Murray through as opponent quits

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Venue: Melbourne ParkDate: 16-29 JanuaryCoverage: Watch live on Eurosport; singles finals and one men's semi-final on BBC Two/Red Button/HD channel/website; listen on BBC Radio 5 live; text commentaries and reports on the BBC Sport website Kukushkin retires to send Murray through

Andy Murray reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for a third year running after Mikhail Kukushkin retired through injury while trailing 6-1 6-1 1-0.

Two five-set matches in rounds two and three took their toll on Kazakhstan's world number 92 Kukushkin, who pulled out with a left hip flexor problem.

"It was hot on the court and it is good for me that I have conserved energy," said British number one Murray.

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The fourth seed will play Kei Nishikori after he stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Murray has a winning record against the 24th seed, the first Japanese man to reach the Australian quarter-finals for 80 years, and the Scot approaches that match on Wednesday feeling fresh.

He described the 49-minute win over Kukushkin, 24, as "boring" and stated his intention to return to Rod Laver Arena later on Monday for an extra practice session.

"I played him [Kukushkin] a few weeks ago at Brisbane and it was three tough sets and I expected another tough one today," said the Scot.

"I hadn't seen him play before Brisbane and he hit some huge shots early and made me work.

"It is tough for him for that to happen in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time."

As in his third-round victory over Michael Llodra, Murray, 24, played closer to the baseline and attacked his groundstrokes with plenty of aggression.

Kukushkin beat Gael Monfils in five gruelling sets on Saturday and those exertions seemed to hinder him in the scorching Melbourne heat.

Three unforced errors in the first game handed Murray a break and the Scot struck again for a 3-0 lead.

Kukushkin finally displayed some fight to hit back in game four, only to relinquish his serve again after pushing two backhands wide.

Continue reading the main story Jonathan Overend,
BBC tennis correspondent

This was entirely predictable. Kukushkin, having played back-to-back five setters, looked off the pace from the start. It was going to be a thrashing or a retirement and Kukushkin chose the second option, having received treatment for a hip flexor injury. Murray looked sharp, as he has all tournament, and things are building nicely. What a bonus to only have to play for 49 minutes on the hottest day of the tournament so far. After the fun match against Llodra, now the half-day against Kukushkin, this could be the break he needs to make all the difference in the second week

The world number 92 gave an indication he was not 100% fit when he called for the trainer at the next change of ends, and Murray broke once more to wrap up the 22-minute first set.

A lapse in focus saw the world number four relinquish an early break in the second set with a poor backhand into the net.

But a struggling Kukushkin, who started rushing the net in a bid to shorten points, handed the momentum straight back.

Murray breached his defences with some clean hitting to go 5-1 up before serving out another 22-minute set to love.

Having required more treatment and then lost his serve for an eighth successive time, Kukushkin called it quits.

Next up for Murray is Nishikori, who stunned sixth seed and 2008 runner-up Tsonga 2-6 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-3 in three hours and 30 minutes.

"I'm feeling unbelievable," Nishikori said. "To reach my first quarter-final and beating Tsonga makes me really happy.

"Hopefully it's big in Japan. A lot of people messaged me when I got to last 16. Now I'm in the quarter-finals, it's really exciting."

In the mixed doubles, Britain's Colin Fleming reached the quarter-finals with his partner, the South African-born American Liezel Huber.

The duo defeated American Steve Lipsky and Vladimira Uhlirova of the Czech Republic 6-3 6-2.

Source BBC

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Libya ruling council deputy quits

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22 January 2012 Last updated at 15:12 GMT Abdel Hafiz Ghoga has been accused by protesters of being an opportunist The deputy head of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) says he has resigned amid growing protests against him.

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told Al-Jazeera TV that he was resigning in the national interest.

Several hundred protesters stormed the NTC headquarters in the second city Benghazi on Saturday.

Observers say it was the most serious show of anger at the new authorities since Col Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.

Mr Ghogha, an NTC spokesman, has become a focus for protesters demanding more openness from the NTC.

They accuse him of being an opportunist, who switched allegiances from the regime of Col Gaddafi as the uprising gained strength.

"My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage," Mr Ghoga told Al-Jazeera.

"Unfortunately, the consensus has not continued to maintain the highest national interests. The atmosphere of deprivation and hatred has prevailed... I do not want this atmosphere to continue and negatively affect the National Transitional Council and its performance," he added.

'Bottomless pit'

The NTC headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi - from where the uprising against the Gaddafi regime began - has been the focus of protests in recent weeks.

The protesters want more transparency from the NTC

But Saturday night's protest turned violent, with the AFP news agency reporting that some protesters threw homemade bombs while others armed themselves with stones and iron bars before ransacking the building.

Many protesters believe the revolution that toppled Col Gaddafi is being taken away from them by people only interested in the money, the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Libya says.

The head of the NTC, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, spoke to protesters on Sunday and urged them to have more patience.

"We are going through a political movement that can take the country to a bottomless pit," he said. "There is something behind these protests that is not for the good of the country."

"The people have not given the government enough time and the government does not have enough money. Maybe there are delays, but the government has only been working for two months. Give them a chance, at least two months."

According to Reuters news agency, when asked if Mr Ghoga would step down, Mr Abdel Jalil said he would not.

Our correspondent says Mr Ghoga's resignation adds to a current feeling of instability and flux in the country, and a sense that the NTC is not really in sole control.

Source BBC

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UK Defense Secretary quits over "adviser" scandal

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Britain's Defence Secretary Liam Fox leaves his residence in central London October 13, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

By Mohammed Abbas

LONDON | Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:32pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British Defense Secretary Liam Fox resigned on Friday over his friendship with a businessman who posed as his adviser, jolting Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government and potentially slowing down efforts to reform the military.

Cameron named Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, generally seen as a safe pair of hands, as the new defense secretary. Hammond is considered to be on the right of the governing Conservative Party, but not to the same extent as Fox, around whom many ministers had rallied before his resignation.

Fox, 50, who oversaw Britain's military operations in Afghanistan and Libya, admitted he had allowed the lines between his personal and professional life to blur.

The British media have in the last week been awash with stories about the relationship between Fox and his former flatmate and best man, Adam Werritty, 34, who met often with Fox at the defense ministry and on his official trips abroad.

"I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred," Fox said in a resignation letter to Cameron.

"The consequences of this have become clearer in recent days. I am very sorry for this."

The loss of Fox amid accusations of impropriety could open Cameron up to allegations of sleaze, a failing that helped doom the last Conservative-led government in a 1997 election, relegating the party to opposition for the next 13 years.

Cameron can ill-afford the government's authority to be compromised as it pushes through the toughest austerity measures in a generation to tackle a big budget deficit. The integrity of parliament itself has only recently recovered from an expenses scandal that saw several legislators prosecuted.

However, pending any further revelations about Fox's conduct, his departure is not seen as a fatal blow.

"It's a setback for the government but not destabilizing ... This is embarrassing for the government, it doesn't help their reputation, but it's not a fundamental game changer," said Wyn Grant, politics professor at the University of Warwick.

BACKBENCH RIVAL?

Cameron had given Fox, 50, his support pending the findings of an inquiry, due within days, into whether he had broken ministerial rules by allowing Werritty to benefit financially from their friendship or have access to classified information.

In a letter, Cameron said he was "very sorry" to see Fox go, and praised the "superb job" he had done.

"He did a good job at the Ministry of Defense clearing up the mess left by the last government and giving good leadership to that department particularly while we have been in action in Libya and also in Afghanistan as well," Cameron told reporters.

With Fox no longer defense minister, relations with Cameron may not be so cordial in future.

Fox challenged Cameron for leadership of the Conservative Party in 2005, and the prime minister now faces the prospect of a powerful and charismatic rival on his party's back-benches.

Fox is the flag bearer for the Conservatives' vocal right-wing and could become a source of friction for Cameron, who is already under attack from right-wingers who accuse him of ceding too much ground to the center-left Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives' junior partners in coalition rule.

"While he (Fox) may not have credibility as a leadership contender, he could undermine David Cameron from the back benches," said Steven Fielding, director of the Center for British Politics at Nottingham University.

Potential unrest among Cameron's restive right-wing colleagues over Fox's departure is likely to be assuaged by the fact that Fox chose to step down without apparent pressure from the prime minister, who had allowed an unusually long time for an investigation to look into Fox's conduct.

"I think Cameron will be OK on this. He's not been seen to force him out. He's given him enough time to explain himself .... I don't think anyone in the Conservative Party will think Cameron acted badly or have the knives out for him," said Tim Bale, politics professor at Sussex University and author of a book on the Conservatives.

Defense INDUSTRY

Fox's successor would have to implement a radical and difficult plan to slim down and reconfigure the military, as well as manage the eventual return of British troops from Afghanistan and take decisive action during future conflicts.

The government last year announced an eight percent cut in real terms to the 34 billion pound ($53.7 billion) defense budget over four years, and many of the initiatives Fox outlined to reduce costs have yet to be implemented.

Other government departments received cuts of up to 20 percent, and the defense ministry's more lenient treatment was seen partly as a result of Fox winning a fierce and public spat with the treasury (finance ministry).

"Keeping a handle on the budget, particularly the equipment budget, requires constant political care and attention .... You need strong leadership and willingness to take hard decisions which will offend people," said Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute defense think-tank in London.

"The danger is that if there isn't strong pressure from the secretary of state to keep the defense budget under control, then that role will devolve back to the treasury," he said, adding that would lead to confusion on procurement.

Defense firms are already in the throes of trying to readjust to new procurement policies introduced under Fox, including a "name and shame" initiative for defense firms who do not stick to time and cost constraints, and a push for firms to develop less specialized, more exportable hardware.

"As far as the defense industry is concerned, what we really want is to have a degree of consistency," said Hugh Toler of Allocate Software, which has a defense division.

(Additional reporting by Tim Castle, Matt Falloon and Adrian Croft, Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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