UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed to Indonesia's government to halt the imminent execution of drug convicts, including an Indian, and urged the president to declare a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
	Ban recalled that under international law, the death penalty should be used for the most serious crimes and said "drug crimes are generally not considered to meet this threshold."
	The appeal came as Indonesian authorities stepped up preparations for the execution by firing squad of 14 drug convicts including foreigners from Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe.
	Indonesia has rejected international appeals to halt the executions.
	Ban issued a plea to the "government of Indonesia to stop the reportedly imminent execution of a number of prisoners for alleged drug-related crimes," said a statement from his spokesman.
	The UN chief "urges President Joko Widodo to consider declaring a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Indonesia and to move towards its ..

UN chief urges Indonesia to halt executions

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Scoreboard at stumps
on the third day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and Australia here today:
     Sri Lanka 1st innings: 117
	Australia 1st innings: 203 all out
     Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Overnight 6 for one):
	K Perera lbw b Starc                 4
	K Silva lbw b O'Keefe                7
	D Karunaratne lbw b Starc            0
	K Mendis not out                   169
	A Mathews c Burns b Lyon             9
	D Chandimal lbw b Marsh             42
	D de Silva c Khawaja b Lyon         36
	D Perera not out                     5
	Extras: (LB-10)                  	   10
	Total: (for 6 wickets in 80 overs)  282
	Fall of wicket: 1-6, 2-6, 3-45, 4-86, 5-203, 6-274
     Bowling: Starc 12-4-44-2, Hazlewood 13-3-41-0, O'Keefe 16.2-3-42-1, Lyon 26-2-98-2, Warner 1-0-10-0, Voges 1.4-0-3-0, Marsh 9-1-33-1, Smith 1-0-1-0.

Pallekele (Sri Lanka), Jul 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps

A brilliant maiden century by Kusal Mendis helped Sri Lanka claw their way back into contention in the first cricket Test against Australia today and open up a 196-run lead before play was suspended early due to bad light.
     At the close of play on the third day here, Sri Lanka had reached 282 for six, with Mendis unbeaten on 169, as the hosts gained the upper hand in a gripping contest against the world's number one Test team.
     Mendis' knock was the highest score by any Sri Lankan against Australia at home and came after no player from either side had managed to even score a half century in the first innings.
	Mendis, who came to the crease in the first over of the day after the early dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne, hardly put a foot wrong in his 243-ball innings which has so far featured 20 boundaries.
	He played Australia's seamers with confidence before cutting loose against the spin bowlers with an array of boundaries.
	He reached his century in spectacular fashion when ..

Mendis ton revives Lanka hopes against Aussies

Independent former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg told divided Americans it was time to unite behind Hillary Clinton in order to defeat "demagogue" Donald Trump in November's presidential election.
	"Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God help us," Bloomberg, who like Trump is a billionaire businessman, told the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
	"I'm a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one."
	Bloomberg, 74, flirted with his own White House bid, but ultimately announced in March that he would not run, fearing that his candidacy could lead to a Trump victory.
	He issued stinging rebukes to Trump, describing him as singularly unfit for the presidency and calling his business plan "a disaster in the making."
	Democrats gathering at the convention that nominated Clinton as the party's presidential candidate needed little convincing that Trump should be stopped.
	But Bloomberg appeared to be appealing directly to millions of ...

Bloomberg to voters: President Trump? 'God help us'

Left-arm seamer Neil Wagner used his raw pace and aggression to rip out five Zimbabwean wickets as New Zealand took little time to impose themselves on the first cricket Test at Queens Sports Club here today.
	On a surface offering little to the bowlers, Wagner bent his back and used the short ball to good effect as he took five for 31 in 16 overs.
	As a result Zimbabwe went to tea on 120 for eight after they had won the toss and elected to bat first, with tailender Donald Tiripano's unbeaten 28 the highest score.
	Zimbabwe had not played a Test since November 2014, and the hiatus showed in their inability to occupy the crease on a pitch that held no demons.
	Opener Brian Chari fell to the second ball of the day, and after Chamu Chibhabha and Hamilton Masakadza offered some stability with an hour-long stand, Wagner got stuck into the hosts.
	In a 13-over spell either side of the lunch break, the 30-year-old removed Chibhabha and Sean Williams before the interval and then struck three .

Wagner rips apart rusty Zimbabwe

Scoreboard at tea on
the first day of the first cricket Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand here today:
     B Chari c Guptill b Southee         4
	C Chibhabha c Latham b Wagner      15
	H Masakadza c and b Santner        15
	C Ervine st Watling b Santner      13
	S Williams c Sodhi b Wagner         1
	Sikandar Raza c Latham b Wagner    22
	P Masvaure not out                 20
	R Chakabva c Watling b Wagner       0
	G Cremer c Nicholls b Wagner        0
	D Tiripano not out                 28
	Extras: (LB-2)                      2
	Total: (for 8 wkts in 55 overs)   120
	Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-35, 3-35, 4-36, 5-72, 6-72, 7-72, 8-72
     Bowling: Southee 13-6-26-1, Boult 11-5-23-0, Santner 7-1-12-2, Wagner 16-6-31-5, Sodhi 8-2-26-0.

Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Jul 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on

China is harbouring major drug lords who smuggle narcotics into the Philippines, the president said today as he pressed on with his ruthless war on crime.
	Rodrigo Duterte made the remarks even as the two countries continue to bicker over an international tribunal invalidating Beijing's extensive claims to the South China Sea.
	"Where is the big fish (in illegal drugs)? If you want them, go to China. Look for them there," Duterte told soldiers and police during a visit to a military camp.
	"I wanted to talk to the ambassador. That is how serious it is. Now, how do I fight this? We cannot just go there and just declare war," he added.
	He did not identify the alleged drug lords and a Chinese embassy spokesman could not be contacted for comment.
	Duterte had previously asserted that most of the illegal drugs in the Philippines originated from China and that many Chinese had been arrested for smuggling drugs into the country.
	But it was the first time he explicitly named China as the ...

China harbouring drug lords: Philippine's Duterte

The World Wildlife Fund today called on Asian states to close their tiger farms to boost efforts against the black-market trade in animal parts.
	The conservation group said there remained 200 tiger farms in Asia, mostly in China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.
	The tiger population in farms is about 8,000, more than the estimated 3,900 living in the wild, WWF said in a statement ahead of the July 29 International Day of the Tiger.
	Many tiger farms have been implicated in the hugely lucrative but illegal trafficking market.
	The so-called "Temple of Tigers" in western Thailand was closed in May after Thai wildlife officials discovered dozens of dead cubs inside a freezer.
	The universal closure of such farms was crucial, WWF said, because "their existence undermines efforts of countries to protect cats living in the wild and creates demand for products made of tiger parts."
	WWF drew a clear distinction between such farms -- which are only known to exist in Asia -- and zoos that strive .

WWF urges closure of all tiger farms

Claims that students were subjected to sexually-charged orientation activities, including one simulating rape, are being investigated by Singapore's top university.
	The National University of Singapore (NUS) -- consistently ranked as one of Asia's best higher education institutions - said it would take strong disciplinary action against anyone found responsible for "any behaviour or activity that denigrates the dignity of individuals," it said in a statement sent to AFP today.
	A report in the local daily The New Paper Tuesday triggered outrage about "sexualised" camps involving hundreds of NUS students in the past two months.
	The minister for higher education joined calls for an end to such practices.
	"Activities can be rigorous, creative, even wild; students may push boundaries," Ong Ye Kung wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
	"Goading others to act out a rape scene not only degrades the real suffering of rape victims, it inflicts fresh humiliation on female students," he ...

Singapore university probes mock-rape claims

Scoreboard at lunch on the first day of the first cricket Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand here today:
     Zimbabwe:
	B Chari c Guptill b Southee         4
	C Chibhabha c Latham b Wagner      15
	H Masakadza c and b Santner        15
	C Ervine not out                    4
	S Williams c Sodhi b Wagner         1
	Sikandar Raza not out               9
	Extras: (lb-1)                      1
	Total: (for 4 wkts in 26 overs)    49
	Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-35, 3-35, 4-36
     Bowling: Southee 9-3-25-1, Boult 5-4-4-0, Santner 5-0-11-0, Wagner 7-4-8-2.

Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Jul 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the first day of the first cricket Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand here today:

Left-arm seamer Neil Wagner's aggressive style brought reward on an otherwise unresponsive pitch as New Zealand claimed four scalps on the opening morning of the first cricket Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club here today.
	Wagner used his raw pace and intimidating short-pitched bowling to claim the wickets of Chamu Chibhabha and Sean Williams, as Zimbabwe limped into the lunch interval on 49 for four.
	The hosts lost Brian Chari to the second ball of the day after they had won the toss and elected to bat, but then found stability in an hour-long partnership between Chibhabha and Hamilton Masakadza.
	It took a brutal spell from Wagner to make the breakthrough, as he used the short ball to have both Chibhabha and Williams caught on the leg side, although replays suggested that the delivery to Williams had come off the batsman's helmet.
	Wagner went to lunch with figures of two for eight from seven overs, while Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza Butt were the two not-out batsmen ...

Aggressive Wagner makes Zimbabwe suffer

British bank Lloyds will axe 3,000 more jobs by 2017, it said today, as it braces for the Bank of England's widely-expected post-Brexit interest rate cut next week.
	Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has decided to extend its restructuring plans with the closure of 200 branches and 3,000 jobs by the end of next year, it revealed in an interim results statement.
	That takes the total jobs cull in the current restructuring programme-- which was announced in 2014 -- to 12,000 positions.
	The BoE is meanwhile expected to cut interest rates in one week's time to a record-low 0.25 per cent in response to Brexit uncertainty -- which Lloyds admitted had taken a toll on the economy.
	"As a result of changing customer behaviours and the expected lower for longer interest rate environment, the scope of the (restructuring) programme ... Has now been extended to include the closure of a further 200 branches and further role reductions of 3,000 by the end of 2017," LBG said in the earnings release.
	The ..

British bank Lloyds axes another 3,000 jobs

Pope Francis visited Poland's most revered monastery today, home to an ancient Catholic icon believed to work miracles, ahead of a trip by tram to meet young pilgrims from the world over.
	The pontiff, in Krakow to headline an international Catholic youth extravaganza, travelled to the southern city of Czestochowa to pray before the legendary Black Madonna and say mass.
	Security was tight at the hill-top shrine following a series of attacks in Europe, with a highly visible police and army presence on the roads leading into the city, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were gathered.
	Francis, 79, hopped in an open-topped pope mobile for a tour through the cheering crowds.
	"We slept so little, but it's worth it, what an atmosphere!" said pilgrim Kate Tor, whose young sons were among the thousands of children who had camped out on the sweeping avenue leading to the monastery.
	Teenagers still wrapped in sleeping bags, elderly couples perched on folding chairs outside tents and ...

Pope gets mystical with Poland's Black Madonna

Pope Francis fell today after apparently stumbling down a step on an altar during a visit to Poland but quickly got back to his feet, seemingly without injury.
	Polish media broadcast images of the 79-year-old Argentine pontiff stumbling, then falling down out of view before being helped to his feet by altar servers.
	Francis appeared to be fine as he delivered a homily and said mass for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.
	The mishap took place as the pontiff visited the revered Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa, southern Poland.
	It is home to the legendary Black Madonna, an icon which Catholic faithful believe has miraculous qualities.
	The pontiff arrived in Krakow, southern Poland, today to headline the World Youth Day international Catholic extravaganza.

Pope Francis falls in Poland, escapes injury

Scoreboard at tea on the third day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, here today:
     Sri Lanka 1st innings: 117
	Australia 1st innings: 203 all out
     Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Overnight 6 for one):
	K Perera lbw b Starc                4
	K Silva lbw b O'Keefe               7
	D Karunaratne lbw b Starc           0
	K Mendis not out                  157
	A Mathews c Burns b Lyon            9
	D Chandimal lbw b Marsh            42
	D de Silva not out                 24
	Extras: (LB-10)                    10
	Total: (for 5 wicket in 70 overs) 253
	Fall of wicket: 1-6, 2-6, 3-45, 4-86, 5-203
	Bowling: Starc 12-4-44-2, Hazlewood 13-3-41-0, O'Keefe 16.2-3-42-1, Lyon 21-2-81-1, Warner 1-0-10-0, Voges 1.4-0-3-0, Marsh 5-0-22-1.

Pallekele (Sri Lanka), Jul 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the third day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and Australia, here today:

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad today offered an amnesty to armed rebels battling his forces if they surrender, the official SANA news agency reported.
	"Everyone carrying arms... And sought by justice... Is excluded from full punishment if they hand themselves in and lay down their weapons," SANA said, quoting a presidential decree on the three-month amnesty offer.
	The reprieve also includes any rebel who frees a hostage, according to the decree text.
	The offer comes as opposition neighbourhoods of Aleppo city are effectively surrounded by pro-government forces, sparking fears for the more than 200,000 people trapped there.
	Assad's ally Russia said today it had launched a "large-scale" operation with the Syrian government to open humanitarian corridors for civilians and fighters fleeing the northern city.
	Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian news agencies that three humanitarian corridors were being opened "to aid civilians held hostage by terrorists and for fighters ...

Assad offers amnesty to Syria rebels who surrender

Turkey's top military commanders met today to replace almost half of their generals in a radical shake-up after the failed coup, as authorities shut down dozens of media outlets in a widening crackdown.
	The hastily convened meeting came after the government ordered the discharge of 149 generals -- nearly half the armed forces' entire contingent of 358 -- for complicity in the putsch bid.
	In a separate move, a total of 131 newspapers, TV channels and other media outlets were being shut down.
	The July 15 rebellion, which saw plotters bomb Ankara from war planes and wreak havoc with tanks on the streets of Istanbul in a bid to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has sparked a backlash affecting all aspects of Turkish life.
	So far almost 16,000 people have been detained in a crackdown -- the magnitude of which had caused international alarm.
	The meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAS) began in Ankara at around 1400 IST, bringing together Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and ...

Turkey reshuffles military after half of generals fired

The second jihadist involved in a French church attack had tried to travel to Syria, prosecutors said today as calls mounted for the prime minister and interior minister to resign after the latest terror attack.
	The prosecutor's office said that the second killer was 19-year-old Abdel Malik Petitjean, who was listed on France's "Fiche S" of people posing a potential threat to national security in June after trying to reach Syria from Turkey.
	Petitjean, whose face was disfigured after being gunned down by police, had been harder to identify than his accomplice Adel Kermiche, 19, and investigators confirmed his identity after a DNA match with his mother.
	The two young jihadists were shown pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video sometime before they stormed a church in the northern town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray Tuesday and slit the 86-year-old priest's throat at the altar.
	The attack came as the government was already facing a firestorm of criticism over alleged .

France names second church attacker

A Hawaiian Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Tokyo, its second such incident in Japan this month, an official said today.
	Flight HA 442, which departed the northern Japanese city of Sapporo for Honolulu, made an emergency landing at Narita airport just outside the Japanese capital at 10:53 pm yesterday (local time).
	The pilot cited an abnormality with the Boeing 767's hydraulics system, said an official at Narita International Airport Corp.
	None of 248 passengers and crew members on board the flight suffered injuries, he added.
	"A signal indicating a possible problem came on," prompting the pilot to make the emergency landing, the airline's Tokyo-based spokeswoman told AFP.
	She could not immediately elaborate, but did confirm that the Boeing 767 was scheduled to fly to Honolulu later Thursday with passengers.
	The incident was the second emergency landing in Japan in nearly 10 days by Hawaiian Airlines.
	On July 18, flight HA 458 returned to Tokyo's Haneda airport ...

Hawaiian Airlines makes another emergency landing in Japan

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele on Thursday.
     Sri Lanka 1st innings 117
     Australia 1st innings 203 all out
     Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Overnight 6 for one)
     K. Perera lbw b Starc              4
     K. Silva lbw b O'Keefe             7
     D. Karunaratne lbw b Starc         0
     K. Mendis not out                 86
     A. Mathews c Burns b Lyon          9
     D. Chandimal not out               7
     Extras (lb 3)                      3
     Total: (4 wicket, 38 overs)      116
     Fall of wicket: 1-6 (Perera), 2-6 (Karunaratne), 3-45 (Silva), 4-86 (Mathews)
     Bowling: Starc 8-2-28-2, Hazlewood 5-2-14-0, O'Keefe 14-3-35-1, Lyon 10-1-26-1, Warner 1-0-10-0.

Pallekele, July 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele on Thursday.

South Korean protestors clashed with police today as they tried to disrupt the opening in Seoul of a Tokyo-funded foundation for women forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels.
	The plight of the so-called "comfort women" is a hugely emotional issue that has marred relations between Seoul and Japan for decades and which, for many South Koreans, symbolises the abuses of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.
	Last December, the two nations reached a "final and irreversible" agreement, under which Tokyo offered an apology and one billion yen (USD 8.5 million) to open the foundation for the dwindling number of comfort women who are still alive.
	But the deal was condemned by some of the women and South Korean activists, who took issue with Japan's refusal to accept formal legal responsibility.
	"You can't silence the victims with money!" scores of protestors chanted at Thursday's opening event, which they picketed with banners reading: "This is not what the comfort ..

AFP

AFP

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