SYDNEY: The plans for India’s tour of Australia have been ripped up and redrawn dozens of times over the last eight months but the action finally gets underway with the first One-day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. It was at the same venerable ground on March 13 that Australia last hosted international men’s cricket, with the hosts …

KARACHI: Karachi-based Akbar-ur-Rehman gave Sindh bowlers a taste of their own medicine on Thursday when the veteran right-hander marked his 100th appearance in first-class cricket with an undefeated stroke-filled century as Balochistan amassed 333-5 on the first day of their fifth-round fixture in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy here at the SBP Sports Complex. A similar story unfolded in the televised game at …

AUCKLAND: A sense of normality returns to cricket on Friday when New Zealand take on West Indies in their Twenty20 International series opener with no restrictions on the crowd size in Auckland, but the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cast a long shadow over the tour. The global health crisis fractured the buildup to the three Twenty20s, two-Test series for both …

The Pakistan cricket team’s behaviour in their bio-secure facility in Christchurch had “significantly improved”, New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said on Friday, just 24 hours after the tourists had been warned about breaching Covid-19 protocols. The ministry had confirmed on Thursday that six of the 53 touring party members had tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival, while there was also …

The first time I watched a football match was during the 1994 World Cup. The tournament may have been won by Brazil but it was surrounded by the myth of Maradona. My father would categorically refuse to watch any team other than Argentina play. I even took to marking their games on a calendar. I have vague memories of Maradona …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank says though business regulatory environment in South Asia has improved over time, significant challenges remain that not only strife the growth and development of private enterprise, also prevent the regional countries from reaping the spillover benefits of large infrastructure projects like ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ of China. The procedures for building projects in South Asia continue …

KARACHI: The stock market turned in another impressive performance on Thursday, extending the rally that began a day earlier. The KSE-100 index showed a repeat opening in deep green and the benchmark continued to climb on the back of heavyweight exploration & production stocks. Later in the day, as international oil prices took a dip, investors switched from oil stocks …

ISLAMABAD: Amid anticipated gas shortages during peak winter months (December-January), the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Thursday asked the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) to continue supplying cheaper re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) to two Punjab-based fertiliser plants — Fatima and Agritech — for another 15 days to avoid fertiliser shortage. The CCoE meeting was presided over by …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched consultation with stakeholders to initiate formal negotiations with Afghanistan for reduction of duty and taxes under the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). The proposed PTA is estimated to enhance volume of bilateral trade to nearly $5 billion in the next five years from the current less than $2bn. The negotiations are scheduled to be completed by …

ISLAMABAD: Despite facing gas shortfalls, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) on Thursday demanded 123 per cent increase in its gas rate, 100pc increase in meter rent and 700,000 fresh domestic connections, which was strongly opposed by the stakeholders including textile industry and transport sector. At a public hearing presided over by Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Acting …