COLOMBO: Aaron Finch has paid tribute to Sri Lankan cricket fans after they turned Colombo’s largest stadium yellow on Friday night to thank Australia for touring the country despite the economic crisis. Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, forcing the island nation’s population to endure power cuts, shortages and months of …

ISLAMABAD: The coalition government has decided to introduce another fixed income tax scheme for small builders and other service providers through an amended Finance Bill 2022. The details of this scheme will be worked out later due to shortage of time for implementation, but it will be on the lines of the fixed scheme for small shopkeepers, a tax official told Dawn on …

LAHORE: Fertiliser prices have skyrocketed as a result of rupee depreciation and rising production costs, putting agriculture and food security in greater jeopardy than previously anticipated. Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) is currently being sold for between Rs11,500 and Rs12,500 per bag, according to market trends. A bag of sulphate of potash (SoP) has gone up to Rs1,600 and the muriate of …

MUZAFFARABAD: The share of social and productive sectors in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Annual Development Programme (ADP) has been fixed at 19 per cent and 12pc, respectively, but the infrastructure sector would still get the lion’s share of 69pc, Finance Minister Abdul Majid Khan said on Saturday. Giving details of the Rs28.5 billion ADP for 2022-23, the finance minister …

ISLAMABAD: The IT minister has expressed dismay over “limited relief” given to the sector and “negligible tax support” to the telecom industry. The industry has also issued unwelcoming statements over budgetary measures announced by the finance minister. Responding to announcements made by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in parliament on Friday, Minister for IT and Telecommunications Syed Aminul Haque said the …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan ranks 29th among the countries holding natural gas reserves. This was revealed in the findings of a gas monitor report presented by Dr Amanullah Mahar, Director Center for Environmental Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro. He said total extractable potential is reported around 24 TCFT, however, 4 billion cubic feet (BCFT) is the daily gas production. He said Sindh …

LONDON: Britain’s railway system once again came to a virtual standstill on Saturday as union workers staged their third walkout of the week in strike action billed as the biggest in decades. Tens of thousands of rail workers staged the latest day-long walkout over pay and job security, hampering weekend plans for those already hit by strikes on Tuesday and …

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn a 50-year-old legal precedent recognising a woman’s right to abortion sparked countrywide protests in the United States on Saturday, as chanting, shouting and weeping marchers filled the streets. While abortion rights demonstrators took to the streets in cities across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas, New Mexico and California by …

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law his country’s first gun-control bill in decades that seeks to prevent people with criminal records and mental problems from acquiring firearms. The bill — now known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 2022 — passed the House of Representatives on Friday evening by 234 to 193 votes. The US Senate …

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Saturday opened an important bridge near the capital Dhaka after a long construction plagued by delays, graft allegations, and even deadly lynchings sparked by rumours of human sacrifice. The inauguration of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge — now officially the country’s longest — caps a key infrastructure goal by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the nearly eight years …