A year after being literally wiped out, a Russian hockey team flourishes

Wooden hockey sticks smack into rubber pucks as the metal blades of skates slice through the ice. The sounds echo through an empty arena in the Czech capital Prague in late November as a visiting hockey team prepares for another game in the Kontinental Hockey League.
But this is no ordinary squad. This is Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a Russian team that was literally wiped out last year in an air tragedy that shocked the hockey world.
On Sept. 7, 2011, the team was set to fly to Minsk to play their first game of the new season amid high hopes of adding to its league titles from the 1990s. But the team’s plane, a Yak-42, never gained proper altitude and slammed into a tower. It went down in flames about a mile from Tunoshna Airport in Yaroslavl, Russia.
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Forty-five people on board died, among them some of the greats of the game, including Slovakia’s Pavol Demitra; Ruslan Salei, a hero back home in Belarus; and three Czech players with world championship medals. Only the flight engineer survived.
A government investigation found one of the pilots had literally stepped on the brakes, dragging the plane down when it should have been going up. It later emerged the pilot and co-pilot were not properly trained to fly the Yak-42, and had forged documents to prove otherwise.
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The crash provoked much soul-searching in Russia with then-President Dmitry Medvedev calling for an urgent upgrade of the country’s passenger jets.
More immediately for Lokomotiv, it left the club without its senior players or coaches. Of the entire senior roster, only one coach and one player, both of whom had stayed behind, were left.
REBUILDING
But now, just a year on, Lokomotiv is not only playing, but winning as well, sitting near the top of the Western Conference of the mostly Russian Kontinental Hockey League.
Tim Rowe, their American coach, credits Lokomotiv President Yuri Yakovlev with assembling a squad from scratch that can compete in the KHL, considered by hockey cognoscenti to be the world’s top league currently playing, as the NHL remains mired in a labor dispute between owners and players.
After the crash, Mr. Yakovlev rejected a KHL offer to craft a replacement team assembled with players from other KHL teams, along with some of Lokomotiv’s junior players. Instead, the junior team played last year in Russia’s Major Hockey League – the country’s top minor league, all with the hope of returning to the top flight this season.
And return they did, bouncing back even stronger than management had hoped.
“I knew we would have a good team; Mr. Yakovlev has been active signing good players. But even I’m surprised how quickly this team has gelled,” explains Mr. Rowe.
'A SEASON DEDICATED TO THOSE GUYS'
Rowe cites a form of divine intervention for the team’s success. "I'm not being strange when I say this, I think we're getting some help from up above in the type of season we're having."
They're definitely looking out over us, and it's a good feeling," he says. "There's a calmness over this team every night that I haven't been around too often, and it's an awful lot of fun to be a part of it.”
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Rowe was particularly impacted by the tragedy, being a friend of Brad McCrimmon, the team's Canadian coach who died in the crash. Mr. McCrimmon was set to start his first season with the team.
Russian Viktor Kozlov was playing for another team, Salavat Yulaev, last year when league commissioner Alexander Medvedev interrupted its first game to announce to disbelieving fans and players alike what had happened just a bit earlier in the day in Yaroslavl.
“I was shocked by the news. We all were. We couldn’t believe it,” says Mr. Kozlov, who plied his skills for years in the NHL.
Now, a year later, Kozlov is with Lokomotiv. Kozlov says he joined the team, partly for the chance to be part of the team’s rebirth. He says although life goes on, the former team must not be forgotten.
He points to a charity match played earlier in the year in Zlin, in the Czech Republic. That was the hometown of Karel Rachunek, one of three Czech players to die in the crash. "Yeah, of course, we remember the guys, like Karel Rachunek, with the game with Zlin."
Canadian Mark Flood says the constant reminders – including the ringing of a bell before each home game to honor the fallen players – are all part of what motivates the team.

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Iraq Sunnis block trade routes in protest against PM Maliki

Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims blocked Iraq's main trade route to neighboring Syria and Jordan in a fourth day of demonstrations on Wednesday against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The massive show of force marks an escalation in protests that erupted last week after troops detained the bodyguards of Sunni Finance Minister Rafaie Esawi, threatening to plunge Iraq deeper into political turmoil.
"The people want to bring down the regime," chanted thousands of protesters in the Sunni stronghold of Anbar, echoing the slogan used in popular revolts that ended in the toppling of the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
Waving the old flag of Iraq that was changed after Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, protesters sat in the road, choking off the main trade route between Iraq, Jordan and Syria.
Another smaller protest was held in the city of Samarra in the predominantly Sunni province of Salahuddin, next to Anbar.
The move against Esawi's guards came hours after President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who has mediated among Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish factions, left for Germany for treatment for a stroke that could end his steadying influence over Iraqi politics.
The arrest was reminiscent of Maliki's move to arrest Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who he accused of running death squads, just as U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011.
Iraq's fragile power-sharing government has since lurched from crisis to crisis and the conflict in Syria risks reigniting sectarian tensions that brought the country to the brink of all-out civil war in 2005-2007.
Addressing the protesters, Esawi said the detention of his guards was politically motivated and that Maliki was deliberately provoking strife.
"It is enough! The country should not be run by such a mentality," he said, to cries of "God is greatest".
Maliki has sought to play his rivals off against one another to strengthen his alliances in Iraq's complex political landscape before provincial elections next year and a parliamentary vote in 2014.
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, another rival of Maliki, offered his support to the protests in a statement, rejecting what he described as Maliki's sectarian policies.

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Syrian moderates fear being edged out of uprising

Abdul Rahman, a quiet, even-tempered man, leads a collection of moderate Free Syrian Army battalions in Aleppo. He says groups like his are becoming harder to find as the 21-month uprising drags on and more groups lean either secular or Islamist extremist.
At a time when opposition fighters live and die by their ability to get equipment, Mr. Rahman says it’s become more difficult for those in the middle ideologically to get supplies, with most donors choosing to support hardened secularists or Islamists.
Recently, Rahman had to break with some of the battalions he formerly commanded, in part because some were involved in criminal activity and there were disagreements among leaders, but also because of shortages of equipment.
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“The moderates are the majority of people here in Syria, but now they are decreasing without any support,” he says. “If it continues like it is now, extremist groups will have a lot of influence after the Assad government falls.”
'PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE'
Abu Karam, the leader of the opposition’s Abu Bakar al Sadeq battalion, says that a number of well-funded, hardline groups are using their resources to enlarge their base of support. “People are desperate and they will take assistance from whoever is giving it,” he says.
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Many Syrians are worried about what Rahman and other moderates describe as an increasingly polarized political landscape among the Syrian opposition. Hardline groups exist among both the Islamists and secularists, but many Syrians say that conservative Islamist groups are gaining the most ground inside Syria right now. Throughout Aleppo, a number of civilians are also calling for a post-Assad government to be based on sharia, or Islamic law.
Despite moderates' fears, many Syrians, regardless of their affiliations and beliefs, say the trend toward conservative Islam is largely a response to decades of secular rule under the Assad regime and does not necessarily indicate the desire for an ultra-conservative regime in Syria.
“Wherever the extremists go, they try to impose themselves on the population. This is a civilian revolution, and it contains all the elements of our society,” says Abu Karam, the battalion leader.
CONFLICTED FEELINGS
Among the groups that have caused the greatest concern is Jabhat al-Nusra, a conservative Islamist group now fighting among the Syrian opposition. Last week, the US State Department classified the group as a terrorist organization, saying it had ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq, which was a major force within the anti-US Sunni insurgency.
Many Syrians do not agree with the classification of Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization and harbor conflicted feelings about the group. Its fighters, many of whom are foreign, have experience fighting in Iraq and Libya, among other places, and provide expertise to less experienced fighters. The group is also well equipped. Both aspects make the militant organization critical to the opposition’s ability to effectively challenge the army of President Bashar al-Assad.
Ideologically though, the group represents a marked departure from Syria’s longstanding moderate tradition. Opposition fighter Abu Osama started fighting with Jabhat al-Nusra before the group had fully formed, but decided to leave when they asked him to pledge a loyalty oath that could require him to fight for Jabhat al-Nusra in other countries when the war ended. He’d also grown concerned about some of the group's ultra-conservative practices.
“They’re always accusing people of being infidels,” he says. “They consider [Egyptian President and Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed] Morsi to be an infidel because he’s not applying the sharia law in Egypt.”
AFTER ASSAD?
A number of opposition fighters now say that they fear an eventual battle with the group if and when Assad is no longer in power. Among those moderates who doubt such an extreme scenario, they still say they worry about the influence such a group could have on a new government in Syria.
“Jabhat al-Nusra is not going to accept someone saying, ‘Thanks for your help, now please go.’” says Abu Mohammad, commander of the opposition’s Dar al Wafa Battalion and a member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. “We’re really betting on the awareness of the young people” to know better than to support Jabhat al-Nusra’s political agenda.

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Berlusconi allies fire barbs at Monti, ending Christmas truce

 Italian politicians resumed their bickering on Wednesday, with supporters of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi taking aim at his successor Mario Monti despite a Christmas call from the Pope for political peace.
Just before midnight at the end of Christmas Day, Monti tweeted: "Together, we saved Italy from disaster. Now we have to renew politics. Complaining won't help anything. Rolling up sleeves will. Let's rise to politics!"
That irked center-right supporters of Berlusconi, who resigned last year to let Monti take over and is now scrapping with center-left and pro-Monti centrist blocs ahead of elections due February 24-25.
"Monti did not save Italy, he merely reaped the merits of four year of work by Berlusconi", said Gianfranco Rotondi, a parliamentarian from Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party.
Anna Maria Bernini, also of the PDL, accused Monti of spouting "pure propaganda", adding: "It is shocking to see how a man can present himself as a savior after bringing the country to recession, taking all the merit (for successes) and attributing all the disasters to others."
The mud-slinging took place less than a day after Pope Benedict urged Italian politicians in a Christmas address to "favor the spirit of cooperation for the common good".
Monti resigned last week as promised after the budget was passed, and is staying on in a caretaker capacity until the formation of a new government after the elections. Although his exact plans for after the elections are not entirely clear, he is expected to remain influential.
Berlusconi has said it would be "immoral" for Monti to fight the election after governing as an unelected premier with the support of the main parties.
But not all of the center right opposes the prime minister. Italia Libera (A Free Italy), a group of 11 parliamentarians who have defected from Berlusconi's PDL, praised Monti's economic reform plans as "a Copernican revolution for those who are used to something that is as erosive and unproductive as the duel between forces for or against Berlusconi".

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Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American

The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday.
The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married an Afghan man.
On Monday morning, she loaded a pistol in a bathroom at the police compound, hid it in her long scarf and shot an American police trainer, apparently becoming the first Afghan woman to carry out such an attack.
Narges also tried to shoot police officials after killing the American. Luckily for them, her pistol jammed. Her husband is also under investigation.
Her son Sayed, 16, and daughter Fatima, 13, described how they tried to call their parents 100 times after news broke of the shooting, then waited in vain for them to come home.
They recalled Narges's severe mood swings, and how at times she beat them and even pulled out a knife. But the children said she was consistent in bemoaning poverty.
"She was usually complaining about poverty. She was complaining to my father about our conditions. She was saying that my father was poor," Sayid said in an interview in their damp, cold two-room cement house.
On the floor beside him were his mother's prescriptions and a thick plastic bag filled with pills she tried to swallow to end the misery about a month ago. On another occasion, she cut her wrist with a razor, Sayed said.
"My father was usually calm and sometimes would say that she was guilty too because it wasn't a forced marriage. They fell in love and got married."
There was no sign in their neighborhood of the billions of dollars of Western aid that have poured into Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001, or of government investment.
RAW SEWAGE, STAGNANT WATER, DIRT ROADS
The lane outside their home stank of raw sewage.
Dirty, stagnant water filled holes in dirt roads nearby, where children in tattered clothes played and butchers stood by cow's hooves in shops choked by dust.
Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest nations, with a third of its 30 million residents living under the poverty line.
The sole distractions from the daily grind appeared to be a deck of playing cards and a compact disc with songs from Iranian pop singers, scattered on the floor of a room where Narges would lock herself in and weep, or sit in silence.
At times, Narges would try to focus on building her children's confidence, telling them to be guided by the Muslim holy book, the Koran, to tackle life's problems.
Sayed and Fatima said she never spoke badly of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan or of President Hamid Karzai's government.
Neighbor Mohammad Ismail Kohistani was dumbfounded to hear on the radio that Afghan officials were combing Narges' phone records to try to determine whether al Qaeda or the Taliban could have brainwashed her into carrying out a mission.
But he was acutely aware of her mental problems and often heard her scream at her husband, whose low-level job in the crime investigation unit of the police brought home little cash.
Kohistani, who operates a small sewing shop with battered machines, never imagined his neighbor could be accused of a high-profile attack that raised new questions about the direction of an unpopular war.
"I became very depressed and sad," said Kohistani, sitting on the floor few feet from a tiny wood-burning stove in Narges's home, alongside family photographs and a police training manual.
Fatima would often seek refuge in Kohistani's house when her mother's behavior became unbearable. "She did not hate us, but usually she was angry and would not talk to us," said Fatima, her eyes moist with tears.
Nevertheless, she missed her mother. The children were staying with a cousin.
"I ask the government to free my mother, otherwise our future will be destroyed," said Fatima.
Officials described it as another "insider shooting", in which Afghan forces turn on Westerners they are meant to be working with to stabilize the country. There have been over 52 such attacks so far this year.
The shooting at the police headquarters may have alarmed Afghanistan's Western allies. But some Afghans have grown numb to the violence.
Kohistani's 70-year-old father Omara Khan, who sports a white beard, sat twirling prayer beads beneath a photograph of Narges in a black veil beside one of her husband.
Asked what he thought of the attack, he laughed.
"This is common in Afghanistan," said Khan, who lived through decades of upheaval, including the 10-year Soviet occupation and a civil war that destroyed half of Kabul and killed some 50,000 civilians.

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UPDATE 2-Soccer-Turkish championship results and standings

Dec 23 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Turkish championship matches on Sunday
Sunday, December 23
Antalyaspor 2 Eskisehirspor 1
Bursaspor 0 Genclerbirligi 0
Gaziantepspor 2 Mersin Idmanyurdu 1
Sivasspor 3 Elazigspor 1
Trabzonspor 0 Galatasaray 0
Saturday, December 22
Fenerbahce 1 Karabukspor 3
Kasimpasa 0 Buyuksehir Bld. Spor 2
Friday, December 21
Akhisar Belediyespor 0 Orduspor 0
Besiktas 3 Kayserispor 1
Standings P W D L F A Pts
1 Galatasaray 17 9 6 2 34 20 33
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2 Besiktas 17 8 6 3 38 25 30
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3 Antalyaspor 16 9 3 4 28 21 30
4 Fenerbahce 17 7 6 4 25 19 27
5 Eskisehirspor 17 6 6 5 32 23 24
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6 Bursaspor 17 5 9 3 26 20 24
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7 Trabzonspor 17 6 6 5 19 15 24
8 Karabukspor 17 7 3 7 23 26 24
9 Kasimpasa 17 6 5 6 24 20 23
10 Sivasspor 17 6 4 7 21 24 22
11 Genclerbirligi 17 4 9 4 25 26 21
12 Buyuksehir Bld. Spor 17 6 3 8 19 20 21
13 Orduspor 17 4 8 5 19 19 20
14 Gaziantepspor 17 5 5 7 16 24 20
15 Kayserispor 17 5 4 8 22 29 19
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16 Elazigspor 17 3 7 7 11 27 16
17 Mersin Idmanyurdu 17 3 6 8 18 27 15
18 Akhisar Belediyespor 16 2 6 8 11 26 12
1: Champions League / EC I
2: Champions League preliminary round
3-5: Europa League
6: Europa League depending on domestic cup
16-18: Relegation

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Hillsborough disaster tribute tops UK Christmas chart

A tribute song to the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster has taken the number one spot on Britain's Christmas pop chart.
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", a version of the ballad that was a worldwide hit for The Hollies, went to the top of the chart in its first week of release.
Money raised by the single will go to the families of the 96 Liverpool soccer fans killed in Britain's worst sporting disaster in Sheffield, northern England.
The song features performances by artists including Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, the Clash's Mick Jones and Peter Hooton of The Farm. They came together under the name The Justice Collective.
The Official Charts Company, which compiles the weekly rundown, said on Sunday that the song beat a strong challenge from James Arthur, a newcomer who won this year's "The X-Factor", a music talent show. His single "Impossible" was last week's number one.
Relatives of those killed at Hillsborough have campaigned for 23 years to overturn official accounts of what caused the deaths. Police had blamed rowdy, drunken fans for contributing to the crush. Many of the victims were children and teenagers.
A government-backed inquiry concluded in September that police had smeared supporters to cover up their failings, helped by inaccurate media coverage.
Britain's High Court quashed the original "accidental death" inquest verdicts on December 19 and ordered a new investigation. The government also set up a new police inquiry.

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Soccer-Dutch striker Huntelaar extends Schalke contract to 2015

BERLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Schalke 04's prolific Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has extended his contract by two years until 2015, the Bundesliga club said on Sunday.
"I've thought about this decision long and hard and I'm very grateful that the club officials allowed me the time to do so. But now I've made the choice I'm most comfortable with," Huntelaar, 29, said on the club website (www.schalke04.com).
"I've always felt at home at Schalke, with the club and the fans, and I want to send out a positive signal now because I believe in our team and I believe we can still achieve a great deal in the second half of the Bundesliga season.
"And we aren't without a chance against Galatasaray in the last 16 of the Champions League, of course," he added.
The news will be a boost for Schalke manager Jens Keller, who was promoted from youth team coach a week ago to replace the sacked Huub Stevens until the end of the season.
Schalke, who topped their Champions League group, have been struggling domestically with four defeats and no wins in their last six Bundesliga games leaving them in seventh place, trailing 17 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
They travel to Turkey for the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round clash against Galatasaray on Feb. 20 with the return at their Gelsenkirchen stadium on March 12.
Huntelaar, who joined Schalke from AC Milan in August 2010, was the Bundesliga top scorer with 29 goals last season and has scored 11 times in all competitions so far this term.
He also broke Hermann Eppenhoff's club record, set in 1941, for the most goals in a season with 48 in all competitions in the last campaign.

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UPDATE 3-Soccer-Chelsea hit Villa for eight, leaders United held

* Chelsea beat Aston Villa 8-0 at Stamford Bridge
* Manchester United held to 1-1 draw at Swansea (Adds quotes)
LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chelsea, playing with a swagger missing for much of the season, routed Aston Villa 8-0 on Sunday as Premier League leaders Manchester United wasted the chance to move six points clear after a 1-1 draw at Swansea City.
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres began the goal glut after three minutes at Stamford Bridge and David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic made it 3-0 at the break.
Frank Lampard marked his 500th Premier League game and first league start since October with a rasping fourth before Ramires (two), Oscar and Eden Hazard joined the fun as Chelsea, who also missed a penalty, secured a first home league win under interim manager Rafael Benitez to move up to third.
United, who led at Swansea through Patrice Evra before being pegged back by league top scorer Michu's 13th goal this season, hold a four-point advantage over Manchester City, who beat Reading 1-0 on Saturday, heading into a busy holiday programme.
They have 43 points from 18 games, followed by City on 39 and Chelsea, with a game in hand, on 32.
"As a team we had the balance we are looking for," Benitez, whose arrival to replace the sacked Roberto Di Matteo last month was opposed by many Chelsea fans, told Sky Sports.
Chelsea have produced a mixed-bag so far under the Spaniard, with a haul of eight points in his five league games in charge.
England midfielder Lampard, the subject of continued media speculation that he will be allowed to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires, said Chelsea were enjoying playing again.
"I think we showed a great appetite. The early goal helped," said the 34-year-old, who became Chelsea's record top-flight league scorer with 130 goals.
The Villa rout took Chelsea's goal tally to 13 in two games after they thrashed Championship (second division) side Leeds United 5-1 to reach the League Cup semi-finals in midweek.
Sunday's victory matched Chelsea's 8-0 demolition of Wigan Athletic at home in 2010. The record Premier League winning margin is Manchester United's 9-0 defeat of Ipswich Town in 1995.
FERGUSON INCENSED
United manager Alex Ferguson was hardly in festive mood after their Wales trip, ruing two points that got away, saying striker Robin van Persie "could have been killed" by Swansea captain Ashley Williams and criticising referee Michael Oliver.
"We absolutely battered them and we are very unlucky," Ferguson said. "It should have been a six-point gap (over Manchester City) today and that is the disappointment."
Ferguson was incensed when a prone Van Persie was struck in the head from point-blank range by a clearance from Williams with the whistle having been blown for a foul on the Dutchman.
The Scot said it was a "deliberate act" and called for Williams, booked along with Van Persie, who escaped injury, in the melee that followed, to receive a long ban.
"Robin van Persie is lucky to be alive. It was a disgraceful act from their player today and he should be banned by the FA. Robin could have had a broken neck," said a seething Ferguson.
United, welcoming back Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic for his first start since September, went ahead when France international Evra met Van Persie's corner with a glancing header.
Swansea levelled when Wayne Routledge played in Jonathan de Guzman and when David de Gea failed to hold his well-struck low shot, Michu was on hand to follow up.
United had the better of the second-half with Van Persie's mishit volley striking the crossbar before keeper Michel Vorm came to Swansea's rescue when he tipped Carrick's glancing header on to the woodwork.
Villa manager Paul Lambert said his side's capitulation at Chelsea was a "wake-up call" with the Midlands team languishing in 16th place, three points above the drop zone.
"We were second best all over the pitch, I am not going to stand here and make excuses," said the Scot. "We were beaten up pretty badly. The lads know that was not acceptable.

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Belgian championship results and standings

Dec 23 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Belgian championship matches on Sunday
Sunday, December 23
Racing Genk 2 Anderlecht 4
Standard Liege 1 Club Bruges 3
Saturday, December 22
Ghent 1 Charleroi 2
Beerschot 0 Mechelen 2
Cercle Bruges 2 Waasland-Beveren 2
Mons-Bergen 1 Zulte Waregem 1
OH Leuven 2 Lierse 2
Friday, December 21
Kortrijk 2 Lokeren 3
Standings P W D L F A Pts
1 Anderlecht 21 15 4 2 53 19 49
2 Zulte Waregem 21 12 5 4 34 22 41
3 Club Bruges 21 11 5 5 51 34 38
4 Lokeren 21 11 4 6 38 30 37
5 Standard Liege 21 11 2 8 42 28 35
6 Racing Genk 21 9 8 4 42 32 35
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7 Kortrijk 21 8 4 9 24 23 28
8 Mons-Bergen 21 8 4 9 35 41 28
9 OH Leuven 21 6 10 5 38 32 28
10 Mechelen 21 7 5 9 30 31 26
11 Charleroi 21 7 3 11 21 38 24
12 Ghent 21 5 7 9 24 33 22
13 Waasland-Beveren 21 5 6 10 21 36 21
14 Beerschot 21 5 3 13 23 42 18
-------------------------
15 Lierse 21 3 9 9 22 39 18
16 Cercle Bruges 21 3 5 13 26 44 14
1-6: Championship play-off
7-14: Europa League play-off
15-16: Relegation play-off

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