BRISBANE: Top seed Aryna Sabalenka swept past Victoria Azarenka on Saturday into a Brisbane International final against world number four Elena Rybakina, setting up a replay of last year’s Australian Open decider. Sabalenka saw off her fellow Belarusian 6-2, 6-4 while 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina cruised past Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 5-2, including a …

LAHORE: Terming the squad well-balanced covering all bases, Pakistan captain Saad Baig on Saturday said they were targeting victory in the ICC U-19 World Cup starting in South Africa later this month. “Our target is to win the World Cup for which our team is well balanced. It has four fast bowlers, three all-rounders and a good bunch of batsmen,” …

SYDNEY: Pakistan team director and head coach Mohammad Hafeez rued missed opportunities as the reason behind the side’s 3-0 Test whitewash at the hands of hosts Australia on Saturday. The whitewash was completed when the visitors were handed an eight-wicket beating in the third and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground before Hafeez — serving his first assignment in …

SYDNEY: Australian opener David Warner drew the curtain Saturday on his 112-Test career with a swashbuckling 57 against Pakistan, leaving his home Sydney Cricket Ground to a standing ovation. The polarising 37-year-old was dismissed lbw by spinner Sajid Khan in the third Test, slamming seven boundaries in a 75-ball stay. Warner’s typically pugnacious knock helped the hosts to an eight-wicket …

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s enduring relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 1958 has woven a tapestry of financial challenges, strategic manoeuvres, and global assistance, shaping the nation’s economic trajectory over the decades. Recent data reveals a nuanced picture of Pakistan’s ongoing IMF engagement, holding substantial implications for economic stability. Ranking fifth in outstanding debt with the IMF, standing at $7.4 …

KARACHI: The equities market turned in a robust performance in the first outgoing week of the new calendar year thanks to positive developments on the economic front. Arif Habib Ltd said the stock market displayed notable resilience, experiencing a significant surge of 2,211 points on Monday, recording the second-highest absolute point increase and marking the highest surge on the first …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance said on Saturday that restructuring of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was on the government’s agenda to improve its governance, efficiency and effectiveness. An official announcement of the finance ministry said that certain proposals have been prepared in line with international best practices to rationalise and streamline the functions of the FBR, strengthen the …

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear Donald Trump’s appeal of a judicial decision barring the former president from Colorado’s Republican primary ballot, taking up a politically explosive case with major implications for the 2024 presidential election. At issue is the Colorado Supreme Court’s Dec 19 ruling disqualifying Trump from the state’s primary ballot based on language in …

KARACHI: December marked a significant milestone for the equity market, as it received a record inflow of $65 million through the Special Convertible Rupee Account (SCRA), propelling the market to an all-time high. The SCRA, a financial mechanism, allows foreign investors to convert funds into Pakistani rupees for investment in the country’s equity and debt markets and later reconvert these …