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| Nigeria's "African Davos" will focus minds on problems, as well as potential Friday, May 02, 2014 12:27 AM PDT By Pascal Fletcher ABUJA (Reuters) - Delegates to the World Economic Forum on Africa next week in the Nigerian capital Abuja will be in the right place to reflect on the rising continent's problems, as well as its undoubted potential. Participants, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and African leaders, meet as the continent's largest economy grapples with a surging Islamist revolt and inter-communal clashes that highlight poverty, ethnic and religious schisms, and battles over power and resources in many parts of Africa. "If people want to take a look at a dynamic, high-potential place in Africa, Nigeria is that place, but it also has a whole host of issues that are not going away anytime soon," said Mark Shroeder, head of Sub-Saharan Africa analysis at business and security consultancy STATFOR. Policymakers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists attending the 24th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA), a replica of the flagship annual WEF held in Davos, Switzerland, will be ensconced in the concrete fortress of the Abuja Hilton, protected by 6,000 police and soldiers - the largest security operation Nigeria has ever mounted for a summit. Full Story | Top |
| Segregation in C.African Republic shows world's failure: official Friday, May 02, 2014 12:25 AM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Segregating Muslims in Central African Republic to protect them from Christian militia shows the world's failure to tackle a deepening sectarian crisis, a U.N. official said on Thursday as the United Nations scrambles to find thousands of peacekeepers. "It is a collective failure of the international community that we were not able to provide the security for people in their homes," said John Ging, director of operations for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "The separation and segregation of communities in this country is not a solution for this country going forward." The United Nations has warned the crisis could spiral into a genocide in the resource-rich former French colony of 4.6 million people. Human rights officials say parts of the country have seen "religious cleansing." The violence has continued despite the presence of 2,000 French troops and some 5,600 African Union forces. Full Story | Top |
| Segregation in C.African Republic shows world's failure: UN official Friday, May 02, 2014 12:23 AM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Segregating Muslims in Central African Republic to protect them from Christian militia shows the world's failure to tackle a deepening sectarian crisis, a U.N. official said on Thursday as the United Nations scrambles to find thousands of peacekeepers. "It is a collective failure of the international community that we were not able to provide the security for people in their homes," said John Ging, director of operations for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "The separation and segregation of communities in this country is not a solution for this country going forward." The United Nations has warned the crisis could spiral into a genocide in the resource-rich former French colony of 4.6 million people. Human rights officials say parts of the country have seen "religious cleansing." The violence has continued despite the presence of 2,000 French troops and some 5,600 African Union forces. Full Story | Top |
| Sevilla through to final after late Mbia strike Friday, May 02, 2014 12:22 AM PDT  VALENCIA Spain (Reuters) - Sevilla snatched a place in the final of the Europa League when a 94th-minute Stephane Mbia header put the Spanish side through on away goals after their semi-final tie against Valencia ended 3-3 on aggregate. Despite going down 3-1 at Valencia on Thursday, Sevilla set up a final showdown with Benfica after the Portuguese club eliminated Juventus 2-1 on aggregate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suspected bomb on edge of Nigerian capital kills at least 15 Friday, May 02, 2014 12:15 AM PDT  By Isaac Abrak and Afolabi Sotunde ABUJA (Reuters) - A suspected car bomb exploded on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital Abuja on Thursday, killing at least 15 people a week before the city was to host a conference of leaders and business executives focused on Africa's growth prospects, witnesses said. The explosion hit the suburb of Nyanya, close to the site of a morning rush hour bomb attack at a bus station last month that killed at least 75 people. The April 14 attack was claimed by the radical Islamist movement Boko Haram which is waging an insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government. Flames lit up the area around the blast, which was strewn with drying blood and contorted bodies, and sirens wailed. "There was a loud blast then a ball of fire," witness Lateef Adebayo told Reuters by telephone from Nyanya. Full Story | Top |
| Missing Hollywood executive declared dead: Los Angeles county official Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:57 PM PDT (Reuters) - A Hollywood studio executive who investigators said may have been murdered was declared dead on Thursday, the second anniversary of his mysterious disappearance, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Gavin Smith, a 57-year-old film distribution executive for 20th Century Fox, was last seen on the night of May 1, 2012, driving in his black Mercedes Benz away from a friend's house in Oak Park, northwest of Los Angeles. "A death certificate was issued," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy Quiana Birkbeck said on Thursday. The facility was linked to John Creech, a man who was imprisoned in a Los Angeles County jail on an unrelated narcotics conviction. Full Story | Top |
| Rugby-Brinkmanship, pragmatism behind SANZAR expansion plans Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:32 PM PDT The location of Super Rugby's 18th team when the competition expands in two years time should provoke some robust debate given the brinkmanship and pragmatic compromise behind SANZAR's realignment plans announced earlier this week. The expansion was hastily unveiled on Thursday after Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver appeared to jump the gun by telling local media about the details before his SANZAR partners were ready to release them. The competition will expand from 15 teams to 18 in 2016, with South Africa being given a sixth team and a side from Argentina also joining. Pulver's release of the details caused some consternation for his New Zealand Rugby counterpart Steve Tew, who said the news prompted a flurry of "quite short" emails between the two organisations. Full Story | Top |
| NBA-Highlights of Thursday's NBA playoffs games Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:26 PM PDT - - - Pacers 95, Hawks 88 Just when it looked as if their demise was complete, the Indiana Pacers found some life and fought off the Atlanta Hawks and an electric crowd at Philips Arena to win Game 6 95-88 and keep their Eastern Conference playoffs matchup alive. Indiana forward David West scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and Paul George added 24 points and came up with a big steal in the game's final minute to force Game 7. The Pacers were 41-12 at the All Star break, but unraveled in final months of the regular season and were in danger of becoming just the sixth top seed to lose to an No. 8 seed in the first round of the playoffs. Full Story | Top |
| Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday, May 2 Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:00 PM PDT Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday: - - - - SOCCER Premier League Title race comes down to the wire LONDON - We will bring you all the news ahead of the English Premier League title run-in with interest at both ends of the table as three teams challenge for the title while up to six are fighting it out to avoid the drop into the second tier. ... Full Story | Top |
| Baseball-Highlights of Thursday's MLB games Thursday, May 01, 2014 10:23 PM PDT - - - Mariners 4, Yankees 2 Rookie left-hander Roenis Elias worked quickly and efficiently, striking out a career-high 10 hitters in seven innings and leading the Seattle Mariners to a 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Former New York second baseman Robinson Cano continued to get booed by Yankees fans but drove in two runs. Shortstop Brad Miller added an RBI single and center fielder Michael Saunders highlighted a three-hit night with a run-scoring double as the Mariners equaled a season-high with their third straight win and a fourth consecutive victory in New York. He allowed a leadoff home run to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury on a fastball but dominated the rest of the night. Full Story | Top |
| Civil rights leader resigns, caught in scandal over NBA team owner's racist rant Thursday, May 01, 2014 09:49 PM PDT The president of the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP resigned Thursday in ongoing fallout over racist comments made by the owner of the Clippers basketball team, who had been slated to be honored by the organization with a lifetime achievement award. Citing the scandal over team owner Donald Sterling's anti-African-American rant on a widely circulated audio recording, Leon Jenkins said in a statement posted on the civil rights organization's website that he had caused the NAACP "negative exposure." "Please be advised that the legacy, history and reputation of the NAACP is more important to me than the presidency," Jenkins wrote. "In order to separate the Los Angeles NAACP and the NAACP from the negative exposure I have caused the NAACP, I respectfully resign my position as president of the Los Angeles NAACP." The scandal over Sterling's remarks, made public over the weekend, sparked outrage from fans and players, and numerous commercial sponsors pulled their support from the team. Full Story | Top |
| Canadiens draw first blood, beat Bruins in 2OT Thursday, May 01, 2014 09:39 PM PDT  (The Sports Xchange) - Defenseman P.K. Subban's power-play goal 4:17 into the second overtime period lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins in the opener of their Eastern Conference second round NHL playoffs clash. It was the second goal of the game for Subban, who blasted a slap shot from the blue line past goaltender Tuukka Rask just seven seconds after Boston defenseman Matt Bartkowski was called for holding Brian Gionta. The Canadiens wasted little time in scoring their second power-play goal of the game to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Rene Bourque had a goal and an assist and goaltender Carey Price finished with 48 saves, including 15 in overtime. Full Story | Top |
| Racist remarks by Clippers owner recorded with his consent: lawyer Thursday, May 01, 2014 08:16 PM PDT By Steve Gorman and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The audio recording of racist comments that got Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling banned from the NBA was made with his consent by the woman he criticizes on the tape for "associating with black people," her lawyer said on Thursday. Los Angeles-based attorney Mac Nehoray also insisted that his client, who goes by the name of V. Stiviano, did not wish Sterling any ill will and had nothing to do with furnishing the recording to websites that released the audio over the weekend, igniting the racially charged scandal. Full Story | Top |
| Korean baseball umpire assaulted by fan from 'Surprise Zone' Thursday, May 01, 2014 07:26 PM PDT By Narae Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean baseball fan ran onto the field and assaulted an umpire on Wednesday after climbing over a fence in the "Surprise Zone" at Champions Field stadium in the southern city of Gwangju. The game between the Kia Tigers and SK Wyverns was held up before the start of the seventh inning after the fan ran over to the first base umpire Park Keun-young and put him in a headlock. The 30-year-old was restrained by an SK coach and security guards before being handed over to police. The "Surprise Zone" along the first base line at the Tigers' Champions Field, which opened earlier this year, is lower to the ground and juts out closer to the action. Full Story | Top |
| NBA panel agrees to act swiftly on bid to oust Clippers owner Thursday, May 01, 2014 05:50 PM PDT  By Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association on Thursday launched its bid to oust Donald Sterling as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers for racist comments as a panel of 10 fellow team owners or their proxies unanimously agreed to proceed "as expeditiously as possible," the NBA said. The decision, reached during a telephone conference call of the NBA Board of Governors' advisory-finance committee, seemed to indicate a strong base of support among Sterling's fellow owners for his removal, as urged by league Commissioner Adam Silver. Silver on Tuesday declared Sterling banned from the NBA for life, fined him $2.5 million - the league maximum - and called on the 29 other club owners who make up the governing board to exercise their authority to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. Full Story | Top |
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