Saturday, 27 December 2025

Author: AFP

EU increase pressure on Russia over MH17

BRUSSELS: The EU piled fresh pressure on Russia on Thursday, extending punishing economic sanctions and demanding Moscow cooperate with a Dutch probe into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 that led to charges against four men. The bloc’s 28 leaders also served the Kremlin with a tough warning over

Guatemala to audit election returns

GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemala will audit election returns after fraud allegations in the wake of last Sunday’s presidential and legislative elections, the country’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) announced Thursday. TSE president Julio Solorzano told journalists in the Central American country that he had ordered an audit of certified returns from each

Erdogan in lose-lose situation after vote

ANKARA: Voters in Istanbul will take part in a re-run of the mayoral election tomorrow after a vote in March was annulled over alleged irregularities. Local elections around Turkey on March 31 showed the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remained the most popular overall, but it suffered a shock

Spain’s infamous abuse case draws to a close

MADRID: Spain’s Supreme Court was set to examine a case yesterday so controversial it sparked mass protests after five men accused of gang-raping a woman were convicted of the lesser crime of sexual abuse. The country’s top court will look at the crux issue at the heart of the case:

Gold tops $1,400 on global worries

HONG KONG: Gold prices broke $1,400 an ounce to hit a near-six-year high yesterday as the weaker dollar, economic concerns and geopolitical tensions saw investors pile into the safe-haven commodity. Demand surged after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday indicated it would likely cut interest rates soon — for the first

Cech returns as technical advisor

LONDON: Petr Cech (pic) will return to Chelsea in an advisory role after retiring from his duties as a goalkeeper last month, aged 37. Cech will perform an intermediary role between the club’s new manager and director Marina Granovskaia, which had been left vacant since Michael Emenalo quit as technical

USA advance with Sweden win

LE HAVRE: The United States made it a perfect three wins out of three at the Women’s World Cup on Thursday by beating Sweden 2-0 to top Group F, while Ajara Nchout fired Cameroon into the last 16 with a last-gasp winner. The Americans will continue their bid to defend

VAR steals headlines at women’s World Cup

PARIS: While Fifa rejoice at global television viewing figures for the women’s World Cup, there have been too many empty seats inside stadiums and on the field VAR is stealing headlines. The latest came in the wake of the retaken penalty for Argentina that knocked out Scotland on Wednesday. That

Japan, Uruguay draw 2-2

PORTO ALEGRE: Two goals from Koji Miyoshi helped Japan secure a hard-earned point in a 2-2 draw with Uruguay at the Copa America on Thursday. Miyoshi twice fired Japan into the lead only for Uruguay to level through a controversial penalty from Luis Suarez and a second-half header from Jose Gimenez. The

Nigeria coach Rohr wants Iwobi to score more

JOHANNESBURG: Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr is banking on Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi for goals when they face debutants Burundi on Saturday in the Africa Cup of Nations Group B opener in Egypt.    “Although only 23, Alex is an experienced international and I want to see him scoring more regularly