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Atletico Madrid have done the impossible by dethroning two of the most obvious names from the mantle of championship in the Spanish League, La Liga. A thrilling 1-1 draw with Barcelona at Camp Nou, last night, helped them end one of the greatest winning streaks in Spanish League history, FC Barcelona having won 4 in the five-year period between 2009 - 2013. Atletico's epochal feat, bereft of great names dotting their two great rivals Barca and Real Madrid, is a testimony itself to some supreme teamwork and incredible strategic skills of their mercurial Argentine coach Diego Simeone. As for Barcelona, they will have to eat humble pie and their talisman, Leonel Messi, the highest goal-scorer in Spanish League history, will have the great baggage to carry to Brasil this June, that of bringing the World Cup to his home country, Argentina. Having being dubbed the greatest club player of all-time is one thing and delivering at the national level is another. Argentina's mediocre...

Looks like Narendra Modi is all ready to take charge at New Delhi. And it's time for the Congress and its poster duo, Rahul and Sonia, to concede defeat. As for BJP, it will have to come to terms with the personality cult, that is Modi, on whose bandwagon they rode to power. Expectations are high, both within the country and outside. Stock markets have risen to stratospheric levels brushing aside concerns regarding the fragile state of the economy. Investments are expected to gush in, in anticipation of a slew of liberal policies from the NDA Government. But poor monsoons, high inflation and a general slowing down of demand in the economy may be causes for worry. A possible threat Modi may face is from within the NDA from those who perceive him as authoritarian and put his own personal agenda for the nation over the party's. There will always be divisive forces, maybe secretly abetted by the ousted Congress, out to fracture the polity of the nation even further. Then there wi...

The Skeleton Coast of Namibia lies between the Kunene River in the north and stretches southward 500 kilometers to the Ugab River in the south, has a total area of about 16,400 square kilometers.The Kunene river forms the border of Namibia and Angola. The Skeleton coast skirts the Southern Atlantic Ocean for its entire length and is probably the only two and longest desert beaches of the world, along with its southern neighbour, the Namib. The attraction, mystique and power of this harsh windswept coast lies in its large white dunes, heavy fogs and  coastal breeze caused by the cold Benguela current and the bones scattered on the beaches from where the park's name is derived. Much of these bones are a result of thousands of shipwrecks to hit these desolate shores. No wonder, the early Bushmen called it "The Place God made in anger". The Kunene river is one of the very few perennial rivers of the regions. It rises in the highlands of Angola and  flows downward ...

Referendums  for  "autonomy"   were held   in most   Russian dominated regions of  eastern  Ukraine,   with the   pro- Russian separatists   claiming   nearly 90 % voted   in favor of an independent Donetsk state.   Polling stations   in   Donetsk   and   Lugansk   witnessed   scenes of chaos and absence  of   polling booths   in places where   there were voters lists.   At least one Russian-speaking person   was killed by   gunmen  loyal to the  Ukrainian government.  Ukraine   called the vote  a  "judicial   farce"   organized   by Russia.   United States and EU countries have   also condemned the   vote and imposed economic sanctions on Russia.   Separatist leaders   ignored   a call from  the  Russian President  to  delay the referendum .  ...

Ashley Cole called it quits from international football after being omitted from England's squad for World Cup 2014. The 33-year old Cole donned English colours in 107 matches and played in three World Cups. Roy Hodgson, England's manager, said the omission of Cole was one of the hardest decisions of his career. Southampton left-back Luke Shaw, 18, was preferred over the English veteran. Cole's international debut was against Albania in March 2001. He became only the seventh England player to achieve a hundred caps when he appeared in a friendly win over Brazil in February 2013. It has also been rumoured that he would leave his present club, Chelsea, this summer, but club coach Mourinho hinted that he may stay on. Good luck to you, Ashley, and wishing you a happy re-union with Cheryl.

Portuguese football icon and Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has tipped Brazil and Spain as the two big  favorites for World Cup glory this summer. "Portugal must take it one game at a time, nothing is impossible in football. The strongest teams are Spain, Brazil, France, Italy, Argentina... Any team could go on and win it but the two big favorites are Spain and Brazil." he states. Ronaldo, who has won this year's Ballon D'Or, pipping Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery to the coveted honour and  has helped Portugal to the final of Euro 2004 and semi- finals of 2006 World Cup, says he's not putting any pressure on himself to carry his country this time. "I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I’ve spent many years playing at the highest level." he claims. Wonder which level is playing for one's own country at the World Cup. Mind you, Portugal is 3rd in the FIFA's world rankings ahead of Brazil and Ar...

Boko Haram has launched a shocking attack on a village in Nigeria in a region that troops had used as a base to find hundreds of schoolgirls abducted by the militant group.. The assault lasting an hour in Gamboru Ngala that killed at least 150 people, some of whom were burned alive. It is the latest in a series of attacks and kidnappings of military brass by Boko Haram , raising concerns about whether the Nigerian government can regain control of the terrorist-ridden North-East. Word of the attack follows the news that President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been criticized for his handling of the mass abduction of 276 school girls by Boko Haram terrorists on April 14 from  Chibok , the North-Easternmost state of Nigeria. The assault on the village came after troops deployed in the area were called to the border area near Chad, where reports (which later turned out to be false) have surfaced, that students have met with Boko Haram militants , according to witnesses and local o...