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Bahrain has strongly condemned the Iranian drone attack targeting its territory early Saturday, denouncing the incident as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a threat to the safety of its citizens and residents.In a statement, Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attack constituted a flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty, a blatant threat to the security of Bahraini citizens and residents, and a clear breach of international norms and conventions that prohibit attacks on civilian objects and the terrorizing of civilians.The ministry said Iran’s continued attacks, at a time when regional and international efforts are focused on de-escalation, place sole responsibility on Tehran for undermining peace efforts and reflect a policy of destabilizing regional security, exporting chaos, and undermining stability.It also referred to UN Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026), submitted by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and Jordan and backed by 136 countries, describing it as a broad expression of international consensus.The ministry said Tehran’s continued attacks constitute a direct challenge to that international consensus after it had committed, under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, to a permanent cessation of military operations and respect for the sovereignty of countries in the region.It reaffirmed Bahrain’s legitimate right to defend its sovereignty, security and stability in accordance with international law, and called on the UN Security Council to uphold its responsibilities by ensuring the implementation of its resolution and holding the aggressor accountable. Source link
Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest in Friday practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as Mercedes sought to bounce back from their first defeat of the season.The 19-year-old Italian, winner of five races in a row until he retired in Spain this month and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton ended the dominant streak, was 0.040 quicker than teammate George Russell in session one and then 0.237 faster than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the second.Piastri was consistently quick, third in a scorching first practice session with conditions declared a heat hazard, but Russell dropped to sixth at the end of a day after a disrupted second practice.”We knew Mercedes would be a step ahead, and that’s how it played out, but it was productive for us,” said Piastri.Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen was fourth in both practices for his team’s home race, with Hamilton also fifth in both.McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris, last year’s winner at the Red Bull Ring, was seventh in the early session but third in the later afternoon when McLaren looked to be Mercedes’s closest challengers.”This track seems to suit us as we’ve seen in the last few years and that’s a good trend for the weekend ahead,” said Norris.Russell said first practice had been strong for Mercedes but McLaren and Red Bull had been quick in the second.”It was a real surprise to see the first lap of the McLarens in P2, just right at the top, and their race pace especially on Lando’s side looked a bit better than us,” he added.Antonelli leads Hamilton by 41 points in the standings after seven rounds.EARLY ISSUES FOR MCLAREN AND RED BULLRed Bull had a difficult start to the day with Verstappen suffering issues with his upgraded car while teammate Isack Hadjar’s car needed a hurried engine change and he missed the first 35 minutes.Four-time world champion Verstappen complained that “the whole car is shaking under braking”.”At first we had an engine issue on Isack’s car before the beginning of the session, so we had to do a very late call to change his engine,” said team boss Laurent Mekies.”And then on Max, we also had a troubled start with a couple of software issues that got us stuck in the garage.”Norris remained in the garage for the first 45 minutes as McLaren wrestled with a hydraulics problem while Piastri complained about his car’s brakes.Ferrari had F2 driver Dino Beganovic in Charles Leclerc’s car for the opening session, clocking the ninth best time, with the Monegasque returning for the later hour and going eighth fastest.”I’d say it was a solid but challenging start to the weekend, with the high temperatures making an already demanding circuit even tougher,” said Hamilton.”We’ve definitely got some work to do to find the right setup and balance and unlock some performance.”Sergio Perez’s Cadillac brought out red flags with just over a minute remaining after the Mexican stopped on the uphill climb, with the session then ended prematurely and no drivers able to do any practice starts.The Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas caught fire in session two after limping back to the pits with a damaged suspension and the car’s floor sparking off the asphalt.Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa replaced Esteban Ocon at Haas for the session and knocked over one of the team mechanics when he overshot his pit box, fortunately without injury. Related Story Source link
Aryna Sabalenka extended her reign as tiebreak queen to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for a fourth successive year and Carlos Alcaraz joined her as Daniil Medvedev’s campaign ended Sunday.Third seed Coco Gauff advanced to her third quarter-finals in a row with a pulsating 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over crafty Czech Karolina Muchova in a late-afternoon contest at Margaret Court Arena, while Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur eased through. Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka reacts after a point against Canada’s Victoria Mboko in Melbourne Sunday. (AFP) But three-times finalist Medvedev was handed another harsh lesson by his new nemesis Learner Tien, the Russian going down 6-4 6-0 6-3 to the American again at Melbourne Park.”He played great, super-aggressive. Even when I was making good shots, he was making a better shot back,” Medvedev said.”I didn’t find many solutions today on the court, which is rare, and I didn’t feel that many times in my life like this.”A day after blistering heat caused mayhem at Melbourne Park, normal service resumed as a cool change brought relief for players, fans and tournament schedulers.Twice champion and favourite Sabalenka was first out on a glorious morning, seeing off Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko 6-1 7-6(1) in a match of two halves.The Belarusian was at her irrepressible best as she crushed the teen in a 31-minute opening set and raced to a 4-1 lead in the second before Mboko produced a thrilling fightback.Breaking Sabalenka twice on the way to a 6-5 lead, Mboko then hit a brick wall as the Belarusian raised her game to notch a 20th successive tiebreak win at Grand Slams, eclipsing Novak Djokovic’s record of 19 between Wimbledon 2005 and 2007.”I’m upset right now,” Djokovic joked in response to a post on X highlighting Sabalenka’s feat. PUSHED HARDBelarusian Sabalenka heaped praise on her young opponent.”It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on the tour,” said the world number one, who has reached 13 successive Grand Slam quarter-finals.”Having taken down one young gun, Sabalenka gets a shot at another in the quarter-finals against 18-year-old American Iva Jovic, who thrashed Kazakh veteran Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 at John Cain Arena, two days after dumping out Jasmine Paolini.The men’s tournament has seen few surprises of the magnitude of Mboko and Jovic, with the final 16 shut out by seeded players for the first time at any Grand Slam in the professional era.Top seed Alcaraz did his bit in preserving the status quo despite facing arguably his toughest test during this tournament against 19th seed Tommy Paul, a semi-finalist in 2023.Alcaraz appeared in cruise control in a 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5 win under the afternoon sun at Rod Laver Arena.Once a stubborn matchup for Alcaraz, Paul has now lost on three Grand Slam surfaces to the Spaniard following last year’s quarter-final thrashing at the French Open and his 2024 defeat at Wimbledon.”I guess the way that I would describe it is, he suffocates you in a way,” Paul said of Alcaraz.”He makes you feel like you have no time.” LOCAL HEROAlcaraz next takes on Australian Alex de Minaur, who brushed aside 10th-seeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-1 6-1 to make his second successive quarter-final at Melbourne Park.”I’m super pleased with my level, I’m excited for the next one,” said De Minaur, who is looking to be the first Australian to win the tournament since compatriot Mark Edmondson’s triumph five decades ago.”I’m going to have to come out all guns blazing and I’m excited for a battle against Carlitos.”Last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev stayedon trackin his bid for an elusive maiden Grand Slam title, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2 6-4 6-4.Even as the fourth-round action unfolded on court, Djokovic was given the news he had reached the quarter-finals as fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew due to an abdominal injury a day before they were scheduled to meet.While the leading men eased through, two-times Grand Slam champion Gauff saw three match points slip through her fingers before she prevailed in a proper scrap against 19th seed Muchova, a former semi-finalist.”She definitely elevated her game and I thought I was sometimes a bit passive,” said Gauff, who next faces Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian beat Mirra Andreeva 6-2 6-4.”I think today I didn’t panic… I knew I had to capitalise on those chances in the third set and I did that.” Related…
At least 11 people were killed and 12 others injured in an armed attack at a football field in the Mexican city of Salamanca, local authorities said. Mayor Cesar Prieto said in a post on Facebook that a woman and a child were among those injured in what he described as a “regrettable and cowardly” attack. The incident took place in the Loma de Flores area during a social gathering. Prieto described the attack as a a sign of a severe social breakdown, adding that it was part of a broader wave of violence that state has been experiencing. Source link
The UN Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR) in South Sudan expressed grave alarm over the deteriorating situation in Jonglei State, South Sudan.The UN warned that such developments significantly heighten the risk of mass violence against civilians and further erode the peace agreement.The OHCHR, established by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) said that public statements by commanders and others exercising effective command and control, when combined with active troop mobilization, represent a dangerous escalation at a moment when the political foundations of the peace process are already severely weakened. The Commission held criminally responsible those who fail to prevent or punish crimes they knew about, or should have known were being committed. The Commission stressed that the current escalation is not an isolated incident, but part of a wider political breakdown driven by sustained violations of the peace agreement, and the erosion of command discipline in an already volatile and ethnically fractured environment. The Commission called on all parties to immediately cease inflammatory rhetoric and troop mobilizations in order to de-escalate tensions, demanding regional and international partners to urgently re-engage to preserve the peace agreement and press South Sudanâ€s leaders to return to the political path they committed to. Source link
Al Sadd players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Qatar-UAE Super Shield at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium…
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