PARIS: One women's singles semifinal at this year's French Open went according to form. The other one is somewhat unexpected, and rather intriguing. After an extra day of rest, No. 6 seed Samantha Stosur of Australia, the 2010 finalist, and No. 21 Sara Errani of Italy will be first up on Court Philippe Chatrier Thursday afternoon as the women decide who will be in Saturday's singles final. They'll be follow ...

PARIS : Indias Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza won the mixed doubles title at the French Open, defeating Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik of Poland 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 in the final. Bhupathi, one of the most successful mens doubles and mixed doubles players ever, won the title on his 38th birthday. Now I dont have to think of a gift to give him, Mirza said after their victory. Bhupathi, who i ...

File photo shows a bomb attack on the police headquarters in the Nigerian city of Abuja. At least two people have been killed in a bomb explosion that targeted a police headquarters in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno. The incident occurred on Friday when a bomber attempted to drive his explosive-laden car in the police headquarters in Borno’s capital, Maiduguri, AFP reported. A police official said ...

  WASHINGTON: The US will not send to South Korea some of its marines to be pulled out of Okinawa, Japan, the Pentagon told The Korea Herald. Maj. Cathy Wilkinson, a spokeswoman of the US Defense Department, dismissed speculation that they will be dispatched to Korea on a rotational basis. Washington and Tokyo announced in April that they agreed to move some 9,000 US Marines from the island to Guam and ...

New data show that Germany has experienced a sharp fall in exports and imports in April as the country begins to feel the real sting of the bloc’s prolonged economic stagnancy. Figures released by the country’s national statistics office, Destatis, on Friday, suggest that the EU bloc’s economic powerhouse exported a total of USD 112.7 billion worth of goods in April, down 1.7 percent compared to the precedi ...

  ARIS: Marine Le Pen's hopes of transforming the 6.4 million votes she received in her failed bid for France's presidency into a major parliamentary presence for her far-right National Front have dwindled. Even Le Pen herself may not manage to win a seat in parliamentary elections opening with a first round this Sunday and followed by a run-off vote a week later, opinion polls say. In the highlight of ...

  SINGAPORE: Four chefs from well-known hotels in Singapore were charged with corruption on Friday, reported The Straits Times. They are - Tan Ah Teng, of Goodwood Park Hotel, Chik Ka Chung, who was with Wan Hao restaurant in Marriot Hotel, Yang Lai Fatt, formerly with Meritus Mandarin, and Goh Wooi Cheat, formerly the chef of Summer Palace of Regent Hotel. The men are among 19 alleged to have accepted ...

  KUALA LUMPUR: UN human rights experts have denounced what they called "disturbing" harassment of Malaysian activists who are pushing for election reform and urged the government to protect them. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections staged a rally by tens of thousands in Kuala Lumpur on April 28 that ended with protesters clashing with police, who arrested more than 500 people. Since then, leade ...

Israel is planning to build thousands more of settler unites in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) despite international condemnation for the expansion of Jewish settlements on the occupied Palestinian lands. Israeli lawyer Daniel Seiderman said on Friday that Tel Aviv is seeking to expand the Gilo settlement beyond East al-Quds by constructing 2,500 more settler units. Seiderman, who is active in the anti-settlement ...

  TOKYO: Heavy seas prevented the early rescue of British adventurer Sarah Outen on Friday, with a nearby cargo ship forced to stand off as a Japanese coastguard boat rushed to the area, an officer said. A patrol boat was also heading towards fellow Briton Charlie Martell, who was separately attempting to row solo across the Pacific when he was also caught in turbulent seas. Both rowers were forced to ...