Star tennis players at the Tokyo Olympics continued their march towards the podium with home hope Naomi Osaka easing into the third round on Monday, and men's No 1 Novak Djokovic on track to become the first male player to complete the Golden Slam.
Djokovic defeated Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-4, 6-3 in the men's singles, while aiming to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in the same year.
The Serb has already won the Australian and French Opens as well as Wimbledon this year. He now needs the Tokyo title and the US Open trophy to complete the collection. Steffi Graf achieved the Golden Slam in 1988.
"It was a tough opponent for a second round... but you know, I'm very pleased with the way I felt on the court," Djokovic said.
And way from the court, Djokovic is enjoying his time in limelight with constant requests for selfies and meetings with competitors from other disciplines.
"It's just so special, you know, it's so special," Djokovic added. "This happens once in four years. Of course, I try to balance things out with keeping my own, you know, routines and things that make me feel good, but I'm thriving also on that wonderful energy."
Djokovic will next face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Davidovich Fokina beat John Millman of Australia 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
In the women's section, Osaka registered a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Swiss Viktorija Golubic as some of her top competitors bowed out.
World No 3 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus fell to Donna Vekic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7. Sabalenka's loss came a day after top-ranked Australian Ash Barty's defeat to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic was beaten by Belgian Alison van Uytvanck 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, while Iga Swiatek lost to Spaniard Paula Badosa.
It has been an interesting few months for Osaka, who returned to competition this week after pulling out of the French Open over mental health concerns.
Winning Olympic gold on home soil would be perfect for Osaka, but she is not looking too far ahead.
"Well you know, definitely it would mean a lot for me to win gold here but I know it's a process," the world No 2 was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"You know, these are the best players in the world and I honestly haven't played in a while so I'm trying to keep it one match at a time. All in all, I'm just really happy to be here."
Meanwhile, fourth seed Alexander Zverev crushed Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia 6-2, 6-2, while world No 2 Daniil Medvedev enjoyed a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 win over India's Sumit Nagal in the men's division.
The tennis section of the Games reported its first Covid-19 case among participants on Monday after men's doubles players Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands tested positive.
Rojer is the sixth member of the Dutch delegation to test positive after infections reported by a skateboarder, a taekwondo fighter and three members of the rowing team.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
Mobile phone packages comparison
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.
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Company%20profile
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