(Al Jazeera Media Network) When Pakistan reached yet another staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July for a $7-billion, three-year loan program, it was hailed as a lifeline for both the government, which had assumed office only months before, and the country itself, which was reeling under a severe economic crisis.
However, two months later, Pakistan is still waiting for the United States-based global lender’s approval of the program, Pakistan’s 25th...
(BBC News) A billionaire and an engineer have become the first non-professional crew to perform one of the riskiest manoeuvres in space – a spacewalk.
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis stepped out of the SpaceX spacecraft around 15 minutes apart, starting at 11:52 BST, wearing specially designed suits.
"Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world," Isaacman said as he exited.
It was...
(BBC News) The US, UK, France, and Germany have imposed fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine.
The measures include restrictions on national carrier Iran Air's ability to fly to the UK and Europe, and travel bans and asset freezes on a number of Iranians accused of facilitating military support for Russia.
Visiting London, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russians had been trained by Iranian forces to...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has scored two major wins as Europe’s top court has backed her crackdown against Apple’s Irish tax deal and Google’s anticompetitive practices in two landmark cases.
Vestager, who ends her term in November, has made a name for herself going after Big Tech’s tax arrangements with some EU countries and attempts to stifle smaller rivals. The court victories, which were announced on Tuesday, could embolden...
(Bloomberg) For TotalEnergies SE Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne, the difference in the performance of his company’s stock and that of Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest US producer of oil and gas, is in no small part explained by an acronym: ESG.
Exxon’s aggressive oil and gas strategy has been rewarded by investors, with its shares more than doubling in the past three years. For Europe’s second-biggest oil company, in contrast, pressure on the region’s asset managers to invest using environmental, social and...
(BBC News) Venezuelan security forces have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital Caracas, which is sheltering six Venezuelan political figures opposed to President Nicolás Maduro.
Members of the Venezuelan opposition posted images and videos of officers from the country’s intelligence service forming a perimeter around the embassy complex.
Opposition figures inside the building said they were under "siege" by Maduro's regime.
The embassy, as well as Argentine interests in Venezuela, have been represented by Brazil since...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Kosovo has closed two of its four border crossings with Serbia, the government said, after protesters on the Serbian side blocked roads and turned away passengers carrying Kosovo documents.
The closures at the Brnjak and Merdare crossings – both located in Kosovo’s northern region with a majority ethnic Serb population – came into effect overnight from Friday to Saturday.
Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said the move was due to “masked extremist...
(BBC News) Veteran French conservative Michel Barnier has taken over as prime minister, almost two months after France's snap elections ended in political stalemate.
He said France had come to a "serious moment" and he was facing it with humility: "All political forces will have to be respected and listened to, and I mean all."
President Emmanuel Macron named the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator, ending weeks of talks with political parties and potential candidates.
Barnier, 73,...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has criticized French authorities for pursuing “misguided” criminal charges against him instead of approaching his company with their concerns in his first public comments since his arrest.
In a post on Telegram on Thursday, Durov said it was “surprising” to learn that he could be held personally responsible for illegal activities carried out by other people on his social media-cum-messaging platform.
“If a country is unhappy with an...
(BBC News) The US has charged and sanctioned Russian state media executives and restricted Kremlin-linked broadcasters as it accused Moscow of a widespread campaign to interfere with the presidential election.
The justice, state and treasury departments announced coordinated actions on Wednesday to "aggressively counter" the alleged operations.
Attorney General Merrick Garland accused state broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10 million to "create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian...
