NEW DELHI: Parts of the Delhi-NCR witnessed rainfall on Wednesday, bringing a noticeable change in weather conditions along with a dip in temperatures. Visuals from Indira Bhawan showed steady rain under cloudy skies, while scenes from Moolchand Metro Station captured commuters moving through light to moderate showers. In the Palam area, rainfall and gusty winds were also reported, indicating widespread weather activity across Delhi.According to news agency PTI, high-velocity winds sweeping through Delhi caused power outages and disruptions across several parts of the capital. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued advisories, urging residents to remain indoors and avoid vulnerable structures. People were cautioned to stay away from windows, electrical poles, and overhead power lines, while securing loose objects to prevent accidents.Farmers were advised to halt outdoor work temporarily and move livestock to safer areas, while motorists caught in the storm were told to pull over safely and remain inside their vehicles instead of driving through strong winds and flying debris.According to the India Meteorological Department, the city is likely to continue witnessing light rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds till March 20. Wind speeds may range between 20–30 kmph, gusting up to 40–50 kmph, especially during afternoon and evening hours.The change in weather is attributed to active western disturbances and cyclonic circulations affecting northwest India, leading to increased thunderstorm activity over the region.The rainfall has led to a fall in temperatures, with the maximum expected to drop from around 32–34°C to 26–28°C over the next two days, remaining below normal for this time of year. Minimum temperatures are likely to stay between 16°C and 20°C.The brief spell of rain has provided relief from the early onset of summer heat and improved overall weather conditions in the city.The IMD has advised residents to take precautions and to remain cautious during thunderstorms, avoid waterlogged areas and trees, and drive carefully.

US equities edged lower in early trade on Wednesday as a fresh surge in crude oil prices reignited worries about inflation and dampened investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.The S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent and was on course for its first decline this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180 points, or 0.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite also slipped 0.3 per cent in morning trade, AP reported.Markets came under pressure after benchmark US crude prices rose 2.2 per cent to $97.69 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 4.2 per cent to $107.69 per barrel. Energy prices have been volatile since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, amid disruptions to production and transportation across the Persian Gulf.Concerns intensified after Qatar blamed Israel for an attack on an offshore natural gas field jointly operated with Iran. Prolonged supply disruptions, analysts warn, could push global inflation sharply higher and weigh on economic growth.Adding to inflationary worries, data released on Wednesday showed wholesale prices in the United States accelerated unexpectedly to 3.4 per cent last month. The increase suggests producers may pass on higher costs to households in the coming months.The inflation print reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting later in the day. While rate cuts could support the job market and financial assets, they also risk stoking inflation — a point that has remained central to the ongoing policy debate. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for lower borrowing costs.Investors will also watch whether Fed officials continue to project the possibility of a rate cut during 2026. The outlook remains uncertain, particularly as the geopolitical situation complicates economic forecasts. Rising fuel prices are already beginning to feed into consumer costs, with average gasoline prices climbing to $3.84 per gallon after remaining below $3 just a month ago.Global energy flows continue to face constraints, even as there are tentative hopes that more vessels could eventually pass through the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil.Corporate earnings updates offered mixed cues. Macy’s rose 4.7 per cent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, while General Mills slipped 1.6 per cent following weaker earnings.In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher after the inflation data. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.22 per cent from 4.20 per cent in the previous session.Overseas markets presented a mixed picture. European indices were largely subdued after reacting to rising crude prices, while Asian markets ended higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 2.9 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi jumping 5 per cent.US equities edged lower in early trade on Wednesday as a fresh surge in crude oil prices reignited worries about inflation and dampened investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.The S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent and was on course for its first decline this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180 points, or 0.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite also slipped 0.3 per cent in morning trade, AP reported.Markets came under pressure after benchmark US crude prices rose 2.2 per cent to $97.69 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 4.2 per cent to $107.69 per barrel. Energy prices have been volatile since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, amid disruptions to production and transportation across the Persian Gulf.Concerns intensified after Qatar blamed Israel for an attack on an offshore natural gas field jointly operated with Iran. Prolonged supply disruptions, analysts warn, could push global inflation sharply higher and weigh on economic growth.Adding to inflationary worries, data released on Wednesday showed wholesale prices in the United States accelerated unexpectedly to 3.4 per cent last month. The increase suggests producers may pass on higher costs to households in the coming months.The inflation print reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting later in the day. While rate cuts could support the job market and financial assets, they also risk stoking inflation — a point that has remained central to the ongoing policy debate. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for lower borrowing costs.Investors will also watch whether Fed officials continue to project the possibility of a rate cut during 2026. The outlook remains uncertain, particularly as the geopolitical situation complicates economic forecasts. Rising fuel prices are already beginning to feed into consumer costs, with average gasoline prices climbing to $3.84 per gallon after remaining below $3 just a month ago.Global energy flows continue to face constraints, even as there are tentative hopes that more vessels could eventually pass through the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil.Corporate earnings updates offered mixed cues. Macy’s rose 4.7 per cent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, while General Mills slipped 1.6 per cent following weaker earnings.In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher after the inflation data. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.22 per cent from 4.20 per cent in the previous session.Overseas markets presented a mixed picture. European indices were largely subdued after reacting to rising crude prices, while Asian markets ended higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 2.9 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi jumping 5 per cent.US equities edged lower in early trade on Wednesday as a fresh surge in crude oil prices reignited worries about inflation and dampened investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.The S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent and was on course for its first decline this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180 points, or 0.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite also slipped 0.3 per cent in morning trade, AP reported.Markets came under pressure after benchmark US crude prices rose 2.2 per cent to $97.69 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 4.2 per cent to $107.69 per barrel. Energy prices have been volatile since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, amid disruptions to production and transportation across the Persian Gulf.Concerns intensified after Qatar blamed Israel for an attack on an offshore natural gas field jointly operated with Iran. Prolonged supply disruptions, analysts warn, could push global inflation sharply higher and weigh on economic growth.Adding to inflationary worries, data released on Wednesday showed wholesale prices in the United States accelerated unexpectedly to 3.4 per cent last month. The increase suggests producers may pass on higher costs to households in the coming months.The inflation print reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting later in the day. While rate cuts could support the job market and financial assets, they also risk stoking inflation — a point that has remained central to the ongoing policy debate. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for lower borrowing costs.Investors will also watch whether Fed officials continue to project the possibility of a rate cut during 2026. The outlook remains uncertain, particularly as the geopolitical situation complicates economic forecasts. Rising fuel prices are already beginning to feed into consumer costs, with average gasoline prices climbing to $3.84 per gallon after remaining below $3 just a month ago.Global energy flows continue to face constraints, even as there are tentative hopes that more vessels could eventually pass through the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil.Corporate earnings updates offered mixed cues. Macy’s rose 4.7 per cent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, while General Mills slipped 1.6 per cent following weaker earnings.In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher after the inflation data. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.22 per cent from 4.20 per cent in the previous session.Overseas markets presented a mixed picture. European indices were largely subdued after reacting to rising crude prices, while Asian markets ended higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 2.9 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi jumping 5 per cent.

On the war’s 19th day, the numbers still flatter the US and Israel. More Iranian officials are dead. More launchers are wrecked. More command nodes have been hit. Israel says it has penetrated deep into Iran’s security structure and is now going after the machinery that keeps the Islamic Republic in power at home as well as abroad. From the air, it looks like the operation “Epic Fury” is going on in “cruise control” mode.Driving the newsAnd yet wars have a way of humiliating arithmetic.The war is no longer just a US-Israeli air campaign against Iran. It is now a broader regional confrontation touching Lebanon, the Gulf, global shipping and energy markets.That matters because the core question has shifted. The issue is no longer whether the US and Israel have inflicted severe damage. They plainly have. The question now is whether President Donald Trump can turn that military dominance into a political outcome that looks like victory – or whether Iran is succeeding in making the war longer, wider and more costly than Trump expected.

Why it mattersOn the battlefield, Trump has a case. Iran’s top leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was obliterated on Day 1. Since then, US-Israeli forces have killed many other important political and military figures too. Israel and the US have degraded Iranian military infrastructure, targeted the internal security forces that suppress dissent, and pushed Tehran onto the defensive.But wars are not scored only by body counts, destroyed launchers or command bunkers. They are also scored by endurance, economic pain, alliance cohesion and the ability to shape the terms of peace.That is where Trump’s position looks shakier.Reuters reported that the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, that oil prices are up around 45% since the war began on February 28, and that Gulf Arab states have been hit by more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks on US diplomatic missions, military bases, oil infrastructure, ports, airports and residential buildings. Reuters also cited the International Energy Agency saying the conflict has caused the worst oil crisis since the 1970s. Global airlines, Reuters reported, have warned of soaring fuel costs, higher fares and route cuts.Those are not side effects. They are central to Iran’s strategy.According to an FT analysis by Emile Hokayem, Iran “has taken a beating” but still retains three major advantages: “geography, time and asymmetry.” The FT’s argument is that Tehran does not need to win conventionally. It only needs to impose enough cost on everyone else to turn apparent military success into strategic ambiguity.That is the danger for Trump. He may be winning the opening phase of the war while losing the ability to define its ending.Between the linesPolitico reported that Trump has been enraged by the refusal of many allies to join the effort to restore shipping through Hormuz. After publicly pressing allies for help, he swung back to insisting he never needed them in the first place. “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID!” he wrote on Truth Social, “WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”That rhetorical reversal matters. It suggests Trump is confronting one of the central limits of his Iran campaign: the US can dominate the skies and still struggle to assemble a coalition for the consequences.Politico reported that Germany’s defense minister said, “We did not start this war,” while Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister described Trump’s push for European help as “blackmail.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK “will not be drawn into a wider war,” according to Politico. Sen Lindsey Graham, after speaking with Trump, wrote on X that he had “never heard him so angry in my life.”Trump’s problem is not only Iran. It is also the optics of isolation. If Washington cannot persuade allies to share the burden, the war starts to look less like a coalition campaign and more like a unilateral gamble with global costs.The big pictureThe most persuasive argument that the war may be backfiring on Trump comes from Foreign Affairs, where Nate Swanson wrote that “Trump likely wants to declare victory soon,” but “he cannot force surrender on a government that refuses it.” In Swanson’s telling, the war’s first phase has badly damaged Iran, but the second phase may still favor Tehran because the regime has incentives and enough residual capability to sustain a war of attrition.That is the strategic paradox. Trump and Netanyahu may have destroyed much of Iran’s immediate capacity. But unless they can force capitulation, install a new deterrent order or engineer a stable ceasefire, Iran can still shape the peace by refusing to lose on Washington’s timetable.Swanson’s central point in Foreign Affairs is that Tehran does not need daily military success. It only needs to keep regional partners, global markets and the American public nervous. A few drone attacks on tankers, enough missile strikes to keep Gulf states on edge, and enough disruption in Hormuz to keep oil elevated may be sufficient to turn Trump’s “little excursion” into a politically draining war with no clean off-ramp.The FT makes a similar case from a more operational angle. Hokayem argues that “good strategy is the alignment of ends and means,” and by that standard, “the Iranians haven’t done badly.” Tehran, in the FT’s view, has sensibly prioritized vulnerable regional targets and energy chokepoints over trying to break Israel directly. For Iran, success is not conquering territory. It is keeping everyone else off balance.There is another way the war may be backfiring. In Foreign Affairs, Akbar Ganji argued that the assassination of Ali Khamenei and wartime pressure from the US and Israel may have solved Iran’s succession crisis in favor of Mojtaba Khamenei. Ganji wrote that Trump’s interventions and Israeli threats made Mojtaba “the only viable option for regime survival.” In other words, a campaign partly justified as a blow against the regime may also have hardened it.Zoom inIsrael’s hope, according to a New York Times report by Adam Rasgon, Ronen Bergman and David M Halbfinger, is that strikes on the Basij, the Ministry of Intelligence and other coercive institutions can weaken the regime enough to open space for a popular uprising.That is one of the biggest unresolved bets in this war.The New York Times reported that some former Israeli officials think the strategy is unrealistic because Iran’s internal security services remain deeply entrenched. Vali Nasr told the Times, “There’s enormous hatred of the Islamic republic,” but also “considerable hatred of the United States and Israel and considerable worry about the future of the country itself.”That gets to the central political reality inside Iran. Many Iranians may despise the regime and still refuse to rise up while under foreign bombardment. National humiliation can unify even fractured societies. War can suppress dissent as effectively as repression can.If that is true, then the regime-change theory behind part of the Israeli and US strategy is weak. And if regime change is not coming, Trump is left with a narrower set of choices: keep bombing, negotiate a cease-fire, or accept a murky partial victory.What next: Trump now faces a scoreboard that cuts in two directionsOn one side, the US and Israel are clearly ahead militarily. Iran’s leadership has been decapitated. Its security apparatus has taken severe hits. Its missile operations are under pressure. Its proxies are being pulled into a fight from a position of weakness, not strength.On the other side, Iran may still be doing enough to deny Trump the one outcome he most wants: a quick, unmistakable victory that reinforces deterrence, calms markets and proves his judgment.So, who is winning so far?In an opinion piece for the Greek newspaper eKathimerini, Endy Zemenides aptly described Operation Epic Fury as an “Epic Failure.”The honest answer is this: Trump is winning the war’s first chapter. Iran may still be writing the ending.That is why the war is not clearly backfiring on Trump in military terms. But in strategic, diplomatic and economic terms, the warning lights are flashing. If the conflict drags on, keeps oil high, leaves Hormuz contested and shows Trump unable to rally allies or force Tehran to fold, the question will stop being whether the war is backfiring.It will be how much.(With inputs from agencies)

With tensions rising in the region following the Kabul airstrike, questions around player safety – especially for overseas stars – have taken centre stage ahead of PSL 2026. But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has moved quickly to calm nerves, firmly stating that there is no reason for concern and that the tournament will go ahead as planned.

PCB dismisses security fears as PSL 2026 preparations continue

Reports had suggested that Australian players were hesitant about traveling, particularly after their government issued advisories related to certain areas. However, the PCB has dismissed these claims, maintaining that everything is on track.

“All travel arrangements and plans are in place, and we will have all the Australian players who have signed for the PSL 11 start arriving from next week,” a PCB source stated.

The board has made it clear that speculation around withdrawals or reluctance is being overstated. Officials insist that overseas players remain committed and that the league has handled similar situations in the past without disruption.

“The news reports in the media are not correct. There is no concern regarding Australian players coming to Pakistan,” another PCB source said, reinforcing confidence in the security framework.

Behind the scenes, the PCB has reportedly strengthened its safety protocols and logistical planning, aiming to ensure a smooth tournament despite the geopolitical backdrop. From their perspective, PSL 2026 is business as usual.

Peshawar fixture raises questions as contingency plans stay ready

While the PCB remains confident, one specific concern continues to draw attention – the scheduled fixture in Peshawar. The city has been marked as a “do not travel” zone by Australian authorities due to its proximity to the Afghanistan border and the risk of escalation.

This has put the March 28 match between Peshawar Zalmi and Rawalpindi Pindiz under the spotlight. With Australian players like Aaron Hardie and Jake Fraser-McGurk part of those squads, there is uncertainty over whether they will be available for that particular game.

Despite this, the PCB appears well-prepared for any scenario. Reports suggest that contingency measures, including emergency evacuation plans via private charter flights, have been put in place to reassure players and teams.

Also READ: PSL 2026 – Australian government issues urgent travel warning to its players following deadly Kabul airstrike

A PCB source acknowledged the backup arrangements, stating that “if things go wrong, players could be flown out instantly,” while also expressing confidence that such measures would not be needed.

The broader context, however, cannot be ignored. The Kabul airstrike, which reportedly resulted in heavy casualties, has heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, leading to diplomatic strain and increased caution from foreign governments. This naturally impacts how players and boards assess risk.

Still, PSL 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious editions yet. With eight teams, 44 matches, and new venues like Faisalabad and Peshawar making their debut, the tournament is expanding its footprint significantly.

Adding to the intrigue is the strong Australian presence across teams, featuring big names like Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne, alongside experienced coaches such as Tim Paine and Jason Gillespie.

At the same time, the league has had to deal with other challenges, including the withdrawal of several Afghanistan players following backlash over certain signings. Yet, the PCB remains unfazed, pointing to its track record of successfully hosting international cricket even in difficult circumstances.

With the tournament set to begin on March 26 in Lahore, the focus now shifts to execution. While uncertainties remain in the background, the PCB’s message is clear – they are confident, prepared and determined to deliver a successful PSL season.

Ultimately, much will depend on how the situation evolves in the coming days. But for now, PSL 2026 is firmly on track, with teams, players, and fans hoping that cricket once again takes centre stage.

Also READ: From Glenn Maxwell to Tim Paine – Complete list of Australian players and coaches in PSL 2026