AFP, PARIS: The chairman of Orange said yesterday that the French telecoms group is in Israel “to stay” after a row erupted over the group’s plan to review its business ties with an Israeli telecoms firm. Stephane Richard told AFP he “sincerely regrets” the furore sparked…

AFP, LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday called for the G7 to “show the same courage” that exposed FIFA’s corrupt practices in order to tackle graft around the world. Cameron said the Group of Seven top industrialised democracies, who meet from Sunday in Germany,…

AFP, WASHINGTON: US auto safety authorities admitted on Friday to having missed key clues that could have led them to take action on faulty GM ignition switches, which are blamed for more than 100 deaths. In a new report into why it took more than a decade, until one year ago, to recall cars with the…

AFP, NEW YORK: Retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores announced Friday that longtime chairman Rob Walton would be replaced by his son-in-law, Greg Penner, who will be the third person to hold the job. Penner, 45, who was appointed vice chairman a year ago at the world’s biggest retailer, previously was…

A four-day Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) fair will be started from Tuesday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital. Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Minister for Housing and Public Works, is scheduled to inaugurate the fair. A total of 150 stalls of different…

AFP, ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing a showdown both with international creditors and dissenters in his party as his government toils to reach a default-saving loan deal in less than a month. Athens this week opted to bundle four IMF loan payments into a single one due by the end…

AFP, SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo will fold up its online map service this month as it strives to recapture past glory by reinventing itself as a premier venue for digital lifestyles. Word that Yahoo will shut-down an array of tools and services by the end of June comes as the California-based Internet search…

AFP, WASHINGTON: US businesses accelerated hiring and raised wages at a faster pace last month in a fresh sign the country’s economy is rebounding from the winter stall. In a report that gives the Federal Reserve more reason to move toward an interest rate hike in the coming months, the Labour…

AFP, POMONA: Robots from six countries including the United States, Japan and South Korea went diode-to-diode Friday in a disaster response challenge inspired by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown. The winner of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC), to be announced yesterday after a two-day competition…