Serena knocked out in 4th round by Marion Bartoli.

Defending champion Serena Williams was eliminated by Marion Bartoli 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday, cutting short her return to Grand Slam tennis after nearly a year out with serious health problems.

Williams, a four-time winner at the All England Club, saved four match points before the ninth-seeded Frenchwoman closed out the contest by hitting a service winner into the corner. It was Williams' earliest exit at Wimbledon since a third-round loss in 2005.

Bartoli made the Wimbledon final in 2007, losing to Serena's older sister Venus.

Serena missed nearly a year after foot surgery and subsequent blood clots in her lungs. She returned two weeks ago at Eastbourne for the first time since winning the Wimbledon title in 2010.

Williams had 20 unforced errors Monday to go with 29 winners, and managed to convert only one of five break points. Bartoli served 10 aces, two more than Williams, and kept down her errors to 17.

It was the first time Bartoli has beaten the American after straight-set defeats in their previous two matches.

"Beating Serena is almost like a dream come true," Bartoli said. "Even though she didn't play for almost one year, she's probably one of the greatest champions in women's tennis.

"For me to be able come back after having three match points and losing this game at 6-5, and still be able to bounce back, it's really huge."

In men's play, fourth-seeded Andy Murray moved into the quarterfinals by beating Richard Gasquet of France 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 — then took a deep bow to the Royal Box, where Prince Wiliam and his new bride Kate joined the rest of the crowd in giving the British winner a standing ovation.

Murray, who has made the semifinals the last two years, is trying to become the first British man to win the title at the All England Club since Fred Perry in 1936.

Bernard Tomic, an 18-year-old Australian qualifier, downed Xavier Malisse 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 to become the youngest man to make the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Boris Becker in 1986.

Among the women's winners was 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, who made it to the quarters here for the first time in five years, beating Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-2 on a sweltering day.

Sharapova started slowly before winning seven straight games to take command against the 20th-seeded Chinese player in an early match on Court 2. The big-hitting Russian had 27 winners and 10 unforced errors.

The match was played with on-court temperatures measured at 93 degrees, and Sharapova covered her legs with ice wrapped in towels during changeovers.

Sharapova could next face top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who was playing Dominika Cibulkova in the next match on Court 2.

"Last year I lost in the fourth round to Serena and this year I find myself in the quarterfinals and I'm giving myself an opportunity to go even in further so I'm quite happy about that," Sharapova said. "I have to be a little realistic about the fact that I haven't gotten past the fourth round in a few years. This is a step forward."

The first woman to move into the quarters was fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, who beat Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-2. German wild card Sabine Lisicki reached the quarters for the second time, downing Petra Cetkovska 7-6 (3), 6-1. No. 8 Petra Kvitova, a semifinalist here last year, needed just 45 minutes to defeat No. 19 Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-2.

Tamira Paszek, an 80th-ranked Austrian, beat another 20-year-old player — Ksenia Pervak of Russia — 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to secure her first Grand Slam quarterfinal berth.

Sharapova said Monday's scorching heat, after a first week marked by frequent showers and cool temperatures, made it "like playing a completely different tournament."

"You see everyone putting sun screen on and I had the ice bag out today," she said. "I'm used to it. I grew up in Florida and still live there and train there. I'm used to the humidity, so that really helped me."

On Centre Court, William and Kate — who were married April 29 — received a warm ovation from the crowd as they took their seats in the front row of the Royal Box in time for Murray's match. In keeping with Wimbledon's all-white dress theme, Kate wore an off-white, knee-length dress. William wore a blue suit.

St. James's Palace said the couple were at the All England Club "privately." The palace said Kate is an avid tennis fan and has been to Wimbledon "quite a number of times." Queen Elizabeth II came to Wimbledon last year for her first visit in 33 years.

Monday's schedule featured the busiest day in Grand Slam tennis — all 16 men's and women's fourth-round matches.

Two stood out in particular: Top-seeded Rafael Nadal against 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, and five-time women's champion Venus Williams against No. 32 Tsvetana Pironkova in a reprise of a 2010 quarterfinal won by the Bulgarian.

The top four men — Nadal, No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Roger Federer and No. 4 Murray — lost a total of three sets during Week 1.

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Canadian Tire executives uncertain about the future of its paper money.

In a world of digital wallets, virtual currency and polymer bills can there still be a place for the coupons handed out by Canadian Tire?While the retailer has alluded to its desire to end the 50-year-old tradition of rewarding cash or debit purchases with Canadian Tire money, in favour of a card-based loyalty program, the prospect has reportedly met some internal corporate resistance.

"How to Fix Canadian Tire," a feature published in the July/August issue of Report on Business magazine, has focused on its recent efforts to overcome the stubbornness long associated with the stores.

A recent $771 million acquisition of the Foranzi Group, the Calgary-based owner of a dozen different sporting goods store banners across the country, was seen as one way to update Canadian Tire's homegrown image. A decade earlier, it acquired Mark's Work Wearhouse for $116 million.

With new retail competition arriving from the U.S., diversification is expected to help the bottom line, although chief executive Stephen Wetmore has also sought to refresh the core stores.

The first priority involved restoring the original story behind the Canadian Tire name. Where auto parts depots were once removed in favour of more general merchandise, they have now reappeared with products displayed at eye level.

Yet, the acquisition of the Foranzi Group is expected to help the company reach a new generation, which is unlikely to grasp the antiquated appeal of currency mascot Sandy McTire. There's only so much sentimental value attached to a 5-cent bill.

Curiously, debates over whether to keep or kill Canadian Tire money have come at the same time new approaches to the monetary system have reached a tipping point. Digital wallets, which eliminate the need for a bulging collection of cards, are expected to transform consumer spending.

Bitcoin, a digital currency that has stirred curiosity in the past few weeks, has also shed light on how our relationship with dollars issued by a central bank could change.

With the Bank of Canada's announcement this week of its new polymer notes, though, Sandy McTire's bills might end up being the country's last valuable form of paper money.

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Gaddafi Faces International Arrest Warrant.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Libya's Colonel Gaddafi for crimes against humanity.Col Gaddafi, along with his son Saif al Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al Sanoussi, are wanted for the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of the country's uprising.

Presiding Judge Sanji Monageng said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that Gaddafi and his son were both "criminally responsible as indirect co-perpetrators" for the murder and persecution of civilians.

The fact that the trio are now internationally wanted suspects could complicate efforts to mediate an end to the fighting in Libya.

The court's authority was rejected by the Libyan government before the verdict was given. They claimed the court had unfairly targeted Africans while ignoring "crimes" committed by Nato in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

"The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever. All of its activities are directed at African leaders," government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I welcome the ICC judges' decision to issue arrest warrants for Col Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al Islam and Abdullah al Sanoussi.

"These individuals are accused of crimes against humanity and should be held to account before judges in a criminal court.

"The UK will continue to strongly support the ICC and calls upon the Libyan government to co-operate fully with the ICC investigation.

"The warrants further demonstrate why Gaddafi has lost all legitimacy and why he should go immediately. His forces continue to attack Libyans without mercy and this must stop."

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo began an investigation into the activities of Col Gaddafi's regime following a referral by the United Nations Security Council.

His submissions to the ICC alleged Gaddafi had a personal hand in planning and implementing "a policy of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and demonstrators and dissidents in particular."

"Gaddafi's plan expressly included the use of lethal force against demonstrators and dissidents," the submission said.

Meanwhile, Musa Kusa, Col Gaddafi's former intelligence officer, has been found living in a luxury Qatari hotel following his departure from Britain in April.

He is believed to have been living for several weeks in a 17th-floor penthouse suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha.

He has been in the Gulf state since leaving Britain for talks there, and has the protection of a team of Qatari minders.

At the time, officials said Mr Kusa was likely to return to the UK because his grandchildren live there.

But it is now unclear whether he does intend to return, and he has reportedly refused to be drawn on the matter.

The former foreign minister arrived in the UK in March after defecting from Col Gaddafi's regime .

He was deputy head of the Libyan intelligence service at the time of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, but has always denied the country was behind the atrocity.

While in Britain, he was questioned by Scottish police about the bombing. His departure just two weeks later infuriated victims' families.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "He is a private individual who is free to travel to and from the UK. We don't provide a running commentary on his movements or current activities."

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Gunmen kill senior Pakistani Taliban commander.

Gunmen riding in a car with tinted windows near the Afghan border on Monday shot and killed a senior Pakistani Taliban commander who helped train and deploy the group's suicide bombers, Pakistani intelligence officials said.Shakirullah Shakir was riding on a motorcycle near Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area, when he was shot, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Shakir was a senior commander and spokesman for the Fidayeen-e-Islam wing of the Pakistani Taliban. He once claimed to a local newspaper that his group had trained more than 1,000 suicide bombers at camps in North Waziristan.

No group has claimed responsibility for his killing.

Both North Waziristan and South Waziristan are key sanctuaries for the Pakistani Taliban, which has declared war on the U.S.-allied Pakistani government.

Missiles believed to have been fired by a U.S. drone hit a pickup truck in the Dra Nishter area of South Waziristan on Monday, killing eight suspected militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Dra Nishter is a Pakistani Taliban stronghold near the border with North Waziristan and has been hit twice before by suspected U.S. drones in recent months. The Pakistani military launched a large ground offensive in South Waziristan in 2009, but Pakistani Taliban fighters are still active in the area.

The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge the covert CIA drone program in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that the strikes have killed many Taliban and al-Qaida commanders.

The Pakistani government is widely believed to support the program, even though officials regularly protest the strikes as violations of the country's sovereignty — a message that plays well with Pakistani citizens, who widely dislike the U.S.

But future Pakistani cooperation has become less certain after the unilateral U.S. commando raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden last month in an army town not far from the Pakistani capital. The U.S. kept the raid secret from Pakistan, which humiliated the country and elicited calls for the government to end its cooperation with Washington.

Elsewhere in the northwest, a senior Pakistani Taliban commander said Monday that he is splitting from the group to protest attacks against civilians, a rare criticism of the militants by one of their own.

Fazal Saeed said he is forming his own militant group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Islami, and will focus on fighting NATO troops in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, is mainly focused on battling the Pakistani government.

Saeed, leader of the Pakistani Taliban in the Kurram tribal area near the Afghan border, accused the group of targeting civilians in suicide attacks and bombings in mosques.

"We have repeatedly protested over killing unarmed and innocent people in these attacks, but no heed was paid, so we are splitting from Tehrik-e-Taliban" Pakistan, Saeed told The Associated Press by phone from an undisclosed location.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in attacks in Pakistan. The Pakistani Taliban often deny responsibility for attacks that kill large numbers of civilians, but they are widely believed to carry them out.

It's unclear whether Saeed's decision to split from the group is related to plans by the Pakistani army to launch a military offensive soon in Kurram. The army has cut deals in the past to avoid targeting groups who fight in Afghanistan as long as they agree not to attack Pakistan.

Also Monday, a member of Pakistan's ruling coalition, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, announced it was pulling out of the government at both the national level and in southern Sindh province because of disputes over legislative assembly elections held in Pakistan-held Kashmir on Sunday.

Farooq Sattar, MQM's senior leader in parliament, also announced that the governor of Sindh, who is a member of the party, would resign in protest.

MQM's decision does not rob the ruling Pakistan People's Party of a majority in the national parliament. But the defection could spark increased violence in Karachi, the capital of Sindh, where gangs allegedly affiliated with the MQM and the PPP often wage battle against one another.

MQM pulled out of the national government last year following a decision to raise oil prices but eventually rejoined after officials agreed to retract the price hike.

Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said the PPP will work with the MQM to resolve their differences. "I am hopeful that issues with the MQM will again be resolved amicably," Awan said.

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Israel drops threat to deport, ban journalists.

The Israeli government on Monday dropped a threat to issue lengthy deportation orders against journalists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla, in an attempt to scale back a crisis with the international media.On Sunday, Israel's Government Press Office sent a letter warning that any journalist caught on board the flotilla would be violating Israeli entry laws and could face deportation and a 10-year ban from the country.

The warning sparked an outcry from foreign journalists and was fiercely debated in Israeli media.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that after the issue was brought to his attention he ordered authorities not to apply the regular measures taken against infiltrators and to find a formula for the reporters intending to take part in a flotilla that violates Israel's entry laws.

He did not provide any details — only that an exception will be made for the journalists on board.

"In parallel, it was agreed that Israeli and international journalists join the navy ships in order to create transparency and reliable coverage of the events," his office said in a statement.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of journalists working for international news organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, had sharply condemned Israel's original threat, saying they should be allowed to cover a legitimate news story.

"The government's threat to punish journalists covering the Gaza flotilla sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press," it said in a statement.

The Israeli warning highlighted an already strained relationship with the international media and reflected Israeli jitters over the flotilla, which comes just more than a year after a similar mission ended in the deaths of nine Turkish activists in clashes with Israeli naval commandos.

Israel is eager to avoid a repeat of last year's raid, which drew heavy international condemnation and ultimately forced Israel to ease its blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza. Israel says the embargo is needed to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into the territory.

Israel said media on board the flotilla would be complicit in an illegal breach of its naval blockade of Gaza.

Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev said an exception would be made for journalists.

"The first decision was taken at a lower working bureaucratic level but when the issue went to the top, the prime minister made a decision that he thought would serve the country's interests," he said.

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