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Federer into semi-final after beating Kei Nishikori

Six-time champion Roger Federer has maintained his unbeaten status at the ATP World Tour Finals, ending Kei Nishikori's season with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 result to advance to the semi-finals with a perfect 3-0 record in group play.
The Swiss world No.3 converted all six of his break points against the tenacious Nishikori, who fought back from a set and 1-4 down to take the entertaining match to a decider. The Japanese star also rallied when down 2-4 in the third, but a double fault on game point  at 4-5 proved costly, Federer finishing off the match with his 33rd winner.
The evening equation was thus that Novak Djokovic needed only to win a set against his regular whipping boy Tomas Berdych to join Federer, Rafael Nadal and either Andy Murray or Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals. Djokovic has won 20 of his previous 22 matches against Berdych, and had little trouble with winning another one, 6-3, 7-5.
Federer, meanwhile, had booked his place in the last four with Tuesday's upset of the top seed, and now has a day to rest and prepare. "I feel really good about my body," he said. "I've got the perfect schedule. I'm off before the semis, which is huge.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/atp-world-tour-finals-roger-federer-into-semifinal-after-beating-kei-nishikori-20151119-gl3fu9.html#ixzz3s7SySngY

News:Mali Hostage Drama Leaves 18 Dead

*Special forces enter Radisson after gunmen take hostagesSpecial forces enter Radisson after gunmen take hostages.

THE hostage situation in Mali is reportedly over with 18 bodies removed from the Radisson Blu

Hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako.
Mali’s security minister has told AFP that the siege is over and that bodies are now being recovered from the hotel.
A Belgian government official was among those killed in the attack, according to the parliament’s official Twitter feed. Geoffrey Dieudonne was in Mali to give a training seminar for civil servants, according to an official parliament statement, reports the BBC.
The bodies of three attackers who were killed by special forces during the assault may also be included in the death toll.
African jihadist group Al-Mourabitoun, affiliated with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack on the luxury hotel packed with foreigners
Earlier Malian special forces entered the hotel to end a siege by gunmen.
The suspected terrorists stormed the US-owned hotel shouting “God is great!” in Arabic.
The gunmen took 170 people hostage.
The alarm was raised when the US embassy posted to Twitter warning locals of an “ongoing active shooter operation” at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, a hotel reportedly popular with French expats.
French officials said 50 elite police troops had been sent from Paris to Bamako.
Monique Kouame Affoue Ekonde, from Ivory Coast, said she and six other people, including a Turkish woman, were escorted out by security forces as the gunmen rushed “toward the fifth or sixth floor.”
“I think they are still there. I’ve left the hotel and I don’t know where to go. I’m tired and in a state of shock,” she said.
The White House said US President Barack Obama was briefed about the attack by his national security adviser, Susan Rice.
The US embassy has warned all staff and US citizens to find shelter, and to contact their families.
A security source told Associated Press that everything had happened on the seventh floor of the building.
Islamic extremists previously took control of northern Mali in 2012 that prompted a France-led military intervention

Business/Economy:World's second-largest diamond found in Botswana

OHANNESBURG: A 1,111 carat "high quality diamond" has been discovered at a mine in Botswana, said to be the biggest find in more than a century, according to the mine company.

The gem, only second in size to the Cullinan diamond which was unearthered in South Africa in 1905, was mined by Lucara Diamond Corp.

"The magnificent stone, which originated from the south lobe of Lucara's Karowe Mine, is the world second largest gem quality diamond ever recovered and largest ever to be recovered through a modern processing facility," the Stockholm listed company said a statement.

Shares in Lucara shot up 34 percent to 14.2 kronor in morning Thursday trading in Stockholm.

Botswana is the world's second biggest diamond producer, and Lucara said the gem was the largest ever to be recovered in the country.

"The significance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century....cannot be overstated," said William Lamb, the President and chief executive of Lucara.

The stone is yet to be evaluated, but commodities and mining analyst Kieron Hodgson, said it has "the potential to be one very expensive diamond."

"Valuation will depend on potential inclusions, how it would behave in cutting, optimal shape as well as final colour," he told AFP.

Muscular Englishman Eats 100 Eggs A Week

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english

Real Have Won Nothing Since I Left, Says Di Maria

Ángel Di María talked about his time at Real Madrid during an interview with beIN Sports.
The Argentine will never forget the Champions League final in Lisbon, in which he was named man of the match: "After winning 'La Décima' my mind was set on staying at Real Madrid for many more years, but these things happen in football".
The club's lack of major silverware last term: "Since I left Real Madrid haven't won anything. In any case, I think that I left at the right time and the right way".
Di María still looks back fondly on his spell in the Spanish capital: "I have great memories of Madrid. Leaving aside footballing matters, my daughter was born while I was there and they saved her life in Spain. I'm never going to forget what I experienced there".
The Bernabéu faithful: "They're very demanding. The club has won a lot and the fans are used to success. You get more affection from the supporters here in France".
 - MARCA.com

SPORTS:Visa waiver for visitors during Rio 2016 Olympics

Brazil is expecting a tourism boost from next year's Olympic Games. But there is a barrier: visas. The good news is Brazil's Congress has just approved a waiver system that will benefit visitors from a number of countries, including China.

Brazil is a well-known tourist destination, but Latin America's biggest country doesn't receive many visitors: less than ten percent if compared to the United States.

Charisse Afrane, a New Yorker, is visiting Rio for the first time. She tried a Carnival costume during a tour to Rio's Samba stadium and is having the time of her life, but says it was not cheap or easy to come to Brazil:

"It cost 160 dollars to get the visa and it took about five weeks to complete the process, so you have to start in advance in order to have all the documents you need to travel," said a tourist named Charisse Afrane.

But many tourists will likely not need a visa as Brazil's lower house voted to grant a 90-day waiver to foreigners that need one during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The waiver aims to boot tourism during the games and it will not be subject to visitors having tickets, halting temporally a reciprocity visa policy from several countries like the Unites States, Canada and China.

Kevin Tang, director of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce, says it is a positive move, considering China's outbound tourists totaled more than 100 million last year.

"China is Brazil's largest trade partner but last year there were only around 60 thousand tourists in Brazil. That is less than half percent of all Chinese tourists around the world," Tang said.

Tour operators agree visas are a major problem for the tourism industry:

"If the waiver is not extended after the Rio Olympics, it will not bear many fruits because people will still have difficulties to come," said Diego Barreto, tour operator of Rio Maximo Tours.

And what Brazil wants now is to attract as many foreign visitors as possible as the country is sinking into recession and is in need of hard currency.

Feature: ESTABLISHING A PRISON LIBRARY

BY Nkechinyere Nwoji

 

My first visit to the prison was in my undergraduate days as a student of Library studies/sociology. Sociology was my minor and we were expected to visit a prison so my department organized a visit to Enugu Prison.

I went to the prison for the second time, as a staff with ZODML, I was asked to establish a library after we noticed  the interest inmates  took in reading when ZODML ran a mobile library services every forth night with a branded ZODML bus for one year at Ikoyi Prison.

 Prison libraries are established with the approval of the Nigerian Prison Services.

Books for the library are sourced through purchase, donations from Individuals and organizations that partner with us in our prison project such as Public Affairs Section of U.S Embassy. Materials selected are bestsellers, Inspirational,motivational and textbooks for inmates’ course study.

After establishing the library, inmates are trained on how to charge material which is a process of borrowing books out and getting them back to the library.

REACTION OF INMATES:  Overall inmates were happy and asked for more

REACTION FROM PRISON AUTHORITY: The prison authority expressed appreciation to ZODML for creating reading culture among inmates.

FOR ME: Establishment of a prison library gives me great joy and I wish I had the opportunity to take it to more prisons across the country

So far ZODML has established libraries in IkoyiPriosn, Kirikiri Medium Prison and KirikiriMaximium Prison

-Miss Nwoji, a Librarian, Works in Lagos

PARENTING:Why I Breastfeed My Four-Year-Old Son

*One mother tells of how continuing to nurse her son has helped control his behavioural problems.

Vickie Krevatin's four-year-old son, Jessy, was recently at a party that left him uncontrollable with excitement. When Vickie's attempts to stop him knocking over drinks, shouting and throwing toys failed, she took him to a quiet room and let him suckle her breast.

Jessy is 3ft 3in tall and old enough to start school next month, but Vickie breastfeeds him five times a day because, she says, it alleviates his symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Every time he is offered 'boobies', he is calm," she says. "Breastfeeding is as effective as drugs for keeping his symptoms under control."

Despite the well-known health benefits of breastfeeding, only one per cent of British women do so exclusively for the World Health Organisation's recommended six months, while extended breastfeeding is so rare it is seen as a taboo. Last month, US mother Jessica Anne Colletti, 26, caused controversy when she posted a picture online of herself breastfeeding her 16-month-old son and his 18-month-old friend.

"I know people don't regard it as normal, but I don't care," says Vickie, 42, from Basingstoke, Hampshire.

ADHD's main symptoms are hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour, thought to be caused by underactivity of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. Diagnoses have soared in recent years - the NHS estimates that between two and five per cent of school-age children suffer to some extent, although some experts believe the rise is due to other health complaints or a child's natural exuberance being misdiagnosed.

While there is no cure, the most common treatment is methylphenidate, a stimulant commonly known by the brand name Ritalin, which increases the activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline. Figures last month showed that prescriptions for Ritalin have more than doubled in a decade, reaching almost one million last year.

Jessy, diagnosed with ADHD in February, has been taking Equasym XL, another brand of methylphenidate, since March, but Vickie maintains breastfeeding is essential in helping to calm him. There is no research to support her claim, although breast milk does contain naturally occurring chemicals that induce sleepiness.

Research also shows that nursing may protect against ADHD developing in the first place. In June 2013, a study by Tel Aviv University found that children who were bottle-fed at three months of age were three times more likely to have ADHD than those breastfed during the same period, but it is not known whether this was due to the breast milk or the bond formed between mother and baby.

Being breastfed since birth, however, did not prevent difficulties with Jessy. "As a baby he wouldn't sit still for longer than 15 minutes. If I put him in a car or buggy, he would scream," says Vickie, who quit her job as a financial crime auditor when Jessy was six months old and now works from home as a jeweller. "As he got older, he was so destructive we would be reduced to tears."

The only thing that calmed him was being close to his mother, and for the first six months Vickie breastfed him up to 18 times a day.

SPORTS/EPL: Martial, The Big Deal On D- Day

HEALTH: Constantly Sick? Get More Sleep

New research suggests lack of sleep has the greatest impact on overall well being, beyond smoking, drinking, or stress. But that's not all. Read this and you'll be having an early night.

People who slept less than six hours every night were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold, researchers at University of California, San Francisco found in a new study.

"Sleep was the biggest overall factor in well being," said Aric Prather. "It didn't matter how old the people were, how stressed, education or income, their ethnic background, or whether they smoked. The amount of sleep they got was a fundamental factor in determining how healthy they were."

The effects of sleep deprivation and the benefits of getting enough sleep are an oft-repeated mantra among health experts. But in a society that prizes sleep deprivation as a sign of productivity and commitment to work, Prather told dpa, "we need more studies to really hammer home the point that sleep is crucial for our well-being."

Here are a few other studies that illustrate how risky it is when you don't have a good night's 1. Memory and cognitive function are impaired

Beyond slowing our reaction times and hindering overall performance, lack of sleep actually has long term negative effects on our ability to learn, process new information, and on the functioning of our high cognitive abilities.

Dr. William Killgore at Harvard Medical School found in a 2010 study for the journal "Progress in Brain Research" that even when alertness and vigilance were restored, a person who was chronically sleep deprived also had difficulties with creative, innovative and "more divergent aspects of cognition."

In other words, while you may be able to pick yourself up and make good decisions at work after not sleeping for a week, you'll have trouble finishing that novel or painting or film.

2. Increased chances of obesity and metabolism problems

Several studies are currently in the works to determine whether sleeping longer can help you lose weight, as some studies have reported a connection between short sleep cycles and increased obesity.

Researchers have known for years that being obese can affect your sleep cycles: sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing is interrupted during sleep resulting in a loss of restorative REM sleep cycles, is often a sympton of obesity.

However, by Dr. Silvana Pannain and Dr. Gugliemo Beccuti at the University of Chicago Department of Medicine also found that short sleep cycles and poor sleep quality may also contribute to the development of obesity: Sleep is an important regulator of the body's metabolism functions, and less sleep means the body is less able to regulate how much it eats, leading to increased hunger.

3. Stress on the heart

A 2013 study found "a significant interaction" between sleep deprivation and blood pressure. Researchers tested a group of 20 healthy young adults who had previously not experienced any current or past sleep issues, and found that after one night of sleep deprivation, subjects' blood pressure went up, which in turn caused acute psychological stress. The stress on the heart and mind meant subjects did poorly in a series of standardized cognitive tests.est.
-DW.com

Sad life of man with humongous penis

*Lonely life of Roberto Esquivel Cabrera, the man with the world’s longest penis  

ROBERTO Esquivel Cabrera has just set a world record for having the longest penis.

The 52-year-old Mexican measured in at a whopping 18.9 inches (48.2cm), with a tip circumference of 10 inches (25cm), at certification by World Record Academy officials yesterday.

Mr Cabrera had been hoping for recognition by Guinness World Records but had to settle for the less famous certifier after Guinness confirmed it had no category for penis size.

The World Record Academy stepped in after Mr Cabrera shared his story with a local journalist in an interview that was picked up by the world press over the weekend.

He told how his massive member had ruined his life, preventing him from having a relationship and even getting a job.

“Look where it is, it goes far below the knees,” Mr Cabrera said.

“I cannot do anything, I cannot work, and I am disabled so I want authorities to declare me as a disabled person and give me support.”

Women were too frightened to have sex with him, so he had never had a long-term In 2011 Mr Cabrera was deported from US to Saltillo in the north-eastern Mexican state of Coahuila, where he lives alone in a room given to him by his brothers. He survives on social assistance and scavenges for food and materials on waste dumps. He has no friends and says people “shun” him wherever he goes.

Before his record was made official, Mr Cabrera had a medical examination and X-ray of his phallus to support his application for disability. Doctors at a medical institution in Saltillo have confirmed the scan is genuine, The Mirror reported.

Some experts have suggested Mr Cabrera consider a shaft reduction operation but it is not clear what his thoughts are on the subject.

The previous record holder for penis length was an American called Johan Falcon, whose 13.38 inch manhood (34cm) was dwarfed by Mr Cabrera’s.girlfriend, let alone a wife.

LIFE: Two Indian Sisters To Be Raped As 'Punishment' After Brother Eloped

Two sisters in India - one aged only 15 years - are to be raped as "punishment" for their brother running away with a married woman from a higher caste in the latest case to shock the country.

Meenakshi Kumari, who is 23, and her younger sister, will then be paraded naked with their faces blackened through the streets, according to a ruling from the all-male village council.

The sisters have petitioned the country's Supreme Court to be protected from the so-called "eye-for-an-eye" ruling from the village council in Uttar Pradesh state, 50 kilometres from the capital Delhi.

The family are from the Dalit caste, historically known as "untouchables". However, the brother fell in love with a woman from the higher, Jat, caste.

The woman was forced into an arranged marriage in February with a man from her own caste despite her relationship, according to Zee news, citing the elder sister Meenakshi.

The couple eloped in March, but returned to the village after the man's family were allegedly tortured by police.

The village council then made its ruling that the Dalit family should be dishonoured to "avenge" the brother's supposed crime.

Meenakshi and her sister ran away to the capital after the ruling was handed out and were able to submit their petition for protection for their family at the Supreme Court. However, they are still facing the punishment when they return home.

Telegraph, London

SPORTS:Hats Off To Finidi George

*BETIS, 17 YEARS WITHOUT WINNING AT THE BERNABÉU
For those Betis fans born after 4th October 1998, the Santiago Bernabéu stadium is nothing less than a nightmare. Since that day, their team have never been able to come away from there with all three points.

Those old enough to remember that game will be forever thankful to Finidi. The solitary goal scored by the Nigerian forward, who would celebrate his strikes by elegantly putting on a hat, won all three points for his team on matchday five of la Liga.

Seventeen years have come and gone since that day. 17 years without tasting victory against 'Los Blancos' in their own back yard. That's a long time for such a historic club like Betis.

This year many of the fans fancy their chances. On Saturday they will be paying yet another visit to the Spanish capital but this time to face a Real that can't seem to find the back of the net. They are hoping against all hope that Ronaldo, Bale, James and company don't wake up and smell the bacon precisely during this match.

The last time that Betis paid a visit to the Bernabéu, also with Pepe Mel in the dugout, they came close to drawing in the first game of the season, but Isco came to Real's rescue in the last minutes of the game and dashed the Andalusian outfit's hopes.

The players left with a bitter taste in their mouths but return this weekend out to savor the sweet taste of success.

- MARCA.com

Science Human Body: ‘Unicorn Woman’ Appeals For Help As rRre Condition Causes Hornlike Growth

A WOMAN with an abnormal growth on her head that appears to be in the shape of a large horn has become known in her village as the “unicorn woman.”

Liang Xiuzhen, 87, of China’s Sichuan Province, noticed something resembling a black mole growing on her head seven or eight years ago, Central European News (CEN) reported.

“My mother complained about this mole-like growth on her head that itched all the time,” Wang Chaojun, Xiuzhen’s son, told CEN.

“We found ways to cure her itch using traditional Chinese medicine, and then left it be.”

However, about two years ago, the mole gave way to a small hornlike mass that was about the size of a small finger.

Xiuzhen then “broke” the horn in February but it grew back and a rapid pace, now measuring 5.1 inches long, CEN reported.

“Now the horn hurts my mother and prevents her from sleeping. It also bleeds from time to time,” he said.

Doctors diagnosed the growth as cornu cutaneum, a keratinous skin tumour that has the appearance of a horn, according to CEN.

Doctors say they can surgically remove the growth, but the family is hesitant because of Xiuzhen’s age.

“My mother is old, and the horn is on her head which is a very sensitive area. I’m not confident [in the idea of] surgery,” Chaojun told the news agency.

“If something goes wrong [during surgery], it would be terrible.”

NEWS:Swaziland Truck Crash Kills Dozens Of Girls And Young Women

AT LEAST 38 girls and young women were killed in a crash while travelling to a famous traditional festival in Swaziland, a rights group said on Saturday.

About 20 others were injured when the truck they were in collided with another vehicle on Friday, the Swaziland Solidarity Network said in a statement. The young women and girls were allegedly travelling on the back of an open truck, the rights group said.

Police in Swaziland, a small mountainous country of 1.4 million people bordering north-eastern South Africa and Mozambique, discouraged reporting on the accident, said the group.

Photographers were prevented from taking pictures at the scene, said a Swazi journalist who insisted on anonymity for security reasons.

A high-ranking police officer contacted by The Associated Press refused to comment, saying the matter was related to the “highest authority,” and so no details could be disclosed to the media.

“You don’t hide a death,” said Lucky Lukhele, spokesman for the Swaziland Solidarity Network. Members of the Swaziland Defense Force alerted the rights group to the accident, Lukhele said, adding that he expected the death toll to rise.

The females were travelling on a highway between the Swazi cities of Mbabane and Manzini, when the truck carrying them smashed into another vehicle and was then hit in the rear by a second truck, the Times of Swaziland reported.

“We were about 50 on board the first truck that smashed into the Toyota van,” said Siphelele Sigudla, 18, a survivor quoted by the Times of Swaziland.

The girls and young women were on their way to the Swazi king’s royal residence for the annual reed dance. About 40,000 participate in the eight-day ceremony in which they sing and dance, often bare-breasted, as they bring reeds to reinforce the windbreak around the royal residence, a government website said.

Swaziland is Africa’s last absolute monarchy, ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. Swaziland held parliamentary elections in 2013, but many international observers say the electoral process is manipulated to prolong the king’s hold on power. According to the king, Swaziland’s image has been damaged by misinformation.

Man Has 26 Cockroaches Living In His Ear

In hospital with an earache, and discovers 26 cockroaches living in his ear 

A MAN was left horrified after a visit to the doctor to check up on an earache led to the discovery of an entire family of cockroaches crawling inside his ear. A factory worker of China’s Guangdong province, understood to be named Mr Li, woke up in the middle of the night with an unbearable itch in his ear, which only grew increasingly painful, the People’s Daily reports.

The 19-year-old desperately stuck a finger in his ear and felt a sensation of tiny insects deep inside, but when his roommate shone a torch, he found no trace of anything unusual.

The next morning, he rushed to hospital where medics performed an endoscopy and found his ear was teeming with cockroaches.

A female cockroach had taken up residence weeks earlier in Mr Li’s ear canal where she laid eggs, hatching 25 baby roaches — which at the time were only about the size of small mosquitoes.

After the pesky insects were removed using a special liquid, Mr Li was told by doctors his ear could have been “wrecked” had he not rushed to hospital.

Yang Jing, a doctor from Chang’an Xiaobian Hospital in Dongguan, told TVS: “We saw an insect-shaped object blocking his ear canal completely,” according to a MailOnline report.

This caused severe congestion and swelling of Mr Li’s right ear, as well as damage to the skin in the ear canal.

Cockroaches are said to be among the world’s toughest creatures, often touted to be able to survive a nuclear blast — so a human ear? Piece of cake.

UCL: Group Combatants Emerge

GROUP D: 

JUVENTUS
MAN CITY
SEVILLA
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH

GROUP B: 

PSV EINDHOVEN
MAN UTD
CSKA MOSCOW
WOLFSBURG

GROUP F: 

BAYERN MUNICH
ARSENAL
OLYMPIAKOS
DINAMO ZAGREB

FlagShare:

GROUP G: 

CHELSEA
PORTO
DYNAMO KIEV
MACCABI TEL-AVIV

FlagShare

GROUP H: 

ZENIT ST PETERSBURG
VALENCIA
LYON
GENT

FlagShare

GROUP E: 

BARCELONA
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
ROMA
BATE BORISOV

FlagShare

GROUP A: 

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
REAL MADRID
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
MALMO

GROUP C: 

BENFICA
ATLETICO MADRID
GALATASARAY
ASTANA

Bolt Toyed With Gatlin In 200m Final

THE second act ended the same way as the first — for the good guys.

Usain Bolt confirmed his greatness — again — taking down two-time drug cheat Justin Gatlin in the 200m final.

And he did it with ease.

The greatest sprinter on the planet toyed with his rival over the final 20m, stopping the clock at 19.55sec with Gatlin getting silver in 19.74sec.

South African Anaso Jobodwana won bronze in a personal best 19.87sec.

Bolt crossed the line hitting two fists into his heart with the message clear to everyone — he was still the man.