MADRID: Barcelona was­ted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday thanks to goals in each half from Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia. With seven games to play, Barca are top of the league on 76 points, 11 ahead second-placed Real Madrid, who were …

RAWALPINDI: It was in the 20th over that Fakhar Zaman caused mayhem in the stands at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Daryl Mitchell, New Zealand’s centurion on the day, was smacked over mid-wicket for a massive six; the first maximum of Pakistan’s innings with southpaw openers Fakhar and Imam-ul-Haq having laid the platform for victory in the opening One-day International on …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Thursday forecast a substantial decline in global commodity prices during the current year but Pakistanis would have to brace for 21pc average annual inflation in the next fiscal year. In its latest Commodity Markets Outlook, the World Bank expected global commodity prices to decline this year at the fastest clip since the onset of the Covid-19 …

KARACHI: The outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investments shrank to a fifth of its last year’s value in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the central bank data showed on Thursday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the outflow during July-March was $233 million compared to $1.27 billion a year ago — a …

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by a meagre $30 million during the week ended on April 20, while the country’s total reserves crossed the $10bn mark first time in the second half of the current fiscal year. The central bank on Thursday reported that its forex holdings imp­roved to $4.46bn during the week. …

Oil prices were heading for another monthly decline on Friday after disappointing US economic data and uncertainty over further interest rate hikes weighed on the demand outlook. Brent crude futures for June were up 42 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $78.79 a barrel by 09:46 GMT while the more actively traded July contract was down 1 cent at $78.21. …

India’s defence minister has told his Chinese counterpart that improved relations depend on “peace and tranquility” returning to their shared frontier, Reuters quoted an Indian government statement as saying on Thursday. Although, as per Indian media, Rajnath Singh is said to have skipped a handshake with Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, the two held a bilateral discussion ahead of the …

DUBAI: Iran seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the US Navy said, the latest in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in sensitive Gulf waters since 2019. Iran’s army said it had seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian …

DE HAAN: Sitting alone on a bench, legs crossed, Albert Einstein enjoys the tranquillity of a public park in the Belgian coastal resort of De Haan. His bronze statue attracts excited tourists to the town where the famous 1921 Nobel physics laureate sojourned 90 years ago, despite a Nazi secret society putting a price to his head. He never returned …

Worcester (Massachusetts): A US Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified military documents has a history of making violent threats, using his government computer to research mass shootings, and trying to destroy evidence of his crimes, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. In a 48-page filing, the Justice Department said 21-year-old Jack Teixeira should be detained pending trial, saying his violent …