SHARJAH: Despite going down to Afghanistan in what was their first bilateral series against the side, Pakistan have got what they wanted from the three T20 Internationals; experience for the younger lot. On the challenging surfaces at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the inexperienced Pakistan batters struggled to put the bat on the ball while the visitors’ new-look bowling attack took …

CHRISTCHURCH: Sri Lanka’s hopes of securing automatic qualification for the World Cup took a major blow on Tuesday when heavy rain and gusting winds forced the second One-day International against New Zealand to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Steady rain meant the covers stayed on all day at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, with organisers calling the match …

Elon Musk said on Monday that only verified Twitter accounts would be eligible to vote in polls starting April 15, a move that the social media company’s CEO believes will address advanced AI bot swarms. Musk also said only verified accounts will be eligible to be in Twitter’s For You recommendations, which displays a stream of tweets from accounts on …

LAHORE: Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has been appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board as the Consultant Team Director with Grant Bradburn becoming head coach, well-informed sources told Dawn late on Tuesday night. According to the details gathered by Dawn, all six coaches of the national team will be foreigners. Among them, four will join the national team before the start of …

LISBON: An attacker armed with a knife killed two women on Tuesday at an Islamic centre in the Portuguese capital before being shot and wounded by police, authorities said. The head of the Ismaili community centre in Lisbon, Nazim Ahmad, told the private TV channel SIC that both women were employees of the centre. According to Portuguese media, the victims were the …

BEIJING: Chinese national oil company CNOOC and France’s TotalEnergies have completed China’s first yuan-settled LNG trade through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, the exchange said on Tuesday. Approximately 65,000 tonnes of LNG imported from the UAE changed hands in the trade, it said in a statement. TotalEnergies confirmed to Reuters that the transaction involved LNG imported from the UAE but …

ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move, Pakistan on Tuesday decided against attending the two-day democracy summit taking place in Washington from today (Wednesday), saying it will engage with the US on a bilateral basis to encourage democratic values. “Pakistan has not been part of the Summit process, which commenced in 2021 and required countries to make certain national commitments. The Summit …

PARIS: Cancer-causing chemical compounds called nitrosamines have been detected in a range of everyday foods and could pose a health risk to consumers, the European Food Safety Agency warned on Tuesday. The 10 nitrosamines — which are not intentionally added to food but which can form during its preparation and processing — are carcinogenic and also genotoxic, which means they …

EDINBURGH: Scotland’s parliament on Tuesday confirmed Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as first minister, the devolved nation’s youngest and the first Muslim leader of a government in western Europe. Yousaf, 37, narrowly won a Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership battle on Monday to clinch the top job, vowing to rejuvenate the stalled pursuit of independence for Scotland. He then …

NEW DELHI: Australia’s Steve Smith will debut as a commentator at the upcoming Indian Premier League, the tournament’s broadcaster said Tuesday, ending the mystery about his return to the event. The 16th edition of the cash-rich T20 extravaganza begins Friday in Ahmedabad, with 10 teams and a host of global stars in attendance for the eight-week tournament. “Steve Smith has …