After a warm Thursday, a strong cold front will move through North Texas today, bringing gusty north winds, a chance of showers, and falling temperatures during the day. It will be near 70 at daybreak, but don’t be fooled. Temperatures will drop to the mid 50s by lunchtime. Following the front, overnight lows will dip into the 30s and 40s. …

Health authorities are closely watching an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19. Here are the answers to key questions about the outbreak: What is the new virus? Scientists have identified the virus as a novel, or new, coronavirus. The name comes from the Latin word for crowns or halos, which coronaviruses resemble …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 13 more coronavirus-related deaths during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from the disease to 6,715. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 736 fresh infections emerged during this period, lifting the national tally of cases to 326,216. There are a total of 9,855 active cases of the coronavirus as 309,646 patients have recuperated …

KARACHI: Newly-appointed Pakistan women’s team head coach David Hemp made no big promises on Thursday but expressed hopes of improving the national side’s ranking in international cricket during his tenure. Addressing his maiden media conference here at the National Stadium, the former Bermuda batsman, who famously scored an undefeated half-century — an unbeaten 76 — against India during the 2007 …

ISLAMABAD: Terming the forthcoming home series against Zimbabwe as another positive step towards the revival of international cricket in the country, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani on Thursday said next year will be remarkable for local fans when several top-tier teams would slated to tour Pakistan. Speaking to a select group of media persons in Islamabad, Mani said England …

LAHORE: Citing former Australian captain and batting maestro Ricky Ponting as his inspiration, young Pakistan cricketer Abdullah Shafiq says he will try his best to produce fine performance whenever he gets the chance to represent the national team. “Ricky Ponting’s batting impresses me, I want to play like him and from Pakistan I rate my captain Babar Azam as a …

KARACHI: Azhar Ali might not be Pakistan’s Test captain during next month’s tour of New Zealand after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan stated that the 35-year-old’s leadership will be reviewed. “The PCB will review Azhar’s performance as the Test captain ahead of the New Zealand tour and a final decision will be made by PCB chairman Ehsan …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is considering an increase in the scope of utilisation of exporters’ special foreign currency retention account by allowing additional payments, said industry sources on Thursday. The retention would be allowed for payment of fee or expenses related to advertisement, promotion, marketing, brand building etc. of products abroad through third party agent or through …

• Urges provinces to help common man get house loan • Receives proposals to boost exports • Says environmental studies should be done before islands’ uplift ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday directed the provinces to provide maximum facilitation to the common man in getting a house loan and stressed the need for revamping the country’s tax system to …

ISLAMABAD: The FBR Policy Board on Thursday started formal deliberations over the proposed tax policies and suggested a string of measures to explore avenues for broadening of the narrow tax base. One of the major issues that came under discussion was the 17 per cent sales tax and there was a consensus among the top cabinet members to slash it …