Basant, Pakistan's famous but deadly kite festival, returns after 19-year banCaroline DaviesPakistan correspondent, LahoreGetty ImagesIn the streets of Lahore there are hints that the kite flying festival, Basant, has returned. Someone is fishing a kite from electricity cables, the distant sound of a drum beat, a flash of neon when you look up in the walled city's narrow streets to a stretch of...

Weekly Chartstopper: January 30, 2026 This WeekIt was a big week for fourth-quarter earnings, but also for the Federal Reserve – even in a week where it kept rates unchanged (as expected).First, the Fed upgraded its assessment of the economy, seeing economic growth as “solid,” instead of “moderate,” and recognized “some signs of stabilization” in the labor market.Second,...

A16z VC wants founders to stop stressing over insane ARR numbers  The AI investing boom (or perhaps bubble) is something Silicon Valley has seen many times before: a gold rush of VC money thrown at the Big New Thing. But one aspect of it is completely unique to these times: startups rocketing from $0 to as much as $100 million in annual recurring revenue, sometimes in a matter of...

U.S. drafts plan to end war with Iran as 2,000 paratroopers are ordered to deploy in the Middle East The Lebanese flag is waved amid the rubble of a Lebanese Civil Defence post destroyed in an IDF airstrike in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, on March 24, 2026....

How the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran is realigning the politics of the Middle East How the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran is realigning the politics of the Middle East Kim Ghattas, author Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East," talks about the impact of the...