GENEVA: Third seed Casper Ruud warmed up for the French Open by claiming his second career title on the ATP Tour after beating Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in the final of the claycourt Geneva Open on Saturday. Norwegian Ruud did not concede a single break point to the Canadian second seed to prevail in the battle of the 22-year-olds …

LOS ANGELES: Four-time Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles became the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike vault in competition at the US Classic in Indianapolis on Saturday, while winning the all-around title in her first meet since October 2019. Biles, who last competed at the 2019 World Championships, had an all-around score of 58.4 points and finished ahead …

The PTI government in Punjab is working on comprehensive developmental action to shift its economy into a higher gear during the last two years of its rule in the province, claims its finance minister Makhdum Hashim Jawan Bakht. “We are preparing a growth-centric budget for the next fiscal year,” Mr Hashim said in an interview with this correspondent. “This year …

In early 2020, as a new deadly coronavirus began spreading around the world, Pfizer Inc assembled what it called a SWAT team of scientists and chemists to identify a potential treatment to fight Covid-19. The US pharmaceutical giant, which had begun exploring a vaccine, also wanted to produce a pill that could stop the infection from progressing, similar to how …

The annoyed shopper paced around and knocked on the windows of a minivan blocking him from leaving his Costco parking spot. He didn’t seem to notice, or care, that there was no one inside. A colleague and I had called for the Waymo ride — our first in a fully driverless vehicle and quickly encountered a hiccup: figuring out how …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently issued its guidelines for digital banks for public consultation. The draft guidelines cover both digital retail banks (dealing with retail customers) and full digital banks (offering services to corporate customers). Digital banks can have a profound effect on financial inclusion. If executed properly, the idea can change the customer journey by reducing paperwork, …

During the current fiscal year, Pakistan has made some noticeable economic gains partly — if not entirely — due to the low-base effect of the last fiscal year when the economy shrank 0.4 per cent. Home remittances have surged, exports have started growing, the rupee has gained some of its lost value, forex reserves are up, the large-scale manufacturing output …

BEIJING: Twenty-one people were killed when extremely cold weather struck during an ‘ultramarathon’ in rugged Gansu province in northwestern China, sparking public outrage on Sunday over the lack of contingency planning. The 100-km (62-mile) race began on Saturday from a scenic area at a bend in the Yellow River known for its sheer cliffs and rock columns. The route would …

DUBAI: Two pictures purportedly showing Dubai’s Sheikha Latifa were published on an unverified Instagram account this week, months after the United Nations asked for proof that the royal was still alive. In February, the UN Human Rights Office asked for evidence about the daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, after the BBC broadcast a video shot by Latifa …

LONDON: Martin Bashir, the BBC journalist who tricked princess Diana into giving an explosive interview, on Sunday apologised to Princes William and Harry, but said claims linking his actions to her death were “unreasonable”. A report by retired senior judge John Dyson published on Thursday found that Bashir commissioned faked bank statements that falsely suggested some of Diana’s closest aides were being …