A six-year-old boy beat to death his 13-day-old sister after their mother left them alone in her van for more than half an hour in west Florida, police said.
	The mother, 62-year-old Kathleen Marie Steele, appeared in court today and was charged with aggravated manslaughter and neglect in the infant's death, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Bail was set at $100,000.
	Pinellas County sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Steele took her three children, Frankie, 6, Philip, 3, and 13-day-old Kathleen, with her while she ran errands in the Florida city St Petersburg on Monday.
	Steele had conceived the newborn through artificial insemination using her late husband's sperm and appeared on a reality TV show called, "I'm Pregnant and 55 years old."
	She went into a store for nearly 40 minutes, shutting the children inside the minivan with the windows and doors closed, Gualtieri told journalists.
	After the baby began to cry, Frankie took the infant out of her car seat and "began flipping her, multiple ...

Six-year-old beats infant sister to death while US mom shops

PTI Automatic

The Islamic State group's leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was killed in July in a strike in the border region between the two countries, a US defence official said today.
	"They got him," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement.

IS leader in Afghan and Pakistan killed in US strike: official

Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan both scored hundreds as Pakistan built a slender first-innings lead on the second day of the fourth Test against England at The Oval on Friday.
     At stumps, Pakistan were 340 for six, 12 runs in front, with Younis ending a run of low scores courtesy of his 101 not out after sharing a fourth-wicket partnership of exactly 150 with Shafiq (109).
     This was Younis's 32nd century in 108 Tests.
     It was also the 30th successive occasion that Younis had converted a Test innings of 90 plus into a hundred -- one more than Australia's Don Bradman, widely regarded as cricket's greatest batsman.
     Sarfraz Ahmed was 17 not out as Pakistan fought to level the four-match series at 2-2.
     Earlier, Shafiq put the pain of a pair last time out behind him in style.
     Promoted up the order from number six, Shafiq's century came immediately after he twice made nought during England's 141-run win in the third Test at Edgbaston.
     "It was really difficult for .

Shafiq and Younis give Pakistan the edge in fourth Test

Scoreboard at stumps on the second
day of the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval on Friday:
     England 1st Innings 328
     Pakistan 1st Innings (overnight: 3-1)
     Sami Aslam lbw b Broad                         3
     Azhar Ali c Bairstow b Ali                    49
     Yasir Shah c Root b Finn                      26
     Asad Shafiq c Broad b Finn                   109
     Younis Khan not out                          101
     Misbah-ul-Haq c Hales b Woakes                15
     Iftikhar Ahmed c Ali b Woakes                  4
     Sarfraz Ahmed not out                         17
     Extras (b9, lb3, w2, nb2)                     16
     Total (6 wkts, 91 overs, 404 mins)           340
     Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Aslam), 2-52 (Shah), 3-127 (Azhar), 4-277 (Shafiq), 5-316 (Misbah), 6-320 (Iftikhar)
     Bowling: Anderson 19-6-58-0; Broad 19-5-59-1 (1nb, 1w); Finn 19-1-71-2; Woakes 17-4-52-2; Ali 16-0-83-1 (1nb); Root 1-0-5-0.

London, Aug 12 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on the second

Zambia's main challenger to President Edgar Lungu today alleged electoral fraud, accusing the election commission of colluding with the ruling party to delay announcing the election results, a day after voting.
	The claims came after a violence-tinged campaign by the two leading candidates in a country usually known for relative stability.
	"The ECZ (Electoral Commission of Zambia) is somehow conniving with people in the political arena to delay the release of results so that PF (Patriotic Front) thugs armed with guns take over the polling stations at night and write fake results," United Party for National Development (UPND) candidate Hakainde Hichilema told journalists.
	"They are trying to generate the results."
	At least three people were killed in the lead-up to the vote, with regular clashes erupting between PF and UPND activists.
	The commission earlier stated that the unrest was "unprecedented" and had "marred Zambia's historic record of peaceful elections".
	After a calm day .

Zambia awaits vote result as opposition claims fraud

A man in his 20s was killed early today after crashing a stolen airplane on a roadway east of Toronto, police said.
	The Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk went down south of downtown Peterborough on the shores of Lake Ontario at 1:20 AM local time.
	Images of the wreck showed a crushed nose and cockpit, and broken wings.
	Peterborough police inspector Lynne Buehler told a press conference the man appeared to have been "attempting to land the plane."
	He was pronounced dead at the scene. It was unclear if he was licenced to fly or had any cockpit experience.
	The aircraft was reported stolen from a rural airstrip near Markham, Ontario, about 100 kilometers west of the crash site, said York Regional Police, which has taken over the investigation.
	Canada's Transportation Safety Board has also sent investigators to the site to determine the cause of the accident.

Canada plane thief dies in crash: police

A 43-year-old US man was sentenced to two years in prison today for sexually assaulting a woman while she slept on a flight from Dubai to New York.
	Nadeem Mehmood Quraishi, from Staten Island in New York, was handed the statutory maximum punishment for carrying out the assault while on board an Emirates flight on October 26, 2015.
	Quraishi was convicted by a jury in April following a US federal trial in Brooklyn.
	His victim fell asleep after taking prescription medication on the more than 12-hour flight from Dubai to John F Kennedy International Airport.
	In the original complaint, the woman said that after she woke up, Quraishi -- who was sitting next to her in economy class -- asked if she had a good nap. She then discovered lotion had been spread on her arms, chest and up her legs.
	When going to the bathroom, she noticed that her underwear had been shifted and lotion smeared underneath.
	Confronted by flight attendants, Quraishi admitted it, prosecutors said.
	US attorney ...

New Yorker jailed for sexual assault on Dubai flight

Anti-racism organisations and human rights groups vowed today to overturn a "deeply worrying" ban on the wearing of burqinis, full-body swimsuits, on the beaches of Cannes, the French Riviera resort famous for its annual film festival.
	Cannes' mayor David Lisnard signed off on the ruling that "access to beaches and for swimming is banned to anyone who does not have (bathing apparel) which respects good customs and secularism," which is a founding principle of the French republic.
	SOS Racisme attacked what it said was the mayor's "strategy of tension".
	An umbrella organisation of groups against Islamophobia, the CCIF, said it was "deeply worried" about the ban, which it viewed as "a new attack on the most basic principles of law".
	It said it was planning to oppose the ban in the courts.
	The ban also came under fire from the Socialist Party, who are in opposition to the centre-right Republicans who control Cannes. The local Socialist branch said the burkini ban was an attempt at ...

Uproar over French resort burqini ban

When he isn't golfing with basketball stars or strolling along the beach, US President Barack Obama is relaxing with a reading list as eclectic as his summer jams.
	The White House today unveiled the five books the president is tucking into during his two-week vacation, which range from a surfer's memoir to a sci-fi epic.
	In the Pulitzer Prize-winning self-portrait "Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life" lifelong surfer William Finnegan chronicles his obsession with surfing and juggling life, work and relationships, a struggle Obama knows all too well.
	As racially charged violence continues to plague the nation, America's first black president packed "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead, a novel recounting a young slave's harrowing journey toward freedom.
	The list also includes the critically acclaimed bestseller "H is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald, about a woman who tames a fierce predatory bird after her father's death.
	The president will also tackle two page-turning novels: ..

White House releases president's summer book list

Scientists are preparing to unveil a new planet in our galactic neighbourhood which is "believed to be Earth-like" and orbits its star at a distance that could favour life, German weekly Der Spiegel reported today.
	The exoplanet orbits a well-investigated star called Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri star system, the magazine said, quoting anonymous sources.
	"The still nameless planet is believed to be Earth-like and orbits at a distance to Proxima Centauri that could allow it to have liquid water on its surface, an important requirement for the emergence of life," said the magazine.
	"Never before have scientists discovered a second Earth that is so close by," it said, adding that the European Southern Observatory (ESO) will announce the finding at the end of August.
	The report gave no further details.
	Contacted by AFP, ESO spokesman Richard Hook said he is aware of the report, but refused to confirm or deny it. "We are not making any comment," he said.
	NASA has ...

Scientists to unveil new Earth-like planet: report

Oil rebounded this week from recent lows after OPEC sprang a surprise September meeting, at which Saudi Arabia hinted producers could agree to limit output.
	At 2130 IST today, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for September delivery added 84 cents at USD 44.33 a barrel compared with yesterday's closing level.
	European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for October rose 65 cents to USD 46.69 per barrel.
	Both contracts traded far above the three-month lows forged early last week, when prices had tanked into a bear market - losing 20 per cent from June peaks.
	The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose 14 nations pump one third of global oil, on Monday called an informal meeting that will take place on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria in late September.
	News of the unscheduled gathering, ahead of OPEC's next regular production meet in Vienna on November 30, sparked speculation of fresh measures to stabilize the market -- and sent prices ..

Oil rebounds as Saudi hints at OPEC deal for September

Pope Francis today surprised 20 former prostitutes by knocking on their door in Rome and popping in for a chat.
	The Argentine, who has repeatedly described the human trafficking behind much prostitution as "a crime against humanity", sat down with the group, including four women from Albania, seven from Nigeria and six from Romania.
	The other three hailed from Italy, Tunisia and the Ukraine, according to a Vatican statement. The women, all aged around 30, are being sheltered by a Catholic association in an apartment in the Italian capital after being rescued from their pimps.
	The 79-year old listened for over an hour to the stories of the former sex slaves, "all of whom suffered serious physical abuse and live under protection," the Vatican said.
	The visit fell under what have been termed Francis's "Fridays of Mercy", whereby he carries out one unscheduled act of mercy a month on a Friday, mainly in or near Rome, throughout the pope's Jubilee year, which started in December and ...

Pope in surprise visit to ex-prostitutes

Islamic State group fighters seized around 2,000 civilians to use as "human shields" today as they fled their stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, US-backed forces and a monitor said.
	The abductions came as Russian and Syrian jets pounded rebel positions in second city Aleppo, an AFP correspondent and the Syrian Observatory for Human Right monitor said.
	The Arab-Kurdish alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled most of the IS fighters from Manbij last week, but dozens continued to put up a tough resistance.
	Today they withdrew from a district in northern Manbij heading for the IS-held town of Jarabalus along the border with Turkey, taking the captives with them.
	"While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh (IS) jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighbourhood," said Sherfan Darwish, spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, a key component of the SDF.
	"They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus 

IS abducts 2,000 civilians in north Syria

US-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen has called for an international inquiry into last month's abortive coup, vowing his "full cooperation" with any such probe of the putsch over which Ankara is seeking his extradition.
	Writing in Saturday's edition of French daily Le Monde, Gulen strenuously rejected accusations by Turkey that he ordered the July 15 attempt to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power.
	"I'm asking that an independent international commission investigate this attempted coup," the Pennsylvania-based preacher wrote, promising his "full cooperation."
	"If a tenth of the accusations levelled at me are proven I will return to Turkey to face the stiffest punishment," Gulen, 75, added.
	A one-time ally of Erdogan turned arch-foe, Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999.
	He has dismissed the accusations against him and his Hizmet movement, which runs a network of private schools, businesses and media outlets, as a "witch hunt".
	"Claiming I ..

Erdogan foe seeks international probe into Turkey coup

Belgian authorities today released three people who had been detained for questioning following anti-terror raids overnight in the capital Brussels, prosecutors said.
	The raids occurred as Belgium remained on high alert following deadly jihadist bombings in March and a machete attack against police officers a week ago.
	"All three were released," Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office, told AFP.
	A judge decided there was not enough evidence to keep them in custody.
	The three, identified as Wassime A., Asma A. And Malika B., were detained following eight raids Wednesday night that were ordered by a judge investigating terrorism cases.
	The prosecutor's office said no weapons or explosives were found in the six searches in the Brussels neighbourhood of Laeken, or in the raids in Evere and Anderlecht.
	Van Der Sypt also said the raids were not linked to an investigation into another "possible threat" the prosecutor's office mentioned after it declared that .

Belgium releases three held in anti-terror raids: prosecutor

Canada today confirmed its first case of a birth defect related to the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
	The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement that the baby showed "severe neurological congenital anomalies."
	The World Health Organization included the occurence of "congenital malformation associated with a travel-related case of Zika virus infection" in its weekly Zika update.
	The WHO did not say where the mother contracted the infection.
	This is the second confirmed case of maternal-to-fetal transmission of the virus in Canada. A pregnant woman who was infected while traveling transmitted the virus to her baby, but the child appears to be healthy.
	The Canadian public health agency said it is aware of 13 confirmed cases of the virus in pregnant women in this country.
	No details on any of the cases were provided in order to protect the privacy of the families.
	The total number of confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Canada, meanwhile, has risen to 205 as of August ...

Canada reports first Zika-linked birth defect

The United States has tentatively welcomed possible Turkish-Russian cooperation against jihadists in Syria, as Ankara has proposed to Moscow, even if those countries support opposing camps there.
	"We remain in close contact with our Turkish allies and our partners in the fight against Daesh," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said yesterday, using another name for the Islamic State group.
	Working against the jihadist group "is a priority for all of us," she said. "If this is truly a step in that direction, we would welcome that."
	Pressed by reporters to confirm the US reaction, Trudeau said, "We've been very clear that if Russia is interested in fighting against (the IS group)," then "we would welcome that."
	How that cooperation would work is unclear. Moscow is allied with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, while Ankara has supported rebel groups seeking his overthrow in a bloody civil war.
	But Russian-Turkish relations have warmed amid pique in Ankara that ...

US 'welcomes' Russian-Turkish cooperation against IS

Afghanistan's chief executive has castigated his ally Ashraf Ghani as "unfit for the presidency", in a public outburst highlighting bitter internal divisions that threaten their US-brokered power sharing agreement.
	Abdullah Abdullah's comments come ahead of a September deadline for the government to honour the fragile agreement signed after the fraud-tainted presidential election in 2014, which both leaders claimed to have won.
	By then the government is expected to enact sweeping election reforms and amend the constitution to create the position of prime minister for Abdullah. Observers say that deadline is unlikely to be met, effectively tipping Afghanistan into a political crisis.
	"Electoral reforms were one of the promises made when the National Unity Government was formed. Why weren't these reforms brought?" Abdullah told a small gathering in Kabul yesterday.
	"Mr President, over a period of three months you do not have time to see your chief executive face-to-face for even an .

Afghanistan's Ghani 'unfit for presidency': chief executive

Sri Lanka today signed a new deal to replace a controversial agreement with a Chinese company building a new city within Colombo to remove its freehold rights over reclaimed land after India voiced concerns over the agreement.
	The Sri Lankan government said the Chinese investor would be granted new land on a 99-year lease instead of the freehold in the original deal entered into when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Colombo in 2014.
	"The tripartite agreement has many features that are beneficial to Sri Lanka that was lacking in the 2014 agreement that is now being replaced," the government said in a statement.
	For its part, the state-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) said it was cooperating with the new Sri Lankan government and confirmed entering fresh agreements over the USD 1.4 billion investment.
	The Sri Lankan government had put the project on hold pending a review of all the big-ticket agreements signed under the previous administration of Mahinda ...

Sri Lanka, China in new deal over $1.4 bn reclamation

The Russian military said today it had delivered its most advanced air defence system to Crimea after pledging last month to deploy it to the disputed region.
	Russia's southern military district said in a statement carried by state news agencies that troops in Crimea had "received the modern S-400 'Triumph' air defence system".
	The announcement comes as tensions between Ukraine and Russia have soared over the contested peninsula.
	Russia's FSB security service said on Wednesday it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea over the weekend by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults, claims Kiev has fiercely denied.
	The S-400 "Triumph" is Russia's latest anti-aircraft and missile defence system.
	It has also been deployed to Syria, where Moscow is conducting a bombing campaign in support of long-time ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
	The system can track some 300 targets and shoot down around three dozen simultaneously over a range of several hundred ...

Advanced air defence system delivered to Crimea: Russia army

Turkey today said 32 Turkish diplomats were still missing despite being recalled by Ankara in the wake of last month's failed coup seeking to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	"Thirty-two of the 208 diplomats recalled to Turkey did not come back to Turkey," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters during a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Ankara.
	He said Ankara had information that some had fled to other countries using different means including air travel in the weeks after a rogue military faction tried to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power on July 15.
	Cavusoglu said that two officials working in Bangladesh had fled to the United States after being recalled while another returned to the ministry in Turkey.
	Some officials asked to remain in the countries where they were working, the minister said, adding the ministry had given permission for some to stay.
	The minister also confirmed that a Turkish rear admiral had ...

AFP

AFP

Page 1508 - Afp