Saturday, 17 January 2026

Author: AFP

Ogier battles Lappi for Rally of Turkey

MARMARIS (Turkey): French seven-time world champion Sebastien Ogier has a wafer thin 0.2sec lead over Finn Esapekka Lappi with just four specials remaining of the Rally of Turkey. The pair have a comfortable margin of 1min 17sec over third-placed Andreas Mikkelsen of Hyundai. Thierry Neuville of Hyundai had been going

Roglic assures title after another ‘good day’

ALTO DE GREDOS (Espagne): Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic assured victory in the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) on Saturday and needs only to complete the short ceremonial run to Madrid on Sunday to lift his first Grand Tour after another “good day” in the saddle. The 29-year Jumbo Visma rider,

Amid talk of revamp, Euro’s giants begin assault

PARIS: While the battle for the Champions League of the future is fought behind the scenes, this week the continent’s biggest clubs begin their latest quest for European glory with holders Liverpool dreaming of reaching another final in Istanbul. The current 32-team group stage format leading to a knockout round

City stunned by Norwich

LONDON: Manchester City succumbed to a first Premier League defeat since January in stunning fashion to newly-promoted Norwich 3-2 on Saturday, as Liverpool opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table by beating Newcastle 3-1. Tottenham and Chelsea bounced back to form with comprehensive wins over Crystal

US banks to lower interest rates

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump’s attacks on the US Federal Reserve make financial markets cringe, but his demand for zero interest rates makes banks sweat. As the Fed reverses course and is poised to cut the benchmark lending rate a second time, large US banks have signaled they expect a

Siemens, Orascom to rebuild power plant

BAGHDAD: Iraq on Saturday signed a $1.3 billion deal with German industrial conglomerate Siemens and Egypt’s Orascom Construction to rebuild a major power plant complex in the ravaged city of Baiji, north of Baghdad. The new deal is part of a broader energy road map that Iraq signed with Siemens

Alcoholic seltzer craze sweeps US

NEW YORK: Health-conscious American millennials have found their drink of choice: alcoholic carbonated water that is lower in calories and carbs than beer and wine. A hard seltzer craze is sweeping the United States as Generations Y and Z pursue healthier lifestyles, influenced by viral trends on Instagram and YouTube.

Wheels come off India’s auto sector

NEW DELHI: When India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that a preference by millennials for ride-hailing apps was contributing to a painful slump in car sales, it sparked an online backlash from furious youngsters. They started a campaign using ironic hashtags such as #BoycottMillennials and #SayItLikeNirmalaTai last week to push

Bolivia gears up for lithium demand

SALAR DE UYUNI: Over 3,600 meters above sea level on the blinding white plain of the world’s largest salt flat, landlocked Bolivia is dramatically ramping up production of lithium to cope with soaring global demand for the prized electric-battery metal. Bolivia, among the poorest countries in South America, sits on

Rebel Saudi women shun abaya robe

RIYADH: Her high heels clacking on marble tiles, a defiant Saudi woman turned heads and drew gasps as she strutted through a Riyadh mall — without a body-shrouding abaya. The billowy over-garment, usually all-black, is customary public wear for women in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom, where it is widely seen