PAKISTAN: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the release to the country of $1.2 billion (around £900 million) today, a move that gives the financial institution greater control over Pakistan’s economy. 

In a statement, the IMF said that its executive board had completed two reviews of Pakistan’s economic programmes before agreeing to the loan.

INDONESIA: A fire ripped through an office building in the capital Jakarta today, killing at least 22 people.

The blaze, which broke out around midday, is believed to have started on the first floor of the building in the Kemayoran neighbourhood before spreading to other floors, Central Jakarta police chief Susatyo Purnomo Condro said.

UKRAINE: President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed his refusal to cede any territory to Russia today, resisting pressure from the United States for a compromise peace deal.

In a WhatsApp chat, Mr Zelensky told reporters: “Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law, we don’t have such a right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law and, to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either.”

UNITED STATES: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the United States a “foreign terrorist organisation,” following a similar move by Texas last month. 

Monday’s directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) came in an executive order that Mr DeSantis posted on the social media site X. It also gives the same label to the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Neither Cair nor the Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the federal government.