Airbus is set to pay a massive 3.6 billion euros (USD 4 billion) in fines to Britain, France and the US to settle corruption inquiries sparked by suspicious equipment sales, according to a deal approved by a French court Friday.
Airbus will pay 2.1 billion euros in to French authorities, as well as 984 million euros in Britain and 526 million euros in the US.
The European aerospace giant said this week that it had already set aside the money, while awaiting court approval of the deal.
"These agreements are made in the context of investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption, as well as compliance with the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations," Airbus said on Tuesday.
Similar court hearings to approve the deal are expected in London and Washington later on Friday.
The fines are expected to weigh heavily on the company's 2019 earnings, set to be released on February 13.
But the settlement allows Airbus to avoid costly litigation over suspected corruption that emerged 

Airbus agrees to pay 3.6 billion euros to settle corruption probes

PTI Automatic

Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis frustrated Zimbabwe's hopes of a series-levelling win at the Harare Sports Club Ground with a stubborn 116 not out as the second Test petered out to a draw on Friday.
Sri Lanka's 10-wicket win in the first Test last week at the same venue meant they won the series 1-0.
Zimbabwe faced just one ball in the morning which captain Sean Williams hit for six to bring up his half-century. He immediately declared setting Sri Lanka a challenging target of 361.
They lost the wickets of Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando for 47 and Angelo Mathews but Mendis' seventh Test century guided them through to the safety of a draw.
His 116 came off 233 balls and included 13 fours a six as Sri Lanka finished on 205 for three, still 156 runs short of victory.
"Zimbabwe showed a lot of character," said Sri Lanka captain Karunaratne.
"It is hard to come back after losing the first Test but they played good cricket. We had to stay positive and bat the whole day."
- Positive ...

Mendis century defies Zimbabwe as Sri Lanka win series

New American sanctions against Iran's nuclear programme will have "no effect", Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Friday.
Washington announced new sanctions on Thursday against the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran and its head Ali Akbar Salehi.
Brian Hook, the US pointman on Iran, accused them of playing "a big role in Iran breaching its key nuclear commitments" and exceeding "the limits on its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels".
In a statement, Mousavi said "Mr Salehi is an eminent scientific and political figure" and sanctions against him showed the "despair" of the United States.
The sanctions would have "no impact on the progress of the peaceful nuclear programme of the Islamic republic of Iran," Mousavi added.
Salehi holds a doctorate of nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and was minister of foreign affairs from 2010 to 2013 before becoming Iran's atomic energy chief.
Since May 2019, Iran has ...

Iran says new US sanctions will have 'no effect'

ThyssenKrupp. Photo: Reuters.

According to the Financial Times, Thyssenkrupp has attracted at least four bids for its crown jewel, including from Finnish lift maker Kone

Crisis-hit Thyssenkrupp mulls sale of elevators units worth 15 billion euro

Press Trust of India

Tireless Dominic Thiem came from a set down to outlast German Alexander Zverev and make his first Australian Open final Friday, booking a showdown with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, a man he called the "king".
The 26-year-old fifth seed, the first player from Austria ever to reach the Melbourne decider, battled past seventh-ranked Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on a sweltering evening.
"It was an unreal match, two tie-breakers, so tough and so close. It was almost impossible to break him," said Thiem.
"Being in the Australian Open final is unreal. What a start to the season for me."
Defending champion Djokovic awaits him after the second seed ended Roger Federer's dreams in straight sets Thursday to make his eighth Melbourne Park final.
"He's the king of Australia," Thiem said of the Serb.
Thiem has his work cut out against the Serb who is on a 12-match unbeaten streak this season and has won all seven of the Australian Open deciders he has contested.
And if Djokovic ...

Thiem storms into final with 'king of Australia' Djokovic

Alexander Zverev believes Dominic Thiem is playing well enough to trouble seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final after his victory over four tough sets on Friday.
Zverev, the seventh seed, took the first set against fifth-ranked Thiem but the Austrian's supreme fitness and greater experience helped him win 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4).
Zverev, 22, who was gunning to became the youngest man in a Grand Slam final since Andy Murray in Melbourne in 2010, said two-time French Open finalist Thiem was playing some of his best tennis.
"I think he has a chance in the finals, if he's physically fine. He did play a lot of long matches. But, yeah, we'll see," he said.
"He's playing the best tennis of his life. I think he's playing much better than he played in London (at the ATP Finals), to be honest."
Thiem beat Zverev in the last four at the season-ending ATP Finals, only to lose to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the title match.
Thiem knocked out Rafael Nadal in the ...

Zverev backs Thiem to trouble Djokovic in Australian final

Indonesia has deported an American journalist working for a website that reported on sensitive environmental issues in the Southeast Asian archipelago over an alleged visa violation, his employer said Friday.
Philip Jacobson, 30, was initially detained last month after attending a hearing in Borneo involving the local parliament and the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, Indonesia's largest indigenous rights advocacy group.
He was later arrested and told he faced up to five years in prison for visiting the country with the wrong visa in a case that drew international headlines.
Jacobson had travelled to Indonesia on a business visa, according to his employer Mongabay.
On Friday, Mongabay said Jacobson had been sent to the capital Jakarta and was then put on a flight to the United States.
"Before departure, he was informed that the charges against him had been formally dropped," the website said, adding that Jacobson had been "temporarily blacklisted" by the ...

Indonesia deports US journalist after alleged visa violation: employer

China is decisively working to control the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus, its ambassador in Geneva said Friday, insisting there was no need for countries impose "excessive measures" like border closures.
"There is no need for unnecessary panic, and no need for excessive measures," Ambassador Chen Xu told reporters in Geneva.

China ambassador says no need for 'unnecessary panic' over virus

China's delayed response to the discovery of a new coronavirus infection worsened the epidemic, the most senior official from the city at the centre of the outbreak said Friday.
"Right now I'm in a state of guilt, remorse and self-reproach," said Ma Guoqiang, the municipal Communist Party secretary for Wuhan.
"If strict control measures had been taken earlier, the result would have been better than now," he told an interview with state broadcaster CCTV.

Chinese official says slow response made virus epidemic worse

Growth in the eurozone slowed sharply in 2019, official data showed Friday, after a turbulent year of Brexit uncertainty and trade spats with US President Donald Trump.
On the day that Britain finally quits the EU, the bloc's official statistics agency announced the 19-member single currency zone grew 1.2 percent over the year, down from 1.8 percent in 2018 and well off the 2.7 percent seen in 2017.
The figures come a week after European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde gave an upbeat assessment of the coming risks to the eurozone, saying uncertainty around international trade was beginning to clear thanks to an orderly Brexit and a US-China trade truce.
Growth in the fourth quarter was just 0.1 percent, slowed by contraction of 0.1 percent in France and 0.3 percent in Italy, but Bert Colijn, an economist with ING bank, said some optimism was justified.
"With a bottoming out of manufacturing, modest fiscal improvements and some reversal of the inventory drawdowns, the base ...

Eurozone growth slows sharply to 1.2% in 2019

The World Health Organisation cautioned Friday that closing borders was probably ineffective in halting the transmission of the deadly novel coronavirus from China and could even accelerate its spread.
If you close official border crossings, you can "lose track of people and cannot monitor (their movement) anymore", WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.
The UN health agency on Thursday declared the outbreak a global health emergency, but said it was not recommending any international trade or travel restrictions and urged the numerous countries already taking such measures to reconsider.
But with the disease -- which has killed 213 people and infected nearly 10,000 in China -- spreading to more than 20 nations, governments, businesses and worried people around the world were taking matters into their own hands.
Several countries have halted cross-border traffic from China or banned entry from travellers from Wuhan, the city in central Hubei province where the ...

Closing borders could allow China virus to spread faster: WHO

Dominic Thiem said a burst of 'Sweet Caroline' during a stadium lights malfunction helped calm his nerves as he fought back from a set down to reach the Australian Open final on Friday.
The Austrian fifth seed was 0-1 down in the third set to Alexander Zverev when the semi-final was halted for nine minutes to fix a light which had gone out behind the baseline.
But Thiem said the Neil Diamond classic, played to entertain the crowd during the delay, reminded him of good times on skiing holidays with friends.
"I like this song," he said.
"I felt like I was in Austria on skiing holidays, because that's where they play that song all the time.
"That loosened me up a bit."
Thiem went on to win the third and fourth sets for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) victory and a place in his first Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic.

'Sweet Caroline' brings good times for Thiem after lights hitch

Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, the first to break the mythic two-hour mark, and Vivian Cheruiyot will lead the Kenyan marathon team for the Tokyo Olympics in August.
Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jackson Tuwei said the country expected a drug-free Olympics and hoped the selected athletes will run clean.
"In the last Olympic Games in Rio our female athlete who won the women's marathon gold medal was a shame for us," said Tuwei, in reference to Jemima Sumgong who tested positive for EPO and was banned for eight years.
Over 40 Kenyan athletes have been banned since January 2019 for doping offences.
The Olympic women's and men's marathon races will be held in the Japanese city of Sapporo on August 8 and 10.
Kipchoge, 35, made history in October when he ran the marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles) in 1hr 59min 40.2sec in a carefully-choreographed attempt in Austria.
The Olympic champion, who also holds the official world record of 2:01;39, won this year's ...

Kipchoge headlines Kenyan team for Olympic marathon

FIFA has announced the launch of what it has called a "groundbreaking talent development programme" with the aim of reducing the gap between the world's leading football nations and the rest.
The programme was launched by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is now working as the head of global development at world football's governing body.
"We are launching the FIFA Talent Development Programme to ensure that every talent gets a chance," said Wenger in Doha, where he has been attending a five-day FIFA-run workshop.
"The difference in the level of play between Europe and the rest of the world has become bigger," added the Frenchman.
"In many countries, the focus of the association is mainly on the senior national team, but this national team is always the consequence of football development across the country.
"We need more youth competitions to identify talent, offer them a pathway and develop coaching."
The FIFA programme will allow all 211 member associations "to benefit from 

Wenger launches FIFA talent development programme

On the sun-drenched eastern coast of Spain, British retirees, workers and small business owners are bracing for an uncertain future after Britain leaves the European Union on Friday.
"It is worrying what happens now," said Karen Watling, 73, who moved to the Orihuela Costa in Alicante province with her husband after she retired from her teaching job 17 years ago.
Like many other British retirees in the region, dubbed "Little Britain" because of its huge British population, she is relieved that those already living legally in Spain have been guaranteed access to the public healthcare system and the right to stay after Brexit.
But she worries Brexit will hurt the British economy and further erode the value of the pound, which has slumped since the June 2016 vote to leave the
European Union, cutting her pension once it is converted to euros.  "We have really lost a fair bit of money over the past three years and that could get better, that could get worse. We really don't know," said ...

Spain's 'Little Britain' braces for Brexit

Barcelona have signed promising Portuguese forward Francisco Trincao from Braga in a deal worth 31 million euros, the La Liga club announced on Friday.
In a statement the Spanish champions said that Trincao, 20, will join Barca on July 1 and has signed a five-year contract, which includes a buy-out clause of 500 million euros.
"FC Barcelona and SC Braga have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Francisco Trincao," the statement read.
"The young Portuguese forward can play anywhere up front although he usually features on the wing, on either flank despite being left footed."
Barca described Trincao as "quick and technically gifted", with "the ability to take defenders on with his dribbling skills".
Trincao began his career in the youth teams of Vianense and Porto before signing for Braga, where he made his senior debut in December 2018. He went on to play 29 times for the Portugese club and scored three goals.
Barcelona director Guillermo Amor confirmed on Thursday the ..

Barca sign Braga young gun Trincao

An alternative proposal by Washington on how to tax digital giants worldwide has been met with "concern" by several nations, the OECD group of free-market economies said Friday.
The push for a so-called "safe harbour" option would essentially render compliance optional, analysts say, and jeopardise the chances of reaching a comprehensive deal by the end of this year.
"The safe harbour (mechanism) would mean that the companies would elect to be in the system or not," Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD official overseeing the talks, told journalists after the latest talks this week by 137 nations negotiating the new accord.
"A large number of countries" came out against the plan, he added, declining to identify them by name.
The digital tax has emerged as a key bone of contention between the US and France in particular, after Paris imposed its own tax on US digital giants such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple last year.
Washington has slammed the move as discriminatory, but both sides ...

OECD warns of 'concerns' over US move on digital tax

Stock markets struggled Friday after the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency over China's spreading deadly virus.
With hours to go until Britain finally leaves the European Union, the London stock market sank 0.8 per cent in late morning deals as a relief rally for the pound hurt exporters.
Frankfurt and Paris shed 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively around midday, after Asia was also gripped by virus worries in a volatile end to the week.
The novel coronavirus epidemic, which originated in the central Chinese city Wuhan, has so far killed 213 people and spread to at least 19 countries including two cases declared on Friday in Britain.
China's National Health Commission meanwhile said nearly 10,000 people have been infected.
"Coronavirus is currently spreading six times faster than SARS.
Unless a cure is found, this could push a fragile world economic recovery into reverse," warned Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman at British research group the Centre 

Markets struggle after WHO declares virus emergency

Lawyers for three Russian sisters who killed their father after years of beatings and sexual abuse said Friday that prosecutors have asked that murder charges be dropped because they acted in self-defence.
Krestina, Angelina and Maria Khachaturyan together stabbed their father Mikhail to death in July 2018 at their home in Moscow after he subjected them to rape and abuse and prevented them from attending school.
They were 19, 18 and 17 at the time.
The high-profile case sparked rallies in their support as horrifying details of their lives emerged.
Last month the Investigative Committee said it was recommending charges of premeditated murder with a maximum jail term of 20 years against the two older sisters, Krestina and Angelina, despite the abuse.
The probe established that the sisters attacked their father with a knife and hammer.
Investigators ruled that the youngest sister, Maria, was mentally disturbed and could not be sent to prison but would serve time in a secure psychiatric ..

Russia dropping case against sisters who killed abusive dad: lawyer

Palestinians are in a "state of shock" over a US Middle East peace plan, the head of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday, voicing fears of a surge in violence.
"We certainly have serious concerns that it will result in an escalation in clashes and in violence," said Christian Saunders, acting head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
His comments came after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday released the  plan, which was seen as heavily biased towards Israel and  angrily rejected by Palestinians.
It recognises Israeli sovereignty over most of its West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, as well as an undivided Jerusalem.
The plan also backs a Palestinian state with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem but says the Palestinian leadership must recognise Israel as a Jewish homeland and agree to a demilitarised state.
Trump presented the long-awaited proposals alongside close ally Israeli Prime Minister ...

UN agency fears 'escalation in clashes' after Trump plan

A Thai taxi driver has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, health officials said Friday, in the kingdom's first case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly sickness which has sparked a global health alert.
The finding makes Thailand only the sixth country alongside China, Germany, Japan, France and the US with confirmed domestic infections.
It also comes as the Chinese death toll topped 200 on Friday and warnings intensified over the potential for the SARS-like virus to spread through countries with less well maintained public health systems.
"Today (Friday) there are five more patients with coronavirus, four are Chinese who came in from Wuhan," Sukhum Kanjanapimai, a Health Ministry official told reporters.
"The fifth was a Thai national - a taxi driver - who hasn't travelled to China... but may have had contact with Chinese tourists."
He stopped driving after falling ill "so passengers shouldn't be worried," Sukhum said, adding 13 people who had close contact with the taxi ...

AFP

AFP

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