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.

Music: Piano Played On ABBA's Hits Up For Auction

A GRAND piano that featured on many of ABBA's biggest hits is going up for auction in London next month.

SOTHEBY'S is offering the instrument, owned by the Stockholm music studio where the 1970s Swedish super-group often recorded.

The auction house said the piano by Swedish designer Georg Bolin - played on hits including Waterloo, Dancing Queen and Money, Money, Money - was expected to sell for between STG600,000-STG800,000 ($A1.31 million-$A1.69 million) on September 29.

It's the first major piece of ABBA material to be auctioned, and comes with a certificate of authentication signed by band member Benny Andersson who described the piano as a "great source of inspiration".

Sotheby's specialist Philip Errington said predicting the price was tricky, because little ABBA memorabilia has ever come to market.

He said the piano might appeal "to an ABBA fan, or to somebody who wants to have an interesting conversation piece. It is incredibly difficult to judge what it might make."

Chinese Woman’ Grows Horn On Her Head

An elderly Chinese villager has been dubbed “the unicorn woman” due to an abnormal growth on her head that looks like a large horn, it’s reported.

Liang Xiuzhen started growing something that resembled a “black mole” on her head around eight years ago, according to her son Wang Chaojun.

The 87-year-old, from Guiyan village in Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, was left stunned when two years ago it gave way to a finger-sized horn-like mass.

Xiuzhen accidentally “broke” that small horn in February - and her current, much larger, horn - which is currently 13cm long -began growing rapidly in its place.

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

Doctors diagnosed the so-called unicorn horn as “cornu cutaneum” (cutaneous horn), a keratinous skin tumour that has the appearance of a horn.

Often small and benign, the growth can in some cases be much larger and malignant.

Chaojun said doctors believe they can remove the growth through surgery, but the family has its reservations due to Xiuzhen’s old age and are considering other options.

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

Only last month another pensioner made headlines after it was revealed she had three bizarre toenail-like growths sprouting from her foot and had appealed for doctors to operate.

The unnamed woman from the town of Wadi Al Dawasir in central Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Province has reportedly been to several hospitals and clinics, with none of them able to explain what she is suffering from.

-Yahoo.com (Pictures credited to CEN)

HEALTH:Ways to Stop Snoring Snoring

Snoring, noisy breathing during sleep, affects millions of people. If you don’t yourself suffer from snoring occasionally, you likely know someone who does. Snoring can affect men and women, increases with age and weight gain and can lead to restless, un-refreshing sleep for both the sufferer and his/her bed partner. It can result in a cycle of poor sleep, and poor daytime function, and can eventually lead to separate bedrooms and strains on a marriage, or roommate relationship. Surprisingly, about half of the people suffering from chronic snoring have a condition called sleep apnea, meaning that breathing is frequently interrupted for brief periods during sleep. Sometimes the solution to a good night’s sleep is a simple health or life-style change. Here are seven ways to help you or your partner stop snoring.

* Sleep position

A simple change of sleeping position from your back to your side may be all that’s required to help a person stop snoring. Sleeping on your back may result in your tongue and soft palate falling back to block your airway, causing you to snore. If you have trouble staying on your side while you sleep, trying pinning a sock with a tennis ball inside to the back of your sleep-shirt. The tennis ball under your back should be uncomfortable enough to keep you snore-free on your side.

*Change life-style

*Reduce bedroom allergens 

Snoring can occasionally be due to allergens in the bedroom. Changing your pillows and keeping your mattress and bedding covered with allergen covers can help to prevent dust mites, dust and other allergens from settling on your bed. If allergens are the reason for snoring, an air purifier in the home may also help reduce snoring.

*Nettle-leaf tea

If snoring is due to seasonal allergies, rather than allergens in the bedroom, the severity can be eased by drinking nettle-leaf tea before bed. Stinging nettle, a common garden scourge, has a long history of being used medicinally. Nettle-leaf tea, without any of the stinging properties, works as an antihistamine and soothes the inflamed air passages responsible for snoring.

*Increase room humidity

Dry air, particularly in winter, can cause the membranes in your nose to become irritated, resulting in congestion that can ultimately lead to snoring. Breathing through your mouth in a dry room can irritate your throat, causing it to constrict and the natural moisture in your throat to become stickier, magnifying snoring. A simple solution is to increase room humidity using a portable humidifier.

*Acupuncture

Occasionally, after prolonged irritation of the sinuses and air passages, fluid can build up in the lining tissues. This is called edema, and can constrict the airflow through the passages, leading to snoring. Acupuncture can help in these cases, by increasing the blood flow to these tissues, and helping drain away excess fluid.

LIFE: Woman Dances Away Labour Pains

A Boston mum found a creative way to beat her labour pains.

Yuki Nishizawa is giving birth to her second child at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and her husband uploaded a video to Facebook of Yuki busting out her best moves in the delivery room.

Her husband Connell laughs as his wife tries to dance away the stress and pain of childbirth. 

Benefits Of Bananas

Bananas are fibre rich fruits with a number of health benefits. They are the fourth most popular food after rice, wheat and corn. With its high nutrient content, low price and easy availability it is the most ideal fruit to include in your daily diet. If you eat almost nothing and just bananas, you lose weight, but if you eat eight to ten bananas a day, apart from consuming regular meals, you can gain weight.

This is exactly what nutritionist Yulia Tarbath ate for 12 days to detoxify her body and lose weight naturally.

What did she do?
What does the banana island entail? 
Here is what happened during her banana only diet:
via www.mirror.co.uk

Yulia, a nutritionist and a motivational coach tried the mono-fruit diet (One fruit diet for stipulated days) to test the health benefits of bananas. She calls it banana island diet. 

· You eat all the bananas you desire and bananas are all you eat (you can also do it with other fruit). It is a mono island, however, occasionally; people also add 1 type of greens, such as lettuce in the last meal of the day.

· You eat ONLY ripe bananas, you eat your usual calories – no under-eating or calorie-restricting is involved.

· You drink plenty of water, up to 3 litres a day.

· You exercise as normal.

· You rest enough as your body will be going through deeper detox and restoration.

· Research shows that bananas can actually be a perfect fit in your weight loss diet plan. A six inch banana has about 90 calories, which makes it much lesser than the calories in any candy bar. Moreover, the fibre content in this fruit is soluble, which causes it to absorb water and slows down digestion. 

· Did not have any detox symptoms whatsoever, felt amazing throughout the whole “journey”.

· Experienced very sharp clarity of mind, which allowed her to restructure tasks and activities.

· She says it was a busy inner journey for her.

· She felt balanced and positive.

· Her skin became softer and shiny naturally. 

· She ran 22km up and down a very steep mountain called Doi Suthep in Chaing Mai, Thailand and recovered in double quick time, without any leg soreness. 

· Body felt more flexible than ever.

Bananas have weight loss properties. A single banana has 108 calories, which amounts to 17.5 grams of carbohydrates. Our body needs carbohydrates for smooth body functioning and excess carbohydrates can lead to weight gain. Bananas are also loaded with fibre, vitamins and minerals. They also contains pectin, which leaves you feeling fuller for a longer time. This makes bananas ideal for any weight loss programme.

Bananas have a low glycemic index, which also helps in weight loss. Eating bananas help in controlling increased blood sugar levels in the body. 

The Men Who Who Own America

Billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch take an aggressive and active interest in the US political system and frequently bankroll politicians who share their conservative views.

In the eyes of many, the two men have effectively co-opted one side of American politics and bent them to their will with a seemingly endless stream of donations.

With the Republican nomination for the presidential race set to be decided in the coming months, the outcome is inextricably tied to the actions of Charles and David Koch. As Democratic senator Harry Reid stated on the senate floor last year: “the Koch brothers are trying to buy America.”

With their increasing wealth and influence, the pair are inching closer to that undeclared goal and the upcoming presidential race could prove as a barometer for the power of the men — considered the king makers of the Republican Party.

The two brothers are the owners of Koch Industries — the second largest privately run business in America with an estimated wealth of over $135 billion. Among many other things, the Koch brothers own oil refineries in Texas, Alaska, and Minnesota and control over 6,400 kilometres of pipeline.

A third Koch brother, William, previously accused them of engaging in “organised crime” and told 60 Minutes that “Koch Industries has a philosophy that profits are above everything else”.

They are also frequently attacked by activist groups such as Greenpeace which has charged them with “secretly funding the climate denial machine” by spending over $108 million since 1997 on groups that work to deny climate change.

Despite their many critics, they are an unbridled force in politics and continue to use their awesome wealth in pursuit of their expressed desire for smaller government.

At the outset of the Republican race for president, speculation was rife over who they would throw their weight behind.

This month conservative Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker emerged as the winner of the “Koch donor straw poll”.

The upcoming presidential election is shaping up the be the most expensive in history and the Koch brothers have their wallets ready.

At a gathering of political donors overseen by the two brothers held earlier in the year, they committed to spend $1.2 billion on the 2016 presidential election. According to the New York Times, the staggering amount would “allow their political organisation to operate at the same financial scale as the Democratic and Republican Parties.”

“In many ways, they have superseded the party,” said former Obama adviser, David Axelrod.

And it’s this band of plutocrats led by the Koch brothers which led Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman to claim this week that GOP candidates promise government by the one per cent, for the one per cent.

The reason they have been able to use their wealth to openly dictate the course of the America’s right-wing politicians is largely thanks to a 2012 decision by the Supreme Court, known as Citizens United. The landmark judgment held that the US constitution prohibited restrictions on political expenditures by corporations and made it easier for them to pump money into elections.

Current presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders railed against the decision at the time and lamented how the Koch brothers helped usher it in.

“What the US government said to the Koch brothers, is you can buy the United States government. Why would you hesitate for one minute to spend a billion, two billion — that’s pretty good,” Bernie Sanders exclaimed on MSNBC.
-News.com.au

Hugged By The Hands Of God, Famed Referee Meets Maradona

*Maradona did not score that all by himself, that goal. I was his assistant!

TUNIS: Diego Maradona kissed and hugged the referee who allowed his handball goal in the 1986 World Cup and presented him with a signed Argentina jersey when the two met in Tunisia this week, local media reported. 
Maradona's quarterfinal goal against England in Mexico City gained added notoriety when the tiny Argentine, who tapped the ball over the head of onrushing goalkeeper Peter Shilton with his fist, claimed it had been scored by the 'Hand of God'. 
Tunisian referee Ali Bennaceur failed to spot the handball and allowed the goal to stand amid furious protests from the England players, prompting a debate, that still rages on today, over the use of referees from smaller nations in major matches. 
The pair exchange gifts for the cameras when they met in Tunis on Monday with Bennaceur handing the former Argentina skipper a framed photo of himself, Maradona and Shilton, who captained England, before the match at the Azteca Stadium. 
In return, the 71-year-old former referee received a Maradona shirt inscribed with the words "For Ali, my eternal friend". 
In interviews in later years, Bennaceur blamed his Bulgarian assistant Bogdan Dotchev for failing to alert him to the moment when Maradona punched the ball past Shilton to give Argentina the lead in the match they went on to win 2-1. 
"Before the game, FIFA gave us clear guidelines: 'If your colleague is better placed than you are, his decision should take precedence.' That's what I did: my assistant did not raise his flag," he told a French football magazine So Foot recently. 
He also claimed a role in Maradona's second strike, a brilliant weaving run that started in his own half and continued through the entire English defence which is often described as the 'goal of the century'. 
"Maradona did not score that all by himself, that goal. I was his assistant: I played three advantages. I did not have to. For the first foul, he stumbled. The second came just on the edge of the area. I shouted 'advantage, advantage'. 
"And when he entered the area, I was expecting (Terry) Butcher to slice him down. I put my whistle to my lips, I was ready to intervene but I didn't blow." 
Argentina went on to beat West Germany 3-2 in the final.
-TOI

EPL 'El Cashico': Manchester City Look To Add To Chelsea's Woes

Manchester City will attempt to land an early blow in this season's Premier League title race when they face off against Chelsea on Sunday by trying to exploit the internal turmoil at the London club.

Chelsea's week has been dominated by the fall-out from manager Jose Mourinho's criticism of first-team doctor Eva Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn for running onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard when the team were down to 10 men in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Swansea City.

Widely criticised over the incident, Mourinho confirmed on Friday that the pair have been demoted - temporarily, according to him - and will not be on the bench at the Etihad Stadium.

The Swansea game already represented an underwhelming start to Chelsea's title defence after five games without victory in pre-season, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois's dismissal ruling him out of Sunday's contest.

City, in contrast, opened with an impressive 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion that sent Manuel Pellegrini's side to the top of the standings after the first round of fixtures.

The match has been humorously billed as 'El Cashico' by quite a few publications and broadcast channels since both City and Chelsea are bankrolled by billionaire owners and tend to spend heavily in order to sign players.

Raheem Sterling is settling in after his 49 million-pound ($76.7 million, 68.9 million euros) switch from Liverpool, Sergio Aguero is nearing full fitness following his post-Copa America break and Yaya Toure suggested he was ready to put last season's troubles behind him with a goal and an assist at The Hawthorns.

Sunday's game, meanwhile, will be the first at the Etihad since the opening of a new 6,000-seat tier on the South Stand and the addition of 1,500 extra pitch-side seats, taking the capacity to 55,097 - another sign of the club's growing ambition.

Victory would put City five points above Chelsea and although it is early days, Pellegrini knows that Sunday's encounter represents an opportunity to disrupt the stride of a title rival.

"We are not thinking about the title in the second game, but we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title," he said.

"It is the same as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham - all the big teams."

Aguero in contention

Aguero came off the bench against West Brom, but it may be too soon for last season's top scorer to start, which would mean Wilfried Bony continuing to lead the line.

For Chelsea, Asmir Begovic will make his competitive full debut, having come on against Swansea following Courtois's second-half dismissal for felling Bafetimbi Gomis.

Oscar is a doubt with a knock sustained in training, but Diego Costa is in line to play, having allayed fears about the condition of his hamstrings by completing 90 minutes against Swansea.

Even by Mourinho's stormy standards, it has been a challenging week, as medical professionals from within the game have queued up to criticise him over his perplexing treatment of Carneiro and Fearn.

He threatened to walk out of a briefing with newspaper journalists on Friday when pressed on the matter, but he has dismissed suggestions the furore will have any effect on the outcome of the showdown with City.

"If somebody thinks that a disagreement between two members of the medical staff and the manager can affect the week, it is somebody that doesn't have a clue about what football is and about preparation for matches," Mourinho said. "It is obviously not (a problem).

"The season is very, very long. We are speaking about 38 matches - 38 matches is an eternity, a marathon that started last weekend and ends in around 10 months.

"I cannot say it (the match) is crucial, I cannot say it is decisive, I cannot say it is very, very, very important.

"But, two title contenders, three points, so if you can get three and your opponent zero, it is important.

"I am not going to say the game is not important, but for sure I don't say the game decides anything for the winner or the loser."