Soccer fan shoots player dead

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – An Iraqi soccer fan shot dead a player of the opposing team as he tried to score an equalizing goal in the final minutes of a match, police said on Monday.

The shooting on Saturday in Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, during a match between local teams, underscored the country's propensity to lawlessness even as violence by militant groups falls to lows not seen since mid-2003.

"As soon as Haider Kadhim (the player) was alone in front of the goalkeeper and close to equalizing, a fan in the crowd fired a pistol at him," a senior police officer in Hilla, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

"We arrested this fan immediately but unfortunately the player died."

Iraqis love soccer and have often expressed hope the game would help reconcile warring ethnic groups and sects.

Iraq's surprise victory in the 2007 Asian Cup brought rare joy and unity to the shattered nation, with Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds pouring into the streets to celebrate their team's 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the Jakarta final.

(Reporting by Wisam Mohammed; Writing by Tim Cocks, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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Odd News:Obama look-alike shoots to fame in Indonesia

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian photographer Ilham Anas won't be at U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday. Instead he'll be starring as an Obama look-alike on Indonesian TV.

Anas, 34, who from some angles bears a resemblance to the new U.S. president, shot to fame in Jakarta after Obama, 47, won the election in November, and is now earning income as an Obama double.

Many Indonesians have a keen interest in Obama, who lived in Jakarta for four years after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married Muslim Indonesian Lolo Soetoro following the end of her marriage to Obama's Kenyan father.

"When Obama won, my colleagues played a practical joke on me -- they made me wear a suit, a tie, and took pictures of me posing as Obama," Anas told Reuters on Saturday.

"The pictures spread very quickly on the Internet. It was phenomenal. Then TV stations and an advertising agency got in touch with me."

That led to an appearance in a pharmaceuticals advertisement in the Philippines where he played Obama, who is due to be sworn in as the 44th U.S. president on Tuesday.

Anas, who was born and raised in Bandung, West Java, said he feels lucky to resemble Obama.

"I never thought I would be a star in a commercial, then this happened. It's very fortunate," Anas said.

"I was in the airport in Malaysia in transit and a man approached me and asked: 'Are you Obama?'. I was very surprised when he asked to take a picture together and bought me a meal," said Anas, flashing a broad smile.

If he ever gets the chance to meet Obama, Anas said he would ask the U.S. president to take a firm stance in dealing with the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

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Boy, 4, shoots babysitter for stepping on his foot

JACKSON, Ohio – Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.

Witnesses told police the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was watching the child at a mobile home in Jackson with several other teenagers and several other children.

Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen says authorities are investigating. The child has not been charged.
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