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Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif has advanced to the final of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Masters Snooker Championship 2025, being held in Manama, Bahrain, the federation said on Thursday. According to the IBSF, the former world amateur champion secured a 4-2 win over India’s Manan Chandra in the semi-final held on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain. The frame scores were 118-6, 0-84, 25-76, 92-11, 87-62, and 72-41. Asif will face India’s Brijesh Damani in the final on Friday (today). The match will be held at 6pm Bahrain Time, 8pm PKT, the IBSF said in a post…

New York/Washington CNN  —  If President Donald Trump were to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, it could have unintended and severe consequences that reverberate throughout the US economy and global markets. For now, the likelihood of the president actually moving to oust the head of the central bank remains low, due to the legal hurdles required. That’s partly why investors have seemingly grown numb to Trump’s ongoing admonishment, even after the president brandished a draft of a termination letter for the Fed chair in front of lawmakers on Tuesday night. Another reason is that Trump’s own economic advisers have…

TUNIS: Three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur is taking a break from competitive tennis, the 30-year-old said in a social media post on Thursday. Tunisia’s Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, has struggled with her form in recent months, failing to get past the third round of a major this year. The two-time Wimbledon finalist’s campaign came to a disappointing end at the All England Club last month as she retired from her first-round clash against Viktoriya Tomova, unable to continue after a long medical timeout. The former world number two suffers from asthma and…

BARCELONA’S Lamine Yamal poses with his new jersey. —Reuters BARCELONA: Three days after turning 18, Lamine Yamal received the most special gift of all — Barcelona’s iconic number 10 shirt, capping a remarkable breakthrough season for the youngster. Although the electric winger has eschewed comparisons to all-time Barca great Lionel Messi, he has followed in the Argentine’s footsteps by taking the number 10, also worn by Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho among other historic Barca stars. “I will try to continue this legacy,” said Yamal told reporters on Wednesday, undaunted by the shirt’s history. “Messi paved the way with the number…

CNN  —  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responded by letter Thursday to a senior Trump administration official who accused the head of the central bank of mismanaging an “ostentatious overhaul” of its Washington, DC, headquarters. Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, suggested in a social media post last week that Powell had broken the law by failing to comply with government oversight regulations related to the Fed’s ongoing $2.5 billion renovation, which includes the historic marble Marriner S. Eccles Building on the National Mall. “The President is extremely troubled by your management of the Federal Reserve…

As Bitcoin surges, crypto companies are jockeying for position.getty Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with $43 billion in assets and 2.5 million customers, is expanding into crypto derivatives in the U.S. in a bid to position itself as a full-service trading house and attract new smart money. The Wyoming-based crypto exchange has actually been offering derivatives in Europe, where it claims to have over 35% market share, since 2019. The U.S. expansion comes amid growing appetite for these instruments and a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under President Donald Trump. It’s a “huge area of growth,” says Shannon Kurtas,…

As the Trump administration overhauls the federal student loan repayment system, borrowers may soon find it difficult to keep up with their monthly payments, consumer advocates said.The SAVE, or Saving on a Valuable Education, plan, touted by the Biden administration as the most affordable repayment program ever, is now defunct. President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” phases out several other income-driven repayment plans, which were aimed at making payments manageable for student loan holders.”In many instances, borrowers will be left with no affordable options, increasing the risk of default,” said Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance…

LONDON: After missing four years of Test duty due to injury, England speedster Jofra Archer is keen to make up for lost time and says he wants to play the final two Tests against India and prove he deserves a place in the squad for the Ashes series in Australia. Archer made his test comeback at Lord’s in the third Test, bowling at full tilt to claim five wickets, including three in the second innings as England clinched a 22-run victory to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. England management, men’s managing director Rob Key in particular, have been…

CNN  —  US wholesale inflation was muted in June, despite expectations for an increase amid the rollout of tariffs. The Producer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices paid to producers, was unchanged from May, and the annual rate of wholesale-level inflation slowed 2.3%, helped lower in part because of base effects (where the year-ago period experienced higher inflation). Economists had expected that prices would rise 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.5% annually, according to FactSet. Stock futures moved higher after the data release. Dow futures were up 165 points, or 0.37%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.21%…

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday announced a Rs100 million grant for the Asia Cup Wheelchair Cricket Tournament in major support for sports involving persons with disabilities. According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s House, aside from the Rs100m grant, Murad also announced an annual grant of Rs15 million for the Pakistan Wheelchair Cricket Council (PWCC), along with a dedicated customised coaster (minibus) for the national wheelchair cricket team. PWCC is the governing body of wheelchair cricket in Pakistan and a founding member of the International Council of Wheelchair Cricket (ICWC). It focuses on providing sporting…