MATTALA: England’s cricketers arrived in Sri Lanka on Sun­day to resume a Test tour cancelled in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, in what officials hope will be a ‘massive boost’ for match-starved cricket fans. A British Airways charter flight carrying 40 passengers — players and support staff — landed in Mattala, in the south of the Indian Ocean …

KARACHI: A boy among men stood the tallest in the end, making history on the way. It was a rousing performance; one that amplified the hype surrounding Omar Khalid being Pakistan golf’s latest wunderkind. The 16-year-old on Sunday became the youngest-ever winner of the National Amateur Golf Championship with one of the best scores in the tournament’s 60-year history. Starting …

KARACHI: A record-breaking century from the prolific Kamran Ghulam, who shattered a 36-year-old landmark, laid a solid platform for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to dictate terms against holders Central Punjab on the decisive day three of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final at the National Stadium here on a chilly Sunday. Following Central Punjab’s rather surprise closure of their overnight first innings after the …

The sudden announcement by fast bowler Mohammad Amir to quit international cricket has sparked a lot of debate among the cricketing circles. Amir took the decision after being overlooked by the national selectors for the New Zealand tour. Previously, he was also dropped for the home Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe. The fast bowler has cited mental torture by the Pakistan …

Kane Williamson posted his third century in consecutive matches this summer and shared an unbroken 215-run partnership with Henry Nicholls which steered New Zealand close to a first-innings lead over Pakistan on the second day of the second cricket Test. Williamson followed his innings of 251 in the first Test against the West Indies and 129 in the first Test against …

Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley has dismissed speculation that India is weighing a boycott of the fourth Test in Brisbane over the need to re-enter strict quarantine conditions. Australian media, citing unnamed sources within India’s touring party, reported the team’s players would refuse to travel to Brisbane if they were to be subjected to a hard lockdown in Queensland state. Hockley said …

ISLAMABAD: As electricity tariffs go out of reach of consumers, a group of foreign investors has sought Prime Minister Imran Khan’s intervention to remove roadblocks to cheap 425mw alternative and renewable energy (ARE) projects of less than 4 cents (Rs6.3) per unit. The Pakistan Foreign Investors Forum (PFIF) — a group of wind and solar energy sponsors — has complained …

In 2019-20, agricultural growth of 2.7 per cent helped contain the decline in GDP to 0.4pc in the wake of the first wave of Covid-19. For 2020-21, the government has set a 2.8pc growth target for agriculture and 2.1pc for the overall economy. Achieving overall economic growth may not be difficult due to the low-base effect. But meeting the agricultural …

Barring food and pharmaceutical industries, retail, wholesale and transport sectors faced a crisis due to the closure of markets, shopping malls and commercial centres in March and April last year to control the spread of Covid-19. In later months, trading activities picked up pace gradually. As a result, the services sector posted a negative growth of 0.59 per cent in …

Last year’s economic outcomes were largely devastating for Pakistan. The outlook for 2021 is equally uncertain for people and businesses in both Pakistan and the rest of the world. This uncertainty is stopping the political and economic leadership from taking a firm position on how economic conditions will unfold in 2021 as political noise increases and an unprecedented health crisis …