News

HAVANA: Australian endurance athlete Chloe McCardel jumped feet-first into calm, balmy waters off Cuba on Wednesday and began stroking steadily out to sea in a bid to make a record swim from Havana to Florida without a protective shark cage. A smiling, upbeat McCardel arrived in the morning at a rocky jetty in Havana’s Hemingway Marina in a pink 1950s Chevy convertible. She carefully adjusted her …

PARIS: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sent Roger Federer crashing out of the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday to take a step closer to ending France’s 30-year wait for a men’s champion at Roland Garros. Sixth-seed Tsonga swept to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 triumph to reach his first semifinal in Paris and first by a home player since Gael Monfils in 2008. The 28-year-old will tackle Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer for …

ST PETERSBURG: The Sochi 2014 Olympics medals got their first public airing on Thursday with organisers unveiling the prizes for Russia’s first ever Winter Games and Paralympics. With eight months to go until the opening ceremony, a record 1,300 medals were manufactured with the Russian city hosting more events than any previous Winter Olympics. Depending on the colour, the bulky round medals …

ST. PETERSURG: An official with knowledge of the decision says pole vault great Sergei Bubka of Ukraine has become the sixth declared candidate in the race to be the next IOC president. The official tells The Associated Press that the 49-year-old former Olympic and world champion is announcing his candidacy Tuesday to succeed Jacques Rogge, who steps down in September. The official spoke on …

BEIRUT: A rocket was fired from south Lebanon towards Israel on Sunday, Lebanese security sources said, and residents of a northern Israeli town reported hearing a blast. “An explosion was heard. Soldiers are searching the area. The cause is still being investigated,” an Israeli military spokeswoman said. A second Israeli military source said the explosion was probably caused by a mortar. The incident came …

LONDON: Carl Froch enjoyed sweet revenge by unanimously out-pointing Mikkel Kessler in an epic world super-middleweight title unification fight Saturday. The English boxer avenged a 2010 points defeat to the Dane after a disciplined display behind his jab earned scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113 in front of 18,000 fans at the O2 Arena in London. But Froch, who maintained his piston-like jab through …

MANCHESTER: After spending nearly a year away from the baize, Ronnie O’Sullivan predicted “car crash” TV as he launched the defense of his world snooker title. In the end, his journey to recapturing the game’s biggest prize couldn’t have been smoother. O’Sullivan, snooker’s most talented and controversial player, won the world championship Monday for the fifth time, defending his title …

LOS ANGELES: World welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather will put his undefeated record on the line when he fights Mexican champ Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. “I chose my opponent for September 14th and it’s Canelo Alvarez,” the 36-year-old Mayweather tweeted Wednesday night. “I’m giving the fans what they want.” Mayweather fought May 4 and remained unbeaten with a …