PARIS: Simone Biles dazzled a star-studded crowd as she returned to the Olympic stage on Sunday while Rafael Nadal set up a showdown with career-long rival Novak Djokovic. Biles’s return was one of the highlights of day two as the sun returned to Paris, with 13 gold medals up for grabs, including a blockbuster swimming duel. Stars Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande were among a host of A-listers crowded into a packed Bercy Arena as US superstar Biles began her quest for Olympic gymnastics redemption. The 27-year-old four-time Olympic champion, widely regarded as the greatest gymnast in history, entered the arena…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Battered by the last four years of pandemic, record inflation, long-drawn-out wars and high interest rates, the global economic outlook continues to be lacklustre. In its latest World Economic Outlook update, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the global economy will grow 3.2 per cent this year, down a tick from 3.3pc growth last year. From 2000 through 2019, before the pandemic upended economic activity, global growth had averaged 3.8pc a year. Even this modest global expansion, the IMF notes, is being powered by stronger growth in China. The Fund expects the Chinese economy to grow by 5pc this year, an…
KARACHI: The newly launched Awam Pakistan party staged its first public show in the metropolis on Sunday by organising a protest outside the headquarters of the K-Electric. Speaking at the demonstration, former finance minister and one of the party founders Miftah Ismail demanded that the KE be stopped overbilling. He said that electricity tariff had been increased by 350 per cent since 2015. He hinted at moving court against the power utility. Awam Pakistan arty stages demonstration outside KE head office He also questioned the competence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif government and its key ally Pakistan Peoples Party as…
ISLAMABAD: Following a recent uproar over an allegation of free electricity facility to parliamentarians, the power division on Sunday claimed no such facility is being given to lawmakers. “Not a single parliamentarian is given free electricity,” the power division said in an official announcement. The division also claimed that not a single government institution or department is being provided free electricity. The power division made the announcement following submission of a privilege motion by some MNAs who questioned why they are being accused of availing free electricity facility. Media reports quoted lawmakers as saying that they not only pay rent for…
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) climbed more than 700 points in intraday trade on Monday as market participants await the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy decision today. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 732.19 points, 0.94 per cent, to stand at 78,761.69 points at 10:46am from the previous close of 78,029.50. Raza Jafri, chief executive of EFG Hermes Pakistan, said the index “is reacting positively to several factors such as the monetary policy later today”. Jafri also said that the “news reports of a supportive stance by China, no further increase in political temperate over the weekend,…
Every tech bro has spent a good part of their life explaining to others the virtues of software: how it is globally scalable, doesn’t need as many resources to build, boasts high margins, etc. Questioning this wisdom was akin to blasphemy, as was doing any other business if you wanted to get venture funding. That is until generative artificial intelligence (AI) took the world by storm and all of a sudden, hardware became cool again. So much so that for a brief moment, Nvidia even overtook the likes of Microsoft in terms of market capitalisation. On the surface, such debates…
PARIS: Paris Olympics organisers said on Sunday they were “really sorry” if any offence was caused by their daring and quirky opening ceremony while denying any intention to “disrespect” religion after complaints from French bishops. Some Catholic groups and French bishops have condemned what they saw as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” in the parade on Friday choreographed by theatre director Thomas Jolly. Criticism has focused on a scene involving dancers, drag queens and a DJ in poses that recalled depictions of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have taken with his apostles. “Clearly there was…
CHICO (California, US): Thousands of firefighters were battling a rapidly growing wildfire in northern California on Saturday after the blaze more than doubled in size in a 24-hour span. The Park Fire had burned more than 350,000 acres (141,640 hectares) about 90 miles (144 km) north of the state capital city of Sacramento as of Saturday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Cooler temperatures and more humid air were expected in the region, potentially helping efforts to slow the spread of the fire, which was 10 per cent contained as of Saturday evening. The…
TOKYO: The United States on Sunday announced plans for a major revamp of its military command in Japan to deepen coordination with its ally’s forces, as the two countries labelled China the “greatest strategic challenge” facing the region. The announcement followed security talks in Tokyo between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their respective Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara. “The United States will upgrade the US Forces Japan to a joint force headquarters with expanded missions and operational responsibilities,” Austin told reporters after the so-called “2+2” talks. “This will be the most…
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump, once a cryptocurrency sceptic, vowed on Saturday to be a “pro-bitcoin president” if elected in November, as the Republican nominee sought backing from an industry irked by US regulations. “The Biden-Harris administration’s repression of crypto and bitcoin is wrong, and it’s very bad for our country,” Trump said to cheers at a conference in Tennessee. The ex-president likened cryptocurrencies to the growth of the “steel industry of 100 years ago”, and said “Bitcoin stands for freedom, sovereignty and independence from government coercion and control”. Trump said if he was in the White House, he would not allow…
