Mitchell Starc spearheaded Australia to a stunning final day innings victory over Pakistan to claim the series in Melbourne on Friday.
     The fast bowler smashed 84 off 91 balls with a record seven sixes and then captured four wickets for 36 to lead Australia to a resounding innings and 18-run victory over the hapless tourists.
     Skipper Steve Smith set the ball rolling for a dramatic victory when he declared Australia's first innings at 624 for eight just before lunch.
     That gave Australia a 181-run lead and a minimum of 70 overs to bowl out Pakistan. In the end the Australians needed only 53.2 overs to pull off an emphatic victory and with their 39-run win in the first Gabba Test to clinch the three-Test series.
     While Smith was named man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 165, it was Starc who put his stamp on the game with his sensational effort with bat and ball.
     Starc clubbed seven sixes, the most in an innings in a Melbourne Test, and was severe on Yasir Shah, ...

Starc stars in Australia's stunning last day win over Pakistan

PTI Automatic

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out for the rest of Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash League with a hamstring injury, his Melbourne Renegades club said Friday.
     Bravo suffered the setback during a loss to the Perth Scorchers on Thursday and scans revealed a serious injury that will require surgery and a long spell on the sidelines.
     Bravo was fielding on the boundary when he made a desperate dive to cut off a shot from Michael Klinger and clutched his hamstring in pain.
     "Unfortunately my Big Bash season is over which is very disappointing," Bravo said.
     "I'll now have surgery and the rehabilitation to get me fit and playing at my best again. I want to thank all the Renegades fans for their support for me and I hope to see them again next season."
     Bravo was in his fourth season at the Renegades after a stint with the Sydney Sixers.

Melbourne, Dec 30 (AFP) Scoreboard after the final day of

Hong Kong today confirmed its second human case of bird flu this season, days after an elderly man died of the virus.
	A 70-year-old man, who had travelled to the neighbouring Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan earlier in December, tested positive for the H7N9 strain of the virus, the government said in a statement.
	He said he had come across mobile stalls selling live poultry in Zhongshan, but authorities said they were still investigating the source of the infection.
	The patient has been hospitalised in stable condition. Those who have been in close contact with him have been put under medical surveillance although none have yet reported any symptoms.
	Cases of bird flu were "expected to increase in winter based on its seasonal pattern", the government statement added.
	Another elderly man, who had bought a chicken from a market in the neighbouring Guangdong province, died on Sunday, less than a week after testing positive for H7N9.
	Hong Kong is particularly alert to the ...

Hong Kong reports second human case of bird flu

Nathan Lyon answered his critics with three crucial wickets to put Australia on track for a stunning final day victory over Pakistan in the second Test in Melbourne on Friday.
     Lyon, his bowling consistency questioned by his captain Steve Smith, produced an inspired two wickets in three balls to put Pakistan on the slide.
     He coaxed Younis Khan to push forward and be caught by Peter Handscomb centimetres off the ground at short leg for 24 and then dismissed skipper Misbah-ul-Haq to an injudicious sweep for a duck.
     Misbah swept outside his off-stump to Nic Maddinson placed at short fine leg for the premeditated shot.
     Suddenly both of Pakistan's two experienced batsmen were gone and four wickets down with Australia attacking with their tails up.
     Lyon struck again just before tea when he had in-form Azad Shafiq snapped up by Handscomb at silly mid-off for 16.
     Pakistan go into the final session at 91 for five with first innings double-centurion Azhar Ali on 34 .

Lyon puts Pakistan on the ropes with three wickets

Scoreboard at tea on the final
day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday
	   Pakistan 1st innings 443-9 dec
	   Australia 1st innings 624/8 dec
	   Pakistan 2nd innings
	   S Aslam     b Hazlewood           2
	   A Ali       not out              34
	   B Azam      lbw b Starc           3
	   Y Khan      c Handscomb b Lyon   24
	   M Ul-Haq    c Maddinson b Lyon    0
	   A Shafiq    c Handscomb b Lyon   16
	   S Ahmed     not out               1
	   Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-2)         11
	   Total (For 5 wickets, 31 overs)   91
	   Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-6, 3-63, 4-63, 5-89
	   Bowling: Starc 8-2-23-1, Hazlewood 7-3-15-1, Bird 6-2-23-0 (2nb), Lyon 10-3-21-3.

Melbourne, Dec 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the final

If it were not for the locked doors, knives chained to the table and uniformed staff, the food factory inside Taoyuan women's prison would resemble any commercial kitchen.
	Inmates wearing masks and hair nets mix cocoa powder to make chocolate, or chop cabbage to marinate for kimchi.
	They are part of a burgeoning food industry in Taiwan -- artisan snacks, made behind bars.
	The additive-free delicacies made by prison inmates have gained a loyal public following, and generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
	Demand is driven by quality and affordability after a string of food safety scandals has made Taiwan consumers extra vigilant.
	Last year sales revenue reached more than 500 million Taiwanese dollars (USD 15.62 million), with money going towards victim compensation, improvement of facilities and a wage for inmates.
	Some prisoners, like 39-year-old Chen, had little culinary experience before joining the production line in Taoyuan, in the north of the island.
	The prison 

Taiwan prisoners turn artisan chefs as 'jail food' takes off

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Press Trust of India

US President-elect Donald Trump

Trump had harshly criticised the spy chiefs earlier

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Red Square

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Scoreboard on the final day of
the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
     Pakistan first innings 443-9 dec
     Australia first innings (465-6 overnight)
     M. Renshaw   b Yasir Shah        10
     D. Warner    c Sarfraz b Riaz   144
     U. Khawaja   c Sarfraz b Riaz    97
     S. Smith     not out            165
     P. Handscomb c Sami b Sohail     54
     N. Maddinson b Yasir Shah        22
     M. Wade      c Shafiq b Sohail    9
     M. Starc     c Shafiq b Sohail   84
     N. Lyon      c and b Shah        12
     Extras (b1, lb12, w1, nb13)      27
     Total (8 wickets, 142 overs)    624
     Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Renshaw), 2-244 (Warner), 3-282 (Khawaja), 4-374 (Handscomb), 5-433 (Maddinson), 6-454 (Wade), 7-608 (Starc), 8-624 (Lyon)
     Bowling: Amir 33-6-91-0 (1nb 1w), Sohail 31-7-131-3, Y. Shah 41-2-207-3, Riaz 32-5-147-2 (12nb), Azhar 5-0-35-0.

Melbourne, Dec 30 (AFP) Scoreboard on the final day of

New York City

About 65 sand and sanitation trucks will be placed in 'strategic locations' around Times Square

New Year's eve celebrations: Trucks to be deployed in New York for security

Scoreboard at lunch on the final day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday:
	   Pakistan first innings 443-9 dec
	   Australia first innings (465-6 overnight)
	   M. Renshaw   b Yasir Shah         10
	   D. Warner    c Sarfraz b Riaz    144
	   U. Khawaja   c Sarfraz b Riaz     97
	   S. Smith     not out             165
	   P. Handscomb c Sami b Sohail      54
	   N. Maddinson b Yasir Shah         22
	   M. Wade      c Shafiq b Sohail     9
	   M. Starc     c Shafiq b Sohail    84
	   N. Lyon      c and b Shah         12
	   Extras (b1, lb12, w1, nb13)       27
	   Total (8 wickets dec, 142 overs) 624
	   Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Renshaw), 2-244 (Warner), 3-282 (Khawaja), 4-374 (Handscomb), 5-433 (Maddinson), 6-454 (Wade), 7-608 (Starc), 8-624 (Lyon)
	   Bowling: Amir 33-6-91-0 (1nb 1w), Sohail 31-7-131-3, Y. Shah 41-2-207-3, Riaz 32-5-147-2 (12nb), Azhar 5-0-35-0
	   Pakistan second innings
	   S. Aslam     b Hazlewood           ...

Melbourne, Dec 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the final day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday:

Australia grabbed an early wicket to have Pakistan under pressure to save the second Test after a bold declaration on the final day in Melbourne on Friday.
     Skipper Steve Smith revived hopes of achieving a result in the rain-disrupted Test with a declaration shortly before lunch.
     He called a halt to a massive first innings at 624 for eight -- remaining unbeaten on 165 off 246 balls -- giving his fast bowlers the use of the new ball just before the interval.
     The tactic paid immediate dividends with Josh Hazlewood bowling Sami Aslam off a bottom edge for two in the second over of the innings.
     At lunch, Pakistan were six for one with first-innings double-centurion Azhar Ali on one and Babar Azam on three.
     The decision to declare the Australian first innings was accelerated by a big-hitting knock of 84 off 91 balls from fast bowler Mitchell Starc.
     Starc clubbed seven sixes, the most in an innings in a Melbourne Test, and was particularly severe on Yasir Shah, .

Pakistan in trouble after Aussie declaration

The discovery of a burned-out car in Rio state with a body inside have sparked fears that it might be that of the Greek ambassador to Brazil, missing since Monday.
	Rio police were examining the corpse and scene yesterday but could not say whether it was that of the envoy, 59-year-old Kyriakos Amiridis.
	"The information that we can confirm right now is that we have found a car in (the district of) Nova Iguacu with a body and it is being investigated," a source in the homicide squad told AFP.
	The source would not say whether the license plate of the car was from the rental the ambassador was using, nor when DNA results on the body would be back.
	Amiridis had been on vacation with his family in Rio de Janeiro's northern Nova Iguacu area since December 21.
	He was due to fly back to Brasilia on January 9, a Greek embassy official told AFP.
	But he went missing on Monday night, after going out of the apartment they were renting and taking the car, according to Brazilian media. His ...

Body in burned car raises fears for missing Greek ambassador

More than a dozen Nobel laureates have urged the United Nations to "end the human crisis" of Myanmar's Rohingya minority group, whose members have been fleeing to Bangladesh to escape a bloody military crackdown.
	In an open letter addressed to the UN Security Council yesterday, 23 Nobel laureates, politicians, philanthropists and activists said "a human tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is unfolding in Myanmar."
	They also criticised the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- herself a Nobel Peace Prize winner -- for what they called a lack of initiative to protect the Rohingyas.
	"We are frustrated that she has not taken any initiative to ensure full and equal citizenship rights of the Rohingyas," the group wrote.
	In recent weeks, more than 27,000 people belonging to the persecuted Muslim minority -- a group loathed by many of Myanmar's Buddhist majority -- have fled a Burmese military operation in Rakhine state launched in response to the attack of ...

Nobel laureates urge UN to intervene in Myanmar's Rohingya

Three people died and four suffered bullet injuries during a short-lived mutiny at a jail in Congo's capital Brazzaville, the prosecutor has said.
	The unrest broke out yesterday at a prison near the city's court when a few prisoners got hold of guns belonging to the wardens, Andre Ngakala Oko said.
	"They started shooting in all directions creating panic," he said, adding that the three dead included a "gendarme, a mutineer and a civilian killed by a fleeing mutineer.
	"Four people were wounded: three mutineers and a civilian," he said.
	Witnesses said the short-lived riot lasted around 30 minutes. The prosecutor said all the prisoners who had tried to flee had been apprehended and locked up in their cells.

Three killed, four injured in Congo jail mutiny

Russia's embassy in London has condemned the United States as "lame", arguing Washington's decision to impose sanctions on Moscow harked back to the Cold War between the two nations.
	"President Obama expels 35 (Russian flag) diplomats in Cold War deja vu. As everybody, incl (US flag) people, will be glad to see the last of this hapless Adm (US administration)," the embassy's wrote on its Twitter account yesterday.
	The tweet was accompanied by a photo of a duck with "lame" written across the image, referring to the phrase lame duck when describing outgoing governments.
	The embassy's post followed the US's announcement earlier on Thursday of a series of measures against Russia, including expelling 35 agents.
	Tough sanctions will additionally be imposed on Russia's top two intelligence agencies, while two Russian compounds in the US will also be shut down.
	President Barack Obama said the measures come after private and public warnings to the Russian government, following accusations 

Russia's London embassy condemns 'lame' US over sanctions

Morocco has arrested five youth members of the premier's Islamist party who allegedly celebrated last week's murder of the Russian ambassador to Turkey, a party source said today.
	Authorities arrested the five from the youth movement of Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Justice and Development Party (PJD), the source said, after the assassination of Andrei Karlov on December 19.
	The Akhbar Al-Yaoum daily reported a sixth person had been called in for questioning.
	The PJD, whose leader has been tasked with forming a new governing coalition after winning October parliamentary polls, has yet to comment on the arrests.
	But the head of the party's lawyer association, Abdessamad al-Idrissi, said he would be defending those detained.
	Under Moroccan law, the crime of justifying terrorist acts can be punished by up to six years in prison and more than USD 19,000 in fines.
	On December 22, the justice and interior ministries said they were opening an investigation after a group of ...

Morocco arrests 5 for 'celebrating' Russia envoy death

US sanctions Russia's FSB and GRU intel agencies over

A drone strike in Yemen likely carried out by US forces today killed a local Al-Qaeda chief and his guard, a security official said.
	The strike hit a vehicle at Sawmaa in Al-Bayda province, killing Jalal al-Seydi, who was the "emir" of Al-Qaeda in the town of Loder, in the neighbouring southern province of Abyan, the official said.
	The United States is the only country operating drones over Yemen, but it only sporadically reports on the long-running bombing campaign against the country's powerful Al-Qaeda branch.
	The US authorities consider Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.
	AQAP and the Islamic State group have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and Shiite Huthi rebels to expand their presence in Yemen, especially in the south and southeast.

AFP

AFP

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