Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced a reward of Rs1.5 million for each player of the national hockey team following the team’s performance in the FIH Hockey World Cup qualifier, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The announcement comes a day after the team secured a place in the upcoming hockey World Cup, marking their return to the tournament after an eight-year absence. It will be hosted jointly by Belgium and the Netherlands in August this year. Quoting a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Radio Pakistan said the team’s performance represented a “significant step towards promoting hockey in Pakistan”. The premier also “acknowledged the team’s hard work and dedication to the sport,” the statement added. As per the statement, the prime minister maintained that the participation of the team in the World Cup qualifiers — held in Egypt — had “generated excitement and enthusiasm among hockey fans”. The premier stressed the monetary reward was a “clear ...
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who has been appointed as the new head of the Islamic republic, is a discreet figure who offers continuity of his father’s leadership. The 56-year-old had no official post during his father’s rule, but was speculated to be acting behind the scenes to pull strings at the heart of power in Iran. He is regarded as close to conservatives, notably because of his ties with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which swiftly pledged allegiance to the new leader. A woman holds a picture of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after his son Mojtaba Khamenei was introduced as Iran’s new supreme leader, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026. —Reuters The Islamic republic’s third supreme leader also received endorsements from President Masoud Pezeshkian, the armed forces and the judiciary within hours of his appointment. Because of his discretion at offici...