Pakistan is in talks to release of $1.1bn (£890m) of cash from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help ease its financial crisis.
Pakistan’s economic woes are a culmination of years of political turmoil, a financial crisis and last year’s catastrophic floods, with its reserves only able to cover three weeks – rather than the required three months.
Inflation is also thought to stand at around 24% to 26%, according to the country’s finance ministry, and the currency has been devalued against the dollar.
The IMF delegation will be encouraging the Pakistani government to implement bold cost-cutting measures to help it bridge its financial gap, with mission chief Nathan Porter saying: “You don’t have any other option.”
In 2019, Pakistan secured a $6bn (£4.9bn) bailout from the IMF. It got another $1bn (£811m) last year to help overcome the devastating floods, but in November the IMF suspended payments, saying the government failed to make progress on its fiscal consolidation.
In response, Ishaq Dar, the country’s finance minister, told the IMF it had made some efforts to bring its crisis under control, including increasing taxes on petrol and natural gas, and increased prices for electricity.
If released, the cash from the IMF would go towards paying its external debt to the tune of $8bn, which has to be paid by the end of June.
Backlogs at ports, factories closed and electricity blackouts
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The government has stopped issuing lines of credit, causing a backlog of container ships at the port of Karachi, while industry has been battered by the currency devaluation and imports block.
Domestic investment has dried up, with textile factories partially closing due to demand, and construction projects have been delayed due to lack of investment.
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Communities flee flooding
There has also been severe energy shortages, which has hindered remaining economic activity, while companies that generate and supply energy struggle with the high costs of fuel and turn off the electricity grid to save money.
Last week the country of 243 million people was plunged into darkness after a major breakdown of the national grid, which lasted several hours – the impact was felt on schools, hospitals, businesses and industry further hindering economic activity.
The country’s economy has been faltering for many years, with the floods in 2022 pushing it over the edge.
Pakistan’s floods impacted a third of the country and wiped out millions of hectares of crops. Almost 2,000 people were killed, and around 33 million people were displaced, with damage thought to cost around $40bn (£32.4bn).
Successive governments have been accused of making little effort to widening the tax net and increasing sources of revenue, while loans from allies such as China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates kept its economy afloat.
Image: Fuel taxes have been increased. File pic: Reuters
Some blame former PM Imran Khan
Former prime minister Imran Khan, and his government, have been accused of contributing to the immediate crisis. A year into his premiership, the fiscal deficit shot to a record high of $25.3bn (£20.5bn) and by the time he was ousted early last year, inflation was over 12%.
Mr Khan delayed approaching the IMF, despite economists recommending it, saying he wants to shun the practice of approaching foreign entities with a “begging bowl”.
However, his government was unable to bear the costs of a slew of welfare schemes it rolled out – though it helped his popularity.
His government’s reluctance to increase fuel costs, even in early 2022 when international crude rates had breached the $100 mark due to the war in Ukraine war, meant the state exchequer lost precious dollars.
Is Pakistan going the same way as Sri Lanka?
There is comparison of what is taking place in Pakistan with the collapse of the Sri Lankan economy last year.
But this is unlikely, as almost half of Sri Lanka’s external debt was owed to private creditors while for Pakistan, this is only about 8% of what it owes.
Pakistan’s large bilateral loan payments are to friendly countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China, which will be rolled over.
With the present government starting to implement changes that would satisfy the IMF and a release of the $1.1bn tranche, this will pave the way for the release of the loan and other bilateral assistances.
But more importantly, Pakistan is a nuclear nation and a geostrategic country, and its allies, and the world, would prevent its economy from collapsing.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
Image: Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, told NBC News that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
Dini von Mueffling, Giuffre’s representative, also told the outlet: “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims. She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
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Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘I am now a survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
As the line of mourners moves slowly along behind him, Ciriaco Sarnelli peers at me from beneath the immaculate brim of his cap.
The military police chief looks, by any standards, magnificent – shoulders back and proudly wearing the black uniform of the Carabinieri.
“Our history goes back more than 200 years,” he says. “We remember our past, and our place. The only people with black uniforms are the priests, the judges and the Carabinieri.”
He leaves the rest unsaid – the Carabinieri sit at the heart of Italian cultural life.
Image: Ciriaco Sarnelli, Carabinieri military police chief
Once, they defended the borders of a young nation. Now, they have a new challenge that has its own weighty burden – to keep St Peter’s Square safe during the funeral of Pope Francis.
This is no easy task. Hundreds of thousands will descend upon the Vatican for the event.
Inside will be Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Prince William and dozens upon dozens of other dignitaries.
Outside will be the Carabinieri.
They won’t be alone – there are thousands of other police officers due to be assigned to protect the event – but the Carabinieri are affiliated to the military; the most highly-trained officers on duty.
Image: A member of the security personnel wields an anti-drone gun for the Pope’s funeral
“This is an extraordinary operation,” says Sarnelli, as we look out over the crowd. “So we have employed some special units that belong to Carabinieri – the bomb squad, a dogs unit, snipers and helicopters. We want to assure the people who are arriving here that they can take part in this event in the best way, in a secure way.”
He says they are ready for “common crimes” – like pickpockets in the crowd – but also “the biggest, terrifying events”.
He says there is “excellent coordination” with police forces from other countries.
Around him, his officers are smiling, chatting to tourists and Romans alike.
The security here is overt but friendly, even if I’m told there are also plenty of plain-clothed officers mingling within the crowd.
Guns and grins both on show.
A police helicopter circles above. In the port of Rome, a naval destroyer has been primed for action; there are fighter jets ready to take off.
You can watch full coverage of the funeral live on Sky News on Saturday
Image: Huge crowds have come from around the world to see the Pope’s body
If the impression is relaxed, the reality is different. The classic swan.
All the strands are pulled together from one place and, what’s more, it offers a perfect view of Vatican City.
From where I’m standing, I can see the front of St Peter’s Basilica, the side, and the roads around it. I can see the crowds coming in, and the crowds going out.
And I can see an anxious policeman drumming his fingers.
But we are not in St Peter’s and not even in the Vatican.
This is the high-security control room on the fifth floor of Rome’s police headquarters.
And from here, you can see everything.
Image: The control room from where security officials can see across the Italian capital
An array of screens are in front of us and, watching them, men and women, huddled over screens and all wearing contrasting uniforms.
Some are military, some national police, some wear the clothes of firefighters. A few are in plain clothes and there is even a man wearing the badge of the prison officers’ service.
This centre is a hub for collaboration and decision-making and it brings together every service that is involved in ensuring the safety and security of the funeral.
There is a Carabinieri officer here, as well as the Guardia di Finanza national police and the Roman force. The government’s secret intelligence service is represented here, too.
Elisabetta Accardo is from Rome’s police department. We talk against the gentle hubbub in the control room, colleagues pointing at screens and agreeing plans.
Image: Elisabetta Accardo, Rome Police control room spokeswoman
I ask when Italy last had to deal with a security operation on this scale, and she laughs. “Hundreds of years,” she says.
“It is unprecedented. The level of security is at the maximum.” She describes the plan as “structured three-dimensional security”.
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It is a plan that has been long in the making, but which has been reshaped over the past few days to react to the whims of the Pope’s final wishes.
It is, after all, more than a century since a pope was buried outside the walls of the Vatican.
You get the impression that the people designing the security plan could rather have done without having to add an hour-long procession through Rome into the plan.
But so be it.
By Saturday night, it will be done. Rome can start to get back to normal; the foreign leaders will be on their way home.
And the Rome police will breathe just a little bit easier.
The Kremlin has blamed Ukraine for a car bomb that killed a Russian general near Moscow hours before Donald Trump’s envoy was due to meet Vladimir Putin in the capital.
The death of Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik is the second such fatal attack on a top Russian military officer in four months.
Russia’s top criminal investigation agency said he was killed by an explosive device placed in his car in Balashikha, just outside the capital.
Image: Yaroslav Moskalik. Pic: Russian Ministry of Defence
Moskalik was a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.
“The Kyiv regime once again simply shows its true nature. The Kyiv regime continues to be involved in terrorist activity on the territory of our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He didn’t offer any evidence.
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“It shows once again that, despite the peace talks, we must be on guard and understand the nature of this regime.”
Ukraine has not responded to the killing.
Image: Investigators work at the scene where Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed. Pic: AP
Investigative committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said the explosive device was rigged with shrapnel, adding that investigators were at the scene.
Videos showed a vehicle burning in the courtyard of an apartment building and a body covered in a sheet could be seen on the pavement nearby.
Deadly attack is not a great look for the Kremlin
Explosions like this are happening with increasing frequency in Moscow. There have now been four since last summer, with high-ranking military figures the target each time.
The latest victim was another senior officer called Yaroslav Moskalik. He was a lieutenant general, and deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of Russia’s armed forces.
It’s unclear why he was targeted – it may simply be because of his seniority and apparent vulnerability.
As with previous the bombings, there is an obvious question: is it because of the war in Ukraine?
Kyiv hasn’t commented on this bombing, but they did claim responsibility for the one in December that killed a top Russian general.
Speaking to Sky News, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called it a “terrorist attack”, echoing language Moscow has used when describing similar attacks in the past.
The timing feels significant – coinciding with Steve Witkoff’s visit to the Russian capital to meet Vladimir Putin.
If it was Ukraine, could it be a way of signalling their displeasure at the way peace talks are progressing? Or an attempt to demonstrate how Moscow can still be hurt?
Either way, it’s not a great look for the Kremlin.
It comes after Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed in December when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office.
Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the killing of Kirillov, and Ukraine’s security agency acknowledged that it was behind that attack.
Kirillov was the chief of Russia’s radiation, biological and chemical protection forces, the special troops tasked with protecting the military from the enemy’s use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring operations in a contaminated environment.
His assistant also died in the attack.
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Friday’s bombing came as Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Mr Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
The two sides discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine”, Yuri Ushakov said.
The talks in Moscow lasted for three hours and were “constructive and useful”, he added.
Speaking on a flight to Italy for the Pope’s funeral, the US president said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
The meeting was their fourth encounter since February.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.