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LOS ANGELES: Lionel Messi kicks off a critical season for Major League Soccer this weekend as the rapidly growing US domestic league seeks to cash in on a huge spike in interest from the upcoming World Cup. Messi – MLS’s undisputed flagship star – will lace up his boots for a fourth year with Inter Miami, who take on South Korean ace Son Heung-min’s Los Angeles FC in Saturday’s opener at the 70,000-capacity Memorial Coliseum. It is a suitably splashy start for a season that will be split in two by the 2026 World Cup, which takes place across the United States,…

WASHINGTON: FIFA will spearhead a $75 million fund to rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza that were destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Donald Trump and the sport’s governing body said Thursday. Trump made the announcement in Washington at the first meeting of his “Board of Peace,” an amorphous institution that features two dozen of the US president’s close allies and is initially focused on rebuilding the Gaza strip. “I’m also pleased to announce that FIFA will be helping to raise a total of $75 million for projects in Gaza,” said Trump. “And I think they’re soccer related,…

LAHORE : The Punjab School Education Department has issued a notification enforcing a standard dress code for teachers in public schools across the province. According to the notification, wearing a black gown during teaching hours has been made mandatory for all teachers. Male teachers have been advised to wear simple shalwar kameez or pants and shirts, while female teachers have been directed to wear decent and modest attire. The new dress code will be strictly implemented in all public educational institutions starting from February 23, 2026. In addition, teachers have been instructed to wear closed shoes or appropriate sandals to…

The rise in Britain’s youth unemployment rate to a 10-year high is posing tough questions for the country’s centre-left government about its policy of phasing out a lower minimum wage for younger workers. Official figures this week showed Britain’s jobless rate for people aged 16-24 rose to 16.1% in the final quarter of last year, up from 13.8% in the middle of 2025 and a record low of under 9.2% during the Covid-19 pandemic. Youth unemployment in Britain now exceeds that in the euro zone. Many business groups and economists blame a sharp increase in the minimum wage alongside last…

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has warned that Iran has no more than 10 to 15 days to strike a “meaningful” deal over its nuclear programme, or face what he described as “really bad things”. Speaking in Washington, Trump signalled that the US could take action if talks fail, sharpening the stakes in an already tense stand-off. His remarks come amid a major US military build-up in the Middle East, underscoring the urgency of the deadline and raising fears of fresh escalation if diplomacy falls short. Amid a massive US military build-up in the Middle East that has fuelled fears of a…

ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court of Pakistan has temporarily stayed proceedings in a defamation case filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against the PTI founder and has issued a notice to the Prime Minister seeking his response. The case, involving a claim of Rs10 billion, will be scheduled for urgent hearing. During the hearing, Justice Ayesha Malik noted that no representative appeared for the other side and highlighted her dissenting note in the case. Previously, a two-judge bench had upheld the trial court’s decision to terminate the founder’s right to defend due to his absence. The founder’s counsel, Ali Zafar,…

The United States has thanked Pakistan for supporting President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and for joining the Board of Peace. In a post on X, US State Secretary Marco Rubio shared an image with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Rubio mentioned in the post that he met PM Shehbaz to appreciate “Pakistan’s ongoing support of@POTUS’s Peace Plan for Gaza and for joining the Board of Peace.” “In our meeting, we discussed the importance of our strategic relationship on critical minerals development and counterterrorism,” the state secretary added. Responding to Rubio’s tweet,…

Five senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, incarcerated at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat, on Friday called for the postponement of all protest activities during Ramadan and urged the party to shift its immediate focus towards parliamentary politics. In a joint letter issued to the media from Kot Lakhpat Jail, the party leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Umar Sarfraz Cheema and Mian Mahmood Rashid — said that, in view of the sanctity of the holy month, every form of protest movement should be deferred. Khan’s health has emerged as the latest point of contention between the government…

NEW DELHI: The United States is in “active negotiation” over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India, to help India diversify its sources of crude oil, US Envoy Sergio Gor said on Friday. The US has made diversification away from Russian crude a condition for cutting tariffs on goods imported from India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer. “The Department of Energy is speaking to the Ministry of Energy here, and so we’re hoping to have some news of that very soon,” Gor told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi where India joined the US-led…

ISLAMABAD: Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, Secretary Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) and newly appointed ad-hoc president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), has announced the lifting of the ban on national team captain Ammad Shakeel Butt amid controversy surrounding the team’s visit to Australia. Wani assumed charge after being appointed as the ad hoc president following the resignation of the sitting President Tariq Bugti. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the Patron-in-Chief of the PHF, has approved Bugti’s resignation as the President of PHF with immediate effect on Thursday. The prime minister has also taken notice of the mismanagement at the hockey…