Ahead of general elections on February 8, a non-partisan fact-checking tool was launched at a ceremony held in Islamabad on Wednesday to “advance the scope of independent and unbiased reporting in the country’s journalistic landscape”. Named iVerify, the platform is the creation of the Centre of Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), is internationally accredited …

ADELAIDE: World number three Elena Rybakina overcame Cristina Bucsa in two hard-fought sets to make the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International on Wednesday, while fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula and Jelena Ostapenko had to work even harder to make the last eight. Coming off the back of crushing Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Brisbane International title on Sunday, top seed Rybakina prevailed …

MOHALI: Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli will miss the first of three T20 Internationals against Afghanistan due to “personal reasons”, coach Rahul Dravid said on Wednesday.Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma both returned to the T20 squad after more than a year’s absence for the series starting on Thursday in Mohali, as the teams prepare for the T20 World Cup in …

KATHMANDU: A court in Nepal on Wednesday sentenced former star cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane to eight years in prison for rape. Lamichhane, 23, was once the poster boy for cricket in Nepal and the leg-spinner’s on-field success had boosted the sport’s profile in the Himalayan republic. In 2022, he was accused of raping a young woman in a Kathmandu hotel …

AUCKLAND: Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman has suggested that resting the side’s regular T20 openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam will help the side test new players and prepare back-up for the future. The duo’s position at the top of the order is a matter of debate since the past few months, among not only fans but in the national side’s …

ISLAMABAD: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says the unemployment rate in Asia-Pacific is expected to remain constant at 4.5 per cent during 2024-25 in view of the socio-economic developments in low- and middle-income economies of the region as poverty rates have decreased and youth education enrolment improved. At around 4.5pc, the regional unemployment rate fell below pre-pandemic levels in 2023, …

KARACHI: Workers’ remittances in December increased by 13.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis to $2.4 billion, compared to $2.099bn in the same month of the previous fiscal year. However, during the first six months of FY24, remittances fell short of the amount the country received in the same period of the previous year. Moreover, remittances from almost all destinations, …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Wednesday projected Pakistan’s economic outlook to remain subdued during the current fiscal year and slightly recover next year amid prolonged global economic challenges. “In Pakistan, the economic outlook for FY24 remains subdued, with growth projected at only 1.7pc. Monetary policy is expected to remain tight to contain inflation, while fiscal policy is also set to …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Wednesday projected Pakistan’s economic outlook to remain subdued during the current fiscal year and slightly recover next year amid prolonged global economic challenges. “In Pakistan, the economic outlook for FY24 remains subdued, with growth projected at only 1.7pc. Monetary policy is expected to remain tight to contain inflation, while fiscal policy is also set to …