In December, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Tamil-speaking audience in Varanasi. He spoke in Hindi. But the audience was not listening to his voice — they had earphones plugged in. While Modi was speaking in Hindi, the audience was hearing an artificial intelligence-generated rendition of his speech in Tamil. The voice was not Modi’s but the words were. It was …

Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell and uncapped all-rounder Zak Foulkes have been added as late call-ups for New Zealand’s Twenty20 tour of Pakistan, the side announced on Friday. Blundell and Foulkes will respectively replace promising batter Finn Allen and veteran paceman Adam Milne, who were both injured on the eve of departure. Pakistan host New Zealand for five Twenty20 internationals starting in …

Brazil forward Raphinha scored twice to help Barcelona secure a 3-2 win at Paris St Germain (PSG) in a lively Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, earning the Spanish side their first win in the knockout stage in four years. PSG forward Kylian Mbappe was nowhere to be found in Parc des Princes as five-times European champions Barca managed …

UDINE: Inter Milan took another step towards the Serie A title as a last-gasp goal from Davide Frattesi secured a 2-1 come-from-behind win at struggling Udinese on Monday. Five minutes into added time, Lautaro Martinez unleashed a low shot that Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye managed to tip onto the post but Italy midfielder Frattesi pounced to slot home the rebound. …

PARIS: The Olympic rings for the Paris Games will be displayed on the Eiffel Tower, the president of the monument’s operating company (SETE) said. Jean-Francois Martins said work to set the rings on the tower would begin at the end of the month after the Olympic torch has left ancient Olympia in Greece. The rings will be on the Seine …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed a framework to onboard the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries for receiving social welfare payments into their accounts to be opened in all banks and microfinance banks. The SBP said the framework has been developed in consultation with the BISP and banks. Under the framework, about 9.3 million BISP beneficiaries …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to five central Asian countries (CACs) witnessed a growth of 21.17 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year over the corresponding period last year. Despite the existing prospects, the country’s exports to the region have yet to attain their full potential. Similarly, imports from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other countries to Pakistan have …

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said Pakistan’s economic outlook was uncertain, with high risks on the downside, as political uncertainty would remain a key risk to the sustainability of stabilisation and reform efforts. In its April 2024 ‘Asian Development Outlook’, the Manila-based lending agency said potential supply chain disruptions from the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East …

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said that Pakistan is in discussions with the Fund on a potential follow-up programme to the previous nine-month $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA), adding that important issues remained to be solved. Georgieva told an event at the Atlantic Council think tank, that Pakistan was successfully completing its existing programme with …