Sporting briefs

Barcelona: New Barcelona signings Alexander Hleb, Daniel Alves and Gerard Pique have been named in the squad heading for games against Hibernian and Dundee United. The Spanish club arrive in their St Andrews training camp today and face Hibs at Murrayfield on Thursday and United at Tannadice on Saturday. It is a quick return for midfielder Hleb after his £11.8m move from Arsenal earlier this month. Alves arrived for £23.5m from Sevilla and Pique from Man. Utd. Xavi, Euro 2008 player of the tournament, and other members of Spain's victorious side will join the rest of the squad on Wednesday.

LuaLua: Former Newcastle and Portsmouth striker Lomana LuaLua has joined Qatar side Al Arabi from Greek side Olympiakos. The Congo international has signed a one-year deal with the seven-times Qatari champions, Gulf media reported.

Rangers captain: David Weir, the 38-year-old defender, will captain Rangers in the absence of Barry Ferguson this season. Ferguson is set to miss the opening four months of the campaign after ankle surgery. "David Weir will captain the team while Barry Ferguson is injured," said manger Walter Smith. "David was a big part of our major success last season."

Villa draw: Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen reckons a 2-2 draw was a fair result as the Danish international returned home for the Intertoto Cup third round match at Odense BK on Saturday. "I think it was an equal match," said the 30-year-old. "Just as we expected, considering the early stage of the season, OB proved to be in better form than we were."

Siena: Siena have signed Colombian international full-back Juan Camilo Zuniga. Although there is no official word yet, newspapers suggest club president Lombardi Stronati and his staff have agreed a deal with Atletico Nacional. If true, this is quite a coup for Siena, as Zuniga is considered one of the most talented young players in South America.

Hearts: Hearts are set to make their first signing this summer after agreeing a deal with Uganda defender David Obua. The signing of 24-year-old Obua, who was linked with West Ham, is subject to a medical and a work permit. Obua recently left South African outfit Kaizer Chiefs.

Intertoto Cup: Third round, first legs - Panionios (Greece) vs Napoli (Italy) 0-1; Sivasspor (Turkey) vs Braga (Portugal) 0-2.

Swimming: Australian swimmer Grant Hackett broke his own short-course 800 metres freestyle world record at a meet in Melbourne yesterday. Hackett took almost two seconds off his 2001 world mark, stopping the clock in seven minutes 23.42 seconds at the Victorian Short Course Championships. The time was 1.86 seconds faster than the time of 7:25.28 he set in Perth in August 2001.

Basketball: Germany booked their place at the Beijing Olympics with a 96-82 win over Puerto Rico in the final game of the qualifying tournament yesterday. Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki again led the way for the Germans with 32 points.