Thrillers are rated to represent best of all worlds and quality cinematic thrillers make people to remain at the edge of their seats. A little mystery, some taut action sequences and the occasional romantic encounter and the movies remain popular for long. There are still plenty of top thrillers out there that veer into action movie territory, sparing the slow …

SEOUL: For the first time in nearly 10 days North Korea’s daily “fever” cases dropped below 200,000, state media said on Sunday, reporting “a positive trend” after measures were taken to control the country’s first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID wave, declared on May 12, has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure and a potential food …

BIRMINGHAM: Canada’s Aaron Brown won the first men’s 100 metre race of the Diamond League season with an underwhelming show in Birmingham on Saturday, after two false starts saw top contender Trayvon Bromell and local favourite Zharnel Hughes disqualified. Brown clocked in at 10.13 seconds, a minor improvement from his ‘B’ race earlier when he managed 10.23 behind Jeremiah Azu, …

PARIS: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, with 41 Grand Slam titles between them, will attempt to derail the growing hype surrounding teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open from Sunday. All three have been placed in the top-half of the draw, meaning only one will make the final. Defending champion Djokovic is seeded to face 13-time winner Nadal in …

LONDON: One point separates the cumulative tallies of Liverpool and Manchester City over the past four Premier League seasons so there is little surprise that they head into the final weekend of the current campaign with all still to play for. The final day of the season promises some blockbuster action as Champions League qualification and relegation go down to …

TULSA: Tiger Woods struggled to a six-over par start on his front nine in Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship, fading after a fight to reach the weekend despite his severe leg injuries. Woods found water off the tee on his way to a bogey at the second hole and a triple bogey at the par-3 sixth and made …

KARACHI: Exports of meat and meat preparations have continued to thrive despite the presence of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) which has now moved to Punjab after affecting Sindh cattle farms. Meat exports in April soared to 7,716 tonnes fetching $35 million from 6,386 tonnes valuing $29m in March which was considered as a peak period of LSD. In February, exports …

KARACHI: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has demanded that the government should retain the CNIC condition on retail sales in the upcoming federal budget. The demand by OICCI followed the recommendations by various trade bodies that called for abolishing the CNIC requirement. “Representing the largest group of tax contributors, OICCI strongly rejects such a demand in …

ISLAMABAD: For improving the affordability of mobile services and encourage the adoption of communication services, especially for lower income segments in Pakistan, the Global Mobile Industry Association (GSMA) has proposed the gradual abolishment of Advance Income Tax (AIT) on telecom services. In a letter addressed to the finance minister, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Minister for IT …

LAHORE: The fourth Istanbul-bound freight train, which departed during the third week of March from Pakistan, has finally reached Turkey, a Pakistan Railways (PR) official said on Saturday. The train — which may take another three to four days to reach its final destination, i.e. Istanbul — was stuck at Taftan after the freight forwarder in Turkey allegedly refused to …