COLOMBO: The Inter­national Cricket Council (ICC) said Sunday it had lifted its ban on Sri Lanka Cricket after Colombo promised to end political interference in the board’s administration. The controversy related to alleged corruption in Sri Lanka’s cricket board, the richest sporting body in a country still reeling from a crippling economic crisis. The ICC ban had prevented Sri Lanka …

Jannik Sinner produced a comeback for the ages to outlast Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-3 in a high-quality final and win his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Sunday, becoming the new King of Melbourne Park. Sinner became the first Australian champion for a decade not to be named Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal or …

ABIDJAN: Ademola Lookman scored both goals as Nigeria defeated old rivals Cameroon 2-0 on Saturday to march on to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. The Nigerians had an early Semi Ajayi goal disallowed following a VAR review in this last-16 clash before the constant pressing and bullying of the Cameroon defence by Victor Osimhen led to Lookman …

LIVERPOOL: Live­rpool cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 5-2 rout of Championship side Norwich City on Sunday, to kick off Juergen Klopp’s long goodbye at Anfield. Liverpool’s beloved manager announced on Friday that he would leave the Merseyside team at the end of this season, his ninth at the helm. The eight-times FA Cup winners …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday held its key rate at 22 per cent for the fifth policy meeting in a row. The decision is the last under the caretaker government before general elections due next week. It also comes in the midst of the $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Addressing a press conference …

The real estate sector holds eminent status in Pakistan. From an investment viewpoint, it has offered lucrative returns primarily due to appreciation in land value, while rental yields remained subdued, mostly below the country’s risk-free rate. On the economic level, the sector is linked to a number of ancillary industries like steel, cement, brick, sanitary, timber, and marble and has …

Bears took charge of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost over 1,000 points on foreign selling ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 benchmark index lost 630.11 or 0.99 per cent at 11:23am to stand at 63,182.95 from the previous close of 63,813.06. By 3:30pm, the index …

ISLAMABAD: With the IMF estimating a Rs175 billion cut in the consolidated development programme of the federal government and provinces, the caretakers in the Centre are seeking over Rs201bn reduction in the federal development budget alone for the current fiscal year, including Rs121bn allocated for the federal-funded provincial projects. On Monday (today), the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by Prime …

Countries that introduced land reforms to unleash corporate and cooperative farming potential based on the latest technologies ushered in an agricultural revolution. With the transformation in the mode of production, not only the yield per acre of crops went up at an unprecedented pace, but a huge middle class emerged, widening prosperity in the countryside. High economic growth in regional …

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast on Sunday, its second such launch in less than a week, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The missiles were launched at around 2300 GMT on Saturday and were being analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, the JCS said, without specifying how many missiles were fired …