World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is safely through to the third round of Wimbledon after beating Marie Bouzkova in straight sets on Wednesday.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was given a tough test by her Czech opponent, whose career best performance in a major came at the All England Club in 2022 when she reached the quarter-finals.
The world No 48 was a break up late in the first set against Sabalenka, who secured both the Australian and French Open titles last year.
But the Belarusian showed her class by breaking back before going on to win the tiebreak and then take the second set, securing a 7-6, 6-4 victory on Centre Court.
“We've played a lot of close matches so I'm pleased to be through this difficult round,” said top seed Sabalenka.
“That was a tough moment of the match [going a break down late in the first set]. I was just trying to put the ball back on that side and hope I could break back. Until that point, my serve wasn't good enough to break.
“But I was able to break and I felt a little bit better at that moment, which is why I think I was able to win the tiebreak and win in straight sets."
After being dragged into a draining three-set rollercoaster on Monday, Australian Open champion Madison Keys enjoyed a far more comfortable second-round victory.
The American had fought back from a set down in furnace like conditions to beat Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 in her first-round clash that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.
Keys returned to a cooler Court 2 for round two, up against Serbian Olga Danilovic, and flew into a 5-2 lead in the first set only for the world No 37 to break back.
But sixth seed Keys regained her composure to take the opener and then sail through the second set to complete a 6-4, 6-2 victory in 75 minutes.
Danilovic has been one of the most improved players of the past 12 months, raising her ranking from world No 150 last July to No 37 this week.
But the Serb's surge has mostly been down to her results on clay and hard courts – her first-round defeat of qualifier Zhang Shuai was her first tour-level win on grass.
“I definitely felt a little more comfortable today,” said two-time quarter-finalist Keys, who has three grass-court titles to her name.
“It's the cloudy, rainy England we know and love, so that helps a lot. It felt a little bit more normal out here today.
“She's obviously had a phenomenal couple of years and she's had some really big upsets. I knew she could play some really great tennis, so really just wanted to try to get a lead and then just run with it.”
British hope Sonay Kartal secured her third-round spot for the second year in a row as she destroyed Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 6-2 on Court 3.
In the previous round, British No 3 Kartal knocked out former French Open champion and 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets. Tomova had made it through after first-round opponent Ons Jabeur was forced to retire.
But back on Court 3 again, Tomova proved far less of a challenge for Kartal who described her performance as “one of those good days at the office”.
“This tournament I really wanted to show I'm at this level now, I can consistently play,” said the 23-year-old.
“After the match against Jelena I had so much confidence and I feel like with each match out here and on the grass I'm growing in confidence.”
“The last 12 months I have thrown myself on to the scene,” added Kartal, who is ranked 51 in the world.
“This year I've taken a conscious effort of only wanting to play the bigger matches against the best players on tour, day in, day out. I'm playing with more freedom and more confidence.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
More on animal trafficking
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The years Ramadan fell in May
New schools in Dubai
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Predictions
Predicted winners for final round of games before play-offs:
- Friday: Delhi v Chennai - Chennai
- Saturday: Rajasthan v Bangalore - Bangalore
- Saturday: Hyderabad v Kolkata - Hyderabad
- Sunday: Delhi v Mumbai - Mumbai
- Sunday - Chennai v Punjab - Chennai
Final top-four (who will make play-offs): Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
More coverage from the Future Forum
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
