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Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Gauff cruise into Australian Open third round

The third round of the Australian Open is now in full swing thanks to top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka and a nearly faultless Coco Gauff were the only players who could not stop Carlos Alcaraz from fending off a string of “bombs” before moving on to the Australian Open third round on Wednesday.

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Daniil Medvedev, a three-time champion, fought through four sets to keep his Grand Slam hopes on track in Melbourne Park, which was cooler and overcast all day.

Alcaraz, the Spanish superstar, defeated German Yannick Hanfmann of Spain 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2) in a close fight to earn a career Grand Slam.

Before setting up a showdown with either France’s Corentin Moutet or the American Michael Zheng, he was put through his paces by a player who was 12 years older.

Alcaraz, who has six major titles already but has never won more than the last eight in Melbourne, said, “To be honest, it was tougher than I thought at the beginning.”

“The ball didn’t feel that good,” I said. You’re aware that the ball was coming with both the forehand and backhand.

Rafael Nadal’s compatriot will become the youngest man to do so if the 22-year-old wins the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam of all four majors.

The unpredictably unpredictable Medvedev, who finished second in 2021, 2022, and 2024, is trying to control his emotions this year and showed his best form in a fight against Quentin Halys.

He lost a tight first set, but his performance never came under doubt as he crossed the finish line with a score of 6-7 (9/11), 6-3, 6-4, and 6-2.

The Russian, who will next face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, said, “It was a very tough match, happy I managed to fight.”

The second round was safely negotiated by Russian Andrey Rublev, American Tommy Paul, Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, and Tomas Etcheverry, as well as Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Russian Francisco Cerundolo.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays Bai Zhuoxuan of China in their singles match on day four [William West/AFP]

Gauff and Sabalenka both in good form

Before giving the Chinese player a glimmer of hope, Sabalenka raced 5-0 clear of qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan, who is ranked a lowly 702, on center court.

However, the top seed was able to win the match with a score of 6-3, 6-1, and set up a meeting with Austria-born Anastasia Potapova, who defeated 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

Sabalenka, who is competing for a third Australian Open title in four years, said, “Super happy to close the (first) set.” It gives me confidence that my game and focus are on point.

“Step by step,” I’m delighted with my victory. There is always room for improvement.

Sabalenka is trying to make up for her upset loss to Madison Keys last year by dropping just nine games.

Third seed Gauff put an end to Venus Williams’ tournament against Serbian Olga Danilovic, who finished third overall.

On Margaret Court Arena, the two-time major champion won with a straight-6, 6-2 lead.

Next, Hailey Baptiste, a 70th-ranked American, will face off in a showdown with Storm Hunter, who defeated him in straight sets.

Gauff, whose best performance in Melbourne was a 2024 semifinal, called it “near perfect.”

Coco Gauff in action
In their second-round match on Wednesday, US star Coco Gauff makes a comeback against Olga Danilovic from Serbia.

‘I was kidnapped and abused at 14, this is the sad reason I hoped I wasn’t rescued’

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In a new Netflix documentary, Elizabeth Smart admitted that at one point she thought it would be “better” not to be discovered. She admitted that at one point she thought it would be “better” not to be found.

Elizabeth Smart detailed the horrific nine months she spent abducted by paedophile Brian David Mitchell in a new Netflix documentary – revealing that at one point, she thought it might be “better if nobody ever found” her. The child safety activist was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City bedroom at the age of 14 by Mitchell in June 2002.

Before being rescued by police in Sandy, Utah, she was repeatedly tied up, raped, and threatened by Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee over the course of nine months. Barzee received 15 years in prison for the latter charge and was released in 2018 while Mitchell received a life sentence for the abduction and transportation of a minor across state lines for sexual activity.

Elizabeth, who discusses her traumatizing experience in Netflix’s Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, reveals that Mitchell led her into the woods where he was camping with his wife while taking her from her bedroom, which she shared with her younger sister Mary Katherine. Then, under his influence, she was forced to end their “marriage.”

She tells the cameras, “I had lived such an innocent life, and I believed he wouldn’t be able to rape me if I rolled onto my stomach.” It was irrelevant what I did, she said. In the end, he sexually assaulted me.

Elizabeth had been told not to have sex before getting married, but she had not discussed the differences between consensual sex and rape with her parents despite having grown up in a religious Mormon household. She claims, “I felt a lot of shame and like I was filthy.”

“I pondered whether my family would still want me back if they knew what had happened to me.” Perhaps finding me would be preferable if I had never been found.

Mitchell, who claimed she was the first of the seven, told her that God had commanded him to “kidnap seven young girls,” and that she was the first of them, chained her up and abuse her for nine months. She reveals in the heartbreaking interview that Mitchell frequently rapes her when she wakes up.

She claims that she had become raped “almost never even holding a boy’s hand,” going back to when she was only ever held for one. He cited God as the justification for his actions, but he also valued power above all else.

He would humiliate me every day. He was encouraged by [Barzee]. He would walk me like a dog when he took me down to the spring where we would collect the water. I was made to consume beer after beer until I woke up. And he just left me face down, in my own vomit. “

On the night Elizabeth was taken, Mary Katherine discovered Mitchell from his voice four months after the kidnapping, leading to the installation of police posters for the suspect. Two witnesses identified Mitchell and Barzee in Utah in March 2003, and she was then rescued by police.

Her father Ed says in the documentary that when we open this yellow door, there is a young woman on the sofa, and that she is being reunited with daughter Elizabeth after nine months. Not the young woman who abruptly ended my nine-month relationship.

“She was a young girl, but this young woman stood in front of me.” Her hair was pulled back in these braids, and her face had sunburned it. Elizabeth, did you really exist, I asked. And she says, “Yes, dad,” My miracle was in my arms when I saw it.

I took a moment to respond because I believed I was in trouble, but my father was finally present and ready to protect me. He wasn’t going to abandon me, no matter what happened.

Elizabeth is a TV commentator and advocate for child safety while she is married and has three children of her own. She has worked to advocate for child sexual abuse victims and has dedicated her career to fighting abstinence-only sex education.

If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999

Elizabeth Smart will be available on Netflix tomorrow.

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US, Iran exchange threats of broadscale war in latest sabre rattling

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a warning to the United States that Tehran would “fire back with everything we have” if it faced renewed attack, the day after President Donald Trump’s threats to the Middle East nation were reiterated.

The Wall Street Journal published the article on Tuesday that included Araghchi’s warning in an opinion piece.

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He cited Israel’s 12-day war against Iran as an example of how “our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have” in a statement.

The foreign minister claimed that this was not a “threat,” but that it was something I needed to express explicitly because I dislike war as a diplomat and veteran.

An “all-out confrontation will undoubtedly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to sell to the White House,” he added. It will undoubtedly engulf the entire region and affect ordinary people all over the world.

Iran shut down its airspace last week, likely to prepare for a US attack. Trump was urged not to attack by diplomats from Middle Eastern nations, particularly Gulf Arab nations.

Ship-tracking data indicates that the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had recently flown through the notorious Strait of Malacca, which connects the South China Sea with the Indian Ocean.

The carrier strike group is only days away from entering the region, despite US defense officials’ refrain from claiming otherwise. Its location in the Indian Ocean means that it is only a few days away from doing so.

Trump’s most recent threat

Trump repeatedly warned that Iran would be “wiped off the face of this earth” if it were to ever succeed in assassinating the US leader, making Araghchi’s comments a day later.

“I have very clear instructions,” I said. In a news interview that aired on Tuesday, Trump said, “If anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”

Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi was quoted as saying that Trump already knew Tehran would not hold back if the situation turned around in response to threats made against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier on Tuesday.

Shekarchi was quoted by Iranian state media as saying, “Trump is aware that if we extend a hand of aggression toward our leader, we will not only sever that hand.” However, we will ignite their world and leave them without a safe haven in the area.

Trump warned Iran of the same warning a year ago when he returned to the White House to inform reporters. “If they do it, they get obliterated.”

violent protests that are homicidal

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, there have been some of the largest anti-government protests in Iran that have still reeled from the violence.

The number of people who were killed during the protests is being confirmed by human rights organizations. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, there have been at least 4,519 fatalities and more than 26,300 arrests.

A top Iranian official in the area claimed on Sunday that the government had verified that at least 5, 000 people had died in protests, including about 500 security personnel, and that “terrorists and armed rioters” were responsible for the deaths of “innocent Iranians.”

Iranian authorities have increasingly pointed the finger at foreign powers for the unrest, accusing long-standing geopolitical rivals, notably Israel and the US, of fostering instability and directing operations on the ground.

The death toll cannot be independently estimated by Al Jazeera.

‘I’m a scary sight’ – Northampton’s 23-stone, one-meal man

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JJ van der Mescht is sympathetic to opposition defenses.

He tells BBC Look East, “It must be terrifying.”

A 145 kg (22 kg) man is two meters (6 feet 7 inches) tall and running at you.

The perspective-warping Northampton lock stands out even among the ranks of professional rugby players. He is the Prem’s second-highest player and the second-highest player.

He can also shift.

Van der Mescht completed the 100-meter race in 11 seconds as a student.

For aspiring tacklers, it’s a frightful prospect. a fairly typical one, too.

Van der Mescht has taken up Northampton’s ball-carrying slack since his summer arrival, Juarno Augustus, a fellow South African, has left for Ulster, and has already done so.

The 26-year-old has the league’s highest percentage of dominant carries among any forwards, with an average of 12 carries per game in the top flight.

He claims, “It’s amazing feeling, taking the ball at full tilt.”

“I’ve always loved doing it, and that’s taking the ball.”

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Van der Mescht was once even more prevalent.

He returned to his former club Stade Francais in 2022 after a heavy wedding celebration, weighing 160 kg (25 st 3 lbs.).

He has since started an intermittent fast, which involves not eating for a long period of time throughout the day. His enormous frame and gainline power are now incredibly dependent on just one meal per day.

A big steak is definitely his favorite, right?

Van der Mescht, whose mother was a 6’3″ international netball player and his father a professional wrestler, says, “I can’t really eat more than that.”

It’s just one meal per evening because my stomach is much smaller now.

“Sometimes I’ll have a snack if I really need some energy.” Additionally, game day is slightly different; I’ll instead have pasta before the game.

Just one meal per day, I suppose. Everyone has a unique personality. Some people will like it, but others won’t.

“I just discovered it works for me,” he said.

It also applies to Saints’ game plan. At the halfway point of the campaign, they are at the top of the Prem’s fast hands and quick recycling.

“I need to be more mobile and keep up with all the boys who are just amazing players,” Van der Mescht says, “Playing in the Prem, which is much faster than the Top 14, especially in this team that moves the ball around.”

“I don’t want to let these guys down,” I said.

The emotional connection is strong but new. A small village about 12 miles from Northampton is where Van der Mescht and his wife Carla have settled.

They already feel at home after struggling in Paris’s obscurity.

“I adore the people. Amazing fans. When we walk down the street, people say, “Jo, it’s so lovely to meet you.” He claims that is amazing and that he really, really, really enjoys it.

“That sense of community that I always felt at home,” I realized when I was in France.

Carla broke down as a result of the number of Christmas cards their new neighbors sent, and Van der Mescht has been volunteering to train nearby Towcestrians.

He claims that seeing these guys working a nine to five schedule and attending training are “always up for it.”

Sale vs. Northampton

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January 24th, 2019

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Van der Mescht, who represented South Africa at the under-20 World Cup in 2019, is awaiting a new coach.

With all three of Eben Etzebeth’s actors under the age of 30, RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, and Franco Mostert could face Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus, who is undoubtedly drawn to Van der Mescht’s X-factor properties?

It is a target for every South African, according to Van der Mescht.

You have a strong desire to play for the Springboks since you were a young child.

We have some wonderful locks, they say. World-class players are present.

Instead of focusing solely on becoming a Springbok, I feel like I’m first working on myself to improve.

That will happen if I concentrate on improving my rugby and my self-esteem.

“I must trust the procedure, but it’s unquestionably my goal,” he said.

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Brooklyn Beckham’s ‘secret heartache’ that was not included in explosive post

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Although Brooklyn Beckham made a blatant claim about his parents and brothers’ behavior in a statement that was sobering to publish on Instagram, he chose to ignore it.

Though Brooklyn Beckham’s explosive statement attacking his family was six pages long, there is a secret “heartache” he chose to leave out of his bombshell accusations, sources claim.

On Monday (19 January), the eldest Beckham child took to Instagram to share a series of claims about his parents “controlling” behaviour. The statement was the first public acknowledgement about the rumoured feud between Brooklyn and the rest of the Beckhams and, in it, the aspiring chef claimed his parents, David and Victoria, had spread “countless lies” to the media and tried to “ruin” his relationship with wife, Nicola Peltz.

He also made accusations about Romeo and Cruz, both of whom he claimed were “sent to attack me on social media.” He did not mention Harper, his baby sister, though.

READ MORE: ‘Brooklyn Beckham is harming his mollycoddled existence by going nuclear’READ MORE: Brooklyn Beckham insider discloses ‘ultimate proof’ he is ‘right’ in wedding row

Brooklyn was experiencing “heartache” from not having time to spend with Harper, a source told The Sun. He “really loves and misses” her, they continued.

According to the source, “He really loves and misses Harper and wishes there was a way for him to see her without seeing his parents.” The youngest Beckham child, Nicola, and Harper and Brooklyn were both described as “really close,” just as they were. It is heartbreaking to see them tangled in this drama.

Although mum Victoria was not mentioned in Brooklyn’s obscene post, she was. At his 2022 wedding, Brooklyn accused his mother of “hijacking” his first dance with his wife, who danced “very inappropriately on me.”

Brooklyn is thought to be the only person with copies of any video footage at the moment, and no photos of the dance have been released. However, a source claimed Victoria nuzzled into her son’s neck while wrapping her arms around him. She allegedly “grinded” on her son as well.

A wedding guest told Page Six that she was dancing with him inappropriately. That is the God’s truth, she learned from Nicola. “Nicola ran out crying,” they continued. Both the Peltz and Beckham families’ sides were cheering in the audience.

A source close to Victoria described her as “a little tipsy and having fun” in an interview with The Sun. Brooklyn was further stated as “furious to have been upstaged.” However, they claimed there was “absolutely no malice there, quite the opposite.” She has been completely broken by this.

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According to reports, Victoria is reportedly writing a letter of legal advice to her son. According to the Daily Express, Victoria intends to send Brooklyn and Nicola a “caution” and “protect their brand and their business.” Victoria and David added that they hoped Brooklyn would understand that “they love him and have never pretended to be perfect parents.”

S Korea’s former PM found guilty of insurrection, given 23 years in prison

After convicting former prime minister Yoon Suk-yeol of insurrection-related insurrection charges, a South Korean court sentenced him to 23 years in prison.

Following the decree to mobilize the military’s deployment by the then-president in December 2024, Han was found guilty of assisting Yoon’s brief passage to martial law and of failing to convene a lawful cabinet meeting as required by South Korean law.

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Judge Lee Jin-gwan of the Seoul Central District Court said Han “disregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end.”

The defendant’s actions “could have caused South Korea to go back to the dark past, where the people’s fundamental rights and liberal democratic order were violated, potentially preventing them from escaping the grip of a long-term dictatorship,” the judge said.

In response to Han’s sentencing, the court ordered him to be detained because there were concerns about possible evidence destruction.

Han, 76, is the first Yoon’s cabinet official to be found guilty and given a jail term in connection with the declaration of martial law.

The former prime minister, who claimed he had no idea about Yoon’s military-imposed rule plan, refuted the accusations made against him.

After convicting Yoon on charges relating to the imposition of martial law, including obstructing authorities’ work, fabricating official documents, and failing to follow legal procedures, a court sentenced him to five years in jail last week.

Yoon is also accused of using the martial law decree to organize an insurrection. Yoon faces the death penalty, according to a special prosecutor’s request, and the case will be decided next month.

According to Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, who is based in Seoul, Wednesday’s verdict was crucial because Han was the first official to be found guilty of a charge directly connected to the martial law decree, and Yoon’s upcoming indictment for insurrection is likely to depend on the court’s decision.

“This is his first verdict in 23 years,” he declared. That is more than the prosecution’s 15-year limit, according to Barton.