Author: AFP

Madonna kicks off tour

THREE-and-a-half months after she was hospitalised with a bacterial infection that forced the cancellation of her 40th anniversary “Celebration” tour, Madonna returns with the start of a 78-date tour. At 65, the singer looks set to put her health woes behind her with a six-month-long tour of Europe and North

Thousands flee north Gaza after Israel warning

GAZA CITY (Palestinian Territories): Thousands of Palestinians fled Saturday to southern Gaza seeking refuge after Israel warned them to evacuate before an expected ground offensive against Hamas in retaliation for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that nearly a week of fierce bombardment was “just

US astronaut gets used to Earth

HOUSTON: After spending more than a year in space, Frank Rubio now has to get used to that pesky thing Earthlings call gravity. “Walking hurts a little bit the first few days, the soles of your feet and lower back,” he said at a news conference Friday at NASA’s Johnson

Zelensky seeks defences for winter on visit to NATO

BRUSSELS: President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday to arm his country to survive the winter, on his first visit to the alliance’s headquarters since Russia’s all-out invasion. Zelensky made a plea for air defence, long-range missiles and ammunition in the face of fears that the Hamas attack on

Coach: Scotland game important

BARCELONA: Spain coach Luis de La Fuente said his team were not out for “revenge” against Scotland but victory would “almost” book La Roja’s place at Euro 2024. Scotland beat Spain 2-0 in March at Hampden Park in a qualifier for the tournament in Germany next summer, an early set-back

Alcaraz dumped out by Dimitrov

SHANGHAI: Grigor Dimitrov fought back to beat top seed Carlos Alcaraz in three sets and reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday in the latest upset at the Shanghai Masters. The 18th seed won 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 against an out-of-sorts Alcaraz as the Bulgarian steps up his pursuit of a first ATP

VAR decisions to be broadcast live

LONDON: Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham says the sport’s authorities may examine whether VAR decisions could be broadcast live. The Premier League was rocked by the recent VAR blunder that saw Liverpool’s Luis Diaz wrongly denied what would have been the opening goal in their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.

Blinken to stress support in Israel

JERUSALEM: Israel and Hamas traded more heavy fire on Thursday in the Gaza war that has killed thousands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited to stress strong solidarity but also urge restraint to protect Palestinian civilians. Israel’s army has hammered Hamas with thousands of strikes ahead of what

$9.5 billion of key metals in overlooked waste

PARIS: Consumers discard or possess disused electronic goods containing raw materials critical for the green energy transition and worth almost $10 billion (US$1 = RM4.725) every year, the United Nations said on Thursday. Toys, cables, electronic cigarettes, tools, electric toothbrushes, shavers, headphones and other domestic gadgets contain metals like lithium,

Israel battles Hamas, masses near Gaza

JERUSALEM: Israel battled Hamas fighters still holed up in southern towns Monday and massed tens of thousands of troops near the Gaza Strip after vowing to defeat the Palestinian militant group whose surprise attack the shocked nation has likened to 9/11. Stunned by the unprecedented assault on its territory, a