Gorbachev passed away this evening after 'serious and prolonged illness,' says hospital
Iraq has been in political deadlock since parliamentary elections in October. Here's an explainer on two main Shia groups who are competing for power: pic.twitter.com/WbsuHvZjFA
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) August 30, 2022
Greece has challenged NATO and allies, not Türkiye by locking its air defense systems on Turkish jets carrying out NATO reconnaissance mission, says Turkish president
Ahead of another deadline on the restart of payments for America's $1.7 trillion in federal student loans, President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a plan to cancel debt for a subset of Americans and continue to keep a pandemic-era pause on repayments -- a sweeping move he has openly weighed in some form or another since his time as a candidate.
Speaking from the White House's Roosevelt Room, Biden outlined his plan to forgive tens of thousands of dollars for individuals earning less than $125,000 a year.
"An entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for an attempt at least at a college degree," Biden said. "The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you may not have access to the middle class life that the college degree once provided."
"The pandemic only made things worse," he continued, noting that many people can't afford to buy homes or are putting off starting a family in part because of their student loan debt.
People who took out Pell Grants to pay for college, which are grants given to low-income borrowers, can qualify for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness as part of Wednesday's broader announcement on student loan forgiveness. Other student loan borrowers who don't have Pell Grants will still have loans forgiven up to $10,000,
Both forgiveness options are for people who earned less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 as a household, in either the 2020 or 2021 tax year.
"If all borrowers claim the relief that they're entitled to, 43 million federal student loan borrowers will benefit, and of those, 20 million will have their debt completely canceled," a senior administration official said on a call with reporters on Wednesday, detailing the plan.
According to the White House, 60% of borrowers have Pell Grants, meaning the majority of borrowers are eligible for the larger forgiveness. And because people are only eligible for Pell Grants if they can show that their family can only contribute a certain amount per year toward college, the Biden administration says narrowing in on relief for these recipients will help target people with the highest economic need.
Biden on Wednesday also announced an extension of the pause on student loan payments through Dec. 31, 2022 -- the final extension -- a move that's intended to give time for the transition back to repayment.
Biden unveiled the first details of the so-called "Student Debt Relief Plan" earlier Wednesday through a fact-sheet posted to Twitter.
"In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023," Biden wrote in the post.
Amid questions about how the plan will be paid for, Biden said Wednesday there's "plenty of deficit reduction" to pay for the proposals.
"I will never apologize for helping working people and middle-class Americans," he said.
Such a major cancelation may seem like a big step for Biden to take without Congress, but legal and policy experts say it's clear: The move would be well within the president's authority -- it just hasn't been wielded before because of the political implications.
"The president has some pretty broad authority under the Higher Education Act," said John Brooks, a law professor at Fordham University who focuses on federal fiscal policy.
"A lot depends on the size of the cancellation. The smaller the amount of cancellation, the easier the question is," Brooks said. "Wiping out all student debt with a single stroke might be tougher, but the president through the secretary of education does have the power to adjust the amount of loan principle that any borrower has."
Still, Biden could get taken to court -- possibly by loan servicing agencies who would lose revenue or by members of Congress who may believe Biden is spending money in a way that hasn't been appropriated by legislators.
Outside experts also wonder how long the processes would take to cancel student loans once a policy is announced -- and how complicated it would be for borrowers to work their way through it, which are details that have yet to be released.
Some fear that people might fall through the cracks if applications to cancel debt become too labor-intensive because of the prospective income cap.
"The White House is about to ask the Education Department to do something that is extraordinarily difficult, and that is going to have the effect of denying debt relief to low-income folks, economically vulnerable folks, who have the hardest time navigating these complicated paperwork processes," Mike Pierce, executive director and co-founder of the Student Borrower Protection Center, a think-tank that advocates for universal debt cancellation, told ABC News in an interview.
Pierce and other supporters for more progressive debt cancellation, including the NAACP, said the smoothest path would include full and universal cancellation for everyone.
"If the rumors are true, we've got a problem. And tragically, we've experienced this so many times before," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement Tuesday, reacting to the details of the potential policy announcement before they were announced.
"President Biden's decision on student debt cannot become the latest example of a policy that has left Black people - especially Black women - behind. This is not how you treat Black voters who turned out in record numbers and provided 90% of their vote to once again save democracy in 2020," Johnson said.
But for many borrowers and advocates for canceling student debt -- particularly the nearly half of people with federal student loans who would see their debt extinguished or cut significantly -- Biden's policy would still be cause for major celebration and be seen as a start to reforming the college and university system, where rising costs have become a major area of focus.
For Michigan teacher Nick Fuller, speaking before Biden's announcement, his move comes just before the financial crunch of winter, when his heating bills skyrocket.
Though Fuller worked hard his first few years out of school to pay down his school debt, and then had his loan frozen for much of the pandemic, he's concerned that restarting payments on top of monthly living costs could put him over the edge.
"I think things will get really tight in the winter because my utility bills are higher," Fuller told ABC News. "I mean for January and February -- the highs are zero and the lows are -20 [degrees] for almost two months."
The frozen temperatures might sting a little bit less if Biden forgives $10,000 of Fuller's remaining student loan bills, he said.
"It's about two-thirds of the debt that I have left," he said.
That would make payments "a lot more affordable and a lot more manageable in my situation," he said.
Easing the student debt crisis -- which is also how Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos described the issue in 2018 -- could also aid a crippling teacher shortage that has caused thousands of staff vacancies at the start of the latest school year, something Fuller has seen himself.
President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, Aug. 9, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters, FILE
Pinched salaries and rising inflation have had many teachers on edge with the loan forgiveness deadline approaching.
And because Black students are among the fastest growing group of people taking on debt, advocates have argued that canceling some student loans would begin to address racial inequities.
Shareefah Mason, the dean of Educator Certification at Dallas College, feels this impact firsthand as a Black woman with student debt. She leads the apprenticeship component of a program that pairs students with residency partners to ensure they earn while they learn, effectively reducing education debt for aspiring teachers.
"I bear the weight of $70,000 in student loans," Mason told ABC News. "The data shows that student loan debt exponentially impacts and disproportionately impacts Black women."
The average amount of student debt accrued by Black women is more than any other group at $38,800, according to Education Trust, a nonprofit focused on education reform.
But Mason's program, the very first full-time paid teacher apprenticeship in the state of Texas, allows students to earn one of the cheapest bachelor's degrees in the state, Mason said.
The goal, she said, is to aid future educators in breaking the generational barriers that she has faced as a Black woman.
Mason said "they will not have to worry about student loan debt," which could open more doors for minority communities that have historically lacked the means to access higher education. "My students will be able to earn, as a first year teacher in the city of Dallas, upwards of $60,000," Mason said.
For the nation's borrowers most affected, Mason said, "there needs to be a space created for them to make enough money to pay their student loans without having to sacrifice their ability to create generational wealth for their families."
ABC News' Mariam Khan and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
#President #Biden #announces #student #loan #forgiveness
https://www.globalcourant.com/president-biden-announces-student-loan-forgiveness/?feed_id=15349&_unique_id=63067a8bb1183
In a major about-face, former Planned Parenthood president Dr. Leana S. Wen explained in a Tuesday piece for The Washington Post that she and her family have moved past severe COVID-19 restrictions.
Last fall on CNN, Wen was still saying that masks serve as a "very powerful layer of protection" and until every student is vaccinated and other external measures are in place, the U.S. was "nowhere near" ready to allow children to learn mask-free. Now, as schools begin to reopen again, she said, "I accept the risk that my kids will probably contract covid-19 this school year, just as they could contract the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and other contagious diseases." She noted that with the current variant, "covid in our family will almost certainly be mild" and that "we’ve made the decision that following precautions strict enough to prevent the highly contagious BA.5 will be very challenging." She illustrated how harsh restrictions have ultimately had their own consequences.
FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD CRITICIZED FOR ‘BAFFLING,’ ‘ANTI-SCIENCE MEMO’ ON MASKING "Masking has harmed our son’s language development, and limiting both kids’ extracurriculars and social interactions would negatively affect their childhood and hinder my and my husband’s ability to work," she explained. Wen recounted that after taking a great many cautionary measures earlier in the pandemic, "it wasn’t easy to change my mind-set to accept covid-19 as a recurring risk. But the high transmissibility of new variants meant that we would have to pay an increasingly high price if our goal was to keep avoiding the virus." She acknowledged that dealing with some level of risk is ultimately part of living a normal life. "I began trying to think of the coronavirus as I do other everyday risks, such as falls, car accidents or drowning," she noted. "Of course I want to shield my children from injuries, and I take precautions, such as using car seats and teaching them how to swim. By the same logic, I vaccinated them against the coronavirus. But I won’t put their childhood on hold in an effort to eliminate all risk."
FILE PHOTO: A child wears a face mask on the first day of New York City schools, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. September 13, 2021. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo)
PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS IMPLEMENTING COVID RESTRICTIONS MEET FEROCIOUS COMMUNITY PUSHBACK As a result, she stated that her family has "eased back on our precautions," noting that "We see other families indoors, without masks or testing, and have resumed traveling and attending events." Her kids in particular, who have spent chunks of their youth in a pandemic, will be returning to normal their lives, "Now that they are fully vaccinated, we do not plan to limit their activities, and — like most parents in their school — will not be masking them in the classroom." Yet she acknowledged that what works for her family is not necessarily what should be prescribed for everyone. "To be clear, my family’s decision not to mask our kids should not be mislabeled as being antimask; we would never stigmatize other parents and caregivers for the difficult choices they must make," she explained. "Rather, my approach to this school year reflects the evolution of the pandemic and the acknowledgment that avoiding covid-19 cannot be the singular metric of people’s overall health and well-being." Wen previously came under fire last July when she suggested life needs to be made "hard"for Americans who were not vaccinated, and that those who refused to get the shots should face weekly testing.
Boy and his teddy bear both in protective medical masks sits on windowsill and looks out window. (iStock)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When the CDC relaxed mask guidance for the vaccinated in May 2021, Wen worried that an "honor system" for enforcing it would allow unvaccinated people to lie about their status and put the vulnerable at risk.
In early 2022, however, Wen's statements began to soften when she supported states dropping school mask mandates claiming, "The science has changed."
Source
https://www.globalcourant.com/former-planned-parenthood-president-explains-why-she-will-not-be-masking-her-kids-this-school-year/?feed_id=14957&_unique_id=63057bde408a5
Last Updated: August 22, 2022, 10:43 IST
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (News18)
Source
https://www.globalcourant.com/ap-cm-jagan-mohan-reddy-to-meet-president-vice-president-pm-in-delhi/?feed_id=14068&_unique_id=630313cbe0d03
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the Group of 20 summit in Bali this November, Indonesian President Joko Widodo confirmed for the first time Thursday.
“[Chinese leader] Xi Jinping will come. President Putin has also told me he will come,” Widodo told Bloomberg following phone talks with the Russian leader.
The Kremlin said earlier Thursday that Putin and Widodo discussed preparations for the G20 summit, though it did not mention whether Putin would attend.
The Kremlin declined to comment on the Indonesian president’s announcement to Bloomberg, but the news agency said an unnamed official familiar with the situation confirmed Putin’s plans to attend the summit in person.
If confirmed, it would be one of Putin’s first face-to-face meetings with Western leaders since he ordered a full-scale attack on neighboring Ukraine in February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's adviser said earlier this month that the war-torn country's leader would also attend the G20 summit if Putin were in attendance.
Western governments have sought to isolate Russia with crippling economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Only half of G20 members has joined the international sanctions, Bloomberg reported earlier in August.
The United States had sought to remove Russia from the G20 and pressured Indonesia to exclude Putin from the summit.
Putin has meanwhile claimed “it’s simply impossible” to isolate Russia from the rest of the world.
Putin hosted Widodo at the Kremlin on June 30, days after the Kremlin announced that it had “responded positively” to the invitation to the G20 summit under Indonesia’s presidency of a forum of the world’s largest economies.
'Gutfeld!' panelists react to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's press conference addressing the FBI's raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and the media falling in line against calling it a 'raid.'
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Happy Thursday, everyone. What a, what a great show we have. Brett Baier is here. Yes, I think it's Brett Baier either that or it's Teddy Ruxpin, just in case I put in new batteries. Dagen McDowell is here. I know, because I could smell the crawfish in her purse.
So as the country reels from a bizarre, historic raid of a former President's House, our current president leaves for vacation. Let's hope he tries parasailing, or base jumping, or even more dangerous, takes the stairs at the hotel. But he deserves a break. For, as you know, he's done so much. First he put on his jacket. This after he slow danced with it for 15-minutes first. But that was a crowning achievement of his presidency so far, just eclipsing that time he made a solid boom boom in the press office bathroom. Well, near the press office bathroom. Sorry, Brett.
So after approximately four minutes of actual work where his hands were busier than a CNN producer on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, Biden hopped on a plane. He hops on a plane and not just with Dr. Jill, you know, the noted pediatric neurosurgeon who discovered a cure for hemorrhoids when Joe accidentally sat on a stack of bingo chips. He invited his son Hunter, to fly along. Not sure Hunter really needs a plane to do that, but there he is with Joe getting ready to leave. I think we have tape of the actual flight with Hunter.
VIDEO
Frankly, we've seen better behavior on the Lolita Express. By the way, he's not the only freeloading family member who enjoys free trips on your dime. Pelosi's son also accompanied her on the recent trip to Taiwan. You know, the trip that almost caused a war. She wants us all to believe that even though he and her husband have got business dealings there, that's just a coincidence.
That's like Hunter and Joe saying, they just go to China for authentic Kung Pao Chicken. Nancy said her son was there as her escort, to which Hunter said, damn that's even too kinky for me. But I guess she's trying to save face. What's the point? No surprise though. She's down to the last three that she keeps in the fridge. Every time she reaches for a pint of chocolate Haagen-Dazs, she's looking back at herself.
President Joe Biden, center, returns a salute as he is joined by, from left, son Hunter Biden, grandson Beau Biden, first lady Jill Biden, obscured, and daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen, as they stand at the top of the steps of Air Force One. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
But what a stark contrast to how Trump's family got treated this week. Biden and Pelosi flying around, Trump's house gets raided. Oh, sorry did I say raided? How dare you say the lockstep lemmings working from the same script.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS BLAST NANCY PELOSI'S TAIWAN TRIP: 'PHOTO OP FOREIGN POLICY'
MSNBC: And I know Donald Trump is saying that this is a raid, but that's a gross exaggeration.
CNN: We have to be careful not to adopt the term raid.
MSNBC: This was not a raid.
CNN: It is not a raid.
MSNBC: It's not a raid.
MSNBC: Trump talks about a raid on his home. No, man, there was no raid on your home.
MSNBC: Let's be polite and call it a search and not a raid.
MSNBC: It wasn't a raid on his house. No doors were kicked down.
That's amazing how they sound all alike. So it's not a raid because no doors were kicked down. See, you know, I don't think you need to kick a door down when you're armed and the doors already open for you, you butthead. I'm sorry. Is he Butt-Head or Beavis? I keep forgetting. Too mean. And yeah, it was just a search, not a raid.
Former President Donald Trump in New York City following the FBI raid at his Mar-a-Lago home. (Felipe Ramales / Fox News Digital)
More like an Easter Egg hunt. A bachelorette scavenger hunt. It was early trick or treating, and they were just dressed up as cops. So now the media cares about words after completely mistreating the English language. Like they were Kevin Spacey at the Little League World Series. What are you moaning about? A woman's no longer a woman, a recession is no longer a recession, now raid is a search.
So funny watching the media try to play this off as a trifle, when you know if it happened to one of their own, they'd blow up like Paul Pelosi's air bag. I wonder what he's up to.
VIDEO
He'll be out in no time. But maybe we'll see how they react when inevitably it happens to Hunter and Joe. They assume they're above the law, much like most Democrats, when Democrats are in power. But do they ever think ahead? They won't always be in power. Of course the White House claims Joe had no idea of the raid on a living president. How amazing is that? I mean, I get hiding things from Joe, you know, like his car keys and ponytails. But this is kind of a big deal. I wonder, you know, what's going on in Mr. Biden's neighborhood.
SKIT
Meanwhile, during all this, Hillary is fundraising off her own crimes. She's selling merch off the back of the Mar-a-Lago raid, posting an image of a new piece of clothing on her Twitter account which bore this slogan "But Her Emails." A reference to the scandal about her use of a private email server for official communications, which she's mocking. She promoted the $30 hat on Monday, saying every hat sold would help defend democracy, fight for our values, and also hide the male pattern baldness of every feminist. "But Her Emails" are so cute, why should she stop there? I can see a few more Clinton related swag along the same lines as "But Her Emails." How about "But Her Blue Dress," "But His Missing Cigar," "But Her Getting Shellacked In 2016." Finally, I know this one will take up a lot of room in the hat, but got to do it, "But Bill Goes To Pedophile Island And Epstein Gets Murdered." I'm kidding. I kid you old bad bag.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the anti-Trump dossier through law firm Perkins Coie. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) ((Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images))
Fact is, there are different rules for these athletes than there are for others. Say what you will about Trump. He was the opposite of elite, next to Jay-Z or Dr. Dre he's the most streetwise billionaire ever. And that's why they hated him. Like Kilmeade's tapeworm, they couldn't control him. Hence, we now hear about there being an FBI informant in his own house. It's pretty gross, right?
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But what do you expect from a government that helped organize the kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer? Gavin Newsom would have been so much easier. You just approach him with a van full of hair gel. But it's crazy you can now spy on an ex-pres, provided he's not a Dem. But if you can't find a crime, then you can create it. The only problem is it's going to come back to haunt you, right? If the Republicans take back the House, then they should raid Biden's. I can just picture it. FBI guys leaving with 15 boxes of oatmeal, denture cream and coloring books. But as Hunter Biden once said as he entered the Bunny Ranch, game on, bitches.
Fast News
Sri Lanka's former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is expected to arrive in Thailand and stay temporarily in a second Southeast Asian country since fleeing his island nation last month in the midst of mass protests.
The former military officer, who is the first Sri Lankan head of state to quit mid-term, is expected to travel from Singapore to Thailand's capital of Bangkok on Thursday, two sources said.
Thai authorities said Rajapaksa had no intention of seeking political asylum and would only stay temporarily.
"This is a humanitarian issue and there is an agreement that it's a temporary stay," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters on Wednesday.
Prayuth also said Rajapaksa could not participate in any political activities while in Thailand.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said the current Sri Lankan government supported Rajapaksa's trip to Thailand, adding that the former president's diplomatic passport would allow him to stay for 90 days.
Rajapaksa has made no public appearances or comment since leaving Sri Lanka.
Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 and resigned from office shortly afterward, following unprecedented unrest over his government's handling of the worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president's official residence and office.
Sri Lanka's economic crisis is a result of several factors, including Covid-19, which battered its tourism-reliant economy and slashed remittances from workers overseas, rising oil prices, populist tax cuts and a seven-month ban on the import of chemical fertilisers last year that devastated agriculture.
READ MORE: Sri Lanka to restart IMF bailout talks amid economic crisis
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMOrZuAlTbY[/embed]
Source: Reuters
Fast News
Former President Donald Trump said in a statement on Monday that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
"These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," Trump said in a statement.
The circumstances were not immediately clear. Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not return messages seeking comment Monday evening.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said.
The Justice Department has been investigating the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump's presidency had concluded.
It was not clear whether the FBI search was connected to that probe.
"It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections," Trump said in the statement.
A separate investigation related to efforts by Trump allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol has also been intensifying in Washington.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu paid a visit to President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.
During the meeting, the TDP chief said his party extended “unconditional support” to Murmu in the presidential elections and congratulated her on the victory, according to a statement from the party.
Naidu is in the national capital to attend the Azadi Ka Amrith Mahotsav, a 75-week grand celebration launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark 75 years of India’s Independence.
Read the Latest News and Breaking News here
Fast News
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken the latest prototype of the TOGG, the country's first indigenously developed car, out for a test drive.
"We're hopefully going to hold the official opening of TOGG's Gemlik Factory on October 29," Erdogan said as he attended an award ceremony at the Gebze Informatics Valley in the northwestern province of Kocaeli on Saturday.
He added that the ceremony would also mark the completion of the brand's first mass-produced vehicle.
TOGG is set to hit the roads in Türkiye in the first quarter of 2023.
READ MORE: Turkish electric car receives international design award
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kytalh5PoUI[/embed]
Erdogan said: "We'll put Türkiye's automobile at the service of our nation and the world, despite those who say: 'You can't do it, you can't produce it, you can't sell it, even if you do produce it.'"
Established in 2018, Türkiye's Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) introduced the country's first electric vehicle prototype in December 2019.
TOGG aims to produce 1 million vehicles in five different segments by 2030.
READ MORE: Türkiye's TOGG showcases all-electric 'smart' car in Las Vegas event
Source: AA
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi wanted to attend the funeral of the Balochistan helicopter crash martyrs, however, he was stopped from attending due to the “false and negative propaganda created by PTI trolls”.
According to sources, the president had expressed his desire that as the supreme commander and head of state he wanted to attend the funeral of the martyrs, however, the institutions informed the Dr Alvi that PTI trolls have initiated a “toxic, false and negative propaganda about the martyrs” which has enraged the people.
Therefore, President Alvi was advised that it would be better if he skipped the funeral of the martyrs to avoid any untoward incident. Adhering to the advice, the president did not attend the funeral prayers.
Taking to her Twitter handle, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz reacted to the news and blamed the PTI chairman Imran Khan for this hatred.
“It is not only PTI trolls who are responsible for this, it is because of the ‘fitna’ that has been imposed on our country as a ‘foreign agent’,” she wrote, adding by this “shameful” propaganda these “PTI trolls” have hurt the sentiments of the martyrs' families and the entire nation.
However, late night today the President's Office tweeted that Dr Alvi had called and condoled the death of the martyrs. The president had spoken to the family members of Naik Mudassar Fayyaz Shaheed, co-pilot Maj Talha Mannan, Maj Saeed Ahmed, Brig Khalid, Brig Amjad Hanif, and Lt. Gen Sarfraz Ali.
On Tuesday, the martyrs of the helicopter crash in Balochistan were laid to rest with full military honours in Rawalpindi.
The funeral prayers of Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, Major General Amjad Hanif, and Brigadier Muhammad Khalid were offered at the Army graveyard.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, federal ministers, Azad Jammu and Kashmir's prime minister, foreign dignitaries and a large number of senior serving, retired military and civil officials and relatives of the martyrs attended the funeral prayers.
Fast News
Peru's Prime Minister Anibal Torres has resigned, becoming the fourth to step down in a year under embattled President Pedro Castillo.
In a letter sent to Castillo, who has survived two impeachment votes in 12 months and is the target of five criminal investigations, Torres said on Wednesday he was stepping down "for personal reasons."
Torres posted a copy of the letter, in which he wished Castillo success, on Twitter.
His resignation will trigger an automatic cabinet reshuffle.
Torres, 79, first served as Castillo's justice minister, and then took over the prime ministerial portfolio in February after three previous prime ministers had come and gone.
Political upheaval
The country has had seven interior ministers since Castillo took over in July 2021 –– a high turnover even for a country that is no stranger to political upheaval.
In five days of 2020, Peru had three different presidents.
Leftist Castillo –– a rural school teacher who unexpectedly took power from Peru's traditional political elite in elections last year –– has been under nonstop fire from his right-wing rivals.
He also finds himself in the crosshairs of the attorney general's office, with investigations into alleged public tender corruption and claims that Castillo plagiarised his university thesis.
Peruvian presidents can be investigated while in office, but cannot be charged.
Opinion polls show that three-quarters of Peruvians disapprove of Castillo's management of the country.
Source: AFP
Sri Lanka's new president Ranil Wickremesinghe has formally invited MPs to join an all-party unity government to revive the bankrupt economy by undertaking painful reforms, his office has said.
In a meeting on Saturday with the influential monks of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, one of Buddhism's most sacred shrines, Wickremesinghe outlined his plans.
"As the president, I wish to start a new journey," Wickremesinghe was quoted by his office as telling the monks in his first meeting with the powerful Buddhist clergy since taking office.
"I would like to get all the parties together and go on that journey as well as to form an all-party government."
He has written to all lawmakers asking them to join a unity government.
Wickremesinghe took office earlier this month after public anger over the island nation's worst economic crisis forced his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and quit.
READ MORE: Sri Lanka delays agreement with IMF 'due to unrest'
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Mp-DQsIhc[/embed]
Wickremesinghe's rise to power
A former opposition MP, Wickremesinghe, 73, took up the premiership for the sixth time in May after Rajapaksa's elder brother Mahinda resigned and there were no other takers for the job.
Wickremesinghe went onto become the president after Gotabaya escaped on July 9 when tens of thousands of protesters angry at the economic crisis stormed the presidential palace.
He fled to Singapore from where he resigned five days later and Wickremesinghe became interim president and later won a vote in parliament confirming his ascension.
Sri Lanka's 22 million people have endured months of lengthy blackouts, record inflation and shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
Since late last year, the country has run out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports.
In April, Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and opened bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
READ MORE: World Bank not to offer new funding for bankrupt Sri Lanka
Expanding cabinet
Wickremesinghe told monks that the economy would decline further this year with a contraction of 7.0 percent, but expected a recovery next year.
"I am working to re-stabilise this economy and build the economy in such a way that the country can be developed by 2023, 2024.
"It is a difficult task. But if you don't do it now, it will be more difficult. We should think about whether we should try to cure the patient by giving medicine or let the patient die without giving medicine," he added.
After he was elected president, Wickremesinghe appointed an interim cabinet leaving the door open for others to join.
He has called a new session of parliament from Wednesday and is expected to expand the 18-member cabinet to accommodate members from opposition parties.
READ MORE: For ordinary Sri Lankans every day is a battle
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
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ISLAMABAD: PTI-backed candidate Pervez Elahi took oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab in the wee hours on Wednesday at the Aiwan-e-Sadar after the Supreme Court announced a verdict against the ruling of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammed Mazari.
The top court declared Mazari's ruling in the Punjab chief minister's election "illegal" and ruled that PTI's candidate Elahi will be the new CM of the province.
SC's three-member bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Muneeb Akhtar — had initially ordered Punjab Governor Baligh ur Rehman to administer the oath to Elahi, however, he refused to perform his duties. Consequently, President Arif Alvi administered the oath.
Following Governor Punjab’s refusal, Elahi left for Islamabad late Tuesday night to take oath from Alvi as per the Supreme Court's order.
According to Geo News, President Alvi had sent a special aircraft to bring Elahi to Islamabad for the oath-taking ceremony.
The Supreme Court, in an 11-page short order, said: "We find that the understanding and implementation of the said short judgment as well as the provisions of Article 63A(1)(b) of the Constitution by the Deputy Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Lahore (Respondent No.1) was patently incorrect and erroneous and cannot be sustained."
The order then declared Elahi as the duly elected chief minister of Punjab as it ruled that he had obtained 186 votes compared to Hamza's 179.
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at length in an exclusive interview with the country's public broadcaster TRT. Here are five crucial highlights of the interview.
1. Ukraine grain deal
As Türkiye brokered an essential grain deal between Ukraine and Russia, which will help address the growing hunger in several parts of the world, President Erdogan reminded all parties to abide by the agreement that was signed in Istanbul last week.
Erdogan's statement comes at a time when reports of intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces are pouring out of Ukraine's Donbass region.
2. Sweden, Finland NATO bid
President Erdogan said Ankara will never compromise on its national security and no country, especially Finland and Sweden, should expect any concessions from Türkiye until the presence of terror groups like PKK, YPG/PYD and FETO is eradicated from the face of this earth.
“Concession from Türkiye should not be expected on Sweden, Finland's NATO bids unless Ankara's security concerns are met,” Erdogan said in a live interview on Monday with national broadcaster TRT Haber.
“PKK, PYD/YPG, and FETO will not be supported. This is our red line. Nobody should expect us to make compromises about that,” Erdogan said.
3. Talks with Greek Prime Minister suspended
President Erdogan said that it is out of question for him to meet with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis anymore.
His comments come after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticised Türkiye during his recent trip to the United States. Mitsotakis urged the US Congress not to allow F-16 fighter jets to be sold to Ankara.
President Erdogan spoke on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of Lausanne Peace Treaty the day before, saying that Greece has been "deliberately violating" the terms and conditions of the post-World War I agreement.
4. Syria, a 'home of terrorist groups'
Syria has become 'home of terrorist groups,' said President Erdogan, adding that both Russia and Iran should take a clear stand on the issue of terrorism.
On last week's deadly attack in Duhok, northern Iraq, Turkish president says the attack was carried out by terrorists with an aim to disturb the Turkish-Iraqi ties.
On US Central Command’s sympathy for YPG/PKK terrorists, Turkish President Erdogan condemned continued US support for terrorists and added that the neutralized PKK ringleader was responsible for recruiting children for the terror outfit.
5. Türkiye and neighbours
President Erdogan said the trade and mutual cooperation will continue with neighbouring states while Ankara aims to boost its oil and gas purchases from Iran.
He also stressed improving relations with Armenia, saying that Türkiye is serious and decisive in its normalization process with neighbouring Armenia.
On negotiations with Egypt, Erdogan said that talks with Cairo were an ongoing process at lower level, as there was "no reason for high-level talks not to take place."
Source: TRT World
