Stefanos Tsitsipas surges into Barcelona Open semi-finals

Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas eased into the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open after a straight-sets win over Alex de Minaur on Friday.

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Tsitsipas claimed the lone break of the opening set and then reeled off five straight games in the second as he won 6-4, 6-2 – making it nine wins from nine matches against Australia's De Minaur.

The Greek world No 5 will play Lorenzo Musetti of Italy on Saturday as he bids to reach the Barcelona final for a third time, after losing to Rafael Nadal in both 2018 and 2021.

Tsitsipas remains on course to take on top seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the final, with the defending champion taking on countryman Alejandro Davidovich Fokina later on Friday.

Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo takes on Dan Evans of Britain in the other last-eight match.

“I would say that my shots were heavy,” Tsitsipas said. “I was able to control most of them and navigate him around the court on both my forehand and backhand. My patience was there. I knew that was the foundation of the match.

“I am satisfied with my return game, especially towards the end. I found myself in a very good position to press early on and look for the forehand and use my backhand when necessary as well.”

Musetti, meanwhile, sealed his last-four spot after countryman Jannik Sinner had to withdraw due to illness.

“Sad to have to withdraw from my match today in Barcelona,” tweeted Sinner, who beat Musetti in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals last week.

“I've been feeling unwell for a few days now. Today the sickness got worse and I'm not able to play. I'll take some time to rest and recover.”

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.

England squad

Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Red Joan

Director: Trevor Nunn

Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova

Rating: 3/5 stars

Results

6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Major Cinnamon, Fernando Jara, Mujeeb Rahman

7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Al Mureib, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Remorse, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Meshakel, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Desert Peace, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Sharamm, Ryan Curatlo, Satish Seemar

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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Join parent networks
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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