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US Open: Rory McIlroy delivers Congressional lesson
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Rory McIlroy fired a stunning six-under 65 to lead the US Open by three shots after the first round at Congressional.
McIlroy, 22, bounced back from his Augusta aberration to head Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and 2009 USPGA champion YE Yang.
Sergio Garcia and Open champion Louis Oosthuizen were two under, while Graeme McDowell began his defence with a 70.
The world's top three players Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer carded 74, 74, 75.
Also at two under were American Ryan Palmer, Korea's Kyung-tae Kim, Australian Scott Hend and Brazil's Alexandre Rocha.
Phil Mickelson, a five-time US Open runner-up, was regularly in trouble and had to use all his powers of recovery on his 41st birthday to card 74.
But it was McIlroy's Maryland masterclass that dominated a sultry day near the US capital.
US Open round one leaderboard:
- -6: R McIlroy (NI)
- -3: YE Yang (Kor), C Schwartzel (SA)
- -2: S Garcia (Spa), R Palmer (US), L Oosthuizen (SA), K Kim (Kor), S Hend (Aus), A Rocha (Bra)
- Selected others: -1: G McDowell (NI), R Rock (Eng)
- Level: P Harrington (Ire), B Watson (US)
- +1: S Lowry (Ire)
- +2: E Els (SA), P Casey (Eng), M Laird (Sco), S Gallacher (Sco)
- +3: L Donald (Eng), M Kaymer (Ger), J Rose (Eng), H Mahan (US), R Fowler (US), M Manassero (Ita), P Mickelson (US)
- +4: L Westwood (Eng), I Poulter (Eng), D Johnson (US), S Stricker (US)
Royal Ascot Ladies' Day - more pics
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Gabby and Kenny Logan
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Love cheat? Superinjunction? Gagging order? Could be anyone really.
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Make way, make way. Nice to see you Sir Bruce and of course Lady Wilnelia
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Not sure how these 2 freeloaders got in
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The Gold Cup provides no shocks as clear favourite 'Fame and Glory' romps to victory in the big race of the day
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Success for 'Brown Panther' in the final race of the day. Bred by footballer Michael Owen (Centre)
England put Sri Lanka under pressure at the Rose Bowl
Sri Lanka 81-4 v England
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England's seam bowlers ripped through the Sri Lanka top order on a frustrating day of rain delays in the first ever Test at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
James Anderson - returning from a side injury - and Chris Tremlett made the most of swing-friendly conditions to take two wickets apiece as the tourists slumped to 81-4 in 38 overs.
Debutant Lahiru Thirimanne, Tharanga Paranavitana and veteran duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were all dismissed cheaply as England's bowlers made the most of the short bursts of play that were possible between the weather interruptions.
But the tourists staged a mini-recovery as Thilan Samaraweera (24 not out) and Prasanna Jayawardene batted out a tricky final hour despite Stuart Broad straining every sinew in a bid to bowl himself into form.
It was the type of day that suits bowlers far more than batsmen, who had a struggle to maintain their focus and rhythm when forced off by rain delays.
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Ouch! A ball from Stuart Broad rattles Panaravitana's digits
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The returning James Anderson gets Thirimanne caught at first slipjust before lunch
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Chris Tremlett gets an lbw decision which leaves Sri Lanka on 23-2
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Stand in captain Sangakkara snicks a juicy edge to Prior
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After 2 hours of rain Tremlett has Jayawardene caught behind with a jaffa
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No more wickets before close of play as Sri lanka survive further loss
Castleford Tigers' Aspinwall jailed for police pursuit crash
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A rugby league player has been jailed for four months after crashing his car during a high-speed police pursuit.
Castleford Tigers' Martin Aspinwall, 29, who earlier admitted dangerous driving, was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Liverpool Crown Court was told he crashed his car during a pursuit in his home town of Wigan.
Aspinwall was given a suspended eight month jail term this year for assault during an argument at a Wigan bar.
The former Wigan and Huddersfield forward joined Castleford on a 12-month contract from the Giants last November.
He was named in the Tiger's 19-man squad for Friday's match at Salford but the club has announced he will be replaced by Oliver Holmes.
In a statement, Castleford Tigers said: "The club wish to make no further comment on Aspinwall's situation at this time."
Aspinwall was also told he must take an extended driving test to re-apply for his licence.
Minister to confirm public sector retirement age rise
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The government is to say for the first time that it plans to link the public sector retirement age to the state pension age, which is to rise to 66.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander is also due to confirm public sector pensions will be based on workers' average salaries.
Mr Alexander is expected to criticise unions who are due to go on strike on 30 June in protest at pensions changes.
Up to 750,000 public sector workers are due to walk out on 30 June.
They are angry about changes to the way pensions are calculated and plans to seek higher employee contributions.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury will confirm in a speech that many of Lord Hutton's recommendations on public sector reform will be adopted.
He is expected to say most public sector workers - bar the army, police and fire service - will see their retirement age linked to the state pension age.
But he will also say low paid public sector workers on less than £15,000 will not face any increase in pension contributions and those earning less than £18,000 will have their contributions capped at 1.5%.
Mr Alexander will say: "There is an indisputable case for reforming public sector pensions to ensure that they are affordable and sustainable but still amongst the very best available.
"That case is simple. People are living much longer - the average 60 year old is living ten years longer now than they did in the 70s. This advance comes at a price. It is unjustifiable to ask the taxpayer to work longer and pay more so that public sector workers can retire earlier and receive more themselves."
Argentine leader says UK 'arrogant' over Falklands
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The president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has called Britain "arrogant" for refusing to negotiate on the Falklands.
She was speaking a day after UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the issue of sovereignty was non-negotiable.
President Fernandez called his refusal to hold talks on the sovereignty of the Falklands, or Malvinas, arrogant and bordering on stupidity.
Britain defeated an Argentine invasion of the islands in 1982.
The Falklands are at the centre of a territorial dispute dating back to the 19th Century.
Argentina has repeatedly requested talks on the islands' future sovereignty.
But most Falkland islanders wish to retain British sovereignty and 14 June is marked as Liberation Day in the capital, Port Stanley.
In the House of Commons on Wednesday Mr Cameron said "as long as the Falkland Islands want to be sovereign British territory, they should remain sovereign British territory - full stop, end of story."
Greece's PM George Papandreou 'to fight on'
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Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has vowed to fight on in seeking support for new austerity measures that have sparked strikes and protests.
Greek ruling party deputies are holding an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis that has shaken global markets.
To a standing ovation, Mr Papandreou said he would reshuffle his cabinet before putting it to a vote of confidence by the parliament.
He was speaking after some figures in his party appeared to move against him.
"I seek and will continue seeking wider consensus," said Mr Papandreou. "Our response to the challenges we face is stability and to stay on our course of reforms."
The proposed measures are necessary to gain EU and IMF aid, but have been met with fierce opposition inside Greece.
Greece witnessed some of the most violent protests in more than a year on Wednesday, as tens of thousands of activists and unionists gathered in Syntagma square in Athens, near parliament, while a further 20,000 demonstrated in Thessaloniki.
Meanwhile unions held a nationwide general strike - Greece's third this year.
New austerity measures have sparked strikes and protests. Unions held a nationwide general strike - Greece's third this year.
Mr Papandreou. "Our response to the challenges we face is stability and to stay on our course of reforms." :rofl:
Why is Indonesia so in love with the Blackberry?
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As the joke in Indonesia goes, if you don't have the right gadget you may end up a social outcast.
Undoubtedly, the gadget of the moment is the Blackberry smartphone.
A walk through a packed food court at lunchtime in Jakarta proves the point.
Most patrons are glued to their smartphones, available in a myriad of colours but covered nonetheless in decorative cases.
Incessant message alerts reverberate around the food hall amid the clatter of cutlery.
Internet guru Onno Purbo believes Indonesian fans see the Blackberry as the trendier, flashier gadget.
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Coalition 'losing its way' on public sector reforms
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The coalition is "losing its way" over its promised public sector reforms in the face of union pressure and fears of a public backlash, the CBI is to claim.
The business group's deputy director general is to say the planned NHS shake-up has turned into a "debacle".
And Neil Bentley will urge ministers to ignore the "forces of inertia" and push on with public sector pension changes.
The PM's spokesman has said the delayed public services reform white paper will be published before the summer recess.
But the criticism from Mr Bentley comes amid reports that the government's blueprint for public sector reform will not be published until the early autumn.
In a speech in Surrey, Dr Bentley will praise the government's progress in some areas, saying it has hit targets for efficiency savings, improved government procurement and given a greater role to private firms in its welfare-to-work programmes.
BBC 'must apologise' over Primark documentary
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The BBC must say sorry to Primark over a scene in a Panorama documentary showing boys in a Bangalore clothing workshop, the BBC Trust says.
The trust said it was "more likely than not" that a scene, which showed the boys "testing the stitching" on Primark clothes, was "not genuine".
It also apologised to Primark and the audience for a "rare lapse in quality".
Journalist Dan McDougall, who filmed the footage, said the finding was "unjust" and "flawed".
Lloyds TSB business survey finds economy recovering
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Scotland's economy is continuing to recover with businesses reporting the most positive results in three years, according to a survey.
The latest Lloyds TSB Scotland Business Monitor found a third of firms reported increased turnover in the three months to the end of May.
But rising costs and falling consumer confidence were still a concern.
Donald MacRae, chief economist at Lloyds TSB Scotland, said the economy was "slowly strengthening".
A recovery in the middle of 2010 was followed by a relapse in growth early in the year, attributed largely to the severe winter weather.
However, the latest figures showed that 33% of the firms surveyed enjoyed increased turnover in the three months to the end of May.
A total of 36% reported static turnover, while 31% experienced a decrease.
Expectations of improving trade over the next six months were at their highest level for more than three years.
Abuja 'bomber' hits Nigeria police headquarters
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Two people, including a bomber, have died in an explosion at Nigeria's police headquarters in the capital, Abuja, the police say.
Police spokesman Olusola Amore said Islamist group Boko Haram was suspected of being behind the attack.
The blast in the car park of the police base destroyed many vehicles and a large plume of smoke could be seen rising from the scene.
A Red Cross spokesman told the BBC that another four bodies had been recovered.
"Six to be precise. Six bodies from the explosion," Nigerian Red Cross official Taiye Olaniyi told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, adding that many of them had been "very badly mutilated".
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Seven other people were wounded in the explosion, five of whom were being treated in hospital, the Red Cross said.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Lagos says that, for the Nigerian authorities, the attack is an embarrassing strike at the very heart of their security establishment.
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Gaddafi regime 'not attending London Olympics'
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The government has confirmed that Libyan leader Col Gaddafi will not be attending the London 2012 Olympics.
Tickets are due to be allocated to Libya's National Olympic Committee (NOC), but the UK government said an EU travel ban would prevent members of the Libyan government from attending.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had not yet handed over any tickets to Libya's NOC.
It said it was waiting "until the current situation becomes clearer".
The European Union imposed a travel ban on Col Gaddafi and his close entourage in February. It followed his regime's violent response to an uprising against his 41-year rule.
Col Gaddafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity following "widespread and systematic attacks" on civilians.
British troops are part of a Nato mission enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya aimed at protecting civilians.
Tripoli blasts heard near Col Gaddafi's compound
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Six explosions have been heard in the centre of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, near the fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound of Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Smoke could be seen rising in the area at dawn on Thursday.
The compound has been the target of a number of Nato air strikes in recent months.
The alliance imposed a no-fly zone in Libya in March as Col Gaddafi's forces threatened to overrun rebel-held parts of the country.
There was no official comment from the Libyan government on the latest explosions, and Nato has not confirmed the air strikes.
A Russian envoy is due to hold talks with the Libyan government in Tripoli as part of attempts to mediate in the conflict.
The envoy, Mikhail Margelov, last week met rebel representatives in Benghazi.
He is faced with a knotty diplomatic challenge, says the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen in Tripoli.
Papua New Guinea leader's son Teo Abal on murder charge
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Sam Abal has promised there will be no protection for any family members accused of wrongdoing
The adopted son of Papua New Guinea's acting Prime Minister Sam Abal has been charged with murder.
It follows the discovery on Monday of a woman's body in the garden of Mr Abal's residence in the capital Port Moresby. Police say her throat was cut.
Teo Abal, 21, had been missing since the body was found but was detained on Wednesday.
Sam Abal is in charge of the government while the veteran leader, Michael Somare, recovers from heart surgery.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Abal said his family would co-operate with police and and not be treated differently from anyone else.
Plea for Indian condemned for Malaysia drug smuggling
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The family of a 64-year-old Indian woman sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Malaysia has appealed to the Indian government to help save her.
They say that Fazila Bee Abdul Kareem from Madras was tricked into taking the drugs to Malaysia by a corrupt employment agent in India.
She was convicted in May for trying to smuggle 2.9kg of the drug ketamine.
Ketamine is a hallucinogenic drug, used as an anaesthetic in medicine, which is often abused in the US and Europe.
Ms Kareem's family says that she went to Malaysia as a widow in search of work because she was short of cash after paying for the wedding of the last of her four daughters.
They say that because she had previously worked as a maid in the Gulf, her employment agent assured her of a similar job in Malaysia. She sold all her belongings to pay for the flight in February 2009.
At Madras airport the family say that she was handed a suitcase by the agent which she did not know contained the drugs.
The family have now reportedly approached the Tamil Nadu chief minister and the Madras city police commissioner and asked them to take measures to help her.
However the court in Malaysia described her defence as "ridiculous", pointing out that she entered the country on a tourist visa.
"If she want[ed] to work, she would have known where the work place was, the employer's name and would have had a work permit," the judge was quoted by the Borneo Post as saying.
"She also claims to be 64, but looking at her, she is older and it is unlikely there is someone who wants to employ her as a domestic maid.
"Her testimony is full of contradictions, not consistent, more of a fiction and an afterthought."
BBC demands release of journalist held in Tajikistan
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The BBC has called for the immediate release of one of its reporters in Tajikistan, accused of having links with a banned Islamic organisation.
The call comes amid increasing concerns for the wellbeing of Urinboy Usmonov, a reporter for the BBC World Service Central Asian department.
Mr Usmonov, 59, was reported missing by his family on Monday.
Police say Mr Usmonov, a Tajik citizen, joined Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2009. His family has dismissed the accusation.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic organisation which has swept across Central Asia over the past decade, attracting thousands of young recruits.
It is openly critical of the Tajik regime and is outlawed in the country.
It does not advocate violence but wants to overthrow the current leadership to establish an Islamic state across the Middle East and Central Asia - something known as a "Caliphate, or Khilafah in Arabic.
Brazilian landless activist Jose Rainha Jr arrested
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One of the founders of the landless movement in Brazil, Jose Rainha Junior, has been arrested on suspicion of misappropriating public funds.
Mr Rainha, 50, is accused of funnelling public money away from landless families, which he denies.
He was a leader of Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement until he set up a parallel organisation in 2007.
He was convicted of murdering a farmer and a policeman in 1989, but the sentence was overturned on appeal.
Mr Rainha was arrested in Presidente Prudente in Sao Paulo state.
Police did not say how much money he is accused of misappropriating, but said he was one of 10 suspects wanted in connection with the charges.
Middle East Christians facing 'extremist atrocities'
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The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that there are extreme forces at work that have turned the Arab Spring into a "very anxious time" for Christians.
Dr Rowan Williams told the BBC that the vacuum left by the end of autocratic regimes was being filled by extremists.
He claimed there had been more killings of Christians and burnings of churches in Egypt than people were aware of.
Life was unsustainable for Christians in northern Iraq, and tensions in Syria were nearing breaking point, he added.
The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity and home to some of the world's most ancient Christian denominations.
There is no agreed figure for the number of Christians in the region, though some experts believe there are as many as 10 million.
GoAir places Airbus order as Indian market expands
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Indian budget airline GoAir has ordered 72 new A320 Airbus aircraft in a deal worth about $6.1bn (£3.7bn) at list prices.
The carrier said it would start taking deliveries of the aircraft in 2015 as it implements ambitious expansion plans for domestic routes.
A320s are priced at $85m each, though airlines traditionally negotiate big discounts on bulk orders.
In January, rival airline IndiGo ordered 180 A320s, worth $15.6bn.
"These are all firm orders and the deliveries will start in 2015. We may take as many as 15 planes each year," said the company's managing director Jeh Wadia.
India's airline market is booming as flights become affordable to ever more people.
There have been reports that Indian airlines are planning to announce billions of dollars worth of orders at next week's Paris Air Show.
GoAir, launched in 2005, currently serves 18 destinations with about 930 flights a week.
The airline is owned by the Wadia Group, which has interests in petrochemicals, electronics, property, and consultancy.
Vancouver Canucks ice hockey riot sees 100 arrested
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Nearly 100 people were arrested amid city centre rioting after Vancouver's ice hockey team lost the deciding game of the Stanley Cup final, police say.
Chief Constable Jim Chu blamed the violence on "anarchists and criminals" and said police had seized weapons.
Cars were set on fire and shops were looted following Vancouver Canucks' 4-0 defeat to the Boston Bruins.
Residents said they were embarrassed at the spectacle, and volunteers helped clean up the mess on Thursday morning.
"I woke up today to read all the news reports about just how much Vancouver embarrassed ourselves yesterday," Barrett Nash told CBC News.
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Residents walk along a flooded street in Kaihua county, Zhejiang province, China, on June 15. Torrential rains are still ravaging central and southern China, nearly two weeks after leaving more than 100 people dead and dozens missing, the state news agency Xinhua reported.