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Addressing fuelflation in the agriculture sector

Soaring petroleum prices are squeezing Pakistan’s agricultural sector, reducing farm profits, threatening food affordability, and putting rural livelihoods at risk. Pakistan’s latest petroleum price hike exposes the country’s economic vulnerability to global energy markets. The government raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre, pushing fuel costs to record highs. This affects multiple sectors. Agriculture — central to economic stability, food security, and rural employment — is hit the hardest. According to official announcements, authorities set the ex-depot price of high-speed diesel at Rs335.86 per litre. Petrol is now Rs321.17 per litre, up about 17 per cent, as of last Saturday. Policymakers cite rising international oil prices and fiscal pressures. Global markets respond to Middle East geopolitical tensions. At home, these changes raise more than just transport costs. For Pakistan’s farmers, higher fuel prices raise production costs and increase financial uncertain...
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Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, named new supreme leader

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KUWAIT CITY: Smoke rises from a high-rise building following a drone attack.—AFP DUBAI: Iran’s Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, state media reported on Sunday. Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the powerful Rev­o­lutionary Guards, had long been viewed by elements of Iran’s ruling establishment as a potential succe­ssor to his father, who was assassinated after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Although Iran’s ruling ideology frowns on the principle of hereditary succession, he has a powerful following within the Guards and his dead father’s still-influential office. A member of the council, Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, said in a video on Sunday that a candidate had been selected based on Khamenei’s guidance that Iran’s top leader should be “hated by the enemy”. “Even the Great Satan (US) has mentioned his name,” Heidari Alekasir said of t...
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Child killed, four injured after mortar shell allegedly fired from Afghanistan lands in North Waziristan neighbourhood

MIRANSHAH: A child was killed and four people were left injured on Sunday after a mortar shell allegedly fired from the Afghan side landed in a residential area during an exchange of fire near the Pak-Afghan border in North Waziristan, police said. According to police sources, the incident occurred at around 7:30pm when heavy firing erupted between both sides of the border in the Ghulam Khan area. During the exchange of fire, a mortar shell fired from across the border fell in the nearby village of Golakhel and exploded in a residential locality, they added. As a result of the explosion, they said a minor died on the spot while four other people sustained injuries. Local residents immediately took the injured to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Miranshah, where they were being provided medical treatment. Hospital sources said some of the injured were in critical condition, while doctors and medical staff remained engaged in emergency treatment. Following the incident, Tehsilda...
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US skips congressional review to approve munitions sale to Israel

• Sale fast-tracks 12,000 thousand-pound bomb bodies in $152m deal • Secretary of State Rubio cites ‘emergency’ to justify sidestepping lawmakers • Democrat slams White House, calls it an ‘emergency of its own creation’ WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Friday it has approved a sale worth $151.8 million to Israel for munitions and munitions support, without submitting it for congressional review. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that an emergency existed requiring an immediate sale to Israel, the State Department said. The announcement came a week after the U.S. and Israel began attacks on Iran. Israel had requested 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose, 1,000-pound bomb bodies, the State Department said in a statement. The principal contractor will be Repkon USA, located in Texas, it said. The State Department said Rubio determined that the sale is “in the national security interests of the United States”. Democratic US Rep Gregory Meeks said Rubio’s decision...
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Iran unbowed as Trump warns of ‘hitting hard’

• Tehran apologises to neighbours as war with US, Israel enters second week • Says it will attack Gulf states only if strikes originate from their territory • Iranian drones strike US bases in UAE, Bahrain • Israeli army says 3,400 strikes conducted on Iran since war began • Ankara warns Tehran against firing more missiles towards Turkiye • Saudi minister warns Iran against ‘miscalculation’; Arab League to meet today • UAE president tells ‘enemies’ country is ‘no easy prey’ • Emirates says intercepted 15 ballistic missiles, 119 drones TEHRAN: Israel and Iran traded attacks as the Middle East war entered a second week on Saturday, while Tehran made an unusual apology to neighbouring states, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets, but it dismissed US President Donald Trump’s demand for Tehran’s unconditional surrender as “a dream”. “I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,’’ Ira­nian Pre...
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Private jets offer pricey escape from Gulf as commercial flights falter

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A man exits the terminal at London’s Stansted Airport on a government-chartered flight.—Reuters • Major carriers divert or turn back due to missile fire fears • Many stranded in chaos as major hubs like Dubai run below capacity • European countries begin repatriation flights amid extended high-risk regional warnings DUBAI: With commercial air travel in the Middle East faltering amid missile threats that have forced major carriers to divert flights, a desperate scramble to flee the war-hit Gulf has fuelled a surge in demand for private jets, sending prices as high as $200,000 for a one-way trip. When Samuel Lait launched PetX Jets, a private flight firm focused on pet travel in Dubai, he expected queries from owners flying with their animals. Instead, his inbox is full of requests from young adults, pregnant couples and the elderly wanting to flee the United Arab Emirates. “The original idea was to transport pets and their owners between the UK and Dubai primarily. And that’s v...
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Oil jumps 5pc on supply concerns amid conflict

HOUSTON: Oil prices jumped five per cent on Thursday, extending a rally as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran disrupted supplies and shipping, driving some major producers in the Middle East to reduce output. Brent crude was up $4.09, or 5.02pc, at $85.49 per barrel by 1:37pm EST, a fifth session of gains. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $6, or 8.04pc, to $80.66. US crude futures hit their highest since July 2024 during the session. “There is no movement in the Strait of Hormuz so prices will grind higher, and with countries having to shut in production then we will be delayed even longer because it is not like you can just resume production at full strength, that will be a problem for a while,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. Missile attacks hit eastern Tehran, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported, and sirens rang in Dubai as war continued to spill over across the region. Crude oil supplies from Iraq and Kuwait could start shutting within days if the Strait...
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