GREEN MAG

By Saleem Ahmed and Asif Shahzad

Aftermath of millitant attacks, in Quetta

QUETTA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Pakistan's security forces used drones and helicopters to wrest control of a southwestern town from separatist insurgents after a three-day battle, police said on Wednesday, as the death toll in the weekend's ​violence rose to 58.

Saturday's wave of coordinated attacks by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army brought Pakistan's largest province to a near ‌standstill as security forces exchanged fire with insurgents in more than a dozen places, killing 197 militants.

"I thought the roof and walls of my house were going to blow up," ‌said Robina Ali, a housewife living near the main administrative building in the fortified provincial capital of Quetta, where a powerful morning blast rocked the area.

Fighters of the BLA, the region's strongest insurgent group, stormed schools, banks, markets and security installations across Balochistan in one of their largest operations ever, killing more than 22 security officials and 36 civilians.

Police officials gave details of the situation on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to ⁠the media.

In the desert town of Nushki, home ‌to about 50,000, the insurgents seized control of the police station and other security installations, triggering a three-day standoff.

Police said seven officers were killed in the fighting before they regained control of the town late on Monday, while ‍operations against the BLA continue elsewhere in the province.

"More troops were sent to Nushki," said one security official. "Helicopters and drones were used against the militants."

Pakistan's interior ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

LATE NIGHT ATTACKS

Pakistan's largest and poorest province, mineral-rich Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to Beijing's investment ​in the Gwadar deepwater port and other projects.

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It has grappled with a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and ‌a larger share of its natural resources.

The BLA, which has urged people of the province to support the movement, said on Tuesday it had killed 280 soldiers during its Operation "Herof", Black Storm, but gave no evidence.

Security officials said the weekend attacks began at 4 a.m. on Saturday with suicide blasts in Nushki and the fishing port of Pasni and gun and grenade attacks in 11 more places, including Quetta.

The insurgents seized at least six district administration offices during the siege and had advanced at one point to within 1 km (3,300 ft) of the provincial chief minister's office in ⁠Quetta, the police officials said.

EVOLVING INSURGENCY

Pakistan has blamed India for the attacks, without furnishing ​evidence for charges that could escalate hostilities between the nuclear-powered neighbours who fought their ​worst armed conflict in decades in May.

India's foreign ministry has rejected the charges, saying Islamabad should instead tackle the "long-standing demands of its people in the region".

Retired Lt. General Amir Riaz, who led the military in Balochistan from 2015 to 2017, ‍said the insurgency had evolved over ⁠the last decade.

He added that it gained strength as the BLA received Indian support and used Afghanistan as a staging ground for its attacks, a charge the Taliban government has denied.

Riaz said the conflict would oscillate between stalemate and periods of heightened violence.

"It has ⁠escalated. The response will be decisive, leading to serious capacity degradation of BLA," he said, denying that the Pakistani military has used excessive force in Balochistan.

"However, ultimately the issues ‌are only resolved through political process and governance."

(Reporting by Saleem Ahmed in Quetta and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Additional reporting by ‌Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Writing by Saad Sayeed; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

By Mark Trevelyan

Feb 4 (Reuters) - The last Russia-U.S. nuclear arms control treaty, known as New START, is expiring.

Here is a guide to the treaty and why it matters:

WHO SIGNED NEW START, AND WHAT DID IT SAY?

New START was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, an ally ​of Vladimir Putin who served a single term as Russia's president. At the time, relations between the two countries were undergoing a "reset". The treaty came into force ‌the following year.

It set limits on strategic nuclear weapons - the kind that each side would use to strike the opponent's vital political, military and industrial centres in the event of a nuclear war. It capped the number ‌of deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 on each side, with no more than 700 deployed ground- or submarine-launched missiles and bomber planes, and 800 launchers.

WHAT STOPPED EITHER SIDE FROM CHEATING?

The treaty included a system of short-notice, on-site inspections so each side could satisfy itself that the other was complying. But in 2023, Putin suspended Moscow's participation because of U.S. support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. That brought a halt to inspections - which in any case had been suspended during the COVID pandemic - and forced each side to rely on its own intelligence assessments of what the ⁠other was doing. However, both sides said they would stick ‌to the treaty's numerical limits, which have remained in force until now.

WHY DON'T THE TWO SIDES JUST EXTEND THE TREATY?

The treaty text says it can only be extended once, and this has already happened - in 2021, just after Joe Biden became U.S. president. With expiry looming, Putin proposed ‍last September that each side should agree informally to stick to the warhead limits for another year. As of Wednesday, the treaty's final day, U.S. President Donald Trump had not responded.

In the U.S., opinions are divided on whether Trump should have accepted. Those in favour say it would have demonstrated political will to avoid an arms race and bought time to figure out a way forward. Others say the ​U.S. should free itself now from the New START limits in order to boost its arsenal to take account of a rapid nuclear build-up by China, and that doing ‌otherwise would send a signal of weakness.

WHY DOES IT MATTER IF THERE'S NO TREATY?

If Moscow and Washington cease observing mutual limits on their long-range nuclear arsenals, it will mark the end of more than half a century of constraints on these weapons. The expiry of New START leaves a void, as no talks have taken place on a successor. Arms control advocates fear that raises nuclear risks, especially at a time of heightened international tension because of wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Experts say the value of nuclear treaties lies not just in setting numerical limits but in creating a stable, transparent framework to prevent arms races from spiralling out of control.

WITHOUT A REPLACEMENT DEAL, WHAT MIGHT BOTH SIDES DO?

Each side would ⁠be free to increase its missile numbers and deploy hundreds more strategic warheads. However, experts say this ​poses some technical and logistical challenges and would not happen overnight - it would take at least the best ​part of a year to make significant changes. Longer term, the concern is that an unregulated arms race would ensue, in which each side would keep on adding weapons based on worst-case assumptions about what the other was planning.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO AGREE A REPLACEMENT TO NEW START?

Trump says ‍he wants a new, better treaty but experts ⁠say this would be a long, hard process. A successor treaty would probably need to address other classes of nuclear weapons, including short- and intermediate-range, as well as "exotic" new systems that Russia has developed since New START was agreed, such as the Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon torpedo.

Apart from the fact such deals are complex ⁠and technical, there isn't even agreement on who should take part. While Trump has stated he wants to pursue "denuclearisation" with both Russia and China, Beijing says it is unrealistic to ask it to join negotiations with countries ‌whose arsenals are still many times larger than its own. Russia says the nuclear forces of NATO members Britain and France should also be up for ‌negotiation, which those countries reject.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Peter Graff and Alex Richardson)

By Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Trevelyan

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States is due to expire within hours, raising the risk of a new arms race in which China will ​also play a key role.

The web of arms control deals negotiated in the decades since the 1962 Cuban Missile ‌Crisis, considered the closest the world ever came to intentional nuclear war, were aimed at reducing the chance of a catastrophic nuclear exchange.

Unless Washington and Moscow reach ‌a last-minute understanding of some kind, the world's two biggest nuclear powers will be left without any limits for the first time in more than half a century when the New START treaty expires.

COSTS COULD CONSTRAIN NEW ARMS RACE

There was confusion about the exact time it would lapse, though arms control experts told Reuters they believed this would happen at 2300 GMT on Wednesday - midnight in Prague, where the treaty was ⁠signed in 2010.

Matt Korda, associate director for the ‌Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said that if there was no agreement to extend its key provisions, neither Russia nor the United States would be constrained if they wanted to ‍add yet more warheads.

"Without the treaty, each side will be free to upload hundreds of additional warheads onto their deployed missiles and heavy bombers, roughly doubling the sizes of their currently deployed arsenals in the most maximalist scenario," he said.

Korda said it was important to recognise that the expiry of ​New START did not necessarily mean an arms race given the cost of nuclear weapons.

U.S. President Donald Trump has given different ‌signals on arms control. He said last month that if the treaty expired, he would do a better agreement.

So far, Russian officials said, there has been no response from Washington on President Vladimir Putin's proposal to extend the limits of the treaty beyond expiry.

THE DEATH OF ARMS CONTROL

Total inventories of nuclear warheads declined to about 12,000 warheads in 2025 from a peak of more than 70,000 in 1986, but the United States and Russia are upgrading their weapons and China has more than doubled its arsenal over the ⁠past decade.

Arms control supporters in Moscow and Washington say the expiry of the ​treaty would not only remove limits on warheads but also damage confidence, trust ​and the ability to verify nuclear intentions.

Opponents of arms control on both sides say such benefits are nebulous at best and that such treaties hinder nuclear innovation by major powers, allow cheating and essentially narrow the ‍room for manoeuvre of great powers.

Last ⁠year, Trump said that he wanted China to be part of arms control and questioned why the United States and Russia should build new nuclear weapons given that they had enough to destroy the world many times over.

"If there's ever ⁠a time when we need nuclear weapons like the kind of weapons that we're building and that Russia has and that China has to a lesser ‌extent but will have, that's going to be a very sad day," he said in February last year.

"That's going ‌to be probably oblivion."

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Alex Richardson)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India will be chasing a thirdTwenty20 World Cuptitle when the 2026 edition, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, gets underway Saturday.

India New Zealand Cricket

The defending champion India squadwill be in action on opening day, taking on the U.S. team at Mumbai. Sri Lanka will play its first game against Ireland in Colombo on Sunday.

The tournament will feature 20 teams divided into four groups of five. The group stage will run until Feb. 20. The playoffs will start with the Super Eights stage from Feb. 21-March 1, followed by semifinals on March 4 and 5 and the championship decider on March 8.

No host nation has ever won the men's T20 World Cup, nor has any team lifted the trophy three times (West Indies and England are also two-time champions) — India is aiming to change history on both counts. Here's what to know:

India's title defense

India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 in South Africa and then had to wait another 17 years to lift the trophy again. That drought ended in 2024, when Rohit Sharma led his squad to victory over the Proteas in the final at Barbados.

India's longtime stars Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the T20 format in international cricket following that victory. Now, under Suryakumar Yadav, the defending champions are chasing a repeat performance on home soil.

India has won every T20 series it has contested in the last two years, including victories against South Africa and Australia away from home, as well as theAsia Cuplast year in the United Arab Emirates.

India is placed in Group A with the United States, Namibia, Netherlands and archrival Pakistan. There's been adoubt over the high profile India-Pakistan contest– a fixture highlight in International Cricket Council tournaments – which is scheduled for Feb. 15 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Pakistan government has refused permission for its national team to play against India in response to the ICC's refusal to accommodateBangladesh's request for venue changes. The result wasScotland replacing Bangladesh in the tournament.

There's a lengthy history of political tension overshadowing high profile cricket between the neighboring countries.

If Pakistan forfeits the game, it gives India a relatively trouble-free pathway to the playoff stage.

Sri Lanka's home advantage

Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka has played 32 T20s and lost about half of them. Even on home soil, it has only beaten West Indies and alsolost to England in the build-upto this tournament.

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Yet there's history of Sri Lanka lifting for the big limited-overs tournaments and, for starters, it helps to be playing all games in familiar conditions either at Colombo or Pallekele.

The 2014 champions are placed in Group B with Ireland, Oman, Zimbabwe and 2021 champions Australia.

Getting out of this group is the first objective, but the real challenge will begin afterward. In the second round, Sri Lanka could face Pakistan, New Zealand and England — it has won only five of 16 games against these three teams since 2024.

Sri Lanka will count on spinners Wanindu Hasranga and Maheesh Theekshana to bolster its chances, with Matheesha Pathirana leading the pace attack. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis will have to carry much of the batting load.

Between 2009 and 2014, Sri Lanka reached three T20 World Cup finals, finally winning the title in the last of those with a victory over India in Dhaka. It was the final T20 game for star players Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena, and Sri Lanka is yet to scale similar lofty heights again.

The Favorites

Ranked No. 1 in the ICC T20 rankings, India is the obvious favorite for the title.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir may not have had much success recently in the test or one-day international formats, but his T20 plans have mostly all worked out well.

Abhishek Sharma has become a fan favorite in the absence of Sharma and Kohli. The big-hitting opener is already filling stadiums as fans line up to watch his skills. The No. 1-ranked T20 batter will be key to India's ambitions for the title.

"He's a star. He can be the leading run-scorer and potentially player of the tournament," analyst and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said on the ICC Review podcast.

"If he does, that makes India even harder to beat. If he doesn't, they are as vulnerable as anybody else."

Skipper Yadav also regained form in the recent series against New Zealand, while Ishan Kishan has provided fresh impetus to the batting at No. 3. In the bowling department, Harshit Rana is a shoe-in with his all-round skills, while mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy – also the No. 1-ranked T20 bowler – will be hard to handle on home pitches.

T20 veterans Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya – who both played crucial roles in India's grand final win at Barbados – will once again play important roles for India. Potentially, it could be Bumrah's last T20 World Cup.

AP cricket:https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Collin Gillespie scored a career-high 30 points, Mark Williams had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns bounced back from a slow start for a 130-125 win over the reeling Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Suns Trail Blazers Basketball

Grayson Allen also scored 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting and Jordan Goodwin had 16 points and 10 rebounds on a night when the Suns played without leading scorer Devin Booker (25.4 points per game), who was out with a right ankle sprain. Jalen Green was also out of the Suns' lineup.

Gillespie tied a career high with eight made 3-pointers and also had 10 assists.

Jerami Grant had 23 points to lead Portland, which lost its sixth straight game. Donovan Clingan had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe added 19 points for Portland.

The Trail Blazers also played without their leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Deni Avdija (25.5 points per game), who has a lower back strain and was just named to his first All-Star game.

Vit Krejci had five points in his Portland debut after being acquired in a trade with Atlanta.

Portland jumped to a 41-30 lead after one quarter but Phoenix pulled within 72-67 at halftime. The Suns took control by outscoring the Blazers 34-22 in the third quarter.

Williams' layup with 3:55 left in the third quarter put the Suns ahead for good at 88-87.

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The Trail Blazers turned the ball over 17 times, six more times than the Suns.

Suns: Return home to play Golden State on Thursday night.

Trail Blazers: Host Memphis on Friday night.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided byData Skriveand data fromSportradar.