sports news: Brisbane event without Sharapova

sports news: Brisbane event without Sharapova: Three-time major winner Maria Sharapova has been forced to withdraw from January's Brisbane International event because of an ankle injur...

Brisbane event without Sharapova

Three-time major winner Maria Sharapova has been forced to withdraw from January's Brisbane International event because of an ankle injury which to begin on New Year's Day.

Sharapova released a statement saying: "I was really looking forward to starting my 2012 season at the Brisbane International, which has a fantastic reputation as a great and welcoming event. "Unfortunately my ankle is not 100% and I won't be able to make it this year."

The 24-year-old Russian suffered the injury in September's Pan Pacific Open, and she has failed to shake off the problem.

However, Sharapova still believes she will be fit for the Australian Open, which gets underway in Melbourne on January 16, 2012.

"I do expect to be ready for the year's first grand slam and I am really looking forward to competing on court," added Sharapova, who won the Australian Open in 2008.

Despite Sharapova's absence, the Brisbane tournament -- which begins on New Year's Day -- still has a strong entry list with Serena Williams, Samantha Stosur and Kim Clijsters all confirmed starters.

Hackers attack on Stratfor

Hackers Anonymous and LulzSec have claimed that they could leak and disclose data of credit card through their attack on .Stratfor, a global intelligence company.      

Hackers targeted Stratfor, a global intelligence company, but it was unclear Sunday evening whether the breach and apparent release of credit card information was the work of the group Anonymous.

In a posting on the website Pastebin, hackers said they released Stratfor subscriber data, including information on 4,000 credit cards as well as the company's "private client" list. The posting cited AntiSec, a Web-based collaboration with the activist hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec.

U.S.-based Stratfor, which provides independent analysis of international affairs and security threats, sent an e-mail to subscribers on Sunday:

"On December 24th an unauthorized party disclosed personally identifiable information and related credit card data of some of our members. We have reason to believe that your personal and credit card data could have been included in the information that was illegally obtained and disclosed."

But Stratfor also said the "private clients" disclosure was "merely a list of some of the members that have purchased our publications and does not comprise a list of individuals or entities that have a relationship with Stratfor beyond their purchase of our subscription-based publications."