Schwerer Rückschlag für die Tennisdamen: Ohne ihre Weltranglistenerste Angelique Kerber muss die deutsche Auswahl im Fed-Cup gegen Amerika antreten. Termindruck und Reisestress machen für die Kielerin eine Teilnahme unmöglich.
© Source: http://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Sport/Uebersicht/Angelique-Kerber-sagt-Fed-Cup-ab
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
Serie A’s top goalscorer will not be moving to the Chinese Super League anytime soon.
Mauro Icardi scored again to help Inter Milan come from behind to beat Chievo Verona 3-1 on Saturday, and his goalscoring rate is sure to be garnering attention among the new pacesetters in the global transfer market.
However, Icardi, who turns 24 on Thursday, insists he is not about to follow the likes of Carlos Tevez, Axel Witsel, Oscar, and John Obi Mikel to China.
« I renewed my contract at the beginning of the year and I’m happy to stay with this shirt, » Icardi said. « There’s always time to go to China at the end of my career. »
Icardi scored the equalizer in the 69th minute, volleying in Antonio Candreva’s stunning cross from the right.
Icardi’s 15th goal in 20 league matches moved him two clear of Roma forward Edin Dzeko and Torino’s Andrea Belotti in the goalscoring charts.
Icardi also had a hand in the winner, four minutes from time. He won the ball back in midfield and set up Ivan Perisic, who raced towards goal before firing past Stefano Sorrentino after the Chievo defenders backed away from him.
Eder topped the scoring in stoppage time.
Inter extended its winning run in the league to five matches and moved up to fifth, level on points with AC Milan, which has played two matches less than Stefano Pioli’s side and visits Torino on Monday. Chievo remained 11th.
« We had a great game, » Icardi said. « We’ve shown we have character for several games now. »
Inter dominated the match and only Sorrentino’s heroics in goal prevented it from taking the lead.
The 37-year-old goalkeeper made some fine stops, including twice preventing new signing Roberto Gagliardini from scoring on his debut.
At the other end, a fellow veteran gave Chievo a surprise lead, completely against the run of play, with the 37-year-old Sergio Pellissier volleying in a corner.
Pellissier almost doubled his tally in the opening minute of the second half but Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic got down smartly to beat away his effort.
Sorrentino made another fantastic stop to keep out Perisic’s header from point-blank range, and he also twice denied Eder before he was finally beaten.
Overall, Inter had 31 attempts on goal, 14 of which were on target.
Inter is nine points behind league leader Juventus, which visits Fiorentina on Sunday.
—
CROTONE 0 BOLOGNA 1
Crotone looks ever more likely to go straight back down to Serie B after a 14th defeat of the season left it bottom, eight points from safety.
Bologna moved up to 14th, 13 points off the relegation zone after Blerim Dzemaili’s 51st-minute strike.
© Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article126632784.html
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
(Ross D Franklin, AP)
Multimedia · User Galleries · News in Pictures Send us your pictures · Send us your stories
Washington – President-elect Donald Trump has hinted that he may lift sanctions on Russia and won’t stand by the « One China » policy unless Beijing improves its currency and trade practices.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that he would keep intact « at least for a period of time » sanctions President Barack Obama’s administration imposed on Russia last month over Moscow’s alleged cyber attacks to influence the US election.
But, if Russia helps the US on key goals such as fighting violent extremists, Trump suggested he may scrap the punitive measures altogether.
He also said he was prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin after taking office on January 20.
Trump, who sees an opportunity to co-operate with Moscow in fighting jihadist groups like the Islamic State, has expressed admiration for Putin and only reluctantly accepted US intelligence’s conclusion that Russian hackers acting on Putin’s authority interfered in the US elections.
Very rude
Turning to the longstanding US practice of not recognising Taiwan diplomatically, Trump said: « Everything is under negotiation, including One China. »
Trump has already irked China by accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen after he won the election, upending decades of diplomatic precedent in which the White House has foregone direct communication with the island’s leader.
He defended that move in his interview with the Journal, saying: « We sold them $2bn of military equipment last year. We can sell them $2bn of the latest and greatest military equipment but we’re not allowed to accept a phone call. First of all, it would have been very rude not to accept the phone call. »
Beijing considers the island to be a breakaway province to be brought back within its fold, by force if necessary.
Trump has threatened to get tough with what he sees as unfair Chinese trade practices and suggested that the « One China » policy could become a bargaining chip in other disputes.
24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.
© Source: http://www.news24.com/World/News/trump-says-he-may-scrap-russia-sanctions-20170114
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
The comments, posted on the foreign ministry’s website, were a direct response to remarks by U. S. President-elect Donald Trump in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in which he said the « One China » policy was negotiable.
Since 1979, the United States has acknowledged Taiwan as part of « one China », but Trump prompted a diplomatic protest from Beijing by accepting a congratulatory phone call on his election win from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on Dec. 2.
© Source: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Biehing-One-China-Non-negotiable/2017/01/14/id/768570
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
China’s capital is notorious for its chronic pollution. Even indoors it’s a struggle to find clean air, says John Sudworth.
Having already taped most of my windows shut, I have now started on the air conditioning vents. The aim is simple – to close off every access point through which the toxic outside air leaks into our Beijing home.
Even our double-glazing doesn’t keep out the smog. The most dangerous constituent, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter – or PM2.5 as it’s known – finds a way through the tiniest of gaps where the windows close.
So the only solution there is duct tape.
It’s like a re-enactment of a 1970s government information film on surviving a nuclear holocaust. Only it’s not radiation we’re trying to keep at bay, but the fallout from fossil fuels.
The most useful device in our armoury is our PM2.5 monitor. We have two, one upstairs and one downstairs, which we glance at frequently, and it was their arrival that prompted the frenzy of taping and draught-excluding that continues to this day.
When I first arrived in China, five years ago, there was no way of monitoring the quality of air in our home. Like everyone else, we left it to blind faith that our air purifiers were doing the trick.
It now transpires they weren’t. Even now on highly polluted days, we struggle to get our PM2.5 count much below 25 micrograms per cubic meter, the World Health Organization’s maximum standard for safe air.
And that’s with multiple purifiers running at full tilt, large box-like machines that sit in the corner of every room – two in some – the combined noise output of which is akin to living in the engine room of an aircraft carrier.
China’s air pollution problem is now so bad that its effects are measured in more than a million premature deaths a year and markedly reduced life expectancy – an average of more than five years or so – in the worst-affected regions.
Over the past few weeks, a period of particularly acute and prolonged air pollution, the average air quality in Beijing has been well above 200 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic metre – many times the maximum safe limit.
During the worst of it, it’s been like living under house arrest, our children confined to the small, deafening but breathable indoor space of our home for days on end.
And across China, the smog becomes a dominant topic on social media, with the population tracking the foulness of the air via mobile phone apps.
One group of Beijing mothers, armed with their own PM2.5 counters, have even been roaming the city in search of shopping malls or cafes with filtered air – and then sharing their discoveries online.
Of course, humanity’s dependence on oil and coal long predate China’s economic rise. But China offers a vision of environmental degradation far in excess of the pea-souper fogs of 1950s London or Manchester.
For much of the past month the cloud of toxic air hanging over this country has extended for thousands of miles, a giant, continent-sized cocktail of soot from coal fired power stations and car exhausts, smothering the lives and filling the lungs of hundreds of millions of people.
While growing awareness means that more of them are now taking action to protect their health, many others are either not fully informed about the danger or don’t have the means to do much about it.
A set of new filters for a single air purifier can cost £100 ($120) or more and needs changing every six months or so.
It is, of course, not a problem only of China’s making. The smartphones, computers, TV screens, jeans and shoes that have been pouring out of its factories over the past few decades are cheap, in part at least, precisely because they’re made without environmental safeguards.
The interests of the rich world and an unaccountable Chinese Communist elite have neatly dovetailed. The West gets its cheap consumer desirables and China gets rich without the inconvenience of the independent scrutiny, regulation or democratic oversight of other markets.
The true cost is measured by the numbers on my pollution monitors, and it is one being borne disproportionately by ordinary Chinese people.
Following a crackdown on a rare protest against pollution in the central city of Chengdu recently, one blogger dared to speak out in favour of the protesters. The police, he suggested, should bear in mind that the elites, whose interests they protect, have sent their families to breathe clean air overseas.
He was promptly detained.
Join the conversation – find us on Facebook , Instagram , Snapchat and Twitter .
© Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38587580
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
A mix of stars and clouds overnight with lows in the low 30s to low 40s. It’ll be sunny tomorrow, with high temperatures ranging from the low to upper 50s. Santa RosaSan FranciscoOaklandSan JoseConcordTonight: Patchy FogLows: Low 40sTomorrow: SunnyHighs: Low to Mid 50sTonight: Patchy FogLows: Upper 30s to Low 40sTomorrow: SunnyHighs: Mid to Upper 50sTonight: Mainly ClearLows: Low to Mid 30sTomorrow: SunnyHighs: Upper 50sTonight: Patchy FogLows: Low 30s to Low 40sTomorrow: SunnyHighs: Mid to Upper 50sTonight: Mainly ClearLows: Upper 30s to Low 40sTomorrow: SunnyHighs: Upper 50sTonight: Mainly ClearLows: Mid to Upper 30sTomorrow: SunnyHighs: Upper 50sSunshine from start to finish with highs in the mid to upper 50s.
© Source: http://abc7news.com/weather/weather-forecast-for-sunday-morning/39468/
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
One of nature’s most lovable creatures, giraffes split their time between tottering around – head (neck) and shoulders above the rest of the animal kingdom – and eating. Dubbed “gentle giants” by David Attenborough , these gangly beasts have long exerted a fascination over humankind. Ancient Egyptians were so enamoured with giraffes they gave them their own hieroglyph , and in modern times, our interest in the world’s tallest land animals continues – from the use of giraffe skin to help in the development of astronaut and pilot suits, to their starring roles in children’s films. Unfortunately, Melman (the hypochondriac giraffe from Dreamworks’ film Madagascar ) is right to feel worried. Giraffes are no longer as prolific as they once were – in fact, in 2017 they could face extinction.
On the African continent, to which giraffes are endemic, the rapid growth of the human population has been accompanied by a rise in agricultural development, poaching, deforestation, and civil wars – all of which have caused a loss of both habitats and lives for giraffes. Wild giraffes are already extinct in seven countries in Africa – Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal. As a result, the most recent list of threatened species compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature revealed a potential tragedy – the black-tongued sweethearts of the animal kingdom, have officially been moved from the category of “least concern” to that marked “vulnerable”, only three categories away from being totally “extinct in the wild”. The giraffe is the only mammal whose status changed on the list.
At a biological diversity conference which took place in December in Cancun, Mexico, the IUCN explained that over the last three decades giraffe numbers have dwindled from around 157,000 to just 97,500 – a fall of 36-40%. The situation is bleak, but giraffes are not yet classified as “endangered” and could still make a comeback, with a little support.
Raising awareness of the plight of endangered animals is the most effective means by which we can change the human behaviour that impacts negatively on diminishing species. The problem is not just that giraffes are deliberately being killed by poachers, but also (and arguably on a larger scale) that they are dying as a consequence of other actions – such as deforestation, which removes their food source.
The first step in altering these leggy creatures’ fate is education, and little details can make a big difference. One such detail is that, contrary to previous assumptions, giraffes are not one group comprised of multiple subspecies. Rather, as geneticists recently discovered, there are four distinct species of giraffe that do not interbreed in the wild. This has ramifications for conservation techniques, which will have to be focused on the needs of each species – not just the reticulated (or Somali) giraffe, which is the species most commonly seen in zoos.
If you type into Google “how to save the giraffe”, you will find a mass of petitions and links to giraffe conservation societies. The short answer, as the conservation expert Julian Fennessy put it, is that we must “stick our neck out for the giraffe before it is too late”. On a local level, petitioning politicians will prove it is a popular problem that deserves attention, and that in turn should encourage governments to act.
To this end, in September the IUCN put forward a resolution entitled “Giraffids: reversing the decline of Africa’s iconic megafauna”, which encourages its members to raise awareness and funds, as well as pledging to increase conservation efforts for giraffid species (giraffes and okapis). Their most wide-ranging proposal is that the international community help restore and preserve sites of particular significance to giraffe populations. This would involve upholding states’ commitments to the World Heritage Convention, including ensuring the security of World Heritage Sites such as the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ultimately, the resolution concludes, the most useful tool would be the development of a unified Africa-wide Giraffe Conservation Strategy and Action Plan.
As a call to action, everything the resolution recommends seems intuitive. However, behind the proposal to fortify national parks lies a grim truth – many of them are threatened by the instability that comes with continuous conflict. Some of the world’s most critically endangered species reside within biodiversity hotspots such as Murchison Falls National Park in Africa which holds one of the few surviving populations of the Rothschild giraffe.
Unfortunately, these hotspots, of which there are 34 worldwide, are under threat from conflict. Between 1960 and 2010, over 80% of the world’s major armed conflicts took place within recognised biodiversity hotspots. War has certainly impacted the giraffe population – “In these war-torn areas, in northern Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia in the border area with South Sudan, essentially the giraffes are war fodder, a large animal, extremely curious, that can feed a lot of people”, Fennessy told the BBC.
Political experts the world over are torn over how to respond to crises such as the decline of the giraffe population. Governments and NGOs who have the resources to help to protect and maintain conservation efforts must recognise the need for long term involvement and investment. Hopefully, our on-going love affair with giraffes will help spark a united action to preserve them on this planet so that they may continue to bewitch and baffle future generations in the flesh, rather than ending up as the next long-necked staple of London’s Natural History Museum.
It’s pretty much impossible not to fantasise about that first run-in with your ex. Yes, this time, you won’t be sweaty and make up-free in Sainsbury’s, trying to hide the fact that you’re locked out of your flat. No, you’ll be cool, calm and collected, with your ridiculously gorgeous new date.
Chewing Gum ’s Tracey (both played and created by Michaela Coel) uses children’s toys to facilitate her own fantasy, and imagines it going something like this. “Oh, my god! Connor? Connor! It’s Tracey! Yeah, no, no I know I look different now! Yeah, I’ve becomes successful! Is this wide-legged hyena your new girlfriend? Oh? I wish I could but I’ve actually got to go and see Beyoncé. Yeah, I’m going to fly there.”
Aaaand enter the ex, just as she lifts her plastic dolly in the air zooming her off to her imaginary Beyoncé concert. Improvised make-up, fake boyfriends, and bizarre avoidance tactics follow.
This is a relatively minor catastrophe in the life of disaster-prone Tracey, and perhaps one of the least cringe-worthy punchlines in a terrifyingly relatable episode, the first of Chewing Gum ’s second season. The first season included a whole host of openly horny women, scenes of mass dildo washing and jokes about “throbbing so hard it’s like my vagina’s got epilepsy” and Coel’s brilliantly dirty sitcom shows no signs of toning down in its second series. The farcical climax of the first episode involves a disabled toilet, sexy dancing, fake orgasms and a healthy dose of projectile vomiting.
This first episode takes place almost entirely within the confines of the newsagent where Tracey works, so there was little opportunity to reconnect with the hyperreal housing estate where much of the last season was set. But supporting cast members still shone in this episode – in particular Ola (played by Olisa Odele, Ola is, in Odele’s own words, a “Nigerian diva” and “full time bad bitch”). There’s even a cameo from Stormzy, who was a fan of the first series.
But as the show becomes more and more surreal, it only becomes more relatable. Tracey almost compulsively lies to hide her embarrassment, inevitably making every situation worse. Though you will her to stop, the impulse is undeniably familiar. After all, who hasn’t told a white lie about having a date lined up to their already-taken-again ex?
Chewing Gum airs on Thursday nights at 10pm on E4.
© Source: http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/nature/2017/01/world-s-tallest-creature-heading-fall
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
MPs have launched an exploration into a designed replacement of a Palace of Westminster amid concerns it might not yield value for money.
Andrew Tyrie, authority of a Treasury name committee, pronounced deficient justification had been constructed to clear a “hugely costly replacement project”.
The plan could cost adult to £4bn and take 5 to 8 years to complete.
MPs and peers had warned a house risks a “crisis” but repairs.
Parts of a Palace of Westminster are so badly influenced by asbestos, frail stonework and ageing electrics and wiring, it has been pronounced a Grade I-listed building would be knocked down if it was not protected.
In a prior examination a corner cabinet on a Palace of Westminster endorsed that all MPs and peers should empty both Houses of Parliament for 6 years during a works, and pronounced a skeleton contingency not be behind any further. ‘Thorough inspection needed’
Speaking about a launch of a inquiry, Mr Tyrie said: “Neither a news by Deloitte, nor that by a corner commission, provides adequate of a justification indispensable to come even to a rough preference on these proposals – so a Treasury cabinet will try to collect some of it.
“This is because a cabinet has called for justification on this massive, and hugely expensive, replacement project.
“The proposals positively need consummate scrutiny.”
Last month Mr Tyrie wrote to a personality of a House of Commons David Lidington MP to ask for serve sum on relocation options, intensity risks, and costs for a project.
© Source: http://headlinenewstoday.net/mps-to-scrutinise-cost-of-parliament-restoration-works.html
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
President Obama said after eight years, he and his family are ready to move on. David Maraniss of the Washington Post joins to discuss the first family being subject to scrutiny and the fate of Obama’s legacy if healthcare law repealed.
© Source: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/obama-ready-to-move-on-after-eight-years-855084611957
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
According to an organizer, the demonstration was planned to send a message to Donald Trump during inauguration weekend. A Facebook page for the march was published just hours after Trump officially won the presidential election in the early hours of November 9.
“We’re doing it his very first day in office because we are making a statement,” organizer Breanne Butler said in an interview days after the election. Of the marginalized groups she accused Mr. Trump of attacking during his campaign, she said, “We are here and we are watching. And, like, ‘Welcome to the White House.’”
Organizers claim that as many as 200,000 people may participate in the march, many of which will be university-affiliated persons. Many university professors and their students from around the country have been raising money so that they can attend the march on January 21. Others have been organizing sister marches that will take place in various cities around the country.
The College Fix reports Denison University, a private institution in Ohio, is sponsoring a bus trip to the march via the school’s women and gender studies program.
“We don’t want participation in these experiences to be available only to those who are sufficiently privileged that they can find a way to make the 400-mile trip to our nation’s capital and back,” said Dr. Gill Wright Miller, director of the Women & Gender Studies program.
Other universities have chosen to crowdsource the funding for their students to attend the march. Students at the University of Southern Maine have raised nearly $2,000 on GoFundMe to send a group of students to Washington D. C. on January 21.
“There is a lot at stake right now during the Trump administration, and this is a historical event that we do not want to miss out on,” organizers at USM state . “The funds that are being raised will be going to bus transportation for about fifty USM students and faculty that are looking to travel to D. C.”
“My aim in organizing this march,” Germain stated , “is to peacefully show our new administration that we stand together in solidarity with our families and friends for the protection of our rights, safety, and health.”
Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about social justice and libertarian issues for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com
© Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/7c5H6RCR7MA/
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.
