PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: In a stunning turn of events, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister arrived in South Korea on Friday to be her brother’s special envoy to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Kim Yo Jong, who is probably Kim’s closest confidant and is a senior cadre in North Korea’s ruling party, is the first member of the Kim dynasty to visit South Korea, though her grandfather, Kim Il Sung, traveled to areas occupied by his troops south of what is now the Demilitarized Zone during the 1950-53 Korean War.
The trip has the potential to become something of a coming out party — certainly for Kim Yo Jong, but also for her deeply isolated country.
Kim Jong Un hasn’t set foot outside North Korea or met a single head of state since he assumed power upon the death of their father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011. His single-minded pursuit of a nuclear arsenal to counter what he sees as the threat of invasion by the US has ratcheted up tensions not only with his rivals but also with primary trading partner China and with Russia, once a key benefactor.
The arrival was broadcast live on South Korean television. Looking confident and relaxed, she had a brief meeting with South Korean officials, including Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, before being whisked away in a black limousine and catching the high-speed train to Pyeongchang.
Kim Yo Jong, who is believed to be about 30, has been rapidly rising within the North’s power structure and is believed to be in charge of shaping her brother’s public persona. But she has generally remained safely cloaked in her brother’s shadow. This is her first high-profile international appearance at center stage, though she is technically just a member of a delegation headed by the North’s aging senior statesman, 90-year-old Kim Yong Nam.
For security reasons, few details of Kim’s three-day itinerary have been made public.
After arriving on Kim Jong Un’s personal jet at the South’s ultramodern Incheon International Airport— the North’s flagship airline is subject to sanctions — she traveled to Pyeongchang to attend the games’ opening ceremony, where the North and South Korean athletes will march together behind a blue-and-white “unification” flag.
That promised to be an emotionally charged moment.
The two Koreas, which remain technically at war, have cycled through countless periods of chill and thaw since their division 70 years ago. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and blew up a South Korean commercial airliner the year before. The past year has been particularly acrimonious as the North has accelerated its nuclear weapons development and test launches of missiles that are now believed to be able to reach most or all of the US, South Korea’s most important ally.
The delegation’s most substantive event may come outside of the Olympic ambit on Saturday.
Along with the rest of the North’s senior delegation, Kim is to have lunch with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the presidential Blue House. The meeting could turn out to be just a lunch, a photo op or a nicety. But it is so unprecedented, and its announcement on Thursday was so sudden, that rumors are already swirling it could open the door to much more — perhaps even an offer for Moon to travel to Pyongyang.
The North and South held summits in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, both hosted by Kim Jong Il.
Caution is in order here: Considering the depth and complexity of the very real problems that keep the Koreas apart, it’s highly unlikely a luncheon would lead to an immediate breakthrough on something like the North’s nuclear weapons development. Vice President Mike Pence is also here to attend the opening ceremony for the US, and he has publicly and repeatedly warned South Korea not to let down its guard to a North Korean charm offensive.
Even so, just holding such a meeting seemed unimaginable only a few months ago.
During the rest of her stay, Kim will have ample opportunity to play up the feel-good side of her country’s participation in the games.
The first hockey match featuring the joint North-South women’s ice hockey will also be held on Saturday — they play Switzerland — and that would be an event she might want to see. The North has also sent a several-hundred women strong cheering squad, an orchestra with singers and dancers and a demonstration taekwondo martial arts team that will perform in Seoul and places near the Olympic venues.
If her schedule permits, Kim might be able to take in a musical performance by her compatriots in Seoul on Sunday.
Security for anything involving the North Koreans has been exceptionally tight.
A small but persistent group of right-wing protesters have shown up at several venues to burn North Korean flags and tear up portraits of Kim’s brother. The group is fringe, but their demonstrations have generated irate reactions in North Korea’s state-run media and could potentially spin out into a major incident if they ever manage to get closer to the North Koreans themselves — or especially Kim and her entourage.
So far, police have kept the two at a safe distance.
Kim Jong Un’s sister begins unprecedented South Korea visit for Winter Olympics
Kim Jong Un’s sister begins unprecedented South Korea visit for Winter Olympics
Team Abu Dhabi switch drivers to rest Comparato in Vietnam
- UAE’s Rashed Al-Qemzi steps in for young Italian as Stark gives Victory pole position
QUY NHON: Emirati driver Rashed Al-Qemzi will replace Alberto Comparato in the Team Abu Dhabi line-up for the rest of the inaugural Grand Prix of Bình Định-Vietnam race weekend.
The young Italian crashed at the start of the second qualifying session for Sunday’s second round of the UIM F1H2O World Championship, with his boat badly damaged after it barrel-rolled.
Comparato was uninjured but shaken by the accident, and Team Abu Dhabi manager Guido Cappellini took the decision to rest him. Al-Qemzi will now drive the team’s spare boat in Saturday morning’s sprint races ahead of the following day’s Grand Prix on Thi Nai Bay.
Al-Qemzi, who secured his fourth UIM F2 World Championship title last season, is no stranger to the F1H2O series. Sunday will see his 11th race start, with Victory Team’s Erik Stark in pole position.
Stark edged out reigning world champion Jonas Andersson in the six-boat qualifying shootout, while Sharjah Team’s first round winner in Indonesia, Rusty Wyatt, went through in fourth.
Al-Qemzi will be aiming to fight back from 10th place on Sunday after missing out on the final qualifying phase. His cousin, Rashed, will step in to join him as he did last season in Sardinia and Sharjah.
Before his crash, Comparato underlined his potential when he recovered from engine failure on the first lap of free practice to set the third fastest lap time.
Cappellini, a 10-time world champion, has no doubt that veteran Al-Qemzi and Comparato will be a powerful combination as the championship progresses.
“Of course, I have enough experience to be able to help Alberto settle into the team,” he said. “But Thani is also very good from that point of view. In fact, Thani is the best team-mate Alberto could ever have, and together they’re working in one direction to give their best for the team.”
Cappellini, who has guided Team Abu Dhabi to 17 world championship titles since taking charge in 2015, also welcomed the addition of another destination for the series.
“Vietnam is the second race in Asia and this is another new venue, which is very good for the team, and for Formula One in general,” he said.
Dubai’s historic Euroleague Basketball winners now head to Berlin
- Adidas Next Generation Tournament Qualifier took place for the first time at Coca-Cola Arena from March 22-24
- Ratiopharm Ulm emerged victorious to secure a spot at the 2024 ANGT finals in Berlin from May 24-26
DUBAI: The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament made history in Dubai as the first such contest at the Coca-Cola Arena from March 22 to 24, and now Berlin beckons for the winners in May.
The event marked a significant milestone in Dubai’s basketball scene, featuring eight teams representing over 25 nationalities, with Dubai contributing nine, including the local heroes Falcons Academy.
Ratiopharm Ulm clinched victory over Zalgiris Kaunas 89-84 in the final to secure a spot in the final four in Berlin from May 24 to 26, while Adidas Next Generation Team finished third. Ratiopharm Ulm’s Noah Essengue was awarded the title of Most-Valued Player.
The tournament in Dubai — hosted by Falcons Academy — marked the first time a qualifier has been hosted in the Middle East, and outside of continental Europe. This has highlighted Dubai’s growing involvement in the global basketball sports arena.
The tournament featured a three-point shootout and slam-dunk contest and was sponsored by DMCC, La Gazzetta dela Sport, Phoenix Capital, Nirvana Tourism, MARCA, and the longstanding partnership with adidas spanning over a decade.
The tournament also received significant support from the Dubai Sports Council, the UAE Basketball Association, Dubai Holding and the Coca-Cola Arena.
Hawks hold off Celtics in NBA overtime thriller
- Murray scored all 11 of the Hawks points in overtime, posting a career-high of 44 to help the Hawks maintain their push for an Eastern Conference play-in berth
- Zion Williamson scored 28 points and CJ McCollum added 25 to lead the Pelicans to a 107-100 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks
LOS ANGELES: Dejounte Murray drilled the go-ahead jump shot in the final second of overtime to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-122 victory over Boston Thursday, their second win over the NBA-best Celtics in four days.
Murray scored all 11 of the Hawks points in overtime, posting a career-high of 44 to help the Hawks maintain their push for an Eastern Conference play-in berth.
The Celtics, with a league-best record of 57-16, are already assured of top seed in the East, but they’ve dropped two games this week in Atlanta, where the Hawks erased a 30-point deficit to triumph on Monday.
The rematch was a tense back-and-forth battle that featured 41 lead changes — neither team leading by more than eight points.
Boston star Jaylen Brown’s pull-up jumper put the Celtics up 122-121 with 6.6 seconds left in overtime.
Murray responded with his basket over Jrue Holiday.
“That’s the best team in the league — we competed,” Murray said of a Hawks team coming off a 120-106 victory over Portland on Wednesday. “We didn’t use being tired, a back-to-back, as an excuse.
“We came out and competed, and these are games I want to be a part of.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 24 points and De’Andre Hunter added 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who won their fourth straight game.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 31 points and 13 rebounds but missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final second of regulation.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points and Brown finished with 18.
But the hustling Hawks out-rebounded the Celtics 53-43 and had 28 second-chance points to Boston’s 11.
“We’re fighting for a play-in/playoff spot,” Murray said of the Hawks team currently holding down 10th place — and the final play-in spot. “We all showed up.”
In New Orleans, Zion Williamson scored 28 points and CJ McCollum added 25 to lead the Pelicans to a 107-100 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jonas Valanciunas notched his 32nd double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Milwaukee, but the Bucks dropped their second straight, unable to bounce back after a stunning overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The Pelicans led by as many as 18 in the first half but the Bucks had cut the deficit to five with 3:27 left to play.
New Orleans kept attacking and closed it out from the foul line, Williamson making five free throws in the waning minutes.
“Z’s been amazing, night-in, night-out,” said Pelicans coach Willie Green. “He’s putting the team on his shoulders.”
The Pelicans pulled off the victory despite a poor shooting night. They made just 36 of their 91 attempts from the floor and just eight of 32 from three-point range.
“That was a gutsy win on our home floor,” Green said. “It was a good defensive performance by us. We played with force from start to finish.
“Even when we didn’t hit shots we still continued to make winning plays.”
Ohtani wins in Dodgers home debut, Rangers open Major League Baseball title defense with victory
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts liked what he saw from the leadoff trio of Betts, Ohtani and Freeman
- Juan Soto made a spectacular New York Yankees debut, throwing out Houston’s Mauricio Dubon for the second out of the ninth inning to deny Astros a tying run
LOS ANGELES: Japanese star Shohei Ohtani made a triumphant Los Angeles Dodgers home debut on Thursday, getting help from fellow Most Valuable Player teammates in a 7-1 rout of St. Louis.
Leadoff hitter Mookie Betts bashed a solo home run in the third inning and scored three times, Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and Ohtani went 2-for-3 and scored on Freeman’s homer in the third to spark the Dodgers.
“I was the only guy who couldn’t hit a homer, but overall I thought I had a pretty good game,” Ohtani said. “Overall, I had quality at-bats.”
Tyler Glasnow struck out five while allowing only one run on two hits over six innings to earn the victory for Los Angeles, whose fans cheered Ohtani in his first home game since signing a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers following six years with the Los Angeles Angels.
“I’m very grateful... being able to be received by the Dodger fans,” Ohtani said. “Obviously, I’ve been here before, as a visiting player, so it was a little intimidating. But I’m very grateful for the fans — and there are a lot of them.”
Ohtani is part of a Major League Baseball investigation looking into alleged illegal gambling activity by his former translator, but controversy took a back seat to success as the US national pastime enjoyed the start of another campaign.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts liked what he saw from the leadoff trio of Betts, Ohtani and Freeman — all former MVPs producing a furious top of the batting lineup for his club.
“Mookie does what Mookie does, still swinging a hot bat and Shohei put on a nice show,” Roberts said. “I think in any discussion you can argue that they’re the best hitters in baseball.
“We’re fortunate to have three of ‘em at the top of the order. Certainly a first word that comes to mind is ‘daunting’ for me.”
Corbin Burnes struck out 11 batters, a record for any pitcher in his Baltimore debut, to spark the Orioles to an 11-3 home rout of the Los Angeles Angels.
Angels slugger Mike Trout smashed the first home run of the MLB season in the first inning off Burnes, who retired every other hitter he faced.
Burnes had the second-most strikeouts in an opener in the club’s 70-year history, the most since Dave McNally’s 13 in 1970.
The Orioles held a moment of silence for six workers killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge — less than 10 miles from Camden Yards ballpark — collapsed on Tuesday after a support was struck by a cargo ship.
A flag was also lowered in the ceremony, which came before a sellout crowd of 45,000 fans that included new team owner David Rubenstein.
Juan Soto made a spectacular New York Yankees debut, throwing out Houston’s Mauricio Dubon from right field for the second out of the ninth inning to deny the Astros a tying run and a preserve a 5-4 victory for the visiting Yankees.
Soto also ignited New York’s rally from a 4-0 deficit with a run-scoring single in the fifth, his first hit in Yankees pinstripes.
The World Series champion Texas Rangers celebrated last season’s success with fans, displaying the Commissioner’s Trophy before the game.
The evening was capped by a bases-loaded run-scoring single from catcher Jonah Heim in the 10th inning that sealed a 4-3 victory for Texas over the Chicago Cubs.
San Diego’s Yu Darvish struck out seven and scattered five hits over five innings but it was Japanese countryman Yuki Matsui who got the win with 1 2/3 innings of no-hit relief in the Padres 6-4 home win over San Francisco.
Cincinnati’s Nick Martini smashed a three-run homer and a two-run homer while Frankie Montas struck out four and scattered four hits over six scoreless innings as the Reds ripped visiting Washington 8-2.
Opening Day festivities in Miami included a ceremonial first pitch from Brazilian footballer Neymar before the Marlins’ home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Twelve innings later, Jared Triolo’s flare single scored Ke’Bryan Hayes for what proved to be the winning run in the Pirates’ 6-5 victory extra-innings victory.
Thailand’s Pajaree storms to top of crowded LPGA leaderboard in Arizona
- Pajaree: It was a great day out there. I actually was in the zone
- Vu, who withdrew from two tournaments on the LPGA’s recent Asian swing with back trouble, was delighted to find herself in contention
LOS ANGELES: Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn birdied her last five holes in a 9-under par 63 on Thursday to break free atop a log-jammed leaderboard after the first round of the LPGA Ford Championship in Gilbert, Arizona.
With five players in the clubhouse on 8-under, Pajaree rolled in a birdie putt at her final hole, the ninth to seize a one-shot lead over world No. 2 Lilia Vu of the US, Spaniards Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz, Germany’s Isi Gabsa and Australian Gabriela Ruffels.
“It was a great day out there,” said Pajaree, who claimed the most recent of her two LPGA titles at last year’s LPGA Match-Play. “I actually was in the zone. I didn’t realize that I holed my fifth birdie in a row on the ninth green. But it was a great day.”
Pajaree, who matched her career low round on the LPGA tour, said she knew she had the makings of a good round after her third birdie of the day at the 18th.
“Bogey-free, came out with three-under par going into the back nine. I played some really good shots today,” she said. “Hit a lot of good drivers off the tee and gave me a lot of benefit just going into the green with short irons.
“I was able to just hit some good long irons in as well, so that helped,” she added.
Vu, who withdrew from two tournaments on the LPGA’s recent Asian swing with back trouble, was delighted to find herself in contention.
“Today, honestly, my only goal was to hit the ball solid,” she said. “It’s been rough the past couple weeks with how my body is doing and just struggling with a back injury.
“But I’m almost 100 percent, so it was really fun to play without pain today and focus on where I wanted to hit the ball instead of bracing for pain.”
Vu had nine birdies with one bogey, joining the group on eight under with a birdie at the 18th.
“I was really excited to pull off shots that I saw in my head,” Vu said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to hit a shot that I see, so I think it was super fun to be like, OK, I can hit a nice little draw here. Ends up maybe like 10, 15 feet, and go and try and make it.”
Ciganda and Gabsa both had eight birdies without a bogey, while Ruffels and Munoz each had an eagle on the way to 64 at the Seville Golf and Country Club.
French star Celine Boutier, who won the LPGA’s most recent event in Arizona when she won at Superstition Mountain last year, was two off the lead on 65, where she was joined by South Korean Kim Hyo-joo.
Another 11 players were a further stroke back on 66. That group included American Nelly Korda, who supplanted Vu as No. 1 in the world with her victory in the Seri Pak Championship on Sunday — Korda’s second victory in as many starts this season.