UEFA has resisted the requests but Tutu's letter, to Britain's Guardian newspaper, which was also signed by ex-Mali striker Frederic Kanoute and a number of prominent sympathisers of the Palestinian cause, is aimed at increasing the pressure.

Last week UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, speaking after the UEFA Congress in London, refused to condemn Israel or accept that the competition, which runs from June 5-18, should be moved.

Infantino told a news conference: "UEFA and the Israeli FA is responsible for football, it cannot be held responsible for the politics of a national government.

"And we have no plans to move the tournament, which is being held legitimately in a UEFA member association."

After last week's Congress, pro-Palestine demonstrators broke into a banquet being held for UEFA delegates, interrupting proceedings, but were removed by security officers.

Palestinians complain that Israeli authorities restrict the movement of their athletes between the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas faction that calls for Israel's destruction, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank in which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group exercises limited civilian rule.

Israel limits the movement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank citing security concerns but says it has eased travel for athletes.

UEFA, European soccer's governing body, last week agreed tougher sanctions to combat racism among players and officials and the authors of the letter feel the same standards should be applied to Israel.

Tutu's letter read: "On Friday, delegates from European football associations gathered in a London hotel for UEFA's annual congress. They agreed new, strict guidelines to deal with racism, suggesting a commendable determination to combat discrimination in the sport.

"We find it shocking that this same organisation shows total insensitivity to the blatant and entrenched discrimination inflicted on Palestinian sportsmen and women by Israel.

"We call on UEFA, even at this late stage, to reverse the choice of Israel as a venue."

The Israeli FA has consistently said that UEFA will not bring political issues into the soccer arena.

Tutu, 81, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for standing up against white-minority rule in South Africa.

He played a pivotal role in the downfall of apartheid and subsequently worked to heal wounds in South Africa's traumatised society.

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ricky Gervais' "Derek," a new Netflix series from the creator and star of "The Office" and 'Extras," will premiere on Netflix September 12. Netflix will release all seven episodes at once, the same approach it has taken with its latest original series "House of Cards" and "Hemlock Grove."

Gervais wrote and directed the show, which he also stars in as the title character. Derek is asweet, selfless but meek man who works in a retirement home alongside Dougie (Karl Pilkington) and Hannah (Kerry Godliman). The show will be available in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Latin America, Brazil and the Nordics.

It will not be available in the U.K., where the show already premiered on Channel 4 and will return for a second season.

"Ricky Gervais is one of the most distinctive comedy voices of his generation," Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix, said in a statement. "With Derek,' Ricky takes on new territory and mixes comedy with drama that is sometimes touching and sometimes heartbreaking."

Neflix's next splashy original title is its reboot of "Arrested Development," which debuts May 26.

Henderson was injured Friday against the Pirates.

Roenicke says the right-hander was limping Saturday and is scheduled to be examined by a doctor. He says the injury might force the team to make a roster move.

Henderson was hurt while delivering a pitch in the ninth inning. He gave way to Francisco Rodriguez, who earned a save in the Brewers' 2-1 win.

Henderson has not allowed a run over 6 2-3 innings in his last seven outings.He has nine saves and a 0.92 ERA.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel has dismissed claims in a new book that she was more actively committed to East Germany's communist regime than she has acknowledged, saying she has never kept anything secret about her past.

The book, "The first life of Angela M.", says that Merkel, who will seek a third term as chancellor in a federal election in September, was responsible for Marxist-Leninist education in a unit of the state's youth wing, in a role that went beyond the cultural duties she has previously spoken of.

Asked about the claims late on Sunday after a screening of her favorite film, a 1973 East German love story, Merkel said she had always spoken openly and to the best of her memory.

"I can only fall back on my memories. You just have to accept this... if something else turns up, then I can live with it," said the 58-year-old chancellor. "What is important to me is that I never kept anything secret."

The book's claims are unlikely to affect Merkel's chances of re-election but they highlight how enigmatic she remains for many Germans after nearly eight years in power.

German media have had a field day printing pictures of Merkel, who is extremely protective of her private sphere, as a willowy 20-something on Baltic beach holidays, tending a camp fire or drinking with student friends, as commentators try to fathom her early political persuasions.

Merkel joked there may be other aspects of her earlier life to be unearthed: "It is always the case that when something emerges, which of course from the perspective of the former West Germany looks very different, then people say 'she hasn't told us this yet' and 'she hasn't told us that yet'."

"I don't know - maybe there are other things I didn't talk about because no one ever asked me."

Merkel was 35 when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and was working as a scientist at an academic institute. She has described her early life as non-political, in contrast to German President Joachim Gauck, a former East German pastor who vigorously opposed the regime.

While at the science research institute Merkel said she was a cultural official for the Free German Youth (FDJ), the movement nearly all East German youngsters joined as teenagers.

Commenting on her role in a 2004 book, Merkel said she took it to get out more often, particularly as her then husband mostly wanted to stay at home. It entailed organizing outings, readings by young Soviet writers and getting theatre tickets.

The new book repeats previous claims that the role was as an "Agitation and Propaganda (agitprop) functionary" and was at a higher hierarchical level than Merkel had previously stated.

Asked in 2004 about an "agitprop" role, Merkel said: "I cannot remember agitating in any way whatsoever. I was responsible for culture."

In its heyday, the FDJ, whose members wore blue shirts and pledged to be "ready for peace and socialism", had more than 2 million members. East Germany's long-time leader Erich Honecker was a former leader of the FDJ, as was his successor Egon Krenz.

(Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke and Reuters television, editing by Gareth Jones and Alistair Lyon)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Lionsgate nabbed U.S. distribution rights to the crime drama "Blood Ties" from Worldview Entertainment, the studio said Wednesday from the Cannes Film Festival.

The film premiered at the French Riviera gathering this week and features Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Mila Kunis, Zo Saldana, and Marion Cotillard.

Lionsgate said it plans to release the picture through its sister company, Roadside Attractions. "Blood Ties" is a remake of the French film "Les Liens du sang," yet unspools in a distinctly American setting -- New York City in the height (or depth) of its 1970s urban dissolution.

The crime drama finds a middle-aged crook struggling to readjust to society after he is released from prison, where he was being punished for his role in a gangland murder. There's a fractured family dynamic at play, because the ex-convict's younger brother is a cop with a bright future on the force. The film explores the twin push and pull of family and criminality.

Reviews have been mixed, with Variety's Scott Foundas labeling it a "dramatically undernourished saga." Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman singled Owen's performance out for praise, calling it "mesmerizing."

Guillaume Canet ("Tell No One") directed from a screenplay he wrote with director James Gray ("We Own the Night").

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. CAA brokered the deal on behalf of Worldview Entertainment and Lionsgate was represented by Jason Constantine, the studio's president of acquisitions and co-productions, with Eda Kowan, SVP of acquisitions, and Wendy Jaffe, EVP of business and legal affairs.

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UT Arlington will gain insight into training offered at a Voluntary Protection Programs certified site, while JSC hopes to better understand industry-focused training as the agency prepares for increased partnerships with commercial companies in the future.

William "Bill" McArthur, Jr., director of Safety and Mission Assurance at JSC, and John Hall, UT Arlington vice president for Administration and Campus Operations, signed a Space Act Agreement in a ceremony at Space Center Houston May 23. Afterward, a technical interchange meeting was held to begin development of a framework to audit environmental, health and safety classes and to determine leading practices.

Ultimately, the benchmarking activities will enhance training quality and knowledge sharing of environmental, health and safety provided to JSC's various constituencies. Elmer "Bubba" Johnson, JSC's Program Assessment Team lead, and Teresea Madden-Thompson, UT Arlington associate vice president, will coordinate technical activities.

"With more than 20 years of experience training NASA personnel, the NASA Safety Training Center provides training using standards unique and unobtainable from any other sources," McArthur said.

"The agency's current focus on partnering with commercial companies to achieve its mission requires evaluating new approaches to our training methods," McArthur added. "This agreement creates an opportunity for NASA to benchmark with UT Arlington to identify best practices and obtain feedback to ensure that we offer the best training to our personnel."

Hall said the agreement creates an opportunity for the University to help shape training opportunities in the aerospace industry and its reach in the professional development sector.

"We are proud of this new partnership with NASA Johnson Space Center, and we look forward to sharing our expertise in professional education and training with an agency that sets the standard for innovation," Hall said.

Madden said the agreement will position UT Arlington's Division for Enterprise Development for new opportunities with governmental agencies.

"We look forward to learning from NASA's expertise as well," Madden-Thompson said. "We will build on this expertise to create educational and training programs that will benefit the Division of Enterprise Development's other clients and support NASA's commitment to environmental, health and safety."

The NASA Safety Training Center (NSTC) at JSC was established in May 1991 by the NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Assurance to provide up-to-date, high-quality, NASA-specific safety training on location to NASA centers, or simultaneously to multiple centers through video teleconferencing in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of safe operations for NASA. The NSTC provides safety, as well as, mission success and mission unique training that enable agency personnel to meet uniform engineering and technical requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods that have been endorsed as a standard for NASA programs and projects.

The UT Arlington Division for Enterprise Development provides professional development, technical assistance and training to public and private organizations in Texas and the nation. The division consists of several units that serve environmental, health and safety training and education needs across the public and private sectors. They include the U.S. Department of Labor federally approved Region VI OSHA Education Center, the Center for Environmental Excellence, Environmental Training Institute and the Public Works Training Institute. UTA is a research institution of more than 33,800 students and 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas.

For more information about NASA and its programs, visit:

Learn more about the University of Texas Arlington here:

For pictures from the signing ceremony, visit:

SOURCE NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A key satellite positioned to track severe weather in the eastern United States has failed, just as the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is about to start.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) activated a spare satellite, which will provide coverage of the East Coast, while it is trying to fix the failed one, the agency said in a status report on its website on Friday.

"There is no estimate on return to operations at this time," NOAA said.

The Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season starts on June 1 and lasts six months. NOAA expects this year's season to be "extremely active," with 13 to 20 tropical storms and seven to 11 of those strengthening into hurricanes.

The agency's three current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, known as GOES, were built by Boeing and designed to last 10 years. The failed spacecraft, GOES-13, was launched in 2006.

NOAA typically operates two GOES spacecraft over the United States, overlooking the East and West coasts, plus one on-orbit spare. The satellites are outfitted with imagers to watch for clouds and developing storms, and atmospheric sounders to measure temperatures and humidity.

The first sign of trouble with GOES-13, the primary East Coast satellite, surfaced late Wednesday when it failed to relay expected images, NOAA status reports show.

GOES-13 is located over 75 degrees west longitude. Though activated, the spare remains in its storage orbit at 105 degrees west.

NOAA said it currently is not planning to drift the spare east, while efforts to troubleshoot its failed sister satellite are under way.

NOAA also has an older GOES-12 satellite, launched in 2001, parked at 60 degrees west that provides coverage of South America.

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Jane Sutton and Eric Beech)

The Republican won re-election last year despite revelations he had affairs with patients and once urged one of them to seek an abortion.

He was fined $500 for two counts of unprofessional conduct, and is responsible for up to $1,000 in costs for the panel's investigation. He did not contest the findings

The ruling comes in response to two complaints filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which called the penalties "piteous."

"This decision demonstrates that Tennessee's ban on sexual exploitation of patients is essentially meaningless," Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, said in a statement. "Doctors in the Volunteer State can freely prey on patients with little fear of repercussions."

The watchdog group has also filed an ethics complaint in the U.S. House.

DesJarlais did not immediately return a message seeking comment from The Associated Press. But the congressman told The Tennessean newspaper: "I take responsibility for past mistakes and am happy to get this resolved."

DesJarlais nevertheless called the complaint politically motivated, saying it's "somewhat ironic" that he had gone without any complaints filed against him in the 20 years he practiced before his election to Congress.

DesJarlais has already drawn two Republican challengers in advance of next year's primary. State Sen. Jim Tracy and state Rep. Joe Carr have far outraised the incumbent through the first quarter of the year.

During his 2010 and 2012 campaigns, DesJarlais tried to cast doubt on reports of violent behavior and multiple affairs before his divorce was finalized in 2001. But court transcripts released the week after the election showed he admitted to eight affairs, encouraged a lover to get an abortion, which he publicly opposes, and used a gun to intimidate his ex-wife during an argument.

The sworn testimony also revealed for the first time that the congressman had agreed when his ex-wife had two abortions.

That feeling usually last through the week.

Johnson has won at Hogan's Alley twice in the last three years. He is the first player in more than three decades with four consecutive top-10 finishes in the event.

Now he's back as the defending champion, without a top 10 this season. But he has felt good even without eye-catching results.

"I'm going to hopefully take some of those good feelings I've had over the last four years, not necessarily dwell on them, but embrace them and put them into play in some regard," Johnson said Wednesday, a day before beginning his title defense.

Five-time winner Ben Hogan is the only player who has won the Colonial more than twice, and he finished in top 10 seven times in a row during a span when he won four times from 1946-53. Tom Watson had been the last with four top 10s in a row at Colonial (1977-80).

Matt Kuchar, No. 13 in the world ranking, is the highest-ranked player in Colonial's invitational field. The only other three in the top 25 are Charl Schwartzel, 2012 Colonial runner-up Jason Dufner and Hunter Mahan.

When Johnson slipped on the winner's plaid jacket last May, it was first victory since the 2010 Colonial. He also won the John Deere Classic last summer.

This season, Johnson has made nine of 12 cuts this year. His best finish was a tie for 18th at the Tournament of Champions in January, but he tied for 19th at The Players Championship two weeks ago.

"I'm excited. I like where my game is going, or is," Johnson said. "I like where it is and I like where it's going.So I'm just trying to remain patient and let things kind of happen."

It's not really the lack of top-10 finishes that bothers Johnson.

"It's been frustrating that I truly haven't been in contention late on Sunday. That would be my biggest frustration," he said. "What is comforting is that the beginning of the year I was probably more off than I would even like to admit fundamentally. But in saying that, what's comfortable about that is the fact that I would rather be off fundamentally than certainly physically or even mentally.My attitude has been great."

Johnson then joked that he understood if reporters might not really know about his good attitude because he hasn't been in many interview sessions based on his play.

"If you ask my caddie, it truly has been good," Johnson said. "I've been very positive and certainly trying to keep working.I have hit a lot of balls, in February, March, April and even into May just to try to get it back."

Before his closing 72 last year, including a two-stroke penalty on the 72nd hole because he failed to properly remark his ball after moving it out of the line Dufner's last putt, Johnson had played 15 consecutive rounds in the 60s at Colonial.

The only other two-time Colonial winner in this week's field is Corey Pavin, the 1985 and 1996 champ making his 30th consecutive start in Fort Worth. And he is again bypassing the Senior PGA Championship to keep that streak intact.

"There was a thought process, yes.It wasn't a very long process," Pavin said about the decision to play at Colonial instead of a senior major. "But ultimately when I kind of got down to it, it was a pretty easy choice then. I just love being here. I would rather be here than there. It's as simple as that."

In six Champions Tour events this year, Pavin has two top 10s and two other top 25-finishes. His only PGA Tour appearance was the Northern Trust Open, where he missed the cut in his 657th PGA Tour start.

Pavin has eight top-10 finishes at Colonial, including a seventh-place finish just three years ago. He has missed the cut only four times.

"Obviously, I like it here," Pavin said. "It's a golf course that I feel very comfortable on."

Henry Holt and Company announced Thursday that Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and reporter, plans a trilogy covering the years 1775-1781.

Atkinson recently completed an acclaimed trilogy of World War II books with "The Guns at Light," which came out last week. He won a Pulitzer for the first volume, "An Army at Dawn," published in 2002.

The 60-year-old Atkinson is a former Washington Post reporter and editor. No title or release date has been set for his first book on the American Revolution.