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Iranians looked with guarded hope on the prospects of a change in the U.S. administration, which under Donald Trump has meant crushing economic sanctions and constant threats of war. “Needless to say, Trump, both in his personality and his Iran policies, are not much appreciated here,” Ali Ahmadi, a Tehran-based researcher and analyst focused on U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East, told Newsweek. It’s been some five years since Iranians took to the streets in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), popularly known in America as the Iran nuclear deal....

Meanwhile, a lawyer for Daniel Sudnick, formerly the top U.S. telecom expert in Iraq, last week confirmed that his client had complained to the Pentagon inspector general that Shaw tried to interfere with specifications for a new phone network for Iraqi emergency services to ensure that a group with connections in Ireland and Alaska receives a piece of the pie. Sudnick’s lawyer says his client was bullied and threatened by Shaw....

Riding on the exploits of Paul Stirling, Ireland claimed an emphatic win in the previous encounter to inch ahead in the series. However, they will be wary of the Zimbabweans, with the likes of Craig Ervine and Regis Chakabva itching to make an impact in today’s game. IRE vs ZIM Probable Playing 11 Today IRE XI Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, Andy Balbirnie (c), Will McClintock, Neil Rock (wk), Shane Getkate, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Ben White, Simi Singh and Joshua Little...

Ireland and Jersey lost their opening games in the tournament and are on the lookout for their first win. Ireland, who started off as the favorites, couldn’t get past the Dutch earlier in the week. They face a resourceful Jersey side who showed glimpses of what they are capable of in their previous game, making for a good contest today. IRE-Y vs JER-Y Probable Playing 11 Today IRE-Y XI...

Developing a new system and technical glitches caused delays in sending $1,200 payments out after former President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Payments went out much faster for the second round of relief, but some were concerned that a new administration combined with the IRS being in the middle of tax season could delay delivery of $1,400 stimulus checks. That proved not to be the case as people started seeing payments deposited into their accounts the day after President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Package....

The concern for the rest of the Bachelor schedule comes after CBS halted production on two shows: Survivor and The Amazing Race. Other industries have taken giant precautions to eliminate spreading the flu-like virus, including the NBA, NHL and NBL, all of which have temporarily put their seasons on hold. Here’s everything we know about the future of Bachelor’s upcoming shows, and if they’ll still air. Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart The next upcoming Bachelor spinoff is new in 2020....

This tweet from TSN's Bob McKenzie certainly seems to imply it: Either that, or McKenzie is more gracious than even previously presumed. UPDATE: Yep. If TSN is out, it'd be a sea change for the way the sport is covered in Canada—its resources are second to none, and it employs the biggest names in the game. The implication from McKenzie—and again, it's a heavy one—is that Sportsnet would air games on cable, and CBC would continue its public, iconic "Hockey Night in Canada" broadcasts....

Is it really that bad? Plenty of insurers are in fine condition, and no one is advising consumers to cancel their policies. But after months of bad news, even the experts are worried about the overall health of the insurance industry. “It’s a real problem,” says former Massachusetts insurance commissioner Peter Hiam. “Most of the companies are not in a position to ride out a severe or long-lasting recession.” And while most of the troubled insurers in Texas are tiny, elsewhere in the country some big names are involved....

The franchise had retained only two players ahead of the auction - Mayank Agarwal for Rs 14 crore and Arshdeep Singh for Rs 4 crore. Thus, they headed to the bidding table with the largest purse of Rs 72 crore. At the auction, England’s big-hitting all-rounder Liam Livingstone was their most expensive pick. PBKS shelled out Rs 11.5 crore for him. They also purchased experienced opener Shikhar Dhawan for Rs 8....

Despite his unparalleled skill and virility, Rashid Khan has shown a tendency to waver from his best form without adequate support from the other end. SunRisers Hyderabad, with their out-of-form bowling lineup and papery batting, were guilty of the same in IPL 2021 and paid the price with a wooden-spoon finish. For Ahmedabad to avoid this, they’ll need to find an experienced spinner - preferably Indian for team balance reasons - to avoid a similar situation....

Here are some major milestones achieved in the first 10 days of this Pepsi IPL (3rd April to 12th April) BATTING: Unmukt Chand became the 2nd batsman after Manoj Tiwari (2010) to be dismissed off the first ball of an IPL Season. Mahela Jayawardene completed 1500 IPL runs in his 66th match, becoming the 16th batsman to reach this milestone. He now has scored 1571 runs in 69 matches....

Mumbai Indians, who couldn’t win an IPL title till 2012, won three titles in the span of six years under Rohit Sharma. Rohit, who couldn’t cement his place in the shorter format in the Indian team, then became one of the star performers in the International circuit after his move to Mumbai Indians. The Indian standby captain has aggregated 4493 runs and is the third leading run-scorer in IPL history only behind Raina and Virat....

The “final solution” was a phrase used by Nazi Party leaders during the Holocaust to euphemize genocide. “Incredible that @JZarif and Iran’s Supreme Leader are echoing Hitler’s call for genocide,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter, using the handle for Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. “This depravity should dispel any notion the regime belongs in the community of nations. We stand with Germany and Israel against this oldest & most vile form of hatred, and say #NeverAgain....

Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami held rare telephone talks Thursday with his counterparts Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al Sabah of Kuwait, Badr bin Saud al-Busaidi of Oman and Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah of Qatar in an effort to turn the nearby Sunni Muslim monarchies against U.S. efforts to expand the presence of foreign powers near the Strait of Hormuz amid heated tensions and instances of unrest. He argued that the “American-led military alliance will only increase the insecurity in the region under the pretext of securing shipping....

Speaking with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview broadcast Monday, Zarif again insisted that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons. Soon after the interview aired, Iran’s military tested its latest satellite launch system, elements of which could be used in a ballistic missile research program. “The time for the United States to come back to the nuclear agreement is not unlimited,” Zarif told CNN. “The United States has a limited window of opportunity because President Biden does not want to portray himself as trying to take advantage of the failed policies of the former Trump administration....

Iranian Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guard commander and chief of staff of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces, met Wednesday with Syrian Defense Minister Ali Ayoub to sign a new deal to strengthen defense ties between the two allies. Tehran and Damascus are partnered in the war against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) but are also part of the Axis of Resistance opposed to Israel and the United States....

The demand for false ID cards has spiked as bodies pile up in the Baghdad morgue at the rate of 35 to 50 a day, frequently bound and blindfolded, a jinsiya in their shirt pocket. The Iraqi Islamic Party, a hard-line Sunni group, claims it has tallied at least 65 Omars who have been killed since violence escalated in February after the destruction of a Shiite mosque in Samarra....

Ed Joyce was 39 not out and Ireland captain William Porterfield unbeaten on 23, with both openers dropped off Mohammad Amir. Ireland were batting again after being dismissed for just 130 in reply to Pakistan’s first innings 310 for nine declared. It was the first time Pakistan had enforced the follow-on in a Test in 16 years – they made New Zealand bat twice in a row on the way to an innings and 324-run win at Lahore in 2002....

From the outset, Bale was a marked man as the Boys in Green played cynically, with James McClean asserting himself on the game early on with physical play. Throughout, Ireland were brutish, strong, and willing to get a result by any means necessary. Glenn Whelan and Shane Long both led with their elbows when going for the ball, and on another day could have been disciplined by the referee....