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Pakistan said on Thursday it would encourage the United States and Iran to stop violence and resume talks under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) it helped mediate last month.”While the implementation of the MoU is facing challenges, Pakistan will continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks in accordance with the MoU,” Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, told reporters in Islamabad. “We express the hope for an early normalisation of the situation in Strait of Hormuz and underscore the importance of ensuring the continued safety, security and freedom of maritime navigation,” he added.The United States has this week been striking Iran, drawing retaliatory Iranian attacks on US interest in the Gulf as they battle over the strategic Hormuz shipping route. That sent global oil prices soaring and led to concerns of spikes in inflation even in nations far from the conflict. The key oil and gas artery, which Iran insists it controls, is central to the rekindled fighting that has entered its sixth day despite a preliminary deal in June aiming to end the war.”Pakistan recognises the urgent need to address the impact of the current situation on global energy supplies and other economic commodities including trade and food security,” Andrabi said. Source link
The death toll from the Israeli occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip has risen to 73,250, with 173,751 others injured, since October 7, 2023. Medical sources in Gaza reported that hospitals across the Strip received the bodies of four martyrs and 28 injured over the past 24 hours. The same sources said that the total number of martyrs since the ceasefire on October 11 has risen to 1,127, with 3,643 injured, while 800 bodies have been recovered.A number of victims remain trapped beneath the rubble and on the streets, as ambulance and rescue teams are still unable to reach them. Related Story Source link
At least 11 people were killed and 19 others injured in a fire at an orphanage near the Algerian capital on Thursday, the country’s Civil Protection authority said. The Authority said in a statement posted on its Facebook page Thursday that 19 people were treated and transported to hospital, including 10 who sustained burns of varying severity, two people with breathing difficulties and seven others treated for psychological shock. Rescue teams also evacuated five people with disabilities to a safe location, while firefighting and search operations remain ongoing, pending the announcement of the final casualty toll and the official findings on the cause of the fire. Related Story Source link
Three Palestinians were martyred and several others were injured Thursday morning in Israeli shelling on Gaza City.According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), citing medical sources, Israeli artillery shelling targeted the Zeitoun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City, killing one Palestinian and injuring three others. The same sources said that two other people who were killed. A number of injured individuals were brought to Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City after Israeli aircraft struck the area within Al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of the city.According to the latest reported figures, the death toll from Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 73,246 people killed and 173,727 injured. Related Story Source link
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a photo during signing ceremony of the defence industrial partnership aimed at…
Germany's continued World Cup failures are a result of structural, political and cultural problems in German society, Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro said on Wednesday.Four-time winners Germany were eliminated by minnows Paraguay in the last 32 of the World Cup in June, having crashed out at the group stage of the 2018 and 2022 editions.Having taken over Leverkusen in 2018, Carro helped guide the club to a first Bundesliga title in 2024 alongside lifting the German Cup in the same season.’Germany still have outstanding individual players, but we surely need to look closely at where we are now – it seems like there are fewer players coming through to the top level,’ 61-year-old Carro told AFP.’There needs to be greater investment in youth development, including a better integration of school and sports.’A state of the art, modern infrastructure is a key figure as well… projects that improve these conditions are too often slowed down by bureaucracy and lengthy decision-making.’The issue goes beyond facilities and structures. There is also a cultural dimension,’ the Spaniard added.Carro said Leverkusen have been waiting almost a decade for approval on a new training centre despite scaling the project down from its initial target.’We are still struggling with approvals despite identifying a suitable site,’ he said.’That just illustrates one example of a much broader challenge here in Germany,’ he added.Originally from Barcelona, Carro said World Cup finalists Spain and semi-finalists France and England succeeded due to ‘enormous ambition, resilience and collective strength.”There are always things you can learn from other countries and systems. With Spain, England and France, you have three of the four World Cup semi-finalists literally next door.’These are similarly developed football nations that have invested consistently in modern infrastructure and academies as well as in coaches and player development,’ he added.Germany are set to appoint Jurgen Klopp as coach after Julian Nagelsmann's resignation but Carro said the former Liverpool boss could not solve German football's woes on his own.’Jurgen Klopp has achieved a great deal in his career and deserves respect for that,’ he said.’But, one coach alone cannot solve long term and structural challenges.’The conditions around him are at least as important: a strong and modern youth development concept, state of the art infrastructure, clear performance principles and a willingness to change.’ Source link
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy walks to the 10th tee during practice round for the 154th Open Golf championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club near Southport in…
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli before the British Grand Prix sprint race in Silverstone on July 4, 2026. (Reuters) Kimi Antonelli needs a win in Belgium this weekend to pump up his Formula One championship lead after two blanks in the last three races, but Ferrari could stand in his way.The 19-year-old Mercedes driver also failed to score a point at Spa-Francorchamps last year, although he did set the fastest lap of the race, but should be far more competitive this time – providing his car holds up.Antonelli has seen his advantage shrink from 66 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton after Monaco in June to 25 points over teammate George Russell, who has had his own share of bad luck, due to mechanical problems.At the same time, seven times world champion Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc have celebrated wins for a resurgent and increasingly competitive Ferrari, now looking for a third win in four races. HAMILTON CAN EQUAL SCHUMACHER’S RECORD Both are also previous winners at Spa, with Hamilton chasing a sixth Belgian triumph to equal the record held by former Ferrari great Michael Schumacher.Throw in the threat of Red Bull’s four times champion Max Verstappen at a favourite and almost home track, as well as McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Mercedes have plenty on their plate.”The last few races have underlined both where our strengths are and where we need to improve,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.”Reliability issues have cost us points and in a championship this competitive, that is something we cannot afford. There is no value in having the pace if we don’t bring home the result.”We have left too much on the table recently. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again, starting this weekend.”Like Silverstone, Spa will involve more energy management than drivers would like but fans should still see exciting racing and overtaking opportunities at a popular circuit with even longer straights than Britain.”I think it could be trickier with the energy management limitations on the straights but we have historically done well here so you never know what will happen,” said Verstappen. ‘ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING RACES’ Spa is also one of the most fickle tracks, as well as one of the fastest, with the Ardennes forests having a micro-climate that defies long-range forecasts.Current predictions are cloudy and cool, with some sunshine, but showers can never be ruled out. Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said it could be “a particularly demanding weekend”.”It is one of the most challenging races of the year because of the characteristics of the track and the way the weather can change from one moment to the next in the Ardennes,” he added.Piastri won last year, after Norris took pole, and the champions will be testing and assessing a new rear wing in Friday practice.”We’re confident that this update will add a bit of performance to our car,” said Neil Houldey, technical director for applied engineering.”But we are fully aware that after a difficult British Grand Prix, mainly in terms of pure performance, even this round won’t be that easy, so we won’t be expecting any big change in terms of competitiveness.”McLaren will also have the latest specification Mercedes engine that the works team had in Austria and Williams and Alpine at Silverstone. Related Story Source link
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday a revamped format for the men’s 2027 one-day international World Cup that could lead to an additional fixture between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.While next year’s edition in southern Africa remains a 14-team competition, the three lowest-ranked qualifiers will now take part in a preliminary round with just one of them progressing to a 12-strong main group stage.That will now feature just two pools of six, with a new ‘super seven’ stage replacing the previous ‘super six’ round-robin.The restructure comes after concerns were expressed about the prospect of too many dead rubbers, which in turn would lead to sparse crowds at venues, and the number of foregone conclusions at the recent T20 World Cup.Significantly, there will be no quarter-finals with the 50-over tournament denied the further jeopardy and interest that comes with an extra round of clear-cut knockout matches.The ICC, however, insisted in a statement that the new ODI World Cup structure “creates greater context, competitiveness and consequence during the event.”An additional team in the round-robin phase also increases the prospects of an extra match between India and Pakistan.The passion for cricket in the sub-continent, which in turn generates huge broadcast rights and commercial revenues for the ICC, makes a match between India and Pakistan the most lucrative in the sport.But India and Pakistan no longer meet outside of ICC events, with political tensions between the bordering nations meaning they are effectively barred by their own governments from facing each other.The last bilateral series India played in Pakistan was in 2006 (Test and ODI series).Another change approved at the ICC’s recent annual board meeting in Edinburgh will see the next men’s T20 World Cup in 2028 remain a 20-team competition, but with 10 sides qualifying from the group stage rather than eight.The two best performing teams in the ‘Super 10’ will automatically secure a semi-final spot, with a new eliminator stage to decide their opponents.ICC loans Cricket West Indies $12.82mnIn a separate announcement, the ICC said it had approved an $12.82 million loan to Cricket West Indies “to support the member board”.Unlike other leading international cricket teams, the West Indies are a regional side, with the relative economic weakness of its constituent Caribbean islands and territories, allied to the travel distances involved, putting CWI at a considerable financial disadvantage compared to the ‘Big Three’ of India, England and Australia.During the recent women’s T20 World Cup in England, West Indies captain Hayley Matthews lamented an “unfair” funding ecosystem following her cash-strapped side’s eight-wicket semi-final thrashing by Australia.”The reason we were so successful back in 2012 to 2016 is because women’s cricket was based off pure talent at that time,” said Matthews.”The minute that investment comes into the picture, we’ve seen the gap widen a lot…I feel like it’s a bit unfair sometimes.”Will Glenwright, the ICC’s head of global development, responded to Matthews’s comments by telling AFP in an interview earlier this month: “I think the one truth that is perpetual is there’s never enough money – the members are always crying out for more.” Related Story Source link
India’s Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is playing at the Japan Open this week. (Reuters) Indian badminton star Pusarla Venkata Sindhu said Wednesday that “everybody is beatable” as she targets a medal at the world championships on home soil in New Delhi next month.Sindhu won the world title in 2019 and also captured Olympic silver in Rio in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo five years later.The 31-year-old is a massive star in her home country and will be the focus of attention at the world championships from August 17 to 23.She told AFP in Tokyo, where she is playing at the Japan Open, that she expects to be in the mix for a medal.”Right now, with the game I’m playing, I think I just need to do a little bit of small tweaks and stick to my game plan, irrespective of who the other player is,” said the world number 10.”Just keep fighting for every point. I feel that everybody is beatable.”Sindhu arrives in Tokyo after reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open last month.Her last title came in December 2024 at the Syed Modi India International in Lucknow.She believes playing at home will help her again at the world championships.”There will be pressure, I will not deny that, but at the same time it’s a kind of confidence when you play in your home court,” she said.”I think it’s really good and I feel confident having it in our country.”Sindhu is not the only Indian player in contention for a medal next month.Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are number four in the men’s doubles world rankings, while Lakshya Sen is number 14 in men’s singles.”In India, I think after cricket, badminton is the next big sport,” said Sindhu.”In the last few years it’s become a lot more, and we have a lot of athletes who are doing really well.”It is quite popular and I feel that there will be a lot of crowds supporting India this time.”The last time the world championships were held in India was in 2009 in Hyderabad, Sindhu’s home city.She is hoping her country makes the most of the opportunity.”For the youngsters, it will be a good thing to see top athletes who are coming to Delhi and playing at the top level,” she said.”It’s a very good experience for the youngsters to see and learn a lot more.” Related Story Source link