One year after the violent assault on the US Capitol, Americans remain deeply concerned about the health of their democracy, and about a third say violence against the government can sometimes be justified, according to the recent polls conducted by the Washington Post – University of Maryland. The January 6, 2021 attack on the seat … Read more
KINGSTON: West Indies and Ireland have announced new dates for the rest of their one-day international series after Tuesday’s second match was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the tourists’ camp. The second ODI will now be played on Thursday, with the third and final ODI taking place three days later. Both matches will … Read more
ABU DHABI: Ruler of Dubai, vice president and prime minister of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has launched the AED100 million “Arab genius project”, Khaleej Times reported. The Dubai Ruler has used his 16th Accession Day anniversary to launch the project that will search for 1,000 Arab pioneers in different fields. Sheikh Mohammed said … Read more
ISLAMABAD: An in-match penalty for slow over rates in men’s and women’s Twenty20 Internationals comes into effect this month (January), with the updated playing conditions also providing for an optional drinks interval midway through the innings in bilateral T20 international cricket. The over rate regulations are captured in clause 13.8 of the playing conditions (here), … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan top-order batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa quit international cricket Wednesday just days before the start of a one-day international series against Zimbabwe at home. The 30-year-old left-hander resigned due to family obligations, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. “I have very carefully considered my position as a player, husband and am taking this decision looking … Read more
UNITED NATIONS – A United Nations court has ordered Niger to suspend its expulsion of eight Rwandans linked to the country’s 1994 genocide, officials confirmed Monday. Niger’s government announced the expulsions in late December just a month after the Rwandans were officially welcomed in the capital Niamey citing “diplomatic reasons”. But a judge with the International Residual … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced a licensing and regulatory framework for digital banks in line with international best practice, a statement said on Monday. This is the first step towards introducing a completely digital bank that will provide all the banking services; from account opening to deposit and lending, through digital … Read more
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy grew 7.2 per cent last year, rebounding from its worst recession since independence sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed on Monday. The city-state plunged into its worst economic performance in 2020 as businesses and international borders shut down, choking its trade and tourism economic lifeline. Authorities initially imposed tough measures to … Read more
ST. JOHN’S: Veteran batsman Chris Gayle was a surprise absence from the West Indies squad named on Friday for a one-off T20 against Ireland but captain Kieron Pollard returns from injury for the series which also includes England. The 42-year-old Gayle had been expected to be given his international farewell in front of his home crowd at … Read more
WELLINGTON: The decision by New Zealand great Ross Taylor to end his illustrious Test career after the looming Bangladesh series has placed a new emphasis on the two matches which start at Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval on Saturday. From being a chance for New Zealand to get their World Test championship campaign back on track … Read more
MIAMI: The USA v Ireland one day international cricket series scheduled for this week has been cancelled over Covid-related concerns, USA Cricket said Tuesday. The federation had already cancelled one of the three scheduled matches, but had hoped to play the remaining two on Wednesday and Thursday. “While all players in both current playing squads have returned negative Covid … Read more
BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) — China will see 70 percent of its major manufacturing firms basically digitalized and networked by 2025, according to a development plan on smart manufacturing. The plan, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments, also states that all of China’s manufacturing firms above a designated size … Read more
KARACHI: The farmers are paying an extra price of around Rs600/bag of urea against the government fixed price of Rs1,800, a research report issued by the AKD Securities revealed. Currently, urea is being sold in the domestic market at an increased price of around Rs2,400/bag. The disparity in the domestic and international prices of Rs7,700/urea … Read more
By improving its production efficiency, fertiliser industry can contribute up to $1 billion annually to the national exchequer, a senior official of Engro Fertilizers, said. “By exporting 0.8 million tonnes of urea we can earn in the range of $500 million to $900 million, depending on the international prices. But by de-bottlenecking the production capacity … Read more
BEIJING: February’s Beijing Winter Olympics look set to be the strictest mass sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic. AFP Sport looks at what measures athletes and others can expect to face in the “bubble” and how that compares to last summer’s virus-delayed Tokyo Games. What is the ‘closed loop’? China, where the virus emerged towards the end … Read more
NEW DELHI: Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh, the first Indian bowler to grab a Test hat-trick, announced on Friday his retirement from all forms of cricket. “All good things come to an end and today as I bid adieu to the game that has given me everything in life, I would like to thank everyone who … Read more
LONDON: Already sidelined England fast bowler Jofra Archer is set to miss the tour of the West Indies after undergoing a second elbow operation, it was announced Tuesday. The Barbados-born quick has been out of international action since March and his absence from England duty will now extend to over a year after it was … Read more
Jiu-Jitsu is one sport where Pakistani athletes are consistently shining, according to Isra Waseem, who has won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for the country at the international stage. This statement is true as a daylight as Pakistani athletes won eight Bronze medals in the fifth Asian Championship that took place in Abu Dhabi in … Read more
COLOMBO: International ratings agency Fitch downgraded cash-strapped Sri Lanka on Saturday by one notch to ‘CC’ due to mounting fears of a sovereign default on its $26 billion foreign debt. The downgrade came a day after Sri Lanka reported a 1.5 per cent contraction in the third quarter of this year, as a foreign exchange crisis … Read more
KARACHI: Large-scale manufacturing industries (LSMI) in October, 2021 showed big industry output inched down 1.2 per cent year-on-year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed. “On yearly basis in October 2021, the decline in production of non-metallic mineral products i.e., cement declined 13.2 per cent, pharmaceuticals i.e., tablets 23.1 per cent, capsules 44.4 per cent … Read more
Global debt went up by the highest one-year jump in 2020 since World War II to reach a record $226 trillion, Arab News quoted the International Monetary Fund, as saying in a blog posting. This came as countries grappled with the pandemic and a significant recession. The IMF indicated that the surge in debt was justified to … Read more
RIYADH: Low-cost airline flyadeal will begin flights from Saudi Arabia to Egypt from January 6, 2022, Arab News reported. The company, a subsidiary of Saudia, will operate the Cairo-Riyadh route twice a day, with flights in both directions as a first stage. Egypt is the third international destination for flyadeal, following Dubai and Kuwait, bringing the … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee witnessed an unabated free-fall for the last several months, as the dollar hit a new record high of Rs177.98 at the closing on the interbank foreign exchange market on Wednesday, amid the monetary tightening announced a day ago. The exchange rate witnessed a decline of 10 paisas in the rupee value against … Read more
LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government is taking steps to provide a conducive environment for an increase in investment and expand business. Chairing a meeting regarding regional economic growth strategy for the Gujranwala division, he said the federal and provincial institutions were working for industrial progress in the country. After the … Read more
JOHANNESBURG: International sport in southern Africa effectively ground to a halt on Saturday as a result of travel bans caused by the new Omicron coronavirus variant. The Joburg Open golf tournament, part of the new DP World Tour, was the only major event played – and that was severely curtailed. A cricket series between South Africa and … Read more
Oil prices dropped more than 5 per cent on Friday, falling to the lowest level in two months, as traders, already concerned about potential oversupply in the first quarter of 2022, added the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant to their list of worries, Reuters reported. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slid 5.8 per cent to $77.44 … Read more
Saudi Arabia is making the transition to a more diversified economy, after being reliant upon oil for much of the past century, a trend sparked by Vision 2030 as well as commitments made at the COP26 Summit last month, Arab News reported. While corporate giants such as Aramco and Sabic continue to dominate the economy, a culture … Read more
JEDDAH: flyadeal launched its first direct flight from Jeddah to Dubai on Thursday, signalling the company’s first international journey from the airport, Arab News reported. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Saudia, now operates six routes to the UAE on a daily basis, with the other five originating from Riyadh. “We selected Dubai as our first international … Read more
