AUSTIN – The ninth Democratic debate had no clear winner but one clear loser: billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Money makes the world go around and the former New York mayor has plenty—more than all but 11 other Americans. More than the poorest 125 million combined, as Sen. Bernie Sanders pointed out, calling his stockpile “grotesque” in what turned out to be …

WASHINGTON: US scientists announced they had created the first 3D atomic scale map of the part of the novel coronavirus that attaches to and infects human cells, a critical step toward developing vaccines and treatments. It came as the death toll from the COVID-19 virus jumped past 2,000, almost all of them in mainland China where 74,185 cases of infection …

ISLAMABAD: The finance ministry on Wednesday informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that Rs423 billion had lapsed during 2017-18 since the ministries concerned did not surrender the unspent amounts in a timely manner. While briefing the PAC, Finance Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch said that a huge chunk of the lapsed amount — Rs266.3bn — was of the development budget, Rs53bn …

KARACHI: The country’s current account deficit plunged by 72 per cent to $2.654 billion during the first seven months of 2019-20, from $9.479bn in same period last year – a reduction of $6.825bn, reported the State Bank of Bank on Wednesday. However, the deficit in January came in at $555 million, surging by 77.32pc over $313m in December 2019 while …

ISLAMABAD: Panicked by rising inflation affecting the general public, the government on Wednesday banned export of onions and set a target of wheat procurement for coming season on federal and provincial levels at 8.25 million tonnes at a minimum price of Rs1,365 per 40 kg. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the …

ISLAMABAD: Amid massive tax revenue shortfalls, the government has decided in principle to appoint new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and five senior officers from the tax groups are in the run for the top slot, Dawn has learnt from knowledgeable sources. FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi is on an indefinite medical leave. High-ups in the FBR believe …

KARACHI: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the man who initiated the idea of Pakistan Super League in 2016, is ecstatic that finally the entire league is being staged in Pakistan. Talking to this correspondent, Sethi richly credited PSL teams’ owners, adding that his small team pulled the project off despite hardships. “It was a passionate and motivated team …

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to take a major leap forward in its effort to bring top-level international cricket back to the country. And PCB chairman Ehsan Mani hopes that confidence will be inspired by the staging of the fifth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League. The PCB will bid for Inter­national Cricket Council events scheduled …

LAHORE: While terming his team’s visit to Lahore enjoyable by all means, Marylebone Cricket Club president Kumar Sangakkara on Wednesday said the decision to give an official feedback to other cricket boards will be taken according to the MCC policy. The Sangakkara-led MCC squad played four limited-overs matches against different teams during their visit to Lahore from Feb 12 to …

The progression of previous Pakistan Super League (PSL) editions went something like this: the frenzy builds up, big names from the music industry lip-sync the PSL anthem, the excitement then plateaus before skyrocketing in the play-offs. The final, of course, is a final. This has been repeated over the last four years. So, what’s different about PSL this time? This …