ZEESHAN AFZAL

Germany says US troop withdrawal 'foreseeable' as Nato seeks clarification ........ Germany says US troop withdrawal 'foreseeable' as Nato seeks clarification German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from his country was "foreseeable", as the Nato military alliance says it is seeking clarification from Washington. Speaking to the DPA news agency, Pistorius also stressed that "the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and particularly in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US". Meanwhile Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart said the alliance was "working with the US to understand the details of their decision". Washington's move comes after President Donald Trump criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying the US had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing war. The US military deployment in Germany - currently at more than 36,000 active d...

  Mojtaba Khamenei says new management of Strait of Hormuz 'will bring calm' Trump faces domestic political pressure to end war; US seeking coalition to coordinate passage through Hormuz By AFP | Reuters | Published April 30, 2026 Khamenei says US faces disgraceful defeat in its plan. Iran to secure Gulf, eliminate "enemy's abuses”: supreme leader. Iranian rial has fallen to historic lows against dollar. Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a published written message on Thursday that a new chapter for the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz has been taking shape since the Iran war with the United States and Israel broke out on February 28. Iran's Supreme Leader said that Tehran would secure the Gulf region and eliminate what he described as "the enemy's abuses of the waterway." The Supreme Leader added that new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring calm, progress and economic benefits to all Gulf nations. "Today, two months aft...

  Reclassifying Pakistan: What the Shift from South Asia to MENA Really Means? Kashif Farooqi | April 21, 2026 In a quiet but significant shift, the World Bank has moved Pakistan out of South Asia and into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. At first glance, this may appear to be a technical adjustment in classification, an administrative realignment to better organize data, lending portfolios, and regional strategies. But such reassignments are rarely neutral. They shape how countries are understood, compared, and positioned within global policy frameworks. For decades, Pakistan has been grouped within South Asia, a region defined not only by geography but also by shared histories, colonial legacies, and intertwined socio-political trajectories. The shift to MENA is not merely a bureaucratic categorization. It means Pakistan will increasingly be viewed and assessed alongside Middle Eastern and North African countries, rather than its traditional South Asian comparator ...

Finance Minister Meets IMF Deputy Managing Director, Reviews Programme Progress and External Outlook .......... Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, held a constructive meeting with Mr. Nigel Clarke, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings 2026. During the meeting, the Finance Minister briefed Mr. Clarke on Pakistan’s external financing position, implementation of the IMF-supported programme, and the broader economic outlook, noting that key indicators remain broadly on track. Senator Aurangzeb informed that current account performance has been stronger than expected, supported in part by robust remittance inflows during the month of Ramadan. He further noted that foreign exchange reserves are being reinforced through recently announced financial support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including deposit rollover arrangements. The Finance Minister outlined Pakistan’s str...

Finance Minister, EU Ambassador Discuss Economic Cooperation and Investment Outlook ........... Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, has underscored Pakistan’s steady return to macroeconomic stability and renewed engagement with international capital markets, highlighting growing investor confidence and the Government’s commitment to a structured and forward-looking economic reform agenda. He noted that Pakistan has recently re-entered international capital markets after a four-year hiatus through a privately placed Eurobond transaction, which witnessed strong investor interest and was successfully upsized. The Minister emphasized that this milestone reflects improving economic fundamentals and signals a positive trajectory for Pakistan’s global financial integration. Senator Aurangzeb further shared that the Government is actively pursuing a diversified capital markets strategy, including future international issuances and innovative financing instrum...

  Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, is leading U.S. diplomatic efforts with Iran while engaged in a lucrative, ongoing, multi-billion-dollar business relationship with the Saudi government. This brazenly corrupt arrangement is being completely ignored by most major media outlets. In 2021, Kushner raised $2 billion from the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for his private equity fund, Affinity Partners. Since that time, Kushner has collected more than $110 million in management fees from the Saudi government, according to calculations by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA). Even as he has assumed a central diplomatic role in negotiations with Iran, Kushner has reportedly sought billions more from the Saudis. Accepting payments from a foreign government while leading diplomacy for the U.S. would be a glaring conflict of interest under any circumstances. But in this case, Kushner was on the Saudi payroll as Saudi Crown Prince Mohamme...