HARARE: Hazratullah Zazai and Najibullah Zadran played knocks of 45 and 44 respectively as Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by six wickets in the first T20 International here at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday. Chasing 160, Afghanistan got off to a good start as openers Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (33) put on 83 runs for the first wicket. Zimbabwe spinner Ryan …

MULTAN: Pakistan began the One-day International series against the West Indies in bullish mood with captain Babar Azam and coach Saqlain Mushtaq eyeing a clean sweep. They’re now just one victory away from doing exactly that. Having won the first two games in contrasting fashion, Pakistan go into the Sunday’s final ODI buoyed by their performances so far and looking …

Pakistan’s captain won the toss and chose to bat in the third and final day-night international against the West Indies in Multan on Sunday. Pakistan, who have an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series, handed an ODI debut to 23-year-old fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani, who came into the side in place of Haris Rauf. Hasan Ali returned to the side, …

ISLAMABAD: Caught by surprise over some missing details on critical external receipts, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said fiscal consolidation is the government’s priority to avoid a Sri Lanka-like crisis, whereas growth and inflation targets come later. Speaking at a post-budget news briefing on Saturday, the minister kept building a case for more challenging decisions and hinted at reducing or withdrawing …

LAHORE: With a staggering increase of 46.77 per cent in electricity charges about to be included in monthly bills, sectoral experts, economists, sociologists and politicians across the divide have a consensus: “It will have a catastrophic impact on an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis.” The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has already approved a hike of Rs7.91 per unit in …

GENEVA: Around 500 people marched in Geneva on Saturday slamming free trade’s role in a global food security crisis, as the WTO prepared to host global trade ministers in the city. “Our food is not merchandise,” and “Speculation: the beginning of hunger” read some of the banners paraded through Geneva, a day before the opening of the World Trade Organisation’s …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday directed authorities concerned to expedite the process for edible oil imports from Malaysia and Indonesia to ensure a smooth supply of the commodity. A meeting of the committee on edible oil, chaired by Mr Miftah, was briefed by Secretary Industries and Production that sufficient stocks of the commodity were available and with the …

ISLAMABAD: Inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased by 2.67 per cent from the previous week due to increases in energy and food prices, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Saturday. The increase in the weekly inflation is the highest in 144 weeks or three years amid an increase in petrol and diesel …

SYDNEY: Australia unveiled a substantial compensation deal with French submarine maker Naval Group on Saturday, ending a contract dispute that soured relations between Canberra and Paris for almost a year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the French firm had agreed to a “fair and an equitable settlement” of 555 million euros ($584 million) for Australia ending a decade-old multi-billion-dollar submarine …

SEOUL: North Korea has appointed veteran diplomat Choe Son-hui as its first female foreign minister, state media reported on Saturday, as Pyongyang pushes ahead with a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests and ignores US calls for talks. Choe, who formerly served as the North’s vice foreign minister, was tapped to lead the foreign ministry at a ruling party meeting overseen …