India will name their new coach after the World Cup-winning team makes its triumphant return from the Caribbean — but it is unclear when that will be because of a hurricane. The frontrunner appears to be Gautam Gambhir, 42, a former batsman who scored over 10,000 international runs across three formats. He most recently coached Kolkata Knight Riders to the Indian Premier League crown. Indian media reported on Monday that the other man in the running to replace Rahul Dravid is W.V. Raman, 59, also an ex-Indian cricketer and former coach of the national women’s team. Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) climbed more than 700 points in intraday trade on Monday on expectations of lower inflation numbers. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 704.08 points, 0.9 per cent, to stand at 79,149.04 at 11:15am from the previous close of 78,444.96 points. Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said that investors were “building new positions amid expectations of lower CPI (Consumer Price Index) reading”. Moreover, he said that it was also expected that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA) “will be reached soon after passing of tax-laden budget”. Amreen Soorani, head of research at…
ISLAMABAD: The PML-N-led coalition government began the new fiscal year (2024-25) with an increase in petrol and high-speed diesel prices by Rs7.45 and Rs9.56 per litre, respectively, for the next fortnight. In a late-night announcement, the Ministry of Finance said prices of petroleum products have seen an increasing trend in the international market during the last fortnight. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has worked out consumer prices based on the price variations in the global market. The tax and duty rates on petroleum products will remain unchanged. The new ex-depot petrol price for the July 1 to 15 period will…
ISLAMABAD: To meet a “prior action” of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government on Sunday notified an increase of about 9 per cent in gas rates for industrial captive power units with effect from July 1 (today) but blocked about 15pc (Rs133 billion) relief in average gas rates accruing from lower international oil prices for all other consumers. The decision was taken at a special meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to comply with the IMF’s prior action for a three-year loan programme. The petroleum division said that in recent meetings held with the…
Pakistan’s information and communication technology (ICT) exports are touching record highs every month and recently scaled a fresh peak of $332 million in May. On a trailing 12-month basis, the proceeds now stand at $3.15 billion — finally crossing that $3bn mark. Though this is certainly a welcome development, looking at a longer time horizon reveals a somewhat different picture. In 2023, ICT exports grew by a meagre 2.5 per cent. There has been another side of record-breaking numbers as well and that is the slowest rate of growth observed in the ICT sector over the last 14 years, with exports of…
For the last few weeks, global oil prices have been gaining strength. On Friday, the last working day of June, crude oil settled little changed after retreating from a nearly two-month high. However, for the month, both the crude benchmarks, Brent and West Texas Intermediate, registered gains of around six per cent. For a change, market sentiments are in positive territory. Bulls appear in control. However, the question remains: how long will the positive sentiment persist? After one of the most aggressive periods of short selling on record, pushing futures to their lowest levels in months, crude prices have finally surged.…
BRIDGETOWN: Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm on Sunday as it threatened the southeast Caribbean with potentially life-threatening winds and storm surge, US trackers said. The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warned residents that Beryl — currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 350 miles (565 kilometres) east of Barbados — was creating a “very dangerous situation” and to heed local government and emergency management instructions. Beryl “is now an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane,” it said, noting that the storm’s eye is expected to move early on Monday across the…
LONDON: As the United Kingdom draws close to the 2024 general election, a new YouGov poll sheds light on the voting intentions and priorities of ethnic minority groups, showing who ethnically Pakistani voters lean towards politically. The poll indicates a strong preference for the Labour Party among ethnic minority voters, with 53pc intending to vote Labour, though Pakistani-origin voters show an interesting deviation from this trend. While Labour still garners substantial support, a significant portion of Pakistan-origin voters is leaning towards the Green Party, driven by specific issues such as the Gaza conflict. According to YouGov, the increased support to the Green Party from…
WASHINGTON: While Donald Trump’s bid for criminal immunity from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss is set to be decided on Monday, the US Supreme Court already has helped the former president in his effort to avoid trial before the Nov 5 election. The ruling from the court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump, will be released 20 weeks after he sought relief from the justices. The timeline of the ruling likely does not leave enough time for special counsel Jack Smith to try Trump on the federal four-count indictment obtained last August and for…
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has praised the adoption of a strong outcome document at the end of a conference dedicated to combating illicit small arms and light weapons worldwide, saying it is an important sign of progress. The proliferation, diversion and misuse of small arms and light weapons continue to undermine peace, security and sustainable development around the world fuelling conflict and armed violence and causing devastating human costs, the UN chief said in a statement. He congratulated member states on successfully concluding the Fourth Review Conference, welcoming the setting up of an open-ended technical expert group to…
