bbc--2020-01-30--Super Bowl 2020: Vince Lombardi, the story behind the name on NFL's biggest prize

There is a name that resonates with American football fans across generations .
When Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers meet in the Super Bowl on Sunday , the very prize on offer carries it .
Lombardi was a five-time National Football League-winning coach , an icon of the game who is still celebrated half a century on from his death , as the NFL 's 100th season comes to a close .
His legend speaks of a man who inspired players through fear , iron discipline , and confrontational coaching techniques .
A leader who took a no-hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ titles in seven years between 1961 and 1967 .
But beneath the steely exterior of his success are deeper achievements that carry Lombardi 's legacy beyond sport , in battling discrimination , championing equality and breaking down racial barriers .
Maybe Lombardi was always destined to teach .
Born in 1913 New York , the son of an Italian meatpacker who studied for the priesthood in his teens , as a young man Lombardi bounced between career paths .
Law school and the world of finance did n't suit him .
But an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a high school assistant coach lit an old spark .
Lombardi had played American football during high school , and during studies at Fordham University , before later featuring for minor league teams Wilmington Clippers and Brooklyn Eagles .
By 1939 - at the age of 26 - he 'd left the game behind , in search of a settled job .
Instead , it had found him again .
`` Once that opportunity came up , he knew it was what he was meant to do , '' his son , Vince @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` He loved to teach and liked coaching . ''
Lombardi cut short his own honeymoon to make it back in time for training camp at St Cecilia High School .
The foundations of the strict , no-nonsense approach that would later become famous were already being laid , with students recalling weeks of `` merciless calisthenics '' and long sessions late into the evening .
`` He was no different at home to how he was anywhere else , '' remembers Lombardi Jr. `` For a coach he had two qualities : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short temper .
For him being my father , those were n't such great qualities . ''
Lombardi 's knack for getting the best out of his players was obvious .
Under his tutelage St Cecilia went 32 games unbeaten and he led the basketball team to the state championship , despite knowing very little about the sport .
A move to Fordham , his old university , followed in 1947 , before he took a job as offensive line coach with the US military 's side at West Point two years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practice , standing on the sidelines at games watching him and realising he was the one in command , '' says Lombardi Jr. Lombardi 's burgeoning reputation earned him a role at the New York Giants in 1954 , and then in 1959 , at the age of 45 , he got his big break .
Head coach in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers .
Lombardi 's grandparents may have emigrated to the US from Italy , but he was a born-and-bred New Yorker .
It was a bold decision to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Green Bay , Wisconsin .
This was Lombardi 's chance to be in control , to lead his own team .
It 's just this team were almost broke and coming off the back of the worst season in their history .
Green Bay , perched on the edge of Lake Michigan and home to a Packers side that had not registered a winning season in 12 years , would soon be dubbed 'Titletown ' thanks to Lombardi 's remarkable success over the next decade .
The rookie boss insisted the Packers would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impact was instant - Lombardi was named Coach of the Year in his first season , for turning the league 's worst side into one that posted a winning record .
`` He brought a degree of excellence to the game , '' Jerry Kramer , an offensive lineman pivotal to Lombardi 's side , told an NFL documentary .
`` He was a wonderful teacher .
He believed teaching was the greatest profession .
He said : 'It 's not coaching , it 's teaching ' . ''
Lombardi famously commented that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ excellence '' .
In return , the disciplinarian coach demanded complete dedication from his players .
Defensive tackle Henry Jordan quipped : `` Lombardi treat us all the same - like dogs . ''
But he knew which buttons to press to get the best out of each player .
Kramer recalled a story about how he missed a block and Lombardi came running across the field , stopped 10 inches from his face and screamed : `` Mister !
The concentration period of a college student is five minutes , for high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's 30 seconds , and you do n't have that ?
So where 's that put you ? ''
Later that day Lombardi , showing the empathy that offset his strict nature , found Kramer in the locker room , ruffled his hair and told him he would be the best guard in football one day .
`` From that point on , if he believed in me , I could believe in me , '' added Kramer , who was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Packers reached the Championship Game only to fall to an agonising defeat by the Philadelphia Eagles .
The boss pledged he would never lose another championship match .
And he did n't .
The man dubbed 'The Pope ' , because he would attend mass every day , led Green Bay to their first title in 17 years in 1961 and another the following season , beating his former employers the New York Giants on both occasions .
During that success Lombardi would be pictured smoking on the touchline , something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changed after he received a letter from a concerned mother in 1963 , telling him it set a bad example .
`` When he got the letter he quit , just took his pack of cigarettes , crushed them up and threw them in the garbage , '' says Lombardi Jr .
The assistant coaches at Green Bay , expecting they would take the brunt of their boss going cold turkey , feared him ditching his habit .
`` My mother was a prolific smoker , she would light one cigarette as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jr , recognising how difficult that made it for his father to stop .
`` She smoked constantly around him so we said he had to quit every day .
He was a chain smoker , so to just roll your pack up and throw it away took a lot of discipline . ''
Lombardi also had to suffer seeing the NFL title celebrated elsewhere for the next two seasons .
But he and the Packers responded in 1965 by defeating defending champions the Cleveland Browns , and the following year they beat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first ever Super Bowl .
Green Bay then made it an unprecedented three titles in a row when they saw off the Oakland Raiders in 1967 .
It would prove to be Lombardi 's fifth and final NFL crown , as he stepped back to take on general manager duties before leaving for the Washington Redskins in 1969 .
But for many , the trophies and titles only tell part of the story .
Lombardi was about more than winning .
And so to the other great legacy of Vince Lombardi , whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jim Crow Laws enforcing racial segregation existed in the southern United States , meaning black players could not stay in the same hotels or drink in the same bars as their white team-mates .
In Green Bay , private housing remained unavailable to a majority of black players , so when Lombardi signed defensive back Emlen Tunnell , who would become the first black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame , he put him up at the plush Hotel Northland .
That did n't mean the experienced Tunnell escaped Lombardi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once told a reporter Lombardi was `` a real brass , real arrogant '' , before adding : `` But nobody else can cuss Lombardi out to me .
In my heart , I know what he is . ''
Lombardi said he saw athletes as `` neither black nor white but Packer green '' and demanded everyone be treated equally , refusing to allow any kind of prejudice .
He told players if he ever heard discriminatory language they would be `` through '' .
`` That goes back to being Italian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '30s , '' says Lombardi Jr , whose father felt he had been overlooked for jobs earlier in his career because of his Italian heritage , and once got into a fight at university after someone mocked his dark complexion .
`` Having experienced something like that , his antenna was up .
I do n't think it was all that intentional on his part , as much as if you are a good football player and you can contribute to the team that 's all that matters . ''
The head coach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Packers roster from just one when he arrived in 1959 to almost a third of the 40-plus squad when he left nearly 10 years later , and as his status grew in Green Bay he began to assert change .
Lombardi told restaurant and bar owners that any place not accepting black players was off limits to the whole Packers squad .
He demanded all his players have suitable accommodation and informed teams in the south they would not stay anywhere asking for players to be segregated .
`` He slowly integrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Herb Adderley told the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel in 2012 .
`` He said : 'If the black players are going to help this team win , the city needs to understand these players need good places to live . '
'' In his book Closing the Gap , former Packers defensive end Willie Davis wrote : `` Nobody had more impact in creating diversity in the NFL than coach Lombardi .
`` Right from the start he treated us as equals , just players competing for a spot on the team .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ an era where most chose to look the other way . ''
Lombardi 's quest for equality stretched further than race .
His brother Harold was homosexual and he wanted to create an environment of acceptance within the locker room .
During his one season with the Washington Redskins , Lombardi coached running backs Ray McDonald , who was arrested a year earlier for having sex with another man in public , and Dave Kopay , who would later become the first former NFL player to announce he was gay .
`` Vince @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was just lucky to be around him , '' Kopay told ESPN in 2013 .
`` Back then gay people were almost thought of as deviant .
It really was terrible at the time . ''
In his biography of Lombardi , When Pride Still Mattered , author David Maraniss says the boss told staff working with McDonald that if he heard any `` reference to his manhood , you 'll be out of here before your ass hits the ground '' .
The image of a short-tempered , confrontational boss juxtaposed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lombardi easy to misread .
Maraniss says President Richard Nixon once considered him as a potential running mate , only for the Republican to find out Lombardi was a Democrat with close ties to the Kennedy family and someone keen on gun control .
Lombardi 's progressive attitudes came in a period when the US was at war in Vietnam and facing violent protests at home .
Sadly , his own life would be cut short .
His death , when it came in 1970 , was sudden .
At the age of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form of colon cancer , and he died 10 weeks later .
According to the Green Bay Press Gazette , President Nixon told a White House dinner party `` in a time when the moral fabric of the country seems to be coming apart '' Lombardi was `` a man who insisted on discipline and strength '' .
In recognition of his achievements , Lombardi was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame and the Super Bowl prize was renamed in his honour .
`` It seems so accepted , '' says Lombardi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how his name is associated with the trophy .
With all the positive things associated with what he did . ''

Lombardi's final role was with Washington Redskins, but he made his name at Green Bay Packers
There is a name that resonates with American football fans across generations. When Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers meet in the Super Bowl on Sunday, the very prize on offer carries it.
The Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Lombardi was a five-time National Football League-winning coach, an icon of the game who is still celebrated half a century on from his death, as the NFL's 100th season comes to a close.
His legend speaks of a man who inspired players through fear, iron discipline, and confrontational coaching techniques. A leader who took a no-hope Green Bay Packers team and won five titles in seven years between 1961 and 1967.
But beneath the steely exterior of his success are deeper achievements that carry Lombardi's legacy beyond sport, in battling discrimination, championing equality and breaking down racial barriers.
Maybe Lombardi was always destined to teach.
Born in 1913 New York, the son of an Italian meatpacker who studied for the priesthood in his teens, as a young man Lombardi bounced between career paths. Law school and the world of finance didn't suit him. But an offer from an old team-mate to become a high school assistant coach lit an old spark.
Lombardi had played American football during high school, and during studies at Fordham University, before later featuring for minor league teams Wilmington Clippers and Brooklyn Eagles. By 1939 - at the age of 26 - he'd left the game behind, in search of a settled job. Instead, it had found him again.
"Once that opportunity came up, he knew it was what he was meant to do," his son, Vince Lombardi Jr, tells BBC Sport. "He loved to teach and liked coaching."
Lombardi cut short his own honeymoon to make it back in time for training camp at St Cecilia High School. The foundations of the strict, no-nonsense approach that would later become famous were already being laid, with students recalling weeks of "merciless calisthenics" and long sessions late into the evening.
"He was no different at home to how he was anywhere else," remembers Lombardi Jr. "For a coach he had two qualities: he was a perfectionist and had a short temper. For him being my father, those weren't such great qualities."
Lombardi, pictured here at Fordham University football practice, in September 1936
Lombardi's knack for getting the best out of his players was obvious. Under his tutelage St Cecilia went 32 games unbeaten and he led the basketball team to the state championship, despite knowing very little about the sport.
A move to Fordham, his old university, followed in 1947, before he took a job as offensive line coach with the US military's side at West Point two years later.
"I remember going to spring practice, standing on the sidelines at games watching him and realising he was the one in command," says Lombardi Jr.
Lombardi's burgeoning reputation earned him a role at the New York Giants in 1954, and then in 1959, at the age of 45, he got his big break. Head coach in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers.
Lombardi's grandparents may have emigrated to the US from Italy, but he was a born-and-bred New Yorker. It was a bold decision to move his family 1,000 miles away to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
This was Lombardi's chance to be in control, to lead his own team. It's just this team were almost broke and coming off the back of the worst season in their history.
Green Bay, perched on the edge of Lake Michigan and home to a Packers side that had not registered a winning season in 12 years, would soon be dubbed 'Titletown' thanks to Lombardi's remarkable success over the next decade.
The rookie boss insisted the Packers would be run on his terms and his impact was instant - Lombardi was named Coach of the Year in his first season, for turning the league's worst side into one that posted a winning record.
"He brought a degree of excellence to the game," Jerry Kramer, an offensive lineman pivotal to Lombardi's side, told an NFL documentary.
"He was a wonderful teacher. He believed teaching was the greatest profession. He said: 'It's not coaching, it's teaching'."
Lombardi famously commented that by chasing perfection "we can catch excellence". In return, the disciplinarian coach demanded complete dedication from his players.
Lombardi, pictured following Green Bay's 1968 Super Bowl title
Defensive tackle Henry Jordan quipped: "Lombardi treat us all the same - like dogs." But he knew which buttons to press to get the best out of each player.
Kramer recalled a story about how he missed a block and Lombardi came running across the field, stopped 10 inches from his face and screamed: "Mister! The concentration period of a college student is five minutes, for high school it's three minutes, kindergarten it's 30 seconds, and you don't have that? So where's that put you?"
Later that day Lombardi, showing the empathy that offset his strict nature, found Kramer in the locker room, ruffled his hair and told him he would be the best guard in football one day.
"From that point on, if he believed in me, I could believe in me," added Kramer, who was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In Lombardi's second season, in 1960, the Packers reached the Championship Game only to fall to an agonising defeat by the Philadelphia Eagles. The boss pledged he would never lose another championship match. And he didn't.
The man dubbed 'The Pope', because he would attend mass every day, led Green Bay to their first title in 17 years in 1961 and another the following season, beating his former employers the New York Giants on both occasions.
During that success Lombardi would be pictured smoking on the touchline, something he deemed a personal weakness. Things changed after he received a letter from a concerned mother in 1963, telling him it set a bad example.
Lombardi looks on from the sidelines during a Green Bay Packers game in 1965
"When he got the letter he quit, just took his pack of cigarettes, crushed them up and threw them in the garbage," says Lombardi Jr.
The assistant coaches at Green Bay, expecting they would take the brunt of their boss going cold turkey, feared him ditching his habit.
"My mother was a prolific smoker, she would light one cigarette as the other goes out," says Lombardi Jr, recognising how difficult that made it for his father to stop.
"She smoked constantly around him so we said he had to quit every day. He was a chain smoker, so to just roll your pack up and throw it away took a lot of discipline."
Lombardi also had to suffer seeing the NFL title celebrated elsewhere for the next two seasons. But he and the Packers responded in 1965 by defeating defending champions the Cleveland Browns, and the following year they beat the Kansas City Chiefs to claim the first ever Super Bowl.
Green Bay then made it an unprecedented three titles in a row when they saw off the Oakland Raiders in 1967. It would prove to be Lombardi's fifth and final NFL crown, as he stepped back to take on general manager duties before leaving for the Washington Redskins in 1969.
But for many, the trophies and titles only tell part of the story. Lombardi was about more than winning.
And so to the other great legacy of Vince Lombardi, whose sporting success came at a time when Jim Crow Laws enforcing racial segregation existed in the southern United States, meaning black players could not stay in the same hotels or drink in the same bars as their white team-mates.
In Green Bay, private housing remained unavailable to a majority of black players, so when Lombardi signed defensive back Emlen Tunnell, who would become the first black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he put him up at the plush Hotel Northland.
That didn't mean the experienced Tunnell escaped Lombardi's brash and intense manner. He once told a reporter Lombardi was "a real brass, real arrogant", before adding: "But nobody else can cuss Lombardi out to me. In my heart, I know what he is."
Lombardi said he saw athletes as "neither black nor white but Packer green" and demanded everyone be treated equally, refusing to allow any kind of prejudice. He told players if he ever heard discriminatory language they would be "through".
"That goes back to being Italian in New York in the 1920s and '30s," says Lombardi Jr, whose father felt he had been overlooked for jobs earlier in his career because of his Italian heritage, and once got into a fight at university after someone mocked his dark complexion.
Lombardi raises a football in victory, surrounded by reporters covering the first Super Bowl in 1967
"Having experienced something like that, his antenna was up. I don't think it was all that intentional on his part, as much as if you are a good football player and you can contribute to the team that's all that matters."
The head coach increased the number of black players on the Packers roster from just one when he arrived in 1959 to almost a third of the 40-plus squad when he left nearly 10 years later, and as his status grew in Green Bay he began to assert change.
Lombardi told restaurant and bar owners that any place not accepting black players was off limits to the whole Packers squad. He demanded all his players have suitable accommodation and informed teams in the south they would not stay anywhere asking for players to be segregated.
"He slowly integrated us into the city," cornerback Herb Adderley told the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel in 2012. "He said: 'If the black players are going to help this team win, the city needs to understand these players need good places to live.'"
In his book Closing the Gap, former Packers defensive end Willie Davis wrote: "Nobody had more impact in creating diversity in the NFL than coach Lombardi.
"Right from the start he treated us as equals, just players competing for a spot on the team. He chose not to see colour in an era where most chose to look the other way."
Lombardi's quest for equality stretched further than race. His brother Harold was homosexual and he wanted to create an environment of acceptance within the locker room.
During his one season with the Washington Redskins, Lombardi coached running backs Ray McDonald, who was arrested a year earlier for having sex with another man in public, and Dave Kopay, who would later become the first former NFL player to announce he was gay.
"Vince Lombardi had so much humanity. I was just lucky to be around him," Kopay told ESPN in 2013. "Back then gay people were almost thought of as deviant. It really was terrible at the time."
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is up for grabs on Sunday - when Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers meet in Miami
In his biography of Lombardi, When Pride Still Mattered, author David Maraniss says the boss told staff working with McDonald that if he heard any "reference to his manhood, you'll be out of here before your ass hits the ground".
The image of a short-tempered, confrontational boss juxtaposed the caring, nurturing mentor beneath and made Lombardi easy to misread. Maraniss says President Richard Nixon once considered him as a potential running mate, only for the Republican to find out Lombardi was a Democrat with close ties to the Kennedy family and someone keen on gun control.
Lombardi's progressive attitudes came in a period when the US was at war in Vietnam and facing violent protests at home. Sadly, his own life would be cut short.
His death, when it came in 1970, was sudden. At the age of 57 he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer, and he died 10 weeks later.
According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, President Nixon told a White House dinner party "in a time when the moral fabric of the country seems to be coming apart" Lombardi was "a man who insisted on discipline and strength".
In recognition of his achievements, Lombardi was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame and the Super Bowl prize was renamed in his honour.
"It seems so accepted," says Lombardi Jr.
"But you feel good about how his name is associated with the trophy. With all the positive things associated with what he did."


bbc--2020-01-30--African diaspora: Did Ghana's Year of Return attract foreign visitors?

An initiative aimed at encouraging members of the African diaspora to visit Ghana has been described as `` a great success '' by President Nana Akufo-Addo .
The Year of Return , 2019 , was linked to the 400th anniversary of slaves landing in the US - said to be the first recorded arrival of enslaved Africans in the Americas .
Ghana was a key transit point for transporting slaves and the president said his country felt a responsibility to welcome all those who could trace their ancestry to Africa .
So can we gauge how successful this initiative was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visited Ghana ?
At the beginning of 2019 , the Ghana Tourism Authority predicted the Year of Return would attract 500,000 extra visitors .
Official data from January to September 2019 indicates an additional 237,000 visitors - a rise of 45 % compared with the same period the previous year - with significant increases in visitors from the US and UK .
However , we do n't know if this was specifically because of the Year of Return initiative , as tourists were not asked to state this on arrival as the reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in arrivals in 2019 should be set in the context of an overall annual total of between 900,000 and one million foreign visitors to Ghana , a figure that has been generally rising anyway over the past few years , dipping slightly in 2018 .
When the data is published for the whole of 2019 , we should be able to assess how unusual the increase for that year was compared with previous years .
Was there a boost to the economy ?
Minister of Tourism Barbara Oteng Gyasi said the Year of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ £1.5bn ) into the economy .
And the Ghana Tourism Authority told BBC News this figure was an estimate based on multiplying total visitor arrivals , 763,545 between January and September , by the average spend per tourist , $ 2,590 in 2019 .
But the total arrivals figure includes all international visitors , whether or not their visit was prompted by the Year of Return .
• Moving to Ghana `` to escape racism in the US '' • How the US is marking the 400th anniversary of slavery Bright Simons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & Education think tank , has criticised the government estimates of the numbers of extra visitors .
And he says the average spend per tourist was less than $ 2,590 .
The Ghanaian government also told BBC News a record 126 people had been granted citizenship in 2019 .
And some from the diaspora , encouraged by the Year of Return initiative , have set up businesses , made investments or purchased property .
Did it help promote Ghana 's image ?
The government also said the Year of Return had drawn wider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media reports .
The country attracted a number of celebrities in 2019 , including model Naomi Campbell , actor Idris Elba , comedian Steve Harvey and American rapper Cardi B .
And the government said the equivalent amount of media attention and PR - if paid for - would have cost about $ 3.5m .
Mr Simons told BBC News : `` As a public relations and advertising feat , it was very impressive .
`` In that regard , I agree that it has been a success . ''

The apparent increase in arrivals in 2019 should be set in the context of an overall annual total of between 900,000 and one million foreign visitors to Ghana, a figure that has been generally rising anyway over the past few years, dipping slightly in 2018.


bbc--2020-01-30--Djokovic beats Federer to reach Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to retaining the Australian Open title with a straight-set semi-final win over injury-hit rival Roger Federer .
Serbia 's Djokovic was 4-1 and 0-40 down in the opening set before recovering to win the tie-break .
That laid the platform for the 32-year-old second seed to go on and win 7-6 ( 7-1 ) 6-4 6-3 .
Djokovic , aiming for a 17th Grand Slam title , will face Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev in Sunday 's final .
`` The match could have definitely gone a different way if he had used those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] , '' Djokovic said .
`` He started well - I was nervous .
`` Respect to Roger for coming out tonight .
He was obviously hurt and was n't close to his best in terms of movement . ''
Victory would mean a record-extending eighth Australian Open triumph for Djokovic , who has lost just three matches at Melbourne Park in the past 10 tournaments .
It would also move him within three of 38-year-old 's Federer 's all-time record of 20 men 's Grand Slam singles titles and within two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost to Thiem in Wednesday 's quarter-final .
Djokovic was the heavy favourite to beat his long-time rival in what was their 50th meeting .
Questions were raised about Federer 's fitness going into the match , having struggled with a groin problem in his epic quarter-final against Tennys Sandgren .
And he needed an off-court medical timeout , presumably for the same problem , at the end of the first set .
Djokovic turned into his ruthless best in the second set after a tight opener , giving away little on his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opponent 's .
After Federer survived break points in the second and sixth games , Djokovic took his first chance in the 10th , scampering to pick up a drop-shot and scoop away sharply cross-court .
That silenced many in the 15,000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena who were supporting Federer .
But not the noisy bunch of Serbs sat behind his player box , to where he shot a steely side-glance as he clenched a fist in celebration .
From that point it was difficult to envisage a comeback for Federer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third-round opponent John Millman and then Sandgren .
Djokovic picked his moment to break in the third set , finishing off a precise point with a wonderful forehand winner that kissed the sideline for a 4-2 lead .
Federer said after beating Sandgren he would always believe in miracles until defeat was confirmed .
This time it would truly have been a miraculous escape against someone of Djokovic 's class .
Federer valiantly levelled at 30-30 as Djokovic tried to serve out the match , only for the Serb to refocus and seal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Concerns had been voiced by some at Melbourne Park that Federer might pull out in the hours leading up to the match .
They proved unfounded .
Instead he came out firing in an extraordinary start in which his fitness did not look much of a concern .
Although he had to stave off two break points in the opening game , he eventually came through a six-minute hold before the pair exchanged three successive breaks .
Federer turned the set 4-1 in his favour with supreme serving and shot-making , leaving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they had just seen .
`` It was not exactly the right mindset for me at the start - I was looking at how he was moving rather than executing my shots , '' Djokovic said .
Djokovic faced three more break points to go 5-1 down but hung on to leave Federer still needing two more games .
A 61-second hold to love - ace , backhand-volley winner , ace , service winner - put him within one .
Then , as the aces and winners started to dry up , momentum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next three games and threatened to pinch Federer 's serve for a 6-5 lead before the Swiss rallied to keep his nose in front .
An ace from Djokovic at 30-30 helped to a crucial hold as the set went into a tie-break .
The pair had won 44 points each going into the set decider , despite Federer hitting 25 winners to Djokovic 's six .
But Djokovic upped the ante in the breaker , blasting an ace past Federer for a 5-1 lead at the changeover and two more winners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the context of the match and ultimately terminal to Federer 's chances .
`` I managed to dig my way through and it was very important to win that first set , '' Djokovic said .
`` Then mentally I could relax and swing through the ball a bit more . ''
Race to be the 'GOAT ' continues Djokovic 's victory over Federer in last year 's historic Wimbledon final took him closer to the Swiss ' Grand Slam tally than he has ever been .
Now the Serb , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tournaments in Melbourne , is aiming to further reduce the gap on Sunday .
Almost six years younger than Federer , Djokovic could add plenty more , barring a loss of form or fitness .
His pursuit of Federer and Nadal is made more remarkable by the fact he won his first major in 2008 - when Federer had claimed 13 and Nadal five - and only added a second three years later .
Nadal , however , is another major obstacle for Djokovic - and also a concern for Federer .

Last updated on .From the section Tennis
2020 Australian Open: Men's final Venue: Melbourne Park Date: Sunday, 2 February Time: 08:30 GMT Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on the BBC Sport website and app; Watch highlights on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to retaining the Australian Open title with a straight-set semi-final win over injury-hit rival Roger Federer.
Serbia's Djokovic was 4-1 and 40-0 down in the opening set before recovering to win the tie-break.
That laid the platform for the 32-year-old second seed to go on and win 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-3.
Djokovic, aiming for a 17th Grand Slam title, will face Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final.
"The match could have definitely gone a different way if he had used those break points [in the sixth game]," Djokovic said.
"He started well - I was nervous.
"Respect to Roger for coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt and wasn't close to his best in terms of movement."
Victory would mean a record-extending eighth Australian Open triumph for Djokovic, who has lost just three matches at Melbourne Park in the past 10 tournaments.
It would also move him within three of 38-year-old's Federer's all-time record of 20 men's Grand Slam singles titles and within two of Spain's Rafael Nadal, who lost to Thiem in Wednesday's quarter-final.
Ruthless Djokovic proves too strong
Djokovic has not lost to Federer in a Grand Slam since losing in the semi-finals at Wimbledon 2012
Djokovic was the heavy favourite to beat his long-time rival in what was their 50th meeting.
Questions were raised about Federer's fitness going into the match, having struggled with a groin problem in his epic quarter-final against Tennys Sandgren.
And he needed an off-court medical timeout, presumably for the same problem, at the end of the first set.
Djokovic turned into his ruthless best in the second set after a tight opener, giving away little on his serve and applying serious pressure on his opponent's.
After Federer survived break points in the second and sixth games, Djokovic took his first chance in the 10th, scampering to pick up a drop-shot and scoop away sharply cross-court.
That silenced many in the 15,000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena who were supporting Federer.
But not the noisy bunch of Serbs sat behind his player box, to where he shot a steely side-glance as he clenched a fist in celebration.
From that point it was difficult to envisage a comeback for Federer, who somehow came through five-set matches against third-round opponent John Millman and then Sandgren.
Djokovic picked his moment to break in the third set, finishing off a precise point with a wonderful forehand winner that kissed the sideline for a 4-2 lead.
Federer said after beating Sandgren he would always believe in miracles until defeat was confirmed.
This time it would truly have been a miraculous escape against someone of Djokovic's class.
Federer valiantly levelled at 30-30 as Djokovic tried to serve out the match, only for the Serb to refocus and seal victory in two hours 18 minutes.
Federer starts well but momentum swings
Federer has now lost eight Australian Open semi-finals
Concerns had been voiced by some at Melbourne Park that Federer might pull out in the hours leading up to the match. They proved unfounded.
Instead he came out firing in an extraordinary start in which his fitness issues did not stop him building up a lead.
Although he had to stave off two break points in the opening game, he eventually came through a six-minute hold before the pair exchanged three successive breaks.
Federer turned the set 4-1 in his favour with supreme serving and shot-making, leaving the stunned crowd murmuring in excitement at what they had just seen.
"It was not exactly the right mindset for me at the start - I was looking at how he was moving rather than executing my shots," Djokovic said.
Djokovic faced three more break points to go 5-1 down but hung on to leave Federer still needing two more games.
A 61-second hold to love - ace, backhand-volley winner, ace, service winner - put him within one.
Then, as the aces and winners started to dry up, momentum swung back as Djokovic won the next three games as a tie-break beckoned.
The pair had won 44 points each going into the set decider, despite Federer hitting 25 winners to Djokovic's six.
But Djokovic upped the ante in the breaker, blasting an ace past Federer for a 5-1 lead at the changeover and two more winners seeing him through.
That proved pivotal in the context of the match and ultimately terminal to Federer's chances.
"I managed to dig my way through and it was very important to win that first set," Djokovic said. "Then mentally I could relax and swing through the ball a bit more."
Race to be the 'GOAT' continues
Djokovic's victory over Federer in last year's historic Wimbledon final took him closer to the Swiss' Grand Slam tally than he has ever been.
Now the Serb, who has won six of the past nine tournaments in Melbourne, is aiming to further reduce the gap on Sunday.
Almost six years younger than Federer, Djokovic could add plenty more, barring a loss of form or fitness.
His pursuit of Federer and Nadal is made more remarkable by the fact he won his first major in 2008 - when Federer had claimed 13 and Nadal five - and only added a second three years later.
Nadal, however, is another major obstacle for Djokovic - and also a concern for Federer.


bbc--2020-01-30--Muguruza beats Halep to set up Australian Open final with Kenin

Garbine Muguruza continued her recent revival by reaching the Australian Open final with a straight-set win over Romania 's Simona Halep .
The unseeded Spaniard , 26 , battled past the fourth seed in a tense 7-6 ( 10-8 ) 7-5 semi-final victory .
The two-time Grand Slam champion fought off four set points in the opener and twice came back from a break down in the second .
She will face American Sofia Kenin in Saturday 's final .
It is Muguruza 's first appearance in a Grand Slam final since she won the Wimbledon title in 2017 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ point when a six-shot rally ended with Halep hitting a return into the net .
The way the world number 32 gritted her teeth and tightly clenched her fist as she celebrated illustrated how difficult a battle it was against the 2018 runner-up .
`` I 'm very excited to be in the final - it is a long way to get there , '' said Muguruza , who also won the French Open in 2016 .
`` I was n't thinking I was down , I just thought keep going and knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was hanging in there and fighting with all the energy I had . ''
Muguruza slipped down to 36th in the world at the end of last year , a little over two years after she was ranked number one .
But she has looked close to her best in Melbourne , having reunited with former coach Conchita Martinez - the 1994 Wimbledon champion - at the start of the season .
Victories over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina and Dutch ninth seed Kiki Bertens earlier in the tournament marked her out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And she moved within one win of achieving that with a gutsy victory over Halep .
Muguruza did not allow her opponent to take her chances in the first set - fighting off two set points at 6-5 and two more in the tie-break - to earn a valuable lead .
Then , after losing serve for 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the second set , Muguruza piled the pressure back on Halep , finally taking two of six break points on her way to winning the final four games .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only the third unseeded woman to win the Australian Open , after home player Chris O'Neil in 1978 and American great Serena Williams in 2007 .
• Alerts : Get tennis news sent to your phone

Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Garbine Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017
2020 Australian Open: Women's final Venue: Melbourne Park Date: Saturday, 1 February Time: 08:30 GMT Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on the BBC Sport website and app; Watch highlights on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
Garbine Muguruza continued her recent revival by reaching the Australian Open final with a straight-set win over Romania's Simona Halep.
The unseeded Spaniard, 26, battled past the fourth seed in a tense 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 semi-final victory.
The two-time Grand Slam champion fought off four set points in the opener and twice came back from a break down in the second.
She will face American Sofia Kenin in Saturday's final.
It is Muguruza's first appearance in a Grand Slam final since she won the Wimbledon title in 2017.
Muguruza clinched victory with her second match point when a six-shot rally ended with Halep hitting a return into the net.
The way the world number 32 gritted her teeth and tightly clenched her fist as she celebrated illustrated how difficult a battle it was against the 2018 runner-up.
"I'm very excited to be in the final - it is a long way to get there," said Muguruza, who also won the French Open in 2016.
"I wasn't thinking I was down, I just thought keep going and knew I'd have an opportunity.
"I was hanging in there and fighting with all the energy I had."
Muguruza will bid to become only the third unseeded woman to win the Australian Open, after home player Chris O'Neil in 1978 and American great Serena Williams in 2007.
Simona Halep led 5-3 in the the second set but lost the last four games of the match
Muguruza slipped down to 36th in the world at the end of last year, a little over two years after she was ranked number one.
But she has looked close to her best in Melbourne, having reunited with former coach Conchita Martinez - the 1994 Wimbledon champion - at the start of the season.
Victories over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina and Dutch ninth seed Kiki Bertens earlier in the tournament marked her out as a potential champion at Melbourne Park.
And she moved within one win of achieving that with a gutsy victory over Halep.
Muguruza did not allow her opponent to take her chances in the first set - fighting off two set points at 6-5 and two more in the tie-break - to earn a valuable lead.
Then, after losing serve for 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the second set, Muguruza piled the pressure back on Halep, finally taking two of six break points on her way to winning the final four games.
Former world number one Halep said that the sun and 40C temperatures in Melbourne "killed me".
"The sun was strong, I didn't like that much to play in this weather," the 28-year-old said.
"The level of energy went down a little bit, and I felt it in the legs.
"To lose like this hurts more, definitely. I'm in pain now, I have to admit."


bbc--2020-01-30--Haining makes debut for much-changed Scotland against Ireland

Edinburgh number eight Nick Haining will make his Scotland debut against Ireland as Gregor Townsend 's side start their Six Nations campaign on Saturday .
The starting XV shows 10 changes from the one that faced Japan in Scotland 's final match of the Rugby World Cup .
Glasgow Warriors ' Adam Hastings replaces Finn Russell with the Racing 92 fly-half having been disciplined following a drinking session .
Prop Rory Sutherland makes his first start for three-and-a-half years .
Despite fellow Edinburgh forward Magnus Bradbury missing out with a thigh strain , the back-row is made up of team-mates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ joining Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie as the Australia-born 29-year-old makes a late debut to international rugby .
Warriors lock Scott Cummings will make his Six Nations debut in Dublin and , as expected , Warriors outside centre Huw Jones makes his return to the side after improved recent form .
Edinburgh 's Blair Kinghorn replaces the injured Darcy Graham on the wing .
Exeter Chiefs full-back Stuart Hogg , Scotland 's new team captain , and Glasgow centre Sam Johnson are the only players retained in the back division , with Warriors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maitland starting in place of international retirees Greig Laidlaw and Tommy Seymour .
Worcester Warriors back row Cornell du Preez could make his first appearance from the bench since a larynx injury picked up playing for his club in September 2018 .
Townsend said : `` We have managed to cover a lot of work in the two weeks we 've been together and we 've been impressed with how our players have taken on information and bonded as a team .
`` We must be a relentless collective on the pitch and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with while having the ability and awareness to impose our game at that intensity . ''

Last updated on .From the section Scottish Rugby
Nick Haining will be part of an all-Edinburgh back row in Dublin
Guinness Six Nations: Ireland v Scotland Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 1 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 5 live extra & online; text commentary on BBC Sport website & app
Edinburgh number eight Nick Haining will make his Scotland debut against Ireland as Gregor Townsend's side start their Six Nations campaign on Saturday.
The starting XV shows 10 changes from the one that faced Japan in Scotland's final match of the Rugby World Cup.
Glasgow Warriors' Adam Hastings replaces Finn Russell with the Racing 92 fly-half having been disciplined following a drinking session.
Prop Rory Sutherland makes his first start for three-and-a-half years.
Despite fellow Edinburgh forward Magnus Bradbury missing out with a thigh strain, the back-row is made up of team-mates from the Pro14 club, with Haining joining Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie as the Australia-born 29-year-old makes a late debut to international rugby.
Warriors lock Scott Cummings will make his Six Nations debut in Dublin and, as expected, Warriors outside centre Huw Jones makes his return to the side after improved recent form.
Edinburgh's Blair Kinghorn replaces the injured Darcy Graham on the wing.
Exeter Chiefs full-back Stuart Hogg, Scotland's new team captain, and Glasgow centre Sam Johnson are the only players retained in the back division, with Warriors scrum-half Ali Price and Saracens wing Sean Maitland starting in place of international retirees Greig Laidlaw and Tommy Seymour.
Worcester Warriors back row Cornell du Preez could make his first appearance from the bench since a larynx injury picked up playing for his club in September 2018.
"We have got to be tough to beat," said Townsend. "We have to aim to play to our potential right through the tournament and we have to be consistent. Those are the things we need to improve the most from last season.
"It involves our defence and our decision making, staying in the fight longer in away games, being consistent.
"It's about taking chances when they come. We know they might not come as much against a quality team like Ireland, but the last time we were here we had two or three and if we get the same on Saturday we have to make sure we take them."
Scotland team to face Ireland
Hogg, capt (Exeter Chiefs); Maitland (Saracens), Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Johnson (Glasgow Warriors), Kinghorn (Edinburgh); Hastings (Glasgow Warriors), Price (Glasgow Warriors); Sutherland (Edinburgh), Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Z Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors); Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), J Gray (Glasgow Warriors); J Ritchie (Edinburgh), Watson (Edinburgh), Haining (Edinburgh).
Replacements: McInally (Edinburgh), Dell (London Irish), Berghan (Edinburgh), Toolis (Edinburgh), Du Preez (Worcester Warriors), G Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Harris (Gloucester).


bbc--2020-01-31--Coronavirus declared global health emergency by WHO

The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization , as the outbreak continues to spread outside China .
`` The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries , '' said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus .
The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems .
At least 212 people have died from the virus in China .
The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 other countries , but no deaths .
Most cases have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Chinese city of Wuhan , where the outbreak began .
• What coronavirus does to the body However , there have been eight cases of human-to-human infection - in Germany , Japan , Vietnam and the United States .
Speaking at the news conference in Geneva , Dr Tedros described the virus as an `` unprecedented outbreak '' that has been met with an `` unprecedented response '' .
He praised the `` extraordinary measures '' Chinese authorities had taken to prevent it from spreading and said there was no reason to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adding : `` Let me be clear , this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China '' .
But various countries have taken steps to close borders or cancel flights in recent days , and companies like Google , Ikea , Starbucks and Tesla have closed their shops or stopped operations .
Preparing other countries for the virus What happens if this virus finds its way into a country that can not cope ?
Many low and middle income countries simply lack the tools to spot or contain it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that it may go unnoticed for some time .
Remember this is a disease which emerged only last month and yet there are already 7,736 confirmed cases in China and 12,167 suspected ones .
The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa - the largest in human history - showed how easily poorer countries can be overwhelmed by such outbreaks .
And if novel coronavirus gets a significant foothold in such places then it would be incredibly difficult to contain .
We are not at that stage yet - 99 % of cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convinced the country can control the outbreak there .
But declaring a global emergency allows the WHO to support lower and middle income countries to strengthen their disease surveillance and prepare them for coronavirus cases .
How unusual is this declaration ?
The WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern when there is `` an extraordinary event which is determined… to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease '' .
It has previously declared five global public health emergencies : • Swine flu , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world in 2009 , killing more than 200,000 people , and a public health emergency was called to ensure the world was carefully monitoring its spread and able to respond , including with vaccines .
• Polio , 2014 - Although closer than ever to eradication in 2012 , polio numbers rose in 2013 .
An emergency was declared due to fears the global fight against its eradication could face a major setback .
• Zika , 2016 - The WHO declared Zika a public health emergency in 2016 after the disease spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many Zika symptoms are mild , it can be dangerous for pregnant women and the emergency was called to spur urgent research .
• Ebola , 2014 and 2019 - The deadly disease has twice been declared a public health emergency .
The first one lasted from August 2014 to March 2016 as almost 30,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died in West Africa .
The WHO cited `` the virulence of the virus , the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns , and the weak health systems '' in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declared last year as an outbreak spread in DR Congo .
How is China handling the outbreak ?
A confirmed case in Tibet means the virus has now reached every region in mainland China .
According to the country 's National Health Commission , 9,692 cases have tested positive .
Although questions have been raised about transparency , the WHO has praised China 's handling of the outbreak .
President Xi Jinping has vowed to defeat what he called a `` devil '' virus .
The central province of Hubei , where nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a state of lockdown .
The province of 60 million people is home to Wuhan , the heart of the outbreak .
The city has effectively been sealed off and China has put numerous transport restrictions in place to curb the spread of the virus .
People who have been in Hubei are also being told by their employers to work from home until it is considered safe for them to return .
The virus is affecting China 's economy , the world 's second-largest , with a growing number of countries advising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the country .
How is the world responding ?
Voluntary evacuations of hundreds of foreign nationals from Wuhan are under way to help people who want to leave the closed-off city and return to their countries .
The UK , Australia , South Korea , Singapore and New Zealand are expected to quarantine all evacuees for two weeks to monitor them for symptoms and avoid any contagion .
• Britons in Wuhan to return home on Friday Australia plans to quarantine its evacuees on Christmas Island , 2,000km ( 1,200 miles ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that has been used to house asylum seekers .
Countries with diagnosed cases have been keeping patients in isolation .
Other recent developments : • Italy suspended fights to China after two Chinese tourists in Rome were diagnosed with the virus ; earlier 6,000 people on board a cruise ship were temporarily barred from disembarking after a Chinese passenger was suspected of having the virus but tests came back as negative • In the US , Chicago health officials have reported the first US case of human-to-human transmission ; and around 200 US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and are being isolated at a Californian military base for at least 72 hours • Russia has decided to close its 4,300km ( 2,670-mile ) far-eastern border with China in an attempt to prevent contagion • Flights to take British and South Korean citizens out of Wuhan have both been delayed , after relevant permissions from the Chinese authorities did not come through • Two flights to Japan have already landed in Tokyo .
Three passengers have so far tested positive for the virus , Japanese media report • Two aircraft are due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 250 French nationals leaving on the first flight • India has confirmed its first case of the virus - a student in the southern state of Kerala who was studying in Wuhan

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bbc--2020-01-30--Coronavirus: US reports first person-to-person transmission

Chicago health officials have reported the first US case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly coronavirus .
The new patient is the spouse of a Chicago woman who carried the infection back from Wuhan , China , the US Centers for Disease Control said on Thursday .
The discovery marks the second report of the virus in Illinois and the sixth confirmed case in the US .
More than 130 people have died in China - the epicentre of the outbreak - and nearly 6,000 have been infected .
The virus has spread to every region in China and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thailand , France , the US and Australia , with the global death toll rising to 170 .
• Coronavirus : How worried should we be ?
There is no specific cure or vaccine , though a number of people have recovered following treatment .
Chicago health officials said the new patient , a 60-year-old male , had `` some underlying medical conditions '' but was in good condition .
His wife , who he apparently contracted the virus from , was also stable but remained in isolation at a local hospital , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for her father in Wuhan , China , earlier this month .
Health officials are also monitoring 165 patients across the US for possible infections .
Dr Robert Redfield , the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , cautioned the US public to remain calm .
`` Our assessment remains that the immediate risk to the American public is low , '' he said .
The American Airlines pilots ' union said on Thursday that it was suing the airline in an attempt to prevent to stop flights between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement that it had instructed members to turn down requests to fly to China .
Also on Thursday , the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) declared the epidemic an international public health emergency , citing concern that the virus could spread to countries with weaker health systems .
The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 countries outside of the country , but no deaths .
A number of countries have implemented evacuation and quarantine plans for nationals wanting to return from China , where the outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia closed its 4,300km ( 2,670-mile ) far-eastern border with China in an attempt to stop contagion .
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week that while the numbers outside of China remained `` relatively small '' the risk of person-to-person transmission meant the `` potential remains for a much larger outbreak '' .
More people have now been infected in China than during the Sars outbreak in the early 2000s , but the death toll so far remains lower .
Sars , also a coronavirus , caused the deaths of 774 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new virus • How worried should we be ?
• The city now in lockdown • Can wearing masks stop the spread of viruses ?
• Follow all our coverage here Have you been affected by any of the issues raised ?
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He praised the "extraordinary measures" Chinese authorities had taken, and said there was no reason to limit trade or travel to China. "Let me be clear, this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China," he said.


bbc--2020-01-30--US life expectancy rises for first time since 2014

US life expectancy rose in 2018 for the first time in four years , a welcome reversal for health officials combating a drug epidemic gripping the country .
Deaths from drug overdoses declined for the first time in over 20 years , according to the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) .
Overall life expectancy improved by 0.1 years from 2017 , to 78 years and seven month , the agency said .
The news was `` a real victory '' , said Alex Azar , the US health secretary .
`` It should be a source of encouragement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to connecting people struggling with substance abuse to treatment and recovery , '' Mr Azar said .
Death rates for unintentional injuries , which includes overdoses , declined by 2.8 % , according to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics report , published on Thursday .
Some 400,000 Americans are thought to have died of overdose as a result of the opioid crisis that began in the late 1990s , as painkillers flooded US markets , driving addiction to the drugs .
The brisk rate of mortality due to drug overdose had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declining life expectancy seen in previous years .
Deaths from heart disease and cancer , the two leading causes of mortality in the US , continued to decline , falling by 0.8 % and 2.2 % respectively .
The decline in cancer deaths accounted for 30 % of the increase in life expectancy in 2018 , the CDC said .
Despite the decrease in overall overdose deaths , however , mortalities due to synthetic opioids- more powerful , related drugs to traditional opioid painkillers - rose by 10 % .
Overdose deaths due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , have been on the rise since 1999 , and have drastically increased in comparison to other drugs since 2013 .
Deaths due to cocaine have tripled since 2012 , which Mr Azar called a `` disturbing '' trend .
• Do we really live longer than our ancestors ?
The top 10 causes of death - which also includes stroke , diabetes , and suicide - were the same as in 2017 , accounting for the majority of deaths .
Suicide rates increased 1.4 % , but most of the leading causes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • Why do Americans die younger than Britons ?
The current life expectancy remains lower than the peak US life expectancy of 78.9 years , from 2014 , and is shorter than the average of 80 years in the OECD , an organisation of mostly rich countries .
Experts cautioned that an increase in a single year may not indicate a trend - and the US remains in last place among wealthy nations for life expectancy .

The current life expectancy remains lower than the peak US life expectancy of 78.9 years, from 2014, and is shorter than the average of 80 years in the OECD, an organisation of mostly rich countries.


bbc--2020-01-30--Impeachment: Day two of senators' questions

Five possible twists in impeachment trial Many believe President Trump will be acquitted at the end of this process .
@ @ @ @ @ from the script ?

Live coverage from Washington DC, as President Donald Trump's impeachment trial continues in the Senate.
The impeachment is in its final stages as senators prepare to cast their final vote on Wednesday, with acquittal almost certain.


bbc--2020-01-30--When a lottery 'wins' sick babies life-saving drugs

Eva was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy , a motor neuron disease , just a few weeks after her birth in August .
Her parents plan to enter her in a controversial `` drug lottery '' in the hopes of getting access for a promising new treatment that costs $ 2.1m ( £1.6m ) per patient .
Ricardo and Jessica Batista noticed something was wrong with Eva just a couple of weeks after she was born .
The Toronto couple 's `` beautiful young girl '' loved to play and smile but took a long time to eat .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall back when they picked her up .
There was `` no head control , she was very floppy , '' Mrs Batista recalls .
At just seven weeks , Eva was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy [ SMA ] a rare , deadly genetic muscle-wasting disease .
Between one in 6,000 to one in 10,000 children are born with SMA .
Eva is believed to be one of the youngest patients to be diagnosed with SMA Type 1 , also called Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease , the most severe form of the disease the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'Not prepared for the road ahead' Babies like Eva can face many health challenges , from muscle weakness to trouble breathing and swallowing .
They may need breathing assistance or a feeding tube .
The disease can be fatal if untreated .
`` We did research on it but it still - when you research it - it tells you what it is and all that , but it does n't prepare you for the road ahead and what to expect , '' said Mr Batista .
The Batistas ' priority was getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child .
In Canada , where the couple live , they have access to Spinraza , a prescription drug taken during the patient 's entire lifetime that can increase survival and motor function .
It 's been on the market since 2016 and is the first approved therapy to treat all types of SMA .
There is also a brand new drug - Zolgensma .
It 's produced by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) for children under the age of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gene therapy touted as a potentially life-changing treatment .
It 's also currently the world 's priciest single-dose treatment , at $ 2.1m per patient .
Gene therapy , at the cutting edge of health science , involves introducing genetic material into cells to compensate for abnormal genes - in the case of SMA , the faulty SMN1 gene .
In consultations with Eva 's doctors , the Batista 's have begun treatment with Spinraza - but they see gene therapy as their daughter 's best hope .
`` We contacted a couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken this gene therapy and throughout conversations with them and through the research we did we immediately came [ to the decision ] that that 's what we needed to get her , because that 's the best option , the best solution in terms of what can help her for the best results , '' Mr Batista said .
But for the Batistas , the multimillion dollar price tag was beyond prohibitive .
Zolgensma is not approved in Canada .
The couple would need special authorisation from Health Canada , the drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the drug for their daughter in that country .
Without that authorisation , they would have to go a hospital in the US to get it administered , bringing the total cost to approximately C $ 4m ( $ 3m ; £2.3m ) .
With fundraising , the family managed to raise some C $ 1.8m in about four months - a feat in itself - but `` we need more help '' , says Mrs Batista .
Patient group Cure SMA Canada says they 'll be pushing for access to Zolgensma as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developed by drug company Roche .
Spinraza has proven safe and effective , executive director Susi Vander Wyk says , but is not ideal for all patients , so the more options the better .
`` We 're excited for patients to access this - but it 's not quite [ there ] yet , '' she says .
There is third option for the Batistas - one that depends on the luck of the draw .
When demand from families for Zolgensma spiked following its approval in the US last May , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide the therapy free to some eligible SMA patients .
It would give out up to 100 doses to patients who meet clinical criteria using a `` blinded selection '' - a lottery - every two weeks through 2020 , starting on 3 February .
The firm said in December that the managed access programme was `` anchored in principles of fairness , clinical need and global accessibility ... that does n't favour one child or country over another '' .
• Can cooling patients help after a cardiac arrest ?
Novartis says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bioethicists - but it has been criticised by patient groups around the world .
Kacper Rucinski , co-founder of the UK 's TreatSMA and a board Member with SMA Europe , say they will be asking the pharmaceutical firm to remove `` fully or partially '' the lottery element of the programme .
Mr Rucinski says they support compassionate use programmes for pharmaceutical access but `` here , what you are seeing is that the company says : 'Oh yes , we received your application , we see that it is needed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see whether we should provide it or not . '
`` That is basically unacceptable from the clinical point of view . ''
SMA Europe said in a statement the programme `` will make thousands of SMA babies compete with each other for a life-saving treatment , splitting tightly knit communities and turning this experimental drug into a coveted prize . ''
Mr Batista says while the couple are happy some children will gain access to the drug `` what are we going to say to the other kids whose lives are dependent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
'Better luck next time ? '
'' Mr Rucinski also thinks there is a certain amount of `` hype '' around Zolgensma as the newest drug on the block .
`` Personally we think it is a promising drug but we ask for more data , '' he said .
He notes questions were raised around the drug in August , when the FDA said Novartis had submitted manipulated data in its approval application , though the regulatory agency said it was confident the drug should remain on the market .
SMA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming weeks to discuss the programme with Novartis - which told the BBC it 's open to feedback from patients groups and health professionals to `` capture learnings and help guide us as we move forward '' .
For the Batistas , the high-stakes lottery is a `` long shot '' .
They are working with Eva 's neurologist to enter her into the Novartis programme but with 100 doses for the whole world `` to just depend only on that is too risky '' , says Mrs Batista .
The couple have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sick Kids hospital , where the Eva is being treated for pneumonia and two other viruses .
When she gets better their focus will be on raising enough money to get her treated in the US , which would need to be done before she turns two .
`` The stress level is through the roof , '' says her mother .
`` But we 're doing everything , everything we can to help her . ''

"We contacted a couple of families in the US that have taken this gene therapy and throughout conversations with them and through the research we did we immediately came [to the decision] that that's what we needed to get her, because that's the best option, the best solution in terms of what can help her for the best results," Mr Batista said.


bbc--2020-01-30--Duke of Sussex loses press complaint over wildlife photos

Prince Harry has lost a complaint against the Mail on Sunday over a story the paper ran about photos of African wildlife he posted on Instagram .
The Mail said the duke - who had posted to mark Earth Day - had not made it clear the animals had been tranquilised and the elephant was tethered .
He argued he did not need to say this because he had stated they were being moved as part of a conservation scheme .
He complained to the press watchdog Ipso that the article was inaccurate .
The duke argued the paper breached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Editor 's Code of Practice in the article , which was published in April last year .
The Mail on Sunday 's story was headlined `` Drugged and tethered ... what Harry did n't tell you about those awe-inspiring wildlife photos '' .
In it , the article said the images of a rhino , lion and elephant - posted on Harry 's Instagram account to highlight Earth Day - `` do n't quite tell the full story '' .
Earth Day is an annual global event to celebrate the world and encourage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change .
The newspaper reported the duke had `` notably avoided explaining the circumstances in which the images were taken '' .
It added that followers of Sussex Royal , the Instagram account the duke shares with wife , Meghan , were unable to see a rope around the hind legs of the elephant because of the way the photo was edited .
Harry said that the image had been cropped due to Instagram 's formatting requirements , which the newspaper disputed .
In its ruling , Ipso said the prince had stated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public by failing to explain the circumstances in which the photograph of the elephant had been taken and that the article was inaccurate in claiming that he had sought to mislead the public by deliberately publishing an edited version of the photograph '' .
But Ipso ruled there had been no breach of the accuracy clause , adding it did not believe it was `` significantly misleading to report that the photographs posted on the complainant 's Instagram account did not quite tell the full story and that the complainant had not explained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been taken . ''
It is not the only time Harry and his wife Meghan have taken action against the press .
In October last year , the duke revealed he had begun legal action against the owners of the Sun , the defunct News of the World , and the Daily Mirror , in relation to alleged phone-hacking .
It came days after the duchess announced her separate legal suit against the Mail on Sunday over a claim that it unlawfully published one of her private letters .
Last week , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media after photographs of Meghan in Canada were published in newspapers and on websites .
The couple made the warning following their decision to step back as full-time royals and split their time between the UK and Canada .
Back in 2016 , Prince Harry attacked the media for subjecting Meghan - then his girlfriend - to a `` wave of abuse and harassment '' .

In its ruling, Ipso said the prince had stated that "he had not misled the public by failing to explain the circumstances in which the photograph of the elephant had been taken and that the article was inaccurate in claiming that he had sought to mislead the public by deliberately publishing an edited version of the photograph".


bbc--2020-01-30--Party with Super Bowl champions

Party with Super Bowl champions

Sergio Aguero , Ronaldinho , Neymar and Usain Bolt have all partied with Purple .
Now Miami 's celebrity host @ @ @ @ @ on Sunday for the winners of the Super Bowl .
Player Makers USA is a @ @ @ @ @ from people who work in the background for some of the biggest names in American @ @ @ @ @ MORE : ' I design shoes for Ronaldo , the Beckhams and Timberlake '

Sergio Aguero, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Usain Bolt have all partied with Purple. Now Miami's celebrity host is throwing a once-in-a-lifetime party for the winners of Super Bowl 54.
This video was originally published in January 2020.
Player Makers USA is a six-part series of amazing stories from people who work in the background for some of the biggest names in American and global sport.
WATCH MORE: 'I design shoes for Ronaldo, the Beckhams and Timberlake'


bbc--2020-01-30--Mexico cartels: Three suspects escape 'with help from guards'

Police in Mexico are questioning 10 guards at a prison in the capital , Mexico City , after three high-profile inmates escaped .
The three , including a man suspected of being the financier for the sons of jailed drug lord Joaquín Guzmán , walked through five gates before driving away in an official car .
Three guards have reportedly confessed to helping the inmates escape .
All three prisoners were facing extradition to the US .
When guards did their morning check of the inmates they noticed that three were missing .
Víctor Manuel Félix Beltrán , Luis Fernando @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all escaped from the medium-security jail in Mexico City .
The fugitives passed through five gates to get to a courtyard where they boarded a prison car which whisked them away .
The gates had been installed at the medium-security jail after the three had been transferred there from high-security facilities .
An investigation is under way to find out whether the gates were left unlocked or whether the fugitives were provided with keys or instruments to open them .
Who are the fugitives ?
Víctor Manuel Félix Beltrán is suspected of being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drug cartel , which was led by drug lord Joaquín `` El Chapo '' Guzmán until his capture and extradition to the US .
Félix Beltrán is suspected of handling the finances of three of Guzmán 's sons .
US prosecutors also accuse him of being a `` high-level drug trafficker '' who operated in the cities of Culiacán and Guadalajara and shipped cocaine to Chicago .
His father , Víctor Félix Félix , was `` El Chapo '' Guzmán 's financier until the former was captured in 2011 and extradited to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in : Félix Beltrán was arrested at a luxury residential complex in Mexico City in October 2017 .
At first , he was held at the maximum-security Altiplano prison before being transferred in November 2018 to the Mexico City jail from which he escaped on Wednesday .
Meza González is accused of drug trafficking and Osuna Navarro is suspected of criminal association .
What has been the reaction ?
The escape is yet another embarrassment for Mexico 's prison system which became notorious for its corrupt guards after `` El Chapo '' managed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elaborate tunnel .
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there would be a thorough investigation .
A major manhunt is also under way in the city and surroundings .
The influence the Sinaloa cartel and the sons of El Chapo Guzmán wield became clear in October 2019 when fighting broke out in Culiacán between gang members and the security forces .
It was triggered by an attempt to detain , Ovidio Guzmán López .
The fierce gunbattle led Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to release Ovidio Guzmán López , arguing that keeping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a blood bath '' .

Félix Beltrán was arrested at a luxury residential complex in Mexico City in October 2017. At first, he was held at the maximum-security Altiplano prison before being transferred in November 2018 to the Mexico City jail from which he escaped on Wednesday.


bbc--2020-01-30--Trump's wall: Winds blow over section of US-Mexico border fence

A new section of President Donald Trump 's signature wall along the US-Mexico border has been blown over in strong winds , US officials say .
Steel panels from the fence in the town of Calexico , California were knocked down on Wednesday morning .
The concrete used to anchor the 30ft-tall ( 9m ) panels in place had not yet set .
Gusts of around 30 mph ( 48 km/h ) were reported at the time , the US National Weather Service said .
The fence is part of the Trump administration 's ongoing construction project to stop illegal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ km ) US-Mexico border .
• Trump 's wall - all you need to know • Trump 's wall : A broken promise , a second term , or both ?
• Trump can raid $ 3.6bn of defence funds for wall On Tuesday , Mr Trump boasted at a campaign event in New Jersey that the wall was `` going up at record speed '' .
A day later , high winds blew a section of newly installed panels against trees lining a road in Mexicali , a city on the Mexican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mexican authorities responded quickly and were able to divert traffic from the nearby street , '' US Border Patrol agent Carlos Pitones told the LA Times .
There was no damage to property or injuries , Mr Pitones said .
Pictures from the border show construction workers with a crane apparently attempting to fix the fence , which appears lopsided .
When visiting a section of the wall in California last year , Mr Trump described its concrete and steel slats as `` virtually impenetrable '' .
The project has been hampered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it has made progress , albeit slowly .
Earlier this month , the Trump administration said it had built around 100 miles of new wall .
Much of this , however , has replaced existing structures .
Mr Trump announced his intention to use Pentagon funds for the wall last February , after a 35-day government shutdown triggered by his demand that congressional Democrats approve funding for the barrier .
He declared a national emergency , arguing that Americans were in danger due to lax southern border security .
Earlier this month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal block on $ 3.6bn ( £2.7bn ) in defence funds , allowing Mr Trump to spend money on the project .

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bbc--2020-01-30--Palestinian PM defends stance on Trump Middle East plan

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has said the Palestinian leadership is `` sticking to the aspirations of our people '' by @ @ @ @ @ 's Middle East peace plan .
Mr Shtayyeh told the BBC 's Orla Guerin the @ @ @ @ @ that if it annexes any part of the occupied West Bank all agreements between the @ @ @ @ @ .
Mr Trump 's Middle East plan envisages a limited Palestinian state and recognition of @ @ @ @ @ the occupied West Bank .

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has said the Palestinian leadership is "sticking to the aspirations of our people" by rejecting US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan.
Mr Shtayyeh told the BBC's Orla Guerin the Palestinian leadership has warned Israel that if it annexes any part of the occupied West Bank all agreements between the two sides would be terminated.
Mr Trump's Middle East plan envisages a limited Palestinian state and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the occupied West Bank.


bbc--2020-01-30--Swiss humanitarian channel to Iran launches with medical shipments

A new Swiss payment mechanism has launched which allows humanitarian aid to be sent to Iran without falling foul of US sanctions .
Cancer and transplant patients are the first to have benefited .
The US said the channel was subject to `` strict due diligence measures to avoid misuse by the Iranian regime '' .
Humanitarian supplies are exempt from the US sanctions , but the measures have deterred several foreign banks from doing any business with Tehran .
The Swiss government said the new payment mechanism was aimed at ensuring that companies based in Switzerland had a `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through which payments for their exports to Iran are guaranteed . ''
`` In this way , Switzerland is helping to supply the Iranian population with agricultural commodities , food , medicines and medical equipment .
This is in keeping with Switzerland 's humanitarian tradition , '' it said .
Under the rules of the new mechanism , the US provides assurances that transactions are not violating sanctions , the Swiss government statement added .
In turn , exporters and participating banks provide information on their business activities and partners in Iran .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was made for a shipment of cancer drugs and drugs required for organ transplants worth some €2.3m ( $ 2.55m ; £1.9m ) .
• How renewed US sanctions have hit Iran hard The US Treasury Department confirmed the completion of initial financial transactions through the new payment mechanism , saying they provided a `` model for facilitating further humanitarian exports to Iran '' .
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US government had full confidence that the mechanism `` will improve the flow of humanitarian goods to the Iranian people . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ our sanctions programs , and we encourage companies to use this humanitarian mechanism , '' he added .
The US reinstated economic sanctions on Iran after President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark deal in May 2018 aimed at curbing Iran 's nuclear ambitions .
Mr Trump has said he wants to apply `` maximum pressure '' on the government in Tehran to compel it to renegotiate the accord .
The launch of the new payment channel comes after a peak US-Iran tension .
In January , a top Iranian military commander , General @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a US drone strike .
Days later , Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet with 176 on board - the military said it was mistaken for a US cruise missile .
Those killed included dozens of Iranians and Canadians , as well as nationals from Ukraine , the UK , Afghanistan and Germany .

The Swiss government said the new payment mechanism was aimed at ensuring that companies based in Switzerland had a "secure payment channel with a Swiss bank through which payments for their exports to Iran are guaranteed."


bbc--2020-01-30--Australia coronavirus: Dutton defends Christmas Island quarantine plan

Australia 's government has defended its plan to send citizens evacuated from the region at the centre of China 's coronavirus outbreak to a remote island used to detain asylum seekers .
Hundreds of evacuated Australians are expected to be quarantined on Christmas Island .
Critics , including the Australian Medical Association , have described the plan as inappropriate .
But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said it was the best solution .
`` The reality is people need to be accommodated somewhere for up to 14 days , '' Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra on Thursday .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane .
I do n't have a facility otherwise that we can quickly accommodate for what might be many hundreds of people , and Christmas Island is purpose-built for exactly this scenario , '' he added .
• Coronavirus : What it does to the body Christmas Island , an Australian territory about 2,600km ( 1,616 miles ) from the mainland , has held thousands of asylum seekers .
The controversial detention centre was closed in 2018 but re-opened the following year , and currently houses only a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are fighting deportation .
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the plans to send Australians evacuated from China 's Wuhan city and the surrounding areas to the island .
He did not say how many of the more than 600 Australians affected would be moved .
Australians in China say officials have told them they will need to pay A $ 1,000 ( $ 673 ; £512 ) and agree to go to Christmas Island in order to be repatriated .
The Australian Medical Association has argued that people would be better quarantined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the repatriation to Christmas Island - to a place previously the focus of populations under enormous mental and physical trauma and anguish - is not a really appropriate solution , '' the association 's president , Tony Bartone , told Australia 's Nine Network .
Wenbo Yu , whose wife and two children are in Wuhan , said he would prefer his loved ones to stay where they are .
`` Compared to Wuhan , we believe Christmas Island is even more unpredictable , '' he told ABC .
In total , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus , and 170 people in China have died .

Many potential evacuees say they are conflicted over whether they will take up the offer. Officials have told them they will need to pay A$1,000 ($673; £512) for the flight, and agree to go to Christmas Island in order to be repatriated.


bbc--2020-01-30--Amazon Christmas sales soar as rivals struggle

Amazon sales soared over the Christmas season , rising 21 % from the previous year , in sharp contrast to weakness reported by other retailers .
The e-commerce juggernaut said it earned $ 87bn ( £66bn ) in sales in the last three months of 2019 , well ahead of analyst expectations .
The news sent the firm 's share price up more than 10 % in after-hours trade .
If prices hold it would return Amazon 's market valuation to above $ 1tn , joining Microsoft , Apple and Google .
Amazon 's growth has come as traditional stores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in foot traffic blamed in part on online shopping .
US retailers such as Target and Macy 's have reported sales in recent weeks that missed forecasts .
Home decor chain Pier 1 also announced it would close hundreds of locations , while homeware brand Bed Bath & Beyond warned investors that sales in last quarter fell almost 10 % .
By contrast , Amazon said it earned $ 3.3bn in profit in its last quarter , up from $ 3bn a year ago .
That was despite spending heavily on high speed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boss Jeff Bezos said the firm now had more than 150 million Prime accounts globally - up 50 % from its last disclosure in 2018 .
Members get free delivery and access to Amazon 's trove of video , among other perks .
The firm 's cloud computing division , AWS - another major profit driver - also did well , increasing revenue by a third .
• Why India is greeting Amazon 's Jeff Bezos with protests • Where the money is really made at Amazon The strong performance came despite Amazon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % to $ 83bn .
`` Given the scale of investments taking place analysts had expected profits to reverse , and the fact they 've improved despite the extra spending is testament to the quality of the business Jeff Bezos has created , '' said Nicholas Hyett , equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown .
Amazon claimed more than 37 % of the US e-commerce market last year , according to estimates by research firm eMarketer .
It accounted for almost 10 % globally .
But the company has not been unaffected by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sales at its physical stores , including its Whole Foods grocery shops , declined 1 % compared to the previous year .

Boss Jeff Bezos said the firm now had more than 150 million Prime accounts globally - up 50% from its last disclosure in 2018. Members get free delivery and access to Amazon's trove of video, among other perks.


bbc--2020-01-30--Nicaragua: Six indigenous people reportedly killed in attack

Armed men have attacked an indigenous community in Nicaragua , killing at least six people and kidnapping another 10 , rights groups say .
Police confirmed two deaths and said they were investigating .
The reason for the difference in the toll is unclear .
The attack on the Mayagna group took place in a protected nature reserve in the north of the country .
The Bosawás Biosphere Reserve has been the focus of land disputes between indigenous groups and new settlers .
A Mayagna leader last year accused the government of doing nothing while his community was gradually `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Mayagna commune deep inside the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve , the second-largest rainforest in the Americas after the Amazon .
Mayagna lawyer Larry Salomon told the Reuters news agency that the raiders were part of a group of non-indigenous `` settlers '' in the area .
`` This is a land conflict .
They want our lands for cattle farming and to destroy our forests , '' he added .
Tensions have been rising in recent years between Nicaragua 's indigenous communities and newcomers who move to the region in search of fertile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been reports of armed groups seizing indigenous land .
Gustavo Lino , the highest-ranking Mayagna leader , said last year : `` They 're exterminating us little by little and the state is doing nothing . ''
The 30,000-strong Mayagna make up around 0.5 % of Nicaragua 's population .

Tensions have been rising in recent years between Nicaragua's indigenous communities and newcomers who move to the region in search of fertile land, timber and gold. There have been reports of armed groups seizing indigenous land.


bbc--2020-01-30--Cardinal Barbarin: France's top cleric cleared of abuse cover-up

France 's top cleric , Cardinal Philippe Barbarin , who was found guilty of failing to report past acts of sexual abuse by a priest , has had his conviction overturned on appeal .
The 69-year-old archbishop of Lyon was given a six-month suspended prison sentence last year .
The case has rocked the French Catholic Church .
He was the highest-profile cleric to be caught up in a child sex abuse scandal inside the French Church .
What are the accusations ?
At the centre of the accusations is former French priest Bernard Preynat , who has been charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1980s and 1990s .
At the beginning of his trial this month , Mr Preynat admitted to `` caressing '' children in ways he knew were wrong , saying the interactions brought him `` sexual pleasure '' .
He said his superiors knew about his `` abnormal '' behaviour as far back as the 1970s .
Cardinal Barbarin has admitted to knowing of `` rumours '' about Mr Preynat as far back as 2010 , but says he only became aware of the alleged abuse after a conversation with one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Vatican of the allegations , and removed Mr Preynat from his position - but never informed police .
The allegations then became public in 2015 .
Why was the ruling overturned ?
Cardinal Barbarin was found guilty last March of covering up Mr Preynat 's sexual abuse .
During the trial , he insisted that he had `` never tried to hide , let alone cover up , these horrible facts '' .
He filed an appeal following the ruling , saying : `` I can not see clearly what I am @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruling , Cardinal Barbarin 's lawyer , Jean-Felix Luciani , said the court in Lyon had accepted the evidence of a victim who had written to the cardinal to thank him for his advice on bringing Mr Preynat to justice .
Mr Luciani said the cardinal told the victim that the abuse he 'd suffered happened too long ago to be prosecuted , and advised him to find more recent incidents .
`` The court has just acquitted the cardinal on the fundamentals of the case , by indicating that no offence has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reasons ... and for one key reason in particular : that the cardinal never intended to obstruct justice , '' he told reporters .
`` This wrong was today righted ... Cardinal Barbarin is innocent , '' he said .
Cardinal Barbarin had offered his resignation to Pope Francis following the original ruling , but the Pope refused it pending the outcome of his appeal .
The case against him came amid a number of other Catholic scandals around the world .
Pope Francis has said the world expects `` concrete measures '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not only `` simple and obvious condemnations '' .
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"The court has just acquitted the cardinal on the fundamentals of the case, by indicating that no offence has been committed, for a number of reasons...and for one key reason in particular: that the cardinal never intended to obstruct justice," he told reporters.


bbc--2020-01-30--Greek plan to stop migrant boats with floating barriers

Greece is planning to install a floating barrier in the Aegean Sea to help stop migrant boats reaching its islands from Turkey , officials say .
The barrier , possibly made of netting and equipped with flashing lights , will cover 1.7 miles ( 2.7km ) and rise above water near the Greek island of Lesbos .
Greece 's defence ministry said the project would be an emergency measure .
Migrants trying to reach Europe often travel through Turkey to Greece .
Arrivals have proved hard to manage .
Many are fleeing violence and persecution in their countries .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria , according to the United Nations .
Last week , strikes and protests took place on the Greek islands of Lesbos , Samos and Chios over the government 's handling of migrant arrivals .
This latest initiative is `` aimed at containing the increasing inflows of migrants '' on islands such as Lesbos , the defence ministry said .
It said the netted barrier needed to be 1.1 metres tall , with about 50cm ( 20in ) rising above the sea 's surface .
It would be located north of Lesbos and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it visible at night .
The ministry said the budget for the project was €500,000 ( $ 550,000 ; £424,000 ) , and this would include at least four years of maintenance costs .
The government has called on vendors to submit designs for the installation .
`` The invitation for floating barriers is [ a move ] in the right direction , '' Greece 's Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos told radio station Skai , adding : `` We will see what ... its effect as a deterrent will be in practice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ will make it hard for small boats to pass , and nets could be problematic for propeller-driven vessels .
Amnesty International described the announcement as `` alarming '' and said the move raised `` serious issues '' about Greece 's plans for dealing with those `` desperately seeking safety '' .
`` The government must urgently clarify the operational details and necessary safeguards to ensure that this system does not cost further lives , '' Amnesty 's research director for Europe , Massimo Moratti , said .
The Greek migration ministry also said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shifts for staff to process a build-up of more than 100,000 asylum applications .
Migrant arrivals have been rising in Greece , and camps on several of its islands are overcrowded .
At Moria , the largest camp on the island of Lesbos , there are more than 19,000 asylum seekers living at a facility with capacity for 2,840 .
Greece 's Ministry for Citizen Protection says there are currently around 7,200 migrants living in the camp on Samos , which was designed for just 700 .
The local population of Samos town @ @ @ @ @ @ @ islands have led to tension between migrants and locals .
Last week , thousands of Greek protesters demonstrated on Lesbos , Samos and Chios over the government 's handling of migrants arriving from Turkey .
Banners on the Lesbos municipal theatre proclaimed : `` We want our islands back . ''
Another read : `` No more prisons for human souls in the North Aegean . ''
You might also be interested in : • The man offering heat to migrants rejected by Europe

It said the netted barrier needed to be 1.1 metres tall, with about 50cm (20in) rising above the sea's surface. It would be located north of Lesbos and should include lights and reflectors to make it visible at night.


bbc--2020-01-30--Wait, YOU'RE not a 2020 candidate!

Wait, YOU'RE not a 2020 candidate!

The Trump impeachment trial means the Democratic senators running for president are stuck in Washington DC .
But a host @ @ @ @ @ campaign trail on their behalf : Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ; Amy Klobuchar 's daughter Abigail ; @ @ @ @ @ Ness ; and - perhaps the biggest hit of all - a golden retriever called @ @

The Trump impeachment trial means the Democratic senators running for president are stuck in Washington DC.
But a host of surrogates have hit the campaign trail on their behalf: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Amy Klobuchar's daughter Abigail; Queer Eye host Jonathan Van Ness; and - perhaps the biggest hit of all - a golden retriever called Bailey.


bbc--2020-01-30--Man found guilty of trying to steal Magna Carta

A man has been found guilty of trying to steal a copy of Magna Carta from Salisbury Cathedral .
Mark Royden , 47 , from Kent , used a hammer to try to smash through the protective case around the 805-year-old document but failed to take it .
Jurors at Salisbury Crown Court also found him guilty of criminal damage .
Royden had told police he believed the document , which helped establish legal rights for citizens in this country , was fake .
He was remanded in custody , ahead of sentencing on February 25 .
The attempted theft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took place in October 2018 in the cathedral 's medieval Chapter House where the document was on display .
Royden was arrested after being chased and detained by `` good-spirited '' members of the public as he attempted to leave .
Judge Richard Parkes QC told jurors : `` There is an irony that the charter of the Magna Carta that this defendant is charged with attempting to steal states that no free man may be imprisoned other than by the lawful judgment of his peers .
`` It still holds good and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right now . ''
He added : `` We are not concerned with the authenticity of Salisbury Cathedral 's Magna Carta , it 's a state document of huge significance and one of four dating back to 1215 and the meeting of King John and the barons of Runnymede . ''
He said Royden was likely to be handed a custodial sentence , adding : `` I take the view there was significant planning . ''
The trial had heard Royden scoped the cathedral for a route avoiding CCTV cameras and came equipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goggles .
He had 23 previous convictions covering 51 offences , including theft and criminal damage , the court heard .
Royden , who suffered brain damage in a car accident in 1991 , is subject to a court of protection order regarding his finances and is aided by a carer .

Judge Richard Parkes QC told jurors: "There is an irony that the charter of the Magna Carta that this defendant is charged with attempting to steal states that no free man may be imprisoned other than by the lawful judgment of his peers.