Italy title race tight as Juventus, AC Milan draw ( February 5th, 2012 )
ROME (AFP) Juventus and AC Milan were held to draws to keep things tight at the Serie A summit as only one of the top seven teams managed to win on Sunday. Sixth-placed Roma’s 4-0 thrashing of fifth-placed Inter Milan was the lone success for the leading teams. Leaders Juve were held 0-0 at home [...]
Cisse bags debut winner as Newcastle down Villa ( February 5th, 2012 )
LONDON (AFP) Senegal striker Papiss Demba Cisse enjoyed a dream debut for Newcastle as his second-half strike secured a 2-1 win against Aston Villa at St James’ Park on Sunday. Alan Pardew’s side took the lead through Cisse’s compatriot Demba Ba, who marked his return from African Nations Cup duty with his 16th goal of [...]
Welsh win Six Nations thriller against Ireland ( February 5th, 2012 )
DUBLIN (AFP) Wales recorded their third successive victory over Ireland on Sunday with a last minute penalty by Leigh Halfpenny giving them a 23-21 victory in their Six Nations opener. The Welsh scored three tries to the hosts two with centre Jonathan Davies getting two of them while Irish wing Tommy Bowe brought up a [...]
All-rounder Baumann wins Chamonix super-combined ( February 5th, 2012 )
CHAMONIX, France (AFP) Austria’s Romed Baumann won Sunday’s super-combined race at Chamonix for his second World Cup win, three years after he last topped a podium. The Austrian timed 2min 56.10sec to finish 1.10sec ahead of Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, with Switzerland’s Beat Feuz a further 0.09sec adrift. Baumann dominated the downhill portion of the race [...]
Mancuso takes super-G, Vonn crashes out ( February 5th, 2012 )
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AFP) America’s Julia Mancuso claimed her sixth World Cup career victory on Sunday in the super-G with Austria’s Anna Fenninger second and Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather third. Mancuso was the fastest down the 2km-long course in a time of 1min 20.50secs, with Fenninger at 0.13sec back and Weirather, who also finished third in the [...]
Berdych topples Monfils in Montpellier ( February 5th, 2012 )
MONTPELLIER, France (AFP) Top seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic toppled defending champion Gael Monfils of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to win the ATP event in Montpellier on Sunday. Seventh-ranked Berdych took advantage as his rival was hampered by a right knee problem to lift his seventh ATP title in 13 finals, and the [...]
Japan beat Slovenia 5-0 in Fed Cup tennis ( February 5th, 2012 )
MIKI, Japan (AFP) Japanese number one Ayumi Morita posted three wins to lead Japan to a 5-0 victory over Slovenia in the Fed Cup tennis World Group II first round tie on Sunday. The 21-year-old ace, who received the Fed Cup Heart Award last year, overwhelmed Slovenia’s top player Polona Hercog in the deciding set [...]
Lawrie wins Qatar Masters ( February 5th, 2012 )
DOHA (AFP) Paul Lawrie stroked a fluent 65 to win the Qatar Masters for the second time with a four-shot win over Jason Day and Peter Hanson at the Doha Golf Club on Sunday. The Scotsman produced a bogey-free third round in the truncated tournament as the chasing pack made crucial errors to win his [...]
Libya opens trial of 41 Kadhafi loyalists ( February 5th, 2012 )
BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) Libya put 41 loyalists of dead dictator Moamer Kadhafi on trial on Sunday, in the first legal proceedings launched against members of the former regime ousted last year in a bloody conflict. The accused, mostly civilians, appeared in a military court in the eastern city of Benghazi, the birthplace of the uprising [...]
Egypt clashes rage into fourth day ( February 5th, 2012 )
CAIRO (AFP) Protesters and police fought pitched battles on Sunday at security headquarters in Cairo as deadly clashes raged into a fourth day and the interior minister leapt to the defence of his reviled forces. The fighting was sparked by the perceived failure of Egypt’s military rulers and police to prevent football-linked violence following a [...]