When Chelsea host Manchester City on Wednesday, they won’t be short of motivation, as explained by their striker Diego Costa, according to a report on their club website.

Chelsea, who were stunned by Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, lead Tottenham Hotspur by seven points at the top of the English Premier League table, with City a further four points behind.

And the striker, who is on the verge of reaching a half-century of goals for the Blues, spoke about how they need to pick themselves up and make a statement against Manchester City.

‘Now is not the time to regret or feel sorry for ourselves but to lift up our heads and think about the next game because it will be very important,’ the Brazilian-born striker said in a game that he and his teammates went so close to equalising but were somehow denied.

Confirming that Antonio Conte’s men are focusing on their encounter with Pep Guardiola’ side, Costa adds that ‘Obviously a big game like this is always important, especially after a defeat at home and a rival getting nearer us.

Asked if whether the game against City has extra importance with Spurs travelling to Swansea on the same day, Costa agrees ‘The game against Man City is a game of six points – and if we win they will basically be out of the fight for the title and we can maintain a distance, depending on the result between Tottenham and Swansea."

The average price of food in 50 Chinese cities continued to drop between March 21 and March 30, official data showed on Wednesday.

The 10-day snapshot could reflect the trend in consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, as food prices account for nearly one-third of the prices used in calculating the index, Xinhua news agency reported. 

Prices of pork, beef and mutton posted decline from last sampled period of March 11 to March 20, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Cucumber led the fall in vegetable prices by losing 6.4 per cent, while canola and soybean oil prices dipped by 0.4 per cent.

Weakening food prices were expected to drag down the March CPI, which is was expected to grow by about 0.8 per cent year on year, according to an earlier report by the Bank of Communications.

The official CPI in March is due to be released by the NBS on April 12. 

Hanuman may have been one of the greatest devotees of Lord Rama as depicted in the Ramayana, but things are turning on their head in West Bengal now, with ruling Trinamool Congress organising worship of the monkey god to counter the BJP's aggressive Ram Navmi celebrations on Wednesday.

The BJP, which is making a determined bid to emerge as the main alternative to the Trinamool in the eastern state, as also other Sangh Privar outfits have made elaborate preparations to celebrate the festival on an unprecedented grand scale.

Notwithstanding its political opponents' accusations that the Sangh Parivar was using the celebrations to further its hidden agenda to bring about a communal polarisation, the Hindutva brigade seemed unfazed.

"When Muharram is observed there is no talk of polarisation. When Eid or Christmas is celebrated, there is no talk of polarirsaiton. But when Ram Navmi is celebrated, they say it will lead to polarisation. If Ram Naavami does lead to polarisation, let it be. We will do it," said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, himself a veteran Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh propagandist.

Adopting a belligerent stand, Ghosh said the Ram Navmi processions will be taken out throughout the state on Wednesday with the participants carrying traditional weapons.

"Lord Rama carried bow and arrow. So how can his puja be done with empty hands?" he asked.

Having started the preparations well in advance, the Sangh Parivar has trained selected leaders of BJP, RSS and other outfits to explain to the masses Rama's importance.

In a bid to match the BJP's Ram Navmi pitch, the Trinamool has turned to Hanuman, with the party's irrepressible Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal leading the charge.

He announced on Tuesday that his partymen will get involved in a big way in worshiping Hanuman during Ram Navmi celebrations on Wednesday.

"There are 127 Bajrangbali (other name for Hanuman) temples in Birbhum district. On Wednesday evening in each of the temples, puja will be held.

"All our legislators and other party laders and workers will take part. We will worship Bajrangbali everywhere," said Mondal, who had acquired the national spotlight during the assembly polls last year for his provocative comments.

An explosion at a fireworks factory in northern Portugal left at least five people dead, with three others missing, rescue services told the Lusa news agency.
More than a hundred firefighters were dispatched to battle the fire sparked by the explosion yesterday at the factory in the town of Lamego.
By the late evening rescuers were still waiting for conditions to be safe enough to enter the building and search for the missing, but there was little hope of finding survivors.
Local media reported that the owner of the factory and his daughter were among the victims.

Legendary Hindustani classical singer Kishori Amonkar passed away after a brief illness at her home in Prabhadevi shortly before midnight on Monday, her family said on Tuesday. She was 84.

A widow, she is survived by two sons and grandchildren. The death came just a week before her 85th birthday.

Since morning, a large number of people poured in to pay homage and respect to her at the Ravindra Natya Mandir auditorium premises, where hre body was kept for public 'darshan'. Among them were doyens of classical music and entertainment industry and her countless admirers.

Later in the evening, the mortal remains of the Mumbai-born Amonkar were consigned to flames with full state honours at the Shivaji Park crematorium. Her son Nihal lit the funeral pyre amid cries of Kishori Amonkar Amar Rahe. 

Earlier, a Mumbai Police team accorded her a 21-gun salute and carried her body draped in the Tricolour on a funeral cortege.

Her sons Nihal and Vibhas, grandchildren, relatives and friends, led the funeral procession that slowly wound its way to Shivaji Park, a distance of barely 1.2 km.

A huge crowd of music aficionados, music and singing legends with whom she collaborated during her seven-decade long career, many of her outstanding students, government officials and represntatives, including Culture Minister Vinod Tawde, and thousands of grieving commoners who for decades had soaked in her divine music comprised the procession.

In her singing career in Indian classical music spanning over seven decades, she was revered as 'Gaan-Saraswati' of the Jaipur Gharana.

Amonkar was conferred the Padma Vibhushan and Sahitya Akademi Award among many other honours for her service and devotion to the world of music.

Leading the nation in paying tributes to Amonkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply pained by her demise" which is "an irreparable loss to Indian classical music".

"The works of Kishori Amonkar will always remain popular among people for years to come. May her soul rest in peace," Modi said in a message.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi too condoled Amonkar's death.

Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar, herself a Bharat Ratna awardee, said she was deeply anguished to hear about Amonkar's demise.

"She was a unique and extraordinary classical singer. Her demise spells a huge loss for the world of music," said Lata Mangeshkar.

Others who paid tributes included Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, actresses Shabana Azmi and Hema Malini, film director Madhur Bhandarkar, and singers Kailash Kher and Shreya Ghoshal.

Born in Mumbai on April 10, 1932, to Madhavdas Bhatia and Mogubai Kurdikar, Kishori paddled her first lessons in Hindustani classical music from none other than her illustrious singer-mother, who was honoured with Padma Bhushan and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards.

Having lost her father at the tender age of six, Kishori took singing lessons from her mother, accompanied her to various concerts and learnt the subtle nuances of the art of the Jaipur Gharana, which she later adopted as her singing style.

Later, she was trained under Anjanibai Malpekar of the Bhendi Bazar Gharana, Mumbai, and music teachers of various other gharanas.

The eldest among three siblings, including younger sister Lalita and brother Ulhas, Kishori excelled in Indian Classical music and even experimented over the years, innovated with the unique styles of Jaipur Gharana.

Her repertoire included light classical geets, thumris, bhajans and the heavy khayals, many interspersed with her own innovations and applications from other styles or gharanas, for which she became known and earned both bouquets and brickbats.

In the late 1950s, Kishori had suddenly lost her voice for inexplicable reasons for two years, but later bounced back with renewed vigour.

In between, she married schoolteacher Ravindra Amonkar and they had two sons, but her husband died in the early 1980s.

At one stage, she was attracted to film music and sang the solo title song for the 1964 blockbuster, V. Shantaram's Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne, a launch pad for his daughter Rajshree and young actor Jeetendra.

In 1990, after a break of over 25 years, Amonkar made a come-back to films, directed the music and also sang four songs penned by the National Award winning lyricist Vasant Deo for Govind Nihalani's film Drishti, which won the National Award for Best Film that year.

However, she largely stayed away from the film industry ostensibly for certain bad experiences and remained with her first love — Indian classical music.

As for her experimentations, she modified the styles of the Jaipur Gharana by introducing unique characteristics of other gharanas, bypassing traditions to prioritise emotional expressions, and deviated from the regular rhythmic, melodic or structural norms.

Her aim was to imbibe an emotional appeal of the more popular styles into the starkly resolute classical music traditions, experts noted.

A singer, creator, innovator and teacher, who was even labeled as occasionally being 'temperamental' for protecting the dignity of singers and musicians, she trained many classical singers and even lectured extensively on the role of 'Rasa' or emotions in music during her long career.

Amonkar was conferred scores of awards and honours, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1985, Padma Bhushan in 1987, Padma Vibhushan in 2002, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2009 and the Dr. TMA Pai Foundation's Outstanding Konkani Award in 1991.

Actress Raveena Tandon, who will feature as one of the judges at the children's reality TV show Sabse Bada Kalakar, finds it easy to judge children as they come without complications.

"Judging a kids' reality show is very easy as they are very uncomplicated. For them, life is very simple — either it is black or it is white, with no hidden agenda. It has been a great and wonderful journey filming this show with them," Raveena said here.

The actress, whose next feature film is Maatr-The Mother, will be accompanied on the judges' panel by Boman Irani and Arshad Warsi.

Talking about his camaraderie with Arshad, Boman said: "When I was 35 years old, I did a small part in a musical play and the choreographer of that play was Arshad Warsi."

"When I got my first film after nine years Munna Bhai MBBS, two months before the start of the shooting, I got to know that even he is in the film, which got me more excited and made me happy," Boman said, adding that he is very happy to share the screen space with Arshad once again.

Sabse Bada Kalakar will go on air on Sony Entertainment Television starting April 8.

US President Donald Trump condemned the "intolerable" alleged chemical attack on civilians in Syria and blamed the Bashar Al Assad regime, media reports said.

"Today's chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world," Efe news quoted Trump as saying on Teusday in a statement.

Trump said that "heinous actions by the Bashar Al Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution", referring to former President Barack Obama, who "said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons" in Syria but then "did nothing".

"The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable attack," the President concluded.

Shortly before Trump issued his statement, a senior State Department official, who asked for anonymity, told reporters that everything pointed to the fact that the chemical attack was a "war crime" and that the countries backing Assad — Russia and Iran — have much to answer for.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also had harsh words for Russia and Iran in his own statement condemning the attack, which killed at least 58 people in the town of Khan Sheikhoun.

"While we continue to monitor the terrible situation, it is clear that this is how Bashar al-Assad operates: with brutal, unabashed barbarism," said Tillerson in the statement.

Tillerson also said that the attack is the third complaint about the use of chemical weapons in Syria in the past month.

The US accusations come after Syria denied that either its forces or Russian forces were behind the attack.

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson is favoured to capture the 81st Masters but plenty of golfers see Rory McIlroy as a green-jacket threat when the year's first major championship begins on Thursday.

A showdown of global greats at the 7,435-yard Augusta National sees Johnson arrive on a three-tournament win streak and second-ranked McIlroy, a four-time major champion, seeking a Masters crown to complete a career grand slam.

"I've done all the preparation I can. It's just about going out on the golf course and getting it done," said McIlroy, mindful of 2011 when a back-nine Sunday collapse saw him squander the Masters lead.

"Having a chance to win a few years ago and not giving myself a chance since… internally that's not good enough. I want to give a better account of myself at this tournament and on this golf course and I feel like I can."

Third-ranked Jason Day makes an emotional start two weeks after withdrawing from an event to be with his mother as she battled lung cancer while Jordan Spieth tries to bounce back from a back-nine collapse in last year's final round when on the verge of a second consecutive Masters title.

And five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, two months shy of his 47th birthday, will try to replace Jack Nicklaus as the oldest champion in Masters history.

Forecasts for heavy rain on Wednesday to soften the course add to the drama that one of golf's great stages annually produces.

"If it's soft, obviously it will definitely help," long-driving Johnson said. "With the forecast, wind on Thursday and Friday, the course will play very difficult.

"It's going to be tough to hit the greens. You're going to really have to be careful where you hit it and just try to make pars."

That will make a strong start even more imperative than usual.

"It's always important to get off to a decent start but especially here. You don't want to feel like you're playing catch up on this course, because you feel like the more you force the issue, the more things can go wrong," McIlroy said.

"You start to shoot at a few pins… leave yourself in spots you don't really want to. Then you can run up numbers pretty quickly. You don't need to come out and shoot 65 the first day but you're better off shooting something under par.”
Johnson enters Augusta after wins at Riviera in February to jump atop the rankings and last month at WGC Mexico and Match-Play events.

"Obviously this year, with Dustin winning three times, he's the form player right now," McIlroy said.

Johnson won his first major title at the 2016 US Open while McIlroy followed his 2011 Masters heartache by winning the US Open two months later.

"It's never over," McIlroy said. "If I'm four or five behind going into the back nine, it's never over. You can never give up, because it takes either a lapse of concentration from someone else or a moment of brilliance from yourself to turn things around."

McIlroy played 27 holes at Augusta two weeks ago, 54 more last week and 18 more so far this week.

"I've realised the more I get comfortable with this golf course, the environment and the surroundings, the better," he said.

McIlroy has made a believer out of 81-year-old South African legend Gary Player.

"My choice this week — Rory McIlroy," Player said. "He made a mess of it one year. He has gotten that out of his system and he's playing really well."

Spieth, never worse than second in three career Masters starts, cited McIlroy as an intimidating leaderboard presence.

"When you're paired up, he has been there and you don't feel like you have that major championship winning edge," Spieth said. "That would be somewhat of an edge if it would be mano a mano.

"I don't say I've won the Masters and he hasn't. Trust me, he's certainly capable of it and he'll win at least one. I think if you ask every single player, that wouldn't be a question."

The meeting between the US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping which begins on Wednesday in Florida is an opportunity for them to chart a way forward for the bilateral ties between the two countries, the White House has said.

While the two leaders are likely to discuss a gamut of bilateral issues during the two-day meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, matters related to trade, economic policies and North Korea are expected to figure prominently during their talks, senior White House officials said yesterday.

“This is really an opportunity for the two leaders to exchange views on each other's respective priorities and to chart a way forward for the US-China bilateral relationship,” a senior White House official said.

“They will be talking about areas of common interest and also some of the clear areas of difference that we need to address in the relationship. President Trump really views this meeting as a first step towards building a constructive and a result-oriented relationship,” the official told reporters ahead of the Mar-a-Lago summit between Trump and Xi.

Noting that progress on a range of bilateral economic issues has become increasingly difficult, another White House official said it reflects a “slowdown” and in certain cases in America's view, a “retreat” in China's move towards giving the market a more decisive role in the Chinese economy.

“President Trump is very concerned about how the imbalance in our economic relationship affects American workers and wants to address these issues in a candid and productive manner,” the official said.

According to the official, the primary purpose of the meeting is to set a framework for discussions on trade and investment.

“I can't tell you whether they're going to get into specific issues to resolve at this time…But this is the introductory meeting to put a framework in place for how we're going to discuss and address these matters,” the official said in response to a question.

The official said that the US would like to see the bilateral relationship based on reciprocity as the Trump administration wants to work with China to reduce systemic trade and investment barriers that they have created leading to an uneven playing field for the US companies.
“We want a level playing field so that bilateral trade and investment can be mutually beneficial,” the official said.

The first White House official told reporters that North Korea clearly is a matter of urgent interest for the President and the Administration as a whole.

“I think the President has been pretty clear in sending the message as to how important it is for China to coordinate with the US and to begin exerting its considerable economic leverage to bring about a peaceful resolution to that problem,” the official said.

On Sino-North Korean trade, the official said the economic leverage of China has not gone down with the , adding the issue will figure in the discussion.

“Somewhere on the order of just shy of 90 per cent of North Korea's external trade is with China. So, even though we hear sometimes that China's political influence may have diminished with North Korea, clearly its economic leverage has not. It is considerable. So that will be one of the points of discussion,” the White House official said further.

The official reiterated that there is no change in the “long-standing” One-China policy of the United States.

“Our One-China policy is based on the three joint communiques with China, as well as the Taiwan Relations Act. The president has reaffirmed the policy. I don't anticipate some kind of surprising deviation from that,” the official said.

The issue of South China Sea would also come up for talks as part of the larger discussion on maritime issues, the official anticipated.
“I do expect that maritime issues will come up. The United States certainly will continue to fly and sail where international law allows. I would not be surprised if that came up in conversation,” the official said.

However, the official cautioned against having much higher expectations from the visit, but expressed hope that there will be “some movement” towards a framework for dialogues elevated from some of the previous or pre-existing dialogues with prior administrations.

Actress Shamita Shetty will be joining actor Aparshakti Khurrana for a web series.

The series, in works for Viacom18's Over-The-Top (OTT) platform – VOOT, will mark Shamita's digital debut. The storyline of the series and all the other related information is being kept under wraps.

Shamita had recently teased her social media family with a post that read: "Doing what I love best! Work mode, shoot life, new beginnings, happy me."

According to an official statement from VOOT, the series will also feature Gaurav Pandey — last seen in Badrinath Ki Dulhania — and Ridhima Pandit. 

The title of the series will be out soon. 

The Punjab government on April 4 said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cleared the Cash Credit Limit (CCL) for purchase of wheat crop.

“RBI had cleared the payment, which was expected to reach the states coffers latest by Wednesday,” an official spokesman said here.
Following Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singhs personal meeting and subsequent telephonic conversations with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the CCL issue had been resolved with the central government, which had asked RBI to release the payment, the spokesman said.

The official said the Chief Minister had spoken to Jaitley thrice on the issue and there was no pending concern.

RBI holidays on April 1 and 2 had caused a slight delay but the funds were expected to come any moment now, he said.

“The state government has made all possible arrangements to ensure smooth and hassle-free procurement in the mandis”, he said.

The Chief Minister has already directed all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to personally monitor the procurement process and arrangements have been made on a war-footing to streamline the process in all the 1,800 mandis of Punjab.

The Chief Minister had issued stringent orders to ensure that the farmers and 'arthiyas' (commission agents) do not face any problems in the mandis.

The state mandi board had been directed to provide all basic amenities and facilities in the mandis, in addition to smooth and timely payments, as well as complete transparency in the process, which the new government has decentralized to make it more structured and effective, he said.

Wheat procurement has started in the state from April 1.

The wheat procurement for the Rabi Marketing season 2017-18 has started with Punjab making arrangement for the procurement of 125 lakh metric tonnes of the crop.

The new Congress-led Punjab government is facing its first procurement season after coming to power. It has promised smooth and hassle-free procurement of the farmers' produce.

Amarinder had sought immediate authorization and release of Rs.20,683 crore CCL from the Centre for smooth and timely wheat procurement in the state.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier defended the European Union (EU) and criticised those who wished to undermine it as "irresponsible", in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Steinmeier on Tuesday used his first major foreign policy speech as German President to emphasize the value of the EU and the importance of working hard to ensure its success, Xinhua news agency reported.

Addressing the Brexit, the President said that the slogan of Britain's leave campaign — "take back control" — was a "strong slogan", but he insisted that nationalists could not honour it.

Warning of the dangers of populism, the former Foreign Minister said: "It is not only naive, but also irresponsible to fool people. It is irresponsible to let people think that in a world that is becoming more complex, the answers become easier."

His remarks referenced the Brexit debate when he said, "It is irresponsible to say that in this world, a European country alone can make its voice heard or assert its economic interests."

He also said he agreed with former British Cabinet minister Michael Heseltine that Brexit was "the greatest loss of British sovereignty".

To close his speech, Steinmeier switched from German to English, saying his message for his country was: "Yes, we want Europe! We want to build a better Europe, and we want to be a European Germany." 

Amid mixed Asian markets domestic bourses held previous gains and hovered at all-time high in the opening trade on Wednesday.

At 9.45 am, the Sensex was trading 20 points or 0.07 per cent down at 29,890 while the Nifty50 was trading four points or 0.04 per cent up at 9,241.

Broader markets again outperformed the front liners. BSE Midcap index gained 0.3 per cent while BSE Smallcap Midcap index surged by 0.6 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Consumer Durables index registered the biggest gain with a jump of 2.3 per cent. Realty (up 1.1 per cent), Telecom (up 1 per cent) and Metal (up 0.9 per cent) indices were other notable gainers. IT and Teck indices slipped 0.1 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

On Monday, the NSE Nifty had closed at record-closing high, up 69 points or 0.75 per cent at 9,243. The BSE Sensex had closed 290 points or 0.98 per cent higher at 29,910. Indian eqiuty markets ramined shut on Tuesday on account of Ram Navami holiday.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Adani Ports (up 1.6 per cent), NTPC (up 1.4 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (up 1.4 per cent), Cipla (up 1.2 per cent) and Reliance Industries (up 1.2 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: HDFC (down 1.8 per cent), Asian Paints (down 1.3 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 0.9 per cent), ITC (down 0.9 per cent) and Gail (down 0.9 per cent).

Asian markets were trading with mixed moves. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index declined 0.8 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 0.6 per cent, Korea’s KOSPI index fell 0.2 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.4 per cent.

Back home, the Rupee was trading 10 paisa higher at 65.33 against the US Dollar.

 Actor Daniel Craig is ready to sign on to return as fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond, pagesix.com reported.

Multiple sources told the publication that Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli has "just about persuaded Daniel Craig to do one more Bond movie".

This comes after Broccoli produced his hit off-Broadway production of Othello with actor-producer David Oyelowo. 

A Hollywood source said: "Daniel was very pleased with how Othello went and the great reviews. Now Daniel's talks with Barbara are going in the right direction. They have a script – screenwriting duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (who've penned several Bond movies) are writing and they'll go into production as soon as Daniel is ready to commit."

The source added: "Plus, Barbara Broccoli doesn't like Tom Hiddleston, he's a bit too smug and not tough enough to play James Bond."

In 2015, Craig was asked if he'd be back again after finishing a difficult Spectre shoot, and replied: "I'd rather… slash my wrists… I'm over it at the moment."

Another source said: "Daniel had such a good time in Othello, produced by Barbara that he's ready to do a final Bond." 

Representatives for Craig and Broccoli haven't commented on it.
 

Iceland's parliament has presented a bill that would require public and private businesses to prove they offer equal pay to employees, in what would be the first such requirement in the world.

“The bill entails that companies and institutions of a certain size, 25 or more employees, undertake a certification of their equal-pay programmes, Thorsteinn Viglundsson, Minister of Social Affairs and Equality, told AFP yesterday.

Iceland ranks first on the World Economic Forum's 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, followed by fellow Nordic nations Norway, Finland and Sweden.

But the new law aims to close a seven percent wage gap between men and women in the island nation of more than 323,000 people, Viglundsson said.

It has the support of both Iceland's centre-right coalition government as well as the opposition — and nearly 50 percent of the lawmakers in Parliament are women.

The law would take effect from January.“The gender pay gap is unfortunately a fact in the Icelandic labour market and it's time take radical measures; we have the knowledge and the processes to eliminate it,” he said.

The law would require private companies and government agencies to go through audits and receive certification that equal pay is provided, or they could face fines.

“In regard to annual financial statements there are fines if documents are not delivered, and I can see the same apply if an equal-pay certification has not been implemented, since it will be an obligation,” Viglundsson said.

He said that the law was “burdensome”, setting new obligations on the Scandinavian country's economy and businesses, but that “the benefits are at the same time obvious.”

Managers and companies that have undertaken the procedure have been “positive”, as they have found it “beneficial to go systematically through pay decisions in their sections,” Viglundsson said.

Iceland's economy is basking in the glow of soaring tourism and a thriving fisheries sector, with growth reaching 11 percent in the first quarter of this year, after full-year growth of 7.2 percent in 2016.

Atletico Madrid took another step toward securing a spot in the Champions League next season by defeating Real Sociedad 1-0 for its fifth win in a row in the Spanish league.

Filipe Luis scored for the second straight match on Tuesday and Atletico opened up a three-point gap on fourth-place Sevilla, which plays Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Atletico is now 10 points in front of fifth-place Villarreal, the first team out of the qualification zone for the Champions League. The third-placed team automatically qualifies to the competition next year, while the fourth-place club has to go through a playoff.

Real Sociedad dropped from fifth to seventh in the standings. It could have reduced its gap to Atletico to six points had it won at the Vicente Calderon Stadium but their winless streak extended to four games on Tuesday.

Atletico was in control from the start and Luis found the net from close range in the 28th minute after a quick exchange of passes with Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres.

Luis had also scored in the team's 2-0 victory at Malaga over the weekend. The Brazilian left back had not yet scored this season.

Real Sociedad improved in the second half but it was Atletico which had most of the scoring chances, including great ones with Torres and Angel Correa.

Atletico has won eight of its last 10 league matches and is enjoying its best run of the season. Diego Simeone's defense has been working well again, conceding only once in the last five league games.

Atletico overtook Sevilla for third place last weekend after having dropped to as low as sixth in the standings earlier in the competition.

Leader Real Madrid plays at Leganes on Wednesday to defend its two-point lead over Barcelona. Madrid still has a game in hand.

Aritz Aduriz scored twice in the first half to move Athletic closer to a Europa League spot.

The veteran striker converted a 17th-minute penalty and sealed the victory in the 37th to give Athletic its fourth win in five matches.

The result moved Athletic to sixth place, the last spot to secure a berth in the second-tiered European competition next year.

Aduriz has scored four goals in the last three league games with Athletic.

Espanyol stayed in ninth place.

Forward Adrian Lopez scored early in the second half to give Villarreal an away victory that keeps it in contention for a Champions League spot.

Real Betis, which nearly equalised when Dani Ceballos' shot struck the woodwork deep in stoppage time, remains in 14th place and still isn't clear of relegation. 

The United Nations says it will take 40 to 50 years to clear the mines, improvised explosive devices and other unexploded ordnance from Iraq and Syria.
Agnes Marcaillou, director of the United Nations Mine Action Service, said “we are looking at decades of work for these countries to look like post-World War II Europe where we still find some unexploded ordnance here and there.”
She told a news conference yesterday marking International Mine Awareness Day that her office is looking at a “ballpark figure” of between USD 170 million to USD 180 million a year to clean up the areas retaken from the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq.
Marcaillou said that figure includes USD 50 million annually needed just to make safe Mosul, which is still partly held by Islamic State extremists.