PARIS: Paris airport workers have called off a strike that would have disrupted travel just ahead of the Olympic Games after reaching a deal on bonuses, labour and management said on Tuesday. The deal “was finalised today between three representative unions and ADP management,” said the airport company, which is 50.6 per cent controlled by the French state. Unions had called for a stoppage on Wednesday to press for bigger Olympic bonuses and staff recruitment. They have now secured a “standardised bonus for every worker at ADP” as well as extras for those helping with Olympic delegations and their baggage,…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
PARIS: The mayor of the French capital Anne Hidalgo is set to take a long-awaited dip in the Seine on Wednesday to demonstrate the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics, her office said. Despite an investment of €1.4 billion to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway, the Seine has been causing suspense in the run-up to the opening of the Paris Games next week after repeatedly failing water quality tests. Only since the beginning of the month, with heavy rains finally giving way to drier weather, have samples shown the river to be ready for the…
NIMES: Belgian Jasper Philipsen won a bunch sprint on stage 16 of the Tour de France at Nimes on Tuesday while his green sprint points jersey rival Biniam Girmay fell in the final dash. Overnight leader Tadej Pogacar has a 3 minute 9 second advantage over defending champion Jonas Vingegaard while Remco Evenepoel remains third at 5min 19sec. Last year’s green jersey winners Philipsen and Girmay both have three stage wins each, but the Eritrean leads the rankings for the green jersey this year with 376 points to 344 points. Girmay, however, fell at a roundabout less than two kilometres…
BASTAD: Rafael Nadal swept past Leo Borg, son of tennis great Bjorn Borg, to advance to the second round of the Bastad Open on Tuesday as he builds towards the Paris Olympics. It was Nadal’s first singles match since the 38-year-old fell in the opening round at Roland Garros on May 27 and he eased to a 6-3, 6-4 win in wet conditions. Both Nadal and the 21-year-old Borg, currently ranked 461 in the world, were wild card entries to the Swedish clay-court tournament. Despite an early scare with the former world number one slipping on the wet white line, Nadal…
PARIS: France’s sports minister could be forgiven if she is nervous before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony for it “sets the tone” for what follows, Hugh Robertson, the minister charged with delivering the 2012 London Games, told AFP. Robertson, whose role 12 years ago is filled by French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera this year, says his greatest concern at the London opening ceremony was keeping the “athletes’ parade to time”. Paris organisers must contend with an unprecedented waterborne ceremony, leaving the confines of the main stadium for the first time in history. “The importance of the opening ceremony is one of the…
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday maintained Pakistan’s growth forecast at 3.5 per cent for the current fiscal year but indicated slower global disinflation to keep pressure on the masses amid higher for even longer interest rates. The IMF’s unchanged growth forecast at 3.5pc previously made in April this year has been reinforced almost a week after its staff reached an agreement with Pakistan authorities on $7bn worth of a 37-month bailout based on detailed deliberations and exchange of financial and economic data including 2024-25 budget. The government has set 3.6pc growth target for the current fiscal year. In its World Economic Outlook…
LAHORE: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) will start receiving over 5,000 rotary gas meters and allied material, including electronic volume correctors (EVCs), in September, as the order has been placed with a Canadian firm. This procurement is a crucial part of a project to significantly reduce Unaccounted-for Gas (UFG) or line losses. In phase 1, 1,470 meters were successfully installed at Town Border Stations (TBSs) and gas measurement facilities in five major cities: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Mardan. Phase 2 will involve the installation of over 5,000 meters at the remaining TBSs in all 16 regions of the company…
BRUSSELS: European Union governments exposed divided views on the merits of EU tariffs on imports of China-built electric vehicles (EVs) in a non-binding but still influential vote, sources with knowledge of the vote said on Tuesday. The European Commission, which oversees the bloc’s trade policy, has set provisional duties of up to 37.6 per cent on EVs imported from China to counter what it says are unfair subsidies and has canvassed EU member views in a so-called advisory vote. A dozen EU members voted in support of the tariffs, four voted against and 11 abstained, the sources said. The commission is expected…
LONDON: Gold prices jumped more than 1 per cent to a record high on Tuesday, as investors flocked to the safe-haven asset after comments from Federal Reserve officials cemented expectations of a US interest rate cut in September. Spot gold gained 1.6pc to $2,460.99 per ounce by 11:32am ET, while US gold futures for August delivery rose 1.5pc to $2,465.80 per ounce. “Gold surges to new all-time highs despite stronger-than-expected core retail sales data, encouraged by Powell indicating yesterday that the Fed was growing more confident that inflation was back on its way to target,” said Tai Wong, a New…
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will look into alleged irregularities in the purchase of coal for power plants, which increased the cost of electricity generation. A group of petitioners filed an application with the court, raising questions over the bidding process for procurement of the coal. They urged the court to order the Ministry of Energy to conclude its inquiry initiated after the power divisions wrote a letter on March 1. The applicants have also sought directions for the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to issue effective and transparent guidelines for the procurement of coal to be used…
