BREAKING NEWS: CAF Names Super Eagles' Opponents For 2015 AFCON

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has unveiled the Super Eagles' opponents for the qualifiers of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, holding in Morocco.
According to the draws announced at CAF's headquarters in Cairo a while ago, Nigeria is drawn in Group A alongside the hosts of the last edition of the competions, South Africa, Sudan and the Winner of Match 37/38.
Those that would compete in Group B are Mali, Algeria, Ethiopia and Winner of Match 43/44. While Burkina Faso, Angola, Gabon and Winner of Match 33/34 would trade tackles in Group C.
For Group D, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DR Congo and Winner Match 41/42 would slug it out.
Group E would witness west African battles among  Ghana, Togo, Guinea and Winner of Match 35/36.
Zambia, Cape Verde, Niger and Winner of Match 45/46 would fight for places in Group F.

 * AFCON Draw ceremony
Group G, which many analysts have dubbed the group of death, would see Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal and Winner of Match 39/40 fight for the tickets available in the group.
Egypt's most successful coach Hassan Shehata pulls the draw for the tournament that will be held from 17 January to 8 February in 2015 in Morocco.
The opening Ceremony will be in Marrakech.
CAF has announced that the qualifiers will be played in home and away fixtures. 
Nine of the 28 teams will qualify for the Nations Cup: The group winners and runner-ups, along with the best third-placed side. The host team, Morocco, will automatically qualify.
Egypt are the record winners of the Nations Cup with seven titles under their belt, which they won in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010. 
However, the 10 Second round draws are:
Match 5 & 6 Liberia vs Lesotho
Match 7 & 8 Kenya vs Comoros
Match 9 & 10 Madagascar vs Uganda
Match 11 & 12 Mauritania vs Equatorial Guinea
Match 13 & 14Namibia vs Congo
Match 15 & 16 Libya vs Rwanda
Match 17 & 18 Burundi vs Botswana
Match 19 & 20 Central African Republic vs Guinea Bissau
Match 21 & 22 Swaziland vs Sierra Leone
Match 23 & 24 Gambia vs Seychelles
Match 25 & 26 Sao Tome e Principe vs Benin
Match 27 & 28 Malawi vs Chad
Match 29 & 30 Tanzania vs Zimbabwe
Match 31 & 31 Mozambique vs South Sudan
First leg to be held 16,17 or 18 May 2014 while the the second leg 30,31 May or 1 June 2014.
READ MORE:  https://news.naij.com/65342.html

Prophet Issues Two Weeks Ultimatum To Boko Haram Sponsors

Alhassan Mohammed Goni, a clairvoyant in Adamawa State, on Tuesday said he will expose the sponsors of Boko Haram if they refuse to stop the current bloodbath and hostilities in the country within two weeks.

Goni said he was greatly disturbed by the activities of the Islamist sect, adding that he sympathized with President Goodluck Jonathan, as the insurgents and their sponsors are doing everything possible to mar his administration. 
He expressed the belief that those after Jonathan's administration would fail because the president is a good man.
The spiritualist warned that those sponsoring Boko Haram should change or face exposure from him. 
He said those behind the insurgents are top politicians and traditional rulers with the sole aim of causing mayhem in the country.
Goni revealed that he knew about the secret meetings the sponsors of insurgents held before the attack on Nyanya motor park.
He, however, lamented that he could not stop the attack because he was not authorised to do so.
"My vision always tells me whenever the Boko Haram are about to launch attacks but I was always incapacitated to stop them because I was not given express permission by the authorities to do so; but through my intervention, the intensity of the attacks is minimal" he said.
The spiritualist acknowledged that Jonathan's administration is under security challenges, but expressed the hope that he would over come it.
Goni urged the Federal Government to take extreme security measures in protecting the lives of Nigerians.
READ MORE:  https://news.naij.com/65092.html

Nollywood Actor Chris Nkulor is Dead

Nollywood actor, Chris Nkulor who was diagnosed of kidney failure is dead.

This is coming barely one month after friends of the Nollywood actor launched a campaign to raise a sum of N6million to enable him travel abroad to undergo a kidney transplant surgery.
The Abia State born actor who drastically lost weight as a result of his sickness has featured in movies such as "Battle of Indemnity" (2007) and "Hidden Treasure" (2008).
His death as caused another tragic loss in the Nollywood industry following the death of two other actresses, Chrisphina Adinusor who died of cardiac arrest on March 28th 2014 and Ijeoma Perpetual Okorie who died during childbirth in February 2014.
May His Soul RIP.
READ MORE:  https://news.naij.com/65094.html

Liverpool Make AC Milan Forward Mario Balotelli Their Number One Transfer Priority

Anfield side pursue San Siro ace.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is reportedly keen on welcoming AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli to Anfield as part of an ambitious summer spending spree according to Football Direct News.
Read great Liverpool stories in Indonesian Bahasa! Liverpool berita.
The Italian international is apparently unsettled at the San Siro and AC Milan may seek to cash-in on the Italian international as they look to balance the books to cover the loss of revenue caused by their inability to secure a Champions League berth for next term.
Though Rodgers can call upon in-form pair Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez up front he is keen to bring in a player who can fight the duo for their starting spots and Balotelli is clearly a player talented enough to do just that.
The former Man City man has scored regularly, despite AC Milan’s poor form, netting 26 goals in 35 Serie A starts since signing for the Rossoneri in January 2013.
Rodgers may be keen to strengthen this summer, especially with a return to the Champions League fold having been secured, but one would imagine there are other areas in his squad that may be in more need of investment.
Prior to his move to AC Milan Balotelli scored 30 goals in 80 appearances, of which 31 were from the bench.

Liverpool Make AC Milan Forward Mario Balotelli Their Number One Transfer Priority

Anfield side pursue San Siro ace.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is reportedly keen on welcoming AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli to Anfield as part of an ambitious summer spending spree according to Football Direct News.
Read great Liverpool stories in Indonesian Bahasa! Liverpool berita.
The Italian international is apparently unsettled at the San Siro and AC Milan may seek to cash-in on the Italian international as they look to balance the books to cover the loss of revenue caused by their inability to secure a Champions League berth for next term.
Though Rodgers can call upon in-form pair Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez up front he is keen to bring in a player who can fight the duo for their starting spots and Balotelli is clearly a player talented enough to do just that.
The former Man City man has scored regularly, despite AC Milan’s poor form, netting 26 goals in 35 Serie A starts since signing for the Rossoneri in January 2013.
Rodgers may be keen to strengthen this summer, especially with a return to the Champions League fold having been secured, but one would imagine there are other areas in his squad that may be in more need of investment.
Prior to his move to AC Milan Balotelli scored 30 goals in 80 appearances, of which 31 were from the bench.

Americans Are Wrong to Think Their House Is a Good Long-Term Investment

According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly 30% of Americans believe real estate is the best long-term investment they can make -- choosing it over stocks, bonds, and gold. However, historical data show that housing prices, adjusted for inflation, are essentially flat and have been absolutely crushed by stocks. Stocks have produced annually returns of about 6% (adjusted for inflation).
In the following video, Motley Fool analysts Brendan Mathews and David Hanson tell viewers why housing is incorrectly seen as the greatest long-term investment option. Brendan notes that a home is usually a person's longest held investment, which gives them a better chance of long-term appreciation. Brendan argues that if Americans held stocks as long as they held houses, many more people would view stocks as the superior investments. 

Owning a home isn't the only tax "loophole" you can use
Recent tax increases have affected nearly every American homeowner and taxpayer. But with the right planning, you can take steps to take control of your taxes and potentially even lower your tax bill. In our brand-new special report "The IRS Is Daring You to Make This Investment Now!," you'll learn about the simple strategy to take advantage of a little-known IRS rule. Don't miss out on advice that could help you cut taxes for decades to come. Click here to learn more.

America's best and worst airlines

As an industry, airlines received the fourth-worst score in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) rankings of customer satisfaction. Only pay TV, social media companies and Internet service providers rank lower. Even wireless carriers and car dealers rank higher. That may not be an indictment of the industry, but it does indicate a lot of room for improvement.
Overall customer satisfaction with the airline industry in the 2014 ACSI survey totals just 69. The biggest contributors to the low ranking are uncomfortable seating and poor in-flight service. Checked baggage fees also play a significant role in the satisfaction indexes. For customers who don't check any baggage, the index reading is 71, compared with 66 for those who do check bags. ACSI notes that the percentage of passengers checking baggage has dropped from 35% in 2013 to 31% this year.
Among the six carriers ACSI ranked by name, JetBlue and Southwest continue to lead in customer satisfaction, although both saw their scores drop compared with a year ago. Higher fuel costs and higher costs for wages and general inflation contributed to the lower ratings this year.
Among the four legacy carriers, Delta Air Lines holds the lead, following a collapse to an ACSI score of 56 after Delta's 2010 merger with Northwest Airlines. Airline mergers typically take several years to sort out because, among other things, it is so difficult to switch from two reservation systems to one. Measured by market share and profit, Delta's comeback appears to be complete.
United Continental, created by the merger of United and Continental, still suffers from the effects of its merger of three years ago. The creation of American Airlines Group from last year's merger of American and U.S. Airways has a long road ahead of it before the combined airline runs smoothly. Neither scored well on the 2014 ACSI, and it is difficult to believe that a combined score will improve significantly.
MORE: Airline demand hits record level
Market share data come from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The data reported cover the period from February 2013 through January 2014. JetBlue's high customer satisfaction ranking is a testament to its low fares and fees; its low market share is evidence of the difficulty of expanding its gate counts as the larger airlines consolidate.
Overall satisfaction with on-time arrivals has dropped from an index reading of 81 to 79, but that is still a fairly high score, compared with 63 for seat comfort, the lowest scoring category. Ease of check-in and ease of making reservations rank at the top, with index scores of 82.
In addition to the six carriers identified by name, ACSI also grouped several carriers in an "All Others" group that included Alaska Air Group, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. The All Others group posted an index score of 70.
ACSI surveys 70,000 customers annually about products and services they use most often. The researchers then use the data to benchmark more than 230 companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors.
In addition to ACSI, we have considered data from AirfareWatchdog.com for additional fees charged by the six major airlines ranked in survey. The total fees are the amount a passenger would pay if he or she paid at least the minimum fee in each of 14 fee categories. We did not include data related to frequent flyer programs and fees. Low-cost carriers Southwest and JetBlue keep their fees low so that they don't lose their image as lower cost alternatives to the bigger airlines. They have to keep afloat the idea that no matter what they charge it will always be the lowest fare available.
Revenue and net income reflect data reported by the airlines for the fiscal year ended in December 2013. Revenue and net income for American Airlines and U.S. Airways is consolidated to reflect results for American and American Eagle for all of 2013 and results for U.S. Airways for the final 23 days of December.
These are America's best and worst airlines.
6. United Airlines
> 2014 ACSI score: 60
> Total additional fees: $935
> Market share: 15.6%
> Revenue: $38.28 billion
> Net income: $571 million
The merger between legacy carriers United and Continental closed in October 2010, and the combined company continues to have issues with the unions and the reservations system. The largest flight attendants' union, for example, has threatened legal action over an involuntary furlough proposal and a plan to move some flight attendants from United to Continental. In a recent study by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, United ranked third in customer complaints behind Spirit and Frontier. Among the six carriers, it ranks fourth highest for additional fees. United's market share has dipped from 16% in 2012 to 15.6%.
5. U.S. Airways
> 2014 ACSI score: 66
> Total additional fees: $985
> Market share: 8.5%
> Revenue: $26.74 billion
> Net income: $1.83 billion loss
The merger between U.S. Airways and American has not really had much chance to take hold yet. On its own, U.S. Airways' ACSI score rose two points in the latest survey. The revenue figure for last year is also a bit misleading. If you combine the two airlines revenues for 2013, the total is $35.5 billion, up 4.7% from 2012's combined total, and now the best in the airline industry. Of the legacy carriers, U.S. Airways claimed the smallest market share. U.S. Airways, like the other legacy airlines, sports added fees right around $1,000, nearly double the level of JetBlue and about triple the level of Southwest.
4. American Airlines
> 2014 ACSI score: 66
> Total additional fees: $1,093
> Market share: 12.7%
> Revenue: $26.74 billion (2013 pro forma)
> Net income: $1.83 billion loss
The bankruptcy of American Airlines' former parent, AMR Corp., led to the completion of the latest round of mergers among the legacy carriers. American, United and Delta, along with non-legacy Southwest, now combine for nearly 70% of the U.S. domestic market. The company's fees add up to the highest total among these carriers. American's market share slipped a bit from 15.9% in 2012, but the addition of U.S. Airways' 8.5% share more than makes up for the slight loss.
3. Delta Air Lines
> 2014 ACSI score: 71
> Total additional fees: $969
> Market share: 16.3%
> Revenue: $37.77 billion (2013)
> Net income: $10.54 billion
Delta's market share did not change from 2012, remaining at 16.3%, the highest among all the carriers. The company's added fees were the second lowest among the legacy group, and its 2013 revenues put it second behind United and ahead of American. Delta's massive net income is the result of an $8 billion income tax benefit, but even so the company posted $2.5 billion in profit last year, up by $1.5 billion from the previous year. It has the highest ACSI score among the legacy carriers, and its total fees are third highest among the six carriers.
MORE: Boeing, Airbus battle for Delta order
2. Southwest Airlines
> 2014 ACSI score: 78
> Total additional fees: $338
> Market share: 15.7%
> Revenue: $17.7 billion (2013)
> Net income: $754 million
Southwest's additional fees are the lowest in the entire industry, more than 40% lower than JetBlue's. The airline has no fees for checked bags (up to two) and the lowest per-bag fee for more than two bags. The company's CEO has hinted that fees may be coming, but so far nothing has changed. Southwest's market share grew from 15.1% in 2012 to 15.7%. The airline has also had its own issues trying to absorb AirTran, but its customers are sticking with it, very likely because of Southwest's low fares and fees.
MORE: America's fastest growing (and shrinking) economies
1. JetBlue
> 2014 ACSI score: 79
> Total additional fees: $595
> Market share: 5.1%
> Revenue: $5.44 billion (2013)
> Net income: $168 million
JetBlue is the smallest of the six carriers named in the ACSI survey, and its size is both a benefit and a curse. Its market share is essentially flat with a year ago, and the company started offering premium seating (at premium pricing) on some of its coast-to-coast flights last year. Just last week, brand research firm Brand Keys named JetBlue the top airline in its Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Low fares and the second lowest fee schedule have a lot of appeal to customers and may forgive a multitude of sins. Just ask the folks at JetBlue or Southwest.
24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

UPDATE 1-U.S. money manager pleads guilty in long-running fraud case

(Corrects first sentence to reflect when Walsh was charged, not when he was indicted, and paragraph nine to say that only Greenwood had pleaded guilty previously.)

By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - More than five years after being charged, a U.S. money manager and one-time part owner of the New York Islanders hockey team pleaded guilty Friday to engaging in a massive securities fraud.
Stephen Walsh, the former chief executive of WG Trading Co in Greenwich, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to one count of securities fraud.
As part of a plea agreement, Walsh, 69, agreed to forfeit more than $50.7 million, the amount prosecutors say he misappropriated and profited from the fraud.
Prosecutors said that from 1996 to 2009, Walsh and Paul Greenwood, who was WG Trading Co's chief operating and chief financial officer, solicited investments in what they marketed as a conservative trading program called "enhanced stock indexing."
The government said university foundations, retirement plans, pension funds and others invested more than $7.6 billion, becoming either limited partners in WG Trading or receiving promissory notes.
Prosecutors had accused the men of misappropriating $131 million in investor funds. Walsh used some of that money to make payments to his ex-wife, the indictment said.
To hide the misappropriation and the fact that WG Trading was not profitable, prosecutors said Walsh and Greenwood, 67, issued $554 million in promissory notes to investors.
"Stephen Walsh and his partner Paul Greenwood ran an investment operation that was a veritable money-making machine - for them," the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said in a statement.
Walsh, of Sands Point, New York, had been scheduled to go to trial in July, about four years after Greenwood pleaded guilty to charges including securities and commodities fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
At Friday's hearing, Walsh admitted to issuing promissory notes that "fraudulently stated I owed and would pay tens of millions of dollars." He said he operated the scheme primarily out of his office on Long Island.
Prosecutors in 2009 also secured a guilty plea from Deborah Duffy, 58, WG Trading's former chief compliance officer, who admitted to illegally transferring more than $100 million to Greenwood and Walsh.
Both Walsh and Greenwood are former part owners of the New York Islanders National Hockey League team.
WG Trading Co and a related entity, WG Trading Investors, have been under the control of a court-appointed receiver after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sought an asset freeze in 2009.
The receiver, Robb Evans, has to date distributed about $854.3 million to investors, Brick Kane, a deputy to the receiver, said Friday. Total allowed claims by investors are $958.8 million, according to court filings.
Lawyers for Walsh declined comment after the hearing. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 29.
The case is U.S. v. Greenwood, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-cr-722.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Jan Paschal and Meredith Mazzilli)

China to further ease currency controls for multi-nationals in pilot

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will expand a trial programme to make it simpler for multi-national firms to transfer funds within and outside the country, in a move that will further open its tightly controlled capital account.

The experiment, which began in 2012 in Beijing and Shanghai, came in response to growing demand from international companies operating in China for more freedom to use their growing amounts of yuan to boost the efficiency of their management of capital.

However, Chinese regulators have also been keen to keep any speculative pressures on the currency at bay.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), which manages the country's $3.3 trillion foreign exchange reserves, is expanding the trial programme to any Chinese or foreign company with operations inside or outside China with an annual forex income of over $100 million, the regulator said in a statement on its website late on Friday.
One of the goals of the trial programme is to "explore and reproduce a mechanism for the capital account convertability system", SAFE said.
The new rule, which would take effect from June, will allow multi-national companies to open overseas and domestic accounts simultaneously as well as conduct collection and settlement of accounts in foreign exchange.

It allows free transfer of overseas accounts within the company without quota caps, while domestic accounts will continue to have limits.

Firms say the freer flow of funds across China's borders would boost efficiency and cut costs.

China has pledged to allow market forces to play a greater role in the economy and its markets.

Beijing wants to expand the Chinese currency's footprint beyond Hong Kong, where more than 80 percent of yuan trade settlement transactions are handled, and foster greater confidence among offshore businesses to adopt the yuan as a currency for trade.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Robben: I expected more from Real Madrid

ayern Munich winger Arjen Robben claims he "expected more" from Real Madrid, despite the Spanish giants beating the Champions League holders 1-0 in Wednesday's semifinal first leg at Santiago Bernabeu.

Karim Benzema's goal in the opening 20 minutes was the only difference on the scoresheet and, although Pep Guardiola's men dominated possession, they struggled to create meaningful chances.

Robben, who spent two years at Madrid before joining Bayern in 2009, refused to accept his team was inferior and expressed his shock that Carlo Ancelotti's side was willing to allow the holders to dictate play.

"I have to compliment my team," the Dutchman told NOS. "We played a world class team, in the Santiago Bernabeu, but still we dominated and were the better side. I expected more from Real Madrid. I expected Madrid to come storming out of the gates but instead they waited and allowed us to run the game."

"We didn't create many chances, but it should have been enough to score at least one goal. At the end we wasted a big chance. This is a bad result, but nevertheless I feel good about the game," he added. "Confidence will be high ahead of the return. We know they are lethal. With their goal you could see what they are capable of. That is their quality and we have to be careful."

The result means that Bayern must win at the Allianz Arena next Tuesday if it wants to compete in the final for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Pope Francis in hot water over 'personal' phone calls

Pope Francis delivers the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing during Easter celebrations at St Peter's Square in the Vatican, on April 24, 2013 (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis's habit of picking up the phone and cold calling people who write to him is landing the Vatican in hot water and spokesman Federico Lombardi has had enough.

Lombardi said on Thursday the calls were part of the pope's "personal pastoral relationships" and "do not in any way form a part of the pope's public activities".
The spokesman said media reports about the phone calls have been "a source of misunderstanding and confusion".
"Consequences relating to the teaching of the Church are not to be inferred from these occurrences," he said.
The statement follows reports about a phone call that Francis apparently made to a woman in Argentina who had complained her parish priest would not grant her Holy Communion because she had divorced and remarried.
Francis was quoted by the woman's husband as saying that the issue was being "looked at" in the Vatican and that divorcees who take Holy Communion "are doing nothing bad".
Catholic rules currently ban divorcees from taking Holy Communion, the spiritual high point of the mass, although the doctrine is in practice widely flouted by parishes.

The pope has previously been reported making calls from the practical to the intense, including calling his newsagent in Buenos Aires to cancel a subscription and comforting a mother grieving over her murdered daughter.

The Vatican rarely makes official comment on reports of the calls, which often rely solely on the person in question saying that they have been called by the pope -- who has been dubbed "the cold call pope" by the tabloids.

Benzema gives Real Madrid 1-0 win over Bayern

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid hopes a narrow home win put it in position to reach the Champions League final for the first time since 2002.

Related Stories

• Ronaldo shakes off injury fears to play Bayern Associated Press
• Bayern, Madrid renew European rivalry in semifinal Associated Press
• Ronaldo returns to practice before Bayern match Associated Press
• Soccer-Ancelotti happy as Real thrive without much from Ronaldo, Bale Reuters
• Real Madrid's Ronaldo returns against Bayern Associated Press

In a matchup of teams acclaimed to be the best in Europe this season, Karim Benzema scored in the 19th minute to give the Los Blancos a 1-0 victory over defending champion Bayern Munich on Wednesday night in the first leg of their semifinal.
"We have a nice advantage and if we score, we can complicate things for them," Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo said.
The second leg is Tuesday in Munich. Chelsea hosts the other semifinal next Wednesday following a 0-0 tie at Atletico Madrid this week.
"If you want to do damage, you have to go for the victory — because 1-0 is not definitive," Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said. "But it's a good result to take to Munich."
Madrid, which beat Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 for the last of its record nine European titles, has been knocked out of the semifinals for three straight years. The visitors dominated before a crowd of 79,283, outshooting Real 16-9 and maintaining 64 percent possession.

View gallery

Real's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a first leg semif …

"They had chances to score more goals, definitely," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "We probably should have created a few more scoring chances. (But) they have a very good defense."

Benzema scored on a counterattack when Cristiano Ronaldo found Fabio Coentrao speeding down a flank. Coentrao crossed for Benzema, who tapped the ball past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from 4 yards.

Ronaldo returned from a left leg injury that had sidelined him from April 2 and missed a number of scoring opportunities. Ronaldo was replaced in the 73rd by Gareth Bale.

"It's been 20 days Cristiano hasn't been 100 percent, so it was a sacrifice for him," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "It couldn't have been easy for Cristiano tonight."

Guardiola, seeking to guide Bayern to its third straight final, had been unbeaten at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in seven visits when he coached Barcelona.

"Madrid thrives off the counterattack. Madrid is the best team in the world on the counter," Guardiola said. "They get back as fast as they go forward. They're athletes."

Mario Goetze, who entered in the 72nd, had one of Bayern's best chances in the 84th, but his volley was saved by goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Soccer-No clubs facing FFP European expulsion - Platini

.

View photo

UEFA President Michel Platini attends the draw for the 2013/2014 UEFA Europa League Cup soccer competition …

PARIS (Reuters) - No clubs can expect to be expelled from European competition next season for breaking financial fair play rules, UEFA president Michel Platini said in an interview on Thursday.

UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) policy, designed to stop clubs spending more than they generate, comes into effect next season with a maximum penalty of exclusion from the Champions League or Europa League slapped on those failing to comply.

However, Platini told Le Parisien newspaper that the maximum penalty would not be applied. "In effect, the first decisions will be announced at the start of May," Platini said in the interview published on the newspaper's website. "But if you are expecting blood and tears, you will be disappointed. There will be some tough things but no exclusions from European competition." The rules are designed to stop clubs over-spending and those with rich owners, such as Paris St Germain and Manchester City, from buying their way to success. "I cannot talk about one club in particular, that is not my role. I will say simply that Paris St Germain's financial model is distinctive and atypical," said Platini. "That image contract with the QTA, the tourism office of Qatar, is innovative, that's all I can say.

"But is it viable? Is the value of the contract correct? Those are the answers that the experts must decide." In January, UEFA announced that 76 European clubs, who were not named, had been asked to submit additional information on their finances. These are being reviewed by UEFA's independent Club Financial Control Board which is expected to announce its verdicts in the first week of May. The board can dismiss the case, conclude a settlement agreement with the club, issue a warning, reprimand or fine up to 100,000 euros ($138,300). If no settlement agreement is reached, the case is sent to the board's disciplinary panel, which can issue a number of sanctions, ranging from a warning to exclusion from European competition or withdrawal of a title. It can also order a points deduction, withhold a club's revenues from European competition or ban the club from registering new players in European competition. However, it cannot impose a transfer ban. The disciplinary panel's decisions are expected to be announced in June.

Three American doctors killed in Afghanistan attack

Three American doctors killed in Afghanistan attack

CBSTV Videos 1:49 mins

The U.S. Embassy confirmed that three American doctors were shot at Cure Hospital in Kabul. The Afghan security guard who opened fired is in custody. CBS News foreign correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports.

President Obama meets Japanese Robot

U.S. President Barack Obama addressed students Thursday at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo after touring the facility. The president was introduced to ASIMO, a Honda robot that greeted him in English.

President Obama to visit four Asian nations next week

The president is heading overseas to spend the next seven days in Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines. Major Garrett reports on how the president is reaching out to allies worried about Russia and China.

Romney defends marriage and faith in Liberty University speech

Mitt Romney doubled down on his position against same sex marriage, telling graduates at Liberty University Saturday that marriage between "one man and one woman" is an "enduring institution" that should be defended.

Coming just days after President Obama endorsed the right of gays and lesbians to marry, the comment earned Romney a standing ovation from the crowd of more than 30,000 people—the largest crowd Romney has ever addressed as a political candidate--but it was his only mention of the hot button social issue.

Instead, the presumptive Republican nominee used his commencement address at that evangelical university to emphasize the importance of faith and family—and take some slight digs at President Obama's handling of the country, though he didn't name his 2012 opponent.
"Lately, I've found myself thinking about life in four-year stretches. And let's just say that not everybody has achieved as much in these last four years as you have," Romney said. " But that's a theme for another day."

View gallery

.

Indeed, Romney touched only fleetingly on issues that could be potentially controversial. His visit to Liberty, a Christian university founded by the late televangelist Jerry Falwell, was an overt appeal to social conservatives who have been wary about his White House bid. But his appearance had generated protests by some Liberty students, where the curriculum has described Romney's Mormon faith as a "cult." Romney did not use his Saturday address to specifically defend his Mormon faith. But he did speak at length about the importance of faith in his own life—a riff that was clearly an attempt to discourage suspicion about his personal beliefs. He argued that people, no matter what they believe, could agree on faith and moral service to the country.
"People of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose, when there are so many differences in creed and theology." Romney said. "Surely the answer is that we can meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation stemming from a common worldview."
He argued that faith and belief in God was more important than "trivial things"—but acknowledged that he, like others, had occasionally lost sight of that. He urged the graduates to always turn back to faith.
"What we have, what we wish we had--ambitions fulfilled, ambitions disappointed; investments won, investments lost; elections won, elections lost--these things may occupy our attention, but they do not define us.  And each of them is subject to the vagaries and serendipities of life," Romney said. "Our relationship with our Maker, however, depends on none of this … The best advice I know is to give those worldly things your best but never your all, reserving the ultimate hope for the only one who can grant it."
While Romney aides insisted the former governor's remarks would not be a "policy" speech, he gave a shout out to his former rival Rick Santorum, saying that he agreed that America's greatness was defined by its "culture" and "values."  And he also argued for the protection of "religious freedom," saying it's become a "matter of debate."
"It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with," Romney said. "Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government. "

On a lighter note, Romney paid homage to Truett Cathy, the founder of the fast food chain Chick fil-A, who was given an honorary degree just moments before Romney took the podium.

"The Romney campaign comes to a sudden stop when we spot a Chick-fil-A," the Republican candidate said. "Your chicken sandwiches were our comfort food through the primary season, and there were days that we needed a lot of comforting. "

Children's corpses reveal desperate attempts to escape Korean ferry

MOKPO/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean divers swam though dark, cold waters into a sunken ferry on Wednesday, feeling for children's bodies with their hands in a maze of cabins, corridors and upturned decks as they searched for hundreds of missing.

The divers, with oxygen and communications lines trailing, can only see a few inches in front of them in the wreckage of the ship that started sinking a week ago after a sharp turn. Most of the victims were high school children, who were told to stay where they were for their own safety.
And most of the bodies found in the last two days had broken fingers, presumably from the children frantically trying to climb the walls or floors to escape in their last moments, media said.
"We are trained for hostile environments, but it's hard to be brave when we meet bodies in dark water," diver Hwang Dae-sik told Reuters, as the funerals of 25 students were held near the capital, Seoul.
Prosecutors investigating the disaster raided the home of Yoo Byung-un, the head of a family that owns the Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd, the company that operated the Sewol ferry. They also raided his son's home and the office of a church with which Yoo has been associated, said a prosecutor who did not want to be identified.
The finances of Chonghaejin and its complex share structure have come into the spotlight in recent days. Yoo was jailed for fraud for four years in the early 1990s.

South Korea ferry death toll passes 100 Play Video

But it was not immediately clear how big a development this was. Korean police and prosecutors often make dramatic raids to show that progress is being made in a high-profile case.
Underwater, at the site of the sunken Sewol, divers are able to work for nearly an hour at a time as long as the oxygen lines do not snag on sharp corners of the ship's internal structure. When they use cumbersome oxygen tanks on their backs instead, they can work for about 20 minutes before an alarm bell sounds.
The Sewol sank last Wednesday on a routine trip from the port of Incheon, near Seoul, to the southern island of Jeju.
Of the 476 passengers and crew on board, 339 were children and teachers on a high school outing. Only 174 people have been rescued and the remainder are presumed to have drowned.
The confirmed death toll on Wednesday was 150, many found at the back of the ship on the fourth deck.
In a rare move, the disaster prompted reclusive North Korea, which routinely threatens the South with destruction, to send a message of sympathy. The two sides are still technically at war after the 1950-53 civil conflict ended in a mere truce.

View gallery

A family member of missing passengers, who were on South Korean ferry Sewol which sank in the sea of …

"We express condolences for the missing and dead, including young students, from the sinking of the Sewol," a South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman quoted the message as saying.
Hwang, the diver, said his team had retrieved 14 bodies so far. "We have to touch everything with our hands. This is the most grueling and heartbreaking job of my career," he said.
Captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, and other crew members have been arrested on negligence charges. Lee was also charged with undertaking an "excessive change of course without slowing down".
LAW REQUIRES CAPTAIN TO STAY ON BOARD
Several crew members, including the captain, left the ferry as it was sinking, witnesses have said, after passengers were told to stay in their cabins, even though it was time for breakfast. President Park Geun-hye said on Monday that instruction was tantamount to an "act of murder".
"The charged crew members appear to have not carried out their duty to rescue the passengers at all," prosecutor Ahn Sang-don told a briefing. "Based on the fact that they were gathered in the bridge, engine room and so on, then left the boat, we believe negligent homicide is applicable."
According to Article 10 of Seafarers' Act, a captain has to remain on board until all passengers have disembarked.
A boy with a shaking voice gave the first distress call to the emergency services when the ferry listed.
Most of those who survived made it out on deck and jumped into rescue boats, but many of the children did not leave their cabins, not questioning their elders, as is customary in hierarchical Korean society. They paid for their obedience with their lives.
Lee was not on the bridge when the ship turned. Navigation was in the hands of a 26-year-old third mate, who was in charge for the first time on that part of the journey, according to crew members.
The wife of one crew member under investigation who did not wish to be identified quoted her husband as saying: "I should have died out there."

"He told me that he was taking some rest as he had finished his shift. He fell from his bed and struggled to open the room door to get out. He said he didn't go to the steering house to meet up with rest of the crew. Rather he was found by coastguards and was rescued.

"My husband didn't get along with other crewmen, but he told me that Captain Lee was someone comfortable and extremely calm. He said Captain Lee was like no other: he didn't drink much, although he did smoke."

(Additional reporting by Meeyoung Cho, Joyce Lee, and Narae Kim; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Thieves steal rhino horns in South Africa

OHANNESBURG (AP) — In a nighttime theft, robbers broke into a South African provincial parks office with a 24-hour security service and used a machine tool called a grinder to break into a safe holding a stockpile of rhino horn worth a fortune on the illegal market in parts of Asia.

Related Stories

• Rhino horns worth $5.2 million stolen in South Africa Reuters
• South Africa plans Fort Knox of rhino horn after heist AFP
• Rhino horns worth millions stolen from safe in S. Africa AFP
• S.Africa, Mozambique reach deal to fight rhino poaching AFP

The weekend heist in the northeastern city of Nelspruit was a blow to efforts to curb the clandestine trade in rhino horn, which has surged in recent years despite an increase in funding for anti-poaching efforts in South Africa, home to the majority of the world's rhinos. On Tuesday, forensic investigators from the police analyzed the crime scene at the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, and officials were exploring the theory that it was an inside job.
"It's too early to be ruling out that possibility," said Capt. Paul Ramaloko of a South African investigative police unit called the Hawks. "We are approaching the investigation with an open mind."
The robbery occurred Saturday night, Ramaloko said. The parks agency later said in a statement that 112 "pieces of rhino horns" weighing a total of about 80 kilograms were taken, and that security staff discovered the break-in early Monday morning.
According to some estimates, a kilogram of rhino horn has a street value in a consumer country of tens of thousands of dollars, meaning that the haul in Mpumalanga could be worth several million dollars to illicit traders.
The thieves targeted a safe where the parks agency of Mpumalanga province keeps some rhino horn stock temporarily for registration before transporting it to "another undisclosed location" for longer-term storage, said Kholofelo Nkambule, an agency spokeswoman.
Officials had photographed, taken DNA samples and installed microchips in some of the stolen rhino horn pieces, while others were being processed, according to the parks agency. It said the perimeter of the office is "well secured with controlled access and 24-hour security personnel" who regularly patrol the premises.
Government agencies and some private game reserves keep stockpiles of rhino horns, including some confiscated from poachers and others shaved off rhinos in an attempt to deter attacks. But the heist in Nelspruit raised concern about the security of those stashes in South Africa, which is considering whether to propose a regulated trade in rhino horn in order to curb poaching. Legalization would require the approval of CITES, the international body that monitors endangered species and will meet in South Africa in 2016.
Last year, 66 rhino horns worth several million dollars on the illegal market were stolen from a private wildlife reserve in South Africa's Limpopo province, according to local media. In that case thieves reportedly used a blowtorch to break into a safe where the horns were kept.
Rhino horn is viewed as a status symbol and a healing agent for serious illness by some Vietnamese and Chinese. There is no evidence that the horn, made from the same material as fingernails, is an effective medicine.
South Africa lost a record 1,004 of the animals to poachers in 2013, and the government said last week that 294 rhinos have been poached so far this year. At the current rate, the toll for 2014 could exceed that of last year, and conservationists warn that a "tipping point" could come in 2016 when rhino deaths exceed births and the population goes into decline.
Well over half of South Africa's poached rhinos are killed in Kruger National Park, a vast wildlife reserve near Nelspruit where a ranger force backed by some South African military units daily struggles to curb armed intruders, many of whom cross from neighboring Mozambique and hunt rhinos before scooting back across the border.
Much of the international funding for anti-poaching is going to Kruger park, which is overseen by South Africa's national parks service. Smaller conservation operations such as the one run by Mpumalanga province are struggling for resources, said Brian Morris, a senior manager at the province's tourism and parks agency.

Morris said the province recently bought a small airplane to monitor its parks, and has earmarked funds to pay a pilot in this year's budget. Mpumalanga urgently needs a helicopter which is a more effective means of deploying rangers, Morris said. He is concerned that poachers could focus more on the province's parks if they come under more pressure from rangers in nearby Kruger park, part of which lies in Mpumalanga province.

"These guys are going to look for other places," he said. "We're like sitting ducks."

Prosecutors: Prep school graduates ran drug ring

.

View gallery

This undated photo provided by the Montgomery County District Attorney shows 18-year-old Timothy Brooks. …

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — Two prep school graduates sought to use their sports connections and business acumen to establish a monopoly on drug sales to high school students in the affluent Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia, authorities said Monday.

Neil Scott, 25, and Timothy Brooks, 18, recruited and supplied dealers with marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy and hash oil to sell to teens at five high schools in the tony bedroom communities, authorities said.
A four-month investigation revealed the pair also hired students at Haverford, Gettysburg and Lafayette colleges to peddle drugs at those Pennsylvania schools, authorities said.
Scott and Brooks are graduates of The Haverford School, a $35,000-a-year private institution where both played lacrosse. They tapped their sports and social networks to help further their enterprise, officials said.
"They were using very traditional business principles," Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said. "To take those skills and turn it into this kind of illegal enterprise is very distressing."
Scott, Brooks and several others arrested in the alleged ring were arraigned Monday on drug charges and related counts.

View gallery

This undated photo provided by the Montgomery County District Attorney shows Neil Scott. Montgomery  …

Scott's lawyer declined to comment, saying he hadn't yet reviewed the case.
Brooks' attorney, Greg Pagano, described his client as vulnerable and a bit depressed after leaving the University of Richmond last year due to an unnamed injury. Brooks lives at his family's home in Villanova.
"He, regrettably, lost his way," Pagano said. "His parents are devastated."
Scott, of Haverford, began selling pot after he moved back to the area last fall from San Diego, where he worked at a medical marijuana dispensary, officials said.
Scott told police that he needed money and figured he could make it by selling better marijuana than what was currently available in the area. He said that an unspecified California connection could supply him with high-quality pot, which he told police "would sell very well on the Main Line because everyone between 15 and 55 loves good weed," an investigator wrote in the affidavit.

View gallery

Stacks of cash and semi-automatic weapons are displayed on a table with suspected drugs and dealing  …

Scott began having the drug mailed to Pennsylvania in late 2013 and called his operation the "Main Line Take Over Project," authorities said. Officials began an investigation in January based on a tip and eventually executed search warrants at nine locations.

Among the contraband they reported seizing was eight pounds of pot, more than $11,000, a loaded assault weapon, two other guns and equipment to manufacture hash oil. Scott has been in custody since February, held on $1 million bail.

Authorities didn't calculate the total value of the operation, but Scott told police he was making about $1,000 per week on marijuana alone, the affidavit said.

Ferman said the investigation continues. So far, eight suspects have been arrested, and authorities say at least three more are involved.

One suspect, a current student at The Haverford School, has been suspended indefinitely, said headmaster John Nagl. He said the alleged involvement of the student and two alums is "hugely disappointing."

"Those choices reflect badly on the values the school stands for," Nagl said. "They let down themselves and their families, who've made huge sacrifices to send them to this school."

Woman accused in babies' deaths appears in court

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors have been granted more time to determine what charges to file against a Utah woman accused of killing six of her babies and storing their bodies in her garage.

Related Stories

• Woman accused in babies' deaths in Utah court Associated Press
• Autopsies completed on 7 babies found in Utah garage Associated Press
• Police: Utah woman gave birth at home Associated Press
• $6M bail set for Utah woman in dead babies case Associated Press
• Bail set at $6 million for Utah woman suspected of infant killings Reuters

Megan Huntsman, 39, was in court Monday wearing a baggy prison jumpsuit, her hands and ankles shackled. She mostly stared at the ground as prosecutors asked the judge for two weeks to sort through evidence and ensure they choose the proper charges.
A state judge in Provo granted them a week after Huntsman's newly appointed attorney objected to two weeks.
Huntsman is being held on $6 million bail.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman said outside court that Huntsman remains the only suspect.
Pleasant Grove Police Detective Dan Beckstrom noted authorities are awaiting results from autopsies completed last week by the state medical examiner.

View gallery

Megan Huntsman, accused of killing six of her babies and storing their bodies in her garage, appears …

Investigators hope DNA will reveal the sex of the babies and who their parents are, though that could take months.
"There's a lot more work to do on those autopsies, and when we get that information, we'll be ready to file," Beckstrom said.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman said authorities still will have questions, but the extra week will give his office more time to make a careful, calculated decision on charges.
"We want to make sure we don't file erroneously," Buhman said. "The closer we can get to the truth of what happened, the better decisions we can make."
Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, discovered one of the infant corpses in the garage of their Pleasant Grove home on April 12. Police then responded and found a total of seven tiny bodies in cardboard boxes.
Police said Huntsman acknowledged that from 1996 to 2006, she strangled or suffocated six of the babies, put them in plastic bags and packed them inside boxes in the garage of her home south of Salt Lake City. She told police a seventh baby was stillborn.
Investigators believe West is the father of the babies, though they are waiting on DNA results to confirm that, Buhman said. West lived with Huntsman during the decade she says this happened, but he was in federal prison on drug charges from 2006 until January.

Prosecutors said they hope to soon meet again with West, who Buhman said has been cooperative and is not considered a suspect. After an initial interview, West obtained an attorney and has not met with investigators again.

Authorities have said they think they know Huntsman's motive, but they have declined to reveal it publicly.

Poll: Indians view rape as big problem, laws lax

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll shows that Indians view rape as a big problem in their country and think the criminal justice system is inadequate to deal with it.

The national survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center one year after the December 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi unleashed a wave of public anger about sexual violence in India. The results were published Tuesday.

The survey shows nine in 10 Indians agree that the crime of rape is a "very big problem." About eight in 10 say the problem is growing.

And despite some legal reforms after the Delhi case, about three in four Indians say laws are too lax and faulted police for not being strict enough in investigating rape cases.

The survey was based on 2,464 face-to-face interviews with adults across India between December 2013 and January 2014. It found the concern about rape cuts across gender and party lines, and is shared by urban and rural Indians.

According to the poll, 91 percent of men and 89 percent of women said rape was a very big issue.

The nationwide outcry following the Delhi gang rape led the federal government to rush legislation increasing prison terms for rapists and criminalizing voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and the trafficking of women.

In September, a special fast track court sentenced four of the perpetrators of the Delhi case to death. And earlier this month, a court sentenced to death three men who raped a photojournalist inside an abandoned textile mill last year in Mumbai, India's biggest city, under a new anti-rape law. The victim of that attack survived.

The Pew poll found that only 7 percent of Indians rated the current laws as "about right" in dealing with cases of rape, and only 6 percent said the police investigated rape cases adequately. And 18 percent said the laws were too tough.

The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Lebanon sends aid to citizens trapped in Syria war

Ras al-Harf (Lebanon) (AFP) - Lebanese authorities on Tuesday sent a rare aid convoy to the town of Tufeil, an island of Lebanese territory inside Syria where thousands have become trapped in the country's war.

Tufeil is located on the northeastern tip of Lebanon, which stretches into Syria.

Though the town is Lebanese, it is impossible to reach it without passing through Syrian territory.
The town was once home to some 5,000 people, most of them Sunni Muslims, but many have fled to safety inside Lebanon as the conflict in Syria has escalated.
Ever since Lebanon gained independence from France in 1943, residents of Tufeil have voted in Lebanon, but have gone to school, worked, received medical treatment and bought their goods from Syria.
But as the Syrian army, backed by Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement, scored a string of victories this year in the surrounding Qalamun area, Tufeil's Sunni residents found themselves trapped.

View gallery

Led by vehicles of the Red Cross, an aid convoy heads toward the village of Tufeil, close to Lebanon …

For weeks the town's population has been unable to leave or receive any kind of assistance, with Syrian armed forces blocking the routes into Syria.
Inside Lebanon, the villages neighbouring Tufeil are largely Shiite, where support for Hezbollah and the Syrian regime is strong, and residents accuse Tufeil of supporting Syria's Sunni-led opposition.
With concern rising about the plight of the town, Lebanon's Interior Minister Nuhad Mashnuq said Monday that authorities would provide assistance to Tufeil's residents, as well as to Syrians who have taken refuge there.
Mashnuq also said he had been in touch with Hezbollah in a bid to secure safe passage for the aid convoy through the Shiite village of Britel, which neighbours Tufeil in Lebanon.
An AFP journalist, who travelled with the convoy until Ras al-Harf, six kilometres (four miles) from Tufeil, said the terrain was rugged and that Hezbollah positions and flags were clearly visible.
The aid convoy comprised Red Cross vehicles, trucks transporting 1,000 food parcels, tents, 3,000 blankets, a mobile clinic, and fuel tanks, said Lebanon's High Relief Commission chief Mohammad Kheir.
According to Kheir, "1,000 Lebanese and 3,000 Syrians" are now trapped in Tufeil.

Ali al-Shum, an official from Tufeil, told AFP: "Before the (Syrian) crisis, we didn't used to distinguish between Lebanese and Syrians. We lived together."

He denied any Syrian opposition fighters had entered Tufeil.

Once the convoy arrived, television footage from the town showed hundreds gathered to receive aid, cheering and throwing flowers at the delegation.

"We need help, but we do not want to leave our land," said one beneficiary.

Another asked for the Lebanese army to deploy in Tufeil "to protect us".

Most Sherpas decide to leave Everest for season

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Most Sherpa mountain climbers have decided to leave Mount Everest, a guide said Tuesday, confirming a walkout certain to disrupt a climbing season that was already marked by grief over the 16 lives lost in Everest's deadliest disaster.

Related Stories

• Nepal OKs some Sherpa demands amid boycott threat Associated Press
• Nepal tries to avert Sherpa strike on Everest Associated Press
• Fearing the Icefall: On Everest, dangers are clear Associated Press
• [$$] Mount Everest Avalanche Takes Deadly Toll The Wall Street Journal
• 13th body pulled from snow in Everest avalanche Associated Press

"It is just impossible for many of us to continue climbing while there are three of our friends buried in the snow," said Dorje Sherpa, an experienced Everest guide from the tiny Himalayan community that has become famous for its high-altitude skills and endurance.
"I can't imagine stepping over them," he said of the three Sherpa guides who remain buried in ice and snow after Friday's deadly avalanche. Thirteen bodies have been recovered.
The avalanche was triggered when a massive piece of glacier sheared away from the mountain along a section of constantly shifting ice and crevasses known as the Khumbu Icefall — a teacherous area where overhanging immensities of ice as large as 10-story buildings hang over the main route up the mountain.
Special teams of Sherpas, known as Icefall Doctors, fix ropes through what they hope to be the safest paths, and use aluminum ladders to bridge crevasses. But the Khumbu shifts so much that they need to go out every morning — as they were doing when disaster struck Friday — to repair sections that have broken overnight and move the climbing route if needed.
Earlier Tuesday, Nepal's government appeared to agree to some of the Sherpas' demands in the threatened boycott, such as setting up a relief fund for Sherpas who are killed or injured in climbing accidents, but the funding falls far short of the Sherpas' demands.

View gallery

FILE - In this May 18, 2003 file photo, mountaineers pass through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on  …

After the avalanche, the government quickly said it would pay the families of each Sherpa who died 40,000 rupees, or about $415. The Sherpas said they deserved far more — including more insurance money, more financial aid for the victims' families and new regulations that would ensure climbers' rights.
On Tuesday, the government's offer was modified to include a relief fund to help Sherpas injured in mountaineering accidents and the families of those killed, and to pay for rescue during accidents on the mountain. The government said it would stock the fund annually with 5 percent of its earnings from Everest climbing fees — well below the 30 percent the Sherpas are demanding. Nepal earns some $3.5 million annually in Everest climbing fees.
The insurance payout for those killed on the mountain will also be doubled to $15,620 (2 million rupees), the Ministry of Tourism said — far short of the Sherpas' demand for $20,800.
The walkout decision was made after a memorial service at base camp for the victims, Dorje Sherpa said, adding that most guides were planning to pack up and leave as early as Wednesday.
"We want to honor the members we lost and out of respect for them we just can't continue," he said.

View gallery

Relatives of mountaineers, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cry during the funeral ceremony  …

Most attempts to reach the summit are made in mid-May, when weather is most favorable. If the Sherpas boycott the season, many climbers will have to forfeit most or all of the money they have spent to go up Everest — at a cost of $75,000 or more.
The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association will try to negotiate with the Sherpas and the government because a total boycott would harm Nepal's mountaineering in the long term, the group's general secretary, Sherpa Pasang, said.
While most climbers have to make multiple passes through the Icefall, moving up and down the mountain as they acclimatize and prepare for their summit attempt, Sherpas make the dangerous journey two dozen times or more, carrying supplies and helping clients negotiate the hazardous maze of ice.
"We look up at these chunks of ice blocks, pray and then try to get out of the area as fast as we can," said 34-year-old Nima Sherpa, who did not make the ascent this season.
Thousands of Nepali guides and porters make their livelihoods during the climbing season, when climbers rely on them for everything from carrying gear and cooking food to high-altitude guiding; without them, reaching the summit would be almost impossible.

View gallery

Daughter of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cries dur …

Nearly 30 climbers have died on the Icefall since 1963, most killed in avalanches or when they were crushed by huge chunks of ice. Occasionally, things are so dangerous the guides turn away completely. In 2012, one of the best-known Everest guiding operations, Himalayan Experience, run by New Zealand mountaineer Russell Brice, canceled its climb midway through the season, saying the Icefall was simply too dangerous.
At the base camp memorial service Tuesday, Buddhist priests read religious scripts, and Sherpas and foreign climbers burned incense butter lamps and prayed for the dead. The victims' bodies were cremated on Monday.
Since the avalanche, expedition teams have declared a week of mourning. About 400 foreign climbers from 39 expedition teams were on the mountain with an equal number of Sherpa guides, along with many more support staff such as cooks, cleaners and porters in the base camp.
At least one expedition company has canceled this season's attempt for its six-member team.

"Our team members have empathy for the Sherpa community and we wish for everyone to be able to mourn their lost family and friends in peace," the Adventure Consultants Everest Expedition 2014 Team said on its website.

More than 4,000 climbers have reached the top of the world's highest mountain since 1953, when it was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Hundreds of people have died trying.