Washington, April 8 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has stepped back from the brink of a major military escalation with Iran, announcing a conditional two-week pause in planned attacks tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a development that came as a big relief to people across the world.The decision came 90 minutes before the self-imposed 8 p.m. EST deadline set by Trump for Iran to reach a deal, after backchannel diplomacy involving Pakistan.Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday (loc…
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Tehran, April 8 (IANS) Iran on Wednesday indicated its willingness to halt its military response provided that attacks against it are stopped, while also announcing a temporary opening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz for a period of two weeks.In a statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the development comes at a time when ceasefire negotiations are currently underway, signalling a possible de-escalation in ongoing tensions.He further stated that a two-week wind…
Islamabad, April 6 (IANS) Pakistan’s chronic dependence on external debt reflects decades of fiscal mismanagement, entrenched elite capture and failure to broaden the tax base or restructure loss-making state-owned corporations, a report said on Monday. According to a report in the ‘Khalsa Vox’, Pakistan has announced to repay $3.5 billion in debt to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the end of April 2026, projecting the decision as an “act of sovereign pride”.It added that Abu Dhabi had s…
Addis Ababa, April 6 (IANS) The African Union (AU) and its partners have warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict poses a “serious risk” to African economies.In a joint policy brief, the AU, the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, and the UN Development Program warned that the longer the conflict lasts and the more severe the disruption on shipping routes, energy, and fertilizer supplies, the greater the risk of a significant growth slowdown acro…
New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) The ongoing war in Iran is creating real economic pressures in Bangladesh, affecting fuel, fertiliser, freight, and foreign exchange, a report has said. While the country is geographically distant from the conflict, its highly connected economy is feeling the impact quickly, as per The Daily Star report.The main channel of this disruption is the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG normally move.Any interruption in this route affe…
Washington, April 5 (IANS) World leaders are moving to contain the Strait of Hormuz crisis without direct US leadership, as deepening divisions emerge between Washington and its European allies over the Iran war and its global fallout.Countries heavily dependent on Gulf energy supplies are scrambling to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as frustration grows over the US approach to the conflict, according to The Hill .The United Kingdom convened more than 40 nations this week to coordinate effort…
Sofia, April 4 (IANS) China is exploiting the security vacuum in the Middle East to position itself as a “strategic alternative”, amid growing doubts in Beijing over the viability of US bases in the region following repeated attacks on American and Israeli interests, a recent report has highlighted. According to a report in Bulgaria-based ‘Modern Diplomacy’, Beijing has adopted an “encirclement of the encirclement” strategy, expanding its military bases and strengthening regional alliances to co…
Washington, April 3 (IANS) Latest US intelligence assessments show that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact and thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal more than one month after the United States and Israel launched massive strikes on Iran, CNN reported.”They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region,” a source familiar with the intelligence told the US media outlet.According to the report, the assessments also indic…
Washington, April 2 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said that countries that depend on key global routes should take responsibility for securing them. He questioned why the United States should continue to police critical energy corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz.“Let China do it. Let Japan do it. Let South Korea do it… what the hell are we doing it for?” Trump said in his remarks at a White House Easter lunch. The video of the event was posted by White House on its YouTube channe…
Washington, April 1 (IANS) The White House said it was making “serious discussions” with Iran’s new leadership and was confident a deal could be reached soon, even as China and Pakistan called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” in the Gulf and Middle East.A senior administration official told IANS that “as President Trump stated, the United States is in serious discussions with the new leaders in Iran and great progress has been made.” The official was responding to a ques…