Israel army says charges five soldiers for abusing Palestinian detainee

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Bahraini nationals to invest in Pakistan, his office said on Wednesday, urging increased trade between the two countries as Islamabad aims to strengthen economic ties and attract foreign investors, particularly in the Gulf region.
After narrowly avoiding a sovereign default in 2023 and securing a last-minute International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, Pakistan is strengthening business and investment ties with regional allies, including China and Central Asian states, to overcome the impact of a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
Sharif met with an 11-member Bahraini parliamentary delegation, led by Bahrain’s Council of Representatives Speaker Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musalam, to discuss ties between the two countries.
“The prime minister invited Bahraini investors to invest in Pakistan,” the PM Office said in a statement. “The PM urged efforts to increase the current trade volume between Pakistan and Bahrain.”
According to the foreign office, Pakistan’s trade with Bahrain ranges between $500 million and $1 billion. Major exports include meat, vegetables, rice, tobacco and textiles. Imports from Bahrain include petroleum and its products, ferrous waste, scrap and aluminum.
Sharif called for strengthening people-to-people connections to further enhance ties between both countries, the statement continued, adding he also highlighted the “valuable services” provided by Pakistani nationals in Bahrain.
He urged Bahrain and other Muslim states to increase their support for the residents of Gaza, apart from extending his wishes to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan saw huge potential in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Pakistan has intensified its outreach to international partners and allies in recent months as it navigates a fragile economic recovery, backed by a $7 billion IMF facility granted last September.

SAO PAULO: Brazil has decided to adhere to the declaration of cooperation of the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries, the local energy ministry said on Tuesday, formalizing a move it had initially announced in 2023.

Brazil is the largest oil producer in South America. Its output hit 4.32 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024, according to the country’s oil regulator.

It will join nations such as Saudi Arabia and Russia in the group’s declaration, but is not expected to take part in its coordinated output caps.

The move shows Brazil’s “growing relevance in the oil and gas market,” the mines and energy ministry said in a statement, adding, however, that the country would “continue to develop its energy policy in line with its own interests.”

“It is important to highlight that the declaration does not include the participation of countries in decisions aimed at cutting oil production,” the ministry said.

Brazil first said it was going to join the OPEC+ cooperation in late 2023, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated at the time the country had no intention to be a full member, instead acting as an “observer.”

The country on Tuesday has also decided to become a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), the government said.