LONDON: Real Madrid added another chapter to their already astonishing love affair with European football’s elite club trophy by claiming a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on Saturday as they were crowned for the 15th time. The story of the season they finished at Wembley was about two generations of players who met, bonded as …

PROVIDENCE: West Indies stuttered and stumbled before eventually scrambling a five-wicket win with an over to spare over minnows Papua New Guinea in the opening Group C encounter of the T20 World Cup at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday. Set a modest target of 137, the two-time former champions were undone by clever, disciplined PNG bowling, slumping to 97 for five …

ISLAMABAD: All arrangements including lighting at the Jinnah Stadium have been completed for holding Pakistan’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia smoothly on June 6, an official of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) said on Sunday. “All the arrangements for the match have been finalised. Reading of the lights, which is called lux, is available for the record. The …

DALLAS: “Cricket? Erm, is it a team game?” asked the slightly puzzled Uber driver taking his passenger towards the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Texas on Saturday. Had the driver been one of the curious American-born spectators who ventured inside the venue and witnessed the USA’s first ever T20 World Cup game — a pulsating seven-wicket victory over Canada — …

Hang on a minute. Don’t tell me you did not know it would be this way at this time of the year. Of course, the corresponding period was going to be utterly chaotic. But, you knew from the beginning it would be this way at this time of the year. For the past six months, Pakistan have remained obsessed with …

ISLAMABAD: The economy is expected to be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif makes a five-day trip to China next week, but the outcomes of the visit are not expected to have any major impact on budget preparations. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed on Friday that Mr Sharif’s trip, which starts tomorrow, will include talks …

ISLAMABAD: Reiterating the government’s resolve to increasing exports, Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Sunday said that the registration system for pesticides would be digitalised to streamline the processes. During a meeting with the director general of plant protection, Dr Tariq Khan, the minister said, “An effective system for the inspection of rice and mango …

Pakistan’s consumer price index (CPI) in May rose 11.8pc from a year earlier, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Monday, the lowest reading in 30 months and below the finance ministry’s projections. The lowest reading comes a week before the central bank meets to review the key rate which has remained at a historic high of 22pc for …

ISLAMABAD: The country’s development programme seems to be in tatters, incapable of meeting even a fraction of its infrastructure and growth potential, while budgetary allocations are flowing to constituency politics and deficit financing, in what is deemed a blatant violation of the decisions of the National Econo­mic Council (NEC), the apex economic decision-making body. This is the crux of a …

RAWALPINDI: The Euro­pean Union has opted to continue with its restrictions on Pakistani airlines, including Pakistan Inter­national Air­lines (PIA), after recent evaluations raised ongoing safety concerns. The decision, under­scored by the possibility of future reviews, follows an exhaustive asses­sment by the EU Air Safety Committee. During its latest meetings, the committee determined that there were insufficient grounds to amend the current list …