Bangladesh Test captain Shakib Al  Hasan was ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka after  suffering a finger injury during the tri-nation one-day  international final against the same team in Dhaka on today.
Shakib hurt the base of the little finger of his left  hand during the 42nd over of Sri Lanka's innings in the final  and was unable to continue at the Sher-e-Bangla National  Stadium.
Bangladesh Cricket Board senior physician Debashish  Chowdhury said an X-ray did not find any fracture but the  injury required stitches.
"He has been assessed by a cosmetic surgeon and necessary  repairs have been done," Chowdhury said in a statement.
"The affected finger will have to be immobilised for at  least a week before a further assessment is made, which means  he is out of the first Test in Chittagong."
Shakib was expected to begin his second stint as a Test  captain at the series starting on January 31 after he was  named the skipper in December, replacing Mushfiqur Rahim.
Rahim ..

Bangladesh's Shakib ruled out of first Sri Lanka Test

PTI Automatic

Scoreboard of the tri-nation one-day  international tournament final between Bangladesh and Sri  Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka today:
Sri Lanka
D. Gunathilaka c Tamim b Mehedi 6
U. Tharanga b Mustafizur 56
K. Mendis c Mahmudullah b Mortaza 28
N. Dickwella c Sabbir b Saifuddin 42
D. Chandimal b Rubel 45
T. Perera c Tamim b Rubel 2
A. Gunaratne lbw b Rubel 6
A. Dananjaya c Mithun b Mustafizur 17
S. Madushanka b Rubel 7
S. Lakmal run out 2
D. Chameera not out 1
Extras (LB-5, W-2, NB-2) 9
Total (all out; 50 overs) 221
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-42, 3-113, 4-158, 5-163, 6-  182,  7-209, 8-217, 9-219, 10-221.
Bowling: Mehedi 10-0-53-1, Mortaza 7-0-35-1,  Mustafizur 10-0-29-2, Mahmudullah 4-0-18-0, Saifuddin 4-0-15-  1, Shakib 5-0-20-0, Rubel 10-0-46-4.
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal c Dananjaya b Chameera 3
Mohammad Mithun run out 10
Sabbir Rahman c Gunaratne b Chameera 2
Mushfiqur Rahim c Tharanga b Dananjaya 22
Mahmudullah Riyad c Tharanga b Madushanka 76
Mehedi Hasan c and b .

Dhaka, Jan 27 (AFP) Scoreboard of the tri-nation one-day

At least 14 people were  killed overnight in a shootout at a nightclub in Fortaleza,  northeastern Brazil, officials said today.
"We can confirm 14 deaths," Andre Costa, security  secretary for the state of Ceara -- of which Fortaleza is the  capital -- told a press conference.
Costa said that other victims are hospitalised in serious  condition, but did not say how many people were injured.

Fourteen killed in Brazil nightclub shootout

Caroline Wozniacki thought "this  can't be real" as she finally won her first Grand Slam title  Saturday and regained world number one status for the first  time in six years.
Wozniacki threw her racquet in the air and collapsed to  the ground in tears after battling Simona Halep found the net  on match point in the Australian Open final.
"On that match point I thought this can't be real. It  wasn't just being Australian Open champion, it was Grand Slam  champion and world number one," said the Dane after finally  triumphing in her 43rd Grand Slam tournament.
"There's a lot going through your mind at that point.  You're like, No, I had an opportunity.
"I should have hit it a little bit differently. When I  saw that ball go into the net, it was crazy emotional."
It was the climax of a thrilling 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4 win  against the tough Romanian top seed after 2hr 49min of a  gruelling encounter played in high heat and humidity on Rod  Laver Arena.
"It was such a tough grind. It was ...

'This can't be real', says stunned Wozniacki

Shehan Madushanka became the fourth  bowler in history to claim a hat-trick on debut as Sri Lanka  crushed Bangladesh by 79 runs to win the tri-nation one-day  international tournament today.
The 22-year-old pacer claimed Bangladesh's last three  wickets before finishing with 3-26 as Sri Lanka defended their  modest score of 221 runs by bowling out Bangladesh for 142 in  41.1 overs.
Madushanka took the wickets of Rubel Hossain and Mashrafe  Mortaza in the last two balls of his sixth over before he  removed Mahmudullah Riyad in the next over to complete his  hat-trick.
He joined South Africa's Kagiso Rabada, Bangladesh's  Taijul Islam and team-mate Wanidu Hasaranga who have also  achieved the rare feat.
Mahmudullah staged a valiant fight for Bangladesh with 76  off 92 balls but he lacked support from other batsmen, who  missed the batting of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan due to a  finger injury he suffered in the game.
Medium pacer Dushmantha Chameera and spinner Akila  Dananjaya claimed 

Madushanka's hat-trick on debut seals title for Sri Lanka

When  Abdul Karim al-Kafarnah went to check the rainwater gushing  down a hole in his garden he was in for quite a shock --  hidden steps led him down to an ancient grave complex.
The 24-year-old lives in the Beit Hanoun district of the  Gaza Strip by the Israeli border which suffered intensive  bombardment during the 2014 conflict between the Israeli army  and Palestinian militants.
The family home was destroyed and the surrounding plots  heavily churned up, leaving extensive craters in the ground.
The flash-flooding earlier this week led him to one  particular spot, where, on removing a large stone, he found a  staircase leading four metres down into an ancient tomb.
"I discovered the place where the water was falling in,"  he told AFP.
"I lifted the stone and a stale smell came out."
As he descended he found a total of nine graves, with  piles of bones in some of them -- seemingly containing more  than one body each. He also found votive lamps and other  pottery.
Gaza-based ...

Gazan unearths ancient graves in vegetable patch

Seventh seeded Oliver Marach and  Mate Pavic won their first Grand Slam doubles title today,  crowned Australian Open champions in a tough final 6-4, 6-4.
The seventh seeds, from Austria and Croatia, saw off the  challenge from Colombian pair Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert  Farah, seeded 11.
It was Marach and Pavic's fourth Grand Slam as a team,  with their best performance before now an appearance in the  Wimbledon final last year.
They came into the tournament in top form after winning  warm-up events in Doha and Auckland.

Marach and Pavic win Aussie men's doubles title

Serena Williams says she is "so  proud" of her long-time friend Caroline Wozniacki after the  Dane succeeded her to become the Australian Open champion  today.
Williams, who has not played a competitive match since  capturing the title at Melbourne Park exactly a year ago, was  too on edge to watch.
"I got too nervous to watch but woke up to @CaroWozniacki  new number one and aussie open champ," she tweeted soon after  the 27-year-old beat Simona Halep 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4, become  the new world number one in the process.
"So awesome. So happy. Are those tears? Yup they are,"  Williams added, with Wozniacki sobbing after ending a long  wait to win a Grand Slam title.
"From a year ago to today, I'm so proud my friend, so  proud. Literally can't even sleep now," added the 23-time  Grand Slam winner.
Williams was pregnant when she won the Australian Open  last January. She gave birth to a girl, Alexis Olympia, last  September and married father Alexis Ohanian in November.
She is set to ...

Serena 'so proud' of friend Wozniacki

Battle weary Simona Halep says  her time will come after failing for the third time to win a  Grand Slam final, admitting her body simply gave up after a  draining Australian Open.
Her 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4 defeat on Saturday to Caroline  Wozniacki was a double blow for the Romanian, who will also  lose her number one world status to the Dane when the new  rankings come out next week.
The courageous Halep, 26, admitted that she cried after  the crushing loss, but was philosophical afterwards, saying  "It is just a tennis match in the end" and that "life goes  on".
"But, yeah, I'm really sad I couldn't win it. I was close  again, but the gas was over in the end. She was better. She  was fresher. She had actually more energy in the end."
Despite losing, she vowed to bounce back and planned to  get back to work after having a break and giving her aching  body time to heal.
"I will fight and hopefully I will face another challenge  like I did today," she said. I'm sad that I couldn't make ..

Halep says her time will come after body gives up

UN Secretary-General Antonio  Guterres has decided to send his envoy Staffan de Mistura to a  peace conference in Russia next week, a UN spokesman said  today, despite an opposition boycott.
Russia had long sought UN participation in the Sochi  conference aimed at advancing toward an end to the six-year  war in Syria.
Guterres "is confident that the congress in Sochi will be  an important contribution" to reviving the peace talks held  under UN auspices in Geneva, said UN spokesman Stephane  Dujarric.
The decision came just hours after Syria's main  opposition group announced it was boycotting the talks opening  in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday.
Russia has invited more than 1,500 delegates to the two-  day conference that the West views as a competing peace track  to the UN-led effort with the aim of carving out a settlement  that will be favorable to Moscow's ally Bashar al-Assad.
The boycott by the opposition Syrian Negotiations  Commission (SNC) followed two days of UN ...

UN will send Syria envoy to Russia peace conference

An explosives-packed ambulance blew  up in a crowded area of Kabul today, killing at least 95  people and wounding 158 others, officials said, in one of the  biggest blasts to rock the war-torn city in recent years.
The Taliban-claimed assault -- the second carried out by  the militant group in the Afghan capital in a week --  triggered chaotic scenes as terrified survivors fled the area  scattered with body parts, blood and debris, and hospitals  were overwhelmed by the large number of wounded.
It came as both the insurgents and the Islamic State  group have escalated their attacks on Kabul, one of the  deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians.
An AFP reporter saw "lots of dead and wounded" civilians  in the Jamuriate hospital, which is metres away from the blast  and where medical staff struggled to treat the bloodied men,  women and children lying on the floor in corridors.
Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP that the  toll "now stands at 95 dead, 158 wounded", ...

Ambulance bomb kills 95, wounds 158 in Kabul: official

At least 10 Malian soldiers were  killed today in an attack on their camp in the restive north  blamed on jihadists, military sources and a local official  told AFP.
The camp in Soumpi, Timbuktu region, was targeted this  morning by armed men, they said.
"Ten of our men were killed in action this Saturday  during a cowardly terrorist attack on the Soumpi camp. There  are 17 wounded," a military source reached in Bamako told AFP.
The local official confirmed the death toll of the  attack, and said five wounded men were transferred to the town  of Niafunke for medical treatment.
A foreign military source described the attack as  "complex", adding there were "several victims".
Mali's deteriorating security situation is of growing  concern as Al-Qaeda-linked groups mount increasingly deadly  attacks on domestic and foreign forces.
The latest attack comes two days after 26 civilians  including mothers and babies were killed when their vehicle  ran over a landmine in Boni, central Mali, ...

At least 10 Malian soldiers killed in attack on camp:officials

An explosives-packed ambulance blew  up in a crowded area of Kabul today, killing at least 63  people and wounding 151 others, officials said, in one of the  biggest blasts to rock the war-torn city in recent years.
The Taliban-claimed assault -- the second carried out by  the militant group in the Afghan capital in a week --  triggered chaotic scenes as terrified survivors fled the area  scattered with body parts and hospitals were overwhelmed by  the large number of wounded.
It came as both the insurgents and the Islamic State  group have escalated their attacks on Kabul, one of the  deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians.
An AFP reporter saw "lots of dead and wounded" civilians  in the Jamuriate hospital, which is metres away from the blast  and where medical staff struggled to treat the bloodied men,  women and children lying on the floor in corridors.
"The latest toll has reached 63 dead and 151 wounded,"  Baryalai Hilali, the director of the government media centre,  told 

Ambulance bomb kills 63, wounds 151 in Kabul: officials

China's Jin Boyang won gold at the  Four Continents championships in Taipei on Saturday, saying  the medal is a confidence booster as he heads to his first  Olympics next month.
Jin, 20, was returning after an ankle injury that had  forced him to withdraw from the Grand Prix of Figure Skating  Final in Nagoya last month.
He finished with a total score of 300.95 points Saturday  after a free skating programme to a selection of songs  featured in the Star Wars franchise, including "Cantina Band"  by John Williams.
Japan's Shoma Uno, 20, took second place while American  skater Jason Brown, 23, won bronze.
Speaking at a press conference after his performance, Jin  said he hopes to skate even better at the upcoming Winter  Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
"The results of this competition gave me even greater  confidence to challenge myself to pull off two perfect  performances (in) Pyeongchang," he told reporters.
"I'm not thinking too much about placement. I just hope  to skate even 

Chinese skater Jin Boyang wins in Taiwan before Olympics

Saudi Arabia released billionaire  Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal today nearly three months after his  arrest in an anti-corruption drive targeting the kingdom's  elite, a business associate told AFP.
"He (Prince Al-Waleed) is out," the associate said,  requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the  media.

Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed released: associate

Fast bowler Rubel Hossain claimed  four wickets to help Bangladesh dismiss Sri Lanka for 221 runs  in the final of the tri-nation one-day international  tournament today.
Hossain, who returned figures of 4-46, was ably supported  by fellow paceman Mustafizur Rahman (2-29) as the hosts hurt  Sri Lanka with regular strikes after they elected to bat  first.
Upul Tharanga top-scored with 56 off 99 balls while  skipper Dinesh Chandimal added 45. Wicketkeeper-batsman  Niroshan Dickwella also contributed with 42.

Bangladesh pack Sri Lanka for 221 in tri-series final

Rory McIlroy proved once again how  good his game was after returning to competitive golf from a  three-month break as he stormed to a two-shot lead at the  halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic.
McIlroy was among the entire afternoon session groups  that could not finish their round in the $3 million event on  Friday following a two hour, 50 minutes fog delay in the  morning.
He returned to the course Saturday sitting at 10 under  par after 11 holes, and then made five birdies in the  remaining seven holes to finish on 15-under 129.
Welshman Jamie Donaldson, who finished his second round  on Friday, was second, two behind McIlroy at 13 under par.
China's Li Haotong was in sole third place at 12 under  par, with a group of four players at 11-under, including South  Africa's world number 29 Branden Grace.
The Northern Irish world number 11, who finished with  three birdies in his last three holes, said: "The conditions  were very conducive for scoring. Especially with the greens  ..

McIlroy storms into halfway lead in Dubai

An explosives-packed ambulance blew  up in a crowded area of Kabul today, killing at least 63  people and wounding 151 others, officials said, in one of the  biggest blasts to rock the war-torn city in recent years.
"The latest toll has reached 63 dead and 151 wounded,"  Baryalai Hilali, the director of the government media centre,  told reporters.
He warned the death toll might rise as some of the  wounded brought to hospitals were in a "critical condition".

Death toll in Kabul bombing jumps to 63: official

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson  today said he stands by his claim that Russia bears  responsibility for recent chemical attacks in Syria, despite  strong denials from Moscow.
"These are just unacceptable deployments of chemicals in  ways that violate all conventions which Russia itself has  signed up for. It violates agreements that Russia undertook to  be responsible for identifying and eliminating the chemical  weapons inside of Syria," Tillerson said during a visit to  Warsaw.
"The chemical weapons are clearly there, they're being  used against civilian populations -- and the most vulnerable  are children -- inside of Syria," Tillerson told reporters, in  a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek  Czaputowicz.
"So we are holding Russia responsible for addressing  this. They are (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad's ally.  They are members of those conventions and they made  commitments. They need to deliver on those commitments."
Tillerson first made the ...

Tillerson insists Russia to blame for Syria chemical attacks

Only Marin Cilic stands between  Roger Federer and a 20th Grand Slam title as an injury-ravaged  Australian Open staggers to its Sunday final at Melbourne  Park.
The 36-year-old Swiss marvel continues to defy the years  and attrition rate to reach his 30th Grand Slam decider and a  shot at his sixth Australian crown while his long-time rivals  have fallen by the wayside.
World No.1 Rafael Nadal, six-time champion Novak Djokovic  and former winner Stan Wawrinka succumbed to injuries, while  five-time finalist Andy Murray didn't even get to the starting  line.
Yet Federer is again still standing.
Cilic overcame him on the way to winning the 2014 US Open  final, but it is his only win in nine encounters and the Swiss  defending champion has glided to the brink of another title  without dropping a set.
Federer is supremely confident he has it all in place to  join Djokovic and Australian Roy Emerson with the most  Australian titles.
"It's not about having to improve anything in  ...

More Slam glory beckons for ageless Federer

The US has reiterated a pledge to  Turkey to stop arming a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara is  fighting, the Turkish presidency said today, after the allies'  ties were strained by Turkey's offensive in Syria.
The Turkish presidency said US National Security Advisor  H R McMaster "confirmed" to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's  spokesman Ibrahim Kalin in a phone call late yesterday that  Washington would "not give weapons to the YPG" militia.
Turkey launched its operation "Olive Branch" on January  20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG)  militia, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground  troops and air strikes.
Relations between NATO allies Ankara and Washington have  been further strained by the offensive, with Washington urging  restraint and fearing an impact on the fight against the  Islamic State (IS) extremist group.
One of the issues marring relations between the two  countries was the US supplying the YPG -- which has  spearheaded the ...

AFP

AFP

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