Mourinho writes off United’s title chances |
- Mourinho writes off United’s title chances
- Thousands protest abortion in Paris
- ‘Ride Along’ rolls over ‘Jack Ryan’ to win US weekend box office
- Eto’s treble leaves United reeling
- Lifestyle disorders top health issues in Arab world
| Mourinho writes off United’s title chances Posted: 19 Jan 2014 05:05 PM PST
Samuel Eto'o scored his first Chelsea hat-trick to move his side back to within two points of first place, and with United so far off the pace, Mourinho says it will be almost impossible for them to retain their title. "It is hard. They are 14 points behind Arsenal, 13 behind Manchester City, and 12 from us," he said. "Maybe one team collapses, but for three to collapse is difficult, so for them I think it is the fight to finish in the top four. "They will do that with their pride and tradition and fight and hopefully they win against the other contenders, because now we do not play against them (United) in the league." Chelsea had been on the back foot until Eto'o's deflected shot put them ahead in the 17th minute and United manager David Moyes agreed with Mourinho's assessment that the visitors "started better than us." "We did not deserve to be 2-0 down at half time," Moyes said. "We had a little bit of bad luck with the first one, but we can't blame anyone else but ourselves for the other two. "We did not defend well enough and did not get a chance like Chelsea got to score, so we can only blame ourselves for that." United had captain Nemanja Vidic sent off in stoppage time for a scissor tackle on Eden Hazard, while Rafael da Silva was shown a yellow card for a two-footed lunge at Gary Cahill moments later. Moyes felt that Vidic's dismissal was harsh, but he conceded that Rafael may have been fortunate to escape a red card. "I thought Vidic's wasn't a sending off, but I think Rafa's could have been a sending-off," he said. Eto'o twice punished United for inattentive defending at set pieces, doubling the hosts' lead shortly before half-time after the visitors failed to clear a corner and then hooking home early in the second half after Cahill was granted a free header at a corner. Mourinho had warm words for the 32-year-old Cameroon striker, having previously been critical of his performances following his move from Anzhi Makhachkala at the start of the season. "The second goal was the killer in the box I know from many years ago," said the Chelsea manager, who previously worked with Eto'o at Inter Milan. "It looks like Samuel Eto'o is coming back." ― AFP  |
| Thousands protest abortion in Paris Posted: 19 Jan 2014 05:04 PM PST
Organisers, among them rightwing religious groups, anti-gay activists and associations for handicapped children, claimed 40,000 people took part. Police put their number at 16,000. The demonstration was inspired by changes in Spain, where the conservative government last month, under pressure from the Catholic Church, agreed to draft a bill that would ban abortions except in cases of rape or threat to the mother's health. France's leftwing-dominated parliament is on Monday to start debating a bill that would permit a woman to obtain an abortion if she does not wish to pursue her pregnancy. Current law requires her to show that having a baby would put her "in a situation of distress". The bill would also punish those who try to prevent a woman from entering places where she can receive information on abortion. France records around 220,000 abortions a year and it is estimated around one Frenchwoman in three undergoes the procedure in her lifetime. Since a year ago, abortions are reimbursed under the state health system. ― AFP |
| ‘Ride Along’ rolls over ‘Jack Ryan’ to win US weekend box office Posted: 19 Jan 2014 04:53 PM PST
Last week's box office winner, the Afghanistan war tale "Lone Survivor," was second with ticket sales of US$23.2 million, according to studio estimates provided by tracking firm Rentrak. In a weekend crowded with four new films, "The Nut Job," the first animated release from Open Road Films, collected US$20.6 million in ticket sales to claim third place. Starring Chris Pine as the late author Tom Clancy's fictional CIA analyst, "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" took in US$17.2 million over the first three days of the Martin Luther King holiday weekend for the No. 4 spot. "Ride Along," which hip hop singer and star Ice Cube also produced, far surpassed Hollywood's US$28 million opening weekend forecast and was the biggest three-day King Day holiday weekend opening ever. While only 10 of 47 reviews were favorable, according to the site Rotten Tomatoes, 94 per cent of the audience surveyed on the site wanted to see it. "The timing was really right on this one," said Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures which released the film, which cost about US$25 million. Noting that there had not really been another comedy since "Anchorman 2," which opened a month ago, Rocco said the audience skewed surprisingly female ― 57 per cent ― and that "Ride Along" had even turned into a bit of a date movie. Audiences graded it an A, according to CinemaScore which polls people who have seen films, boding well for the coming weeks, Rocco added. "The Nut Job," the first animated film from Open Road Films, a joint between theater giants AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group, benefited from playing in more than 3,400 theatres, according to the site Box Office Mojo, about the same as "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" but far more than "Ride Along," which played in around 2,700. Weekend sales for "The Nut Job" ranked as the biggest opening for an animated film not produced by a major studio, beating out the US$16.8 million for 2009 film "Coraline." "Nut Job" cost about US$30 million to make after tax rebates. Pine, best known for his role as Captain Kirk in the 2009 film "Star Trek," is the fourth actor to play Jack Ryan in the fifth film based on the late Clancy's character. Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck have all played the part. The film, a reboot of the movie series featuring a younger Pine, took more than five years to make it to the screen. Paramount, the studio behind it, put it on hold when Pine was cast its "Star Trek" film, and said yesterday that the opening box office was in line with expectations. Rounding out the top five, Disney's animated hit "Frozen" took in just under US$12 million. Academy Award nominee "American Hustle" was sixth with US$10.6 million in ticket sales. Two other top-nominated films, "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave," returned to theaters after having largely ended their runs. The low-budget horror film "Devil's Due" opened with US$8.5 million in sales for the No. 7 slot. Viacom's Paramount Pictures released "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. "The Ride Along" and "Lone Survivor" were distributed by Comcast's Universal Pictures. Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox, released "Devil's Due." Open Road Films, a joint between theatre giants AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group, released "The Nut Job". ― Reuters |
| Eto’s treble leaves United reeling Posted: 19 Jan 2014 04:42 PM PST
Victory left Jose Mourinho's Chelsea within two points of leaders Arsenal but this result meant title-holders United are 14 points adrift of the Gunners with 16 league games of the season remaining. United's seventh league loss this term also turned the spotlight back on David Moyes, the successor chosen by Alex Ferguson, British football's most successful manager, to replace him at Old Trafford following his retirement at the end of last season. Eto'o gave Chelsea a 17th minute lead when his shot from just outside the box deflected off Michael Carrick's outstretched boot and past the despairing dive of United goalkeeper David de Gea. The 32-year-old veteran Cameroon striker made it 2-0 on the stroke of half time when, following Gary Cahill's centre, he smashed the ball home from six yards out. United, without injured strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, found themselves 3-0 behind four minutes after the interval, when more lax defending from a set-piece allowed Cahill a free header from a few yards. His effort was just about blocked by de Gea but, barely a yard away, Eto'o reacted first and made no mistake with the simple chance. In the process Eto'o become the first Chelsea player to score a hat-trick against United since Seamus O'Connell back in 1954. Javier Hernandez, on as a substitute for Ashley Young, pulled a goal back 12 minutes from time. But that was as good as it got for United whose misery was compounded when captain Nemanja Vidic sent off in stoppage time for a rash challenge on Eden Hazard. Earlier, Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur moved level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool after a 3-1 win away to struggling Swansea. Adebayor's goals, separated by a Chico Flores own-goal, ensured Tottenham remained unbeaten in the league under manager Tim Sherwood, whose record now stands at five wins and a draw since the Englishman replaced sacked predecessor Andre Villas-Boas. For Swansea, an eighth successive league match without a win left Michael Laudrup's men just three points above the relegation zone. After Swansea's Wilfried Bony had hit the crossbar with the match still scoreless, Adebayor gave Spurs the lead, against the run of play, in the 35th minute when he headed in an excellent cross from Christian Eriksen. And the north London side made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute when Flores turned Kyle Walker's cross into his own net with Spurs' Nacer Chadli waiting behind him. Adebayor put the result beyond doubt 19 minutes from time when, with Swansea's defence opened up again, he turned in Danny Rose's ball across the six-yard box. Bony scored seven minutes later with a shot from the edge of the box but it was all too late for Swansea. "Even when they (Swansea) were having a lot of possession I thought we were the most dangerous side and it was just a matter of time before we clicked and found that final ball, and we did that many times in the second half and we could have gone on and won more comfortably," Sherwood told Sky Sports. Sherwood said that Adebayor's rediscovered hunger and form after he became disillusioned and was marginalised under Villas-Boas was a boost both for the club and the player. "It's great. It's obviously great for the football club and great for Ade himself, who's flying at the moment and enjoying his football." ― AFP |
| Lifestyle disorders top health issues in Arab world Posted: 19 Jan 2014 04:36 PM PST
An international consortium of scientists compared the state of health in the 22 countries of the Arab League in 1990 and in 2010, using data from a vast study ― the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases report. In 1990, respiratory infection headed the list of concerns, accounting for 11 per cent of deaths, while stillbirths and poor nutrition also featured high on the mortality list. These problems still persist in the low-income countries of the Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia and Yemen, the investigators found. But overall, infectious diseases ― with the exception of HIV ― have receded, the paper said. By 2010, the No. 1 cause of death in Arab countries was heart disease, which was implicated in 14.3 per cent of cases. In 1990, it had ranked second. Next on the mortality list was stroke, followed by respiratory infection, diarrhoea, diabetes, road injuries and cirrhosis, respectively. The report also pointed to depression, anxiety, domestic violence, lower back pain and neck pain as common and growing sources of ill health ― all signs of a region "undergoing a major epidemiological transition." "Indeed, the epidemiological profile closely resembles that of western Europe, the USA and Canada," it said. "Today, disorders related to drug and alcohol use are causing more premature death and disability in the Arab world than they were two decades ago." "Road injuries have taken a growing toll on health," it added. "The region has also seen a rapid increase in injuries associated with interpersonal violence and self-harm, but a decline in injuries from fire, drowning and poisonings." Despite the change, "the Arab world has made great progress" in increasing life expectancy and reducing infant mortality and maternal deaths, it said. The report noted that its source material predated most of the events of the Arab uprising. In some countries, the turbulence could have a big impact on health, said its authors. "Many of the successes that we report here might now be lost because of war and a shortage of health services such as sanitation, surveillance and immunisation programmes, leading to disease outbreaks." ― AFP |
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