Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal has snatched a 3-1 victory against Mes FC in the Asian Champions League Group D at the King Fahd International Stadium.

The hosts, coached by Erirc Gerets, took an early lead through Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson who broke the deadlock after just three minutes on Wednesday night.

Real Madrid has been knocked out of the Champions League following a 1-1 draw with France's Olympique Lyon at the Bernabeu Stadium.

The nine-time European champion took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo who netted the opener after six minutes on Wednesday night.

One person has died, and one more is missing, after a fire broke out overnight destroying one of Moscow's most famous nightclubs. The Opera nightclub was completely gutted by the blaze. According to a preliminary investigation, the building underwent recent renovation which may have left the venue in violation of fire safety rules. More than 200 people were evacuated from adjoining buildings. The club had been closed for a short period due to poor safety standards but was later re-opened. This followed nation-wide checks after a nightclub fire in the city of Perm in Central Russia in December 2009, that claimed the lives of 155 people.

While acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine had long been thought to be effective in increasing the chances of conception through IVF, a new study voices doubt about the belief.

Previous studies had reported that acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine improve blood flow and subsequently increase the chance of an embryo implanting. Many infertile couples were therefore advised to use the therapy in different stages of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

The sex scandals seem to be endless for the Catholic Church as new allegations of child abuses are surfacing in a Roman Catholic convent in Germany.

The Vatican said Tuesday that local churches had "acted swiftly and decisively" to address the issue.

Iran's Sepahan was held to its second successive draw in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday, failing to score against bottom-placed Al Ain.

"We were lucky not to concede a goal in the first half but [we] dominated the game in the second half thanks to some technical changes," Sepahan manager Amir Qalenoi said.

The United Nations Council of Human Rights is intended to condemn a move by Switzerland to impose a ban on the construction of new minarets in the Alpine nation, characterizing the measure as "Islamophobic."

A draft resolution proposed by the Muslim states for consideration in the 47-member council, "strongly condemns ... the ban on construction of minarets of mosques and other recent discriminatory measures," AFP said.

A team of Iranian and Italian experts have discussed possible methods to restore Pasargadae in Iran's southern Fars Province.

Experts from the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities joined their Iranian counterparts at a conference held by Iran's Parsa and Pasargadae Research Center last week, CHN reported.

Following a diet rich in fiber particularly from whole grains lowers the risk of developing chronic lung diseases, a new study finds.

"For COPD prevention, the most important public health message remains smoking cessation," said lead researcher Raphaelle Varraso, adding that the diet is another modifiable factor which might influence one's risk of developing COPD.

Despite the general belief, a new study finds that donating a kidney is not associated with an increased long-term risk of death.

Despite a slightly higher risk of death among kidney donors in the first 90 days after surgery due to its inherent risks, there is no difference in the mortality rate of donors and non-donors in the long run.