WORLD

British publication Financial Times has warned that Pakistan's economy is at risk of collapse with the government's "failure to revive" an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal, Geo News reported.

According to the report, rolling blackouts and a severe foreign currency shortage are making it difficult for businesses to continue operations.

Shipping containers full of imports are piling up at ports as the buyers are unable to secure the dollars to pay for them, it added, Geo News reported.

Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

The figures, published on the centre's website, come after a prominent government scientist said over the weekend that 80% of China's 1.4 billion population had already been infected, making the possibility of a big COVID-19 rebound over the next two or three months remote.

China abruptly ended its strict zero-COVID policy in early December after three years and infections surged across the world's most populous country.

Both the US and Germany plan to send tanks to Ukraine after months of debate, according to media reports.

US President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce plans to send M1 Abrams tanks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also reportedly decided to send at least 14 Leopard 2 tanks.

Pakistan's government began restoring power to millions of people on Monday after a breakdown in the grid triggered the worst electricity outage in months and highlighted the weak infrastructure of the heavily indebted nation.

An inquiry has been launched into the outage, which began at around 7:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) and has so far lasted more than 12 hours during the peak winter season.

As evening drew on and homes were without electricity in the dark, Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir wrote on Twitter that authorities had started restoring power across the country.

With an aim to cut delays in visa processing in India, the US has launched new initiatives, including scheduling special interviews for first time applicants and increasing strength of consular staff. As part of the multi-pronged approach to cut the visa backlog, the US embassy in Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad conducted "special Saturday interview days" on January 21.

"On January 21, the US mission in India launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days, as part of a larger effort to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants," the US embassy said on Sunday.