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New Delhi also asked Turkey to dissuade Pakistan from using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem that Islamabad and Rawalpindi have harboured for decades.

India has urged Turkey to dissuade Pakistan from cross-border terrorism and take action against its terror ecosystem. Relations have soured due to Turkey’s support for Pakistan, including military aid. Calls for a boycott of Turkish goods in India are growing.

In a strong message to Turkey over its support to Pakistan in recent times, the Government of India said on Thursday that New Delhi expects Ankara to encourage Pakistan to address the problem of cross-border terrorism emanating from it.

New Delhi also asked Turkey to dissuade Pakistan from using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem that Islamabad and Rawalpindi have harboured for decades.

As ties between India and Turkey have taken a hit with Ankara’s tilt towards Pakistan after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India made it clear that relations between two countries are built on mutual respect and sensitivities of each other’s concerns.

“We expect Turkey to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem it has harbored for decades. Relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other’s concerns,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing today.

Turkey’s role in Pakistan’s escalations against India, which started with the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, came under focus during India’s Operation Sindoor response. Besides ideological and moral support to Islamabad, Turkey provided arms and weapons to Pakistan as well.

The IMF defended its $1 billion bailout to Pakistan, stating the country met required targets despite India’s concerns over terrorism. The aid is tied to 11 new conditions, including budget approvals and financial strategy planning.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has defended the $1 billion (over Rs 8,000 crore) bailout package to Pakistan, saying the debt-ridden country “met all the required targets” to receive the latest loan instalment. The IMF released the funding when Pakistan was busy with arbitrary firing on India after the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor – a military strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The IMF’s justification comes days after India asked it to reconsider its $2.1 billion bailout to Pakistan as it allows terrorists to use its soil for launching state-sponsored attacks against Indian citizens. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh last week said that the aid to Pakistan is a “form of indirect funding to terror”.

The IMF disbursed $2.1 billion to Pakistan in two tranches under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. The global lender and Pakistan last year signed a deal for $7 billion under the EFF.

Defending its loan, IMF’s director of the communications department, Julie Kozack, said, “Our Board found that Pakistan had indeed met all of the targets. It had made progress on some of the reforms, and for that reason, the Board went ahead and approved the program.”

“The first review was planned for the first quarter of 2025. And consistent with that timeline, on March 25 of 2025, the IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the first review for the EFF. That agreement, that staff-level agreement, was then presented to our Executive Board, which completed the review on May 9. As a result, Pakistan received the disbursement at that time,” she explained further during a media briefing.

Ms Kozack also addressed the conflict between India and Pakistan and hoped for a peaceful resolution between the two countries.

“With respect to Pakistan and the conflict with India, I want to start here by first expressing our regrets and sympathies for the loss of life and for the human toll from the recent conflict. We do hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” she said.

IMF’s 11 conditions to Pakistan

Last week, the global monetary fund slapped 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the release of the next tranche of its bailout program and reportedly warned that tensions with India could heighten risks to the scheme’s fiscal, external, and reform goals. According to a report, the new conditions include the parliamentary approval of a new Rs 17.6 trillion budget, an increase in the debt servicing surcharge on electricity bills, and lifting restrictions on the import of more than three-year-old used cars, among others.

Another condition states that the government will prepare and publish a plan outlining the government’s post-2027 financial sector strategy, outlining the institutional and regulatory environment from 2028 onwards. Parliament will also adopt legislation to make the captive power levy ordinance permanent by the end of this month, the IMF said.

The IMF has also imposed a condition that Pakistan will prepare a plan based on the assessment conducted to fully phase out all incentives in relation to Special Technology Zones and other industrial parks and zones by 2035.

The US government proposed last week a wealth creation programme for American children born during President Donald Trump’s second term in office. The draft law wants the funds to be added to a “money account for growth and advancement” or “MAGA accounts”. 

But an amendment was submitted by the House Republicans on Wednesday to ditch the “MAGA” acronym. This means, $1,000 (Rs 85,529) will now get deposited into “Trump accounts,” The New York Times reported.

Who will get $1,000?

Children in the US, born between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2029, will receive the money. On their behalf, the amount will be invested in the financial markets. These children will be able to withdraw the amount once they grow up. This can be used for specific expenses such as buying a house or going to college.

According to CBS News, the child and the parents should have Social Security numbers to get themselves automatically enrolled into the scheme. These accounts will be set up and funded by the US Treasury.

Besides the child’s parents, other third parties will also be allowed to contribute to the account. The amount for this is set at up to $5,000 a year.

The US government will be contributing $1,000 to the eligible children’s accounts.

When to withdraw funds

Half of the money in “Trump accounts” can be withdrawn after the child turns 18 years old. 

The account holders will be allowed to utilise the full balance for approved purposes between the 25-30 age group. After 30, they can use this amount for any purpose.

But certain things left tax experts puzzled. People will only be allowed to contribute from their post-tax income. Apart from that, account gains will be taxed at the time of withdrawal. 

According to The New York Times, this appears to make it function like a “typical investment account” and not a “tax-advantaged account”.

The gains will be taxed at the long-term capital gains tax rate. These withdrawals will be taxed as income if the funds from the “Trump account” are used for other purposes. The administration can also apply a 10% penalty if the money is misspent.

Harvard University criticised the Trump administration for revoking its ability to enroll international students, calling the action unlawful and harmful. The university asserts its commitment to maintaining international diversity.

Harvard University on Friday slammed the Donald Trump administration for revoking its ability to enrol international students, calling it “unlawful”. According to the Ivy League University, the US government’s move is a retaliatory action that threatens “serious harm” to the university.

“We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard‘s ability to host international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably. We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission,” Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement.

There were over 6,000 international students enrolled at Harvard during the 2024-2025 academic year, representing 27.3 per cent of the student body, the university said.

In a high-scoring opening day where England’s top-order tormented the tourists, Joe Root wasn’t at his best and notched 34 before surrendering his wicket to Blessing Muzarabani. In his 153rd match

England’s flamboyant Joe Root shattered South Africa’s legendary Jacques Kallis’ record for the fastest to 13,000 Test runs and took a step closer towards dethroning India’s legendary Sachin Tendulkar from the summit of the highest-run scorer in the format during the opening day of their one-off fixture against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. In a high-scoring opening day where England’s top-order tormented the tourists, Root wasn’t at his best and notched 34 before surrendering his wicket to Blessing Muzarabani. In his 153rd match. Root stepped on the crease, 28 runs shy of the milestone.

In the 80th over of England’s first innings, he sprinted for a single off Victor Nyauchi to breeze past the iconic Proteas all-rounder’s record, who scripted the milestone to his name in the 159th match, six more than what Root took.

The 34-year-old’s exploits came to an end courtesy of Zimbabwe’s short-ball ploy. Muzarabani hit the deck and lured the English star to pull the ball away. Root couldn’t control the trajectory and holed it straight to Sean Williams.

As he returned to the dressing room, wondering if he had left runs on the field, Root became just the fifth batter to cross 13,000 runs in Test format. After adding another feather to his cap, Root stands 2,916 runs away from Sachin’s elusive tally of 15,921.

Throughout the opening day, Zimbabwe, hot on the heels after a Test win over Bangladesh, were tormented by England’s ‘Bazball’ playing top-order after opting to bowl on a dry surface. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley pounced on every loose delivery under Nottingham’s cloudy skies.

At exactly run a ball, Duckett brought up his fifth Test hundred. Crawley arrived at the three-digit mark for the first time since July 2023 and 28 innings ago. Crawley and Duckett expressed their knack for runs and raised a rollicking opening stand worth 231, England’s highest at home since 1960.

After Wesley Madhevere confirmed Duckett’s departure, Ollie Pope arrived and added the trimmings with his third hundred in as many games at Trent Bridge. England ended the day with 498/3 on the board, the highest they have in England on the opening day. At stumps, Pope stayed unbeaten on 169 from 163 deliveries as England welcomed Zimbabwe on their soil after 22 years with a bashing.

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