Paris: Finishing fourth on stage 21, Tadej Pogacar became a four-time Tour de France champion on Sunday afternoon. The world champion was able to celebrate the achievement with his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates in Paris, all of whom have been instrumental in helping the Emirati squad secure its fourth title in six years. According to Emirates News Agency, Pogacar’s fourth Tour success has been significant, with the Slovenian not losing a single second on the road to any of the top five in the general classification between stages 1-20. He becomes only the second rider in Tour de France history,

Seoul: Corporate direct financing in the Republic of Korea increased 8.4 percent from a year earlier in the first half, Yonhap News Agency quoted data as showing. According to Emirates News Agency, local companies raised a combined 149.93 trillion won (US$108 billion) in the first six months by selling stocks and bonds, marking an increase of 11.61 trillion won from the same period a year earlier, based on data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The data further revealed that stock sales experienced a decline, falling by 842 billion won, or 16.6 percent, on-year to 4.23 trillion won in the January-June