‘Proud’ Murray bows out of tennis with Paris Olympics defeat

Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis - Men's Doubles Quarterfinals - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 01, 2024. Andy Murray of Britain waves to spectators after losing his match with Daniel Evans of Britain against Taylor Fritz of United States and Tommy Paul of United States. (Reuters)
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Updated 02 August 2024
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‘Proud’ Murray bows out of tennis with Paris Olympics defeat

PARIS: Andy Murray said he was retiring “on my terms” as his trophy-filled career came to an emotional end at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, closing another chapter on tennis’s golden generation.
The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner slipped into retirement aged 37 when he and Dan Evans lost in the men’s doubles quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul delivered the knockout blow with a 6-2, 6-4 victory on a packed Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Britain’s Murray had already announced that the Olympics would be his last event.
“I’m proud of my career, my achievements and what I put into the sport,” said Murray.
“Obviously it was emotional because it’s the last time I will play a competitive match. But I am genuinely happy just now. I’m happy with how it finished.”
He added: “I’m glad I got to go out here at the Olympics and finish on my terms because at times in the last few years that wasn’t a certainty.”
Just a few hours after Murray had made his exit, he cheekily wrote on X: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”
Career-long rival Novak Djokovic described Murray as “an incredible competitor.”
“One of the greatest warriors tennis has seen. His fighting spirit is definitely something that I’m sure is going to inspire many generations to come,” said the Serb.
One of the ‘Big Four’ in the sport, Murray joins 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in retirement after the Swiss great quit in 2022.
Rafael Nadal, the winner of 22 majors but battling more injuries at the age of 38, exited the Paris Olympics on Wednesday and suggested that he had played his last match at Roland Garros, where he won 14 of his Slams.
Nadal also effectively ruled himself out of the US Open, sparking more speculation that the great Spaniard is also finished in the sport.
That would leave just 37-year-old Djokovic — winner of a record 24 Grand Slams — still active among the sport’s eminent talents who have carved up 69 majors between them.
Murray famously ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon when he triumphed in 2013, defeating Djokovic in the final.
He added a second title in 2016, taking his career majors total to three after breaking his duck at the 2012 US Open.
Murray won gold at the 2012 Olympics on an emotional day at the All England Club when he defeated Federer just weeks after he had lost the Wimbledon final to the Swiss on the same Center Court.
Four years later he defeated Juan Martin del Potro to become the first player, man or woman, to win two Olympic singles golds.
Murray also led Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015, the country’s first in 79 years.
He has won 46 titles in all and banked around $65 million in prize money.
However, he has been ravaged by injuries in recent years, slumping to 117th in the world.
The Scot has played with a metal hip since 2019 and suffered ankle damage earlier this year before undergoing surgery to remove a spinal cyst, which ruled him out of singles at Wimbledon.
Instead, he played doubles with brother Jamie and was defeated in the first round before an emotional tribute arranged by tournament chiefs.
“It’s hard because I would love to keep playing, but I can’t,” admitted Murray at the All England Club.
“Physically it is too tough now, all of the injuries, they have added up and they haven’t been insignificant.”
Men’s tennis has already opened up a new frontier.
Jannik Sinner, the 22-year-old Italian, succeeded Djokovic as Australian Open champion in January and eventually took his world number one ranking.
Carlos Alcaraz, 21, won the French Open and successfully defended his Wimbledon title, sweeping Djokovic off court in a one-sided final in July.
“It was a privilege to share the court with you, Andy!” Alcaraz wrote on X in tribute to Murray.
“Congratulations on a legendary career and for being an example to all. You will always have a fan here.”


‘Everything was stopped’: USAID cuts hit hard in northern Kenya

Updated 1 min 21 sec ago
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‘Everything was stopped’: USAID cuts hit hard in northern Kenya

  • President Donald Trump’s administration has announced dramatic cuts to USAID whose annual budget was close to $43 billion
  • The picture is increasingly grim in Kakuma refugee camp, which hosts more than 300,000 people mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi and Rwanda
  • Protests broke out last month after news that rations, already lowered last year, would be further reduced because of the cuts to US foreign aid spending

LODWAR: In Kenya’s largest and poorest county, the despair of a beleaguered hospital director is palpable as he explains that the dismantling of American-funded aid means his facility will run out of USAID drugs next month.
“From then on, I don’t know,” Ekiru Kidalio said, worried about the lack of treatment for measles and HIV among other things.
Northernmost Turkana county borders Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda and is home to just under a million people, according to a 2019 census, a third of them refugees, many dependent on foreign assistance.
President Donald Trump’s administration has announced dramatic cuts to USAID whose annual budget was close to $43 billion, more than 40 percent of the world’s humanitarian aid.
The decisions, taken thousands of kilometers (miles) away in Washington, are already being felt in Turkana’s Lodwar County Referral Hospital, Kidalio, its acting director, said.
USAID employed 64 staff, including nurses and clinical officers, out of around 400 employees at the hospital.
“All those workers were laid off,” he said.
“Everything was stopped... and then the commodities (drugs) were not received,” Kidalio added, voicing particular concern over shortages of measles vaccines.
Kidalio said he was “not aware” of any plans by the Kenyan government to tackle the shortfall.
The local governor publicly urged the restoration of USAID-funded programs when US charge d’affaires Marc Dillard visited last week.
The destabilising shift has also created a lot of concern in the dusty town, dominated by UN-emblazoned white landcruisers and signs urging an end to gender-based violence or promoting aid groups.
“There is a lot of worry because the US has ended their support,” resident Lydia Muya, 32, told AFP.
The mother-of-three said residents — in a region where roughly 77 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to 2021 government statistics — were particularly concerned about their access to medication.
“We see that is now a very big risk to us, because we depend on those medicines, so most of the people will suffer,” said Muya.
“It is difficult.”


The picture is increasingly grim in Kakuma refugee camp, which hosts more than 300,000 people mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi and Rwanda.
Protests broke out last month after news that rations, already lowered last year, would be further reduced because of the cuts to US foreign aid spending.
“It was tense,” said one humanitarian worker, based in Kakuma for almost five years, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not permitted to speak to the media.
When asked if supplies were arriving, his response was blunt: “No. With what money? No funding, no stuff.
“It’s operating on hand-to-mouth basis on this point.”
He estimated as much as 40 percent of the workforce had already been laid off as a result of the US cuts.
The situation could still worsen.
The World Food Programme (WFP), which supports just under 200,000 Kakuma refugees, told AFP they had cut rations, delivered as food and cash, to 40 percent of their previous level.
A mother-of-four, who had lived in the camp for almost two decades, told AFP she was worried.
“How many days will I eat? The food can end so fast,” she said, asking to remain anonymous as she was unsure if she was allowed to speak to journalists.
She is also worried about the coming rainy season when malaria cases soar.
“If you go now to the hospital there is no medicine, they just check you,” she said.
“Trump has stopped everything, and it’s closed now, there is nothing coming in and nothing coming out.”


Aid workers privately say that the situation is not just down to the US cuts and point to a lack of planning by NGOs.
“The camp has been managed as an emergency, so they were not preparing people” to become less dependent on aid, a second aid worker in Kakuma told AFP by telephone.
“If refugees were treated like people not in an emergency set-up anymore... these fund (shortfalls) could not affect them,” he said, suggesting more should have been done on longer-term programs.
The first aid worker also voiced his frustration, saying budgets were eaten up by operational costs such as staffing overheads, transport and bureaucracy.
“The aid, the majority of it goes to the operational bit of it, not the actual work,” he said. “It’s madness.”
Like other aid workers, he worries their program sometimes creates dependency without offering a future.
“As a person who has worked in multiple areas, sometimes you wonder if you are really helping or if you are enabling,” he said.


Saudi Arabia completes pavilion preparations for Expo 2025

Updated 21 min 55 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia completes pavilion preparations for Expo 2025

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has completed the construction and preparations of its pavilion for Expo 2025, which will open in Osaka on April 13.

Featuring more than 700 events and activities, the pavilion will aim to provide an immersive experience for visitors.

It will highlight Saudi Arabia’s cultural and innovative landscape, while also unveiling new initiatives designed to encourage the Japanese public to explore and connect with the Kingdom.

Over the past two months, the Saudi Pavilion launched a tour of seven Japanese cities that offered local communities and tourists a chance to enjoy Saudi hospitality and explore the Kingdom’s culture.

This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan


Pakistan’s envoy to UAE says Islamabad pursuing progressive agenda to drive economic growth

Updated 31 min 8 sec ago
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Pakistan’s envoy to UAE says Islamabad pursuing progressive agenda to drive economic growth

  • Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi hosted a gathering in Abu Dhabi to mark his country’s national day
  • He called for an end to hostilities in Gaza and demanded peaceful resolution of the Palestine dispute

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday said the administration in Islamabad was following an agenda to ensure economic progress, as he hosted a reception to mark his country’s national day.
Pakistan annually commemorates its national day on March 23, marking the anniversary of the 1940 Lahore Resolution that called for a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent.
Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi highlighted the Pakistani government’s socio-economic initiatives during the event in Abu Dhabi, which was attended by diplomats and senior Emirati officials, including Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.
“[Ambassador Tirmizi] invited attention toward a range of opportunities in Pakistan that remained pivotal in promoting socio-economic development in [his] country,” said an official statement issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi following the event.
“These included a healthy youth bulge; growing women participation in public life; the potential of agriculture; rich socio-cultural heritage; tourism potential; and the fastest-growing IT sector,” the statement added. “He underscored that the government was pursuing a progressive agenda aimed at making tangible progress toward achieving economic growth and Sustainable Development Goals.”
In his address, the Pakistani envoy also called for an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza and reiterated Islamabad’s support for the peaceful resolution of the Palestine and Kashmir disputes in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The ambassador acknowledged the UAE’s impressive economic transformation over the past five decades and paid tribute to the leadership of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose vision, he said, was being proudly carried forward by President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Tirmizi also praised the growing political and economic partnership between Pakistan and the UAE while highlighting regular high-level exchanges and institutional cooperation between them along with the presence of a 1.7 million-strong Pakistani diaspora in the Gulf state.


Shai scores 42, Doncic ejected as Thunder down Lakers 136-120

Updated 09 April 2025
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Shai scores 42, Doncic ejected as Thunder down Lakers 136-120

  • The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched No.1 seeding in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs after cruising past the Chicago Bulls 135-113
  • Second-seeded Boston Celtics edged the third placed New York Knicks in a thriller at Madison Square Garden, with Jayson Tatum’s 32-point performance guiding the NBA champions to a 119-117 overtime victory

LOS ANGELES: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 136-120 on Tuesday in a hard-fought battle that saw Luka Doncic controversially ejected in the fourth quarter.

Two days after suffering a 27-point defeat to the Lakers, the No.1-ranked Thunder avenged that loss thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 13th 40-point game of the season, with Jalen Williams adding 26 and Lugentz Dort 17.

The contest pivoted on the fourth quarter incident that led to the Lakers’ Slovenian star Doncic picking up a second technical foul and being tossed from the game.

Doncic was ejected following a one-handed jump shot which put the Lakers 108-107 up with 7min 40sec remaining after officiating crew member J.T. Orr judged he had been verbally abused by the player following the bucket.

Doncic protested, arguing he had merely been responding to a fan at courtside who had heckled him, but the decision stood and clearly rattled the Lakers, allowing the Thunder to seize the initiative and pull away for victory.

“It was a great game that unfortunately didn’t get the finish that I think every basketball fan would want because of some decision making on some individuals’ parts,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said.

LeBron James, who finished with 28 points, was at a loss to explain Doncic’s ejection.

“I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal,” James told reporters. “The ref took it upon himself to think it was versus him. The game was just weird as hell after that.”

Doncic insisted he had not been trash-talking Orr. “It was nothing to do with the ref, so I didn’t really understand it,” Doncic said. “It was tough, but you know that’s on me too. I can’t let my team down like that.”

The Lakers remain in third place with a 48-31 record and need to win two of their remaining three regular-season fixtures to lock in third seeding in the Western Conference.

The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched No.1 seeding in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs after cruising past the Chicago Bulls 135-113.

Darius Garland led the scoring with 28 points in a balanced offensive performance from the Cavs, who improved to 63-16 to ensure they will finish the regular season on top of the East.

The victory ensures Cleveland will have home advantage when the playoffs get under way next week following the completion of the regular season on Sunday.

Garland was one of five Cleveland players to post double figures, with Evan Mobley adding 21 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists and Ty Jerome chipping in with 18 off the bench.

“You celebrate these moments,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think the guys are super happy in that locker room. We’ve had some ups and downs this past month, but I’m really proud of the guys.

“It’s hard to win 63 games in this league, and it’s hard to be the first seed. So great accomplishment. We’re hungry for more.”

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the second-seeded Boston Celtics edged the third placed New York Knicks in a thriller at Madison Square Garden, with Jayson Tatum’s 32-point performance guiding the NBA champions to a 119-117 overtime victory.

Back in the Western Conference playoff race, where six teams are vying for the remaining four automatic playoff berths, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a potentially costly 110-103 defeat on the road to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The result leave Minnesota on 46-33 and outside the top six places in the West.

The Memphis Grizzlies boosted their chances of playoff qualification with a 124-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets on the road.

The win lifted Memphis into fifth place in the table with a 47-32 record.

The game was overshadowed by a scary injury to Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells, who was stretchered off the court after landing heavily following a foul by K.J. Simpson.

US media reported Wells was awake and alert and nursing a broken wrist following the incident.


Pakistan’s national flag carrier posts first profit in 21 years amid privatization push

Updated 09 April 2025
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Pakistan’s national flag carrier posts first profit in 21 years amid privatization push

  • PIA posted an operational profit of $33.48 million, with a net profit of $94.32 million in FY 2024
  • Airline says its return to profitability will enhance market credibility, support national economy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s financially struggling national air carrier has recorded an operational profit of Rs9.3 billion ($33.48 million) for the first time in 21 years, the country’s defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s cash-strapped administration is looking to privatize the debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to raise funds and overhaul state-owned enterprises as part of a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
However, a previous attempt to offload a 60 percent stake in the airline failed last year after it drew just one bid — well below the asking price — highlighting investor concerns over the carrier’s viability. The new development could boost the government’s efforts to revive buyer interest.
“#PIACL Board today has approved its accounts FY 2024, and after 21 years, it has achieved an operating profit of PKR 9.3 billion & net profit of PKR 26.2 billion [$94.32 million] (after deferred tax adjustment),” Asif said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“People of #Pakistan might have lost hope on ‘once a pride of the nation’, but with rigorous steps adopted by the GoP, implementing comprehensive reforms entailing cost & workforce rationalization, routes optimization & financial discipline with balance sheet restructuring, PIA is poised to capitalize on financial performance through privatization process,” he added.
According to a statement from the airline’s spokesperson, the operational margin for 2024 exceeded 12 percent, a performance level the company said matches that of top global carriers.
PIA’s return to profitability is expected to enhance its market credibility and support the broader economy, it added.