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  • CME Group Credit Futures Reach New Volume and Open Interest Milestones

    CME Group Credit Futures Reach New Volume and Open Interest Milestones

    • Volume surpasses 450,000 contracts since launch
    • OI hits new high of 6,800 contracts representing over $700 million notional value

    CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that trading volume in its investment grade and high yield credit futures surpassed 450,000 contracts, as open interest (OI) reached 6,800 contracts on September 4.

    “With U.S. credit spreads near historic lows, clients are looking for new sources of liquidity to help them mitigate credit risk with precision and efficiency,” said Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products. “As uncertainty continues across markets, our credit futures provide clients with a cost-effective hedging solution for corporate bond indexes, with automatic margin offsets available against interest rate and equity futures.”

    “CME Group credit futures are an efficient tool for global institutional investors, offering a streamlined way to manage credit risk and gain targeted exposure. The duration-hedged contracts and derived block functionality are particularly unique, providing enhanced management of credit exposure and flexibility of execution,” said Joe Paccione, Americas Head of Futures and Options Sales and Execution, and Sanaz Fazeli, Co-Head Global Macro Credit Sales, J.P. Morgan.

    “Credit futures provide an efficient and flexible tool for managing risk in corporate bonds,” said Matthew Angelucci, Portfolio Manager at PGIM Fixed Income. “Across investment grade and high yield debt, our clients can isolate credit and duration risk, while gaining margin offsets with CME Group’s deeply liquid futures markets.”

    CME Group credit futures are the first futures contracts to help market participants manage duration risk through an intercommodity spread with U.S. Treasury futures. The automatic margin offsets against CME Group’s interest rate and equity futures are part of the $60 billion in daily efficiencies that the company delivers to clients across asset classes.

    The contracts launched in June 2024 and are based on Bloomberg U.S. corporate bond indexes, enabling investors to navigate exposure to one of the world’s largest and most liquid fixed income markets.

    Available to trade on CME Globex and eligible for submission to clearing via CME ClearPort, CME Group credit futures are listed with, and subject to, the rules of CBOT.

    For more information, visit our product page at cmegroup.com/credit.

    As the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

    CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P DJI”). “S&P®”, “S&P 500®”, “SPY®”, “SPX®”, US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

    CME-G

     

    SOURCE CME Group

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  • Research Advocates WHO Revision: Exclude Cervical Serous Carcinoma

    Research Advocates WHO Revision: Exclude Cervical Serous Carcinoma

    High-grade serous carcinoma is a rare diagnosis in cervical biopsies. Cervical serous carcinoma is no longer recognized as a primary cervical tumor in the 2020 World Health Organization classification. This study aimed to characterize the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features of high-grade serous carcinoma identified in cervical or endocervical biopsies, to assess tumor origin and ensure accurate classification.

    Methods

    Fifty-nine cases originally diagnosed as “serous carcinoma” or “high-grade serous carcinoma” in cervical or endocervical biopsies from 2013 to 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical data, radiologic findings, and follow-up information were analyzed. Histologic features and immunohistochemical profiles were re-evaluated. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed on a subset of cases.

    Results

    The majority of tumors (96%) were determined to originate from the endometrium (n = 47) or the tubo-ovarian region (n = 4), with only one case confirmed as a primary cervical carcinoma. Morphologic patterns varied and could mimic human papillomavirus-associated adenocarcinoma. All tumors showed aberrant p53 expression and diffuse p16 positivity. WT-1 was expressed in all tubo-ovarian tumors but in only 12% of endometrial cases. Estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor were frequently positive in endometrial tumors; human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 was positive in 31% of cases. Molecular analysis confirmed tumor protein p53 mutations and other alterations typical of uterine serous carcinoma.

    Conclusions

    High-grade serous carcinoma identified in cervical biopsies is overwhelmingly secondary to upper genital tract tumors, most commonly of endometrial origin. A small subset of endocervical adenocarcinomas may mimic serous carcinoma. These findings support the exclusion of primary cervical serous carcinoma from the current World Health Organization classification and emphasize the importance of accurate diagnosis for appropriate management.

    Full text

    https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2771-165X/JCTP-2025-00023

    The study was recently published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Pathology .

    Journal of Clinical and Translational Pathology (JCTP) is the official scientific journal of the Chinese American Pathologists Association (CAPA). It publishes high quality peer-reviewed original research, reviews, perspectives, commentaries, and letters that are pertinent to clinical and translational pathology, including but not limited to anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. Basic scientific research on pathogenesis of diseases as well as application of pathology-related diagnostic techniques or methodologies also fit the scope of the JCTP.

    /Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

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  • Ready for a Juice Boost? Apple’s iPhone 17 Lineup Reportedly Has Bigger Batteries

    Ready for a Juice Boost? Apple’s iPhone 17 Lineup Reportedly Has Bigger Batteries

    The leaks just keep coming ahead of Tuesday’s “awe-dropping” Apple event, and it looks like the iPhone 17 series will have significantly bigger batteries.

    According to leaker @ShrimpApplePro on X, Chinese regulatory listings indicate that all the new phones that Apple is unveiling on Tuesday — the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max — will have larger batteries. The exception will be the iPhone 17 Air, which is trading its ultrathin build for less battery capacity.

    We have no way to verify the rumors, but we will find out if they’re accurate in 24 hours. Apple did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

    Read more: Apple’s iPhone 17 Event Is Just Two Days Away. Here’s How to Watch

    The biggest jump is with the Pro, which will gain 18.7% in battery capacity from the previous iPhone 16 Pro, specifically 3,582 mAh to 4,252 mAh. If what’s past is prologue, that could mean several more hours in video stream time. The iPhone 16 Pro battery capacity was 300 mAh more than the iPhone 15 Pro, and that translated into four more hours of playback.

    YouTube tech influencer Austin Evans (5.7 million subscribers) is “excited” about the bigger iPhone batteries and thinks the Pro Max could be a “battery champ” among all phones if Apple upgrades its cooling. But Evans has “so many questions” about the Air.

    “I do think a dramatically thinner design will be appealing to some people (and certainly more than the Plus models of the past),” Evans told CNET. “It could deliver enough longevity for the average user, especially paired with Apple’s C1 modem, but it also feels like a phone that you’ll likely want to rely on a MagSafe battery bank.”

    Evans said he was sold on thin after having used the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. “It’s so hard to describe how nice an ultraslim phone feels in the hand to someone who hasn’t tried one,” Evans said. “It’s one of those things you have to feel to wrap your head around why all the trade-offs are (mostly) worth it.”

    Another tidbit from @ShrimpApplePro is that Apple will finally surpass the 5,000-mAh threshold for the first time with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with a capacity of 5,088 mAh. That would be three to four more hours of battery life compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

    Read more: Full iPhone 17 Lineup Specs: Comparing the Latest Rumored Info

    It appears that the iPhone 17 models with eSIM slots will have bigger batteries than those with physical SIM trays. These eSIM iPhones will only be sold in China and other select markets. US customers have only been able to buy iPhones with eSIM slots since the iPhone 14 lineup.

    Here are the rumored specs for the iPhone 17 battery capacities (for the models with eSIM slots):

    • iPhone 17, 3,692 mAh (3.7% more than iPhone 16)
    • iPhone 17 Pro, 4,252 mAh (18.7% more than iPhone 16 Pro)
    • iPhone 17 Pro Max, 5,088 mAh (8.6% more than iPhone 16 Pro Max)
    • iPhone 17 Air, 3,149 mAh (33% less than iPhone 16 Plus)


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  • All 54 lost clickwheel iPod games have now been preserved for posterity

    All 54 lost clickwheel iPod games have now been preserved for posterity

    Last year, we reported on the efforts of classic iPod fans to preserve playable copies of the downloadable clickwheel games that Apple sold for a brief period in the late ’00s. The community was working to get around Apple’s onerous FairPlay DRM by having people who still owned original copies of those (now unavailable) games sync their accounts to a single iTunes installation via a coordinated Virtual Machine. That “master library” would then be able to provide playable copies of those games to any number of iPods in perpetuity.

    At the time, the community was still searching for iPod owners with syncable copies of the last few titles needed for their library. With today’s addition of Real Soccer 2009 to the project, though, all 54 official iPod clickwheel games are now available together in an easily accessible format for what is likely the first time.

    All at once, then slowly

    GitHub user Olsro, the originator of the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project, tells Ars that he lucked into contact with three people who had large iPod game libraries in the first month or so after the project’s launch last October. That includes one YouTuber who had purchased and maintained copies of 39 distinct games, even repurchasing some of the upgraded versions Apple sold separately for later iPod models.

    Ars’ story on the project shook out a few more iPod owners with syncable iPod game libraries, and subsequent updates in the following days left just a handful of titles unpreserved. But that’s when the project stalled, Olsro said, with months wasted on false leads and technical issues that hampered the effort to get a complete library.

    “I’ve put a lot of time into coaching people that [had problems] transferring the files and authorizing the account once with me on the [Virtual Machine],” Olsro told Ars. “But I kept motivation to continue coaching anyone else coming to me (by mail/Discord) and making regular posts to increase awareness until I could find finally someone that could, this time, go with me through all the steps of the preservation process,” he added on Reddit.

    Getting this working copy of Real Soccer 2009 was an “especially cursed” process, Olsro said.

    Getting this working copy of Real Soccer 2009 was an “especially cursed” process, Olsro said.


    Credit:

    Olsro / Reddit

    Getting working access to the final unpreserved game, Real Soccer 2009, was “especially cursed,” Olsro tells Ars. “Multiple [people] came to me during this summer and all attempts failed until a new one from yesterday,” he said. “I even had a situation when someone had an iPod Nano 5G with a playable copy of Real Soccer, but the drive was appearing empty in the Windows Explorer. He tried recovery tools & the iPod NAND just corrupted itself, asking for recovery…”

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  • Idris Elba’s ‘Dust to Dreams’ Debuts in Toronto

    Idris Elba’s ‘Dust to Dreams’ Debuts in Toronto

    Idris Elba’s latest directorial effort, Dust to Dreams, is set in a Lagos nightclub looking to launch local singing talent, and was produced by Nigerian mogul Mo Abudu and has a star turn by Seal.

    But that nightclub in his English and Yoruba language short to world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday is also a metaphor for the Luther and Hijack star’s broader vision for African cinema. “We want to highlight talent, and not just actors and singers, but the talent of (African) storytelling, the variation of stories, the talent of people watching this African story and really relating,” Elba told The Hollywood Reporter.

    Dust to Dreams sees Millicent, the owner of the legendary, yet dying Lagos nightclub, played by Nse Ikpe-Etim, entrust her legacy to her shy daughter, Bisi, played by Constance Olalunde, a former Nigerian Idol contestant. But first Millicent must introduce Bisi to Johnson, her long-lost soldier father played by Seal, amid family tensions.

    Ultimately, music, between Bisi and her father as they get to know one another, becomes their redemption. In the short’s final scene, a soulful duet between Bisi and her father titled “Mama” serves to revive the nightclub and unite the family.

    But Elba, as an actor, musician, filmmaker, entrepreneur and philanthropist, has also used Dust to Dreams as a prototype film for his ongoing work with Abudu to incubate African creative talent, in front and behind the screen. The goal is closing the gap between their potential and access to the world market.

    For Abudu the promise of Dust to Dreams is helping pry open the world market for a too-hidden African industry that has been too-long denied opportunities by distributors and TV programmers. “Commissioners would rather play it safe and just tell a story that they’ve told 20 times, rather than take a fresh story,” she told THR.

    Making engaging content from Africa for the world market also hits an artistic sweet spot for Seal, whose star-turn in the short is his first major role on screen. “I was really honored that Idris and Mo would even consider me for this movie. But I also felt it was a really important project for me to do, to really highlight the talent in Africa. What these guys are doing is incredible in bringing Africa and African talent to the forefront,” Seal insisted.

    For Elba, putting down stakes in Africa also includes plans to build and launch a purpose-built film studio on the continent. “Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Sierra Leone are the places where I’ve been offered an opportunity to build, Ghana being the most advanced currently,” he said.

    Elba hopes to break ground on a planned studio later this year, and significantly with eye to that dedicated production space being part of a wider value chain to include local talent, crews and other infrastructure. “It’s a process I’ve been very focused on,” he adds.

    Elba also called on the African diaspora to back efforts by himself and Abudu to incubate talent on the continent, and even shoot their own projects in Africa. “Come to Africa. Bring your skill set. Tell your stories,” he said.

    “Same audience, same everything. It’s a digital business now,” Abudu chimed in. Dust to Dreams also stars Eku Edewor (Breath Of Life) and Atlanta Bridget Johnson (Man Of God).

    The film is a collaboration between Abudu’s EbonyLife Films and African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), through its Creative Africa Nexus (Canex).

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  • Asia Cup more than just India-Pakistan

    Asia Cup more than just India-Pakistan

    With the government clarifying its stand on playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup, the focus is now on cricket instead of the political subtext.

    India pacer Arshdeep Singh during the team’s training in Dubai ahead of the Twenty20 Asia Cup starting in the UAE on Tuesday. (BCCI)

    Strictly from a cricket standpoint, it is great the Asia Cup is on. And this has little to do with Pakistan. The Asia Cup belongs to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) of which India is a founding member, and this time India is the host of the event. So, would it be okay if India was to walk out and abandon others?

    India has a responsibility to help cricket grow in the region and ensure the Asia Cup is a financial success. The ACC consists of about 30 members (including China, Japan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan) who depend on funds from the event. This Asia Cup is likely to raise $25-30mn and each ACC member stands to receive a slice of this cake.

    What India gets won’t be very much, probably less than the annual budget of a Ranji team. But for the others (even our Test-playing neighbours) this is a financial lifeline. The ACC uses money from the event to fund its development

    Programme. It provides coaches and equipment to members and gives grants for infrastructure.

    India’s support for the Asia Cup strengthens its leadership position in

    international cricket. Many ACC members are voters in ICC and having them on your side is never a bad thing.

    The Asia Cup must also be placed in the larger context of Indian sports and our participation in multilateral international events in the future. Boycotting the event citing Pakistan’s presence would have created an awkward situation, putting India in a place it would not want to be in.

    For India, hosting the 2036 Olympics is the big goal. The bid process is yet to kick off officially but India is positioned as a serious contender. The road to ‘36 goes through other big events where cricket plays a crucial part.

    The 2026 Asian Games has cricket and Pakistan will also be competing. Same could be the situation at the LA Olympics in 2028. In 2030, India and Pakistan might once again be facing off in the Commonwealth Games. The government has already cleared our bid to host the Games. With these events coming up, India’s refusal to engage with Pakistan would be a negative step.

    While the bigger picture of the Asia Cup is much more than Pakistan, the core

    remains the on-field battle between the two teams. Commerce dictates that they play each other and the tournament is financially viable (and the interest of spectators, sponsors, broadcaster) is only because of the India-Pakistan games.

    This simple fact is reflected in the ticket rates: a hospitality ticket for the September 10 India-UAE match costs 550 dirhams, but the price jumps to 3,500 dirhams for the much-awaited September 14 India-Pakistan clash. The broadcast deal is also decided on the basis of the likely number of India-Pakistan games.

    The reality is India-Pakistan cricket is prime commercial property and the

    surrounding political controversies and tensions involving the two nations increases interest in the matches, enhancing its monetary value. Sensing the commercial opportunities the games are aggressively promoted.

    However, of late, cricket contests between India and Pakistan is not of the same quality as in the past. The teams are mismatched with India far too strong for Pakistan. Indian cricket’s riches are such that it can’t accommodate quality players.

    Pakistan, on the other hand, is desperate for players good enough to perform at the international level, especially with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan not making the cut.

    Their batting revolves round the experienced Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub, and young Sahibzada Farhan and Hasan Nawaz, and little else. Their bowling too is hardly of the level to scare anyone. In a man-to-man comparison, it is difficult to see any Pakistan player making the Indian team. If Shreyas Iyer was available for Pakistan he would be an automatic choice as captain.

    Pakistan’s recent record against India isn’t great either. In 2023, India beat Pakistan comfortably in Ahmedabad, chasing down 192 in 30.3 overs. In the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA, Pakistan lost again with India defending 119. In 2025, India crushed Pakistan in the Champions Trophy in Dubai with Virat scoring a hundred.

    Though all attention is focussed on the India-Pakistan game on Sunday,

    Afghanistan or Sri Lanka can spring a surprise in the 20-over format. Afghanistan stunned Pakistan the other day and the Asia Cup could end up being more just a India-Pakistan battle.

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  • Fred Vasseur credits ‘very special’ Tifosi for energising Lewis Hamilton across Italian GP weekend

    Fred Vasseur credits ‘very special’ Tifosi for energising Lewis Hamilton across Italian GP weekend

    Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur paid tribute to the passionate Tifosi at Monza, who flocked to the track in huge numbers to support the Scuderia, saying they energised seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton across the Italian Grand Prix weekend..

    While the Scuderia could not deliver a podium for their fans at their home race, Charles Leclerc managed to come home fourth and Hamilton sixth – the latter improving from P10 on the grid after taking a five-place penalty.

    For Hamilton, it was his first taste of the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, something he said he had been looking forward to all season long. The fans embraced the seven-time World Champion all weekend long – and even before the drivers made it to Monza, with Ferrari running some special events for the Tifosi in Milan.

    Hamilton’s mood seemed buoyed when he spoke to the media across the weekend – and his boss was clear as to the cause.

    “I think the energy that he received from the Tifosi Wednesday, Thursday in [Milan] was something very special for him,” said Vassuer after the Italian Grand Prix. “I don’t know if it was expected from him or I don’t know what he was expecting from this, but it was something mega and I think this gave him an extra boost all over the weekend.

    “Even tonight when he went to the fans to say hello and the Tifosi was something mega. I don’t know if you underestimate this or not, that we didn’t discuss too much about this, but I think, and even for me, each time that I’m going there I’m surprised.

    “We didn’t do the race of our life, we were expecting to be at least on the podium, we are not, but they are still there, they are still enthusiastic, still pushing and it’s why I’m a bit disappointed that we were not able to give them a podium this weekend.

    “But I’m really convinced that it’s part of the energy into the team and the positive energy around Lewis this weekend.”

    Ferrari looked on the pace from the start at Monza, with Hamilton topping FP1 from his team mate. Leclerc was second in all three practice sessions, and in the mix for the front row in Qualifying until the final runs.

    But Ferrari did not quite have the pace to challenge for the podium during the race, although Leclerc gave the fans plenty to cheer thanks to some wheel-to-wheel racing with Oscar Piastri.

    The crowd also loved watching Hamilton scythe his way back through the pack from P10 on the grid, ultimately finishing sixth behind former team mate George Russell.

    “We had to serve the penalty, and we knew from the beginning of the weekend that with plus five it’s not an easy one, but [Hamilton] came back behind Russell and the pace was there from the first lap of FP1 to the last lap of the race,” Vasseur explained.

    “Honestly, I think this started in Zandvoort last week. It’s difficult to say because the outcome of the weekend was not positive for him, but at the end of the day, the pace was better from the beginning, compared to Charles, the mood was better.

    “During the race, he was fighting with Russell until Lap 30, that means that he was back in a better position.”

    Sixth was Hamilton’s best Grand Prix finish since his fourth at Silverstone, and ended a run of two races outside the points. He has yet to finish on the Grand Prix rostrum this year, but Vasseur is convinced that is going to change in the last eight races.

    “[Hamilton] was able to fight with Russell in Zandvoort, to come back from P10 to the gearbox of Russell today,” he added. “Russell was a couple of times on the podium, [so] yes we can expect him to be on the podium.”

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  • At least 19 killed in Nepal protests over social media ban, corruption | Protests News

    At least 19 killed in Nepal protests over social media ban, corruption | Protests News

    At least 19 people have been killed and dozens injured during violent protests against the government’s social media ban and alleged corruption in Nepal, according to authorities and local media, as police fired live rounds at young protesters and used tear gas and rubber bullets on them.

    On Monday, some protesters forced their way into the Parliament complex in the capital, Kathmandu, by breaking through a barricade, a local official said.

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    One protester told the ANI news agency that the police had been firing “indiscriminately”.

    “[They] fired bullets which missed me but hit a friend who was standing behind me. He was hit in the hand,” the protester said.

    Seven people died at the National Trauma Centre, chief medical superintendent Dr Badri Rijal told The Associated Press news agency.

    “Many of them are in serious condition and appear to have been shot in the head and chest,” Rijal said.

    Families waited anxiously outside for news of their relatives while people gathered to donate blood.

    Police officer Shekhar Khanal told Reuters that more than 100 people, including 28 police personnel, were receiving medical treatment for their injuries. Two people were killed when protests in the eastern city of Itahari turned violent, police said.

    The United Nations has called for accountability following the bloodshed. “We are shocked by the killings and injury of protesters in Nepal today and urge a prompt and transparent investigation,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.

    Anurag Acharya, director at the Kathmandu-based think tank Policy Entrepreneurs Inc, says the trigger for the protests may have been the social media ban, but the underlying reasons go much deeper.

    “This is the generation that grew up with the optimism and dream of an inclusive new Nepal, a dream that remains elusive a decade after the new constitution was promulgated,” he said.

    “The reality for today’s Gen Z is that there are few livelihood prospects at home, which forces thousands to migrate abroad for studies and jobs. So, the frustration with unstable governments and rampant corruption had reached a tipping point,” Acharya told Al Jazeera, referring to the frequent change in governments since the monarchy was abolished in 2008, after 10 years of the Maoist rebellion.

    Demonstrators help a man injured during a protest outside Parliament, in Kathmandu, September 8, 2025 [AFP]

    ‘Youths against corruption’

    Thousands of young people, including students in their school and college uniforms, joined the protest, holding signs that read “Shut down corruption and not social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths against corruption”, as they marched through Kathmandu.

    Ikshama Tumrok, a 20-year-old student, told the AFP news agency that she was protesting against the “authoritarian attitude” of the government.

    “We want to see change. Others have endured this, but it has to end with our generation,” she said.

    Last week, the government decided to block access to several social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and X, fuelling anger among young Nepalis.

    According to officials, the decision was taken because platforms had failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse, including fake social media accounts used to spread hate speech and fake news and commit fraud.

    Organisers of the protests, which have been dubbed “demonstrations by Gen Z”, have said their civil disobedience reflects how the youth feel about the government decision.

    One protester told ANI that this was “the protest by the new generation in Nepal”.

    Muktiram Rijal, a spokesperson for the Kathmandu District Administration Office, told the Reuters news agency that the police had orders to use water cannon, batons and rubber bullets to control the crowd and that the army had been deployed.

    According to Rijal, the curfew, which will remain in place until 10pm (16:15 GMT), has been extended to Kathmandu’s Singha Durbar area, which includes the prime minister’s office and other government buildings.

    Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called an emergency cabinet meeting in the wake of deadly protests.

    On Sunday, the government said in a statement that it respected freedom of thought and expression and was committed to “creating an environment for their protection and unfettered use”.

    Acharya, who is based in Kathmandu, slammed the government’s reaction to the protests.

    “It treated unarmed school and college-going kids like a criminal mob and ordered police to fire indiscriminately at them. The poorly equipped and outnumbered police used live bullets rather than non-lethal riot control measures,” he said.

    “The Home Minister failed to act with maturity and show leadership, but more worryingly, it is the government that failed its citizens, especially the young ones who should have felt safest within the perimeter and periphery of the Parliament building where the protests first escalated.”

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  • Sindh clarifies tomorrow’s school holiday notification

    Sindh clarifies tomorrow’s school holiday notification

    The Sindh Education Department on Monday dismissed social media reports claiming a holiday had been announced for educational institutions in Karachi, saying the notification circulating online was fake.

    A spokesperson for the department said no general holiday had been declared. “The notification circulating on social media regarding college education is fake,” he maintained.

    The official added that all educational institutions would remain open on Tuesday. “The decision to close schools will be taken in line with the situation, and the public will be informed in time,” he stated.

    The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rain in Karachi over the next three days, authorities advised citizens to take precautionary measures in view of the forecast and urged people to avoid unnecessary travel to prevent any untoward situation.

    Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab said the city administration has taken measures to handle expected rains from September 8 to 10, urging citizens to stay calm and avoid panic.

    He said 46 major drains, including Gujjar, Orangi and Mehmoodabad, had been cleared, with extra pumps and staff deployed in underpasses and low-lying areas. Water and sewerage vehicles are on standby, and relief camps have been set up at choke points.

    The mayor criticised political opponents for “hypocrisy” and objected to starting projects without municipal approval. “Our goal is to protect Karachi, not play politics,” Wahab said, adding that the administration will continue rapid drainage and relief efforts.


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  • Why Long-Term Partners Often End Up With the Same Mental Health Struggles

    Why Long-Term Partners Often End Up With the Same Mental Health Struggles

    Spend enough time with someone and you start picking up their habits. You might steal their favorite slang, mirror their laugh, or even start looking weirdly alike in photos. According to a massive new study in Nature Human Behaviour, the overlap can go much deeper than quirks. Couples are significantly more likely to share psychiatric disorders than random chance would predict.

    Researchers analyzed health data from over six million couples in Taiwan, Denmark, and Sweden. Across all three countries, partners were more likely to have conditions like depression, anxiety, ADHD, schizophrenia, OCD, bipolar disorder, anorexia, substance use issues, or autism. “We found that a majority of psychiatric disorders have consistent spousal correlations across nations and over generations,” the researchers wrote.

    The pattern is known as spousal correlation, and it’s usually studied in contexts like education level, political beliefs, or religion. With psychiatric conditions, the causes are a bit murkier. Part of it may be “assortative mating”—choosing partners with traits similar to our own.

    Another part is the simple fact of sharing an environment for years, which can blur the line between nature and nurture. And then there’s the reality that dating pools are limited. As the researchers put it, these three influences overlap, making it hard to tease apart the strongest driver.

    Long-Term Partners Often Develop the Same Mental Health Struggles—Here’s Why

    Interestingly, the similarities weren’t tied to cultural context. Despite differences in healthcare systems and social structures, the results were nearly identical across the three nations. “Spousal resemblance within and between psychiatric disorder pairs is consistent across countries and persistent through generations, indicating a universal phenomenon,” the team wrote.

    There are caveats. The study didn’t account for whether people met before or after a diagnosis, and some conditions—like OCD, bipolar disorder, and anorexia—showed variation between countries. Still, the scale of the data makes the overall trend hard to ignore.

    The findings also cause concern for genetics. Many studies assume that people mate randomly, which helps scientists separate environmental and genetic risk factors. But if couples with psychiatric conditions are more likely to pair up, then kids born into those relationships may face compounded risks.

    “Given the ubiquitousness of spousal correlation, it is important to take non-random mating patterns into consideration when designing genetic studies of psychiatric disorders,” the researchers wrote.

    Couples trade inside jokes and bad habits until they can’t tell whose is whose. According to this study, the same may go for psychiatric disorders.


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