ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan captain and flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi is set to play for Kathmandu Kings XI (KKXI) in the Everest Premier League (EPL) scheduled to be held from Sept 25 to Oct 9 this year, at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground, Kathmandu. Afridi, 44, who was an aggressive batsman and skillful leg-spinner with plenty of international experience, played for …

TOKYO: Belgium’s men’s hockey team secured a 3-1 victory over Germany in a scrappy match on Monday for their second win of the Tokyo Olympics, while Britain also won their second game of the tournament by beating Canada. The British women’s team crushed South Africa 4-1 while the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Argentina and New Zealand were also victorious in the …

KARACHI: Banks’ investments in the government papers have almost doubled in two years crossing Rs13 trillion at the end of FY21 reflecting the growing dependence of the banking sector on the risk-free public debt instruments for making huge profits. The heavy investments by scheduled banks in government papers have drastically reduced the credit flows towards the private sector which lost …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday urged all provincial governments to ensure stability in the prices of consumer items and take strict action against the officials who failed to control profiteering. Presiding over a meeting to review commodity prices, Mr Khan directed tehsil and district administrations along with the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to ensure fair prices of …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports of information technology grew by 47.4 per cent to cross the $2 billion mark for the first time in the country’s history in the outgoing fiscal year. In absolute terms, the IT exports reached $2.12bn in 2020-21 as against $1.44bn in the preceding year, according to data released by Commerce Ministry on Monday. “I want to congratulate …

KARACHI: Low interest rates and buyers’ enthusiasm for locally-assembled cars have taken auto financing to a historic high of Rs308 billion as of June 2021, up by 3.6 per cent month on month and 46pc since June 2020, shows the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday. The total car financing saw a jump of Rs97bn compared …

ISLAMABAD: Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum on Monday, the Petroleum Division said that out of a total Rs790 billion on account of the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), various consumers owed approximately Rs473bn in arrears. The Senate body meeting, presided over by committee chairman Senator Abdul Qadir, discussed overall foreign investment in the country’s oil and gas sector. …

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 12 per cent of households in the country, according to a government survey, have reported having at least one facility such as computer, laptop and tablet, making it least penetration of information and communication technologies in the country. The Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2019-20, conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), covered 176,790 …

Hollywood superstar Jennifer Aniston has just become a great-aunt as her niece welcome their first child. The niece of the 52-year-old actress, Eilish Melick announced on social media that she has mothered a baby boy – the great-nephew to Jennifer Aniston.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eilie K. Nebbia (Melick) (@cashewcat)   The Friends superstar’s …

Jennifer Lopez has been spotted out and about during a shopping trip in Monaco, just days after her lavish birthday celebrations in St Tropez, and reports suggest she’s in town at the same time as her ex-fiancé Alex Rodriguez. Lopez was seen on a solo outing in the sovereign city-state while her former flame Alex has been entertaining friends on …