Saudi coalition intercepts more Houthi drones aimed at Abha Airport

The Saudi-led Coalition on Tuesday intercepted another explosive-laden drone launched in the direction of the kingdom’s Abha airport by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Debris from the drone was scattered across the airport after it was intercepted, a coalition spokesperson said.

The incident caused no casualties, Al Arabiya TV reported.

The airport is in Saudi Arabia's south-west, around 100km from the Yemen border.

It was hit in another attack last week, which damaged a plane on the tarmac. There have been near-daily attacks by the Yemeni rebels on the kingdom over the last week.

The US, France and others have condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure and civilians, and Washington said it would look at ways to boost the kingdom's defence capabilities.

The Saudi-led coalition has intercepted more than 345 ballistic missiles and 515 Houthi drones aimed at the country since 2015.

Several Houthi attacks on Abha Airport in June 2019 wounded dozens and killed a Syrian national.

The busy regional commercial airport is popular with tourists visiting the country’s south.

RESULTS

Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden

World Cup warm-up fixtures

Friday, May 24:

Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)

Saturday, May 25

England v Australia (Southampton)
India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)

Sunday, May 26

South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)

Monday, May 27

Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)

Tuesday, May 28

West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)

2019 ASIA CUP POTS

Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand

Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam

Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.