Monday 17 March 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Putin recognises Crimea as independent state

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MOSCOW (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state following its vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum that has fanned the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.The Kremlin's official website quoted Putin's decree as recognising the Republic of Crimea... as a sovereign and independent state.It was issued considering the expression of the will of the people of Crimea at the general Crimean referendum on Sunday, it said.The decree added that it entered into force from the moment of its signature and included the time stamp of 10:30 pm (1830 GMT).Putin is due on Tuesday to address both houses of parliament about the crisis following the announcement of targeted US and EU sanctions against top Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for the breakaway vote, as well as pro-Kremlin forces' effective seizure of the Black Sea peninsula at the start of the month.Russia's lower house of parliament is expected to debate legislation on Friday simplifying the process under which the Kremlin can annex another part of a sovereign state.The Crimean referendum has been denounced as illegal by both the new pro-European leaders who toppled a Kremlin-backed regime in Kiev last month as well as most of the international community.Russia's actions in Crimea even saw its key ally China break ranks and not join Moscow's veto of a UN Security Council resolution reaffirming that Sunday's poll can have no validity.Official results showed 96.77 percent of voters in the mostly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine had opted for Kremlin rule in what would be the most radical redrawing of the map of Europe since Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.Putin has thus far signalled no intention to turn back on what he describes as his defence of ethnic Russians who have come under attack from ultranationalists who have been given free rein by the new Ukrainian leaders.The Kremlin said Putin emphasised to US President Barack Obama in a phone call on Sunday that the Crimean referendum was fully in line with the norms of international law and the UN charter.The reaction from both the Unites States and the European Union to Russia's refusal to call off the Crimean poll or pull back its troops on the peninsula back to their barracks has been both swift and tough.EU foreign ministers unveiled travel bans and asset freezes against 13 Russian officials and eight Ukrainian officials from Crimea.The 28-nation bloc did not name those sanctioned but Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted that there would be more EU measures in (a) few days.The 21 were officially targeted for undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine.The EU's punitive measures were followed minutes later by a White House announcement that it was imposing financial sanctions on seven top Russian government officials and lawmakers in reprisal for the Kremlin's incursion.The White House said Ukraine's ousted pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych and Crimea's self-declared premier Sergiy Aksyonov were both on the US list.The Russians targeted include upper house of parliament speaker Valentina Matviyenko and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin -- responsible for overseeing Russia's military and industrial sector.

Obama tells Abbas that peace will require risk

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama told Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Monday that both he and Israel's politicians must be prepared to make tough decisions and take risks for peace.Abbas arrived at the White House two weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that time was running short for a final deal, and said Israel could show it was serious by honoring a scheduled release of Palestinian prisoners this month.Obama, personally supporting Secretary of State John Kerry's exhaustive Middle East peace drive at a critical moment, is pressing both sides to accept a framework to carry negotiations past an end-of-April deadline.As I said to Prime Minister Netanyahu when he was here just a few weeks ago, I believe that now is the time .... to embrace this opportunity, Obama said.It is very hard, very challenging. We are going to have to take some tough political decisions and risks if we're able to move it forward.Obama said that everyone already understood the shape of an elusive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, saying it would be based on 1967 lines with mutual land swaps.Abbas sat beside Obama in the same Oval Office chair recently used by Netanyahu, when the Israeli leader complained Israel had done its part over decades of peace talks and the Palestinians hadn't done theirs.The white haired Palestinian leader told Obama: We don't have any time to waste.Time is not on our side, especially given the very difficult situation that the Middle East is experiencing and the entire region is facing, he said.Abbas did not use a photo opportunity before the talks to directly address the Israeli government's demand for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in public.But he did say through a translator that the Palestinians had recognized Israel's legitimacy in 1988 and in 1993 we recognized the state of Israel.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP that Abbas confirmed his position to President Obama refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish State.Abbas also noted in the photo-op the agreement that the Palestinians have with Israel on the release of a fourth batch of prisoners by March 29.This will give a very solid impression about the seriousness of these efforts to achieve peace, Abbas said.Israeli ministers said last week that they would have difficulty approving the prisoner release if agreement was not reached to extend the peace talks.Israel committed to the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners in four tranches when talks were launched in July. It has so far released 78 of those in three batches.Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP that Obama had not yet presented Abbas with a framework agreement.But the US president did offer ideas to the Palestinian side, adding that discussions would continue in the coming weeks.Ahead of the White House talks, thousands of Palestinians rallied in West Bank cities to show support for Abbas.We're here today to stand up to pressures upon us and make sure president Abbas adheres to his convictions, said Nasser Eddin al-Shaer, a former Palestinian education minister and member of Fatah's Islamist rivals Hamas, at a 5,000-strong rally in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.Despite multiple trips to the region by Kerry, the two sides appear to have made little progress since the talks resumed in July after a three year freeze.Abbas met Kerry on Sunday for what a senior State Department official said were frank and productive discussions.We are at a pivotal time in the negotiations and while these issues have decades of history behind them, neither party should let tough political decisions at this stage stand in the way of a lasting peace, the official said.The most nettlesome issues in the peace process include the contours of a future Palestinian state, the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, Israeli settlements, security and mutual recognition. The Palestinians want borders based on the lines that preceded the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank, including now-annexed Arab east Jerusalem. They have also insisted there should be no Israeli troops in their future state. But Israel wants to retain existing settlements it has built inside occupied Palestinian territory over the past decades. It also wants to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley, where the West Bank borders Jordan.

US ship withdraws from search for missing Malaysia jet

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US naval ship that has been aiding the international search for a missing Malaysian airliner will be withdrawn from the effort, Pentagon officials said Monday.The decision was taken because the search area was now so extensive that it was more efficient to look for the jet using surveillance aircraft, officials said.The guided missile destroyer, the USS Kidd, had joined the massive search last week and had shifted its focus west to the Andaman Sea on the request of the Malaysian government.The Kidd, with a MH-60 helicopter on board, had completed a search of 15,000 square miles but no debris or wreckage associated with an aircraft was found, it said.At one point both the Kidd and another US destroyer were taking part in the search but now the US navy planned to rely on a P-8 Poseidon plane and a P-3 Orion aircraft for the effort, officials said.With the search area expanding into the southern Indian Ocean, long range patrol aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon and P-3C Orion are more suited to the current SAR (search and rescue) mission, the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.After taking off from Kuala Lumpur headed to Beijing, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board, triggering a massive international search across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Two road crashes leave 55 dead in Nigeria

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KANO (AFP) - Fifty-five people were killed and 10 were injured in two separate road crashes in northern Nigeria, the countrys road safety body said Monday.We have recorded 55 deaths in two road crashes on Sunday and Monday due to speeding and reckless overtaking, said Yusuf Sani, Nigerian Road Safety spokesman for Yobe state.A multiple crash involving three vehicles on Monday killed 35 people, including 19 church members on their way back from the southern city of Lagos where they attended a religious meeting.All the 19 members of Redeem Christian Church of God who were travelling in one bus were burnt beyond recognition as the bus caught fire on collision with the other two vehicles which also burst in flames shortly afterwards, he said.The victims in the other two vehicles were returning from a wedding.The spokesman blamed the collision, which occurred on the Potiskum-Maiduguri highway, on speeding.On Sunday, 20 traders returning from a local market were killed when the open van they were in collided with an articulated truck, Sani said, attributing the accident to reckless overtaking.Sixteen of the 20 victims were girls who had been selling wares, he added.Accidents are frequent on the west African countrys poorly maintained roads due largely to speeding, overloading and reckless driving.

Football: Ronaldo, Romario in World Cup spat

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Romario on Monday indulged in a World Cup war of words as the former accused his compatriot of blaming him for a promise of free tickets for handicapped fans which has not materialized.It is deplorable to see Romario, once again, make me publicly responsible for things which are outside my remit, World Cup Local Organization Committee member Ronaldo wrote on his Facebook page.Romario, 1994 world champion and now a lawmaker, himself took to social media in recent days to say that 2002 World Cup star and record tournament scorer Ronaldo publicly promised free entrance for handicapped people.One post shows the pair at a 2011 press conference during which Romario announced a promise on behalf of the Brazilian football Confederation (CBF) offering 32,000 free tickets or 500 per match for disabled people.Is it opportunism piggybacking on my image or ignorance? asked an aggrieved Ronaldo.I do not know. What I do know is that instead of wasting time and energy trying to denigrate me, we would all gain if the congressman dedicated himself to seeking out good opele or institutions.Ronaldo went on: I did what I could as a citizen, to get a positive response from the institution (the CBF), and as local organizing committee spokesman I was proud to share the news with the public, with Romario.But I am not a politician, I do not represent the CBF, and I did not promise anything I could not deliver, Ronaldo insisted, aghast that Romario was painting him as the author of the promise for the free tickets.In reality, it is a commitment of the CBF.Romario, who is standing in senate elections in October, has been a vociferous critic in recent months of the organization of the World Cup and the multibillion public investments accompanying the event -- a source of public ire.He has often made Ronaldo the target of some of that criticism and also last week made trenchant televized criticism of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the body's secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Cycling: Cav cruises to Tirreno stage, Contador retains lead

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MILAN (AFP) - Tour de France sprint king Mark Cavendish cruised to victory in the sixth and penultimate stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Monday, with Spaniard Alberto Contador retaining the overall lead.Following a crash in the final bend caused by a Lampre rider and which took down another from the Lotto team, Cavendish went on to surge from behind the wheels of three Omega-Pharma teammates in the final 150 metres of the 189 km stage fromBucchianico to Porto SantElpidio to win solo.Italian teammate Alessandro Petacchi finished second with Slovakian Peter Sagan in third place.Less than a week from the seasons first major one-day classic, the Milan-San Remo, Cavendish said he was delighted with the form that has seen him win one stage on the Tour of the Algarve as well as his victory on Monday.Im really happy because Im in great shape. I cant wait for Milan-SanRemo, the Isle of Man rider told Rai television.Earlier, Sagans Cannondale team upped the pace when it became clear that sprint rival Marcel Kittel was struggling on one of several climbs.In the closing kilometres Philippe Gilbert pulled clear of the peloton after it had caught an earlier four-man breakaway.However the Belgian, who will also fancy his chances in San Remo on Sunday, was reeled in as Omega-Pharma upped the pace for the final dash for the line.A right-hand bend proved fatal for the sprinters looking to prevail on the long home straight, with Germanys Andre Greipel one of several caught up in the ensuing melee.It left a small group of riders to go on and contest the win, but with three teammates pacing him in furious fashion in the finale there was little chance of Cavendish facing an upset.Contador, who claimed the overall lead with victory on stage five, still leads Nairo Quintana by 2min 08sec in the overall standings ahead of Tuesdays final stage, a 9.1 km time trial.The Spaniards sporting director at Tinkoff-Saxo, Philippe Mauduit, said: It was a perfect scenario for us. We were hoping that the sprinter teams would take the reigns of the pack and as Kittel was dropped, they were all eager to work in the front so we didnt have to.Now, were only one stage away from the overall win and lets face it, it looks pretty promising with a two minute lead to Quintana.But history shows that many unforeseen things can happen during a time trial and were not celebrating until Alberto crosses the finish line tomorrow.

US scientists find echoes of Big Bang

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - In a major discovery for understanding the origins of the universe, US scientists said Monday they have detected echoes of the Big Bang 14 billion years ago.The first direct evidence of cosmic inflation, or the rapid growth spurt that came in the first moments of the life of the universe, was found with the help of a telescope at the South Pole, and was announced by experts at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.The detection of these gravitational waves represents the last untested element of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity, filling in a major gap in our understanding of how the universe was born.The waves are ripples that move through space and time, and have been described as the first tremors of the Big Bang. Their detection confirms an integral connection between quantum mechanics and general relativity.Detecting this signal is one of the most important goals in cosmology today. A lot of work by a lot of people has led up to this point, said John Kovac, leader of the BICEP2 collaboration at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.The telescope targeted a specific area of sky known as the Southern Hole outside the galaxy where there is little dust or extra galactic material to interfere with what humans could see with the potent sky-peering tool.By observing the cosmic microwave background, or a faint glow left over from the Big Bang, small fluctuations gave scientists new clues about the conditions in the early universe.The gravitational waves rippled through the universe 380,000 years after the Big Bang, and these images were captured by the telescope.The South Pole is the closest you can get to space and still be on the ground, said Kovac.Its one of the driest and clearest locations on Earth, perfect for observing the faint microwaves from the Big Bang.Rumors of the landmark discovery began to circulate Friday, as the hastily convened press conference was first announced.However, scientists said they spent three years analyzing their data to rule out any errors.This has been like looking for a needle in a haystack, but instead we found a crowbar, said co-leader Clem Pryke of the University of Minnesota.Harvard theorist Avi Loeb said the findings provide new insights into some of our most basic questions: Why do we exist? How did the universe begin?These results are not only a smoking gun for inflation, they also tell us when inflation took place and how powerful the process was, Loeb said.According to theoretical physicist Alan Guth, who proposed the idea of inflation in 1980, described the latest study as definitely worthy of a Nobel Prize.This is a totally new, independent piece of cosmological evidence that the inflationary picture fits together, Guth, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was quoted as telling the journal Nature.

Oil prices drop after Ukraine's Crimea opts for Russia

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices fell modestly Monday as markets downplayed fears of disruptions to Western European energy supplies after Crimea voted in a disputed referendum to leave Ukraine and join Russia.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in April, finished trading at $98.08 a barrel, a loss of 81 cents from Friday's close.Brent North Sea crude for May delivery slid $1.97 to $106.24 a barrel in London trade, its lowest level since early February.The current pulse of the market suggests a consensus view that oil and gas will continue to flow, even directly through Ukraine, said Tim Evans of Citi Futures. The European Union and the United States on Monday slapped sanctions on top Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for the breakaway vote on the Crimean peninsula that has fanned the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.Crimea's separatist authorities meanwhile moved against energy companies in their first nationalizations after deciding all Ukrainian state property would be transferred into Crimean ownership. Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at traders Forex.com, said there was some market relief that the economic sanctions were not aimed at the Russian government.After all, it is not in Europe's interests to impose restrictions on Russian energy exports given the fact that they supply about a third of the EU's oil and gas needs, he said.Evans, the Citi Futures analyst, noted that Libyan oil production had dropped again as the country struggles with rebels blockading eastern oil terminals since July, cutting exports from 1.5 million barrels a day to a trickle of 250,000.The market seems to have priced in minimal exports, he said.On Monday US Navy SEALs captured an oil tanker that had loaded crude at a rebel-held port in eastern Libya and escaped to sea, at the request of both Libya and Cyprus. The naval commandos were taking it to a Libya port, the US Defense Department said, without identifying the destination.Traders were awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. The US central bank is expected to further cut its massive stimulus program amid a slowly recovering economy, the world's largest crude-oil consumer.

Euro creeps up after sanctions over Crimea vote

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro edged up against the dollar Monday after the US and Europe slapped sanctions on an inner circle of Russians and Ukrainians who supported Crimea's vote to join Russia.The overwhelming pro-Russia vote Sunday was expected, and the United States and the European Union acted swiftly Monday to impose economic sanctions on key leaders of the breakaway move they denounced as a violation of international law.The euro rose to $1.3921 around 2100 GMT, up from $1.3909 late Friday.The European currency also gained ground against the Japanese unit, buying 141.58 yen compared with 140.94 yen Friday.The dollar climbed to 101.68 yen from 101.33 yen.The world is watching to see how Russia will respond to the new sanctions, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.Lien said the euro was trading higher because the sanctions did not apply to Russian President Vladimir Putin, members of his family or key economic or banking officials.It is wishful thinking to believe that he will buckle under the pressure of these weak measures, she added.Lien warned the crisis could escalate, with Russia already threatening to retaliate against the sanctions.The bottom line is that it is very difficult to be optimistic under these circumstances because of the material risk that the crisis in the Ukraine will deepen and for this reason we eye the rally today in the EUR/USD and other major currency pairs with extreme caution, she said.The dollar rose against the Swiss currency, to 0.8729 franc from 0.8722 late Friday.The British pound slipped to $1.6635 from $1.6645.

Stirling's 60 brings Ireland last-ball win over Zimbabwe

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SYLHET (AFP) - Opener Paul Stirling smashed 60 off 34 balls to set Ireland up for a last-ball victory over Zimbabwe in their first-round match in the World Twenty20 championship on Monday.Stirling's fifth Twenty20 half-century, including nine fours and a six, helped Ireland to a three-wicket victory on St Patrick's Day at the Sylhet stadium.Ireland needed four runs off the last over but lost Ed Joyce (22) and Max Sorensen, run out without scoring, before winning through a bye off the last ball of the over -- bowled by paceman Tinashe Panyangara who finished with 4-37. Stirling and skipper William Porterfield, who scored a 23-ball 31 with three fours and a six, had given Ireland a fiery 80-run start in 8.2 overs as their run chase began confidently.A ruthless Stirling hit paceman Panyangara for four boundaries in one over before he fell with the total on 100.Ireland then lost three quick wickets to Panyangara, including that of hard-hitting Kevin O'Brien (17), before their last-gasp victory.Zimbabwe earlier owed their total to a solid 46-ball 59 by Brendan Taylor. The Zimbabwe skipper hit six boundaries and two towering sixes, while Elton Chigumbura made 22 and Hamilton Masakadza scored 21.But spinners George Dockrell (2-18) and debutant Andy McBrine (2-26) restricted Zimbabwe to 163-5 in their 20 overs.The Group B defeat has put Zimbabwe in a tight corner as only one team will go on from each of the two Groups into the Super-10 stage.Hosts Bangladesh beat Afghanistan and debutant Nepal downed Hong Kong in Group A matches on the opening day of the World Twenty20 on Sunday.The two top teams from each Group will join the top eight seeds in the Super-10 stage, starting from March 21.The final is on April 6 in Dhaka.

Netherlands easily beat UAE in World Twenty20

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SYLHET (AFP) - The Netherlands eased to a six-wicket win against first-timers United Arab Emirates in the opening round of the World Twenty20 at Sylhet Stadium on Monday.Opener Stephan Myburgh hit a punishing 36-ball 55 with two sixes and seven boundaries to help the Netherlands overhaul a modest 152-run target with seven balls to spare.It was a clinical finish by the Netherlands who are vying to progress from Group B for a place in the main rounds.We slowed down a bit towards the end and but I am happy to get over the line, Netherlands skipper Peter Borren said. Myburgh set things up brilliantly and (Tom) Cooper was superb. Michael Swart (26) partnered Myburgh in a quickfire 69-run opening stand as the two put their team on the right track within the first seven overs.Swart hit three boundaries and a six off just 16 balls while Wesley Barresi (24) and Cooper, who was 34 not out with four boundaries and a six, completed the task.UAE, who won the toss and batted, lost their openers for 12 runs after just ten deliveries before Swapnil Patil (23) and skipper Khurram Khan (31) put on 67 for the third wicket to steady the innings.Shaiman Anwar, who hit a solid 19-ball 32 with the help of four boundaries and a six, lifted the UAE past the 150-run mark.Rohan Mustafa made 20 before medium pacer Ahsan Malik stopped the final over slog with a career best 3-16. Cooper took 2-18 to complete an all-round performance for the Netherlands.Khan admitted his team was short on runs and sloppy in the field.The way we started and the way we were playing, I thought 175 was on. But three wickets in the 15th-16th over changed the game and they bowled and fielded well, said Khan.We dropped so many catches and that probably made the difference in the end.Ireland upset Zimbabwe by three wickets in the same group earlier in the day while in Group A Bangladesh and Nepal registered wins on the opening day on Sunday.Six qualifiers along with hosts Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are competing in the first round and winners of each group will then contest the Super-10 round with the top eight Test nations -- Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, England, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies -- from March 21. The final is on April 6 in Dhaka.

Vaughan feels 'conned' by Trott exit

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LONDON (AFP) - Former England captain Michael Vaughan felt deceived by Jonathan Trott's revelation last weekend that he left England's Ashes tour of Australia suffering from burn out, he revealed on Monday.When Trott quit what turned out to be a 5-0 Ashes thrashing by Australia after twice falling cheaply to fast bowler Mitchell Johnson in the first Test in Brisbane, England officials said he was suffering from a stress-related illness.However, South Africa-born batsman Trott told Sky he'd been burnt out but was not depressed.That prompted Vaughan, England captain from 2003-2008, to write in his column in Monday's Daily Telegraph: I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan Trott's problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years.We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy. He was obviously not in a great place but he was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental, and there is a massive difference. There is a danger we are starting to use stress-related illness and depression too quickly as tags for players under pressure, Vaughan, himself a former top-order batsman, added.In his interview with Sky, Trott said he feared the public thinking he was a nutcase, adding that he wasn't crazy.However, Vaughan wrote Trott had completely disrespected anybody who has gone through depression and mental illness by using words such as 'nutcase' or 'crazy'. We have seen other England cricketers suffer from depression, said Vaughan, whose former Test colleague Marcus Trescothick had his international career cut short by a stress-related illness. I do not think Trott realises just how important an issue it is.When I hear players talking about burnout, I suspect it is an excuse. You never see players retiring from sport and talking about burnout when they are playing well.Trott scored just 19 runs in two innings at Brisbane and struggled against the bowling of Johnson.What Trott will have to accept is that players in his own dressing room and in the opposition will look at him and think at the toughest of times he did a runner, said Vaughan.He admitted that the previous occasion he suffered burnout was in South Africa in 2009/10, the only other time he has faced top-quality fast bowling.He did not fight and got on a plane and went home. It is harsh but that is the reality.However, Angus Porter, the chief executive of England's Professional Cricketers' Association, took issue with Vaughan's comments.I'm not a psychologist and I don't think Michael would claim to be an expert on mental health issues, Porter told AFP. All cases are different.I think we should be supportive of people who speak out about these difficult issues. We wish Jonathan well and hope he makes a quick recovery.Trott received further support from a mental health charity, with Mark Winstanley, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, saying: Much of the debate around Jonathan Trott's departure is based on the assumption that there is a clear dividing line between people with mental health problems and everyone else, when the reality is much more complex.Whether or not Trott has a diagnosable mental health problem is beside the point, his mental health was clearly suffering at the time and if he hadn't taken action, he may well have gone on to develop more serious problems.Warwickshire batsman Trott told Sky he wanted to regain his England place.

Mata calls for revival of united spirit against Olympiakos

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LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has urged the club to summon their traditional spirit in a bid to see off Olympiakos in the last 16 of the Champions League at Old Trafford on Wednesday.United's season hangs on the result, with the side having lost 2-0 in the first leg in Greece and suffered a morale-sapping 3-0 defeat by bitter rivals Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.That left the English champions in seventh place and unlikely to qualify for next term's Champions League unless they win the tournament this season.Mata, who is ineligible to face Olympiakos having played in the Champions League for Chelsea prior to his 44.7m euros transfer between the Premier League rivals, insisted United could bounce back.I have to say that our week at the training ground had been good and we were very hopeful ahead of this derby, he wrote in his weekly online blog.However, the day of the match everything went bad. It was a tough defeat and I want to tell you that we will give everything we have in order to forget about this in the remaining games.And there is a very important one around the corner.We know the history of this club and its achievements, based on a winning spirit.That is what we need to beat Olympiakos and get through in the Champions League.As you know I cannot play in the Champions League any more this season but I'll be backing the team in Old Trafford as any other fan.If we score in the first few minutes I think we can make it with your (the supporters) help.Mata had nothing but praise for United's home support and the way they reacted to defeat against the Reds.Mata, 25, thanked United fans for their backing against Liverpool. There are no words to describe your support in the stadium, he said. In games like yesterday it makes me mad not being able to give you what you deserve.I know there is nothing I can say right now but at least I want you to know how I feel.However, he added: The storm will pass and the sun will rise again. I have no doubt.Besides, no one said this would be easy but this is football. It gives you fantastic moments but also very hard times you have to cope with, when you have to show pride and professionalism until the end.

Paris lifts partial car ban lifted after pollution levels drops

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PARIS (AFP) - Paris on Monday banned all cars with even number plates for the first time in nearly 20 years to fight sky-high pollution but opted not to extend the measure after an improvement in air quality.About 700 police officers were deployed to man 60 checkpoints around the French capital to ensure only cars with plates where numbers end with an odd digit were out on the streets, infuriating motorist organisations.Public transport has been free since Friday to persuade Parisians to leave their cars at home, and at rush hour on Monday morning, authorities noted there were half the usual number of traffic jams as drivers grudgingly conformed to the ruling.Some, though, appeared unaware of the restrictions that came into force across Paris and 22 surrounding areas from 5:30 am (0430 GMT) -- or chose to ignore them.Its great, its a fantastic decision and you are doing marvellous work, a young motorist sarcastically told the police who fined him for violating the ban.Ecology Minister Philippe Martin said Mondays ban has led to results showing a clear trend of improvement which meant it would not be necessary to continue the measure into Tuesday.He thanked the public for their cooperation, saying 90 percent of the cars on the citys roads today had odd numberplates.The government decided to implement the ban on Saturday after pollution particulates in the air exceeded safe levels for five straight days in Paris and neighbouring areas, enveloping the Eiffel Tower in a murky haze.On Monday, Airparif, an official monitor for air quality in Paris and neighbouring areas, said pollution levels had since fallen.Those who chose to defy the ban risked a fine of 22 euros ($30) if paid immediately, or 35 euros if paid within three days.By midday Monday, Paris police said they had doled out nearly 4,000 fines to drivers not respecting the restriction.Electric and hybrid cars, as well as any vehicle carrying three people or more, were exempted from the ban -- the first of its kind since 1997.Ban is hasty, ineffective -The issue has become something of a political football, with less than a week to go before key municipal elections.The opposition UMP candidate for Paris mayor, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, called the measure a fig leaf.Others complained that the free public transport came at a cost.Socialist party member Jean-Paul Huchon, who is also head of the STIF organisation that oversees transport in Paris and neighbouring areas, said STIF stood to lose 4 million euros a day.Frances Automobile Club Association (ACA), which counts some 760,000 members, denounced the move as hasty, ineffective.This measure had no effect in any country where it was introduced, said ACA head Didier Bollecker.Drivers are being targeted even though heating is more polluting, but no one is asking for heating to be used on alternate days.Similar measures were used in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, and the result was so successful that the city continues to apply them once a week.In Paris, authorities measure the concentration of particulates with a diameter of less than 10 microns -- so-called PM10 -- in the air to determine pollution levels.PM10 are created by vehicles, heating and heavy industry, and include the most dangerous particles that measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and the blood system and are cancer-causing.The safe limit for PM10 is set at 80 microgrammes per cubic metre (mcg/m3). At its peak last week, Paris hit a high of 180 mcg/m3 but this had fallen to 75 mcg/m3 by Monday.According to a 2011 World Health Organisation report, the planets most polluted city was Ahvaz in Iran with an average of 372 microgrammes per cubic metre.Beijing had an average of 121 mcg/m3, while Paris was measured at 38 mcg/m3.

Antarctica moss returns to life after 1500 years frozen

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Moss that was frozen for 1,500 years beneath an ice sheet in Antarctica has been brought back to life, marking the longest life span for any known plant, researchers said Monday.The study in Current Biology describes the first time moss has been shown to survive for such an extended period of time.Previously, moss was known to be revivable after 20 years. And bacteria is the only other life form that is known to survive after thousands, even millions of years.This experiment shows that multi-cellular organisms, plants in this case, can survive over far longer timescales than previously thought. These mosses, a key part of the ecosystem, could survive century to millennial periods of ice advance, such as the Little Ice Age in Europe, said co-author Peter Convey from the British Antarctic Survey.Researchers took samples from deep in a frozen moss bank in the Antarctic.They sliced the moss cores and placed them in an incubator, under temperatures and light levels that would stimulate growth under typical conditions.The moss began to grow after a few weeks.Carbon-dating techniques showed that the original plants were at least 1,530 years old.Although it would be a big jump from the current finding, this does raise the possibility of complex life forms surviving even longer periods once encased in permafrost or ice, said Convey.
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