Football: Defeated Barcelona rage over Real 'favouritism'

MADRID: Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has claimed that Real Madrid tend to get the big decisions from referees after his side were denied a last minute penalty in their 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid.Sergio Ramos' header nine minutes from time proved to be the winner after Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi had exchanged goals in the first-half.But Pique and his teammates were left aggrieved...

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Obama to visit Russia in September

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama will visit Saint Petersburg for September's G20 summit and will also hold a meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland in June.The White House made the announcement Friday after the leaders spoke by phone to discuss the Syria crisis amid testy relations between Russia and the United States, which have deteriorated since...

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Polls close in crucial British by-election

LONDON: Polls closed in the southern English town of Eastleigh on Thursday in a by-election for a new member of parliament in a tight contest that threatens serious repercussions for Britain's main parties.The election pits Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party against its junior coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, while the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) is hoping...

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AIM not bidding for PAP town councils' tender

SINGAPORE: Action Information Management (AIM), which runs the People's Action Party (PAP) town councils' computer systems, will no longer operate the systems when its contract expires on April 30. It said on Wednesday that it will not participate in the latest tender exercise.The arrangement between AIM, a company fully owned by the PAP, and the PAP town councils had caused controversy...

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Dollar edges higher as Bernanke confirms stimulus

NEW YORK: The dollar edged higher Tuesday against the euro after Ben Bernanke confirmed the US Fed's stimulus program would continue, while the yen traded flat ahead of the nomination of a new Bank of Japan chief.At 2200 GMT the euro was at $1.3061, compared to $1.3065 late Monday. The euro remained under pressure after Italy's inconclusive election, which some fear could lead to more...

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NY Times to rebrand Herald Tribune in its own image

NEW YORK: For a decade the International Herald Tribune has been the global edition of the New York Times in all but name. On Monday, the parent company made it official.In a statement, the New York Times Company said the 125-year-old offshoot of the defunct New York Herald Tribune will be rechristened sometime this fall as the International New York Times."The digital revolution has turned...

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Brazil cardinal suggests church look to Latin America

APARECIDA: Catholicism in Latin America is "lively and dynamic," Brazilian Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis said Sunday, suggesting that the church look to Latin America for leadership.Damasceno is one of the 117 "cardinal electors" that will participate in the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope. No favourite has to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who announced that he is stepping down...

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Auto racing: Late crash mars Daytona Nationwide finish

DAYTONA BEACH: A fiery car crash sent Kyle Larson's car airborne and flying debris injured a number of fans Saturday in the waning moments of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opener.The wreck, which occurred almost as Tony Stewart was taking the chequered flag for victory, appeared to begin when Regan Smith was turned sideways and took several competitors behind him in a pack.Larson,...

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US budget cuts can be avoided: Obama

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama insisted Friday that mandatory government budget cuts set to kick in on March 1 -- known as the sequester -- were not "inevitable."The cuts to defence and domestic spending were mandated in an agreement between Obama and his Republican foes to end a previous budget battle."I never think that anything is inevitable, we always have the opportunity to make...

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Singapore trade expands 1.1% in 2012

SINGAPORE: Singapore's total external trade rose by 1.1 per cent in 2012, a contrast to the 8.0 per cent rise seen in the previous year. The trade growth is lower than the previously projected range of between 3.0 and 4.0 per cent, said IE Singapore in its news release on Friday.This, IE Singapore said, is due to poor trade performance in 4Q 2012.Total trade reached S$984.9 billion in...

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US stocks dive after Fed minutes

NEW YORK: US stocks piled up losses Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes showed divisions over asset purchases, with some officials suggesting to wind them down before the jobs market picks up.The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 108.13 points (0.77 percent) at 13,927.54.The S&P 500-stock index fell 18.99 points (1.24 percent) to 1,511.95 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite...

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Football: LionsXII impress Fandi in 2-2 draw with Johor

SINGAPORE: Fandi Ahmad was left shocked and impressed after his star-studded Johor Darul Takzim were forced to share the spoils at a packed Larkin Stadium, as they drew 2-2 with an impressive LionsXII side in the Malaysian Super League (MSL) on Tuesday night.Fandi told reporters after the match that he and his players were shocked that the LionsXII had opted to go on the offensive from...

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Greater US military role in Mali likely after polls: senator

BAMAKO: The United States is likely to play a more active military role in Mali, where French-led forces are battling Islamist rebels, after the country holds elections, the chair of a key Senate sub-committee said Monday.Washington has been providing intelligence, transport and mid-air refuelling to France, which launched its intervention last month, but cannot work directly with the...

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Helicopter scandal hangs over Cameron's India visit

NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister David Cameron arrives in India's financial hub Mumbai on Monday on a three-day trade-focused visit clouded by a corruption scandal over British-made helicopters sold to New Delhi.Cameron's trip comes amid a raging scandal over the procurement of 12 helicopters for use by VIPs in 2010, which were bought for $748 million (560 million euros) from Anglo-Italian...

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Tennis: Nadal struggles into Brazil Open final

SAO PAULO: Rafael Nadal struggled into the Brazil Open final on Saturday by downing Argentine lucky loser Martin Alund in three sets.The former world number one, who is recovering from a knee injury, battled hard to dismiss his 27-year-old opponent, who is ranked 111 in the world, winning 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-1 in nearly two hours.Sunday's final will pit the 26-year-old Spanish star against...

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Mexico to slaughter 486,000 chickens over bird flu

CELAYA, Mexico: Mexico will slaughter 486,000 chickens after an outbreak of bird flu was detected in the central state of Guanajuato, officials said Friday.Poultry producer Bachoco reported a possible case of H7N3 influenza in five breeder farms late Wednesday, which agriculture ministry officials confirmed on Friday.Authorities launched preventive measures, testing nearby farms to check...

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Capriles says Venezuela lying about Chavez health

CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles on Thursday again accused the government of lying about the health of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez, who is convalescing in Cuba."Most probably, they have lied to us about the condition of the president of the republic during the past two months," Capriles told a press conference.He said authorities in Caracas had already...

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Tennis: Nadal out of Brazil Open doubles over knee fear

SAO PAULO: Rafael Nadal will not play his scheduled doubles match at the Brazil Open Wednesday because of "knee overuse", organisers said.But they added that the Spanish star intends to play his opening singles match Thursday against Brazilian Joao Souza.World number five Nadal had been scheduled to team up with Argentina's David Nalbandian in a second-round encounter against Argentine...

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17 gunmen dead in Thai military base attack

  BANGKOK, Thailand: Scores of heavily-armed gunmen stormed a military base in unrest-plagued southern Thailand, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, in a major assault that left at least 17 militants dead."Some 100 fully armed militants stormed the base, where there were 60 marines," Colonel Pramote Promin, southern army spokesman, told AFP. He said the attack, one of the most ambitious...

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IBM puts supercomputer to work on cancer

WASHINGTON: IBM is putting its Watson supercomputer to work fighting cancer, in what is described as the first commercial program of its kind to use "big data" to help patients with the disease.The US computing giant last week unveiled its initiative with health insurer WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.The supercomputer, which gained fame by defeating two...

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