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Govt explores Djibouti route for Africa trade | The Express Tribune
LAHORE:
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti, Aqsa Nawaz, visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and met with LCCI President Faheemur Rehman Saigol. According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the discussion focused on tapping new export markets in Africa through Djibouti and assessing trade potential for Pakistani products.
Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI president said Pakistan traditionally focuses on European and American markets, while Africa remains a large and fast-growing market that should not be ignored. He said Africa offers substantial potential, especially in agriculture, where Pakistan needs to work more seriously. He added that agricultural production in India remains higher, while Pakistan’s cotton quality and output continue to decline, which requires urgent attention from policymakers.
Saigol said Pakistan’s current account deficit has increased and that addressing this challenge demands joint efforts and the exploration of new export markets. He stressed the need to understand the potential of the Djibouti market to enhance Pakistani exports. He also noted that the global halal food and related products market has crossed $3 trillion, yet Pakistan’s share remains low despite being a Muslim country. Ambassador Aqsa Nawaz said that during her posting in Africa, she had observed significant opportunities for trade and investment. She described Djibouti as an important, stable and peaceful country with a strategic port that serves as a gateway to Africa.
Market data shows the amount of oil trade rose before the US President said he would postpone attacks on Iran’s power plants.
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Five adverts for supplements claiming to treat symptoms of the menopause, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and other women’s hormonal issues have been banned.
Ads for the food supplement brands 222 Balance Me, Lunera, Minerva and Nova Menopause Vitality all claimed that their products could prevent, treat or cure the symptoms of the menopause.
An ad and website for PolyBiotics implied their food supplements could prevent, cure or treat PCOS.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it looked especially closely at ads which could take advantage of people’s health worries, emotional concerns, or financial pressures.
The most recent rulings followed an AI-powered sweep of health claims in online ads by the watchdog, which it said had revealed emerging and ongoing issues around misleading claims.
The ASA said “many” of the claims in the ads were “unacceptable” and had not only broken a number of the authority’s rules but risked misleading vulnerable people, or steering those who needed it away from appropriate medical advice.
222 Collective told the ASA it was a new, founder-run small business and still learning about the requirements of advertising regulations.
The firm acknowledged that wording in the ads may have “inadvertently implied that the product could treat or relieve symptoms such as PMS, menopause-related symptoms, anxiety, bloating, heavy bleeding, or mood disorders”.
They had since been working with Trading Standards to ensure they did not make explicit or implied disease or symptom treatment claims.
Lunera said it accepted that its claims would be understood by consumers to attribute a medicinal property to a food supplement and should not have appeared.
PolyBiotics told the ASA it accepted that references to PCOS, ovulation, fertility, cycle regulation, insulin resistance and related symptoms constituted disease treatment or symptom-management claims, which were not permitted for food supplements.
Minerva and Nova did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
ASA investigations manager Catherine Drewett said: “When it comes to women’s health, people deserve clear and accurate information.
“Ads making misleading claims about treating symptoms of the menopause, PCOS and other hormonal conditions can cause real harm and today’s rulings hold advertisers to account.
“We’ll continue to monitor this sector closely and we encourage anyone with concerns about an ad they’ve seen to get in touch.”
United Airlines aircraft at Denver International Airport, Aug. 4, 2023.
Antonio Perez | Chicago Tribune | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — United Airlines‘ formula for higher profits: fewer but better seats.
The country’s second-most profitable carrier after Delta Air Lines on Tuesday unveiled new cabin designs, including on some of its smallest planes, that feature more premium seating options and fewer in standard coach.
The differences in airfare for those seats can be vast. For example, a flight between United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and San Francisco in the first week of May is going for $423 in standard coach and $5,556 in the carrier’s top-tier Polaris class on a Boeing 757.
Even with the spike in fuel prices, United’s executives have said in recent weeks that demand remains strong, noting that premium-travel demand has outshined the main cabin.
“The main cabin is also improving, and we’ve seen very strong demand across the board for United in Q1, but premium did lead the way yet again in the quarter, and continues to do so,” Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer, told reporters last week.
More premium
United plans to introduce a subfleet of narrow-body Airbus A321neo jets dubbed the “Coastliner” for transcontinental flights that will have 20 Polaris seats, which can recline into beds. Each Polaris seat will have aisle access.
Those jets will also have 12 premium economy seats and 36 extra-legroom seats on board, with the rest regular economy. United said it removed three seats from the plane’s standard configuration to install a snack bar at the back of the plane.
Current layouts of the plane don’t have premium economy, but they do have 57 extra-legroom seats and 123 seats in standard economy, along with 20 that are first-class recliners, not the lie-flat Polaris seats.
United said the first Coastliners will begin flying this summer and it will have 40 of them by the start of 2028.
The airline also announced its configuration for its longer-range Airbus A321XLR aircraft, which will replace some older Boeing 757s.
That layout also includes the 20 Polaris suites, 12 premium economy seats and 34 in extra legroom. The plane will debut this summer, and United said it could operate on some of its existing routes to Spain, France, Portugal and Brazil.
United will also add a seven-seat first-class cabin to its Bombardier CRJ-200 jets for a total of 41 seats on board, compared with the current 51-seat layout, which has only one cabin.
Furthermore, the airline is adding a new product to its main cabin that lets customers buy a row of seats that converts to a couch on some of its wide-body aircraft. The so-called “Relax Row” is designed for families but can also be purchased by one person who can then convert the seats into a bed, Nocella said at an event at Los Angeles International Airport. That will debut as early as next year and will be on more than 200 of its 787 Dreamliners and 777s by 2030, United said.
The first class cabin (front) inside a United Airlines Express CRJ-450, a redesigned CRJ-200 regional jet featuring a new cabin design, is displayed during a media event showcasing the airline’s new premium “Elevated” aircraft interior at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California on March 24, 2026.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Across the industry
The changes are part of an ongoing trend for airlines, which are dedicating more of the scarce real estate on planes to premium seats, as the growth from those higher-end options outpaces sales from regular economy.
Last year, United unveiled an upgraded Polaris suite for long-haul flights on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners that includes the “Polaris Studio,” which is larger than previous models and has 27-inch 4K screens, as well as an ottoman for guests.
United’s chief rival, Delta, has said it expects premium revenue to overtake main cabin sales this year. That carrier said last month that starting in May, the first of seven of its new Airbus A321neo jets will have 44 seats in first class, more than double the 20 it usually has.
The demand has been so high for plush new suites and other premium seats that the supply chain can’t keep up. The bottlenecks have even delayed delivery of aircraft, CNBC has reported.
Delta said the big first-class cabin on the A321neo is a medium-term measure, “intended to be in service for a limited time as Delta awaits delivery of flatbed suites that will ultimately be installed on these aircraft.”
Meanwhile, United has been eyeing lie-flat seats for some of its newer narrow-body jets for years.
CEO Scott Kirby told reporters in August 2018 that the carrier was planning to offer lie-flat seats on new Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, though that plane still hasn’t been certified and is years behind schedule.
Other airlines are also adding higher-end seats.
JetBlue Airways, which was a pioneer in offering lie-flat seats and suites on its narrow-body Airbus fleet, plans to offer a less elaborate domestic first-class cabin later this year. Southwest Airlines recently debuted extra-legroom seats on its fleet of Boeing 737s, ending its decades of standard seating throughout its cabin.
Budget carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are also planning to add roomier seats.
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