Pirates into Champs League final
Happy Jele squandered a wonderful opportunity to score a second for the Sea Robbers when he got onto the end of a teasing cross from Segolela in the 58th minute, but his header struck a post and the scores remained level at 1-1. With the teams having shared a goalless draw in Soweto, Johannesburg, the Buccaneers progressed to the two-leg title decider on the away goals rule. It was a huge result for the South Africans as Esperance had reached the last three Caf Champions League finals, winning in 2011 and finishing as runners-up in 2010 and 2012. Esperance enjoyed the better of the early going, but Pirates gradually worked their way into the game and almost snatched the lead after a swift counter-attack. Tlou Segolela was put through on goal in the 18th minute, but he opted for a pass instead of a shot and the home team kept the score at nil-nil. Pirates will face Al Ahly for the 2013 title, with the teams meeting in Soweto on 2 November, followed by the second leg in Cairo on 9 November. Pirates are the only South African team to have previously reached the Caf Champions League final. In 1995, they lifted the title after playing to a 2-2 draw with Asec Abidjan in Johannesburg and then scoring a 1-0 win away from home. South African club Orlando Pirates won through to the final of the Confederation of African Football’s Champions League after holding Tunisian powerhouse Esperance to a 1-1 draw at the Olympic Stadium in Rades on Saturday night. “This is a proud moment for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) when one of its members achieves such a milestone,” PSL CEO Brand de Villiers said in a statement on Sunday. The Egyptians shaded Coton Sport of Cameroon to secure their place in the final, with the clubs drawing both semi-final matches 1-1 before Al Ahly advanced 7-6 from the penalty spot. Victory in Cairo Pirates previously missed out on the Champions League final to Tunisian opposition in 2006, going down 0-1 to CS Sfaxien after the two-leg clash. “Considering what has happened in the past where our teams have dropped out in the early stages of the Champions League, as a country we must draw lessons from Pirates’ campaign and build a strong case for our teams to dominate at inter- continental club competitions,” De Villiers said. Narrow miss 21 October 2013 Lead Four minutes into the second half, Pirates almost hit the front, but Daine Klate’s header of a Segolela cross was superbly kept out by Ben Cherifa. Shortly after that, however, the Buccaneers grabbed the lead. Segolela found Rooi Mahamutsa with a free kick and the defender found the back of the net with a header to put Pirates in front. With an away goal to their credit, it effectively meant Esperance would have to score at least twice to advance to the final. Segolela then caused Moez Ben Cherifa problems with a shot at the goalkeeper’s near post. While the Egyptians held Pirates to a goalless draw in Soweto on 22 September, the Buccaneers will go into the final with confidence, knowing they won their away game in Cairo by three goals to nil on 4 August. The Blood and Gold narrowly missed out on taking the lead when Meyiwa struggled to deal with a long range effort from Houcine Ragued, with the ball bouncing up and off the crossbar for a corner. “We would like to congratulate Orlando Pirates’ management, technical staff and players for reaching the final of the Champions League and I would also like to invite the football family in the country to join me as we wish them the best of luck when they play in the Caf Champions League final. Meyiwa also needed to grab a rebound of a block he made of a free kick, just ahead of Harrison Aful, who was looking to snap up the goalie’s bobble. The Tunisians, though, found an equaliser within three minutes when substitute Iheb Msakni steered Youcef Belaili’s cross from the right past Meyiwa to up the tension once more. Hostile environment 1995 winners On Saturday night, the South African team gave as good as it got in a hostile environment, which included goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa having to deal with having a laser shone in his eyes. Esperance fought hard to find a late winner, but Pirates had an answer to every question the home team posed.
Share Facebook Twitter Google + LinkedIn Pinterest By Joel PenhorwoodA federal judge on Tuesday made a notable announcement regarding the ongoing Lake Erie Bill of Rights lawsuit brought forward by farmers in Ohio.U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary said he would not allow Lake Erie to participate in the lawsuit.Cleveland.com reported he called the request “unusual” and “meritless.”The Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) looks to give the body of water itself legal rights, allowing Toledo residents to sue on its behalf. It stems from the ongoing tension from the Harmful Algal Blooms which forced the City of Toledo to shut down its drinking water system for three days in 2014.LEBOR was passed by Toledo voters in February, and Wood County farmer Mark Drewes immediately countered the move with a lawsuit of his own the day after LEBOR was passed, questioning its constitutionality.The proceedings regarding the case continued this week and the environmental advocate group Toledoans for Safe Water had asked to be included in the legal action, along with Lake Erie itself, in order to better represent those in favor of LEBOR. They argued the Toledo city lawyers would not do an adequate job of defending the law and wanted to step in as a result.Judge Zouhary ruled the Toledoans for Safe Water being involved would “unduly delay this lawsuit” and their interests were not enough to meet the requirements of a federal lawsuit.
Shib Shankar Patra is one among thousands of die-hard Argentina fans in Kolkata and there’s nothing unusual about it. But then die-hard fans at times can be weird too and the 53-year-old Mr. Patra has that weird streak in him.Next best thingTrying to garner enough savings from his modest earnings through a tea stall, Mr. Patra harboured a dream — to watch ‘The Albiceleste’ live from the stands in Russia. But when a Kolkata-based travel agent informed him that his savings — a princely amount of ₹60,000 ($900) is not enough to fund his World Cup trip (travel agent gave him a budget of ₹1.5 lakh), he decided the next best thing — paint his entire three-storeyed building in Argentina colours.“I don’t smoke or drink. I have only one addiction and that is Lionel Messi and Argentina. I don’t earn much but ensure that bulk of my earnings is kept aside for these indulgences when World Cup comes calling,” Mr. Patra, owner of a tea and snack stall in North 24 Parganas’ Nawabganj township said.You don’t need a GPS to track Patra’s house once you get down to Ichhapore Railway Station. Ask any cocky teenager or elderly uncle about “Argentina Chaayer Dokan” (Argentina Tea Stall), they will be more than happy to oblige.The street leading up to his tea stall-cum-house is dotted with Argentina flags.Every four years coinciding with the World Cup, Mr. Patra gives his building a fresh coat of light blue and white shade. Enter his three-room apartment and the craziness hits you instantly. All the walls are painted in Argentina colour, even the small prayer room. The walls of each room adorn a life-size poster of Messi.Addiction can be contagious but if its ‘Messi mania’, Mr. Patra doesn’t mind that his wife Swapna along with his children — 20 year-old daughter Neha and 10-year-old son Shubham are equally mad about the fleet-footed genius. “My kids know everything about Messi. The food he likes, the car he drives, everything,” Mr. Patra says with a glint of pride in his eyes.
The Assam government on Wednesday rolled out a slew of pro-farmers sops worth ₹1,000 crore annually, but insisted they were not copycat debt relief schemes.Himanta Biswa Sarma, the State’s Finance Minister, announced the Assam Farmers’ Credit Subsidy Scheme, the Assam Farmers’ Interest Relief Scheme, and the Assam Farmers’ Incentive Scheme to cover 27 lakh farming households across 26,000 revenue villages serviced by 1,800 rural and semi-urban bank branches.“These are subsidy schemes, not loan or debt waiver schemes and have been in the process after having been included in the State’s Budget for the 2018-19 fiscal. It was incorporated to mark 125 years of the Patharughat peasants’ movement and not copied from Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat or anywhere else,” Mr. Sarma said.Some 140 peasants were killed in police firing on January 28, 1894, at Patharughat in north-central Assam’s Darrang district. The farmers had gathered there to protest arbitrary increase in taxes levied by the British.Under the credit subsidy scheme, launched this year as a pilot project, the government would reimburse 25% of the loan repaid by farmers in their accounts. The cap on reimbursement will be ₹25,000.“This will cover 2.62 lakh farmers who have taken loans through Kisan Credit Card. Those who have repaid the loan fully or partly will be reimbursed, and those who are about to pay will have to pay only 75% of the returnable money,” Mr. Sarma said.The scheme, to cost the government ₹500 crore annually, has been extended to small tea growers and rubber planters too.The interest relief scheme, to cost the government ₹200 crore, intends to make krishi loans interest-free. “The Central government provides 3% subsidy on interest on such loans. The Assam government will take care of the remaining 4%, which means we will move towards zero interest on farm loans,” Mr. Sarma said, adding that the scheme would be for loans up to ₹2 lakh.The incentive scheme, worth ₹300 crore, targets about 3 lakh farm loan defaulters to bring them back into the banking system. “We will give ₹10,000 to make the NPA (non-performing assets) accounts of farmers active again. We hope this will encourage some 8 lakh more farmers in Assam who have never taken loans,” Mr. Sarma said.Tractors to be givenApart from these schemes, the Assam government would be distributing tractors in all revenue villages. Some 7,000 tractors have already been given, the Minister said.The government would also be providing ₹5,000 each to 27 lakh farmers as agricultural input subsidy. The scheme will start with 5 lakh farmers who registered for it.
Human skeleton remains were found strewn near a garbage dump close to the post-mortem section of the Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH) here on Saturday, officials said.The SKMCH is in news for the death of more than 100 brain fever-afflicted children since June 1.“Unclaimed bodies after post-mortem are cremated in due course. These skeletal remains are found at the spot where cremations are said to take place. But I agree this should be done in a more humane fashion,” Sunil Kumar Shahi, Superintendent of the SKMCH hospital said.The embarrassed hospital superintendent was replying to queries from a swarm of journalists who have been camping in the town to cover the epidemic-like situation that has arisen in the wake of the outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, which has claimed close to 140 lives across the state, with this north Bihar district alone accounting for 127 deaths.Also Read The Hindu Explains: How litchi toxin is causing the deaths of undernourished children in Muzaffarpur Bearing the brunt, the SKMCH, which is one of the largest government hospitals in the State, has witnessed the death of 107 AES-afflicted children since June 1.“The post-mortem section comes under the administrative control of the principal of the medical college attached to the hospital. I have asked him to set up a committee to look into the matter and take remedial measures,” Dr. Shahi added.Meanwhile, as news channels beamed the horrific images, the district administration swung into action and Sub Divisional Magistrate (East) Kundan Kumar and Superintendent of Police (City) Neeraj Kumar rushed to the spot.“We will not like to comment on this episode until we conduct a thorough inquiry”, the SP (City) said.Locals say with disgust that improper disposal of dead bodies has been a long-standing problem in the area and stray dogs can be often seen pouncing upon half-burnt corpses.
Domestic phone maker Karbonn has added a new smartphone in its Titanium series, the S1 Plus. Karbonn Titanium S1 PlusPriced at Rs 6490, the Karbonn Titanium S1 Plus comes with a 10.1-cm WVGA capacitive touch screen. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz Quad Core Processor and 1GB RAM with 4GB ROM architecture. Its expandable memory stands up to 32BG via a microSD card. It runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS.The Titanium S1 Plus sports a 5-megapixel rear camera and a digital front camera for video calling.The new Karbonn smartphone comes with dual SIM support where SIM 1 supports 3G and SIM 2 supports 2G network for faster network access. As per company’s claim, its 1500 mAh battery offers long backup.A host of networking options is also available on the device where GPS navigation, G-Sensor, Proximity & Light Sensor, 3G & Wi-Fi are offered as standard features.The Karbonn Titanium S1 Plus also offers features like touch and swipe gestures, customizable widgets and smart notification panel.