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Opener Ibrahim Zadran’s 177 and five wickets by Azmatullah Omarzai helped Afghanistan knock England out of the Champions Trophy with a thrilling eight-run victory on Wednesday.Afghanistan posted 325-7 in a virtual knockout tie in Lahore and then bowled out England for 317 in 49.5 overs to stay alive in the race for a semi-final place while England have no chance of reaching the last four.Joe Root’s 120 went in vain as England lost regular wickets to lose their second straight ODI to the Afghans after their shock defeat in the 2023 World Cup in India.Needing 13 off the last six balls with one wicket in hand, pace bowler Omarzai kept calm to give away just four runs and dismiss Adil Rashid.Playing under the cloud of boycott calls from some British politicians over the plight of women in the Taliban-ruled nation, Afghanistan elected to bat in a bid to bounce back from their opening loss to South Africa.But they soon slipped to 37-3 inside nine overs before Zadran pulled the innings together with a fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 40.Zadran later added 111 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, who hit 40 in 24 balls.Zadran, 23, took the England bowling apart and went past his previous ODI best of 162 in his 146-ball knock laced with 12 fours and six sixes.He not only broke his own record for Afghanistan’s highest individual ODI score but also a tournament record, days after Ben Duckett’s 165 in England’s opening loss to Australia.- ‘One of the best innings’ -“I think it was one of the best ODI innings I have ever seen,” said Shahidi.Mark Wood’s injury in the middle of his fourth over hampered England as the fast bowler managed just eight overs and went off with a knee issue.In reply, England lost two early wickets to be 30-2 after senior spinner Mohammad Nabi struck with his first ball to send back Jamie Smith for nine.Duckett attempted to hit back in a 68-run stand with Root to steady the chase but Rashid Khan trapped the left-handed opener lbw for 38.Harry Brook looked fluent in his 25 but fell caught and bowled to Nabi in a soft dismissal to further put England in trouble.Root kept calm and along with skipper Jos Buttler, who took time to settle before hitting two sixes, put on 83 runs to keep the chase going.Afghanistan bowlers kept up the pressure with dot balls and Omarzai got the skipper out for 38 off a top edge caught at deep square-leg and Liam Livingstone departed soon after.But Root hung on as he reached his first ODI ton in almost five years and 37 innings and with Jamie Overton kept chipping away with regular boundaries.But Omarzai got the prized wicket as he had Root caught behind.”He played an unbelievable innings tonight. The way to handle pressure in a run-chase,” said Buttler. “He needed one of the other top six batters to stay in with him and take the game deeper.”The pendulum kept swinging as Omarzai dismissed Overton but despite Jofra Archer’s late push England went down as the third team to be eliminated in the eight-nation tournament after hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Afghans painted in red, green and black cheered from the sidelines of the Champions Trophy cricket in Lahore and from in front of their televisions in Kabul on Wednesday, brushing aside calls for England to boycott the match. More than 160 British politicians called for the boycott of the key group match in protest against the Taliban government’s restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan.However, the stadium in Pakistan’s northeast was filled with dancing spectators on Wednesday as the two sides met to determine who would make it through to the semi-finals. “Those who are trying to bring politics into sports are misguided,” said Khaybar Khan, a 24-year-old tailor watching the match from the Afghan capital.”They are simply doing their jobs. They have raised their voices for women’s education and we all believe in the necessity of women doctors, engineers, and education for women.”Female participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.That puts the Afghanistan cricket board at odds with International Cricket Council rules, although the men’s team are still allowed to compete.The England and Wales Cricket Board resisted the demand to boycott the match but said they would not schedule a bilateral series against Afghanistan.”The petition against the cricket team to boycott them is baseless and unfair, they have stood with their nation many times,” said Nafas, another 24-year-old cricket fan in Kabul.”There are a lot of issues in Afghanistan, our education, freedom, and cricket are the only things remaining for us. Please don’t take this from us as well.”Afghanistan’s English coach told reporters on Tuesday the players are facing a “tricky situation” and know there are “things that are not correct” in their country.Star allrounder Rashid Khan, who was expected to play a crucial role in the match, has not shied away from proclaiming his support for women’s education despite the high political risk of making such calls.- Remarkable rise -Afghans share close ties with their neighbour Pakistan, where millions of refugees and migrants have arrived and made their home over the past several decades.It was in the refugee camps in northwestern Pakistan that Afghans, fleeing successive wars, first tasted the sport of cricket and they have had remarkable success on the international stage in recent years.”We are so happy for our team to even make it this far,” said 20-year-old Afghan Muhammad Yusaf, who was born in Lahore.”There are former champions like West Indies and Sri Lanka who couldn’t make this tournament but we are here. So they have already made us proud.”Thousands of Afghans in the stands were supported by Pakistanis, rooting for the rising stars.”Afghan cricket’s story is of struggle, hard work, and resilience. Only a few years back, we didn’t know about this team,” said Muhammad Numan, a 37-year-old Pakistani businessman who came with his family to support the Afghans.”It’s their hard work that has brought them this far and, in a few years, they could lift a trophy.”Murad Watan Pall, 36, who travelled from England to support the Afghans, said the boycott call was a “flawed approach” to pressuring the Taliban government.”For us, it’s everything. That’s the only entertainment we have left in our country. We have just one happiness in our country and it’s cricket,” he said.”Don’t snatch the only entertainment we have.” 

Opener Ibrahim Zadran struck a Champions Trophy record of 177 to lift Afghanistan from an early wobble to 325-7 against England in a group match in Lahore on Wednesday.The Group B clash at the Gaddafi Stadium is effectively a knockout with the losing team out of the semi-final race of the 50-over tournament.Playing under the cloud of boycott calls from some British politicians over the plight of women in the Taliban-ruled nation, Afghanistan elected to bat in a bid to bounce back from their opening loss.But they soon slipped to 37-3 inside nine overs before Zadran pulled the innings together with a fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 40.Zadran later added 111 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, who hit 40 in 24 balls.Zadran, 23, took apart the England bowling and went past his previous ODI best of 162 in his 146-ball knock laced with 12 fours and six sixes.He not only broke his own record for Afghanistan’s highest individual ODI score but also a tournament record, days after Ben Duckett’s 165 in England’s opening loss to Australia.England fast bowler Jofra Archer struck three early blows including two in one over starting with Rahmanullah Gurbaz bowled for six.Jofra and new-ball partner Mark Wood worked up fast speeds between 145 kmph and 150 kmph but were soon jolted by an injury to Wood, who twice left the field.Wood’s absence after bowling just four overs allowed Zadran to counter attack, forcing skipper Jos Buttler to rotate his bowling options.Leg-spinner Adil Rashid finally broke the stand as he bowled Shahidi who failed to connect an attempted reverse sweep and the ball rattled the stumps.Zadran reached his seventh ODI ton with a single of Liam Livingstone as he and Azmatullah Omarzai changed gears in a brisk stand of 72 until Omarzai departed on 41.Zadran remained unaffected by the wicket as he kept up the attack and hammered a six and three fours off Archer.Wood went off again after bowling another set of four overs with Buttler left to manage his options against a rampaging Zadran and Nabi.Zadran finally fell to Livingstone, who also sent back Nabi in the final over.Afghanistan previously faced England in an ODI in the 2023 World Cup in New Delhi where they shocked the defending champions with a stunning victory.

Pakistan’s hurting players will be motivated by pride in their dead rubber against Bangladesh on Thursday, head coach Aaqib Javed said, after the hosts were dumped out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage.The defending champions’ hopes of reaching the semi-finals were ended after defeats to New Zealand and India, leaving their final Group A game in Rawalpindi inconsequential.Rain washed out the Australia-South Africa Group B match on Tuesday and more is predicted on Thursday, leaving Pakistan in danger of finishing fourth and last on net run-rate.Whatever happens it will be a disappointing conclusion to Pakistan’s first hosting of a major international cricket competition in three decades.”There are no excuses, there shouldn’t be any in life, but I can assure you that the players are more hurt than the fans and want to leave a mark in the last game,” said Aaqib on Wednesday.”The players are not satisfied, no one is satisfied after losing, but everyone tries hard to win and by doing so we have recently won a series in Australia and South Africa.”Pakistan beat Australia 2-1 in November — their first ODI series win there for 22 years — before whitewashing South Africa 3-0 in the build-up to the Champions Trophy.”This is the Champions Trophy, where the eight best teams are playing, so after two defeats we have to start from zero,” said Aaqib.”Every game is played for pride so we want to leave a mark on Thursday,” said Aaqib.Their Champions Trophy flop left former Pakistan players and fans angry over the continuous failure of the team, having also crashed out of the 2023 World Cup and Twenty20 World Cup last year both in the first round.Aaqib admitted losing to arch-rivals India left fans emotional.”People are more involved in an India-Pakistan match and they do not accept a defeat against India and that defeat in Dubai has left them more dejected,” said Aaqib.Pakistan were below par against a formidable India in Dubai on Sunday, losing by six wickets.”We managed just 241 in batting and when facing a strong batting line-up you attack in order to get wickets and in the process you bowl on both sides,” said Aaqib.A fast bowler himself, who played 22 Tests and 163 ODIs for Pakistan, Aaqib backed his struggling pace trio.”People blamed two, three players, which is not correct,” said Aaqib. “If you assess Shaheen (Afridi), Naseem (Shah) and Haris (Rauf), they are still the best bowlers in the world.”

Former cricketers and pundits have slammed India’s “undeniable” advantage of playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai while other teams have to shuttle between three venues in Pakistan and fly to the UAE.India refused to travel to hosts Pakistan for the 50-over tournament because of security concerns and political tensions and are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.A stand-off between the rivals lasted for more than a month, leaving the tournament in jeopardy until the Pakistan board agreed a compromise with the International Cricket Council.The deal means Pakistan will play at a neutral venue in any ICC tournament hosted by India until 2027.But in the immediate future it also means that should India reach the Champions Trophy final — they are already in the semis — the decider on March 9 will be in Dubai instead of Lahore.Jay Shah, secretary of the powerful Indian cricket board (BCCI), took over as ICC chairman in December and the country holds immense sway in the running of the sport. The ICC is based in Dubai.”I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment,” former England cricketer and popular broadcaster Jonathan Agnew told ABC Sport.”This is wrong. If you’re going to play an international tournament you can’t pick and choose where you play and where you’re not going to play. “I don’t see how long this can carry on for. It makes a farce of these tournaments.”The playing and pitch conditions in Dubai and the venues in Pakistan — Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi — are drastically different.There has been no dew in Dubai in India’s first two wins with the highest total being 244 when Rohit Sharma’s team chased down 242 against great rivals Pakistan on a sluggish pitch.Totals in Pakistan have been much higher with dew playing a part, notably when Australia’s Josh Inglis hit an unbeaten 120 to chase down a tournament-record 352 against England at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.- ‘Huge advantage’ -“What about the advantage India have in playing only in Dubai — which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage, but an undeniable advantage?” former England captain Michael Atherton asked Nasser Hussain on a Sky Sports podcast.”They’re playing at just one venue. Therefore, the selection, you know, can focus in on the conditions in Dubai.”India and New Zealand have moved into the semi-finals from Group A and will play each other in Dubai in the last group match on Sunday.Irrespective of the placing, India will play their semi-final in Dubai on March 4.Australia’s injured Pat Cummins missed out on leading his team in the eight-nation tournament — once called the mini World Cup — but weighed in on the debate, saying it gives India “a huge advantage playing on the same ground”.Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal agreed, telling AFP: “If they were not coming to Pakistan at least they should have played their matches at three venues in the UAE.”However, England skipper Jos Buttler played down the controversy.”Not really,” Buttler said after being asked if the schedule gave India an advantage.”I think it’s a unique tournament already, isn’t it, with being hosted here with one team playing in a different place but that’s not something I’m sort of worried too much about at the moment.”

Freedom declined around the world last year with authoritarians solidifying their grip, but South Asia led a series of bright spots, Freedom House said Wednesday in its annual report.The Washington-based pro-democracy research group elevated two countries to the status of “free” — Senegal, where the opposition triumphed after the outgoing president’s attempt to delay elections was defeated, and Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom which consolidated a transition to democracy with competitive polls.Tiny Bhutan gained the distinction of being the only South Asian country classified as free. But others in the region made strong gains in the index without changing categories — Bangladesh, where iron-fisted leader Sheikh Hasina fled in the face of a revolt, and Sri Lanka, where Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected president on an anti-corruption platform after breaking the stranglehold of the two long-dominant parties.The largest score improvement in the index, which tracks both countries and territories, was in Indian-administered Kashmir, which held elections for the first time since the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi revoked the Muslim-majority region’s special status in 2019.But Freedom House said India as a whole saw further deterioration as it pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to gain influence over judicial appointments. The group downgraded the world’s largest democracy from “free” to “partly free” in 2021.Yana Gorokhovskaia, the co-author of the report, said it was the 19th consecutive year that freedom fell on a global level, but that 2024 was especially volatile due to the high number of elections.”The big picture is that this was another year of the same trajectory of a global decline in freedom but because of all the elections, it was more dynamic than previous years,” she said.She said that both Bangladesh and Syria, where Islamist-led fighters toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in December, saw immediate improvements in civil liberties — but that it would be a longer road to see gains in political representation.Political rights largely “depend on institutions. And those are easy to destroy but very hard to build up,” she said.- Four countries become ‘not free’ -A rare bright spot in the Middle East was Jordan, which was upgraded from “not free” to “partly free.” Freedom House pointed to reforms that allowed more competitive elections in the kingdom.On the other hand, four countries were downgraded from “partly free” to “not free” — Kuwait, Niger, Tanzania and Thailand.Thailand — which has repeatedly shifted in the Freedom House categories — saw a court disband the party which won the most votes in elections and then dismiss the prime minister from the second-ranking party after an ethics complaint by senators backed by the powerful military.Kuwait’s emir disbanded parliament after elections, while in Tanzania, Freedom House pointed to a crackdown on protesters under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.Niger came under full grip of the military after a 2023 coup ousted elected president Mohamed Bazoum.Tunisia, El Salvador and Haiti also saw steep declines. The only country given a perfect 100 score on freedom was Finland, with New Zealand, Norway and Sweden all right behind at 99.Freedom House, founded in 1941 with bipartisan US support, receives US government funding but is independently administered. The non-profit group has planned layoffs after President Donald Trump froze money aimed at democracy promotion.

India’s Kumbh Mela festival wraps up Wednesday, with final ritual river bathing ceremonies ending six weeks of celebration that organisers say have been attended by hundreds of millions of devotees.Despite two deadly stampedes that killed dozens, the festival in the northern city of Prayagraj has been hailed as a triumph by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, bolstering its carefully cultivated image as a steward of Hindu resurgence and prosperity.Both Modi and his ally, firebrand Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath — chief minister of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh where the festival is being held — say the millennia-old Mela has been the “grandest” yet.Both men themselves took part in the festival, with Modi bathing in the spot where the waters of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet.The Kumbh Mela is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.The festival, which opened on January 13, ends Wednesday, coinciding with the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri, in honour of the deity Shiva.”Our purpose to visit on Maha Shivaratri was to worship Lord Shiva,” said devotee Shivam Kumar, 21.Helicopters scattered flower petals on the vast crowds taking part in sacred bathing rituals at dawn.- ‘Salvation’ -According to eyebrow-raising figures from the Uttar Pradesh state government, more than 640 million worshippers took part in the festival, a staggering statistic even for the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people.Just on Wednesday, more than eight million devotees were reported to have shrugged off stomach-churning faecal matter measurements to immerse themselves in sacred river waters.Authorities say the attendee estimates have been calculated using artificial intelligence and surveillance cameras, but the figures are impossible to independently verify.The festival was marred by a deadly stampede on January 29 that killed at least 30 people and injured 90 others.Officials insisted for hours that no one was seriously injured, despite graphic television footage from the scene.Another 18 people died this month during a stampede at the main railway station in New Delhi when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to Prayagraj.The deaths have taken the sheen off the government’s claims of stellar management of the event.But the twin tragedies failed to deter millions who continued to pour into the sprawling temporary township along the banks of the river.Organisers now face the massive task of cleaning the site up after the festival ends and pilgrims go home.Deepak Prajapati, 43, said his family decided to come on the last day of the festival because it was auspicious.”We hope that our family has found salvation from the cycle of life and death,” he told AFP.    

The EU’s top team is to embark on an “unprecedented” visit to India this week, as the bloc seeks to broaden its commercial and diplomatic ties to hedge against souring relations with the United States.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and her college of commissioners are to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in New Delhi during a two-day trip, starting Thursday.The trip is the latest sign of a Brussels push to diversify ties away from the United States and position itself as a reliable partner for others looking to do business.”In this era of intense geostrategic competition, Europe stands for openness, partnership, and outreach,” von der Leyen said ahead of the trip, hailing India as one of the EU’s “most trusted friends and allies”.Almost all the EU’s 26 commissioners are to join the 66-year-old German politician in what the bloc’s executive is billing as the first visit of its kind to the South Asian giant — and the first outside Europe for the new college that took office in December.It comes as US President Donald Trump has upended Brussels’s traditionally close partnership with Washington, berating EU tech laws, threatening tariffs, and undercutting European allies by launching Ukraine talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The European Union has been left “looking for friends” and India, the world’s most populous country, is a “natural candidate”, said Andre Sapir, of Brussels-based think tank Bruegel.- Trade call -Brussels has been working to broaden its horizons since Trump won back the White House in November.In recent months it has announced a strengthened trade deal with Mexico, the resumption of talks with Malaysia, a new agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur and the “first-ever” EU-Central Asia summit. It has also struck a more conciliatory note towards China, which however “remains a significant strategic challenge for Europe”, said James Crabtree, of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank.”Building stronger ties with India — a democracy with increasing global influence — offers both greater economic opportunity and political appeal,” he said.Trade will be high on the agenda.The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 — more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to the EU.India’s expanding market offers key opportunities for sectors ranging from defence to agriculture, automobiles and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.Negotiations for a trade deal were relaunched in 2022 and could get a boost from a White House bent on slapping tariffs on friends and foes alike, said a European diplomat.”The case for a free trade agreement has never been stronger,” the diplomat said.- AI and defence -Trump feted Modi in Washington vowing to ramp up trade this month, but India is also seeking renewed relationships elsewhere as a “hedge against a newly capricious America”, said Crabtree.The European Commission’s trip comes hard on the heels of a visit by British trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds aimed at restarting stalled trade negotiations.  “In the shadow of US tariff, India back to table for trade talks with UK, EU”, a headline in The Indian Express daily read on Tuesday.One of the biggest challenges for New Delhi in recent years has been creating millions of new jobs for its young and rapidly expanding skilled workforce. India’s government has for years also pushed for Europe to grant quicker visas for its businesses and students.Cooperation on technology and artificial intelligence, where Europe and India are eager to play a larger role, will also be on the table. So will security and defence, the EU diplomat said, adding Brussels was eager to “join forces” with New Delhi. The supply of defence equipment, enforcement of EU sanctions against Russia and peace talks over Ukraine were likely to be discussed.India has long pursued a policy of strategic autonomy in foreign affairs.Historically close to Russia, its traditional supplier of military hardware, it has resisted Western pressure to distance itself from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.The commission’s visit is not expected to result in the signing of any deal, but should pave the way for an EU-India summit to be held in India later this year. 

India’s Kumbh Mela festival wraps up Wednesday, with final ritual river bathing ceremonies ending six weeks of celebration that organisers say have been attended by hundreds of millions of devotees.Despite two deadly stampedes that killed dozens, the festival in the northern city of Prayagraj has been hailed as a triumph by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, bolstering its carefully cultivated image as a steward of Hindu resurgence and national prosperity.Both Modi and his ally, firebrand Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath — chief minister of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh where the festival is held — say the millennia-old festival has been the “grandest” yet.The Kumbh Mela is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.The festival, which opened on January 13, ends Wednesday, coinciding with the Hindu festival of Maha Shivratri, in honour of the deity Shiva.According to eyebrow-raising figures from Adityanath’s state government, more than 620 million devotees took part in the festival, a staggering statistic even for the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people.Millions more people seeking salvation are expected to shrug off stomach-churning faecal matter measurements to immerse themselves in sacred river waters on Wednesday.Authorities say the estimates have been calculated using artificial intelligence and surveillance cameras, but the figures are impossible to independently verify.The festival was marred by a deadly stampede on January 29 that killed at least 30 people and injured 90 others.Officials insisted for hours that no one was seriously injured, despite graphic television footage from the scene.Earlier this month, another 18 people died during a stampede at the main railway station in New Delhi when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to Prayagraj.The deaths have taken the sheen off the government’s claims of stellar management of the event.But the twin tragedies failed to deter millions who continued to pour into the temporary township along the banks of the river.

Pacific microstate Nauru is selling citizenship to fund its retreat from rising seas, President David Adeang told AFP, opening a contentious “golden passport” scheme as other climate financing runs dry.The low-lying island nation of around 13,000 residents is planning a mass inland relocation as creeping seas start to eat away at its fertile coastal fringe.It will drum up funding by selling passports to foreigners for US$105,000 each, despite fears such schemes are ripe for criminal exploitation.”For Nauru it is not just about adapting to climate change, but about securing a sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come,” Adeang said.”This is about more than survival. It is about ensuring future generations have a safe, resilient and sustainable home. We are ready for the journey ahead.” The island republic sits on a small plateau of phosphate rock in the sparsely populated South Pacific.With a total landmass of just 21 square kilometres (eight square miles), it is one of the world’s smallest nations.Unusually pure phosphate deposits — a key ingredient in fertiliser — once made Nauru one of the wealthiest places, per capita, on the planet.But these supplies have long dried up, and researchers today estimate 80 percent of Nauru has been rendered uninhabitable by mining.What little land Nauru has left is threatened by encroaching tides — scientists have measured sea levels rising 1.5 times faster than global averages.- Golden passports -Existing climate funding efforts are “not sufficient” to address the challenge, said Edward Clark, who runs Nauru’s new Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program.”Debt financing places an undue burden on future generations and there is not enough aid,” he told AFP.Nauru’s government expects to reap US$5.7 million in the programme’s first year, equating to around 66 successful applications, Clark said.It hopes this will gradually increase to US$43 million -– or about 500 successful applications — which would account for almost 20 percent of total government revenue.Nauru officials believe 90 percent of the population will eventually need to move to higher ground.The first phase of this mass relocation is estimated to cost more than US$60 million.To pay the bill, Nauru has pinned its hopes on the new citizenship-by-investment programme.Clark said it was a kind of “innovation”.”It is well known that developing climate-vulnerable countries are disproportionately impacted by climate change, and there is therefore an urgent need to ensure they disproportionately benefit from climate innovation,” he said.Nations such as Nauru “have both a need and a right to be prosperous”, Clark added.Nauru claims its passport will provide visa-free entry into 89 countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.- A ‘pioneering’ fix? -More than 60 different nations offer some form of migration for investment schemes, Australia’s Lowy Institute has found.Pacific nations such as Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga have all dabbled in selling passports, according to the think tank.Australian National University expert Henrietta McNeill said while these schemes helped bolster government revenue, they were also prone to exploitation.She said criminals could use these documents to evade law enforcement, launder money or exploit visa-free entry rules.A previous Nauru attempt to sell passports ended in disaster.In 2003, Nauru officials sold citizenship to Al-Qaeda members who were later arrested in Asia, according to Australian broadcaster ABC.Clark said this time Nauru would only offer passports to like-minded investors that passed “the strictest and most thorough due diligence procedures”.”This programme isn’t just about acquiring another passport,” he said.”It’s about joining a community dedicated to pioneering solutions for global challenges.”Nauru has accepted millions of dollars from the Australian government since 2012 for housing migrants who had sought asylum in Australia.But the scheme was gradually scaled back following 14 detainee deaths, multiple suicide attempts and at least six referrals to the International Criminal Court.Nauru still held 87 people as of August 31, 2024, according to latest Australian government figures.