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Friday, April 6, 2012

North Korea rocket & US anxious

North Korea says that it will launch a satellite between April 12 and 16 but the United States, South Korea and other nations see it as a pretext for a long-range missile test, which is banned by the United Nations. The United States is closely following preparations by North Korea to launch a long-range rocket, which could come as early as next week, Pentagon officials said Thursday. Pyongyang sparked alarm in the region when it announced last month it would launch a rocket to place a satellite in orbit as part of mass celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary on April 15 of the birth of Kim Il-Sung. Japan has completed the deployment of a land-based system of interceptor missiles in preparation for a planned North Korean rocket launch later this month. The exercise was finalised in Okinawa on Thursday, days after a similar deployment was completed on Monday in Naha, the capital of the Okinawa prefecture.Japan, the US and other countries claim the North is seeking to test the capabilities of its long-range missiles, in violation of international agreements.

The Champions League semifinals


Chelsea-Barcelona, Real-Bayern in Champions semis.  Real Madrid had only just ended APOEL Nicosia s extraordinary run and reached the Champions League semifinals when Jose Mourinho s thoughts turned to the potential opponent in the final. "Barcelona is not favorite, it s super favorite," Mourinho said Wednesday night. "Barcelona will definitely play the final because they are very good." Mourinho was effectively writing off Chelsea s prospects off pulling off a semifinal upset win over the title holders after his former club had eliminated Benfica. First things, first. Mourinho s Madrid must overcome Bayern Munich in the semifinals to keep alive his hopes of reaching the final, and delivering the club s 10th European title. "A very dangerous rival," said Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010 by beating Bayern. "It s a semifinal I want to play, that the players want to play, I think Europe will enjoy this semifinal." Conquering Bayern should be a tougher assignment than ending APOEL Nicosia s remarkable run as the first Cypriot team to reach the knockout stages of the Europe s illustrious competition. Madrid romped to a 5-2 victory 8-2 on aggregate as Cristiano Ronaldo raised his goal tally for the season to 49 with a strike in each half. It was a nervier night for Chelsea despite going 2-0 up on aggregate in the 21st minute when Frank Lampard netted the return-leg opener from the penalty spot. Despite Maxi Pereira being sent off before half time, Javi Garcia headed Benfica back into the game in the 85th. Raul Meireles netted a stoppage-time goal to secure Chelsea s 3-1 aggregate victory and a chance to avenge a bitter 2009 semifinal loss to Barcelona. "Everyone has unfinished business with them," Lampard said. "They are the greatest team in the world. They are going to be favorites but we have a lot of belief in ourselves. We have to perform at our best to beat them and we believe we can do that." If they do, the Blues could have to face former coach Mourinho in Munich on May 19. Madrid s passage to the last four never appeared in doubt at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium as APOEL was overpowered. Ronaldo tapped Marcelo s cross into the net at the back post in the 26th and Kaka doubled the lead with a shot from the edge of the area 10 minutes later. APOEL exploited a lapse in Madrid s concentration to pull one back, with Gustavo Manduca scoring in the 67th. But Madrid responded in the 75th with Ronaldo s free kick curling over the defensive wall into the top corner and Jose Callejon completed an individual run with a low finish into the net five minutes later. While APOEL pulled another back when Esteban Solari scored from the spot, Angel di Maria lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Urko Pardo to round off Madrid s victory. Chelsea s return to the semifinals after a three-year absence represents the latest step in the team s revival under interim coach Roberto Di Matteo following Andre Villas-Boas  dismissal last month. Winning the Champions League for the first time could be Chelsea s only way of playing in the competition next season as the team sits out of the Premier League s top four. Di Matteo knows his team will have to lift its game against Barcelona on April 18 and 24. "I think the team wasn t as sparkling (against Benfica) as we were hoping it would be," he said. "Maybe they were a bit tired, but we re pleased to have won the game and gone through. We deserved it over the two legs." In control after the first leg, the quarterfinal turned further in Chelsea s favor after Garcia s challenge on Ashley Cole in the penalty area led to Lampard netting from spot. But even though Pereira was sent off following a lunge on John Obi Mikel, Benfica did not look like a side playing with 10 men. Chelsea will be thankful that the visitors matched their lack of ruthlessness up front until Garcia s header finally breached Petr Cech s goal. Had Nelson Oliveira found the target soon after, Benfica would have been heading into the last four but Chelsea clung on with Meireles  strike easing the late nerves. "We have been the better team in both legs and I am very proud of my men," Benfica coach Jorge Jesus said through a translator. "We have played with 10 men for the best part of an hour and we were still the better team and made Chelsea look ordinary. We were penalized by the referee unjustly I feel." 

CHELSEA VS FC BARCELONA

BAYERN MUNICH VS REAL MADRID

Kofi Annan plan works in Syria


UN envoy Kofi Annan said Syria had claimed a partial withdrawal of troops from three cities. And the UN-Arab League envoy told the UN General Assembly that "more far-reaching action is urgently required" by President Bashar al-Assad to reach an April 10 deadline to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from protest cities. Annan said the government had told him it had started moving troops out of Idlib, Zabadani and Daraa, all key battle zones in the government assault on protesters and opposition groups. "I await further action and fuller information," he told UN envoys. "It is clear that more far-reaching action is urgently required. Immediate and verifiable steps are needed to complete implementation of commitments in the crucial days ahead." "Clearly the violence is still continuing. Alarming levels of casualties and other abuses continue to be reported daily," he added. Annan said that if the government withdraws troops and weapons from cities by April 10 he would call for a complete cessation of hostilities by 6:00 am Damascus time on April 12. He said opposition groups that his team had spoken to had "committed to call for cessation of violence once the Syrian goverment has demonstrably fulfilled its commitments." "I urge the government and the opposition commanders to issue clear instructions so that the message reaches across the country down to the fighter and soldier at the local level," he said.