CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s preparation for a limited-overs home series against England suffered a jolt with three players placed in isolation after one of them tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Nearly 50 tests were conducted before players and support staff entered their bio-secure base in Cape Town for the series featuring three Twenty20 Internationals followed by an equal number …

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Test cricketer Umar Akmal filed separate appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland and separate hearings, for both, would be held on December 1, 2020, it was learnt on Thursday. As per the information available to this correspondent, the cases — CAS 2020/A/7358 Pakistan Cricket Board vs Umar Akmal …

CAPE TOWN: England all-rounder Moeen Ali has insisted ‘hand on heart’ he has not experienced any racism during his time in English cricket following a welter of allegations. Tuesday saw the England and Wales Cricket Board accused of ‘institutional racism’ by former international umpire John Holder and aspiring official Ismail Dawood, who both feel non-white candidates have been unfairly prevented …

LAHORE: Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam on Friday said he was looking to score a century in New Zealand and added that the team was taking the tour as a challenge as well as a responsibility, but it is not under any kind of pressure. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Azam said that players are confident about their performance. “We …

SYDNEY: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan is hopeful of convincing Australia to return to the country after 24 years with an extensive tour involving Tests and limited-overs matches in 2022, saying, “There is no reason right now Australia won’t be coming”. A long-awaited resumption of Australian teams playing in Pakistan appeared to move a step closer on …

ula ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed on Thursday that the number of audit paras pending before it ha risen to about 21,000. Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Javed Jahangir informed a meeting of the PAC that 18,500 audit paras had been pending till August 2018, but later 2,000 to 2,200 new paras were added to the backlog. …

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) team on Thursday carried out a search and inspection of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) offices in Karachi to investigate possible anti-competitive activities by manufacturers. Sources in the CCP said that two different teams entered and searched the offices of APCMA chairman and vice chairman located in Karachi and impounded relevant …

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Thursday deferred a final decision relating to unbundling of gas utilities — Sui Nothern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) — and instead decided to constitute a sub-committee to examine the proposal at length and see if domestic consultants could come up with a way forward. The …

A DAY after the government notified rules that define how social media will be governed in Pakistan, technology companies announced that the regulations would make it difficult for them to continue their operations in the country. The rules titled, “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020,” have been framed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act …

Prince William recently released a statement regarding the probe being led into Princess Diana’s infamous Panorama interview, and through it all left royal fans in shock. The statement was released on Twitter by royal author and correspondent Omid Scobie. It read, “The independent investigation is a step in the right direction.” Furthermore, “It should help establish the truth behind the …