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Sharjah has secured the exclusive rights to operate BookXcess bookstores across the Middle East and Africa, expanding its global role in publishing and strengthening its status as a leading centre for books, reading and knowledge.The
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday mocked US President Donald Trump over his vow to impose hefty charges on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran would charge a lower rate."POTUS
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Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates with the runner-up trophy after his final match against Italy's Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon on Sunday. (Reuters) Wimbledon runner-up Alexander Zverev will rise to second in the ATP world rankings on Monday and while Centre Court conqueror Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the dominant forces in men's tennis, the German believes his new attacking strategy can help him close the gap.The 29-year-old went toe-to-toe with world number one Sinner on Sunday, snapping a run of 14 lost sets to the Italian to lead the final before losing 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4.It was his 10th loss in a row to Sinner but unlike most of the other nine, this one was a real fight. Had it not been for a fall at 3-3 in the third set on his only break point of the match, Zverev may well have become the first German man to win the singles title at the All England Club since Michael Stich in 1991.Zverev's French Open triumph last month was his first Grand Slam title at the 41st attempt, although some will point to the fact that Sinner lost in the second round and Spanish seven-time major winner Alcaraz was absent with an ongoing wrist injury.MORE ATTACKING APPROACHThe new-found belief that the win over Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros injected into Zverev was evident at Wimbledon where a far more attacking approach, especially with his forehand, fired him to his best-ever run at the grasscourt Slam."I've said it at the beginning of the year, and I've stuck to it. That's the tennis I want to play. That's the game style I want to play," Zverev told reporters."There were matches in the beginning of the year where I was struggling a bit more with this style, but I was consistently doing it. The more I do it, the better I'll become."I won a Grand Slam for the first time in my career in Paris. I made it to the finals here for the first time in my career. Of course, something has to be working."Zverev's first serve percentage hovered around 80% for much of the final against Sinner while his forehand, once regarded as too passive, was used to destructive effect to rock the Italian."When I have the opportunity, I hit it. Whether I make it or miss it, that depends on the day. But I definitely go for it," he said. "That's my goal, that's my aim for this year, that's my aim for hopefully the rest of my career."CHALLENGING ALCARAZ AND SINNERWhile Sinner and Alcaraz have 12 Grand Slam titles between them, Zverev believes he can challenge them for the game's big prizes."I think I've been pushing those guys. I haven't beaten them this year, but I've pushed them to the limits, I would say," Zverev said. "Alcaraz in Australia, Jannik maybe here. Even though it was four sets, I think it was a very close four sets, which could have gone five as well."There was always this conversation who will be the third guy, the search for the third guy. Kind of the last couple years, I've always been the third guy, but I was just far away from those two. If I get closer to them, if I can be in the mix, competing and winning the big tournaments, it would be great."Zverev said his fall in the third set on Sunday had impacted his serving."I over-extended my knee again, similar to two years ago. I was struggling to push off on the serve a little bit. So my serve speed went down," he said. "But everything else went fine."I think the fall didn't help me in the third set. My level dropped a little bit. But then I picked it up in the fourth again. Overall I thought it was quite high level throughout." Related Story
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Guess Who Unlace This Corset Cutie Published July 13, 2026 11:26 AM PDT We're starting the week off strong and sexy with a corset cutie teasing her cleavage ... can you guess who she is?!?
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Italy's Jannik Sinner is congratulated by Germany's Alexander Zverev for winning the Wimbledon title at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2026. (AFP) Alexander Zverev moved second in the latest ATP rankings released on Monday behind Jannik Sinner who defeated the German in the Wimbledon final.Sinner, 24, retained his crown on the London grass against Zverev -- who had won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open just weeks earlier -- 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-4.The 29-year-old German moves up one spot to push Spain's Carlos Alcaraz down to third.Spaniard Alcaraz was a finalist against Sinner at Wimbledon last year but was unable to compete with a wrist injury that also forced him to withdraw from Roland Garros.Veteran Serb Novak Djokovic, 39, who fell to Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals, climbed one place to seventh.Britain's Arthur Fery leapt 78 places from 114th to 36th after the wildcard's run to the semi-finals where he lost to Zverev."It's going to change things, for sure," Fery, 24, said."I'm going to be able to play Tour events at least for a full year, hopefully for more. It's going to be interesting to see how I deal with that change and everything that brings in terms of expectations."ATP rankings1. Jannik Sinner (ITA) 13450 pts2. Alexander Zverev (GER) 8480 (+1)3. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) 8160 (-1)4. Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 47405. Alex De Minaur (AUS) 4110 (+1)6. Ben Shelton (USA) 3770 (-1)7. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 37608. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 3670 (+1)9. Flavio Cobolli (ITA) 3460 (+1)10. Taylor Fritz (USA) 3365 (-2)11. Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 281012. Jirí Lehecka (CZE) 2510 (+2)13. Casper Ruud (NOR) 2435 (-1)14. Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) 2315 (+1)15. Learner Tien (USA) 2270 (+2)16. Andrey Rublev (RUS) 2230 (-3)17. Frances Tiafoe (USA) 2230 (+2)18. Luciano Darderi (ITA) 2210 (-2)19. Jakub Mensik (CZE) 2205 (-1)20. Alejandro Davidovich (ESP) 2160 (+3) Selected:36. Arthur Fery (GBR) 1297 (+78) Related Story
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Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts to beating Germany's Alexander Zverev during the Wimbledon final at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2026. (AFP) * Sinner arrived for Wimbledon defence without build-up events* Italian opted for intensive training blocks to prepare his body* Sinner says French Open champion Zverev's game is improving Jannik Sinner said his successful Wimbledon title defence felt all the more sweet after his surprise early exit from the French Open last month, as he credited the long hours and hard work in the build-up to the grasscourt Grand Slam for his triumph.The 24-year-old arrived at the All England Club a fortnight ago needing to answer his doubters after a second-round loss to the unheralded Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the blazing heat of the Parisian summer.He skipped the traditional grasscourt tune-ups, opting instead for intensive training blocks that included sessions on hard courts, and gradually played his way into form before beating Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final."Every Grand Slam is different. Different story, different environment, different feelings before the tournament," Sinner told reporters about the emotions he felt after claiming his fifth major title."For me, this one meansa lot, because it was tough after Paris. Last year was also tough. But coming here, I tried to put myself in the best position to be as competitive as possible."We put in a lot of workdays in Monaco, very, very long. Definitely sacrificing a lot of my time and everything to be in this position. Having this achievement, it means a lot to me. Yeah, it was an amazing day today."SINNER TRYING TO DO HIS BEST EVERY DAYSinner is in the midst of a spectacular run of form having won all five Masters titles contested this season, losing only three matches. However, two of those defeats were at this year's first two majors, hence his Grand Slam drought stretched back to his triumph at the All England Club 12 months ago.While he savoured Sunday's hard-fought win, Sinner said there was no feeling of relief after defeating a determined Zverev 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4 in three hours and 46 minutes on Centre Court."Sometimes you have a tournament with a good outcome, and sometimes you just don't. There is no failure if you don't win a Grand Slam," Sinner added."Now I have five in my whole life. But it's five days of so many other days. You just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. If I lose, it's still a great day."I never take things for granted."French Open champion Zverev might have lost the fourth Grand Slam title clash of his career but Sinner said the German's game was improving and that was a great sign for the men's tour."That's exactly what's good, because you have always someone who's pushing you to the limit," Sinner said."We hope that Carlos Alcaraz is coming back (from injury), as well, because tennis needs him. Having Novak Djokovic still around, having all the young players coming, it's really nice."At the same time, you always need to work hard and have moments like this." Related Story
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England's Matt Fitzpatrick attends a press conference held ahead of the 154th Open Golf championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club near Southport in north-west England on July 13, 2026. (AFP) As he prepared for The Open Championship this week in his native England, Matt Fitzpatrick shared his thoughts on how gambling influences fan behavior at golf tournaments."It's a great question because you just look at all the messages people get -- footballers, tennis players, you name it, everyone's getting messages of, ‘Oh, you missed that penalty; you cost me this. Oh, you didn't make a birdie; cost me this,' " Fitzpatrick told reporters Monday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport."I've had my fair share. I would say every golfer that's played a professional tournament has had a message of abuse from someone that is related to gambling. "I mean, you could see it this week. You go and type in a player's name who maybe isn't playing well, maybe someone who's favored to play well, you type the name into Twitter and you'll just see their name followed by abuse after abuse after abuse," he added.Fitzpatrick, 31, enters the 154th Open as one of the hottest golfers on the planet, a three-time winner this season on the PGA Tour and ranked No. 3 in the world."Hopefully I've not peaked yet obviously, but I just think I'm doing a lot of good stuff this year. Short game's been really, really good, and so has my irons," he said."That's a first for me. My irons have never really been a strength. I've had good seasons but never really taken advantage of that, I don't feel like; whereas now I feel like I've got that." SEEKING CHANCE TO IMPROVE BEST FINISHThe 2022 U.S. Open champion tied for third on Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open and is looking to improve on his best finish in The Open after tying for fourth place last year at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.Fitzpatrick said he doesn't "condone gambling in the slightest ... it's not really for me," other than participating in friendly World Cup wagers with his mates."I've had 20 quid on England to win the World Cup, but at the same time, if it doesn't come in, I'm not going to send a message to Harry Kane and be like, why did you play rubbish? There's obviously individuals that have that problem," he said."... For me, it's definitely becoming a problem and the issue is, particularly in golf, it would be very easy to influence a bet, whether it's you're shouting on someone's backswing, shouting on a putting stroke. It's really easy. Obviously that is really hard to monitor, but it is definitely an issue."Fitzpatrick mentioned he usually stays off social media but is fully aware of the negativity present."You just search my name, Tommy's (Fleetwood) name, anyone's name, and you will find just tweet after tweet just straight abuse," he said. "It's not right. I'm not going into someone's office or in their e-mails abusing them. I would say a lot of it comes down to the gambling. You see that a lot on the social media of, oh, this guy's favored this week. Make sure you lump on him. ..."But when you're getting personally attacked, it's just ridiculous." Related Story
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Scottie Scheffler of the US during practice ahead of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, Britain, on Monday. (Reuters) American Scottie Scheffler will set out to buck a British Open trend and become the first player to defend the title for 18 years at a baked Royal Birkdale this week.Ireland's Padraig Harrington was the last player to retain the Claret Jug when he won at Birkdale in 2008 and the trend since then has favoured first-time winners.South African Ernie Els was the most recent repeat champion, at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, since when the sport's oldest major has been a hot potato.Several players will be favoured to snap the sequence of first-time winners, though, with world number one Scheffler and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy the favourites despite both coming in with question marks about their form.Scheffler produced a links golf masterclass on the Antrim coast last year with a processional four-stroke victory at Portrush adding a fourth major to his collection.The 30-year-old has not won since his first event of the season and his preparation suffered a jolt at last week's Scottish Open when he missed his first cut in four years. SCHEFFLER ARRIVED EARLIERThat early exit did have some benefits though as Scheffler arrived earlier than expected at Birkdale to cast his eye over a course on which he has never played.McIlroy found himself caught up in a maelstrom at Portrush last year where his every step was followed by thousands of fans willing him to the title on his home links.Huge galleries will follow him from Thursday too at Birkdale where in 2017 he finished tied fourth behind dominant champion Jordan Spieth.McIlroy, 37, retained the Masters this year in a thriller but has played only sporadically since as he focuses on more quality time away from the grind.Apart from one round at the Scottish Open he looked in fine fettle and will seek to win the Claret Jug again having done so just along the coast at Royal Liverpool in 2014. 'THERE'S SOME POSITIVE SIGNS'"I don't feel like it's too far away. There's definitely some positive signs," McIlroy said after signing off with a round of 64 to finish seventh in Scotland.Americans have won four of the last five Opens with Xander Schauffele in 2024 at Royal Troon, Brian Harman at Royal Liverpool in 2023 and Collin Morikawa at Royal St George's in 2021. With the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, English fans will head to the coast north of Liverpool hoping to be part of a magical sporting day for the nation.While England's soccer team chase a first World Cup title since 1966, the wait for an English Open champion is also a long one, dating back to Nick Faldo's triumph in 1992.Leading the English charge will be local boy Tommy Fleetwood who grew up next to the course in Southport and used to sneak on to it to play holes with his dad as a youngster.The ever-dependable Justin Rose will be in the mix on the course where in 1998 he first came to attention by finishing fourth as an amateur, while Matt Fitzpatrick, who has won three times on the PGA Tour this year, and surprise U.S. PGA winner Aaron Rai could challenge to end the drought.With Britain in the grip of its third heatwave of the summer, the par-70 Royal Birkdale course has transformed from green to straw colour with fast fairways and penal rough demanding accuracy off the tee.The sun is expected to keep shining this week and the forecast of stiff breezes off the Irish Sea across the dunes means the 154th Open is set to be a true links golf puzzle. Related Story
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Zach Johnson of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the Kaulig Companies Championship 2026 at Firestone Country Club on July 12, 2026 in Akron, Ohio. (AFP) Zach Johnson birdied his final three holes to finish the Kaulig Companies Championship in style, winning his first senior major title by six strokes on Sunday in Akron, Ohio.Johnson's 2-under-par 68 was more than enough after he began the final round with a four-shot cushion. He finished at 15-under 265 for the week. Boo Weekley (9 under) and Slovakia's Rory Sabbatini (8 under) finished a distant second and third, respectively, after closing with rounds of 66.Stewart Cink (68) took fourth at 7 under and George McNeill (66), Ben Crane (68) and Australian Cameron Percy (71) tied for fifth at 6 under. Cink was searching for his third major of the year.Instead, Johnson joins the club of senior major winners in his first start at Firestone Country Club, the former PGA Tour venue. Johnson turned 50 in February and now has three PGA Tour Champions titles in that short time.The man with a Masters and an Open Championship on his resume said he felt "like I've already won" entering the round. 'MY GAME'S GOOD'"I mean that in the sense that like regardless of what happens today, like my game's good, scorecard's irrelevant," he said. "I just know I'm at peace with whatever comes my way, I mean that sincerely."Following a Saturday round of 63 that vaulted him in front, Johnson had two bogeys and two birdies across his first six holes Sunday. He was still even for his round until birdieing No. 11 and immediately following that with bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13 after missing the green at each."It was hard today," Johnson said. "Hitting the middle of the face on the driver and not even coming close to hitting fairways is not something I'm accustomed to. But you said it, golf's hard. And I was off. There's no other explanation other than I was off."Yet no one was able to come challenge Johnson's position, as Weekley and Sabbatini were four back when Johnson saved par from the bunker at the par-3 15th. Then came his closing surge of birdies at the par-5 No. 16 and par-4 Nos. 17 and 18.Johnson chipped in for birdie at the 18th to finish the job and he reacted with a mixture of disbelief and contentment."I feel very fortunate, I feel extremely blessed. The finish was ridiculous," Johnson said. THE HUNT FOR TITLES FOR WEEKLEY, SABBATINIWeekley, 52, and Sabbatini, 50, were also hunting for their first senior major championships."I didn't hit many fairways the last two days, but I made a lot of putts. That's what kept me in the game this week, putted the ball real well and my caddie helped me read the greens real well," said Weekley, who made six birdies to two bogeys Sunday. "We just executed on that end of it and everything panned out like it should. I'm very fortunate that -- I didn't even know I was in second place, I thought I had like tied for third or something."Sabbatini was among the golfers who praised Firestone and expressed their unhappiness that the major will relocate to Newport Beach, Calif., next year under a new title sponsor."I'm disappointed. It's sad to say that," Sabbatini said. "You know, you never know what the future holds. Who knows (if a pro tournament will return). ... I know this golf course does mean a lot to the local economy and to the people here. It's close enough to Cleveland, so hopefully in the foreseeable future we'll see another event."
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American golfer Jordan Spieth attends a press conference held ahead of the 154th Open Golf championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club near Southport in north-west England on July 13, 2026. (AFP) Jordan Spieth refuses to accept the form that led him to win three of golf's major titles has been lost forever.The American won the US Masters, US Open and British Open in a purple patch from 2015-17, leading many observers to suggest it was just a matter of time before he joined the select band of players who have completed a career Grand Slam of golf's four most prestigious championships.But while the US PGA has continued to remain elusive for Spieth, so has any other major title.This week, however, Spieth has another chance to end that drought in a British Open being staged at the Royal Birkdale course near Liverpool -- the scene of his 2017 triumph in golf's oldest major championship.The intervening nine years have been tough for the former world number one, with injuries and a loss of form meaning Spieth has won just two tournaments since the last of his three majors.But the 32-year-old hasn't given up hope of adding a fourth major to his name."I'll never believe that until I'm at a point in my career where my health or whatever would be that, because if you give up on reaching your ceiling then I don't see a point in playing any more."I'll do everything I can to be the very best in the world because I know I can be. I have been. It's nice to have the blueprint." BEST FINISH THIS YEAR IS 11THSpieth's best finish this year is eleventh although there were signs of a reawakening at the Masters when he tied for twelfth, seven strokes behind the champion Rory McIlroy."If you are capable of leading in every (statistical) category, then you are capable of doing great things: even this season I've been able to lead in each of the different categories," he said."There are things I can do significantly better now than when I was number one in the world, therefore there should be nothing to stop me in my own head to believe that I can reach that again."I'm 32, I'm not 42. At 42 you'd really have to sacrifice a lot of things to try and do that. I don't feel like I have to."I'm always comparing myself a bit to myself at my best, but not to try to be the exact player."I know my ceiling is where that level was so I'm going to strive for it with the type of player I am now." Related Story
