Islamabad, Jan 2: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the government are set to engage in their second round of negotiations on Thursday, at the Parliament House in Islamabad.

This meeting follows a series of consultations within PTI to finalise their key demands.

The session, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, will take place in the Constitution Committee Room.

The talks, aimed at resolving ongoing political tensions, come as PTI seeks to address critical issues, including the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the events of May 9 and November 26 and the release of political prisoners.

These demands have been prioritised by PTI in light of the prevailing political and social unrest in the country.

A spokesperson for the National Assembly confirmed that the meeting time had been adjusted at the request of members, underscoring efforts to accommodate both sides and ensure productive discussions. The negotiations are being facilitated and spearheaded by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who has emphasised the importance of dialogue in finding a resolution to the impasse.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has reiterated his party’s commitment to pursuing peaceful negotiations, though he signaled PTI’s readiness to mobilise a protest movement should the talks fail to yield results.

Speaking to a private news channel, Gandapur highlighted that PTI founder Imran Khan had authorised party leaders to engage in talks with the government solely in national interest.

He added that while PTI was willing to explore solutions through dialogue, the party would not hesitate to launch a movement if their demands were not met. “Our demands are clear: the formation of an independent judicial commission and the release of our leaders and political workers,” Gandapur stated.

The ongoing negotiations are being closely watched as both sides attempt to navigate a path forward amid escalating political tensions. With PTI signaling a willingness to take to the streets if necessary, the outcome of the meeting will likely have significant implications for the country’s political landscape.

Valletta, Jan 2: The halt in Russian gas transit through Ukraine has sparked fears of supply shortages and soaring energy costs, particularly in landlocked European nations like Slovakia.

Both Ukraine and Russia announced the stoppage on Wednesday, pushing some EU countries to resort to costlier energy alternatives.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday said that stopping gas transit through Ukraine to Europe will have “severe consequences for all of us in the European Union (EU), but will not harm Russia.”

The stoppage follows Ukraine’s decision not to renew a 2019 gas transit agreement between its state-run Naftogaz and Russia’s Gazprom, which expired on December 31, 2024.

“At 07:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), in the interests of national security, the transportation of Russian natural gas through the territory of Ukraine was stopped,” the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Similarly, Gazprom confirmed that it has stopped gas supply due to expiration of key agreements and Ukraine’s refusal to renew them.

In a letter to the European Commission (EC) on Sunday, Fico condemned Ukraine’s gas transit halt as irrational and warned it would heighten tensions and harm the EU more than Russia. He also indicated his government might consider measures such as cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine.

Slovakia, heavily dependent on Russian gas, is among the worst-hit countries. It imported approximately 3 billion cubic metres of natual gas from Russia through Ukraine annually, accounting for two-thirds of its demand.

However, the EC has downplayed the potential impact, with a spokesperson saying that the European gas infrastructure is “flexible enough” to provide gas of non-Russian origin to central and eastern Europe via alternative routes, and that it has been reinforced with significant new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacities since 2022.

Mark Cigoj, editor-in-chief of the Croatian weekly 7 Dnevno, has said that Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary are particularly vulnerable, given their reliance on Russian gas and lack of direct access to LNG imports.

Slovakia’s Regulatory Authority for Network Industries, the country’s energy regulator, has forecasted household gas price increases of 15-34 per cent in 2025 without state energy assistance.

To cushion the impact, the Slovak government has allocated around 235 million euros ($244 million) for energy aid, further straining the country’s already tight budget.

SPP, Slovakia’s state-owned gas utility, on Wednesday assured continued supply but acknowledged the increased costs of alternatives. Moldova, which imports approximately 2 billion cubic metres of gas annually from Russia via Ukraine, has enacted measures on Wednesday to cut electricity usage by at least 30 per cent.

The measures include limiting street lighting, stopping escalators in some public and commercial buildings, and changing the working hours for high-energy-consuming areas.

In 2023, roughly 15 billion cubic metres of Russian gas were transported via Ukraine to Europe, accounting for around 5 per cent of Europe’s needs. Following the halt of Ukraine transit, the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea becomes the sole remaining route for transporting Russian gas to Europe.

According to the EC, the share of Russia’s pipeline gas in EU imports has plummeted from over 40 per cent in 2021 to about 8 per cent in 2023.

However, Cigoj noted that the EU must develop a clear plan for coordinating gas purchases among member states, warning that higher margins and transport costs will drive up gas prices, further fueling inflation.

While many European countries have significantly reduced their reliance on Russian gas since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, nations like Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria remain dependent on it.

Slovak Vice Premier and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said on Tuesday that Slovakia is technically well-prepared for the stoppage of gas supplies, as the country has sufficient gas reserves and alternative gas supplies for the year of 2025.

However, she warned of challenges if the issue persists into the winter heating season next year.

Obviously, European countries will have to organise themselves to purchase significantly more expensive gas from other sources in the future, Cigoj said.

Markus Krug, deputy head of the gas department at Austria’s energy regulator E-Control, has said that Russian gas would likely continue to flow through Turkey, supplying Hungary.

He estimated that Slovakia’s gas supply could primarily come from Hungary, the remainder from Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland.

The TurkStream gas pipeline, with an annual capacity of 31.5 billion cubic metres, offers limited capacity to absorb increased demand. To address the shortfall, the EU will have to rely more heavily on LNG imports, which come at a significantly higher cost.

Washington, Dec 31: A US federal appeals court has upheld a jury’s decision ordering President-elect Donald Trump to pay $5 million for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

The verdict, reached after a nine-day civil trial in New York last year, found Trump guilty of sexually abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store in 1996. The jury awarded Carroll $2 million for the abuse and an additional $3 million for defamation after Trump publicly denied her claims.

Trump appealed the ruling, arguing that the testimonies of two other women who had accused him of sexual assault should not have been admitted as evidence.

However, the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal, stating, “Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings. Further, he has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.”

In a separate case brought by Carroll, a jury awarded her $83 million in damages. Trump has also appealed that verdict.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, announced plans to appeal the $5 million judgment.

In a statement, Cheung accused Democrats of politically targeting Trump, calling the case a “hoax” and asserting that the “American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate.”

Cheung further criticised the judicial system, alleging political weaponisation and demanding an end to investigations against Trump.

Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smith has dropped two federal cases against Trump, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting President. The cases involved allegations of mishandling classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

However, Trump still faces legal challenges. In May, he was convicted in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Although Judge Juan Merchan recently denied Trump’s request to overturn the conviction, sentencing has been postponed indefinitely.