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Dani Alves: Brazilian soccer star goes on trial in Spain
Deutsche Welle
05 Feb 2024, 17:50
Prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence on charges of sexual assault. Alves has been held in pre-trial detention for over a year.
Soccer player Dani Alves appeared in a Barcelona court on Tuesday accused of having sexually assaulted a young woman.
The Brazilian football star was arrested on January 20, 2023, and has been held in detention for over a year amid fears that he was a flight risk.
Alves had offered to hand over his passport and wear a tracker, but the court considered the risk too great as Brazil does not extradite its citizens charged in foreign countries.
The alleged assault took place at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022. State prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence.
Rape convictions carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years in Spain.
Alves denies charges of rape
Alves has denied any wrongdoing, but he has changed his testimony several times
He first said he had never seen the woman and denied any sexual contact with her, later admitting that they had in fact had a sexual encounter but claimed that it had been consensual.
He said the initial lie had been to save his marriage.
His defense team had tried to discredit the alleged victim by presenting security camera footage from the club.
But the court ruled that any alleged flirting could not "in any way justify an eventual sexual assault."
Alves's accuser will give her testimony from behind closed doors and the court has ordered that no images may be taken of her after a video circulated on social media last month claiming to have uncovered her identity.
Spain has made efforts to take accusations of assault seriously and to prosecute them fully after several high profile cases sparked outrage.
Short trial expected
The 40-year-old arrived at the court on Monday, having been driven from the Brians 2 Prison where he had been held since his arrest.
Alves, who had previously played for Barcelona, was ordered to set aside €150,000 ($162,000) that he would have to pay the alleged victim if found guilty.
The trial is expected to last until Wednesday.
He has also played for major teams such as Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain as well as helping Brazil win two Copa America trophies and an Olympic gold medal.
At the time of his arrest, Alves was playing for the Mexican team Pumas, but his contract was terminated due to his legal troubles.
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Riyan Parag blitz steers Rajasthan Royals to victory over Delhi Capitals
Riyan Parag top scored in the match with an unbeaten 84, while Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up two wickets each for the Royals.
Riyan Parag’s onslaught with the bat powered Rajasthan Royals to a 12-run win over Delhi Capitals in their second match of the Indian Premier League 2024 season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.
Riyan Parag top-scored in the match with an unbeaten 84 off just 45 balls, while Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up two wickets each for the Royals to restrict the Capitals.
Put in to bat first, Rajasthan Royals overcame a slow start to put 185/5 on board. Riyan Parag, promoted to bat at number four this season, notched his highest score ever in the IPL to hold the innings together.
Ravichandran Ashwin provided the initial impetus to the Royals’ innings, after the team was reduced to 31/2 after six overs. He scored three sixes to score a 19-ball 29 and added 54 off 37 balls for the fourth wicket with Riyan Parag to bring the Royals back on track.
But it was Player of the Match Riyan Parag who took Rajasthan Royals to an excellent total. His innings was studded with seven boundaries and six maximums. Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer came up with cameos with the bat to provide the late burst to the Royals’ innings.
Parag first put on 52 off 23 with Jurel to take the Royals’ past 100 in the 15th over. Hetmyer then joined Parag to add an unbeaten 43 off just 16 balls for the sixth wicket to set Delhi Capitals a target of 186 runs.
Axar Patel was the most effective among the Capitals’ bowlers with a spell of 1/21 off four overs. Khaleel Ahmed also picked a wicket conceding just 24 runs in his four overs.
In reply, Delhi Capitals raced off the blocks quickly scoring 59 in the powerplay in spite of Nandre Burger’s double-strike in the fourth over of the innings. Just when it looked like the Capitals would run away with the match, Sandeep Sharma pulled off an excellent catch to send David Warner back off Avesh Khan’s bowling.
Yuzvendra Chahal first accounted for Rishabh Pant to bring up his 50th wicket for the Royals in the IPL, before sending back Abhishek Porel in his next over to reduce the Capitals to 122/5. Rajasthan Royals picked wickets at regular intervals to keep the Capitals’ chase in check.
Avesh Khan bowled a brilliant final over to subdue Tristian Stubbs’ late heroics and ensured that the Royals continued their winning run at home this season. Avesh complemented Burger and Chahal well, who picked up 2/29 and 2/19 respectively. David Warner top-scored for the Capitals with 49 off 34 balls.
With this win, the Royals have four points, and are currently placed second in the IPL 2024 points table.
Source: Rajasthan Royals
This is MS Dhoni’s last season: Ravi Shastri
Former India head coach, Ravi Shastri has weighed in his opinion on Chennai Super Kings' decision to pass the captaincy baton before the start of the Indian Premier League 2024. Shastri believed that this move depended on MS Dhoni's fitness and the team's demands for him to play in the current season of the cash-rich tournament.
On Sunday, CSK are playing their third group stage game against Delhi Capitals in Match 13 at Vizag's Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium. The defending champions have been unbeaten so far in the ongoing tournament and will aim to continue their winning streak against the winless DC team. Shastri also stated that Dhoni would allow the opening batter to captain and intervene only when necessary.
“This is MS Dhoni’s last season, okay, very clear. You know, it depends on how his body copes with everything, whether he plays the whole season or doesn’t, only time will tell. But what he has done is that he said, I don’t want to give the job to Ruturaj halfway through the tournament,” Shastri said as quoted by News18.
“Be in the hot seat from the outside, I'm (Dhoni is) watching from the back, and if he (Ruturaj) needs some help I’m there to help him out, but I think as compared to the year when Jadeja was captain, MS will take more and more of the backseat and probably contribute just in a little way between the drinks break or something like that,” he added.
Source: Crictracker
Mominul Haque hits new milesto
Bangladesh's top order failed completely with in the Test series against Sri Lanka. However, batsman Mominul Haque fought alone with the bat.
However, he affirmed his place among Bangladesh's cricketing elite, becoming only the fourth Bangladeshi player to surpass the remarkable milestone of 4000 runs in Test cricket.
Before the second and final Test against Sri Lanka at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Mominul had scored 3975 runs in 112 innings of 60 matches. He was 25 runs away from 4,000 runs.
Mominul scored 33 runs in the first innings of the Test thus he named 4,000 clubs in his Test career.
Three people arrested for threatening Di María
Three people were arrested in Argentina for threatening Argentine footballer Ángel Di María and his family, Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich said.
One of the suspects, who was under investigation for drug trafficking when he was arrested, confessed that he and two accomplices had made the threats against Di María’s family.
On Monday, Di María’s family home in Rosario, northeastern Argentina, was shot at by a car driving by and had a written message left there warning the World Cup winner against returning to his hometown team.
The attack happened after Di María, currently under contract with Portuguese club Benfica until June, said he would like to finish his professional career at Rosario Central, where he started his career.
Following the death threats, Di María said he followed the incident closely, telling a sports broadcaster: “I have my family and what was happening affects me.”
On Instagram Stories, the soccer star posted a picture of the Rosario flag with the caption: “We ask for peace.”
Rosario Central condemned the attack on March 25, saying in a statement: “We cannot let [someone] frighten footballers or attack them or their relatives.”
Source: CNN
Tigers drop to 7th position in WTC standings after defeat to SL
Bangladesh dropped to equal seventh on the updated World Test Championship (WTC) standings after being swept in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
They started the series, sitting at fourth position and the chance came to their way to bolster it further but they failed to do so. The Tigers lost the first Test by 328 runs before tasting yet another thumping 192-run defeat in the second and final Test.
Bangladesh currently have 12 points with a 25 percentage point from one win in four matches. They have drawn one and lost two in the current Test Championship cycle.
South Africa shared the seventh position with Bangladesh with an equal number of wins, draws and defeats.
The Tigers' next series is against Pakistan later this year when they travel for two Test matches.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have boosted their chances of reaching next year's ICC World Test Championship final after sweeping the series against Bangladesh.
The victory sees Sri Lanka overtake Pakistan and move up to fourth place on the updated World Test Championship standings with a 50 percent points percentage, with India (first), Australia (second) and New Zealand (third) the only teams ahead of them.
Source: BSS
Team Hexagon reaches VCT Game Changers South Asia fainals
Team Hexagon is the Bangladeshi professional female E-sports team who has qualified for the finals by defeating multiple qualifiers and teams from South Asia.
The team members are Tasnia Naina, Sabrina Islam, Sidratil Nuran, Zarrin Saiyara, Jannatul Ferdous and Kayanat Kaiser.
Female teams from Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh joined this game. The tournament is aimed at showcasing the talent and prowess of female gamers from across the South Asia region.
On its official Facebook page the group stated, “It's a remarkable accomplishment that showcases the team's dedication, skill, and determination. We will keep up the excellent performance as we continue with the tournament. Please wish us luck and cheer us on further.”
VCT Game Changers South Asia organized by VALORANT Official and hosted by NODWIN Gaming. Where Team Hexagon, the Bangladeshi professional female E-sports team secured berth in the final through various qualifiers and defeating teams from South Asia. The final of the tournament will start from April 6.
However, VCT Game Changers is a new program which will supplement the competitive season by creating new chances and exposure for women as well as marginalized genders within VALORANT E-sports.
Kyrgios to return from injury next week with 'fire in belly'
Nick Kyrgios expects to return to the tennis court next week after the Australian missed virtually the entire 2023 season with injury.
The former Wimbledon finalist has played just one ATP Tour match since late 2022 after suffering wrist and knee injuries.
However, the 28-year-old told the Australian Open Show podcast he will soon be practising again, having previously hinted his tennis career could be over.
"I'm hitting for the first time next week, so as soon as I get back out on court, I guess it's just going to be starting up, getting that load back through my wrist and my body," he said.
Kyrgios, who lost the 2022 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic, didn't give a date when he will be back playing on the ATP Tour.
"I'm going to take my time, come back and just enjoy being back out there," he said.
Kyrgios, who once reached a career-high 13 in the world, called it "one of the hardest years of my life, tennis-wise".
"Everything else has been amazing, I can't complain about anything else," he said.
"But tennis-wise I've had some really hard conversations with myself, if I want to keep doing this.
Source: BSS
"So I know there's still fire in the belly, which is good, it's healthy."
