history, have too often been denied a chance to show how fast they can climb,” she further said.
Michelle Obama said that those students who get accepted into universities due to legacy, athletics and resources are not questioned in the same way.
“So often, we just accept that money, power, and privilege are perfectly justifiable forms of affirmative action, while kids growing up like I did are expected to compete when the ground is anything but level,” she said.
She further added that the decision “breaks her heart” thinking about the future of students.
“So today, my heart breaks for any young person out there who’s wondering what their future holds — and what kinds of chances will be open to them. And while I know the strength and grit that lies inside kids who have always had to sweat a little more to climb the same ladders, I hope and I pray that the rest of us are willing to sweat a little, too. Today is a reminder that we’ve got to do the work not just to enact policies that reflect our values of equity and fairness, but to truly make those values real in all of our schools, workplaces, and neighbourhoods,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, former President and 2024 contender Donald Trump hailed the SC ruling, calling it a “great day” for the nation, adding that it will “keep us competitive with the rest of the world”.
“This is a great day for America. People with extraordinary ability and everything else necessary for success, including future greatness for our country, are finally being rewarded. This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing. It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world. Our greatest minds must be cherished and that’s what this wonderful day has brought. We’re going back to all merit-based–and that’s the way it should be!” CNN quoted the former President.
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also hailed the court’s ruling, saying that the justices “just ruled that no American should be denied educational opportunities because of race.”
Taking to Twitter, McCarthy said, “The Supreme Court just ruled that no American should be denied educational opportunities because of race. Now students will be able to compete based on equal standards and individual merit. This will make the college admissions process fairer and uphold equality under the law”.
The Supreme Court just ruled that no American should be denied educational opportunities because of race.
Now students will be able to compete based on equal standards and individual merit. This will make the college admissions process fairer and uphold equality under the law.
The Biden administration – from the White House to the Department of Education – is also reviewing the affirmative action decision from the Supreme Court, CNN reported citing an administration official.
President Joe Biden last spoke about the pending case in November, when he said he urged his Justice Department to “defend the present policy before the Supreme Court”. (ANI)
The satellites would have added to Australia’s global earth observation data and aided responses to bushfires and floods…reports Asian Lite News
The Australian government on Thursday canceled the National Space Mission for Earth Observation program for reportedly “budget repair” reasons.
Announced by the former government before the 2022 election, the program would have funded the design, construction and launch of four satellites from Australia, reports Xinhua news agency.
The satellites would have added to Australia’s global earth observation data and aided responses to bushfires and floods.
Instead, the government will continue to rely on international partners to provide the information.
Despite canceling the program, Ed Husic, the minister for industry and science, said the government still “values the role our space sector plays”.
“That’s why in our recent budget we placed the Australian Space Agency on a sustainable financial footing,” he was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday.
The federal budget for the financial year 2023-24 was handed down by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in May, with a strong focus on cost-of-living relief as inflation remains the “primary economic challenge” for the country.
On Wednesday Chalmers said the final budget surplus for the current financial year — the first since 2008 — will come in bigger than forecast by the government in May.
However, Chalmers also said inflation and interest rate increases along with global challenges will significantly slow the economy, with the growth expected to fall from 3.25 per cent this year to 1.5 per cent next year.
Six people were taken in for questioning after participating in a protest banned by authorities in Lille, the regional authority said…reports Asian Lite News
More than 400 people have been arrested in France amid violent protests that continued across the country over the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old driver by the police at a traffic stop, authorities said on Friday.
At least 421 people were arrested in the protests from Thursday night into Friday morning, CNN quoted Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin as saying to the local BFMTV.
More than half of those arrests took place in the Paris region, in the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, BFMTV reported, citing Paris police.
The protests continued for a third consecutive day on Thursday prompting the country’s elite police force, the RAID, to be deployed in the cities of Bordeaux, Lyon, Roubaix, Marseille and Lille, to help contain the violence, reports CNN.
In Nanterre, a suburb in Paris where Nahel M was shot at point-blank range by a police officer on Tuesday as he refused a traffic stop and drove away, clashed flared up between protesters and police on Thursday.
Amid burning debris, “vengeance pour Nael” (revenge for Nahel) appeared to be spray painted on a wall in Nanterre, according to footage from the suburb.
A bank was also set on fire in the suburb and15 people have been taken in for questioning by police after a march held in memory of the teenager turned violent.
Meanwhile in Marseille, protesters threw fireworks at police officers, CNN quoted BFMTV as saying in a report.
Footage from the northern city of Lille showed fires burning on streets and running riot police officers.
Six people were taken in for questioning after participating in a protest banned by authorities in Lille, the regional authority said.
Buses and tramways in Lille shut down after 8 p.m. on Thursday night, while several Parisian suburbs have imposed curfews.
Bus and tram services were also suspended in the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, from Thursday night
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said it planned on deploying 40,000 police officers across the country, including 5,000 in Paris.
When the unrest first erupted on Tuesday night, 40 cars were burned and 24 police officers injured, French authorities claimed.
The police officer who shot the teenager has been put under formal investigation for voluntary homicide and placed in preliminary detention, BFMTV reported on Thursday.
Nahel is the second person this year in France to have been killed in a police shooting during a traffic stop.
Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong/IANS)
Stoltenberg noted that the decision of the EU to grant Ukraine candidate status has an impact on the discussions that are underway within NATO…reports Asian Lite News
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine’s aspirations to join the alliance will be discussed after the NATO summit in Vilnius, media reported.
“After the NATO summit, we will discuss Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership. And I am absolutely sure that the allies will send a very strong message of support to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg was cited as saying on Thursday.
All allies agree that NATO’s door is open and Ukraine will become a member of the alliance, the Secretary General added.
He stressed that only Ukraine and NATO will decide when is the right time to extend the full invitation for Ukraine to join, Xinhua news agency reported.
Stoltenberg noted that the decision of the EU to grant Ukraine candidate status has an impact on the discussions that are underway within NATO.
On June 23, 2022, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc.
The Vilnius NATO Summit is slated for July 11-12 in Lithuania.
India said the process “could well go on for yet another 75 years without any progress whatsoever in the direction of genuine reform” unless there were changes in the procedure, reports Arul Louis
For the 25th time, the UN General Assembly has pushed the negotiations for the Security Council reforms to its next session and India has warned it go on for 75 more years without first reforming the negotiating process.
Calling the failure of the negotiations to again make headway a “wasted opportunity”, India’s Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj said on Thursday that the process “could well go on for yet another 75 years without any progress whatsoever in the direction of genuine reform” unless there were changes in the procedure.
She said that the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN), as the process is called, could not progress unless the Assembly rules of procedure and a single negotiating text were adopted for it.
As it has done every session since the IGN began in 2009, the Assembly voted by consensus to roll over the negotiations to its next session which starts in September.
The main barrier to progress is the opposition from a small group of countries headed by Italy and which includes Pakistan to the adoption of a negotiating text on which to base the discussions for reform.
“This state of affairs is clearly in the interest of those who seek a status quo, to keep this process frozen in repetitive cycles,” Kamboj said.
India will “persist with our efforts to move from repetitive speeches to text-based negotiations”, she said while cautioning that “looking beyond the IGN looks increasingly to us as the only viable pathway to a future UN Security Council that would better reflect the world of today”.
The Permanent Representative of St Vincent and Grenadines, Inga Rhonda King, speaking on behalf of the L.69 group, gave a similar warning and said: “If we continue to fail to produce tangible results that can move us closer to the widest possible political acceptance on the issue of Security Council reform, then we risk the possibility of the international community finding another forum within which it can arrive at an alternative solution.”
The L.69 is a group of over 30 developing nations from across the world working to reform the Council.
King added: “Failure to make progress on Security Council reform continues to pose a real threat to our credibility and legitimacy and indirectly perpetuates the Security Council’s inability to transform situations on the ground in a manner that maintains international peace and security.”
General Assembly President Csaba Korosi pointed to small progress made in the IGN process by making it transparent and improving the record-keeping and said that they are “they are practical steps in the right direction, and quite useful ones”, although they are not breakthroughs.
Csaba Korosi, president of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)
“For the first time in the history of these negotiations, the first segments of the IGN meetings are now webcast,” he said, and a website has been set up to maintain records.
It is up to member countries “to show political will for the reform you want to see… True political commitments are key to rebuilding trust and reviving the spirit of cooperation in the UN and beyond”, he added.
Inflation in the country stood at 9.7 per cent in May, according to Statistics Sweden…reports Asian Lite News
Sweden’s central bank announced a 25 basis point hike of its benchmark interest rate to 3.75 per cent — a level not seen since 2008.
This is the seventh consecutive rate hike by the Riksbank since May last year, reports Xinhua news agency.
Before this round of interest rate hikes, the policy rate in Sweden had been at zero or sub-zero for more than seven years.
Another increase is also likely to come before the end of the year, the Riksbank said in a statement on Thursday.
Inflation in the country stood at 9.7 per cent in May, according to Statistics Sweden.
Although it is falling, the rate is still “far too high”, the bank said.
The unexpected rapid rise in service prices, which may reflect demand pressures in parts of the Swedish economy, is the main reason for the high inflation.
The weak krona is also contributing to keeping inflation up, the bank added.
“The high inflation is being felt by households with small margins in particular, but is also problematic for the economy as a whole. It is therefore of the utmost importance that inflation falls back to the target of 2 per cent within a reasonable period of time,” the Riksbank said in the statement.
In the bank’s latest forecast, inflation is expected to remain substantially above the target, at 8.9 per cent this year and 4.3 per cent in 2024, before reaching 2.3 per cent in 2025 and 1.9 per cent in 2026.
The Swedish economy is expected to shrink by 0.5 per cent this year, stay level in 2024, and only grow slightly by 1.8 per cent in 2025.
Texas representatives, Ron Reynolds and Suleman Lulani, and former Missouri City Mayor Owen Allen also graced the occasion…reports Asian Lite News
Kerala native Ken Mathew has become the first Indian-American and the first person of colour to be sworn in as the Mayor of Stafford in US state of Texas.
Mathew, a former Stafford City Council member, won the race defeating incumbent Mayor Cecil Willis by 16 votes in a run-off race this month, crediting his victory to his faith in god, the Fort Bend Star reported.
He was administered the oath of office by Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt, also an Indian-American, at a special event attended by his family members and top officials.
Indian-American Fort Bend County Judge, K.P. George, who was present on the occasion, tweeted: “Congratulations to Stafford Mayor-elect Ken Mathew! It was an absolute pleasure to attend his swearing-in ceremony this evening. Wishing him all the best as he embarks on this important role.”
Texas representatives, Ron Reynolds and Suleman Lulani, and former Missouri City Mayor Owen Allen also graced the occasion.
Back home, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, also congratulated Mathew in a tweet.
“Congratulations to Ken Mathew from Kerala for becoming the elected Mayor of Stafford, US. He is the first Indian to be elected to the post, in 67 years’ history of Stafford,” Chandrasekhar wrote.
Mathew served on Stafford Council since first being elected in 2006, and served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission for several years before then.
He immigrated to the US in the 1970s after earning a degree from the University of Bombay, the Star reported.
An MBA, Mathew worked as an accountant and financial executive for several corporations, including Toshiba in the Houston area. He has lived in Stafford since 1982.
Industrial and product design should become an important resource for the development of domestic business, RT News quoted the President as saying…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a great friend of Russia” and also praised the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Addressing an economic forum in Moscow organised by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), the President said on Thursday: “Our friends in India and our big friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative several years ago. It has had a truly impressive effect on the Indian economy. It would do no harm to emulate what is working well, even if it was not us but our friends who created it,” RT News reported.
Putin made a case for India as he discussed the opportunities for Russian companies due to the West’s sanctions policies, and the need for the Moscow to “offer support tools to help our companies market their products more efficiently”.
Crediting Indian leadership for creating an effective model to develop local manufacturing capabilities and woo foreign investors, Putin emphasized the need to think about “making our products more convenient and functional, with a modern look and properties”.
Industrial and product design should become an important resource for the development of domestic business, RT News quoted the President as saying.
The ‘Make in India’ initiative was launched by Prime Minister Modi in 2014 aimed to to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in the country and incentivise dedicated investments into manufacturing.
Putin and Modi last met on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan in September 2022.
