Spain's Constitutional Court today cancelled a ban on bullfighting in the region of Catalonia, in what is likely to exacerbate tensions between animal activists and fans of the centuries-old tradition.
	In a statement, the court argued that bullfighting was classified as part of Spain's heritage, and therefore a decision whether to ban it pertained to the central government and not to semi-autonomous regions like Catalonia.
	It said it had declared the ban "unconstitutional and void."
	Catalonia's regional parliament voted in 2010 to ban bullfighting from January 1, 2012 after animal rights groups managed to garner 180,000 signatures for a petition demanding the debate.
	It was the first region in mainland Spain to ban the tradition, although the Canary Islands abolished bullfighting in 1991.
	Critics at the time argued that more than an animal rights issue, the ban was also politically-motivated in a region with its own language, a fierce sense of identity and a desire to seek ...

Spain's top court cancels bullfighting ban in Catalonia

PTI Automatic

A British journalist arrested in Mogadishu while on a reporting assignment has been released by Somalian security forces, his employer Al-Jazeera said on its website today.
	Hamza Mohamed was arrested on Tuesday along with a driver, fixer and cameraman. He had been in the country for a week.
	Somali authorities had earlier informed Al-Jazeera that they had detained the journalist but that he had not been charged with anything.
	Hamza Mohamed had frequently travelled to the country over the past few years from where he had reported "with accuracy and integrity", Al-Jazeera said in an online report.
	Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had said Hamza and his colleagues were arrested on their return from a trip outside the capital, during which they were suspected of visiting territory controlled by the radical Islamist group Shabaab to interview senior Shabaab leaders.
	"Journalists are constantly caught in the crossfire of the war between government forces and Al-Shabaab's armed militants. 

British Al-Jazeera reporter freed in Somalia

Moeen Ali survived five reviews to hit an unbeaten half-century and help revive England after teenage debutant Mehedi Hasan stunned their top order to give Bangladesh the upper hand in the first Test today.
     Teenage off-spinner Mehedi and experienced left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan shared five wickets between them as Bangladesh reduced England to 173-5 at tea on the opening day in Chittagong.
     Moeen, batting at number five, struck eight fours and a six on his way to 61, but not before a string of nervous reviews kept his innings afloat.
     He was given out three times by umpire Kumar Dharmasena but his decisions were overturned on each occasion.
     He was given out on 17 off Shakib before lunch -- and then twice on the same score, in the first over after the break, off the same bowler. Two separate reviews from Bangladesh failed.
     Bangladesh reduced England to 81-3 in the first session and struck again through persistent bowling from Mehedi, who removed Joe Root for ..

Moeen survives five reviews as teen stuns England

Tajikistan began joint anti-terror drills with China today close near the border with Afghanistan as part of Beijing's drive to boost security in the region.
	Tajikistan's defence ministry told AFP that the exercises on Tajik territory would last until October 24 and involve at least 10,000 troops as well as military vehicles and helicopters.
	Tajik authorities said last month that China would be building infrastructure to increase security on the 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, which is a haven for drug traffickers.
	China and Tajikistan entered into an anti-terror alliance with Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier this year.
	Security issues in former Soviet Central Asia, a region that borders China's restive Xinjiang province, were once the exclusive preserve of Russia.
	But that has changed with the expansion of the China- and Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes four of the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia and .

Tajikistan starts anti-terror drills with China

The head of Nepal's anti-corruption commission has been suspended after lawmakers accused him of abusing his position and lodged a motion to impeach him, a parliament spokesman said today.
	Lokman Singh Karki has headed the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) since 2013 and was a controversial appointment from the start because he had himself been the subject of corruption inquiries, although he has never been convicted.
	He was suspended late yesterday pending a discussion in parliament on an impeachment motion against him scheduled for Sunday, parliament spokesman Bharat Gautam told AFP.
	Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, chief whip for the opposition CPN-UML who supported the motion, said that Karki had used his position to target his personal foes.
	"We intend to show that no one is above the law and the constitution," he told AFP.
	The parliamentary motion states that Karki "seriously violated the constitution and laws and has not sincerely performed the duties of ...

Nepal suspends anti-corruption chief

Tea scores on the opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium today:
 England first innings
 A. Cook           b Shakib   4
 B. Duckett        b Mehedi  14
 J. Root  c Sabbir b Mehedi  40
 G. Ballance   lbw b Mehedi   1
 M. Ali              not out 61
 B. Stokes         b Shakib  18
 J. Bairstow         not out 26
 Extras (B-7, LB-1, W-1)      9
 Total (five wickets, 62 overs) 173
 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-18, 3-21, 4-83, 5-106.
 Bowling: Shafiul 4-1-12-0, Mehedi 22-4-43-3, Kamrul 6-0-31-0, Shakib 16-4-45-2, Taijul 11-7-15-0, Sabbir 1-0-2-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-17-0.

Chittagong (Bangladesh), Oct 20 (AFP) Tea scores on the opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium today:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed concern President Barack Obama may take action Israel opposes at the United Nations before leaving office as US criticism of its settlement building intensifies.
	Netanyahu's statement late yesterday comes after speculation Obama could break with recent US practice and support -- or at least not veto -- a UN Security Council resolution laying out parameters for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
	There has also been speculation he could give a speech before leaving office in January that would do the same.
	Israel fears such parameters would include elements it opposes, such as a timeframe for resolving the conflict and demands for action against settlements in the occupied West Bank.
	Netanyahu said that "in the past, presidents at the end of their terms had promoted initiatives which were not in accordance with Israel's interests."
	"The prime minister added that he hoped this was not about to be repeated and that he expects ..

Israel PM concerned Obama may act before leaving office

Developing economies stand to win an extra USD 21 billion if they improve girls' health and sex education, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said today.
	Girls in developing countries are less likely than boys to complete schooling because of forced marriage, child labour and female genital mutilation, risking the opportunities presented by their largely young populations, said the study, launched in London.
	"Over the next 15 years alone, developing countries together stand to gain or forfeit at least USD 21 billion, depending on whether or not they invest in the well-being, education, and independence of their 10-year-old girls today," it said.
	"When the right policies and institutions are in place to build young people's human capital, a developing country can see dramatic economic growth... Leading to a demographic dividend, a unique opportunity for economic progress and poverty reduction".
	Girls are currently less likely to be enrolled in secondary education in Arab ...

Girls can cut poverty in developing economies: UN

Mission controllers were in the dark today about the fate of a tiny European craft dispatched to Mars as a trial run for a rover to follow in a quest for life on the Red Planet.
	The paddling pool-sized "Schiaparelli" lander was scheduled to touch down at 1448 GMT (2018 IST) yesterday after a scorching, supersonic dash through Mars' thin atmosphere to conclude a 496 million-kilometre journey from Earth.
	But signal was lost before touchdown - evoking the ghost of Europe's first, failed, bid to land on Mars 13 years ago.
	"We are not in a position yet to determine the dynamic condition at which the lander touched the ground,"  European Space Agency (ESA) head of solar and planetary missions, Andrea Accomazzo, told a webcast press briefing at mission control in Darmstadt, Germany.
	Further analysis was needed of some 600 megabytes of data Schiaparelli sent home before falling quiet, to "know whether it survived structurally or not," he said.
	This would be Europe's second failed Mars ...

We don't know if Mars lander 'survived': ESA

Indonesian police shot dead a man carrying knives, suspected pipe bombs and a symbol of the Islamic State group after he launched a daylight assault on officers near Jakarta today, an official said.
	The man was shot three times as he stabbed wildly at officers on a busy intersection in Tangerang, a satellite city outside the capital, Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono told AFP.
	Setiyono said the perpetrator threw two suspected pipe bombs at the officers, but neither detonated, and displayed an IS symbol on a nearby traffic pole during the frenzied attack.
	"A man suddenly stuck an IS logo sticker on a traffic police post, took a machete from his bag and blindly attacked our personnel," he said.
	The attacker - believed to be a member of a local hardline group - was also carrying a turban, along with knives and the suspected bombs, Setiyono added.
	The 21-year-old attacker later died from his wounds, the spokesman said.
	He said police investigating the case had discovered that ...

Indonesian police kill man wielding machetes, IS symbol

Joe Root scored an unbeaten 38 to steady England after Bangladesh spinners grabbed three quick wickets at the start of the first Test in Chittagong today.
     Moeen Ali was accompanying Root with a sedate 17 not out after England were left reeling at 21-3 before recovering to be 81-3 at lunch on the opening day.
     Teenage off-spinner Mehedi Hasan made an immediate impression on his debut, bowling Ben Duckett for 14 before trapping Gary Ballance for one.
     Shakib Al Hasan also removed England's Alastair Cook for just four, in a disappointing start for the skipper who becomes England's most capped player in this match with 134 Tests.
     After Cook won the toss and elected to bat in the first of two Tests, England immediately faced a barrage of spin bowling.
     Mehedi opened the attack for the hosts, beating Duckett on several occasions before he spun one beautifully to hit the middle stump as soon as the England debutant offered some room.
     Three balls later Cook was also 

Root steadies England after spinners strike

Lunch scores on the opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong today:
     England 1st innings
     A Cook       b Shakib   4
     B Duckett    b Mehedi  14
     J Root        not out  38
     G Ballance lbw b Mehedi 1
     M Ali         not out  17
     Extras (B-5, LB-1, W-1) 7
     Total (three wickets, 28 overs) 81
     Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-18, 3-21.
     Bowling: Shafiul 4-1-12-0, Mehedi 10-2-13-2, Kamrul 5-0-23-0, Shakib 5-0-15-1, Taijul 3-1-10-0, Sabbir 1-0-2-0.

Chittagong, Oct 20 (AFP) Lunch scores on the opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong today:

A green-grocer's son who can bowl at pace with either arm is causing excitement in Pakistan as he targets a spot on the national team.
     Yasir Jan, 21, can generate around 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour with his right arm and 135 kph with his left, making him a unique talent.
     Even in a country with a history of cricket innovations, such as the reverse sweep and reverse swing, Jan has set tongues wagging.
     "Yasir has been an amazing talent," said his coach Muhammad Salman, tipping him as a definite prospect for the Pakistan Super League's Lahore Qalandars team which has snapped him up on a 10-year-contract.
     By swapping arms, a bowler can vary more greatly the angle of his delivery and adapt tactics depending on whether he is facing a right or left-handed batsman.
     "It is an advantage. As a captain when you have right-handed and left-handed batsmen batting then you have a luxury to have a bowler who can bowl with both," said Salman, a former Pakistan batsman.
   

Pakistan's ambidextrous bowler pushes boundaries

LeEco is jumping into a fiercely competitive US smartphone market with LePro 3 and its 'little brother' Le S3

'Chinese Netflix' LeEco takes on Amazon, Tesla Apple with US launch

Press Trust of India

Australian bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc says he is focused on being ready for the first Test against South Africa after declaring himself available for selection following a grisly training accident.
     The 26-year-old suffered deep cuts after colliding with training equipment at a Sydney ground last month, needing nearly three dozen stitches to his left leg.
     The left-arm pace sustained two gashes just below his knee and was rushed to hospital where he had surgery.
     But after five weeks of recuperation, including wearing a leg brace, he announced Thursday he was available for New South Wales' first Sheffield Shield match of the season against Queensland, starting Tuesday.
     "I'm available for (state) selection," he told reporters in Sydney.
     "I'll hopefully be on that plane on Monday to Brisbane and get some good bowling in and be back playing and ready to go for that first Test."
     The first Test against the Proteas is in Perth from November 3, with further ..

Starc back bowling after grisly accident

A Chinese internet colossus referred to as a combination of Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Tesla announced it is taking on US tech titans on their home turf.
	LeEco is jumping into a fiercely competitive US smartphone market with LePro 3 and its 'little brother' Le S3, pricing them lower than flagship models from rivals to entice people over to its 'ecosystem" of online offerings.
	LePro 3 will be priced at USD 399 and Le S3 at USD 249 when they become available to US buyers at the company's LeMall.Com e-commerce website on November 2.
	Analysts expected it to take more than bargains on handsets to win people away from what Apple and Google provide when it comes to meshing mobile devices with digital content, applications and services.
	"Oftentimes people are locked into ecosystems," Gartner analyst Brian Blau told AFP.
	"The trouble for LeEco is they have to create something that is going to impress people enough to switch."
	The LeEco cloud service was portrayed as a nervous-system of ..

'Chinese Netflix' takes on tech titans in US

Wells Fargo, under fire for creating two million unauthorised accounts for its customers, is under a criminal investigation in California over alleged identity theft, the Los Angeles Times reported.
	California Attorney General Kamala Harris ordered the third-largest US bank by assets to provide a trove of information, including the identities of the California customers who had unauthorized accounts opened in their names and those of the Wells Fargo employees who opened them, the newspaper said, citing a search warrant served October 5.
	Harris wants to know whether Wells Fargo violated California laws prohibiting certain types of impersonation and the unauthorized use of personal information, according to the newspaper.
	Both violations can be charged as felonies, punishable by imprisonment for more than a year, the newspaper noted, adding that it was not clear whether Harris's office is considering charges against individual bank workers, high-level bank executives or the bank ...

Wells Fargo probed for alleged identity theft: report

One of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the Philippines destroyed houses, tore roofs off schools and ripped giant trees out of the ground today, but there were no immediate reports of deaths.
	Super Typhoon Haima hit the northern province of Cagayan late last night with winds similar to those of catastrophic Haiyan in 2013, which was then the strongest storm to strike the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago and claimed more than 7,350 lives.
	Haima roared across mountain and farming communities of the northern regions of the main island of Luzon overnight, and by morning a picture was emerging of large-scale destruction.
	"Rice and corn plants as far as the eye can see are flattened," Villamor Visaya, a university teacher in Ilagan, one of the main northern cities with a population of 130,000 people, told AFP by telephone.
	"Many houses were destroyed. I saw one school building crushed under a large tree... It was as if our house was being pulled from its ...

Super typhoon smashes northern Philippines

Pakistan will stage the 2017 final of their Twenty20 franchise league in Lahore but teams will fly in and fly out for the showpiece event in a sobering nod to the delicate security situation in the country.
     Some 414 players were placed in the draft for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Wednesday, a list which included former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, West Indian stars Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, Australia's Shane Watson, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and England's Twenty20 captain Eoin Morgan.
     Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen will also take part, while the inclusion of Morgan is particularly noteworthy after he withdrew from England's ongoing tour of Bangladesh over security concerns.
     Five teams took part in the inaugural edition of the PSL which was held entirely in Dubai and Sharjah in February this year.
     PSL chairman Najam Sethi announced Wednesday that the 2017 final will be held in Lahore, the bustling city where the Sri Lankan team bus was 

Pakistan to stage 'fly-in, fly-out' T20 final in Lahore

Lionel Messi spoiled Pep Guardiola's homecoming by scoring a hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-0 win over 10-man Manchester City in the Champions League, while Bayern Munich shook off their recent patchy form to defeat PSV Eindhoven 4-1.
     Messi pounced on a Fernandinho slip to nudge Barca in front on 17 minutes, and the Argentine doubled his tally on the hour following the dismissal of City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
     The Chile international, who left the Camp Nou in August to replace Joe Hart at City, was sent off for a blatant handball outside the area having knocked his misplaced clearance straight to Luis Suarez.
     Messi swept in a third on 69 minutes to complete a second straight hat-trick in Europe, while Barca also finished the game a man down after substitute Jeremy Mathieu picked up a second booking.
     Neymar missed a late penalty but atoned with Barca's fourth soon after as the Spaniards made it three wins from three to take control of Group C, while goals from Lars ...

Messi ruins Guardiola return, Bayern stop rot

Pakistan can ill-afford any complacency against a dangerous West Indies side when the two teams meet in the second Test starting in Abu Dhabi from tomorrow.
     Normal service will be resumed with a traditional red ball and daylight play after both teams fought out a tension-packed pink ball day-night Test in Dubai, won by Pakistan by a narrow 56-run margin.
     Pakistan dominated the first three days after scoring 579-3 declared, courtesy of opener Azhar Ali's epic career best 302 not out, and then dismissing West Indies for 357.
     But leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo turned the match upside down with career best figures of 8-49 to wreck Pakistan for a paltry 123 in their second innings, giving West Indies a target of 346 to win.
     Darren Bravo batted out of his skin and when the last session started West Indies needed 114 runs in a possible of 38 overs with Bravo unbeaten on 102 and ready to launch an assault in the final hour.
     It needed a leaping catch by leg-spinner Yasir .

AFP

AFP

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