TTX Vocabulary

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended parliament, deepening political turmoil after he sacked the country's prime minister. Parliamentary officials said the president had suspended all meetings of the 225-member house until November 16. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sacked by the president late Friday, had earlier called for an emergency session of parliament so he could prove his majority. The parliament had been due to meet again on November 5 to unveil the 2019 annual budget. The suspension could destabilise government finances at a time when the country faces an economic crisis. In a statement, Parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya called for calm and restraint and for the crisis to be resolved quickly. European diplomats in Colombo said they were closely following developments and urged both sides to act in line with the constitution, echoing comments made by the United States. Sri Lanka plunges into crisis as president sacks PM "The amb...

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has appreciated efforts of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for the eradication of corruption and ranked Pakistan at 107 among 140 countries on Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). The WEF, in its Global Competitiveness Report-2018, has redefined combativeness 4.0. The new index provides guidelines for countries to gear up for the fourth industrial revolution. The report indicates that Pakistan has been ranked at 107 on the new index, however, on backcasting and compared to 2017, Pakistan has improved nine points and is ranked 106 this year as compared to 115 last year. The report has been presented to Chairman NAB, Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal by Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mishal Pakistan which is Country Partner Institute of Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum, says a press release issued here on Tuesday. The report indicates that global ranking for incidents on corruption for Pakistan has been reduced...

SAN FRANCISCO: The crisis surrounding the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and concerns that he may have been killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, has highlighted the role of the Middle East kingdom in the US economy, especially in Silicon Valley. Saudi money has been a key source of capital for startups and other technology firms in recent years, led by the huge Saudi sovereign wealth arm known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), but also from individual members of the Saudi royal family and the Kingdom Holding Company, the investment arm of Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, according to the research firm CB Insights. The most prominent of the investments was a $45 billion contribution in 2016 to the Soft Bank Vision Fund launched by the Japanese conglomerate focusing on tech and startups, followed by a pledge of another $45bn this year. That gives the Saudis at least an indirect role in some of the hottest companies in the tech sector, including Uber, Slack, WeWork and Nv...

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) has expre­ss­ed dissatisfaction over Pakistan’s progress to comply with international best practices against money laundering and counter-terror financing. Informed sources told Dawn that the APG delegation shared its final findings with the authorities of all relevant agencies, highlighting deficiencies in law, regulations and mechanisms and weaknesses of various institutions, and with this pace Pakistan was unlikely to get out of the grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The visiting delegation’s Friday meeting was the culmination of its long consultations with the ministries of interior, finance, foreign affairs and law, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), National Counter-Terrorism Authority, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Federal Board of Revenue, National Accoun­tability Bureau, Anti-Narcotics Force, Financial Monitoring Unit, Central Direc...

Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Saudi Arabia to attend the Future Investment Initiative Conference (FIIC) on the "special invitation of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz", according to a Foreign Office (FO) statement issued on Friday. The premier is expected to travel to Riyadh on October 23 to participate on the first of the two-day conference. The conference, which will host businessmen and "representatives of hi-tech industry" from around the world, will serve as an "opportunity to interact with important business leaders who are interested in investing in Pakistan", the statement said. "Prime Minister Imran Khan’s participation in first day of the conference is aimed at projecting Pakistan’s economic and investment potential and the [premier's] vision of the country in the five years to come," the press release read. PM Khan will also meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to discuss "matters of mutual i...

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) increased on Wednesday the regulatory duty imposed on imported goods. According to sources, some of the imported items are the ones on which FBR has imposed a duty for the first time. According to details, duty on imported honey has been increased from 20 to 30 per cent and duty on cheese from 35 to 50 per cent.  A regulatory duty of 10 per cent has been imposed on mushrooms, olives and other imported vegetables will have a 10 per cent regulatory duty imposed on it along with imported seafood. A duty of five per cent has been put on imported paper and electric sound amplifier, while the five percent increase has been imposed on sports goods and shoes. The duty on imported furniture has been increased from 10 to 45 per cent while electrical items will see an increase of 10 per cent duty. Imported marble will have a 10 per cent duty, while there will a five per cent increase in duty on plastic items. For cars, t...

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted some relief to controversial anchorperson Dr Amir Liaquat by allowing him to appear on television shows, but upheld a Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) decision to suspend his Ramazan TV show on Bol TV. On May 25, the electronic media watchdog had slapped a 30-day ban on the television host and politician for creating " unwarranted drama" on religious matters during a segment of his programme aired last Friday. Pemra had noted that Dr Liaquat " merely for creating sensation and in order to achieve maximum rating" had created "unwarranted drama on the basis of religion and hurt the sentiments of different sects and the public at large". After inciting sectarian animosity , Dr Liaquat had "quit the show, leaving the live platform for the guest ulemas who exchanged quite harsh arguments", the notification had observed. Pemra had found that the show's content violated Sectio...