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South Sudan's army has retaken an eastern town captured by rebels two weeks ago, a military spokesman said on Monday, in a conflict that has uprooted thousands of people and hampered government plans to explore for oil. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said four soldiers and a dozen rebels were killed during a brief battle on Sunday to recapture Boma town in Jonglei state, where the government wants to search for oil with the help of France's Total.   "The SPLA (army) restored order and control of Boma yesterday. I was there myself," Aguer told Reuters. But Peter Konyi Kubrin, a spokesman for rebels also known as the South Sudan Democratic Army, denied they had lost the town. Since winning independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to impose its authority across vast swathes of territory awash with weapons after decades of civil war with Khartoum ended in a peace deal in 2005. Rebel leader David Yau Yau, a former theology student, raised a rebe

Brian McDermott will launch his rebuilding programme at Elland Road by adding vastly-experienced Georgia centre-back Zurab Khizanishvili to a youthful Leeds defence. Sportsmail Online understands McDermott sees the former Blackburn defender’s know-how as a useful foil to the potential of Tom Lees and Sam Byram and that an agreement is in place to sign him this summer. Leeds’ recently-appointed boss knows all about the 31-year old after twice taking him to Reading on loan from Blackburn and seeing him help them reach the 2010-11 Championship play-off final, where they lost to Swansea. Hardman: Zurab Khizanishvili during his Blackburn days After five years at Ewood Park, the 86-times capped 6ft 1in central defender joined Turkish side Kayserispor. He is now ready to return to England on what is expected to be a free transfer and will be the first of several summer signings for McDermott. Handed a three-year contract at Elland Road, following a harsh dismissal by Reading, McDermot

The Egyptian army sent reinforcements into the Sinai Peninsula on Monday after President Mohamed Mursi said there would be no talks with militant Islamists who abducted seven members of the security forces last week. Radical Islamists have expanded into a security vacuum in Sinai that the state has struggled to fill since an uprising swept autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011. The groups have launched attacks on Israel and targets in North Sinai.   The kidnapping has highlighted lawlessness in the peninsula bordering Israel, enraged Egyptian security forces and piled domestic pressure on Mursi to act. Egyptian security forces have blocked border crossings into the Gaza Strip to pressure the government into helping free their colleagues. Witnesses saw armored personnel carriers moving east on Monday over the Suez Canal towards North Sinai where militants staged the abduction and where gunmen assaulted a police base on Monday. They later arrived in the North Sinai town of El-Ar

Now keep Bale Spurs have to keep Gareth Bale. He’s scored 21 goals this season and nine from outside the box, the highest total of long range goals in Europe’s top leagues. He deserves Champions League football but I hope he is patient and that Tottenham push the boat out for him now. Scroll down for video Key man: Spurs need to pay whatever it costs to keep Gareth Bale Improvements: Arsene Wenger should be given the funds to improve this Arsenal squad     More from Jamie Redknapp...   Jamie Redknapp: Cardozo deserves a bigger club, Cech is still at the top of his game, and why can't we see Torres perform like that every week? 15/05/13   Jamie Redknapp: Wise heads Lampard and Rio show their class... but young guns Sturridge and McManaman shine brightly too 12/05/13

Supporters of an influential Pakistani political party took to the streets of Karachi on Monday to protest against cricket-hero-turned-politician Imran Khan, who has accused it of killing one of his senior staff a week after a general election. Furious members of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) have denied responsibility for the killing of Zara Shahid Hussain on Saturday outside her home in the upscale Defence area of Karachi, capping a bloody election in which about 150 people were killed nationwide.   MQM leaders condemned the killing by unidentified gunman and demanded a retraction from Khan. The May 11 elections gave the MQM 18 of 19 national assembly seats in Karachi, which has long been the party's power base. Khan's party won a re-vote in part of one constituency of Karachi on Sunday, giving it one seat and also angering the MQM. About 3,000 MQM joined the protest to denounce Khan, whose Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) party was to hold a rally later in the eveni

Police raided a leading Ugandan newspaper and disabled its printing press and website on Monday after it published a letter about a purported plot to stifle allegations President Yoweri Museveni is grooming his son for power, a senior editor said. Speculation is growing that Museveni, in office since 1986, is lining up his son Kainerugaba Muhoozi to take power, a move that would likely test loyalties in Uganda's ruling elite.   Last week the Daily Monitor - Uganda's most-read independent paper - published a private letter by General David Sejusa calling for an investigation into allegations of a plot "to assassinate people who disagree with this so-called family project of holding onto power in perpetuity". Uganda's media regulator warned it would "penalize" excessive coverage about the Sejusa letter and a court ordered the Daily Monitor to hand over the document, a decision the newspaper has appealed. "The police showed up saying they have a

Hot shot Robin van Persie has backed new manager David Moyes to bring more success at Manchester United. And the Dutch striker has revealed he wants to emulate Ryan Giggs and play on into his 40s. Watch out: Robin van Persie and his wife Bouchra dash back to their car in Manchester city centre after shopping tip on Monday On a mission: Van Persie wants more success after winning first title with United Moyes was shown round United's state-of-the-art training facility by Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill on Monday in his first, unofficial, act as the champions' new boss. Van Persie will be key to Moyes' plans, after winning the Premier League's Golden Boot with 26 goals. And he is confident it will be a smooth transition of power in the dug-out - and he is adamant United will continue to challenge for silverware under Moyes. He told the Daily Mirror: 'This is a great bunch of players. Everybody wants to work for each other and share the success. O

India and China will study new ways to ease tensions on their ill-defined border after an army standoff in the Himalayas, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday on his first official foreign trip. The number two in the Chinese leadership offered New Delhi a "handshake across the Himalayas" and said the world's most populous nations could become a new engine for the global economy if they could avoid friction on the militarized border.   "Both sides believe that we need to improve the various border-related mechanisms that we have put into place and make them more efficient. We need to appropriately manage and resolve our differences," Li said at a joint news conference with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two men appeared smiling and relaxed. India's Foreign Ministry said they got on well. There were small breakthroughs on trade, but no major agreements were signed. China and India disagree about large areas of their 4,000 km (2,500

Roy Hodgson is predicting a Barclays Premier League scramble for Jurgen Klopp's services after Borussia Dortmund's emergence as one of Europe's outstanding teams. Klopp has so far resisted all efforts to lure him away from the Westfalenstadion and is striving to keep his squad intact, ahead of Saturday's Champions' League final against fierce Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich at Wembley. Most wanted: Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp But England boss Hodgson can see English interest in the Dortmund coach, and some of his prize assets, intensifying after the way they outplayed Manchester City in the group games and swept past Real Madrid in the semi-finals. 'Without a doubt I can imagine Klopp managing a top English club,' he told German daily paper Bild. 'That would not surprise me at all, because he has built a super team at Dortmund and has done an extremely good job at a young age. Impressed: England Manager Roy Hodgson 'I am pr

The European Union threw its weight behind developing Afghanistan's small but promising private sector this week, in the hope that business can usher in stability and peace once foreign troops leave by the end of next year. In the largest ever EU visit outside the capital Kabul in 12 years of war, a 21-country delegation of envoys jetted to the western city of Herat on Sunday, whose flurry of business activity is largely seen as a rare success story in desperately poor, insurgency-plagued Afghanistan.   War and tens of billions of dollars in constant aid have made Afghanistan a ward of the international community, though vast potential mineral resources and pent-up business desire amongst educated youths mean the environment could be changing. The EU chose Herat for its trip as "we are encouraged by the province's vision, its ability to attract foreign investment", the bloc's representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, told Herat governor Daoud Saba at h

Sportsmail gives you the lowdown on all the pre-season fixtures and results for the Premier League teams ahead of the start of the new 2013/14 campaign. All dates and kick-off times BST It's just not cricket: Liverpool will take on Melbourne Victory at the MCG Arsenal July 14 Indonesia XI (Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta) 2.30pmJuly 17 Vietnam (My Dinh National Stadium, Vietnam) 1pmJuly 22 Nagoya Grampus (Toyota Stadium, Japan) 11.30amJuly 26 Urawa Red Diamonds (Saitama Stadium, Japan) 11.30am August 3 Napoli (Emirates Cup) TBAAugust 4 Galatasaray (Emirates Cup) TBA Aston VillaJuly 10 SV Rodinghausen (Wiehenstadion, North Rhine-Westphalia) 6pmJuly 12 SC Paderborn (Benteler Arena, Paderborn) 5pmJuly 14 VFL Bochum (Rewirpowerstadion, Bochum) 2.30pmJuly 20 Wycombe (Adams Park) 3pmJuly 23 Luton (Kenilworth Road) 7.45pmJuly 26 Crewe (Alexandra Stadium) 7.30pmJuly 31 Walsall (Bescot Stadium) 7.30pmAugust 4 Shamrock Rovers (Tallaght Stadium) 2pmAugust 10 Malaga (Villa Park) 3

Israel said on Monday it had canceled a visit by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to Jerusalem's Old City, saying the Palestinians had sought to politicize a conservation mission. _0"> No one was immediately available for comment at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. A month ago, it announced it would send experts to Jerusalem in mid-May to examine the state of conservation of the walled Old City, a World Heritage site.   The future of the Old City, in a part of Jerusalem that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, is a highly sensitive issue at the heart of the Middle East conflict. An Israeli official said Israel objected to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki's reference to the UNESCO tour as a "probe (of) the occupation measures" in the city. "The Palestinians have violated all the understandings reached, and made real attempts t

Oscar Pistorius will not return to the track for the rest of the year so he can focus on his looming court case. Pistorius stands accused of premeditated murder after the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead on Valentine's Day at his Pretoria home. The 'Blade Runner', who was released on bail in February, will be back in court on June 4 and is likely to stand trial before the end of 2013. Scroll down for video In the dock: Oscar Pistorius will not return to the track this year In training: Pistorius was believed to be in training again in South Africa after being bailed But the Paralympian’s coach Ampie Louw revealed Pistorius has turned down invitations to take part in major international athletic events and will stay away from the track. Louw said: 'We have decided as a team we are not talking [about] any training or athletics. 'We have postponed [races] for the whole year.' Tragedy: Reeva Steenkamp died after being sh

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada could be deported to Jordan to face trial on terrorism charges within weeks, a British court heard on Monday, and it ruled he should remain in jail in the meantime to prevent him from absconding. Abu Qatada's deportation to Jordan, which the British government has been trying to achieve for eight years, is expected to take place within weeks when Jordan ratifies a new treaty with Britain, according to evidence shown to the court.   London says Abu Qatada, who is accused of spreading radical ideas that inspired one of the September 11, 2001 hijackers, poses a national security risk, but he has never been charged with any offence in Britain. The British courts have repeatedly blocked his deportation on the grounds that a trial in Jordan risked being tainted by evidence obtained using torture. Britain announced last month it had signed a new treaty with Jordan aimed at addressing those concerns. "There is a prospect of a treaty coming into

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whose new centrist party is the second largest in Israel's government, said on Monday thousands of Jewish settlers would have to be removed from occupied land under any peace deal with the Palestinians. But, echoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position, Lapid said Israel intended to hold onto major settlement blocs in the West Bank when final borders are set in the six-decade-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.   "It's heartbreaking. We will have to remove tens of thousands, not just from their homes, but from their dreams," he said, speaking at a business conference in Tel Aviv. But, he added: "The settlement blocs will remain in Israel." Lapid did not say which settlements he felt would need to be evacuated. Some 80 percent of 340,000 settlers in the West Bank live in large clusters near Jerusalem and central Israel. Lapid's Yesh Atid party soared to a surprising second place finish in the January general el

England are set to name the same XI that won the first Test against New Zealand for the series finale at Headingley this week. In what is the final Test before the Ashes start in July, England's selectors have kept faith in a batting line-up that twice collapsed at Lord's last week. Ahead of the start of the second Test on Friday, players from both camps were pictured enjoying a night out together at Mayfair's Whisky Mist club on Monday night. Friend or foe? England and New Zealand cricketers were pictured out together at Mayfair's Whisky Mist on Monday night - England bowler Steve Finn (right) and his Kiwi counterpart Tim Southee arrive at the nightclub Taxi for Bairstow: The England batsman (right) steps out of a cab to join New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult (left) and England's matchwinner at Lord's Stuart Broad (centre) Broad on the board: Stuart Broad next to the updated honours board at Lord's England squad to play New Zealand

Bulgaria's Socialists revealed a plan on Monday to speed payments to business and boost support for the poorest in a bid to win support for a technocrat government and end a political deadlock after an inconclusive election. _0"> No party won a majority in the May 12 vote, but the center-right GERB party got the most votes so will have the first go at forming a coalition. GERB has been shunned by other parties however after protests against poverty and corruption toppled it from power, so it's of leading a new government are next to zero. The Socialists though, with their ethnic Turkish MRF allies, are just one seat short of majority and are more likely to win support of nationalist Attack or individual parliamentarians from Attack, or even GERB. The president, who is to convene parliament on Tuesday, has appealed to party leaders to form a working government so Sofia can negotiate its EU's funding needs until 2020, draft the country's 2014 budget and calm

Warren Gatland yesterday left the door ajar for Jonny Wilkinson to join the Lions tour of Australia and the former England fly-half is ready to answer an emergency call — if his body can take the strain. The frenzied speculation about the newly-anointed European Player of the Year being summoned for a third Lions crusade has escalated following Toulon’s Heineken Cup triumph against Clermont Auvergne in Dublin. While Wilkinson remained in the Irish capital — training with his club before a Top 14 semi-final against Toulouse on Friday night — Gatland was interrogated on the subject of the revered No 10. Scroll down for video Still going strong: Jonny Wilkinson added the Heineken Cup to his list of career achievements Having already revealed that there are 30 players on stand-by for the tour, the Kiwi head coach said: ‘If we picked up an injury on tour then maybe there’s a conversation to be had with Wilkinson.’  There is a suspicion that his arrival is an inevitability, at some

Somalia's new government said on Monday it was pursuing talks to resolve rival claims for control in the south that have stoked fears of a return to the clan wars that pitched the nation into anarchy two decades ago. A local assembly on Thursday declared a former Islamist warlord, Ahmed Madobe, president of Jubaland. Madobe is not viewed favorably by Mogadishu and within a day two other men had pronounced themselves president, including Barre Hirale, a former warlord and defense minister seen as pro-government. How the fate of Jubaland and its port city Kismayu is resolved will be a litmus test for Somalia as it rebuilds from the ruins of war and cements a fragile peace, a quest hampered by the central government's weakness outside Mogadishu. Islamist militants or clan militias, hovering in the wings, could swoop if the competition for Kismayu turns violent. But guns have stayed silent so far and the government's stated determination to seek talks could help it stay th

Threatening slogans were daubed on Monday outside the doorway of an Israeli activist in a Jewish women's prayer group seeking equal rights of worship for women at Jerusalem's holy Western Wall. _0"> "Your time is up," read one of several slogans spray painted in black in the apartment building where Peggy Cidor, a board member of the Women of Wall movement lives. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said it was "the first incident of its type in which one of the Women of the Wall houses are directly targeted".   The group has angered ultra-Orthodox Jews by wearing prayer shawls and reading from holy scriptures at the Western Wall, a revered remnant of the Biblical Jewish Temple. Orthodox Jewish tradition reserves such rituals for men, and some more conservative rabbis have vowed to battle a plan devised by a former cabinet minister to try to accommodate the women's more liberal approach to prayer. Previously, the women have been confronted by

Sportsmail has teamed up with npower, title sponsors of the Football League, to give fans of Crystal Palace and Watford a chance to win tickets to the Championship Play-Off final at Wembley on Monday, May 27. We'll be giving away one pair of tickets for EACH club, so all you have to do to enter is answer this question correctly and make sure you state which club YOU support below.  And if you're unlucky not to win the top prize, we'll be giving away three signed shirts for both clubs to the runners-up. To be in with a chance, answer the following question: Who scored the winning goal of the game for West Ham against Blackpool in last year's npower Championship Play-off final?A) Ricardo Vaz TeB) Kevin NolanC) Mark Noble E-mail your answer, along with your name, address and contact number to: sportcomp@dailymail.co.uk to arrive by 7am on Thursday, May 23. PLEASE NOTE: You must validate your entry with the words NPOWER FINAL in your subject box and state YOUR C

A gunman shot dead four people execution-style in a bank in Israel on Monday after being refused an overdraft and cash from its automatic teller machine. _0"> The assailant, identified by media reports as a former paramilitary border policeman, killed himself after police raided the Bank Hapoalim branch in the southern city of Beersheba to free his hostages.   "It appears that we are talking about a lone individual who came to the bank in the morning hours, sought cover for a debt, a loan, and did not get it," Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said on Army Radio. After finding that he could also not draw cash from the automatic dispenser, the man "came back with a pistol and shot dead four people ... bank employees and customers", Aharonovitch said. "He took a hostage, held her for close to an hour or more. The moment the police forces burst in, he killed himself - shot himself and committed suicide," he said, without disclosing

As the youngest member of the British and Irish Lions squad, Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg has taken on the traditional role of looking after the tour mascot. There's one problem though: he's allergic to it. Hogg, 20, suffers from hay fever and says carrying cuddly toy lion 'Bil' - who was picked up at Geneva airport and has his own passport - is not helping. Scroll down for video Unhappy couple: Hogg says looking after the lion is worsening his hayfever Paws for thought: 'Bil' has his own passport He said: 'Hay fever is a nightmare. It always comes in the summer. My eyes start to puff up and holding that lion is a bit of a nightmare: with its long mane it’s a bit itchy. 'I’ll maybe speak to the gaffer and see what he says about that.' With seven weeks of touring ahead as Warren Gatland's side take on Australia in a three-Test series, Hogg admits he is rather daunted by the prospect of looking after the lion for the duration.

Keep up to date with all of the latest stats, rankings and money lists from the PGA and European Tours, all in one place. Here are the latest tables.   World rankings 1 Tiger Woods 13.5308pts 2 Rory McIlroy 10.2255 3 Adam Scott 7.7247 4 Justin Rose 6.4709 5 Brandt Snedeker 6.3297 6 Luke Donald 6.2514 7 Graeme McDowell 5.8985 8 Louis Oosthuizen 5.6558 9 Phil Mickelson 5.2561 10 Steve Stricker 5.2221 FedEx Cup standings 1 Tiger Woods 2,340pts 2 Brandt Snedeker 1,474 3 Kevin Streelman 1,234 4 Billy Horschel 1,205 5 Matt Kuchar 1,122 6 Phil Mickelson 1,003 7 D.A. Points 985 8 Keegan Bradley 974 9 Adam Scott 919 10 Charles Howell III 865 US Money List 1 Tiger Woods $5,849,600 2 Brandt Snedeker $3,388,064 3 Kevin Streelman $2,572,989 4 Billy Horschel $2,567,891 5 Matt Kuchar $2,525,882 6 Phil Mickelson $2,220,280 7 Adam Scott (Australia) $2,207,683 8 Keegan Bradley $2,153,947 9 D.A. Points $2,151,022 10 Steve Stricker $1,977,140 Race to Dubai 1 Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 1,02