IMF presses Pakistan to pull idle public cash into Treasury Single Account

IMF presses Pakistan to pull idle public cash into Treasury Single Account

Pakistan has agreed to shut around 70 bank accounts held by government ministries and attached departments and move…

By
Mabruka Khan
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Blockade Will Last ‘as Long as It Takes,’ Hegseth Says

Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Blockade Will Last ‘as Long as It Takes,’ Hegseth Says

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, April 24, 2026: The United States said Friday that its naval blockade targeting Iranian shipping will remain…

By
Mabruka Khan
CJP says reversing judge transfer to SHC would undercut constitutional purpose

CJP says reversing judge transfer to SHC would undercut constitutional purpose

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has pushed back against a proposal to move a transferred judge from…

By
Mabruka Khan
Lahore Ichhra case: Police say mother cited marital breakdown as motive in killing of three children

Lahore Ichhra case: Police say mother cited marital breakdown as motive in killing of three children

A deeply disturbing child murder case in Lahore’s Ichhra neighbourhood has taken an even darker turn, with police…

By
Mabruka Khan
Iran’s fast-boat swarms deepen shipping fears in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s fast-boat swarms deepen shipping fears in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s use of small, fast attack boats to seize two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz has…

By
Mabruka Khan
Pakistan repays $3.45 billion to UAE, central bank confirms

Pakistan repays $3.45 billion to UAE, central bank confirms

Pakistan has repaid the full $3.45 billion it owed the United Arab Emirates, with the State Bank of…

By
Mabruka Khan

A Case for Smaller Provinces

A Case for Smaller Provinces

By
Mabruka Khan
Gold Slips Amid Oil-Driven Inflation Concerns; Eyes on US-Iran Tensions

Gold Slips Amid Oil-Driven Inflation Concerns; Eyes on US-Iran Tensions

Gold prices eased on Thursday as rising crude oil costs sparked renewed inflation fears, prompting investors to rethink…

By
Mabruka Khan

Tiny Pacific nations face tough choices on food, fuel posed by Iran war

Tiny Pacific island nations are facing an ugly, familiar dilemma: pay more to keep fuel flowing and essential…

By
Mabruka Khan
Fly Jinnah to start twice-daily Islamabad–Lahore flights on May 1

Fly Jinnah to start twice-daily Islamabad–Lahore flights on May 1

Fly Jinnah is set to launch a new twice-daily service between Islamabad and Lahore from May 1, 2026,…

By
Mabruka Khan
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France will help Lebanon prepare for negotiations with Israel, throwing Paris more directly behind a diplomatic push that both sides hope can keep a shaky ceasefire from collapsing. The pledge came after Macron met Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris on April 21, 2026, with both men calling for talks aimed at reinforcing the truce and easing pressure along the border. The message from Paris was fairly blunt: diplomacy has to move faster than events on the ground. Macron said securing the truce in Lebanon remains a priority, while Salam said Beirut is still committed to a political route — but only if Israel fully withdraws and Lebanese sovereignty is respected. That gives the talks a familiar tension from the outset: everybody says they want calm, but each side is attaching hard conditions to what comes next. What makes this moment different is that actual contact has already started. Earlier in April, Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, a notable step for two countries that remain formally at war. Those talks lasted more than two hours, according to AP, and were seen as an opening rather than any kind of breakthrough. Still, even getting both sides into the same room was a shift. A month ago, that would have sounded like a long shot. France is trying to carve out a role around that opening, even if it is not at the center of the U.S.-led channel. Reuters, in a report carried by AOL, said Macron offered French help in preparing Lebanese authorities for the negotiations despite Paris not being directly involved in the current track. That matters because France has longstanding ties to Lebanon and has already tried in recent months to position itself as a possible facilitator for Lebanon-Israel contacts. None of this is happening in calm conditions. The ceasefire itself is fragile, and that word keeps showing up for a reason. AP reported that Macron and Salam framed negotiations as a way to shore up that truce, not celebrate it. In other words, this is less about a peace moment and more about damage control — an attempt to stop cross-border violence from flaring back into a wider war. There is another layer here too: France’s own stake in Lebanon’s security picture has grown more personal and more political. AP reported that a French peacekeeper serving with the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon was recently killed, with France and UNIFIL blaming Hezbollah, which denied responsibility. Macron also signaled France could support a future peacekeeping arrangement if the current UNIFIL mandate expires later this year. That does not make France a neutral bystander. It makes Paris a country with skin in the game. For Lebanon, Salam’s visit was about more than symbolism. It was also about trying to strengthen Beirut’s hand before any deeper round of talks. That is how the Reuters report framed the meeting, and it fits the broader reality: Lebanon wants diplomatic backing, but it also wants guarantees that negotiations will not simply formalize Israeli military leverage on the ground. Israel, for its part, has shown little appetite for giving France a central seat. Recent reporting from The Times of Israel said Jerusalem has effectively boxed Paris out of the current Lebanon track, a sign that Macron’s activism is not automatically welcome everywhere. So France may end up playing the role of outside backer rather than direct broker, at least for now. That is still useful, but it is not the same thing as controlling the process. That leaves the region in an awkward, in-between place. The channels are open. The rhetoric is cautious. The fighting has eased, but nobody seems ready to pretend the danger is over. Macron’s offer to help Lebanon prepare for talks is significant because it tries to turn a brief diplomatic opening into something sturdier. Whether that works depends on what happens next — in Washington, along the border, and in the political calculations of Beirut and Jerusalem. Right now, the talks look less like a grand peace effort and more like a narrow bridge built over very thin ice.

Macron says France will help Lebanon get ready for talks with Israel

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France will help Lebanon prepare for negotiations with Israel,…

By
Mabruka Khan
Trump reportedly weighs Congo option for Afghans who helped U.S. forces

Trump reportedly weighs Congo option for Afghans who helped U.S. forces

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is reportedly exploring whether some Afghans who aided U.S. forces and are now stranded…

By
Mabruka Khan
Trump extends Iran ceasefire, says move came after request from Pakistan’s Munir and Shehbaz

Trump extends Iran ceasefire, says move came after request from Pakistan’s Munir and Shehbaz

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was extending the ceasefire with Iran until Tehran’s leadership produces what he…

By
Mabruka Khan
WASHINGTON: UnitedHealth has warned that the Trump administration’s planned Medicare obesity-drug pilot faces “notable challenges,” casting doubt over how smoothly the program can move ahead if major insurers stay cautious. Recent market reporting said the model depends heavily on participation from Medicare drug plans that cover most Part D enrollees, which makes the stance of large insurers especially important. The concern centers on a broader CMS effort to expand access to GLP-1 weight-loss medicines for seniors. Under CMS’s published framework, the longer-term BALANCE Model would begin in Medicare Part D in January 2027, while a temporary Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is designed to start earlier and give eligible beneficiaries short-term access before that main model begins. What makes this a little more complicated is that the short-term bridge and the longer pilot are not the same thing. CMS says the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge operates outside the normal Part D coverage and payment flow, meaning Part D sponsors are not directly involved in that bridge arrangement. In other words, insurer participation is a much bigger issue for the 2027 BALANCE rollout than for the bridge itself. That distinction matters because investors and drugmakers are watching this closely. Reports said shares of obesity-drug makers fell after UnitedHealth’s comments, largely because Medicare coverage is seen as a huge growth opportunity for drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound. If major insurers hesitate, the program could struggle to achieve the scale CMS appears to want. There is already some evidence of resistance. MarketWatch reported that CVS Health has opted out, while UnitedHealth is still evaluating the structure and discussing possible changes with Medicare officials. That does not mean the program is dead, not yet anyway, but it does suggest the administration may need to revise the design or sweeten the terms if it wants broader insurer buy-in. The bigger backdrop here is cost. Medicare has long been wary of broad obesity-drug coverage because GLP-1 therapies are expensive and potentially involve very large patient populations. Earlier policy debates around these drugs were shaped by concerns that wide coverage could drive up federal spending sharply, even as supporters argued the medicines could reduce longer-term health costs tied to obesity. So the headline problem for CMS is pretty straightforward: it has created a short-term bridge that can move without direct Part D plan involvement, but the more ambitious long-term Medicare model still appears to need insurers on board. UnitedHealth’s warning does not shut the door, but it does signal that one of the industry’s biggest players thinks the current setup may not be ready for easy launch.

UnitedHealth raises red flags over Medicare obesity-drug pilot

WASHINGTON: UnitedHealth has warned that the Trump administration’s planned Medicare obesity-drug pilot faces “notable challenges,” casting doubt over…

By
Mabruka Khan
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran could remain in place until Tehran submits proposals and negotiations are wrapped up, though the latest reporting suggests the truce is still shaky and could unravel quickly if talks stall. AP reported Tuesday that the current two-week ceasefire was due to expire Wednesday, with U.S. and Iranian officials signaling possible new talks in Islamabad even as both sides warned they were ready to resume fighting without a deal. The line from Trump adds a bit of breathing room, at least on paper. CBS reported that he indicated the ceasefire would continue until discussions are concluded, but the same round of coverage also showed growing uncertainty over whether Iran would actually send a delegation for the next phase of talks in Pakistan. By Tuesday evening in Pakistan, officials were still waiting for formal confirmation from Tehran. That uncertainty has become the real story now. While Trump has publicly said senior U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, are heading to Pakistan for another possible round of negotiations, Iranian officials have pushed back against the idea of negotiating under pressure. Recent reporting says Tehran has not officially confirmed participation, and Iranian public messaging has stressed that talks cannot proceed under threats or coercion. Pakistan, meanwhile, has emerged as the central mediator in this phase of the crisis. Multiple recent reports say Islamabad has been trying to keep the ceasefire alive and host a second round of U.S.-Iran talks, following earlier efforts that helped open a diplomatic channel after the fighting. That mediation role has given Pakistan unusual visibility in a conflict that has rattled the wider region and raised fears over shipping and energy security. Still, nobody seems to be pretending this is settled. AP described the talks as uncertain on the eve of the ceasefire deadline, while other live updates showed that the next meeting could be delayed or even collapse if Iran refuses to attend. That leaves Trump’s statement looking less like a firm peace breakthrough and more like a conditional extension: the guns stay quiet a little longer, but only if diplomacy starts moving. The main pressure point remains whether Tehran will put forward terms both sides can work with. Earlier reporting said Trump had treated an Iranian 10-point plan as a possible basis for negotiations, but key sticking points remain unresolved, including broader security demands and the terms of any longer-term settlement. So for now, the ceasefire is alive, yes, but it’s living hour to hour. That is why Trump’s latest remark matters. It signals he is willing to keep the pause in place a bit longer, yet it also makes clear that Washington wants something concrete from Tehran, not just more delay. Whether Iran responds with proposals, or with another refusal, will probably decide whether this fragile ceasefire becomes a negotiation track or slips back into open conflict.

Trump says Iran ceasefire can continue, but only until Tehran puts forward proposals

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran could remain in place until Tehran submits proposals and…

By
Mabruka Khan