WELLINGTON: The All Blacks play their final World Cup warm-up against Tonga today with coach Steve Hansen looking for a defence-busting performance from the reigning champions. Hansen is expecting opponents in Japan to employ rush defence in a bid to smother the All Blacks’ attack and derail the New Zealanders’
NEW YORK: Grigor Dimitrov rallied for a shocking upset of 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at the US Open on Tuesday, the lowest-ranked New York semi-finalist in 28 years advancing to face Daniil Medvedev. The 78th-ranked Bulgarian, who had dropped all seven prior meetings with Federer, made a dramatic
SYDNEY: Injury-plagued Australian great David Pocock announced Friday he will retire from international rugby at the end of the World Cup. The 31-year-old flanker called time on his Super Rugby career in May, but had not said whether he planned to continue with the Wallabies after the tournament in Japan.
From matcha ice cream to cake and chocolate, producers of traditional Japanese green tea are capitalising on growing global interest in its flavour — even as demand for the drink declines at home. At Shigehiko Suzuki’s tea shop in central Japan, adorned with a traditional “noren” drape, the customers are
Vivek Kishore and Vishwa Srivastava hit it off soon after meeting at a cafe, little knowing what lay in store for them as a gay couple in India where homosexuality was a criminal offence until a year ago. The couple’s worst fears came true when they were slapped, abused and
KABUL: The Taliban killed at least 10 people in a fresh bombing in Kabul yesterday, yet another horrific attack on the Afghan capital as the US and the insurgents negotiate a deal to see American troops leave the country. The car bomb blast shook Shash Darak, a heavily fortified area
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s leader yesterday urged prodemocracy protesters to end their demonstrations after her surprise decision to bow to one of their key demands was condemned as too little, too late. Carrie Lam, the city’s proBeijing chief executive, surprised many on Wednesday when after three months of rallies she
MUMBAI: Three people were killed and dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed after severe flooding in India’s financial hub Mumbai, with authorities warning of more heavy monsoon rains yesterday. Mumbai — home to 20 million people — has been hit by torrential downpours over the past two months amid
SEOUL: A group of North Korean waitresses who “defected” to Seoul in 2016 were actually abducted by the South, a fact-finding team of international lawyers has concluded after a visit to Pyongyang. The case has long been controversial, with Pyongyang saying the 12 women were kidnapped from a North Korean
Kuching FA coach Ideris Untung is expected to field his best first eleven when they square off with DDM FC at the Sarawak Stadium here on Saturday night. This follows the return of his two top players, Sufizal Ismail and Dzulazlan Ibrahim who are eligible to play on Saturday after
