NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: TikTok is preparing to mount a legal challenge as early as Monday to President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting transactions with the popular short video app and its Chinese parent ByteDance, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump issued an executive order on Aug. 14 that gave ByteDance 90 days to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok. …

PUBG Mobile has teased a “New Era for PUBG Mobile” on Twitter, the announcement for which will be made on August 24. The developers will make the announcement on YouTube and Facebook through a livestream.  The announcement will be about a major update for the game and the biggest global mobile esports event for PUBG Mobile in 2020. PUBG Mobile …

Drug developer Moderna Inc on Friday said it has so far enrolled 13,194 participants in the ongoing late-stage 30,000-volunteer U.S. trial testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. In a tweet, the company also said that 18% of the participants currently enrolled are Black, Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, groups among the hardest hit by the coronavirus virus pandemic. Moderna began the …

NEW YORK: Men’s world top-ranked tennis star Novak Djokovic says he nearly skipped the US Open but plans to play the Grand Slam event despite novel coronavirus (Covid-19) concerns in part to chase history. Djokovic, a 17-time Grand Slam singles champion, told the New York Times that trying to catch Roger Federer’s men’s record 20 Slam crowns was ‘of course’ a major …

MELBOURNE: Former Australia all-rounder Cameron White ended his nearly two-decade-long professional cricket career on Friday, saying he wants to focus on coaching. “I’ve definitely finished up playing, that’s for sure,” White, who turned 37 this week, told Cricket Australia website. “To be totally honest, I’m pretty content. I think my time is definitely up, I’ve had enough from a playing …

SOUTHAMPTON: Teena­ged pace sensation Naseem Shah and young batsman Haider Ali were named in the shortlisted 17-man Pakis­tan squad named on Friday for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 Inter­nat­ional series against England. The 17-year-old Naseem has been a regular feature in Test cricket since making his debut against Australia last November, while 19-year-old Haider has been included by chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq …

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi still wishes to leave Barcelona after meeting new coach Ronald Koeman, according to reports in the Spanish media on Friday, as all four sports newspapers dedicated their front covers to the Argentine’s uncertain future. Marca — Spain’s biggest selling daily — said the Argentine told Koeman that he was more likely to leave the club than to stay, …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has a tentative plan to hold the remaining four matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) soon after the end of the proposed Zimbabwe tour to the country in October. It is learnt that as the broadcasters’ staff will also be in Pakistan, covering the white-ball internationals against Zimbabwe and most of the foreign …

ISLAMABAD: The National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) on Friday asked the Ministry of National Food Security & Research (MNFSR) and the provinces to take proactive measures to control the general price level of daily-use items at federal, provincial and district levels. A meeting of the NPMC, which was presided over by Finance Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch, also asked the MNFSR …

ISLAMABAD: The Cab­inet Committee on Priva­tisation (CCoP) on Friday approved divestment of government stakes in Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) and Pakistan Reinsurance Company Ltd (PRC) through public offerings. The CCoP meeting, chaired by Adviser to PM on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, approved public offering of up to 7pc, 10pc and 20pc …