Auckland - Top seed Elena Dementieva accomplished what around 20 protestors could not as she sent Israeli Shahar Peer out in the quarter-finals of the ASB Classic on Thursday.

Peer, who underwent Israeli military training which took time away from her tennis in recent season, had been the target of protests against her country's current invasion of Gaza in the Middle East, but had insisted that the political situation had nothing to do with her tennis.

But she didn't have long to ponder the situation as she lost in a straightforward 6-3, 6-1 to Olympic champion Dementieva, ranked fourth in the world.

Wellington - Two tourists were killed Thursday when an ice shelf collapsed on them at the Fox Glacier in New Zealand's Southern Alps, the TV3 channel reported.

The body of one victim was recovered but the second was trapped under 30 tons of ice and rescuers would not be able to get to it until Friday morning, the report said.

Early reports of the accident were confusing, with some saying that four people were involved in the ice collapse which was believed to have occurred outside safe areas on the 14-kilometre long glacier roped off by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

DOC area manager Jo Macpherson told TV3, "The terminal face of the Fox Glacier is very steep at present and subject to random ice collapses."

Wellington  -

Wellington (New Zealand), Jan. 7 : West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard has been officially reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his side’s third ODI against New Zealand at Wellington.

At a hearing that took place after the match on Wednesday, Javagal Srinath of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees found Pollard guilty of causing damage to a dressing room.

The 21-year-old was found to have breached Level 1.2 of the code which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, group equipment of fixtures and fittings”.

Auckland - Fitness issues from 2008 came back to haunt local hope Marina Erakovic as the New Zealander fell 6-2, 6-3 to top seed Elena Dementieva in the second round on Wednesday at the ASB Classic.

Erakovic, the number 60 who lost her last seven matches of 2008, needed treatment for abdominal and neck strains with a second-set injury timeout.

Olympic champion Dementieva bucked the upset trend after five of the eight seeds went out in the second round. The Russian faces a Thursday quarter-final with Israeli Shahar Peer.

Wellington - The New Zealand government, which has been reluctant so far to speak out on the conflict in the Middle East, issued a statement Wednesday saying it was "deeply worried by the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the continuing Israeli ground offensive."

Foreign Minister Murray McCully said that attacks on United Nations facilities, including schools, in the Gaza Strip were of grave concern and underlined the need for both sides to agree to an immediate ceasefire.