Noni Madueke hit a hat-trick as Chelsea crushed Wolves 6-2 to give Enzo Maresca his first Premier League win as Blues boss, while Newcastle rescued a controversial 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday. Maresca suffered a 2-0 loss against Manchester City last weekend in his first game since arriving from Leicester to replace Mauricio Pochettino in the close season. Chelsea got off the mark under Maresca with a UEFA Conference League play-off victory against Servette on Thursday, but that low-key success was only the prelude to their goal spree at Molineux. Maresca’s side made the perfect start after just 98 seconds…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
PARMA: Inter Milan got their Serie A title defence up and running on Saturday with a straightforward 2-0 home win over Lecce, while rivals AC Milan crashed to a 2-1 defeat at promoted Parma. Matteo Darmian nodded Inter ahead in the fifth minute before Hakan Calhanoglu made sure that the majority of the around 70,000 fans at the San Siro went home happy with his 70th-minute penalty. Simone Inzaghi’s team are level with three other teams on four points, including Parma and Genoa who were 1-0 winners at Monza, after their first two matches of the new campaign. “Winning is hard but…
NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic, fueled by an emotional Olympic triumph, has new Grand Slam records in his sights at the US Open, where title rival Jannik Sinner hopes to shake off a doping controversy. Defending champion Djokovic can become the oldest Open era champion at the tournament if he secures a fifth title, a record he would share with Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The 37-year-old would also move to 25 Grand Slam triumphs, taking him clear of the 24 he currently shares with Margaret Court. The final Grand Slam of the year comes at a critical time for…
MANCHESTER: England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a thigh injury and will be replaced by left-arm seamer Josh Hull, the England Cricket Board said on Sunday. Wood injured his right thigh during the first test at Old Trafford and the 34-year-old did not bowl on the final day as England secured a five-wicket victory. Leicestershire’s Hull, 20, earned his first call-up to England Test squad for the remaining two games against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, starting on Thursday, and The Oval. Hull, six feet seven inches tall, played…
Cricket sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi took to Instagram to officially announce the arrival of his first child, a baby boy named Aliyaar Afridi. The 24-year-old fast bowler shared a photo of his newborn’s tiny hand gripping his finger, accompanied by a heartfelt caption. “This moment changes everything! 🥹 My heart is full and my life just got a whole lot better. 24/08/2024 will always be special to us. Welcome to the world, my son, Aliyaar Afridi,” Shaheen wrote. He went on to express his deep gratitude to his wife, Ansha Afridi, for her unwavering strength throughout the journey, calling her…
BARCELONA: Striker Robert Lewandowski smashed home a rebound to earn Barcelona a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in an absorbing La Liga clash on Saturday. A deflected strike by teenager Lamine Yamal in the 24th minute gave Barca the lead. The visitors levelled in the 42nd minute when Oihan Sancet converted a penalty after defender Pau Cubarsi fouled Alex Berenguer inside the box. Lewandowski netted the winner in the 75th minute from a rebound by the goalkeeper to give Barca their second win in as many games. “Especially in the first half he could have scored one or two goals……
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan cricket’s nightmarish slide continued on Sunday, when Bangladesh recorded their first ever Test triumph over the hosts, taking the opening fixture of the two-match series with a clinical 10-wicket win here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The defeat marked the Pakistan’s third upset loss this year after T20 international shocks against Ireland and USA, raising questions over their standing as a red-ball side — which has now lost four of their six fixtures of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle — as well. Pakistan went into the match — at the back of a head-to-head record of 12 wins out…
The current exercise by the federal government to formulate a five-year plan is seen by many as somewhat misplaced in view of the expected three-year top-priority International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilisation programme. In the past, as well, the 23 bailouts by the Fund and its reforms agenda took precedence over implementations of five-year plans; to quote an analyst, “Much of the five-year plans… are paperwork exercises.” One may also note that centralised planning also suffers from many deficiencies in terms of formulation and execution, including erratic and unsustainable modes of financing and the absence of clearly defined federal domains that duplicate…
An energy starved country can never be a prosperous country. The availability of affordable energy is a cornerstone of any sustainable industrialisation and economic growth model. One would be hard-pressed to find any economies that were able to escape the low growth and poverty trap without access to affordable energy. Pakistan imports more than $15 billion of energy, making up between one-fourth to one-third of total imports, depending on foreign exchange reserves position. Over the last ten years, there has been an incremental movement to rely on indigenous energy sources rather than imported ones. As of 2024, almost 75 per cent of total electricity…
During the last fiscal year, the government’s borrowings for budgetary support had almost doubled to Rs7.48 trillion from Rs3.75tr a year ago, according to the latest statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Last year, the government kept borrowing excessively, chiefly to service old domestic debt and not to spend on the country’s development. During this fiscal year, we may see the same happening again. In just 40 days of the new fiscal year (between July 1 and August 9 2024) the government’s borrowings for budgetary support have increased more than 10 times to Rs556 billion, according to…
