Friday 20 March 2015

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Dunya TV

Early breakthrough for Windies as McCullum out

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WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was dismissed for just 12 as the West Indies made a major breakthrough early in their World Cup quarter-final in Wellington on Saturday.McCullum fell when he tried to smash Jerome Taylor over mid-off and West Indies captain Jason Holder took a magnificent running catch.McCullum has been New Zealands inspiration during this World Cup campaign, taking the Black Caps on an unbeaten six-game winning streak with his aggressive captaincy in the group stages.He has also led from the front with the bat, scoring three half centuries, including the fastest in World Cup history (18 balls) on his way to a 25-ball 77 against England at the same Westpac Stadium last month.But his power hitting always carries a high degree of risk and he was dismissed after hitting Holder for a four and a six off consecutive balls in the previous over.Taylor had earlier seen Marlon Samuels drop Martin Guptill at square leg off the third ball of the innings.

Obama presses Republicans on attorney general pick

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama urged his Republican foes in Congress to confirm his choice for the countrys next top law enforcement officer, accusing them of holding her hostage in their efforts to push other legislation.In February, the US Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Loretta Lynchs attorney general nomination, inching her closer to becoming the first African-American woman ever to hold the post.Her nomination, currently pending before the full Senate, comes at a time of deep Republican animosity towards Obamas immigration reform plan, which he introduced by executive order in November.You dont hold attorney general nominees hostage for other issues, Obama told The Huffington Post online news outlet.This is our top law enforcement office. Nobody denies that shes well-qualified. We need to go ahead and get her done.Lynch, 55, would succeed Attorney General Eric Holder, a polarizing figure for Republicans who accuse him of being a rubber stamp for Obama policies.Just this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Lynchs nomination would not go up for a vote before the Senate until the chamber passes human trafficking legislation.Obamas fellow Democrats are opposing anti-abortion language in the measure.The president shunned suggestions that race played a role in delaying Lynchs confirmation, blaming instead Senate dysfunction and stubbornness on the part of Republicans to move nominees, period.What I do know is that she is eminently qualified. Nobody denies it, Obama said in the interview.Even the Republicans acknowledge shes been a great prosecutor.Her integrity is unimpeachable. By all accounts, shes a great manager, and the fact that she has now been lingering in this limbo for longer than the five previous attorney general nominees combined makes no sense. We need to go ahead and get this done.Lynch earned high praise for cracking down on corruption and convicting terror suspects from her position as chief US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.Obama said Holder has agreed to keep his post until his replacement is confirmed.The irony is, of course, that the Republicans really dislike Mr Holder, the president said.If they really want to get rid of him, the best way to do it is to go ahead and get Loretta Lynch confirmed.

Tennis: Federer steams into Indian Wells semi-finals

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - World number two Roger Fededer ousted pesky ninth-seed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-0 to book his spot in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters on Friday.Federer, who has a 15-1 record this season on the ATP Tour, remains on course for an unprecedented fifth Indian Wells title after winning previously here in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2012.He moves through to face Canadas Milos Raonic, who upset third seed Rafael Nadal in the other mens quarter-final Friday.I found it quickly today. I felt like I was hitting the ball and playing the right way and when those two things happen it is always going to be tough for him, said Federer who has now lost just 22 games in four matches.Fededer is now 13-6 lifetime against Berdych, although the Czech has given Federer all kinds of trouble on some of the games biggest stages -- in the 2004 Athens Olympics, 2010 Wimbledon and 2012 US Open. Berdych had also won two of their last three heading into Fridays contest.I was trying to play a good match and not thinking so much about what has happened in the past, Federer said. I really played well off the baseline.What he would have needed today is a really high first-serve percentage and a lot of aces. Because I was serving well and moving well there was not going to be many chances for him.Federer said it was nice to get a quick match out of the say so he has more time to get ready for Saturdays semi-final.To get a match like this against a top guy gives you confidence, he said. I have had some pretty tough matches against him in the past.Federer stormed through the second set against Berdych in just 28 minutes, clinching the win when the Czech sent a backhand return long on the first match point.In the second set I made a few changes and it started to work better, Federer said.Federer had just one ace but he only lost three points (23/26) on his first serve in the 68-minute match.Berdych made five double faults and won just 38 percent of his second-serve points.He was doing pretty much everything perfect, Berdych said of Federer.When you feel that hes in control right from the beginning, then of course you have to come up with your best game from the beginning of the match. Thats basically it.You just want to play your best. There is a very thin line in between that and overdoing it. Its not so easy, really, to control it every single time that you go play with a player like this.

Health, education fears for Vanuatu's child cyclone survivors

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PORT VILA (AFP) - Josianna Napuat barely flinched when registered nurse Elizabeth William injected her with a measles vaccine outside her home in Vanuatus capital Port Vila.The seven-year-olds face then lit up when William gave her a pink bar of soap with which to wash her hands.I think its important, said Josiannas mother Mollie, 35, of the visit by the United Nation childrens agency UNICEF a week after a cyclone blasted through her neighbourhood and tore off part of the roof of her home.Weve just had a storm and if theres an outbreak (of disease), itll affect the kids.Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam, a maximum category five storm, destroyed homes and crops and contaminated water supplies in the Pacific archipelago when it hit on March 13, increasing the risk of the spread of infectious and water-borne diseases.Since then, teams have been working to vaccinate hundreds of children aged between six months and five years in the capital, where thousands lost everything in the storm.In almost all post-disaster situations, there will be a move to quickly vaccinate against measles, Colin Macleod, an infectious disease specialist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told AFP in Port Vila.Thats especially in developing countries where its not expected that vaccination rates will be as high as in the West.And theres other things like cholera which can spread very quickly, especially for people in close proximity.Crowded conditionsMany are living in crowded conditions, with the loss of shelter for a large part of the population forcing families to share rooms with relatives or remain at evacuation centres, the latter of which are home to some 4,000 people in Port Vila alone.Paul Alexander Hetyey, the principal of Central School in Port Vila, said the loss of crops -- predominantly vegetables, roots and fruits like tapioca, manioc, taro and banana -- also meant children were going hungry or suffering a poor diet.In some villages, locals told AFP this week they were eating only rice after finishing the last remaining crops.Their diet will change, Hetyey told AFP. (The local crops) are rich in vitamins and minerals but it will be a couple of months before they start growing again.So Im also worried about the kids not getting enough vitamins. When they are not getting enough vitamins... of course their immune systems break down and they are more likely to catch things.An estimated 82,000 children were affected by the cyclone, according to UNICEF, with some expected to show signs of emotional trauma.Barbara Kolucki, an expert on childrens mental health at the agency, said Vanuatu-specific data was still being gathered.But she said the range of issues seen in post-disaster situations included a fear of water, children fearful of sleeping or of leaving their parents to go to school, and behavioural problems.Struggling to sleepSylvie Mael, 19, a biology and mathematics student from the University of the South Pacific in Port Vila said she had struggled to sleep at night since the cyclone, with concerns about her family and relatives playing on her mind.I sit up and read, Mael told AFP as she watched her friends play volleyball in a field, adding that she preferred fiction books to get my mind off the stress.Schools have been closed for two weeks to help the nation get back on its feet, with 500 of them estimated to be damaged by the cyclone, according to the UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).Hetyey believes their reopening will help children restore a sense of normality.As a principal, I have to get the kids back into a normal situation as soon as possible with routines and play, and a chance to express their experiences and work their trauma off, he said.Charlyn Silas said she missed going to classes and feared the money needed to repair her sisters home in Port Vila, where she lived, might leave little for her education.Im worried, Silas, 14, told AFP. Im worried I wont have enough money to buy lunch at school. Im worried about school fees.

Half of Vanuatu's population affected by Cyclone Pam: UN

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PORT VILA (AFP) - More than half of the South Pacific island nation Vanuatus population has been affected by Cyclone Pam, the UN said Saturday as the death toll rose to 16.Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam barrelled into the archipelago a week ago, bringing sustained winds of some 250 kilometres (155 miles) per hour which devastated entire communities.Around 166,000 people, more than half of Vanuatus population, have been affected by Tropical Cyclone Pam on 22 islands, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a situation report.Food stocks and water reserves are being exhausted and will not last more than a couple of weeks across the affected islands.The agency said the confirmed death toll had risen to 16, as aid workers were able to reach new areas, with completed assessments covering 15 islands.Aid agencies have stressed that potable water, food, shelter and health were a priority in the aftermath of the storm which hit late on March 13.The latest assessment found damage to food crops was extensive.Coconut and banana plantations have been particularly devastated, which will have significant longer-term impact, OCHA said, noting that most people living on the outer islands grow their own food.In some areas local residents would not only lose their main source of income due to damage to crops such as copra, but their food security would be threatened by the loss of livestock, such as pigs and poultry, it said.In its situation report, OCHA said that access to some communities was still hindered across the sprawling nation which is made up of more than 80 islands.But it said between 50 and 90 percent of local dwellings were estimated to have been damaged by the fierce winds which pounded Vanuatu as the eye of the storm hovered over the nation for hours.Around 65,000 people are in need of temporary emergency shelter, it added.Aid agencies have mobilised to help the country, and are on the ground distributing food, water and health services but access to drinkable water is a concern after ground water sources were contaminated by the storm.Schools have been postponed for two weeks, and are due to restart on March 30, with OCHA estimating that 500 schools were damaged, something which will affect up to 70,000 children.The agency said fuel stocks were running low across the affected islands while electricity was mostly unavailable and generators are essential.

Kurdish rebel leader set to announce Turkey peace plan

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ANKARA (AFP) - The jailed leader of Turkeys Kurdish rebels is set Saturday to announce a new roadmap for peace as expectations grow of a breakthrough in efforts to end a three-decades insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.The statement by Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence on a prison island in the Sea of Marmara, is expected to be read out in the eastern city of Diyarbakir by deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP).The eagerly-anticipated statement coincides with huge celebrations expected in Diyarbakir and other Kurdish-majority cities in Turkey for the traditional Persian Nowruz (Newroz in Kurdish) New Year on Saturday.Ocalan, who has been held by Turkey since his sensational arrest by Turkish agents in Kenya in 1999, is known to his followers as Apo (Uncle) and remains the main leader of Turkish Kurds despite his incarceration.His Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has waged an insurgency since 1984 for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast of Turkey, in a struggle that has claimed an estimated 40,000 lives.The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has worked over the last years to find a solution, granting modest reforms to the Kurdish minority believed to make up 20 percent of the population.Road map for the regionHDP deputies visited Ocalan on his prison island of Imrali on Thursday, and after four hours of meetings returned with the statement that will be delivered on Saturday.The statement has been kept tightly under wraps. It will be read out and not be an unprecedented video message as some had anticipated.It will be a road map for the nation and the region, with theoretical and practical details on the peace process, said one of the HDP deputies, Sirri Sureyya Onder.Ocalan had on March 1 already made a statement described as historic in some quarters, urging the PKK to hold a congress on disarmament in the coming months.However the process is far from entirely smooth. The armed PKK militants, based in the Kandil Mountains of neighbouring Iraq, are insisting there should be a peace deal before any disarmament.Meanwhile, Turkish legislative elections are looming on June 7, with the risk of unrest in the combustible country, and Kurdish votes set to play a key role in the outcome.Kurdish politicians expressed fury over a contentious security bill submitted to parliament by the government in the wake of pro-Kurdish protests in October last year that left dozens dead.However, in an apparent bid not to disturb the fragile peace process, the government has withdrawn the bill from parliament and sent it back to the committee stage.Erdogan annoyed Kurds when he flatly declared last week there was no Kurdish problem in Turkey, while police and Kurds have already clashed in Newroz celebrations in Batman and Sirnak.Often described as the worlds largest stateless people after being denied their own nation in the wake of World War I, Kurds are spread between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.The current search for peace, known in Turkey as the Solution Process, dates back to 2012 when the government revealed the Turkish intelligence service had secretly met with Ocalan.

US condemns 'unconscionable' Yemen suicide bombings

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House condemned as unconscionable twin suicide bombings on Yemeni mosques that killed at least 142 worshippers Friday.Describing the attacks in Sanaa as unprovoked, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said we deplore the brutality of the terrorists who perpetrated todays unprovoked attack on Yemeni citizens, who were peacefully engaged in Friday prayers.In an online statement, the previously unknown Sanaa branch of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings and said they were just the tip of the iceberg.The White House had earlier said there was no clear operational link between Yemeni extremists and the IS group in Syria and Iraq.We cannot at this point confirm the veracity of the claim, it said, referring to IS.We have seen these kinds of claims in the past from other extremist groups, Earnest said, adding that claims of allegiance to the Islamic State are often made for propaganda purposes.Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement saying it had nothing to do with the bombings.This unconscionable attack on Muslim worshipers during Friday prayers only further highlights the depth of the terrorists depravity and the threat they pose to the people of Yemen, the region and the world, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said.She urged all Yemenis to be unified in their fight against terror.On Thursday, air raids targeted the presidential palace in Yemens southern city of Aden and intense fighting broke out at the airport.We urge all Yemeni parties to halt unilateral and offensive military actions, Meehan said in condemning those assaults on Yemens legitimate government and calling for renewed political dialogue.

The offending materials included text messages with racist slogans

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MIAMI (AFP) - Three Florida police officers have been fired and a fourth resigned following an exchange of racist texts and an offensive video, officials said Friday.The episode comes at a critical moment in the United States as officers across the nation have come under fire for use of excessive force and allegedly targeting African Americans.All four officers conduct involved racist text messages exchanged among themselves and former police officers Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley said.The offending materials included text messages with racist slogans and a pretend movie trailer made by one of the agents.The clip featured a person wearing the white-robed outfit of a white supremacist Ku Klux Klan member and a photomontage of US President Barack Obama shown with gold-capped teeth.An investigation was first initiated in October, at which point the four officers were dismissed from their normal duties.Since then, one resigned and the other three were fired, Adderley said, announcing the results of the investigation.Their conduct was inexcusable and there is zero tolerance for this kind of behavior in the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Adderley said.Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said he was very disappointed, disgusted and shocked.The police force in the southeastern Florida city has around 500 agents.

Football: Pellegrini vows City will keep fighting for title

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LONDON (AFP) - Manuel Pellegrini has promised Manchester City will keep fighting for the Premier League title as the champions try to salvage a season on the brink of implosion.Pellegrini has been forced to answer pointed questions about his job security over the last few days after Citys latest underwhelming Champions League campaign came to an abrupt halt in the last 16.While losing 1-0 in Barcelona is no disgrace, it took a brilliant display from City goalkeeper Joe Hart to prevent a much heavier defeat as Pellegrinis side delivered the latest in a growing list of lacklustre displays.City return to Premier League duty against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, with no time to lick their wounds as they try to overhaul leaders Chelsea, who are six points clear with a game in hand.Even their place in the top four is no longer certain as consecutive away defeats to Liverpool and Burnley have seen second placed Citys lead over third placed Arsenal eroded to a single point, with Manchester United a point further back in fourth place.But Pellegrini was determined to accentuate the positive ahead of Albions visit to Manchester as he insisted City havent had a bad season.To try to win the Champions League is a target in the future. Every team that wants to be a big team must win the Champions League, but it is not easy to win it, he said.Second position in the Premier League I dont think is a disaster. We are not in eighth, ninth or 10th. Only Chelsea have done better than our team.We will try at least to keep second position and pressure Chelsea in the next nine games.This year all of us want to win the title every year. I dont think it is possible to do it (every year) but I think it is possible to fight to the end.Fine formIf City win against West Brom, they will hope for another slip from Chelsea, who visit struggling Hull City on Sunday in need of a spark following a 1-1 draw against Southampton last weekend, which came hot on the heels of their Champions League exit against Paris Saint Germain.Arsenal travel to Newcastle United, where they will be bidding to record a sixth consecutive league victory.Arsene Wengers side tumbled out of the Champions League in the last 16 despite winning 2-0 at Monaco on Tuesday, but they have been in fine form, with the 3-1 first-leg loss to Leonardo Jardims side the only time they have failed to win in their last nine matches.No team, however, can match Liverpools current form, with Brendan Rodgers side approaching Sundays showdown against old foes Manchester United on the back of a 13-game unbeaten run in the league.United were the last team to beat Liverpool, winning 3-0 at Old Trafford in mid-December, but Rodgers men have rediscovered their swagger in the three months since then, and will leapfrog their rivals if they win at Anfield.Psychologically, its massive for us, because if we win, we go above United and we get a foot in the top four, Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana told talkSPORT radio.But its not all decisive on this game. There are still another eight games after.There are constantly going to be twists and turns, Im sure. Tottenham and Southampton are still in and around the fight as well, so they are going to want to be picking up points to make it almost three teams out of six getting into the top four.After weeks of patchy performances, United blew off the cobwebs by beating Tottenham 3-0 last Sunday and winger Ashley Young has encouraged his team-mates to put Liverpool on the back foot.We will go there looking for the three points, he said.We are going there to win. You dont go to a place to try and draw. The performance against Tottenham was brilliant, but we have a tough game coming up at Liverpool.FixturesSaturday (1500 GMT unless otherwise stated):Aston Villa v Swansea City, Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion (1245 GMT), Newcastle United v Arsenal, Southampton v Burnley, Stoke City v Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City, West Ham United v Sunderland (1730 GMT)Sunday (1600 GMT unless otherwise stated):Hull City v Chelsea, Liverpool v Manchester United (1330 GMT), Queens Park Rangers v Everton

Tennis: Raonic stuns Nadal to reach Indian Wells semis

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Sixth seeded Canadian Milos Raonic blasted 19 aces and hammered a series of thunderous forehands to upset world No. 3 Rafa Nadal and reach the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters.Raonic saved three match points en route to earning his hard-fought win with a 4-6, 7-6 (12/10), 7-5 marathon win that lasted three hours on the Tennis Gardens centre court.Raonic will face second seed Roger Federer for a place in the final after the Swiss cruised past Czech Tomas Berdych in straight sets.The 24-year-olds shocking win over three-time Indian Wells champ Nadal spoils what could have been a semi-final lineup that featured each of the top four seeds as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and fourth seed Andy Murray had already punched their tickets.This was the first time Raonic has beaten Nadal in six career meetings. Their first contest was five years ago in Tokyo where Nadal rolled to a 6-4, 6-4 win.Fridays matchup was a classic contrast in style with the hard-serving Raonic going up against the swashbuckling left-handed Spaniard who runs down every ball and can turn defence into offence.But Nadals defence wasnt good enough Friday as Raonic blasted 48 winners and broke Nadal once in the crucial 11th game of the third set, setting the table for himself to serve for the match.Nadal smacked seven aces and won 82 percent of his first serve points, but he only hit 25 winners and made 22 unforced errors.He broke Raonic in the second game of the first set. It was the first time in the tournament that Raonic had his serve broken.Nadal went on to the clinch the first set when Raonic hit a wild forehand that sailed into no-mans land.Raonic levelled the match at 1-1 by winning the one hour, 20 minute second set in an epic tiebreak in which he saved three match points.Nadal took a 6-5 lead in the tiebreak but Raonic was able to stay alive when Nadal hit a shot long. Raonic saved another match point when he hammered an overhead smash winner that just caught the sideline.Raonic clinched the set when Nadal netted another shot.

Tennis: Raonic downs Nadal to reach Indian Wells semi-finals

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Sixth seeded Canadian Milos Raonic blasted 19 aces and hammered a series of thunderous forehands to upset world No. 3 Rafa Nadal and reach the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters.Raonic saved three match points en route to earning his hard-fought win with a 4-6, 7-6 (12/10), 7-5 marathon win that lasted three hours on the Tennis Gardens centre court.Raonic will face second seed Roger Federer for a place in the final after the Swiss cruised past Czech Tomas Berdych in straight sets.The 24-year-olds shocking win over three-time Indian Wells champ Nadal spoils what could have been a semi-final lineup that featured each of the top four seeds as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and fourth seed Andy Murray had already punched their tickets.This was the first time Raonic has beaten Nadal in six career meetings. Their first contest was five years ago in Tokyo where Nadal rolled to a 6-4, 6-4 win.Fridays matchup was a classic contrast in style with the hard-serving Raonic going up against the swashbuckling left-handed Spaniard who runs down every ball and can turn defence into offence.But Nadals defence wasnt good enough Friday as Raonic blasted 48 winners and broke Nadal once in the crucial 11th game of the third set, setting the table for himself to serve for the match.Nadal smacked seven aces and won 82 percent of his first serve points, but he only hit 25 winners and made 22 unforced errors.He broke Raonic in the second game of the first set. It was the first time in the tournament that Raonic had his serve broken. Nadal went on to the clinch the first set when Raonic hit a wild forehand that sailed into no-mans land.Raonic levelled the match at 1-1 by winning the one hour, 20 minute second set in an epic tiebreak in which he saved three match points. Nadal took a 6-5 lead in the tiebreak but Raonic was able to stay alive when Nadal hit a shot long. Raonic saved another match point when he hammered an overhead smash winner that just caught the sideline.Raonic clinched the set when Nadal netted another shot.

New Zealand win toss, bat first

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WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first against the West Indies in their World Cup quarter-final at Westpac Stadium on Saturday as Chris Gayle was named in the starting line-up for the Caribbean side.The winner will play South Africa in the first semi-final at Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday. Australia and defending champions India meet in the second semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground next Thursday.We know the challenge the West Indies present but the boys are in a good space, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said, saying conditions were ripe for batting first.Runs on the board will be valuable in these situations and the wicket looks pretty good.The heavily favoured New Zealand have declared they will continue with the all-out attack philosophy that carried them through the pool stages unbeaten.They have made one change for the sudden-death match with Adam Milne returning from injury to replace Mitchell McClenaghan.West Indies, who only scraped into the final eight on a superior run-rate over Ireland, have made two changes.Chris Gayle, who had been under an injury cloud, has been cleared to return with left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn in for Kemar Roach. Johnson Charles kept his place after hitting a half century against the UAE last weekend while opener Dwayne Smith was dropped.Lendl Simmons has been moved up the order to number three as a potential anchor if big hitting Gayle, who made a record World Cup score of 215 against Zimbabwe, can produce his fireworks.Teams:New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Daniel Vettori, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Jonathan Carter, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn.Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG), Bruce Oxenford (AUS).TV Umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS).Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG).

Liberia reports first Ebola infection in a month: government

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MONROVIA (AFP) - Liberia said on Friday a patient in the capital has tested positive for Ebola, more than a month after the last new case of the disease was registered.The country that was hit hardest at the peak of the deadly epidemic has seen more than 4,000 deaths, but was at an advanced stage in its recovery and was expecting to be declared Ebola-free by mid-April.A woman has been confirmed as an Ebola patient... This is a new case after we have gone more than 27 days without a single case. It is a setback, government spokesman Lewis Brown told AFP.The World Health Organization announced earlier this month no new case of the deadly virus had been registered in Liberia since February 19.It was not immediately clear where the new patient became infected, as all contacts associated with the last known chain of transmission have completed the 21-day observation period, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).Surveillance and early warning systems detected 125 suspected cases in the week to March 15 but none tested positive for Ebola.

Spring brings New York snow storm

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NEW YORK (AFP) - New York welcomed the first day of spring Friday with a snow storm that could dump up to six inches (15 centimeters) in parts of the northeastern United States.More than 820 flights were cancelled to and from the three airports servicing Americas largest city, according to the FlightAware website as snow fell unrelentingly over Manhattan.More than 1,150 flights were cancelled within, to or from the United States on Friday, including to and from airports in Washington DC, Boston and Philadelphia, the website said.The National Weather Service put a winter weather advisory into effect from Northern Virginia to southern New England, forecasting three to six inches (7.6 to 15 cm) of snow in some areas.The calendar now says late March along with the official arrival of spring, but Old Man Winter is determined to show whos boss for a little longer, said its website.But in a nod to the shifting season, temperatures will stay moderate hovering around 0 Celsius, or low to mid 30s in Fahrenheit.New York City issued a snow alert and said the winter weather advisory would remain in effect until Saturday 2am (0600 GMT).Rain was likely to mix with snow on Friday evening before transitioning back to snow overnight, city hall said.Chris Christie, the Republican governor of the neighboring state of New Jersey said speed restrictions were in place and that 1,250 trucks were plowing and spreading salt to keep up with the storm.The snow is intensifying and as temperatures drop, road conditions are expected to worsen. So if you can stay off the roads tonight, pls do, he tweeted to his half a million followers.The rare spring-time snow follows one of the coldest Februaries on record in the northeast.Boston, just over 200 miles (320 kilometers) northeast of New York, broke its record for the most snow in one winter with 108.6 inches (275.8 cm) at the citys Logan airport.

Golf: McIlroy makes headway as Hoffmann stretches Bay Hill lead

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ORLANDO (AFP) - World number one Rory McIlroy was in contention and gaining confidence Friday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, primed for a weekend run at second-round leader Morgan Hoffmann.Overnight leader Hoffmann remained red-hot, nabbing nine birdies in a seven-under par 65 at Bay Hill for a 36-hole total of 13-under 131.He had a three-shot lead over Swedens world number three Henrik Stenson, defending champion Matt Every and Harris English -- who all carded six-under 66 for 134.Ben Martin was alone in fifth after a 67 for 135, while McIlroy headed a group of four players on eight-under 136.McIlroy had seven birdies in his six-under 66, including five on the trot on the inward run of a round that he opened with a birdie at the 10th.He added another birdie at the par-five 16th, but although he played his first nine holes without a bogey, he had to do some scrambling -- finding three fairway bunkers.McIlroy caught fire with an 18-foot birdie at the par-three second hole. He proceeded to birdie the next four, making putts of six, seven, two and 12 feet.He gave back a shot at the eighth, where he was plugged in a bunker, but was plenty pleased with his first round under 70 on the US tour this season.I probably wasnt quite as consistent tee to green as I was (on Thursday), but the putter is a great equalizer, said McIlroy, who opened 2015 on the European tour with a runner-up finish and a win, but missed the cut in his first US start at the Honda Classic and also struggled at the WGC Cadillac Championship.Felt like I was pretty tidy, and the short game was good, added McIlroy, who needed just 25 putts. Could have hit a few better shots, but there was a lot of good in there.McIlroy more comfortableMcIlroy is under the microscope with the Masters looming.He could complete a career grand slam with a victory in the first major of the year, and also win his third major in a row after his victories in the British Open and PGA Championship last year.I think each and every day Im feeling a little more comfortable, especially on the greens, McIlroy said.Of his birdie burst, he added: It feels pretty easy at the time. You are just trying to keep it going. You can sort of feel the momentum building. It would have been nice to finish the round off a little better, but that was still a good score and it sets me up well for the weekend.He still has a lot of catching up to do, with Hoffmann rolling in pursuit of his first US PGA Tour title.Im behind my schedule, I would have liked to have won a few times by now, said Hoffmann, who is in his third year on the tour.Hoffmanns six birdies on the front nine included four in a row, and the self-described adrenaline junkie said his aim would be to keep up the torrid pace.Im trying to birdie every hole out there, he said.Just hitting great putts and good shots into the greens really helps. Its nice ot hit some greens for a change. This year hasnt been that great, and its a good change.
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