Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Thursday:
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OSCAR PISTORIUS
Pistorius bail hearing continues
PRETORIA - The lead detective in the Oscar Pistorius murder case is himself facing attempted murder charges for firing on a minibus full of passengers, South African police said on Thursday as prosecutors argued in court to deny the athlete bail. The bail hearing for Paralympic runner Pistorius, who is accused of killing his girlfriend, continues. (SAFRICA-PISTORIUS/ (PIX, TV), moved with updates to follow, by Peroshni Govender, 650 words)
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SOCCER
Matchfixing
MILAN - Italian police arrested a fugitive Slovenian associate of alleged soccer matchfixing kingpin Tan Seet Eng on Thursday after he flew in from Singapore to hand himself over. (SOCCER-MATCHFIXING/, moved, by Emilio Parodi and Francesca Landini, 400 words)
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Europa League last 32, second legs (2005 unless stated)
Rubin Kazan v Atletico Madrid (1700)
Metalist Kharkiv v Newcastle United
Racing Genk v VfB Stuttgart
CFR Cluj v Inter Milan
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk v Basel
Lazio v Borussia Moenchengladbach
Olympique Lyon v Tottenham Hotspur
Viktoria Plzen v Napoli
Hanover 96 v Anji Makhachkala
Chelsea v Sparta Prague
Fenerbahce v BATE Borisov
Olympiakos Piraeus v Levante
Liverpool v Zenit St Petersburg
Girondins Bordeaux v Dynamo Kiev
Benfica v Bayer Leverkusen
Steaua Bucharest v Ajax Amsterdam
LONDON - Holders Atletico Madrid face the daunting task of trying to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg when they travel to Rubin Kazan in the last 32 of the Europa League. SOCCER-EUROPA/ (PIX), expect from 1900 GMT/2 PM ET, by Toby Davis, 600 words)
We will also have a story from Chelsea's tie with Sparta Prague. (SOCCER-EUROPA/CHELSEA, by Tony Jimenez, 500 words)
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GOLF
PGA Tour: WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (to 24)
Woods and McIlroy set to start in snow-delayed first round
MARANA, Arizona - Weather-permitting, three-times winner Tiger Woods and Northern Irish world number one Rory McIlroy are scheduled to start their first-round matches at Dove Mountain where snow forced play to be abandoned on Wednesday. (GOLF-PGA/MATCHPLAY (PIX), expect first lead by 2000 GMT/3 PM ET, by Mark Lamport-Stokes, 450 words)
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TENNIS
FEATURE-Tennis-Federer plays big brother to village children
GOVHU, South Africa - "Big brother Roger," as the village schoolteachers call him, smiles at the small children and asks them to guess which sport he plays. Most of the bright-eyed three-year-olds have no idea who their visitor is but one pipes up: "You play tennis!". Reuters was given exclusive access as Federer marked the 10th anniversary of his charitable foundation with a trip to South Africa. (TENNIS-SAFRICA/FEDERER (FEATURE, PIX), moved, by Xola Potelwa, 740 words)
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ATP
Memphis International
Buenos Aires Open, Argentina (to 24)
Marseille Open, France (to 24)
Copy on merit
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WTA
Dubai Championships, UAE (to 24)
Stosur extends miserable run with Dubai exit
DUBAI - Samantha Stosur's season of woe continued at the Dubai Championships when she crashed out in the quarter-finals following a 6-2 6-4 defeat by Italian Roberta Vinci. Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Petra Kvitova later on Thursday. (TENNIS-WOMEN/DUBAI, moved with updates to follow, by Matt Smith, 400 words)
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Bogota Cup, Colombia (to 24)
Copy on merit
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CYCLING
World track championships, Minsk (to 24)
Day two in Minsk offers five shots at medals
MINSK - Five more gold medals will be on offer on the second day of the cycling world championships, with men's individual pursuit, team sprint and the 15-km scratch race, while the women will contest the 500 metre time trial and team pursuit titles. (CYCLING-TRACK/WORLD, 500 words)
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NHL
Struggling Sabres begin new era with visit to Maple Leafs
TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs host a struggling Buffalo Sabres team playing their first game since Lindy Ruff, who had been the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL, was fired. (NHL-MAPLELEAFS/ (PIX), expect by 0330 GMT/10:30 PM ET, by Frank Pingue, 350 words)
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NBA
Heat and Bulls share spotlight on trade deadline day
LeBron James and the Miami Heat pay a visit to the Chicago Bulls on a quiet night in the NBA with just two games on the schedule as all eyes focus on the league's Thursday trade deadline. (NBA-HEAT/expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, 250 words) (Duty editor: Pritha Sarkar)
