MIAMI: The United States defeated Bangladesh by six runs on Thursday to win the second Twenty20 International and claim a shock victory in the three-match series at Houston. Chasing a modest 145 to win, Bangladesh were well-placed at 78-2 before losing their last eight wickets for 60 runs to crash to defeat two days after losing the opening match by five wickets. Fast bowler Ali Khan claimed 3-25 for the home side while Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (36) and former captain Shakib Al Hasan (30) were their team’s main run-makers in a total of 138. “A lot of credit goes to…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
KARACHI: With the franchise-based Pakistan Football League, backed by former England star Michael Owen, announcing a series of its launch events next month, the Pakistan Football Federation Normalisation Committee has finally acted, terming it as an “illegal” event. The Haroon Malik-led PFF NC, appointed by global football body FIFA, said in a statement on Friday that the PFL was not sanctioned by it. “The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has categorically stated that the franchise-based Pakistan Football League (PFL), which is claimed to be held in the next month, is an illegal event as per its statutes and has not sanctioned…
BIRMINGHAM: With their first of the four Twenty20 Internationals against England washed out on Wednesday, Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is looking on the bright side. “A three-match series is likely to end up with a result in favour of one side, there’s no chance of a 2-2 draw,” he quipped during the press conference on the eve of the second match, which is set to be held at Edgbaston on Saturday. Just like Fakhar’s perspective, the conditions, unlike how they were at Headingley in Leeds three days ago, will be bright, perfect for cricket, with weather forecast suggesting negligible chances of rain.…
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Aftab Alam Afridi on Friday unveiled the Rs416.3 billion Annual Development Plan (ADP) for 2024-25, an increase of 38 per cent over the caretakers’ Rs301bn. While the Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf provincial government increased the ADP size by Rs115.3bn for FY25, it is lower than the Rs418bn development outlay it unveiled in 2022-23. The ADP 2024-25 comprises development funds for the settled and merged areas, a share of the two-tiered local government system, an accelerated implementation programme for the merged areas, donor-funded projects, and the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). According to the budget documents, Rs120bn has been allocated…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit with the Middle East has significantly improved, narrowing by 26 per cent to $10.67 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, mainly due to decreasing petroleum imports from the region. The trade imbalance with the region has decreased since the beginning of the current fiscal year, primarily because of reduced consumption of petroleum products, as prices have continued to rise during the months under review. In absolute terms, Pakistan’s exports to the Middle East rose 31.88pc to $2.52bn between July-April 2023-24 compared to $1.91bn in the corresponding period last year. At the same time,…
PESHAWAR: Adviser to the chief minister on finance Muzzammil Aslam on Friday that the provincial government was reducing its expenses as the federal government was not clearing its dues. During a post-budget news conference here, Mr Aslam complained that the province hadn’t received a single penny from the centre as net hydel profit. He said the provincial government would receive Rs1.2 trillion from the federal government in the next fiscal year, while the province was likely to generate Rs93 billion in revenue by itself. The aide to the chief minister said the provincial government would get Rs122 billion in foreign loans for development…
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is working with 25 banks to facilitate 50 cattle markets across the country for payment through QR codes that may attract up to Rs550 billion as the estimated price of sacrificial animals. A Quick Response (QR) code payment is a form of contactless payment. A QR code is a scannable barcode containing horizontal and vertical lines, dots, and patterns. While speaking at the 17th international conference titled ‘Mobile Commerce 2024’, organised by Total Communications, SBP (Payment System Policy and Oversight Department) Joint Director Ahmed Sumair said that the central bank was working with the…
BEIJING: China’s military carried out a second day of war games around Taiwan on Friday, with drills to test its ability to “seize power” and control key areas in exercises Beijing has said were launched to punish Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te. The two days of drills around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast, which a Taiwanese official said included the mock bombing of foreign vessels, started just three days after Lai took office. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and denounces Lai as a “separatist”. It criticised his inauguration speech on Monday, in which he said Taipei…
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China in the first week of next month to join formal launching of the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC-II). A source in the Prime Minister’s Office told that PM Shehbaz was scheduled to leave for China on June 4, but the date of visit could slightly be changed. Infrastructure and energy projects were part of the CPEC’s first phase. In CPEC-II, both countries will focus on agriculture, Main Line-I of Pakistan Railways, businessmen-to-businessmen deals and realignment of Karakorum Highway (KKH) etc. While presiding over a meeting of representatives of the Chinese companies,…
PARIS: The West wants to dig into Moscow’s pockets to provide aid to Ukraine, but tapping frozen Russian assets is not that simple. The complex issue is on the agenda at this week’s meeting of finance ministers of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies. The United States initially supported seizing the frozen Russian assets outright, but it now backs the European proposal to grab the interest that they generate. While US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen welcomed the plan at the G7 meeting in Stresa, Italy, she said on Thursday that allies should continue their “collective work on more ambitious options”. Using the…
