Former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from professional football today at the age of 36, calling time on an emblematic career.
     Gerrard spent 17 years at his home-town club Liverpool, 12 as captain, and won seven major honours including the 2005 Champions League before finishing his career with an 18-month stint at LA Galaxy.
     "Following recent media speculation surrounding my future, I can confirm my retirement from playing professional football," Gerrard said in a statement.
     "I have had an incredible career and am thankful for each and every moment of my time at Liverpool, England and LA Galaxy."
     Although the Premier League title famously eluded him, Gerrard did win two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield.
     His finest hour came in Istanbul in May 2005, when he inspired Liverpool to come from 3-0 down against AC Milan at half-time of the Champions League final to win the club's .

Liverpool great Gerrard calls time on career

PTI Automatic

A Danish court today jailed two men, one of them the former editor of a celebrity magazine, for buying and selling details of stars' credit card transactions.
	The arrangement involved the "systematic surveillance of a large number of publicly-known people's movements and thus a significant violation" of their rights, the Glostrup district court outside Copenhagen said in a statement.
	The fact that the intention was "to make money from delivering information of no societal value" was an aggravating circumstance, it said.
	Henrik Qvortrup, who was editor of the weekly Se og Hor magazine between 2001 and 2008, was handed a 15-month jail term, one year of which would be a suspended sentence if he performed 200 hours of community service.
	IT expert Peter Bo Henriksen, a former employee at a firm which is now part of a card payment company, was given an 18-month sentence that he said he would appeal.
	Qvortrup could end up serving his three-month sentence at home wearing an ankle ...

Danish editor jailed for celebrity credit card snooping

A truck bomb today ripped through a petrol station where buses packed with Shiite pilgrims returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in the Iraqi city of Karbala were parked, security officials said.
	Several Iranian nationals - the largest contingent of foreigners at the Arbaeen pilgrimage that ended on Monday - were among the victims, the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said.
	"At least seven buses with pilgrims were inside the petrol station at the time," a police lieutenant colonel told AFP.
	The blast struck in the village of Shomali, 120 kilometres southeast of the capital Baghdad and around 80 kilometres from Karbala.
	There was no immediate casualty toll but the JOC said "several civilians were killed and wounded, including Iranians".
	"Those buses were loaded with Iranians, Bahrainis and Iraqis. Ambulances and civil defence are on their way to the site," a police intelligence source told AFP.
	Between 17 and 20 million people visited Karbala, home to the mausoleum of Imam ...

Truck bomb blast targets Shiite pilgrims in Iraq: police

Iraqi forces battled the Islamic State group deep inside Mosul today, piling pressure on jihadists who have no more escape routes but leaving trapped civilians in the crossfire.
	Elite forces gained new ground in east Mosul, looking for fresh momentum as stiffer-than-expected IS resistance threatened to bog down the five-week-old offensive against the jihadists' last major stronghold in Iraq.
	Maan al-Saadi, a commander with the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), told AFP on the front line in Mosul that his forces were battling IS in the neighbourhood of Al-Khadraa in Iraq's second city.
	"They cannot flee. They have two choices - give up or die," he said.
	Over the past few days, Iraqi forces have cut off the main supply line running from Mosul to the western border with Syria, where IS still controls the city of Raqa.
	The US-led coalition also bombed bridges over the Tigris river that splits Mosul in two, reducing the jihadists' ability to resupply the eastern front.
	An old ...

Iraq forces in fierce Mosul fighting with jihadists

The European Parliament today voted in favour of a freeze of membership talks with Turkey over its post-coup crackdown, further escalating tensions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	Erdogan has already dismissed the vote as having "no value" as it is non-binding, and as most European Union member states so far want to keep the Turkey talks on track.
	But the motion, approved by a big majority, is a fresh blow to ties that have unravelled in the wake of the failed July 15 failed putsch and threatened a key migration deal between Brussels and Ankara.
	MEPs voting in Strasbourg, France, said the parliament "strongly condemns the disproportionate repressive measures taken in Turkey since the failed military coup attempt".
	They said they remained "committed to keeping Turkey anchored to the EU" but said parliament "calls on the Commission and the Member States, however, to initiate a temporary freeze of the ongoing accession negotiations with Turkey."
	The motion was approved by 479 ..

EU Parliament backs freeze of Turkish membership talks

An Indonesian army helicopter carrying five people went missing today over Borneo island, an official said, the latest blow to the country's accident-prone military.
	The Bell 412 helicopter lost contact in the morning on a short flight from Tarakan in North Kalimantan province to Long Bawan near the Malaysian border. Borneo is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
	Local search and rescue chief Mujiono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said a team of military personnel and search and rescue officials had been sent to the area where the aircraft was believed to have disappeared.
	Mujiono said the helicopter was carrying five people and supplies for soldiers when it lost contact.
	The Indonesian military has been hit with a number of aircraft accidents in recent years.
	The worst accident in recent times was in June 2015, when an air force Hercules C-130 crashed into a residential neighbourhood in the city of Medan, killing 142 people and causing widespread ...

Indonesian army helicopter carrying five goes missing

Russia's FSB security service said today it had detained a retired officer in its Black Sea naval fleet based in Crimea on suspicion of passing on military secrets to Kiev.
	Leonid Parkhomenko was detained Tuesday in the naval port of Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed peninsula.
	FSB said the retired second captain had worked in the Black Sea fleet's headquarters and was still a reservist.
	Russian television showed FSB-released footage of a handcuffed mustachioed man with greying hair flanked by FSB officers in balaclavas.
	He is being questioned as part of an FSB probe into treason and could face up to 20 years in jail.
	Parkhomenko "carried out assignments from Ukraine's defence ministry's central intelligence directorate" and "collected and handed over information that is a state secret about the activities of the Black Sea fleet," the security service said.
	Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that "Ukraine's provocative and destructive activity in Ukraine is ...

Russia detains ex-naval officer in Crimea as suspected 'spy'

Germany's Martin Schulz said today he would step down as head of the European Parliament and return to national politics, where analysts say he could emerge as a rival to Angela Merkel.
	The outspoken former bookseller from Aachen will quit after four years in office, during which he became one of the European Union's most high-profile politicians and gave its assembly sorely-needed visibility.
	The bearded 60-year-old did not say if he would run for chancellor against Merkel, although he is widely expected to slot into a prime position for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which is currently in coalition with her.
	"I will not run as president of the European parliament for a third term next year, I will run for the German Bundestag as the head of the list of my party, the SPD, in North Rhine-Westphalia," an emotional Schulz told reporters in Brussels.
	"It was not an easy decision, as it is an honour to be the president of the European parliament."
	Schulz is tipped in Berlin as a .

EU Parliament chief Schulz to enter German politics

Faf du Plessis, motivated by the events of his controversial ball-tampering case, ranked his unbeaten century in South Africa's pink-ball Test with Australia Thursday as the best of his career.
     The Proteas skipper hit an unbeaten 118 and then caught the Australians off-guard with a surprise declaration at 259 for nine to have the tourists in a good position at the end of the opening day of the third Adelaide Test.
     Australia, who were unable to use David Warner to open the innings over the time he sought off-field treatment, got to stumps at 14 without loss.
     It had been a tumultuous few days for du Plessis, who was found guilty of ball-tampering by the International Cricket Council after he was caught on camera sucking a mint and rubbing saliva into the ball during last week's second Test against Australia in Hobart.
     Given all the drama from his much-publicised appearance at the hearing it was a remarkable effort of concentration and will for du Plessis to conquer ..

Du Plessis rates ton his best, catches Aussies unawares

Former world champion Jenson Button announced today that Sunday's season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be his last race in the sport.
     The 36-year-old Briton, who has raced in more than 300 grands prix and won the 2009 World Championship with Brawn, had already announced he will take up an ambassadorial role with his current team McLaren next year.
     "I go into this weekend thinking it's my last race," Button said at the press conference ahead of the race.
     "At this moment in time I don't want to be racing in F1 beyond this race."
     McLaren previously announced that highly rated reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will replace Button as Fernando Alonso's partner in 2017.
     There is an option for Button to return to McLaren's race set-up in 2018, but that is thought to be an insurance policy in case Alonso leaves the British team.
     "It is true that I have a contract in 2018, but at this moment in time I am not going to be racing in 2018," Button added.
     "The ..

Formula One: Button prepares for 'last race'

Hundreds of Israelis fled their homes on the outskirts of the country's third city Haifa today with others trapped inside as firefighters struggled to control raging bushfires.
	The army called up reservists and hospitals in the Mediterranean port city declared an emergency for fear of a repetition of a 2010 blaze that killed 44 people -- the deadliest in Israeli history.
	"We evacuated three neighbourhoods and there are people who are stuck," fire department spokesman Kayed Daher said.
	"The fire is still burning and the flames are approaching a gas station."
	Flames up to 10 metres (more than 30 feet) high were threatening several multi-storey tower blocks in one Haifa suburb, an AFP photographer at the scene reported.
	Haifa university was evacuated as a precautionary measure.
	In the affluent Carmel neighbourhood on the heights above the city, residents spoke of a desperate rush to get elderly residents out.
	"The fire is out of control and is spreading from one house to the ...

Hundreds evacuated as bushfires near Israel's Haifa

Skipper Faf du Plessis put his ball tampering controversy behind him to defy Australia's bowlers with a steely century to put South Africa in early control of the day-night third Test in Adelaide.
     Du Plessis was booed by the crowd as he walked out to bat, following a ball-tampering incident for which he was found guilty and fined, but cleared to play in the match.
     But he single-handedly lifted the Proteas before declaring at 259 for nine leaving him unbeaten on 118 after the tourists had been struggling at 95 for four against Steve Smith's revamped team.
     The Australians, with David Warner unable to open the innings as he was off the field having treatment and hadn't been back long enough at the time of the declaration, negotiated 12 overs to be 14 without loss at the close of day one.
     English-born debutant opener Matt Renshaw played watchfully for eight with Usman Khawaja on three.
     It was yet another crucial knock by du Plessis at the Adelaide ground where ...

Du Plessis ton puts S Africa in strong position

Scoreboard at the close on the
opening day of the day-night third Test between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
     South Africa first innings
     S. Cook        c Smith b Starc         40
     D. Elgar       c Khawaja b Starc        5
     H. Amla        c Renshaw b Hazlewood    5
     JP Duminy      c Wade b Hazlewood       5
     F. Du Plessis  not out                118
     T. Bavuma      c Wade b Bird            8
     Q. De Kock     c Wade b Hazlewood      24
     V. Philander   c Wade b Hazlewood       4
     K. Abbott      lbw b Bird              17
     K. Rabada      stpd Wade b Lyon         1
     T. Shamsi      not out                 18
     Extras (b3, lb8, w2, nb1)              14
     Total (9 wickets declared, 76 overs)  259
     Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Elgar), 2-36 (Amla), 3-44 (Duminy), 4-95 (Cook), 5-117 (Bavuma), 6-149 (de Kock), 7-161 (Philander), 8-215 (Abbott), 9-220 (Rabada)
     Bowling: Starc 23-5-78-2 (1nb), Hazlewood ...

Adelaide, Nov 24 (AFP) Scoreboard at the close on the

The head of the World Trade Organisation today said he had had no indication the United States would move to leave the WTO under Donald Trump's administration.
	"I haven't had any indication from anybody that that could be the case," WTO chief Roberto Azevedo told reporters.
	During his campaign, which repeatedly attacked global trade deals, President-elect Trump called the WTO a "disaster" and said the US could quit the Geneva-based body.
	Azevedo stressed it was premature to speculate on what Trump may do in office.
	"I just don't know what the trade policies are," Azevedo said of the incoming administration.
	"I haven't talked to him," he added, when asked if he had spoken to Trump directly since the November 8 US vote.
	"What we have to do is be ready for a conversation" with Trump's economic team, the Brazilian national added.
	Azevedo conceded that swathes of people worldwide had come to see global trade as a job killer even though such perceptions were not supported by ...

WTO chief says no 'indication' US will quit body under Trump

Amnesty International today accused Nigeria's security forces of killing at least 150 pro-Biafra protesters and injuring hundreds since August 2015.
	The army denied the charge.
	"This deadly repression of pro-Biafra activists is further stoking tensions in the southeast of Nigeria," Amnesty warned in its report.
	"This reckless and trigger-happy approach to crowd control has caused at least 150 deaths and we fear the actual total might be far higher," said Makmid Kamara, interim director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
	The watchdog said its report was based on analysis of 87 videos, 122 photographs and 146 eyewitness accounts relating to demonstrations and other gatherings of Biafran activists between August 2015 and August 2016.
	The protesters were asking for a separate state for the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria.
	Amnesty said the military used live ammunition with little or no warning to disperse the protesters.
	In May 2016, it said, at least 60 people were shot dead and ..

Amnesty accuses Nigeria of killing 150 Biafra activists

Skipper Faf du Plessis put his ball tampering controversy behind him to defy Australia's bowlers with a fighting half-century on the opening day of the day-night third Test in Adelaide.
     Du Plessis was booed by the crowd as he walked out to bat, following a ball-tampering incident for which he was found guilty and fined, but cleared to play in the match.
     But he was his team's lone hope with a determined knock after the loss of seven wickets had the tourists struggling against Steve Smith's revamped team.
     At the dinner break ahead of the much-anticipated final evening session with the pink ball under lights, the Proteas were 165 for 7 with du Plessis on 65 and Kyle Abbott one.
     Du Plessis was back at the Adelaide ground where four years ago his defiant 376-ball unbeaten knock of 110 denied Australia victory to earn the Proteas a backs-to-the-wall draw.
     John Hazlewood was proving the destroyer with four wickets for 36.
     Dashing wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, ...

Du Plessis plays lone hand as S.Africa wickets tumble

China's largest online travel agency Ctrip will buy British flight search app Skyscanner for USD 1.7 billion, the companies said, as it steps up its overseas ambitions.
	The travel service provider will pay 1.4 billion pounds, mainly in cash, for the Edinburgh-based firm, they said in separate statements today.
	NASDAQ-listed Ctrip, partly owned by Chinese search giant Baidu, provides online booking for airline and railway tickets as well as hotels, and describes itself as China's largest travel company.
	It generated more than 350 billion yuan (USD 51 billion) in gross merchandise value last year, the firm said on its website, referring to a measure of online sales.
	Gareth Williams, Skyscanner chief executive, said: "Ctrip is the clear market leader in China and a company we can learn a huge amount from."
	The acquisition took Skyscanner "one step closer to our goal of making travel search as simple as possible for travellers around the world", he added.
	Skyscanner provides similar 

Adelaide, Nov 24 (AFP) Scoreboard after the second

Two people were killed when a car exploded early today outside a government building in the southern Turkish city of Adana, officials said.
	"Two people were killed and 16 were wounded," the governor of Adana, Mahmut Demirtas, was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Anadolu.
	The blast, which occurred outside the governor's office, is the latest in a wave of violence striking Turkey, whose government is fighting both Kurdish militants and jihadists.
	"A vehicle blew up at 8.05am (0505 GMT) at a parking lot next to the entrance of the governor's office," Demirtas said.
	The attack is believed to have been carried out by a woman, the governor said, without providing further details.
	The force of the blast smashed shop windows in the neighbourhood, private NTV broadcaster reported.
	Ambulances and fire engine teams were dispatched to the scene, Anadolu reported.
	Turkey has been on high alert since 2015 after a series of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and Islamic State ...

Blast in southern Turkey kills two, injures 16: official

Scoreboard after the first session on the opening day of the day-night third Test between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval, here today.
     South Africa first innings:
	S Cook   not out                   40
	D Elgar  c Khawaja b Starc          5
	H Amla   c Renshaw b Hazlewood      5
	JP Duminy c Wade b Hazlewood        5
	F du Plessis  not out              26
	Extras: (B-3, LB-4, NB-1)           8
	Total: (for 3 wickets in 28 overs) 89
	Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-36, 3-44
	Bowling: Starc 9-2-24-1, Hazlewood 8-3-19-2, Bird 7-1-33-0, Lyon 4-1-6-0.

Adelaide, Nov 24 (AFP) Scoreboard after the first session on the opening day of the day-night third Test between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval, here today.

Lionel Messi fired Barcelona into the last 16 of the Champions League after a 2-0 win at Celtic as they were joined in the knockout rounds by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.
     The Argentine star returned from illness to score both goals at Celtic Park  yesterday -- the second from the penalty spot -- to send the five-time European champions through as winners of Group C.
	City recovered from a goal down in Germany to earn a 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach as both sides finished with 10 men.
	Raffael grabbed the opening goal for Gladbach on 23 minutes, but David Silva poked in Kevin De Bruyne's cross just prior to the break before Lars Stindl and Fernandinho saw red in the second half.
	"We controlled the game but it wasn't enough to win. We're just happy that we're through to the last 16," said Belgian international De Bruyne.
	French champions Paris Saint-Germain seized control of their own destiny in Group A with a 2-2 draw away to Arsenal.
	Edinson Cavani turned in Blaise 

AFP

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