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Folks always talk about age differences when they see couples like singer-actor Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra. In my opinion, it is the best decision for a man to marry an older woman because, in
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Sheldon H. Jacobson, Tribune News ServiceThe summer travel period is here, with high passenger volume keeping airplanes filled, even as jet fuel prices remain high and ticket prices have spiked. To add more angst to
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this week that he had determined he lacked the legal authority to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes should he visit the largest US city, after earlier saying he was considering the move. Mamdani did not elaborate on how he had reached that determination. Independent legal experts told Reuters that Mamdani lacked authority to have Netanyahu arrested because the US generally recognises immunity for heads of state and United Nations representatives, and because Washington is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC, based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 for alleged war crimes during the Gaza war. Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes. In a *New York Times interview broadcast on Saturday, Mamdani called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and said the city’s legal department was actively considering whether the law would allow his arrest should Netanyahu visit New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September. Mamdani, a Democrat, had made similar remarks while campaigning for mayor ahead of the November 4, 2025, election. In a video posted to social media on Tuesday night, Mamdani said he had concluded he had no such authority. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said. Neither Mamdani’s office nor Israel’s embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment. Experts in international law said there were multiple reasons that Mamdani could not order Netanyahu’s arrest. Since the United States is not a member of the ICC, there is no mechanism under US law to enforce the Hague-based court’s arrest warrants, said Alex Whiting, a professor at Harvard Law School and a former ICC prosecutor and Justice Department official. Additionally, a 2002 US law called the American Service-Members Protection Act specifically prohibits the US from extraditing anyone, regardless of their nationality, to the ICC, said Whiting. Sitting heads of government like Netanyahu are also generally immune from arrest and prosecution in US courts, and representatives of UN member states have legal immunity while transiting to and from a UN meeting, said Rebecca Ingber, a professor at Cardozo Law School and former US State Department lawyer. In his video, Mamdani called on the federal government to execute the warrant. In order for the federal government to arrest Netanyahu, the US would first need to join the ICC and repeal the American Service-Members Protection Act, Whiting said. Even then, the agreement between the UN and the US conferring immunity on UN representatives would still be an obstacle, Whiting said. US President Donald Trump, a Republican, said in a social media post on Monday that Netanyahu would not be arrested while in the United States.
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Pakistan’s push to convert some of its diplomatic goodwill with the Trump administration into economic support has drawn scepticism from economists, who say fresh financing will do little to address the reforms that Islamabad has long avoided.During a visit by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to Washington this week, Pakistan requested a $10bn US exchange stabilisation fund, Reuters reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter who were not authorised to speak publicly about it. In a previously unreported development, Pakistan later also pitched a separate trade-finance facility with the US EXIM Bank, said a source who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Both proposals would bolster the rupee and diversify funding beyond the International Monetary Fund, China and Saudi Arabia. Pakistan helped broker a ceasefire between the US and Iran this year, but its economic fundamentals have remained largely unchanged from before the war began.Amid tensions with the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan repaid Abu Dhabi $3.5bn in April, a fifth of its reserves, and turned to a $3bn Saudi backstop to plug the gap. While it is unclear whether the US will agree to Pakistan’s proposals, some analysts see benefits for Washington, too.The Trump administration has sought a greater role in Pakistan’s critical minerals sector, said Uzair Younus, a partner at The Asia Group, adding that the financing is likely to further cement the US’ role in potential mining deals. But others doubt the soundness of any US-Pakistani deal.Adeel Malik, an Oxford University associate professor, called the proposed reserve facility “geopolitical rent,” coming after Pakistan’s mediation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and amid a new series of Middle Eastern escalations in recent days. IMF-enforced reforms have recently shown some impact. S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday upgraded Pakistan to ‘B’ from ‘B-’, its first upgrade in nine years, citing stronger fiscal and institutional settings. But the $7b IMF programme carries a political cost: unpopular tax rises and spending curbs as Pakistan’s government — already wary of its history of truncated terms — looks towards elections due by 2029. Gareth Leather of Capital Economics said the proposed US fund would provide a “vital cash cushion” for Pakistan’s reserves, without the IMF’s strict conditions or the constant renewal required for Chinese and Saudi deposits.The EXIM Bank facility, separately, would let Pakistani buyers defer payments to US exporters for one to three years, narrowing the US’ trade deficit with the South Asian country. The real test, however, would not be if fresh money arrives, but whether Pakistan finally delivers on tax, energy and state-owned-enterprise reforms, said Vaqar Ahmed, a Pakistani economist. Without those, he said, Pakistan will keep returning to the IMF.“Fresh liquidity can buy time, but it cannot buy growth,” Ahmed said. A statement citing the US Treasury secretary praised Pakistan’s reforms this week but stressed the importance of greater economic self-reliance and a return to the international capital markets, making no mention of the $10bn requested facility.EXIM on Wednesday confirmed talks only on a “strategic framework” targeted for signing at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, another Trump ally, sought an Argentina-style “financial shield” in November 2025, but Trump did not offer one. Orban’s party lost Hungary’s election five months later.At this point, it is unclear what shape such a fund could take in Pakistan’s case.Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Treasury and US Trade Representative official, said the facility would likely be structured like a maximum draw rather than an upfront dollar transfer. Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund could support it, he said, because Argentina is not drawing on its separate $20bn line. Argentina drew $2.5bn in October and repaid it in December, Treasury said.Not everyone in Washington is convinced the money should flow.Mark Sobel, a former senior Treasury official who is now the US chair of the OMFIF think tank, said Treasury should decline any swap line for Pakistan despite the countries’ security alliance. Martin Muehleisen, a fellow at the Atlantic Council and former IMF strategy chief, questioned the scale of the request against Pakistan’s roughly $138bn debt pile.“For a country the size of Pakistan, you would talk about a few hundred million dollars; $10bn is just a different order of magnitude,” he said, adding that without a strong debt-sustainability framework, it “would probably be a big risk for the US to spend so much money.” China likely wouldn’t be opposed to US help for Pakistan. Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, said Beijing wants it stabilised but doesn’t want to remain its sole backer - and would welcome Washington sharing the load. Few expect a US exchange stabiliaation fund to let Pakistan walk away from the IMF and its reforms.Malik said IMF programmes have become closely aligned with US geopolitical interests in Pakistan and serve as a major lever of American influence, one Washington is unlikely to give up.Setser said Washington would likely make any funds conditional on Pakistan staying in an active IMF programme.Even that wouldn’t necessarily ensure that Pakistan will pursue deeper reforms, however.The “most conservative use” of any borrowed reserves, Setser said, would simply be to sit on Pakistan’s balance sheet, inflating the country’s reported gross reserves without addressing what put it there in the first place.
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Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday wasn’t the most entertaining match but still served as the culmination of a month-long celebration that spanned the North American continent. From Vancouver
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Carl P. Leubsdorf, Tribune News ServiceUnable to pass its controversial legislation to tighten voting laws and facing dubious mid-term election prospects, the Trump administration is trying to intimidate state officials into joining its effort to
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Hats off to the rescue crews in Afghanistan who are working hard to recover survivors and bodies from the rubble of houses destroyed by devastating flash floods that authorities said have killed at least 23
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It’s the first half of the summer season. Of course it’s hot out there and many people are asking how long these temperatures are likely to last. Well first off, let’s remember the phrase “we’re
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Artificial intelligence is changing the way films are made and now it is beginning to change who appears in them too. This week we are taking a look at Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated character set
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The monumental film of “The Odyssey” which portrays the legendary homeward journey of King Odysseus of Ithaca after the Trojan war, has hit the silver screen in the Gulf, the region and across the world.
