Colombia blow as defender Fabra limps out of World Cup

As England thrashed Panama 6-1 on Sunday Prince William, the president of the Football Association, was flying into Jordan for a historic Middle East tour.

The Duke of Cambridge missed the momentous game that helped England ease into the World Cup last 16 but caught a replay at the home of his host Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah.

The heir to the Jordanian throne posted pictures on his Instagram account late Sunday showing him and William watching a replay of the game on a huge flat television screen.

The pair are seen sitting on a couch in what appears to be a recreation room in Beit al-Ordon, the private residence of Jordan's royal family in the Hummar district west of Amman.

A devoted Aston Villa fan, William, 36, is wearing beige pants and a tie-less sky blue shirt, while 23-year-old Hussein, is wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans.

"Having a relaxing evening with His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, after his first day in #OurJordan," Hussein wrote in a caption that accompanied one of two pictures of the pair.

"Watching the replay of the England game that we missed earlier today," says another caption showing the cavernous room where the two princes are watching the game.

William arrived Saturday in Jordan at the start of a Middle East tour that will see him become the first British royal to pay official visits to both Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The visit by the second in line to the British throne has been billed as a chance to bond with Hussein, a fellow graduate of Britain's Royal Sandhurst Military Academy.

South Carolina's Senate has passed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol in Columbia.

It was put forward after the flag was linked to a gunman who killed nine people at a Charleston church in June.

The bill must now pass by a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives before being sent to the governor for approval.

The flag is seen by some as an icon of slavery and racism while others say it symbolises US heritage and history.

The flag was originally the battle flag of the southern states in the American Civil War when they tried to break away to prevent the abolition of slavery.

The debate over its use was reignited after Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old charged with killing nine black people on 17 June, was pictured flying the flag.

EMOTIONAL DEBATE

The bipartisan bill would remove the flag from the South Carolina State House, where the legislature sits.

The bill passed a crucial second reading by an overwhelming vote of 37-3 on Monday after an emotional debate in the state Senate.

Several Senators said they had been inspired by the Christian forgiveness displayed by relatives of those who had died at the Emanuel AME Church on 17 June.

"If they could be peacemakers in those dire circumstances... I determined I can be a peacemaker when it comes to a flag flying on our State House grounds," Republican Senator Chip Campsen said.

But Senator Lee Bright, also a Republican, said he feared the tragic event was being used to destroy southern history.

"I do understand that what happened in Charleston got a lot of people's attention," he said. "But I believe we're placing the blame of what one deranged lunatic did on people that hold their southern heritage high and I don't think that's fair."

The bill now faces a final reading on Tuesday before it is taken up by the lower House of Representatives.

Republican Governor Nikki Haley, who must approve the bill for it to come into effect, called for the flag's removal in light of the Charleston attack.

Argentina and Nigeria will be battling it out for a last-16 spot of Group D in the World Cup at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg.

Argentina are currently enduring their longest winless run in a first-round World Cup group stage in history. Nigeria, on the other hand, has an advantage over Argentina in terms of points but has lacked consistently so far in the Group Stage. Nigeria are second in their group and could qualify should they beat Argentina. The South American side, however, still have a final shot at making it to the last 16 if they are to beat Nigeria, and if Croatia managed to avoid defeat to Iceland.

The match is scheduled to start at 12:00 am in Bangladesh time. Let’s look at some of the statistics ahead of the thrilling encounter.

     Head-to-head:

1. In each of the last four World Cups Nigeria have qualified for (2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018) they have been drawn in the same group as Argentina. They were also in the same group in 1994.
2. The Super Eagles have lost all four of their previous World Cup games against Argentina, with all of those defeats by single-goal margins (1-0 in 2002 and 2010, 2-1 in 1994, 3-2 in 2014).
3. The Nigerians lost a group game to Paraguay at the 1998 tournament, so have been defeated in all five of their World Cup matches versus South American opposition.

    Nigeria

1. Nigeria's six World Cup wins have all come against European sides - they have never beaten opposition from another continent.
2. The only previous time the Super Eagles won back-to-back World Cup games was in 1998, when they defeated Spain and Bulgaria in their first two matches.
3. Victory would ensure Nigeria reach the knock-out stage for a second successive World Cup, and for the fourth time in six appearances overall.
4. Ahmed Musa is Nigeria's all-time top scorer at the World Cup with four goals - two against Iceland at this tournament, and two versus Argentina in 2014.

   Argentina

1. The only previous time Argentina have failed to win a game at a World Cup was in 1934, when the tournament was a straight knock-out. They selected an inexperienced, amateur squad, and lost 3-2 to Sweden in the first round.
2. They have never completed a first round group stage at a World Cup without at least one win.
3.  The Argentines are enduring their longest winless run in World Cup history (D2, L2), although that four-match streak includes the 2014 semi-final against the Dutch, which they won on penalties.
4. They last lost back-to-back World Cup games in 1994 (against Bulgaria and Romania). They have never lost consecutive games in the opening group stage.
5. Lionel Messi has failed to score with his last 22 shots in matches at World Cup finals.
6. But over the last two years he has scored 14 goals in 18 games for Argentina.

Switzerland hit back with a thunderous strike by Granit Xhaka and a last-minute breakaway goal by Xherdan Shaqiri to claim a famous 2-1 win over Serbia on Friday in a swashbuckling World Cup Group E match tinged with Balkan rivalry.

The Swiss looked in danger of being over-run when Serbia went ahead with an Aleksandar Mitrovic header after five minutes to the delight of their fervent supporters at the Kaliningrad stadium.

Xhaka silenced the Serbian contingent in the 52nd minute, however, when he rifled home a loose ball in spectacular style from 25 metres before Shaqiri ran onto a through ball and finished with aplomb to win the game at the death.

Xhaka and Shaqiri are among several members of the Swiss squad who are of Kosovar heritage, which added an extra dimension to the match.

Serbia refuses to recognise the independence of its former province Kosovo which broke away 10 years ago.

"It's clear that emotions were displayed up and I think we all need to steer away from politics and focus on this sport as a beautiful game that brings people together," Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic told reporters.

There was also controversy in the 65th minute when Mitrovic appeared to be held down as he went for a cross but the referee waved play on and there was no video review.

The result left Brazil, 2-0 winners over Costa Rica, top with four points, ahead of Switzerland on goal difference with Serbia on three.

Serbia must beat Brazil in their final game to qualify without relying on the result of the Swiss game against Costa Rica, who are eliminated after losing their first two games.

"This is football, we did not convert some of our chances," Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic said. "Whether this was a penalty or not, I will not comment on that.

"We’re in a situation where we need a win against Brazil on and we will focus and do whatever we can to try and win. Nothing is impossible in life."

FLYING START

Serbia made a flying start and Mitrovic forced Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer into an early save with a close-range header.

Sommer was powerless, however, in the fifth minute when Nemanja Matic won the ball and found Dusan Tadic, whose cross was met with a soaring header from Mitrovic.

With Mitrovic proving a handful for the Swiss defence, Serbia threatened to over-run their opponents and missed another chance when a corner flew across the face of goal and Dusko Tosic just failed to make contact.

Switzerland came right back into the game seven minutes after halftime thanks to Xhaka's fulminating strike after a rebound fell nicely into his path.

Xhaka was almost upstaged by Shaqiri who clipped the crossbar with a curling, dipping shot from the unlikeliest of angles and the match turned into a pulsating end-to-end affair which was brilliantly settled by Shaqiri.

Switzerland cleared a Serbia attack and a through pass sent the diminutive forward scuttling away before he slotted the ball neatly into the far corner.

"What is important is that we have developed this winning mentality even when we are down," said Petkovic, whose side have lost only one of their last 24 games.

"We always find a reaction. This is an important characteristic of my team."

A young South African man who had the world's first successful penis transplant last December has impregnated his girlfriend, the doctor who led the surgery said on Friday.

The 22-year-old man, who has not been named, is among around 250 South Africans who lose their penises each year in botched traditional circumcisions.

The nine-hour transplant operation formed part of a pilot study by Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch. The patient was sexually active five weeks later.

"To us it means we are ticking most of the boxes where this guy can stand and urinate normally, can have sexual intercourse and his penis function has recovered completely," Andre van der Merwe, who led the surgical team, told Reuters.

"Now to have children is the last thing we wanted."

He said that independent pregnancy or paternity tests have not been done to verify it was indeed the patient's child but he had no reason to disbelieve the young man, who was employed and lived in Cape Town.

"I know that he can ejaculate normally and there is no reason for him to be infertile. I was expecting a pregnancy at some stage, even though I didn't expect it this early," he said.

Each year, hundreds of young South African men, mainly from the Xhosa tribe, lose their penises after coming-of-age rituals go wrong.

It is hoped Van der Merwe's pioneering surgery will help them overcome the physical and psychological trauma.

Announcing the successful transplant in March, Van der Merwe's team said the procedure could eventually be offered to men who have lost their penis to cancer or as a last resort for severe erectile dysfunction.

Van der Merwe has received requests for penis transplants from as far afield as the United States, Colombia and Russia.

"I do believe we will transplant again before the end of the year," he said.