UK lawmaker murdered for “ideological cause”

British lawmaker Jo Cox, who was killed in the street shortly before the 23 June referendum on EU membership, died in a pre-meditated murder carried out for a political or ideological cause, jurors were told on Monday.

As the prosecution opened its case against Thomas Mair, 53, who is charged with Cox’s murder, the jury at London’s Old Bailey court were told witnesses had heard Mair repeatedly say “Britain First” during the attack.

Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two young children, was shot and repeatedly stabbed as she arrived for an advice session with constituents in the town of Birstall, part of her electoral district in northern England.

The murder of Cox, a former aid worker who had been an ardent supporter of staying in the EU, shocked Britain and led to the suspension for several days of referendum campaigning which had been growing increasingly bitter.

Mair is also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to 77-year-old Bernard Carter-Kenny, who tried to help Cox during the attack, and possession of a firearm and a dagger.

Prosecutor Richard Whittam told the jury Cox was shot three times and suffered multiple stab wounds.

“During the course of the murder, Thomas Mair was heard by a number of witnesses to say repeatedly: ‘Britain First’,” Whittam said.

“Thomas Mair’s intention was to kill her in what was a planned and pre-meditated murder for a political and/or ideological cause.”

“Death to traitors”

Carter-Kenny risked his own life and was stabbed with the same knife Mair used on Cox, Whittam added.

Earlier on Monday, with Cox’s mother, father and sister in court watching, eight men and four women were sworn in as jurors to hear the case which the judge Alan Wilkie said had attracted and would continue to attract considerable attention.

Mair, balding with a grey goatee beard and wearing a dark blue suit and black tie, sat silently in the dock flanked by three security guards.

At a hearing in October, he declined to respond when asked if he was guilty so the judge recorded not guilty pleas.

At the first court hearing following his arrest, Mair had said his name was “death to traitors, freedom for Britain” and the case, due to last two weeks, is being treated as a terrorism matter.

His lawyer has also previously told London’s Old Bailey central criminal court where the trial is being held that medical issues would not feature in the defence argument.

Cox’s murder briefly united politicians divided over the EU question and also led to questions about the security of lawmakers in their constituencies.

“As the trial starts I’d encourage everyone to remember Jo’s life & what she stood for, not the manner of her death,” her husband Brendan wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

The last British Member of Parliament to have been killed before Cox was Ian Gow, who died after an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb exploded under his car at his home in 1990.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129143/UK-lawmaker-murdered-for-“ideological-cause”

Modi promises to ease cash crunch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged Indians to give him more time to resolve a cash crunch that followed the withdrawal of high-value banknotes from circulation, as rival politicians lashed out at his handling of the crisis.

His comments came as the government said it was increasing a weekly cash withdrawal limit and taking steps to help people in remote areas access money as frustration mounted.

There have been huge queues outside banks and ATMs ever since they reopened last Thursday, two days after Modi announced that 500 ($7.50) and 1,000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender in a bid to tackle corruption and tax evasion.

Indians rely heavily on cash for their daily transactions and those living in rural areas or who do not have bank accounts have been particularly hard hit.

Modi said he had been “pained” by the hardships people were facing, but insisted the move would ultimately benefit poor Indians in the long run.

“I am aware you are facing difficulties... I understand the inconvenience,” he said at a political rally in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, which goes to the polls next year.

“I am really pained by the inconvenience and that is why I am working tirelessly to help people overcome this situation.

“I will never let anyone loot money that belongs to India’s poor.”

‘Financial chaos’

But opposition parties lashed out at Modi’s currency recall with several political parties teaming up to corner the government in the parliament’s winter session, which begins on Wednesday.

“Modi is saying give me 50 days to deal with the crises. But who created the crises?” Randeep Surjewala, main opposition Congress party spokesman said.

Opposition leaders have accused the government of throwing millions of common people in financial distress as the government failed to put adequate measures in place.

“(The) rich are sleeping in peace and only poor people are on roads to exchange their notes,” Kumari Mayawati, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state said.

She termed the decision anti-poor and anti-farmer, saying it has hit the common man “very hard”.

Two leading bank unions also criticised the note ban saying it has led to “financial chaos” and the decision was taken “without proper planning or preparation”.

Banks remained open over the weekend to try to ease the crunch, but were closed on Monday due to a public holiday with many ATMs across the country running out of cash.

The government has said it will take time for the machines to be recalibrated to accept the new notes, adding to the general frustration.

On Monday, Shaktikanta Das, India’s secretary for economic affairs, said the government would increase a weekly withdrawal limit of 20,000 to 24,000 rupees.

It will also allow a network of so-called banking correspondents, who travel to rural areas to provide people with access to banking services, to carry more cash.

The government has said the old notes can temporarily be used for essential services such as medical assistance.

They can be exchanged for new ones or deposited in a bank account until December 30, but long queues and a lack of cash has hampered that process.

Modi pledged to crack down on so-called black money—vast piles of wealth kept hidden from the tax authorities—when he came to power in 2014.

Analysts have broadly welcomed the latest initiative, but said consumer spending would likely dip in the short term as the new notes made their way into circulation.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129133/Modi-promises-to-ease-cash-crunch

WikiLeaks’ Assange questioned by prosecutors

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was being questioned by prosecutors on Monday at the Ecuadoran embassy in London in the latest twist in the long-running legal battle over a rape allegation against him.

Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren, who will be present while Assange is questioned by an Ecuadoran prosecutor, entered the embassy building shortly before 1000 GMT, an AFP photographer said.

Assange’s lawyer Per Samuelsson has said the questioning, which has been delayed in the past because of diplomatic disagreements between Ecuador and Sweden, could last several days.

“I am very hopeful... Objectively, there is no doubt that everything happened as Assange said it did,” Samuelsson told Sweden’s TT news agency.

“Free Assange” and “You Won’t Stop Wikileaks” read banners held up by a small group of protesters outside the embassy as the officials arrived.

“Freedom Loving People of the World Say Thank You Ecuador!” read another banner hung under the balcony from which Assange has sometimes addressed supporters.

A Swedish police inspector will also attend the questioning and investigators plan to take a DNA sample from Assange, subject to his agreement.

The creator of the secret-spilling website has been holed up in the red-brick building behind Harrods luxury department store for more than four years.

The 45-year-old Australian sought refuge in the embassy in June 2012 after Swedish prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant against him, over allegations of rape and sexual assault filed by two women who met Assange during a 2010 trip to Sweden.

He denied the claims, saying they were politically motivated, and insisting his sexual encounters with the two women were consensual.

He has refused to travel to Sweden for questioning, fearing he would be extradited to the United States over WikiLeaks’ release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Swedish prosecutors dropped the sexual assault probe last year after the five-year statute of limitations expired.

But they still want to question him about the 2010 rape allegation, which carries a 10-year statute of limitations.

It was the first time Assange has been interviewed over the matter since initial questioning by Swedish police at the time of the allegation.

Assange, speaking through his lawyer, has said he welcomes the “chance to clear his name” and hopes the investigation will subsequently close.

In May, a Swedish court reaffirmed the arrest order, rejecting the finding of a UN working group that his confinement in the Ecuadoran embassy amounted to arbitrary detention.

Petition for Trump ‘pardon’

In the days since the US election, supporters have launched a petition calling on President-elect Donald Trump to pardon Assange by “absolving him of any crimes alleged against him”—an apparent reference to the military leaks.

The petition on the change.org website, which has gathered more than 17,700 signatures, hails Assange as a “hero” for exposing the “corruption of those who presume to rule us”.

Assange’s lawyer said he had made “repeated requests” for an interview with police to address the rape claim, though Ecuadoran prosecutors say a hearing scheduled for October was postponed at the Australian’s request.

“Julian Assange has always wanted to tell his version to the Swedish police. He wants a chance to clear his name,” Samuelsson told AFP.

The legal grilling comes after WikiLeaks returned to the spotlight with the leak of tens of thousands of emails from the US Democratic Party and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the final weeks of the race for the White House.

Assange defended the publication, denying links with Russia and claims that his website was trying to influence the US vote which saw Trump, a republican, elected.

Tensions with his Ecuadoran hosts have been growing, with the leaks prompting the embassy to cut Assange’s internet access, citing respect for “non-intervention” in the affairs of other states.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129127/WikiLeaks’-Assange-questioned-by-prosecutors

Israel court sticks to deadline for controversial settlement

Israel’s high court Monday rejected a government bid to delay the evacuation of a wildcat Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank beyond a December deadline, in a case that has drawn international concern.

Amona settlement is under a court order to be evacuated by 25 December since it was built on private Palestinian land, but right-wing politicians have called for the around 40 families living in the outpost to be allowed to remain.

“The evacuation must occur before 25 December,” the court said in its ruling. “The court rejects the delay requested by the state.”

Whether the government moves ahead with the demolition of the outpost has been seen as a test case of whether it will heed international calls to halt continued settlement growth in the West Bank.

Israel’s government, which had sought a nine-month delay to Amona’s demolition, is seen as the most right-wing in the country’s history, and key members of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition advocate settlement building while openly opposing the idea of a Palestinian state.

The high court ruled in 2014 that Amona, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank, must be evacuated.

There are concerns over how any evacuation will play out. In 2006, the demolition of nine permanent houses in the outpost led to clashes between settlers and Israeli forces.

With the Amona deadline in mind, a committee of Israeli ministers on Sunday approved a bill that would allow for the legalisation of homes there and elsewhere in the West Bank.

The legislation would allow for the legalisation of settlement homes built on private Palestinian land in communities that meet certain criteria.

The Palestinian landowners would be offered compensation in return for the land being seized.

The legislation is expected to apply to between 2,000 and 3,000 settler homes in the West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war and which the Palestinians want for a future state of their own.

SOURCE : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129135/Israel-court-sticks-to-deadline-for-controversial

Jihadists say Trump victory a rallying call for new recruits

From Afghanistan to Algeria, jihadists plan to use Donald Trump’s shock US presidential victory as a propaganda tool to bring new fighters to their battlefields.

Taliban commanders and Islamic State supporters say Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric against Muslims - at one point calling for a total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States - will play perfectly in their recruitment efforts, especially for disaffected youth in the West.

“This guy is a complete maniac. His utter hate towards Muslims will make our job much easier because we can recruit thousands,” Abu Omar Khorasani, a top IS commander in Afghanistan, told Reuters.

Trump has talked tough against militant groups on the campaign trail, promising to defeat “radical Islamic terrorism just as we won the Cold War.”

The president-elect later toned down his call for a total ban on Muslim entry to say he would temporarily suspend immigration from countries that have “a history of exporting terrorism.”

But he has offered few details on his plans to combat various radical groups, including IS, the Taliban and al Qaeda, which represent a wide spectrum of political views.

“He does not differentiate between extremist and moderate Islamist trends and, at the same time, he overlooks (the fact) that his extremism will generate extremism in return,” Iraq’s powerful Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said in a statement.

Sadr’s political reform movement, which commands thousands of followers, is a staunch opponent of the radical Sunni movements IS and al Qaeda, and unlike them has not waged or promoted attacks in the West.

The United States has seen a handful of attacks inspired by Islamist militant groups, including the June massacre of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub by a gunman who called a TV station swearing allegiance to IS and the killing of 14 people at a San Bernadino, California, social services agency last December.

US officials have warned the country will likely face a higher risk of similar attacks as IS urges supporters to launch attacks at home instead of joining its fight in the Middle East.

“Our leaders were closely following the US election but it was unexpected that the Americans will dig their own graves and they did so,” said IS’s Khorasani, who described President Barack Obama as a moderate infidel with at least a little brain in comparison to Trump.

Al Qaeda, which has proven resilient more than 15 years after launching the 11 September attacks on New York and the Pentagon, has yet to comment on Trump’s victory.

The militant group will likely respond after Trump’s first speeches as president, anticipating they will be able to exploit his comments to win support, said Hisham al Hashemi, who advises the Iraqi government on Sunni jihadist movements.

“Al Qaeda is known for its recruitment strategy that heavily quotes speeches of the White House and other Western officials,” he told Reuters.

PROPAGANDA MACHINE

Trump’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the statements from the militants.

Even if Trump tones down his anti-Muslim comments when he takes office in January, analysts say his statements during the campaign trail were enough to fuel the militants’ propaganda machine.

“Militants will still use those quotes,” said Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre.

“The key thing militant groups, particularly Islamic State and al Qaeda, depend on for recruitment purposes is convincing Muslims in the Western world that the West hates them and won’t ever accept them as part of their society.”

A senior Taliban commander in Afghanistan said the group, whose resurgence is undermining efforts to end America’s longest war, had kept track of all of Trump’s speeches and anti-Muslim comments.

“If he does what he warned in his election campaign, I am sure it will provoke Muslim Ummah (community) across the world and jihadi organisations can exploit it,” said the militant leader, who declined to be identified because of strict Taliban policy that only its official spokesman can make statements.

Shortly after Trump’s victory, several jihadist sympathisers took to social media to declare this as an opportunity for their cause.

“The dog Trump’s victory in the US elections is a gold mine for Muslims not a setback if they know how to use it,” tweeted @alhlm200, who regularly posts statements in support of Islamic State.

And in Algeria, @salil_chohada, an Islamic State supporter whose name on the Twitter account is Mohamed Aljazairie, said: “Congratulations to the Muslim nation over the infidel Trump’s victory. His stupid statements alone serve us.”

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129121/Jihadists-say-Trump-victory-a-rallying-call-for

Online freedom hit by pressure on social media, apps

Internet freedom declined for a sixth consecutive year in 2016 as governments around the world cracked down on social media and messaging applications used to express dissent, a watchdog group said Monday.

The Freedom on the Net report by the activist group Freedom House said a growing number of regimes are restricting or censoring messaging platforms such as WhatsApp in addition to popular social networks.

"Popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have been subject to growing censorship for several years, but governments are now increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram," said Sanja Kelly, director of the study.

"Messaging apps are able to spread information quickly and securely -- and some governments find this threatening."

The report said 34 of the 65 countries assessed in the report saw internet freedom deteriorate since June 2015.

Some of the notable declines were in Uganda, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, and Libya, while online freedom improved in Sri Lanka and Zambia and in the United States, due to the passage of a law limiting collection of telecommunications metadata.

Freedom House said 67 percent of internet users live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family is subject to censorship.

Governments in 24 countries limited or blocked access to social media and communication tools, up from 15 in the previous year.

Even some democratic governments have been targeting applications that use encryption features seen as a threat to national security. WhatsApp faced restrictions in 12 of the 65 countries analyzed, more than any other app.

"Although the blocking of these tools affects everyone, it has an especially harmful impact on human rights defenders, journalists, and marginalized communities who often depend on these apps to bypass government surveillance," said Kelly.

China was the world's worst offender for a second year, according to the report, followed by Syria and Iran.

Freedom House criticized a new Chinese law that allows for seven-year prison terms for spreading rumors on social media, a charge often used to imprison political activists.

It said some users in China belonging to minority religious groups were imprisoned for watching religious videos on mobile phones.

The report said authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year, an increase of more than 50 percent since 2013. Prison sentences imposed in some countries exceeded ten years. Some have been jailed for merely sharing or "liking" content on Facebook.

"When authorities sentence users to long prison terms for simply criticizing government policies online, almost everyone becomes much more reluctant to post anything that could get them in similar trouble," Kelly said.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129119/Online-freedom-hit-by-pressure-on-social-media

Japan, S Korea ink controversial intelligence deal

South Korea and Japan reached a controversial deal Monday to share defence intelligence, Japanese officials said, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul.

Japan controlled the Korean peninsula as a colony from 1910-1945, with the legacy of the harsh rule marring relations with both North and South Korea today.

South Korea and Japan were on the verge of signing a deal in June 2012, but Seoul suddenly backtracked, with Japanese media blaming anti-Japanese sentiment among the South Korean public for the move.

Both sides reopened talks last month following North Korea’s continued advances in its nuclear and missile programmes, which are seen as a threat in both countries.

Officials meeting in Japan’s capital “reached a working agreement and conducted a provisional signing,” Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement, without providing details.

“We will continue making final arrangements toward the official signing,” the statement said.

The issue remains divisive in South Korea and the timing comes as the country has seen massive street demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Park Geun-Hye over a domestic political scandal.

The deal has been fiercely opposed by South Korean opposition parties and civic activists, citing Seoul’s failure to seek public support and historical sensitivities.

“Japan, which once occupied the Korean peninsula and enslaved Koreans with its military might, is still not admitting a lot of its past atrocities,” the main opposition Democratic Party said in a statement Monday before the agreement was announced.

“This deal is an unpatriotic, humiliating deal that is opposed by our own people and not accepted by history.”

The party also voiced concern over Japan’s growing military ambitions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, describing the deal as “the first step towards allowing and recognising Japan’s military rise.”

However Tokyo lauded the agreement, saying the move was “important” for checking North Korea’s power.

“It is important that Japan and South Korea cooperate to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues,” top Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129081/Japan-S-Korea-ink-controversial-intelligence-deal

Two dead as 7.8M quake rocks New Zealand

A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed two people and caused massive infrastructure damage in New Zealand on Monday, but officials said they were optimistic the death toll would not rise.

The tremor, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the quake-prone South Pacific nation, hit just after midnight near the South Island coastal town of Kaikoura.

It triggered a tsunami alert that sent thousands of people fleeing for higher ground across large parts of the country’s rugged coastline before the threat abated.

Rescuers were left scrambling to reach Kaikoura, which had no telecommunications and was isolated by landslips, leaving officials fearing the worst.

But Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said 12 hours after the quake that a clearer picture of the damage was emerging.

“I think had there been serious injury or suspected further loss of life than we would have heard about it by now,” he told Radio New Zealand.

He added: “It looks as though it’s the infrastructure that’s the biggest problem, although I don’t want to take away from the suffering... and terrible fright so many people have had.”

Aerial footage outside Kaikoura—a popular departure point for international backpackers going whalewatching—showed railway tracks ripped up and tossed 10 metres (30 foot) by the force of the quake.

Landslips dumped hundreds of tonnes of rocky debris on the main highway while locals posted pictures of themselves near huge fissures that had opened up in roads.

One person was believed to have died at a historic homestead which collapsed at the town, while police were trying to reach the scene of a fatality at a remote property 150 kilometres (93 miles) north of Christchurch.

The earthquake struck at 12:02am Monday (1102 GMT Sunday) and was 23 kilometres deep, the US Geological Survey said, putting the epicentre in the South Island’s North Canterbury region.

It ignited painful memories for residents in nearby Christchurch, which was devastated five years ago by a 6.3 tremor which killed 185 people.

“It was massive and really long,” Tamsin Edensor, a mother of two in Christchurch, told AFP, describing the quake as the biggest since the 2011 tremor which was one of New Zealand’s deadliest disasters.

“We were asleep and woken to the house shaking, it kept going and going and felt like it was going to build up.”

Soon after the earthquake, tsunami warning sirens were activated in South Island coastal towns and along the east coast of the North Island, with police and emergency workers going door to door to evacuate seaside properties.

The ministry of civil defence, responsible for emergency management in New Zealand, initially warned of a “destructive tsunami” with waves of up to five metres (16 feet).

The first waves were measured around two metres and four hours later authorities downgraded the warning, but said risks remained.

Hundreds of aftershocks, some stronger than 6.0, continued to rattle the country in the hours after the main quake.

• ‘Unbelievable damage’ -

In the capital Wellington, the city’s highest point, Mount Victoria, was choked with cars as residents from low-lying areas sought refuge from a possible tsunami.

Shattered glass littered inner city streets, with rail and bus services cancelled as officials told people not to commute to work.

Prime Minister John Key said his office in the parliament building known as The Beehive was trashed, although there was no structural damage.

“The damage is unbelievable. It must have been really moving, there’s just broken glass, pottery, televisions, computers—everything’s gone south in a major way,” he said.

Earthquake engineer Ken Elwood from the University of Auckland said the impact would have been much worse had it hit at lunchtime, like the Christchurch one.

“When it happens in the middle of the day it’s a very different story,” he told TVNZ.

“People were safe in their homes, homes might get damaged but they’re safer for the people inside and that’s certainly the blessing of this earthquake.”

In several cities guests were forced to evacuate hotels when the quake hit, including Nelson, about 200 kilometres from the quake centre where the touring Pakistan cricket team were given a scare.

“Some of the boys were in prayer, some were watching the India-England Test on TV when we felt the windows shake,” team manager Wasim Bari told ESPNcricinfo.

New Zealand is on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, which form part of the so-called “Ring of Fire”, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/129003/Two-dead-as-7.8M-quake-rocks-New-Zealand

Trump vows to immediately deport up to 3m immigrants

Donald Trump will keep his vow to deport millions of undocumented migrants from the United States, he said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday, saying as many as three million could be removed after he takes office.

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million—we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump said in an excerpt released ahead of broadcast by CBS’s 60 Minutes program.

The billionaire real estate baron made security at the US-Mexico border a central plank of his insurgent presidential campaign, which resulted in last Tuesday’s shock election victory against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump added that the barrier to be erected on the US border with Mexico may not consist entirely of brick and mortar, but that fencing could be used in some areas.

“There could be some fencing,” Trump says in his first primetime interview since being elected president last week.

“But (for) certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. I’m very good at this, it’s called construction,” he tells CBS.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/international/news/128993/Trump-vows-to-immediately-deport-up-to-3m

Irish stun Austria as Iceland go down in Croatia

Republic of Ireland stunned Austria 1-0 in Vienna to climb top of their World Cup qualifying group but Iceland failed to replicate their Euro 2016 heroics in a 2-0 defeat in Croatia on Saturday.

The Irish provisionally leapfrogged Serbia in Group D thanks to a James McClean strike three minutes after half-time, leaving Austria facing World Cup heartache.

Wales host Serbia later Saturday in Cardiff in a game the home side-who like Iceland were giantkillers at Euro 2016 this summer-dare not lose.

Croatia, first in Group I, took on Iceland with group supremacy at stake.

Croatia grabbed the lead after 15 minutes through Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, but it was Iceland who took control after that in Zagreb, where the game was played out in front of empty stands after a FIFA stadium ban.

The clash was closed to the public as punishment for the “inappropriate behaviour” of the Croatia fans during the World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on October 6.

Iceland, who shocked the football world by beating England 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, had revenge on their minds because Croatia deprived them of a first World Cup appearance, narrowly missing out on Brazil 2014.

But despite having plenty of the ball in both halves, Iceland failed to make the crucial breakthrough.

And the home side punished them in injury time, Brozovic again doing the damage against the run of play.

Croatia, now top of the group with 10 points from four games, finished the match with 10 men after Ivan Perisic was sent off at the death.

Also in Group I, Turkey revived their slim hopes of making it to Russia in 2018 with a 2-0 home victory over Kosovo in Antalya.

Burak Yilmaz and Volkan Sen scored within four minutes of one another in the second half to leave Kosovo bottom on just a solitary point.

Georgia and Moldova played out a 1-1 draw in Tbilisi to remain rooted in the bottom two spots in Group D.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/sports/news/128887/Irish-stun-Austria-as-Iceland-go-down-in-Croatia

Moses leads Nigeria to another World Cup win

Victor Moses opened and closed the scoring as Nigeria overcame Algeria 3-1 Saturday to take charge of their group in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Captain John Obi Mikel, a Chelsea team-mate of Moses, was also on target for Nigeria at a packed Uyo stadium while Nabil Bentaleb scored for Algeria with an unstoppable drive.

With Cameroon surprisingly held 1-1 at home by Zambia, Nigeria have taken a four-point lead after matchday 2 in Group B, regarded as the toughest of the five African mini-leagues.

Only section winners qualify for Russia and Nigeria are sitting pretty with a maximum six points from two matches, Cameroon have two and Zambia and Algeria one each.

If Nigeria win three of their remaining four qualifiers from next August-two of which are at home-they will be guaranteed to finish first and secure a sixth World Cup appearance.

A lucky deflection off a defender allowed Moses to score on 20 minutes and Mikel doubled the lead three minutes before half-time while Algeria wrongly appealed for offside.

Bentaleb offered hope to the visitors with a thunderous 67th-minute drive only for Moses to score again in stoppage time with a close-range shot after pouncing on a low cross.

Collins Mbesuma shook Cameroon in Limbe by finishing off a Rainford Kalaba cross after a clever free-kick manoeuvre to give Zambia a 34th-minute lead.

Vincent Aboubakar levelled five minutes into first-half stoppage time from a penalty, but for Cameroon it was two points dropped as much as one gained.

Morocco coach Herve Renard had to settle for a 0-0 draw in Marrakech against former team the Ivory Coast-the third goalless stalemate in four Group C matches.

African champions Ivory Coast will be happier with the result as they maintain their lead with four points, Gabon and Morocco have two each and Mali one.

The Ivorians held the Moroccans with a depleted team, lacking suspended goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo and injured defender Eric Bailly and attacker Gervinho.

Renard, who has guided Zambia and the Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of Nations titles, may regret dropping leading scorer Youssef El Arabi.

South Africa converted a penalty that should not have been awarded as they beat Senegal 2-1 in Polokwane and trail Group D leaders Burkina Faso on goal difference.

Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly was judged to have handled the ball just before half-time, but big-screen replays proved that it rebounded off his legs.

Captain Thulani Hlatshwayo netted the spot-kick and Thulani Serero added a soft second goal in first-half stoppage time for a flattering two-goal advantage.

The visitors dominated the second half and halved the deficit on 76 minutes when Cheick N’Doye slammed the ball into the net from close range after two attempts were blocked.

Burkina Faso rocked Cape Verde by scoring twice within 29 minutes of the kick-off in Praia, then survived sustained second-half pressure for a 2-0 victory.

Banou Diawara struck after two minutes in the multi-island state off Senegal and Prejuce Nakoulma doubled the lead.
Burkina Faso and South Africa have four points each, Senegal three and Cape Verde are pointless.

Uganda followed up a shock draw in Ghana last month by edging Congo Brazzaville 1-0 in Kampala thanks to goal from Belgium-based teenager Farouk Miya on 18 minutes.

Victory completed a memorable year for the east Africans as they also booked a place at the biennial Cup of Nations tournament for the first time since 1978.

Uganda have four points in Group E, Egypt three, Ghana one and Congo are pointless. Egypt host Ghana in Alexandria Sunday.

Source : http://en.prothom-alo.com/sports/news/128885/Moses-leads-Nigeria-to-another-World-Cup-win