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03/12 | 20:17 GMT
©AFP / Musa al-Shaer
An Israeli soldier stands before demonstrators rallying against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Maasarah near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
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Kuranyi fires Schalke to Bundesliga summit
03/12 | 21:52 GMT
©AFP/DDP / Clemens Bilan
Schalke's striker Kevin Kuranyi (R) celebrates scoring with defender Marcelo Jose Bordon during their Bundesliga football match against VfB Stuttgart in Gelsenkirchen, western Gerrmany. Kuranyi grabbed a 55th-minute winner to fire Schalke 04 back to the top of the Bundesliga on Friday in a 2-1 win over Stuttgart.
©AFP/DDP / Clemens Bilan
Schalke's striker Kevin Kuranyi (R) celebrates scoring with defender Marcelo Jose Bordon
BERLIN (AFP) - Former German international striker Kevin Kuranyi grabbed a 55th-minute winner to fire Schalke 04 back to the top of the Bundesliga on Friday in a 2-1 win over Stuttgart.
The victory gave Schalke a one-point lead over Bayern Munich who face relegation-threatened Freiburg on Saturday.
It was Schalke's third successive win and their eighth at home this season while Kuranyi's timely strike was his 14th of the campaign.
The Ruhr-based side opened the scoring just after the break through Edu but Serdar Tasci took advantage of a Schalke defensive mix-up to level for Stuttgart in the 50th minute.
"This is an important victory, but we can't rest on our laurels," said Kuranyi.
"There are very important matches coming up against Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich."
Schalke, coached by Felix Magath, are trying to win a first league title since 1958 while Stuttgart suffered only their second defeat since former Tottenham boss Christian Gross took over in December.
"We are the leaders, but that's not the most important thing," said Magath.
"We will talk about our ambitions after our match against Bayern, who are the title favourites, on April 3," added Magath, who led Wolfsburg to the championship last season.
Football
Kuranyi fires Schalke to Bundesliga ...Metallica boosts security for Venezuela concert
03/12 | 17:02 GMT
©AFP/File / Mayela Lopez
Metallica's James Hetfield (right) and bassist Robert Trujillo perform in San Jose, Costa Rica on March 7. US heavy metal group Metallica has planned extensive security measures for its concert at a Caracas baseball stadium after rioting fans sparked chaos and violence in Bogota.
©AFP/File / Mayela Lopez
Hundreds of angry Metallica fans who could not get tickets to the Bogota concert tried to storm the venue
CARACAS (AFP) - US heavy metal group Metallica has planned extensive security measures for its concert Friday at a Caracas baseball stadium after rioting fans sparked chaos and violence in Bogota.
But organizers are heeding to lessons learned during Wednesday's riots, and have called on a large contingent of police officers, civil protection officers, firefighters and private security agents to ensure an orderly concert in Caracas.
The 50,000-strong expected crowd will also have to go through metal detectors before they can enter Rinconada stadium.
Hundreds of angry fans who could not get tickets to the Bogota concert tried to storm the venue on Wednesday at Simon Bolivar park to catch a glimpse of the Californian metal legends' first concert in Colombia in 11 years. Police on horseback fought back and eventually dispersed the crowd.
Some 170 people were arrested for rioting, vandalism and destruction of property, although they were released on Thursday for lack of evidence, Bogota Metropolitan Police said. Three officers were also injured.
Police are investigating a group of fans on online social networking website Facebook that urged fans to cause disruption if they could not get tickets for the concert attended by 35,000 people.
It was not the first incident of the band's Latin American tour. In January in Santiago, a riot broke out during the concert, forcing police to use water cannons and arrest 120 people.
Friday's performance will also be the first visit in 11 years to Venezuela by James Hetfield (vocals and guitar), Kirk Hammett (guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums) and Robert Trujillo (bass).
The four California veterans are noisier and darker than ever, doing what they know best -- with thrashing guitars and howling vocals at a heart-stopping pace -- after releasing their first studio album in five years in September 2008.
It is the last leg of a Latin American tour that took the group to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina. On Saturday, Metallica performs in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The group then pursues its "Death Magnetic" tour in Europe, performing in Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Croatia, Portugal, France, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. It will also make stops in Israel and Turkey.
Entertainment
Metallica boosts security for Venezuela ...Cook, Pietersen feast on Bangladesh attack
03/12 | 13:18 GMT
©AFP / Munir Uz Zaman
England captain Alastair Cook celebrates after scoring his century in Chittagong. Cook celebrated his first day as Test captain with a superb 158 not out to put England in a commanding position in the opening Test against Bangladesh on Friday.
©AFP / Munir Uz Zaman
Cook became the fifth England player to make a century in the first Test as captain
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AFP) - Alastair Cook celebrated his first day as Test captain with a superb 158 not out to put England in a commanding position in the opening Test against Bangladesh on Friday.
Kevin Pietersen was also in the limelight, regaining form with a robust 99 as the tourists posted 374-3 in their first innings at stumps on the first day. Paul Collingwood was unbeaten on 32.
Cook and Pietersen dominated the Bangladeshi attack with a wide range of shots, adding 170 for the third wicket. The England captain cracked two sixes and 14 fours in the 244-ball knock for his 11th Test hundred.
Pietersen, struggling against spin on the tour before this match, smashed one six and 15 fours in his 135-ball knock before missing out on his 17th Test hundred, bowled by left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak.
"Funny things happen to cricketers on 99 all around the world," said Pietersen.
"Probably at the end of your career you look back and think one run could have made a difference to me personally, but for the team 99 was very important. I'd have taken 99 this morning, that's for sure."
©AFP / Munir Uz Zaman
Pietersen dominated the Bangladeshi attack with a wide range of shots
Left-handed opener Cook, 25, became the fifth England player to make a century in the first Test as captain after Archie MacLaren, Allan Lamb, Andrew Strauss and Pietersen.
Cook, named skipper after Strauss was rested for the tour, also scored a century on his Test debut, against India in Nagpur in 2006.
Bangladesh's decision to put England in to bat after winning the toss backfired as they struggled for wickets throughout the day on a slow pitch despite introducing spin after seven overs.
"Our strength is spin, so it didn't matter whether we bowled first or second. In hindsight, it was probably a bad decision," said Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons.
"We thought it (the pitch) would spin from day one, but for some unknown reason it didn't turn. I think we are pretty much nearly out of the game unless we bowl terrifically in the morning."
Pietersen, who made just 41 in three one-dayers and 22 in two innings of a practice match recently, batted fluently against spin as he once hit Shakib Al Hasan for two fours and a six in one over.
©AFP / Munir Uz Zaman
Pietersen (R) smashed one six and 15 fours before being dismissed for 99
Cook reached his hundred in style, slog-sweeping spinner Mohammad Mahmudullah over mid-wicket for a six. He added 72 for the opening wicket with debutant Michael Carberry (30) and 77 for the next with Jonathan Trott (39).
Trott looked surprised when given caught behind while attempting to hook seamer Rubel Hossain. TV replays later suggested the ball had come off the helmet.
Left-handed Carberry outscored Cook in the early part of the partnership as he began with a flurry of boundaries, driving Rubel for three fours in an over.
Bangladesh's lone success in the morning session came when Carberry was trapped leg-before by Mahmudullah while attempting to sweep.
Carberry was dropped by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim off Mahmudullah when on 30, but failed to capitalise on the chance as he fell in the bowler's next over.
Cricket
Cook, Pietersen feast on Bangladesh ...Machu Picchu to reopen March 29: official
03/12 | 22:33 GMT
©AFP/File / Eitan Abramovich
General view of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in 2007. The heritage site will reopen March 29 after heavy rains cut off the ancient citadel earlier this year, a senior official said Friday.
©AFP/File / Eitan Abramovich
General view of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu
LIMA (AFP) - Peru's main tourist attraction Machu Picchu, one of the world's most prized heritage sites, will reopen March 29 after heavy rains cut off the ancient citadel earlier this year, a senior official said Friday.
Transport Minister Enrique Cornejo said the opening had been planned for April 1, but that the railway line to the remote Inca site that had been washed out by torrential rains has been partially restored.
"A few days earlier than we said, tourists can take a bus from Cusco to Ollataytambo and board the train to Machu Picchu," Cornejo told lawmakers.
The 15th-century city perched around 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level is the most visited site in South America, a pillar of the Cusco region and the source of 90 percent of Peru's tourist revenues, according to the country's finance ministry.
The railway was damaged in hundreds of places by flooding and landslides prompted by the rains that hit the country in late January.
Thousands of stranded foreign tourists were evacuated from the small village of Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu, threatened by rising waters from the Vilcanota river.
The Tourism Observatory had warned that Peru stood to lose up to 0.64 percent of GDP if tourism declined, with particularly serious repercussions for Cusco, where some 175,000 people make a living in the industry.
More than 2,000 tourists from all over the world visit Machu Picchu every day, tourism ministry officials said.
Cornejo said the rail link between Cusco and Machu Picchu would be fully restored by July at the latest.
Lifestyle
Machu Picchu to reopen March 29: ...Police kept Elin from Tiger's ambulance in violence fear
03/12 | 20:53 GMT
©AFP/Getty Images/File / Scott Halleran
Elin Woods watches the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida in 2009. Police kept the wife of Tiger Woods from riding in an ambulance with the injured golf star after his November crash over concerns of domestic violence, records released Friday showed.
©AFP/Getty Images/File / Scott Halleran
Elin Woods
ORLANDO, Florida (AFP) - Police kept the wife of Tiger Woods from riding in an ambulance with the injured golf star after his November crash over concerns of domestic violence, records released Friday showed.
Florida Highway Patrol records released to the Orlando Sentinel unveiled the details of what happened on the night the Woods sex scandal erupted, including the fact Elin Woods told police her husband had taken two medications.
Authorities appeared to suspect Woods was driving under the influence of prescription drugs when his vehicle struck two curbs, a row of shrubs, a hydrant and a tree on November 27, leading to him being taken to a hospital.
The reports showed that Elin Woods tried to accompany her husband to the hospital but the ambulance crew would not allow her entry, saying the early morning incident was a case of domestic violence, according to the newspaper.
Woods was ticketed by the Florida Highway Patrol and paid 164 dollars for a careless driving violation, although the accident opened the door to revelations of adultery that have cost Woods millions of dollars in endorsement deals.
Woods has taken a indefinite break from golf while trying to sort out his personal life but has started working with coach Hank Haney and practicing again, leading to speculation he will play at next month's Masters tournament.
Florida Highway Patrol records released to the newspaper Friday also revealed that investigators tried to obtain the golfer's medical records from HealthCentral hospital in Ocoee to see whether or not Woods was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
But a nurse told patrolmen the records office was closed and they would have to return Monday.
"The director of medical records at first stated their computer system was not working, then she stated that they would not provide that information without a warrant on (Woods) regarding whether or not medical blood had been drawn," according to a report from patrolman Thomas DeWitt.
