KARACHI: The stands here at the National Bank Stadium were more densely filled than they were a day ago and excitement had filled the air. Karachi Kings, despite half of their squad suffering from food poisoning, still showed up. The home side, starting from a point of disadvanta­ge with some of their main players missing out, punc­hed above their weig­ht …

ISLAMABAD: A committee of experts has recommended to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to improve transparency and efficiency in the manner of conducting shareholder meetings, election of directors, proxies, voting process and monitoring mechanism. The committee was constituted by the SECP for a comprehensive review of the manner of conduct of shareholder meetings by listed companies and …

DUBAI: Iran holds a parliamentary election on Friday seen as a test of the clerical establishment’s popularity at a time of growing dissent over an array of political, social and economic crises. The vote will be the first formal gauge of public opinion after anti-government protests in 2022-23 spiralled into some of the worst political turmoil since the 1979 Islamic …

WELLINGTON: Cameron Green slammed only his second Test century on Thursday to steer Australia to 279-9 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test in Wellington. The visitors were tottering on 89-4 after being put into bat at the Basin Reserve before Green dug in for a rescue mission with the help of Mitchell Marsh, who made 40. …

LAHORE: The Pakis­tan Cricket Board (PCB) has formed a committee to sell media and production rights, live streaming and screening rights of the bilateral international series to be staged in Pakistan during the next three years. PCB chief operating officer Salman Naseer and director commercial Bab­ar Hameed are included in the committee. Dawn has learnt that the PCB is expected to …

PARIS: The organisers of the Paris Olympics took possession of the newly built athletes’ village on Thursday on schedule, reinforcing growing confidence that they will be ready for the Games. At an inauguration ceremony in northern Paris, chief organiser Tony Estanguet rece­ived a symbolic key for the complex in front of VIPs including President Emmanuel Macron. The roughly 40 low-rise …

Thousands of Russians chanted Alexei Navalny’s name and said they would not forgive the authorities for his death as the opposition leader was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday. In a video streamed from the Borisovskyoe cemetery, Navalny’s mother Lyudmila and father Anatoly stooped over his open coffin to kiss him for the last time as a small group of musicians …

ISLAMABAD: With inflation at about 29 per cent, Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, in her departure note, is leaving behind a piece of advice to the incoming government to stay the course, be prudent and reach immediately an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new medium-term programme to anchor difficult reforms. Claiming a series of gains over the …

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear Donald Trump’s claim that as a former president he is immune from prosecution, further delaying his trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Trump had been scheduled to go on trial in Washington on March 4, but the nation’s highest court scheduled arguments in the high-stakes case …