Elena Baltacha faces a difficult match against the No 2 seed Dinara Safina.
Elena Baltacha faces a difficult match against the No 2 seed Dinara Safina.

Tennis

Baltacha hoping for third time lucky

The British No 1 will face the former world No 1 Dinara Safina after beating Kateryna Bondarenko to reach a grand slam third round for the third time.

The British No 1 Elena Baltacha upset 30th seed Kateryna Bondarenko at the Australian Open to ensure she would at least match her best-ever result at a grand slam. Baltacha defied a rankings difference of over 50 places to win the second-round match 6-2 7-5 in one hour and 34 minutes. The 26-year-old's gutsy win means she will play in the third round of a grand slam for just the third time in her career after advancing to the last 32 at Melbourne Park in 2005 and at Wimbledon in 2002. It was also just the fourth win of her career against a top-50 rival and after reaching a career-high ranking of 83 earlier this month - which earned her direct entry to a grand slam for the first time - her victory was earned on the back of 35 winners. Baltacha started confidently as she broke Bondarenko's opening two service games to jump 3-0 ahead in the first set. Bondarenko fought back to 3-2, but with her serve misfiring Baltacha was again able to string a run of three games together to win the first set in 35 minutes. Bondarenko did not win a single point on her second serve in the first set as the Briton's aggression, especially off her forehand, paid dividends. The second set was a see-sawing battle with Bondarenko racing 3-0 ahead on the back of some more consistent serving. But again Baltacha, who beat Bondarenko's sister Alona to reach the second round at Wimbledon last year, was again able to put a run of games together. The Briton won the next four, fending off three break points along the way, to steal the initiative and leave Bondarenko covering her face with her towel at the change of ends. And while Bondarenko broke again Baltacha got her chance to serve for the match at 6-5 and did not waste the chance with the 23-year-old Ukrainian conceding the match when she hit a forehand long. Baltacha will now face the former world No 1 Dinara Safina. The Russian overcame a minor stumble when serving for the match before advancing to the third round with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. The second-ranked player controlled the match from the onset against the 67th ranked Czech, although she was forced to stave off four break points in the final game. Last year's beaten finalist at Melbourne Park was 0-40 down in the 10th game of the second set but recovered to seal victory in 93 minutes when a strong serve down the middle forced Zahlavov Strycova to hook her return well wide. Meanwhile, the eighth seed Jelena Jankovic ended Baltacha's compatriot Katie O'Brien's Australian Open campaign in straight sets. The 23-year-old won through to the second round of a major for just the second time in her career when she defeated Patricia Mayr yesterday, but could not go a step further as she lost 6-2 6-2. * With agencies

Second round * 27-Alisa Kleybanova (Russia) beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-4 6-3 * 2-Dinara Safina (Russia) beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-4 * 31-Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4 7-5 * Angelique Kerber (Germany) beat 26-Aravane Rezai (France) 6-2 6-3 Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) beat 12-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 7-6(2) 6-1 19-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 6-4 6-4 Zheng Jie (China) beat 24-Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) 2-6 6-2 6-3 11-Marion Bartoli (France) beat Sandra Zahlavova (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-4 15-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) 6-3 6-3 Elena Baltacha (Britain) beat 30-Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-2 7-5 3-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 6-2 6-2 First round Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) beat Melinda Czink (Hungary) 7-5 6-7(5) 9-7 22-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Viktoriya Kutuzova (Ukraine) 3-6 6-1 7-5 29-Shahar Peer (Israel) beat Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) 6-7(5) 6-2 6-1 Sofia Arvidsson (Sweden) beat Jarmila Groth (Australia) 6-2 4-6 6-4 Tathiana Garbin (Italy) beat 28-Elena Vesnina (Russia) 7-6(5) 6-4 Julia Goerges (Germany) beat Tamira Paszek (Austria) 6-0 3-6 6-3 Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) beat Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) 6-4 6-4 4-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 6-4 6-2 Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) beat Kimiko Date Krumm (Japan) 6-4 6-2 Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) beat Chang Kai-Chen (Taiwan) 7-5 6-2 Agnes Szavay (Hungary) beat Stephanie Dubois (Canada) 6-3 6-2 7-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beat Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (France) 6-2 6-0 9-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat Kristina Kucova (Slovakia) 6-2 6-0 16-Li Na (China) beat Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) 6-2 6-0

* Reuters

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
  • Wear a protective helmet
  • Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
  • Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes