PHOENICIA

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Algeria qualified for the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Egypt on Wednesday.

A stunning first-half strike by defender Antar Yahya gave Algeria victory in the playoff match.

Yahya's 39th-minute winner came against the run of play when he took advantage of a lapse in concentration by Egypt's defenders to hit a perfect volley in off the underside of the crossbar with his right foot from an acute angle.

The match was played in Khartoum, Sudan, after the two teams finished their group matches level on points and having scored and conceded the same number of goals.

The win means Algeria will make its first appearance at a World Cup since 1986 and once again highlighted Egypt's inability to carry its impressive form in Africa — it has won the African Cup a record six times — into World Cup qualification tournaments.

Egypt last appeared at a World Cup in 1990.

Failing once again to reach the game's biggest stage is likely to be hard to take for the football-mad nation.

Egypt dominated possession without creating many goalscoring opportunities, while Algeria always looked dangerous on the break.

Algeria become the fifth African nation to reach the finals through qualifying, alongside Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

A bigger bra size not only gives your sex appeal a boost but also reflects your intelligence, suggests a new survey.

A study conducted in the United States showed that women with big breasts are smarter than those who are less endowed.

Referring to a Singapore newspaper article, Sin Chew Daily revealed that the study was aimed to find out whether the size of a woman’s bust affected her brainpower.

The study, conducted by a female researcher in Chicago, involved 1,200 women. The subjects were divided into five groups, from extra small to extra big, reports The Star Online.

The study speculated that such women were smarter due to the higher level of female hormones that could result in better development in the brain.

This is song by George Wassouf. It's touching esp. for those frustrated ones…

They said patience is good…
It's enough, my lifetime goes by, and I still in my place.
Everything goes will not back again
Those whom I gave them my life forgot me in seconds
And those I sacrificed for them didn't sacrificed for me.

Those whom I gave them my life forgot me in seconds
And those I sacrificed for them didn't sacrificed for me.
I found no one is good, and no one cures my wound

Archaeological discoveries: Two mural paintings portraying Heaven and Hell were discovered at al-Marqab Citadel in Tartous, Director-General of Ruins and Museums Bassam Jamous said to Syrian al-Thawra Daily on Saturday.

Jamous indicated that the paintings reveal the sophisticated capabilities of the Syrian artists and highlight social and religious rituals.

He added the analysis of the two paintings would lead to important results that give an insight into the social and ritualistic connotations.

Jamous said that the national mission at Tal al-Mosherfa unearthed a number of tombs dating back to the Middle Bronze era, around 700 B.C., as well as dozens of ancient pieces like earthenware containers, stressing that decoding them would expand knowledge of that era.

al-Marqab Citadel located only 6 Km from Banias, this magnificent castle sits on the side of an extinct volcano, over watching the sea. Called Qalaat Al Marqab in Arabic it means Castle of the watchtower. This is where Richard the Lionheart landed at the beginning of the third crusade.

Founded in 1062 by the Muslim Arabs it was then taken over by the Byzantines then somehow passed into the hands of the principality of Antioch at an unknown date. It was then sold to the Hospitallers in 1186 and was rebuilt to the latest Frankish military standards of architecture and used by the crusaders until it fell into the hands of Sultan Qalaun in 1285, after only 5 weeks of battle.

The most important aspects and features of this fortress, are the keep and the chapel. The round keep is a massive tower of strength, and at a diameter of nearly 29 meters and walls of 5 meters thick it is quite typical of 12th century Hospitallers work. From
the top magnificent views of the mountains and the coast can be seen, not to mention the beautiful view of the Mediterranean.

As for the chapel, it is entered by two entrances one from the north and the other from the west (up some steps). This chapel, also built in the 12th century is a magnificent example of Gothic art, with traces of Romanesque. Although this chapel is relatively small the fact that there are no aisles makes it quite spacious, this is typical of Gothic art. There are three pointed arches, one decorated in black and white, one undecorated but supported with Corinthian capitalized columns. The rounded apse is two steps higher than the rest of the chapel, and there are two small rooms behind it. The chapel is beautiful in its simplicity.

Angelina Jolie met with Iraqi refugees in Syria, Then she visited Old Damascus and its markets. It was Friday so markets were nearly closed! Anyway here you are some photos