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SCHEDULE uncertainty persists at yet another multilateral cricket tournament to be held in South Asia. Once again, it involves India, which has been intent on throwing its weight around. This time, though, it is getting a taste of its own medicine. Less than a month before the Twenty20 World Cup is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have cited security reservations over travelling to India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board is, instead, in a discussion with the International Cricket Council about playing its matches in Sri Lanka. Its concerns have been triggered on account of worsening Dhaka-New Delhi ties and the recent events related to its fast bowler Mustafizur Rehman. Mustafizur had been signed by the Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders, only for the Board of Control for Cricket in India to ask the team to release him due to “recent developments”. The move sparked a furore in Dhaka, which banned the broadcast of the IPL in the country and asked the ICC to shift its World Cup matc...

The 40-year-old was linked to multiple rock-throwing incidents in Bergen County, besides the Wednesday incident against a bus transporting 3rd-grade students from Yeshivat Noam.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iranians were “looking at freedom, perhaps like never before” and that Washington was ready to offer support as protests continued to spread across the Middle Eastern country. “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The USA stands ready to help!!!” The president later repeated the message in other posts as well while US media reported that Washington was mulling potential strikes against Iran. Iran has witnessed waves of protests since late December, triggered largely by a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. The demonstrations began on Dec 28 near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and later spread to several other cities. On Friday, Trump said Iran was “in big trouble” as unrest grew, adding that the United States was “watching very closely” and warning Iranian authorities against using lethal force against protesters. Iranian officials have ac...

A severe cold wave continues to grip large parts of Pakistan, with heavy snowfall in the northern mountainous regions and biting winds sweeping across the plains, disrupting daily life and transport links.

Iedere dinsdagavond luistert de bezwarencommissie van drie Brabantse gemeenten naar burgers die het niet eens zijn met ambtelijke besluiten. Vaak lopen de emoties hoog op.

De renminbi, het geld van het volk, als munt met internationaal gewicht, daar droomt Peking van. Tegelijk schuwt China de ingrepen die ervoor nodig zijn. Al zet het land wel enkele voorzichtige stappen.

Принцесса Диана незадолго до трагической автокатастрофы, в которой погибла, глубоко сожалела из-за одного своего поступка, который негативно повлиял на ее сыновей — принцев Уильяма и Гарри.

Bills set for debate would curb the attorney general's role in oversight, allow an ombudsman to seek indictments of senior prosecutors, tilt the Knesset legal adviser selection toward politicians and formally detach the military prosecution from the civilian justice system

DARKNESS has descended over next-door Iran, where widespread, violent protests refuse to abate, posing the most serious governance and security challenges to the government in recent memory. With a nearly complete communications blackout in place, it has been difficult to obtain verifiable information from the country, and with various global powers taking increasingly assertive positions in the ongoing unrest, it is almost impossible to discern facts from propaganda in international reportage on Iran’s unfolding crisis. We do know that, on Saturday, the Iranian army issued a statement saying it would safeguard strategic infrastructure and public property, while urging Iranians to “thwart the enemy’s plots”. Clearly, things have reached a point where the protests are being seen as a national security threat. Inflammatory rhetoric from American leaders, including the US president, has not helped and, indeed, may have put Iranians in greater jeopardy by fanning paranoia. There have been concerning reports of st...

• Banks receive 30pc fewer dollars in 1HFY26 • Untraceable outflows raise questions over currency flows KARACHI: Banks received 30 per cent fewer US dollars from exchange companies in the first half of the current fiscal year, according to official data. Exchange companies sold about $1.4 billion to banks during July-December FY26, compared with around $2bn in the corresponding period of FY25, reflecting a decline of nearly 30pc. Exchange companies are required to sell surplus foreign currency in the banking market. However, they are also allowed to sell dollars to individuals for specific purposes. “The customers bought about $1.2bn in six months from exchange companies, kept $400m in bank accounts and the remaining $800m is not traceable,” said Malik Bostan, Chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP). The untraceable $800m is believed to have been used for purchasing virtual currencies. Trading in virtual currencies remains unregulated in Pakistan, though the State Bank is working on ...

Deze week hoor je alles over de Wereldhandelsorganisatie.

• Warns funding gap could derail IMF-linked Rs157bn budget surplus for FY26, provision of essential services in merged districts • Transfers under divisible pool stand short by Rs76bn in first half of 2025-26 ISLAMABAD: At a time when the federal government is grappling with its own fiscal shortfall, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has raised concerns that revenue transfer shortfalls from the centre during the first half of 2025-26 have jeopardised the province’s ability to meet its annual budget surplus target, as agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The provincial government further warned that the delayed and reduced federal transfers are exerting significant pressure on its finances, particularly impa­cting the delivery of essential services in the merged districts of the former Federally Admini­stered Tribal Areas (Fata). The issue was formally raised in a two-page letter from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Adviser on Finance to the Chief Minister, Muzammil Aslam, to Federal Finance Minister Muhamm...

Президент США Дональд Трамп отдал приказ командующим своих специальных сил разработать план вторжения в Гренландию, претензии на которую он высказывал в последнее время.

Israeli intelligence sees a long-term erosion of Iran's regime, marked by eased hijab enforcement and deep infrastructure failures. As Trump presses for regime change, Netanyahu signals readiness to phase out U.S. military aid, reshaping Israel's strategic calculus

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview published by The Economist said that he hopes to “taper off” Israeli dependence on US military aid in the next decade. Netanyahu has said Israel should not be reliant on foreign military aid but has stopped short of declaring a firm timeline for when Israel would be fully independent from Washington. “I want to taper off the military within the next 10 years,” Netanyahu told said. Asked if that meant a tapering “down to zero”, he said: “Yes.” Netanyahu said he told President Donald Trump during a recent visit that Israel “very deeply” appreciates “the military aid that America has given us over the years, but here too we’ve come of age and we’ve developed incredible capacities.” In December, Netanyahu said Israel would spend $110bn on developing an independent arms industry to reduce dependency on other countries. The US and Israeli governments had signed a memorandum of understanding for the 10 years through September 2028 that provides $38...

Ethereum’s social media sentiment is “kind of reminiscent” of what was seen before its last major run, according to Santiment. Ethereum’s declining social media sentiment is mirroring levels similar to those seen before its 2025 price rally, which eventually pushed the asset back to its 2021 all-time highs, according to a crypto sentiment analyst. “Ethereum is actually way down, this would argue against us falling too much further,” Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan said in a video published to YouTube on Saturday. “This is kind of reminiscent of what we saw before Ethereum went on its major run last year,” Quinlivan said. Read more

QUETTA: Prolonged gas shortages amid a severe cold spell triggered protests in parts of the provincial capital on Saturday, as residents blocked roads and burned tyres against low pressure and supply suspensions, while Siberian winds continued to lash Quetta and other towns in northern and central parts of the province following rain and snowfall last week. The severe cold has reduced gas supply in several areas, causing serious difficulties for residents trying to keep their homes warm. The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has been implementing loadshedding in Quetta and surrounding areas from midnight to 5am. People in Kalat, Mastung, Ziarat, Pishin and several other areas are also facing similar gas shortages amid the ongoing cold spell. However, residents say many localities in the provincial capital and its outskirts are not receiving gas properly even outside these hours. “We are getting gas for a very limited time without any timetable,” Mehmood Khan, a resident of the Sariab area, told Dawn, adding tha...

The suspect had allegedly vandalized the Congregation Shaarey Zedek marble facade and door glass panels with graffiti that included swastikas and the word “hate.”

ISLAMABAD: The Su­­p­­­reme Court has imposed major disciplinary penalties on three officers of its Karachi registry for serious lapses in administrative response, and on one officer of its Lahore registry over transparency issues. According to a statement issued on Saturday, the apex court reiterated that institutional integrity, discipline, and strict adherence to prescribed procedures were non-negotiable, particularly in matters relating to official conduct and the administration of justice. In disciplinary proceedings concluded under the Supreme Court Establishment Service Rules, 2015, Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi imposed ma­­jor penalties on three offi­cers of the SC’s Karachi registry. The penalties were im­­posed for serious lapses in administrative respo­nse, including delayed reporting, failure to seek timely written directions, and delays in reconstructing judicial records from available digital copies, resulting in institutional concern. Disciplinary proceedings were also concluded agains...