Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira has undergone successful treatment for a heart problem and will be out of action for a month, the Italian champions confirmed on Wednesday.
The Germany World Cup winner had already been ruled out of the midweek Champions League tie at Atletico Madrid because of atrial arrhythmia - an irregular heartbeat.
Juventus said in a statement that the 31-year-old had undergone surgery on Wednesday morning in Turin by the club's cardiologist Fiorenzo Gaita.
"After a short period of convalescence (Khedira) will be able to resume his activity approximately within one month," it added.
Khedira went for treatment after feeling his heart rate suddenly speed up in training on Tuesday.
The condition causes an irregular and fast heart rate and can result in dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness.
The German will miss Juventus's top-of-the table clash at Serie A rivals Napoli on March 3 and their Champions League second leg clash against Atletico on March 12.
"He's .

Khedira out for a month after heart surgery - Juventus

PTI Automatic

The tragedy of the plane crash that killed Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala has now entered an ugly aftermath as Premier League club Cardiff City and French side Nantes threaten to go to court over his ?15 million ($19 million) transfer fee.
Sala, who was buried at the age of 28 in the Argentine village of Progreso on Saturday, never played a game for Cardiff. The plane carrying the striker and pilot David Ibbotson came down in the English Channel en route to the Welsh capital on January 21, two days after he completed his transfer from Nantes.
Cardiff have so far refused to pay the first instalment of the club record fee, believed to be ?5 million, as they await the results of an Air Accidents Investigations Bureau (AAIB) investigation into the causes of the crash.
The Telegraph reported on Sunday that Cardiff believe that if the AAIB find Ibbotson did not hold the necessary licence to carry passengers on a commercial basis, then a negligence claim could be launched against whoever 

Sala tragedy sparks unsavoury legal wrangle

South Africa's Sports Minister Tokozile Xasa said Wednesday she will fly to Switzerland to support Caster Semenya at a landmark hearing on proposed rules to restrict female athletes' testosterone levels.
The Olympic champion is appearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne to challenge rules proposed by track and field's governing body that would force her to lower her testosterone.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) says it is introducing the rules to create a "level playing field" for other female athletes.
Xasa, who leaves on Wednesday evening, will be alongside Semenya to hear deliberations between the IAAF and Athletics South Africa, until the end of the hearings on Friday.
"Upon my arrival in Switzerland, my responsibility will be to convey the message of support from President Cyril Ramaphosa and members of cabinet," the minister said in a statement.
Xasa will also speak about South Africa's human rights stance on the issue of .

South Africa sports minister to back Semenya at hearing

The European Medicines Agency, which is moving from Britain to Amsterdam because of  Brexit, on Wednesday lost a court battle to cancel the lease on its London headquarters.
The EMA's lease on offices in the Canary Wharf business district runs until 2039 and is worth an estimated 500 million pounds ($650 million, 575 million euros).
The EMA evaluates and supervises medicines for human and animal use and has been based in Canary Wharf since 1995.
But the European Union said the agency and its 900 staff had to move to a member country following Britain's seismic June 2016 vote to leave the bloc.  The EMA argued that its lease has been "frustrated" by Britain's impending departure from the EU -- a legal term meaning that due to an unforeseen event, the original basis on which it was signed has changed and makes it impossible to fulfil.
But the Canary Wharf Group landlords took the agency to the English High Court to enforce the contract.
Judge Marcus Smith ruled that the lease "will not .

EU medicines agency loses Brexit court case on London lease

Two  cardinals criticised on Wednesday Pope Francis's approach to the clerical paedophilia crisis, saying "abuse of power" was not to blame but homosexuality.
"We turn to you with deep distress! The Catholic world is adrift," US Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and German Cardinal Walter Brandmueller said in an open letter to the heads of the bishops' conferences.
"Sexual abuse is blamed on clericalism. But the first and primary fault of the clergy does not rest in the abuse of power but in having gone away from the truth of the Gospel," they said.
They blamed a corruption of the "absolute moral law", referring to homosexuality, which they described as the "denial, by words and by acts, of the divine and natural law".
"The plague of the homosexual agenda has been spread within the church, promoted by organised networks and protected by a climate of complicity and a conspiracy of silence," claimed the cardinals, who belong to the church's conservative wing.
The Catholic church considers the .

Cardinals blame 'homosexual agenda' for abuse crisis

Karl Lagerfeld will be cremated without ceremony and his ashes are likely to be scattered with those of his mother and lover, his label said Wednesday.
"His wishes will be respected," a spokeswoman for his Karl Lagerfeld brand told AFP a day after the legendary designer died at the age of 85.
The "Kaiser" -- who was known for his rapier wit -- had long insisted that he would "rather die" than be buried.
"I've asked to be cremated and for my ashes to dispersed with those of my mother... and those of Choupette (his cat), if she dies before me," he said in one of his last major interviews.
Lagerfeld had previously said that his ashes would be mixed with those of his longtime lover, the French dandy Jacques de Bascher, who died of AIDS in 1989.
He told de Bascher's biographer Marie Ottavi that he had kept half of his ashes so they be together again at the end.
The German-born creator had put them away "somewhere secret. One day they will be added to mine," he told Ottavi.
Lagerfeld fell ..

Designer Karl Lagerfeld to be cremated without ceremony

Germany launched a drive Wednesday to halve food waste by 2030 as research shows every consumer on average throws away 55 kilogrammes (120 pounds) of edibles a year.
The new strategy would target households, producers, retailers and the restaurant industry to get them to cut down the 11 million tons of food wasted a year.
The new push would aim to help Germany meet UN and EU targets and reduce its climate footprint, said Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Julia Kloeckner.
"Every product contains valuable resources: water, energy, raw materials, but also labour, care -- and heart and soul," she told national news agency DPA.
New research will look to develop "intelligent packaging" that could use a colour gradient to indicate whether food is still edible or past its use-by date.
Companies will be urged to take voluntary measures, such as fine-tuning delivery chains and appropriate portion sizes in restaurants, the ministry said.
The opposition Greens party, who have long urged a 

Germany launches push to halve food waste by 2030

Shorn on the sides, thick on top for the Kim Jong Un look; bright and blonde for the Donald Trump-loving customers: a creative Hanoi barber is offering free cuts ahead of the leaders' meeting in the Vietnamese capital next week.
Barber Le Tuan Duong has been overrun with customers since word got out about his free dos, a gesture he's offering out of sheer excitement for the February 27-28 meeting in Hanoi.
But one style has come out on top.
"Over the past three days, I have made 200 Kim style haircuts, but only five for Trump," he told AFP in his cramped Tuan Duong beauty academy in Hanoi.
He would normally charge a whopping USD 43 for the Trump dye-job, a steep fee in a city where most haircuts cost a few dollars.
No matter that Trump's infamous coif has come under fire, some Hanoians are delighted with the do.
"I want the Vietnamese to know more about Trump, through my hairstyle. For me, Trump is an excellent man and that's why I want this hairstyle," a freshly dyed Vuong Bao Nam ...

Hair apparent: Hanoi barber offers free Trump, Kim cuts ahead of summit

Roger Federer's comeback on clay will feature a return to the Madrid Open for the first time since 2015, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
For the last two years, the 37-year-old has chosen to skip the clay-court season completely to preserve energy for tournaments on his preferred surfaces of grass and hard.
But Federer indicated in January that he would play at the French Open this year while the Madrid Open has announced he will be among those competing at the Caja Magica too.
"Federer is one of the best players in history, it's no secret," said Feliciano Lopez, the Madrid Open's tournament director.
"We are happy because his return to Madrid is a gift for the tournament but above all for the fans, because they will be able to see a player that is unique and unparallelled."
Federer has won the Madrid Open three times, in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but his last appearance was in 2015, when he lost his opening match to Nick Kyrgios.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was beaten in the fourth ...

Federer to play on clay at Madrid Open

A Paris court on Wednesday fined Swiss banking giant UBS 3.7 billion euros (USD 4.2 billion) in a tax fraud case, a record for such a case in France.
The bank was convicted of illegally helping French clients to hide billions of euros from French tax authorities.
The trial opened last autumn after seven years of investigations, launched when former employees came forward with claims of unlawful conduct.
This came as authorities across Europe cracked down on tax evasion and dubious banking practices in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.
In the UBS case, French authorities determined that more than 10 billion euros had been kept from the eyes of their tax officials between 2004 and 2012.  The fine was in keeping with that demanded by the National Financial Prosecutor's office.
UBS's French subsidiary was also fined 15 million euros for complicity.

Swiss bank UBS fined 3.7 bn euros in French tax fraud case

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt hopes an unexpected call to play in the domestic Twenty20 league will help him regain his place on the national team, he said Wednesday, years after he was banned for spot-fixing.
The 34-year-old said he was delighted to join the Lahore Qalandars in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) as a replacement for Mohammad Hafeez, who was ruled out after fracturing his thumb.
"After a long time I received one of the best messages of my life when Lahore called me to play in the PSL, and I am very happy to get this opportunity," he told AFP.
The PSL's popularity has surged since it was first held in 2016. The bulk of the tournament is played in the United Arab Emirates, but with security improving in Pakistan the final eight matches -- including the March 17 final -- will be held at home, in Karachi and Lahore.
The league's growing profile means it is the first big chance for the left-handed batsman to rehabilitate himself since his high-profile ban for a .

Butt says call to play PSL could be his shot at redemption

Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne said on Wednesday he wanted his players to continue playing with a smile on their faces as they seek to become the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa.
Sri Lanka go into the second Test at St George's Park on Thursday with an unbeatable 1-0 lead in the two-match series after their sensational, Kusal Perera-inspired one-wicket win in the first Test in Port Elizabeth.
"We came here to win matches," said Karunaratne, who was handed the captaincy after Dinesh Chandimal was axed after losing a series in Australia last month.
"I just want to make sure the boys give their maximum each day." Karunaratne said enjoyment was a key factor.
"We have to keep our heads clear and play positively," he said.
"We want to enjoy ourselves. You will see with our boys when they are playing they are smiling and cheering each other. If you are enjoying yourself you will play well."
The Sri Lankan captain said conditions in Durban and those expected in ...

Smiling Sri Lankans seek series win

The image of a frustrated Lionel Messi with his hands on his hips in Barcelona's 0-0 Champions League draw in Lyon may reverberate the most around the world, but it is Luis Suarez's form in front of goal that is causing most concern in Catalonia.
Suarez laboured throughout much of the Champions League last 16, first leg in France, although he came as close as anyone to scoring for Barcelona when he fired just wide from a Jordi Alba cutback 20 minutes from time.
Barca's recent struggles away from home at the business end of the Champions League go on -- it is now six matches without an away win in the knockout rounds, with just one goal scored in that time, since beating Arsenal 2-0 three years ago.
Suarez, meanwhile, has now gone 16 away matches without scoring in the competition since a draw at Roma in the group stage in 2015. That adds up to more than 24 hours in total.
"I'd be worried if he were not creating chances, but he has always had chances, he creates them for his teammates, 

Concern for misfiring Suarez as goals dry up for Barcelona

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin have postponed a planned meeting Thursday in Moscow for talks on Iranian military activity in Syria, an Israeli official said.
The two leaders would speak by phone on Thursday instead, the official said on condition of anonymity Wednesday, adding that a new date for the meeting would be set as soon as possible.
It was described as a postponement of several days.
The official gave no reason for the postponement, but Israeli media said it was related to Netanyahu's strategizing with allied right-wing parties for April 9 elections ahead of a Thursday deadline for electoral lists to be submitted.
Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov told Russian state news agency Ria Novosti that the meeting was postponed due to Israeli internal political reasons.
The meeting would have been their first extensive face-to-face talks since a friendly fire incident in September that led to a Russian plane being downed by Syrian air ...

Netanyahu-Putin meeting in Russia postponed

Pyongyang's special representative for the US Kim Hyok Chol arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday with a North Korean delegation, an AFP reporter and source confirmed, ahead of a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un next week.
"A team of North Koreans arrived on a flight from Beijing," a source at the airport told AFP, requesting anonymity.
An AFP reporter saw Kim Hyok Chol walk into a government guesthouse where other North Korean officials in town for pre-summit preparations were staying over the weekend.
Kim Hyok Chol is expected to meet with his US counterpart Stephen Biegun, who is en route to Hanoi, later in the week to lay the groundwork for talks between Trump and Kim in the Vietnamese capital on February 27-28.
Biegen and Kim Hyok Chol met in Pyongyang earlier this month to hammer out US and North Korean positions on denuclearisation ahead of the much-anticipated meeting.
The summit will be the second face-to-face for Kim and Trump after a summit in Singapore in June that ...

North Korea's US envoy arrives in Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit

Online shoppers are at a growing risk from a scam which allows hackers to skim their payment details, cyber security firm Symantec warned on Wednesday.
"Formjacking" is essentially an online version of ATM tampering, which allows thieves to grab the PIN codes of unsuspecting customers.
On the internet, hackers inject malicious code into retailers' websites to steal customers' payment details when they conclude a transaction, Symantec said in its annual report on cyber security.
Cyber criminals heisted tens of millions of dollars last year thanks to the scheme which targets 4,800 websites every month, it added.
Hackers stole payment details from thousands of British Airways customers in an attack last year.
Formjacking has become a more lucrative option for cyber criminals as the value of cryptocurrency declines, Symantec said.
"Faced with diminishing returns from ransomware and cryptojacking, cyber criminals are doubling down on alternative methods, such as formjacking, to make ...

Online ATM-style scam puts shoppers at risk: Symantec

Newly-crowned Asian Cup winners Qatar could play friendlies against Brazil or Uruguay in June ahead of playing in the Copa America, the team's coach and officials said on Wednesday.
The South American giants are among a list of teams Qatar are trying to secure matches against -- others include Colombia, Panama and the USA -- ahead of their first Copa America appearance.
"We need to finalise the preparations but sure we need to play a couple of games," said coach Felix Sanchez on the sidelines of an award ceremony for the winning squad in Doha.
"We prepare a list of potential teams that we would like to play against but also we need to see their availability."
Qatar Football Association (QFA) president Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed al-Thani said the team's first friendly would be in early June.
"It will be [a team] from South America, we will announce it as soon as possible," he said.
Qatar have been drawn in a group with Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay in the Copa America, which 

Qatar eyeing Brazil friendly before Copa America

Manchester City's owners City Football Group announced the purchase of Chinese third-tier club Sichuan Jiuniu on Wednesday -- in partnership with a Chinese investment fund and a company that makes robots.
The rare swoop for a Chinese team, after Sheffield United bought Chengdu Five Bulls in 2006, expands CFG's portfolio to seven clubs and follows the rapid growth of Chinese football in recent years.
Few details were revealed about the deal, which partners Abu Dhabi-owned CFG with China Sports Capital and UBTECH, a Chinese artificial intelligence and humanoid robotic company.
Investment fund China Sports Capital was jointly established by Sequoia China and Chinese state-linked CMC, which bought a 13 percent stake in CFG in 2015.
CFG also owns New York City and Melbourne City football clubs, but chief executive Ferran Soriano said it had been a long-held "dream" to become part of China's growing football scene.
"We want to be part of the initiative... even just a small part," he told a .

Man City owners team with robot-makers to buy Chinese club

Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira could be out of action for over a month while he undergoes treatment after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, according to reports in Italy on Wednesday.
Former World Cup winner Khedira has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League tie at Atletico Madrid because of atrial arrhythmia.
The condition causes an irregular and fast heart rate and can result in dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness.
Khedira had suddenly felt his heart beat faster in training on Tuesday and immediately went for treatment.
"Sami Khedira is out of the squad, he stayed in Turin to undergo further tests," said coach Massimiliano Allegri.
"He's an important player for us with good international experience."
The 31-year-old could be sidelines for between 30 to 40 days, according to sports dailies Gazzetta and Corriere Dello Sport.
Arsenal defender Stephan Lichsteiner suffered from the same condition when playing for Juventus at the end of 2015 and was out for a 

Khedira sidelined for over a month with irregular heartbeat - reports

Pyongyang's special representative for the US Kim Hyok Chol arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday with a North Korean delegation, an AFP reporter and source confirmed, ahead of a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un next week.
"A team of North Koreans arrived on a fight from Beijing," a source at the airport confirmed, requesting anonymity.
An AFP reporter saw Kim walk into a government guesthouse where other North Korean officials in town for pre-summit preparations were staying over the weekend.

N Korea's US envoy arrives in Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit

Tech giant Microsoft said Wednesday it had detected hacker "attacks" ahead of European Parliament and national elections in the EU, in a warning to civil society groups, politicians and campaigns.
The firm said a group it calls Strontium was behind the attacks, known to security firms and government agencies as Fancy Bear or APT28 and widely believed to be linked to Russian intelligence.
"At Microsoft, we've seen recent activity targeting democratic institutions in Europe," security chief Tom Burt wrote in a blog post.
"Attacks are not limited to campaigns themselves but often extend to think tanks and non-profit organizations working on topics related to democracy, electoral integrity and public policy and that are often in contect with government officials," he added.
Among others, Microsoft found the hackers targeted 104 employee accounts from well-known groups the German Council on Foreign Relations, the Aspen Institutes in Europe and the German Marshall Fund (GMF) between ...

AFP

AFP

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