Global leaders will gather in Canada’s capital this week to discuss progress in drafting a first-ever global treaty to rein in soaring plastic pollution by the end of the year. The hoped-for treaty, due to be agreed at the end of this year, could be the most significant deal relating to climate-warming emissions and environmental protection since the 2015 Paris …

In a first, an AI-controlled fighter jet successfully faced a human pilot in an aerial dogfight test carried out last year by the US Air Force. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) revealed that the experiment with artificial intelligence (AI) applications began in December 2022 as part of its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) programme, The Verge reported. It …

PARIS: Paris St Germain continued their march towards the Ligue 1 title with a 4-1 win at home against Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday with all the goals coming in an explosive first half. Runaway leaders PSG moved to 66 points, 11 ahead of second-placed AS Monaco with five matches left, while Lyon are eighth with 41 points. PSG struck twice …

BEIJING: Beijing on Monday called reports about 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 “fake news”. The sport was rocked at the weekend by revelations that the swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) — a prescription heart drug that is banned in athletes because it can enhance performance — before the Games three …

NEW DELHI: With T20 cricket becoming increasingly more batter-dominated, bowlers with the ‘X-factor’ could make all the difference in the World Cup in June, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy told Reuters. The batting bias of cricket’s shortest format is evident in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), where 200-plus scores have become a routine and 300 does not look impossible …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s batting order is far from settled with the T20 World Cup less than two months away and according to their head coach Azhar Mahmood, more shuffling is expected. Azhar, appointed in the role solely for the ongoing five-match Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, realised this when Pakistan failed to score big enough to avoid defeat in the …

ISLAMABAD: Strongly opposing the petroleum pricing deregulation model suggested by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), the oil refineries have started shutting down their refining units due to storage constraints caused by declining sales of domestic products and the rising influx of smuggled products throughout the country. “Why would oil marketing companies (OMCs) lift oil product from refineries, involving …

KARACHI: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) jumped by 51.7 per cent to $258 million in March compared to $170m in the same month last year. Higher FDI inflows amid prevailing economic and political uncertainties, particularly after the general elections, would help the new government improve the country’s image abroad through economic reforms. However, the State Bank of Pakistan data released on …

KARACHI: The current account posted a nine-year-high surplus in March, making it possible for the country to bring down the overall deficit to below $1 billion during the July-March period of FY24. The March surplus was much higher than February’s $98m. The latest data issued by the State Bank on Monday shows the current account was $619 million in surplus …