Pakistan News

Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins was ruled out on Saturday for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup after failing to recover from a nagging back injury , and Ben Dwarshuis will replace him for the global showpiece. Cummins played just one of the five Ashes tests against England, but Australia kept him in the provisional World Cup squad hoping for his availability in the Super Eight stage of the tournament to be played in India and Sri Lanka. Matt Renshaw also replaced fellow batter Matthew Short but veteran Steve Smith could not break into the World Cup squad despite his strong form in the Big Bash League. “With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury, Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late-order hitting,” selector Tony Dodemaide said. “We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace along with clever variations will be well suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad.” The Mitchel...

The US government entered a partial shutdown Saturday as a midnight funding deadline passed without Congress approving a 2026 budget, though disruption was expected to be limited with the House set to move early next week to ratify a Senate-backed deal. The funding lapse followed a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “Instead of going after drug smugglers, child predators, and human traffickers, the Trump Administration is wasting valuable resources targeting peaceful protestors in Chicago and Minneapolis,” Senate Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin posted on social media. “This Administration continues to make Americans less safe.” Roughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and healt...

More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday. Rubaya produces around 15pc of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. The site, where locals dig manually for a few dollars per day, has been under the control of the AFC/M23 rebel group since 2024. The collapse occurred on Wednesday and the precise toll was still unclear as of Friday evening. “More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women. Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” Muyisa said, adding that about 20 injured people were being treated in health facilities. “We are in the rainy season. The ground ...

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he wanted to build a “sophisticated relationship” with Beijing to boost growth and security, signaling a reset after years of strained ties. On the most important day of his four-day visit to China, the first by a British prime minister in eight years, Starmer held an 80-minute summit with Xi at the Great Hall of the People before they lunched together. He will later meet Premier Li Qiang. “China is a vital player on the global stage, and it’s vital that we build a more sophisticated relationship where we can identify opportunities to collaborate, but of course, also allow a meaningful dialogue on areas where we disagree,” Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting. Xi said ties with Britain had gone through “twists and turns” that did not serve the interests of either country and that China stood ready to develop a long-term strategic partnership. “We can deliver a result that can withsta...

Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index remained under pressure during early intraday trading today, slipping sharply. At 11:05am PST, the index was trading at 186,658.35 points, down 1,722.03 points, or 0.91 per cent, from its previous close of 188,380.38. The benchmark touched an intraday high of 188,923.39 points in early trade before sliding to a session low of 186,658.35. Trading activity remained subdued in the first half of the session, with volumes at 117.82 million shares and a total traded value of Rs11.61 billion. Market participation was largely concentrated in a handful of high-volume stocks. K-Electric traded 41.52m shares, as the stock slipped 0.96pc to Rs7.23. Waves Home Appliances Limited saw strong interest, rising 6.65pc to Rs11.06 on volumes exceeding 20.22m shares. Sui Southern Gas Company gained 2.77pc to Rs35.67, while WorldCall Telecom Limited edged down 0.58pc to Rs1.70. Among other actively traded stocks, Nishat Chunian Power Limited declined 2.56pc to Rs76.80...

Tom Brady is backing his former coach after a surprising snub by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I don’t understand it,” Brady said Wednesday on ESPN Radio in Seattle , one day after reports that Bill Belichick was not elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. “I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, then there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.” Brady and Belichick won a record six Super Bowls over their 19 seasons together. Belichick reportedly did not receive the required 40 votes from a panel of 50 voters to earn enshrinement in Canton. He sits third all-time in wins with 302, and along with his six Super Bowls, he also holds the record for most conference championships with nine over his 29 years in the league. “He’s going to get into the Hall of Fame in the end. I’m not worried about that,” Brady said. “A lot of times in l...

With two-time defending Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Rachel Homan representing Canada at the Olympics, the field is wide open at this year’s national women’s curling championship. The competition runs Jan. 23-Feb. 1 in Mississauga, Ont. Here are the standings, schedule and results: ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS Pool A Team Wins Losses Manitoba (Kaitlyn Lawes) 6 0 Canada (Kerri Einarson) 5 1 Ontario (Hailey Armstrong) 3 2 Nova Scotia (Taylour Stevens) 3 2 Quebec (Jolianne Fortin) 2 3 Saskatchewan (Jolene Campbell) 2 3 B.C. (Taylor Reese-Hansen) 2 3 Northwest Territories (Nicky Kaufman) 1 4 Yukon (Bayly Scoffin) 0 6 Pool B Team Wins Losses Manitoba (Beth Peterson) 5 0 Nova Scotia (Chr...

At least 38 people across 14 states had died as of Tuesday from a powerful winter storm that left much of the central and eastern United States gripped by snow, ice, and below-freezing temperatures, according to local officials and news reports. The storm started to develop on Friday and dumped snow across a large region over the weekend. The snow snarled road traffic and led to widespread flight cancellations and power outages before subsiding Monday, leaving behind bitter cold that is expected to linger. By Tuesday, cities were mobilising emergency responders and resources to ensure that residents, particularly homeless people, were safe, even as more than 550,000 homes and businesses across the country lacked electricity. Ten of the storm’s fatal victims were in New York City, where temperatures were the coldest they had been in eight years, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference on Tuesday, when the low hit -13° Celsius. While the 10 victims were found outside, it was...

Pakistan’s benchmark stock exchange, KSE-100, remained under pressure during intraday trading today. At 12:00pm, the index stood at 188,001.04 points, down 586.62 points or 0.31 per cent from the previous close of 188,587.66 points. The index touched an intraday high of 189,521.32 points in early trading before briefly slipping to 187,918.79. Trading activity remained moderate, with volumes at 141.88 million shares at a market value of Rs18.73 billion. There was heightened volatility on account of the State Bank’s announcement to maintain the key policy rate of 10.5pc. Industry leaders and traders alike were surprised by this announcement, resulting in the subdued performance of the exchange so far today. Arif Habib Limited noted that they had anticipated that the “SBP was likely to deliver a 75 basis points cut in the MPC, potentially taking the policy rate to 9.75pc, signalling a long-awaited return to single-digit territory.” Echoing a similar sentiment, business leader, Fed...

Pakistan and Ghana held their first formal bilateral talks and signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), the Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday. A press release by the FO, initially released on Monday, said that the two countries convened their first Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) on Monday, “marking an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations between the two countries”. “The Pakistani delegation was led by Ambassador Hamid Asghar Khan, additional foreign secretary, while the Ghanaian side was headed by Ambassador Khadija Iddrisu, chief director (of the) ministry of foreign affairs,” it said. During the talks, it added, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed: an MoU on BPCs and an MoU between Islamabad’s Foreign Service Academy and the Ghana Foreign Service Institute. “Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations and agreed to enhance cooperation across a broad range of areas, including politi...

Death has a way of rearranging the furniture of life. Drawers that have remained shut are opened and stories whose memory has grown faint re-emerge with greater clarity. If you’re lucky, you’ll find something insightful in what’s been left behind by the dearly departed. And, on the rare occasion, you may just find something revelatory. You may just find a bundle of 159 letters tied together with a string, charting one man and his family’s extraordinary circumstances from 1971 to 1974. This is that man, and that family’s, story. The 159 letters written by my Nana [maternal grandfather], Saiyid Safdar Nawab, emerge a few days after his passing on December 26, 2025. They tell a story that spans the length and breadth of the Subcontinent, much like the fortunes of my family itself. But, as with most stories, we’ll have to start at the beginning. From 1971 to 1974, Saiyid Safdar Nawab wrote more than 150 letters to his family in Pakistan while he was held in India as a prisoner of war...

President Asif Ali Zardari will depart on a four-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday, according to the Foreign Office (FO). The president, accompanied by a high-level delegation, will undertake the visit from January 26 to 29, the FO statement said. “During the visit, the president will hold high-level meetings with the UAE’s leadership to review the full spectrum of bilateral ties, especially on the domains of trade and economic people-to-people ties.” The discussion will also focus on regional and international issues of mutual interest, the FO added. It highlighted that Zardari’s trip, which follows the brief visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Pakistan last month, “reflects the deep brotherly ties between the two nations and reaffirms commitment to transforming the strong friendship between Pakistan and the UAE into a mutually rewarding partnership”. During the UAE president’s first official visit to Pakistan on December 26, ...

European Council president Antonio Costa arrived in India on Sunday, as the EU and New Delhi seek to seal a free trade pact, capping nearly two decades of negotiations between the economic behemoths. Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are chief guests for this year’s Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on Monday before an EU-India summit on Tuesday, where they hope to shake hands on the accord, described as the “ mother of all deals ”. “President Costa is in New Delhi for the 16th EU-India summit taking place on Tuesday,” the EU Council said on X. “The summit will be an opportunity to build on the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthen collaboration across key policy areas.” India, the world’s most populous nation, is on track to become the world’s fourth-largest economy this year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. While the EU eyes India as an important market for the future, New Delhi sees the European bl...

The absence of Bangladesh from next month’s Twenty20 World Cup is a sad moment for the game and should serve as a call for stakeholders to work towards uniting the sport, not dividing it, the International Cricketers’ Association said on Sunday. Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team showpiece on Saturday following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns in the wake of soured political relations between the Asian neighbours. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request to move their matches to tournament co-host Sri Lanka, saying it was not feasible to change the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the tournament. “The withdrawal of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup, and resulting absence of a valued cricketing nation from cricket’s pinnacle international T20 event, is a sad moment for our sport, the Bangladesh players and fans, and one that requires deep reflection,” World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) Chief Execut...