A Pakistan-India cricket match is always a blockbuster, but emotions will run even higher in Sunday’s Asia Cup clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who engaged in a four-day military conflict earlier this year. Even before the clashes in May, which nearly escalated into a full-blown war, bilateral cricket ties were suspended. The arch-rivals now play each other only in multi-team tournaments. Political relations have deteriorated further since the clashes, with several former Indian players urging the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to boycott what will be the first meeting between the teams since the recent hostilities. While the threat of a boycott is over, sparks may fly with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav ruling out dialling down aggression in the much-anticipated Group A fixture. While reigning T20 world champions India are the firm favourites to retain their title, Pakistan are on a high, having convincingly beaten Afghanistan to win the ...
LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has responded to the ongoing debate surrounding the exclusion of senior players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the national team for the tri-nation series and the Asia Cup 2025. Speaking to newsmen in Lahore, where he presided over the PCB’s 80th Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, […]
India’s sports ministry on Thursday declared that India and Pakistan would not have any bilateral sporting ties even on neutral venues as per an unprecedented new policy but the cricket team would not be stopped from playing the Asia Cup next month as it is a multi-lateral engagement, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Political tensions between the two nations over the years have cast a shadow over bilateral sporting events, causing major tournaments to hang in the balance. The countries’ teams have previously refused to travel across the border for sporting events, electing to play on neutral ground via a hybrid model instead. Last month, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) instructed all national sports federations to seek prior consultation and approval before participating in any sporting events held in India due to ’“security concerns”. According to PTI, India’s sports ministry unveiled the new policy with regard to India’s international engagements with emphasis on Pakistan. It added that a well-p...
Without localized risk detection and public–private cooperation, illicit capital will continue to flow unchecked, and trust in the system will collapse. Opinion by: Slava Demchuk, co-founder and CEO of AMLBot Asia’s cryptoverse has lost more than 1.5 billion in the first half of 2025 — more than during 2024, including Bybit and pig butchering scams in Southeast Asia. Most engines are built around typologies of Western money laundering. They miss custom laundering channels tailored to each region, which are popping up across Asia. Blockchain analytics firms must build customized regional risk libraries and collaborate with local law enforcement to combat the level and caliber of cryptocurrency-enabled crime in Asia. Failure to address this means criminal funds will still be able to lurk in plain sight and subvert the very integrity of global compliance systems. Read more
American Bitcoin is reportedly exploring acquisitions in Japan and Hong Kong to expand its Bitcoin stockpile. American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency mining company linked to the Trump family, is reportedly looking to acquire at least one publicly listed company in Asia to further its Bitcoin (BTC) purchases. According to a Financial Times report, American Bitcoin wants to buy a company in Japan and potentially another in Hong Kong. It aims to follow the blueprint of Strategy, which to date has accumulated 628,946 BTC worth $73.8 billion at this writing. American Bitcoin’s “ambition is to build the strongest and most efficient Bitcoin accumulation platform in the world,” the company told the Financial Times on Friday. “While we are evaluating possibilities in certain regions, we have not made any binding commitments.” Cointelegraph contacted American Bitcoin but had not received a response at time of publication. Read more
Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has called for the return of star batter Babar Azam to the T20I side ahead of the Asia Cup 2025. While the former Pakistan captain has been out of the T20I squad for some time, reports about his potential return began making rounds after Fakhar Zaman was ruled of the […]
OSL said its latest milestone reflects “strong recognition” of its digital asset business model. Digital asset platform OSL Group has secured $300 million in equity financing, marking the largest publicly disclosed equity raise in Asia’s crypto sector to date. On Friday, the company announced that it will deploy the funds in three growth areas: acquisitions, global business initiatives like payments and stablecoin infrastructure and boosting its working capital. The raise is part of OSL’s broader strategy to expand its international presence. OSL described the raise as a “milestone” for the company that signals market recognition of its long-term trajectory and crypto business model. Read more