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CHITRAL: Shandur Polo Festival will start from Friday (today) in the highest polo ground of the world and it will continue for three days with matches between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) being the major event. The tourists will also enjoy cultural and musical evenings while fireworks and enthralling musical concerts will be arranged at night time. Arranged by the district administrations of Lower and Upper Chitral districts with the financial assistance of KP Culture and Tourism Authority, the event has been included in the calendar of events of the province. Tourists have started arriving here to proceed…

Emirmemedovski | E+ | Getty ImagesEven with the Federal Reserve on the sidelines, credit card rates are edging higher.In June, credit card interest rates rose for the third straight month, hitting the highest level since December, according to a recent report by LendingTree.Now, the average annual percentage rate is just over 20%, according to Bankrate. For new cards, the average APR is up to 24.3%, according to LendingTree.”These are crippling rates that are compounding your debt at such a fast clip,” said certified financial planner Clifford Cornell, an associate financial advisor at Bone Fide Wealth in New York City.More from FA Playbook:Here’s a look…

BELARUS’ Aryna Sabalenka hits a return against Rebeka Masarova of Spain during their Berlin Open round-of-16 match at Steffi Graf Stadion on Thursday.—AFP BERLIN: Aryna Sabalenka completed a 6-2, 7-6(6) win over Swiss Rebeka Masarova on Thursday to reach the Berlin Open quarter-finals, concluding a match that had been suspended on Wednesday because of slippery conditions. French Open champion Coco Gauff, however, crashed out after a 6-3 6-3 loss to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu in a failed start to her grass campaign, less than two weeks before Wimbledon. Belarusian Sabalenka, playing for the first time since losing to American Gauff…

SRI LANKAN opener Pathum Nissanka is clean bowled by Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud during their first Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.—AFP GALLE: Pathum Nissanka’s career-best 187 helped Sri Lanka finish the third day of the first Test against Bangladesh in a strong position here at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday, only 127 runs off the Tigers’ first innings score. The 27-year-old opener anchored the Sri Lanka innings before they finished on 368-4 at the close of play, behind Bangladesh’s 495. He struck several key partnerships before he was bowled by Hasan Mahmud towards the end…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan booked a place in the Asian Volleyball Federation quarter-finals after beating Chinese Taipei in a five-set nail-biter in Manama, Bahrain on Thursday. The Pool ‘C’ fixture was one of the most exhilarating encounters of the tournament so far, filled with high-paced rallies, incredible comebacks, and outstanding individual brilliance from both sides. Pakistan took an early lead by winning the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22, showing confidence and control on the court. However, Chinese Taipei responded strongly, taking the third and fourth sets 25-21 and 25-16, pushing the match into a decisive fifth set. In a dramatic and…

CNN  —  As if a global trade war wasn’t enough for businesses and consumers to contend with, it’s looking increasingly like the Israel-Iran conflict could reach the brink of a full-blown war. While the conflict is playing out thousands of miles away from US soil, Americans may not be able to escape the economic impact of it. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday after the central bank’s latest monetary policy meeting that officials are monitoring the situation. “What’s tended to happen is when there’s turmoil in the Middle East, you may see a spike in energy prices, but…

CNN  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday continued his extraordinary and targeted verbal attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling for a massive 2.5-point reduction in interest rates. Despite appointing Powell to the role in 2017, Trump has frequently chastised the Fed chair for keeping rates higher than the president would like. On Wednesday, after a monetary policymaking meeting, the Fed said it would be maintaining rates between 4.25% and 4.5%, noting that the economy remains strong but the path of inflation is uncertain in part because of the enormous tariffs that Trump has placed on foreign goods. “‘Too…

LONDON: Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik plays a return against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during their Queen’s Club Championships match on Wednesday.—AFP LONDON: British number one Jack Draper survived a scare to reach the Queen’s Club quarter-finals with a gritty 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(7/5) win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday. Draper was rocked by the world number 21 in the first set of the second round tie at the Wimbledon warm-up event. But the 23-year-old hit back to level the match before taking the final set tie-break to complete his comeback in a tense encounter lasting two hours and 13…

BANGLADESH batters Mushfiqur Rahim (L) and Liton Das run between the wickets during the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.—AFP GALLE: Bangladesh continued their dominance over Sri Lanka on the second day of the first Test on Wednesday, finishing at a commanding 484 for nine — despite a few late breakthroughs by the hosts. The Tigers resumed on 292 for three overnight and turned the screws on a batting-friendly wicket, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto extending their record-breaking partnership. The 264-run partnership finally en­d­ed when Shanto fell for 148, decei­ved in…

CNN  —  Despite unprecedented immigration raids, a massive domestic policy agenda and now the prospect of actual war, President Donald Trump’s first five months in office have nevertheless been dominated by his trade war. He notched some recent wins, but Trump is rapidly running out of time to seal the deal. Or, more accurately, deals. More than 100 of them. After pausing his “Liberation Day” tariffs that sent levies surging for dozens of countries’ exports to the United States, Trump has sought to make a number of bilateral trade deals that would open American businesses’ access to foreign markets and…