Graet no longer has the necessary legitimacy to represent French football. The 81-year-old is under investigation for sexual harassment. He was forced to resign earlier this month. Noel Le Graet, the scandal-plagued head of the French Football Federation under investigation for sexual harassment, “no longer has the requisite legitimacy to administer and represent French football,” … Read more
Turkish police on Sunday forcibly stops Pride march in Istanbul. The governor’s office had banned the march around Taksim Square. Police detained protesters, loading them into buses. Turkish police on Sunday forcibly intervened in a Pride march in Istanbul, detaining more than 150 demonstrators and an AFP photographer, AFP journalists on the ground and an … Read more
Mercedes-Benz Group AG will recall almost a million vehicles worldwide because of potential problems with the braking system. Affected cars were built between 2004 and 2015 and belong to ML and GL sports utility vehicle series as well as R-Class luxury minivans. A “particularly strong or hard” braking maneuver could cause mechanical damage to the … Read more
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan said that the club has gathered almost 5000 complaints from its fans regarding the mayhem on the night of the Champions League Final between The Reds and Real Madrid. Police used tear gas and pepper spray on the fans waiting in long lines at the Stade de France to witness the … Read more
Angella Okutoyi’s journey to Roland Garros’ red clay courts has been long and arduous, but the 18-year-old Kenyan has no doubts about her objective. “The French Open is the big stage,” she told AFP. “My goal is to do better than I did in Australia… and if I can win the tournament why not?” High … Read more
With their first Thomas Cup victory in Bangkok last week, India’s badminton squad reached new heights, even putting cricket in the shade, leaving former players optimistic that the sport may “grow on this achievement.” The men’s team defeated badminton’s equivalent of tennis’ Davis Cup, beating Malaysia, Denmark, and then 14-time winners Indonesia. Vimal Kumar, the … Read more
Following in the footsteps of Europe, a new rule permitting Brazilian football clubs to operate as corporations has opened the door for foreign investors to buy teams in the spiritual birthplace of the “beautiful game.” The regulation, which was passed last year, could help struggling Brazilian clubs turn their fortunes around. Brazilian clubs have begun … Read more
The iPod, a pocket-sized music player, sold tens of millions of devices per year when it was at its peak. By AFP May 11, 2022 In this undated photo, a person is holding an iPod. — AFP/File In this undated photo, a person is holding an iPod. — AFP/File PARIS: At its peak, the iPod, … Read more
BOGOTA: While the Colombian government fumes over being listed as a “hunger hotspot” by UN agencies, Heidy Garzon, a single mother of nine, worries where her family’s next meal will come from. “We don’t know what we’re going to eat tonight,” Garzon told AFP in a shantytown neighbourhood of Ciudad Bolivar in the south of Bogota, two … Read more
OTTAWA: Recent allegations that Pegasus spyware was used against three Polish government opponents are likely the “tip of the iceberg,” said a cyber expert Wednesday who helped identify the phone taps. Evidence of the hacking, which has become a major scandal in Poland, was reported by the Canada-based cyber-security watchdog Citizen Lab. “We think this … Read more
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he wanted “constructive” ties with Germany’s new leader Olaf Scholz and thanked the outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. “I look forward to establishing constructive dialogue with you and joint work on pressing matters on the bilateral and international agenda,” Putin said in a congratulatory telegram to Scholz, the Kremlin said. … Read more
SINAY, Lebanon: At 28, Thurayya left behind the Beirut neighbourhood where she was born and moved to the family farm, not because of environmental concerns but forced there by Lebanon’s bruising crises. “Living in the city has become very miserable,” she told AFP from the lush south Lebanon farmland planted with avocado trees that is now … Read more
BEIJING: Manufacturing activity in China edged up in November on the back of an easing in power shortages and a drop in some raw material costs, official data showed on Tuesday. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a key gauge of manufacturing activity — in the world’s second-biggest economy rose to 50.1, returning above the … Read more
PARIS: Whether it is the heating bill, pump prices or making the weekly run to the supermarket, consumers are having to dig deeper and deeper into family budgets. Inflation is complicating the recovery of individual consumers from the pandemic and putting the recovery of the global economy at risk. What does the data say? Inflation figures … Read more
WASHINGTON: A consortium of US states announced a joint probe Thursday of Instagram’s parent company Meta for promoting the app to children despite allegedly knowing its potential for harm, in fresh regulatory trouble for the scandal-hit network. The social media giant is battling one of its most serious reputational crises yet after a whistleblower leaked … Read more
DUBAI: Pakistan notched up their first ever win against India in the Twenty20 World Cup with a crushing 10-wicket victory in Dubai. AFP Sport takes a look at three things we learned from the one-sided contest of the Super 12s stage. Afridi’s new-ball magic Shaheen Shah Afridi justified his captain’s decision to field first with … Read more
KABUL: The Taliban struck several journalists to prevent media coverage of a women’s rights protest in Kabul on Thursday. A group of about 20 women marched from near the ministry of education to the ministry of finance in the Afghan capital. Wearing colourful headscarves they chanted slogans including: “Don’t politicise education”, as traffic drove by … Read more
DUBAI: Rashid Khan insists his mind is occupied by the World Cup and not wedding bells as the leg-spin wizard looks to inspire Afghanistan at the Twenty20 global showpiece. Still only 23, Rashid is key to his nation’s hopes of a first world title and a potential triumph which would deliver a rare bout of … Read more
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday is set to launch an actress and a film director into space in a bid to best the United States to the first movie in orbit. If successful, the Russian crew will beat a Hollywood project that was announced earlier this year by “Mission Impossible” star Tom Cruise together with NASA … Read more
KATHMANDU: Nepal has restarted visas on arrival for vaccinated tourists as South Asian nations attempt to revive tourism businesses devastated after 18 months of the pandemic. A near travel shutdown has been in place in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for more than a year as successive waves of coronavirus took a deadly … Read more
The Afghan Taliban have sacked Hamid Shinwari, the Executive Director of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and has been replaced with a member of the Haqqani network, say reports. Shinwari put up a post on Facebook Monday in which he said he had been asked by Anas Haqqani, a senior member of the Taliban, that … Read more
Main European stock markets dropped in opening deals on Monday after a spiteful selloff in Asia, as doubts raised over a likely downfall of debt-laden property giant China Evergrande. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index lost 1.0% to 6,894.33 points, associated with Friday’s closing level. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 40 fell 1.9% to 15,202.28 on … Read more
With no masks in sight, buzzing offices and concerts drawing tens of thousands, Denmark on Friday ditches vaccine passports in nightclubs, ending its last Covid curb. The vaccine passports were introduced in March 2021 when Copenhagen slowly started easing restrictions. They were abolished at all venues on September 1, except in nightclubs, where they will … Read more
Pakistan’s rising star athlete Arshad Nadeem displayed stellar performance at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, which has won everyone’s hearts. Before heading for the Games, Arshad had decided not to take part in the event due to his arm pain, revealed by Dr. Asad Abbas. While talking to the media, Dr. Asad said that Arshad had … Read more
PARIS: China pledged to provide two billion vaccine doses this year to combat surging infections. According to an AFP count, the number of Covid-19 infections globally reached 200 million on Thursday. The highly contagious strain is fueling a rebound in the epidemic, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, where Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan continued to see … Read more
France’s famous Eiffel Tower will be open to tourists from today. #JeudiPhoto | 🤩 Retour sur le feu d’artifice du #14Juillet tiré depuis @LaTourEiffel ! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/Jz4cghPR9j — Paris (@Paris) July 15, 2021 According to the news agency, AFP, 13,000 people will be allowed to visit the Eiffel Tower daily as a precautionary social distancing … Read more
Kashmiri Reporter Ahmer Khan was awarded 2019 Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize. Kashmiri Reporter Ahmer Khan was honoured for his on the ground coverage in India-controlled Kashmir during Delhi’s lockdown of the region, with his video and written reports vividly illustrating the impact on locals during lockdown. The award, named after one of AFP’s finest … Read more
