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F1: Rosberg claims pole at Spa
8/23/2014 10:39:56 AM
- Mercedes Nico Rosberg fastest in qualifying for Belgium Grand Prix
- Teammate Lewis Hamilton second fastest; Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel third
- F1 drivers back in action after a four-week summer break
(CNN) -- Let battle commence ... again.
After a four-week summer break, it was business as usual for Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as they battled for supremacy in qualifying for the Belgium Grand Prix on Saturday.
With eight races remaining in the 2014 Formula One season, it was the German who drew first blood taking pole position at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
Heavy rain before and during the session made for treacherous conditions around the picturesque track which snakes through the Ardennes forest.
All the drivers struggled to keep control on the slippery surface but it was Rosberg who came out on top posting a time of two minutes 05.591 seconds in the third and final qualifying session (Q3) with Hamilton 0.228 seconds behind in second.
"It's awesome to be on pole especially at this track," Rosberg said. "But it's only qualifying and there is a long race tomorrow."
Hamilton had led the standings after Q2 but a mistake early in Q3 at the La Source hairpin (turn one) forced the Briton wide costing him valuable time.
Despite battling to the end of the session, Hamilton couldn't overhaul his Silver Arrows teammate and later revealed he had been hindered by a braking issue.
"I had a glazed front brake, so I was struggling under braking," Hamilton said. "I was losing massive amounts (of braking), especially into turn one."
The Mercedes front row lock out promises to provide another fascinating duel between the two drivers who have dominated the season.
Both have stood on the podium nine times so far with Hamilton edging Rosberg on wins (five to four). But it is the German who currently leads the drivers' championship.
The pair, both 29 years old, have known each other since their karting days, but this season's battle on the track has strained their relationship off it.
Tensions have bubbled up all season, coming to a head in Monaco following a controversial qualifying session in which Rosberg retired denying Hamilton a chance to claim pole. More recently, Hamilton ignored a team order to let his teammate overtake in Hungary.
Mercedes' superior speed was underlined at Spa -- F1's longest circuit -- with the pair leaving the field trailing in their wake.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who won the race 12 months ago, was third fastest in qualifying but more than two seconds off Rosberg's pace.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso completes the second row of the grid after qualifying in fourth while Vettel's teammate Daniel Ricciardo -- the winner of the last F1 race in Hungary at the end of July -- starting Sunday's race from fifth.
Valtteri Bottas was fastest in the third practice session earlier in Saturday but could only steer his Williams to sixth ahead of McLaren's Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in eighth.
Williams' Felipe Massa and Magnussen's teammate Jenson Button complete the top ten.
Conditions for Sunday's race are expected to be drier with sunny intervals forecast with a chance of rain later in the day.
Rosberg leads the drivers' championship with 202 points, 11 more than Hamilton with Daniel Ricciardo lying a distance third with 131 points.
Read more: Lewis Hamilton goes from ice cool to red hot
Read more: Hamilton and Rosberg echo Senna and Prost rivalry
U.N.: 'Unspeakable' suffering in besieged Iraq town
8/23/2014 1:35:32 PM
- NEW: Bombs kill 20 across Kirkuk
- Iraq's PM-designate praises "heroic defence" put up by besieged town
- U.N. calls for action to help Amerli, a Turkmen Shiite town under attack by ISIS
- Sunni lawmakers pull out of talks to form a government over a mosque attack
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- As violence continues to wrack Iraq, the United Nations warned Saturday of another ethnic slaughter in the making by Sunni extremists from ISIS.
ISIS fighters have besieged the ethnic Turkmen Shiite town of Amerli in the north for two months, and its fewer than 20,000 residents are without power and running out of food, water and medical supplies.
"The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens," said Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. secretary general's special representative for Iraq.
He said the suffering was "unspeakable" and demanded that the Shiite majority Iraqi government "relieve the siege" on Amerli.
The religious group's head cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, pushed the government to do the same Friday. And he called for airdrops "to ease the suffering of its people, especially children and the weak."
About 5,000 families live in Amerli, which has been under seige for 70 days, according to Dr. Ali Albayati, head of the Turkmen Saving Foundation. He told CNN the town is running without electricity, is out of medicine and can only turn to wells for water.
Nearly three dozen villages surrounding Amerli are already under ISIS control, Albayati said. The people of Amerli are relying on the Iraqi government to take them out by helicopter or support them with food drops, Albayati said. In the past 10 days, he added, only one flight has delivered food.
Surrounded on four sides, the 17,400 residents have had to defend themselves with only the help of local police, said Masrwr Aswad of Iraq's Human Rights Commission. He said attempts to bring aid have been hampered by the ISIS security threat, which makes flying helicopters into the area extremely difficult and dangerous.
Their situation echoes the ordeal of Iraq's ethnic Yazidis, whose plight after they were forced to flee into the mountains to escape militants ISIS triggered U.S. aid drops and the first U.S. air strikes against ISIS.
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi praised the people of Amerli for their "heroic defense" in the face of the ISIS siege and called for them to be given support.
Their resistance represents "the beginning of the demise" of ISIS, he said, saying it could encourage other communities also to stand up against the militants.
ISIS has targeted Shiite, Christian and other minority communities as it has advanced across Iraq.
Yazidis braced for life in exile
Baghdad, Kirkuk and Irbil bombings
Meanwhile, a suicide bomber targeted the Interior Ministry intelligence headquarters in central Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least four people and injuring 35 others.
The attacker drove up to the complex gate and detonated the explosives, local police officials said. They warned that the casualty figures are expected to rise.
In Kirkuk, a series of three car bombs and a roadside bomb exploded in close succession in different areas of the volatile city on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 113 others, Kirkuk police officials told CNN.
This follows a warning issued by ISIS on Friday promising revenge after the killing of 50 of its members in a battle in Jalawla, Iraq. ISIS specifically promised to retaliate against the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
Two of the three car bombs appeared to target a construction site where Kurdish Pershmerga and Asayesh (Kurdish intelligence) forces were stationed at a security post.
Another car bomb detonated Saturday in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Kurdish government officials confirmed to CNN. It was the first explosion in the city since a suicide bomber targeted the security headquarters there in September 2013.
The Saturday car bomb exploded on the outskirts of the city, on the side of a main road leading out of Irbil to Kirkuk.
Kurdish officials said at least two people were injured, and the local television network Rudaw reported from the scene that three people light injuries.
This string of incidents came as the death toll death rose to 70 from an attack on Sunni Muslims a day earlier at a mosque in northeast Iraq, when suspected Shiite militiamen opened fire on worshipers.
Friday's attack in the Musab bin Omar Mosque in the village of Bani Weis, about 50 miles northeast of Baquba, also injured at least 17 people, officials said.
It also threatened to derail efforts to form a new, inclusive government -- something world leaders have said is a must if the country hopes to defeat Islamic militants.
Iraqi authorities did not immediately identify the attackers, but Sunni politicians have put the blame on Shiite militias.
Outraged Sunni lawmakers withdrew from negotiations to form a new government, saying they would not return until those behind the attack were arrested, two party officials told CNN.
But the United States and the United Nations called on Iraq to continue its efforts to form a united government.
U.S. 'understands the threat'
U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized targeted airstrikes to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq -- including military advisers -- as well as minorities being brutalized by ISIS.
And U.S. officials have said that Washington is mulling the possibility of going after ISIS fighters in their stronghold in eastern Syria.
But Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby would not confirm concrete plans. "We don't telegraph our punches," he said.
"I'm not going to get ahead of planning that hasn't been done or decisions that haven't been made," Kirby said.
What will it take to beat ISIS?
ISIS vows retribution for killings
ISIS made threats over battle losses on Friday.
More than 50 of its fighters were killed while defending the large ISIS-held town of Jalawla "against the Peshmerga (Kurdish) mercenaries," it said on Twitter. A subsequent tweet said the group vowed revenge.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces surrounded Jalawla and took back several nearby villages in Diyala province, a spokesman for Kurdish forces said.
The Peshmerga and Iraqi commandos inflicted heavy losses against ISIS in those battles, military officials said.
In neighboring Salaheddin province, also north of Baghdad, Iraqi helicopters killed 30 ISIS fighters in the town of Dhuluiya, about 70 kilometers northeast of Baquba, Iraqi security officials told CNN.
Also Friday, Iraqi forces took another step in their attempt to take back Tikrit, the birthplace of former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, Iraqi security sources said. The city fell to ISIS in June.
More U.S. airstrikes near Mosul Dam
Meanwhile, U.S. aircraft conducted three more airstrikes against the militants, primarily ISIS-driven vehicles, near the Mosul Dam, the Pentagon said.
Since August 8, the U.S. military has carried out 93 airstrikes, 60 of them in support of Iraqi forces near the Mosul Dam, according to the Defense Department.
The dam is the largest in the country, and Iraqi and U.S. officials fear that a breach in the dam would threaten the lives of millions of Iraqis who live downstream in Mosul and Baghdad.
The U.S. airstrikes have continued despite a threat by ISIS to kill another American hostage.
Earlier this week, ISIS posted an online video showing the execution of American journalist James Foley. The group threatened the life of another man, identified as American journalist Steven Sotloff, if the United States didn't end airstrikes in Iraq.
Where is ISIS?
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reported from Baghdad, Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. CNN's Anna Coren, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ben Brumfield, Hamdi Alkhshali, Mussab Khairallah, Karzan Ziadan and Jessica Ravitz contributed to this report.
F1: Rosberg pips Hamiton to Spa pole
8/23/2014 3:04:43 PM
- Mercedes Nico Rosberg fastest in qualifying for Belgium Grand Prix
- Teammate Lewis Hamilton second fastest; Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel third
- F1 drivers back in action after a four-week summer break
(CNN) -- Let battle commence ... again.
After a four-week summer break, it was business as usual for Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as they battled for supremacy in qualifying for the Belgium Grand Prix on Saturday.
With eight races remaining in the 2014 Formula One season, it was the German who drew first blood taking pole position at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
Heavy rain before and during the session made for treacherous conditions around the picturesque track which snakes through the Ardennes forest.
All the drivers struggled to keep control on the slippery surface but it was Rosberg who came out on top posting a time of two minutes 05.591 seconds in the third and final qualifying session (Q3) with Hamilton 0.228 seconds behind in second.
"It's awesome to be on pole especially at this track," Rosberg said. "But it's only qualifying and there is a long race tomorrow."
Hamilton had led the standings after Q2 but a mistake early in Q3 at the La Source hairpin (turn one) forced the Briton wide costing him valuable time.
Despite battling to the end of the session, Hamilton couldn't overhaul his Silver Arrows teammate and later revealed he had been hindered by a braking issue.
"I had a glazed front brake, so I was struggling under braking," Hamilton said. "I was losing massive amounts (of braking), especially into turn one."
The Mercedes front row lock out promises to provide another fascinating duel between the two drivers who have dominated the season.
Both have stood on the podium nine times so far with Hamilton edging Rosberg on wins (five to four). But it is the German who currently leads the drivers' championship.
The pair, both 29 years old, have known each other since their karting days, but this season's battle on the track has strained their relationship off it.
Tensions have bubbled up all season, coming to a head in Monaco following a controversial qualifying session in which Rosberg retired denying Hamilton a chance to claim pole. More recently, Hamilton ignored a team order to let his teammate overtake in Hungary.
Mercedes' superior speed was underlined at Spa -- F1's longest circuit -- with the pair leaving the field trailing in their wake.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who won the race 12 months ago, was third fastest in qualifying but more than two seconds off Rosberg's pace.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso completes the second row of the grid after qualifying in fourth while Vettel's teammate Daniel Ricciardo -- the winner of the last F1 race in Hungary at the end of July -- starting Sunday's race from fifth.
Valtteri Bottas was fastest in the third practice session earlier on Saturday but could only steer his Williams to sixth ahead of McLaren's Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in eighth.
Williams' Felipe Massa and Magnussen's teammate Jenson Button complete the top ten.
Conditions for Sunday's race are expected to be drier with sunny intervals forecast with a chance of rain later in the day.
Rosberg leads the drivers' championship with 202 points, 11 more than Hamilton with Daniel Ricciardo lying a distance third with 131 points.
Read more: Lewis Hamilton goes from ice cool to red hot
Read more: Hamilton and Rosberg echo Senna and Prost rivalry
Football: Arsenal fightback to draw
8/23/2014 3:04:20 PM
- Arsenal rescue point after trailing 2-0 to Everton at Goodison Park
- Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud score late on to earn draw
- Arsenal now third in English Premier League with four points from two opening matches
- Chelsea maintain 100% start to season with 2-0 win against Leicester City
(CNN) -- We are only two games into a new English Premier League season, but with seven minutes to go in their match against Everton, some Arsenal fans may have been quietly writing off their team's title chances.
They also may well have pondered what had changed from last season.
In the corresponding fixture in April, Arsenal were thumped 3-0 by Roberto Martinez's side and as the clock ticked towards full time at Goodison Park on Saturday the same result looked on the cards.
After being harried and hurried by Everton, the Gunners were trailing by two goals and staring down the barrel before the game was turned on its head with late strikes from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.
Everton had assumed control of the match with two first-half goals. Gareth Barry's cross was headed in at the far post by Seamus Coleman in the 19th minute and on the stroke of halftime Steven Naismith doubled the lead as the Toffees caught the visitors on the counterattack.
Romelu Lukaku brushed off a challenge from Per Mertesacker to break down the right before laying on a pass for the advancing Naismith to slide home under goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Television replays showed that Naismith was marginally offside but while Arsene Wenger flapped his arms in protest the Goodison Park faithful celebrated.
Everton's industrious midfield continued to thwart Arsenal's advances in the second half before the Gunners fired their late salvo.
Ramsey toe-poked Santi Cazorla's low cross past Tim Howard in the 83rd minute to net his fourth goal in five matches before Olivier Giroud, who replaced new signing Alexis Sanchez at halftime, headed home to make it 2-2 in the final minute of normal time.
In the four added minutes, Arsenal looked as though they might snatch all three points but it ended honors even.
The draw maintains Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season and lifts them to third in the table with four points following a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend.
Everton have two points from two games and are 10th.
Earlier in the day, Chelsea maintained their 100% start to the season with a 2-0 win against Premier League new boys, Leicester City.
Second-half strikes from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard earned Jose Mourinho's side all three points to keep the West Londoners at the top of the table on goal difference.
Swansea City and West Ham United were also winners on Saturday.
After beating Loius van Gaal's Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford last weekend Garry Monk's side bagged another three points with a 1-0 win at home to Burnley.
West Ham opened their account with a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace after losing to Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season.
The games between Aston Villa and Newcastle United and Southampton and West Bromwich Albion ended in goalless draws.
Read more: Bayern start Bundesliga season with win
Premier League: Arsenal salvage draw
8/23/2014 7:08:31 PM
- Arsenal rescue point after trailing 2-0 to Everton at Goodison Park
- Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud score late on to earn draw
- Arsenal now third in English Premier League with four points from two opening matches
- Chelsea maintain 100% start to season with 2-0 win against Leicester City
(CNN) -- We are only two games into a new English Premier League season, but with seven minutes to go in their match against Everton, some Arsenal fans may have been quietly writing off their team's title chances.
They also may well have pondered what had changed from last season.
In the corresponding fixture in April, Arsenal were thumped 3-0 by Roberto Martinez's side and as the clock ticked towards full time at Goodison Park on Saturday the same result looked on the cards.
After being harried and hurried by Everton, the Gunners were trailing by two goals and staring down the barrel before the game was turned on its head with late strikes from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.
Everton had assumed control of the match with two first-half goals. Gareth Barry's cross was headed in at the far post by Seamus Coleman in the 19th minute and on the stroke of halftime Steven Naismith doubled the lead as the Toffees caught the visitors on the counterattack.
Romelu Lukaku brushed off a challenge from Per Mertesacker to break down the right before laying on a pass for the advancing Naismith to slide home under goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Television replays showed that Naismith was marginally offside but while Arsene Wenger flapped his arms in protest the Goodison Park faithful celebrated.
Everton's industrious midfield continued to thwart Arsenal's advances in the second half before the Gunners fired their late salvo.
Ramsey toe-poked Santi Cazorla's low cross past Tim Howard in the 83rd minute to net his fourth goal in five matches before Olivier Giroud, who replaced new signing Alexis Sanchez at halftime, headed home to make it 2-2 in the final minute of normal time.
In the four added minutes, Arsenal looked as though they might snatch all three points but it ended honors even.
The draw maintains Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season and lifts them to third in the table with four points following a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend.
Everton have two points from two games and are 10th.
Earlier in the day, Chelsea maintained their 100% start to the season with a 2-0 win against Premier League new boys, Leicester City.
Second-half strikes from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard earned Jose Mourinho's side all three points to keep the West Londoners at the top of the table on goal difference.
Swansea City and West Ham United were also winners on Saturday.
After beating Loius van Gaal's Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford last weekend Garry Monk's side bagged another three points with a 1-0 win at home to Burnley.
West Ham opened their account with a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace after losing to Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season.
The games between Aston Villa and Newcastle United and Southampton and West Bromwich Albion ended in goalless draws.
Read more: Bayern start Bundesliga season with win
Libya pulls out of hosting 2017 event
8/23/2014 8:39:58 PM
- Ongoing security issues in North African country force AFCON withdrawal
- Libya was due to host 2017 tournament
- CAF will now accept bids from other 54 members
- Decision on new host expected to be made in 2015, CAF said
(CNN) -- Libya has withdrawn as hosts of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournament because of ongoing security issues in the country, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced.
The decision follows a meeting between Libyan sports officials and CAF president Issa Hayatou at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Friday August 22.
A statement published on the CAF website Saturday said that "owing to the unstable security situation in the country, Libya would not be able to host the Afcon in 2017."
CAF secretary general, Hicham El Amrani has informed all 54 member associations of the decision, CAF's official website reported.
New bids to host the 2017 tournament will now be accepted with a deadline for submission of September 30 2014.
"The CAF Executive Committee will select a host country whose dossier guarantees that accommodation, transportation and hotels facilities, as well as training sites and stadiums already exist," a CAF statement said.
A decision on a new host country will be made in 2015.
Libya was scheduled to host the 2013 tournament but had to pass on hosting duties to South Africa for security reasons.
Read more: Libya's footballers in the firing line
Read more: Nigeria win 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
Read more: Fighting intensifies in Libya
Love joins LeBron, Cavaliers
8/23/2014 7:30:31 PM
- Minnesota trades star Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers
- He'll team up LeBron James, who recently rejoined the Cavs
- Timberwolves get the Cavs' last two No. 1 draft picks
(CNN) -- Love is all LeBron needs.
Or so the Cleveland Cavaliers hope.
The NBA doormat-turned-upstart squad from northeastern Ohio officially got its second big jolt of excitement this offseason on Saturday, with the announcement that Kevin Love is coming its way in a trade.
"Welcome to the Land @kevinlove!" James tweeted.
Love, who averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 assists a game with the Minnesota Timberwolves, joins LeBron James in Cleveland.
It was James' return to the Cavaliers -- the club he famously made "The Decision" to leave four years ago for the Miami Heat -- that was the NBA's biggest move, by far, since the San Antonio Spurs beat the Heat for the championship.
Unlike what he'd done after joining Miami, the four-time league Most Valuable Player didn't promise he'd bring any titles to Cleveland. Part of that may have to do with the fact he didn't have the same supporting cast as he had in Miami, where he suited up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
But the arrival of Love -- one of the top scorers and rebounders in the NBA -- could change the expectations.
The two newcomers join a squad that for the past few years has been led by point guard Kyrie Irving. Other holdovers include Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao. Still, it's not like Cleveland last few season have been successful: There's a reason they had the No. 1 overall draft pick -- which typically goes to one of the NBA's worst team -- three of the last four years.
Cleveland didn't get Love, a forward, for free. They gave up two potentially big stars, and their last two No. 1 picks, in Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, to the Timberwolves.
The Cavaliers surrendered their first-round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft to Philadelphia.
The 76ers got guard Alexey Shved and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute from Minnesota and traded veteran forward Thaddeus Young to the Timberwolves as part of the three-team swap.
Love will wear a new number with Cavs
Can summit stabilize Ukraine?
8/24/2014 3:23:31 AM
Matthew Chance and Will Ripley look at key questions ahead of the summit between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.
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