Athletic Club Bilbao on Wednesday confirmed that goalkeeper Iago Herrerin has agreed to extend his contract with the club until the end of June 2021 with a buyout clause of 50 million euros ($60 million).

The 29-year-old goalkeeper joined Athletic in 2012 and has usually been a reserve, playing in the King’s Cup and Europa League, reports.

However, he has been first choice in the last three La Liga games, keeping three clean sheets as Athletic claimed seven vital points to climb up to eighth place in the table.

The new contract is significant as it appears the man he has replaced in the first team, Kepa Arrizabalaga, is close to joining Real Madrid after failing to agree terms for a new contract and Iago’s new deal could be seen as the club assuring they have an experienced goalkeeper whatever the final outcome of the Kepa transfer saga.

As such it will only add fuel to the speculation surrounding Kepa’s future, despite Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, insisting both on Saturday and again on Tuesday that he didn’t want any new signings during January.

About 3,500 babies in the US die each year due to sleep-related problems, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation, a new report said on Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report said the US experienced a sharp decline in sleep-related deaths in the 1990s following the national “Back to Sleep” safe sleep campaign, but that decline has slowed since the late 1990s and the risk for babies persists.

“Unfortunately, too many babies in this country are lost to sleep-related deaths that might be prevented,” Xinhua quoted CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald as saying.

Researchers at CDC examined the 2015 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data reported by mothers about unsafe sleep positioning, any bed sharing, and use of soft bedding from states with available data.

Unsafe sleep positioning means placing the baby on his or her side or stomach to sleep. Soft bedding includes pillows, blankets, bumper pads, stuffed toys, and sleep positioners.

They found that about one in five mothers reported placing their baby to sleep on their side or stomach, more than half of mothers reported any bed sharing with their baby, and two in five mothers (38.5 per cent) reported using any soft bedding in the baby’s sleep area.

“We must do more to ensure every family knows the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations — babies should sleep on their backs, without any toys or soft bedding, and in their own crib,” Fitzgerald said.

“Parents are encouraged to share a room with the baby, but not the same bed. These strategies will help reduce the risk and protect our babies from harm,” she added.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has thrown his weight behind the 2018 Global Appeal against leprosy. Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa of The Nippon Foundation, also the WHO goodwill ambassador for leprosy elimination since 2001, reached out to the actor to honour him at an upcoming event for a global appeal to eliminate the stigma against leprosy. While conveying his inability to attend the event in New Delhi on January 30, Big B wrote a note to the organisers, quoting Mother Teresa, said a statement.

“The greatest disease today is not TB or leprosy, it is being unwanted and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair and hopelessness is love.” The event is being organised jointly by the Nippon Foundation and Disabled People’s International (DPI).

Javed Abidi, Global Chair, DPI, said: “Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind and people affected by it continue to be rejected and neglected by society due to its outdated image of being contagious and disfiguring. However, today it is curable with antibiotics. “We need to rise above the social, economic and legal discrimination that still persists for people affected by this disability.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the events of the National Youth Festival (NYF) on 12 January through video conferencing and will also address the gathering.

The festival will commence on the occasion of birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The festival is organised by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with state government of Uttar Pradesh at Gautam Buddha University, Gautam Budh Nagar, in Greater Noida from 12 to 16 January, 2018.

The inaugural function will be co-presided by Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, and Union Minister for State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore. Union Minister for Culture (Independent Charge) Mahesh Sharma will be the guest of honour on the occasion.

This is the first time that the National Youth Festival is being organised in NCR. The objective of organising NYF is to provide a platform to bring the youth of the country together in an attempt to provide them opportunity to showcase their talents in various activities.

NYF is the biggest Youth Festival of its kind in the Country. This is the 22nd National Youth Festival. The 1st National Youth Festival was held in 1995 in Bhopal.

The theme of the festival is ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’, to capitalise on the demographic dividend of young India, to capture the vibrancy and fresh perspective of youth and to pledge to accomplish the Goal of New India.

The festival also provides an arena, by creating a Mini-India, where youth interact in formal and informal settings and exchange their social and cultural uniqueness. This blend of diverse socio-cultural milieu creates ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’.

The entire programme is designed to enhance the awareness about government initiatives and exhorting the youth to express their perceptions and concepts of how to make their initiatives more effective.

Around 5000 volunteers of National Service Scheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan from all parts of the country along with local accredited youth will participate in the five-day festival. The inauguration will be followed by cultural performance by local and renowned artists. The National Youth Award will also be conferred during the opening ceremony.

Coming off the back of a shock loss to NorthEast United FC, FC Goa will take on Jamshedpur FC in their fourth home game of the India Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

A win in the previous game would have taken the Gaurs into a playoff spot but they failed to capitalise on their chances as NorthEast put them to the sword and consigned them to defeat.

Sergio Lobera will be hoping that his men put on an improved performance in front of the home fans and see off the challenge of Jamshedpur, a side that has conceded only four goals, the least in the Indian Super League so far.

However, they have also scored only four time, which is also the least in the ISL so far.

Skipper Laxmikant Kattimani has put in improved performances since the start of the season and will continue in goal ahead of Punjab custodian Naveen Kumar.

Sergio Juste and Chinglensana Singh started the match in Guwahati ahead of regular central defence pairing of Bruno Pinheiro and Ali Mohamed as the Spanish coach looked to rotate his squad. He will most likely revert to his preferred defensive pairing against the men of steel.

Seriton Fernandes will continue at right back along with Narayan Das who will return to the left side of the defence.

Edu Bedia was also given a rest in Guwahati after picking up the man of the match award in Kolkata and he will return to partner Moroccan midfielder Ahmed Jahouh.

Manuel Lanzarote is the glue that holds this team together and his attacking prowess is second to none. He will play in an advanced midfield position and will be flanked by the Goan duo of Mandar Rao Dessai and Brandon Fernandes. Manuel Arana who started and scored against the Highlanders will probably start on the bench.

ISL top scorer Ferran Corominas failed to find net in Guwahati but was on target in Kolkata to take his tally to nine.

He will be looking for more goals to further his lead in the standings. He will get the nod up top ahead of Indian striker Manvir Singh and new recruit Lalmuankima.

It will be a return to Fatorda for former Gaur Trindade Goncalves who is wearing the colours of Jamshedpur FC for this season and he will look to inspire his new side to victory along with Nigerian teammate Izu Azuka who has netted three of the four goals scored by the team this season, with Trindade netting a late, late penalty against Bengaluru FC.

A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to two govt officials in a case of alleged corruption in the Rs 2,150 crore project to revamp the ITPO Complex at Pragati Maidan here.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted relief to the public servants, Pradeep Mishra and Akashdeep Chouhan, on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each and a surety of the same amount.

NBCC chairman-cum-managing director Anoop Mittal has also been made an accused in the case.

The court has already granted bail to Sanjay Kulkarni, the managing director of Capacite Structures and suspected middleman, Rishabh Agrawal, in the case.

It had on January 5 reserved its order on the bail applications of Kulkarni and Agrawal after hearing arguments from defence advocates and the CBI.

The agency had booked Mishra and Chouhan in the case on December 22, 2017 for allegedly delivering the bribe.

It alleged in the FIR that the contract to redevelop the prime land at the Pragati Maidan exhibition complex was awarded to Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Pvt. Ltd. and Shapoorji Pallonji Qatar WLL for Rs 2,149.93 crore by NBCC.

Mumbai-based Capacite Structures was trying to get that work from Shapoorji Pallonji on sub-contract.

Kulkarni had approached Agrawal, the suspected middleman having good contacts with public servants, for getting the sub-contract in favour of the company, the CBI had alleged.

In his first appearance in six months, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic on Wednesday defeated Austria’s Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the Kooyong Classic exhibition here.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion seemed to have overcome the elbow injury that ended his 2017 season in July after losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. He also had to withdraw from the ATP Qatar Open and an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, reports Efe.

“It feels great, obviously I was waiting for this moment for six months to play a match,” the former World No.1 said after the win.

Although Djokovic said he was delighted with his performance, especially his serve, he acknowledged that he was still not in perfect shape.

Later in the day, Djokovic is scheduled to play a match at the Tie Break Tens, then another match on Thursday at the Kooyong Classic, according to the organisers.

After spending almost seven months sidelined, Djokovic looks to be tuning up his game as much as possible ahead of the Australian Open next week (January 15-28), the first Grand Slam event of the year, which he has won six times.

In the 2017 Australian Open, Djokovic lost in the second round to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

A Pakistani reporter working with an Indian English news channel on Wednesday alleged that 10-12 armed men tried to abduct him when he was on way to Islamabad airport but managed to escape.

The winner of France’s highest journalism award the Albert Londres prize in 2014, Taha Siddiqui said he suffered minor injuries in the scuffle. He tweeted about the incident from a fellow journalist Cyril Almeida’s Twitter account. Almeida is a known journalist working with Dawn News.

“This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyril’s (account). I was on my way to airport at 8.20 a.m. wh(e)n 10-12 armed men stopped my cab (and) forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances,” Siddiqui wrote.

He also posted on Twitter some pictures showing him wearing blood stained clothes. Siddiqui works as Indian TV channel WION’s Pakistan bureau chief.

The news channel said here that Siddiqui was on leave for three days and was on his way to the Islamabad airport in a cab early on Wednesday when another car overtook him and blocked his path.

The channel quoted him as saying that about a dozen men yanked open the left side doors of the car and tried to pull him out before he got out from the other side. He then ran across the incoming traffic, got into another cab and managed to make his getaway.

“Saale ko goli maaro,” shouted one of the men who were armed with “Kalashnikovs and pistols”, WION said. The attackers took away his passport, laptop and phone.

Siddiqui is known to be critical of Pakistan’s military establishment.

Last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said “Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency should stop harassing Taha Siddiqui”.

Siddiqui had also criticised the heckling by the Islamabad Press Corps of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife and mother when they had gone to meet him in Pakistan on Christmas Day last year.

“Somedays we do a story th(a)t disgusts us. Today was one such day,” he had tweeted then.

A 23-year old Finnish woman tourist was found dead in Chennai hotel on Wednesday in a case of suspected drug overdose and excessive consumption of Alcohal, police reported.

Helea Nea-Emilia along with her boyfriend Palomaki Alekesi Joel Santeri from Finland have been touring the country since November last year and arrived here a couple of days ago, they said.

“They were staying at a hotel and we got a call that the Finnish woman was lying dead,” a police official told PTI.

A case has been registered and her boyfriend was being questioned as part of the investigations, he said.

It was suspected that the woman might have consumed excessive alcohol and taken some drug also, but a clear picture on the cause of the death would emerge only after an autopsy, he added.

ALSO READ: Illegal arms factory busted in Bengal, two held

ALSO READ: Another JNU student ‘goes missing’

Liverpool great Tommy Lawrence died on Wednesday at the age of 77 years.

“Liverpool Football Club is deeply saddened by the passing of former goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence, aged 77,” the English football club said in a statement.

The Scottish stopper, affectionately nicknamed ‘The Flying Pig’ due to his ability to make spectacular saves despite his size, was a key member of Bill Shankly’s first great Liverpool side in the early 1960s.

Lawrence joined Liverpool as an apprentice and had to be patient before an opportunity arose. His debut came in October 1962 with a 0-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, and it was a rare occasion when he wasn’t between the posts during the eight years that followed.

Having already helped Shankly’s team to championship glory in 1963-64, the goalkeeper was involved throughout Liverpool’s run to a much-desired maiden FA Cup triumph the following year and played every game when the title was reclaimed in 1965-66.

Though Liverpool’s fortunes began to change as Shankly constructed the second all-conquering side of his reign, the boss could still depend on Lawrence and a then-record low of 24 league goals were conceded in 1968-69.

Lawrence made 390 appearances and won three major trophies for the club.

Indian designer Ruchika Sachdeva won the womenswear 2017/2018 International Woolmark Prize here by impressing the judges with her unique way of addressing the issue of consumer waste in fashion with traditional techniques of recycling.

Excited about her victory, Sachdeva said in a statement: “This is a huge opportunity to expand on what I do and keep doing it.”

Sachdeva’s Bodice label was selected as the womenswear winner at the event here on Wednesday and was especially praised for her technique and manufacturing process.

Inspired by her grandmother, who used to upcycle saris into quilts, Sachdeva collaborated with hand weavers and encouraged them to take an unorthodox approach to traditional techniques, producing an elegant collection honoring Australian Merino wool and Indian artisans, read a statement.

The bodice also worked with bio-dye in Sawantwadi, central India, which makes all colours from natural sources. The colour palette of navy and forest green mixed with pink and green pastels contains natural dyes and are safe for the skin – a nod to the ancient practices of Ayurveda. Completing the label’s holistic approach, Bodice sourced buttons from renewable sources of coconut shell, seashell and wood.

The award was judged by a panel including Amber Valletta, Elizabeth Von Guttman, Emanuele Farneti, Julie Davies, Livia Firth, Liya Kebede, Miroslava Duma, Nonita Kalra, Phillip Lim, Riccardo Vannetti, Sarah Mower and Stuart McCullough along with representatives from the International Woolmark Prize retail partner network.

Womenswear designer Phillip Lim thought Bodice’s collection was “completely thoughtful”.

“From the ingredients and dyes used all the way to the application and everything in between, her collection really represents a modern woman,” Lim said.

In the menswear category, Matthew Miller from the British Isles won, while the US-based DYNE was announced the winner of the inaugural Innovation Award.

Accusing the state government of vindictive politics, the BJP’s West Bengal unit on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court against the denial of permission for one of their proposed bike rallies.

The week-long bike rally ‘Protirodh Sankalp Abhiyan’ by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing (Yuva Morcha) was to start from East Midnapore district’s coastal town Digha on Thursday, a source close to the BJP told IANS.

Also Read: Votes for BJP will benefit TMC: Bengal minister Subrata Mukherjee

It was to travel across the state before reaching Cooch Behar in north Bengal.

“Police initially gave us the permission for the rally but refused it on Tuesday afternoon. This is another sign of the Trinamool Congress and the state government’s vindictive politics against the BJP,” he said.

You may also like to read: Mamata Banerjee hails Tashkent Declaration, remembers brave soldiers

“Our party leaders have moved the high court against the police administration’s decision,” he added.

India, the World Number one in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking, were rattled by South African pacers on Newlands greener turf that was offering bounce and pace. The well established batting line-up of visitors collapsed in both the inning at the score of 209 and 135, respectively and the Proteas won the match by 72 runs.

The former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener, while talking to news agency PTI, said visitors will not be able to defeat the hosts to win the series.

“I will be honest with you. I don’t see India winning this Test series. I don’t see them winning two Tests on the bounce. Maybe they can win and draw. Coming from 1-0 down, 1-1 will be a good result for them. But to do that, they need to work to a plan. South Africa are a good team with good pacers. India’s only chance is if they can get a big score on the board,” he said.

India have never won a Test series against South Africa in their backyard and people were expecting that Virat’s boys might be the first to do so. In 18 Test matches played in South Africa, India have won only two till date.

Klusener said that Virat’s and his boys were bound to find themselves in trouble. “You expect to be battered with pace when you come to South Africa. Look at their team selection – they played four pacers – that in itself is a message from the Proteas. It was always going to be a challenge for India, especially after they had just played Sri Lanka. That series went by in home conditions without the Indian batsmen playing any real fast bowling. Yes, they fought hard in this Test but lost chasing a small total, and this should be extremely disappointing for them,” he added.

The 46-year old also mentioned that Indian squad should have played at least one practice match to understand the pitch. “If India were touring in the sub-continent, then it wouldn’t be the end-of-the-world if they didn’t play a practice game before the tour. But for them to come to South Africa, it would have been nice for them to have the practice game in foreign conditions,” said Klusener.

Klusener, who is also currently the batting coach of Zimbabwe, also praised Indian pacers and said, “In the past, we have seen Indian pacers come here and get carried away with bounce and carry. This time they have obviously spoken about bowling fuller lengths and it was excellent to see them executing their plans very well,” he concluded.

The latest buzz from the B-town is that popular singer Jassi Gill and rapper Badshah collaborates for the first time for their upcoming song titled Dill Ton Blacck.

Jassie, who recently launched his single Guitar Sikhda, is busy shooting for his big Bollywood debut, Happy Bhag Jayegi Returns opposite actress Sonakshi Sinha.  But amidst shooting for his debut film, Jassie has surprised his fans as the singer-actor launched the first look of his next single called Dill Ton Blacck in collaboration with rapper-singer, Badshah.

The song is touted to be a party anthem and undoubtedly one of the biggest hit numbers of the year.

The poster, which was released on January 10 afternoon, features Jassie in a different and vibrant avatar with alongside Badshah.

Commenting on his collaboration with Badshah for the first time Jassie says, “I’m super excited to be collaborating with Badshah. This is for the first time we are collaborating and we are sure this song will connect well with the audiences. It’s a complete party song and is special because it is after a very longtime Badshah will be seen in a Punjabi song. We are looking forward to this association. ”

Dil Ton Blacck is being written by popular lyricist Jaani and music is given by B Praak.

With an aim to make a dent in the market share of Chinese brands in the Rs. 30,000- Rs. 40,000 segment, Samsung India on Wednesday launched Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) smartphone with flagship features for Rs. 32,990.

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) is company’s first smartphone to sport a dual-front camera and will be available on Amazon.in. It boasts of a large screen is supported with ergonomic curved glass on the back and front. The 6-inch Full-HD Super AMOLED Infinity Display goes beyond the bezel with an immersive 18.5:9 display ratio.

It comes with the Always On Display, allowing users to get information at a glance without unlocking their phone. It also has virtual assistant Bixby.

The Galaxy’s A8+’s 16MP+8MP F1.9 dual-front camera setup allows consumers to take portrait shots. With the advanced Live Focus feature, one can easily adjust the bokeh effect before or after they take the picture to create high-quality images. The 16MP F1.7 rear camera snaps bright, clear pictures even in low-light conditions. The new device also allows consumers to customise their photos with fun options.

“This device will play in the 30-40k price segment allowing us to enter that market in a big way. Galaxy A8+ inherits some features from our other flagship devices Samsung S8, S8 Plus and Note 8,” Aditya Babbar, General Manager, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told IANS.

The handset is also equipped with Samsung Pay, allowing users to transact virtually anywhere they tap or swipe their card. The Galaxy A8+ comes with IP68 certification, making it water and dust resistance. It is also the first in the A series to support Samsung’s Gear VR.

Available in black and gold colours, the device sports Octa-Core Processor, Bluetooth v5.0 and 3,500 mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) full specifications

• 4G VoLTE dual-SIM, Android 7.1.1 Nougat, Fingerprint sensor, Water and dust resistant body (IP68)
• 6-inch full-HD+ (1080 × 2220 pixels) Super AMOLED display
• Octa-Core Samsung Exynos 7885 14nm processor
• 4GB/ 6GB RAM , 32GB/ 64GB storage, expandable up to 256GB
• 16MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.7 aperture
• 16MP + 8MP front camera with f/1.9 aperture
• 3500mAh battery with USB Type-C adaptive fast charging

Asked about the features of the device that differentiates it from other smartphones in the segment, Babbar said Samsung was committed to meaningful innovation which can empower consumers to do more with a device.

“With Galaxy A8+, we are bringing our customers’ favourite features from our flagship smartphones, such as first dual-front camera with Live Focus. We are launching the device with metal and glass built in a segment that primarily features metal-built smartphones. Hence the big difference,” he said.

“IP68 is not available in this segment. The device will also have features like Samsung Pay. This is what the consumer was demanding and with Samsung A8+ we are giving them what they desired,” Babbar added.

“With the launch of this device, we are confident that we will consolidate our leadership further in the country,” Babbar told IANS.

Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018): Price and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) is priced at Rs. 32,990. It will be available exclusively from Amazon India starting from January 20.

When asked why the device is only available online, Babbar said: “We have seen consumer-exploring online as an option. The device is targeted to millennials who are more likely to buy it online. Hence the choice comes in.”

(Written with inputs from IANS)

The games had begun, the top seeds were comfortably seated on their boards. For the professional star players, it was yet another day at work. 14-year-old Koustav Chatterjee, rated 2288, was the only player waiting anxiously for his opponent. American GM Timur Gareyev, rated 2605, had missed the official car and had not reached the venue. The clock was ticking and the walkover time-limit of 30 minutes was fast approaching.

Already in the second round, the games began to become tougher than normal for all the top seeds. Azeri GM Arkadij Naiditsch, the top seed with a rating of 2701, had another normal day at the office as he managed to defeat Egyptian Adham Kandil, rated 2294. Third seed Arjuna Awardee GM Abhijeet Gupta rated 2610, also had a not so difficult time in dispatching FM Ankit Gajwa, rated 2284.

On the second table, unheralded Tamil Nadu youngster A.L. Muthiah rated 2291, managed to hold the second seed GM Amonatov Farrukh, rated 2636 to a draw. It was a Reti Opening in which Muthiah was applying steady pressure on the queenside with the white pieces. Around the 40th move, the Indian had a chance to keep up the pressure and go to an endgame a pawn up. But with less time on the clock, Muthiah decided to repeat his position and take the draw instead.

Meanwhile, Timur Gareyev did reach the venue, but not on time. He was three minutes late. The chief arbiter Vasanth BH decided to award the point to the young Koustov Chatterjee. It could have been sensational.

Chatterjee, however, did not want to miss the chance to score a GM or an IM norm for which he would require to play the game to make sure he has the required average rating. Playing a 2600+ player would have boosted his chances by a mile. Apart from the motivation to score the norm, the young Bengali player is an ardent student of the game and would have loved to take the chance to play a higher rated player. In the interests of protecting the sporting spirit of the tournament, Vasanth allowed the players to play the game, even though the result would not have changed.

As expected, Timur Gareyev managed to win the game after quite a fight, but the point went to Chatterjee. Chatterjee will not get count this game in his fight for the norm. (For scoring an IM norm, you need to perform at 2450+ elo against a player of a certain rating average. In this case, Gareyev’s rating won’t be counted in the average of Chatterjee’s opponents’ rating).

Gareyev commented, “I was in the process of changing the rooms in my hotel and hence, was delayed. The kid played a nice game and it was probably drawish but he blundered in the end and lost.” Gareyev sportingly decided to put the incident behind him and to focus on playing well in the rest of the tournament.

The tenth-seeded GM Diptayan Ghosh, rated 2556, was playing Odisha’s Rajesh Nayak, rated 2247. Diptayan had a completely winning position with the white pieces but a hasty 36.f5 break, which turned out to be a blunder, meant that he had to settle only for a draw.