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CRICKET: REBALANCING CRICKET

It was never going to be easy for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to sideline Pakistan from the T20 World Cup, let alone exclude them from the marquee clash against India. That is precisely why, today on February 15, Pakistan will take on India for the ninth time in T20 World Cup history. It is a rivalry in which Pakistan has managed only one victory so far. Yet win numbers barely matter when these two teams meet, because this contest has grown far beyond cricket and has become arguably the most anticipated fixture in global sport. In the build-up to this match, uncertainty loomed large. Until just days before the game, there was no official confirmation that Pakistan would play. This followed a dramatic political intervention when the Government of Pakistan announced that it would not permit the Pakistan team to participate in the World Cup group-stage match against India. Despite the tournament featuring 20 teams, this single lucrative fixture dominated headlines across the...
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Iran open to nuclear deal compromises if US discusses lifting sanctions, minister tells BBC

Iran is ready to consider compromises to reach a nuclear deal with the United States if Washington is willing to discuss lifting sanctions, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC in an interview published on Sunday. Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, but has repeatedly ruled out linking the issue to other questions, including missiles. Takht-Ravanchi confirmed that a second round of nuclear talks would take place on Tuesday in Geneva, after Tehran and Washington resumed discussions in Oman earlier this month. “[Initial talks went] more or less in a positive direction, but it is too early to judge,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC. A US delegation, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will meet with the Iranians on Tuesday morning, a source had told Reuters on Friday, with Omani representatives mediating the US-Iran contacts. Iran’s atomic chief said on Monday the co...
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TTAP sit-in at Parliament House over Imran’s health concerns enters 3rd day

ISLAMABAD: The sit-in by the main opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) at Parliament House over concerns regarding PTI founder Imran Khan’s health entered its third day on Sunday. After the Supreme Court (SC) was informed on February 12 that Imran’s right eye had only 15 per cent vision remaining, the TTAP announced it would stage a sit-in until the ex-premier was shifted to a hospital of his personal doctors’ choice. Although government figures on Saturday had hinted that Imran — currently incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail — will soon be shifted to a hospital, no such development had occurred till Sunday morning. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan shared visuals of him, TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, MNA Asad Qaiser and Senator Faisal Javed, among others, sitting at Parliament House. A TTAP leader, wishing not to be named, told Dawn that thi...
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Riverine areas of Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur cleared of dacoits: Punjab CM Maryam

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Saturday said the riverine (katcha) areas of Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur districts had been “100 per cent cleared” of dacoits during security operations carried out over the past few weeks. “It was a no-go area for the state, police, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), and other agencies. The writ of the state and its authority have been restored in the area,” she said while addressing a high-level meeting following the successful operation in the riverine areas. Briefing on the operation, she said it was launched in three phases. “The first phase was launched at the end of December, in which ground operations were integrated with aerial surveillance. It targeted multi-pronged criminal activity.” “In the second phase, we cordoned off major criminal strongholds, including Mach, Katcha Rajwani, and Katcha Karachi, and brought them under control,” she said. She further said: “The third phase was the surrender phase, which continued from January 7 ...
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Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advances to quarterfinals at the ABN AMRO Open

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals at the ABN AMRO Open men’s tennis tournament Thursday. The second-seeded Auger-Aliassime registered a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, extending his win streak to six matches. The Montreal native registered nine aces, compared to four by Medjedovic. Auger-Aliassime will face Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in a quarterfinal match Friday. The two are tied 1-1 in head-to-head matches but this will mark their first meeting indoors. On Sunday, Auger-Aliassime defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6 (4) to repeat as Open Occitanie champion in Montpellier. It was the ninth-career ATP title for the 25-year-old and first of 2026. With that win, Auger-Aliassime passed Milos Raonic (eight) for the most tour-level titles by a Canadian in the Open Era. from Sportsnet.ca https://ift.tt/T5dxXMY
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Punjab CTD claims arrest of 26 suspected terrorists over past month

LAHORE: The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Saturday to have arrested 26 suspected terrorists belonging to various proscribed organisations during intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted across the province over the past month. According to a CTD spokesperson, the department carried out 286 IBOs in different districts in view of potential terrorism threats. These operations were conducted in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Faisalabad, Jhang, Chakwal, Rajanpur, Narowal, Pakpattan and Sargodha. During the operations, 286 suspects were interrogated, and 26 terrorists were taken into custody along with arms, explosives and other prohibited material. One alleged militant affiliated with Al-Qaeda was arrested in Lahore, while four members of Fitna al-Khawarij were apprehended in Sargodha. Officials said the arrested suspects had links with the tribal areas. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the ba...
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In pictures: Bangladesh a day after polls — BNP poised to form government

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) claimed a thumping win on Friday in the first elections held since a deadly 2024 uprising, with leader Tarique Rahman poised to become prime minister. But final official results are yet to come and BNP’s main rival Jamaat-i-Islami — leading a wider coalition — said it had “serious questions about the integrity of the results process”. The Jamuna television channel projected that the BNP had secured 212 seats. It said Jamaat had won 74, a huge leap from its past results but far short of the outright win it had campaigned for. Somoy TV broadcast similar figures. A man reads an English daily newspaper at a store, the morning after the 13th general election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 13, 2026. —Reuters Election Commission officials announce updates, the day after the 13th general election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 13, 2026. —Reuters A man reads a newspaper with an election related headline, a day after the national election...
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