TO be at Newlands in Cape Town is an experience of a lifetime and when a Test is on like the one starting today it is an occasion to savour even more. I only wish, though, that Pakistan after being beaten at Centurion by a humiliating margin of six wickets, make a fight of it here and stand up to …

Pakistan struggled against South Africa’s all-out pace attack to slip to 75-5 at lunch on Thursday on the opening day of the second Test. South Africa’s four fast bowlers all had wickets, with Duanne Olivier taking two and Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada one each to leave Pakistan reeling at Newlands. South Africa won the first Test by six …

KABUL: Taliban fighters detonated explosives planted in a tunnel below an Afghan military outpost, killing five soldiers, a police official said on Wednesday. Six soldiers were woun­ded in the attack on Tuesday in the Maiwand district of the southern province of Kandahar, police spokesman Mohammad Ashraf Watandost said. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said the militants had killed or …

WASHINGTON: An acting defence chief, Patrick M. Shanahan, replaced US Secretary of Defence James Mattis at the Pentagon on Wednesday and pledged to work with President Donald Trump to carry out his vision. The former defence secretary left his office on Monday night but Acting Secretary Shanahan took charge of his new office on Wednesday as Tuesday was a holiday. Mattis resigned …

ISLAMABAD: China on Wednesday tentatively acknowledged it was extending financial assistance to help Pakistan boost its dwindling foreign exchange reserves. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang in his daily media briefing in Beijing said: “The Chinese side has offered and will continue to offer its best through assistance, trade, investment and all-around practical cooperation to support and boost Pakistan’s economic …

A Chinese lunar rover landed on the far side of the moon on Thursday, in a global first that boosts Beijing’s ambitions to become a space superpower. The Chang’e-4 probe touched down and sent a photo of the so-called “dark side” of the moon to the Queqiao satellite, which will relay communications to controllers on Earth, China’s national space agency …

After her memoirs I Am Malala and a children’s book Malala’s Magic Pencil, education activist Malala Yousufzai is ready to launch her third title. Her newest book We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World is set to release on January 8. It will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the publishers of her debut book. In …

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday embarked on a two-day official visit to Turkey on the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Radio Pakistan reported. The premier will discuss the “entire spectrum of bilateral relations as well as [the] regional and international situation” with President Erdogan. During his stay in Ankara, Prime Minister Khan will address a business forum and hold …

Apple acknowledged that demand for iPhones is waning, confirming investor fears that the company’s most profitable product has lost some of its lustre. The reckoning came in a letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook to the company’s shareholders released after the stock market closed on Wednesday. Cook said Apple’s revenue for the October-December quarter including the crucial holiday shopping season …

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday mocked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for funding a library in Afghanistan, suggesting it was of no use. Trump brought up India’s aid during a rambling press appearance at a cabinet meeting as he defended his push for the United States to invest less overseas. While stating that he got along with Modi, Trump …