Suarez, Messi lead Barcelona to 4-2 win against Sociedad

Barcelona has broken its curse at Anoeta Stadium.

Luis Suarez scored twice before Lionel Messi completed Barcelona's 4-2 comeback win at Real Sociedad on Sunday, giving the Catalan club its first league win at the Basque Country team since 2007.

Barcelona was behind by two goals when Suarez set up Paulinho before halftime. The Uruguayan then scored twice in the second half to put the visitors ahead as heavy rain fell over the northern city of San Sebastian.

Messi secured the three points when he scored from a free kick with five minutes remaining.

Barcelona reached the halfway point of the league season unbeaten and with a nine-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid. Valencia trails by 11, and defending champion Real Madrid faces a massive 19-point deficit with a game in hand.

"Our bad run here in the league is finally over," Suarez said. "This is the best way to finish the first half of the season, winning and doing so by turning around a match we were losing."

The fightback ended Barcelona's run of five losses and two draws in La Liga at Sociedad, a team that has consistently played at its best against the powerhouse.

Barcelona also extended its undefeated streak across all competitions this season to 29 straight games since losing the Spanish Super Cup to Madrid in August.

"What can I say? The numbers speak for themselves. We are happy with the season we are having, after the difficult start we had," said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. "Now we have the second half of the season. We don't rule out our rivals, but we only need to worry about what we will do. That's the advantage of being in the lead."

Sociedad got off to an ideal start in the 11th when Xabi Prieto swung in a long cross from the left to Willian Jose, who headed the ball off the turf and over the reach of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Sociedad went forward in attack and got a second goal when Juanmi Jimenez was played clear by Sergio Canales in the 31st. His strike took a deflection off Sergi Roberto to leave Ter Stegen too out of position to try to make a save.

But Barcelona pulled one back against the flow of play in the 39th when Paulinho pushed forward from midfield and was alone to tap in Suarez's pass after Jordi Alba had met his run behind the defense.

Suarez leveled the score at 2-2 five minutes after halftime when he scored with an exquisite single touch of his right boot after a pass by Messi from near the corner of the box.

Suarez completed the turnaround in the 71st when Thomas Vermaelen jumped highest to head the ball forward where Suarez was alone to fire a right-footed strike past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

Rulli was again left flatfooted when Messi dipped his free kick over the defensive barrier and inside the post.

Messi took his league-leading tally to 17 goals. Suarez has 13.

SEVILLA SLUMP

Sevilla's winless streak reached five straight rounds after losing 1-0 at Alaves.

It was Sevilla's second consecutive loss in the league under Vincenzo Montella, the Italian coach who replaced the fired Eduardo Berizzo late last month.

"We are very disappointed. I am sorry for the result," Montella said. "We can see some improvement, but in other aspects we still have a lot of work to do."

Sevilla was left in sixth place after Villarreal moved ahead in the standings on Saturday.

Manu Garcia scored Alaves' winner in the 52nd after a poorly cleared corner kick.

Alaves moved out of the relegation zone after its fourth win in six rounds since the arrival of manager Abelardo Fernandez.

ALLEGED RACIAL ABUSE

Celta's 1-0 win at Levante from Pione Sisto's first-half goal was marred by an alleged incident of racial abuse between players.

Levante midfielder Jefferson Lerma accused Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas of using a racist slur to insult him during the match.

Aspas, who is a Spain international, denies racially abusing Lerma.

STAYING PUT

Espanyol drew 1-1 at home with Athletic Bilbao a day after coach Quique Sanchez Flores quashed speculation of a move to struggling Premier League team Stoke.

Sanchez Flores said on Saturday that he "is and will be Espanyol's coach" amid rumors of his possible departure for England. AP

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Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 8 wickets

Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal raises his bat to celebrate scoring fifty runs during the first match of their Tri-Nation one-day international cricket series against Zimbabwe in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

Bangladesh sealed a comfortable victory of 8-wicket over Zimbabwe in the first match of ongoing tri-nation tournament.

Tamim Iqbal, once again, played a magnificent knock of unbeaten 84 in just 93 balls to secure the big win against the Zimbabweans.

Bangladesh got a flying start while chasing 171-run target placed by Zimbabwe.

Opener Anamul Haque hit four boundaries in quick time but could not able to control his temperament as he was caught at the mid wicket after scoring 19.

Tamim-Sakib built a match winning partnership of 78 runs before Shakib got plumbed in front of the wicket scoring 37.

Later, Tamim along with Mushfiq take the team to the winning moment with an unbeaten partnership of 63 runs.

Bangladesh bowlers continued the aggression and Zimbabwe could hardly resist. The men in red were bowled out for 170, not enough total to defend against Bangladesh top order.

Shakib Al Hasan, once again, was the pick of the bowlers as the left-arm spinner bagged 3 Zimbabwean wicket for 43 while Mustafizur and Rubel got 2-wicket each.

Zimbabwean middle order batsman Sikandar Raza and PJ Moor tried to steady the ship but could not continue as Raza was run out by a brilliant piece of fielding from SHakib-Mushfiq duo.

Moor also cleaned up by Rubel in 33 and the thin tail could add just a few runs. Lastly, the visitors could only manage to collect 170-run to their cart.

Earlier, a cold Dhaka needs a bit of warming up, so the cricket has come at a good time, and there is plenty at stake as Mirpur hosts the international game’s middle-weight battle.

Bangladesh are taking their first step into the post-Chandika Hathurusingha era and will want to erase all memories of their winless tour of South Africa last September. Zimbabwe too will be driven by similar motivation after they lost their Boxing Day Test in Port Elizabeth inside two days.

As it often is, Bangladesh’s five most experienced cricketers – Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah – have to reclaim the winning habit. Their ODI team has been on the road since the series against England in October 2016 and have won only four out of 14 completed matches in that time. That this is a home series will help, and they wouldn’t mind facing an opponent who hasn’t played an ODI since last July. ESPNcricinfo

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NICE IS ATTACKED ON BASTILLE DAY

On July 14th, Bastille Day, France saw yet another terrorist attack.  Yesterday’s event was France’s third terrorist attack in 19 months.

The attacker was 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel born in Tunisia. At around 10:45 pm, Bouhlel drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd of people who were celebrating in the streets. Behind him, he left 84 dead and 202 injured including many children.

At first, bystanders thought that the truck was simply out of control and that the whole thing was a horrible accident. But they soon noticed that the truck’s headlights were off and the driver was not honking. Later on, when police got to the scene, the driver fired several shots at before the police finally killed him.

No organized terrorist groups have taken responsibility for the actions of Bouhlel and authorities don’t yet know if he acted alone. He was known by police for having committed smaller crimes like theft. He was not, however, on any national terrorist list, although online accounts show that he was engaged with terrorist websites.

Sources: NBC, NYTimes

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Trump supporters attempt to arrest London's Mayor

An anti-Islamic nationalist wheeled a homemade gallows into central London, led a group of men into a conference hall and attempted to "arrest" the city's first Muslim mayor as he gave a speech on Saturday.

The group failed, and was eventually escorted out by the same police officers they had asked to apprehend Mayor Sadiq Khan. They still managed to delay the speech for 15 minutes as they accused Khan of treachery, tyranny and disrespecting President Donald Trump.

Trump - who once sought to ban Muslims from U.S. shores and called Khan "pathetic" after a terrorist attack in London last year - earlier this week abruptly canceled plans to visit the city. Khan was one of many Britons who welcomed the news, claiming Trump had been scared off by threats of mass protests.

The mayor was scheduled to give a speech at a left-leaning think tank, the Fabian Society, on Saturday. In the mayor's own words, it was about "about how we cannot allow a populist, anti-feminist narrative to take hold in Britain."

But as Khan prepared to give his address, a man named Davey Russell and about half a dozen others towed a wooden frame with a noose onto a street outside the auditorium. They had decorated it with the emblem of a white dragon, and written on the top: "TAKE BACK CONTROL."

Russell told reporters outside the conference that his group was called the Pendragons. But an ITV reporter, among others, identified him as a leading member of the English Defense League, a well-known far-right organization. Russell also hosts an anti-Islamic radio show, which Kent Online reported was raided by police several years ago.

On Saturday, Russell told reporters that he believed he had the law on his side. He accused Khan of cooperating with terrorists and placing himself above the law, and said the mayor had no right to criticize Trump.

"He should keep his nose out of state affairs and look out for what's going on in London," Russell said.

Carrying a piece of paper on which he had outlined the mayor's alleged crimes, Russell walked with his Pendragons to the front of the auditorium and began to live stream.

Khan took the microphone and managed to say, "Thank you," before a man in a trench coat approached the table and interrupted his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to make a peaceful, nonviolent citizen's arrest of those named," the man said. He named Khan and Parliament member Kate Green, who was chairing the event, and two other speakers.

Khan took a drink of water, sat down and looked at the men. He said nothing.

"Could I ask security to lead the gentlemen out, please?" said Green.

A guard walked over to Russell, who seemed to have been expecting a challenge.

"We are under common law jurisdiction!" Russell cried. "If you touch us, you will be done for common assault. We're not leaving."

But the guard persisted, and soon Russell was arguing: "I paid for a ticket! Do not touch me," he said. "We have paid for a ticket. . . . OK, so we want the money back for the ticket then. We cannot be reimbursed for the ticket. We cannot be reimbursed!"

He said he had called the police before crashing the speech, and promised they would soon arrive to arrest the mayor. It would just be a few minutes.

"Please don't panic, anybody," Russell said.


The audience started to slow clap.

"Perhaps you could wait outside?" Green said after a few minutes. But the Pendragons didn't want to wait outside.

A small, mostly curious crowd formed around the men as they lingered by the auditorium wall, accusing Khan of subverting British law, without ever explaining how. When a reporter asked under what authority they planned to arrest the mayor, one of the Pendragons cited the Magna Carta.

Police had still not arrived after 10 minutes or so. One of the Pendragons walked up to Khan's table and showed him an American flag, which he was holding backward.

"Mr. Khan," the man said, "there's millions of British people supporting Donald Trump."

The audience booed especially loudly at this. "Good one!" Russell cheered.

"Please sit down, sir," Green said. So the man walked back to Russell, holding his flag up to the news cameras, still holding it the wrong way.

Green eventually began to lose patience with the men. "I am not having you dictate the way this meeting is conducted," she said. Eventually, Sky News reported, Khan began to read a newspaper.

After a quarter-hour standoff, Russell pointed his cellphone at his own face and happily announced to his Facebook viewers: "There's an inspector outside we have to speak to now over these charges against Sadiq Khan."

But when the constable walked into the room, he simply told Russell: "You'll have to leave now."

Russell handed the officer a sheet of paper outlining his complaints. One of them cited the Coronation Oath Act of 1688. The officer looked at it. "We are going to investigate," he promised, not entirely convincingly.

"Well, the grounds for the arrest are all there," Russell said.

"We don't do citizen's arrests," the officer explained. "We do lawful arrests."

Russell finally followed the constable outside, to much applause from the crowd. One of his compatriots waved a water bottle aloft as they left.

Khan stood up and resumed his speech. "It's a pleasure to be here," he said, "even though we were distracted by the actions of what some would call very stable geniuses."

The crowd laughed at this. Outside in the lobby, his gallows still empty, Russell continued to argue with police. He also asked for a refund on his ticket.

NDTV/SU

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Shame on sexual abusers, not ours: Pakistani celebs

The rape and murder of six-year-old Zainab has outraged Pakistan and with the ongoing conversation about the need to provide a safer environment for our children, celebrities like actor Nadia Jamil and PR maven Frieha Altaf have come forward with their own childhood experiences of sexual abuse.

By sharing their stories, they hope to highlight that Pakistani society is rife with child sexual abuse and that our culture of silencing and shaming the survivors needs to stop, reports Dawn.

Sharing the abuse she suffered at various points in her life, Nadia Jamil shared, "My family still wants me to stay silent. But the shame IS NOT MINE!"

Frieha Altaf also touched on her silencing: "My parents took action but everyone remained silent as if it was my shame," according to Dawn report.

Pakistan based The Express Tribune added, “I was four the first time I was abused sexually,” wrote Jamil on Twitter.

She went on to add that it didn’t stop there. “I was in college when it blew out of proportion. People tell me not to talk to respect my family’s honour. Is my family’s honour packed in my body? I am a proud, strong, loving survivor. No shame on me or my kids. Only pride for being me,” added Jamil in the same tweet.

She went on to share the horrendous happenings and wrote, “When I sexually abused it was by my Kari Sahab, my Driver & then by a highly educated elite family’s son. Now, a happily married business man in London. It’s across the board. Men abuse across the board. My family still wants me to stay silent. But the shame IS NOT MINE! Never ever.”

“Every time a child is sexually abused he/she is me. I will never shut up about it. & I will always say to the child, the child’s families, you, there is no shame for the abused survivor & we can help lead the to a joyful positive productive life. The shame is on the MEN who abuse,” added the actor.

In Jamil’s opinion, the only way to stop the abuse is to educate masses. “The cure is literacy, poverty alleviation and an empathetic education that counters all patriarchal, misogynistic discourse on women, womens bodies and male entitlement to sexual gratification for power. PLUS awareness and protection workshops for kids, schools, parents.”

She further urged women and victims to not feel shame while talking about their stories. “I only share it so more women & men who have been abused STOP feeling SHAME and see their is a light inside them Allah has kept burning. Shine it! There is a way out of the hell of humiliation & pain. We can make it out & up to a beautiful place of gratitude! Always! Shukar always!”

Previously, many other celebs joined #JusticeForZainab protests.

Actors such as Faysal Quraishi, Mahira Khan and Shahzad Roy joined protesters at Press Club Karachi.

Qureshi said, “We have addressed a similar issue before. We have made various dramas about it as well. But here’s the thing…How can a five or six-year-old girl resist a grown man?”

He further added, “We are blaming the parents, blaming the issue and not being aware enough. But there is sound awareness regarding sexual abuse in American schools and it’s happen there as well. The only difference is that we see results there. Justice is served.”

The Raees starlet came forth and said that she wished a time would come when no one will have to come out on the streets demanding justice for any more such cases. “It’s high time we need to put this in our syllabus so that all the children get to know about it. The parents also need to be educated regarding sexual abuse,” said Khan.

Singer Shahzad Roy added that we need to change the social fabric of Pakistan. “We need to create a society where a child who has been abused can talk to their parents and they can take necessary steps to help the child instead of being in denial about it,” he said.

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THE RUNNER’S HIGH: A NEW LOOK AT THE CAUSE

Have you ever heard someone say they are addicted to working out, or running? For some this may be an oddstatement since not all of us find workouts enjoyable. The truth is, is that you can feel a type of high from an intense workout and scientist have a new theory on the cause.

Originally it was thought that the release of endorphins is what caused the euphoric feeling achieved through an intense workout, which reduced your body’s feeling of pain and so you would get the high feeling. Scientists now think that the high is caused by a chemical called endocannabinoid. It is thought that this chemical is like your body’s self-made marijuana and even has a similar effect that the drug has on your pain, mood and even your hunger.

The studies on the endocannabinoid hormone are still only being done on mice though and the effects on humans are not yet known. In one study, it was found that mice who ran on their wheels were far less anxious and handled pain better, whereas the mice who had their endocannabinoid system blocked with drugs were more anxious and were even more sensitive to the same pain. This led researchers to the conclusion that cannabinoid receptors are important to the explanation of the runner’s high.

This August, scientists at the University of Montreal released their findings on another hormone called Leptin, given the nickname the “Satiety Hormone” because it is what tells your body that you have enough energy and food to function. Scientists believe that in the middle of a workout, your leptin levels fall, which sends a signal for hunger to the pleasure center of the brain and creates the rewarding effects of running. A study done on mice whose genes had been changed to lack leptin-sensitive proteins called STAT3, found that they actually ran twice as much as normal mice due to the lack of feeling satisfied with their workout.

Sources: Washington Post, Cell

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