Author: AFP

Notre-Dame organ dusty but undamaged: Organist

Notre-Dame’s grand organ will be cleaned of dust but will probably not have to be taken apart after the inferno that ravaged the Paris cathedral, said the organist who was playing it when the blaze broke out on Thursday. Johann Vexo, who was performing for daily mass at the world-famous

Canada capital declares flooding state of emergency

OTTAWA (Canada): Ottawa’s mayor declared a state of emergency in the Canadian capital on Thursday in anticipation of rising flood waters and heavy rains. No homes have been evacuated, but authorities expect waters along the Ottawa River to rise above levels in 2017 that saw the worst floods in Eastern

City raise the bar, give Man U more misery

MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes his side have raised the bar in the Premier League after edging one point back ahead of Liverpool in a titanic title race with a 2-0 win at Manchester United on Wednesday. Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane struck for the visitors in 12

Atletico edge Valencia to delay Barca celebrations

MADRID: Atletico Madrid delayed Barcelona winning La Liga by a few days at least after Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann each scored in a 3-2 victory over Valencia on Wednesday. Defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano would have crowned Barca kings of Spain for a 26th time in their history, with

Lewandowski scores double to win thrilling semi-final for Bayern Munich

BERLIN: Bayern Munich will face RB Leipzig in the German Cup final next month after Robert Lewandowski fired them to a 3-2 win over a valiant Werder Bremen on Wednesday. Lewandowski scored twice in a highly entertaining last-four tie to reach the final for the 23rd time. Bremen were unfazed

Hamilton wary of rivals’ street smarts in Baku

BAKU: Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is expecting his main rivals to give him a tough time on the demanding streets of Baku at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The five-time world champion, who heads the embryonic 2019 title race by six points after three races, has struggled to master the

Nadal survives early scare in Barcelona

BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal survived an early scare at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday by coming from a set down to beat Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer and seal his place in the last 16. Nadal, who is attempting to win the tournament for a record 12th time, was made to work hard

Thailand’s Srisaket, Irishman Doheny defend boxing crowns

LOS ANGELES: Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (pic) and Australian-based Irishman T.J. Doheny risk their world boxing crowns today in a championship card from the Forum in Los Angeles. Srisaket puts his 20-fight win streak and the World Boxing Council super flyweight title on the line in a rematch against Mexico’s

London Marathon success would rival all my titles: Farah

LONDON: British athletics legend Mo Farah said on Wednesday winning the London Marathon would equate in terms of achievement with the four Olympic and six world track titles he won. The 36-year-old Somalia-born runner — who focussed on road racing after taking silver in the 5,000 metres final in London

Deutsche-Commerzbank merger talks collapse

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Germany’s two biggest lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank said Thursday they had called off talks on a possible merger, dashing Berlin’s hopes of creating a financial “national champion”. “After thorough analysis, we have concluded that this transaction would not have created sufficient benefits” to justify the risks