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Nadal rolls in Acapulco for best career start

AFP

Rafael Nadal achieved his best start to an ATP Tour season on Tuesday, improving to 12-0 this year by defeating Stefan Kozlov to reach the Mexican Open quarter-finals.

The 35-year-old Spanish left-hander eliminated the US lucky loser 6-0, 6-3, advancing to a Thursday matchup against 39th-ranked American Tommy Paul, whom he has never played before.

“Always it’s important to win as quick as possible, but the most important thing is to win,” Nadal said. “Tonight has been straight sets. That’s great news and I’ll try to be ready for tomorrow again against a tough opponent.”

The victory kept Nadal unbeaten over a dozen matches in 2022, his best career start to any year, surpassing the 11-0 run in 2014 that ended with a loss to Swiss Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final.

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Nadal won his men’s record 21st Grand Slam title at last month’s Australian Open, breaking the career mark of 20 Slam crowns he had shared with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

World number five Nadal, seeking his 91st career ATP title and fourth Acapulco crown, also won a warm-up tournament last month in Melbourne.

Nadal broke for a 2-0 lead when Kozlov netted a backhand and broke again on forehand smashes in the fourth and sixth games to sweep the opening set in 32 minutes.

Another forehand smash to break put Nadal ahead 3-1 in the second set but Kozlov broke back within 4-3 when Nadal netted a backhand volley.

Kozlov handed back the break in the next game on a botched backhand and Nadal held serve once more to advance after 76 minutes.

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“A little bit of a strange match,” Nadal said. “Kozlov has a different style than most other players, so you need to be very careful.

“Sometimes you are able to win points in a row, but then if you start to play at his rhythm, it’s very difficult because he has great control from the baseline and he’s very smart.”

– Medvedev advances –

Reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, whom Nadal rallied past in five sets in the Australian Open final, beat Spain’s 68th-ranked Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-2 to continue his quest for the world number one ranking.

“It’s pretty tough conditions, quite humid. Even if we play at night it’s quite hot,” second-ranked Medvedev said. “The faster the matches, the better you’re going to feel for the next one.”

Medvedev and Nadal could meet in a Friday semi-final.

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If Medvedev wins the Acapulco title, he will overtake Djokovic atop the rankings no matter how the Serbian star fares this week at Dubai.

Medvedev would become the 27th player to reach world number one and only the third Russian, joining Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999) and Marat Safin (2000-01).

The last player outside of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Britain’s Andy Murray to sit atop the rankings was American Andy Roddick in February 2004.

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Eight Killed in Series of Armed Attacks in Ecuador’s Manabí Province

At least eight people were killed in four separate armed attacks reported Sunday night in the cities of Manta and Montecristi, in Ecuador’s coastal province of Manabí, one of the areas hardest hit by the country’s escalating wave of criminal violence, local media reported on Monday.

The shootings occurred between 7:50 p.m. and 10:50 p.m. local time and affected several neighborhoods, as well as a family gathering, according to press reports. Police are investigating the incidents.

The first attack took place in the Los Artesanos sector of Montecristi, where a couple was shot dead in a public street.

Minutes later, in Manta’s 12 de Octubre neighborhood, a man was killed while sitting down. Police arrested a suspect at the scene and seized a 9mm magazine, authorities said.

A third incident occurred in the Bellavista area of Manta, when an armed assailant entered a home and shot a man during a family celebration. The attacker was captured by neighbors and sustained injuries.

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The deadliest attack was reported at 10:50 p.m. in the Leonidas Proaño parish of Montecristi, where gunmen opened fire from two vehicles on a group of people, leaving four dead and five wounded.

According to Jaime Salgado, acting chief of the Manta Police District, officers recovered seven 7.62mm shell casings, consistent with rifle ammunition, and 14 .40-caliber casings at the scene.

With these killings, the Manta police district, a port and tourist area on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, has recorded 51 violent deaths so far in January 2026, according to official figures.

The attacks occurred amid a state of emergency declared by the government in December due to serious internal unrest in Manabí, where military operations have been intensified this month, particularly in high-conflict zones.

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El Salvador Launches Fourth Year of Ocean Mission to Protect Marine Ecosystems

El Salvador’s Ministry of Environment has launched the fourth consecutive year of “Ocean Mission,” a permanent strategy focused on the protection, restoration, and responsible management of marine ecosystems, linking conservation efforts from inland mountain ranges to the coastline.

During an event held at the Los Cóbanos Protected Natural Area, Environment Minister Fernando López highlighted the ecological, social, and economic value of the site, which is recognized as the country’s eighth wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

“We are in one of the most valuable natural treasures of our country, not only because of its beauty, but also due to the enormous ecological, social, and economic importance that Los Cóbanos holds for El Salvador,” López said.

The minister emphasized that this volcanic-origin ecosystem is home to coral reefs and key coastal-marine systems that serve as refuge, breeding, and feeding grounds for emblematic species such as sea turtles, cetaceans, and a wide diversity of fish.

“Protecting Los Cóbanos means protecting biodiversity, community livelihoods, the local economy, and our natural heritage,” López stated.

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He also stressed that Ocean Mission goes beyond rhetoric, focusing instead on direct action framed within the National Environmental Education Policy. “We are not here to talk about environmental education; we are here to practice it,” he said, underscoring the guiding principle of moving from paper to action.

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Convicted gang member challenges Guatemala’s anti-gang law, citing Human Rights Violations

A member of a criminal gang currently facing sentencing for the crime of extortion has filed a constitutional appeal before Guatemala’s Constitutional Court against the recently approved and enacted Anti-Gang Law.

The appeal, submitted by Dylan Smaily Archila García, argues that the new legislation violates his fundamental human rights and claims there were procedural irregularities during its approval process, according to local Guatemalan media.

Archila García filed the motion just hours after the law took effect. The new legislation, passed by Guatemala’s Congress, increases penalties for crimes linked to gang activity and authorizes the construction of a mega-prison, modeled after El Salvador’s Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT).

Local outlets reported that in his petition, Archila García contends that the approval of the law did not comply with constitutional requirements and requests that the Court issue a ruling to annul the legislation, effectively halting its enforcement.

The appeal further claims that the Anti-Gang Law infringes on due process rights, as it allegedly fails to guarantee a fair criminal trial in which defendants can prove their innocence, undermining legal certainty and judicial security.

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Through this legal action, the petitioner seeks to have the law suspended and ultimately struck down by the Constitutional Court, preventing it from being debated again in Congress.