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Athens strike
02/08 | 00:13 GMT
©AFP / Aris Messinis
Protesters clash with riot police in front of the parliament during a 24-hours general strike in Athens.
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Big freeze hits French Cup football fixtures
02/08 | 02:59 GMT
©AFP/File / Philippe Huguen
Lille's Nolan Roux (C) and teammates during a French L1 football match on January 28. Lille are third in the league but have won just one of their past four matches in the top flight.
©AFP/File / Philippe Huguen
Defending champions Lille travel to Ligue 1 rivals Valencinnes on Wednesday.
PARIS (AFP) - Arctic conditions throughout France have forced the country's football authorities to postpone three last-16 encounters in the French Cup.
Last year's runners-up Paris Saint-Germain had their tie against Dijon - originally scheduled for Tuesday evening in Burgundy - pushed back to next Wednesday, while Marseille's trip to fourth division Bourg-Peronnas was rescheduled too.
The tie between Quevilly and Orleans - a battle between third and fourth-tier sides respectively - also fell victim to the sub-zero temperatures.
Of the games still going ahead, defending champions Lille travel to Ligue 1 rivals Valencinnes on Wednesday.
Rudi Garcia's side are third in the league but have won just one of their past four matches in the top flight.
Lille's match against Sochaux on Sunday was postponed because of snow, and Garcia believes his players will be the "fresher" of the two sides.
©AFP/File / Sebastien Bozon
France football authorities have had to postpone three last-16 encounters in the French Cup due to weather conditions
"We know that we will without doubt be fresher than Valenciennes, who confronted Dijon this weekend.
"We hope that it won't be too complicated because the absence of matches is going to start becoming a problem in terms of rhythm. For the moment, my players are well and they worked in good spirits at Stade Bonal."
Right-back Mathieu Debuchy insists the club's triumph last year has made them eager to repeat their success this season.
"Wednesday's match won't have the same flavour as the Championship. It's a very important Cup match for us because we have the desire to return to the Stade de France.
"The only way to achieve it is to qualify. We want to win at any cost to continue to dream. Last season, what happened was magical. It gives us the means to re-live it," said Debuchy.
Elsewhere, Lyon host Bordeaux, who are unbeaten in 2012.
Ligue 2 side Chateauroux are out to emulate Guingamp's improbable 2009 triumph, but they face a tricky encounter against Ligue 1 high-flyers Montpellier.
Third division Gazelec Ajaccio take on fourth-tier Drancy in Corsica.
Wednesday
Ajaccio GFCO v Drancy
Chateauroux v Montpellier
Lyon v Bordeaux
Valenciennes v Lille
Wednesday, February 15
Dijon v Paris-Saint Germain
Bourg-Peronnas v Marseille
Tuesday, February 21
Quevilly v Orleans
Football
Big freeze hits French Cup football ...Baseball legend fields fantasy world video game
02/08 | 03:15 GMT
©AFP/Getty Images/File / Elsa
Electronic Arts has released a much-anticipated "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" video game created by an all-star team put together by World Series champion pitcher Curt Schilling, pictured here in 2008.
©AFP/Getty Images/File / Elsa
World Series champion pitcher Curt Schilling has created a video game called "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Electronic Arts has released a much-anticipated "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" video game created by an all-star team put together by World Series champion pitcher Curt Schilling.
The title is the first video game from 38 Studios, which Schilling started in 2010 after finishing a baseball career that included World Series championships with the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Boston Red Sox.
"I could not be more proud of all of the heart, passion and talent the team has poured into creating the first title in the world of Amalur," Schilling said in a release.
"This is the beginning of a long and fantastic journey," he continued.
"We are deeply committed to the (role-playing game) community and plan to continue to serve up a lot more story-based and action-packed content in the near and long term."
The roster of talent for the Amalur team featured bestselling author R.A. Salvatore; comic book star Todd McFarlane and veteran game designer Ken Rolston.
Game makers created a dazzling fantasy realm where players shape heroic destinies with magic, swordplay and more in a title praised by reviewers for combining rich storyline action with "visceral action combat."
Players customize in-game personae in a world "filled with extraordinary landscapes, mysterious cities, colorful characters and fantastic creatures."
Versions of "Reckoning" tailored for play on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 videogame consoles or on personal computers powered by Windows software were priced at $60 a copy. The game will be released in Europe on February 10.
More information was available online at reckoning.com.
Entertainment
Baseball legend fields fantasy world video ...Afridi in, Razzaq out of Pakistan one-day, T20s
02/07 | 17:23 GMT
©AFP/File / Emmanuel Dunand
Then Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi pictured during the third ODI against West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, April 2011. Pakistan on Tuesday included all rounders Afridi and Hammad Azam in its one-day and Twenty20 squads for the rest of this month's series against England in the United Arab Emirates.
©AFP/File / Emmanuel Dunand
Afridi is in Pakistan's one-day and Twenty20 squads for the rest of this month's series against England
KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistan on Tuesday included all rounders Shahid Afridi and Hammad Azam in its one-day and Twenty20 squads for the rest of this month's series against England in the United Arab Emirates.
Opener Taufiq Umar will return home after the three-Test series which Pakistan won 3-0.
The first of four one-day matches will be played in Abu Dhabi on February 13. The one-days will be followed by three Twenty20 internationals.
Misbah-ul Haq will lead Pakistan in both the formats.
All rounder Abdul Razzaq, part of the team in the one-day series against Sri Lanka in the UAE last year, has been dropped for poor performance.
He missed the Bangladesh series in December due to a shoulder injury but failed to get a nod post-recovery. He has so far played 265 one-days and 46 Tests for Pakistan.
Fellow all rounder Azam gets another chance and hard-hitting batsman Awais Zia will make his international debut in the T20 team after doing well in the newest form of the game in domestic competitions.
Azam, 20, has played five one-day games but last appeared against Ireland in June 2011.
Paceman Wahab Riaz, part of the Test squad but who did not play in any of the matches, retains his place in both the one-day and T20 squads, while Test specialist Azhar Ali will be part of the one-day squad only.
Discarded former captain Shoaib Malik was also included in both squads.
"On the request of Misbah, the selection committee has agreed to send Malik to join the one-day and T20 squads," Pakistan Cricket Board said.
Malik's inclusion comes as a surprise after he flopped in his last five one-day innings, scoring a mere 33 runs. He managed just 22 in three Twenty20 innings.
One-day squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Wahab Riaz, Azhar Ali, Hammad Azam, Shoaib Malik.
Twenty20 squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Awais Zia, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Shoaib Malik.
Cricket
Afridi in, Razzaq out of Pakistan one-day, ...Ai Weiwei to build London 2012 pavilion
02/08 | 05:34 GMT
©AFP/File / Peter Parks
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, pictured here in 2010, is reuniting with the Swiss architects with whom he created Beijing's spectacular Bird's Nest Stadium, to build a pavilion for this year's London Olympics.
©AFP/File / Peter Parks
Ai Weiwei, along with the Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron, will join forces again to design a pavilion
LONDON (AFP) - Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is reuniting with the Swiss architects with whom he created Beijing's spectacular Bird's Nest Stadium, to build a pavilion for this year's London Olympics.
Ai, along with the Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron, will join forces again to design a pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in London's Kensington Gardens park, the gallery said on Tuesday.
"It is a great honour to be working with Herzog and de Meuron and Ai Weiwei," said gallery director Julia Peyton-Jones.
"We are delighted that our annual commission will bring this unique architectural collaboration to Europe to mark the continuity between the Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 Games."
In a joint statement, Ai and the architects said the project would involve digging some five feet (1.5 metres) into the park's soil to collect rainwater, which would be incorporated into the design.
The resulting construction will be "the perfect place to sit, stand, lie down or just look and be amazed," they said.
Britain's Guardian newspaper said Ai had been coordinating the project with the architects using online phone service Skype.
Ai -- whose activism has made him a thorn in the side of China's communist authorities -- disappeared into custody for 81 days last year as police rounded up dissidents and lawyers amid online calls for Arab-style protests in China.
Upon his release in June, the world-renowned artist was charged with tax evasion. He is currently battling Chinese demands that he pay 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) which he allegedly owes in back taxes.
The 54-year-old artist -- whose installation of 100 million sunflower seeds, made out of porcelain, was exhibited at London's Tate Modern last year -- denies the charges and insists the case is a politically motivated attempt to silence his activism.
The Serpentine Gallery has commissioned artists and architects to create a summer pavillion for the elegant 111-hectare (275-acre) park every year since 2000. Previous designers include the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.
This year's pavillion will be part of the London 2012 festival, a series of 1,000 cultural performances and events across Britain to mark the London 2012 Olympics.
Lifestyle
Ai Weiwei to build London 2012 ...Ai Weiwei to build London 2012 pavilion
02/08 | 05:34 GMT
©AFP/File / Peter Parks
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, pictured here in 2010, is reuniting with the Swiss architects with whom he created Beijing's spectacular Bird's Nest Stadium, to build a pavilion for this year's London Olympics.
©AFP/File / Peter Parks
Ai Weiwei, along with the Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron, will join forces again to design a pavilion
LONDON (AFP) - Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is reuniting with the Swiss architects with whom he created Beijing's spectacular Bird's Nest Stadium, to build a pavilion for this year's London Olympics.
Ai, along with the Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron, will join forces again to design a pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in London's Kensington Gardens park, the gallery said on Tuesday.
"It is a great honour to be working with Herzog and de Meuron and Ai Weiwei," said gallery director Julia Peyton-Jones.
"We are delighted that our annual commission will bring this unique architectural collaboration to Europe to mark the continuity between the Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 Games."
In a joint statement, Ai and the architects said the project would involve digging some five feet (1.5 metres) into the park's soil to collect rainwater, which would be incorporated into the design.
The resulting construction will be "the perfect place to sit, stand, lie down or just look and be amazed," they said.
Britain's Guardian newspaper said Ai had been coordinating the project with the architects using online phone service Skype.
Ai -- whose activism has made him a thorn in the side of China's communist authorities -- disappeared into custody for 81 days last year as police rounded up dissidents and lawyers amid online calls for Arab-style protests in China.
Upon his release in June, the world-renowned artist was charged with tax evasion. He is currently battling Chinese demands that he pay 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) which he allegedly owes in back taxes.
The 54-year-old artist -- whose installation of 100 million sunflower seeds, made out of porcelain, was exhibited at London's Tate Modern last year -- denies the charges and insists the case is a politically motivated attempt to silence his activism.
The Serpentine Gallery has commissioned artists and architects to create a summer pavillion for the elegant 111-hectare (275-acre) park every year since 2000. Previous designers include the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.
This year's pavillion will be part of the London 2012 festival, a series of 1,000 cultural performances and events across Britain to mark the London 2012 Olympics.
