In a blow to one of the few drugs being used to treat COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said interim trial results suggest that Gilead’s remdesivir was no better than a placebo at limiting severely ill patients’ need for mechanical ventilation, the length of their hospital stay, or their risk of death. The trial involved 11,266 hospitalized adults with …

LONDON: The Wimb­ledon tennis tournament is planning its comeback in 2021. Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam tournament cancelled this year for the first time since World War II because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the All England Club announced plans for its return next year. The tennis season has been badly disrupted by Covid-19 but the US Open went …

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed on Friday to do “whatever it takes” to organise the Tokyo Olympics next year by working closely with the International Olympics Committee and its Japan chapter. “I want to make sure I see the Olympics take place next year,” he said, speaking at a town hall at Kyodo News, Japan’s largest news agency. …

LONDON: England could tour Pakistan for the first time in over a decade after the ECB officials confirmed they had received an invitation to visit the Asian giants early in 2021 for a ‘short white-ball series’. Fifty-over world champions England have not played in Pakistan since 2005-06 when they played three Tests and five One-day Internationals. An attack by armed …

KARACHI: As the National T20 Cup for the First XI teams headed towards business end with the culmination of the 30-match league round later on Friday night, the persistent race for remaining one last-four berth was up for grabs in a three-way tie. After the rather inconsequential game between holders Northern and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, the …

LAHORE: In a disturbing development on Friday, as many as 12 persons, including nine players and three officials of the ongoing National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi breached the bio-secure protocols in place for coronavirus pandemic, forcing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to warn them all that they will be expelled from the said event in case of another violation. “The …

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Friday launched a Regulatory Approval System (RAS) for end-to-end digitalisation of foreign exchange-related case submission process. The objective of this initiative was to provide a fully digitalised platform to the business community and individuals in approaching banks for their foreign exchange related requests. The SBP governor believes the initiative will …

Fast bowler Umar Gul has announced he will be retiring from all forms of cricket after a 20-year professional career as his side, Balochistan, failed to qualify for the National T20 Cup semifinals. In a statement late night on Friday, he said that he had made the decision with a “heavy heart and after a lot of thinking”. “I have …

ISLAMABAD: Identifying over Rs1.535 trillion worth of irregularities and revenue losses in oil and gas sector during the first year of incumbent government, the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) on Friday blamed the Ministry of Finance for non-production of record for audit, high debt build up and distribution of unauthorised bonuses to its staff. In its report for the audit …

KARACHI: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country fell 50.7 per cent year-on-year in September to $189 million against $383.5m last year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Friday. On a cumulative basis, the FDI fell 24pc in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, compared to 40pc increase in the first two months …