MELBOURNE • The world’s top tennis stars yesterday began emerging from a gruelling fortnight stuck in their hotel rooms and raced to get match-fit before their coronavirus-disrupted season resumes in Melbourne. Australian Open players were given the green light to start exiting Covid-19 quarantine yesterday, with the first group among the 960 players, coaches and... » read more
MELBOURNE • World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty is itching to get back to competitive tennis at the Australian Open but has poured cold water on the idea that she might be set to end the 43-year wait for a home-grown women’s champion. The 2019 French Open champion reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the... » read more
LONDON • Former world No. 1 Andy Murray said he was “gutted” after deciding to withdraw from next month’s Australian Open following a positive test for Covid-19 earlier this month. The 33-year-old, a wild card, confirmed last week that he had been infected with the disease and was in self-isolation at his home near London.... » read more
RIO DE JANEIRO • Argentine golfer Angel Cabrera has reportedly been arrested in Brazil and is facing extradition to his home country. Brazilian federal police officers located the 51-year-old in Rio de Janeiro and made the arrest on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The two-time Major champion faces charges of several crimes allegedly committed from... » read more
TOKYO • Badminton world No. 1 Kento Momota tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday, prompting the withdrawal of the Japanese national team from the Jan 12-17 Thailand Open. National broadcaster NHK said he tested positive at Narita Airport ahead of the team’s departure for Thailand. An official from the Japan Badminton Association confirmed that none of... » read more
NEW YORK • One of the most important tennis tournaments will not take place in the United States this spring because the country has not been able to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control, officials announced yesterday. The BNP Paribas Open, scheduled for Indian Wells, California, in March, has been postponed, most likely until late... » read more
GENEVA • The Australian Open next year may be missing one of tennis’ biggest names, after Swiss great Roger Federer admitted he was in a “race against time” to be fit for the Grand Slam as his recovery from two rounds of knee surgery takes longer than expected. The 39-year-old has been out of action... » read more
TOKYO, Dec 14, 2020 – (JCN Newswire) – NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) announced today its establishment of an Open RAN laboratory in India as a complement to its Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K. The facility will accelerate development of NEC’s 5G open ecosystem by pre-integrating partner Open RAN components to form end-to-end commercial-ready... » read more
HOUSTON • A hole-in-one helped Amy Olson grab the first-round lead in the US Women’s Open, the year’s final women’s Major. She shot a four-under 67 on Thursday at the Champions Golf Club for a one-shot lead over Japan’s Hinako Shibuno, Thai Moriya Jutanugarn and South Korean Kim A-lim. “That hole-in-one was kind of the... » read more
LONDON • The WTA is planning to start the 2021 season in the first week of January outside Australia before the players travel to Melbourne for quarantine ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year, women’s Tour chief Steve Simon revealed. “We’re… hopefully close to finalising in the next week or so the ability... » read more
Aussie Open delayed 3 weeks after long talks MELBOURNE • The Australian Open will start three weeks late on Feb 8, reports said yesterday, with tennis players cleared to train during quarantine following lengthy negotiations with the state authorities. According to Australian media, the start date was announced to players by tournament director Craig Tiley.... » read more
MIAMI • Two-time Major winner Brittany Lincicome has withdrawn from this week’s LPGA Volunteers of America Classic in Dallas after testing positive for Covid-19. The 35-year-old American hopes to be able to return in time for next week’s final Major of the season, the 75th US Women’s Open from Dec 10-13 at Champions Golf Club... » read more
Tokyo and London, Dec 1, 2020 – (JCN Newswire) – The UK Government and NEC Corporation today announced the launch of the NEC “NeutrORAN” project, which will showcase the latest innovations in the Open Radio Access Network (RAN) space. The project will be used to test and demonstrate a multiple operator, neutral host solution using... » read more
LONDON • Everton’s in-form striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted a brace and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure scored his first goal for the club as they beat Fulham 3-2 to return to winning ways in the Premier League yesterday. The Toffees took just 42 seconds to open the scoring, with Brazil forward Richarlison, returning from a three-match ban,... » read more
MELBOURNE • Tennis Australia (TA) yesterday dismissed multiple media reports claiming the start of the Australian Open is set to be pushed back from January to February or March due to Covid-19 protocols in the country. The Herald Sun quoted Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews as saying he was “very confident” of hosting the event but... » read more
TOKYO, Nov 19, 2020 – (JCN Newswire) – NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced the establishment of its Global Open RAN Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K. to accelerate the global adoption of Open RAN and to further strengthen its structure for accelerating the global deployment of 5G. This new CoE is responsible for... » read more
TOKYO, Nov 13, 2020 – (JCN Newswire) – Altiostar and NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today said that they participated in the first plugfest event in the India region for the O-RAN ALLIANCE. Hosted by Bharti Airtel (Airtel), India’s largest integrated telecommunications services provider, the goal of the O-RAN Plugfest was to test and demonstrate the... » read more
More than 1,400 cartons of contraband cigarettes were found hidden under the floorboard of a Malaysian-registered lorry at Woodlands Checkpoint last week. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that its officers pried open the floorboard of the lorry, which was transporting granite, and uncovered 1,492 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes last Tuesday. ICA said in... » read more
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has fallen short in its handling of recent sexual misconduct allegations against former Tembusu College fellow Jeremy Fernando, said the college’s rector, Professor Tommy Koh. It has pledged to be more open in the way it provides information about sexual misconduct cases. The university sacked Dr Fernando after it... » read more
LOS ANGELES • Australian Adam Scott has withdrawn from the Zozo Championship after testing positive for Covid-19, the PGA Tour said on Wednesday. Scott, the winner of 14 PGA Tour titles, last competed in last month’s US Open and was expected to be among the biggest names at the tournament, which started yesterday and was... » read more