As a right-handed shooter, the Lakers' legend

NANNING cheap adidas superstar , May 18 (Xinhua) -- Police in south China have detained three people suspected of smuggling eight elephant tusks, they said on Monday.


Customs officers caught the three putting four pairs of tusks into a car in a costal area in Beihai City on Thursday, said customs authorities in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.


The eight tusks weighed 100.8 kg, with the longest weighing 25.7 kg. They were transported to the trading site by a yacht from Vietnam.


This was the first major case concerning endangered wildlife smuggling that Nanning customs have busted since they launched a special crackdown on such crimes on May 4.


People convicted in China of smuggling endangered species or products may face penalties up to life imprisonment.


VIENNA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Gerhard Roiss, CEO of top Austrian gas company OMV adidas superstar sale , on Monday defended the South Stream gas pipeline project and stressed Europe's dependence on Russian energy.


In light of the recent turmoil between Russia and Ukraine, Roiss said a supply of energy to Europe without Russia in the picture is an unrealistic scenario.


Europe currently receives one third of its gas from Russia, in some regions even up to 100 percent, and Europe provides cars and machines as an economic exchange.


"One should not make this economic integration into a political football," he told the Wirtschaftsblatt economic newspaper, adding that it was a basis for economic prosperity.


His comments came the day before a visit to Austria by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he is expected to sign a contract agreed upon in April on bringing the South Stream gas pipeline adidas superstar shoes , which would not pass through Ukraine, to Austria.


Roiss renewed his backing for the project and called for its acceleration, while acknowledging it would still have to conform to European law.


The European Commission has said the project could potentially be approved, but Roiss acknowledged a main sticking point is due to both its ownership and operation remaining in the hands of Russian-owned Gazprom, which is against EU law.


He said while the laws of the EU undoubtedly should be applied to such instances, exceptions could be made in some areas, though the onus would be on Gazprom to negotiate.


Roiss also called for the construction of a larger number of gas pipelines in the continent to create a "real cross-border flow" as he believed the current network of gas highways "isn't working."


Additionally adidas superstar pink , wherever large gas supplies exist, investors should be given the opportunity to build gas highways, he said.


WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kobe Bryant tore his right rotator cuff in the latest game, the Los Angeles Lakers club announced on Thursday.


Bryant injured his right shoulder in the second half of the Lakers' loss at New Orleans on Wednesday. An exam in San Antonio revealed the tear, the club says.


As a right-handed shooter, the Lakers' legend made a 14-foot jumper with his left hand in the game after a brief treatment and played essentially with one arm in the rest of the game.


Bryant headed home to Los Angeles while the Lakers prepared to play the Spurs on Friday.

Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a backhand in his quarterfinal match against Mischa Zverev of Germany at the Australian Open on Tuesday in Melbourne. Photo: CFP

Roger Federer beat giant-killer Mischa Zverev to become the Australian Open's oldest men's semifinalist in nearly 40 years on Tuesday adidas superstar white , as fellow veteran Venus Williams also rolled back the years.


The stylish Swiss made light of the challenge posed by German serve-volleyer Zverev, who stunned top seed Andy Murray in the fourth round, to reach a record-extending 41st Grand Slam semifinal.


Federer won 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with his compatriot Stan Wawrinka, who won a bad-tempered quarterfinal with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (72), 6-4 adidas superstar black , 6-3.


The 35-year-old Federer becomes the tournament's oldest semifinalist since Arthur Ashe in 1978, and the oldest at any Grand Slam since Jimmy Connors reached the 1991 US Open last four aged 39.


The draw has opened up invitingly for Federer, a four-time winner in Melbourne, and 2014 champion Wawrinka, as well as fellow thirty-something Rafael Nadal after the exits of Murray and titleholder Novak Djokovic.


"I'm happy for [Wawrinka] that he got this far, but he doesn't need to go one step further," Federer joked. "That's enough."


Earlier Wawrinka and France's Tsonga adidas superstar gold , who have been at odds in the past, argued heatedly at the first-set changeover before the Swiss charged into his third Melbourne semifinal.


"In the semis I play Roger. It's going to be tough to have some fans but I hope some people will cheer for me," said Wawrinka, 31.


In the women's draw, Williams' age-defying campaign reached new heights as she beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to become the oldest female Grand Slam semi-finalist in 23 years.


Williams, 36, won 6-4 adidas superstar rose gold , 7-6 (73) to reach the last four without dropping a set and move toward a possible ninth Grand Slam final against her sister Serena, 16 years after their first.


"Why shouldn't I?" said the seven-time major winner, who is thriving again after a battle with an autoimmune disorder, when asked if she could win her first major title since 2008.


Next up for Williams is her hard-hitting, aggressive fellow American Coco Vandeweghe, who stunned French Open champion Garbine Muguruza to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.


The tall, powerful Vandeweghe smashed 31 winners past the Spaniard and raced through the second set in just 28 minutes to complete a lopsided 6-4 adidas superstar , 6-0 upset win.


"It's amazing to be in a semifinal. But, you know, not satisfying. I want to keep going, keep playing," said the 35th-ranked Vandeweghe, 25.


Muguruza admitted she had been taken by surpr.