Thursday 3 September 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Layyah: Dunya News correspondent abducted

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LAYYAH (Dunya News) – According to details, some unidentified armed persons riding on two cars stormed District Layyah office of Dunya News on Thursday night and abducted correspondent Mohsin Adeel.On getting information, DSP Layyah along with heavy contingent of police reached the spot and cordoned off the entire area. However, police failed to recover Mohsin Adeel after passage of six hours.According to eye-witnesses, Mohsin Adeel was present in his office when six armed persons riding on a white and a grey car came there and abducted him on gunpoint.

Tennis: Murray escapes as heat victims hit new Slam record

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Andy Murray escaped his earliest US Open exit in 10 years Thursday as the searing heat at Flushing Meadows took the number of mens singles retirements to a Grand Slam record 12.Third seed and 2012 champion Murray came back from two sets down to defeat tiring Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.Murray goes on to face Brazilian 30th seed Thomaz Bellucci for a place in the last 16.It was extremely tough. He hits the ball really flat, has fantastic timing on both sides and it was hard to read the ball in the first two sets, said 28-year-old Murray after his eighth career comeback from two sets to love down.Murray, who had needed four sets to beat Nick Kyrgios in the opening round, fired 21 aces -- the last of which was on match point -- while Mannarino was undone by 61 unforced errors.Meanwhile, Americas Jack Sock and Denis Istomin retired from their matches as they wilted in the 33-degree Celsius (91.4 F) heat.Twelve men -- a record at the majors -- as well as two women have quit matches in the first four days.The 22-year-old Sock was leading Belgiums Ruben Bemelmans 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 1-2 when he started cramping and was forced to retire.Sock, the 28th seed, then collapsed on the court, where he was treated with ice packs and cold towels by US Open medical staff before being helped off to the shade of the Grandstand Court.Bemelmans next plays fifth-seeded French Open champion Stan Wawrinka who beat South Korean teenager Hyeon Chung 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (8/6).Istomin also called it quits on Court Seven against Austrian 20th seed Dominic Thiem, who was 6-4, 6-4, 1-0 up at the time, with his win coming on his 22nd birthday.The carnage led again to suggestions that the men, who play the best of five sets, should be accorded the same protection as women players.The WTA allows a 10-minute break between the second and third sets of womens matches when the mercury bursts through 30.1 degrees.I honestly dont know what I want to see. Im normally OK with heat and humidity, said Wawrinka.I dont have problem physically. Never retired because of that. Never had really big cramping or big problem because of that. For me, its fine. Im still OK with no rule.Britains world number 97 Johanna Konta made history when she defeated Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza in the longest womens match in US Open history, which was played at the hottest time of the day on Court 17.I thought it would be really embarrassing if I just toppled over there, said Konta, who won 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 in 3 hours 23 minutes.Its a horrible situation to be in.It beat by seven minutes the previous record set in 2011 when Samantha Stosur defeated Nadia Petrova.Sydney-born Konta has now won 15 matches in a row since Wimbledon and goes on to tackle German 18th seed Andrea Petkovic for a place in the last 16.Muguruza committed 59 unforced errors and had to save 15 of 19 break points.Ninth seeded Muguruza became the fifth top-10 seed to crash out of this years tournament before the third round.With Maria Sharapova having withdrawn through injury on the eve of the seasons concluding Grand Slam, the womens draw was down to its bare bones.Top seed Serena Williams made the last 32 on Wednesday and was joined Thursday by second seed Simona Halep and fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova.Halep advanced by defeating Ukraines 104th-ranked Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-4 and next plays American Shelby Rogers.Fifth seed and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova saw off Nicole Gibbs of the United Stares 6-3, 6-4.Australian 22nd seed Stosur, the last woman to beat Serena Williams at the US Open four years ago when she took the title, breezed past Russias Evgeniya Rodina -- one of two mothers to have reached the second round -- 6-1, 6-1.Stosur, 31, fired eight aces with no double faults and hit 29 winners in her quick-fire win, which gave her a third-round encounter against Italian 16th seed Sara Errani.Despite the victory, Stosur hit out at organisers, who she claims have blundered over transport for players as well as practice court arrangements.Stosur said she was forced to switch courts on Wednesday when Williams needed a place to practice.She kicked me off my practice court yesterday...so a few issues, claimed the Australian.Later Thursday, Roger Federer, who reigned supreme in New York from 2004-2008 and was runner-up in 2009, faces Belgiums Steve Darcis, the man who dumped Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon in the first round in 2013.

Tennis: Djokovic plays Cupid for lovestruck pals

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NEW YORK (AFP) - World number one Novak Djokovic played Cupid to help a close friend propose to his girlfriend at the US Open on the tournaments showpiece Arthur Ashe Stadium.Djokovic was hitting with Germanys Tommy Haas while longtime friend Kirk Spahn watched from the sidelines and girlfriend Jenny Alden acted as umpire.Once the session stopped, Spahn climbed up steps of the officials chair to place an engagement ring on Aldens finger.Look what happened a few days ago on my practice session. I am very excited for you guys and glad I had a role in this wonderful surprise Congratulations Kirk Spahn and Jenny, wrote Djokovic on his Facebook page Thursday.Alden, who has undergone brain surgery, tweeted her thanks to the Serb star.Ah Ha Thank you @DjokerNole for making my proposal such a special one facebook.com/djokovic.offic...IGotPUNKED EngagedMustWatch, she wrote.

Tennis: Konta beats heat in US Open record match

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NEW YORK (AFP) - As Australian-born Briton Johanna Konta battled through the longest womens match in US Open history Thursday, she thought, It would be really embarrassing if I just toppled over here.Instead, the 24-year-old qualifier battled through oppressive heat and humidity for three hours and 23 minutes in a historic 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 triumph over Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza, the ninth seed from Spain.Its a horrible situation to be in, Konta said. It was definitely hot out there. Im already a sweater so I was really perspiring. I dealt with it the best I could. I was hydrating. I was nibbling on a banana.Im very tired but its a good tired because it shows that I left everything out there. Im just happy I was able to come away with a win.The marathon match lasted seven minutes longer than the old mark set in 2011 when Samantha Stosur defeated Nadia Petrova on her way to the title.I noticed after the first set it was incredibly long, but then after I had a couple glances on the clock, Im like, OK, we have been here for a while, Konta said.But its difficult with sweating buckets. After changing the clothes, they literally weighed like a lot. Im just happy I was able to put that to the back of my mind, because its completely out of my control.Sweating that much and having that much emotional energy taken out of you for that period of time, it does take a toll. You feel very tired at some points, but youre still in the swing of things. So it doesnt really manifest itself until youve got off the court.World number 97 Konta battled through for her 15th victory in a row, although most of them came in events below the WTA Tour level. She faces German 18th seed Andrea Petkovic next.Every opponent is a new opponent. Trust me, they dont give a crap how many matches I have won, Konta said. If I would go out against some of these players and see them as their ranking, then I probably would have already lost before I even stepped on the court.Konta is enjoying the moment while Serena Williams, on the opposite side of the draw, goes for a calendar Slam, an Open Era-record matching 22nd career Slam title and her fourth US Open title in a row.I am going to lose sooner or later. Im not invincible. Im no Serena Williams, Konta said. Im just honestly happy to be still in this tournament and get another opportunity to compete. Im very humbled about this experience.Its not her first record of the season. At the French Open in her first main draw match at Roland Garros, she pushed Czech Denisa Allertova to the longest tie-break in French Open history before falling 7-6 (19/17), 4-6, 6-2.Its breaking little records, she said. I lost that. Its nice to win one.

Tennis: Heat pushes retirements to Slam record 12

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Americas Jack Sock fainted in 33-degree heat and was carried off court at the US Open on Thursday as the nunber of men quitting hit a Grand Slam record 12.The 22-year-old Sock was leading Belgiums Ruben Bemelmans 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 1-2 when he started cramping and was forced to retire.Sock, the 28th seed, then collapsed on the court, where he was treated with ice packs and cold towels by US Open medical staff before being helped off to the shade of the Grandstand Court.He became the 11th man to retire from a match at this years tournament, which has been played in 30-plus heat every day.Just hours later, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan became the 12th when he also called it quits on Court Seven against Austrian 20th seed Dominic Thiem, who was 6-4, 6-4, 1-0 up at the time.Two women also retired in the first round, taking the total for this years US Open to 14.Temperatures have been over 30 degrees (86 degrees Fahrenheit) all week with humidity hitting 40 percent on Thursday at a steamy Flushing Meadows.The carnage led again to suggestions that the men, who play the best of five sets, should be accorded the same protection as women players.The WTA allows a 10-minute break between the second and third sets of womens matches when the mercury bursts through 30.1 degrees.I honestly dont know what I want to see. Im normally OK with heat and humidity, said French Open champion Stan Wawrinka.I dont have problem physically. Never retired because of that. Never had really big cramping or big problem because of that. For me, its fine. Im still OK with no rule.Sock later said he had recovered and was looking ahead to playing in the Davis Cup play-off tie against Uzbekistan in Tashkent later this month.Playing in the US Open is the biggest and most important moment of the season for me, so having to retire from my match today is extremely disappointing, he said in a statement.I want to thank everyone for their support and cant wait to be back next year. I feel better already and look forward to playing Davis Cup.Britains world number 97 Johanna Konta shocked Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza in the longest womens match in US Open history, which was played at the hottest time of the day out on Court 17.I thought it would be really embarrassing if I just toppled over here, said Konta, who won 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 in 3 hours 23 minutes.It beat by seven minutes the previous record set in 2011 when Samantha Stosur defeated Nadia Petrova.Its a horrible situation to be in, added Konta.It was definitely hot out there. Im already a sweater so I was really perspiring. I dealt with it the best I could.Bemmelmans said he sympathised with Sock.Its a shame as he was playing really well in the first two sets, said the Belgian.It has happened to me in Davis Cup -- its not a nice feeling.The sight of Sock being carried off also sparked calls for a new look at the scheduling especially for players involved in other events.@usopen if we want mens singles players @JackSock to keep playing doubles then scheduling needs to improve or even fewer will play both, tweeted former US player turned television pundit Pam Shriver.

Football: Pelle fires Italy top of group with Malta win

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FLORENCE (AFP) - Southampton striker Graziano Pelle scored off Antonio Candrevas pinpoint cross to hand Italy a precious 1-0 win over Malta in Florence on Thursday that sent them top of their Euro 2016 qualifying table.With direct rivals Croatia held to a scoreless draw in Azerbaijan, the Azzurri were given extra incentive prior to hosting Bulgaria Sunday in a match that could secure their ticket to next summers finals in France.Yet Italy, who had Pelle to thank for their 1-0 win in Malta earlier in the campaign, had to attack a heavily-fortified Maltese backline time and again before Pelle rose to fire in the opener on 69 minutes, although television replays showed the ball could have deflected off his shoulder.With Malta coach Pietro Ghedin sticking to his trusted 5-3-2 formation, Antonio Conte deployed a 4-3-3 with Manolo Gabbiadini preferred to Candreva on the right of Pelle and Eder on the left of Italys frontline.Sampdoria striker Eder, with four goals in two games so far, is Serie As man of the moment but it was Pelle who earned the lions share of Italys chances in a one-sided opening half that saw the hosts frustrated time and again.In the opening minutes an Andrea Pirlo free kick deflected over and, from the New York City FC midfielders corner, Pelle just failed to make contact.A Pelle shot was deflected after a nice touch by Marco Verratti, and the Paris Saint Germain star saw his own drive deflected after good work by Andrea Bertolacci and Eder to keep the ball in play.From Pirlos corner, Pelle headed just over in a crowded box.The Fiorentina pitch was churning up in places and on one occasion the ball bounced over Giorgio Chiellinis foot as Alfred Effiong lurked nearby. A minute later, the Nigeria-born striker found space on the left to test Buffon with a curling drive that sneaked past the far post.Malta keeper Andrew Hogg was by far the busiest keeper, parrying a speculative Bertolacci shot with both hands after it took a late deflection. Italy edged closer to breaking the deadlock when Eder feinted past two players and ignored Pelles calls on the left to hit a daisycutter that inched wide of Hoggs upright.Pelle was then unlucky not to make better contact with Leonardo Bonuccis lob, the striker toe-poking wide of Hoggs post, while at the other end Bonucci came to the rescue after Effiong had outpaced Chiellini to threaten down the right.Conte made no changes at half-time but his instructions to exploit Maltas weakness down the right flank seemed clear.A spell of Italy pressure saw Pirlo win a free kick 25 metres out, and a well-worked move saw the midfielder slot through to Matteo Darmian, whose shot was blocked.The ball rebounced to Manuel Pasqual on the left but his shot, too, came off a Malta player.Marco Parolo replaced Bertolacci soon after and the Lazio forward was unlucky, along with Eder, not to make contact when Darmian whipped an inviting ball in from the right.Italy were finding more space and Contes decision to replace Gabbiadini with Candreva unlocked the door.The Lazio stars pace and ball control had Malta in trouble and minutes after his appearance Candreva delivered for Pelle to beat Hogg at the keepers near post.

Football: Bale leads Wales within touching distance of Euro 2016

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NICOSIA (AFP) - Gareth Bale put Wales within touching distance of Euro 2016 and a first major tournament appearance for 58 years as the Real Madrids stars late goal clinched a 1-0 win over Cyprus on Thursday.Bales bullet header settled a nervous encounter with just eight minutes remaining in Nicosia to keep Wales top of the Group B and a victory against Israel on Sunday will guarantee their place in next years finals in France.Wales last qualified for a major tournament at the 1958 World Cup, with legends like Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush and Mark Hughes all denied the chance to showcase their talents on the biggest stage due to their countrys struggles.But that long and painful spell in the international wilderness could well be consigned to the history books in Cardiff this weekend thanks to the latest heroics from former Tottenham forward Bale, whose sixth goal of the qualifying campaign extended Wales unbeaten run to seven matches.The champagne is on ice for Chris Colemans team, who sit three points ahead of second-placed Belgium and five clear of third-placed Israel with three games remaining.While this was a hardly a vintage display against a Cyprus team ranked a lowly 82 in the world, the joyous celebrations among Bale and his team-mates at full-time underlined that the result was all that mattered.This is a golden era for Wales; they havent lost a competitive game for two years and the latest FIFA rankings placed them above England for the first time ever.Even so, Coleman had challenged his players to prove they could cope with the pressure of sealing qualification and their nerves were stretched to the limits by a determined Cyprus and a rutted pitch that tested even the best techniques.Wales threatened first, with Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey curling narrowly over the crossbar from 25 yards out after a surging run from Bale.Bale caused more chaos with a dipping free-kick that was spilled by Antonis Georgallides towards Neil Taylor, who should have scored from close-range but saw his tame effort blocked by the Cyprus goalkeeper.Cyprus appealed in vain for a penalty when Nestor Mytidis tumbled in the area after being bundled over by Ashley Williams.After getting the benefit of that decision from referee Szymon Marciniak, Colemans side thought they had taken the lead in the 27th minute when David Edwards headed home Bales cross.But this time the Polish official ruled against Wales as Edwards effort was disallowed for Hal Robson-Kanus push.Although Wales were mostly on top, they still lived dangerously at times and Antreas Makris was left unmarked on the edge of the area to drill over.Early in the second half, Marios Nikolaou tested Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.But the last time Wales won in Cyprus in 1992, Coleman was playing and the manager proved a lucky charm again as the visitors got back on top.Ramsey was denied by a fine Georgallides save before Bale finally broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute with a towering header from Taylors cross to put Wales on the verge of an historic achievement.

Football: Chung claims 'fraud' in FIFA presidential poll

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SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-Joon on Thursday accused the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) of election fraud in backing rival candidate Michel Platini.Chung said the AFC, whose president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has publicly supported Platini, had sent unsolicited letters to almost every AFC member association except for South Korea and Jordan, to win their support for Platini. Jordans Prince Ali bin Hussein is also in the race to succeed Sepp Blatter as the head of footballs world governing body.It is an obvious case of election fraud infringing on the basic rights of other presidential candidates, Chung told reporters in Seoul.He urged FIFAs Ad-hoc Electoral Committee to launch an immediate probe into those involved in the case, including Sheikh Salman and Platini, describing the latter as an arrogant man.An AFC statement made no denial of the letters but noted Sheikh Salmans public support of Platini, and said all national football associations would be free to vote how they wished.A growing majority of AFC member associations have also expressed their support for Mr. Platinis candidacy... whilst others have expressed an interest for other candidates, have expressed no interest at all, or are waiting before making up their minds, the statement added.Platini is considered the front-runner in the race for the FIFA presidency and has already secured public support from key national federations and regional confederations.But Chung has said the Frenchman should not be a candidate because he was so close to FIFAs past system and a former ally of outgoing leader Blatter, who has said he will stand down when the election is held on February 26.Chung, a member of the family that owns the Hyundai conglomerate, claimed that Sheikh Salman and Platini were taking advantage of their status as AFC and UEFA presidents respectively by seeking to influence the election process.As evidence, Chung presented the copies of a form letter, to be filled in by national football federations, expressing support for Platini and addressed to FIFAs secretary general.It is titled Proposal and support of the candidature of Mr. MP (Michel Platini) for the office of FIFA President. It states: We wish to confirm that (INSERT NAME OF ASSOCIATION) is supporting only Mr. MP and, accordingly, we did not sign any other declaration of support for another candidate for the office of FIFA President.Chung said he had received copies of the form letter and other information from various sources including his acquaintances.In Africa, a senior Confederation of African Football (CAF) official circulated the same form letters to its member associations, but the CAF later took measures to rectify the situation, according to Chung.Of the 209 members who can vote for the FIFA president, 46 are in the AFC and 54 in the CAF.It is clear that the fairness of the FIFA presidential election has been seriously compromised, Chung said.Such efforts seeking to influence each member associations right to propose candidates directly violate FIFA statutes, he said.Chung said official letters were sent on August 31 to the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee and the FIFA Ethics Committee, calling on them to investigate the case and promptly institute remedies.The FIFA election campaign is already turning into a bitter affair with allegations of behind-the-scenes dirty tricks.Chung has vowed that if successful in the February election, he would serve just one term.

Football: Qatar set new record with 15-0 Bhutan rout

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DOHA (AFP) - Qatar recorded their biggest ever victory in international football on Thursday, thrashing Bhutan 15-0 in an AFC Group C World Cup qualifier match in Doha.The result smashed Qatars previous high of 8-0, which they had recorded against both Afghanistan and Lebanon in the 1980s.The victory also maintained their 100 percent start to their World Cup campaign after two matches and pushed Qatar into second place in Group C behind Hong Kong, who they meet in a crucial fixture next Tuesday. I wouldnt have expected we would score 15, admitted Qatar coach Jose Daniel Carreno afterwards.The first goal was the most important. After three goals we were trying to score the highest number of goals because they will be important at the end of the group.Forwards Mohammed Muntari and Ali Asad each scored hat-tricks with others chipping in including right back Mohammed Musa who bagged two goals.Qatar could even afford to miss a soft penalty awarded in the 62nd minute and several easy chances.Given the scoreline it was somewhat bizarre that Bhutan forced the first chance and corner inside seven minutes.But that was as good as it got for the team beaten 7-0 and 6-0 in their first two games.By the eighth minute Qatar had taken the lead through Musa after the defender, pushing forward, found himself in acres of space on the right-wing. Bhutans virtually non-existent left-hand side of defence was to prove fertile ground for Qatar.The home side exploited that channel continuously and by the 28th minute were 5-0 ahead, after Musa added his second. By that stage he had been joined on the scoresheet by Mohammed Kasola, Asad, with possibly the best goal of the evening rounding off a fine team move, and the skipper Hasan Al Haydos.By half-time it was 8-0 and the only real question for the second half was when they would beat their scoring record, which they duly did three minutes after the break when Mohammed Muntari finished with the Bhutan defence again nowhere to be seen.From then it was simply a question of how many goals the home side would score.Qatar reached double figures through midfielder Abdulrahman in the 56th minute.The evening was rounded off by Boualem waltzing round a static defence to make it 15-0 with three minutes to go.The only consolation for Bhutan was that this was not their record defeat. They were once beaten 20-0 by Kuwait.We have to train, train, train, said a surprisingly upbeat Bhutan coach Norio Tsukitate afterwards.I think we will improve, I hope we will improve. To round off a perfect evening for Qatar, the two teams above them in the group at the start of play, Hong Kong and China, shared a 0-0 draw in Beijing earlier on Thursday.This is in our favour because the two teams have lost two points, said Carreno. I think China is going to suffer from losing the points even more.The match, somewhat ironically given Qatar will host the World Cup finals after Russia, was watched by a crowd at the Al-Sadd Stadium of 2,022.Qatar are aiming to avoid becoming the first nation since Italy in 1934 to host the World Cup without ever having played in the finals.They won their first game 1-0 in the Maldives.

Golf: Gaunt, Jamieson share Russian Open lead

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Daniel Gaunt and Scott Jamieson both fired opening-round six-under-par 65s to share the lead after day one of the Russian Open on Thursday.Australian Gaunt hit three birdies, an eagle and a double bogey on the back nine alone, with Scotlands Jamieson picking up six birdies in a round of no dropped shots.It was good to bounce back on the 16th and 18th there after a double bogey at 15, Gaunt told europeantour.com.Apart from that I played great golf today. I have been playing well. Last week, I wasnt stressed about missing the cut.I got told I was playing great golf and I just came out here believing that now and if I can keep that up, one shot at a time, the results will take care of themselves.Wales Bradley Dredge and Englands Lee Slattery were a shot back on 66 at Skolkovo Golf Club.An eight-player group on four under included defending champion David Horsey, chasing a second victory in three weeks following his win in Denmark, in the first tournament to count for next years Ryder Cup.

Formula One: Bleach-blond Hamilton warns of Pirelli error of judgement

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MONZA (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton arrived, smiled, talked and immediately claimed the limelight Thursday when, sporting a mop of newly-dyed blond hair, he warned that Pirellis recommendations on tyre pressure for this weekends Italian Grand Prix could be disastrous.Two weeks on from winning a thrilling Belgian Grand Prix, punctuated by spectacular tyre failures, ahead of his Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg, the two-time defending world champion made a dramatic entrance at the Autodromo Nazional.His appearance caught the eye, his body language oozed confidence, and a sense of humour, and his comments raised eyebrows. It remains to be seen if his father and family approve of the new bleached-boy look, trapped albeit beneath a reversed baseball cap.His hair, or that part of it that was on view, was the first thing to grab the attention as photographers made a trail and cameras whirred.I am in an experimental stage of my life, he explained.But, the hair, why? He was asked.Because I can... came the response of the man who leads German Rosberg, once teased mercilessly for his natural fair locks, by 28 points.Hamilton, 30, who has also added another tattoo to his collection, added that his hair colour was only a short-term solution - so far.Team members, who had not seen his hair, were seen staring in surprise. Not since Canadian Jacques Villeneuve gave his hair a similar hue, nearly 20 years ago, has there been such a stir in the paddock. Speaking to the German media, Rosberg said: He has been teasing me since I was 14 about the way I swept my hair back. So, I am very surprised...Rosberg was dubbed Britney by the paddock at the height of his hairs golden fame long before he joined Mercedes and, last weekend, became a father for the first time.But Hamilton had a serious point to make, too.Asked about tyres, and specifically Pirellis response to the two high-speed blowouts suffered by Rosberg and four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari in Belgium, he - again - stepped out of line.Where the others had talked of Pirellis professionalism and a need to be moving on, Hamilton lit a bonfire.To a suggestion that the recommended starting pressure for the racing tyres be raised from the normal pressure of 18 psi to 23, at the front, and 22, at the rear, he reacted with alarm.Thats definitely too high and definitely the wrong way to react, he said. The wear will be higher and there will be less grip and it could end up in a disaster.A couple of psi might be ok, but five or six is too much.Earlier, Rosberg and Vettel had accepted a statement explaining the causes of their punctures in Belgium as going in the right direction.Hamilton, in his own individual style, demonstrated, again, as he often does, that he sees it rather differently.Having won last years race, he will on Sunday seek to add to his championship lead by becoming the first driver, since Damon Hill in 1994, to win Monza two years running.The photographers hope he does - and then takes off that cap.

Athletics: Van Niekerk, Rudisha fail to fire in Zurich

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ZURICH (AFP) - Wayde van Niekerk, David Rudisha and Maria Arzamasova failed to reproduce their world title-winning form at the Diamond League meet in Zurich on Thursday.Coming just four days after the action at the world championships came to a halt in Beijing, it was always going to be a big ask for athletes to pull out another big performance.And so it proved despite a packed stadium at the first of two season-ending Diamond League finals, the finale coming in Brussels on September 11.Polands Adam Kszczot won a high-quality 800m, beating out Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi, Ethiopian Mohammed Aman and Kenyas world record holder and newly-minted world champion Rudisha.In the 400m, American Lashawn Merritt got the better of Van Niekerk and in the womens 800m, Kenyan Eunice Sum gained a degree of revenge over Arzamasova, winning in 1:59.14.Genzebe Dibaba again played second fiddle to Ethiopian teammate Almaz Ayana, this time in the 3000m, which the latter outsprinted the former to win in a meeting record of 8:22.34. Dibaba, however, was one of the 16 athletes on the night to win the Diamond Race for topping the season standings in her respective discipline.There was no such drama for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican replicating her winning Beijing form for victory in the womens 100m in 10.93sec running into a headwind.Russian Sergey Shubenkov was also victorious in the mens 110m hurdles in 13.14sec ahead of American David Oliver, Czech Zuzana Hejnova was first across the line in the womens 400m hurdles, Briton Greg Rutherford won the long jump in 8.32m and Kenyan Asbel Kiprop strode to a convincing 1500m win (3:35.79).Rutherford won the Diamond Race, meaning he could add that accolade to his being Olympic, world and Commonwealth champion simultaneously.Pole Piotr Malachowskis second place in the mens discus was enough for the world champion to win the Diamond Race for a fourth time, just as Czech Barbara Spotakova did in the womens javelin despite not even medalling in the Chinese capital.

Cycling: Van Poppel takes Vuelta stage 12, Froome withdraws

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LLEIDA (AFP) - Dutch rider Danny van Poppel won stage 12 of Spains Vuelta on Thursday as Tour de France winner Chris Froome became the latest big name to withdraw from the race.Froome was aiming to become just the third man to win the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year, but his chances were realistically ended by a crash on Wednesdays daunting mountainous 138km ride through Andorra and scans on Thursday showed he had suffered a broken bone in his foot.Van Poppel edged a sprint finish from South African Daryl Impey and Belgiums Tosh van der Sande to take the 173km stage from Escaldes to Lleida in a time of 4hr 02min 11sec as Germanys John Degenkolb was again frustrated in his search for a stage win.There was no major change in the general classification, so Italys Fabio Aru retains the leaders red jersey by 27 seconds from Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez with the Netherlands Tom Dumoulin three seconds further back.Froome joins a list of top riders including Peter Sagan, Tejay van Garderen and Dan Martin that have been forced to pull out of the race due to injuries suffered in heavy crashes, whilst 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali was disqualified on the second stage for being towed by his Astana team car.Im really gutted to be leaving the race but the injuries that I sustained on yesterdays stage were too much to continue, said Froome.I hit my right side heavily and the main impact went on my right foot. I was desperate to dig in and finish the stage and my team-mates did brilliantly to get me through it, but as soon as I got off the bike I couldnt put any weight on my right side.There was more controversy as Tinkoff-Saxo only took the start after more safety measures were introduced to protect the riders after Sergio Paulinho became the second member of the Russian team forced to retire from the race after being hit by a television motorbike.Tinkoff-Saxo had threatened legal action after Sagan had been injured in similar fashion earlier in the week.Thursdays relatively flat stage was a brief rest bite after Wednesdays trek over four category one and a specialised climb.A five-man breakaway group of Maxime Bouet, Miguel Angel Rubiano, Jaco Venter, Bert Jan Lindeman and Alexis Gougeard built up a lead of over five minutes on the peloton and nearly made it to the finish as only a huge effort from Van Poppels Trek and Degenkolbs Giant-Alpecin teams allowed the peloton to catch them less than two kilometres from the line.The sprinters then took their positions, but just as on stage 10, Degenkolb found himself boxed in and unable to respond as Van Poppel surged for the line.When the opportunity is there you have to take it and in the end it was a nice sprint, said Van Poppel.I did the Tour de France when I was 19 and I suffered a lot, but this (yesterdays stage) came close. I suffered a lot yesterday and I really wanted to win today.

Sri Lanka in $1.1 bn currency swap with India

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COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankas central bank received $1.1 billion from neighbouring India Thursday as part of a currency swap agreement, in order to shore up its foreign reserves and ease pressure on the local currency.The US dollars were injected from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said in a statement.It said the latest injection was in addition to $400 million received in April under another RBI currency swap facility available to members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation bloc.With the enhanced level of official reserves, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka expects that the exchange rate would stabilise in line with sound macroeconomic fundamentals and movements of other currencies of major trading partners, it said.The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated 2.3 percent against the dollar so far this year and the countrys official reserves fell to $6.88 billion by the end of July, from a peak of $9.18 billion in August 2014.This week, the central bank noted that historically low interest rates were encouraging more imports of consumer goods and cars.The bank said it will monitor the development to ensure that credit went into productive sectors while avoiding excessive expansion to other areas.

Oil prices rise after ECB suggest expanded stimulus

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices rose for a second straight day on Thursday after the European Central Bank indicated more stimulus could be on its way for the eurozone.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery was up 50 cents to $46.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Brent North Sea crude for October, the global benchmark, closed at $50.68 a barrel in London, a gain of 18 cents from Wednesdays settlement.The president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, said the central bank could ramp up its bond purchase program if an additional boost is warranted in the faltering eurozone.In a news conference after an ECB monetary policy meeting, Draghi said the program, known as quantitative easing, was intended to run until the end of September 2016, or beyond, if necessary.Draghis remarks gave a lift to oil markets, which echoed climbs in equity markets, despite the news the ECB cut its economic growth and inflation in the single-currency area for 2015-2017.This is the latest cycle of bad news is good news, with investors more pleased with the idea of ongoing stimulus than they are worried about poor demand, said Tim Evans at Citi Futures.Prices may be able to stage short-term rallies -- if the wind blows hard enough even turkeys can fly -- but we continue to see the market as physically oversupplied.The supply glut, in combination with the weakening global economy, has pushed oil prices down more than 50 percent since their mid-2014 peaks.Oil futures, like other markets, have been on a wild ride since Chinas surprise currency devaluation on August 11, which heightened concerns about the slowdown in its economy, the worlds largest energy consumer.An extended run of Chinese market volatility that has been weighing on confidence was absent Thursday because Chinese markets were closed for a long holiday weekend.A lot of the uncertainty on the oil market has been generated by whats been happening in China, said Gene McGillian at Tradition Energy.Maybe part of the reason it is stabilizing is that there is a trading holiday in China... so the market could be catching its breath.
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