KARACHI: Owing to persistent depressed demand the tractor sales plunged to 15,200 units during the first half year of 2019-20 from 38,000 units in the same period last year. In recent years the tractor manufacturers have been facing sharp decline in demand mainly due to poor performance of the agriculture sector especially failure of cotton and some other cash crops. …

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) top tax officials on Thursday met with traders’ representatives to review progress on the agreement towards implementing CNIC condition on sale and purchase of goods from Feb 1. This was the first time both sides have met since the relief package for traders was announced through a Presidential Ordinance in December 2019. Acting Chairperson …

SYDNEY: Australia have the goods to give Virat Kohli’s men a run for their money, skipper Aaron Finch said Thursday as he departed for their three-match One-day International (ODI) series. The two sides face each other in Mumbai on Jan 14 before heading to Rajkot and then Bangalore for what will be Australia’s first limited-overs games since the World Cup …

LONDON: Ben Stokes made an emphatic case for the unique drama of five-day Test cricket this week — inspiring England to a series-levelling win against South Africa in the final overs of a dramatic contest. His match-winning performance in Cape Town on Tuesday came at a time of intensifying debate over the future of the longest form of the game, …

SYDNEY: A dynamic Nick Kyrgios and dogged Alex de Minaur powered Australia into the ATP Cup semi-finals Thursday with an epic 2-1 win against the Tim Henman-led Britain, and they were joined by Russia who overpowered Argentina. The home team clinched the tie after an 18-16 third-set tiebreaker in the doubles to set up a potential blockbuster last-four clash against …

LAHORE: Pakistan captain Rohail Nazir has expressed the hope he will lead from the front to win the forthcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. Rohail, who has performed exceptionally well in the past with the bat and gloves especially after winning the Emerging Cup last year in Bangladesh as captain, told reporters: “I wish to play to my …

LAUSANNE: Politicians and athletes should keep politics out of this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games to protect the event’s neutrality and its status as a peaceful meeting place, Inter­national Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Thursday. The Games have seen both political protests by athletes in the past as well as boycotts of nations and Bach said any infusion of …

Cricket star Shane Warne’s “baggy green” cap sold at an auction for more than Aus$1 million, approximately $700,000 on Friday, with all funds going to help victims of bushfires raging in Australia. The spin legend wore the cap during his 145-Test career, in which he took more than 700 wickets, and said he was blown away after a late bidding …

Star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has said that Pakistan is one of the safest places in the world at the moment. In a video shared on Facebook on Friday, a reporter in Bangladesh asked Gayle if Pakistan is a safe place for cricket, to which he responded: “Yeah, I believe Pakistan is one of the safest places in the world at …

MONTREAL:  A Canadian coffee chain that offered British royals Prince Harry and his wife Meghan free coffee for life if they move to Canada has faced an online backlash. The response came after Tim Hortons — synonymous with coffee in Canada — posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet on Wednesday saying: “No pressure, Meghan and Harry, but if you do choose to …