WELLINGTON: Record-breaker Kane Williamson stroked a superb century on Monday to steer New Zealand to 483 all out in their second innings and set England a target of 258 runs to win the second Test here at the Basin Reserve. Former captain Williamson hit 132 and Tom Blundell was last man out for 90 as the hosts fought back after …

SYDNEY: Australia’s all-conquering women cricketers were hailed on Monday as among the greatest sporting teams the country has ever produced after winning yet another Twenty20 World Cup. Meg Lanning’s side beat hosts South Africa by 19 runs at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday to lift the trophy for a sixth time in the last seven tournaments. “Don Bradman had …

LAHORE: Ability trumped data at the Gaddafi Stadium as Lahore Qalandars crus­hed Islamabad United by 110 runs in their HBL Pakistan Super League match on Monday. For all talk of United’s data-driven approach, they had no answer to the rampant defending champions, who won their second straight game at home. Qalandars put on a team effort, first with the bat …

ISLAMABAD: Federal and provincial law enforcement agencies and district administrations will have “a free hand” in dealing with profiteers and hoarders during the month of Ramazan. The directive was issued by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who chaired a meeting on Monday to review the availability and prices of essential food items during Ramazan. Removing all reins, the prime minister ordered …

KARACHI: The pending tax refunds of multinational companies operating in Pakistan have grown to Rs93 billion, up 15 per cent from October 31, 2022, when the representative body of foreign investors last took up this matter with the revenue collection authority. A tax refund is a payment to the taxpayer after it has paid to the government more tax than …

Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Monday confirmed that 16 Pakistani survivors seemed to be in “good physical condition” after a wooden sailing boat carrying migrants crashed against rocks on the southern Italian coast over the weekend. The vessel had set sail from Turkiye several days ago with migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and crashed in …

KARACHI: DHL, a global logistics company, announced on Monday to suspend some of its operations partially in Pakistan due to restrictions on outbound remittances by the government. DHL Pakistan has informed its customers that it is suspending ‘Import Express Product’ and restricting outbound shipments to a maximum weight of 70kg per shipment for all customers billed in Pakistan from March …

ISLAMABAD: Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan on Monday told the parliament that the government would recover Rs9.90 to Rs14.24 per unit outstanding fuel costs from consumers of less than 300 units in an 8-month staggered schedule. Mr Dastgir said an additional surcharge of Rs3.82 per unit would also be imposed on those using above 300 units to fund power sector …

KYIV: China said on Monday it sought dialogue and a peaceful solution for Ukraine despite US warnings that Beijing might be considering weapons supplies for its ally Russia’s invasion. Air-raid sirens blared in the capital Kyiv and other cities overnight and a Russian missile killed one person in the western town of Khmelnitskyi, Mayor Oleksandr Symshyshyn said on the Telegram …

DAMASCUS: Landmines planted by jihadists killed 10 civilians in central Syria on Monday, state media reported, in the latest in a wave of deadly incidents involving truffle hunters. “Nine citizens were killed and two others injured” when a landmine left by the militant Islamic State group blew up, the official SANA news agency said. It said the victims had been …