Scoreboard at lunch on the second
day of the third Test between England and South Africa at The Oval today:
     England 1st Innings (overnight: 171-4)
     A Cook lbw b Morkel                       88
     K Jennings c Elgar b Philander             0
     T Westley c du Plessis b Morris           25
     J Root c de Kock b Philander              29
     D Malan b Rabada                           1
     B Stokes batting                          64
     J Bairstow c du Plessis b Rabada          36
     M Ali batting                             10
     Extras (b7, lb6, w3)                      16
     Total (6 wkts, 86 overs, 393 mins)        269
     Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-64, 3-113, 4-120, 5-183, 6-258
     Bowling: Morkel 23-6-6-61-1; Philander 17-6-32-2; Rabada 19-4-60-2; Maharaj 12-1-35-0; Morris 15-1-68-1.

London, July 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the second

PTI Automatic

Israel barred men under 50 from Friday prayers at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site after two weeks of tensions and deadly unrest, leading thousands of Palestinians to hold mass prayers outside.
	Thousands of others entered the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, for prayers after Palestinians ended a boycott of the site the previous day.
	Despite fears of violent clashes around the compound, which includes Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the area was largely calm following Friday's midday prayers.
	Dozens of young Palestinians shouted and protested near one entrance to the compound and minor scuffles broke out with police.
	Clashes did erupt between Israeli forces and Palestinians in parts of the occupied West Bank, including in the Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron areas, the Israeli army said.
	A Palestinian also attempted to stab soldiers at a junction in the West Bank and was shot dead by Israeli forces, according to the Israeli army.
	Tensions at the ..

Palestinians pray outside holy site after Israeli restrictions

Fourteen Shiite Kuwaiti citizens convicted of forming a cell with ties to Tehran have fled by sea to Iran, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported today.
	Citing high-ranking security sources, the Al-Seyassah daily said the 14 men fled to Iran on speedboats hours after Kuwait's supreme court sentenced them to lengthy jail terms for plotting attacks in the Sunni-ruled emirate.
	Kuwait's interior ministry was not immediately available for comment.
	The supreme court last month overturned an acquittal by the appeals court and sentenced 21 defendants to jail, including one for life, for forming a cell with ties to both Shiite Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and for planning attacks in Kuwait.
	The defendants who fled were not in custody prior to last month's sentencing because they were freed after their acquittal by the appeals court last year.
	Around a third of Kuwait's native population of 1.35 million is Shiite.
	Kuwait is leading mediation efforts in a regional crisis pitting Qatar ...

14 Kuwaiti Shiite fugitives flee to Iran: report

Eight people were killed today when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, in the latest attack in the restive region.
	The head of the Borno state emergency management agency, Ahmed Satomi, said the blast happened at about 5:30 am (0430 GMT) in the London Ciki area of Maiduguri, which has been at the epicentre of Boko Haram violence since 2009.
	"She killed eight people and injured 15 others. The mosque was being guarded by civilian JTF (joint task force militia) during prayers," he told AFP.
	"Unknown to them, the girl was being pursued from another part of town by residents who were suspicious of her movement at the time.
	"When she approached the mosque, they demanded that she stop to be searched but she suddenly bolted into the mosque and set off her bombs."
	Three other female suicide bombers were located in Maiduguri at about the same time, said Satomi.
	Two were killed in the Mammanti area as they tried to cross the ditch around the .

Eight killed in Nigeria suicide bombing: authorities

A new law giving Thailand's king direct control over royal assets worth billions of dollars went into force today, the latest move by an increasingly assertive monarch to consolidate his power.
	King Maha Vajiralongkorn inherited one of the world's great fortunes when he ascended the throne in October following the death of his father Bhumibol Adulyadej who ruled for seven decades.
	Thailand's monarchy is shielded from both criticism and scrutiny by a draconian lese majeste law and does not declare its wealth.
	But analysts say the Chakris are one of the world's wealthiest royal dynasties, with estimates varying between USD 30-60 billion.
	Most of this wealth is controlled by the opaque Crown Property Bureau (CPB), a vast portfolio that includes massive property ownership and investments in major companies.
	Yesterday the Royal Gazette published a new law governing the CPB that was passed by the junta's rubber-stamp legislature last week and went into effect on Monday.
	The main ...

Thai junta grants king full control of palace wealth

Thirty-four Cameroonian soldiers from the elite Rapid Intervention Brigade were missing today, a day after an army vessel capsized off the country's southeastern coast.
	The ship was carrying 37 people, including crew, and was on its way to the city of Bakassi for refuelling when it sank on Sunday morning, Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo said in a statement.
	"Thirty-four personnel are missing till now," he said. "Three soldiers were rescued but the boat seems to have sunk right down."
	He said the circumstances of the accident were not yet clear but the waters were very choppy when it happened.
	The Rapid Intervention Brigade is in the front line of Cameroon's fight against Boko Haram jihadists in the north.
	Though Boko Haram originated in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
	Cameroon's Far North region, which borders Nigeria, has seen a resurgence in attacks blamed on Boko Haram after months of relative ...

34 Cameroonian soldiers missing after boat capsize

South Korea today offered to hold rare military talks with the North, aiming to ease tensions after Pyongyang tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile.
	The offer of talks, the first since South Korea elected dovish President Moon Jae-In, came as the Red Cross in Seoul proposed a separate meeting to discuss reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
	The South's defence ministry proposed a meeting to be held on Friday at the border truce village of Panmunjom, while the Red Cross offered to hold talks on August 1 at the same venue.
	If the government meeting goes ahead, it will mark the first official inter-Korea talks since December 2015. Moon's conservative predecessor, Park Geun-Hye, had refused to engage in substantive dialogue with Pyongyang unless the isolated regime made a tangible commitment to denuclearisation.
	"We make the proposal for a meeting... Aimed at stopping all hostile activities that escalate military tension along the land border," the ...

S Korea seeks rare talks with North to ease military tensions

Has Winnie the Pooh done something to anger China's censors? Some mentions of the lovable but dimwitted bear with a weakness for "hunny" have been blocked on Chinese social networks.
	Authorities did not explain the clampdown, but the self- described "bear of very little brain" has been used in the past in a meme comparing him to portly Chinese President Xi Jinping.
	Posts bearing the image and the Chinese characters for Winnie the Pooh were still permitted on the Twitter-like Weibo platform today.
	But comments referencing "Little Bear Winnie" -- Pooh's Chinese name -- turned up error messages saying the user could not proceed because "this content is illegal."
	Winnie the Pooh stickers have also been removed from WeChat's official "sticker gallery," but user-generated gifs of the bear are still available on the popular messaging app.
	Comparisons between Xi and Pooh first emerged in 2013, after Chinese social media users began circulating a pair of pictures that placed an image of ..

'Oh, bother': Chinese censors can't bear Winnie the Pooh

Civilian deaths in Afghanistan hit a new high in the first half of 2017, with 1,662 killed and more than 3,500 injured, the United Nations said today.
	The majority of the victims were killed by anti- government forces -- including the Taliban and the Islamic State -- with around one in five of deaths happening in the capital Kabul, according to the report which has been produced by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) bi- annually since 2009.

Afghan civilian deaths hit new high: UN

US President Donald Trump, fresh from a political holiday in Paris, went back on the offencive as a new poll showed his popularity dropping amid doubts about Russian election meddling and deepening frustrations over stalled health-care legislation.
	In a tweet early yesterday, Trump used some of his toughest language against a favoured target, the press, saying: "With all of its phony unnamed sources & highly slanted & even fraudulent reporting, #Fake News is DISTORTING DEMOCRACY in our country!"
	Trump also sent one of his private lawyers, Jay Sekulow, onto five Sunday talk shows to argue that there was nothing illegal about son Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting last year with a Russian attorney following a promise of damaging information on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
	"What took place at the meeting... Is not a violation of any law, statute or code," Sekulow told NBC. He repeated an earlier assertion that Trump is not the subject of any current investigation into alleged ...

Trump back on offencive after brief respite in Paris

Devastated Marin Cilic admitted his Wimbledon final tears were triggered by the realisation his bid to shock Roger Federer was destined to end in a painful defeat.
     Cilic wept inconsolably on Centre Court midway through the second set after calling for medical attention on a nasty blister on his left foot.
     The former US Open champion gamely played through the agony, but couldn't stop Federer cruising to a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory yesterday.
     "I got a bad blister in the semi-final against Sam Querrey. Fluid just came down under my callous in the foot," Cilic said.
     "The physios here helped me over the last 30 hours. They were with me constantly and did as much as they could.
     "I still felt the pain. Every time I had to do a reaction fast, fast change of movement, I was unable to do that.
     "Obviously it was very tough emotionally because I know how much I went through in the last few months in preparation for Wimbledon."
     Cilic explained that his tears at 3-0 ..

Devastated Cilic reveals blister sparked Wimbledon tears

Jamaica's sprint queen Elaine Thompson tuned up for next month's world championships in style at the Rabat Diamond League meet, but Olympic pole vault champion Thiago Braz endured a torrid time.
     The Brazilian stole the show in Rio last year but failed in all three of his attempts at 5.40m.
     Making his return to competition after a month sidelined with a knee problem in Morocco his lack of form will give him major cause for concern with London looming.
     Reigning double Olympic sprint champion Thompson in contrast was all smiles after annexing the 100m in a meeting record 10.87sec.
     Thomspon, who owns the season's leading time of 10.71m set in Kingston last month, crossed clear of Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast (10.90) in a re-run of the result in Paris on July 1.
     Trinidad and Tobago's Michelle-Lee Ahye took third in 11.02.
     "My races are going fine, I'm in the shape that I want to be in and I'm looking forward to the London world championships," said ...

Thompson in tune for worlds, concern for Braz

Roger Federer admitted that he never thought he'd be a record eight-time Wimbledon champion and would even have laughed if he was told he'd win two majors in 2017.
     The Swiss star, who will turn 36 in three weeks' time, eased past the mark of seven All England Club titles he had shared with Pete Sampras since 2012 with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 win over injury-hit Marin Cilic in the final yesterday.
     It was 16 years ago when Federer famously defeated Sampras at Wimbledon to announce himself as a star in the making.
     However, it wasn't until 2003 that he captured his first All England Club title.
     Now he has 19 majors, four clear of closest rival Rafael Nadal on the all-time list.
     "I didn't think I was going to be this successful after beating Pete here," said Federer who also won a fifth Australian Open in January.
     "I hoped to have a chance maybe one day to be in a Wimbledon final and have a chance to win the tournament.
     "Winning eight is not something you can ...

Don't laugh! I never dreamed I'd be Wimbledon legend: Federer

Australia's military will be given greater power to act during terror attacks, the prime minister said today, following a review of security forces' responses to a spate of local and international incidents.
	Among a raft of changes, police will no longer have to wait until they have exhausted their capacity to call on the army during a terror attack, while special forces will be embedded in law enforcement agencies for better coordination, Malcolm Turnbull said.
	Defence officials will also provide specialised training to police forces as part of the measures.
	Although police were absolved of blame during a 2014 Sydney cafe seige, in which two hostages and the gunman were killed, an inquest found authorities had underestimated the threat of the hostage taker and recommended a review of several procedures.
	"Our enemies are agile and innovative. We have to stay ahead of them," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.
	"We have to ensure that every resource we have -- legislative, military, 

Australia military powers beefed up for terror attacks

China posted better-than-expected growth of 6.9 per cent in the second quarter, official data showed today, but authorities warned of lingering risks to the economy.
	Analysts polled by AFP had forecast growth of 6.8 percent after the economy expanded 6.9 per cent in the first quarter.
	"Generally speaking, the national economy has maintained the momentum of steady and sound development in the first half of 2017, laying a solid foundation for achieving the annual target and better performance," national statistics bureau spokesman Xing Zhihong said.
	"However, we must be aware that there are still many unstable and uncertain factors abroad and long-term structural contradictions remain prominent at home," Xing said.

China says economy grew 6.9% in second quarter

Three years after Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over war-torn Ukraine, more than 2,000 relatives gather today to unveil a "living memorial" to their loved ones.
	A total of 298 trees have been planted in the shape of a green ribbon, one for each of the victims who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
	Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will join government and international officials at a solemn ceremony to dedicate the memorial in the park of Vijfhuizen, close to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam where the flight took off from on July 17, 2014.
	The names of all the 298 passengers and crew killed in the disaster will be read out by their families, and 17 local children will lay flowers.
	While most of the victims were Dutch, there were 17 nationalities on board including Australians, Britons, Malaysians and Indonesians.
	"A tree symbolises 'hope' and 'future' in many cultures," the victims families association said in a ...

On third MH17 anniversary, families to unveil 'living

Flash flooding that swept over a swimming hole near Payson, Arizona has left at least eight people dead with several still missing, authorities said.
	Sheriff's office staff responded to an emergency call after the flooding at the Cold Springs Swimming Hole, said J. Adam Shepherd of the Gila county sheriff's office.
	"Eight individuals have been confirmed deceased and search operations continue for remaining missing individuals," Shepherd said in a statement, without specifying how many people were still unaccounted for.
	A flash flood warning was in effect for southeast Arizona until today evening, according to the National Weather Service.
	According to the Arizona Emergency Information Network, flash flooding has claimed at least 40 lives in the state since 1996, more than any other storm-related hazard.

Eight dead, several missing in Arizona flash-flooding

Chanting democracy slogans, several thousand people rallied in Warsaw in demonstrations against controversial new court reforms they see as a threat to judicial independence.
	Protesters waved EU and Polish flags and shouted "we will defend democracy" at an afternoon demonstration in front of the parliament, which this week passed legislation that critics say gives the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party power over the courts.
	Participants called PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski a "dictator" and held up signs with slogans such as "duck off" in reference to the similarity of his last name to the Polish word for duck.
	Police estimated the crowd at 4,500 people, while the city authorities said there were more than 10,000 protesters at the demonstration, organised by the KOD pro-democracy movement, which is critical of the governing conservatives' policies on courts as well as other areas such as media and education.
	Later on Sunday, the Iustitia association of Polish judges held its own ..

Thousands rally against court reforms in Poland

A Cameroon army vessel transporting "dozens" of troops from the elite Rapid Intervention Brigade capsized on Sunday off the country's southwestern coast, a security source said.
	The boat "capsized on Sunday between the city of Limbe and Bakassi. There were dozens of troops on board, including a colonel," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Cameroon army vessel capsizes at sea, dozens missing: security

Gunmen on motorbikes attacked Venezuelan voters taking part in an opposition-organised ballot challenging President Nicolas Maduro, killing at least one woman and wounding three other people, according to prosecutors.
	Television footage of the attack yesterday showed a panicked crowd running and screaming while gunshots were heard. Some people sought refuge in a nearby church.
	The armed assault occurred in Catia, a working class neighbourhood in the capital Caracas. Prosecutors said in a statement an investigation had been opened.
	The opposition coalition blamed the attack on "paramilitary groups" linked to Maduro's government.
	The violence confirmed fears surrounding an electoral tussle between the opposition and Maduro, focused on the beleaguered president's bid to rewrite the constitution.
	It also fed into nearly four months of protests during which nearly 100 people have died.
	Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans cast ballots on Sunday in the vote aimed at rejecting Maduro's 

Gunmen fatally attack Venezuelan voters in anti-Maduro ballot

At least nine people were killed and 10 others seriously injured today when a gas tank exploded at a fuel complex in southeastern Nigeria, state police said.
	There was no immediate explanation for the blast at a facility belonging to Nigerian firm Linc Oil and Gas at Calabar, said Hafiz Inuwa, in charge of the Cross River State Police Command.
	The police chief, speaking at the scene, said the facility's manager had not yet explained "what led to the explosion".
	"For now, nine people are confirmed dead and many others who sustained different burns are currently receiving treatment" in a local hospital, he added.
	"The figure could be more than nine, while at least 10 persons sustained various degrees of life-threatening injuries," a worker at the facility told AFP on condition of anonymity, after the early morning blast.
	Fuel explosions are common in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer and the continent's most populous country, where it is transported on badly-maintained roads ..

AFP

AFP

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