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Showing posts from March, 2018

Germany can improve despite 'high-quality' Spain draw - Joachim Low

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Joachim Low has no doubt there is more to come from both Germany and Spain after the two World Cup hopefuls played out an entertaining 1-1 friendly draw in Dusseldorf. In a mouth-watering showdown between the two most recent world champions, Spain took an early lead through Rodrigo before Thomas Muller smashed home an unstoppable equaliser 10 minutes before the break. Germany had the better chances to win the game in the second half, but Spain goalkeeper David De Gea produced brilliant saves to deny Julian Draxler and Ilkay Gundogan while Mats Hummels sent a looping header against the crossbar. Spain also went close through Isco, who was denied at point-blank range by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Diego Costa as honours finished even at a sold-out Esprit Arena. Germany coach Low was satisfied with the night's work from his side, but believes the defending world champions and 2010 World Cup winners Spain still have room to improve. He said in quotes reported by www
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Alexis Sanchez creating problems not solutions at Manchester United

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The number conveys greatness at Old Trafford. George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo were Manchester United's great No. 7s. More recently, Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay were great disappointments. The temptation to put Alexis Sanchez into the same bracket should be resisted. Yet, 10 games into his Old Trafford career, what can be said is that the Chilean is United's great complicator. Complications have abounded since he and Henrikh Mkhitaryan swapped clubs in January, and not just because his sizeable salary could mean future recruits demand similar remuneration and even United's huge budget gets stretched. Those complications are rarely Sanchez's fault, but they are a consequence of his arrival. Jose Mourinho resolved them for 90 minutes against Brighton by reverting to the recent past. He benched Sanchez and named the sort of side he might have picked two months ago. Anthony Martial started and Marcus Rashford
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West Ham give lifetime bans to pitch invaders at Burnley game

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West Ham United have given lifetime bans to five supporters who invaded the pitch during the team's 3-0 defeat by Burnley at London Stadium. Several fans have also been banned for life for throwing coins or objects "with intent to injure or harm". Hammers joint-owner David Sullivan was hit by a coin as fans protested in front of the directors' box. The club said it had taken "swift and decisive action" after acts of "severe violence and physical aggression". It expects to issue further bans for attempted pitch invasions and violence before the next home game against fellow Premier League strugglers Southampton on 31 March. Vice-chairman Karren Brady apologised for the events on 10 March, calling it "one of the most painful days" in the club's history. "We take a zero tolerance approach to any form of violence that endangers the welfare of others, and we are committed to ensuring a safe and comfortable environment
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Rwanda Seventh-Day Adventist churchgoers killed by lightning

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A lightning strike killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more at a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Rwanda on Saturday, an official said. Most of the victims died instantly when lightning hit the church in the southern district of Nyaruguru, local mayor Habitegeko Francois told AFP. Two people died from their injuries, and 140 people were rushed to hospital and health centres. Lightning also killed a student in the area on Friday, the mayor said. The weather accident in the mountainous region near the border with Burundi took place around midday on Saturday while parishioners of the town of Gihemvu were at a church service. "Doctors say that only three [more churchgoers] are in critical condition but they are getting better," Mr Francois told AFP on Sunday. He said that in Friday's incident, lightning struck a group of 18 students in the area, killing one. Three of the students remain in hospital while the rest have been able to return home, repor
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Arsenal show sense of desperation, ease pressure on Arsene Wenger with win in Milan

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Three quick thoughts from the San Siro on Arsenal's 2-0 first-leg win over AC Milan in the Europa League round of 16. 1. Arsenal finally deliver a win to ease pressure on Wenger Don't say your farewells to Arsene Wenger just yet. The Arsenal boss was granted a stay of execution as his Gunners finally produced the kind of performance that indicates there may be hope for this team yet. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey scored first-half goals to finally put at least a temporary end to Arsenal's recent struggles, ending a four-match losing streak and putting Arsenal one foot into the Europa League quarterfinals. It also keeps hope alive of winning this competition, which seems the only way for Arsenal to salvage what has been a mightily disappointing season and possibly save Wenger's job. The Frenchman had been in danger of losing five straight games for the first time in his 21-year Arsenal career but instead finds himself with at least a slimmer of h
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Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un to hold 'milestone' meeting

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited Donald Trump to meet him, an unprecedented overture which the US leader has said he will accept. The shock announcement that a meeting could take place as early as May was made by South Korean officials in Washington. They passed a verbal message from Mr Kim to Mr Trump and said North Korea's leader "committed to denuclearisation". South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said it was "a milestone for peace". "If President Trump and Chairman Kim meet following an inter-Korean summit, complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula will be put on the right track in earnest," he said. South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong, who earlier this week met Mr Kim in Pyongyang, announced the development after briefing Mr Trump at the White House. North Korea has not yet issued any official comment on the week's developments. Mr Trump said the development was "great progress&qu
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Mauricio Pochettino's delayed adjustments hold Spurs back in loss

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Two goals against the run of play within three minutes midway through the second half handed Juventus a 2-1 win -- 4-3 on aggregate -- to help the Italian champions past Tottenham and into the last eight of the Champions League on Wednesday. Spurs had dominated the first 45 minutes and -- though fortunate not to concede a penalty -- had enough good chances to go into the break more than a single goal ahead. In the end Tottenham's profligacy in front of goal -- combined with a little naivety, as they lost concentration at a crucial time -- cost them dearly, as Juventus scored twice on the break. Spurs pressed hard for the equaliser that would take the game into extra-time and came close in the dying minutes when a Harry Kane header hit the woodwork. By then it was too little, too late. For Tottenham it was so near, yet so far. Spurs can take some comfort from the fact that they dominated play for long periods of the game and showed they could compete with one of the
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Nigeria hunger crises can kill 200 children per day.

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  Two hundred children could die each day from hunger in northeastern Nigeria as a result of the ongoing conflict in the country, a humanitarian agency has warned. Up to half of all children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, international charity Save the Children said on Monday, after screening the health of boys and girls in the region between June and October in 2016. The figure could be even worse in areas that are out of reach because of insecurity, according to the report. Children are presenting in desperate conditions and facing severe malnutrition, often in combination with other life-threatening illnesses like pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea," said Ben Foot, Save the Children country director. "For some cases this may be the second or third time they have fought malnutrition so their immune systems are already severely weakened." Violent attacks on civilians since 2009 by the armed group Boko Haram have affected almost 15 milli
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Cardi B explains why she 'drugged and robbed' men

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Cardi B has defended herself after a video resurfaced of her saying she drugged and robbed men who wanted to have sex with her while she worked as a stripper before finding fame. The rapper faced criticism after the three-year-old Instagram live video recirculated on social media. "Whether or not they were poor choices at the time, I did what I had to do to survive," she wrote on Tuesday. "I never claimed to be perfect or come from a perfect world." The original video was made as her career was starting to take off and was her response to someone who said she didn't deserve success because she hadn't put in any work. "Nothing was handed to me. Nothing," she said in the video, before going on to reveal that she would invite men to a hotel before drugging and robbing them. In response to the furore, she wrote on Instagram that she had been talking "about things in my past right or wrong that I felt I needed to do to make a living&quo
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GameStop To Introduce Installment Payment Plans for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

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Preparing for the release of the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X/S, GameStop is now preparing to launch an installment payment plan program for the next-gen consoles. Revealed in a series of internal documents, the American video game, consumer electronics and gaming merchandise retailer is looking to help offer an alternative way to own the systems. GameStop is currently looking into installment plans, direct layaway and rent-to-own plans. Installment plans would be offered through third-party companies like Quadpay and Klarna, requiring customers to split their purchase into four payments over six weeks with no interest. Layaway would see customers pay small installments over a certain period of time to clear the full payment before they receive their consoles. While the rent-to-own plans would let customers rent the new consoles for an upfront fee, with the rest of the cost paid over a 12 month period. Customers can then fully pay off the cost to own a console or retu
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