Arsenal confirm signing of Malaga midfielder Cazorla

Madrid Arsenal signed Malaga's Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. "Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Spain international Santi Cazorla has joined the Club on a long-term contract," Arsenal said on their website (www.arsenal.com). "Santi Cazorla ...joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee from Malaga," they added.

Mary Kom assures India of a medal

London India's five-time world champion Mary Kom beat Tunisia's Maroua Rahali 2-1, 3-2, 6-1, 4-2, in the Olympic women's boxing flyweight last 8 bout to guarantee India a medal at the quadrennial event. This win takes Mary Kom to semifinals of women 51kg boxing. Mary Kom showed her class in the third as she attacked with a flurry of combinations which had the Tunisian ducking and evading. The Indian, a five-time World Champion, put in a dominant performance. But her style Monday was in stark contrast to her performance Sunday, when she beat Karolina Michalczuk of Poland. In the first round, she sized her opponent and relied heavily on defensive tactics. She time and again tried to get inside of her opponent to land a punch but the Tunisian was able to keep her distance. Both fighters did not throw many punches and the round ended 2-1 in the Indian's favour. The second round, too, was similar as the diminutive Indian tried to keep away from her taller opponent. Relying on one-off punches, Mary Kom frustrated her opponent with her quick evasive measures. Fighting conservatively, Mary Kom still was narrowly able to edge out her opponent 3-2. With only a two-point lead, the Indian put the hammer down as she went for her opponent. Like in her pre-quarters bout, Mary Kom displayed her quick feet and fast hands with a flurry of combination punches. She stepped inside her opponent, who had an advantage of height, and landed some telling blows. With the Tunisian clearly reeling under the pressure of the punches, Mary Kom went for the kill winning the round 6-1. The fourth was a formality as the Indian conserved her energy and relied on counter-attacks. Her opponent too seemed to be out of energy, not even trying to reduce the seven-point deficit. Mary Kom is assured of a bronze even if she loses in the semi-finals. Mary Kom's husband Onler Kom said that the pugilist made the country proud after assuring the country its fourth Olympic medal from the 2012 London Games. "Every Indian will be proud of her. She was quite determined that she would do well and she has done that. She has won the medal she always wanted at last. She has always done well for her country," Onler Kom told TV channels. Onler Kom also said that he spoke to his wife before the bout and told her to be careful. "I told her not to fight in a rough manner, to use all the technique. And she did well. This was the only thing missing from her career and now she has it," he added. On Sunday, Mary Kom put on a valiant display as she downed a bigger Polish opponent Karolina Michalczuk to enter the quarterfinals of the 51 kg category. After winning a bout as fearsome as any of the men's fights over the first eight days, Kom, one of the pioneers of women's boxing, was close to tears as she left the ring. She could not hold them back as she told reporters of her long battle to get to that moment. "I have been boxing for 12 years, I have been trying to play in the Olympic Games," mother-of-two Kom said, wiping the tears away. The 29-year-old Manipuri is the lone Indian woman boxer in fray at the mega-event after making the cut in the only qualifying tournament - the World Championships in May earlier this year. Throughout her career, Mary Kom has fought in the light flyweight category (48kg). However, to adjust to the weight category of the Games she increased her weight to fit into the 51kg category. This year Mary Kom became the fifth sportsperson to be conferred with the honorary ranks by the Army or Air Force. The other four who have received the honour are cricketers Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Abhinav Bindra.

Gunmen kill 16 in central Nigeria church attack

Abuja Gunmen killed 16 people when they fired on worshippers at a church in Nigeria's central Kogi state during a Monday evening service, police said on Tuesday. "A group of three unidentified gunmen stormed the Deeper Life Church in Okene and opened fire on them, killing 16," Simeon Ille, spokesman for the Kogi state police, told Reuters by phone. A witness, who asked not to be identified for fear of being targeted, said around 10 gunmen blocked off the exits to the church before shooting the trapped people inside. Ille said security forces last month prevented a suspected suicide bomber from detonating an explosive at a different church in Okene, a town around 140 miles (225 km) south of the capital Abuja. The suspected would-be bomber fled, he said. Islamist sect Boko Haram has attacked several churches this year in Nigeria but Monday's attack was further south than the group's usual targets. In February, Boko Haram claimed a prison break in Kogi state when 119 prisoners were freed. The sect has carried out jail raids before and one of its key demands is the release of its imprisoned members. The group's strikes are increasingly spreading across Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer. Cities across the north and in the capital Abuja have been hit in recent months by suicide bombers, never seen before last year in Nigeria. The country's 2 million barrel per day crude oil export business in the southern coastal region has not been affected by the sect's violence. The sect has killed hundreds this year in its insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government. It wants to have an Islamic state inside Nigeria, a country of more than 160 million split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims. The group, which is loosely based on Afghanistan's Taliban, usually target authority figures and places of worship to settle scores with people they say harmed their members.

Ansari set to be re-elected Vice President

New Delhi UPA's Hamid Ansari is all set to be re-elected as brisk polling was witnessed in the Vice Presidential polls with the UPA gaining the upper hand over the NDA candidate Jaswant Singh. The prime minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi came together to cast their ballot. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad were among those who voted. Ansari's candidature is being backed by Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), CPM, National Conference and also the Left parties. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) is also expected to vote for Ansari. Congress leaders said they hoped Ansari would get over 500 votes in an electoral college currently having an estimated 787 members. Jaswant Singh has the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal-United, the Shiv Sena, the Akali Dal, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and several other smaller parties. Biju Janata Dal's decision to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential election also comes as a blow to Jaswant Singh's chances to the top post. Voting began at 10 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m. Counting of votes will be taken up at 6 p.m. The Vice President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are also entitled to take part in the election.