Naomi Osaka poked fun on Sunday at a Japanese comedy duo's reported comments that the Japanese and Haitian tennis star needed to pick up some "bleach."
The relatively unknown female comedy pairing "A Masso" reportedly suggested last week Osaka needed "bleach," and said the 21-year-old former world number one was "too sunburned" during a live performance.
They apologised after the skit referring to Osaka made news.
"'Too sunburned' lol that's wild," Osaka wrote on Twitter.
"I never get sunburned" by using a sunscreen, she added -- naming a local brand.
Osaka is a household name in Japan, where her every move is followed feverishly by local media, particularly when she is in the country of her mother's birth.
She is the face of several leading Japanese brands, including the carrier ANA, and "Naomi-chan" -- as she is affectionately known -- was the main attraction at this month's Pan Pacific Open in Osaka, which she won.
But she has faced controversies over her dual heritage in a nation .

Naomi Osaka pokes fun at Japan comedians' 'bleach' comments

PTI Automatic

Indian coaches from Bangladesh's women's cricket staff will not travel to Pakistan for the international series next month amid political tensions between the neighbouring nuclear rivals, the country's Cricket Board said Sunday.
Tensions are heightened between India and Pakistan after New Delhi revoked the autonomy of restive Kashmir in early August, which was the country's only Muslim-majority state.
The women's team are due to play Pakistan from October 26 to November 4 in three Twenty20 internationals and two one-day internationals at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The tour is still subject to security checks by Bangladesh's government before it can take place.
The governing body's chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told AFP that if it goes ahead, head coach Anju Jain, assistant coach Devika Palshikar, and trainer Kavita Pandey will not accompany the side in Pakistan.
But they will travel with the Bangladesh team when they play the ACC Emerging Women's Asia Cup in Sri Lanka from ...

Indian coaches of Bangladesh women's team won't travel to Pakistan: BCB

Prominent Egyptian dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah was detained Sunday morning beyond his overnight probation, his family and a judicial official said.
"We don't know where Alaa is... The police station says he's most probably at state security prosecution... we seriously don't have any information about him," his sister Mona Seif, also a well-known activist, said on Twitter early Sunday.
Abdel Fattah, 37, is serving five years of probation after completing a five-year jail sentence in March for staging a protest against a 2013 law effectively banning public gatherings.
His probation requires him to report to a police station near his home in Cairo at 6:00 PM every evening, and stay overnight in a cell until 6:00 AM.
On Sunday morning however he was not released.
Officers denied his mother Laila Soueif access to the police station and refused to say why he was not released.
The activist and computer programmer's whereabouts remain unknown and no word has been given on when he might appear 

Prominent Egyptian dissident detained

Fierce clashes broke out between protesters and riot police in Hong Kong on Sunday as thousands marched through the strife-torn city, during a day of global protests aimed at casting a shadow over communist China's upcoming 70th birthday.
Beijing is preparing for huge, tightly-choreographed festivities from Tuesday to mark the founding of the People's Republic of China, including a huge military parade that will revel in the country's emergence as a global superpower.
But ongoing unrest in Hong Kong threatens to upstage those celebrations as the semi-autonomous city boils with public anger over the erosion of its special freedoms under Beijing's rule.
Democracy activists in the financial hub had vowed to ramp up their nearly four-month-long campaign ahead of Tuesday's National Day celebrations, which Hong Kong protesters have dubbed a "Day of Grief".
Sunday witnessed the most intense clashes in weeks as police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons at multiple locations ...

Intense Hong Kong clashes ahead of China's 70th anniversary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz traded blame Sunday over the failure so far of efforts to reach a unity government deal following deadlocked elections.
A new round of negotiations between Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and Gantz's centrist Blue and White broke down Sunday and the two sides appeared far from reaching a compromise.
Likud said Netanyahu would make a "last effort" to reach a deal before informing President Reuven Rivlin he is unable to form a government.
That would leave Rivlin to decide whether to ask Gantz to try to do so or call on parliament to agree on a candidate for prime minister by a vote of at least 61 out of 120 members.
Netanyahu "will make a last effort to realise the possibility of forming a government at this stage, before returning the mandate to the president," Likud said in a statement.
It called the latest round of negotiations a "big disappointment."
Blue and White accused Likud of "throwing around slogans with the ...

Netanyahu, Gantz trade blame over breakdown in Israel coalition talks

Egypt is reeling after a tense weekend of sparse anti-government protests for the second week in a row, which analysts say could bring more repression under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Despite a heavy security presence in the capital, small-scale protests erupted in Cairo's Warraq island district after Friday prayers and in southern Egypt.
But the crowds were much thinner than the week before, when viral videos by an exiled disgruntled businessman accusing Sisi and the military of deep-seated corruption tapped into simmering discontent at people's economic woes.
"I doubt the Sisi administration is in any serious trouble, even if the protests show that high levels of repression have not been sufficient to deter open dissent," said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
Yet he cautioned that current uncertainty is riddled with challenges for Sisi.
"The real problem for the administration ... is that it has emptied the political arena so ...

Repression risks fuelling Egypt instability, analysts warn

Iran's foreign minister has urged arch-rival Saudi Arabia to accept that "security cannot be bought", saying an end to the war in Yemen would quell regional tensions.
In an interview with Tehran's official IRNA news agency on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the Saudi leadership of stirring up strife.
"They think that, in the same way that they have so far bought everything with money and have managed to buy weapons, friendship and support, they can buy security with money as well," he said, urging Riyadh to "put aside this illusion".
Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in a decades-long struggle for regional dominance and back opposing sides in a bitter war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
Those tensions have spiked in recent months, particularly since a devastating attack on Saudi oil installations earlier this month.
Iran has denied responsibility and the Huthi rebels it backs in Yemen said they were behind the attack, which knocked ..

Iran FM tells Saudis 'security cannot be bought'

Embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gathered his Conservative party Sunday for what could be its final conference before an election, promising to "get Brexit done".
Despite a string of parliamentary setbacks and a defeat in the Supreme Court, Johnson insists he will take Britain out of the European Union next month, with or without a deal with Brussels.
"What we need to do is to move on. And the way to do that is to get Brexit done on October 31," he told BBC television in Manchester, northwest England, where the conference is taking place.
His tough stance has put him at odds with the House of Commons, which has passed a law blocking a "no deal" exit, and lost him a number of his own MPs.
But it resonates with the overwhelmingly pro-Brexit Conservative party members who elected him in July -- and are expected to give him a hero's welcome.
The conference "will be a rally for Boris Johnson and a rally for Brexit", predicted Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary ...

UK's Johnson rallies party with vow to 'get Brexit done'

Thousands rallied in Sydney and Taipei to support Hong Kong democracy protesters Sunday, kicking off a day of planned "anti-totalitarianism" demonstrations globally.
In one of the largest solidarity marches in Australia since Hong Kong's latest pro-democracy movement began in June, black-clad participants took to the streets chanting "Add oil", a protest slogan denoting encouragement.
Some Sydney protesters held signs that read "Save Hong Kong" and "Stop tyranny", while others carried yellow umbrellas or handed out paper cranes in scenes that played out in other major cities across the country Sunday.
Pro-China supporters stayed away, avoiding a repeat of the tense scenes that flared last month when opposing rallies held on the same day led to confrontations between the two sides.
Bill Lam, 25, who attended demonstrations in Hong Kong before moving to Sydney for study two months ago, said protesters had become "very desperate" and simply wanted authorities to respect "their basic ...

Sydney and Taiwan kick off global protests for Hong Kong

Naomi Osaka said she had been "really riled up" as Japan's two-time Grand Slam champion reached the second round at the China Open on Sunday despite being far from her best.
The 21-year-old former world number one racked up 26 unforced errors on the way to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win over Jessica Pegula of the United States.
Fourth seed Osaka looked frustrated and disgruntled on several occasions against the 76th-ranked Pegula.
Osaka, who plays Andrea Petkovic of Germany next in Beijing, was disappointed that she was unable to replicate the form which won her the Pan Pacific Open in Japan a week ago.
"During tournaments, the first match is always the worst for me," said the US-based star.
"But I was kind of expecting it to be better because I just played really well in Tokyo (actually Osaka).
"I don't know, I thought it would carry on. I was a little bit frustrated that I felt my game wasn't really where I left it." "I just felt like today I was really riled up, not really sure why," she ...

Naomi Osaka reaches China Open round two despite being 'riled up'

Thousands of Hong Kongers defied police tear gas rounds on Sunday to hold an unsanctioned march through the city, part of a coordinated day of global protests aimed at casting a shadow over communist China's upcoming 70th birthday.
Beijing is preparing for huge, tightly-choreographed festivities from Tuesday marking seven decades since the People's Republic of China was founded, including a huge military parade that will revel in the country's emergence as a global superpower.
But ongoing unrest in Hong Kong threatens to upstage those celebrations as the semi-autonomous city boils with public anger over the erosion of its special freedoms under Beijing's rule.
Democracy activists in the financial hub called for "anti-totalitarian" protests to be held around the globe on Sunday.
Marches were held in Australia and Taiwan, with more planned in Europe and North America later in the day.
Online forums used to coordinate the deliberately leaderless protest movement called for protesters to .

Hong Kong leads global 'anti-China' rallies ahead of 70th anniversary

Austrians began voting Sunday in snap elections, in which the conservatives look set to triumph but face difficulties finding a partner to govern after a corruption scandal brought down their last coalition with the far-right.
The People's Party (OeVP) led by 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz is predicted to win around 33 per cent, up slightly from the last elections two years ago but not enough to form a majority government.
Kurz has "nothing to win, but a lot to lose", Die Presse daily warned in an editorial on Saturday.
"Even with a nice plus on Sunday, it is more difficult for him than in 2017," it said, adding there was no partner that quite suited any more.
With 6.4 million people eligible to vote, polling stations across the country opened at seven am (local time). They will close by five pm (local time) when first projections are expected.
The parliamentary elections were brought about by the "Ibiza-gate" corruption scandal that engulfed Kurz's far-right coalition partner in May, ...

Austrians vote with conservatives in lead

Top-ranked Kento Momota of Japan clinched the men's singles title at the Korea Open badminton tournament on Sunday with a win over number two Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan.
The 25-year-old downed Chou 21-19, 21-17 in a final that lasted 53 minutes.  Momota, with over 300 wins under his belt, saw his career descend into controversy in 2016 when he was suspended for more than a year for visiting an illegal casino and was denied a spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The Japanese star, who was world number two at the time, has since worked his way back to the top and Sunday's win raises his Olympic hopes a year ahead of the Tokyo Games.
In the women's final, China's He Bingjiao defeated Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 18-21, 24-22, 21-17.
South Korea dominated the women's doubles, with Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong beating compatriots Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan 13-21, 21-19, 21-17.
Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto defeated Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-16, ...

Japan's Kento Momota wins Korea Open

Thirteen people, most of them students, were killed when a pick-up truck flipped over while trying to change lanes on Sunday in the Thai capital, police said.
Graphic CCTV footage shows passengers riding in the back being hurled out of the vehicle onto the road in Bangkok's suburbs.
"Twelve people died instantly and one later died at the hospital," police officer Samran Chaytao told AFP, adding that nine of them were college-age students finished mechanical training for a local company.
A total of 18 people were in the truck, which was coming from an evening out with students and company officials celebrating the end of their training, Samran said.
Two of the five survivors had severe injuries.
Deadly accidents are common in Thailand, which regularly tops lists of the world's most lethal roads, with speeding, drunk driving and weak law enforcement all contributing factors.
Though many of the victims are motorcyclists, bus crashes involving groups of tourists and migrant labourers ...

13 dead in Thailand after truck carrying students flips over

Hong Kong descended into a second day of clashes between protesters and riot police on Sunday with officers firing tear gas in a busy shopping district.
Pro-democracy activists have stepped up their four-month-long campaign in the financial hub ahead of celebrations planned for the 70th anniversary of communist China's founding from Tuesday.
Police fired tear gas at protesters in Causeway Bay after angry crowds surrounded and heckled officers who had conducted stop and searches and then made a series of arrests.
The latest violence came after officers used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannon trucks on Saturday night to beat back hardcore activists who were throwing rocks and petrol bombs at government offices.
China is preparing for huge, tightly choreographed festivities including a huge military parade in Beijing to revel in the country's emergence as a global superpower.
But ongoing unrest in Hong Kong threatens to upstage those celebrations as the semi-autonomous city boils ...

Hong Kong police fire tear gas at protesters in shopping district

More than 1,000 people rallied in central Sydney in support of Hong Kong protesters Sunday, kicking off a day of planned "anti-totalitarianism" demonstrations globally.
In one of the largest solidarity marches in the Australian city since Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement began in March, black-clad participants took to the streets chanting "Add oil", a protest slogan denoting encouragement.
Some protesters held signs that read "Save Hong Kong" and "Stop tyranny", while others carried yellow umbrellas or handed out paper cranes in scenes that played out in major cities across the country Sunday.
Pro-China supporters stayed away, avoiding a repeat of the tense scenes that flared last month when opposing rallies held on the same day led to confrontations between the two sides.
Bill Lam, 25, who attended demonstrations in Hong Kong before moving to Sydney for study two months ago, said protesters had become "very desperate" and simply wanted authorities to respect "their basic human ...

Sydney rally kicks off global protests for Hong Kong

Chinese President Xi Jinping awarded medals and honorary titles to an array of domestic and international "heroes" on Sunday, including a former French prime minister and a centenarian Canadian educator.
The award ceremony is part of China's celebrations to mark 70 years of Communist rule, which will kick off on Tuesday with a massive military parade in Beijing aimed at showcasing the country's emergence as a global superpower.
"The heroes and role models are all devoted to the cause of the Party and the people... and hold fast to working for the happiness of the Chinese people," said Xi in a speech following the presentation of awards.
Isabel Crook, a Canadian anthropologist and educator born in 1915, was the oldest awardee present and had lived in China since before the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, according to official news agency Xinhua.
Born in the southwest city of Chengdu, the centenarian made "outstanding contributions in the cause for China's education and ...

Xi presents awards to 'heroes' and 'old friends' of China

Undefeated American Deontay Wilder will defend his World Boxing Council heavyweight crown against Cuba's Luis Ortiz in a November rematch of their 2018 title showdown, promoters announced.
The November 23 matchup at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas gives 40-year-old southpaw Ortiz a chance to avenge his loss to Wilder, a 10th-round stoppage in March 2018 in his only prior world title bout.
"When I fought Ortiz, not only did he have the pedigree, but also he had the classification of being the boogeyman of the division," Wilder said on Saturday.
"I agree with those who say that Luis Ortiz was my toughest fight to date. No one wanted to fight him and they still don't. In the rematch there's more confidence and more motivation to do what I have to do.
"I've already seen the style before. It's going to make it more fun. I can't wait to see how he tries to handle me when I'm at my best."
The card also features Mexico's Leo Santa Cruz, the reigning World Boxing Association featherweight .

Wilder to defend heavyweight crown against Cuba's Ortiz

Christian Coleman hit back at US sprinting legend Michael Johnson after powering to a brilliant 100m victory at the World Championships.
Coleman blew away his rivals to take the first major outdoor title of his career, clocking a world-leading personal best of 9.76 sec at the Khalifa Stadium.
The win cemented Coleman's status as the man to beat at next year's Tokyo Olympics, and elevated the 23-year-old American to the head of a pack of sprinters aiming to be the new face of athletics in the post-Usain Bolt era.
In the eyes of Johnson, however, Coleman has already forfeited the right to be the figurehead of track and field after the missed drugs test controversy that marred his build-up to the games.
Coleman, however, was unmoved by Johnson's remarks as he celebrated Saturday's win.
"Michael Johnson doesn't pay my bills or sign my cheques," Coleman said. "So I don't really care what he has to say."
Coleman was only able to compete in Doha after the case against him was withdrawn ...

Coleman brushes off Johnson barbs after 100m win

As Britain's deadline to leave the European Union approaches, property prices have slowed or dropped, especially in London, with sector analysts warning of worse to come if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal.
"The market is at a standstill," said Beatrice Caboche, director at real estate company Barnes UK.
Average property sales prices rose just 0.7 per cent in July, their slowest increase in nearly seven years.
Analysts blame a process set in motion with a 2016 Brexit referendum.
"Over the past three years, there has been a general slowdown in UK house price growth, driven mainly by a slowdown in the south and east of England," said Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK.
Many investors expect the market to weaken further and don't want to overpay for property that will be worth less if, for example, Britain leaves the EU without a negotiated deal.
Potential sellers, on the other hand, often prefer to leave their houses empty rather than accept a price they deem too low .

Brexit takes wrecking ball to British housing market

China's tightly choreographed 70th birthday bash next week risks being upstaged by pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which offer a starkly different take on the strength and power of the Communist Party being feted in Beijing.
As President Xi Jinping gets ready to preside over a huge military parade and gala event on Tuesday, the former British colony is in tumult over the erosion of its special freedoms by Beijing.
Hong Kong has been rocked by the worst political unrest since its handover to China in 1997, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse increasingly violent protesters.
The city's summer of discontent - first triggered by an extradition bill to the mainland that has since been shelved - has morphed into a call for free elections and less intervention from Beijing.
With tanks and military aircraft to parade in Beijing on October 1, Hong Kong protest organisers have promised their own major rallies.
"It's safe to say that the Hong Kong protests have ...

AFP

AFP

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