LONDON: The Irish government was on Sunday due to hold an emergency cabinet meeting to sign off on measures aimed at ending fuel cost protests that have endangered the functioning of the country&#39;s emergency services. Hauliers and agricultural contractors began a series of &nbsp;protests on Tuesday over spiralling petrol and diesel prices amid the Middle East war. Since then the protests have grown from slow-moving convoys on motorways and restricted access to Dublin&#39;s busiest streets, to a part blockade of Ireland&#39;s only oil refinery and restricted access to at least two other fuel depots. Finance Minister Simon Harris said later on Saturday ministers had held meetings with transport and agriculture sector representatives ahead of Sunday&#39;s meeting. The government was in the process of &quot;finalising a significant support package to address the ongoing crisis&quot;, a government statement added. Some protests rolled into a sixth day on Sunday. The government has urged the public not to panic buy as pumps at many fuel stations have run dry. Police on Saturday with the support of the armed forces deployed public order units to clear the blockade at Whitegate Refinery in southern Ireland. Irish police chief Justin Kelly said the action was taken as a last resort. The blockading of &quot;critical national infrastructure&quot; had &quot;resulted in fuel shortages that are directly impacting on emergency services such as hospitals, the ambulance service, and the fire service&quot;, he said. Elsewhere, police dismantled a makeshift barrier erected by protesters blockading western Galway docks. A late-night operation also targeted the blockade of the capital Dublin&#39;s main thoroughfare O&#39;Connell Street after multiple vehicles including tractors and lorries were removed. Justice Minister Jim O&#39;Callaghan said earlier the continuation of the protests despite the increasingly difficult situation had been &quot;unacceptable&quot;. &quot;While we all acknowledge the impact of higher fuel prices, and seek to minimise that impact, no groups are entitled in our republic to hold our people to ransom in such a manner,&quot; he said. In March, Dublin announced a 250 million-euro package to reduce fuel costs, notably including a diesel rebate for road haulier There were now the &quot;bones of an agreement&quot; with the government, the president Ger Hyland of the Irish Road Haulage Association said on Saturday. &quot;It is a substantial package and we hope to have this over the line either late tonight or tomorrow,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

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The Irish government was on Sunday due to hold an emergency cabinet meeting to sign off on measures aimed at ending fuel cost protests that have endangered the functioning of the country's emergency services

Irish ministers to hold emergency meet over fuel cost protests

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a government meeting Sunday to review the implementation of petroleum subsidies amid rising oil costs caused by the ongoing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/usisrael-war-on-iran-day-37" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Middle East war</a>. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office, the meeting covered the status of fuel subsidies, national fuel reserves, and consumption levels. <div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">لاہور: 5 اپریل 2026. وزیرِ اعظم محمد شہباز شریف نے خطے میں حالیہ کشیدگی کے دوران پیٹرولیم مصنوعات پر حکومت کی جانب سے سبسڈی کے نفاذ پر پیش رفت کے جائزہ اجلاسکی صدارت کی. اجلاس کو سبسڈی کی فراہمی پر پیش رفت سے آگاہ کرنے کے ساتھ ساتھ ملک میں ایندھن کے ذخائر اور کھپت پر بھی بریفنگ&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/dUJBBSE7ZW" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">pic.twitter.com/dUJBBSE7ZW</a>&mdash; Prime Minister&#39;s Office (@PakPMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakPMO/status/2040722780585644161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">April 5, 2026</a></blockquote></div> Under the program, passenger buses will receive a monthly subsidy of Rs 100,000 ($359), while minibuses and wagons will receive Rs 40,000 ($143). Trucks will get Rs 70,000 ($251) per month, large freight vehicles Rs 80,000 ($287), and delivery vans Rs 35,000 ($125.7), to prevent an increase in food prices. The prime minister directed the immediate release of subsidy funds, which began Saturday, a holiday, instead of the scheduled Monday start. The PMO reported that funds will be distributed through digital wallets to &ldquo;ensure transparency.&rdquo; All provincial governments submitted details of trucks, buses, and freight vehicles to the federal government for subsidy distribution. PM Sharif stated that the Balochistan provincial government has already deposited its share of the national relief package. He&nbsp;encouraged the other provinces to complete their contributions at the earliest opportunity. A public relief package totaling Rs129 billion ($463.4 million ) was disbursed over the last three weeks. Meanwhile, the petrol levy was reduced by Rs80 per liter, and Pakistan Railways is providing a Rs6 billion ($21.6 million) subsidy to keep passenger and freight train fares unchanged. The scheduled 25% quarterly increase in toll tax was also withdrawn. The meeting also received a report from the Intelligence Bureau on government austerity measures and confirmed that fuel reserves are sufficient to meet the country&rsquo;s needs. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Dr. Mosaddiq Malik, Attaullah Tarar, and other senior officials.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting to review the government’s progress in implementing petroleum subsidies. (PMO)

Economy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed immediate subsidies on fuel, buses, trucks, and freight vehicles to stabilize prices, reduce petrol levies, and ease public burden amid regional tensions.

Articles tagged with "petrol prices"

Irish ministers to hold emergency meet over fuel cost protests

Pakistan govt announces immediate subsidies to reduce public price burden