Australian captain Steve Smith again  proved to be a major obstacle as England was not able to  capitalise on their overnight momentum on the second day of  the third Ashes Test in Perth today.
England first innings centurion Dawid Malan urged his  team to ramp up the pressure on the home side at the end of  the first day's play, but a late order collapse by the  visitors and the broad bat of Smith ensured the match was  evenly poised at the end of the second day.
At stumps Australia were 203 for three, with Smith on 92  and Shaun Marsh on seven, a deficit of 200 runs with seven  wickets in hand after dismissing England for 403.
The tourists appeared to miss a golden chance to remove  Marsh just before stumps, when the left-hander hit the ball  onto Mark Stoneman's foot at short leg and the fielder was  unable to cling onto the rebound as he and wicketkeeper Jonny  Bairstow both lunged at the catch.
England had looked set to post a massive score when they  were 368 for four with Malan 

Smith foils England again

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Bangladesh police arrested an  alleged human trafficker and intercepted two Rohingya refugees  preparing to board a boat for Malaysia, officials said today.
Police acting on a tip-off raided a home near the coastal  town of Teknaf in southeastern Bangladesh, where five people  had assembled ahead of a promised voyage across the Bay of  Bengal. Two Rohingya Muslims, both men, were among the group.
The pair had arrived from Myanmar since August, when a  surge of violence in Rakhine state forced hundreds of  thousands of Rohingya across the border.
The other three would-be passengers were Bangladeshi,  another police officer said.
"They were herded there as part of an effort to take them  to Malaysia. They said they would be taken there by sea,"  Teknaf police chief Main Uddin told AFP.
"Among the five, there were two Rohingya men who had  already paid 10,000 taka (USD 120) each. The arrested person  is being charged with human trafficking."
The would-be passengers told police they had ..

Bangladesh stops Rohingya preparing to board boat to Malaysia

The death toll from a crash  between a school bus and a train in southern France rose to  six today as two 11-year-old girls succumbed to their  injuries, a police source said.
Four teenagers had died yesterday in the accident at a  level crossing in the village of Millas near the city of  Perpignan. Eighteen others were injured, including 14  children.

French school bus crash toll rises to 6: police source

Three men were jailed in Hong  Kong today for possessing and conspiring to make explosives  ahead of a contentious 2015 vote on political reform.
The trio, who were found guilty last month, were  sentenced to up to three years and 10 months in prison as the  judge said they had embarked on "a very dangerous path".
They were detained at a time of heightened political  tension in Hong Kong in 2015, following the failure of mass  "Umbrella Movement" rallies to win democratic reform for the  semi-autonomous city.
"Although no end product was produced and recovered, the  ingredients and know-how were there," judge Kevin Zervos told  the court today, referring to the explosives plot.
The sentencing must reflect the "gravity and seriousness  of the criminality disclosed," he added.
A High Court jury had found Rizzy Pennelli, 24, guilty of  one count of conspiracy to make explosives and two counts of  possessing explosives.
He was sentenced to three years and 10 months today.
Cheng Wai-shing, 

Three men jailed over Hong Kong explosives plot

The top US envoy for North Korea  said today that "real dialogue" is needed to gauge what  Pyongyang wants from its accelerated drive towards nuclear  weapons statehood.
Joseph Yun's comments came after US Secretary of State  Rex Tillerson created a stir by appearing to open a door to  direct talks with the North without preconditions -- a major  policy shift that the White House swiftly rowed back on.
"It's very hard to discern what their intent is without,  as I said, having a real dialogue," Yun, the US Special  Representative on North Korea policy, said of the reclusive  regime.
"We are open to dialogue. And we hope they will agree to  have a dialogue," he told reporters in Bangkok.
It is necessary to exercise both "direct diplomacy as  well as sanctions" to rein in the pariah state's nuclear  programme, he added.
Yun is in Bangkok as part of a December 11-15 trip that  also included a stop in Japan, as Washington seeks to shore up  regional support for its "maximum pressure" ...

US envoy says 'real dialogue' needed with N. Korea

Walt Disney Co has agreed to buy  key film and television assets of 21st Century Fox, in a USD  52.4 billion deal that bolsters the media-entertainment  powerhouse's challenge to Netflix and emerging rivals in the  streaming wars.
The blockbuster stock transaction also vastly reduces the  Fox media empire built by Rupert Murdoch, leaving the 86-  year-old tycoon and his two sons with a more tightly focused  group which includes the Fox broadcast network, Fox News  Channel and sports channels.
The deal was quickly hailed by US President Donald Trump,  who congratulated Murdoch - in stark contrast to his  administration's opposition to a tie-up between AT&T and Time  Warner.
It will see Disney acquire the vaunted Fox Hollywood film  and television studios, cable entertainment networks and  international TV businesses, bringing popular entertainment  properties including "X-Men," "Avatar," "The Simpsons," FX  Networks and National Geographic into Disney's portfolio.
"The acquisition ...

Blockbuster: Disney to expand empire with Fox tie-up

Rookie England seamer Craig Overton  removed both Australian openers before tea on the second day  to keep England's Ashes hopes alive in the third cricket Test,  here today.
Playing just his second Test, Overton removed the  dangerous David Warner and local batsman Cameron Bancroft in  quick succession to lift English spirits after the visitors  suffered a dramatic batting collapse before lunch.
Australia were 88 for two at tea, with Steve Smith on 24  and Usman Khawaja on 14, in reply to England's total of 403,  which looked respectable but was far short of what might have  been expected when they reached 368 for four in the morning  session.
Australia lead the series 2-0 and can regain the Ashes  with victory at the WACA Ground, although heavy rain is  forecast for the final two days.
After England's tail collapsed, things looked grim for  the tourists immediately after lunch as Warner and Bancroft  made a positive start to the Australian innings.
However, the introduction of ...

Overton strikes twice to boost England after first-innings 403

A Chinese man has been sentenced to  one year in prison for destroying a portrait of Genghis Khan  by a court in the country's Inner Mongolia region, sparking  online debate on the use of laws to punish acts of "ethnic  hatred".
In a video that he shared online this May, the man  surnamed Luo stood inside a yurt and stomped on a picture of  legendary conqueror Genghis Khan, a public security bureau in  the northern region announced on Wednesday.
Luo was convicted this week of "inciting ethnic hatred  and ethnic discrimination" and apologised before the local  court for "harming public sentiment".
Mongol Empire founder Genghis Khan remains a revered  figure among many ethnic Mongols.
Ordos city authorities said several members of the public  had reported the viral video to the police.
While Luo was condemned on social media for the video,  some commenters on the Twitter-like Weibo platform also  questioned the severity of his prison sentence.
"Chinese law is too elastic, it's not ...

Chinese man jailed for stomping on Genghis Khan portrait

South Korean news media today  expressed anger and outrage after Chinese security guards beat  and severely injured a South Korean photojournalist covering  President Moon Jae-In's visit to Beijing.
Opposition parties and internet users joined in, saying  the incident epitomised the Asian giant's attitude towards its  smaller neighbour.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party urged Moon to  call off his four-day state visit and return home immediately,  saying the violence was a "terror attack against the whole of  South Korea".
The photographer was thrown to the floor and kicked,  reportedly suffering fractured facial bones and ruptured  vessels in an eye, as Chinese security personnel stopped South  Korean photographers following Moon's delegation at a trade  show.
"Mistreatment of President Moon and lynching of a Korean  journalist - This is the Chinese Dream", the Chosun Ilbo,  South Korea's largest-circulation daily, headlined its  editorial, referring to President Xi Jinping's ..

S Korea outraged by journalist beating in China

A Russian court is set to rule today  in the high-profile trial of former economy minister Alexei  Ulyukayev, who is accused of taking a bribe from an oil boss  close to President Vladimir Putin.
Prosecutors have asked the Moscow court to find the 61-  year-old guilty on charges he took a USD 2 million bribe from  Igor Sechin, head of the state oil giant Rosneft, in a sting  operation.
They urged the judge to sentence Ulyukayev to 10 years in  a "harsh regime" prison colony and order him to pay a fine of  500 million rubles (USD 8.5 million).
The hearing, at which the judge will pronounce a verdict  and then hand down a sentence, is due to open at 10 am (0700  GMT).
Ulyukayev, who became economic development minister in  2013, is the highest-ranking official arrested during Putin's  17 years in power.
He was arrested at Rosneft's headquarters last year after  being handed a bag containing USD 2 million by Sechin, who had  asked security forces to set up a sting.
Sechin told ...

Putin's ex-minister risks decade in jail over USD 2 mn 'bribe'

Scoreboard at the end of the England  innings at lunch day two in the third Ashes Test against  Australia, here today:
England first innings:
A Cook lbw b Starc
7
M Stoneman c Paine b Starc
56
J Vince c Paine b Hazlewood
25
J Root c Paine b Cummins
2
D Malan c sub (Handscomb) b Lyon 140
J Bairstow b Starc
119
M Ali c Smith b Cummins
0
C Woakes c Cummins b Hazlewood
8
C Overton c Bancroft b Hazlewood
2
C Broad c Bancroft b Starc
12
J Anderson not out
0
Extras: (B-10, LB-2, NB-1, W-1)
14
Total: (all out in 115.1 overs)  403
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-89, 3-115, 4-131, 5-368, 6-372,  7-389, 8-389, 9-393, 10-403.
Bowling: Starc 25.1-5-91-4, Hazlewood 28-9-92-3, Cummins  28-8-84-2, Lyon 22-4-73-1, Marsh 9-1-43-0, Smith 3-1-8-0.

Perth, Dec 15 (AFP) Scoreboard at the end of the England

England's tail collapsed dramatically  after a record fifth-wicket partnership by centurions Dawid  Malan and Jonny Bairstow had given the tourists the ascendancy  on the second day of the third Ashes cricket Test, here today.
England were all out for 403 at lunch after losing their  last six wickets for just 35 runs, having won the toss and  elected to bat.
Australia lead the series 2-0 and can regain the Ashes  with victory at the WACA Ground, although heavy rain is  forecast for the final two days.
Bairstow put a controversial few weeks behind him to  notch his fourth Test century as part of a 237-run stand with  Malan, whose maiden Test ton came to an end just before the  interval.
The pair notched a new record fifth-wicket partnership  for England against Australia, beating a long-standing mark  set in 1938 by Eddie Paynter and Denis Compton at Trent  Bridge.
Having come together with England under pressure at 131  for four shortly after lunch Thursday, the pair breathed life  ...

England tail collapses after record stand to post 403

Peru has recovered 79 pre-Hispanic  textiles that have been illegally located in Sweden since  1935, the ministry of culture said.
In 1935, Swedish ambassador to Peru Sven Karrell acquired  the fabrics hailing from the Nasca and Paracas cultures and  took them to Sweden illegally -- anonymously donating them to  The Museum of Gothenburg, according to the Peruvian  government.
"Thanks to the collaboration between the foreign  minister, the culture minister and the city of Gothenburg, we  are celebrating the arrival of the second of the three  scheduled deliveries, made up of 79 textiles," said Jorge  Arrunategui, deputy minister of cultural heritage and cultural  industries.
The delivery included wraps, cloths and decorative  textile borders from the pre-Hispanic Paracas culture, an  Andean society known for their unique composition, colours and  weaving techniques using cotton and wool from vicunas -- the  national animal of Peru, related to the llama.
The textiles, repatriated on ...

Peru recovers 79 pre-Hispanic textiles from Sweden

Pangolin smugglers are  constantly opening up new routes to evade law enforcement  agencies, a study showed today, highlighting the challenge of  tackling the trade in the world's most heavily trafficked  mammal.
While at least 20 tonnes of pangolins and their parts are  seized annually after being trafficked across borders,  smugglers were using dozens of new routes for the illegal  trade every year in a determined effort to stay ahead of  authorities, it said.
The scale-covered, ant-eating mammal is prized as an  edible delicacy and ingredient in traditional medicine,  especially in China and Vietnam as well as across Africa.
International trade in all species of the shy creature  was banned at a global wildlife meeting in South Africa last  year but activists say there has been little sign of a  slowdown in rampant poaching.
The study by wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic and  the University of Adelaide analysed international seizures  from 2010 to 2015 -- in cases where at ...

Pangolin traffickers opening up new routes: study

Police in New York are  investigating allegations made by several women who have  accused hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of rape and sexual  abuse, officials have said.
"The NYPD has received information regarding allegations  involving Russell Simmons in the NYC area and our detectives  are in the process of reviewing that information," police  spokesman Sergeant Brendan Ryan said yesterday.
On Wednesday, The New York Times published the accounts  of three women who all say they were raped by the 60-year-old  hip-hop legend, an influential figure who co-founded Def Jam  Recordings.
The 60-year-old hip-hop legend denied the rape  accusations -- which date back to 1988 -- and voiced support  for the growing movement of women speaking out against abusive  men. He has also denied two other accusations which emerged in  November.
Jenny Lumet -- daughter of director Sidney Lumet --  alleged that Simmons raped her in 1991, while former model  Claussen Khalighi said he sexually assaulted her .

Police in New York investigating rap mogul Russell Simmons

Australian institutions "seriously  failed" children in their care over decades with tens of  thousands sexually abused, the final report from a five-year  inquiry said today, calling it a "national tragedy".
The government ordered the Royal Commission into  Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2012 after a  decade of pressure to investigate widespread allegations  across the country.
The commission was contacted by more than 15,000  survivors who detailed claims of child abuse involving  churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and  schools, often dating back decades.
It heard horrific stories during often confronting and  emotionally exhausting public and private hearings.
In total, more than 4,000 institutions were accused of  abuse, with many of them Catholic-managed facilities.
"Tens of thousands of children have been sexually abused  in many Australian institutions. We will never know the true  number," the final report said, making hundreds of  ...

Australia failed children, national sex abuse inquiry says

A trade union-organised march  in Buenos Aires has descended into violence, with thousands of  protesters clashing with police as they demanded lawmakers  reject a controversial pension reform plan.
Military police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber  bullets against demonstrators, who threw stones and burned  barricades made of rubbish outside the doors of Argentina's  congress yesterday.
Cabinet chief Marcos Pena accused the opposition of  inciting the violence, saying: "We saw the clear search for  violence, first in the street and then on the premises  itself."
But the General Labor Confederation, the country's main  trade union, pointed the finger at the government, blaming it  for the "militarisation of the surroundings of the congress."
Inside the legislature, the unrest forced the  postponement of the vote, as opposition lawmakers cried out  for the debate to be suspended.
"We cannot sit in session with this violence," said Elisa  Carrio, National Deputy for Buenos Aires ..

Violence breaks out at protest against Argentina pension

Japan said today it had added 19 more  entities to its list of organisations and individuals targeted  by asset-freeze sanctions on North Korea.
The sanctions list now comprises 103 entities and 108  individuals in total, including seven Chinese entities, five  Chinese individuals, one Singaporean entity and two Namibian  entities, it said.
They include organisations involved in financial  services, coal and minerals trading, transportation and  sending North Korean labourers abroad, the foreign ministry  said in a statement.
Japan has already imposed strict sanctions on North  Korea, including a blanket ban on trade and port calls.
Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said: "North  Korea launched an ICBM ballistic missile that landed in our  exclusive economic zone and continues to repeat provocative  commentaries.
"In light of this, as we host a ministerial meeting of  the UN Security Council on December 15, we have decided on the  asset freeze in order to further increase ...

Japan expands sanctions aimed at N Korea

Nigeria's former Arsenal  striker Nwankwo Kanu led a team of African all-stars in a  charity football match to raise money for people displaced by  the Boko Haram insurgency and highlight their plight.
Kanu, Senegal's El-Hadji Diouf, Fabian McCarthy of South  Africa and Cyrille Mubiala from the Democratic Republic of  Congo were in a side that took on Nigeria Premier League side  Kano Pillars at Kano's Sani Abacha stadium yesterday.
The home side won 2-1 in front of a 16,000-strong crowd.
Ticket sales from the "Match for IDPs" (internally  displaced persons) will be combined with money from a charity  dinner to support those made homeless by the eight-year  conflict.
The Islamist insurgency began in 2009 and has since  killed at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.6 million  homeless.
Diouf told reporters after the match his aim by playing  was "to raise awareness of the dire need of the IDPs and raise  funds to support them".
"Whatever money is raised here will be used to ...

African footballers in charity match for Boko Haram displaced

Christian Pulisic won US  Soccer's Male Player of the Year award for 2017 in a  landslide, becoming at 19 the youngest footballer to earn the  honor.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder dominated the voting  process, getting the nod from 94 percent of those polled.
"It really is a big honor and I just want to thank  everyone who voted for me to win US Male Player of the Year,"  Pulisic said in a statement on the US Soccer Federation  website.
"It's something that I never could have imagined to be  here in this position. I'm thankful for everyone who supported  me and I'm excited for the future."
The previous youngest winner of the prize, first awarded  in 1984, was Landon Donovan, who was 21 when he won in 2003.
In nine appearances for the United States in 2017 Pulisic  scored six goals. He delivered the decisive pass in four more,  and figured in some form in 13 of the 17 goals scored during  matches in which he played.
His emergence as a star was a bright spot for the United  States ...

Pulisic makes history as US men's footballer of the year

After 120 years, The Old Lady of  Turin has finally opened its doors to an elite women's team,  which is shaking up the world of women's football in Italy.
Since September, Rita Guarino's Juventus women have swept  aside their rivals with eight wins from eight league games so  far, including the last two champions Brescia and Fiorentina.
Now Juve look poised to follow the success of their  dominant men's team in Serie A.
Italian national women's team coach Milena Bertolini sees  the arrival of the new team as a sign that things are changing
in a sport that is seen as one of the last men's strongholds  in Italy.
"The arrival of Juventus has given a strong impetus to  the whole movement," Bertolini told AFP as the national side  are also poised to succeed where their men failed and qualify  for their first World Cup since 1999.
"We have spoken more about women's football in the last  six months since the arrival of Juventus than in the last ten  years."
Juventus -- winners of a record ..

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