Golden State Warriors Winning Streak Survives in Utah

Steph Curry scored 26 points as the Golden State Warriors survived a furious late onslaught from the Utah Jazz on Monday to stretch their record-breaking unbeaten season start to 19 games.

Reigning NBA MVP Curry came to the Warriors rescue once again, producing a superb three-pointer with seconds left to put Golden State ahead 104-101 just moments after Utah had levelled.

It was yet another moment of inspiration from Curry for the reigning NBA Champions who have now edged one game closer to the Los Angeles Lakers' all-time winning streak record of 33 games.

The Warriors have now won 23-straight regular season games to be third all time behind the aforementioned 71-72 Lakers and the 2012-13 Miami Heat (27 wins).

"This ranks up there. There have been some battles. We have had some lopsided victories, too," said Curry.

"What gets lost in the record are the tough games that we have had to claw our way out of. Like tonight. Hard-fought win to start the road trip."

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were the other standouts for the Warriors, contributing 20 points each. Green also had nine rebounds and seven assists.

The defeat saw Utah's season record fall to 8-8.

Utah's points came through Gordon Hayward (24) and power forward Derrick Favors (23) while center Rudy Gobert had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

"It was fun. We knew this was going to be one of the tougher challenges for us," Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said.

"(Utah) is very well-coached and they execute. They've got those bigs (Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert) that are a lot to deal with. Their crowd, once their crowd got into it, they had their confidence going."

Favors put Utah up by one late in the fourth quarter, only for Golden State to hit back immediately through Curry and Green.

The game marked the start of a demanding seven-game road trip for the Warriors, with tough assignments in Charlotte, Toronto and Indiana.

Elsewhere, Pau Gasol inspired the Chicago Bulls with 18 points in a 92-89 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Bulls' victory snapped a five-game winning streak for San Antonio, who lost for just the second time in 11 games. The Spurs are 14-4 for the season, second only to the all-conquering Warriors in the Western Conference.

Gasol was one of five Chicago players to finish in double figures as the Bulls survived late pressure from San Antonio to hang on for the win.

Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard missed a three-pointer with four seconds left. That would have put his team back in front, while a late three-point attempt from Tony Parker was blocked by the Bulls Derrick Rose to end the game.

In Michigan, James Harden piled on 29 points and nine rebounds for the Houston Rockets but it was not enough to stop the Detroit Pistons from claiming a 116-105 victory.

Reggie Jackson finished with 31 points for Detroit as the Pistons surged to a 28-point first-half lead which provided the basis of victory.

Aron Baynes also had a much-improved night, scoring 11 points in 20 minutes on the court for the Pistons.

The Denver Nuggets meanwhile slumped to their seventh straight defeat in a 92-74 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Wisconsin.

Sacramento shocked the Dallas Mavericks with a 112-98 victory on the back of 31 points from DeMarcus Cousins as Rajon Rondo (21) and Rudy Gay (20) chipped in.

In other games Boston downed Miami 105-95, Atlanta beat Oklahoma City 106-100 and the Los Angeles Clipper scored a 102-87 win over the Portland Trailblazers.

Wojciech Szczesny dropped for 'technical reasons', not smoking

Serie A, Roma have denied that Arsenal loanee Wojciech Szczesny was dropped because he was caught smoking again, with club director Walter Sabatini claiming the goalkeeper was left out for a match against Atalanta for sporting reasons.

The Polish shot-stopper was left out of Rudi Garcia's side for a 2-0 home defeat against Atalanta, capping a disastrous week for the Gialorossi.

Szczesny had conceded six in a rout against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, and Sabatini suggested to the Italian press it had been this performance that had prompted the decision to drop the 25-year-old for "technical reasons".

La Gazetta dello Sport had reported earlier on Monday that Szczesny had been dropped after being caught smoking. The reported incident, now denied by the club, came less than a year after he had been found with a cigarette in the showers after an Arsenal defeat to Southampton. He was immediately exiled from Arsene Wenger's starting XI.

His replacement, 38-year-old Morgan De Sanctis, did little to impress in Szczesny's absence in the loss to mid-table Atalanta though it was full-backs Lucas Digne and Maicon who were responsible for both goals.

And speaking after the match under-fire Roma boss Garcia offered hope to the Arsenal loanee that he would be offered a reprieve.

"Szczesny hasn’t done anything wrong and he isn’t responsible for anything,” he told reporters. "We all need to be better, including the goalkeepers. Roma’s problem isn’t in goal."

Greece Super League Giant,Panathinaikos docked points, fined over fan violence

Panathinaikos has been docked three points and fined for the fan violence that forced the referee to abort a Greek Super League match against Olympiakos.

Panathinaikos forfeited the game and was fined 190,000 euros ($200,000). The club will also have to play its next four home matches behind closed doors.

The decision follows the violence of November. 22, when home fans clashed with police before the game and threw flares at Olympiakos players as they walked out onto the field, injuring two people.

Panathinaikos is now fifth in the Greek league standings with 19 points from 12 games. Olympiakos leads with 36 points.

Sexting victim sues eformer vice principal for harm

William Whillock, 62, has been ordered to pay £25,000 to a 16-year-old girl he pressured into sending him explicit images

William Whillock, former vice-principal of The New School in West Heath near Sevenoaks, Kent, was handed a three-year community order in 2010 after admitting possessing indecent images of a female teenage pupil who he encouraged to send sexually-charged pictures.

Now it has emerged that the victim, who cannot be named, has sued for the harm done, resulting in a judge awarding damages, the BBC reported. The legal precedent means that anyone manipulated into sending or receiving a sexually-explicit message or image, and suffers psychological harm as a result, can now bring a compensation claim.

The NSPCC warned the awarding of damages could be misused. It said: "It's vital that there are serious punishments that deter offenders from committing these crimes against young people.

"However, whilst damages could help discourage potential abusers, there is a danger young people could just use this as a way to get cash by suing one another. It's important for victims to get justice. But it's equally important to educate children about not sharing this kind of explicit material.

"It can leave them exposed to potential harm or embarrassment and they may well end up seriously regretting their actions."

Whillock, then aged 57, was arrested in January 2010 and suspended from his role as vice-principal at The New School in West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent.

A number of sexual photographs of the girl were found on her phone, and the images had been sent to Whillock, who was a co-founder of the school and also its child protection officer.

The victim, now 23, told the BBC the harm done by "father figure" Whillock was serious and long-lasting, adding: "It affects my relationships. I felt forced into it.

"Whenever I have a relationship it's always stuck in my head. I feel like they're going to abuse me again."

Arsenal held by gallant Norwich City

Arsenal lost Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny to injury in a 1-1 draw at Norwich City on Sunday that prevented them drawing level with Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Sanchez set up Mesut Ozil for Arsenal's 30th-minute opener at Carrow Road, but after Lewis Grabban had equalised just before half-time, the influential Chilean left the fray clutching his right hamstring.

Centre-back Koscielny had already departed by that stage, having been replaced by Gabriel in the 11th minute, leaving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger with seven senior players on the sidelines.

Arsenal finished the weekend two points below City in fourth place, with Leicester City and Manchester United between them, having squandered an opportunity to move level on points with Manuel Pellegrini's side.

Liverpool had much happier injury news to report in their 1-0 home win over Swansea City as they welcomed back England internationals Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturrige from injury.

James Milner's 62nd-minute penalty, awarded for a handball by Neil Taylor, lifted Jurgen Klopp's side up to sixth place and increased the pressure on Swansea manager Garry Monk, who has overseen one win in 10 league games.

Henderson, Liverpool's captain, made his return after three months out with a heel problem and a broken foot, as a replacement for Roberto Firmino, while Sturridge made his first appearance under Klopp in place of Christian Benteke.

Liverpool have lost only once in 10 games since Klopp succeeded the sacked Brendan Rodgers and finished the weekend four points below fourth-place Arsenal, who occupy the last of the Champions League places.

Earlier, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho declared that the champions had produced their best performance of the campaign after they drew 0-0 at in-form Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea have had little to shout about of late and although the result served only to move them up to 14th place in the standings, Mourinho, who dropped misfiring striker Diego Costa, was encouraged by what he saw.

West Ham United are now without a win in four league games following a 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion.

Mauro Zarate put the hosts ahead in the 17th minute with a stunning free-kick, but West Brom equalised early in the second half when substitute Rickie Lambert's shot deflected in off Winston Reid for an own goa

Andy Murray clinches Davis Cup title for Great Britain Read .

Andy Murray fittingly clinched a first Davis Cup by BNP Paribas title for Great Britain since 1936 as the world No. 2 beat David Goffin in straight sets to secure a 3-1 victory in the final against Belgium.

Murray impressively finished the year unbeaten in 11 Davis Cup rubbers as he produced his best on Sunday to beat world No. 16 Goffin 63 75 63 in two hours and 54 minutes before falling to the clay in pure emotion.

The victory sparked rapturous scenes amongst the British team and travelling support at the Flanders Expo as they celebrated a moment the country has been awaiting for 79 years when Fred Perry won the deciding rubber to beat Australia at Wimbledon.

Murray said: “It's obviously an amazing feeling. I imagine it will take a few days before it really sinks in. But I probably haven't been as emotional as that after a match that I've won. I've been pretty upset having lost matches before, but I'd say that's probably the most emotional I've been after a win.

“It's incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn't know that would ever be possible. It's great.”

Murray was fired up from the start in his 98th and final tour match of the season. After saving a break point in the fifth game, he created three break points of his own in the following game courtesy of some impressive defence and a stunning trademark backhand cross-court return put him 42 ahead.

Murray was in control from the back of the court and a double fault by Goffin gifted his opponent two set points. Both were saved before Goffin held but Murray had no issue in serving out the set as he put away a forehand winner.

British fans could be forgiven for thinking Davis Cup glory was inevitable at this point with Murray holding a 61-0 record after winning the first set in 2015, but Goffin proved more than a handful in the second set. Murray also showed signs of frustration, at one point yelling at brother Jamie, who was eating a snack beside the trophy at the back corner, to come back to his courtside seat.

With the home support louder than ever, Goffin stayed in the set until 55 when he shanked a forehand wide to give Murray a break point and then dumped a forehand into the net at the end of a lengthy rally.

Murray faced some pressure when attempting to serve out the set at 0-30 but a big serve brought up set point and he sealed it in style with another rasping forehand cross-court pass on the run which left Goffin standing in shock.

Murray had only once lost from two sets up – at the age of 18 against David Nalbandian at Wimbledon 2005 – but Goffin, to his credit, continued to fight hard. Breaks were exchanged early in the third set before Murray edged ahead with another break for 43.

An historic triumph was then sealed as Murray broke the serve of Goffin once again, hitting a stunning lob on his second match point to become the first player since USA’s Pete Sampras in 1995 to win three live rubbers in a Davis Cup final.

Great Britain captain Leon Smith said: “It has to be one of the best [British sporting] achievements of all time. It’s incredible for all of us to watch how he's [Murray] managed to win that many rubbers, that many wins, especially when you look back at the tie in France and also the Australia match, obviously a lot of fatigue, he managed to find a way through. It was absolutely incredible.”

While there was obvious disappointment for Goffin, he remained proud of the effort that Belgium put in this year to reach a first Davis Cup final since 1904.

Goffin said: “I think it was a good match, but Andy was really solid today. I gave everything. I have no regrets. I think after a match like this, and a tie, we can all be proud. Even if we lost the tie today, we played an unbelievable season in Davis Cup. I think Andy and Great Britain deserves the trophy today.”

Former Liverpool defender Gerry Byrne dies at 77

Former England defender Gerry Byrne, who won two league titles with Liverpool and played with a broken collarbone when they won the FA Cup for the first time in 1965, has died aged 77, the club announced on Saturday.

Byrne made 333 appearances for Liverpool who won the league title in 1964 and 1966 and he also gained an FA Cup winners' medal in 1965 when Liverpool beat Leeds United 2-1.

Despite breaking his collarbone in the third minute of the match in the last season before substitutes were allowed in England, he played on and made the cross for Liverpool's first goal.

"The Liverpool-born defender was a model of consistency at left-back under Bill Shankly and a testament to his popularity was evident as 40,000 supporters were at Anfield for his testimonial in April 1970," Liverpool said on their website (www.liverpoolfc.com).

He was a non-playing member of England's World Cup winning squad in 1966 and was presented with a winners' medal at Downing Street in 2009 after a change of Fifa policy.

He won two England caps.

More records in sight for all-conquering Golden State after extending streak to 18-0

Stephen Curry scored 19 points then got plenty of help so he could take the fourth quarter off as the Golden State Warriors improved to 18-0 with a 120-101 win over Sacramento.

Draymond Green had his second straight triple-double, bagging 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists while superstar Stephen Curry scored 19 points and and Brandon Rush notched a season-high 16 points,

The Warriors' 22nd straight regular-season victory -- a streak that includes four wins at the end of last season -- tied the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the third-longest such streak in NBA history, trailing only the 33 straight by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers and 27 in a row by the 2012-13 Miami Heat.

It was also their 28th straight regular-season home win (a streak that also began last season), becoming the 10th NBA team to accomplish that feat and the first since the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls, who won 32 in a row at home en route to their second of three straight league titles.

Curry, the reigning most valuable player who leads the NBA in scoring, looked like he was headed for another explosion as he scored 17 points in the first quarter. But he was quiet thereafter and actually matched a season low, as his teammates did most of the work.

Klay Thompson scored 15 points and Speights added 13 for the Warriors, who had six players in double figures.

Rudy Gay scored 20 points for the Kings, who again played without injured All-Star centre DeMarcus Cousins and have lost five of seven.

Elsewhere:-

Cleveland Cavaliers 90, Brooklyn Nets 88: LeBron James scored 26 points, including the game-winning floater with one second remaining, as the Cavaliers improved to 9-0 at home. Brook Lopez scored 22 points for the Nets, who fell to 1-10 on the road.

In other games, the host San Antonio Spurs outclassed the Atlanta Hawks, 108-88; the Dallas Mavericks knocked off the visiting Denver Nuggets, 92-81; the Toronto Raptors edged the host Washington Wizards, 84-82; the Utah Jazz defeated the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, 101-87; and the host Portland Trail Blazers cruised past the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-96.

Wanderers' win streak continues against Mariners

Second half goals to substitute Brendon Santalab and Mitch Nichols has handed Western Sydney Wanderers a well-deserved 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Sunday.

Santalab struck midway through the second half – just eight minutes after entering the fray – before Nichols sealed the result in stoppage time.

It’s now five straight wins for Tony Popovic’s side and just what they deserved for another excellent showing.

The Wanderers have now moved equal with Melbourne Victory at the top of the Hyundai A-League, while the Mariners are eighth after seven game without a win.

GOALS

0-1 Santalab (66’) – Mitch Nichols split open the Mariners defence with an exquisite through-ball to Santalab, with the substitute producing a composed finish to slam it past Paul Izzo.

0-2 Nichols (90+3’) – A late counter-attack saw Sotirio slide a pass into Nichols about six yards from goal, his scuffed effort wrong-footing Izzo and rolling into an open goal.

TEAMS:

Central Coast Mariners: Izzo, Roux, McGing (Bingham 86’), Poscoliero, Neill (Sim 69’), Fitzgerald, Montgomery (c), Caceres, J. Rose, Heffernan (L. Rose 62’), O’Donovan

Western Sydney Wanderers: Redmayne, Neville, Alberto, Topor-Stanley (c), Jamieson, Andreu, Dimas (Pepper 73’), Nichols, Castelen (Shabow 82’), Sotirio, Vidosic (Santalab 58’)

Bayern Munich extend their lead

Bayern Munich went 11 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 2-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin, who have now gone 38 years without a win at the German giants.

With second-placed Borussia Dortmund hosting VfB Stuttgart on Sunday, Bayern took the chance to extend their lead with first-half goals by Germany forward Thomas Muller and France Under-21 winger Kingsley Coman.

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola praised his side for their resilience with star wingers Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa all currently injured.

"We have a few injuries and only Kingsley Coman to play on the wings," said Guardiola.

"We did well in the first half, we wanted more control in the second half and to stop them counter-attacking.

"I know how hard it is for the players to be ready to play every three days."

Despite their schedule, Bayern show no signs of loosening their iron-grip on the Bundesliga title.

They picked up their 13th win from 14 league games to give them 40 from a possible 42 points and this was the first time in eight home games that Bayern failed to score at least four goals.

With 13 goals in 14 league games, Muller had already equalled his tally for the whole of last season with less than half the campaign gone.

Guardiola experimented with the starting line-up by pushing Germany centre-back Jerome Boateng into a midfield role, which led to their second goal.

They took the lead at Munich's Allianz Arena when Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal's cross found Medhi Benatia, whose shot was heading wide, but Muller was on hand to head home on 34 minutes.

Bayern doubled their lead on 41 minutes when Boateng lobbed the ball into Javi Martinez, whose pass found Coman and the French winger did the rest to make it 2-0 at the break.

Hertha, who last won in Munich in 1977, are in fifth place after Borussia Monchengladbach leap-frogged them into fourth with a 3-3 draw atHoffenheim.

Gladbach's head coach Andre Schubert preserved his nine-game unbeaten record in the lead since taking charge two months ago.

Borussia took an early lead thanks to USA international Fabian Johnson, who then scored their equaliser to rescue a point.

Hoffenheim, chasing their first win since September, took a 3-1 lead just after the break thanks to goals by Steven Zuber, Eugen Polanski and Nadiem Amiri.

But Swiss striker Josip Drmic pulled it back to 3-2 for Gladbach before Johnson claimed his second with a superb shot three minutes from time.

Hamburg are up to sixth after their 3-1 win at Werder Bremen in the north German derby.

Hamburg raced into an early 2-0 lead as Croatia midfielder Ivo Ilicevic scored on their opening attack, then striker Michael Gregoritsch doubled their lead on 26 minutes.

Nigeria's Anthony Ujah pulled a goal back for Werder on 62 minutes, then Germany forward Nicolai Muller made it 3-1 to Hamburg on 68 minutes when Ilicevic's final pass put him in behind the hosts' defence.

Hanover eased the pressure on coach Michael Frontzeck with a 4-0 thumping at home to Ingolstadt which lifted them up to 14th and pulled them away from the relegation zone.

Japan striker Yoshinori Muto scored his seventh goal of the season inMainz's 2-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

His forward partner Yunus Malli added their second to claim his eighth while Frankfurt had captain Alex Meier sent off for a second yellow car

Australian Socceroos legend Marston dead at 89

Australian football icon Joe Marston has died at age 89.

The Socceroos defender was capped 37 times for the national team between 1947 and 1964 and became the first Australian to play in an English FA Cup final in 1954, when his side Preston North End lost to West Bromwich Albion.

Marston (L) with Preston North End in the 1950s. Image: Getty

He died early on Sunday of natural causes having been in frail health for some time.

Marston became a legendary figure of the game, so much so that Football Federation Australia created the Joe Marston Medal, awarded to the best player in the A-League grand final.

A tribute to Marston will be held on the Central Coast, where he retired to, on Sunday afternoon at Central Coast Stadium before the Mariners kick off their A-League match with Western Sydney.

Serie A..AC Milan crush Sampdoria

M'Baye Niang has put the nightmare of the Paris terror attacks behind him with a brace and an assist as AC Milan crushed a sorry Sampdoria 4-1 at the San Siro on Saturday.

Niang admitted last week the events of the past fortnight had left him worried for the safety of family and friends in and around the French capital.

But the 20-year-old from the Paris suburbs produced a confident performance for the Rossoneri, first delivering for Giacomo Bonaventura's opener on 16 minutes and then beating Emiliano Viviano from the spot after the Milan winger had been hauled down in the area seven minutes before the interval.

Niang secured Milan's seventh win of the campaign when he fired under Viviano four minutes after the restart.

Milan moved up to fifth place at seven points behind leaders Inter ahead of the remainder of the weekend matches, with Sampdoria's second successive defeat under new coach Vincenzo Montella leaving them 14 points adrift.

"It was an almost perfect performance," said Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, who gave a special mention to Niang.

"He's a big player for us, he was doing really well in pre-season then he got injured. Now he's back in form and he's doing well, but he already showed at Genoa (loan) what he was made of."

Earlier, Torino moved up to eighth place with a 2-0 home win over Bologna thanks to second-half goals from Andrea Belotti and Giuseppe Vives.

Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko By Unanimous Decision To Win Heavyweight Title

In the leadup to their heavyweight title fight, Tyson Fury said that all old champions eventually had to make way for new champions, and for the past few months, he’s said he was going to rid the heavyweight division of Wladimir Klitschko. To be fair, many boxing observers had wondered when and if the 39-year-old Klitschko would ever begin to show his age.

That day came on Saturday when Fury did enough to keep Klitschko off-balance throughout the fight and forced him to be overly cautious. As a result, Fury won all three of Klitschko’s heavyweight belts and the lineal championship with a unanimous decision win vs. Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Two judges had Fury winning 115-112, and the other had it 116-111. Forbes scored the fight in favor of Fury 116-112.

Though Fury was only a 10/3 underdog, the Klitschko loss felt shocking because he had been so dominant in the heavyweight division for the past decade. Even more surprising: Klitschko did virtually nothing in the first six rounds or so. He was overly hesitant, and though Fury wasn’t exactly pounding his opponent, Fury’s confidence continued to grow. Klitschko could not hurt him. Klitschko could barely touch him.

“This is a dream come true,” said Fury. “We’ve worked so hard for this. I put everything into the gym for this. I can’t believe I got it.”

True to form, Fury was bizarre in his postfight interview, briefly weeping before commandeering the microphone and serenading his wife with Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

Fury (25-0) wasn’t a huge underdog, but few observers seemed to believe that Klitschko would have too much trouble with his opponent. Sure, Fury has a big punch, and, at a listed 6-foot-9, he was three inches taller than Klitschko and also the tallest opponent of his career. But to counteract that, Klitschko (64-4) had feasted on fighters taller than 6-5 throughout his career, previously winning all seven of his fights and six by knockout.

Prominent Kurdish Lawyer Tahir Elci Gunned Down in Southeast Turkey

A prominent Kurdish lawyer and rights activist was shot in the head and killed on Saturday, in an incident likely to fuel further unrest in Turkey's mostly Kurdish southeast.

The pro-Kurdish HDP Party called the killing of Tahir Elci a "planned assassination" and urged people to protest. Videos from the scene showed a gun battle in the street, in which two policemen died, and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was unclear whether Elci was caught in crossfire or assassinated.

If it was the latter, he said, the target was clear. "The target is Turkey. It's an attack on peace and harmony in Turkey."

President Tayyip Erdogan said the shooting, which took place in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, showed Turkey was right in "its determination to fight terrorism".

Elci was facing trial for saying the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was not a terrorist organization, as the government describes it. He had, however, denounced PKK violence.

Hundreds of people have been killed since a ceasefire between the PKK and Turkish security forces collapsed in July, reigniting a conflict in which some 40,000 people have died since it began in 1984.

Kurdish forces are fighting Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, making them an important ally of the United States against the militants -- something Turkey fears could embolden its own Kurdish minority.

Hours after Elci's death, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of people marching in Istanbul to protest against the killing. The marchers chanted: "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism," and "Tahir Elci is immortal."

"SPRAYED WITH BULLETS"

Witnesses said Elci had been shot after speaking to journalists about a historic minaret which had been damaged in clashes days before.

"The moment the statement ended, the crowd was sprayed with bullets," a local HDP party official, Omer Tastan, told Reuters.

"A single bullet struck Elci in the head," he said, adding that 11 people had also been wounded in the incident.

Despite videos of the shooting from several angles, the sequence of events was unclear.

Reuters TV footage showed plain clothes police repeatedly shooting at a figure running past them towards Elci. He was then seen lying on the ground with blood apparently streaming from his head. Another video published by local media of the same scene showed two men running past police, who shot at them.

Police surveillance camera footage showed a large yellow cab arriving at the scene and policemen running towards it. Shots were fired from inside the cab as one of them opened the door, and two policemen fell to the ground as the passengers ran away.

Turkish news stations said one of the policemen died at the scene and the other later in the evening.

At a news conference, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said a gun battle erupted after someone shot at police from an unidentified car.

"Tahir Elci was caught up in fire between police and terrorists," he said, without saying whether anyone had been arrested.

Privately owned Dogan News Agency reported two police officers were wounded when an investigative team, including Diyarbakir's chief prosecutor, visited the site and came under fire.

"STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE"

The pro-Kurdish HDP, whose initials stand for Peoples' Democratic Party, called a demonstration in Istanbul.

"In the place left by Tahir Elci, thousands more Tahir Elcis will carry on the work in the struggle for law and justice," it said in a statement.

The HDP said Elci had been targeted by the ruling AK party and its media, and called for political parties, civil society and professional groups to "raise their voices" in protest.

The Diyarbakir governor's office declared a curfew in the area after the incident. Interior minister Ala said four investigators would be assigned to the case, and he and the justice minister expressed their condolences.

The U.S. embassy expressed its shock over Elci's death, calling him on Twitter a "courageous defender of human rights".

Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior researcher at U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, said: "This is a very dark day for Turkey – the murder of Tahir Elci is a devastating blow not only to human rights activists but to all who want to see justice and rule of law prevail in Turkey."

Turkey, the United States and the European Union classify the PKK, which is demanding greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurds, as a terrorist organization.

Barca thrash 4-0 Sociedad

Barcelona stayed on the goal trail as a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad kept them in the driving seat at the top of the Primera Division.

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all netted as Barcelona followed up their 4-0 humbling of Real Madrid and 6-1 blitzing of Roma in the last week with another comprehensive victory at the Nou Camp.

Neymar opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season after 23 minutes when he turned home the cross of fellow Brazilian Dani Alves.

The full-back claimed another assist close to the interval when Suarez took his cross and lashed home his 12th league goal of the season.

Barcelona were in total control and Andries Iniesta and Jeremy Mathieu set up Neymar for his second of the game.

Messi completed the scoring in the first minute of injury time when he tapped in at the far post following another outstanding piece of skill by Neymar.

It was the Argentinian's first league goal since September following a two-month absence with a knee injury.

Second-placed Atletico kept pace with Barcelona as Antoine Griezmann's strike saw off Espanyol in a 1-0 success at the Vicente Calderon.

But Atletico were rocked by a serious injury to midfielder Tiago, who was stretchered off in the first half and seems set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The club wrote on Twitter afterwards: "MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. Tiago has a non-displaced fracture in the middle third of the right tibia."

Atletico's winner came as early as the third minute when France international Griezmann maintained his hot streak in front of goal.

Griezmann had scored both goals in the 2-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray in midweek and he was in the right place again to finish Oliver Torres' cross.

Luciano Vietto and Griezmann had chances for Atletico to enjoy a more comfortable scoreline, while substitute Fernando Torres struck the woodwork late on.

Espanyol struggled to create openings against the meanest defence in the Primera Division and Atletico remain four points adrift of Barcelona and five ahead of city rivals Real Madrid, who are away to Eibar on Sunday.

Leicester Jamie Vardy makes EPL history with goal

Jamie Vardy wrote his name into the record books on Saturday, becoming the first player to score in 11 successive Premier League matches as his Leicester City team drew 1-1 with Manchester United at the King Power Stadium.

The England striker, who began his run against Bournemouth on August 29 and has now netted 13 times in 11 games, struck an angled shot in the 24th minute to eclipse the mark established by United's Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2003.

Vardy is now one match away from equalling the all-time English top-flight consecutive scoring run of 12 matches set by Sheffield United's Irish forward Jimmy Dunne in Division One in 1931-32.

Although Vardy took his goal tally for the season to 14, Leicester were knocked off top spot as Bastian Schweinsteiger's header at the end of the first half secured a point for United.

The 28-year-old Vardy, who was playing minor-league football for Fleetwood Town only three years ago, told Sky Sports: "I am obviously delighted but the main thing was the performance and I think we put in a very good shift today".

Asked about the buildup to the match he said: "If I'd let it get to me it would affect my performance so I have just been keeping my head down.

"It was another game we wanted to get three points from but I think a draw was probably a fair result."

Leicester are now second after Manchester City returned to the top on goal difference by beating Southampton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Aleksandar Kolarov were on target for the 2012 and 2014 champions while Shane Long replied for Southampton.

Manchester City and Leicester have 29 points from 14 matches with United third on 28.

Arsenal, who visit Norwich City on Sunday, are fourth with 26 while Tottenham Hotspur, who host champions Chelsea the same day, are fifth on 24.

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri was more upbeat.

"We had two objectives today, to win the match and to help Jamie, but we took one point which is okay for us and Jamie broke the record," he said.

"It is an incredible achievement. This fantastic man is not only the record scorer but he works so hard."

United manager Louis van Gaal said he took skipper Wayne Rooney off in the second half because he had a slight injury but added that he was disappointed with his team's attacking play.

"I told my players these are the kind of matches you have to win if you are going to be champions," said van Gaal.

Crystal Palace were on fire up front at Selhurst Park, moving up to sixth place on 22 points as manager Alan Pardew saw his team thrash his old Newcastle United side 5-1 after the visitors scored first but ended up back in the relegation zone.

Second from bottom Newcastle have 10 points, the same as Bournemouth who staged a dramatic comeback to draw 3-3 with Everton having trailed 2-0.

Villa lost 3-2 at home to Watford, while Sunderland climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 victory over Stoke City who had centre half Ryan Shawcross sent off in the second half.