Editor's Picks
Opinion
Travel & Tourism
Why it matters: The Israel-Palestine conflict dominated the third day of the General Assembly’s annual debate, as leaders warned that it is affecting global food and energy security. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking by pre-recorded video after…
Most Read
Share It!
Soccer
World News
Why it matters: The Israel-Palestine conflict dominated the third day of the General Assembly’s annual…
Addressing the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level debate, Ms. Mottley said the world faced multiplying…
Features
Featured
Health & Fitness
Trending Now
To understand the new politics stance and other pro nationals of recent times, we should look to Silicon Valley and…
Latest Articles
Saudi, Turkey and Pakistan meet under pact signed in AugustIranian president seeks to distance Tehran from HouthisSaudi religious leader tells troops to be ready to die fighting Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani military chiefs are to meet to discuss how to support Saudi Arabia under a joint defence pact, after Saudi’s top religious authority told troops to be ready to lay down their lives to fight Yemen’s Houthis.The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.The Houthis said they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters.Saudi Arabia had earlier issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Mecca, as well as Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red Sea oil port.Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the kingdom’s top religious authority, called on soldiers to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power, according to a statement late on Thursday.Amid the fighting, the Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met within the framework of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which was signed in August. They condemned attacks targeting Mecca and other civilian sites, while affirming Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself.”The ministers also discussed arrangements for holding an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff of the three countries to discuss ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which stipulates that an attack against any one of the parties constitutes an attack against all parties,” a Saudi statement said.The meeting was announced shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to distance Iran from the Houthis in an American television interview on Thursday.”The Houthis are responsible for their own actions,” Pezeshkian told the Fox News program “Special Report with Bret Baier” a day after he appeared before the UN General Assembly in New York.Turkey’s defence ministry said Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu would travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday to meet his Saudi and Pakistani counterparts.Ankara has previously said it could help meet Riyadh’s military needs, especially on technical issues, but officials have said any support at this stage would be largely bilateral and in the spirit of their alliance, since the joint defence agreement has not yet been ratified by Turkiye’s parliament.SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY IN NEW YORKThe Pezeshkian interview and speech took place amid a pause in fighting between the US and Iran and a brief attempt at diplomacy in New York, with Qatar serving as intermediary between the warring parties.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters on Thursday that Tehran had conveyed a proposal to the United States via intermediaries under which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened if Tehran’s conditions were met. Under Iran’s proposal, hostilities would end on all fronts, including Lebanon, within seven days. The US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds and waive its oil sanctions, he said.”The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened on the last day,” Araqchi said, adding that talks with the US on other issues, including Iran’s nuclear issue, would then start.A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response to its peace proposals.Oil prices fell on Friday as markets weighed the possibility of a truce, despite the number of ships recorded transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropping to nine on Thursday, half the 10-day average.The war, which US President Donald Trump launched alongside Israel, has killed thousands of people and disrupted global trade and energy supplies, adding to inflationary pressures.While the fighting between the US and Iran has been stop-start, Iranian allies have mobilised with Hezbollah confronting Israel in Lebanon and the Houthis advancing in Yemen.Iran and its allies have significantly squeezed oil exports from Saudi Arabia, a US ally. The Houthis have disrupted ship traffic at the mouth of the Red Sea while Iran has effectively limited tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for 20% of the world’s oil exports before the war. FINANCIAL PRESSURE ON IRAN TIGHTENEDSecurity experts have debated exactly how much Iran directly influences the Houthis, a Shi’ite Islamist movement that evolved from a local insurgency into a powerful armed group controlling much of northern Yemen.However, Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources have said the Houthis’ advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast was carried out with direct guidance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Washington has announced a shift in tactics to extend the reach of its financial sanctions by targeting companies from third countries that do business with Iranian firms, a practice known as “secondary sanctions”. Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE and Oman on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran.A flight ban, if sustained, could deepen Iran’s isolation and worsen an economic crisis in the country, which is already facing a US blockade of its ports at sea. Source link
Why it matters: The Israel-Palestine conflict dominated the third day of the General Assembly’s annual debate, as leaders…
The reigning T20 world champions India will play Japan for the first time in an international match when the teams meet at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi on September 22, the two cricket boards said on Friday. The T20 fixture will mark the first time Japan will face a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in men’s cricket. “To be able to invite the reigning World Champions to the home of cricket in Japan is a landmark moment for our association,” JCA Chief Executive Naoki Miyaji said in a statement. Japan became an Affiliate Member of the ICC in 1989 before gaining Associate status in 2005. “The BCCI is delighted to be part of this historic occasion as the Indian and Japanese men’s teams come together for a special T20 International in Japan,” BCCI Honorary Secretary, Mr Devajit Saikia, said. Related Story Source link
Spain has urged the European Union to create a dedicated climate adaptation fund and establish binding adaptation targets as costs mount from accelerating climate change, which this summer triggered record heat and wildfires across the EU.Madrid calculates that European Union countries have accumulated €822bn ($955bn) in losses due to climate change and extreme weather losses since 1980, about a quarter of them between 2021 and 2024, the most recent data point.Spain is also one of the countries hardest hit by rising summer temperatures, wildfires and droughts.The EU has committed to climate neutrality by 2050 and to cutting greenhouse emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. Its 2021 Adaptation Strategy is being updated and expanded by the EU executive, the Commission, into an Integrated Climate Resilience Framework to put to member states.In a letter to EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, made available to Reuters yesterday, Environment Minister Sara Aagesen said Spain believed reactive policies were no longer sufficient to protect security, prosperity and competitiveness.It called for a European Climate Adaptation Fund and suggested raising revenue through levies including a charge on oil and gas profits. Common EU debt instruments should also be considered, it said.The proposal, first reported by the Financial Times on Friday, called for climate risk assessments every five years at European, national and regional levels, for integration into public planning, infrastructure, land use and investment decisions.It suggested introducing binding short-, medium- and long-term adaptation targets, initially covering sectors including water, health, infrastructure, forests, tourism, agriculture and fisheries.Spain also proposed upgrading the EU’s civil protection mechanism, rescEU, into a permanent climate-emergency response system with shared equipment and protocols and a dedicated aerial firefighting fleet.Other proposals included a public-private European reinsurance scheme and climate-risk bonds to help cover losses from extreme weather.Madrid said adaptation must remain aligned with efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as its effectiveness and affordability would depend on limiting future warming.A Spanish Environment Ministry spokesperson told Reuters the proposal had been shared with other EU member states.The Commission said funds for climate adaptation were part of EU budget negotiations, and that windfall taxes on energy were within the competence of individual countries.Last month, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Austria asked the EU presidency to discuss in September a mechanism to tax oil companies’ windfall profits, triggered by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Source link
Uncapped seamer Henry Crocombe has been called into England's squad for this month's one-day international series at home to Sri Lanka after taking hat-tricks in successive County Championship matches.The 24-year-old Sussex bowler ran through Somerset's tail at Hove last week as he took three wickets in as many balls.He then repeated the feat against Essex at Chelmsford on Thursday during a return of 5-39, collecting a second hat-trick in eight days.It has been a breakthrough season for Crocombe, who was briefly added to England's squad for June's second Test against New Zealand, when now retired former captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were dropped for disciplinary reasons.Uncapped Derbyshire batsman Aneurin Donald has been included in England's squad for a preceding T20 series against Sri Lanka.Donald, 29, scored 489 runs in 12 matches for Derbyshire in the T20 Blast this season.All-rounder Jacob Bethell continues his recovery from a right knee injury suffered during the white-ball series against India which saw him miss The Hundred, with an England spokesman saying Friday he ‘remains on course in his rehabilitation’.England management hope to see Bethell return during the white-ball series in Australia in November.Ben Duckett is back in the T20 squad after being left out earlier this year but fellow opener Phil Salt is unavailable due to a right quad problem.’Aneurin Donald and Henry Crocombe are two promising players who have earned their places on the back of impressive performances in domestic cricket,’ said England men's national selector Marcus North.’Aneurin has had an exceptional season for Derbyshire in the Vitality Blast and also with Trent Rockets in The Hundred while Henry is a player we have had an eye on all summer.’A three-match T20 series starts at Southampton on September 15, with the first of three ODIs at Chester-le-Street on September 22.England T20 squadHarry Brook (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler (wkt), James Coles, Jordan Cox, Liam Dawson, Aneurin Donald, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Josh TongueEngland ODI squadBrook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Archer, Atkinson, Banton, Baker, Buttler (wkt), Cox, Henry Crocombe, Dawson, Duckett, Jacks, Overton, Rashid, Joe Root, Tongue Source link
Injured Kusal Mendis of Sri Lanka will not play in the away T20 series against England. Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain Kusal Mendis will not play in the away T20 series against England because of injury, the cricket board said Friday.The 31-year-old will be replaced as skipper by deputy Charith Asalanka for the three-match series, which will be followed by three ODIs.Sri Lanka did not say whether wicketkeeper-batsman Mendis would be available for the ODIs.Fast bowler Binura Fernando is also undergoing rehabilitation for injury.”Mendis suffered a right hamstring injury while Fernando sustained a back injury,” SLC said in a statement.Batsman Pavan Rathnayake and fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka replace them.The first T20 is on September 15 at Southampton, with the second two days later in Cardiff. The final T20 is on September 19 at Manchester.The ODI series begins on September 22 at Chester-le-Street, followed by matches at Headingley on September 24 and The Oval on September 27.Revised T20 squad: Charith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara, Pavan Rathnayake and Dilshan Madushanka. Related…
Top Rated
