PARIS: Novak Djokovic beat Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday to set up a Paris Masters final against Canadian youngster Denis Shapovalov, as Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury. Top seed Djokovic saw off Dimitrov 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in the last four before Nadal, his rival for the
AUSTIN: Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of clinching his sixth drivers’ world championship with a stylish American triumph were rocked on Saturday when his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas grabbed a surprise pole position at the United States Grand Prix. Bottas, the only man who can delay Hamilton’s celebrations, kept alive his own
SHENZHEN (China): World number one Ashleigh Barty overcame the hitting power of Karolina Pliskova to set up a mouth-watering WTA Finals decider against defending champion Elina Svitolina although the courts being used for the $14 million showpiece were blasted as “terrible”. French Open champion Barty prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in
LONDON: British Airways owner IAG agreed yesterday to buy Spain’s Air Europa for 1.0 billion euros to expand routes to Latin America and the Caribbean, boosting Madrid as a key hub. The London-listed company said in a statement that it has signed a transaction agreement with Air Europa owner Globalia
LONDON: Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said yesterday that first-half net profit flattened on lower ticket prices, weak British demand, fierce competition elsewhere in Europe and a soaring fuel bill. The Dublin-based carrier, famed for promoting knock-down ticket prices, said in a results statement that profit after taxation was unchanged at
MANILA: The Philippines’ largest budget airline Cebu Air Inc has ordered 16 Airbus planes worth $4.8 billion, the company said yesterday, as it aims to expand carrying capacity with larger, more fuel-efficient jets. Cebu Air, commonly referred to as Cebu Pacific, said it sees the long-range A330neo jetliner as key
SYDNEY: Australia’s Westpac Group yesterday announced full-year profits had fallen 16 percent to just under A$6.8 billion ($4.7 billion), as the impact of a major banking industry scandal continues to bite. The Sydney-based bank, one of Australia’s four largest financial institutions, said a program to reimburse overcharged customers and an
A packed bus approaches Checkpoint Charlie, the Cold War’s most famous border crossing, as grim-faced East German guards whisper among themselves about whether to hold you for questioning. After a few heart-stopping minutes, you and your fellow passengers are free to pass into the smog, soot and shadowy intrigue of 1980s
In the space of 10 years, Karura has gone from a dangerous no man’s land to one of Nairobi’s safest and most popular destinations, a verdant refuge in a city that has long carried the unfortunate moniker “Nairobbery”. Karura then was the stuff of urban legend, a fearsome place invoked
TRIPOLI (Lebanon): Thousands of Lebanese flocked together in Tripoli Saturday, an AFP reporter said, to keep a protest movement alive in a northern city dubbed “the bride of the revolution”. Despite its reputation for conservatism, impoverished Tripoli has emerged as a festive nerve centre of anti-graft demonstrations across Lebanon since
