Wednesday 17 February 2016

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

South Africa and England primed for WC warm-up clashes

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CAPE TOWN (AFP) - Englands lengthy tour of South Africa winds up with two Twenty20 internationals which are effectively a rehearsal ahead of their clash in the World Twenty20 in India next month.It will be the last chance for England to settle on their World Cup combinations ahead of the world event but South Africa will have three more matches in a home series against Australia shortly before they fly to India.The two countries are in the same group in India and meet in Mumbai on March 18.South Africas squad is the same as that named last week for the World Twenty20 but two of Englands squad -- Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes -- will not be going to India. Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, named in the World T20 squad, has flown to South Africa to train with the England party.James Vince, who was a key member of Englands winning team in a T20 series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in November, is expected to get game time after missing selection for the recent one-day series. Sam Billings is another T20 specialist who was not part of the Test or one-day squads.Alex Hales, man of the one-day series, continued his good form when he made 78 in Englands 44-run warm-up win against South Africa A in Paarl on Wednesday, while captain Eoin Morgan had a return to form when he slammed 42 off 13 balls, with five sixes.Although ten of the South African squad played in the 2014 World T20, their tactics are expected to be different, with star batsman AB de Villiers likely to be near the top of their batting order, instead of coming in lower down as was the case two years ago.Coach Russell Domingo said: AB will bat near the top of the order at this event. He said this was because there was now more experience in the South African team.For a couple of years, the experience wasnt what it is now so we felt we had to keep AB in that (lower) position, said Domingo.Former South African batsman Neil McKenzie will act as a batting consultant during the upcoming series and at the world event in India.Squads:South Africa: Faf du Plessis (captain), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese.England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wkt), Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, James Vince.

Erdogan vows retaliation after Ankara blast kills 28

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ANKARA (Agencies) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed that Turkey was more determined than ever to use its right to “self-defense” after a car bomb targeting military service vehicles killed at least 28 people.“Our determination to respond in kind to attacks taking place inside and outside our borders is getting stronger with such acts,” Erdogan said in a statement. “It must be known that Turkey will not shy away from using its right to self-defense at any time, any place or any occasion.”It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the deadly blast, in which over 60 people were injured.Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately scrapped his trip to Brussels after the blast. And a mini-summit on Europe’s refugee crisis gathering 11 EU countries and Turkey, due to take place on Thursday, has been canceled, diplomats said Wednesday.The talks, taking place ahead of a full summit of the 28-nation European Union, were to gather the leaders of 11 EU countries and Davutoglu to focus on how to resettle Syrian refugees who have fled to Turkey.The car bomb detonated when a convoy of military buses carrying dozens of soldiers stopped at traffic lights in central Ankara, creating scenes of panic and chaos.“This attack has very clearly targeted our esteemed nation as a whole and was carried out in a vile, dishonorable, treacherous and insidious way,” said Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, who confirmed the death toll.Plumes of smoke could be seen from all over the city rising from the scene, close to the headquarters of the Turkish military and the parliament.The powerful blast was heard throughout Ankara, sending alarmed residents rushing to their balconies, an AFP correspondent said.The army said the attack took place at 1631 GMT and had targeted “service vehicles carrying army personnel.”

Aid enters besieged Syrian towns in 'test' for warring sides

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DAMASCUS (AFP) - Trucks carrying aid entered four besieged towns in Syria on Wednesday in what the United Nations described as a test for the countrys warring sides ahead of a hoped-for ceasefire.The Red Crescent said trucks laden with supplies entered Moadimayet al-Sham, near Damascus, the first delivery of aid since world powers agreed on an ambitious plan to cease hostilities by Friday and dramatically ramp up humanitarian access.The agencys Muhannad al-Asadi told AFP that 35 trucks entered the town, carrying 8,800 sacks of flour, 4,400 food parcels, high energy foods and medical equipment.An AFP journalist said three trucks also entered Madaya, a town besieged by Syrian forces in Damascus province.And the UNs humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said aid trucks had reached the Shiite towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, in northwestern Idlib province, which are surrounded by rebels. Dozens of trucks will follow for Madaya, Fuaa and Kafraya, he said. We are about the finish the process.He said that aid dispatched Wednesday to towns, including Zabadani, under government-imposed siege in Damascus province, was enough for 93,000 people.Almost half a million people in Syria are in areas under siege, according to the UN.Prospects for the ceasefire -- announced by top diplomats in Munich last week -- have been fading as violence continues to shake Syria, including strikes on hospitals on Monday and repeated Turkish shelling of Kurdish militia.UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said aid deliveries would provide a test for Syrias warring sides ahead of Fridays planned truce.It is the duty of the government of Syria to want to reach every Syrian person wherever they are and allow the UN to bring humanitarian aid, he said in Damascus on Tuesday. His comments led a senior aide to President Bashar al-Assad to accuse the envoy of deviating from his mediation role. His mission now is to establish a list of terrorist groups, and a list of opposition groups who should dialogue with the Syrian government, Buthaina Shaaban told AFP.Instead of that he was working on humanitarian aid, which is not really his mission because he is a facilitator.Diplomats have been pressing the ceasefire deal as a step forward in efforts to end the nearly five-year conflict that has left more than 260,000 dead, devastated the country and forced millions from their homes.A major international push to resolve the conflict, including Western and Arab nations that have largely backed Syrias opposition and Assads key supporters Russia and Iran, was launched last year.But peace talks between the regime and opposition in Geneva quickly collapsed earlier this month and a major regime offensive, backed by Russian air strikes, has continued in northern Aleppo province.A US military spokesman said on Wednesday that Russian and Syrian regime raids may be intensifying despite the impending truce.Their bombing has continued apace, Colonel Steve Warren told reporters in Baghdad. If anything, it has increased.Air strikes on five medical facilities and two schools in northern Syria earlier this week killed at least 50 people, the UN said.One of the strikes hit a hospital supported by charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), killing 25 people and prompting widespread condemnation.Further complicating peace efforts, Turkey has been shelling a Kurdish-led militia in northern Syria which it says is allied with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has waged an insurgency on its soil for decades.A car bomb Wednesday in Ankara killed at least 28 people and wounded 61 more, but no group claimed responsibility for the blast. Turkey has in the past blamed the PKK and the Islamic State group for previous bomb attacks.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Wednesday that Turkey would never accept the creation of a Kurdish stronghold in northern Syria, saying there was no question of Turkey ending its shelling.Turkey has called for foreign ground forces to deploy in Syria, part of a longstanding push by the NATO member for a more robust response to the conflict.On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said Turkey wanted to create a 10-kilometre (six-mile) safe line inside Syria that would include the flashpoint town of Azaz near the border.It has long pressed for a safe zone inside Syria, backed up by a no-fly zone, and has warned Kurdish forces it will not allow them to seize Azaz, which is held by rebel forces.German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday also reiterated her call for a no-fly zone to protect civilians, saying the humanitarian situation in Syria was intolerable.If we were able to reach an agreement between anti- and pro-Assad forces on a kind of no-fly zone... then this would save many lives and aid the political process about Syrias future, she told the German parliament.

UN envoy says 'deep divisions' blocking Yemen talks

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Yemens warring parties are unable to agree on terms for a new round of peace talks, two months after holding their first face-to-face meeting, the UN envoy said Wednesday.Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the UN Security Council that deep divisions persist that prevent me from calling for the next round of talks.Yemens Saudi-backed government sat down with Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies in December to begin talks on ending a war that has brought the impoverished Arab country to its knees.The UN-brokered negotiations held in Switzerland were to resume in mid-January, but that meeting was delayed and no new date has been announced.The UN envoy said the parties were divided on whether a new round of talks should be convened with or without a new cessation of hostilities and were not willing to offer sufficient guarantees that a truce would hold.Confidence-building measures such as prisoner exchanges that were agreed to during the first round have yet to be implemented, he said. We cannot delay these talks beyond, in my view, the month of March, the envoy told reporters.More than 6,000 people have been killed in Yemen since a Saudi-led coalition began an air war in March last year to push back an offensive by the Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa.A ceasefire went into force on December 15, but it was repeatedly violated and the Saudi-led coalition announced an end to the truce on January 2.Ould Cheikh Ahmed cited a significant increase in the number of missiles fired by rebels across the border into Saudi Arabia and an upsurge in attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda affiliates and the Islamic State group.A suicide bomber killed at least 14 soldiers in Aden on Wednesday, in the latest attack on Yemens second city claimed by IS jihadists.Many parts of Yemen are again witnessing airstrikes and extensive ground fighting, said the envoy.Alongside Syria and Iraq, Yemen ranks as one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises, with some 82 percent of the countrys population in dire need of food, medicine and other aid.The UN envoy urged the Security Council to push for a halt to the fighting to pave the way to a permanent ceasefire and return to peaceful negotiations.Yemen has suffered greatly, and its people have withstood an unspeakable tragedy, he said.The envoy rejected Saudi claims that a UN-chartered aid ship bound for Yemen was diverted to a Saudi port because it was carrying communications equipment that could be used for military purposes.Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the equipment was to be used by UN staff to help protect their security.The MV Mainport Cedar was travelling from Djibouti to Yemens Red Sea port of Hodeida when it was diverted to Jazan in southwest Saudi Arabia last Thursday, the World Food Program said.

IS shoots down Iraqi army helicopter killing one

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - The Islamic State jihadist group shot down an Iraqi military helicopter west of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least one person, officials said.The helicopter -- the second lost by Iraq in two days -- went down near Amriyat al-Fallujah, though officials differed on the exact location.An Iraqi army aviation captain said that the Bell helicopter was shot down with a Dushka heavy machine gun, killing one crew member and wounding a second, who was rescued by another helicopter.Lieutenant Colonel Arif al-Janabi, the police chief for Amriyat al-Fallujah, said that IS shot the helicopter down, putting the death toll at two.Shakir al-Essawi, the head of the areas local council, confirmed Janabis account.IS issued an online statement claiming that it shot a helicopter down and damaged another in the Amriyat al-Fallujah area on Tuesday.Iraq has lost multiple helicopters to accidents and ground fire in recent years, while others have been damaged.An Iraqi Mi-17 helicopter crashed south of Baghdad due to a technical problem on Tuesday, killing nine people.In October 2014, militants shot down a Bell 407 north of Baghdad, killing two crew, five days after an Mi-35 was shot down in the same area, while jihadists destroyed another helicopter on the ground earlier in the year.An overloaded helicopter crashed after delivering aid to people besieged by the Islamic State jihadist group on Mount Sinjar in August 2014, killing its pilot and injuring passengers, including a member of parliament.Lieutenant General Hassan Karim Khudayr was killed when a military helicopter crashed north of Baghdad before IS launched a sweeping offensive in June 2014. Iraq also lost an Mi-17 to a sandstorm in July 2010, a crash that killed five.

University of Texas allows guns in classrooms

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CHICAGO (AFP) - The University of Texas at Austin begrudgingly agreed Wednesday to allow students to carry guns into classrooms, months after state lawmakers passed a bill outlawing gun bans at public universities.I do not believe handguns belong on a university campus, so this decision has been the greatest challenge of my presidency to date, university president Gregory Fenves said in a statement.I empathize with the many faculty members, staffers, students and parents of students who signed petitions, sent emails and letters, and organized to ban guns from campus and especially classrooms.Some faculty members have threatened to quit rather than allow students to carry guns in their classrooms, saying the presence of such weapons is too threatening in an environment that is meant to encourage debate.The issue is particularly sensitive given that the University of Texas at Austin was the scene of one of the nations first mass shootings on a college campus.Troubled former Marine Charles Whitman killed 14 people and wounded some 30 others after opening fire from an observation platform on the universitys clock tower in 1966. Gun rights activists have responded to a series of more recent campus shootings by arguing that students cannot trust the police to protect them from random acts of violence and should be able to arm themselves.Lawmakers in the politically conservative state with a cowboy ethos and frontier history agreed and passed a bill in August prohibiting gun bans on public college campuses.Fenves noted that the presidents of every large private institution in Texas -- including Baylor University, Southern Methodist University and Rice University -- have exercised their right to continue to ban guns on campus.The presence of handguns at an institution of higher learning is contrary to our mission of education and research, which is based on inquiry, free speech, and debate, he said.However, as president, I have an obligation to uphold the law.Guns can still be banned at sporting events, in university bars and medical facilities, certain laboratories and college dorms.The University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest public institutions in the United States with more than 51,000 students and a stellar academic reputation. It is the flagship of the University of Texas system, which educates more than 214,000 students.

Govt discusses limiting NAB's powers, formation of Commission

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Federal government on Wednesday has started discussing limiting National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) powers as the Bureau started tightening its noose on corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. The government’s legal team has advised the Federation on formation of NAB Commission in order to restrict the authority of the Bureau’s Chairman.According to the details, the government appears anxious as NAB widened its operation against corrupt officials and is now discussing the formation of a Commission comprising of NAB officials in order to curb its powers and keep a check on them.According to sources, the votes of both the officials and NAB’s Chairman will carry equal weightage after which the Bureau’s overall powers will be restricted as the final decision on in any case will not be made by the Chairman but the Commission.Sources further say that consultations to stop NAB from interfering with Provincial independence are also underway after which the Provinces will have the power to take action against any elements of corruption.Discussions are also underway in the Federal government to alleviate the accountability fears of government officials due to which NAB’s authority to take action against government employees may also be limited.On the other hand, in a statement issued by NAB’s Spokesperson from Islamabad has stated that it was due to the government’s non-interfering policy that NAB is an independent agency today. The Spokesperson further stated that some inefficiencies and problems in the Bureau were received from previous generations’ working for the correction of which rapid steps are being taken.According to the Spokesperson, NAB respects Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s opinions and NAB’s working will be further improved in light of the PM’s suggestions.

Sindh govt. announces revival of Karachi Circular Railway project

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – The government of Sindh on Thursday announced the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway Project. The demands of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have been approved and the decision to provide compensation and area for resettlement for the affected families has also been approved.According to the Secretary Transport Taha Farooq, JICA will provide a soft-term loan of 2 billion dollars for the project. A tax break for the project has also been approved.The Sindh government has provided JICA with a Letter of Comfort and a letter for the mission overview. The government has also called for discussion with JICA regarding the loan. China is also prepared to initiate Karachi Circular Railway project.The Secretary of Transport has informed that there are 2500 homes and 4500 families in the path of the circular railway for whom compensation and area for resettlement will be provided for while a third survey on those who will be affected will also be conducted on request of JICA.A high level committee has been formed for the revival of the project.

Football: Ronaldo, Jese on target as Real beat Roma

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ROME (AFP) - Cristiano Ronaldo hit his 89th Champions League goal while second-half substitute Jese added a late second as Real Madrid took a massive step towards the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win at Roma on Wednesday.Real travelled to the Stadio Olimpico looking to exorcise painful memories of losing 2-1 twice in succession to the Giallorossi at this stage of the competition in 2008.After weathering a frustrating first half in which Roma failed to finish off a series of promising attacks, Ronaldo broke the deadlock on 57 minutes when he ran on to Marcelos chip to beat Wojciech Szczesny with a shot that deflected off Alessandro Florenzi.It was the Portuguese forwards 12th goal in seven Champions League games this term.To their credit, Roma dug deep in a bid to claim a share of the spoils and were unlucky not to earn a penalty when Florenzi went down under the studs-up challenge of Dani Carvajal.Even after that decision, the hosts battled throughout a dominant late spell inspired by Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah, only to come up short.It was inspiring stuff, but dozens of the 55,612 home crowd began leaving their seats five minutes from the finish when Jese flashed a shot across several defenders to beat Szczesny low at his far post.The victory gives Real a huge advantage ahead of the return leg at their Santiago Bernabeu home in three weeks time.But Zinedine Zidane, who marked his full coaching debut in the competition by rejoicing with his players on the touchlines, called for caution.Were all happy because winning here wasnt easy but we were not through yet. We still have the second leg to play, said the Frenchman, who was assistant to Carlo Ancelotti when Real won their historic 10th trophy in 2014.Im happy for the way the lads played, especially when we improved in the second half. Everyone expects Ronaldo to score, and he fulfilled expectations.Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was left lamenting Romas failure to finish off their impressive work in the final third of the pitch.We had so many chances tonight and Im so disappointed we didnt stick the ball in the net, said Spalletti, who was in charge in 2008 when Roma ousted Madrid over two legs.The lads gave it everything, they played well but we just couldnt score. And when you give Ronaldo an inch, he takes a mile.Diego Perotti, signed in January from Genoa, was the driving force throughout for the hosts, stealing possession, leading attacks and setting up Salah and El Shaarawy.Real were restricted to a series of half-chances before the interval, the best of which came from Marcelo when he volleyed Ronaldos clever lob just wide of Szczesnys far post.Stephan El Shaarawy did well to run on to a long ball but came off worse when goalkeeper Keylor Navas rushed out to clear.Ronaldo stunned the stadium into silence just before the hour when he ran onto Marcelos lob before turning inside and unleashing a shot that came off Florenzi to leave Szczesny clutching at thin air.Dzeko replaced El Shaarawy just after the hour and soon after fans were up out their seats when Radja Nainggolan set up Salah, but the Egyptian could only toe-poke a weak shot at Navas while under pressure.The hosts kept pressing but were lucky to see a Ronaldos header from a long cross on the right crawl past Szczesnys far post.Fans were up out their seats when Florenzi came down under Carvajals challenge, but match referee Pavel Kralovec was not convinced.I didnt see it, Zidane said.Spalletti, meanwhile, refused to fan the flames.I dont want to enter that debate. I do my job on the touchlines and its up to others to do theirs.Roma were finally subdued four minutes from time when Jese used several players as a screen before sending an angled drive past Szczesny.

Football: Messi passes 300 Liga goals as Barca extend lead

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MADRID (AFP) - Lionel Messi moved past 300 La Liga goals as Barcelona moved six points clear at the top of the table with a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon on Wednesday.The five-time World Player of the Year struck either side of Carlos Castros well-worked equaliser in a three-goal burst in five first-half minutes.Luis Suarez missed a second-half penalty days after famously converting Messis pass from a spot-kick against Celta Vigo, but made amends with a brilliant finish for Barcas third.Atletico Madrid are Barcas closest challengers with Real Madrid a further point adrift in third.We are where we want to be and depend on ourselves, said Barca boss Luis Enrique.I think we controlled the game and created a lot of clear chances despite the problems that are always caused when a team plays a lot of men behind the ball.The match had been postponed due to Barcelonas commitments in the Club World Cup in December and, with a huge clash against fellow strugglers Real Betis to come on Saturday, Sporting boss and former Barca defender Abelardo Fernandez made nine changes to his side from the team that started Fridays 2-2 draw with Rayo Vallecano.However, in a match dominated by the European champions, it was the hosts who had the first clear opening as Alex Menendez shot just wide from Barca loanee Alen Halilovics through ball.Luis Enrique also made five changes, but the star front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar started after their incredible display in the 6-1 thrashing of Celta at the weekend.Suarez had the first chance to extend his lead as the leagues top scorer from Neymars inch-perfect pass, but the Uruguayan fired straight at Ivan Cuellar.Messi broke the deadlock with a deadly accurate drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards to become the first player ever to bring up a triple century of La Liga goals.Yet, the lead only lasted two minutes as a brilliant counter-attack saw Pablo Perez pick out Menendez on the left and his low cross was swept home at the back post by Castro.Barca promptly responded, though, as Suarez showed great strength to hold the ball up and then lay it off for Messi to fire into the roof of the net with the outside of his left foot.Luis Enriques men should have put the game out of sight before half-time as Cuellar flew to his right to prevent Messi from scoring a first-half hat-trick before Neymar curled the rebound against the post.Barcas demolition of Celta in the final half an hour on Sunday was lit up by Messis decision to pass a penalty into Suarezs path to complete his hat-trick.And the former Liverpool striker may have regretted not returning the favour as Cuellar dived to his right to save Suarezs spot-kick after the keeper had brought down Neymar.Barca have now missed eight of their 16 penalties this season.However, Suarez made amends with a much harder opportunity 23 minutes from time when his left-footed effort curled in off the far post for his 40th goal of the season.Arda Turan should have rounded off a 31st consecutive match without defeat for Barca with his first goal for the club, but he tried to square Messis brilliant cross to Suarez and the ball flew inches wide.

Football: Blatter, Platini appeal decisions due next week - sources

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PARIS (AFP) - FIFAs appeals committee will announce its decisions regarding disgraced pair Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini at the beginning of next week, several sources claimed on Wednesday.Suspended FIFA president Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Platini, likewise banned for eight years for ethics violations, had the appeals against their sanctions heard earlier this week.Blatter, 79, argued his case on Tuesday at FIFAs headquarters in Zurich, while Platini, 60, also a FIFA vice-president before his ban, was heard the day before.The pair were found to have abused their positions over a mysterious 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment made in 2011. Both men have argued that the funds paid by Blatter to Platini were part of a legitimate oral contract for consulting work done by the latter a decade earlier, but FIFAs ethics judges dismissed that explanation. The notorious 2011 payment is also part of a criminal probe by Swiss prosecutors targeting Blatter, in which Platini has been questioned in a capacity that falls between a witness and an accused person.Having been given provisional 90-day suspensions in October, they were both banned definitively on December 21.Blatter, who turns 80 next month, had already announced he would be stepping down as FIFA president -- the election to name his replacement takes place on February 26 -- just days after his re-election for a fifth term in late May.Platini had been the front-runner to succeed Blatter but pulled out of the race after his ban was announced.Should either be unsuccessful in their appeals, they could take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Tennis: Rare rainstorm delays Garcia in Dubai upset win

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DUBAI (AFP) - Caroline Garcia of France waited out a rain interruption of three and a half hours on Wednesday before advancing to her first quarter-final at the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Carla Suarez Navarro.Garcia, 22 and world ranked 38th, needed to play out the final handful of points after returning to the court in the evening following a rare rainstorm in the desert emirate which flooded the court in a city so dry there is hardly a need for municipal drainage.In a match which finished just before the weather passed through, Czech Barbora Strycova stopped German Julia Goerges 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.That match lasted for one and three-quarter hours, with Goerges plagued by five double-faults and suffering five breaks of serve.The 11th-ranked Spaniard Suarez Navarro won the first set against Garcia in 44 minutes but found herself level-pegging at one set each as Garcia converted on a third set point in the second.The weather hit with the Frenchwoman leading 5-3 in the third, sending players quickly off court.I was calm when we returned to the court, but as I served for it my hand was shaking, the winner said. But this is a part of my game we have worked a lot on.It is always difficult to re-start, this rain was quite unexpected. I just played aggressive and fought to the end. I stayed positive through the match.Australian Open quarter-finalist Suarez Navarro had played quarter-finals at the Aviation club for the last two years but could not reach a third as she faced Garcia for the first time.

Tennis: Del Potro makes winning return in Florida

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DELRAY BEACH (AFP) - Juan Martin del Potro made a winning return to tennis on Tuesday after a 11-month injury layoff, romping past Americas Denis Kudla in straight sets in the first round of the Delray Beach Open.The injury-plagued 27-year-old Argentine faced an uncertain future after missing most of the last year with a wrist problem which required two separate bouts of surgery.But del Potro, aiming to resurrect a burgeoning career which included a 2009 US Open championship victory, showed no signs of ring rust as he overwhelmed Kudla in just over an hour. Tuesdays win carried an echo of a previous comeback for del Potro, who won the Delray Beach crown in 2011 also after returning from a wrist injury.Del Potro, who climbed to number four in the world rankings in 2010, is currently at 1,042nd in the world.In other matches on Tuesday, top seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa tumbled out to Austin Krajicek of the United States.Anderson abandoned after losing the first set on a tie-break 7/3. Second seed Bernard Tomic of Australia also bit the dust, beaten in straight sets 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 by unheralded American Rajeev Ram to the delight of the home fans.

Tennis: Monfils named in France Davis Cup team

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PARIS (AFP) - Frances new Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah has retained Gael Monfils in his team to play Canada in a World Group first round match next month despite the players criticisms over staging the tie in Guadeloupe.Monfils was named along with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon for the singles berths with Edouard Roger-Vasselin an option for the doubles.It will be the first time that a French Davis Cup tie will be held in the Caribbean where Guadeloupe, where Monfils father was born, is a French overseas department.But the round-trip for the March 4-6 tie is around 13,000 kilometres, and at the recent Australian Open Monfils said that most of the players, including himself, did not want to play the match so far away.Noah, 55, who led France to their first Davis Cup title in 59 years in 1991 and who has been asked to take over as skipper for a second time following recent failures and team unrest, said that despite his comments Monfils appeared to be motivated enough.I hope he realises that he has not done the team any favours, the 1983 French Open winner said.If we go about this the way that we all know how to do, we can win it (the tie) and I would even say that we can win the (Davis) cup.

Athletics: Dibaba, Souleiman and Haroun break indoor records

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STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Ethiopias Genzebe Dibaba set a new world indoor mile record at the IAAF meeting in Stockholm on Wednesday.The 1,500m outdoor world champion and record-holder added another leading mark to her growing collection by clocking 4min 13.31sec, taking nearly 4sec off the previous best set by Romanian Doina Melinte 26 years ago.Dibaba, 25, is also the world record holder for 3,000m outdoors, 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m indoors, while she has the 2-mile indoor world best time as well.She is also a two-time indoor world champion.Her performance was the second fastest mile run by a woman indoors or outdoors.Her training partners, Djiboutis Ayanleh Souleiman and Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar, also broke world records.Souleiman, 23, clocked a new mark of 2min 14.20sec in the 1,000m to beat the previous best set by Denmarks Wilson Kipketer of 2:14.96 in 2000.Haroun ran the 500m in 59.83sec to post a new world best in that little-run event.
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