SERENA WILLIAMS FALLS TO 20-YEAR-OLD MAYA JOINT IN WIMBLEDON RETURN AFTER NEARLY FOUR-YEAR SINGLES ABSENCE. (PHOTO).

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 Serena Williams falls to 20-year-old Maya Joint in Wimbledon return after nearly four-year singles absence Serena Williams showed flashes of the power and precision that defined her Hall of Fame career in her return to professional singles tennis Tuesday, but ultimately fell short in a three-set opening-round loss at Wimbledon. The 44-year-old Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, was defeated 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 by 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in a match that lasted 2 hours and 22 minutes on Centre Court. It marked Williams’ first singles appearance in nearly four years, since the 2022 U.S. Open. Williams still produced trademark moments, including powerful serves and heavy groundstrokes that once carried her to seven Wimbledon singles titles. But Joint, ranked 87th, absorbed the pace and proved steadier on the biggest points, repeatedly finding angles that pushed Williams out of position. “I don’t know what just happened, to be honest,” Joint said afterward. “I didn’t get ...

FORMER TUNISIAN PM LARAYEDH JAILED FOR 24 YEARS IN SYRIA JIHADIST CASE. (PHOTO).


 Former Tunisian PM Larayedh jailed for 24 years in Syria jihadist case


Former Tunisian prime minister Ali Larayedh was sentenced on Friday to 24 years in prison on charges of facilitating Tunisian jihadists’ travel to Syria over the past decade, state media said, Reuters reported.


His party, the Islamist opposition Ennahda, says the case is politically motivated and part of a crackdown on dissent following President Kais Saied's seizure of broad powers in 2021, when he dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree.


Larayedh served as prime minister from 2013 to 2014 during a turbulent period following Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.


Larayedh, who has been detained since 2022, told the court during Thursday’s hearing: "I am innocent. I am being subjected to injustice, abuse and ingratitude." He can appeal against both the conviction and the sentence.


Following the 2011 revolution, hundreds of Tunisians travelled to Syria, Iraq, and Libya to join or fight alongside Islamic State groups. Ennahda faced strong criticism from its secular rivals for allegedly facilitating their travel during its time in power, an accusation it has always strongly denied.


The case involving Larayedh included seven other defendants, among them former officials from the Interior Ministry.


TAP state news agency quoted a judicial official as saying that their sentences ranged from three years to 24 years.

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