Author: AFP

Paris sending experts to Saudi

PARIS: France is sending experts to Saudi Arabia to investigate the origin of attacks on Saudi oil facilities that Washington blamed on Iran, the presidency said yesterday after telephone talks between President Emmanuel Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Macron spoke to Prince Mohammed, widely seen as the kingdom’s

Liverpool defence begins with defeat

NAPLES (Italy): Dries Mertens and Fernando Llorente scored late as holders Liverpool fell 2-0 at Napoli in the opening match of their Champions League title defence on Tuesday. Mertens converted a penalty on 82 minutes and Llorente added a second in stoppage time as Napoli gained a measure of revenge

Boat capsizes off northern Japan

TOKYO: A man has been found dead inside a capsized fishing boat off northern Japan, with seven other crew members missing. The 29-tonne Keieimaru No.65 with eight Japanese fishermen on board lost communication on waters some 640 kilometres east of Cape Nosappu in Hokkaido on Tuesday, a coastguard spokesman said

Apple goes to court over euro tax bill

LUXEMBOURG: Apple went on the offensive against Brussels in an EU court yesterday, fighting the European Commission’s landmark order that the iPhone-maker reimburse Ireland 13 billion euros in back taxes. The EU’s tax demand, delivered in 2016, “defies reality and common sense,” Apple’s lawyer Daniel Beard told the EU’s lower

WeWork IPO likely to be pushed back

NEW YORK: Fast-growing office-sharing startup WeWork will likely delay its initial public offering until at least October, and may wait even longer, a source familiar with the plans said on Monday. The We Company, its parent firm, was thought to be moving forward with listing on the Nasdaq next week.

Kolisi lifting World Cup would be ‘hugely symbolic’

TWICKENHAM (United Kingdom): Springbok captain Siya Kolisi receiving the Rugby World Cup trophy would be a “hugely symbolic moment” for the country, South African coaching guru Alan Solomons told AFP. If the 28-year-old backrow forward, the first black player to captain South Africa at a World Cup, were to lift

Dusautoir: All Black-flecked memories

TOKYO: Ex-France skipper Thierry Dusautoir enjoys a fabled World Cup history intertwined with Neaw Zealand and is tipping the All Blacks to win a third successive tournament in Japan. Dusautoir, now 37, scored France’s try in the tight 2011 final won 8-7 by New Zealand. Having captained France a record

India searches for 39 missing after accident

NEW DELHI: Indian authorities were engaged in a major search and rescue operation yesterday to find 39 people missing after their tour boat capsized in a fast-flowing swollen river. Police told AFP that eight bodies have been recovered, down from a previous tally of 12, after the accident on the

Naming of Sri Lankan geckos sparks uproar

COLOMBO: A team of Sri Lankan scientists caused uproar in parliament and sparked a police probe after they used the names of mythical heroes and national figures to name six newly discovered species of gecko. Two of the new species — discovered on the Indian Ocean island in 2017 and

China’s economy strains under disappointing data

BEIJING: China’s economy showed more signs of strain yesterday as the country published weak data for industrial output, investment and retail sales, amid a lingering trade war with the United States. Industrial output grew by 4.4 percent year-on-year throughout August, falling to its lowest level in 17 years and down from