Climate change: India wheat crop ravaged by rain, as Feb likely to be warmest on record

Untimely rainfall and hailstorms have battered winter-sown crops, including wheat, rapeseed, and chickpeas in India’s main producing areas, delaying harvesting, industry and government officials told Reuters. Adverse weather could limit growth in wheat production and complicate the government’s efforts to build stocks. This year’s wheat harvest is critical for India, the world’s biggest producer of […]

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Economic diversification: Saudi Arabia non-oil business activity accelerates in Feb

As Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman is leading the charge to make Saudi Arabia an economic and industrial hub by pursuing a strategy designed to minimise the country’s dependence on oil through economic diversification, a latest survey on Tuesday showed that non-oil business activity in Saudi Arabia rebounded in February – supported by the fastest […]

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Rising dollar complicates worldwide efforts to fight inflation

A stronger-than-expected US economy is buoying the dollar, frustrating investors who had bet the currency would wilt under a barrage of interest rate cuts that have yet to materialise. The dollar index, which measures the buck against a basket of its peers, is up 2.4 per cent year-to-date. Net bets on the dollar in futures […]

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Dar, the close aide of elder Sharif, wasn’t at Shehbaz Sharif’s first meeting

Ishaq Dar – a close aide of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif – was missing when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of economic team on Monday soon after taking oath of his office for a second term. Certainly a huge news from several angles, if Dar isn’t the economic czar in the PML-N government […]

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Global energy CO2 emissions hit record high in 2023 as droughts cut hydropower generation

Global energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) hit a record high last year, driven partly by increased fossil fuel use in countries where droughts hampered hydropower production, International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. Steep cuts in CO2 emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, will be needed in the coming years if targets to limit […]

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New Chile lithium projects coming, Canada concerned about critical metals market manipulation

Chile wants to have three or four new lithium projects operational by 2026, the country’s Minister of Finance Mario Marcel said on Saturday. The South American country – the world’s largest copper producer and the second-largest producer of lithium – initiated a policy last year to increase state control of the strategic metal needed in […]

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Domestic tourism: Years removed from war, Iraqis seek new desert escapades

Far from the hustle and bustle of major cities, young Iraqis are increasingly taking advantage of a renewed sense of safety to explore the country’s serene desert getaways. Sheltering amidst the golden dunes, Ghadanfar Abdallah and his friends gather around a flickering campfire in the Samawah desert south of the capital, humming tunes, laughing and […]

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Agriculture in the global warming era: Artificial glaciers stave off drought in Kyrgyzstan

In the Tian-Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, villagers have made an artificial glacier to provide water for their drought-hit farms. Standing on the ice hillock, farmer Erkinbek Kaldanov said he was optimistic about harnessing nature to counteract climate change. “We won’t have any more problems with water,” said the farmer, who was worried for his sheep […]

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Call for raising taxes on tobacco items

Health advocates have stressed the need for raising tobacco taxes, specifically targeting cigarettes, in order to curb smoking. In a statement, Malik Imran Ahmed, the Country Head of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), said the policymakers can effectively curtail tobacco consumption by annual increments in cigarette taxes and making them less affordable over time.  […]

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Govt increases gas tariff across country

The caretaker government on Wednesday increased gas tariffs across Pakistan.  According to sources, there will be Rs100 per mmbtu increase for protected consumers, while non-protected consumers will experience a hike of Rs300 per mmbtu. Similarly, commercial consumers of gas will face a considerable Rs900 increase in prices per mmbtu, say sources.  The CNG sector is […]

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