PARIS - SVETLANA Kuznetsova defeated Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 in an all-Russian final of the French Open on Saturday to take away her second Grand Slam title.

It was a comprehensive win for the 23-year-old seventh seed who lost in the final here in 2006 to Justine Henin two years after she stunned the world of tennis by winning the US Open as a 19-year-old.

ISTANBUL - GERMAN tyro driver Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull outpaced his rivals in the closing seconds of a dramatic qualifying session on Saturday to claim pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old German delivered his second pole of the season and the third of his career to pinch the prime starting position from nearest challenger and world championship leader Briton Jenson Button.

UNITED NATIONS - THE UN chief lent credence on Friday to the possibility of war crimes in Sri Lanka, saying an international investigation is needed to examine the military actions of the government and defeated Tamil Tiger rebels during the civil war.

Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, at a closed-door briefing for Security Council members, called for a credible inquiry to be undertaken with international backing and full support from Sri Lanka's government.

PARIS - FRENCH crash investigators said on Saturday that the Air France jet which plunged into the Atlantic had speed monitors that had often failed on other planes and were due to be replaced.

The head of the air accident investigation agency said the missing Rio to Paris flight, which crashed on Monday with the loss of all 228 people on board, had suffered multiple systems failures in its final moments.