LONDON: US Open champion Emma Raducanu said on Wednesday that her sensational win at Flushing Meadows had yet to sink in and that the 18 months she took off from the sport provided her with the “hunger” to prevail in New York. The 18-year-old Briton stunned the tennis world by defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in straight sets on Saturday to become the …

RAWALPINDI: Hasan Ali insists that Pakistan have to showcase their top game to prevail over New Zealand when the two sides start the three-match One-day International series in Rawalpindi from Friday. The pace bowler warned his team-mates not to take seriously the status of the New Zealand squad, who are missing several first-choice stars, including captain Kane Williamson as well …

ISLAMABAD: International cricketers should support Afghanistan’s men’s team, not punish them by boycotting matches if the Taliban bars women from playing, the former director of the women’s side said. Tuba Sangar, who fled the country for Canada shortly after the fall of the country to the hardline Islamist group, warned that sports sanctions would damage the game at the grassroots …

ISLAMABAD: The government officially awarded additional spectrum to Ufone during a ceremony on Wednesday. Ufone was the only company to have submitted bids for the additional spectrum auction while Jazz, Telenor and Zong 4G — country’s top three mobile operators — had opted to stay away from the process. Sharing his thoughts on spectrum acquisition, president and group CEO of …

Facebook’s messaging service WhatsApp on Wednesday launched a new feature to make it possible to search for businesses within its application for the first time. The test in São Paulo, Brazil, which allows WhatsApp users to find shops and services through a directory in the app, is the latest feature in Facebook’s drive to bolster e-commerce on its services. “This …

US Food and Drug Administration scientists said on Wednesday that booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine may not be needed, even though the third shot generates a higher immune response in recipients. The FDA staff members said in a document prepared for outside advisors that it is still unproven that the efficacy of Comirnaty – the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer developed …

Indonesia is in talks with the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as six drug companies to become a global hub for manufacturing vaccines, its health minister told Reuters. Detailing the ambitious strategy for the first time, Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in an interview that Indonesia would kickstart the initiative by prioritising purchases of COVID-19 vaccines from companies that shared …

A booster dose of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine reversed a decline in antibody activities against the Delta variant, a study showed, easing some concerns about its longer-term immune response to the highly contagious strain of the virus. The study comes amid concerns about the Chinese vaccine’s efficacy against Delta, which has become the dominant variant globally and is driving a surge …

DUBAI: The Indian Premier League will welcome back fans for the first time since the 2019 edition when the Twenty20 extravaganza resumes in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, organisers said on Wednesday. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will clash with Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in Dubai on Sunday, four months after the world’s richest T20 league was halted …

LAHORE: While Test pacer Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim refused to accept the central contract as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday offered central contract to 191 cricketers for 2021-22 domestic season. Left-armer Amir is not happy with previous PCB management taking the stance that he will not play for Pakistan until Ehsan Mani-led regime was in place. …