Faraz Saeed

Pakistan TV Digital&rsquo;s Faraz Saeed celebrates Eid al-Adha in Dushanbe while covering the International Water Conference 2026, offering prayers at the city&rsquo;s central mosque and exploring the Islamic culture and traditions of Central Asia.&nbsp;From grand Soviet-era boulevards to packed Eid congregations, the Tajik capital reflects a blend of Persian heritage, Islamic identity and post-Soviet modernity during one of Islam&rsquo;s holiest festivals.

Asia

Pakistan TV Digital’s Faraz Saeed celebrates Eid al-Adha in Dushanbe while covering the International Water Conference 2026, offering prayers at the city’s central mosque and exploring the Islamic culture and traditions of Central Asia.

How Tajikistan’s capital celebrates Eid al-Adha in heart of Central Asia

MONTMEL&Oacute;: Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory for Ferrari on Sunday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix, ending championship leader Kimi Antonelli&#39;s five-race winning streak.&nbsp;The seven-time world champion finished ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris, while Antonelli was forced to abandon in the final stages because of a technical problem.&nbsp;Hamilton, 41, cut down Antonelli&#39;s title lead to 41 points by triumphing on a Sunday nearly two years after he last won a race.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s not over, that&#39;s for sure,&quot; said Hamilton of the championship race.&nbsp;Mercedes polesitter Russell came in 19 seconds behind Hamilton, with Norris completing an all-British podium, the first since the 1968 United States Grand Prix.&nbsp;&quot;You have helped me so much to achieve this dream, I cannot thank you enough,&quot; said Hamilton over team radio.&nbsp;&quot;To the fans, thank you for reminding me who I am. I couldn&#39;t have done this without you.&quot;&nbsp;Russell, pre-season favourite for the championship, arrived in Barcelona bemoaning bad luck for his recent struggles but after team-mate Antonelli edged in front of him late on he had some good fortune to cut the gap on the teenager to 53 points after the Italian abandoned.&nbsp;&quot;Good to be back on the podium and have a clean race, but Ferrari were mighty today so we need to keep pushing,&quot; said Russell.&nbsp;&quot;The last stints were difficult, but it&#39;s good to be back here. The pace today was insane from Lewis, they are coming I think.&quot;&nbsp;With track temperatures up at 51 degrees Celsius, Hamilton opted for a three pit-stop strategy and it worked to perfection, with the third of those fortuitously coming while the virtual safety car was deployed.&nbsp;Ferrari&#39;s heavily upgraded car may well have been fast enough for Hamilton to triumph anyway, as he recorded the 106th victory of his career.&nbsp;Red Bull&#39;s Max Verstappen came in fourth, ahead of McLaren&#39;s Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar in the other Red Bull.&nbsp;Russell got off to the perfect start from pole, holding off Hamilton on softs, with the Ferrari driver cutting off Antonelli.&nbsp;Hadjar, who started in position six, was slow off the line and overtaken by eight cars.&nbsp;Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, admitted he was &quot;ashamed&quot; by his crash in qualifying which left him starting in 10th but expertly weaved his way up to sixth, although he was later forced to retire.&nbsp;Early stopHamilton took an early pit stop on lap 12 to swap his softs for hards, with Mercedes responding on the following lap with hards for Russell.&nbsp;Russell was worried his stop &quot;exposed&quot; him to Antonelli but retook the lead from Hamilton with his teenage team-mate back in third after his own stop to bolt on the hards.&nbsp;With Hamilton 2.3 seconds behind Russell he said &quot;we are on Plan C&quot; over team radio.&nbsp;The seven-time champion pitted for the second time in the 28th lap, indicating a three-stop strategy, with Mercedes deciding not to follow suit because of the threat of 2025 champion Lando Norris, who was on a two-stop plan.&nbsp;Antonelli moved right behind Russell, who was forced to fend off his team-mate.&nbsp;Russell was called in for fresh hards before Antonelli followed suit, allowing Hamilton into the lead, with Ferrari telling the Briton this was the &quot;critical time&quot; for his race.&nbsp;Home favourite Alonso, in what he said was probably his final appearance in Barcelona, was forced to retire because of a suspected battery issue. It brought out a yellow flag with the virtual safety car deployed, offering Hamilton an ideal chance for a cheap stop.&nbsp;That worked brilliantly for Hamilton who emerged from his third stop with fresh rubber 2.6s ahead of Russell with 24 laps remaining.&nbsp;With clean air Hamilton was able to stretch his lead comfortably to triumph in style.&nbsp;The victory was sweetened further by late drama as Antonelli retired from second place in the 62nd lap to blow open the championship.

Racing

Lewis Hamilton secured his first Ferrari victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, ending Kimi Antonelli’s five-race winning streak. George Russell finished second and Lando Norris third, while Antonelli retired late with a technical problem, reducing his championship lead.

Hamilton claims his first Ferrari win at Barcelona Grand Prix

DHAKA: Bangladesh&#39;s former police chief Benazir Ahmed was arrested in Dubai, the interior minister said on Sunday, years after he fled his home country where he is facing multiple charges including corruption. Benazir, once a close ally of former autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina, left the country in May 2024 amid public outrage over allegations that he had stashed an illegal multi-million-dollar fortune. The United States imposed sanctions against the official in 2021 for his alleged role in hundreds of disappearances and extrajudicial killings when he led the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force. &quot;Benazir Ahmed was arrested on June 12 and he will be extradited soon,&quot; Bangladesh&#39;s Interior Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told parliament. &quot;An Interpol Red Notice was issued against Benazir,&quot; he added. &quot;This is a historic achievement. Through these efforts, we will be able to break the culture of impunity,&quot; Salahuddin Ahmed said. &quot;We want to assure the nation that no perpetrator, however powerful, is above the law.&quot; A student-led revolt toppled prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, forcing her into exile.

Bangladesh

US has imposed sanctions against the official in 2021 for his alleged role in hundreds of disappearances and extrajudicial killings when he led the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force.

Bangladesh's ex-police boss wanted by Interpol arrested in Dubai

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Fourteen Indian nationals were rescued with the help of US Navy after an Indian flagged mechanized sailing vessel experienced an engine failure near the coast of Oman, New Delhi&rsquo;s embassy in Oman said on Sunday.&nbsp; According to a post on the Indian embassy in Oman&rsquo;s X account, the mission learned that an incident involving an Indian flagged mechanized sailing vessel was being rescued by the Omani authorities and vessels in the vicinity of the incident.&nbsp; The embassy said that the vessel experienced an engine failure, and the crew eventually transferred safely to a life raft. The Asian News International reported that the US dropped a life raft and monitored the situation, directing Indian navy vessels towards the location.&nbsp; The embassy in Oman said all 14 members were rescued successfully and were on their way to Mumbai.&nbsp; The government&rsquo;s Directorate General of Shipping also confirmed the rescue in a post on X, stating that swift emergency response procedures, continuous coordination with Omani authorities, the Indian embassy in Oman, and maritime stakeholders ensured the safety of the crew.

India

: Embassy says incident occurred after vessel experiences engine failure,  crew eventually transferred safely to a life raft dropped by the US.



14 Indian sailors rescued by US near Oman

CAIRO: US President Donald Trump is set to hold talks with Egypt&#39;s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France this month, the Egyptian presidency said on Sunday.&nbsp;In a statement, the presidency said Sisi is expected to hold a series of meetings with world leaders during the summit, &quot;including a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump&quot;.&nbsp;It added that Sisi&#39;s meetings would focus on &quot;discussing ways to resolve international geopolitical crises and address their repercussions on trade, energy and supply chains&quot;.&nbsp;The G7 summit will be one of the first major international gatherings since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, upending the Middle East and widening transatlantic tensions.&nbsp;French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the summit in the city of Evian on June 15-17, said that leaders from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had been invited to discuss the Middle East war, according to the French presidency.&nbsp;Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he would not attend the summit due to &quot;prior commitments&quot;, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.&nbsp;The G7 brings together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with invited leaders from several other countries, including Brazil and India.&nbsp;Macron is due to arrive in Evian on Sunday evening, with other leaders, including Trump, expected on Monday.&nbsp;Leaders are set to have a packed agenda of potentially explosive issues, including efforts to end the war in Iran and re-open the key Strait of Hormuz shipping bottleneck.

Americas

US President Donald Trump and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will meet at the G7 summit in France. Leaders will discuss Middle East tensions, including the Iran war, trade, energy security, supply chains, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump to meet Sisi at G7 summit in France: Egyptian presidency

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Palestinian deaths in the occupied West Bank increased sharply in the past three years, with more people killed by Israeli forces and settlers than in the previous 17 years combined, Oxfam International reported in June. An analysis of United Nations data found 1,244 Palestinians, including 268 children, were killed between 2023 and the end of 2025. That compares with 1,036 Palestinians, including 225&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/two-in-three-gaza-children-are-rotting-in-plagueridden-camps" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">children, killed</a>&nbsp;between 2006 and 2022. More than one in five of those killed over the full 20-year period were children, according to the report. &quot;The mounting killing of civilians in the West Bank is tragic and horrifying,&quot; said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam International&#39;s Humanitarian Policy Lead. &quot;While the eyes of the world have been on Gaza, attacks in the West Bank have been accelerating.&quot; Forced displacement accelerated alongside the killings. Nearly 46,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced over the last three years, compared with just over 13,000 during the previous 14 years combined. Israeli military operations, settler violence, demolitions and access restrictions caused the displacement. Movement restrictions intensified. The occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem now have 925 obstacles restricting Palestinian movement, 43% more than the annual average of 647 documented over the preceding 20 years. The World Health Organization documented over 230 attacks on West Bank healthcare facilities in 2025, including blocked access, vandalized ambulances and harassment of medical staff. In the first three months of 2026, more than 540 settler attacks occurred, killing 33 Palestinians and displacing over 2,200 people. More than 60 water and sanitation structures were vandalized, affecting 32 Palestinian communities. Oxfam reported how a Palestinian man was forced from his home in Ein Samya community. &quot;We used to deal with settlers all the time, but over the past three years, settler violence has increased massively,&quot; he said. &quot;Eventually we had to leave and now a settler is staying in my home. I saw him. He took over the community too. It breaks my heart to talk about the past.&quot; After relocating to Jericho, the Palestinian man said the harassment continued. &quot;Settlers closed the roads, carried weapons, harassed and terrified our children on their way to school, and grazed their livestock inside our community,&quot; he said. &quot;In the worst cases they would steal our livestock under the protection of the army and police.&quot; In the report, the international organization called for an end to Israel&#39;s occupation and annexation of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. It also called on the countries to end trade and arms sales supporting the settlement enterprise.

Middle East

The international organization says escalating Israeli military operations, settler violence and access restrictions have deepened humanitarian concerns and disrupted communities throughout the occupied West Bank.

One in five Palestinians killed over 20 years were children: Oxfam 

ISLAMABAD: A passenger bus collided with a truck in eastern Afghanistan&#39;s Ghazni province on Saturday night, killing two commuters and injuring 29 others,&nbsp;Xinhua reported, quoting&nbsp;the provincial police spokesperson, Khalid Sarhadi. According to the Chinese state media, the crash occurred due to reckless driving, with some of the injured in critical condition. The collision is the latest incident to expose the south Asian country&#39;s deteriorating&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/truck-accident-kills-18-in-afghanistan" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;" rel="noopener noreferrer">road infrastructure</a>.&nbsp; According to the provincial police spokesperson, five people died in a similar road accident in the northern Kunduz province on Friday.&nbsp; Three others were killed in Baghlan province on Thursday, the Xinhua report said. Dilapidated highways, speeding, and the use of aging vehicles have transformed Afghanistan&#39;s roads into one of the deadliest transport corridors globally.&nbsp; According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Afghanistan recorded approximately 24 road crash fatalities per 100,000 population in 2021, the highest rate in Central and West Asia.&nbsp; As per WHO data, this translates to a fatality every 24 minutes on Afghan roads. The crisis extends beyond immediate fatalities. Roads in remote areas remain notoriously difficult to navigate, with narrow unpaved routes limiting access to markets, schools, and health facilities.&nbsp; According to the United Nations Development Program, poor road conditions have contributed to frequent accidents that claim lives and isolate communities across the country. According to estimates cited in the Asian Transport Observatory road safety profile, road crash fatalities cost Afghanistan approximately $1 billion in 2021, equivalent to 8% of the&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/border-shutdown-grinds-afghan-economy-to-halt-deepening-humanitarian-crisis" target="_blank" style="font-size: 18px;" rel="noopener noreferrer">nation&#39;s GDP</a>.&nbsp; An annual investment of just $50 million could save approximately 4,000 lives annually, the observatory reports. The pace of road deaths shows no signs of slowing. Between 2016 and 2021, Afghanistan experienced a 6.4% annual increase in road fatalities while the Asia-Pacific region saw improvements, according to WHO data. Without intervention, the gap between current trends and Afghanistan&#39;s commitment to halve road deaths by 2030 will only widen.

Afghans stand at the accident site, after a passenger bus overturned on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, on the outskirts of Maidan Wardak province on August 27, 2025. (AFP)

Afghanistan

Poorly maintained highways, aging vehicles and speeding continue to fuel a worsening road safety crisis, with fatalities rising amid mounting economic losses.

Bus-truck collision leaves two dead, 29 injured in eastern Afghanistan

GENEVA: Thousands of protesters were expected to rally in Geneva on Sunday under a heavy police presence ahead of the G7 summit in Evian in neighboring France, amid fears of a repeat of the violence that marked a similar summit in 2003.&nbsp;The &quot;No-G7&quot; coalition of more than 60 associations, unions and left-wing groups aims to denounce &quot;fascism and imperialism&quot;. &nbsp;The demonstration takes place the day before Group of Seven leaders start their three-day annual gathering.&nbsp;The G7 summit will be one of the first major international gatherings since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February, upending the Middle East and widening transatlantic tensions.&nbsp;The G7 brings together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with invited leaders from several other countries, including Brazil and India.&nbsp;French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the event, is due to arrive in Evian on Sunday evening, followed by other leaders on Monday, including US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;The group will have a packed agenda of potentially explosive issues, including efforts to end the war in Iran and re-open the key Strait of Hormuz shipping bottleneck, with Trump insisting that a deal could be signed on Sunday.&nbsp;Geneva on edgeMost of the leaders will be arriving at Geneva Airport, before making the journey to Evian.&nbsp;Geneva -- about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of the French spa town -- is on edge.&nbsp;The authorities are anxious to avoid any repeat of the mayhem of 2003, when anti-G7 rioters caused millions of dollars worth of damage in the Swiss city.&nbsp;The violence, looting and clashes live long in the memory and small shops, supermarkets and university buildings, some of them far from the protest route, are taking no chances and have boarded up their facades.&nbsp;Several other events in the city have been scrapped, and the main hospital has set up large tents in case there is an influx of casualties.&nbsp;The Swiss authorities have permitted a march around a lengthy loop on the north side of the city -- well away from the city center and its luxury boutiques.&nbsp;They are deploying a significant number of police and security forces.&nbsp;Due to conditions imposed by the French authorities, the No-G7 coalition abandoned plans for a counter-summit and demonstration Sunday in the French border town of Annemasse.&nbsp;&quot;What we fundamentally regret is that France did not create the conditions conducive to a kind of summit, counter-summit, village, forum or discussion&quot; on its side of the border, Geneva&#39;s Security Minister Carole-Anne Kast told reporters during the week.&nbsp;Tight security&quot;We hope to have a wonderful weekend with some lovely moments,&quot; Alice Lefrancois, spokesperson for the coalition, told reporters.&nbsp;&quot;There will be security personnel, particularly to protect demonstrators from any form of external aggression, and there will also be a family area.&nbsp;&quot;We think it&#39;s going to be a rather pleasant experience,&quot; she added.&nbsp;Geneva is almost entirely surrounded by France: nowhere in the Geneva canton is more than 5.5 kilometers (3.5 miles) from the French border.&nbsp;Bracing for the protest and the summit, Swiss authorities have closed 25 of the 35 road border crossings, causing traffic jams in both directions.&nbsp;Nearly 16,000 French police, gendarmes, troops, firefighters and border guards will be deployed, using boats, motorcycles and drones, alongside mounted police and dog-handling units, France&#39;s Haute-Savoie regional prefecture said.&nbsp;Switzerland has approved the deployment of 2,000-5,000 military personnel to &quot;support&quot; the cantonal police.&nbsp;Around 4,000 Swiss troops will be on duty on land, on Lake Geneva and in the air, coordinating with the French military.

Europe

Protests set to grip Geneva ahead of G7 summit

MANILA: A powerful earthquake that killed at least 61 people in the&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/death-toll-from-philippines-quake-rises-to-46" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Philippines</a>&nbsp;this week raised the seabed by as much as two meters, exposing coral and harming marine life, the environment department said Sunday. The 7.8-magnitude tremor in southern&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-fm-expresses-solidarity-with-philippines-after-mindanao-earthquake" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mindanao island</a>&nbsp;on Monday has also left at least 40 people missing, according to updated tolls from the disaster agency. Local residents first reported the geological phenomenon known as &quot;coastal uplift&quot; two days after the quake, which extended the shoreline by as much as 200 meters in some places, the environment department said. A shifting of the Cotabato Trench &quot;pushed upward part of the coastlines of Sarangani and Davao Occidental (provinces)... exposing the bottom of the sea that was originally submerged&quot;, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement. &quot;Approximately 2m [meters] was the mapped uplift.&quot; The Cotabato Trench, which lies as close as 50 kilometres off the coast of southern Mindanao, is the site of frequent&nbsp;<a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/66magnitude-earthquake-hits-off-taiwan-usgs" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">seismic activity</a>, including a &quot;swarm&quot; of thousands of mostly small earthquakes recorded in January. A team dispatched to the area &quot;found that long stretches of shoreline, coral reef and seagrass beds have been exposed&quot;, the environment department said. An official who spoke to AFP on Sunday said they could not yet say precisely how wide an area had been affected given the size of the area they needed to survey. Images released by the department&#39;s regional office showed a large swathe of exposed coral with dead fish and other aquatic life lying on top. Residents initially reported the changes to the seabed out of concern that they might be poisoned by the fumes from decaying sea life. &quot;These exposed corals and seagrass beds had begun dying off alongside their resident organisms such as reef fishes, eels, clams, and shells,&quot; the environment department said.

A man searches for salvageable belongings in the debris of his collapsed home following a deadly earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, on June 10, 2026. (AFP)

The 7.8-magnitude tremor in southern Mindanao island on Monday has also left at least 40 people missing, according to updated tolls from the disaster agency.

Deadly Philippine quake raised seabed by up to two meters

LONDON: British forces on Sunday intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker belonging to Russia&#39;s shadow fleet in the English Channel, the defence ministry said. The six-hour operation in the early hours was supported by aircraft, including Chinook helicopters, and navy vessels such as the frigate HMS Sutherland. &quot;In the first UK-led operation of its kind, the vessel SMYRTOS was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, despite Russia&#39;s best efforts to evade sanctions and continue fuelling its barbaric war with Ukraine,&quot; the ministry statement said. The vessel will now be moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and monitored, it added. &quot;Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin&#39;s illegal war,&rdquo; said defence minister Dan Jarvis. He said the operation was carried out in &quot;close coordination with the French&quot;. Disrupting the shadow fleet was &quot;directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia&#39;s aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capacity to threaten security across Europe and beyond&quot;, he added. The UK has sanctioned hundreds of vessels suspected of being part of the shadow fleet used by Russia to bypass Western embargoes since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ships -- usually ageing tankers with dubious ownership -- are banned from accessing UK ports and services. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation delivered &quot;yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin&#39;s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide&quot;. In March, the government announced that British forces would be able to board and seize shadow fleet vessels passing through its waters. The announcement followed the easing of restrictions by Washington on Russian oil to soften prices sent soaring by the US-Israel war against Iran. France, Belgium, Finland and other European countries have also recently seized sanction-busting vessels believed to belong to the so-called shadow fleet.

The UK Defence Ministry says the vessel will now be moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and monitored.

UK intercepts Russian shadow fleet vessel in Channel: Ministry

LOS ANGELES: The New York Knicks, fueled by a sensational 45 points from Jalen Brunson, rallied again to beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 and win their first NBA title in 53 years on Saturday. The Knicks won the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, denying Victor Wembanyama and his young Spurs teammates on their home floor to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 850px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2066000179216441757&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=c05f74389a58b28f065d432e2028dba6289550bc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2066000179216441757"></iframe></div></div>The Knicks, who recovered from 29 points down in game four to produce the biggest comeback in Finals history, erased a double-digit deficit to win for the fourth time in the series. They trailed by 16 in the second quarter and were down by 10 early in the fourth, but Brunson wouldn&#39;t let them lose. &quot;I&#39;ve got no words,&quot; Brunson said after setting a Knicks record for points in a Finals game, surpassing Willis Reed&#39;s 38 in game three of the team&#39;s 1970 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers. &quot;I don&#39;t know what I&#39;m feeling,&quot; added Brunson, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player. &quot;I&#39;m in awe. Whenever someone counts us out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.&quot; French star Wembanyama scored 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked five shots and rookie Dylan Harper scored 25 points off the bench for San Antonio. But once again, the Spurs team that vanquished the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals were unable to hold off the crafty and determined Knicks. The win marked the final chapter of a dramatic playoff run which had captivated New York, with tens of thousands of long-suffering fans packing neighborhood watch parties throughout the Big Apple as the team inched towards a first title in more than half a century. Within moments of clinching victory on Saturday, the Empire State Building was lit up in the Knicks&#39; signature orange and blue colors, as raucous celebrations erupted outside the team&#39;s Madison Square Garden home. There was a boisterous blue and orange-clad contingent cheering them on at the Spurs&#39; Frost Bank Center as well, where the celebrities on the sidelines included not only longtime Knicks fans but also Britain&#39;s Prince Harry, who sat with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Mikal Bridges scored 14 points, and Josh Hart added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns scored just two points before fouling out in the fourth quarter but pulled down 10 rebounds and came up with three steals and a blocked shot. Fouled on a three-pointer, Brunson made all three free throws to put the Knicks up 86-85 with 3:40 left to play. It was their first lead since the opening minutes, and they wouldn&#39;t trail again. Game four hero OG Anunoby drove for a dunk that made it 88-85, and after the Spurs knotted it at 88-88, Brunson put New York back in front with a driving basket and the Knicks held on. &#39;We weren&#39;t ready&#39;With their backs against the wall, the Spurs were locked in defensively from the opening tip-off. Wembanyama set the tone, blocking three shots in the first quarter as the Spurs powered to a 23-13 lead, holding the Knicks to their fewest points in any quarter this post-season. Wembanyama tied a Finals record with five blocks in the first half and drilled a three-pointer that pushed the Spurs lead to 16 early in the second period. But the Knicks were heating up, cutting the deficit to three before Devin Vassell&#39;s fadeaway basket at the buzzer sent the Spurs into the interval with a 42-37 lead. San Antonio quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead, but Brunson and the gritty Knicks wouldn&#39;t let them get away. &quot;We weren&#39;t ready to win an NBA championship,&quot; Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. &quot;The better team won. We did a lot of good things, and we didn&#39;t finish the job. That&#39;s what it is.&quot;

New York Knicks win NBA title, defeating the Spurs 91-88 in Saturday’s final. (Photo: X/@nyknicks)

Athletics

The Knicks win the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, denying Victor Wembanyama and his young Spurs teammates on their home floor to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.