HAMILTON: The West Indies relished the freedom to be out-and-about in Covid-free New Zealand on the eve of the first Test at Seddon Park here on Wednesday, but said the pressure was on to be fully focused once the match starts. It has been months since either side played red-ball cricket, leaving the potential for rust with New Zealand’s last …

TOKYO: Athletes at the coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Olympics will face regular testing, restrictions on mingling and potential punishment for non-compliance with health rules, organisers said on Wednesday as they outlined plans for holding the Games. After months of talks, officials issued a 54-page report outlining how they believe the Games can go ahead, even if the pandemic is not under control …

CANBERRA: India all-rounder Hardik Pandya scored his highest One-day International score of 92 to set up a thrilling 13-run win for his team against Australia in the third match at the Manuka Oval on Wednesday and avoid a clean sweep in the series. Pandya’s unbeaten knock in 76 deliveries featured seven fours and one six and he added 150 in …

LAHORE: The Chief Executive Officer of Lahore Qalandars, Atif Rana on Wednesday played down the reports of any deadlock between the Pakistan Super League franchises and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the new financial model but admitted that the dispute may threaten the very existence of the popular PSL if not resolved quickly and amicably. Talking to Dawn exclusively, Atif said: …

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa staged a wonderful comeback through an undefeated century from Kamran Ghulam against Balochistan on the opening day of second-phase fixtures in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy here on Wednesday. Reigning champions Central Punjab lost initiative when Sindh paceman Tabish Khan picked uo two late wickets while Southern Punjab’s first innings concluded against Northern in their top-of-the-table clash. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa …

KARACHI: The State Bank on Wednesday remo­ved the condition of filling the lengthy Form-E for small exporters in a bid to boost exports amid the Covid-19 pandemic and changing global consumer markets. The central bank issued a detail regulatory framework to facilitate Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-Commerce exports from Pakistan. Under the new regulatory framework, the mandatory requirement of the ‘Export’ (E) …

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to add eight new narrow-body aircraft to its fleet on dry lease. The aircraft with seating capacity of 170-plus (all economy with soft divider after two rows) are expected to be delivered from January to December 2021. The PIA management has sought bids from different parties by January 11 next year for …

KARACHI: Manufacturers of mobile handsets in Pakistan are advancing steadily towards their goal of local assembly under the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy approved by the cabinet in June 2020. On Wednesday, Industries Minister Hammad Azhar met with representatives of Vivo following which he announced via his account on the social media platform Twitter that the company “has decided to establish …

• Defers decision on turning Rs2tr loans of the authority into grant • Planning Commission told to find alternative sources of funds for Karachi projects ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet on Wednesday granted a one-month moratorium to the National Highway Authority (NHA) to work out details for payment of dues and present recommendations regarding its financial …

ISLAMABAD: The Central Develo­pment Working Party (CDWP) on Wednesday cleared five development projects at a cumulative cost of about Rs54 billion including Rs38bn second phase of a project for laying cross-border optic fibre cable with China. At a meeting presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, the CDWP itself approved four development projects with cumulative estimated cost …