Sharapova beats Bartoli to reach US Open semi-finals
Third seed Maria Sharapova recovered to beat Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli and reach the semi-finals of the US Open.
Play resumed on Wednesday with the 2006 champion trailing 4-0 in the first set, which she proceeded to lose 6-3.
But Sharapova took the next two sets 6-3 6-4 to set up a last-four encounter against top seed Victoria Azarenka.
Italy's Sara Errani beat compatriot Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-4 to set up a semi-final against either Serena Williams or Ana Ivanovic.
Three-time champion Williams plays 12th seed Ivanovic later on Wednesday.
Sharapova said: "The rain break gave me a few hours to think about things. I came out so flat yesterday. She's so tough and she was on fire. I'm so happy to get back to the semi-finals."
Not since her third-round loss to Flavia Pennetta at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago has Sharapova lost a three-set match, winning 12 out of 12 this season.
And the initial signs were not good for Bartoli as Sharapova won the first two games after the resumption, which was again twice delayed by showers.
But Bartoli held her nerve to clinch the first set before her Russian opponent was forced to save four break points in the third game of the second.
However, Sharapova broke to lead 5-3, levelled the match with her fifth ace and broke the Bartoli serve again to lead 2-1 in the decider.
Bartoli broke back only for Sharapova to strike a major blow in the ninth game courtesy of another break, after which she served out for the match.
The 25-year-old Russian kept alive her hopes of a second major title of the year, having completed a career Grand Slam at the French Open in June.
It is the first time Sharapova has reached the last four of the US Open since she won it six years ago and her semi-final is a rematch of this year's Australian Open final, which Azarenka won 6-3 6-0.
Tenth seed Errani , 25, was playing in her third Grand Slam quarter-final of the year while best friend Vinci, four years older, was making her last-eight debut at a major.
The pair have won seven doubles titles in 2012, a haul which includes the French Open, but it was Errani's greater big-match experience that proved decisive.
"It's always hard to play against a friend and it was strange seeing her on the other side of the net," said Errani, who has four singles titles to her name this year.
"I am happy to get to the semi-finals. Can I win the title? I will tell you in three or four days."
NFL donates $30 million for medical research, player safety
The NFL announced a $30 million donation to the National Institutes to Health on Wednesday, the largest in the league’s history, reports NFL.com.
The funding is going to be used at the discretion of National Institutes to Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A release from the league said the money will go to research on “chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE); concussion management and treatment; and the understanding of the potential relationship between traumatic brain injury and late-life neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease.”
Currently, more than 3,400 ex-players and family members are suing the NFL, claiming the league has been negligent in dealing with concussions.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the donation has nothing to do with concussion lawsuit and that the league has been doing research since the 1990′s.
“Well, there’s a lot more work to be done, is the bottom line. There’s a much greater awareness about head injuries and concussions and the importance of treating them conservatively and cautiously,” Goodell said.
Source-SI
Longer working week suggested for Greece
Greece's international lenders have suggested measures including increasing the maximum working week to six days.
It is one of several unofficial proposals to liberalise the labour market and increase government revenue, contained in a paper seen by the BBC.
The proposals were not included in the original bailout agreement signed with the Greek government.
Inspectors from the EU, IMF and European Central Bank, known as the troika, are due in Greece this week.
They are writing a report, due in October, that will decide whether Greece receives its next instalment of bailout funds.
Greece needs the next payment of 31.5bn euros ($39.6bn; £24.9bn) to allow it to continue servicing its debts.
Proposals in the document from the troika included:
- Setting a single rate statutory minimum wage
- Reducing regulatory burdens
- Making work schedules more flexible
- Setting a minimum daily rest of 11 hours
- Eliminating restrictions on the minimum and maximum time between morning and afternoon shifts.
Also, on Wednesday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble ruled out a third package of aid for Greece, but stressed that it would be staying in the eurozone.
"The costs for Greece are already very high and therefore we cannot have a new programme for Greece," he told German radio.
Greece was given a 110bn-euro package in May 2010 and a further 130bn euros in October 2011, along with a 100bn-euro debt write-off.
European President Herman Van Rompuy is due to meet Greek leader Antonis Samaras on Thursday.
Euro bailout
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission - the group of donor bodies known collectively as the "troika" - are examining whether Greece is making sufficient progress towards reforming its public finances.
Greece is currently trying to finalise a package of 11.5bn euros ($14.4bn; £9.1bn) of spending cuts over the next two years.
It is also being asked to put in place economic and structural reforms, including changes to the labour market and a renewed privatisation drive.
The measures are needed to qualify for the next 33.5bn-euro instalment of its second 130bn-euro bailout.
Greece needs the funds to make repayments on its debt burden. A default could result in the country leaving the euro.
Lufthansa cancels flights as crew stage third strike
Lufthansa has cancelled hundreds of flights on Friday as cabin staff stage another one-day strike at Germany's three busiest airports.
The strike was called by the UFO union late Wednesday for Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin airports.
Lufthansa has cancelled short and medium-haul flights but also services to and from Shanghai, Jakarta, Seattle and Los Angeles.
UFO and Lufthansa are arguing over pay and working conditions.
The union represents about two-thirds of Lufthansa's 19,000 cabin crew.
Union leaders are seeking a pay increase of 5% for cabin staff for 15 months, starting from January this year. They said there had been no pay increases for three years.
They also want guarantees that Lufthansa will not outsource jobs or use more temporary workers, as it has in Berlin.
Earlier, Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther said that the airline had offered to stop fixed-term contracts and halt the use of temporary staff, but the airline is only proposing a 3.5% rise in salary.
Lufthansa is currently undergoing a 1.5bn euro (£1.2bn) cost-cutting programme to offset rising fuel costs and tackle competition from low-cost and Gulf carriers.
The airline posted a 24% drop in second-quarter profits to 229m euros compared with a year earlier. In May, it announced it would axe 3,500 office jobs.
Deepwater Horizon: BP accused of gross negligence
The US Justice Department has accused BP of "gross negligence and wilful misconduct" over the Deepwater Horizon disaster, claims which BP denies.
The allegations came in papers filed in the federal court in New Orleans.
The Deepwater Horizon rig had been leased by BP. It exploded on 20 April 2010, killing 11 workers and spilling millions of gallons of crude oil.
If the government can prove gross negligence it can triple the damages BP may have to pay to $21bn (£13bn).
The case is due to go to trial in New Orleans in January 2013, although talks are underway between BP and the US government to try to settle the claims.
"The behaviour, words, and actions of these BP executives would not be tolerated in a middling size company manufacturing dry goods for sale in a suburban mall," the government said in its 39-page filing.
BP has denied the claims. "BP believes it was not grossly negligent and looks forward to presenting evidence on this issue at trial in January," the company said in a statement.
Transocean, the Swiss-based company that owned the rig, declined to comment, the Reuters news agency said.
The legal filing said that errors made by BP and Transocean in deciphering a pressure test on the well supported the government's case.
"That such a simple, yet fundamental and safety-critical test could have been so stunningly, blindingly botched in so many ways, by so many people, demonstrates gross negligence," it said.
Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg not to sell shares for a year
Mark Zuckerberg has said that he will not sell any of his shares in Facebook for at least one year in a bid to shore up investor confidence.
His pledge came as Facebook shares hit an all-time low of $17.55 on Tuesday.
There have been fears that as various lock-up periods, which stop sales by early investors, end, the stock may dip further.
Mr Zuckerberg owns about 444 million shares of Facebook plus an option to issue another 60 million.
Last month, Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and one of Facebook's earliest backers sold 20.1 million shares, cashing in most of his stake in the firm, after the first lock-up period ended.
Facebook shares rose nearly 2% in after-hours trading post the announcement.
Growth concerns
Facebook shares have fallen almost 50% since the company went public in May this year.
Analysts and investors have been concerned about the firm's ability to generate revenue from users that access the website on their mobile devices.
The decreased screen space on these devices, compared with traditional desktop computers, means it is difficult to place advertisements.
As more and more users access the site from mobile devices, there are fears that revenue growth from advertisers, may slow.
That does not bode well for Facebook, as advertising revenue is one of the biggest contributors to its income.
Those fears were fanned further on Tuesday after analysts at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase cut their price targets for the firm's shares.
Scott Devitt of Morgan Stanley lowered his target price to $32 from $38 on concerns over mobile advertising.
Meanwhile, Doug Anmuth of JPMorgan Chase slashed his target to $30 from $45, saying that revenue from games hosted on the website was likely to fall.
Obama Arrives for Democratic Convention
U.S. President Barack Obama is in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention, a gathering of his staunchest supporters he hopes will propel him to re-election to a second term in the White House.
Mr. Obama arrived in the southern state Wednesday afternoon. Hours earlier, party officials looked at Thursday's weather forecast and decided to move his night-time nomination acceptance address from an outdoor football stadium because of concerns about rain. The president will instead speak in a much smaller, 20,000-seat indoor arena where the remainder of the convention is being staged.
Democratic officials said they feared the possibility of rainstorms during the speech. Mr. Obama's Republican opponents said the real worry for his supporters was that the president might not attract enough people to fill the 74,000-seat stadium.
In a statement, convention organizer Steve Kerrigan said the group shared the “disappointment of over 65,000 people” who had signed up for credentials to attend the outdoor event. He said Mr. Obama would speak to them during a Thursday conference call.
Meanwhile, former U.S. president Bill Clinton takes the spotlight at the convention on Wednesday, adding more high-profile support for Mr. Obama's re-election.
Mr. Clinton, the 42nd American president, will formally place the 44th president's name up for nomination during a nationally televised address. The relationship between the two Democrats has improved in the years since Mr. Obama defeated the former president's wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2008 party nomination campaign.
Mr. Clinton remains a popular figure among many Americans who recall the economic prosperity during his two terms in office in the 1990s, and analysts say he could help Mr. Obama win support from older, white working-class Americans.
The highlight of the convention's opening night Tuesday was a speech by first lady Michelle Obama, who talked about her husband's character and ability to make tough political choices.
“Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn't care whether it was the easy thing to do politically — that's not how he was raised –he cared that it was the right thing to do.”
Democrats used their opening speeches reaching out to women voters, with Mrs. Obama recounting how the president's early background — and his grandmother's employment setbacks — helped shape his governing policies as president.
Mr. Obama's opponent in the November 6 election is Republican Mitt Romney, a one-time venture capitalist and former governor of Massachusetts. Surveys of voters show the two candidates in a virtual tie nine weeks ahead of election day.
Tropical Storm Strengthens Into a Hurricane
Forecasters have upgraded Tropical Storm Leslie into a hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its midday forecast Wednesday that Leslie was about 750 kilometers south of Bermuda and moving very slowly to the north.
Top sustained winds are 120 kilometers per hour.
Forecasters have not yet predicted whether Leslie will strike land, but say those living on Bermuda should closely monitor the storm. They also say Leslie could create life-threatening surf along the U.S. east coast.
Leslie is the sixth named hurricane of the Atlantic season, which began June 1 and lasts through November.
Egypt, Turkey criticizes Syria Assad
Egypt's president says Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must learn from “recent history” and step down before it is too late, while Turkey's prime minister said Syria has become a “terrorist state” carrying out massacres against its own people.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo Wednesday that a resolution to the crisis is an Arab responsibility, reiterating his call for the Syrian government to resign. He said the time has come in Syria for “change and not wasting time speaking of reform.”
Mr. Morsi also said a quartet of regional states proposed by Cairo to discuss the Syrian crisis would meet. The group includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt.
In separate comments, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced further frustration at the lack of international consensus over the chaos in Syria. He told a meeting of his ruling AK party in Ankara that Turkey does not “have the luxury to remain indifferent” to what is happening in Syria.
Meanwhile, Syrian forces and rebels clashed in several regions on Wednesday including Aleppo, the country's commercial capital.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 33 people were killed in Aleppo, where Syrian forces have been pounding neighborhoods with rebel strongholds.
The Syrian government has blamed “terrorists” for much of the violence that has gripped the county for 18 months.
In another development, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon sharply criticized the Security Council for what he called its “paralysis” on Syria.
He told the U.N. General Assembly, on Wednesday, that a lack of decisive action harms the Syrian people and damages the credibility of the council.
The Security Council's efforts to pressure Syria have been hampered party by Russia and China. The two countries have vetoed three Security Council resolutions on Syria.
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that his country supported a political transition in Syria.
But, he repeated China's opposition to foreign intervention.
World Economic Forum, U.S Slipping
The World Economic Forum says the United States, with the world's largest economy, is slipping in its global competitiveness because its political leaders have failed to deal with the country's rising debt and continued deficit spending.
On Wednesday, the day after the U.S. said its debt has reached a record $16 trillion, the Geneva-based group said the U.S. remains a world innovation powerhouse. But the WEF said business leaders are concerned about the public's lack of trust in the country's political leaders and “a perceived lack of government efficiency.”
The U.S. slipped two spots in the rankings to seventh worldwide, the fourth straight year it has fallen in the annual survey. The forum's lead economist, Jennifer Blanke, told VOA the U.S. has serious weaknesses that undermine its business competitiveness.
“There is … continuing concern about the macro-economic environment, continuing debt levels – the inability to get the spending under control and really political deadlock about how to even deal with this issue. And, this is leading to concern about political institutions in general. So, the business sector has concerns about its confidence in politicians to make the sorts of decisions that are needed going forward.”
The report said Switzerland, for the fourth consecutive year, is the most competitive country on its list of 144 nations, because of its excellent education system and substantial corporate spending on research and development. The WEF said Singapore, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands follow the Swiss.
The report said the least competitive countries were Burundi, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Guinea and Yemen.
While Northern European countries hold six of the top 10 rankings, some debt-ridden countries in the southern part of the continent fell in the rankings, with financially troubled Greece dropping six spots to 96th. WEF economist Blanke said the continent's leaders need to boost economic growth as they grapple with the three-year-old debt crisis.
“The Europeans really need to deal with their sovereign debt crisis and get some of these countries growing again … They need to be thinking beyond the short-term. They need to get this macro-house in order, but then they need to be thinking about the sorts of investments that will get them there.”
After Singapore, the WEF report ranked four other Asian economies in the top 20: Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
In the Middle East and North Africa, Qatar led the way at 11th, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Oman.
In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa was ranked 52nd, followed by Mauritius at 54th.
In Latin America, Chile was ranked the highest, at 33rd, followed by Panama, Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica.
The world's second largest economy, China, was ranked the 29th most competitive, down three spots from last year.
The World Economic Forum's 10 most competitive countries:
1. Switzerland
2. Singapore
3. Finland
4. Sweden
5. Netherlands
6. Germany
7. United States
8. United Kingdom
9. Hong Kong
10. Japan
The World Economic Forum's 10 least competitive countries:
135. Swaziland
136. Timor-Leste
137. Lesotho
138. Mozambique
139. Chad
140. Yemen
141. Guinea
142. Haiti
143. Sierra Leone
144. Burundi
The entire report can be seen at http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness. The country-by-country rankings can be seen at http://www3.weforum.org/docs/CSI/2012-13/GCR_Rankings_2012-13.pdf.
Source-VOA