London / AFP Riders for the British food courier service Deliveroo are taking legal action on Monday to demand workers’ rights in a new challenge to the so-called gig economy. In a test case that follows a court victory by Uber cab drivers, the application is being made by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain on behalf of ...

  Chernobyl / AFP The world’s largest metal moveable structure will be unveiled on Tuesday over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s doomed fourth reactor in Ukraine to ensure the safety of future generations across Europe. The giant arch — nearly as long as two football pitches and taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty — will edge into place over ...

  FRANKFURT / AP Volkswagen is coming out with a new model that will add to its offerings of larger cars in the United States, where its market share has lagged the competition. The German company released a sketch on Monday of the Arteon, a four-door with a sloping roofline. It is to be unveiled at the Geneva auto show ...

  Reuters Strength in second-tier stocks favoured by local retail investors boosted Saudi Arabia’s stock market on Monday, while foreign buying helped Egypt partially rebound from a drop on Sunday and most other Middle East bourses fell. Saudi Arabia’s index climbed 0.9 percent to 6,904 points, rising above major technical resistance on its April peak of 6,876 points. A second ...

AP Uncertainty over whether OPEC countries will back an oil production cut at their meeting this week, as intended, weighed on global stock markets on Monday. Worries over next week’s constitutional referendum in Italy also kept investors at bay. KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany’s DAX index was down 0.7 percent to 10,630 while the CAC 40 in France fell 0.5 ...

  Bloomberg Two years ago, Oppo and Vivo couldn’t crack the top five in China’s smartphone market. Now they outrank everyone after elbowing Apple aside, thanks to people like Cheng Xiaoning. Cheng runs a thriving electronics store in the rural town of Miaoxia, tapping into her WeChat social media account to promote the brands that pay the biggest commission, and ...

  Relaxnews Unlike fuel economy or available trunk space, when publicity for a new car claims that ownership will deliver certain emotions, the claims are diffcult to to prove or disprove. But Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury sub-brand, aims to set the record straight on the matter with a new study set to be conducted in the Middle East that doubles as ...

  NEW YORK /AP There are already a few online services that aim to replace cable, but they haven’t attracted many users yet. AT&T’s DirecTV hopes to change that. While just about any person you meet on the street will tell you cable costs too much, the vast majority of Americans don’t think it’s bad enough to cancel. Cheaper online ...

  Relaxnews Fitness tracking brand Amazfit is ending a busy year on a high by launching its first ever watch, the Amazfit Pace. After already releasing the Moonbeam, Equator and Arc fitness trackers earlier this year, Huami — the company behind both Amazfit and the Xiaomi range of trackers — is now hoping to appeal to runners with the Pace. ...

  Barcelona / AFP Pedro and Mohamed await every utility bill with much angst. To reduce the money they have to pay, they live in the dark, without heating, or shower just once a week — victims like millions in Spain of energy poverty. Welfare associations have for years warned against this situation, but the death earlier this month of 81-year-old ...