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A nickel stockpile towers over farmer Moharen Tambiling’s rice paddy in the Philippines’ Palawan, evidence of a mining boom that locals hope a new moratorium will tame.”They told us before the start of their operations that it wouldn’t affect us, but the effects are undeniable now,” Tambiling told AFP.”Pangolins, warthogs, birds are disappearing. Flowers as well.”A biodiversity hotspot, Palawan also holds vast deposits of nickel, needed for everything from stainless steel to electric vehicles.Once the world’s largest exporter of the commodity, the Philippines is now racing to catch up with Indonesia. In 2021, Manila lifted a nine-year ban on mining licences. Despite promised jobs and tax revenue, there is growing pushback against the sector in Palawan.In March, the island’s governing council unanimously passed a 50-year moratorium on any new mining permits.”Flash floods, the siltation of the sea, fisheries, mangrove areas… We are witnesses to the effects of long-term mining,” Nieves Rosento, a former local councillor who led the push, told AFP.Environmental rights lawyer Grizelda Mayo-Anda said the moratorium could stop nearly 70 proposed projects spanning 240,000 hectares.”You have to protect the old-growth forest, and it’s not being done,” she said.From 2001 to 2024, Palawan dubbed the country’s “last ecological frontier” — lost 219,000 hectares of tree cover, more than any other province, in part due to mining, according to Global Forest Watch.- ‘Fearsome’ flooding -In southern Palawan’s Brooke’s Point, a Chinese ship at a purpose-built pier waits for ore from the stockpile overlooking Tambiling’s farm.Mining company Ipilan says increased production will result in greater royalties for Indigenous people and higher tax revenues, but that means little to Tambiling’s sister Alayma.The single mother-of-six once made 1,000-5,000 pesos ($18-90) a day selling lobster caught where the pier now sits.”We were surprised when we saw backhoes digging up the shore,” she told AFP, calling a one-time compensation offer of 120,000 pesos ($2,150) insulting.”The livelihood of all the Indigenous peoples depended on that area.”On the farm, Tambiling stirred rice paddy mud to reveal reddish laterite he says is leaking from the ore heap and poisoning his crops.Above him, swathes of the Mantalingahan mountains have been deforested, producing floods he describes as “fearsome, deep and fast-moving.”Ipilan has faced protests and legal challenges over its logging, but its operations continue.Calls to parent company Global Ferronickel Holdings were not returned.For some in Palawan, the demand for nickel to power EVs has a certain irony.”You may be able to… eliminate pollution using electric vehicles,” said Jeminda Bartolome, an anti-mining advocate.”But you should also study what happens to the area you are mining.”- ‘First-class municipality’ -In Bataraza, the country’s oldest nickel mine is expanding, having secured permission before the moratorium.Rio Tuba employees armed with brooms, goggles, hats and scarves are barely visible through reddish dust as they sweep an access road that carries 6,000 tonnes of ore destined for China each day.Company senior vice president Jose Bayani Baylon said mining turned a barely accessible malarial swamp into a “first-class municipality”.”You have an airport, you have a port, you have a community here. You have a hospital, you have infrastructure which many other communities don’t have,” he told AFP.He dismisses environmental concerns as overblown.With part of its concession tapped out, the company is extending into an area once off-limits to logging but since rezoned.Thousands of trees have been cleared since January, according to locals, but Baylon said “under the law, for every tree you cut, you have to plant 100″.The company showed AFP a nine-hectare plot it spent 15 years restoring with native plants.But it is unclear to what degree that will be replicated. Baylon concedes some areas could become solar farms instead.- ‘Four kilos of rice’ -Nearby, Indigenous resident Kennedy Coria says mining has upset Mount Bulanjao’s ecosystem.”Honeybees disappeared where we used to find them. Fruit trees in the forest stopped bearing fruit,” the father-of-seven said.A fifth of the Philippines’ Indigenous land is covered by mining and exploration permits, according to rights group Global Witness. Legally, they have the right to refuse projects and share profits, but critics say the process is rarely clear.”There are Indigenous peoples who have not received any royalties for the past 10 years,” said Rosento.Coria, who can neither read nor write, said he must sign a document each year when accepting what he is told is his share of Rio Tuba profits.”We get about four kilos of rice from the community leader, who tells us it came from the company,” he said.Rio Tuba said funds are distributed in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), which is meant to represent the communities.But some say it acts in the interests of miners, attempting to persuade locals to accept concessions and the terms offered by companies.The NCIP referred questions to multiple regional offices, none of which replied. The government’s industry regulator declined interview requests. While Palawan’s moratorium will not stop Rio Tuba’s expansion or Ipilan’s operations, supporters believe it will slow further mining.Ryan Maminta, a councillor who backed the moratorium said it already halted one expansion.There are looming legal challenges, however.A recent Supreme Court decision struck down a mining ban in Occidental Mindoro province.Backers remain confident though, and Rosento said the council would stand firm.”Responsible mining is just a catchphrase,” she said.

Thailand’s billionaire Shinawatra dynasty has dominated the kingdom’s politics for 25 years, but its rule has been hit by coups and court cases including this week’s suspension of the prime minister.Thaksin Shinawatra amassed a telecoms fortune before driving the family’s entry into politics, elected to power in 2001 and again in 2005 — when he led the first Thai party ever to secure an overall majority alone.His populist policies won the devotion of rural voters but the ire of the pro-monarchy, pro-military establishment who regarded him as an insurgent threat to the traditional social order.The patriarch was ousted in a 2006 coup, but Thai politics has remained dominated by jousting between his Shinawatra clan successors and Bangkok’s tradition-orientated elite.Thaksin’s sister Yingluck became prime minister in 2011, regarded by many as his stooge, before she was likewise forced out by the military.- Founding father – Thaksin served as a police officer before making his fortune and launching his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, promising to use his business savvy to uplift rural areas.He became the first Thai premier to serve a full term after his 2001 victory, and was re-elected in a landslide by villagers grateful for cash injections amid the Asian financial crisis.But Thaksin was dogged by corruption allegations and months of protests. While he was on an overseas trip in September 2006 tanks rolled into Bangkok and the military toppled his government.Despite his Thai assets being frozen the following year, he purchased Manchester City and later sold the British football club for a sizeable profit.Thaksin took himself into exile in 2008 but never stopped commenting on national affairs — or, according to his critics, meddling in them.- A family affair -Thai Rak Thai was dissolved after the coup ousting Thaksin, but its successor People’s Power party won the next election, and in 2008 Thaksin’s brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat was briefly prime minister before the courts ordered it dismantled too.It evolved into the Pheu Thai (For Thais) party, which brought Thaksin’s sister Yingluck to power in 2011.Yingluck was pilloried as a political lightweight armed with little more than a winning smile and a hotline to her elder brother — who once referred to her as his “clone”.She reached out to the military which had ousted her brother, but their shaky truce collapsed after a failed bid to pass an amnesty bill which would have enabled Thaksin’s return.The move outraged government opponents who flooded the streets for months-long protests marked by violence, with dozens killed and hundreds wounded.Yingluck’s premiership was scuttled in 2014 by a court ruling and weeks later the military shunted aside the rest of her administration.- Inheriting influence -Thaksin subsequently threw his weight behind his youngest child Paetongtarn Shinawatra as she took up the Pheu Thai mantle, transferring from a career in the hotel arm of the family’s business empire.She was pregnant during the 2023 election campaign but was a near-constant presence, regularly leading rallies in stifling tropical heat.Pheu Thai finished second, but secured power by forming an unsteady alliance with their former enemies in pro-military parties, and Paetongtarn was appointed prime minister last August.Much like Yingluck, the 38-year-old Paetongtarn has been accused of being a puppet of Thaksin.The Constitutional Court suspended her from office on Tuesday while it probes her actions during a diplomatic spat with Cambodia.- Return to division -While in exile in Dubai, Thaksin pledged repeatedly to return to Thailand despite being convicted on graft and abuse-of-power charges in his absence.He went back on the day Pheu Thai took power, prompting speculation he had been granted leniency as part of the coalition bargain.He was immediately arrested and sentenced to eight years in jail, but was whisked to a police hospital within hours on health grounds. Thaksin was later pardoned by the king without spending any time in prison. He went on trial Tuesday for royal defamation, with a 15-year sentence possible if convicted.The clan’s future is now increasingly murky, said Thai political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak.”The Shinawatra family has been systematically weakened to the point that its mass appeal in Thai politics has worn off.”

The United States, Japan, India and Australia pledged Tuesday to work together to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as worries grow over China’s dominance in resources vital to new technologies.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed his counterparts from the so-called “Quad” to Washington in a shift of focus to Asia, after spending much of his first six months on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and on President Donald Trump’s domestic priorities such as migration.The four countries said in a joint statement that they were establishing the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, aimed at “collaborating on securing and diversifying” supply chains.They offered little detail but made clear the goal was to reduce reliance on China, which has used restrictions as leverage as the United States in turn curbs its access to semiconductors and as Trump threatens steep tariffs — including on Quad countries.”Reliance on any one country for processing and refining critical minerals and derivative goods production exposes our industries to economic coercion, price manipulation and supply chain disruptions,” the statement said.The ministers were careful not to mention China by name but voiced “serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions” in the South China Sea and East China Sea that “threaten peace and stability in the region.”China holds major reserves of several key minerals including the vast majority of the world’s graphite, which is crucial for electric vehicles.In brief remarks alongside the other ministers, Rubio said he has “personally been very focused” on diversifying supply chains and wanted “real progress.”- US refocus on Asia -The four-way partnership was first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who saw an alliance of democracies surrounding China — which has repeatedly alleged that the Quad is a way to contain it.Rubio had welcomed the Quad foreign ministers on January 21 in his first meeting after Trump’s inauguration, seen as a sign the new administration would prioritize engagement with like-minded countries to counter China.But to the surprise of many, China has not topped the early agenda of Trump, who has spoken respectfully about his counterpart Xi Jinping and reached a truce with Beijing to avoid a wider trade war between the world’s two largest economies.Trump is expected to travel to India later this year for a Quad summit. Both the Indian and Japanese foreign ministers said that they wanted the Quad to focus on a “free and open Indo-Pacific” — a phrasing that is a veiled allusion to opposing Chinese dominance in Asia.”It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.At Jaishankar’s urging, the Quad condemned a May attack on the Indian side of Kashmir that killed mostly Hindu civilians and called for “the perpetrators, organizers and financiers of this reprehensible act to be brought to justice without any delay.”India in May launched air strikes in Pakistan, which it blamed for the attack. Pakistan denied responsibility and responded with its own attacks on the Indian military.In a key concern for Japan, the Quad condemned North Korea for its “destabilizing launches” of missiles and insisted on its “complete denuclearization.”Trump, in one of the most startling moves of his first term, met with North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong Un, helping ease tensions but producing no lasting agreement.Despite common ground on China, Quad members have differed on other hotspots, with the joint statement not mentioning Ukraine or Iran.India has maintained its long relationship with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine, while both India and Japan also have historically enjoyed cordial ties with Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Tuesday with counterparts from Australia, India and Japan, shifting focus to Asia after a tenure so far marked by crises elsewhere and domestic priorities.Rubio had welcomed the foreign ministers of the so-called Quad on January 21 in his first meeting after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, seen as a sign that the new administration would prioritize engagement with like-minded countries to counter China.Since then, much of Rubio’s attention has been on the Middle East, with the United States bombing Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israel; on Ukraine, as Trump unsuccessfully seeks a ceasefire in Russia’s invasion, and on boosting Trump’s domestic priorities such as mass deportations of migrants.Welcoming the three foreign ministers, Rubio did not directly mention military concerns over China but said he sought cooperation among business and on raw materials — also key goals for the Trump administration.Rubio told them he was focused on “diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals — not just access to the raw material, but also access to the ability to process and refine it to usable materials.””It’s critical for all technologies and for all industries across the board,” Rubio said, voicing hope for “real progress” on the issue within the Quad.China holds major reserves of several key minerals including the vast majority of the world’s graphite, which is crucial for electric vehicles.Beijing has sought to impose restrictions as leverage, as the United States in turn curbs its access to semiconductors and as Trump wields the threat of punishing tariffs on both friends and foes.- ‘Free and open’ -Trump is expected to travel to India later this year for a summit of the Quad. The four-way partnership was first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who saw an alliance of democracies around China — which has repeatedly alleged that the Quad is a way to contain it.Trump has long branded China as the top US adversary, but since returning to office has also saluted his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Both the Indian and Japanese foreign ministers said that they wanted the Quad to focus on a “free and open Indo-Pacific” — a phrasing that is a veiled allusion to opposing Chinese dominance in Asia.”We’re all committed to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.”It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security,” he said.Jaishankar also made clear that India would raise its strikes last month against Pakistan in response to a major attack on mostly Hindu civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir.”India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,” he said.Despite shared concerns on China, the Quad members have differed on other hotspots. India has maintained a historic relationship with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine.Both India and Japan also have historically warm relationships with Iran, whose nuclear sites the United States bombed in June in support of an Israeli campaign.

England captain Ben Stokes said Tuesday he “absolutely loves” watching Rishabh Pant play cricket even when he’s on the receiving end of the India star’s outrageous stroke-play.Pant became only the second wicketkeeper in Test history to score hundreds in both innings of a match against England at Headingley, although his heroics were unable to prevent a five-wicket defeat last week that left the hosts 1-0 up in a five-match contest.The 27-year-old Pant made his intentions clear when he charged down the pitch to just the second ball he faced in Leeds and straight drove Stokes for four — a shot that brought an admiring grin from the England skipper.Stokes, well capable of aggressive batting himself, expects more fireworks from Pant, even if he hopes to limit the Indian’s runs after scores of 134 and 118.”Even though he’s my opposition, I absolutely love watching Rishabh play cricket,” Stokes told reporters in a pre-match press conference on the eve of the second Test at Edgbaston starting Wednesday. “I love the way he takes it on in all formats of the game. He’s got a bit of stick in his time, but that type of talent, when you let that type of talent be free, that’s what happened last week. “When you look back on last week and credit to him, two hundreds in the game, we know we’re going to get our chances with the way that Rishabh plays. On a different day, it could have looked a little bit different if one of those had gone straight to hand. “He’s a very dangerous player. We know what he brings to the Indian team, but I really enjoy watching Rishabh play cricket.”Stokes, asked if he was prepared for more of the same in Birmingham, replied: “I don’t think there’s going to be much change in the way that Rishabh takes it on.”- ‘More pressure on India’ -A relatively youthful India team, with new captain Shubman Gill leading from the front with a century, were competitive for much of the time at Headingley in a match England won after pulling off the tenth-highest chase in Test history by scoring 371.But batting collapses of 7-41, after they had been 430-3, and 6-31, from 333-4, proved costly for India in Leeds.”They are a good team,” said Stokes on Tuesday. “They always fight hard, come hard, a very passionate team.”No cricket team faces such intense scrutiny as India, who have now lost seven of their 11 Tests under coach Gautam Gambhir, given the mass enthusiasm for the sport in the world’s most populous nation.”I think it’s pretty clear that there’s always pressure on the shoulders of international sportsmen,” said Stokes. “But playing for India, especially in cricket, there’s probably a bit more of it than any other nation. But we don’t take anything for granted from last week.”We tried to put in a performance there (Headingley). Hopefully, we can put one in here that take us to 2-0 this week.”

More than 14 million of the world’s most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die by 2030 because of the Trump administration’s dismantling of US foreign aid, research projected on Tuesday.The study in the prestigious Lancet journal was published as world and business leaders gather for a United Nations conference in Spain this week hoping to bolster the reeling aid sector.The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian funding until Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Two weeks later, Trump’s then-close advisor — and world’s richest man — Elon Musk boasted of having put the agency “through the woodchipper”.The funding cuts “risk abruptly halting — and even reversing — two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations”, warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).”For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict,” he said in a statement.Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91.8 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. That is more than the estimated number of deaths during World War II, history’s deadliest conflict.- HIV, malaria to rise -The researchers also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 percent — the figure announced by the US government earlier this year — could affect death rates.The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found.That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five — or around 700,000 child deaths a year.For comparison, around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I. Programmes supported by USAID were linked to a 15-percent decrease in deaths from all causes, the researchers determined. For children under five, the drop in deaths was twice as steep, at 32 percent.USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease. There were 65 percent fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found. Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half. Study co-author Francisco Saute of Mozambique’s Manhica Health Research Centre said he had seen on the ground how USAID helped fight diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. “Cutting this funding now not only puts lives at risk — it also undermines critical infrastructure that has taken decades to build,” he stressed.A recently updated tracker run by disease modeller Brooke Nichols at Boston University estimates that nearly 108,000 adults and more than 224,000 children have already died as a result of the US aid cuts. That works out to 88 deaths every hour, according to the tracker.- ‘Time to scale up’ -After USAID was gutted, several other major donors, including France, Germany and the UK, followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets. These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union, could lead to “even more additional deaths in the coming years,” study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said.But the grim projections are based on the current amount of pledged aid, so could rapidly come down if the situation changes, the researchers emphasised.Dozens of world leaders are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville this week for the biggest aid conference in a decade. The United States, however, will not attend.”Now is the time to scale up, not scale back,” Rasella said.Before its funding was slashed, USAID represented 0.3 percent of all US federal spending.”US citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year,” said study co-author James Macinko of the University of California, Los Angeles.”I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives.”

The memory of Bangladeshi police with shotguns twice blasting the young protester beside him still haunts Hibzur Rahman Prince, one year after a revolution that has left the country mired in turmoil.That killing, along with up to 1,400 others as Sheikh Hasina tried to cling to power last year, overshadows Bangladesh as political parties jostle for power.Prince shuddered as he recalled how the student’s bleeding body collapsed at his feet.”His body was lacerated,” said Prince, who helped carry him to hospital.Medics told him that “400 pellets were taken from his dead body”.Protests began on July 1, 2024 with university students calling for reforms to a quota system for public sector jobs.Initially their demands seemed niche.Many in the country of around 170 million people were worn down by the tough grind of economic woes.Student ambitions to topple Hasina’s iron-fisted rule seemed a fantasy, just months after she won her fourth consecutive election in a vote without genuine opposition.One week into the demonstrations she said the students were “wasting their time”.- ‘Too many bodies’ -But protests gathered pace.Thousands launched daily blockades of roads and railways nationwide, with the gridlock bringing the demonstrations to wider attention.A fuse was lit when police launched a deadly crackdown on July 16. It became the catalyst for the airing of wider grievances.Prince, now 23, a business student in the capital Dhaka, said he witnessed killings when police sought to stem protests on July 18.As well as carrying the student’s body, he helped several wounded protesters reach the hospital. “I saw too many unidentified dead bodies in the morgue that day,” said Prince, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers flashbacks and mood swings.”After that day the fight turned more personal,” he said. “It was for the country.”On August 5 thousands of protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she escaped by helicopter to her old ally India.- ‘The rage’ -Syeda Farhana Hossain, 49, a mother of two teenage girls, took part in the protests with them.”This new generation proved that in times of need, they can and are willing to sacrifice their lives for the greater good,” she said, describing how her daughters helped paint anti-government slogans on their school walls.”I didn’t realise before the rage my children felt,” she said. “It seemed like they just grew up in an instant.”But the idealism of protests has been tempered by the stark reality of the challenges Bangladesh faces.Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses and her government was accused of politicising courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections.Caretaker leader Muhammad Yunus has said he inherited a “completely broken down” system of public administration that requires a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a return to authoritarian rule.The Nobel Peace Prize winner scheduled elections for April 2026 but has said pushing those polls back by a few months would give more time for reforms.”We are not on the right track yet,” Hossain said. “Whenever I see injustice or unfairness these days, I wonder: Did the students that die, die in vain?”- ‘Against injustice’ -Tea seller Mohammad Aminul Haque, 50, said people were exhausted by intensely partisan politics that have defined Bangladesh since independence in 1971.”The ongoing cycle of one party after another, fueling hate against each other — we don’t want this anymore,” Haque said.”What we want to see is everyone coming together for the greater good.”Yunus’s government has warned that political power struggles risk jeopardising the gains that have been made.Mohiuddin Hannan, 50, a teacher at an Islamic school, has certainly seen improvements since the last administration, which crushed Islamist parties.”Under this government, murder, kidnapping, abductions and enforced disappearances are not happening anymore,” he said.But Hannan said there is far to go.”It seems only the hands of power have shifted,” he said.As political parties vie for power, Prince clings to the optimism that drove the protests.”People are more politically aware now, they raise their voice against injustice,” he said.”Whoever comes to power next will be held accountable by the public.”

India will make a “last-minute” decision on whether to risk the outstanding Jasprit Bumrah in successive Tests as they look to level their five-match series with England this week.Bumrah is the world’s top-ranked Test bowler and, ordinarily, his selection for a match starting at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground on Wednesday, would be an obvious move following India’s five-wicket loss in the series opener at Headingley.Bumrah, however, is returning from a back injury, with the fast bowler saying before the series he only expected to feature in three of the five Tests against England.Opener Ben Duckett’s 149, as England made light of a seemingly stiff chase of 371, underlined the lack of support for Bumrah after the spearhead quick took 5-83 in the first innings but no wickets at all in the second.”Bumrah is ready to play,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters on Monday. “It’s how we manage these four Tests. So if we feel like there’s value in playing him in this Test, we’ll make that call at the very last minute.”India, who have now lost seven of their 11 Tests under coach Gautam Gambhi, could alter the balance of their attack by bringing in left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who didn’t feature at Headingley. Yadav has taken 56 wickets at 22.16 in 13 Tests.- ‘Only one captain’ -Batting collapses of 7-41, after they had been 430-3, and 6-31, from 333-4, proved costly for India at Headingley as they became the first side in more than 60,000 first-class matches to score five individual hundreds and still lose.They were also hindered by some woeful out-cricket with a series of straightforward catches going to ground, two of them off Harry Brook who was dropped off a no-ball before he had scored and then had lives on 46 and 82 as he went on to make a vital 99 in England’s first innings.Shubman Gill, in his first match as India captain, led from the front with 147 in the first innings, and the good news for a team without retired skippers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is that ruthlessness with the bat is a quality that can be acquired.So too is authority in the field, with Rishabh Pant — who scored two hundreds at Headingley — and fellow century-maker KL Rahul too often looking as if they, rather than Gill, were calling the shots. “At one point I felt there were too many captains,” former India spinner Murali Karthik told Cricbuzz. “I just couldn’t understand that. KL Rahul was making hand movements, Rishabh Pant was also doing it… There is only one captain.”England, buoyed by achieving the tenth-highest fourth-innings chase in Test history, in what former skipper Michael Vaughan said was a display of “Bazball with brains”, named an unchanged team on Monday.Home wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who won the first Test with a six to finish on 44 not out, said at a media event staged by series sponsor Rothesay after last week’s win: “I think the really important thing is for the team to be quite ruthless and once you’re on top, try to put them to bed.”England lacked new-ball penetration in the first innings but their bowlers improved during the game.  Nevertheless, they have resisted the temptation to recall Jofra Archer and so end the express fast bowler’s four years of injury-induced Test exile after naming the Sussex paceman in their Edgbaston squad.Instead veteran all-rounder Chris Woakes, leading an attack without retired pace greats James Anderson and Stuart Broad, will look to bolster his tally of 182 wickets in 58 Tests on his Warwickshire home ground this week.”I played a lot of my England games with Jimmy and Broady so it is different not having them around but also it’s a great opportunity for myself,” said Woakes, 36.”I’ve enjoyed that role so far and it’s good to pass on some knowledge to the younger guys that haven’t played as much Test cricket.”

UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the world to “rev up the engine of development” at an aid conference in Spain on Monday as US-led cuts jeopardise the fight against poverty and climate change.Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are in the city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 meeting to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit sector.But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change.Guterres told the opening of the conference that two-thirds of UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 were “lagging” and more than $4 trillion of annual investment were needed to achieve them.President Donald Trump’s gutting of US development agency USAID is the standout example of aid cuts but Germany, Britain and France have also slashed funds while boosting spending in defence and other areas.The Oxfam charity says the cuts are the largest since 1960, while according to the World Bank rising extreme poverty is affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular.Disruption to global trade from Trump’s tariffs and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty.The crisis meant children going unvaccinated, girls dropping out of school and families suffering hunger, said Guterres.He urged nations to “change course” and “repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment” in “a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts”.A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed delegates, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fuelling.French President Emmanuel Macron lambasted Trump’s tariffs as an “aberration” and “a killer for poor and emerging countries”.China and the United States were the “main guilty guys” in trade imbalances, he told a roundtable event.- ‘Message to the powerful’ -Among the key discussion points is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that is holding back progress in health and education.The total external debt of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data.Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for reform to improve their representation of the Global South.”Public international finance remains indispensable. Africa is not asking for favours. We are asking for fairness, partnership and investment,” said Kenyan President William Ruto, urging the United States to reconsider its position.A common declaration was adopted that reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions.The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion.”What was once radical is now becoming mainstream. We finally have a consensus on reforming the international financial architecture,” said Ruto.Coalitions of countries are seeking to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called “Seville Commitment”, which is not legally binding.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was “time to take a step forward and not only reaffirm our commitment, but also redouble it”.But campaigners criticised the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality.Responding to a question by AFP, Guterres insisted in a press conference that the Seville agreement was a step forward. But he acknowledged “resistances” to the drive for change and sent a “message to the powerful”.”It is better for them to lead the reform of the system now than to wait and eventually suffer the resistance later when power relations change,” he said.