Author: AFP

Pope to visit Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis flies out tomorrow for a week-long tour visiting three Indian Ocean African countries hard hit by poverty, conflict and natural disaster. The pope will visit Mozambique and Madagascar, as well as Mauritius, countries visited by pope John Paul II in 1988 and 1999. Commentators see the

Four wounded in rocket fire on Libya’s airport

TRIPOLI: Rocket fire by forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar against the Libyan capital’s sole functioning airport wounded four civilians overnight, the UN-recognised government said Sunday. The strikes coincided with the arrival of a Libyan plane carrying pilgrims back from Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Three pilgrims, including a woman, were

Japan to set up police unit for disputed islands

TOKYO: Japan will launch a special police unit equipped with submachine guns and helicopters to patrol disputed isles in the East China Sea — a source of tension between Tokyo and Beijing, according to police and media. The deployment near the tiny islands known as the “Senkakus” in Japanese and

Monstrous Dorian pounds Bahamas

RIVIERA BEACH (United States): Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas with ferocious wind and rain on Sunday, the monstrous Category 5 storm wrecking towns and homes as it churned on an uncertain path toward the US coast where hundreds of thousands were ordered to evacuate. There was no immediate word on

HK students defy China warnings with boycott

HONG KONG: Thousands of black-clad students rallied yesterday at the start of a two-week boycott of university classes, piling pressure on Hong Kong’s leaders to resolve months of increasingly violent anti-government protests that show no sign of easing. Students have been the backbone of a movement that sprang up to

Italy’s Conte to unveil cabinet list

ROME: Italy’s premier-designate Giuseppe Conte said Sunday he would present his new coalition cabinet by midweek at the latest, as he races to resolve the political crisis in the eurozone’s third largest economy. “At the start of next week — not Monday, but Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest —

Asian markets mostly down as China-US tariffs kick in

HONG KONG: Most Asian markets fell yesterday as fresh Chinese and US tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars kicked in, though Donald Trump reiterated that the two sides were still due to hold talks this month. Hong Kong was weighed down by another weekend of violence, fuelling

Serena defies ankle scare as Barty, Pliskova fall

NEW YORK: Serena Williams overcame an injury scare to maintain her pursuit of a recordtying 2 4 t h Grand Slam singles title at the US Open on Sunday while Roland Garros champion Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova crashed out in the last 16. Williams, a six-time US Open winner,

Lawmaker grills official nominee for not giving birth

SEOUL: A South Korean lawmaker provoked outrage yesterday when he berated a female economics professor nominated as the country’s antitrust chief for not “fulfilling her duty to the nation” by having a child. Despite its economic advances, South Korean society remains highly patriarchal and is facing a demographic crisis with

Wawrinka advances as Federer rolls on

NEW YORK: Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic retired from his US Open match Sunday after dropping the first two sets to Stan Wawrinka, sending the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion into the quarter-finals. Djokovic, who won four of the past five Slam crowns and 16 overall, was in pain from