LOS ANGELES: The Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets cruised towards the NBA playoff conference semi-finals on Wednesday as Kyrie Irving led a late Boston fightback in a dramatic win over Indiana. In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo gave a commanding display as the Bucks surged into a 2-0 series lead against the
SYDNEY: A push to sack Israel Folau over his anti-gay comments could pose problems for Rugby Australia and its boss Raelene Castle, with expensive consequences at stake for both sides. The devoutly Christian player has opted to challenge a decision to terminate his multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract with the Wallabies and
BORDEAUX: An Iranian woman, who became the country’s first female boxer to win an international fight, intends to stay in France, her spokesperson said Wednesday, adding an arrest warrant had been issued against her in Iran. Sadaf Khadem and her trainer Mahyar Monshipour are currently in the French city of
LOS ANGELES: Jarrell Miller was denied a licence to box by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) over a failed drug test on Wednesday, scuppering his planned June 1 bout with world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. In a statement quoted by US media outlets, the NYSAC said Miller was
MUMBAI: Jet Airways shares plunged more than 32 percent on Thursday, hours after the Indian carrier’s final flight landed following a decision to ground its entire fleet. The Mumbai-based carrier is on the edge of bankruptcy and has failed to secure emergency funding from banks, forcing it to suspend all
ZURICH: Swiss food giant Nestle said Thursday its sales have climbed, boosted by recent acquisitions including the right to market Starbucks coffee products in supermarkets around the world. Despite the overall climate of stagnant consumer spending in industrialised countries and a slowdown in growth in emerging markets, Nestle reported a
SHANGHAI: Amazon plans to close down its online retail operations that cater to consumers in China in an apparent admission of defeat to local e-commerce rivals such as Alibaba and JD.com, a report said on Thursday. The US e-commerce pioneer will maintain other operations in China such as Amazon Web
LISBON: Fuel haulers in Portugal lifted on Thursday a strike that caused long lines at petrol stations days before a long holiday weekend following mediation by the government. “After three difficult days of uncertainty and even insecurity the situation should progressively return to normal,” said Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance minister Asad Umar has stepped down from cabinet, he announced Thursday, ahead of securing a crucial bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund. Umar, one of cricketer-turned-premier Imran Khan’s most powerful ministers, had been entrusted with the task of negotiating the long-delayed bailout as Pakistan’s cash-strapped economy
BRUSSELS: Eurozone business growth was at its lowest level since 2014, a closely watched survey said on Thursday, dragged down by stagnation in France and a sluggish Germany. Beset by looming political risks such as Brexit and weaker global growth, the eurozone is struggling to keep the economy growing at
