KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling over the national team’s participation in a tri-nation series in New Zealand involving the hosts and Bangladesh ahead of October’s ICC T20 World Cup, which is set to be played in Australia. The PCB has been formally approached by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) for the series, which is likely to be scheduled …

An Indian wrestler has been banned for life after punching a referee as tempers boiled over in a sweltering New Delhi arena with no air conditioning during an intense heatwave. Satender Malik was sweating it out in the 125kg class during trials on Tuesday for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when the referee ruled in favour of his opponent. …

ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division has notified substantially higher price differential claim (PDC) payable to oil companies and refineries for the second half of current fiscal year owing to continuously rising global prices and domestic price freeze. In a notification, the Petroleum Division has fixed the PDC at Rs47.02 for payment on sale of every litre of petrol by the government …

ISLAMABAD: Representatives of the Chinese company, Sinovac, have expressed an interest in forming partnerships for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases through investment in the health sector of Pakistan. A delegation from the company, led by its General Manager Qiang Gao, assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday that they were ready to start projects in Pakistan. During the …

ISLAMABAD: The biggest challenges with regards to cryptocurrency in Pakistan are the lack of knowledge and the need for initial capacity-building for regulators, stakeholders at a meeting with the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. There is a potential of around $90 million if a capital gains tax is imposed on crypto assets, said RAIN Pakistan general manager Zeeshan Ahmed. …

The US dollar continued its rising streak against the rupee on Tuesday, rising past Rs199 in interbank trading and marking the completion of a week of breaking records, largely on account of the country’s rising imports and depleting foreign reserves. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the greenback gained Rs2.75 from the previous day’s close of Rs196.50 and climbed to …

ISLAMABAD: Although the current heatwave sweeping across India and Pakistan was consistent with what experts have come to expect in a changing climate, the head of the global weather body has said that it was premature to attribute the extreme heat in South Asia solely to the phenomenon of climate change. “But heatwaves are more frequent and more intense and …

KABUL: Taliban authorities on Tuesday said they had dissolved Afghanistan’s independent human rights commission as it was “not considered necessary”. Since the Taliban seized power last August, they have closed several bodies that protected the freedoms of Afghans, including the electoral commission and the ministry for women’s affairs. “We have some other organisations to carry out activities related to human …

WASH­­INGTON/ISLAMABAD: Hou­rs after Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in New York on Tuesday for a series of meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a State Department spokesperson assured Pakistan of strong US support for their efforts to rebuild the Pakistani economy. The United States “will continue to work bilaterally on ways to grow investment and trade opportunities to …

Sri Lankan police arrested two ruling party lawmakers for allegedly instigating mob violence that plunged the country into days of unrest and left nine people dead last week, officials said Wednesday. The members of parliament, both from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party, were questioned by criminal investigators on Tuesday evening and detained overnight, a police official said, speaking on condition of …