Australian Open 2024: Top seeds, schedule, wildcards, draw and prize money
The first tennis Grand Slam of the year is upon is as Melbourne Park plays host to the Australian Open 2024. Here’s what you need to know about the tournament: What are the key dates? The Australian Open begins on Sunday, January 14 and runs through to the men’s singles final on Sunday, January 28. The women’s singles final will be staged the day before. The event’s 15-day duration is a first, given the tournament would usually begin on a Monday, but an extra day has been added in the hope of avoiding late-night finishes. Players qualify for the main draw by being ranked in the top 104, or by winning three qualifying matches (in qualifiers from January 8 to 11), or by wildcard. How much is the prize money? The total prize money for the tournament has increased by 13 percent this year to stand at 86.5 million Australian dollars ($57.83m). The singles champions will win 3.15 million Australian dollars ($2.11m) each. Who are the favourites? Both reigning champions will line up in Melbourne to defend their crowns, with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic defending his men’s singles title and Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka competing to retain the women’s trophy. Djokovic, 36, has won the Australian Open on 10 occasions and is the top seed. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Italy’s Jannik Sinner are ranked two, three and four. Alcaraz heads to Melbourne Park without any competitive matches under his belt this season. Ready? PLAY 💥 pic.twitter.com/ccffFod5wr — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2024 Sabalenk lost the women’s number one ranking to Poland’s Iga Swiatek last year. America’s Coco Gauff is seeded third behind the pair after winning the US Open in September. Elena Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022, is ranked fourth. The biggest name to miss out is Spain’s Rafael Nadal as he continues his rehabilitation from a hip injury but Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open, returns from eight months out following surgery on both her wrist and ankle. Japan’s Naomi Osaka also returns after giving birth last July, hoping to add to her four major titles. Leading the charge 💪 pic.twitter.com/mLfAnQRwkJ — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2024 What happened in Thursday’s Australian Open draw? Djokovic begins his quest for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam crown overall against one of the qualifiers. The Serbian required treatment for a wrist problem during his United Cup defeat by Alex de Minaur last week – his first loss in Australia for six years. The 36-year-old has been given a relatively gentle start but could play Greek seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals in what would be a mouthwatering rematch of last year’s final. King of Melbourne. Who will it be this year? 🏆 🤔 pic.twitter.com/oFqnvg8wrf — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2024 Meanwhile, Swiatek faces a tricky test against 2020 champion Sofia Kenin. Defending champion Sabalenka will also take on a qualifier first while 2023 runner-up Elena Rybakina, who Sabalenka in the final of the tune-up tournament in Brisbane, faces former world number one Karolina Pliskova. Wimbledon champion Alcaraz meets French veteran Richard Gasquet. The 20-year-old second seed is on course for a quarterfinal clash with the rejuvenated Alexander Zverev, who goes up against fellow German Dominik Koepfer. Tsitsipas squares off with Matteo Berrettini in another tantalising opener, while twice-finalist Medvedev will start against a qualifier. Italian youngster Jannik Sinner, who is tipped to go deep at Melbourne Park, will face Botic van de Zandschulp. Coming for the Melbourne crown 👑 The CHAMPION will be… 👀 pic.twitter.com/sXrYsEsiqM — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2024 US Open champion Gauff faces Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, while Osaka, who won the title in 2019 and 2021, returns to Grand Slam tennis for the first time since 2022 and is pitted against Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a tricky opener. Angelique Kerber, who also made her comeback to the tour following a lengthy maternity break, will play 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins in her opener and could take on top seed Swiatek in the next round. Wild card Caroline Wozniacki, another former champion and returning mother, will play 20th seed Magda Linette. Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who stunned Djokovic last week before beating Alcaraz in a charity match, will spearhead local hopes and begin his campaign against Canadian former world number three Milos Raonic. What time will the ties be played? The show courts start at 12pm (01:00 GMT) while the day sessions begin an hour earlier on the outer courts. The Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena will host the night sessions which begin at 7pm (08:00 GMT). Both the women’s and men’s singles finals start at 7:30pm (08:30 GMT). Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s war on Gaza: What constitutes genocide?
With the International Court of Justice deliberating over South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, we look at how the proceedings could affect reporting on the war. Contributors:Qaanitah Hunter – Journalist, News24Nimer Sultany – Editor-in-Chief, The Palestine Yearbook of International LawDaniel Levy – President, US/Middle East ProjectTony Leon – Political commentator On our radar: In Ecuador, masked gang members break into the studio of the state broadcaster, firing at staff and taking hostages. Tariq Nafi explains the country’s gang violence crisis and why the media has become a target. Feature – Sudan: 2023’s Forgotten War Thousands killed, millions displaced – the crisis in Sudan continues unabated and underreported. Two Sudanese journalists reflect on the coverage of Sudan’s civil war. Contributors:Yassmin Abdel-Magied – Editor, Eyes on SudanIsma’il Kushkush – Sudanese-American journalist Adblock test (Why?)
Taiwan ruling party’s Lai wins presidential election
William Lai Ching-te from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won Taiwan’s presidential election. Lai, the current vice president, was in a three-way race with Hou Yu-ih from the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party. Hou conceded defeat on Saturday and congratulated Lai on his victory. He also apologised to KMT supporters for not being able to oust the DPP. Voters also elected lawmakers to Taiwan’s 113-seat legislature in elections closely watched by China and the United States. Taiwan’s election carries an outsized importance because of the territory’s disputed political status. While de facto independent since the 1940s, China still claims the island and its outlying territories and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its ambitions. China has previously said that Lai would be a threat to peace in the region if he wins, and called the polls a choice between war and peace. Lai has said he is committed to peace in the region and open to conditional engagement with Beijing. More to come… Adblock test (Why?)
What does the Alaska Airlines incident tell us about air safety?
Last week, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, the United States, when a cabin panel blew off in midair leaving a gaping hole in the aircraft’s fuselage. Just days before, a Japan Airways Airbus collided with a smaller coastguard plane, resulting in the Airbus catching fire. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered an inquiry into the incident and several passengers filed a class action lawsuit against Boeing in Washington state on Thursday. So, is it really safe to travel by air? Here is what we know about the Alaska Airlines incident and the general safety of aviation: What happened to the Alaska Airlines flight? On January 5, just moments after takeoff, a cabin door panel blew off in midair during an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario, leaving one side of the aircraft’s body with a gaping hole, reducing cabin pressure and prompting an emergency landing. The blown-out door panel was later discovered by a Portland teacher, in his garden. Federal officials in the US ordered the temporary grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they can be inspected. The cabin panel that flew out was a “door plug” installed over an extra emergency exit door, which had been removed. (Al Jazeera) Thankfully, no one was seated next to the gaping hole. Additionally, the plane was only 16,000 feet (4,876 metres) above the ground. Planes typically fly more than 31,000 feet (9,448 metres) when they are at their highest. Had the aircraft been much higher, the pressure difference could have become large enough to suck passengers out of the aircraft, former FAA accident investigator Jeff Guzzetti told The Washington Post. The aircraft, which had departed from Oregon and was heading for California, landed safely in Portland with all 174 passengers and six crew members mostly unharmed. Some passengers sustained minor injuries. The aircraft is a new Boeing 737 Max 9 which had been delivered to Alaska Airlines in late October and certified as safe by the FAA in early November. It had been in service for just eight weeks. London-based independent aviation expert John Strickland told Al Jazeera that the panel which flew off is supposed to be a secure part of the aircraft’s structure. “That’s why it’s more surprising and a matter of concern that this blowout happened,” he said. London-based aviation analyst and consultant Alex Macheras agreed: “This should not be downplayed, that’s for sure. Because in modern commercial aviation, we do not see sections of an aircraft body, of fuselage, becoming separated from the rest of the aircraft, certainly not mid-flight.” Has Boeing taken responsibility? As more than 170 planes remained grounded last week, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged errors made by Boeing and provided reassurance. He told staff that the company would ensure an incident like the Alaska Airlines blowout could never happen again. It has not been confirmed what the actual fault in the aircraft was, although experts told Al Jazeera it is most likely down to a manufacturing flaw rather than a design flaw. There has also been speculation about parts coming loose after both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines reported incidents of needing to tighten loose hardware last Monday. Earlier, the US chief accident investigator, The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said it had received reports that warning lights had been triggered on brand-new Boeing 737 Max 9 crafts on three flights. Two of these alerts happened on consecutive days before the Alaska Airlines blowout. Richard Aboulafia, aviation industry analyst and managing director of Washington-based AeroDynamic Advisory, told Al Jazeera that the warning lights were likely the result of a technical glitch. “They ignored it because, strangely, the pressure differential came on while it was on the ground, which means it was a glitch. There’s no pressure differential while you’re on the ground,” he explained. The cabin pressure can only vary when the aircraft is in the air, which is why it was acceptable to ignore the warning and fly the plane over land, he said. The company stopped flying the aircraft over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii due to the warnings, yet kept it flying over land, the NTSB said. Who checks the safety of an aircraft? Aboulafia explained that the FAA typically certifies an aircraft, approving its operations and production. However, since the Boeing 737 Max has had safety issues before, the FAA announced that it would inspect every single aircraft in the Max series under these unusual circumstances. The details about the exact checks that were carried out are not public. Once the aircraft is in use by an airline, regular maintenance checks called A, B, C and D checks are carried out, Aboulafia explained. While an A check is typically a cursory investigation of a plane’s moving parts, exterior wear and tear and of oil and fuel, a D-check is rigorous and involves a teardown and detailed inspection of the aircraft. These checks are carried out at dedicated intervals based on the number of years an aircraft has been in service or its number of flight hours. Some airlines have their own in-house capabilities to carry out these checks and while many airlines are able to do A or B checks, only certain airlines are able to do C or D checks themselves. Others use third-party services. “This is an unprecedented production ramp and, clearly, there needs to be more resources provided for it, whether it’s at the manufacturing level or the inspections level,” Aboulafia added, referring to how aeroplanes are now manufactured in large numbers. He called for a greater number of people to be assigned more time for inspections. Aboulafia added that it is imperative to identify where and how the Alaska aircraft passed its safety checks, and whether it was Boeing, Spirit Aerosystems or the FAA that cleared the jetliner without detailed inspection. There is no information about the level of detail of inspection that took place before the plane
Ram Temple consecration ceremony: Full list of states that declared ‘dry day’ on Jan 22
The Ram Temple consecration ceremony is also ready to capture hearts beyond the Indian border, with a live screening being set to shine from the renowned Times Square in New York.
‘Unacceptable’: India registers strong protest against visit by British envoy to PoK
This comes after British envoy Jane Marriott visited Mirpur city in the PoK region along with an official of the UK Foreign Office.
Eric Adams rips Texas Gov. Abbott for ‘mean-spiritedness’ on illegal immigrant crisis
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) ripped Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his “mean-spiritedness” in the illegal immigration crisis, saying he has “devastated” the lives of asylum-seekers. Adams made those comments Thursday on Good Morning America 3, where he said the governor “has intentionality” in placing migrants on buses and “compelling” them to leave the city. The mayor said that is why he has sued more than a dozen charter bus and transportation companies involved in sending thousands of migrants to New York. “We reached out and tried to coordinate with [Abbott], just the mean-spiritedness of this governor, who has this intentionality of just placing people on buses, compelling them to leave the city. That is why we taking legal action,” Adams said. “When you look at what he’s doing, history is going to reflect how much he has devastated the lives of people,” he added. HOUSE DEM IN TRUMP DISTRICT TAKES HEAT FOR SAYING ‘NOBODY STAYS AWAKE AT NIGHT’ OVER BORDER CRISIS Last week, Adams announced a $708 million lawsuit against 17 charter bus companies that have been employed by Texas to transport migrants to sanctuary cities like New York. The lawsuit argues that the companies have violated New York state law by not paying for the cost of caring for migrants and seeks damages meant to recoup the cost of caring for them. It cites New York law that requires anyone who brings a “needy person” from out of state for the purposes of making them a public charge to either take them out of the state or support them. Abbott has dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless.” He has brushed off criticism from Adams and other Democrat mayors and said he is busing the migrants to help besieged Texas communities. The state says it has transported over 95,000 migrants to “sanctuary” cities, which Abbott recently noted is “only a FRACTION of what overwhelmed Texas border towns face daily.” There were more than 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY 23, and officials have told lawmakers last month that they are releasing an average of 5,000 a day into the U.S. NYC MAYOR ADAMS SUES TEXAS BUS COMPANIES FOR TRANSPORTING MIGRANTS TO SANCTUARY CITY, SEEKS $700 MILLION Adams said on Good Morning America 3 that almost 170,000 migrants have been “dropped” in New York City, roughly 1.5 times the population of Albany, New York. The mayor said there should be a national “decompression strategy” to spread asylum-seekers paroled into the United States “throughout the country and not target just certain cities.” “Cities should not be handling a national crisis of this magnitude,” Adams said, noting that New York has received between 2,500 and 4,000 migrants each week. ABBOTT SAYS ‘WE’RE NOT SHOOTING PEOPLE’ WHO CROSS THE BORDER BECAUSE FEDS ‘WOULD CHARGE US WITH MURDER’ “You have to find housing, food, shelter, clothing, educating the children, health care, that’s not sustainable,” he continued. “So a $12 billion hole in the budget of our economy is going to impact low-income New Yorkers and is going to impact every service in this city.” The mayor stressed the need for migrants to be able to find “work.” “Listen, this is a country of immigrants,” Adams said. “The difference between what we did with Ukrainian citizens and other immigrants who have made their way here to this great country is we allowed them to work.” “This is so anti-American, that we’re telling thousands of people you must come to a country and you can’t provide for your children and families. That is not how we are as a country, and that is what is at the heart of this issue.” Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
How to deal with no-shows? Americans weigh in on Defense Sec. Austin going absent without notifying president
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should have immediately told the White House he was being admitted to the hospital, Americans in the nation’s capital told Fox News, with many adding they would punish their employees for similar behavior. Austin was admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 after experiencing pain. He and his team didn’t notify President Biden or other White House personnel until Jan. 4. “You miss three days and you don’t tell anyone, I mean, that’s just rude,” Cori, a D.C. resident, told Fox News. “Any employee, even your employer, if they didn’t show up or open the doors or whatnot, no matter what you do, being absent for three days is ridiculous.” ‘GETTING OUT OF HAND’: LIBERAL CITY RESIDENTS RATE MAYORKAS’ HANDLING OF SOUTHERN BORDER But Abu doubted it was the secretary’s fault. “If he was sick, it was probably somebody else who messed up, not him,” he said. “So he shouldn’t resign.” A Department of Defense spokesperson didn’t provide comment, but pointed Fox News to its recent press releases. “At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if required,” a Jan. 5 Pentagon press release said. WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE Austin has been in the hospital since Jan. 1 and spent several days in the intensive care unit. “The dude has one of the top jobs in the Cabinet, is not there and doesn’t tell anybody where he’s at,” Miles told Fox News. “It is a cause for a little bit of concern.” Walter Reed National Military Medical Center announced Tuesday that Austin had a prostatectomy Dec. 22 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier in the month. The secretary should have notified Biden about his condition earlier, D.C. resident, Joe, told Fox News. “The average employee is not that crucial to an organization. But Austin is,” he said. BIDEN’S HANDLING OF DEFENSE SEC AUSTIN’S MYSTERIOUS ABSENCE FACES BACKLASH FROM FORMER AMBASSADOR: ‘ALARMING’ Jaqueline said if she had an employee who didn’t notify her before an absence, “they’d be suspended or I’d have to put them on notice they’re going to be let go. Simple as that.” Dozens of House Republicans signed a letter sent to Austin asking questions about his delayed health disclosure and who was in the loop on his situation. House Democrats have also expressed a loss of trust in Austin’s leadership, saying he wasn’t transparent. “I don’t know if it’s just a one-off, ‘hey, fire him or make him resign,’” Miles said. “It’s still so fresh and new. There’s some questions that need to be asked.” Biden told reporters Friday he thinks it was a lapse in Austin’s judgment that the secretary did not tell him sooner. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Another man said he would fire his employee if they took a three-day absence without notifying their superior. “I understand its cancer,” he said. “But I think that if you work for somebody, you should let somebody know that you have these issues.” To watch the full interviews with Americans in D.C., click here.
Mumbai: Massive fire breaks out at residential building in Dombivli; video surfaces
No casualty has been reported yet. The incident was reported around 1: 30 pm.
Consensus on Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s appointment as chairperson of INDIA bloc
Leaders of the bloc met virtually and discussed various aspects of the alliance and the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May.