Record inflation in Pakistan, up by 3.68 per cent in a week, 37.67 per cent in a year
The other news of the day: Israel revokes the permanent licence of six Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem. Papua New Guinea prime minister postpones the release of election results. Hong Kong loses civil servants. Uzbek president announces 30 days of intensive cotton harvesting to save crop from heat wave.
PAKISTAN
Inflation in Pakistan rose 3.68 per cent in just one week, reaching unprecedented levels. Driven by food, the Sensitive Price Index, which compares the cost of living, year on end, jumped by 37.67 per cent. The government’s target of 11.5 per cent for fiscal year 2023 appears increasingly distant.
ISRAEL - PALESTINE
The Israeli Ministry of Education has revoked the permanent licence of six Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, replacing it with a one-year permit during which they will have to amend their school textbooks, which incite hatred of Israel. Arabs have criticised the decision as an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian curriculum in favour of the Israeli version, which does not mention the occupation.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Citing “extraordinary circumstances”, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, postponed to 5 August the release of the results from the 22 July election. The original date for the return of writs was yesterday. The election was marred by clashes with dozens of victims. Of the 118 seats up for grabs, only 35 have been declared so far.
HONG KONG
In Hong Kong, as many as 3,734 civil servants quit in 2021-22 according to the Civic Service Bureau (CSB), twice as many as the previous year and the highest number since China took over in 1997. This is largely due to the "declaration of loyalty" public employees must sign under the infamous National Security Law.
PHILIPPINES
Philippine athlete EJ Obiena, who last week won a historic bronze medal in the pole vault at the World Championships in Eugene, in the United States, has decided to donate the cash prize (250,000 pesos or US$ 4,500) he received from his federation to Lydia de Vega, a former Philippine sprinter and Asian record holder in the 100 metres, who is struggling with a tumour. An equivalent sum raised by Obiena’s team will be added.
UKRAINE – RUSSIA
On Thursday, the various jurisdictions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church celebrated the feast of the Day of the Baptism of Kievan (Kyivan) Rus’ (28 July), honouring Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr) of Kiev (Kyiv), “equal to the apostles, born in Volhynia”. Emphasising his role as the “founder of Ukrainian statehood”, the service combined religious as well as civil solemnity. By contrast, in Russia, the baptism celebrated “the great territories of historical Russia".
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that 30 days of intensive work will save this year’s cotton harvest in the face of anomalous temperatures. Due to climate change, temperatures averaged above 43 Celsius for more than ten days, a situation that requires a “different approach to production”.
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