QUETTA: As many as 237 cases of coronavirus have been reported in educational institutions of Balochistan, confirmed provincial Education department. Schools, colleges and universities across Pakistan reopened on Tuesday, ending a nearly six-month-long closure due to coronavirus pandemic. As per details, shared by the department, so far four universities of the province namely including Agriculture and Watermarine, Engineering University Khuzdar …

LE MANS: Toyota won the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance classic for the third consecutive year on Sunday. Kazuki Nakajima, sharing the driving with Swiss Sebastien Buemi and New Zealander Brendon Hartley, took the chequered flag at 1230 GMT, one day and 387 laps after setting off from third on the grid at the La Sarthe circuit. Hartley was stepping …

ROME: Clay court king Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Italian Open on Saturday, falling to a straight sets defeat to Argentine Diego Schwar­tzman in a tournament the Spaniard had won nine times. Eight-seeded Schwar­tzman meted out a punishing 6-2, 7-5 loss in Nadal’s final warm-up before his bid for a 13th French Open, and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam in …

MADRID: Iago Aspas scored twice, including a brilliant free-kick, as Valencia slipped to a surprise 2-1 defeat by Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday. After a turbulent summer in which the club has sold several key players, Valencia were beaten by a side that only just survived relegation last season. Maxi Gomez pulled Valencia level early in the second …

PARIS: France forward Kylian Mbappe marked his return to action with a vintage performance and a goal as champions Paris St Germain rediscovered their form with an impressive 3-0 win at Nice in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Mbappe fired PSG ahead with a 38th-minute penalty and had a big part in Angel Di Maria’s strike before Marquinhos headed home the …

After several false starts spanning over many years, the divestment of 10 per cent shares of Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) by the government seems to be making headway. Early this month, the board of the Privatisation Commission met in Islamabad with Minister for Privatisation Mohammedmian Soomro in the chair. It discussed the full ambit of privatisation of various government-owned entities. …

Assessment of major crops like cotton and paddy in lower Sindh is underway but authorities believe the overall losses to major crops and vegetables are heavy. A survey to determine losses is being conducted by the revenue department in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sanghar, Badin and Sujawal districts that are all left bank areas in Sindh. These districts received an unusual amount …

At the end of December last year, India’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $427 billion. A gradual build-up boosted them to $582bn on Sept 4 — showing a massive increase of 36.3pc in eight months and four days. Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves that stood at $17.93bn at the end of last year went up to $19.961bn on …

ISLAMABAD: As the government struggles to translate memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of thermal and renewable power plants for tariff discounts into contracts, sponsors of hydropower power plants (HPPs) have declined to revise old agreements with the government. A senior government official told Dawn that sponsors of HPPs had three to four sessions with the IPPs negotiations committee …

The 1985 “Qamar-ul Islam” Taxation Reforms Commission (to which my London School of Economics colleague, Lord Stern, and I had the privilege of giving evidence) proposed enhancing the tax/GDP ratio from around 14 per cent to 20pc, to ensure economic independence, laying the basis for sustainable growth while reducing corruption in the then Central Board of Revenue (CBR) and the …