Rupee weakens 12 paise to settle at 86.52 against US dollar
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
7 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
US trade diplomacy
Pakistan, under the 'euphoria of triumph', swiftly walked out, having made a deal with the United States with 19 percent US tariffs on its exports. This drew comparison with India — still embroiled in tariff conflict with US with no settlement in sight. Nevertheless, the comparison is not realistic. India got on the wrong side of Donald Trump who reprimanded it for supplying cheaper procured Russian oil to Europe at a high premium, thereby fuelling the Ukraine war. Additionally, India's engagement with BRICS, as its founding member, is looked upon with suspicion by the Trump administration. Whereas, historically, India's case stems from longstanding trade tensions: data localization rules, price caps on pharmaceuticals, and high tariffs on US imports — specially on its automotive industry. Pakistan, in contrast, has no such baggage. It does not restrict American tech firms, nor does it block market access. The flat 19 percent US tariffs are being quietly absorbed by Pakistan's export sector but should not be overlooked by policymakers. While this is a reduction from the earlier proposed 29 percent tariffs — ironically for Pakistan's struggling exporters, the difference between 19 percent and 29 percent is merely academic when compared to the 0-8 percent range they previously operated under — especially for core products like textiles, surgical goods, and sports equipment. The country's exporters, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), operate on razor-thin margins. With rising energy costs at home and political instability feeding currency volatility and a country fighting for every export dollar, this is not an encouraging development. These blanket tariffs erode Pakistan's competitiveness, particularly in labour-intensive and price-sensitive sectors such as textiles, surgical instruments, sports goods, and leather products. These sectors are economic engines and critical to employment, particularly in vulnerable regions across Punjab, KP, and Sindh. Pakistan uncompetitiveness could reroute US buyers toward countries like Bangladesh, Jordan, Vietnam, or even Mexico, many of whom enjoy more favourable trade terms through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) or GSP+ schemes. To preserve a healthy trade relationship and support Pakistan's economic stability, an optimal and friendly tariff would fall between 0 percent and 5 percent, at least for priority export categories like textiles and garments, surgical instruments and medical devices, sports goods, leather products and IT services (via digital trade facilitation). This would mirror the preferential access already offered to other developing or strategic allies. The US has mechanisms for this — whether through restoring GSP benefits, or negotiating product-specific concessions under bilateral economic frameworks. Pakistan has long been a strategic ally during the Cold War and the war on terror; more recently, the countries have made efforts aimed at obtaining regional stabilization. That alliance should be reflected in trade policy, not just security dialogue. This 19 percent tariff may seem like a routine trade adjustment, but its implications are far-reaching at a time when Pakistan's economy can least afford it. Political goodwill, unless translated into economic terms, quickly turns into irrelevance. It is now a time for proactive trade diplomacy. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Irish Sun
7 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Christian Leroy Duncan eyeing middleweight top-15 with UFC Vegas 109 win over ‘great test' Eryk Anders
The Brit got back in the win column at UFC London in March CHRISTIAN LEROY DUNCAN feels primed and ready to mix it with the big dogs in the UFC's middleweight division. And the former Cage Warriors 185lbs champion reckons a statement win over Eryk Anders this week will punch his ticket to top-15 contention. 8 Christian Leroy returns to the octagon this weekend in Las Vegas Credit: GETTY 8 CLD, who is now just over two years into being in the UFC, will be in action at UFC Vegas 109 Credit: GETTY 8 The Brit will throw down with veteran Eryk Anders Credit: GETTY 8 A win over Anders will put CLD on the cusp of the top-15 Credit: GETTY CLD clashes with the veteran early on Sunday morning on a stacked UFC Vegas 109 card at the promotion's Apex Facility in Las Vegas. Anders is by far the biggest name Duncan will have locked horns with during his stint in mixed martial arts' premier promotion. And he firmly believes a win over the American will be his ride to bigger and better things. In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he said of potentially fighting a top-15 opponent next: "Naturally, it comes to mind. Logically, it makes sense." READ MORE UFC NEWS POWER ADE Israel Adesanya provides update on UFC return and opens door to two mega fights Duncan was revved up and ready to go as soon as matchmakers presented him with a Sin City showdown with Anders. He said: "As soon as they gave me the name, I had that rush [and excitement] of [finally being able to fight somebody of his calibre at this point. "I definitely put a serious push on my training and my mindset throughout this camp, leaving no stone unturned. "I do that naturally, but it's even more of a locking in and focus on fighting an opponent of this calibre." SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN 8 Former Cage Warriors middleweight champ CLD has lost twice inside the octagon Credit: GETTY 8 But he's shown the makings of a top contender in each of his outings Credit: GETTY Duncan faces Anders on the back of a March return to win column against Andrey Pulyaev at UFC London. It was, however, a frustrating night at the office as the Russian was on his bike for the majority of the fight. Israel Adesanya provides major update on UFC return and opens door to two mega fights amid fans' calls for retirement "I was definitely expecting more of a meet in the middle, kind of exchanging fight,' Duncan said of his most recent outing. "But like you said, he backed off quite a bit. "So it's hard to get anything going. It was hard to kind of build momentum in that fight. "But we got the win and it builds us now to this opponent, Erik Anders. "He is well known in the UFC, a veteran and a very experienced, tough, and durable guy. "He just fought Chris Weidman, the previous middleweight champion, so he's no pushover. "So it's a great test of my skill at this level. And I feel if we do well here, it could definitely push us forward well." Despite being excited by what a win over Anders will potentially do for his career, Duncan is refusing to put the cart before the horse. "'I'm focusing on what's happening now," he said. "So I acknowledge that it's [fighting a ranked opponent next] a possibility and it would happen. "But it's not as important [right now]. When it comes, that's when I can put my full focus on something like that. But for now, my focus is on Anders." Duncan's cautionary approach and insistence on focusing on the here and now is a testament to the mindset that head coach and Brit MMA pioneer Mark Weir has helped instil in him over the years. It's a great test of my skill at this level." Christian Leroy Duncan on his showdown with Eryk Anders 8 UK MMA pioneer Mark Weir has been giving Christian Leroy Duncan his pearls of wisdom inside and outside of the cage for several years Credit: ALAMY He said: "When I first started, it was probably within three months of me first ever starting in MMA, and we would discuss a kind of plan of where I wanna get to. "He would ask me where I wanna get to and he'd lay out like a little plan which would be like, 'You need to do this in your amateurs. "'And then when you get to the pros at this level.' And it's crazy how things are starting to play out that we've visualised and spoken about from early on. "So he's definitely been a part of that, developing that mindset." Claiming the scalp of Anders will be no easy feat, despite the former American football player being on the back nine of his career. 8 Christian Leroy Duncan expects Eryk Anders to give him his sternest test yet Credit: GETTY And Duncan is treating the 38-year-old like he's still at the peak of his powers. "He's very much a pressure fighter who likes to go forward," Duncan said of Anders. "[He] likes to be on the front foot and likes to dominate. "So it's gonna be more of me implementing my style onto him and seeing how he reacts and copes with that. "I believe my style will overwhelm him in the right areas at the right time. "And I think he'll be surprised with my speed and my movement once we're in there."
New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
America's openness leaves Mahmoud Khalil free — to abuse our freedoms
It's a shame we're still debating whether Mahmoud Khalil should be kicked out of the United States, because this hateful zealot should never have been allowed to step foot on American soil in the first place. Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student who became a poster boy for critics of President Donald Trump's deportation policies, is back in the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons. In a high-profile interview with The New York Times' Ezra Klein, Khalil made a mockery of those who have insisted he's a well-intentioned humanitarian without animus toward anyone. 'It felt frightening that we had to reach this moment in the Palestinian struggle,' he said of Hamas' barbaric Oct. 7 attack on innocent Israeli civilians. Klein asked the gentlest possible follow-up: 'What do you mean we had to reach this moment?' 'Unfortunately, we couldn't avoid such a moment,' Khalil repeated. In a manner that would have been comical were it not for the horrific subject matter, Klein — ever so eager to vindicate his vile guest — afforded Khalil one more chance to describe the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust in a way that didn't make it out to be a vital but tedious chore. But Khalil tripled down. It was, he said, a necessary evil to 'break the cycle' and 'tell the world that Palestinians are here,' you see. This came just weeks after Khalil refused not once, not twice, but three times to condemn Hamas when he appeared on CNN. 'I simply asked and protested the war in Palestine,' he said of the antisemitic uprising he helped lead on Columbia's campus. 'That's my duty as a Palestinian, as a human being right now, is to ask for the stop of the killing in my home country.' Critics exploded with righteous anger. 'Mahmoud Khalil has not been shy about his support for Hamas — a brutal terrorist organization that violently attacks innocent men, women, and children,' observed White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. 'Calling the massacre of Israeli civilians a 'desperate attempt' is not political speech — it's moral depravity,' submitted NY state Assemblyman Ari Brown of Nassau County. 'Mahmoud Khalil must be immediately deported,' Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) declared. 'He is a chief pro-Hamas terrorist agitator.' The Trump administration has already tried. When Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched deportation proceedings against Khalil in March, he did so by claiming the then-student's anti-Israel protests on Columbia's campus 'undermine US policy to combat antisemitism around the world and in the United States.' Yet even many of Khalil's critics chafed at the federal government targeting a legal resident and green card holder for offensive speech — and a New Jersey court forced his release. The First Amendment is, after all, among Americans' most cherished inheritances. Many free-speech champions expressed reasonable concern that removing Khalil might open the door to a slippery slope of censorship. That concern, though, elides the all-important threshold question: Why was Khalil ever allowed into the United States at all? There are legal, prudential and philosophical arguments for granting all legal residents the powerful protections of the First Amendment. But there's nothing in the Constitution — nor embedded in our longstanding American values — that compels this country to admit hateful ideologues. Khalil is a 30-year-old man harboring palpable bigotries ('Having lived in the Middle East most of my life, unfortunately, the only Jew you hear about is the one who's trying to kill you,' he explained to Klein), and a tribal loyalty that blinds him to the basic moral principles underpinning American life. Not to mention his unfriendly feelings toward the United States itself. 'I had my own reservations about the impact of America on me,' he told Klein smugly. 'As a Palestinian or as a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, America's influence in the Middle East was very negative.' The United States is an open-minded, benevolent nation predisposed to accepting people of myriad cultures from across the globe. That's an honorable instinct, and most of the time it's the right one. But a line has to be drawn to protect the national interest. And if that line is so weak and vague as to permit the entry of someone unable to condemn kidnapping, torture, murder and rape for political purposes, it's no line at all. It's 'Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,' as Emma Lazarus put it. Not 'Give me your bigots, your knaves / Your privileged yearning to drive Jews into the sea.' Now that he's here, Khalil has the right to promote his hateful, anti-American worldview in as many 'progressive' media outlets as are willing to amplify it. But he does so as a living testament to both the virtues of America — and the failures of its immigration system. Isaac Schorr is a staff writer at Mediaite.
