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Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja hopes to inspire the ‘different’ after calling time on Test career

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Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja hopes to inspire the ‘different’ after calling time on Test career


Australia’s Usman Khawaja acknowledges the crowd as he walks off unbeaten on 126 at stumps during the first Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on June 17, 2023. — Reuters
Australia’s Usman Khawaja acknowledges the crowd as he walks off unbeaten on 126 at stumps during the first Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on June 17, 2023. — Reuters
  • Khawaja to retire after fifth Ashes Test.
  • Hopes to inspire youngsters who are “different.”
  • Batter hits out at media treatment after recent injury.

Star Aussie batter Usman Khawaja on Friday said he hoped his long Test career, which will come to an end with his retirement after the fifth Ashes clash, inspires youngsters who are “different” that playing cricket for Australia is possible.

The top order batsman, who turned 39 last month, announced on Friday that he would be retiring from international cricket after his 88th Test, which will start at Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Khawaja made his Test debut at the same ground in the final match of the 2010-11 Ashes series and has since scored 6,206 runs at an average of 43.39, including 16 centuries.

More than his runs, however, Khawaja was a standard-bearer for diversity in Australian cricket, given he was born in Pakistan before being raised in Sydney from the age of five.

“I hope I’ve inspired many children along the way, particularly those who feel that they are different, those who feel that they don’t belong, or those others tell that they will never make it,” Khawaja told reporters at a press conference.

“I felt all these things growing up and trying to be an Australian cricketer, but seeing is believing. And I’m here to tell you that you can do whatever you want. Just got to keep trying.

“I’m a proud Muslim, coloured boy from Pakistan who was told that he would never play for the Australian cricket team. Look at me now. You can do the same.”

Khawaja batted for most of his Test career at the top of the middle order but lost his spot in the side for the 2021-22 Ashes series to Marnus Labuschagne.

He was, however, called up at the last minute when Travis Head contracted COVID ahead of the Sydney Test and revived his career with centuries in both innings.

Opening with Warner

After that, Khawaja moved up to form a successful opening partnership with David Warner, who retired from Test cricket after the SCG Test two years ago.

In this Ashes series, he injured his back in the opener in Perth and missed the second Test before initially being dropped from the team for the third in Adelaide.

He was again recalled at the eleventh hour after Steve Smith suffered a bout of vertigo and, batting at number four rather than opening, scored 82 and 40 as Australia won by 82 runs to clinch the series and retain the urn.

Khawaja said his treatment by the media after the back injury in Perth was proof that he was still treated differently from other players because of his background.

“The way the media and the past players came out and attacked me … I copped it for about five days straight,” he recalled.

“It was quite personal in terms of things like, ‘he’s not committed to the team. He was only worried about himself. He played this golf comp the day before.

“He’s selfish. He doesn’t train hard enough. He didn’t train the day before the game. He’s lazy. These are the same racial stereotypes I’ve grown up with my whole life.

“I just want the journey for the next Usman Khawaja to be different,” he added. “I want you to treat him the same, not have racial stereotypes of who they might be.”





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Netanyahu says he was successfully treated for prostate cancer

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Netanyahu says he was successfully treated for prostate cancer


Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Yom HaZikaron at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in occupied Jerusalem, April 21, 2026. — Reuters
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Yom HaZikaron at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in occupied Jerusalem, April 21, 2026. — Reuters
  • Netanyahu does not disclose when treatment occurred.
  • Delayed release of medical report by two months: Israeli PM.
  • Move aimed at preventing Iran from spreading “propaganda”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that he had received successful treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, without specifying when the treatment took place.

In a statement on social media, as his annual medical report was released, Netanyahu, 76, said an early stage malignant tumor had been discovered during a routine checkup. He said “targeted treatment” had removed “the problem” and left no trace of it.

According to the medical report, which otherwise said the prime minister was in good health, Netanyahu was treated with radiation therapy for early-stage prostate cancer.

Neither the medical report nor Netanyahu said when the treatment occurred.

Israel’s longest-serving prime minister said that he had delayed the release of the medical report by two months to prevent Iran from spreading “false propaganda against Israel”.

In March, during the fighting with Iran, rumors that circulated on social media and aired on Iranian state media claimed that Netanyahu had died.

The Israeli leader recorded a video of himself visiting a Jerusalem cafe in March to refute the claims.

Netanyahu underwent surgery on his prostate in 2024 after he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement. In 2023, he was fitted with a pacemaker. Elections are due to be held in Israel by October.





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Strategic Assertion or Legal Breach? Deconstructing India’s Indus Waters Doctrine

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Strategic Assertion or Legal Breach? Deconstructing India’s Indus Waters Doctrine



India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty under the pretext of security concerns constitutes a flagrant violation of international law , devoid of any legal basis within the Treaty framework. By invoking unsubstantiated claims surrounding the Pahalgam incident , India advances a dangerous doctrine that legitimizes treaty erosion and the coercive weaponisation of shared resources.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a binding bilateral instrument that contains no provision permitting unilateral suspension , reinterpretation, or conditional compliance, thereby rendering India’s decision to hold it in abeyance legally untenable and inconsistent with the principle of pacta sunt servanda. The attempt to justify this breach through allegations linked to the Pahalgam incident remains entirely unsubstantiated in international fora, exposing the claim as a politically motivated pretext rather than a lawful justification. By conflating disputed security narratives with treaty obligations, India not only undermines the integrity of a long-standing water-sharing regime but also sets a pernicious precedent that threatens the stability of transboundary agreements and the broader rules-based international order.

India’s unilateral move to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance is not a policy shift, it is a shameless act of legal defiance , openly violating the most basic rule of international law; pacta sunt servanda.

The weaponization of a water-sharing treaty exposes the dangerous ideological imprint of the RSS mindset , where majoritarian extremism overrides legal commitments India’s attempt to justify its conduct through the Pahalgam incident collapses under scrutiny even after a year; no evidence, no accountability, no credibility, only a politically convenient narrative weaponized to rationalize treaty violations.

Dragging terrorism allegations into a binding water treaty is not strategy, it is blatant and reckless escalation , dismantling decades of carefully insulated cooperation and replacing it with instability and mistrust.

By sidestepping proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, India has revealed a pattern of selective legality , embracing international law when convenient and abandoning it when constrained. Moreover, India yet remains silent to the UN Special Rapporteurs queries even after 130 days.

The weaponisation of water by an upper riparian state is nothing short of hydro-political terrorism , targeting the economic and agricultural lifeline of millions and crossing the line from governance into coercion.

This conduct represents a shameful erosion of treaty sanctity , sending a chilling message to the world that binding agreements can be hollowed out by power politics and ideological rigidity.

Pakistan’s position remains unequivocal; treaties are not conditional favors but binding obligations, and no state has the authority to unilaterally rewrite or suspend them under the guise of security narratives.

The growing international concern surrounding India’s actions underscores a simple reality: Unilateralism is isolating, destabilizing, and fundamentally incompatible with a rules-based order.

At its core, this doctrine of “blood and water cannot flow together” is not a principle of justice, it is a dangerous precedent, legitimizing collective punishment and transforming a historic instrument of peace into a tool of strategic pressure.



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India rebukes Trump for sharing ‘hellhole’ remarks on birthright citizenship

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India rebukes Trump for sharing ‘hellhole’ remarks on birthright citizenship


US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour the historic Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, February 24, 2020. — Reuters
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour the historic Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, February 24, 2020. — Reuters
  • Trump shares commentary on birthright citizenship on his social media.
  • Conservative talk show host called China, India ‘hellhole’ places.
  • India says inappropriate comments do not reflect reality of India-US ties.

India has dismissed as “uninformed” comments shared by US President Donald Trump that described the country as a “hellhole”, saying they were inappropriate and inconsistent with the strong relationship between the two countries.

The comments were made by conservative commentator Michael Savage in an episode of The Savage Nation talk radio show. Trump posted a transcript of the show on his Truth Social account on Thursday without any comments.

“A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet,” Savage said, according to the transcript.

“That there’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case. No, they’re not like the European Americans of today and their ancestors.”

Reuters could not immediately contact Savage.

Trump has issued a directive seeking to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, a move that has been challenged in the US Supreme Court. Earlier this month, he attended a hearing on the issue in a historic visit to the court.

India’s foreign ministry late on Thursday reacted strongly to the comments.

“The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said in a statement.

“They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests.”

The US embassy in New Delhi said: “The president has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top’.”

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

India’s main opposition Congress party called the “hellhole” remark “extremely insulting and anti-India. It hurts every Indian”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take up this matter with the US President and register a strong objection,” the party said on X.

Indian government data shows nearly 5.5 million people of Indian origin live in the United States. Indian Americans and Chinese Americans are the two biggest groups of Asian origin in the US.

Trump and Modi enjoyed warm ties during Trump’s first term, but relations cooled after India was hit last year with some of the highest US tariffs, many of which were rolled back this year. India and the US are now working on a trade deal aimed at preventing any renewed increase in tariffs and boosting sales to each other.





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