Real Madrid, Juve among qualifiers in UCL
LISBON, Portugal (AP):Defending champions Real Madrid advanced from the group stage of the Champions League for the 20th straight time after beating 10-man Sporting Lisbon 2-1 yesterday.Also booking their passage to the knockout stage yesterday were Monaco, who defeated Tottenham 2-1, Juventus, who were 3-1 winners at Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen despite their 1-1 draw at CSKA Moscow and Leicester City, which won 2-1 over Club Brugge.Karim Benzema came off the bench to get the late winner in Portugal, scoring in the 87th minute.A draw would have been enough to get Madrid through to the knockout stages anyway, but victory gave the team a chance to finish first in Group F – with a home victory over Borussia Dortmund in the final round.”It was important that we won here,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We achieved what we came to get. We are going to play a final against Dortmund now.”The German side, which routed Legia Warsaw 8-4, has a two-point lead over Madrid.Benzema salvaged Madrid’s victory with a header after a well-placed cross by Sergio Ramos. That came just seven minutes after Sporting midfielder Adrien Silva equalized by converting a controversial penalty kick. The penalty was awarded after the ball hit Fabio Coentrao’s arm, which he had just thrust into the air to complain of a hand ball by Sporting.Benzema had been doubtful to play during the week because of an injury but his recovery proved crucial. He entered the match in the 67th to replace Francisco ‘Isco’ Alarcon.TWO SHORTPortugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, returning home to play against the team where he started his career, got an assist in Madrid’s first goal when he mis-hit a shot inside the area. The ball bounced off his back foot and moved forward for Raphael Varane’s easy shot from close range in the first half.It was the third straight game for Ronaldo without a goal in the Champions League, keeping him two short of becoming the first player to reach the 100-goal mark in European competitions.Sporting’s Joao Pereira was sent off in the 64th with a straight red after an altercation with Madrid’s Mateo Kovacic.Madrid scored two late goals the first in the 89th in the 2-1 win over Sporting in the teams’ opener in the group stage.The game marked Madrid’s return to Lisbon for the first time since winning the 2014 Champions League against Atletico Madrid at the Estadio da Luz.The victory extended Madrid’s unbeaten streak to 30 matches in all competitions. The Spanish club has scored 25 goals in their last six away games.
Chief Medical Officer Shamdeo PersaudExpired medications are sold on the Guyanese market and some consumers have opted to purchase and ingest these products, oblivious to the harmful aftereffects.This is according to Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who earlier this week sent out a stern warning that medicines devalue after manufacturing and the active ingredients might not be as effective. Some, he said, can even become poisonous if they are kept for long periods.Persons were asked to beware of such products since quality is affected by a number of environmental factors.“None of you [should] consume medications that would deem to have expired because, at that point, I can’t guarantee that you are consuming a medicine that has the active ingredient that is stated on that label. We know that with time, environmental conditions, moisture, temperature etc, those substances change. We know several medications that can become poisonous substances when they’re kept for [a] long period of time so beware of those,” Persaud related.He expressed that the Public Health Ministry has sought to alert its departments and the Private Sector on expired drugs. Even if a medication expired just one day ago, it should not be consumed, he added, further stating that the expiration date of products should be clearly written in English as part of mandatory requirements.“The Ministry has been alerting its agencies, including the Private Sector that we do not use expire drugs. There is no ‘it expired yesterday so you can go ahead and take those medications’. A lot of our products do come in bulk forms. We are encouraging that the expiry dates be written on the information that is given to the patients so the person knows [when] their supply of drugs expires,” the CMO said.While there are many ways to indicate when merchandise will expire, the simple expiry date is applicable to medicines.“The law specifically stipulates that food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices must be labelled in English language first of all and the labels must cover certain areas. The Food and Drug Act also stipulates the time of expiry date. There were some discussions about ‘best before’, as opposed to ‘consume by’ as opposed to ‘expiry date’. Expiry date seems to be more applicable to medications and pharmaceutical agents that would tend to, based on scientific evidence, deteriorate as a matter of fact.”He stated that these regulations should also follow for food items. Foodstuff that is close to being expired can be eaten but not those that would have already expired. When the stipulated date has passed, it should be thrown away or destroyed and not sold to uninformed persons.It was also conveyed that persons choose to buy expired products due to the marked down prices but this may carry additional health risks.“In terms of food, it’s a bit more flexible. What we keep advising is that those items should be close to the date, not past it. Any past date should be removed from the shelf and destroyed, not resold to our poorer population or less-educated persons and put them at additional health risk,” said the Chief Medical Officer.
160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! Under terms of the contract, there is a negotiating window from Dec. 15 through Jan. 15 to extend the deal for a year. Both sides must agree to the rollover. “We are looking forward to an exciting and successful season in 2007,” UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said. “With Karl solidifying his coaching staff, an experienced team returning and a terrific home schedule, we are poised to take the next step with our program.” UCLA and Karl Dorrell mutually agreed to a one-year rollover of the football coach’s contract, which now runs through the 2011 season. Terms of the rollover year are the same as in the five-year contract Dorrell agreed to a year ago. He is guaranteed $850,000 annually, and can make another $505,000 in incentives. 
Meanwhile, Dorrell continues to search for an offensive line coach, and sources said University of Arizona tight ends coach Dana Dimel is a possibility. Dimel was the offensive line coach at Kansas State from 1989-94, and has served as head coach at Wyoming and Houston. – Brian Dohn 
EAST WHITTIER – They’ve taken on bullies, tackled the topic of divorce and gently explained disabilities like cerebral palsy and blindness to hundreds of elementary school students over the past few years. Now, volunteers from the Assistance League of Whittier are helping local students learn about autism in their new Kids On The Block puppet show, which made its debut Thursday at Ocean View Elementary School. Kids On The Block is an international educational program that uses a troupe of large puppets to help non-disabled children understand social issues and accept disabled youngsters into their lives. “When we were doing our shows last year, three principals asked whether we had a show on autism and we didn’t,” said chairman Shirley Hawkins. “Autism is a great topic for this because it’s not a visible disability – these children look like everyone else but their behavior and language is different,” said volunteer Virginia “Ginny” Ball. “When David first comes out, flapping his arms around and rocking back and forth, there’s laughing and giggling,” she added. “But by the time we get to the end of the questions, the kids have a different attitude. The laughter stops.” The Assistance League performs its puppet shows for free at schools on Thursdays from January through May, though they are booked through the end of this month, Hawkins said. For additional information, call (562) 693-6533. tracy.garcia@sgvn.com (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3051 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! As such, the group raised enough money to purchase a script for a new show about an autistic boy, David, and how his family and friends deal with his unusual behavior, which included tantrums, repetitive motions and limited language. “It was a good show,” said third-grader Mariah Garcia, 9. “It taught me not to make fun of other kids with autism, to be nice and generous to them but not give in to their tantrums.” At the end of the show, students were encouraged to ask questions directly to the puppets, which are manned by black-clad Assistance League volunteers whose faces are also covered. “I thought the questions were fabulous,” said volunteer Sherry Barber. “They expressed themselves so well.” The local Assistance League has been building its Kids On The Block puppet show since 1991. Many of the topics deal with teaching children how to respect and treat others who are different from them. 
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — State officials who quarantined a Stanislaus County hog farm after an industrial chemical was found in its animals said Friday the health risk to people who ate pork from the facility appeared “minimal,” as inspectors continued testing. Tests of seven urine samples and two feed samples at American Hog Farm in Ceres all came back positive for the chemical, melamine, which has tainted more than 100 brands of dog and cat food, said State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer. Three live pigs were taken for testing, and inspectors are rounding up an undetermined number of live hogs sold from the 1,500-animal farm since April 3. So far, the state has 26 recovered pigs at a Northern California facility, officials said. American Hog Farm also operates as a “custom slaughterhouse,” one of 40 such state-licensed facilities in California that butcher animals for individual orders, Breitmeyer said. The meat is not intended for resale and is stamped “not for sale,” so the pork would not be available at commercial outlets, he said. “There is no evidence that any products from this farm have entered the food supply,” Breitmeyer said. “The risk to people right now is minimal.” Still, the state is asking customers who bought nearly 100 pigs from the slaughterhouse since April 3 not to eat the products as a precaution, he said. The California Department of Food and Agriculture imposed the quarantine Thursday after records from Diamond Pet Food’s Lathrop facility showed it sold salvage pet food to the farm for pig feed earlier this month. Those shipments from Diamond, which produces products under the Natural Balance brand, were later found to have melamine, traced to rice protein concentrate imported from China. Calls made to American Hog Farm on Friday were not answered. Phone calls to Diamond Pet Food’s Lathrop facility and Meta, Mo., headquarters were not immediately returned Friday. California officials are not inspecting any other farms. Melamine, which is used in making plastics and other industrial processes, has been blamed for causing health problems in dozens of dogs and cats, but the Food and Drug Administration could not provide numbers of pet deaths or injuries due to the contaminated food. The house pets that have died from contaminated pet food likely had long-term exposure to the chemical through their diet, but the pigs on American Hog Farm were likely only exposed about two weeks, Breitmeyer said. The hogs appeared healthy, officials said. Small farm owners commonly buy salvage feed from pet food companies that repackage torn shipments or spilled products, Breitmeyer said. On Friday, Royal Canin USA became the third company to recall pet foods made with Chinese rice protein concentrate contaminated by melamine. It recalled some of its dry dog and cat foods made with the tainted protein. PacoimaZZDN-based Natural Balance and Wilton, Conn.-based Blue Buffalo also have recalled cat and dog foods made with the contaminated rice protein concentrate. Wilbur-Ellis Co., a U.S. importer of the tainted rice protein, has recalled all the ingredient it had distributed to five U.S. pet food manufacturers. The San Francisco company urged its customers to recall any products that may be on store shelves. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
Tony Evans, The Times’ Football Editor, claims Liverpool will finalise a deal for Christian Benteke ‘by the end of next week’.The Reds have triggered the £32.5million release clause in the Aston Villa striker’s contract and are negotiating payment terms with their Premier League rivals.And Evans says it is just a matter of time before the Belgian seals his switch, telling Saturday Scoreboard: “I am almost certain that this is going to happen.“Brendan Rodgers really wants the player and the club are going to back him.“The medical will be early next week and he will be a Liverpool player by the end of next week.”
AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREGame Center: Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, 10 a.m.The top American diplomat encouraged the activists to build institutions of democracy. These would help combat arbitrary state power amid increasing pressure from the Kremlin, she said. The U.S. is concerned about the centralization of power and democratic backsliding ahead of Russia’s legislative and presidential elections in December and March. Putin will step down next year as president. He has said he would lead the ticket of the main pro-Kremlin party in the parliamentary elections and could take the prime minister’s job later. Rice sought opinions and assessments of the situation from eight prominent rights leaders. “I talked to people about the coming months and how they see the coming months. How these two elections are carried out will have an effect on whether Russia is making the next step on toward democracy,” Rice said after the private sessions at Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. ambassador in Moscow. Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday received a chilly reception from Putin and senior Russian officials on U.S. proposals for cooperating on a missile defense system in Eastern Europe that Russia vehemently opposes. But as she has in the past, Rice declined comment on Putin’s possible political future and said she did not raise the matter in her official discussions. MOSCOW – The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power grab may undermine Moscow’s commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday. “In any country, if you don’t have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development,” Rice told reporters after meeting with human-rights activists. “I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma,” said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament. Telephone messages left with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov were not immediately returned Saturday evening. Although she would not speculate about Putin’s ambitions, Rice said there were signs that whatever transition occurs could be smooth. “To the degree that anyone can predict, it looks like it will be fairly stable,” she said. “But I would just caution that change is change.” Earlier, Rice said she hoped the efforts of rights activists would promote universal values of “the rights of individuals to liberty and freedom, the right to worship as you please, and the right to assembly, the right to not have to deal with the arbitrary power of the state.” In the meeting with business, media and civil society leaders, Rice said she was “especially interested in talking about how you view (the) political evolution of Russia, the economic evolution of Russia.” “Russia is a country that’s in transition and that transition is not easy and there are a lot of complications and a lot of challenges,” Rice said. “If Russia is to emerge as a democratic country that can fully protect the rights of its people, it is going to emerge over years and you have to be a part of helping the emergence of that Russia.”160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
Unai Emery has admitted he wants to keep Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal despite the Wales international not yet agreeing a new contract to stay in north London.Ramsey, the midfielder, has not put pen to paper on extended terms since Emery’s appointment as manager earlier this summer, meaning he’s now entered the final 12 months of his contract. Where every Premier League club needs to strengthen in January “But I am awaiting the medical analysis and I think it’s not a big problem.” How Arsenal could line up in Arteta’s first official game in charge – Ozil return? Latest Arsenal news Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Ndidi bid, targets named, Ozil is ‘skiving little git’ targets smart causal How the Premier League table could change after the Boxing Day fixtures In June it was reported that Ramsey was close to signing a long-term deal with the Gunners, but there has been no progress made since then, despite Emery wanting the 27-year-old to remain at the Emirates.When asked about the situation, he added: “I don’t know. This is one question for the club and for the player. I am very, very concentrated and my focus is thinking every day for the training, for the players, for the match on Saturday against Lazio and then starting against Manchester City.“Ramsey’s with us. The contract is a question for the club and for the player. REVEALED possible standings Ramsey has entered the final 12 months of his Arsenal contract gameday cracker Boxing Day fixtures: All nine Premier League games live on talkSPORT Where Ancelotti ranks with every Premier League boss for trophies won Which teams do the best on Boxing Day in the Premier League era? REVEALED Every current Premier League club’s best kit from the past decade LATEST England’s most successful clubs of the past decade, according to trophies won NEW ERA Ramsey was withdrawn from Arsenal’s clash v Chelsea over an injury worry What every Premier League club’s fans dream of this Christmas silverware 2 2 “My opinion is clear, I want him to be with us. He’s the type of player I want in this team. But the contract is one thing only for the club and the player.”Ramsey was due to start Arsenal’s pre-season friendly against Chelsea on Wednesday night, but was withdrawn at the last moment over an injury worry.Emile Smith Rowe, the teenager, came in to replace Ramsey for the penalty defeat of the Blues, and Emery has moved quickly to downplay any serious worries about an extended absence for the Wales international.“He has got a little pain in his muscle,” he continued, “and we decided not to start him because it is maybe a big risk for him. BIG PRESENTS UP TOP 
Fostering growth To date, AfDB has approved a total of nine private sector operations amounting to approximately $1.2-billion in South Africa, and two regional projects amounting to $105-million. State power company Eskom has secured a 20-year loan for US$500-million (about R5.08-billion) from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund a capital expansion programme that seeks to increase South Africa’s electricity generation capacity and strengthen the country’s transmission and distribution grid. “The foundation for this relationship is all the more entrenched due to the two institutions’ critical developmental mandate both in South Africa and the region.” The first of Medupi’s six generating units will be commissioned by early 2011, with the last unit scheduled for commissioning by January 2015. The first of Kusile’s six generating units is scheduled for completion by 2013, followed by the completion on an additional unit after every eight months. In September, Eskom began construction on the Kusile coal-fired base load power station near Witbank in Mpumalanga province, while work on the Medupi coal-fired base load power station near Lephalale in Limpopo province began in April. In a statement this week, AfDB vice president Mandla Gantsho underscored the importance of the development bank’s commitment to assisting its regional member states in improving their electricity capacity. SAinfo reporter 11 November 2008 The loan agreement, which was signed in Johannesburg this week, is the largest ever granted by the AfDB’s private sector operations division. Eskom is spending billions on rehabilitating South Africa’s electricity network and doubling generation capacity to support economic growth in the country and region. In October, Eskom released a list of 23 national and international developers to be unconditionally pre-qualified to produce electricity under the utility’s multi-site base load independent power producer programme. “The extent and timing of the AfDB loan reinforces the extent to which institutions based on the continent can provide support which fosters growth,” said Eskom finance director Bongani Nqwababa. “By supporting Eskom’s expansion programme, the AfDB will seek to address not only the energy problem in South Africa, but also the whole sub-region, as Eskom is expected to play an important role in some key regional programmes,” he said. Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material
20 June 2013 Pietermaritzburg’s Cascades MTB Park, venue for the UCI MTB & Trials World Championships and Masters World Championships, is taking shape nicely ahead of the 21 August starting date. A memorial to South African MTB legend Burry Stander has also been unveiled. Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material She was approached by the KZN MTB Commission to construct the memorial garden because she had established a close bond with Stander when her daughter started mountain biking as a six-year-old, and thrived on the loyal support from Stander as she progressed. Further workThies plans to extend the work she has done at the site to include a picture of Stander on the base of the plague plinth, and to add two further ghost bikes covered in white flowers. Despite a similar offer to ride the downhill course from designer Nigel Hicks, Obodov respectfully declined, although he did visit various sections of the course via vehicle and was impressed with what he saw there too. ‘I’m no downhiller!’“Nigel Hicks was also kind enough to offer to ride the course with me, but there was just no way. I’m no downhiller,” Obodov chuckled. “But I did still visit parts of it and it looks very challenging.” “It was great to show Joel around sections of the courses, especially the Masters’ cross country route, and he seemed very happy with what we’ve put together thus far,” said Floros. “I was fortunate to have been able to visit the Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg recently and meet up with Event Director Alec Lenferna and some of his team,” said Obodov. “Alec was kind enough to show me parts of the course and how things will be set up and things are looking very good. “We’re going to be adding a couple of rocky outcrops that the guys will have to weave between. There will be one or two more bull runs added as well, which, together with series of logs, gap jumps and a few small rock gardens, will hopefully make it a good mountain biking course. Stander, who finished second behind Swiss ace Nino Schurter at the UCI MTB World Cup in Pietermaritzburg last year, died in a training accident in January. “A lot of sweat and tears went into it,” she said. “Nick Floros rode around part of the Masters XCO course with me and explained the different possibilities and all looks and it sounds very good,” said Obodov. ‘Perfect for mountain biking’“Since the Cascades MTB Park has been used for top level international events before, there is a very good infrastructure in place already. It’s a beautiful area and perfect for mountain biking,” Obodov added. During his visit, with cross country course designer Nick Floros as his guide, Obodov enjoyed a first-hand experience of the Masters’ cross country route and left fully satisfied with the basic structure and standard of the loop. With the World Championships and Masters World Championships taking place back-to-back for the first time, Obodov looked at the courses for both events and declared himself very happy with the preparation and progress being made. World champion’s tributeAt the centre of the memorial is a garden, also shaped in a pair of wings, which contains a plaque with a four-line tribute penned by Pietermaritzburg local and downhill world champion Greg Minnaar that reads : “Those we love don’t go away; They walk beside us every day; Unseen, unheard but always near; Still loved, still missed and very dear.” The memorial is the work of passionate MTB supporter Jackie Thies, mother to an eager and talented 10- year-old mountain biking daughter. Thumbs upMeanwhile, (UCI) MTB International Commissaire Joel Obodov on a recent visit to South Africa gave the event’s courses an unqualified thumbs up. “We’re confident that by the time we’re finished the bits and pieces we’re still working on, we would have produced a course that is worthy of seeing a world champion overcome whilst also offering some easier, slower, alternatives to the average Joe just looking to be a part of the event,” he reckoned. With work on the courses still taking place and various features, including technical sections and minor tweaks still to be added or completed, Obodov and Floros discussed the various alterations still in the pipeline at length and swapped ideas around the work to be done. The memorial will be formally dedicated during the World Championships at the end of August. Located close to the start/finish straight, the newly grassed bank, shaped to resemble a pair of angel’s wings, includes a white “ghost-bike” traditionally erected for cycling heroes. SAinfo reporter ‘Very happy’“We’re very happy with the basic loop that we’ve put together for the Masters’ cross country course, but there are quite a few smaller technical sections that we’re still working on, so it is definitely a work in progress at this stage,” Floros said.