MELBOURNE: An extraordinary Australian Open dogged by unprecedented controversy and confusion finally gets under way on Monday -— without defending champion Novak Djokovic. The Serbian world number one’s decision not to get vaccinated against Covid-19 sparked a saga which dragged through the courts and culminated in him facing deportation on Sunday. “I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love,” said Djokovic, 34, after his fellow players had complained about just that. “I would like to wish the players,…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
LAHORE: Despite announcing the squads for the ongoing National U-13 and U-16 tournaments after conducting wrist tests of the participating players, the Pakistan Cricket Board went for a second round of tests across the weekend. Wrist tests of players of 12 teams — two each of six provincial cricket associations — in the U-16 event being held in Multan were conducted on Sunday, while players of six U-13 sides in Karachi were tested for their ages a day earlier. The tests, Dawn has learnt, have impacted the players’ mental health, while also burdening the PCB exchequer. “The tests are being redone to…
KARACHI: The title was Waheed Baloch’s to lose. He almost did, only to win it in an enthralling climax on a day where competition was fierce and twists and turns were aplenty. Holding a five-shot leading heading into the final round of the Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament on Sunday, Waheed was odds-on, going by his performance in three previous rounds, to clinch his first title in Karachi since winning the same tournament in 2016. That, despite defending champion and Pakistan number one Shabbir Iqbal lurking right behind him. A final-round charge by Shabbir, who’s made a…
It has been far too long since we saw still-stuck-in-the-1980s policymakers propose something completely out of touch with the changing world. Two months had passed since the removal of the ban on TikTok and boomers were probably looking for a new prey which they found an easy one in cryptocurrencies as a committee formed by Sindh High Court and constituting members from the State Bank (SBP) and other regulators recommended a complete ban on cryptocurrencies. While such a move by the regulatory authorities is not exactly surprising to anyone, it is nonetheless a little strange as earlier in 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission…
THOUGH cognizant of Chinese sensitivities on confidentiality of bilateral agreements, the government moved to comply with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) demands of making public all contingent liabilities to have the $6 billion bailout programme revived. It presented in parliament the details of sovereign guarantees, including the risk cover extended by the Government of Pakistan to certain China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power and infrastructure projects. In the past, China is known to have resented the idea of publicly disclosing details of CPEC agreements. During the PML-N tenure (2013-18), when pressed over disclosing terms and conditions of the power and infrastructure…
The ongoing dispute between government and oil and gas exploration and production firms over post facto implementation of the windfall levy on the profits of the said companies is holding back commercial production of oil and gas from new discoveries. “Foreign and local private companies are neither drilling new wells nor commercially producing anything from the new discoveries because of the dispute over the imposition of levy,” an executive from one of the two foreign exploration and production (E&P) firms operating in Pakistan told this correspondent on the condition of anonymity. He said no private firm is ready to make…
China’s economy expanded at its fastest pace for 10 years in 2021, according to an AFP poll of analysts, but its strong recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is threatened by Omicron and a property sector slowdown. The eight per cent growth would be well above the government’s target of more than 6pc and comes on the back of a strong start to the year as a “zero-Covid” policy allowed the country to lead the global economic recovery. China’s exports surged nearly 30pc last year on solid global demand as countries reopened from pandemic lockdowns, boosting its stuttering economy. But the country’s recovery…
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic flew out of Australia on Sunday after a court upheld the government’s decision to cancel his visa, capping days of drama over the country’s Covid-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge Federal Court bench dealt a final blow to Djokovic’s hopes of chasing a record 21st Grand Slam win at the Australian Open that starts on Monday. The Serbian player went to the airport in Melbourne just hours later. Federal agents escorted him and his team from the business lounge to the gate, where he boarded an Emirates flight bound…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Alamgir visited Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as part of overseas deployment in Africa and established a free medical camp as a goodwill gesture from the people of Pakistan. Upon arrival at the port, PNS Alamgir was received by naval and air attache of Pakistan at Tanzania and senior officials from Tanzanian Navy, said a Pakistan Navy media release received here on Sunday. During the port visit, the Mission Commander and Commanding Officer of the ship called on Naval Operations and Training Officer Tanzanian Navy and Chief of Medical Services Tanzanian People Defence Force. During the…
LONDON: The British Conservative Party chairman rejected calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign but said he must address the culture within his government that resulted in multiple staff gatherings at his residence during coronavirus lockdowns. Johnson has apologised for attending a gathering in the garden of his Downing Street residence in May 2020 where staff had been invited to bring their own alcohol at a time when strict rules forbade the public from almost all socialising. Amid a public backlash at the perception that the government did not follow its own rules during the pandemic, an internal investigation…
