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  • China, Pakistan, Bangladesh Meet To Explore Regional Bloc That Could Replace SAARC: Report | World News

    China, Pakistan, Bangladesh Meet To Explore Regional Bloc That Could Replace SAARC: Report | World News

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    Pakistan and China are reportedly in advanced talks to form a new regional organisation aimed at boosting connectivity and trade across South Asia.

    China’s Premier Li Qiang, left, walks Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (File photo/AP)

    Pakistan is working with China on a proposal to establish a new regional organisation that could potentially replace the now-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

    The report quoted diplomatic sources familiar with the development and claimed that talks between Islamabad and Beijing are now at an advanced stage as both sides are convinced that a new organisation is essential for regional integration and connectivity.

    The paper also cited sources and claimed that the new organisation could potentially replace the regional bloc SAARC, which comprises India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

    A recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Kunming, China, was part of those diplomatic manoeuvres, the report claimed, adding that its goal was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of SAARC, to join the new grouping.

    However, according to news agency PTI, Bangladesh’s interim government had dismissed the idea of any emerging alliance between Dhaka, Beijing and Islamabad, saying the meeting was not “political”.

    “We are not forming any alliance,” foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain had said.

    The main purpose of the new organisation is to seek greater regional engagement through enhanced trade and connectivity, the newspaper said.

    It added that if the proposal is materialised, it would replace the SAARC, which has been suspended for a long time due to the India-Pakistan conflict.

    The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. However, after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to “prevailing circumstances”.

    ALSO READ | 3,000 Cartridges, Dubai-Pakistan Links & Wildlife Trafficking: Decoding Malihabad Arms Seizure Case

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    Vani Mehrotra

    Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

    Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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    News world China, Pakistan, Bangladesh Meet To Explore Regional Bloc That Could Replace SAARC: Report

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  • Giant Magellan Telescope enters final design phase

    Giant Magellan Telescope enters final design phase

    The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), an enormous ground-based telescope currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert, is one vital step closer toward completion.

    Earlier this month, the National Science Foundation (NSF) confirmed the massive observatory will advance to its Major Facilities Design Phase, one of the final steps before becoming eligible for federal construction funding. Announced in December, Northwestern University is a founding partner of the GMT. Now, this critical milestone affirms the GMT’s scientific merit, construction progress and alignment with U.S. priorities in science and technology.

    “This milestone reflects not just national recognition, but a shared global commitment to advancing discovery,” said Northwestern’s Vicky Kalogera, a key scientific leader of Northwestern’s GMT initiative. “With this visionary facility, Northwestern researchers will be at the forefront of unlocking the universe’s deepest mysteries.”

    Kalogera is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She also is director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the NSF-Simons Foundation AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI, pronounced “sky”).

    Launching in the 2030s, GMT will be the world’s most powerful optical telescope. By producing images 10 times clearer than the Hubble Space Telescope, GMT will explore the distant universe, including the search for signs of life. Unique among the new class of “extremely large telescopes,” GMT will feature the widest field of view with adaptive optics to correct for blur caused by Earth’s atmosphere. 

    As a partner, Northwestern will contribute its expertise in astrophysics, artificial intelligence (AI) and engineering. Specifically, Northwestern scientists will develop and apply AI tools to enhance GMT’s abilities to search for Earth-like planets across the Milky Way, probe the universe’s most energetic explosions and explore the relationship between galaxies and black holes.

    Backed by nearly $1 billion in private funding — the largest private investment ever made in ground-based astronomy — the Giant Magellan is built by an international consortium of 15 universities and research institutions. Along with Northwestern, other partners include the University of Arizona, Carnegie Institution for Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, University of Chicago, São Paulo Research Foundation, Texas A&M University, Harvard University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Smithsonian Institution, Weizmann Institute of Science, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Arizona State University.

    About 40% of the Giant Magellan is already under construction, with major components manufactured and tested in facilities across 36 states in the U.S., including advanced optics and primary mirrors in Arizona, science instruments in multiple states including Texas and the telescope mount structure in Illinois. At the observatory’s privately owned site in Chile, major infrastructure progress includes utilities, roads, support structures and a fully excavated foundation for the enclosure.

    “The Giant Magellan Telescope represents a bold vision for the future of astrophysics,” Kalogera said. “Northwestern is proud to help shape this vision and to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers who will use this telescope to answer some of the universe’s biggest questions.”

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  • TikTok attracts ‘very wealthy’ potential buyers, Trump says

    TikTok attracts ‘very wealthy’ potential buyers, Trump says

    The news: President Donald Trump said that he has found “very wealthy people” to buy TikTok and would reveal more in the coming weeks, further chipping away at fears that the app will be banned in the US after he extended the forced sale deadline multiple times.

    Meanwhile, TikTok’s swath of new features and presence at Cannes Lions signaled that the platform isn’t overly worried about the potential of a US ban. TikTok is currently testing “bulletins,” an Instagram Channels-like feature that lets creators and brands directly message their followers. Chatter about the ban was muted at Cannes, overshadowed in part by high profile AI feature announcements.

    The damage: After much anxiety at the start of the year, TikTok’s looming ban still hasn’t gone away—but concern that the app could be permanently blocked is beginning to fade. While that’s obviously good news for TikTok, the uncertainty has still left an impact on its business.

    TikTok CPMs fell by as much as 80% in January 2025 as the first ban took hold, per AdRoll estimates. Its two biggest short-form video competitors, YouTube and Meta, stood to gain as much as 50% of ad dollars reallocated from TikTok. While advertisers are unlikely to abandon TikTok entirely, uncertainty has driven spending and user activity to its competitors.

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  • Beat the Heat With These Celebrity-Approved Summer Outfits

    Beat the Heat With These Celebrity-Approved Summer Outfits

    We’re creeping toward triple-digit temperatures, and getting dressed is just as burdensome as it is on frigid winter days. It’s fair to look into one’s own closet and feel that there’s nothing to wear—or at least nothing worth sweating in all day. Luckily, though, celebrities are modeling summer heatwave dressing with aplomb.

    Shorts are taking all lengths this summer, from Olivia Rodrigo’s hotpants to Hailey Bieber’s knee-length capris (both, however, embracing this season’s preeminent polka-dot trend). Elsewhere, Emily Ratajkowski embraced the Adam Sandler look in a pair of oversized Nike basketball shorts, while Lorde opted for the boxer trend in Deiji Studios.

    A go-to sun deflector, white clothing is also in heavy rotation. During a scorching week in New York, Jennifer Lawrence layered a pair of white lace-trimmed slips with an oversized graphic tee. Gigi Hadid, Laura Harrier, and Dakota Johnson took different approaches to the LWD—Hadid in an embellished ultra-mini, Harrier donning a ruffled Jacquemus maxi for the designer’s spring 2026 show, and Johnson opting for a simple sleeveless midi with matching pumps.

    Here, take a gander at some celebrity style inspiration for hot summer days, from Rihanna’s diaphanous dressing at the Smurfs premiere to Bella Hadid’s jorts.

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  • ‘Wess Roley loved firefighters, wanted to be one’: Idaho shooter's grandfather reveals shocking details – Hindustan Times – Hindustan Times

    1. ‘Wess Roley loved firefighters, wanted to be one’: Idaho shooter’s grandfather reveals shocking details – Hindustan Times  Hindustan Times
    2. Man shot Idaho firefighters who had asked him to move his vehicle, killing 2, sheriff says  AP News
    3. Wess Roley: Suspect identified in the Idaho firefighter shooting  NBC News
    4. Wess Roley: Idaho gunman in deadly ambush of fire crews had ‘idolised’ firefighters  BBC
    5. 2 firefighters killed, 1 critically hurt in Coeur d’Alene ambush; Shooter dead  KBOI

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  • Sufiyan likely to be called for BD series

    Sufiyan likely to be called for BD series

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to announce the national squad for the upcoming T20I tour of Bangladesh later this week, sources confirmed.

    The team is scheduled to play a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh from July 20 to 24 in Dhaka.

    According to reports, no major changes are anticipated in the squad, though a surprise inclusion is likely, with left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem expected to be part of the touring party.

    The training camp for the Pakistan T20 squad will commence at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi from July 7 to prepare for the series.

    Regular stars Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi – who were rested for the previous home series against Bangladesh – are currently not part of the plans for an unspecified period.

    It is pertinent to mention that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed all three T20Is will be played at the Shere-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, starting at 5:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time.

    The Pakistan team is set to arrive in Bangladesh on July 16.

    The opening match will be played on July 20, followed by the second and third fixtures on July 22 and 24, respectively.

    The two sides last faced each other in a T20I series in May, where Pakistan secured a dominant 3-0 whitewash at home.

    The series began with Pakistan bowling out Bangladesh for 164 after posting 201/6, securing a 37-run win. In the second game, the hosts defended an identical total, restricting Bangladesh to 144 to clinch a 57-run victory.

    Bangladesh showed resistance in the third match by setting a challenging target of 197, powered by Parvez Hossain Emon’s explosive half-century.

    However, Pakistan comfortably chased down the total with three wickets down and 16 balls to spare, courtesy of a scintillating century by wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris.

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  • No Evidence that Medications Trigger Microscopic Colitis in Older Adults

    Study from Mass General Brigham and Karolinska Institutet researchers suggests that patients with the condition do not need to stop taking important medications.

    Microscopic colitis (MC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that severely reduces quality of life. MC is responsible for over 30% of all chronic diarrhea cases in people over 65 years of age, and its prevalence is rising worldwide. Although little is known about what causes MC, previous studies have suggested that a range of common medications could trigger the condition, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), blood pressure medications, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

    However, according to a new large-scale, longitudinal study of older adults in Sweden from Mass General Brigham, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Karolinska Institutet researchers, most of these medications are not associated with increased risk of MC. Results are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

    “Our study demonstrated that, contrary to the previous belief, it’s unlikely that medications are the primary triggers for microscopic colitis,” said corresponding author Hamed Khalili, MD MPH, associate director of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and director of Clinical Research at the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system. “Clinicians should carefully balance the intended benefits of these medications against the very low likelihood that they cause microscopic colitis.”

    To look for associations between medication use and MC diagnosis, the researchers analyzed data for over 2.8 million individuals aged 65 years and older in Sweden. The data included information on prescribed medications, hospitalizations, medical diagnoses, and gastrointestinal biopsy results.

    Overall, they found that the risk of developing MC was less than 0.5%. There was no association between NSAIDs, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE-I) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), or statins and the risk of developing MC, but individuals prescribed SSRIs had a 0.04% higher risk of developing MC. However, the researchers also showed that individuals prescribed SSRIs were also more likely to receive a colonoscopy, which is necessary to diagnose MC.

    “Our analyses suggest that surveillance bias is a likely explanation for earlier findings that implicated medications in the pathogenesis of microscopic colitis and may also explain the continued association with SSRIs,” said senior author Jonas F. Ludvigsson, MD PhD, pediatrician at Örebro University Hospital and Professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

    The study did not include data on primary care visits, which could impact the likelihood of colonoscopy, or lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking status.

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  • Will the Asia Cup be held this year?

    Will the Asia Cup be held this year?


    KARACHI:

    “1.8 billion rupees – that’s a huge amount. If India doesn’t participate, then the Asia Cup might not even happen.”

    This question was posed in surprise by a Pakistani TV channel representative to an Indian broadcaster, who replied, “Don’t worry, the tournament will be held in September. Our team will also participate.” This conversation took place recently. Currently, there are four sports channels in Pakistan. One is state-owned and financially struggling. Another was previously blacklisted and is now barely surviving by airing old footage. A third is newly affiliated with an international sports network, and one more media group is also competing for broadcasting rights. Our market is not that large, so recovering billions in broadcasting fees is an uphill battle.

    But that’s not our main topic. The positive takeaway here is the encouraging signals surrounding the Asia Cup. After suffering setbacks during the recent conflict, the Indian media began spreading rumors that their team would not participate in the Asia Cup. However, the BCCI officially rejected such reports.

    Recently, India and Pakistan were placed in the same group for the Women’s World Cup by the ICC, and there was no backlash in India. Pakistan has also been invited to participate in the Junior Hockey World Cup. Media management works differently in both countries. In India, cricket board officials rarely appear publicly. Instead, they leak information through journalists using anonymous sources – like they did during the Champions Trophy.

    In contrast, PCB officials occasionally speak directly to the media. Indian media is no longer reporting negatively about the Asia Cup, which indicates they, too, have received assurance from the BCCI that the tournament will go ahead.

    Last year, the Asian Cricket Council’s 8-year media rights were sold to an Indian media group by Jay Shah for $170 million. This includes four Asia Cups and other women’s and junior events, with at least two guaranteed India-Pakistan matches in each tournament. Sources say Sony has now also been told by the BCCI not to worry – India will play in the Asia Cup.

    No matter how strained the bilateral ties, India has never refused to play Pakistan in ICC events. The only reason is the lucrative media rights, mostly held by Indian broadcasters. With billions invested, it’s not feasible to waste that money. At such times, politics is conveniently set aside. It’s safe to assume politicians also benefit from these massive deals, so they don’t object either.

    Fortunately, Pakistan doesn’t politicize sports. Our government doesn’t dictate which countries we should or shouldn’t play against. This clear policy gives the board flexibility in decision-making.

    This time, India is the official host of the Asia Cup, and reports suggest they’ve spoken with the Emirates Cricket Board to hold matches there. The tournament is expected to be held from September 12 to 28. Previously, the Asia Cup has also been held in Dubai, so it’s feasible again.

    India and Pakistan have agreed not to travel to each other’s countries, and instead play at neutral venues. This will also apply to the Asia Cup.

    Credit goes to Mohsin Naqvi for bringing balance to Pakistan-India cricket relations. His clear stance before the Champions Trophy forced India to agree to terms. In the past, Pakistan used to travel to India for ICC events, but India wouldn’t reciprocate. Now, the BCCI is aware that any hard stance will be met with stronger reaction from Pakistan.

    Therefore, it appears increasingly likely that the Asia Cup will be played in September, to determine Asia’s cricketing champion. However, India is unpredictable – they could cause trouble at the last moment. So Mohsin Naqvi, as the Asian Cricket Council chief, must have a Plan B ready. After all, India has realized, especially after the recent war, that the only way to appease their public is by defeating Pakistan in a cricket match – or making films with actors like Akshay Kumar or Ajay Devgn, showcasing fictional victories.

    Whatever happens, matches between these traditional rivals always capture fan interest. Pakistani fans are especially eager for cricket. It’s surprising that a series was held just before the PSL, exhausting players, and now there are no matches at all. If Bangladesh hadn’t agreed to play three additional T20s in July, this off-season would’ve been even longer. For future tours, Pakistan must work hard on its FTP (Future Tours Programme). Since Sameer Syed doesn’t know much about cricket, experienced officials should guide him.

    Stadiums look good only when active. No matter how many training camps are held, nothing beats actual match practice. The Asia Cup, followed by the T20 World Cup, are crucial. Beating Bangladesh won’t be enough preparation – the more we play against stronger teams, the more we will benefit.

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  • Near Antarctica, Saltier Seas Mean Less Ice, Study Finds – The New York Times

    1. Near Antarctica, Saltier Seas Mean Less Ice, Study Finds  The New York Times
    2. ‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity  The Conversation
    3. In Deep Water off Antarctica by Jessica T. Miskelly  plough.com
    4. Researchers make stunning discoveries during 70-day expedition in Antarctica: ‘Crossing the Atlantic’  yahoo.com
    5. Antarctic Ocean losing ice faster than expected  Courthouse News

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  • Pak outplay Japan in crucial netball clash

    Pak outplay Japan in crucial netball clash

    Pakistan girls netball team continued its brilliant winning streak here on Monday when they cruised past a strong Japan netball outfit by 79-39 goals, scoring their fourth successive win in the prestigious Asian Youth Girls Netball Championship-2025 which is being played at Jeonju Hwasan Gymnasium, Jeonju-si, South Korea.

    The players who stood out for Pakistan on the court were Leya Raza Shah, Alisha Naveed, Haleema, Sarina Hussain, Jasmine Farooq, Farah Rasheed, Amani, Parisa, Sumayya Ahmed and Alina.

    Japan girls netball team also displayed a competitive game and scored at regular intervals against Pakistan. However, Pakistani girls proved to be superior in skills and stamina as they bounced back in all the four quarters to maintain their lead.

    Chairman, Pakistan Netball Federation, Mudassar Arian, President, Sameen Malik, Secretary General, Muhammad Riaz congratulated the Pakistan girls netball team for their brilliance and hard work in the match.

    Pakistan is now on top of Pool- B of this mega event and will play their next match against Maldives on Tuesday (today).

    Eleven teams are participating in the championship which are divided into two groups;

    Group-A; Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and India.

    Group-B; Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Maldives and Saudi Arabia

    The Asian Youth Netball Championship 2025 is being played from

    June 27 to July 4, 2025, under the auspices of Asian Netball Federation.

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