China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe successfully landed on Sunday on the far side of the Moon to collect samples, state media reported — the latest leap for Beijing’s decades-old space programme. The Chang’e-6 set down in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the China National Space Administration. It marks the first time that samples will be collected from the rarely explored area of the Moon, according to the agency. The Chang’e-6 is on a technically complex 53-day mission that began on May 3. On Sunday, it descended from its orbit…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
KARACHI: In a country where cricket reigns supreme, a dedicated group of athletes gathered here at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Sports Complex to showcase their skills in a lesser-known but equally thrilling sport — softball. While softball may not enjoy the same popularity as its cousin cricket, many of Pakistan’s talented cricketers have found a new outlet in this fast-paced game. In the first PNSC Inter-Provincial Women’s Softball Championship final between Punjab and Balochistan on Saturday went head-to-head, displaying their enthusiasm and dedication. Despite lapses in fielding, Punjab managed to capitalise on one less mistake, edging out Balochistan 14-13…
LONDON: England all-rounder Liam Livingstone believes the “extra edge” provided by fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will bolster the side’s chance when they begin their T20 World Cup defence in Barbados next week. The two out-and-out quicks were reunited for the first time in The Oval on Thursday, with both Archer and Wood playing their part as England won by seven wickets to seal a 2-0 T20 series victory over Pakistan. Archer made the key breakthrough to dismiss in-form Pakistan captain Babar Azam for 36, sparking a collapse that saw the tourists slump from 59-0 to 157 all out.…
GEORGETOWN (Guyana): More than eight years after Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes at Eden Gardens gave them their second T20 world title, a wounded West Indies will look to redeem themselves at home when they begin their campaign in the event’s ninth edition by taking on Papua New Guinea on Sunday. Brathwaite had slammed Ben Stokes for four successive sixes in the final over to pull off one of the most astonishing chases that made the West Indies the first team to win the T20 World Cup twice. Their maiden triumph was in 2012. But what followed was years of agony…
Aaron Jones struck an explosive unbeaten 94 from 40 balls as the USA beat Canada by seven wickets in the opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Jones, born in New York but raised in Barbados, bludgeoned the Canadian attack, smashing ten sixes as he totally changed the momentum of the game in a superb 131-run third-wicket partnership with Andries Gous. Jones took full control in the 13th over when he went on the attack against the slow left-arm of Canada captain, Saad Bin Zafar, smashing three sixes in one over. Then the game shifted decisively…
Skipper Babar Azam has stressed the need for the Green Shirts to “stick to the basics and play easy cricket” as Pakistan prepares for the highly anticipated clash between Pakistan and India during the T20 World Cup. Pakistan’s first match will be on June 6 against the United States, who beat Canada by seven wickets in the opening game of the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the US and West Indies. The clash between Pakistan and India will be held on June 9 at the Eisenhower Park stadium in Nassau County, New York, where security will be boosted after reports of threats especially…
KARACHI: Currency experts on Saturday feared the US dollar may resume appreciation against the rupee from the next fiscal year. The dollar has been restricted to around Rs278-280 for more than four months and is likely to rise once the interest rate is reduced. “We see the local currency at Rs295 to a dollar by December-end and interest rate at 15 per cent with a key assumption of political stability,” said Faisal Mamsa, CEO of Tresmark. “In our view, the rupee will remain locked around Rs280 per dollar till June end, but after that, it will undergo a gradual and…
KARACHI: Amid hue and cry over influx of smuggled Iranian oil, the oil marketing companies (OMCs) continued to add new retail outlets across the country, while many CNG retail outlets are being closed and converted into fuel stations. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has developed 37 new retail outlets during 9MFY24, taking its total nationwide footprint to 3,555. The company completed the construction of seven storage tanks in 9MFY24. PSO, while highlighting its circular debt position, trends in crude oil prices, the country’s stock market rebound, global GDP growth, inflation indicators and large-scale manufacturing in its 9MFY24 results, did not speak a word…
WASHINGTON: Price cuts by major US retailers and new data showing a slowdown in consumer spending may boost the Federal Reserve’s confidence in falling inflation and take the edge off of corporate profits that have grabbed a larger share of national income since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Adjusted for inflation both overall consumption and disposable income dropped slightly in April. The Commerce Department had reported on Thursday that the U.S. economy grew more slowly than initially thought over the first three months of the year largely because of a lowered pace of consumption, a core prop of the…
PARIS: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded France’s credit score on Friday citing a deterioration in the country’s budgetary position, a blow to Emmanuel Macron’s government days before EU parliamentary elections. In a statement, the American credit assessor justified its decision to drop France’s long-term sovereign debt rating from “AA” to “AA-” on concerns over lower-than-expected growth. It warned that “political fragmentation” would make it difficult for the government to implement planned reforms to balance public finances and forecast the budget deficit would remain above the targeted three percent of GDP in 2027. The S&P’s first downgrade of France since…
