williams. she is serving for the match. —— angelique kerber. she is looking for her first title here since 2001 and the winner will take onjohanna since 2001 and the winner will take on johanna konta since 2001 and the winner will take onjohanna konta in the semifinals after knocking out simona halep. 10th seed konta threw away a three love lead in the first set to lose it 6—3 but recovered to level the match on the second set tie—break. konta broke in the fifth game of the deciding set and went on to win it 6—2 to become the first british woman to reach the last four in miami. the first major of the year in women's golf, the ana inspiration, tees off on thursday in california. new zealand's lydia ko is back to defend her title, as seth bennett reports. the setting is breathtaking, the sun shining and the course looks pristine. you would be hard pushed to find a more inviting place to play golf. mission hills has played host to the lpga marquee event for 34 host to the lpga marquee event for 3a years and there has been a fair bit of history along the way. not least lydia ko‘s nailbiting win in 2016. the new zealander won by a single stroke to become the youngest to time major champion in lpga history. fast forward 12 months and ko is history. fast forward 12 months and koisa history. fast forward 12 months and ko is a player under pressure. she is out of form, missed the cut at the kia classic last week and will need to be at her best to keep her world number one ranking. obviously being the defending champion there isa being the defending champion there is a little bit pressure but at the same timei is a little bit pressure but at the same time i think it gave me the confidence to say that i can play well at this course, especially because i haven't had the greatest results prior to winning the ana inspiration, so yes, i am going to try my best. you can see the girls are playing great. we have the world's best golfers here and i think it is going to be exciting. the world's best are here and a handful have their sights set on world number one spot. among them that thai, second for 35 weeks in a i’ow. that thai, second for 35 weeks in a row. ask golf fans and they will value the women's and has never been in better shape. stacy lewis one in 2011 and says the condition is more intense than ever. it is the best players in the world. the entire world a re players in the world. the entire world are teeing it up every week and it is really hard to win out here. the talent has gotten better. everybody is younger. they are fearless. they are not scared. these girls are coming here and they are here to win, whether it is their first or 10th time. it isjust... players are good and you have to play your butt off to win. so, the field is wide open and the top ranking is very much up for grabs. the first major of the year promises to deliver excitement and it is harder than ever to pick a winner. the first men's major of the year, the masters, gets under way next week. world number one dustin johnson starts as favourite following his recent form and having picked up his first major last year when he won the us open. two time open champion greg norman, who still holds the joint course record at augusta national, spoke to bbc world news at his florida home recently. he's a big fan of the 32—year—old johnson and thinks he has what it takes to dominate the sport. iam i am really impressed with him. combination of power, finesse, calmness beyond calm — nothing seems to faze him. but above all, consistency. i mean, he is, he has been consistent for over a decade 110w. been consistent for over a decade now. he has won a golf tournament every year for over a decade. now. he has won a golf tournament every yearfor over a decade. so, he is not like he hasjust appeared in the last — since he won the us open. he has been around for a long period of time. and i think he has finally realised the responsibility of what golf means to him. because his priority on the golf course probably didn't match the priority off the golf course. and you have to get to a certain point in life where you realise that, oh, my gosh, yes, my profession is golf and i have to do certain things a certain way and i have to conduct myself a certain way. so, at the end of the day, i think, he has merged all those responsibilities internally to realise that he now is at a place where he can just go ahead and just do what he loves to do, and that is just play golf. and if he can just do that he is going to go ahead and he will dominate for a long period of time. to cricket where fast bowler mohammad irfan has been banned for a year by the pakistan cricket board for twice failing to report approaches by bookmakers linked to spot—fixing. the more than seven foot tall 34—year—old last played for pakistan in 2016 and was one of three players suspended following an anti—corru ption investigation focused on the pakistan super league. six months of the ban will be suspended if irfan fulfils certain conditions imposed on him. translation: you are aware that on march 1a the board called me here and suspended me on the basis of two allegations. i want to tell you that i was approached by two parties and it was my fault that i failed to let the board and the anticorruption people know. i wholeheartedly accept my mistake. let me say that i gave those people a shot up call and i did not do any corruption. the england bowlerjames anderson has appealed to cricket's powers that be not to pursue twenty 20 at the expense of the test format. australia has the big bash, india the ipl, and now england is to launch a new t20 league. anderson says he's a big fan of the limited overs game but believes the five—day format is something special. hopefully, you know, the administration people, the important people upstairs are going to look at that and see a way of making sure test cricket doesn't fall away, as t20 sort of grows and grows because, for me, test cricket is the pinnacle, you know, the toughest test, both mentally and of your cricketing skills, so, for me, i think it is a huge place for it still. in the uefa women's champions league, barcelona are through to the semi—finals for the first time after a 2—0 home win on wednesday and a 3—0 aggregate win over swedish side rosengard. brazil's five time world player of the year marta was playing for rosengard as she tried in vain to add to her 46 european goals but a second of the night for barcelona in stoppage time confirmed their path to the last four as mariona caldentey put the ball in the back of the net after an earlier goal from jennifer hermoso. bastian schweinsteiger was mobbed by media and fans as he arrived at chicago's 0'hare airport on wednesday to begin his major league soccer career. the german cut short his time in england tojoin chicago fire. the 32—year—old failed to impress at manchester united, but it's believed he's become one of the highest paid players in the mls and fans certainly seem pleased to see him as he arrived in the city. see if you can guess who madeira airport has been renamed in honour of. have you guessed it yet? of course, the four time world player of the year cristiano ronaldo, i hear you say, but does this look like him? there's been plenty of debate on social media and the man himself was there for the grand unveiling, which will welcome him and many tourists in the future as they shuffle through the airport. the world surf league's news season got under way in australia just over a week ago with the opening event on the gold coast at snapper rocks —— a week ago with the opening event on the gold coast at snapper rocks but this week margaret river in western australia is the venue and the highlight of the opening round saw defending champion sebastien zietz proving just why he's one of the world's best with this incredible barrel ride. it's one of the most technically difficult elements of the sport and all five judges gave the american full marks. wow. just enough time to tell you that venus williams, three—time winner of the miami open, has knocked out the top seed, angelique kerber, winning 7-5, 6-3. top seed, angelique kerber, winning 7—5, 6—3. now, this is the first time venus williams will go close to winning it since she won in 2001 and she will playjohanna konta of great britain in the semi—final. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. but from me and the rest of the sport today team, goodbye. hi there. mixed weather fortunes for today's weather picture. some will have the best weather so far. western areas will have rain today. rain coming from the south and west. across eastern areas of england, the air has been coming up from the near continent, and that will bring temperatures into the low 20s in the warmest spots. as i said, the warmest day of the year so far. a mild start to the day with temperatures staying in double figures, 11 to 12 degrees as we start off. always the risk of pulses of rain affecting northern ireland. western areas of scotland is looking wet. cumbria as well. further pulses of rain across these western areas through the day on and off through the rest of the day. for the east, after a cloudy start, things will brighten up the sunshine coming in. for scotland, south—western areas the warmest. dumfrees and galloway. not too much rain towards the murray coastline. brighter spells. northern ireland, rain. there or therabouts for much of the day. some drier spells from time to time. western england and wales seeing some rain even into the afternoon. further east, warm sunshine. sunshine will be hazy. we could see temperatures pushing up to 22 degrees in the warmest spots. now, during the evening and overnight, there will be some more wet weather coming across western areas of the uk. the rain will turn more persistent and heavy. murky conditions developing over the hills as well mist and fog. but it wil be another mild night. temperatures 11—12 for many of us. friday's weather picture. low pressure is in charge. a band of rain moving north and east through the morning. then the weather will try to improve as we head through the afternoon. northern ireland brightening up. sunshine in england and wales. some areas of scotland as well by the end of the day. it will turn quite windy for northern scotland later on. never that warm in the far north. in the sunshine, temperatures pushing well into the teens. pretty mild for the time of year. for the weekend, it's an unsettled start to things on saturday. a mixture of bright spells and passing showers. temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees celsius. the wind will be quite light. showers will stay with you if you are hit by one. showers will be killed off. we will look for a decent day on sunday. sunday, on the cool side. cooling off in the afternoon. perhaps one or two passing showers for the north and west of the uk. temperatures reaching a high of 17 towards the south—east. and that's your weather. a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's tom donkin. our top stories: this is an historic moment, from which there can be no turning back. divorce proceedings are under way — after 45 years together, britain officially starts the process of severing its ties with the european union. the ball is clear. to minimise the cost for the eu citizens, businesses and member states. brussels rejects a proposal to agree a new trade relationship at the same time as britain negotiates its departure.

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