Messi is better than Pele and Maradona:Pope Francis

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has been proclaimed the best ever footballer by Pope Francis!

Barcelona and Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer, Messi, has constantly been compared to past greats Pele and Diego Maradona, while also going head-to-head with current Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Pope Francis – the leader of the Catholic Church and a renowned San Lorenzo supporter – threw his support behind countryman Messi.

"For me, [Lionel] Messi is better than Maradona and Pele," Pope Francis was quoted as telling young men and women participating in World Youth Day.

Messi endured a difficult Copa America Centenario, stunning the world when he announced his retirement from national team duty after Argentina lost to Chile on penalties in the final.

                                                                                          SOURCE:http://www.goal.com/

ISIS attack on Syria

The predominantly Kurdish US-backed Syria Democratic Forces have been the main force fighting ISIL in northern Syria and have captured wide areas from the hardline fighters.

"This was a large attack," said Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Gaziantep in Turkey, which is close to the Syrian border. "The death toll could significantly rise throughout the day."

The latest attack comes amid intense fighting in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, where more than 50 people have been killed in recent days.

As the war drags on towards its sixth year, there is a renewed international push to restart the stalled Syria political talks next month.

Speaking in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, following a closed-door meeting with US and Russian officials, Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy to Syria, said Washington and Moscow had been discussing ways to work towards the reintroduction of a ceasefire.

De Mistura said that a third round of intra-Syrian peace talks is set for August.

"In the context of the bilateral meeting today, it was also agreed that we, the UN - the facilitator, the mediator - should continue preparing proposals for addressing difficult issues that are related to the [talks]," he said.

The Syrian Observatory estimates that more than 280,000 people have been killed throughout the five years of bloodshed. Efforts to negotiate a lasting ceasefire have collapsed time and again.

More than 4.8 million Syrians have become refugees displaced from their homeland, while more than 6.5 million people are internally displaced within the country's borders.

SOURCE:http://www.aljazeera.com/

Baghdad attack

Terror once again struck the streets of Iraq's capital Sunday, after a suicide bombing killed at least 21 people in a residential neighborhood in northern Baghdad.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya, which also injured more than 35 others, Iraqi security officials said.

The claim by ISIS was released by the terror group's media wing Amaq and on pro-ISIS social media accounts circulated by its supporters.

Sunday's attack came just weeks after the deadliest terror attack in war-weary Baghdad in years, when a suicide truck bomb plowed into a busy shopping district killing almost 300 people.

The bomb-laden truck smashed into a building housing a coffee shop and stores shortly after midnight, when the surrounding streets were packed with people who had been gathering after breaking their Ramadan fasts.

SOURCE:http://edition.cnn.com/

Mr. Bean died after commiting suicide

Fans are distraught and shocked as headlines read, “Rowan Atkinson Dead.” The Mr. Bean actor was reportedly found lifeless after an apparent suicide in his California home.

The outlet who first reported the news detailed that the 60-year-old US actor and comedian was battling severe depression and was pronounced dead after Marin County Police in California responded to an emergency call at his residence. The Linkbeef article also adds that per the local Sheriff’s office, Atkinson was discovered unconscious and was not breathing. 

“At this time, the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made,” police said in a statement.

                                                                                 SOURCE:http://www.morningledger.com/

Kabul attack :ISIS Claims Responsibility

Suicide bombers hit a large demonstration by members of Afghanistan's Hazara minority in Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 61 people and wounding 207, officials said. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, Amaq news agency said.

Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said at least 61 dead and 207 wounded had been taken to nearby hospitals but the numbers may change. It was not immediately clear how many bombs were involved in the attack.
"Opportunist terrorists went among the protestors and set off explosions that killed and wounded a number of our countrymen including security and defence personnel," President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement.

                                                                                                 SOURCE:http://www.ndtv.com/

Borussia Dortmund Resigned Mario Gotze

Borussia Dortmund have resigned Mario Götze from Bayern Munich on a four-year deal for €26m (£21.7m), three seasons after the attacking midfielder left Signal Iduna Park.

The 24-year-old Germany international was one of Pep Guardiola’s first signingsin the summer of 2013, having agreed to join before the end of the season, and leaves the Allianz Arena having won three Bundesliga titles and two German cups, while also scoring the winner for Germany in the 2014 world cup final.

European football transfers: who has done the best business so far?

 

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Götze, a product of the Dortmund academy, said in a statement on Facebook that his decision to leave Dortmund in 2013 was one he regrets. “Today, three years later and at 24, I look at that decision in a different light,” he said.

Likely to face a frosty reception from some Dortmund fans, Götze said he would do everything he possibly can to win over those who “do not welcome me with open arms” and referred to Borussia Dortmund as “his home”. “I can understand many fans could not accept my decision,” he said. “I wouldn’t reach it today either.”

While the defender Mats Hummels and the midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have all left this summer, Dortmund are rebuilding their squad, having already brought in Ousmane Dembélé, Sebastian Rode, Raphaël Guerreiro, Marc Bartra, Emre Mor and Mikel Merino.

SOURCE:https://www.theguardian.com

AN Indian rape survivor was allegedly raped again by same Five men

A 20-year-old college student was found in the roadside bushes of a small northern Indian city last week, raped and left for dead. In the days afterward, a shocking possibility came to light: Her attackers may be the same five men who had raped her three years earlier but were out on bail. They allegedly raped her again because she had been so steadfast in her case against them.

Heinous rape cases periodically find airtime in the Indian news cycle, but the outcry is often muted when the victim belongs to a lower caste. The unnamed girl in this case is a Dalit, a term used to describe the lowest rungs of India's caste system. Casteism is outlawed by India's constitution, but the practice is widespread, especially in smaller towns and rural areas. The five men whom the girl's family blames for the rapes belong to the upper castes.

According to local media interviews with the girl's family, two of the five accused were arrested in 2013 after the first incident of rape but were let off on bail.

Family members said the attack last week was retaliation for not withdrawing the case. Instead of settling the matter in court, the five men had wanted to do so out of court, the victim's family members said. The accused wanted to pay about $75,000, a great deal of money in a country where the average annual income hovers about $1,500, but the victim's family members said they repeatedly rejected the offer.

“We had filed a case in the court for the arrest of the remaining three and re-arrest of the two out on bail. We were getting constant threats from the accused to reach a compromise outside the court, but we remained firm. That’s why they have attacked her again,” the victim’s brother told the Hindustan Times.

Rohtak, the place where the rape occurred, is outside Delhi, in a state known for its deeply chauvinistic attitudes and patriarchal prejudices — where male-dominated village councils often mete out their brand of misogynistic justice with impunity.

The victim's family said this week that her attackers took her from outside her college, drugged her and raped her in a car.

The victim was interviewed in her hospital bed and could barely speak. She was able to tell a TV crew that she went unconscious during the rape but could not muster any more words. Her mother said she had relocated her family to Rohtak after the first rape for safety and better education prospects.

SOURCE:www.washingtonpost.com

DEMBA BA'S X-RAY REVEALED

An X-ray of Demba Ba’s broken leg has been revealed with the former Chelsea striker now set to miss eight months of action.

The 31-year-old suffered the injury in the second half of Shanghai Shenhua’s 2-1 win over bitter rivals Shanghai SIPG.

Ba was rushed to hospital and woke up in pain four hours after receiving general anaesthesia.

The striker’s first question to medical staff was: “Did we win the game?”

Following the injury, Shanghai Shenhua boss Gregorio Manzano insisted that Ba would receive “the best medical treatment” available.

He said: “It could end Ba’s professional career. I would rather lose the game than lose Ba. God is unfair. Ba is too good to have this happened to him.”

Wu Xiaohui, Chairman of Shanghai Shenhua Football Club, broke down in tears when describing the full extent of Ba's horror injury to the media.

Sun Xiang, the player who tackled Ba, visited the striker in hospital as well as Shanghai’s vice-mayor Zhao Wen.
SOURCE:http://www.goal.com/

Saudi government connection in 9/11 attack?

Today Congress and the U.S. Intelligence Community declassified 28 pages of documents produced by the first Congressional inquiry into the 9/11 attacks that included leads and speculative information about a possible Saudi government connection to two of the 19 hijackers.

The intelligence community said today that these pages only represent preliminary findings and do not reflect the U.S. government's ultimate conclusions about the attacks, which for the most part exonerate Saudi Arabia.

SOURCE:http://abcnews.go.com/

Ex Chelsea player suffers from Horrific injury

Former Chelsea and Newcastle striker Demba Ba suffered a horrific injury in the Chinese Super League's Shanghai derby on Sunday.

Ba, 31, had netted 14 goals in 18 appearances for Shanghai Shenhua this season but appeared to badly break his leg in a tangle with a Shanghai SIPG FC defender.

The Senegal international was taken off on 70 minutes as Fredy Guarin's late penalty saw Shenhua pick up a 2-1 win after almost 10 minutes of injury time which included the sending off of Jiajie Wang.

A number of Ba's former teammates took to Twitter to convey their support.

SOURCE:http://www.espn.in/

TURKEY COUP, WHO IS BEHIND?

We still don't know the names of those behind this coup attempt, but they seem to be a senior military group with the resources and time to plan a major operation.

The government has blamed followers of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen - once an ally of President Erdogan, but his fiercest foe since 2013, when the president said he was behind a huge leak of phone calls that seemed to implicate the government in corruption.

Ever since, there's been a relentless purge of Mr Gulen's loyalists within the police, civil service and military: individuals the government has accused of forming a parallel state.

Mr Gulen has denied involvement in this latest coup attempt, but the government wants his extradition from the US, where he lives in exile.

Speaking of the coup plotters, the prime minister has even said the government would consider legal changes regarding the death penalty, which Turkey abolished in 2004.

What's clear is that President Erdogan will use this extraordinary event to clamp down even more on perceived opponents in an already deeply polarised society.

SOURCE:http://www.bbc.com/

CHELSEA SIGN KANTE

The defensive midfielder joined from Caen last summer for £6m and went on to make 40 appearances in Leicester's Premier League-winning campaign.

Kante, 25, was part of the France squad that reached the final of Euro 2016.

"I am so happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It's a dream come true for me," he said.

Kante is Chelsea's second signing of the summer after Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi joined from Marseille.

"The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte, a brilliant coach, and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down," said Kante.

:SOURCE:http//www.bbc.com/

French attack

A terrorist gunman killed 84 people and wounded scores when he drove a heavy truck at high speed into a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice late on Thursday.

The driver was shot dead after barrelling the truck two kilometres (1.3 miles) through the festive crowd on the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais, sending hundreds fleeing in terror and leaving the area strewn with bodies.

Authorities said they found identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen in the truck, as well as "guns" and "larger weapons".

In a pre-dawn address to the nation, President Francois Hollande called up military and police reservists to relieve forces worn out by an eight-month state of emergency begun after the Islamic State militant group killed 130 people in Paris. The state of emergency has been extended.

"France is filled with sadness by this new tragedy," Hollande said, noting several children were among the dead in what he said he had no doubt was an act of terrorism.

SOURCE:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

THERESA MAY NEW PRIME MINISTER OF UK

Theresa May enters Downing Street with more than half of voters thinking she has what it takes to be a good prime minister.
The public support for the new PM came as satisfaction ratings for her outgoing predecessor David Cameron and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn fell to their lowest since they took office.
Some 55% of voters - and 81% of Conservative supporters - questioned by Ipsos Mori for the Evening Standard said Mrs May had what it takes to be PM, compared to just 18% for former rival Andrea Leadsom, who handed her the keys to Number 10 by pulling out of the leadership race on Monday.

One-time Brexiteers' darling Boris Johnson fared little better, with just 21% of voters - and 23% of Tories - saying he has the qualities needed to take the top job. Some 70% said he did not, up sharply from 52% in July last year.

On his final day in office, just 28% of voters said they were satisfied with Mr Cameron's performance - down seven points on the previous month, before he lost the EU referendum and announced he would quit. Some 66% were dissatisfied (up eight), giving him a net rating of minus-38 which Ipsos Mori said was comparable to Gordon Brown before his departure.

SOURCE:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

KASHMIR CLASH

Burhan Wani, 22, died in a gunfight with the Indian army on Friday.

More deaths were reported on Monday after a weekend of violence left 23 dead, including a policeman.

The violence is the worst seen in the region for years. Some 800 extra troops are being sent to help restore order.

More than 200 other people have been injured in the clashes, in which government forces have fired live rounds and tear gas.

A curfew is in place across much of the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley after a police post was set alight and a military airbase targeted during the latest clashes.

Disputed Kashmir is claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan and has been a flashpoint for more than 60 years, sparking two wars between the countries.

Within the disputed Muslim-majority territory, some militant groups have taken up arms to fight for independence from Indian rule or a merger with Pakistan.

The last bout of serious violence in the region was in the summer of 2010, when more than 100 people died in anti-India protests, which broke out after police shot dead a teenager.

SOURCE:http://www.bbc.com/

"Messi will come back",Argentina's President

Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri is confident that Lionel Messi will play for the national team again.

In the aftermath of Argentina’s defeat to Chile in the Copa America final, Messi, who missed a penalty in the shootout, announced that he would quit playing for the national side.

Fans and former players, including Diego Maradona, have pleaded with the Barcelona forward to reverse his decision, and Macri believes that the 29-year-old will represent the country again following a telephone conversation.

"I talked to him on the phone; I'm sure he will come back," Macri told CNBC. 

"He's the best in the world."
SOURCE:http://www.goal.com/

MESSI TO CHELSEA

Pep Guardiola might have said that Lionel Messi “has to stay in Barcelona for the rest of his career,” but don’t tell Chelsea that, with The Sun reporting the Blues are interested in signing the superstar should he give any indication he may quit Barca.

Messi has been sentenced to 21 months jail for tax fraud however, under Spanish law, a prison sentence under two years can be served under probation, meaning Messi is unlikely to go to jail. Barca immediately issued a statement supporting their player following the ruling, but it is believed that Messi feels the club could have been more supportive during the case.

Any fee for Messi would smash the £100 million mark ($172 million), with the report also claiming that Messi’s father, who is also the player’s agent, has met with Blues’ owner Roman Abramovich on the Russian’s luxury yacht.

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to better Messi’s current £600,000-a-week wage, with Manchester City - who are also said to be interested in signing the Argentine - believed to be willing to go to £800,000-a-week to secure his services.

SOURCE:http://www.foxsports.com.au/

IPHONE 7 PRICE AND RELEASE DATE

Release date

Taking Apple's release date history into account, it's likely we'll see the iPhone 7 officially revealed in September 2016.

Both the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6 were revealed in September and Apple has no reason to change its strategy.

There's also nothing wrong with taking advantage of Black Friday sales and the run up to Christmas.

PRICE

It's unlikely that Apple's main iPhone 7 will be any easier on the wallet than past variants.

But its launch could see Apple finally change the thing that annoys people most about the iPhone.

Rumours suggest that Apple is planning to ditch its pitifully small 16GB storage option in favour of a more generous 32GB base model.

The current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus lineup offers customers a choice of 16GB, 64GB, or 128GB storage options.

However, supply chain investigations by Kevin Wang, director of market research at respected analyst firm IHS Technology, suggest the iPhone 7 base model will come with with 32GB of storage.

If true, we could expect other models with larger storage - 64GB and 128GB most likely - to stick with the £619 and £699 prices.

SOURCE:http://www.mirror.co.uk/

Messi to Jail???

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been handed a 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud but is unlikely to serve time in prison.

Any sentence under two years can be suspended under Spanish law, meaning Messi is expected to avoid spending a day behind bars, according to widespread reports.

Messi, one of the world's highest-paid footballers, was tried alongside his father, Jorge, for deceiving Spain's tax authority of 4.1m euros (£3.19m) between 2007 and 2009.

The forward, who recently announced his retirement from the Argentina national team, has also been fined six weeks' wages worth £1.7 million.
The 29-year-old was accused of creating a number of fake companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid taxation on his lucrative image rights.

Messi claimed he never suspected any wrongdoing about his financial affairs, but a court has found both he and his father guilty in the crime.
SOURCE:http://www.goal.com/

What is JUNO Aircraft and it's work?

Juno is a NASA spacecraft that is going to Jupiter. Juno launched in 2011 and will arrive at Jupiter in 2016.

The spacecraft's name comes from Roman mythology. According to the myth, the god Jupiter would hide behind clouds. But his wife, the goddess Juno, could see through them. As in the story, the planet Jupiter is covered with clouds. The spacecraft Juno will help NASA learn about what the planet Jupiter is like behind the clouds.

How Will Juno Study Jupiter?
The Juno spacecraft launched aboard an Atlas V (Roman numeral 5) rocket on Aug. 5, 2011. It will reach Jupiter in 2016. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter 32 times, coming within 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) above the tops of the planet's clouds. Juno will orbit closer to Jupiter than any spacecraft has before. It will orbit around Jupiter's poles for about one year.

Science instruments on board Juno will study Jupiter's atmosphere. They will use Jupiter's magnetic field, gravity field and naturally occurring radio waves to study the mysterious interior of the giant planet. Juno also will take the first pictures of Jupiter's polar regions and study the huge aurora that lights up Jupiter's north and south poles.

Juno will measure the amount of water and ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere to help learn how giant planets formed. By making maps of Jupiter's gravitation and magnetic fields, Juno can determine the mass of Jupiter's core. Juno will learn about Jupiter's atmosphere under the clouds to understand Jupiter's structure. And Juno will sample the electrons and ions in Jupiter's magnetosphere to understand why the planet has the brightest auroras in the solar system.

Juno has three very large solar panels. The solar panels extend outward from Juno's six-sided body. The solar arrays measure approximately 2.65 meters wide by 8.9 meters long (about 9 feet wide by 29 feet long). The spacecraft and solar wings together span more than 20 meters (66 feet). Once in orbit, the three arrays will generate about 450 watts of electricity, which is about the same amount of electricity it takes to operate a computer.

SOURCE:http://www.nasa.gov/

Who told Sir Alex Ferguson to sign RYAN GIGGS?

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says that despite what anyone else says, a steward told him to sign Ryan Giggs.

“We always had a few scouts who claimed they were the one who discovered Giggs,” Sir Alex said.

“They probably did, but they never acted on what they saw.”

“It was actually a steward who first told me it was a disgrace that this Manchester United fan was training down the road at City.”

“You knew right away, the way he ran across the ground, that he was something else. He was like a Cocker Spaniel chasing a piece of silver in the wind. His feet never seemed to touch the ground and that was the start of it all.”

SOURCE:http://www.bloggingmanutd.com/

Ronaldo's Beautiful words on Messi

Ronaldo finally spoke on Messi retirement claiming that it really hurts to see Messi in tears.Argentine Messi retired after loosing back to back final in the penalty shootout against Chile in two Copa America finals(2015-2016).
Despite the decade-long duel between the pair to be named the best player on the planet, Ronaldo appears to have put aside their rivalry to comment on Messi's international retirement.

"Messi has taken a tough decision and people should understand. He is not accustomed to defeats and disappointments, not even finish the second. Missing a penalty does not make you a bad player.

"It hurts to see Messi in tears and I hope he returns to his country, because he needs it."

Ronaldo, of course, plays for Real Madrid, where he has laboured to fewer titles that he would have liked due to Messi's Barcelona's dominance in Spain.

SOURCE:http://www.mirror.co.uk/

ISIS ATTACK IN MALAYSIA

Police initially said that business rivalry was a more likely motive for the attack on the Movida bar restaurant outside Kuala Lumpur on 28 June.

They added that two men suspected of involvement had been arrested.

Authorities are increasingly concerned about IS-related attacks as a number of Malaysians have gone to fight in Syria.

"There were elements of IS involvement in the attack," national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters.

"We found out that the two of them received instructions from one of our own citizens in Syria... to conduct attacks in Malaysia."

There have been dozens of extremism-related arrests in recent years, including 13 Malaysians detained following the latest attack but who police said were not directly connected to it.

Governments across the region have warned of an increased threat from the group.

SOURCE:http://www.bbc.com/

Saudi bomb blast

The bomber detonated his device as security officers were breaking their Ramadan fast, al-Arabiya TV said.

Footage on the TV network showed a blazing vehicle. There are no details of casualties and no official comment.

The mosque is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad and Medina the second-holiest city in Islam after Mecca.

State-linked Sabq news and the Okaz newspaper also carried reports of the suicide attack.

Earlier, at least one explosion rocked the eastern city of Qatif.

Qatif is home to many minority Shia Muslims and the blast appeared to target a Shia mosque. No casualties have been reported so far.

A suspected suicide bomber also died after detonating a device near the US consulate in the city of Jeddah. Two security officers were slightly injured as they tackled the man, but no-one else was hurt.

Social media footage from Medina showed a vehicle on fire in a car park, with two security officers lying nearby.

Other footage showed ambulances and police vehicles streaming to the area.

It is not clear who is behind any of the attacks.

The attacks come with the holy month of Ramadan drawing to a close and ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

source:http://www.bbc.com/