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Rio de Janeiro - Brazil coach Carlos Dunga on Monday played down his rivalry with Diego Maradona, after the new Argentina coach had criticized Dunga last week.

"I hope things go well for him," Dunga said.

After his controversial appointment last week as coach, Maradona recalled his playing days, when he had led Argentina on the pitch to the 1986 World Cup and Dunga had captained Brazil to the 1994 World Cup.

Washington - Barack Obama's grandmother, who helped raise the Democratic presidential candidate in Hawaii, passed away Monday after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Madelyn Dunham, 85, had been gravely ill for weeks, prompting Obama to interrupt his campaign for a few days last month to visit her in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"She was the cornerstone of our family and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility," read a statement from Obama and his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. "Our debt to her is beyond measure."