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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced domestic contracts for 65 women cricketers, including 23 U19 and emerging players, for the season 2025-26. The contracts, for the first time, have been categorised into Gold and Silver with 20 and 45 players awarded, respectively, PCB said in a statement. The contracts will run from July 2025 to June 2026, during which a number of domestic and U19 tournaments are scheduled. “The monthly retainers have been awarded to not just the performers of previous domestic events but also those who have showcased promise and potential in their respective skillsets during this…

Financial incentive to claim primary residenceThe main reason a borrower could be motivated to claim a primary residence on a mortgage application is to get a lower interest rate for that home.Typically, mortgages for a primary residence have lower interest rates and homeowner’s insurance costs, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage website HSH.Mortgage interest rates are generally 0.5% to 1% higher for investment properties than loans for primary homes, according to Bankrate. You also typically pay about 25% more for insurance as a landlord compared to your standard homeowners policy, according to the Insurance Information Institute.Owner-occupied means “you’re going to…

A New Zealand rugby player who had wanted his brain to be studied after suffering from the effects of multiple concussions has died aged 39, police said on Wednesday. Shane Christie, a former Maori All Blacks player, had campaigned for greater awareness in rugby of the impact of repeated blows to the head. After retiring from the game in 2017 Christie reportedly suffered from headaches, memory lapses, speech problems, depression and mood swings consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Local media said the death of Christie, who also played for Otago Highlanders, Canterbury Crusaders and the All Blacks sevens team,…

Josh HarnerCourtesy: Josh HarnerA myriad of recent changes to the federal student loan system have made it difficult for some borrowers to get someone on the phone — whether from the Department of Education or their loan servicer — who can answer their questions accurately.”You never get a straight answer,” said one student loan borrower, Josh Harner, 38.Another borrower Dan Carrigg, 41, said: “I have been told all kinds of conflicting information.”Both men are stuck in a more than 72,000-person backlog for a program that helps borrowers access Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and have been trying for months to get…

Pakistan defeated Uzbekistan 3-0 to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the ATF 12&U Team Competition Finals in Singapore, according to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF). Pakistan secured their place in the championship after clinching the ATF 12 & under Regional Qualifying Event of South Asia in Sri Lanka in May. In today’s first singles match, Rashid Ali Bachani defeated Zinatulin Milan 6-4, 6-2. In the second singles, Shayan Afridi outclassed Ziyatov Azamjon 6-1, 6-1, PTF said in a post on social media. In the doubles encounter, the pair of Shayan Afridi and M. Ibraheem Gill sealed the win…

India said on Wednesday that the city of Ahmedabad is an “ideal” location for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, with its bid viewed as part of a wider push by the cricket-mad nation to host the 2036 Olympics. Ahmedabad is the key city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, home to a 130,000-seater arena, the world’s biggest cricket stadium and named after the premier. Modi’s cabinet approved India’s bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games on Wednesday. India submitted a formal letter of intent last year to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2036 Games. “Ahmedabad is an…

Visitors and salesmen stand at the booth of Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweler Piaget, during the “Watches and Wonders Geneva” luxury watch fair, on April 1, 2025.Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty ImagesJamie and her husband are traveling to Switzerland in December for a ski vacation. But hitting the slopes isn’t the only motivator: The couple say they are also trying to sidestep steep U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods.They intend to buy a luxury watch — a Patek Philippe Nautilus — from the watchmaker in Geneva, Jamie said, as a present for her husband’s birthday.Their budget for the watch: $50,000…

ZURICH: Pole vault world record holder Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis will aim to win a fifth successive Diamond League title on Wednesday in Zurich, the Swiss city hosting the circuit’s finals just two weeks before the world championships in Tokyo. “I have to be focused, I can’t slack,” said the US-born Swede, who has been in electric form, setting a 13th world record, of 6.29 metres, in Budapest earlier this month. “High expectations are better than no expectations. It’s a good problem, honestly,” he said of the public’s perception of the current state of the pole vault competition. “It’s bringing people…

U.S. President Donald Trump signs the sweeping spending and tax legislation, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 4, 2025. Ken Cedeno | ReutersRoth individual retirement account conversions have become a popular way for investors to reduce lifetime taxes. But for some high earners, the strategy could hurt eligibility for the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT.President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” temporarily increased the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 starting in 2025. The limit increases by 1% yearly through 2029 and reverts to $10,000 in…

BERLIN: Former Real Madrid right back Lucas Vazquez has joined Bayer Leverkusen until 2027, the German club announced on Tuesday. The five-time Cham­pions League winner joins on a free transfer, having been a free agent since his Real contract expired in the summer. The 34-year-old completed a medical in Real and is in line to play in Leverkusen’s next match, away at Werder Bremen on Saturday. In a statement, Vazquez said he was “looking forward to continuing my career at Leverkusen”. Vazquez revealed former Leverkusen coach and current Real manager Xabi Alonso and one-time Leverkusen player Dani Carvajal, who is…