With barricades set up near Trump Tower and police on high alert, New York was holding its breath on Wednesday for the likely indictment of Donald Trump, but the timing remained uncertain. The ex-president himself claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday, but the day came and went and there were no signs of an indictment or arrest.

The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will meet in Peshawar today (Wednesday) for the sighting of the crescent of Ramazan 1444 AH. Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Moulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabeer Azad will preside over the meeting. The Ruet body will meet in the building of Auqaf Department, Peshawar.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has gotten permission for the Minar-e-Pakistan rally planned to be held on March 26. As per details, the District Commissioner (DC) Lahore has issued the official notification of the permission given to PTI to hold a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan. The permission was granted after taking oath from the PTI that the rally organizers will be responsible for the security of women and the stage.

The Sindh cabinet has approved a Rs15.6 billion Ramzan package to be given to 78.1 million low-income families by transferring cash of Rs2,000 to each family as a subsidy for purchasing 30 kilograms of wheat flour at a rate of Rs 65 per kg. “The cash transfer to the targeted low-income families would be made through Benazir Income Support Program (BISP),” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah CM said while chairing a cabinet meeting at CM House.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine on funding worth $15.6bn. The organisation’s first loan to a country at war is expected to be approved in the coming weeks. It would also be one of the largest financing packages Ukraine has received since Russia’s invasion.

Islamabad Police raided Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Murad Saeed’s house on Tuesday. PTI leader Murad Saeed lambasted Capital police said that despite getting bail on ‘fake cases’ his house was raided by police when only women were present there. “What is the reason for this raid?” Saeed questioned.  

Türkiye and Iraq have reiterated their commitment to combatting all forms of terrorism. It is clear that terror groups such as the PKK, Daesh and FETO “pose a threat to both countries,” Turkish President Rećep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a joint news conference with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani in Ankara on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Kyiv of not being willing to implement China’s proposals to end the fighting in Ukraine. “Many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China … can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when Kiev and the West will be ready for it,” Putin said on Tuesday after holding talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said that a strike destroyed Russian “Kalibr” cruise missiles that were being transported by train in the town of Dzhankoi, in Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukrainian authorities did not directly claim responsibility for the strike but said it served to further “demilitarize Russia and prepare the Crimean peninsula for de-occupation.”

A local court in Islamabad approved a two-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s focal person on legal affairs and nephew Hassaan Niazi. Immediately, after the judicial magistrate approved the remand, PTI challenged the decision in a district and sessions court. Sessions judge Nasir Javed Rana will hear the petition.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are set to hold a second day of talks, as the Russian leader said he was open to discussing China’s proposals on the fighting in Ukraine. The sit-down was to be unexpectedly mirrored in Kiev, where Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was en route to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Indonesia’s parliament has voted to pass President Joko Widodo’s emergency decree to cement rules on investment and jobs in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, replacing a similar 2020 law that had been ruled partially unconstitutional. The law, which revises more than 70 other laws, has been praised by foreign investors for streamlining business rules, but also criticised by labour and green groups as being too pro-business.

China’s President Xi Jinping has said that Beijing will work with Russia to “promote a multi-polar world.” On his ninth trip to Russia since being first elected as president in 2013, Xi on Monday said, “China will work with Russia to uphold true multilateralism, promote a multi-polar world and greater democracy in international relations, and help make global governance more just and equitable.”

The Yemeni government has announced a prisoner swap deal with Houthi rebels. “An agreement has been reached to free 887 prisoners from both sides,” Undersecretary for Human Rights Majid Fada’el told Anadolu on Monday. He said four journalists and a number of security and military officials will be released under the deal, adding that a brother of former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and former defense minister Mahmoud Sobeih will also be freed.

US President Joe Biden signed a bill that requires Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify information related to the origins of Covid-19, the White House has said. “In implementing this legislation, my administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible, consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that would harm national security,” Biden said in a statement.

An explosion in the north of annexed Crimea has destroyed Russian missiles being transported by rail, Ukraine’s defence ministry said. The Russian-installed head of the city of Dzhankoi said the area had been attacked by drones. Ukraine announced the explosions but, as is normal, did not explicitly say it was behind the attack.

The French government has narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence, which was triggered when it forced through an increase in the pension age to 64. It sparked new anti-government protests in Paris, where 101 people were arrested after stand-offs with police. The vote, tabled by centrist MPs, had 278 votes in favour, falling short of the 287 votes needed.