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West Brom hand 10-man Chelsea first loss under Tuchel
West Bromwich Albion secured a stunning 5-2 win over 10-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to hand Thomas Tuchel his first loss as the London club’s manager.
West Brom, second-bottom of the table, moved seven points from the safety zone while Chelsea stayed fourth but could be overtaken by West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
Chelsea were looking to record an eighth consecutive clean sheet but Thiago Silva’s sending-off for a second yellow card after a reckless challenge opened the floodgates as West Brom ran riot.
“There’s no need to concede five goals when you have our quality,” Tuchel told BBC Sport after Chelsea’s worst home defeat in nearly 10 years.
“We could not adapt to the situation, which is a surprise as we were leading. We’re normally confident enough to defend but we were sloppy and kept making big mistakes. We were punished hard and it’s tough to digest.”
Chelsea took the lead two minutes before Silva’s red card when Marcos Alonso’s free kick came off the post and Christian Pulisic scored from the rebound, the American winger’s first goal under Tuchel.
West Brom used their numerical advantage to good effect as Matheus Pereira scored two goals in quick succession in first-half stoppage time — which included an assist from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone — to put the visitors ahead at the interval.
They struck twice on the counter-attack five minutes apart in the second half, with Callum Robinson volleying home a Darnell Furlong cross before Pereira turned provider for Mbaye Diagne.
Chelsea pulled one back to make it 4-2 when Timo Werner set up Mason Mount for a simple tap-in but West Brom scored their fifth in stoppage time when Robinson chipped onrushing keeper Edouard Mendy.
“People will always look to the fact they went down to 10 men but I thought we started the game brightly and created chances. I thought Thiago Silva was lucky to stay on after the first foul,” West Brom manager Sam Allardyce said.
“Our goals were all quality goals, not just the finishing but the build-ups. It’s just a bit of a shame we didn’t show that quality in some others games but this still gives us a bit of hope.”
A high-ranking Uzbek delegation comprising government officials and private sector representatives from the Republic of Karakalpakstan arrived in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
The delegation is headed by Amanbay Orinbayev, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Karakalpakstan.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the delegation is expected to hold talks with Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations.
The ministry said the visiting delegation will also participate in trade connectivity meetings and business-to-business sessions aimed at enhancing commercial cooperation between the two sides.
As part of the visit, the Uzbek delegation is also scheduled to travel to Balkh province, where members will attend additional trade meetings and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing Uzbekistan’s domestic products.
Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, has expressed concern over recent developments along the Durand Line, saying Pakistan has increased military and economic pressure on villages and residents living near the line.
In a statement, Karzai said the apparent purpose of these pressures is to push residents of Durand Line areas to seek help from Pakistani institutions for resolving security and other local issues.
He added that, amid this situation, some tribal elders from both sides of the Durand Line recently signed documents described as “peace agreements,” which were later officially welcomed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Karzai, these developments amount to an effort by Pakistan to legitimize the Durand Line and represent an action against Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.
The former Afghan president also urged the relevant Afghan authorities to provide the public with a clear explanation regarding the recent agreements and developments along the Durand Line.
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SAARC failure pushes Pakistan toward trilateral ties with Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh: Dar
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has said that the failure of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is pushing Pakistan toward exploring trilateral cooperation frameworks involving Afghanistan, China, and Bangladesh.
Speaking at the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) Conference in Lahore on Friday, Dar said SAARC has “unfortunately not been able to kick off,” limiting regional economic integration and cooperation.
He said Pakistan is now looking at alternative regional arrangements to strengthen economic connectivity and trade, including trilateral formats such as China–Pakistan–Afghanistan and China–Pakistan–Bangladesh.
Dar stressed that South Asia cannot remain in “isolation,” noting that the region, home to nearly two billion people, is missing significant economic opportunities due to weak cooperation among neighbouring countries.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985 to promote economic and regional integration among South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The organisation was designed to encourage cooperation in areas such as trade, development, education, and cultural exchange. However, in recent years, SAARC’s effectiveness has been significantly limited due to political tensions between member states, particularly between India and Pakistan, leading to stalled summits and reduced regional engagement.
As a result, regional economic cooperation in South Asia has largely remained underdeveloped compared to other regional blocs around the world.
High-ranking Uzbek delegation arrives in Kabul to boost trade ties
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