Ozil off the mark as Arsenal down Napoli

LONDON: Mesut Ozil's first goal for Arsenal inspired his side to an impressive 2-0 win over Napoli that maintained their 100 percent start in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Ozil, signed for a club record 42.5 million pounds from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, had promised to add more goals to his undoubted creative talent and the German midfielder was as good as his word with a superb strike to break his Arsenal duck early in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.

He turned provider soon after, setting up French striker Olivier Giroud for his sixth goal of the season to effectively kill off Napoli with just 15 minutes gone.

Arsene Wenger's side have now taken six points from their first two Group F fixtures, while also surging to the top of the Premier League with five successive wins.

It is a remarkable transformation since a shock opening day defeat against Aston Villa prompted a furious reaction from the Emirates faithful.

Wenger had no reason to fear the boo-boys on another encouraging night for his emerging team and he was even able to leave England midfielder Jack Wilshere on the bench for the first 60 minutes. "The first half was amazing, absolutely fantastic.

Everything was in there. All that you dream to see when you come to watch football," Wenger said. "I felt that we played at a good pace, technically very direct and finished with great goals."

Napoli boss Rafael Benitez added: "You have a team like Arsenal with this level and this quality sometimes they can play well and it is hard to beat them."

Arsenal's early-season form has prompted suggestions that a title challenge could be brewing in north London.

But Wenger might well be willing to sacrifice domestic success if he could guarantee winning the Champions League after this week describing his quest to land the one major trophy missing from his collection as an obsession.

While it is too early for any bold predictions of Arsenal glory in Europe, on this evidence the Gunners boss can at least expect a better showing in the competition than in recent years.

Wenger's side are flying at present and their sky-high confidence was clear to see as they took the lead with a fabulous opening goal in the eighth minute.

Robert Pires has been working with Wenger's players on the training ground this week, but even the legendary Arsenal 'Invincibles' team that featured the French winger would have been hard pressed to better a move of such exquisite style.

When Bacary Sagna clipped a high pass towards Giroud, the rapidly improving forward showed great strength and agility to flick the ball into Aaron Ramsey's path.

Ramsey has been in the form of his life in recent weeks and the Wales midfielder demonstrated his eye for a killer pass as he picked out Ozil, who displayed immaculate technique with a fine side-footed strike past Jose Reina from just inside the penalty area.

Napoli had defeated last season's Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund in their Group F opener and arrived at the Emirates unbeaten in Serie A under former Liverpool and Chelsea boss Benitez.

But they were no match for Arsenal in this mood and the hosts, stronger in the tackle and far more vibrant on the ball, doubled their lead in clinical fashion after some sloppy defending from the Italians in the 15th minute.

A poor clearance was intercepted by the alert Ramsey on the right flank and suddenly Napoli were exposed as Giroud fed Ozil, who raced into the area before slipping a low pass for Giroud to fire home from close-range.

Miguel Britos headed narrowly past the far post as Napoli mounted their first serious threat to Wojciech Szczesny's goal.

But with the ponderous Goran Pandev leading the attack in place of the injured Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli lacked a cutting edge and Ozil and Ramsey, linking superbly in midfield, combined to keep them from establishing any momentum.

Milan snatch point in dramatic finish

AMSTERDAM: Mario Balotelli scored a penalty in the fourth minute of added time to earn AC Milan a 1-1 draw with Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in Champions League Group H on Tuesday.

Balotelli won the penalty in controversial circumstances after grappling with substitute centre-back Mike Van der Hoorn inside the area and his conversion from 12 yards earned the Rossoneri a draw that their second-half display deserved.

The finish was cruel on Ajax, however, as they had only taken the lead in the 90th minute of a game that had previously appeared destined to end goalless.

Then, young central defender Stefano Denswil rose unmarked five yards out to head home a corner from the right flank to leave the Dutch champions on the brink of a precious win.

Instead, the draw suits Milan, who are clear in second place on four points behind Barcelona, 1-0 winners away to Celtic in the group's other game.

Ajax now face a vital double-header against Celtic while Milan will know they must do far better when they take on familiar foes Barcelona next.

Both Ajax and Milan can boast a glorious past, with 11 European Cups between them and two previous meetings in the final of the competition, Milan winning 4-1 in 1969 and Ajax gaining revenge with a 1-0 victory in the 1995 showpiece in Vienna.

Current Ajax coach Frank de Boer played in the latter game but these days he is unable to keep his best players for long enough to build a team that can properly compete on the European stage, while Milan are a shadow of their former selves.

The Rossoneri travelled to the Dutch capital on the back of a slow start to the Serie A season and without the likes of Kaka and Stephan El Shaarawy, although Mario Balotelli was able to play as he is serving a domestic suspension.

However, Massimiliano Allegri's men ignored the temptation to push forward and look for Balotelli in the first half, instead ceding possession and inviting their hosts to make the play.

As a result, Ajax utterly dominated, but a Viktor Fischer shot that flashed just wide and a Lerin Duarte free-kick that was tipped over by Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal were as close as they came to taking the lead into half-time.

And predictably, Milan - who beat Dutch opposition in PSV Eindhoven to qualify for the group stage - were much improved after the restart.
They finally produced an attempt on goal in the 49th minute, Kevin Constant cutting the ball back for captain Riccardo Montolivo to shoot, but his effort was well saved by Jasper Cillessen.

Balotelli had a free-kick deflected just over moments later before seeing a terrific curling strike tipped onto the woodwork by Cillessen just after the hour mark.

Ajax, whose starting line-up had an average age of just 23.5, visibly tired and spent the closing stages penned back inside their own half but they roused themselves and almost won it at the very end.

They had an effort disallowed for offside and Siem de Jong was denied by Abbiati before Denswil netted what looked like the winner, only for Balotelli to rescue Milan, not for the first time.

Researchers hope to understand bedbugs by studying genetic history

 

A study of the genetic makeup of bedbugs has been launched by researchers who say they are concerned the pests will become as common as cockroaches.

To understand the evolutionary history of both bedbugs and cockroaches, a team of researchers has begun a yearlong study of the insects' genomes, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
"Bedbugs and cockroaches look pretty much the same as they did millions of year ago," said Dr. Mark Siddall, curator of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History in New York who is working with the team. "But they've grown up with us, almost like companion animals."
Bedbugs came to America decades ago. The tiny creatures are known for their nasty bites and their resistance to pesticides.
"Bed bugs are what cockroaches were several decades ago and it is a concern," added Coby Schal, a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University.
Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, a professor at Fordham University, is looking at a group of bedbugs collected at Fort Dix, N.J., in the 1970s. By comparing them with the fossils of ancient Egyptian bedbugs, he hopes to determine where they originated in Europe.

Daughter says dad shielded her from falling rocks on Colo.

The sole survivor of a rock slide that killed five people in Colorado said her father shielded her as the rocks tumbled down, police said.
The teen, identified as Gracie Johnson, was airlifted to a Denver hospital with a broken leg after Monday's rock slide that sent 100-ton boulders onto a viewing area in Chalk Creek Canyon below Mount Princeton.
Gracie's father, mother and sibling were among the victims, whose identities have not been released, sources told ABC News.
Chaffee County Sheriff's Deputy Nick Tolsma said he hiked about a mile to reach the scene.
"I heard a scream next to me. I saw a hand sticking out underneath the boulder," Tolsma said of Gracie. "The true hero is her dad. She said her dad jumped on her to protect her at the last moment when the rocks were coming down. I think he saved her life."
Investigators planned to return to the popular hiking trial Tuesday to resume their recovery efforts. Falling rocks hampered efforts to recover the bodies Monday evening.
"They started encountering more rocks coming off the cliff," Chaffee County Undersheriff John Spezze said of first responders' efforts Monday.

Former Chilean spy chief commits suicide on leave from prison

head of the secret police under Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet killed himself while on weekend leave from prison, officials say.
Odlanier Mena, 87, allegedly shot himself in the head hours before he was to be transferred to a prison he believed was not equipped to handle his health issues, The Santiago Times reported Monday.
His daughter found his body Saturday in the service stairway of his apartment building in Santiago.
Mena was due to be transferred Monday from the Penal Cordillera, where he had been granted many privileges, to the Penal Punta Peuco, a facility designed to hold those convicted of human rights violations.
"He was terribly affected by the transfer situation, and the fact that in Punta Peuco he would not receive the medical attention he needed," said Mena's attorney, Jorge Balmaceda.
On his weekend leaves from prison, Mena was allowed to move freely around the city, the only inmate at the prison given such a privilege. Despite the fact he was a convicted felon, he was allowed to keep four guns that were registered in his name, said Eastern Santiago District Attorney Roberto Contreras.
Mena had been sentenced to six years in prison in 2008 for his role in the death of three men in Arica during the so-called "Caravan of Death" in which a military death squad killed 96 people.