Welcome to Dooce'S Blog

Paceman Mitchell Johnson inspired Mumbai Indians to a landmark third Indian Premier League title with crucial wickets for a single run victory over Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday. Mumbai are the first team to win the IPL three times in its 10 year history and captain Rohit Sharma said it had been a "brilliant effort" to turn just 129-8 into a winning score in the tense final. "I couldn't ask for more. Whenever you're defending a total like that, the first thing you have to do is believe," said Sharma. Johnson (3-26) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-26) got assistance from the pitch as they turned the screws on Pune with time running out. "When three overs were left, I had confidence in the bowlers. They've always done the job wherever they've played. It was about giving freedom to them because they're the masters and they've done it before. I just told them to do whatever they want and set the field accordingly," said Shar...

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, snubbed in voting for this season's NBA Most Valuable Player award, was named Sunday as winner of the NBA Citizenship Award for community service. The prize, voted upon by a media panel, is open to NBA players, coaches or trainers for their off-court work. James, a four-time NBA MVP, has improved educational opportunities for more than 1,100 at-risk and disadvantaged youth in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, through his charity foundation. The honor came two days after finalists for the NBA's top individual awards were announced and James was not among the MVP candidates despite leading the league in minutes played and sparking the defending NBA champions to another strong season. But Houston Rockets guard James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard were named as MVP finalists. James mentors students, writing letters and calling them and rewards achievement with...

Turkey's ruling party on Sunday reappointed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as its chief after a nearly three year break, swiftly exploiting a key change agreed in a controversial referendum on expanding his powers. In a precisely choreographed special congress in Ankara, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) elected Erdogan -- the only candidate -- to replace Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as chairman. Erdogan had rejoined the AKP on May 2 after a slim majority of voters on April 16 approved sweeping changes to create an executive presidency, which critics fear could lead to one-man rule. Under the old constitution, the head of state had to sever ties with their political party and Erdogan in August 2014 left the AKP and stepped down as chairman after his election as president. Taking the reins of the party will give Erdogan day-to-day control over its decision making, appointments and strategy as it prepares for elections in 2019. It also gives Erdogan respon...

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, the latest in a series of launches which have sparked international condemnation and threats of tougher UN sanctions. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the launch, the second in a week and the 10th this year, as "disappointing" and "disturbing," but rejected a suggestion that the US strategy to tackle North Korea was not working. The missile, described by Washington as medium-range, was fired from Pukchang in South Pyongan province and travelled about 500 kilometres (310 miles), according to the South's armed forces. "Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness," said a statement from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch came just one week after the North fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, which according to Pyongyang flew almost 800 kilometres and was capable...

Steadily rising US auto sales helped fuel the economic recovery, but sales have shifted into lower gear even as President Donald Trump counts on carmakers to provide a lift to his economic plans. And after adding thousands of jobs since the financial crisis to meet rising demand for new vehicles, US carmakers also have begun to idle workers for months at a time. Trump has touted the auto sector -- which he previously lambasted for moving production to Mexico -- as proof of his program's success. "We're going to have expansion," Trump told reporters this week. "We already do. You look at what's happening with Ford and with General Motors in Michigan and Ohio. You look at the tremendous number of jobs that are being announced in so many different fields. That's what I'm proud of, and that's what we want to focus our energy on." But the data is gloomier. Following seven years of steady growth that led to sales records in 2015 and ...

Washington has agreed arms deals with Saudi Arabia worth almost $110 billion, a White House official said Saturday, the first day of President Donald Trump's visit to the traditional US ally. "This package of defence equipment and services support the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats," the official said. It will also bolster the kingdom's "ability to contribute to counter-terrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on the US military to conduct those operations," the official added. Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "will attend a signing ceremony" for the deals, the official said. The official described the agreements as "a significant expansion of the over seven-decade-long security relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The official did not provide details of the agreements with Riyadh, which is one of the world...

More than 200,000 protesters took to the streets of Venezuela on Saturday, day 50 of an angry and sometimes deadly showdown with the unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. As with many of the previous marches in the crisis-hit country, police fired tear gas at protesters in the capital suffering from dire shortages of the most basic of goods. The opposition blames Maduro for the economic mess in oil-rich Venezuela, demanding early elections to replace the socialist who took over from the late Hugo Chavez. Seven weeks of street protests have left 47 people dead. In Caracas alone, some 160,000 marched through the city trying to reach the Interior Ministry in the city center, said Edinson Ferrer, spokesman for the opposition coalition MUD, citing a preliminary estimate. Police firing tear gas broke up the demonstration and protesters responded by throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. At least 46 people were injured in the eastern district of Chacao, the authorities said, includi...

At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed early Sunday when Taliban fighters stormed multiple security outposts in the volatile southern province of Zabul, officials said, as the insurgents escalate their annual spring offensive. Local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention as they were unable to get hold of senior authorities for help, highlighting the disarray in security ranks. The coordinated attack is another stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces. It comes just a month after the Taliban killed at least 135 security forces in northern Balkh province, in the deadliest insurgent attack on an Afghan military base. "This morning, a group of Taliban fighters armed with heavy and light weapons launched coordinated attacks on several police checkpoints in Shah Joy district of Zabul province, killing 20 policemen," provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told AFP. A district official told AFP that at least 15 others were woun...

Beijing systematically dismantled CIA spying efforts in China beginning in 2010, killing or jailing more than a dozen covert sources, in a deep setback to US intelligence there, The New York Times reported Sunday. The Times, quoting 10 current and former American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the intelligence breach as one of the worst in decades. It said that even now intelligence officials are unsure whether the US was betrayed by a mole within the CIA or whether the Chinese hacked a covert system used by the CIA to communicate with foreign sources. Of the damage inflicted on what had been one of the most productive US spy networks, however, there was no doubt: at least a dozen CIA sources were killed between late 2010 and the end of 2012, including one who was shot in front of colleagues in a clear warning to anyone else who might be spying, the Times reported. In all, 18 to 20 CIA sources in China were either killed or imprisoned, according to ...

Approximately 500 jet nozzles will blast out cold air at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha, keeping fans cool with temperatures around 23 degrees Celsius With a little under 2,022 days until the Qatar World Cup kicks-off, the tiny yet hugely ambitious Gulf state will officially unveil the tournament's first completed venue on Friday. The Khalifa International Stadium -- complete with the much-talked-about cooling technology that was central to Qatar's controversial bid for the World Cup -- will host the country's biggest domestic cup competition, The Emir Cup final. On the pitch it will be a battle between arguably the country's biggest teams -- Al Sadd, skippered by Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez, who called the stadium "fantastic" on a tour Thursday, and Al Rayyan. But off the pitch, the stadium will provide a solid example of Qatar's progress for the World Cup, a mere 2012 days before the tournament kicks-off. "I th...