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LONDON: Reigning champions Australia face South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s from Wednesday amid a chorus of criticism over the competition’s format. Wisden, cricket’s ‘bible’, was scath­ing in its assessment, with editor Lawrence Booth writing in this year’s edition that the WTC is a “shambles masquerading as a showpiece”. Former England captain Michael Atherton said “everyone knows the WTC in its present guise is flawed”. One fundamental problem is that political tensions mean India and Pakistan, two of cricket’s leading nations, have not played a Test against each other since 2007. The nine-nation WTC is further…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), from left, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) and Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) exit the West Wing of the White House on June 4, 2025. The Senate has begun deliberations over President Donald Trump’s massive “Big Beautiful Bill” that narrowly passed the House on May 22, with several Republican senators expressing concerns over its cost as well as cuts to Medicaid and clean energy tax credits.Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesRepublicans on Capitol Hill are weighing legislation that’s estimated to cut billions of dollars of funding for the Affordable Care Act and cause millions of…

ISLAMABAD: Highlighting women-centric metrics, the Economic Survey noted that 250 women have been registered for training as boxers under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme. A total of 2,981 women have been registered for onward activities in FY2025, which include 250 for boxing and 2,731 for cricket. Young female athletes have also been encouraged register for other sports, including handball and judo. The Economic Survey 2024-25 also highlights that a lack of autonomy and opportunities for women were among the key drivers of high fertility and population growth rates. Economic Survey says 20m active bank accounts held by women; 12,000 female…

A sign in front of the entrance of the Security Administration’s main campus on March 19, 2025 in Woodlawn, Maryland. Kayla Bartkowski | Getty ImagesThe Supreme Court on Friday granted the Department of Government Efficiency access to Social Security Administration data that includes sensitive personal information of millions of Americans.The decision comes as the federal government sought a stay, or temporary suspension, after a federal judge blocked DOGE’s access to that data in April. The nation’s highest court granted an emergency application from the Trump administration to lift that injunction; the case is expected to proceed in lower courts.In its decision,…

The escalating battle between the Trump administration and Harvard University over international student visas could come at a high economic cost.Altogether, international students who studied in the U.S. contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the most recent data by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. In Massachusetts, alone, international students contributed nearly $4 billion and supported more than 35,000 jobs.At Harvard, the share of international students is disproportionately high compared to most other colleges and universities. International students accounted for 27% of Harvard’s total enrollment in the 2024-25 academic year, up from 22.5% a decade earlier.With more…

Former Pakistan women’s captain Sana Mir became the first female cricketer from the country to be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame on Monday. She took the top spot in women’s one-day international rankings in 2018 and helmed the team that took home gold from the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Her rise dovetailed with the growth in sporting opportunities for Pakistani women, who were not allowed to play in open fields until the early 2000s. Sana played 226 international matches since her 2005 debut. She is one of only nine women cricketers to have taken…

CNN  —  Americans felt a whole lot better about prices and the job market in May, a month that featured a détente in the trade war between the US and China. Consumers’ year-ahead expectations for inflation tumbled in May by 0.4 percentage points to 3.2%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Survey of Consumer Expectations released Monday. It was the biggest monthly sinking of near-term inflation expectations since November 2022, when price hikes slowed much more than expected and the Federal Reserve delivered another heavy-handed effort to curb decades-high inflation. The May survey appeared to mark…

Los Angeles, CA – May 17: Signage and people along Bruin Walk East, on the UCLA Campus in Los Angeles, CA, Wednesday, May 17, 2023.Jay L. Clendenin | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesAn unexpected $3,000 in interestEllie BrueckerCourtesy: Bruecker FamilyDespite the government’s promises, Bruecker’s student debt has grown by around $3,000 during the roughly year-long SAVE reprieve, her loan documents show.”I saw those numbers and my eyes bugged out of my head,” said Bruecker, 34.She’s not the only SAVE borrower seeing interest accruing: Other people facing the same issue have taken to social media to try and get answers.At…

Nitat Termmee | Moment | Getty ImagesThe U.S. job market isn’t looking too hot for recent college graduates and other job seekers, according to economists and labor experts.”The job market is kind of trash right now,” said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, a career coach and personal finance expert.”I mean, it’s really difficult,” she added. “It’s really difficult for people who have many years of experience, so it’s going to be difficult for college kids.”‘Tough summer’ for job seekersThat may seem counterintuitive.The national unemployment rate in May was relatively low, at 4.2%. The layoff rate has also been historically low, suggesting employers are…

CNN  —  A long-held stake by a handful of hedge funds may finally yield returns under the Trump administration, but it risks sending shockwaves through America’s $12 trillion mortgage market. Last month, President Donald Trump said he had plans to take mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public. Such a move would end 17 years of federal government conservatorship over the two companies, which have played a central role in America’s housing finance system by providing liquidity to the mortgage market. Some experts warn that severing Fannie and Freddie from government control could raise mortgage rates and restrict…