Strait of Hormuz = Strooss vun Hormus = Détroit d’Ormuz = Estrecho de Ormuz = Straße von Hormus

I promise to only ask for your hard-earned cash once a year. That moment is here again. This will be my fourth Chicago Marathon, bringing the event to the threshold of an annual tradition. I now know what to expect: the months of training all over the world, the fear of niggling injuries, the panic of not getting to the starting line because of road closures around Grant Park. Then the exuberance of the cheering crowds. Though none of them, bar my own family, are actually cheering me on specifically, it is the closest - as a fellow runner told me - us amateurs can possibly get to feeling like a professional athlete. Then comes the long stretch South when the crowds thin out and the legs start screaming and the devil on my shoulder tells me to walk, if only for just a little bit. At the end there will hopefully again be the satisfaction of finishing a marathon and raising funds for a worthy cause in my dad's name. The truth is that one of my life ambitions used to be to never run a marathon. But times have changed, and now I associate this event with my dad. On the day of the 2026 Chicago Marathon it'll be almost exactly three years to the day since my dad died from cancer. While he thought running for hours on end was silly, bad for your health, and his idea of hell (his words), he did approve of my fundraising efforts. The first year for La Casa Norte and homeless youth and families in the Chicago area. The last two years for the American Cancer Society, appropriately enough. This year I am again raising funds for the most worthy of charities considering my dad's many brushes with this terrible disease, and, ultimately, his demise. I am still not kidding myself: I don't really believe in "beating cancer". But I do believe in making a dent. Please help me in doing so with a donation toward my lofty (and prescribed) goal of $2500. The funds I'm raising will sustain critical research and provide services for people trying to cope with their cancer experience. Running, meanwhile, is a coping mechanism. It keeps me going. So here it is, my fourth Chicago Marathon. (Still trying to finish in under 4 hours.) secure.acsevents.org/site/ST…

It's that time of year again: training for the 2026 Chicago Marathon (on October 11) begins this week, as do my requests for your contributions to my lofty (and prescribed) $2500 fundraising goal for the @AmericanCancer Society. I am doing this in honour of my dad who thought running lost distances was silly and his idea of hell. secure.acsevents.org/goto/ph…

Islamabad still in lockdown mode as we definitely maybe await possible potential U.S.-Iran talks.

Pakistan’s top political and military leadership is working to prevent talks between the U.S. and Iran from collapsing before a second round of negotiations even begins. The two delegations could still meet by the end of this week. My latest short update for @APNews from Islamabad.

Reminder that the U.S. currently doesn’t have an Ambassador in Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — 2 regional officials tell the AP that US and Iran signal they’ll attend a new round of ceasefire talks in Islamabad.

All news is local / all wars are local. @RTLlu push alert in my native #Luxembourg for the MSC Euribia passing through the Strait of Hormuz and back to Europe during the short window of opportunity between blockades, meaning the traditional “whitsun cruise” that hundreds of Luxembourgers take part in can now happen as planned.

Authorities in Pakistan's capital are preparing for the arrival of delegations from the U.S. and Iran ahead of a second round of talks. U.S. President Donald Trump says negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday, raising hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday even as Washington and Tehran remain in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not yet confirmed the talks. My dispatch for @AP from Islamabad.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran.

Pakistan’s powerful army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. Fom Islamabad, my quick look at Field Marshal Asim Munir for @APNews.

24 hours of live broadcasts for 21 hours of talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad.

On air with @1NewsNZ shortly after the U.S. and Iranian delegations left Islamabad. 21 hours of talks without an agreement have led to fears that a fragile ceasefire could end.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Talks between Iran and the U.S. have started in Islamabad, Iranian state-run media report.

There are no signs of Iran backing down from its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. And no signs of Tehran listening to much of what Trump is saying or threatening. Update from Dubai for Singapore-based @ChannelNewsAsia as we near the one-month mark of the US-Israeli war on Iran.