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Pakistan faces a rise in terrorist attacks over the past few years, its troubled Balochistan province was hit this week by a series of assaults that have resulted in over 70 fatalities. The coordinated attacks, possibly the most extensive of their kind in recent history, were carried out by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). These events have once again highlighted the Baloch insurgency, driven by long-standing neglect and the exploitation of Balochistan's natural resources, revealing the province as a vulnerable point for Pakistan. The attacks, which saw BLA targeting police stations and taking control of major highways, coincided with the death anniversary of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was killed 18 years ago in one of then president Pervez Musharraf's counter-insurgency operations. Bugti's death only highlighted the shortcomings of military action, as it failed to address the true needs and aspirations of the tribal population. This lack of genuine engagement led to the rise of additional armed separatist groups, which now not only target Pakistani security forces and Chinese interests but also attack Punjabi and Sindhi migrant workers.

Iran president says investment needed to achieve 8% annual economic growth.

Kuki-Zo community on Saturday took out three rallies in parts of Manipur, demanding a separate administration and protesting viral audio clips allegedly of chief minister N Biren Singh making certain objectionable comments. The state government had said the audio tapes were falsely attributed to the chief minister and that the police were conducting an investigation into the matter. It alleged that the «doctored» clips have been released on social media to derail peace initiatives in the ethnic violence-affected state. Kukis organised rallies at Leishang in Churachandpur district, Keithelmanbi in Kangpokpi, and Moreh in Tengnoupal even as T Michael Lamjathang Haokip, a BJP spokesperson and leader of the Thadou tribe, faced yet another attack on his residence in Churachandpur.

Indian Nostradamus certainly has hopes! In one of his most recent predictions, astrologer Kushal Kumar (also known as the Indian Nostradamus), hinted that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has a hope of being resolved, as both countries are becoming rather relentless in the path of mutual assured destruction. However, there’s a glimmer of hope.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the ambit of the Majhi Ladki Bahin Scheme will be expanded to cover 2.5 crore women even as the state government has transferred money into the bank accounts of 1.7 crore beneficiaries so far. The chief minister launched the second phase of the scheme at Reshimbagh ground here in the presence of Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Women and Child Welfare Minister Aditi Tatkare. «We were not born with a golden spoon. We belong to the family of farmers. Having experienced poverty, we understood why a scheme like this was necessary. We know the value of Rs 1,500,» Shinde said. The Ladki Bahin Scheme provides monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to married, divorced, and destitute women in the 21-60 age group with a Rs 2.5 lakh annual family income ceiling.

Brigade, said his initial reaction was shock. “Where are we going?" Lt. Col.

A French oil giant is paying $100 million to keep American trees standing. TotalEnergies is purchasing carbon credits that cover timberland in 10 states ranging from the Louisiana lowlands to the Lake States, the Adirondack Mountains in New York and the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Kentucky. The outlay is likely the largest ever in the opaque market designed to forestall tree harvesting in the U.S.

Two missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden

Mastercard Inc. is expanding its efforts to eliminate the use of credit card numbers when customers make purchases online in a bid to fight fraud. A decade after it first unveiled a technology that replaces consumers’ card numbers with so-called tokens, the company is now processing 1 billion such transactions every week, Chief Executive Officer Michael Miebach said in an interview. That’s after it took the payments behemoth three years to process the first billion of such transactions. Now, Mastercard is planning to expand the use of the technology to replace security measures like passwords with biometric data such as fingerprints or face scans, Miebach said. It’s the latest step that the financial industry is taking to combat the rising issue of online payment fraud, which is expected to exceed $91 billion by 2028.

sugar stocks listed on the BSE, 35 closed higher on Friday. Shares of Triveni Engineering jumped 8.6%. EID Parry, Balrampur Chini, Shree Renuka Sugars, Dalmia Bharat Sugar, DCM Shriram, Avadh Sugar & Energy and Dhampur Sugar Mills gained between 1.9% and 7.5% on Friday. The government's notification removes the limit that exists on the diversion of sugar for ethanol production. «Since ethanol is a high-yielding product, this removal of cap would help the sugar mills and distilleries to manufacture more ethanol and improve their revenue mix directly, which will improve cash flows and stabilize the sugar industry,» said T Manish, research analyst, Samco Securities.

Digital infrastructure firm Black Box is looking for partnerships or mergers and acquisitions to enter the Indian market, which is the most lucrative data centre opportunity for the next three to five years, said Sanjeev Verma, a wholetime director of the Essar Group subsidiary. The systems integrator serves top tech companies in more than 35 countries. It offers data centre services, along with connectivity and networking infrastructure. The company is aiming to achieve $2 billion in revenue in the next four years, Verma said.

Tim Walz will be seen more often in orange. The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Walz, is going pheasant hunting wearing a bright vest. Democrats claim that for years, they virtually gave former President Donald Trump all of the rural counties and even some of the suburbs. Since 2016, rural counties in states like Wisconsin and Nevada have become deeply red areas associated with President Trump, making them nearly impossible for the left to penetrate. Promoting Walz's Midwest origins, military service, labor connections, hunting experience, and football coaching career, Harris campaign officials feel they have an edge over white moderate and blue-collar voters, to whom Harris may have a softer appeal. Using her experience as a prosecutor and the narrative that she created about being the immigrant daughter who worked at McDonald's before moving up the ranks to become vice president, Harris has also made a signal to those voters.

fiscal deficit in the first four months of this financial year hit 17.2% of the annual target, against 33.9% a year before, as revenue mop-up soared while expenditure contracted. The performance keeps the government firmly on course to meet its renewed target of containing fiscal deficit at 4.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024-25, said experts. The Centre aims to reduce the gap further to less than 4.5% of GDP in 2025-26.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is pledging to scrutinize contract for deed lending, a form of alternative or seller financing in which a private seller or investor group comes to a loan agreement with a buyer without many of the typical banki...

Forex reserves were up by $7.02 billion to touch an all-time high of $681 billion as of August 23, as per data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday. Earlier, reserves expanded by $4.54 billion to $674.66 billion for the week ending on August 16. Previously, Forex reserves had touched an all time high of $675 billion as of August 2, but had fallen $4.8 billion on August 9.

According to a report by the FT, the billionaire has been meeting backers to give new life to his IPO plans, after deciding to scrap the previous plans several weeks ago. This was despite cutting the fundraising target from $25bn to $2bn in an attempt to get the IPO across the line. This time around, Ackman is believed to be discussing a unit structure similar to special purpose acquisition vehicles (SPACs). Bill Ackman eyes 'redesign' of Pershing Square US IPO transaction The structure would allow backers to gain an additional security in addition to their shares in PSUS, as th...

Inflation is down in Europe

The bill in question, which aims to reform the registration process of Waqf properties through a centralised portal, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8. The committee, led by BJP's Jagdambika Pal, is seeking «views/suggestions from the public in general and NGOs, experts, stakeholders and institutions in particular» due to the «wider implications» of the bill, as stated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. People are requested to provide their suggestions in writing within the next 15 days.

India's Bharat Petroleum Corp plans to increase its integrated refining and petrochemical capacities within the next five to seven years to meet growing energy demand, Chairman G. Krishnakumar told shareholders. India's annual consumption of refined fuels and petrochemicals is expected to rise steadily by 4-5% and 7-8% in the 'foreseeable future', he said. «This presents a strategic opportunity to expand refining capacity alongside the development of integrated petrochemical complexes,» Krishnakumar said.

Mint. This follows an aggressive expansion period for the banking technology startup, when the company targeted entering 30 countries and newer verticals after raising its first institutional funding of $250 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $1.45 billion in 2021. "We have a razor-sharp focus on India.

FMCG sector posted top-line growth, driven by a summer spike, although the general elections negatively impacted the sector. The outlook for H2 remains positive, as indicated by company commentaries. Revenue is expected to grow, supported by rural recoveries, according to multiple brokerages. With sector rotations underway and defensives like FMCG gaining investor interest, stocks in this sector are expected to be in focus.