MELBOURNE: Naomi Osaka did not enjoy the fairytale return she hoped for at the Australian Open as the twice champion lost 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) to French 16th seed Caroline Garcia in the opening round on Monday but US Open winner Coco Gauff and men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev surged on in Melbourne. On a baking-hot day, men’s seventh seed Stefanos …

RIYADH: Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick in the first half as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after a 4-1 demolition of bitter rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Real dominated every aspect of the game and toyed with last year’s champions who could not handle Vinicius and ended the contest with 10 men after defender Ronald …

DOHA: Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in upstaged Son Heung-min with two goals as South Korea began their bid for a first Asian Cup since 1960 with a 3-1 win over Bahrain on Monday. Lee has impressed at PSG since joining from Mallorca last summer and he got Jurgen Klinsmann’s side out of trouble in their Group ‘E’ opener against a spirited …

ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the proposed induction of the private sector for divestment and management contracts, the caretaker government has prohibited all forms of union activities in the power sector. This decision encompasses all public sector power companies, including those in the business of generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity, bringing them under the scope of the “Pakistan Essential Service …

ISLAMABAD: On the sidelines of the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) being held in Switzerland, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar will invite international community to invest in Pakistan under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) initiative. The prime minister arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to participate in the Davos event, which will continue till January 19. He …

KARACHI: The Volun­tary Delisting Committee (VDC) of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has determined a minimum buyback price of Rs609 per share as against Rs406 offered by Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (PSMCL) for delisting. PSX in its announcement said that the voluntary delisting application of the PSMCL was considered on Monday. The committee had determined the minimum buyback price …

ISLAMABAD: In yet another blow to electricity consumers, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on Monday sought more than 100pc (Rs5.62 per unit) increase in fuel charges to mop up about Rs42 billion for ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (Discos) through February consumer bills and make up for subdued consumption of the most expensive electricity. This is apparently the highest-ever increase in …

KARACHI: In over three years since its launch in September 2020, Roshan Digital Account (RDA) has emerged as a significant source of foreign inflows, reaching $7.195 billion by the end of December 2023. According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s data released on Monday, the inflows in December were $160 million marking a much better performance compared to other months. …

Barely a month after Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) employed artificial intelligence (AI) to generate an audio speech of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan for an online rally, social media platforms have become awash with AI-produced voiceovers of political figures. From AI-created songs to promotional images, the rise of free AI voice-cloning and image-editing tools has turned electioneering into a steady …