sea.More weapons tests by North Korea are expected later this month when U.S. and South Korean troops begin

Ernie Els has set his sights on a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic title after shrugging off the putting woes which have hampered his game. The four-time major winner has dropped outside of the worlds top 200 having struggled with putting in recent months, but has bolstered his chances of a first win since 2013 with a bogey-free second-round 67 at Emirates GC.Els future appeared in doubt after several bouts of the yips, having followed two close-range missed putts at the back end of 2015 with a two-putt from less than 18 inches during last months SA Open.But the South Africans new cross-handed technique has delivered immediate results, with three birdies and an eagle on Friday giving the world No 205 the early clubhouse lead.I feel like Im looking forward to the weekend, Els told Sky Sports. Im not dreading the greens. Thats where Ive been for the last two or three years since I won the Open Championship. The last of the South Africans three Dubai wins came in 2005. I feel very different. I feel like I dont mind making a two-footer or a four-footer. I have been feeling better and better since the first week of the season, where it was pretty bad.Its an exact turnaround from a few weeks ago when I was dreading to get on the greens. Im actually enjoying it on the greens, the surfaces are unbelievable and I obviously have a lot more confidence in the stroke and the set-up. Els was later joined at the top of the leaderboard by Danny Willett, who fired seven birdies in a flawless 65.Last years Race to Dubai runner-up got fortunate in the opening round when his approach in to the 13th came off a rock in the hazard, but Willett was much more impressed with his display on Friday. Willett posted the lowest round of the morning starters on Friday You need a little of luck, and yesterday, that was a nice one, Willett told Sky Sports. Good things are going to happen for you to compete.I played some really good golf and had a lot of good solid shots in the fairway. We gave ourselves a lot of good numbers and didnt really give ourselves too much stress out there, which is key.Watch the Dubai Desert Classic throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf Also See: Dubai Desert Classic leaders WATCH: McIlroys future win? Els vows to beat yips Golf live on Sky Sports 4 Dustin Pedroia Red Sox Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Nomar Garciaparra Jersey . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. 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SEOUL, South Korea -- Despite a continuing nuclear standoff and virtually no interactions between each other politically, some North and South Koreans are making an exception -- among their athletes at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.The countries interactions in Rio first grabbed international headlines when South Koreas 17-year-old gymnast Lee Eun-ju took a selfie with North Koreas Hong Un Jong earlier this month as they trained for competition. They interacted more a few days later when they shared the floor during preliminary competition, where Lee was eliminated and Hong advanced to the vault final.It is Lees first Olympics, while Hong was the first North Korean female gymnast to win gold, at the 2008 Beijing Games.IOC President Thomas Bach described the selfie as a great gesture.On Wednesday, North Korean shooter Kim Song Guk walked up to South Korean rival Jin Jongoh and shook his hand moments after Jin clinched his third straight Olympic gold in the mens 50-meter pistol.Kim, who took the bronze in the event, and Jin, exchanged a handshake again at the medal podium.If we (the two Koreas) become one, the medals we win will have bigger meaning. If we become unified in the future, the first place and third place (medals) would all belong to (one) Korea, Kim said.South Korean archery gold medalist Chang Hye-jin also said she developed friendly relations with North Korean archer Kang Un Ju, who she said called her eonni, a Korean word used when a woman refers to an elder sister or friend.I talked briefly with Un Ju the other day; she asked how I shoot so quickly, and also some stuff about equipment, Chang told South Korean reporters, days before her win in the womens individual event.Its not the first time athletes from the Koreas have had this type of interaction, even though their governments formally bar their ordinary citizens, divided along the worlds most heavily fortified border since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, from exchanging phone calls, letters and emails.South Korea requires its citizens engaged in spontaneous interaction with North Koreans during foreign travels to submit reports about the meeting within a week. But Seoul doesnt ask for such reports for athletes at international sporting competitions like the Olympics because its too obvious that their purpose of participating in the events has nothing to do with meeting North Koreans.Pyongyangs state media hasnt reported about the interaction at Rio. But South Korean analysts say the North appears to be allowing its athleetes to behave more freely and interact with their South Korean counterparts in a bid to improve its external image as it grapples with multiple international sanctions imposed over its weapons programs.dddddddddddd.It would be impossible for North Koreans to talk and act in that way without government direction and strict internal guidelines, said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seouls Dongguk University. What we are seeing from North Korean athletes in Rio is a result of choreography.At the height of Cold War rivalry, sports were often another battlefield between the Koreas. North Korean medalists often ignored South Korean competitors who extended their hands for handshakes at podiums. North Korea also boycotted the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics, both held in Seoul.After the end of Cold War, the divided Koreas occasionally used sports as a way to thaw relations. They formed a single table-tennis team for a world championship in Japan in 1991 and won the womens doubles title. That year, they also fielded one team for a world youth soccer championship and reached the quarterfinals.Athletes from the two Koreas marched together in the same uniform under the blue and white unification flag during the opening ceremonies of several major international sports events, including the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.Reconciliation efforts were later put on hold due to North Koreas nuclear ambitions. Earlier this year, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and a prohibited long-range rocket launch, inviting tougher U.N. sanctions and worldwide condemnations. Seoul and Washington also announced last month they would place an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea, and Pyongyang responded by warning of unspecified physical counteractions and firing several missiles into the sea.More weapons tests by North Korea are expected later this month when U.S. and South Korean troops begin their annual drills that Pyongyang calls an invasion rehearsal.There are no reports that officials of the two Koreas might use the Olympics as a chance to resume talks. Choe Ryong Hae, one of North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns close associates who had been in Rio to watch games, left Brazil on Wednesday without meeting any South Korean officials, according to South Korean media reports.---Follow Hyung-jin Kim at twitter.com/hyungjin1972 and Kim Tong-hyung at twitter.com/KimTongHyung ' ' '