ZURICH: Did banking giant UBS make “the deal of the century” when it bought one of the world’s biggest banks for a pittance as it teetered on the edge of the abyss? Switzerland’s largest bank was in March strong-armed by Swiss authorities into a $3.25-billion takeover of Credit Suisse, to
DERNA (Libya): Aid groups warned of growing risk posed by the spread of disease that could compound the humanitarian crisis in Libya, as hopes dwindled Saturday of finding more survivors days after deadly flooding. Sunday’s flood submerged the port city of Derna, washing thousands of people and homes out to
PARIS: The UN’s cultural organisation on Friday placed World Heritage Sites in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv on its “in danger” list, saying they are at risk from the war sparked by Russia’s invasion. The decision, taken at UNESCO’s annual world heritage committee meeting in Riyadh, is a
PARIS: Novak Djokovic returned to the court just five days after his historic US Open title triumph to lead Serbia into the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday, while Andy Murray helped Britain edge past Switzerland. World number one Djokovic eased to a 6-3, 6-4 success against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to
BEIJING: Chinese retail sales jumped last month, data showed on Friday, beating expectations and fuelling hopes that the country’s army of consumers are returning to help kickstart the world’s number two economy after an extended period of weakness. The data, which also revealed a better-than-expected lift in industrial output, is
WASHINGTON: A golden egg, or an alien, on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean? American scientists have discovered a mysterious domeshaped specimen deep on the Alaskan seafloor, but nobody knows for sure what it is. Ocean researchers using a remotely operated survey vehicle were amazed last week when they spotted
MARRAKESH (Morocco): A powerful earthquake that shook Morocco killed more than 600 people, officials said Saturday, sending terrified residents fleeing their homes in the middle of the night. The 6.8-magnitude quake struck a mountainous area 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of tourist hotspot Marrakesh at 11:11 pm (2211 GMT) Friday,
NEW DELHI: The African Union joined the Group of 20 leading economies at its summit on Saturday, giving the continent broader representation in the often-divided bloc as host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to portray his country as a voice for the Global South. “With everyone’s approval, I request
PARIS: Global rice prices reached a 15-year high in August after top exporter India banned some overseas sales of the grain, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said Friday. While global food prices eased in August, those of rice rose 9.8 per cent compared to the previous month, “reflecting trade disruptions
NETFLIX has spent years trying to adapt Japanese manga and anime into liveaction TV with little success, but its latest effort, “One Piece”, may finally have cracked the code. The US streaming giant’s latest show, based on the most famous manga comic of them all, was watched more than 18
