Havana (AFP) - A new era in sporting ties between the United States and Cuba gets under way here Tuesday when the New York Cosmos become the first professional American sports team to play in the Communist-ruled nation for 16 years.

In pure sporting terms, the match between the Cosmos, who play in American soccer's fledgling second tier, and the inexperienced Cuban squad, ranked 109th in the world by FIFA, carries next to no value.

These are not the Chinese athletes you’ve seen on TV, those scarily synchronized divers or the gymnasts plucked from preschools for their bone structure. The Ultimate Frisbee players running and diving all over these fields are too scrappy, too goofy and having way too much fun. Ultimate Frisbee (often called just Ultimate as “Frisbee” is a trademarked brand) is growing in China, and 17 teams gathered here in Beijing for the national championship in late May.

In March 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the Prime Minister of Turkey, replacing Abdullah Gul; the latter took the post of the Foreign Minister. Meanwhile, Ahmet Davutoglu was invited to become the Prime Minister’s chief foreign policy adviser. This triumvirate would shape Turkish foreign policy for the next decade. The “Armenian opening” was one of the most challenging tasks for these foreign policy makers of Ankara.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday denied any "flip-flop" in India's policy towards Pakistan and said talks with the neighbour can only be held in an atmosphere of "sadbhavna" or goodwill and without the involvement of a third party. Addressing a mega press conference here on the completion of the NDA government's one year in office, Sushma Swaraj said there were no talks planned with Pakistan as of now and also discounted media reports about cricket diplomacy being launched between the two countries. 

New York: The New York Cosmos will kick off a new era in sporting relations between the United States and Cuba on Tuesday when they become the first American sports team in 16 years to play in the Communist-ruled island. Brazilian legend Pele is to join the glamorous New York soccer team's traveling party for Tuesday's exhibition match against the Cuban national team at the Pedro Marrero Stadium in Havana. The fixture reflects the rapidly thawing ties between the United States and Cuba following moves to normalize relati

Toshiko Takeuchi’s fears of her Chinese table tennis opponents dissipated when she saw the unfamiliar players smiling and enjoying the moment. “Just like us, they are simply athletes who love pingpong,” Takeuchi, 67, said she thought during the World Table Tennis Championships here in 1971. She also had no idea that the tournament would help change the course of world history.

Alibaba is hoping to re-create March Madness in November. The Chinese online shopping giant is teaming up with top leagues in the National Collegiate Athletic Association to stream the first regular-season games played in the country online.