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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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IMF looking forward to working with new govt, says official

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the international body looks forward to working with the new government in Pakistan for "macroeconomic stability and prosperity for Pakistanis". “We look forward to working with the new government on policies to ensure macroeconomic stability and prosperity for all of Pakistan’s citizens," said the Head of the Communications Department at the IMF Julie Kozack when asked whether Pakistan was on track to secure the third tranche of the stand-by agreement reached in June 2023. “On January 11, the IMF Executive Board approved the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement, with Pakistan that brought total disbursements under the Stand-By Arrangement to $1.9 billion.” Julie added “The Stand-By Arrangement is supporting the authority’s efforts to stabilize the economy and to, of course, with a strong focus on protecting the most vulnerable.” IMF spokesperson also stated that the authorities maintained economic stability during the caretaker government’s tenure. Read: IMF loan uncertainty very high “This has been done through strict adherence to the fiscal targets while also protecting the social safety net. It has been done by maintaining a stern monetary policy stance to regulate inflation, and to continue to grow the foreign exchange reserves,” she added. On a question about Imran’s possible letter to IMF, the spokesperson said “I’m not going to comment on ongoing political developments. So, I don’t have anything else to add to what I just said.” Notably Pakistan and IMF reached a Stand-by Arrangement of $3bn in June 2023, following which $1.2bn was immediately disbursed to avoid default. Earlier, on January 11, the executive board of IMF completed its first review of the country’s economic reform programme, which paved the way for Pakistan to get $700 million. Following the IMF’s help, the total disbursements under the programme reached to $1.9 bn. It is expected that the IMF programme will conclude in the second week of April.    

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