Skip to main content

Posts

China offers India a 'handshake across the Himalayas'

India and China will study new ways to ease tensions on their ill-defined border after an army standoff in the Himalayas, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday on his first official foreign trip. The number two in the Chinese leadership offered New Delhi a "handshake across the Himalayas" and said the world's most populous nations could become a new engine for the global economy if they could avoid friction on the militarized border.   "Both sides believe that we need to improve the various border-related mechanisms that we have put into place and make them more efficient. We need to appropriately manage and resolve our differences," Li said at a joint news conference with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two men appeared smiling and relaxed. India's Foreign Ministry said they got on well. There were small breakthroughs on trade, but no major agreements were signed. China and India disagree about large areas of their 4,000 km (2,500

Premier League elite on alert over Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp, says England boss Roy Hodgson

Roy Hodgson is predicting a Barclays Premier League scramble for Jurgen Klopp's services after Borussia Dortmund's emergence as one of Europe's outstanding teams. Klopp has so far resisted all efforts to lure him away from the Westfalenstadion and is striving to keep his squad intact, ahead of Saturday's Champions' League final against fierce Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich at Wembley. Most wanted: Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp But England boss Hodgson can see English interest in the Dortmund coach, and some of his prize assets, intensifying after the way they outplayed Manchester City in the group games and swept past Real Madrid in the semi-finals. 'Without a doubt I can imagine Klopp managing a top English club,' he told German daily paper Bild. 'That would not surprise me at all, because he has built a super team at Dortmund and has done an extremely good job at a young age. Impressed: England Manager Roy Hodgson 'I am pr

With end of Afghan war in sight, Europe pushes business

The European Union threw its weight behind developing Afghanistan's small but promising private sector this week, in the hope that business can usher in stability and peace once foreign troops leave by the end of next year. In the largest ever EU visit outside the capital Kabul in 12 years of war, a 21-country delegation of envoys jetted to the western city of Herat on Sunday, whose flurry of business activity is largely seen as a rare success story in desperately poor, insurgency-plagued Afghanistan.   War and tens of billions of dollars in constant aid have made Afghanistan a ward of the international community, though vast potential mineral resources and pent-up business desire amongst educated youths mean the environment could be changing. The EU chose Herat for its trip as "we are encouraged by the province's vision, its ability to attract foreign investment", the bloc's representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, told Herat governor Daoud Saba at h

Premier League pre-season fixtures and results 2013

Sportsmail gives you the lowdown on all the pre-season fixtures and results for the Premier League teams ahead of the start of the new 2013/14 campaign. All dates and kick-off times BST It's just not cricket: Liverpool will take on Melbourne Victory at the MCG Arsenal July 14 Indonesia XI (Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta) 2.30pmJuly 17 Vietnam (My Dinh National Stadium, Vietnam) 1pmJuly 22 Nagoya Grampus (Toyota Stadium, Japan) 11.30amJuly 26 Urawa Red Diamonds (Saitama Stadium, Japan) 11.30am August 3 Napoli (Emirates Cup) TBAAugust 4 Galatasaray (Emirates Cup) TBA Aston VillaJuly 10 SV Rodinghausen (Wiehenstadion, North Rhine-Westphalia) 6pmJuly 12 SC Paderborn (Benteler Arena, Paderborn) 5pmJuly 14 VFL Bochum (Rewirpowerstadion, Bochum) 2.30pmJuly 20 Wycombe (Adams Park) 3pmJuly 23 Luton (Kenilworth Road) 7.45pmJuly 26 Crewe (Alexandra Stadium) 7.30pmJuly 31 Walsall (Bescot Stadium) 7.30pmAugust 4 Shamrock Rovers (Tallaght Stadium) 2pmAugust 10 Malaga (Villa Park) 3

Israel calls off UNESCO Jerusalem tour, blaming Palestinians

Israel said on Monday it had canceled a visit by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to Jerusalem's Old City, saying the Palestinians had sought to politicize a conservation mission. _0"> No one was immediately available for comment at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. A month ago, it announced it would send experts to Jerusalem in mid-May to examine the state of conservation of the walled Old City, a World Heritage site.   The future of the Old City, in a part of Jerusalem that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, is a highly sensitive issue at the heart of the Middle East conflict. An Israeli official said Israel objected to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki's reference to the UNESCO tour as a "probe (of) the occupation measures" in the city. "The Palestinians have violated all the understandings reached, and made real attempts t

Oscar Pistorius has ruled out returning to the track this year so he can concentrate on his court case

Oscar Pistorius will not return to the track for the rest of the year so he can focus on his looming court case. Pistorius stands accused of premeditated murder after the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead on Valentine's Day at his Pretoria home. The 'Blade Runner', who was released on bail in February, will be back in court on June 4 and is likely to stand trial before the end of 2013. Scroll down for video In the dock: Oscar Pistorius will not return to the track this year In training: Pistorius was believed to be in training again in South Africa after being bailed But the Paralympian’s coach Ampie Louw revealed Pistorius has turned down invitations to take part in major international athletic events and will stay away from the track. Louw said: 'We have decided as a team we are not talking [about] any training or athletics. 'We have postponed [races] for the whole year.' Tragedy: Reeva Steenkamp died after being sh

Britain denies bail to radical cleric who faces deportation

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada could be deported to Jordan to face trial on terrorism charges within weeks, a British court heard on Monday, and it ruled he should remain in jail in the meantime to prevent him from absconding. Abu Qatada's deportation to Jordan, which the British government has been trying to achieve for eight years, is expected to take place within weeks when Jordan ratifies a new treaty with Britain, according to evidence shown to the court.   London says Abu Qatada, who is accused of spreading radical ideas that inspired one of the September 11, 2001 hijackers, poses a national security risk, but he has never been charged with any offence in Britain. The British courts have repeatedly blocked his deportation on the grounds that a trial in Jordan risked being tainted by evidence obtained using torture. Britain announced last month it had signed a new treaty with Jordan aimed at addressing those concerns. "There is a prospect of a treaty coming into