A Pakistani cabinet minister says Islamabad will continue to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar under a 15-year agreement, despite the severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar by Saudi Arabia and some other countries.
Shahid Khaqan Abb
A Pakistani cabinet minister says Islamabad will continue to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar under a 15-year agreement, despite the severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar by Saudi Arabia and some other countries.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the federal minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, said Qatar and Pakistan last year signed a $1 billion agreement, under which Qatar's Liquefied Gas Company Limited will sell LNG from 2016 to year 2031 to state-run Pakistan State Oil.
He said since no sanctions have been imposed on Qatar by the United Nations, Pakistan and Qatar were bound to abide by the agreement.
Qatar has released an initial report into the alleged hack of its state-run news agency, an incident which helped spark a diplomatic crisis between the energy-rich country and Arab nations.
The Qatari Interior Ministry said late Wednesday that the website of the Qatar News Agency was initially hacked in April with "high techniques and innovative methods."
It said hackers installed a file and then published a fake news item attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, just after midnight May 24.
The ministry did not say who it suspected carried out the attack. It also thanked the FBI and the British National Commission for Combating Crime for assisting it in its investigation.
The alleged fake news item, which had Sheikh Tamim making controversial comments on Iran and Israel, immediately was picked up by Saudi and Emirati media, laying the groundwork for the crisis that began Monday (05.06.2017.)
Kuwait's emir has traveled to Qatar and met that country's leader as part of his efforts to mediate an end to a crisis that's seen Arab nations cut ties to the energy-rich country and attempt to isolate it.
Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was met planeside by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, when he arrived on Wednesday night.
The two held talks, though details of their discussions were not released. Sheikh Sabah earlier Wednesday traveled to Dubai where he met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the UAE.
Sheikh Sabah also has traveled to Saudi Arabia in his efforts.
It said hackers installed a file and then published a fake news item attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, just after midnight May 24.
The ministry did not say who it suspected carried out the attack. It also thanked the FBI and the British National Commission for Combating Crime for assisting it in its investigation.
The alleged fake news item, which had Sheikh Tamim making controversial comments on Iran and Israel, immediately was picked up by Saudi and Emirati media, laying the groundwork for the crisis that began Monday (05.06.2017.)
Kuwait's emir has traveled to Qatar and met that country's leader as part of his efforts to mediate an end to a crisis that's seen Arab nations cut ties to the energy-rich country and attempt to isolate it.
Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was met planeside by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, when he arrived on Wednesday night.
The two held talks, though details of their discussions were not released. Sheikh Sabah earlier Wednesday traveled to Dubai where he met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the UAE.
Sheikh Sabah also has traveled to Saudi Arabia in his efforts.
RIYADH: The Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia said in a statement that it is mandatory for Muslims to obtain a Hajj permit if they will perform pilgrimage. The council said obtaining a permit is obligatory to comply with the Sharia law, and facilitate Hajj and safeguard the sanctity of the Holy Sites. Performing Hajj without a permit is deemed a sin, according to the council’s interpretation. It made it clear that it is not permissible to go to Hajj without obtaining a permit and “those who do so are committing a sin,” the statement read.
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Waldemar Skrzypczak underlined that «no tank is invincible»
Armenia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe and is carrying out measures to establish the identities of the rioters
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov specified that four people had been taken to the hospital
Dmitry Peskov stated that the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin «is well-known»
Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Moscow and Beijing would push ahead with developing cooperation
SINGAPORE - A British author is looking to get in touch with the family of a Singaporean World War II pilot, who was the inspiration behind a major character in a book she wrote. Ms Onjali Rauf, who has won multiple awards for her work in Britain, wrote The Lion Above The Door in 2021. It features a major character based on wing commander Tan Kay Hai, a decorated, daredevil Singaporean pilot who flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during WWII on at least 190 missions. «Tan Kay Hai's story has made such a huge impact on my life - The Lion Above The Door would never have been written if I hadn't learnt of him,» said Ms Onjali, who arrived in Singapore on April 21 for a series of speaking engagements with various schools, including Tanglin Trust School, United World College South East Asia and Dulwich School. «He represents all the millions of brave men and women who fought during World War II, but whose names and efforts can barely be found in our history books.»
SINGAPORE - The Bank of Singapore (BOS) has uncovered cases of misuse of medical benefits by its staff, and up to 40 employees left the bank last week. Hundreds were involved in the internal investigation by the bank, and some were believed to have been sacked. The investigation was first reported by finance industry career portal efinancialcareers.com on Wednesday (April 24). In response to queries from The Straits Times, a BOS spokesperson declined to provide details, citing confidentiality. But the spokesman added: «Where wrongdoing is alleged, the matter will be investigated and reviewed according to the bank's investigative and disciplinary framework.» CNA reported that BOS, the private banking arm of OCBC, launched an investigation in 2023 into employee medical claims involving one of its company panel clinics. ST understands the clinic in question is Thompson & Thomson (RadLink Medicare), which is located in CIMB Plaza. It is one of the panel clinics under Fullerton Health. BOS' medical insurance scheme allows employees to claim up to $10,500 for medical and dental expenses.
«The premises and rooms are being checked for explosives,» the source said
Canada is hosting 176 countries in Ottawa for a conference aimed at making progress toward a global treaty on plastic waste.
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Shabelle River, flowing through Beledweyne, the capital city of the Hiiraan region, brought a significant volume of water on Friday, causing concern among residents in the surrounding neighborhoods.
During the expedition, experts have collected a large amount of materials on climate change over recent twenty years in different northern regions
The museum's task was to have young people feel the atmosphere, since for many people the polar explorers is something far away
Five missiles hit Dnepropetrovsk while a strong blow with the subsequent detonation was registered in Krivoi Rog, the spokesman specified
Local Administration Head Ivan Prikhodko said that «a female resident of Gorlovka was injured as a result of yesterday’s shelling of the Stroitel residential compound in the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka»
«Some European intelligence agencies have been told of the US view,» the newspaper notes
The dollar exchange rate was down by 0.08% at 91.65 rubles on Moscow Exchange, while the euro was down by 0.09% at 98.08 rubles
The press service specified that investigative and procedural actions are underway in coordination with Russia’s Federal Security Service
In Bardhaman-Durgapur, Dilip Ghosh faces TMC's Kirti Azad and Left-Congress' Sukriti Ghoshal. The battleground saw S S Ahluwalia's win in 2019. The election promises a three-cornered fight, highlighting unemployment and agrarian crisis.
TMC raised concerns over the CBI raid during Phase II polling, suspecting BJP-CBI collusion in arms recovery at Sandeshkhali. TMC wrote a letter to EC to raise a complaint against CBI raids and also alleged weapon planting and targeting by Modi in West Bengal elections. TMC also claimed that they wanted to tarnish TMC's image.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently investigating products from spice manufacturers MDH and Everest following Hong Kong's decision to halt sales of certain items due to the alleged presence of high levels of a carcinogenic pesticide. Earlier this month, Hong Kong suspended the sale of three MDH spice blends and an Everest spice mix for fish curries.
Seychelles has signed a loan agreement with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development (OFID) for a sum of $20 million to provide budget support for the government, said the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade on Friday. The agreement was signed by Minister Naadir Hassan and the President of the OPEC Fund, Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, in Washington D.C, US, on the sidelines of the boards of governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings from April 15 to 21. Hassan led Seychelles' delegation at the event, which brought together ministers of finance and development and central bankers, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organisations and academics. The aim was to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness. The delegation of Seychelles held talks with several departments within the Bretton Woods institutions on ongoing programmes being supported by those institutions as well as areas for future engagements. Discussions were also held on possible technical assistance programme to ensure that the island nation delivers on its commitments. In his discussions with the World Bank group, Hassan was briefed on the bank evolution roadmap and the role of the bank in its engagement with Seychelles. It was agreed that more focus will be placed on key structural issues such as human development, climate adaptation and resilience building as well as disaster risk. The minister also attended various events held by the Commonwealth on the sidelines of the Spring meetings. Hassan speaking at the Climate Financing for Africa Small Developing States. (Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade) The Commonwealth Small States Advocacy Champions convened their second meeting, which signalled a resolute effort to accelerate progress towards sustainable development, resilience-building, and debt management strategies in small states. Ministers held critical discussions centred around themes such as spending pressures, innovative debt restructuring instruments, inclusive debt relief initiatives, and the consideration of climate vulnerability in debt sustainability analyses. Additionally, the aim of the meeting to generate action-oriented outcomes that would contribute to ongoing high-level events, including the upcoming UN SIDS4 Conference in May and the Commonwealth Ministerial Meeting of Small States taking place during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October. As small states navigate through multifaceted challenges, the Advocacy Champions reaffirmed their commitment to advocating for tailored solutions and shaping global decision-making processes to benefit small states. Hassan also participated in various side events and was a key speaker at the IMF Small Developing States Forum and shared Seychelles' experience on its journey to mobilise climate financing, the challenges encountered and the opportunities that lies ahead.
Peter Smith, 64, of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire is said to be in a serious condition following a bull shark attack close to Turtle Beach, Tobago, on Friday morning.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye has severed and is further cutting off commercial relations with Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
A 70-year-old man's decomposing body was found in his Bukit Merah HDB flat on Thursday (April 25) after a neighbour had noticed a pungent smell emanating from the unit. The police told AsiaOne that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 121 Bukit Merah View at 3.28pm that day. The man was found lying motionless and was pronounced dead at scene. When a Shin Min Daily News reporter visited the ninth floor of the block at about 5pm on Thursday, it was reported that a foul stench lingered in the corridor. A 65-year-old woman surnamed Jiang, who lives on the same floor as the deceased, said the man moved in over a year ago and lived alone. Describing the man as a kind person, Jiang said the deceased would typically exchange greetings and chat with the residents. He would often eat with her and her husband at the community centre and had a good relationship with his neighbours. «We made plans last week to attend an activity at the community centre together, and he told us to take care of ourselves,» she recalled. «I never thought that the next update from him would be this bad news.»
SINGAPORE – The police are investigating a case of a teenager found living in a wet market stall for almost a year. Stall owners at the Circuit Road Market and Food Centre said the girl, who barely spoke and merely gestured, relieved herself in pails in the stall as she would not leave even to use the toilet. They said she lived in the stall, which measures around two by three metres, with her father who rented it. The Straits Times understands that the girl and her father are Singapore permanent residents. The stall owners, who declined to be named, said National Environment Agency (NEA) officers conducting checks at the market in early April noticed the girl. The police said they received a call for assistance on April 4 at Block 80 Circuit Road, which is the address of the market. A 63-year-old man is assisting with investigations into ill-treatment of a child or young person by neglect under the Children and Young Persons Act, said the police. Those convicted can be jailed for up to eight years, fined up to $8,000, or both.
WESTERN BUREAU: The proposed merger between the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), which was announced by Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce, Aubyn Hill, last year, is still in the making and should...
WESTERN BUREAU: Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr says that, as part of ongoing efforts to improve service delivery for the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), two technical working groups will be...