Agent reveals Porto striker Martinez to make Atletico move

Porto forward - and reported Arsenal target - Jackson Martinez has decided to join Atletico Madrid this summer, according to his agent.

The Colombia international has repeatedly been linked with a move away from the Estadio Dragao, with top European clubs including Arsenal reportedly keen to acquire the highly-rated player.

AC Milan were also interested in signing Martinez but Atletico appear to have won the race to land the 28-year-old.

"We've completed the deal," Martinez's agent Luis Henrique Pompeo told Spanish sports newspaper AS.

"We want to thank AC Milan, who tried until the end, we feel very honoured but one cannot be in two places at the same time.

"Atletico is a very big club that has done important things domestically and in Europe and Jackson is going there with the will to achieve great aims and bring out the best of him.

"That's his hope. He is very happy and convinced he has made the right choice."

Atletico are set to pay FC Porto 35million euro (£24.9million) to acquire Martinez's sporting rights and the South American is expected to put pen to paper on a four-year deal.

Martinez joined Porto from Chiapas in 2012 and is under contract for another two seasons.

He scored 21 goals in 29 league appearances as his side finished runners-up to Benfica in the Primeira Liga this season.

Martinez is currently in Chile competing at the Copa America with his national team.

Kosovo in the semifinals of the World, may Estonia

Kosovo representative in handball, qualified in the semifinals of the World Cup being held in Kosovo as Senegal beat tonight in the capital, with the score 31-30 in the quarterfinal challenge.
Kosovo handball players have developed a pretty good match against the Estonians, who did not give up at the end of the game.
Best Estonia has launched the game in the face of our përfaqësuen, however, the appointees Tayyip Kabashi at the finish of the first half and took dominance in the field, while the molten lead and the rest of the guests went on three goals (17-14) .
Very strong game is played in the second of the two teams, but our team was in the lead constantly. The bottom line for this game has been quite dramatic, because in the last three minutes of the Super challenge the supremacy of our representatives was only one goal. Our handball players the maximum commitment that finally managed to enjoy the great victory against Estonia, with the final result 31-30.
Top scorer for Kosovo was Krasniqi on 10 goals, while great job heading the keeper Curri, who made some phenomenal reception.
Kosovo representative in the semifinals tomorrow will face seed Islands.

Bobby Jindal faces an uphill fight in the crowded 2016 field

Washington (CNN)Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, once a Republican rising star who passed on an opportunity to seek the White House in 2012, announced his candidacy on Wednesday under much more trying circumstances.

Jindal announced his bid over social media, just hours before he will host a kickoff rally.

"I'm running for President of the United States of America. Join me," Jindal tweeted, with a link to his website's announcement page.

If he wants to compete in the expansive Republican field, he'll have to resurrect a reputation that has fallen significantly in recent years. Jindal is now polling toward the bottom of the field,registering at just 1% in the latest CNN/ORC poll.

Jindal's popularity in his own state has suffered -- a recent poll has his approval at 32% -- thanks to budget troubles and perhaps a preoccupation with playing to a national audience. His refusal to raise taxes to help balance the state's books has resulted in deep cuts to popular programs and areas of government spending such as health care and education.

His wife will introduce him on stage tonight — the only speaker before he takes the podium. There will be a couple of videos, and they expect about 500 people at the convention center in Kenner, Louisiana for the event.

Alibaba to Invest in Paramount’s ‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation’

LONDON — Alibaba Pictures, the movie division of Jack Ma’s Chinese e-commerce giant, is to invest in Paramount Pictures’ “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” The move represents Alibaba Pictures’ first investment in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Christopher McQuarrie’s movie, which stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, opens July 31 in the U.S. The “Mission: Impossible” franchise has grossed more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office.

Alibaba will be the official partner for the movie’s promotion in China, where it will work with Paramount on online ticketing, merchandising and promotion.

Alibaba Group’s Taobao Movie, an app that allows online ticketing and advance seat selection, will be one of the major ticketing platforms for the film in China. Taobao Movie also interlinks with Alibaba Group’s mobile shopping app Mobile Taobao, which has a large user base, and the third-party online payment platform Alipay, which gives consumers access to Taobao Movie to buy tickets.

Alibaba and Paramount will also work together on linking online ticketing with merchandise sales, where ticket buyers will be able to purchase Paramount-authorized “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” products through Taobao Movie and other affiliated platforms in the Alibaba ecosystem.

“‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation’ is our first step toward internationalization, and Alibaba Pictures looks forward to collaborating with more international movie studios where we can consolidate resources, technologies and talents to establish a world-class integrated entertainment platform for the film industry,” Zhang Qiang, CEO of Alibaba Pictures, said.

“Last fall, Jack Ma, Brad Grey, Zhang Qiang and our teams met in Los Angeles to talk about ways our companies could cooperate together,” said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. “We hope today’s announcement is the first of many collaborations between us. Alibaba’s commitment to offering its customers innovative programs, including one-of-a-kind retail and entertainment experiences in China, make them perfect partners for us on the launch of ‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,’ and we are thrilled to be working with them to create a successful campaign for one of our studio’s most popular franchises.”

Syria: ISIS destroys ancient Muslim shrines in Palmyra

ISIS fighters have destroyed two ancient Muslim shrines in the oasis city of Palmyra, the Syrian government confirmed Wednesday, the latest act of cultural vandalism by the Sunni extremists.

ISIS seized control of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back 2,000 years, last month, prompting fears for the site's survival.

An email sent on behalf of Syria's antiquities chief, Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, said the body had heard four days ago from people in Palmyra of the shrines' destruction.

"ISIS has blown up two ancient Muslim shrines in Palmyra, and has published photos of this awful crime against the Syrian cultural heritage on Facebook," the statement said.

Historic sites damaged by ISIS 12 photos

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One of the tombs destroyed is that of Mohammed bin Ali, a descendent of Ali bin Abi Taleb, the Prophet Mohammed's cousin, the website DGAM said. It's in a hilly area 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north of Palmyra.

"ISIS militants also blew up the shrine of Shagaf, known as Abu Behaeddine, a religious figure from Palmyra, dated to 500 years ago. The shrine is located in the oasis 500 meters away from the Ancient City's Arch of Triumph," a statement said.

Images posted on the DGAM website show dust and debris flying into the air as the shrines are destroyed.

Other monuments, temples and historic buildings have been mined, and a statue of a lion at the entrance to Palmyra's museum has been destroyed, the website reported.

Group: ISIS planted mines, bombs in city

ISIS' capture of Palmyra was followed by the summary executions of scores of captive fighters and residents, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group.

The group also reported Tuesday that ISIS had destroyed a shrine in the Palmyra area, but it wasn't clear if it was one of those the government named. ISIS blew it up on the pretext of "removing the landmarks of polytheism," the monitoring group said.

"We're afraid" of what ISIS will do in Palmyra 05:13

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On Sunday, the observatory reported that ISIS fighters had planted homemade bombs and mines around the city.

But it said it wasn't clear whether the explosives were laid with the intention of destroying the city's priceless antiquities or preventing government forces from advancing on Palmyra.

There have been bloody clashes in recent days on the road between the city of Homs and Palmyra between ISIS and government forces backed by loyal militias, according to the group.

Vuçiqi nervous: No one on earth that made me yield to the Albanians!

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, said today that it would not agree that belong to Albanians properties where it says "has invested Serbia", of which, according to him, "is trying to snatch Kosovo".
"I have no right to accept, neither can, nor want and there is nothing in this earthly orb that will force me to it," Vucic told reporters in the Serbian government, a day after the official dialogue with Pristina in Brussels, reports Telegraph.

"As we have received Trepca and Brezovica and everything else, want our blessing receive Ujmani us (Gazivodën) and electricity distribution network," the Serbian prime minister added. "Turks are saying that when we have bought this also bought it. No BRE, hajt not invent and do not lie, you have not even dared to tread north Slope now you have it bought by Pristina ".

Vucic said that Kosovo must find another partner to accept this, and added that yesterday's dialogue in Brussels was tedious. Asked if Monday will be repeated in the past, when former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, and former Prime Minister Ivica Dacic were separated after one week signed the Brussels Treaty, he said that only had disagreements about it, especially for three points.

"Everyone else in the cabinet of the Serbian Government have accepted, including Dacic, Mërkiqin of Grubjeshiiqin, however, they did not have a majority without my consent. I did not want Kosovo to have a seat at the United Nations; I wish that I did not agree to regional police with seven municipalities are four, that police in the Serbian municipalities to be Serbian, because I did not want regional commander is not Serbian, "he added.

Vucic has stressed that there was great pressure and that this insistence is career-threatening, but that he said "Perform your job."

"When they saw that I did not intend to change its position, then they have received three had our positions and the Brussels Agreement. So you know the truth about the Brussels Agreement. The pressures were enormous, and few who has been able to endure, "said Vucic.