ROME (AP) Elina Svitolina faced little resistance from Simona Halep in a 6-0, 6-4 win Sunday to defend her Italian Open title.

Just like in last year's final, Halep appeared bothered by an injury.

The top-ranked Romanian called a trainer onto the court for an apparent back problem while trailing 2-3 in the second set then exited the court for treatment under a medical timeout.

''I was a little bit too stiff with my body and I couldn't stay in the rallies,'' Halep said. ''The muscles were stiff. I couldn't run.''

Last year, Halep rolled her ankle in the final and lost a set lead to Svitolina.

This time, Svitolina didn't face a single break point in a match that lasted just 67 minutes.

Olga Tokarczuk has become the first Polish writer to win the Man Booker International Prize.

Ms Tokarczuk took the £50,000 prize for her novel Flights. She will split the cash with translator Jennifer Croft.

The annual award goes to the best work of translated fiction from around the world. Previous winners include David Grossman and Chinua Achebe.

Five judges picked Flights out of 108 submissions, and announced the winner in a ceremony in London.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said Pravin L Agrawal has been appointed as part-time official director on its board. An Indian Forest Service officer, Agrawal is presently joint secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, BHEL said in a statement.

Agrawal, 49, is a Commonwealth scholar and holds post-graduate degrees in sustainable development, public policy and management from different global universities. He has varied experience in public policy and governance issues, it added.

Former South African captain and one of modern day cricket's best batsman AB de Villiers has retired from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect. The middle order batsman announced his retirement on Twitte

"I have made a big decision today," de Villiers posted on Twitter along with the video where he talks about his decision.

PANAJI: An all-woman crew commanding the INSV Tarini today returned to Goa after successfully circumnavigating the globe in a 55-foot sailboat in more than eight months, the first-ever Indian expedition steered by women sailors.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba welcomed the crew at INS Mandovi boat pool in Panaji.

The 'Navika Sagar Parikrama' expedition was flagged off on September 10.

Terming the expedition historic, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meet the six crew members in Delhi on Wednesday.

Led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, the crew comprising lt commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta covered a total of 21,980 nautical miles in INSV Tarini, inducted into the Indian Navy on February 18 last year.

Internet search giant Google on Tuesday dedicated its doodle to Raja Ram Mohan Roy on his 246th birth anniversary.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born into a Bengali Brahmin family in West Bengal on May 22, 1772 to Ramakanto Roy and Tarini Devi.

Roy was a founder of the Brahma Sabha in 1828, an influential social-religious reform movement. The Brahma Samaj played a major role in reforming and modernizing the Indian society.

The Google doodle celebrating Roy has been designed and created by Beena Mistry, a UX Designer, and Illustrator based out of Toronto, Canada.

The Value of Biodiversity
While there is a growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to present and future generations, the number of species is being significantly reduced by certain human activities.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is the international legal instrument for "the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources" that has been ratified by 196 nations.

Given the importance of public education and awareness for the implementation of the Convention, the General Assembly proclaimed 22 May, the date of the adoption of its text, as the International Day for Biological Diversity by its resolution 55/201 of 20 December 2000.

Theme 2018: Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity
2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Since entering into force, the Convention has been implemented through the vision and leadership displayed by countries, non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples and local communities, the scientific community and individuals alike.

Lionel Messi picked up a record fifth European Golden Shoe after finishing the domestic league campaign with 34 goals.

The Barcelona forward was trailing Mohamed Salah in April, but eight goals in the Argentine's last six La Liga games - including hat-tricks against Leganes and Deportivo - saw Messi finish two clear of the Liverpool winger.

It is the fifth time Messi has claimed the award (2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2016-17), moving the 30-year-old one clear of Cristiano Ronaldo.

CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Critics at home and abroad on Monday denounced the re-election of Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro as a farce cementing autocracy, while the U.S. government imposed new sanctions on the crisis-stricken oil-producing country.

Maduro, the 55-year-old successor to late leftist leader Hugo Chavez, hailed his win in Sunday’s election as a victory against “imperialism.” But his main challengers alleged irregularities and refused to recognize the result.

In response to the vote, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting Venezuela’s ability to liquidate state assets and debt in the United States, the latest in a series of sanctions that seeks to choke off financing for the already cash-strapped government.

• At least nine people have reportedly died and 25 more have been infected in an outbreak of the Nipah virus in India. 

• Nipah is a deadly virus that can be transmitted between people. It has killed between 40% and 75% of infected people in past outbreaks.

• Fruit bats are the natural host of the disease, and there is no cure or vaccine.