England are about to begin their European Under-21 Championship defence in Slovakia.
The Young Lions face the Czech Republic in their Group B opener, but how well do you remember the 2023 heroes?
With temperatures rising and summer kicking into gear, our hair is at even more risk of becoming dry and damaged in the sun. If you’re trying to find a solution to “straw-like” hair but don’t want to pay a fortune for expensive treatments that may not work, you’re in luck.
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This Colour Wow tonic is a leave-in treatment that restores colour-treated hair by moisturising and protecting it.
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Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has increased its defence spending by more than 20 percent – the most substantial hike in a decade – following last month’s military confrontation with neighbouring India.
Presenting the annual federal budget on June 10, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb proposed an allocation of 2.55 trillion rupees ($9bn) for the country’s three armed services – the army, air force and navy – amounting to 1.97 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP), up from 1.7 percent in the previous budget.
“The security situation in the country is precarious, and the armed forces have rendered commendable service in protecting the borders,” Aurangzeb said during his speech, as India has threatened to carry out strikes if armed groups carry out attacks on India or Indian-administered Kashmir.
But analysts say that Islamabad will need to walk a fine balance in spending more on defence at a time when its fragile economy is under strict oversight from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and cuts in social sector expenditure could embolden the opposition.
On May 7, India carried out missile strikes on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir after blaming Islamabad for backing fighters responsible for the killing of 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on April 22.
Pakistan denied involvement in the Pahalgam attacks, demanding a “credible, transparent, independent” investigation. Islamabad said innocent civilians were killed in India’s attacks on May 7.
Tensions escalated after the two nuclear-armed neighbours engaged in tit-for-tat missile and drone attacks over four days, primarily targeting each other’s military installations.
By the time a ceasefire was announced by United States President Donald Trump on May 10, in excess of 70 people had been killed – more than 50 in Pakistan and at least 20 in India.
Against that backdrop, Pakistan’s defence hike was expected, say analysts. India, which presented its budget before the conflict, also increased its defence spending to $78.7bn, a 9.5 percent rise from the previous year.
But unlike India, Pakistan has more than a neighbour to keep an eye on: It also confronts pressure from the IMF. The IMF approved a 37-month, $7bn loan programme for Pakistan last September, its 25th since 1958. The most recent tranche of $1.3bn was released in May this year, a day before the ceasefire between India and Pakistan took place. But in exchange, the global lender has been pressuring Pakistan to streamline its expenditure, reduce subsidies and improve the efficiency of its governance structures.
Pakistan appears to have paid heed to those demands from the IMF. Even as its defence spending has gone up substantially, its overall budget for the next fiscal year has been slashed by 17.57 trillion rupees ($62bn), marking a 6.9 percent decrease from last year.
The defence spending hike, while massive, is in line with growing defence allocation in recent years. The military’s budget has nearly doubled in the past five years. In fiscal year 2020-21, the allocation stood at 1.28 trillion rupees ($4.53bn).
The army, long seen as the most powerful institution in Pakistan’s defence and political spheres, has received 1.17 trillion rupees ($4.1bn), accounting for nearly 46 percent of the total defence budget. The air force and navy received just more than 520 billion rupees ($1.8m) and 265.9 billion rupees ($941m), respectively.
Pakistan’s military budget increase also reflects a broader global trend. A report published in April by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which specialises in conflict and arms control research, stated that global military expenditure reached $2.7 trillion in 2024, a 9.4 percent increase from the previous year and the “steepest year-on-year rise since the end of the Cold War”.
Hina Shaikh, a Lahore-based economist with the International Growth Centre (IGC), said the increase in Pakistan was expected and reflects the government’s continued prioritisation of security amid geopolitical tensions and domestic instability.
“While understandable from a strategic lens, this increase does come when economic recovery is just beginning to happen, but still fragile, inflation is easing and fiscal space is constrained,” she told Al Jazeera.
Ali Hasanain, an economics professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), called the hike in defence spending both “inevitable and necessary” but warned against sacrificing long-term development.
“The only way out of this dilemma for Pakistan is to undertake deep structural reforms of the sort which no government has shown a commitment to yet, so that both the economy and defence spending can stay robust over the medium and long terms,” Hasanain said.
While most analysts agree that the defence spending hike is a fallout of the May conflict, a major challenge for the government is to fund it without compromising the social welfare, health, or education sectors.
Due to Pakistan’s sizable external debt, recorded at $87.4bn according to the latest government figures, the largest share of the national budget is consumed by debt servicing, which stands at $29bn, which is almost 47 percent of total expenditure.
In the budget announced on Tuesday, Pakistan’s government has cut subsidies. The budget also outlines plans to expand the tax base, removes exemptions, and introduces new taxes to raise public revenue.
The opposition party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan dubbed the budget “anti-people” and “crafted for the elite.”
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which remains banned, said on Wednesday that the budget provided no real relief to the public, as government staff salary raises were low and agriculture, the mainstay of the country’s economy, witnessed decline.
Sajid Amin Javed, a senior economist at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said that the combination of a decline in the interest payments Pakistan owes its debtors this year, and the cut in subsidies had provided the government “some fiscal space”.
Still, others highlighted that Pakistan’s defence spending, while the highest in South Asia as a percentage of GDP, has declined in relative terms compared to past decades as it has been forced to set money aside to repay loans.
Hasanain of LUMS said that Pakistan now spends less, as a percentage of GDP, than countries like Singapore (2.8 percent), Greece (3.1 percent), Poland (4.2 percent), or the United States (3.4 percent), and nearly three times less than Saudi Arabia (7.3 percent), Russia (7.1 percent), or Israel (8.8 percent).
But he pointed out that Pakistan also collects far less tax than most other countries, so the defence spending hike still eats up a giant chunk of the government’s revenue. “A low tax to GDP ratio means that defence spending is a bigger burden for the government in Pakistan than most other countries in the world.”
The last few years have been deeply turbulent for Pakistan’s economy. Foreign reserves fell to just under $3bn in 2023, bringing the country of 250 million people to the brink of default.
Foreign reserves have since risen to $11bn following IMF deals.
Similarly, the Pakistani rupee, having lost more than 60 percent of its value against the US dollar over the last two years, has now stabilised between 280 and 282 rupees per dollar.
Javed of SDPI says these indicators show Pakistan’s macroeconomic fundamentals are stabilising, but the public impact remains uncertain.
“It is a budget of stabilisation, made in consultation with the IMF, to ensure that the country’s revenue, growth and fiscal deficit targets are met. But on the whole, it remains a traditional budget, with no deep-rooted structural changes or strategic change visible, at least for now,” he said.
Economist Shaikh argued that the budget lacks inclusive or pro-poor reforms and shows limited investment in sectors like health and education.
“This may be called a technocrat’s budget under IMF constraints, fiscally conservative, tax-heavy, and focused on short-term stabilisation. It is focused on restoring macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, and building reserves,” she said.
Hasanain, however, says that the IMF principally concerns itself with helping countries move back towards stability, and does not consider long-term, sustainable growth as its purview.
“By cutting expenditures and running primary budget surpluses, the government is indeed moving out of the acute debt crisis it found itself in two years ago, but the larger project of correcting longstanding structural deficiencies is, despite receiving some lip service, largely neglected to date,” he said.
Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said he is “very confident” that the AUKUS security pact between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom will continue to move forward despite news that the Pentagon is reviewing the 2021 deal between the three nations.
News of the review was first reported on Thursday as US defence officials said re-assessing the pact was necessary to ensure that the military deal, agreed to with much fanfare under former US President Joe Biden, was in line with US President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda.
The pact includes a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars to provide Australia with closely-guarded nuclear propulsion technology. Only five other countries besides the US can build nuclear submarines: the UK, China, Russia, France and India.
“The meetings that we’ve had with the United States have been very positive in respect of AUKUS,” Defence Minister Marles told the ABC network.
A review of the deal is “something that it’s perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do … It’s exactly what we did”, Marles said.
“There is a plan here. We are sticking to it, and we’re going to deliver it,” he said.
Under the terms of the AUKUS deal, Australia and the UK will work with the US to design nuclear-class submarines ready for delivery to Australia in the 2040s, according to the US Naval Institute.
The three countries are already close military allies and share intelligence, but AUKUS focuses on key strategic areas, such as countering the rise of China and its expansion into the Pacific.
Due to the long lead time in building the submarines under the AUKUS deal, Australia also agreed to buy up to three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines during the 2030s. The US and UK also plan to start the rotational deployment of their submarines out of Australia in 2027.
But some Trump administration officials, such as Pentagon policy adviser Elbridge Colby, say the submarine deal puts foreign governments ahead of US national security.
“My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it?” Colby said last year.
Other officials, including US Representative Joe Courtney from Connecticut – a US state which has an industry focused on building submarines for the US Navy – say the deal is in the “best interest of all three AUKUS nations, as well as the Indo-Pacific region as a whole”.
“To abandon AUKUS – which is already well under way – would cause lasting harm to our nation’s standing with close allies and certainly be met with great rejoicing in Beijing,” Courtney said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to discuss the deal when he meets Trump next week during a meeting of the G7 leaders in Canada.
Earlier this year, Australia made a $500m payment towards AUKUS and plans to spend $2bn this year to speed up the production process in the US of the Virginia-class submarines.
The UK, like Australia, has downplayed concerns that the Trump administration could renege on the pact.
A UK official told the Reuters news agency that the deal is “one of the most strategically important partnerships in decades” that will also produce “jobs and economic growth in communities across all three nations”.
United States President Donald Trump is “receptive” to dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House has said, after a South Korea-based news site reported that Pyongyang repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s outreach efforts.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Trump would like to build on the “progress” made during his 2018 summit with Kim.
The summit in Singapore marked the first-ever meeting between a sitting US president and the leader of North Korea, which has been ruled by the Kim dynasty for nearly eight decades.
But while historic, the summit, which was followed by meetings in Vietnam and at the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea, failed to achieve Washington’s goal of halting the advance of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programmes.
“The president remains receptive to correspondence with Kim Jong Un,” Leavitt told reporters.
“As for specific correspondence, I will leave that to the president to answer,” Leavitt added.
Leavitt’s remarks came in response to a question about a report in NK News that said North Korean diplomats in New York had repeatedly refused to accept a letter from Trump to Kim.
Trump’s letter was aimed at “reopening communication channels between Washington and Pyongyang”, Seoul-based NK News reported, citing an “informed high-level source”.
Trump’s reported outreach comes as South Korea’s newly elected president, Lee Jae-myung, is leading Seoul to adopt a more reconciliatory posture towards Pyongyang.
On Wednesday, South Korea switched off loudspeakers broadcasting K-pop and other propaganda across the inter-Korean border in one of the first moves by Lee’s administration to lower tensions between the sides.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence said the move would help to “restore trust in inter-Korean relations” and “promote peace on the Korean Peninsula”.
It’s Thursday, June 12, and one star sign needs time to reflect, while another refuses to be rushed.
There are 12 zodiac signs – Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces – and the horoscopes for each can give you the lowdown on what your future holds, be it in work, your love life, your friends and family or more.
These daily forecasts have been compiled by astrologer Russell Grant, who has been reading star signs for over 50 years. From Aries through to Pisces, here’s what today could bring for your horoscope – and what you can do to be prepared.
A misunderstanding is causing tension within the home. You wish it hadn’t happened but you can’t erase what has already occurred. An older relative will offer to help in uniting the family and making it feel whole again. Spend some time with your closest friends this evening.
Prepare for problems during your daily commute. If you’re working from home, technical issues will cause delays. A disagreement with a friend or colleague will add to your frustration. Remain calm and keep telling yourself that the situation will improve.
It won’t take long for you to decide that today is not the most favourable day for you in terms of communication. Your boss will express some disappointment regarding how you utilise your free time. If you find yourself in disagreement with a supervisor, it will be because they think they are always right.
It’s difficult to ignore sweet cravings. Opt for fruit as a healthy alternative. Keep reminding yourself that adding a little exercise into your daily schedule is essential and it will make you feel good too. Also, a positive mindset can benefit your overall health.
You need to make a choice about how to use an unexpected gain or financial windfall. Should you settle your debts or treat yourself to something you have longed for, for ages? Ask for the advice of a practical friend. You might be surprised when they tell you to prioritise your own happiness for a change.
Take some time to reflect on your life, thoughts and feelings. This will help you identify sources of stress and tension. Ignoring these, once you have worked out the problem, could impact your health. Your aim should now be to avoid stressful situations.
A relationship that is up and down is getting you down. Unless you take decisive action to break out of this cycle, things will never change. You have reached your emotional limit, you can no longer endure the uncertainty and you’re ready to step away.
Even though you would like to have a difficult matter settled and over with, don’t let anyone pressure you into agreeing to their suggestions too quickly. If someone is in a rush, their proposal will benefit them more than it will, you.
You will be in your element when travelling and dealing with people from a distance. Language is not a barrier when you find some fun and workable ways to communicate with each other. You and a work colleague are on the same wavelength and a joint venture will have a happy ending.
Mixing in new social circles will challenge your thinking. New experiences could lead you to places you have never been to before. A senior colleague who values your practical skills will make you an offer you will not want to refuse.
It’s never easy when you are asked to take over another person’s responsibilities and yet this seems to be the situation you are in right now. It will be important for you to demonstrate a high level of discipline in order to accomplish a task that someone else has abandoned.
You intuitively sense some situations are changing but you aren’t sure yet whether this is for the good. Around midday you might sense something isn’t quite right. If you mention this to another sensitive soul, they will confirm that they too have the same feeling.
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