Opener Dimuth Karunaratne scored his fourth Test century as Sri Lanka steadily built their lead over Zimbabwe on day four of the first Test at Harare Sports Club.
     Karunaratne confirmed his return to form with 110 in Sri Lanka's second innings as the tourists reached tea on 231 for five, an overall lead of 395.
     The left-hander came into the match without a fifty in his previous three games, but followed up his 56 in the first innings with his first hundred in 19 innings stretching back to October 2015.
     The Zimbabweans were able to restrict the Sri Lankan scoring early on the fourth morning as the tourists resumed on five without loss, with Carl Mumba bowling Kaushal Silva in the seventh over of the day.
     But Karunaratne gradually opened up and added 55 brisk runs for the second wicket with Kusal Perera, who fell for 17 when he edged a delivery from Malcolm Waller to slip.
     As the field spread Sri Lanka's momentum was sustained by Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis, ...

Karunaratne ton edges Sri Lanka out of sight

PTI Automatic

Cancer will kill 5.5 million women - about the population of Denmark - per year by 2030, a near 60-per cent increase in less than two decades, a report said today.
	As the global population grows and ages, the highest toll will be among women in poor and middle-income countries, it said, and much of it from cancers which are largely preventable.
	"Most of the deaths occur in young- and middle-aged adults,", placing a heavy burden on families and national economies, said Sally Cowal, senior vice president of global health at the American Cancer Society, which compiled the report with pharmaceutical company Merck.
	The review "highlights the large geographic inequality in availability of resources and preventive measures and treatment to combat the growing burden of cancer," she told AFP.
	Cancer is already killing one in seven women around the world, said the report - the second highest cause of death after cardiovascular disease.
	All four of the deadliest cancers - breast, ...

Cancer to kill 5.5 mn women a year by 2030: report

Iraq today announced that its forces had entered jihadist-held Mosul for the first time since the Islamic State group overran the city more than two years ago.
	Iraqi army forces have "now entered the Judaidat Al-Mufti area, within the left bank of the city of Mosul," the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
	Mosul is split down the middle by the Tigris River. Iraqis refer to the eastern half of the city as the left bank and the western side as the right bank.
	Judaidat al-Mufti is an area on the southeastern side of the city.
	Iraqi forces launched a massive operation aimed at retaking Mosul from the Islamic State group more than two weeks ago, and have been advancing on the city on multiple fronts.
	IS overran Mosul along with swathes of other territory in the summer of 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from jihadists, and the city is now their last stronghold in the country.

Iraq forces enter jihadist-held Mosul: military

Kraigg Brathwaite became the fifth West Indian batsman to carry his bat with an unbeaten hundred before Jason Holder took 3-10 to leave Pakistan under pressure in the third Test here today.
     Brathwaite held West Indies's first innings of 337 with a resolute 142 not out before Holder jolted Pakistan with three wickets in 17 balls to give his team a strong position at the end of the third day.
     At close Pakistan were struggling at 87-4 with opener Azhar Ali 45 not out and Sarfraz Ahmed 19 not out, leading only by 31 runs with six wickets intact and two days to play.
     Pakistan needed a big effort after conceding a 56-run lead but from 37-0 they lost four wickets in the space of 11 runs with Holder firing on all cylinders and their batsmen playing rash shots.
     Holder forced Sami Aslam (17) to hook straight into the hands of deep fine-leg, then in his next over had Asad Shafiq caught in slip fending a short ball for nought, his second in the match.
     An over later Holder 

Brathwaite, Holder lift West Indies in third Test

Scoreboard at close on the third day
of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England at Sharjah stadium.
     Pakistan 1st innings : 281
     West Indies 1st innings (overnight 244 for 6)
     K Brathwaite not out                     142
     L Johnson lbw b Riaz                       1
     D Bravo c Amir b Babar                    11
     M Samuels lbw b Shah                       0
     J Blackwood c Shafiq b Amir               23
     R Chase c Younis b Amir                   50
     S Dowrich b Riaz                          47
     J Holder b Amir                           16
     D Bishoo c Ahmed b Riaz                   27
     A Joseph c Shah b Riaz                     6
     S Gabriel c Ahmed b Riaz                   0
     Extras: (LB-6, NB-8)                      14
     Total: (all out; 115.4 overs)            337
     Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-32, 3-38, 4-68, 5-151, 6-234, 7-263, 8-323, 9-333.
     Bowling: Amir 25-5-71-3, Riaz 26.4-1-88-5, Shah 26-2-80-1, Babar ...

Sharjah, Nov 1 (AFP) Scoreboard at close on the third day

Iraq forces enter jihadist-held Mosul: military. (AFP)

Shell reports quarterly net profit of $1.4bn

Earnings after taxation hit $1.4 billion in the three months to September, against a net loss of $7.4 billion last year

Press Trust of India

Germany's prolific Miroslav Klose, the all-time World Cup top-scorer, announced his retirement on Tuesday at the age of 38.
     Germany's leading scorer with 71 goals in 137 internationals was without a club after his Lazio contract expired last season and he will now join the national side's coaching team.
     Klose hit a record 16th goal in World Cup finals during the 7-1 semi-final thrashing of hosts Brazil two years ago, which saw him overtake former Brazil star Ronaldo. Germany went on to win the title.
     Klose now plans to join Germany's coaching staff after an invitation from head coach Joachim Loew. According to a German FA (DFB) statement, Klose will complete an individual training programme with the goal of embarking on a coaching career.
     He will be on the Germany bench alongside Loew for the 2018 World Cup qualifier away to San Marino on November 11 and the friendly four days later against Italy in Milan.
     "I celebrated my biggest successes in the national ...

World Cup top-scorer Klose retires at 38

Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth day
of the first Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
     Sri Lanka 1st innings: 536
     Zimbabwe 1st innings: 373
     Sri Lanka 2nd innings:
     D Karunaratne not out                65
     K Silva b Mumba                       7
     K Perera c Masakadza b Waller        17
     K Mendis c Cremer b Mumba            19
     Extras: (LB-2, NB-1)                  3
     Total: (For 3 wkts, 31.4 overs)     111
     Bowling: Mpofu 7-2-13-0, Cremer 7-0-28-0, Mumba 6.4-2-28-2, Tiripano 5-0-18-0, Waller 5-0-17-1, Williams 1-0-5-0.

Harare, Nov 1 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth day

Elite Iraqi forces were poised today for a first push into Mosul, after the prime minister warned jihadists who hold the city have no choice but to surrender or die.
	Forces from Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) were fighting IS in Gogjali, a village on the eastern edge of Mosul that they reached yesterday.
	While CTS may soon enter Mosul, which IS overran two years ago, it will likely have to wait for other units to catch up before making a concerted push into the city.
	"We are currently advancing in Gogjali," Staff Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, a senior CTS officer, told AFP.
	"The next will be towards Al-Zahra and Al-Karama on the eastern side of Mosul," he said, without specifying when that step would take place.
	For CTS's "Mosul Regiment", which has been fighting its way towards the city, retaking it is a matter of pride.
	They were the last to retreat when IS seized the city on June 10, 2014 and they want to be the first back in.
	The voice of Colonel Mustafa ..

Iraq forces poised for first push into Mosul

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne enjoyed a welcome return to form as Sri Lanka extended their lead over Zimbabwe on the fourth morning of the first Test at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
     Karunaratne had not scored a Test fifty in his previous three Tests, but hit an unbeaten 65 as Sri Lanka advanced to 111 for three in their second innings, giving them an overall lead of 275.
     The Zimbabweans were able to restrict the Sri Lankan scoring early on as the tourists resumed on five without loss, with Carl Mumba bowling Kaushal Silva in the seventh over of the day.
     But Karunaratne gradually opened up, and added 55 brisk runs for the second wicket with Kusal Perera, who fell for 17 when he edged a delivery from Malcolm Waller to slip.
     As the field spread, Sri Lanka's momentum was sustained by Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis, until the latter perished off the final ball of the session as he was caught at mid-on for 19 off Mumba.
     Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer's unexpected Test ..

Karunaratne helps Sri Lanka tighten grip on Harare test

Opener Kraigg Brathwaite became the fifth West Indian batsman to carry his bat through an innings which left Pakistan on the back foot in the third and final Test here today.
     At tea Pakistan were 32-0 in their second innings, with openers Azhar Ali (16) and Sami Aslam (15) at the crease, still trailing by 24 runs after West Indies were dismissed for 337.
     That gave West Indies a lead of 56 runs over Pakistan's first innings total of 281.
     For the first time in the series West Indies surged ahead courtesy of a 318-ball stubborn stay of Brathwaite who anchored the innings with 11 boundaries to his name.
     Brathwaite added an invaluable 60 runs for the eighth wicket with Devendra Bishoo who made a solid 27 to leave Pakistan spin-cum pace attack frustrated.
     In the end it was left to the lively pace of Wahab Riaz to take the final three wickets for his second five-wicket haul in Tests, finishing with 5-88 in 26.4 overs of hard work.
     Riaz, whose first five-wicket ..

Pakistan fight after Brathwaite's unbeaten ton

Scoreboard at tea on the third day
of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England at Sharjah stadium.
     Pakistan 1st innings: 281
     West Indies 1st innings (overnight 244 for 6)
     K Brathwaite not out                     142
     L Johnson lbw b Riaz                       1
     D Bravo c Amir b Babar                    11
     M Samuels lbw b Shah                       0
     J Blackwood c Shafiq b Amir               23
     R Chase c Younis b Amir                   50
     S Dowrich b Riaz                          47
     J Holder b Amir                           16
     D Bishoo c Ahmed b Riaz                   27
     A Joseph c Shah b Riaz                     6
     S Gabriel c Ahmed b Riaz                   0
     Extras: (LB-6, NB-8)                      14
     Total: (all out; 115.4 overs)            337
     Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-32, 3-38, 4-68, 5-151, 6-234, 7-263, 8-323, 9-333.
     Bowling: Amir 25-5-71-3, Riaz 26.4-1-88-5, Shah 26-2-80-1, Babar ...

Sharjah, Nov 1 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the third day

BP said today that net profits rocketed in the third quarter, aided partly by cost-cutting, and announced further spending cuts in response to low oil prices.
	Earnings after tax soared to USD 1.6 billion in the three months to September, compared with just USD 46 million in the same period a year earlier, BP said in a results statement.
	Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary added BP was making "good progress" in adapting to a "challenging" oil price environment.
	The company meanwhile cut 2016 capital expenditure to USD 16 billion, compared with the previous guidance of USD 17-19 billion.
	BP added that profit, adjusted for exceptional items and oil inventory changes, dropped to USD 933 million in the reporting period from USD 1.8 billion a year earlier, as underlying earnings took a hit from low oil prices.
	That did however beat market expectations of $719.2 million, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg.
	BP also warned oil refining margins would continue to take a hit in the 

BP says quarterly net profit surges to $1.6bn

Venezuela's embattled government and opposition leaders agreed to hold talks to defuse a growing political crisis, but mistrust lingers after an attempt to recall the president was scuttled.
	With the mediation of the Vatican and the Union of South American Nations, the two sides agreed yesterday after hours-long talks which ended before dawn on an agenda that includes a new meeting next month.
	But opponents of socialist President Nicolas Maduro remained wary while the opposition itself is divided over the strategy, with some groups refusing to sit down with the government.
	"Whether this dialogue has or doesn't have continuity will depend on concrete gestures from the government," said Jesus Torrealba, executive secretary of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), the opposition group taking part in the talks.
	"The opening of this dialogue doesn't mean by a long shot that the struggle will stop."
	But Torrealba suggested that the opposition could reconsider holding a planned protest 

Venezuela rivals seek to ease political crisis

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Sharjah stadium.
     Pakistan 1st innings: 281
     West Indies 1st innings (overnight 244 for 6)
     K Brathwaite not out                    130
     L Johnson lbw b Riaz                      1
     D Bravo c Amir b Babar                   11
     M Samuels lbw b Shah                      0
     J Blackwood c Shafiq b Amir              23
     R Chase c Younis b Amir                  50
     S Dowrich b Riaz                         47
     J Holder b Amir                          16
     D Bishoo not out                         22
     Extras: (LB-6, NB-8)                     14
     Total: (for seven wkts; 105 overs)      314
     Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-32, 3-38, 4-68, 5-151, 6-234, 7-263.
     Bowling: Amir 25-5-71-3, Riaz 21-1-79-2, Shah 24-2-72-1, Babar 21-3-56-1, Nawaz 8-2-14-0, Ali 6-0-16-0.

Sjarjah, Nov 1 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Sharjah stadium.

Kraigg Brathwaite cracked a stubborn hundred to give the West Indies a slim lead over Pakistan on day three of the third and final Test here today.
     The 23-year-old opener was unbeaten on 130 for his fifth Test century as West Indies reached 314-7 at lunch, 33 ahead of Pakistan's first-innings total of 281 all out.
     Brathwaite, batting with resolve, found an able ally in Devendra Bishoo as they combined to add 51 invaluable runs for an unbroken eighth-wicket stand.
     Bishoo was 22 not out at the break, having supported his more established partner to leave Pakistan's spin-cum-pace attack struggling for wickets on a still unresponsive pitch.
     Brathwaite has so far struck 11 boundaries during his 288-ball vigil, but he had a lucky escape as wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed failed to hold a sharp, rising edge off Mohammad Nawaz when he was on 121.
     In the same over, Bishoo was given out off a sweep shot but he successfully reviewed English umpire Michael Gough's decision as .

Ton-up Brathwaite gives Windies the edge

Kyrgyzstan's security service said today that a drunk man who halted operations at the country's main airport with a false bomb scare was trying to stop his wife from leaving for Moscow.
	Ilya Eremeev, 30, phoned emergency services yesterday and said there was a bomb on a plane "to prevent his wife leaving" for the Russian capital on a work trip, it said.
	Security services evacuated the ex-Soviet country's main Manas airport outside the capital Bishkek yesterday evening and several flights were cancelled before the security alert was lifted.
	The national security agency offered no further information on Eremeev's motives but noted he was "in a drunken state" when detained.
	Eremeev is being held and investigated for providing false information about an act of terrorism, an act punishable by up to three years in prison.
	The bomb scare came as Bishkek prepares to host a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on Wednesday which Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and ...

Kyrgyz man halts main airport with 'bomb' claim

The woman at the centre of the snowballing political scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye has been put under emergency detention after prosecutors said she was "unstable" and a flight risk.
	Choi Soon-Sil, who faces allegations of fraud and meddling in state affairs over her decades-long friendship with Park, was grilled for hours yesterday after she returned to the country and handed herself in following mass street protests.
	"There is a possibility of Choi trying to destroy evidence as she is denying all the allegations," a prosecution official told the Yonhap news agency, explaining the decision to hold her for 48 hours.
	"She has fled overseas in the past, and she doesn't have a permanent address in this country, making her a flight risk.
	"She is also in an extremely unstable psychological state," the official added.
	The media has portrayed the 60-year-old Choi as a Rasputin-like figure, who wielded an unhealthy influence over Park and interfered in government policy ...

Prosecutors detain woman at core of S Korea political crisis

Two of China's secretive J-20 warplanes swept over a gasping crowd at the Zhuhai air show today, potent symbols of Beijing's aspirations to military might.
	The fighters were not announced on the schedule and appeared in the sky just after a colourful aerobatics show by the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
	With no fanfare but an abrupt announcement by the master of ceremonies, the dark, powerful jets rumbled side by side over the sun-baked spectators. Two minutes later one blasted vertically into the sky and the jets were gone.
	Swift and heavily armed, the warplanes represent a leap forward in China's ability to project power in Asia and compete in capabilities with the United States.
	Beijing is seeking to modernise and upgrade its military both to protect its borders and project power into regions such as the South China Sea, a resource-rich strategic waterway where it has disputes with several neighbours.
	This year's Zhuhai exhibition, the largest ever, features an array of ..

China's secretive stealth fighter unveiled in flyby debut

Japan's Sony said today its fiscal first half net profit dived as it was hit by a sharp rally in the yen and losses linked to the sale of its battery business.
	The electronics giant, which has been shedding assets as part of a broad restructuring, reported a 26 billion yen (USD 248 million) net profit in the six months through September, down nearly 78 per cent from a year ago.
	Revenue during the period fell more than 10 per cent to 3.3 trillion yen "primarily due to the impact of foreign exchange rates", Sony said.
	The company said sales in its mobile communications business slumped, while profitability in Sony's memory chip and components businesses also suffered.
	That partly offset strong demand for games on its hugely popular PlayStation 4 game console.
	Last month, Sony launched its new virtual reality headset, the PlayStation virtual reality (PSVR), in Japan and North America, joining Facebook, Samsung and Google in a market that analysts say could boost the global gaming ...

AFP

AFP

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