KARACHI: Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday changed the outlook of five leading banks from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ and affirmed their existing B3 long-term local currency deposit ratings. The banks include Allied Bank Ltd (ABL), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), MCB Bank Ltd, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and United Bank Ltd (UBL), according to an announcement by the New York-based rating …

LONDON: Ian Botham on Thursday described Bob Willis as a “big brother” and “amazing friend” after his fellow former England captain and 1981 Ashes star lost his battle with cancer. Fast bowler Willis, who played in 90 Tests and took 325 wickets, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 70. He famously took 8-43 in the 1981 third Test …

LONDON: Everton sacked manager Marco Silva after 18 months in charge at Goodison Park on Thursday after a 5-2 thrashing by Liverpool saw the club fall into the Premier League relegation zone. “Everton Football Club can confirm that manager Marco Silva has left the Club,” Everton said in a statement. “Duncan Ferguson has taken temporary charge of the first team …

RIYADH: Anthony Joshua faces the biggest test of his boxing career on Saturday as he attempts to reclaim his world heavyweight crown from Andy Ruiz in a controversial rematch in Saudi Arabia. Six months after suffering a shock knockout defeat to Ruiz at Madison Square Garden, Joshua will climb back into the ring with Ruiz seeking to win back the …

KARACHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 players’ draft is set to be held in Lahore today, with teams set to pick players in different categories. The drafting session would be aired live on Geo Super at 04:45pm while the major updates from the event will be updated here. The PSL franchises have set their eyes on picking players such …

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the 15-member squad for the International Cricket Council (ICC) U-19 Cricket World Cup 2020. A press release issued by the PCB said the National Junior Selection Committee had retained Rohail Nazir as the captain of the team while Haider Ali was selected as the vice-captain for the upcoming World Cup, expected to take place …

Test captain Azhar Ali, while addressing a press conference at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday, said all the focus will now be on the upcoming Test series in Pakistan with Sri Lanka. Ali made these comments following Pakistan’s crushing defeat by Australia in Adelaide earlier in the week. On Monday, Australia beat Pakistan by an innings and 48 runs in the …

KARACHI: Former captain Moin Khan, who is the head coach of Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Quetta Gladiators, has opposed the idea of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) allowing Misbah-ul-Haq to have a role with any of the PSL franchise. Moin, while speaking to media here, said having Misbah in the dug-out of any PSL team would be a clear case …

KATHMANDU: Police in Nepal have arrested the brother-in-law of a woman who died after she was banished to a “menstrual hut”, the first such arrest in the Himalayan nation as it seeks to end the practice. The body of Parbati Buda Rawat, 21, was found on Monday after she lit a fire to keep warm in a mud and stone …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the expected resumption of US-Taliban talks that have remained suspended for three months and urged all parties to the Afghan conflict to engage constructively. “Pakistan welcomes the announcement regarding resumption of the US-Taliban talks. We hope that it will lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and ultimately to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office said …