SOCCER
Al Ahly lift African trophy
Egypt’s Al Ahly SC won an eighth African Champions League trophy when they beat Orlando Pirates of South Africa 2-0 in the second leg of the final in Cairo on Sunday. Al Ahly won 3-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 stalemate in the first leg. The Red Devils pocketed the cash prize of US$1.5 million and will also represent Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco next month. “I’m very happy we won. It was a difficult game and a good test for us,” Al Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef said. “Orlando Pirates are a strong side having eliminated Esperance [de Tunis] and TP Mazembe on their journey to the final.” Pirates coach Roger de Sa admitted the Egyptians had been the better side over the two legs. “Their experience showed in the game. We knew it was going to be difficult. We lost the tie when the first leg ended 1-1,” De Sa said.
SOCCER
Stromsgodset IF claim title
Two goals by Ola Kamara, and one each from Stefan Johansen and Oyvind Storflor sparked scenes of wild jubilation as Stromsgodset IF beat FK Haugesund 4-0 to win the Norwegian title on Sunday. Stromsgodset started the day one point ahead of Rosenborg BK and knew a home win would secure them a first title since 1970 and only the second in their history. Rosenborg did what they could to take the race down to the wire by taking an early two-goal lead away to Lillestrom SK, as Stromsgodset struggled during a goalless first half, but when Kamara started the party with a cool finish eight minutes into the second half, there was no looking back. Nine minutes later Johansen doubled the advantage with a superb solo goal and in the 69th minute Storflor steered in a third to put the match — and the title — beyond doubt. Kamara put the icing on the cake when his deft left-footed finish looped over the goalkeeper.
BOXING
Yamanaka defends his title
WBC bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka defended his title for a fifth time with a ninth-round knockout of Mexican Alberto Guevara on Sunday in Tokyo. Japanese southpaw Yamanaka hit the challenger with a left 25 seconds into the ninth round to end the contest, improving his unbeaten record to 20 wins, two draws and 15 knockouts. Yamanaka floored Guevara four times in the eighth round, breaking open a cagey fight in which the champion had led on points. It was Guevara’s second career defeat and takes his record to 18 wins, two losses and six knockouts.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Scotland advance to quarters
Scotland advanced to the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup as winners of Group C on Sunday as a result of Italy’s 16-0 loss to Tonga. The Azzurri would have topped the group on points difference with a win by any margin in Halifax, but Tonga came through thanks to tries by Willie Manu, Daniel Foster and Peni Terepo Scotland play reigning champions New Zealand on Friday in the first quarter-final. In Sunday’s other match, the Cook Islands beat Wales 28-24, condemning their beaten opponents to a third straight defeat in Group D.
CRICKET
First one-dayer washed out
Bad weather forced the first one-day international between Sri Lanka and New Zealand to be abandoned in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, on Sunday, cutting short an impressive display by the hosts. New Zealand were 13-1 from 4.2 overs in reply to Sri Lanka’s 288-9 when rain lashed the city and wiped out the rest of the match.
Agencies
NEPAL
General strike shuts country
An opposition-called general strike against next week’s general elections shut down schools, markets and industries across the country yesterday. Protesters attacked vehicles that defied the strike call and torchedt half dozen buses and trucks, police spokesman Ganesh Chetri said. Police have arrested 51 protesters. The alliance of 33 opposition parties called the strike in an attempt to disrupt the Nov. 19 elections and plan a complete transport strike until the poll day.
SOUTH KOREA
North executes TV watchers
North Korea publicly executed about 80 people earlier this month, many for watching smuggled South Korean TV shows, Seoul’s JoongAng Ilbo reported yesterday. The paper cited a single, unidentified source, but at least one North Korean defector group said it had heard rumors that lent credibility to the front-page report. The source said the executions were carried out in seven cities on Nov. 3. Most were charged with watching illicit South Korean TV dramas, and some with prostitution.
CHINA
Petitioning system to change
The central government is changing the way it deals with petitioners who raise grievances with it, eliminating pressure on officials to intercept them before they travel to Beijing, the Beijing News reported. Under the current system, provincial officials may hurt their chances of promotion if too many people from their area get to Beijing to press their case. The current system will be replaced by direct communication between higher and lower levels of government, with supervision based on interviews with petitioners, the paper said.
PAKISTAN
Schools bans Malala’s book
Private schools have been barred from buying a book written by Malala Yousafzai due to its “anti-Pakistan and anti-Islam content,” All Pakistan Private Schools Federation head Kashif Mirza said on Sunday. “Yes we have banned Malala’s book [I am Malala] because it carries the content which is against our country’s ideology and Islamic values,” he said. He denied any threat or pressure by any militant group to ban the book.
BANGLADESH
Workers attack factories
Garment workers demanding higher pay yesterday clashed with police and attacked factories in an industrial belt on the outskirts of Dhaka, forcing more than 100 to shut down. The workers rejected a 5,300 takas (US$66.25) monthly minimum wage, a raise of 77 percent from 3,000 takas. They want 8,114 takas. The chaos came amid a nationwide general strike enforced by the main opposition party and its 17 other allies to demand a caretaker government with people from outside political parties to oversee national elections due by early January. Yesterday was the second day of the strike, which ends tomorrow.
SINGAPORE
Batman going to jail
A man whose superhero-sounding name turned him into a social media celebrity was jailed for nearly three years yesterday for theft, housebreaking and drug offences. Batman bin Suparman, an unemployed 23-year-old whose name translates to “Batman son of Suparman,” was arrested on Aug. 19 after security videos showed him twice sneaking into a store at night, where he stole a total of S$500 (US$400), court documents showed. He also pleaded guilty to stealing his brother’s ATM card and consuming heroin. He was sentenced to a total of 33 months in jail.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and