A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the south pole of the moon on Thursday, the first US touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved by the private sector. The uncrewed six-legged robot lander, dubbed Odysseus, touched down at about 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 GMT), the …

RANCHI: Joe Root hit an unbeaten 106 to lead England’s recovery from early trouble after Indian fast bowler Akash Deep took three wickets on debut in the fourth Test on Friday. England, who are fighting to stay alive at 2-1 down in the five-match series, reached stumps at 302-7 after electing to bat first in Ranchi. The tourists slipped to …

LAHORE: In a surprising twist during the Quetta Gladiators versus Islamabad United match at Gaddafi Stadium, Hawk-Eye, the trusted ball-tracking technology, confessed to a rare human error on Friday. The hiccup occurred when Rilee Rossouw’s dismissal against Salman Ali Agha was mistakenly ruled ‘not out.’ The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared Hawk-Eye’s admission in a statement, revealing that the system …

AUCKLAND: Australia’s bowlers sliced through some reckless New Zealand batting on Friday to win the second Twenty20 international by 72 runs in Auckland and clinch the three-match series. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa knocked over the middle order to finish with 4-34 as the home side were skittled for 102 in 17 overs at Eden Park. New Zealand lost early wickets and …

MULTAN: Under immense pressure, Naveen-ul-Haq kept his nerve and brought relief to Babar Azam’s Peshawar Zalmi at last. In a game that had seemed to have drifted away from them, the Afghanistan pacer picked two wickets off the last two balls, including the crucial scalp of the hard-hitting Iftikhar Ahmed, to earn Zalmi a tense five-run victory over Multan Sultans; …

ISLAMABAD: PTI’s plan to urge IMF to seek an independent audit of the election results before continuing talks with Islamabad for any new loan backfired on Friday as not only the lender expressed interest in working with the incoming government, but the party also received severe criticism from political forces. Speaking during the Senate session, legislators termed the PTI’s plan “anti-people” and …

ISLAMABAD: Taking a lenient view of massive over-billing charges across the country in July-August 2023, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday did not even issue show-cause notices to the delinquent power companies, holding them accountable for up to 100 per cent overcharging and other wrongdoings. Instead, Nepra asked them to compensate consumers through upcoming bills to the …

ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation has been on a downward trajectory for the fourth week in a row decelerating to 30.68 per cent year-on-year in the week ending Feb 22, official data showed on Friday. This comes after a consistent 11-week period of inflation above 40pc, which surged from 29pc recorded on Nov 8, 2023. The spike was primarily fuelled by a …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities were able to materialise about $6.3 billion in foreign loans in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, almost 35.75 per cent of the annual budget estimate, amid limited borrowing avenues in the wake of poor credit rating and adverse conditions in the global financial markets despite the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). …