Author: AFP

Roglic reigns, a first for Slovenia

MADRID: Taciturn Primoz Roglic was overlooked by his team for the Tour de France but he had the last word when avoiding any final day mishap on the Vuelta a Espana’s ceremonial ride into Madrid on Sunday to become the first Slovenian to win one of cycling’s three Grand Tours.

Pettersen seals title for Europe

GLENEAGLES (United Kingdom): Europe regained the Solheim Cup with a thrilling 14.5-13.5 victory over the United States on Sunday at Gleneagles with Norwegian wildcard Suzann Pettersen sinking the winning putt. A controversial pick, Pettersen made a birdie on the 18th in the last match on the course to defeat Marina

World Cup ready for Japan typhoons

TOKYO: Rugby World Cup organisers have learned from a massive typhoon that smashed into Tokyo and disrupted some teams’ arrivals, saying it highlighted their “meticulous” contingency planning for natural disaster-prone Japan. Just days before the World Cup kicks off, tournament director Alan Gilpin told AFP in an interview that last

Daunting ride for Liverpool

LONDON: Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool that retaining the Champions League will be even harder than their incredible march to victory in Madrid last season. Klopp’s side start their bid to win a seventh European Cup with a trip to Napoli for their Group E opener on Tuesday. The Reds

Deal to plug into Gulf power grid

BAGHDAD: Iraq on Sunday signed a landmark deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council for a transmission line that would import 500 magawatts of electricity to its overstretched grid by 2020. The 300-kilometre transmission line would run from Kuwait to Iraq’s southern port of Faw and be financed by the GCC,

46,000 GM auto workers on strike

DETROIT: The United Auto Workers union began a nationwide strike against General Motors yesterday, with some 46,000 members walking off the job after contract talks hit an impasse. The move to strike, which the Wall Street Journal described as the first major stoppage at GM in more than a decade,

VW Beetles pimped out for hip youth

ADDIS ABABA: When Robel Wolde bought a beat-up 1967 Volkswagen Beetle from a friend for 50,000 Ethiopian birr, it marked the start of an extensive restoration he’d plotted for years. The 25-year-old Ethiopian painter quickly went to work.  He installed new grey leather seats, applied black stripes and decals along

VW settles emissions cheating scandal

SYDNEY: Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to Aus$127 million to settle multiple class action suits brought by Australian motorists over a diesel emissions cheating scandal, the parties’ lawyers said yesterday. The German car giant, which owns brands ranging from luxury Audi to lower-end Skoda, said in 2015 that 11

Humberto dumps rain on Bahamas

MIAMI: Tropical Storm Humberto lashed the Bahamas with rain and wind on Saturday, possibly slowing down relief efforts in the wake of the devastation wrought less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Dorian. The US National Hurricane Centre said the centre of the storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 95km

Fiji’s PM to play down climate row

SYDNEY: Fiji’s leader Frank Bainimarama was set to dine with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last night, just weeks after the pair clashed over climate change at a Pacific summit. Bainimarama arrived in Australia on Wednesday for five days of meetings with members of the Fijian community in Sydney and