Britain will enter EU exit talks in a strong position, finance minister Philip Hammond declared today, after data revealed economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the run-up to the Brexit referendum.
	Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a first estimate for April-June, which included the shock EU exit vote towards the end of the period.
	That beat market expectations for 0.5-per cent growth, as activity was boosted by rebounding industrial production, and followed 0.4-per cent expansion in the first quarter.
	"Today's GDP figures show that the fundamentals of the British economy are strong," said finance chief Hammond.
	"In the second quarter of this year our economy grew by 0.6 per cent -- faster than was expected.
	"Indeed we saw the strongest quarterly rise in production for nearly twenty years, so it is clear we enter our negotiations to leave the EU from a position of economic ...

Britain says in position of economic strength for Brexit talks

PTI Automatic

Scoreboard at stumps
on the second day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and Australia here today:
     Sri Lanka 1st innings: 117
     Australia 1st innings (overnight 66 for two):
	J Burns b Herath                  3
	D Warner b Pradeep                0
	U Khawaja lbw b Herath           26
	S Smith st Chandimal b Herath    30
	A Voges c Mendis b Pradeep       47
	M Marsh b Sandakan               31
	P Nevill c Perera b Herath        2
	S O'Keefe c Mendis b Sandakan    23
	M Starc c Perera b Sandakan      11
	N Lyon lbw b Sandakan            17
	J Hazlewood not out               2
	Extras: (B-4, LB-7)              10
	Total: (all out in 79.2 overs)  203
	Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-7, 3-69, 4-70, 5-130, 6-137, 7-160, 8-179, 9-190
     Bowling: Pradeep 16-6-36-2, Herath 25-8-49-4, Dilruwan Perera 14-1-43-0, Sandakan 21.2-3-58-4, Mathews 3-1-6-0
     Sri Lanka 2nd innings:
	K Perera lbw b Starc              4
	K Silva not out                   2
	Extras:                           

Pallekele (Sri Lanka), Jul 27 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps

Vatican finance chief George Pell is being investigated by Australian police over child sexual abuse allegations, a report by the national broadcaster said today, as the leading Catholic cleric denounced the claims as "totally untrue".
	The new allegations against Pell being probed by police in Victoria State span two decades, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, and came just months after the cardinal admitted he "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests in the state.
	When he was the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney in 2002 Pell was accused of historic sex abuse claims but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
	The ABC said it had obtained eight police statements from complainants, witnesses and family members helping the police investigation. The report included claims Pell touched two boys inappropriately in a pool in the late 1970s.
	But the 75-year-old strongly denied the allegations in a statement to the ABC, saying "claims that he has sexually abused anyone, in ..

Top pope aide investigated for Australia child sex abuse

Australia removed Sri Lankan opener Kusal Perera cheaply after building up an 86-run first innings lead over their hosts as they took firm command today of a low-scoring Test here.
     Perera fell to the last ball of the day, with the umpires once again forced to call a premature halt to proceedings following a downpour at the picturesque ground on the outskirts of Kandy.
	Australia were all out for 203 in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 117, with spinner Lakshan Sandakan taking four wickets on his debut.
	The early loss of Perera on the second day of the first Test was another bitter blow for the struggling hosts.
	Perera fell for just four when he was lbw to paceman Mitchell Starc, leaving Sri Lanka wobbling on six for one at close of play.
	The downpour initially prompted the umpires to call an early tea break, but they were later forced to abandon play early for the second day running.
	Veteran Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and the 25-year-old rookie ...

Aussies build up lead over Sri Lankans

Sri Lanka were still 80 runs short with nine second-innings wickets in hand today after a heavy downpour forced umpires to take tea early on the second day of the first cricket Test against Australia here.
	After Australia were all out for 203 in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 117, the hosts then lost opener Kusal Perera for just four when he was ruled out lbw to a ball from paceman Mitchell Starc.
	Earlier, Australia went on to make 203 runs in their first innings, taking what could prove to be a crucial lead of 86 runs in a low-scoring match.
	Veteran spinner Rangana Herath and the debutant Lakshan Sandakan took four wickets each while seamer Nuwan Pradeep picked up two wickets.
	Adam Voges top-scored for the Australians with 47, meaning no player from either side managed to score a half-century in the first innings.

Sri Lanka in trouble as Australia stretch lead

A former prime minister whose party supported Thailand's last coup lambasted the junta's new constitution today before a referendum on it, a rare blow to the army from within its own political camp.
	Abhisit Vejjajiva, who was appointed prime minister from 2008-2011, leads the Democrats, Thailand's second biggest party.
	They have failed for two decades to win an election but carry major clout within the Bangkok establishment that rallied behind the May 2014 overthrow of Yingluck Shinawatra's elected government.
	The army has held the country in lockdown since its coup, banning protests, muzzling dissent and even outlawing campaigning against the charter before the August 7 vote.
	The junta says the new document is crucial to ending a decade of political turmoil that has frequently spilt into violence.
	But critics say it will straitjacket democracy with clauses calling for a fully-appointed senate and unelected premier -- both of which could help the military keep its allies in ...

Ex-premier Abhisit turns on Thai junta's draft charter

Video game giant Nintendo said Wednesday it logged a huge first quarter net loss, despite global hoopla over the launch of Pokemon Go which came too late to boost figures.
	The company lost more than USD 233 million on a stronger yen and lacklustre sales, and Nintendo warned last week that even the craze for the new app was unlikely to translate into bumper profits going forward.
	The Super Mario maker said unit sales of its Wii U game consoles more than halved from the same quarter last year while a soaring yen helped erase profits.
	The reporting period for the three months through the end of June was too early to include any rise from the launch earlier this month of the Pokemon Go mobile game that has swept the world, including Japan from last week.
	"In terms of earnings, it's going to be a tough year for Nintendo since it has no plans to release new consoles or promising titles for now," said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo.
	The company is the ...

Japan's Nintendo logs over $234 mn loss despite Pokemon Go

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker today appointed veteran French politician and former EU commissioner Michel Barnier to lead the negotiations with Britain on its exit from the bloc.
	Britain's June 23 vote to quit the 28-nation European Union shocked EU leaders who had bet on a vote to remain but they have since rallied, with France and the Commission leading demands that negotiations should begin as soon as possible.
	"I am very glad that my friend Michel Barnier accepted this important and challenging task. I wanted an experienced politician for this difficult job," Juncker said in a statement.
	"I am sure that he will live up to this new challenge and help us to develop a new partnership with the United Kingdom" after it becomes the first country to leave the EU.
	Barnier held the key Commission financial services portfolio from 2010 to 2014, spearheading efforts to tame the eurozone debt crisis which nearly brought down the single currency project.
	He was also central 

France's Barnier to lead Brexit talks

Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath took four wickets to restrict Australia to 146 for six at lunch on Wednesday, with the visitors leading by just 29 runs on day two of the first Test.
     Overnight batsmen Usman Khawaja (26) and Steve Smith (30) didn't last long against Herath's spin, as Australia faltered after starting the day 66 for two in response to Sri Lanka's 117 all out inside 35 overs on Tuesday.
     The veteran left-arm spinner had notched up 4-35 at lunch, after dismissing opener Joe Burns (3) on the first day.
     Smith added just two runs to his overnight score, before being foxed by a cleverly disguised widish delivery from Herath, as wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal completed an easy stumping.
     Herath then trapped Khawaja lbw, with the top-order batsman adding just one run to his overnight tally. With Australia 70 for four, Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh (31) then stitched together a 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
     Debutant bowler Lakshan Sandakan made ..

Herath spins Sri Lanka out of trouble

The toll in a massive bomb attack today in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria has risen to 44, state media said.
	The official SANA news agency said at least 140 people were also injured when a suicide bomber in a vehicle blew himself up in a western neighbourhood of the city.
	The attack was initially described as a double bombing, but sources in the city and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights subsequently said the initial attack had caused a gas tank to detonate.
	The area targeted houses several ministries of the local autonomous Kurdish administration.

Toll rises to 44 in bomb attack in Syrian Kurdish city

With iPhone sales and profits sliding, Apple has sought to highlight its growth in services as it seeks to reduce dependence on its main cash driver.
	In its quarterly update, Apple said profits slumped 27 per cent from a year ago to USD 7.8 billion on a sharp drop in iPhone sales.
	Apple sold 40.4 million iPhones in the quarter ending June 25, down 15 per cent from a year earlier, highlighting concerns over growth for the company's iconic smartphone.
	It was the second straight quarter of slumping iPhone sales for the company, which until then had seen uninterrupted growth.
	Overall revenue was down 15 per cent from a year ago at USD 42.4 billion for Apple, which is the world's most valuable company.
	Chief executive Tim Cook said the results showed "stronger customer demand and business performance than we anticipated at the start of the quarter."
	Investors appeared to be reassured by the results, which were generally better than expected.
	Apple shares rose 6.1 per cent in ...

Apple talks services amid drop in iPhone sales, profit

A double bomb attack killed 31 people and wounded dozens in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria today, Syrian state television reported.
	In a breaking news alert, state television gave an "initial toll" of 31 dead and 170 wounded, adding that rescue workers were still retrieving victims of the blasts.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, earlier gave an initial toll of 14 dead in the devastating bombings.
	Qamishli has regularly been targeted in bomb attacks, many of which have been claimed by the Islamic State group.
	The IS-linked Amaq agency reported that a "suicide bomber in a truck bomb hit the headquarters of the Kurdish" forces in Qamishli, without explicitly claiming the attack as an IS operation.
	An AFP reporter in the city said that the first explosion was caused by a suicide bomber who blew himself up inside a large truck by a checkpoint near local Kurdish adminstration ministries.
	A source in the Kurdish Asayesh ...

31 dead in double bomb blast in Syria Kurdish city: state TV

Indonesia will be "on the wrong side of history" if it proceeds with a fresh round of executions this week, rights groups warned today, as authorities confirmed 14 prisoners, including from India, will face the firing squad.
	A group of drug convicts including foreigners have been given notice of their executions and could be put to death as early as Friday, though authorities remain tight-lipped about specific details.
	Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo said today that 14 people - including prisoners from Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe - had been put in isolation and would be executed this week.
	"They still have the right to see their family. We have also asked what their last requests are," Prasetyo told reporters.
	Family members and embassy officials visited the condemned prisoners today on Nusakambangan island, home to a high-security prison where Indonesia conducts executions.
	Indonesia - which has some of the toughest anti-drugs laws in the world - executed 14 drug ...

Pressure mounts on Indonesia to call off looming executions

Struggling Malaysia Airlines today announced plans to purchase 50 Boeing aircraft for USD 5.5 billion as it continues efforts to recover from devastating twin disasters in 2014.
	Malaysia's national flag carrier said it had placed firm orders for 25 Boeing 737 MAX jets and had purchase rights for another 25. Deliveries are to commence in 2019.
	New CEO Peter Bellew said the purchase of the aircraft, which are known for their fuel efficiency, would aid the airline's recovery.
	"This deal is a game-changer for Malaysia Airlines with much lower costs and greater efficiency which we will pass on to our loyal customers with lower fares," Bellew said in announcing the deal.
	Malaysia Airlines currently operates 56 Boeing 737-800s as well as smaller numbers of Airbus aircraft.
	The devastating MH370 and MH17 disasters in 2014 pushed the perennially loss-making airline to the brink of bankruptcy as bookings dried up.
	MH370 disappeared on March 8 of that year, en route from Kuala Lumpur to ...

Malaysia Airlines to buy 50 Boeing jets

A former Somali MP who joined the Shabaab group in 2010 was one of two suicide bombers who killed 13 people near a United Nations and African Union base, the militants announced today.
	Car bombs driven by suicide attackers exploded yesterday morning near Mogadishu's airport, one of which went off 200 metres from the base, killing mainly security staff.
	Salah Badbado, 53, served in Somalia's parliament from 2004 until 2010, when he declared at a press conference he was leaving politics to join the Somali al-Qaeda affiliate.
	"Salah Nuh Ismail known as Salah Badbado was among the braves who have carried out the attack on Halane military base," the group said in statement released on the Telegram app and their Andalus radio station.
	"He was a former lawmaker but he has repented from the apostasy in the year 2010 when he publicly announced defecting from the apostates," the Shabaab statement said.
	The attack was condemned by the African Union and the United Nations, which said that ...

Suicide bomber was former Somali MP: Shabaab

Deutsche Bank blamed today a weak economic environment and its complicated restructuring for a 98 per cent plunge in its second quarter net profit.
	Net earnings in the second quarter totalled 20 million euros (USD 22 million), compared with 796 million in the same period of 2015.
	Deutsche's performance fell well short of the average of 188 million euros expected by analysts surveyed by Factset.
	"Our results show that we are undergoing a sustained restructuring," chief executive John Cryan said in a statement, adding that he was "satisfied with the progress we are making".
	But the CEO warned that "if the current weak economic environment persists, we will need to be yet more ambitious in the timing and intensity of our restructuring".
	Shares in the bank fell by more than two per cent in the first minutes of trading on the the Frankfurt stock exchange today.
	Pre-tax profits stood at 408 million euros -- a fall of 67 per cent compared with 2015's second quarter -- on revenue of 7.4 

Restructuring puts squeeze on profits at Deutsche Bank

French religious leaders today called for authorities to boost security at places of worship after jihadists killed a priest in a Normandy church.
	"We deeply desire that our places of worship are the subject of greater (security) focus, a sustained focus," said French Muslim leader Dalil Boubakeur, after meeting with President Francois Hollande.
	Hollande gathered with the leaders of the country's main religions a day after two attackers stormed a church in the northern town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during morning mass, slitting the throat of an 86-year-old priest.
	Boubakeur, speaking in the name of French Muslims, voiced his "deep grief" at the attack which he described as a "blasphemous sacrilege which goes against all the teachings of our religion."
	The attack, claimed by IS jihadists, comes less than two weeks after Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ploughed a truck into a crowd in the Riviera city of Nice, killing 84 people and injuring over 300.
	The third major strike on 

French religious leaders call for security after church attack

Leaders of Myanmar rebel armies held talks in a war-hit border town today, state media reported, as they prepare for a major peace conference with a government desperate to end insurgencies that have plagued the country.
	Myanmar has been racked for half a century by ethnic rebel wars in its resource-rich frontier states, leaving tens of thousands dead or displaced.
	Some groups have signed ceasefires but several other rebel armies are still fighting the nation's army -- including in the northern state of Kachin, where today's talks were held.
	Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy activist leading the country's first civilian government, says ending the fighting is essential if Myanmar is to rise from the ashes of junta rule.
	She wants to restart full peace talks within weeks.
	This week's summit, held in a Kachin town ravaged by years of warfare, brought together "leaders representing 17 ethnic armed groups to search for common ground in working toward a federal system for the country", .

Myanmar rebels hold rare meet as Suu Kyi yearns for peace

Scoreboard at lunch on the second day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele today:
     Sri Lanka 1st innings 117 (D de Silva 24, K Perera 20; Josh Hazlewood 3-21, Nathan Lyon 3-12
     Australia 1st innings (overnight 66 for two)
	Burns b Herath                  3
	Warner b Pradeep                0
	Khawaja lbw b Herath           26
	Smith st Chandimal b Herath    30
	Voges not out                  41
	Marsh b Sandakan               31
	Nevill c Perera b Herath        2
	S O'Keefe not out               3
	Extras: (b-4, lb-6)             10
     Total: (6 wickets, 57 overs)    146
     Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-7, 3-69, 4-70, 5-130, 6-137
     Bowling: Pradeep 12-6-24-1, Herath 20-7-35-4, Dilruwan Perera 12-1-36-0, Sandakan 10-0-35-1, Mathews 3-1-6-0.

Pallekele, Jul 27 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the second day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele today:

US Secretary of State John Kerry today said Washington wanted to avoid "confrontation" in the South China Sea, after an international tribunal rejected Beijing's claims to most of the waters.
	Kerry made the remarks after meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay in Manila where they discussed the Southeast Asian nation's sweeping victory in the arbitration case against China.
	America's top diplomat said the United States wanted China and the Philippines to engage in talks and "confidence-building measures".
	"The decision itself is a binding decision but we're not trying to create a confrontation. We are trying to create a solution mindful of the rights of people established under the law," Kerry said.
	A tribunal based in The Hague this month ruled that China's claim to most of the strategic waterway was inconsistent with international law. The decision angered Beijing, which vowed to ignore the ruling.
	But Kerry said the United States saw an "opportunity" for ...

US avoiding 'confrontation' in sea row: Kerry

A shootout between gunmen and Armenian police has left five people injured, an official said today, as the authorities remain locked in a protracted standoff with the heavily armed opposition supporters.
	A police officer and four gunmen were wounded as clashes erupted at a police compound in the capital Yerevan that was seized over ten days ago, police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan wrote on Facebook.
	Two of the armed group and the officer were in hospital being treated for their wounds while another two wounded gunmen remained on the compound, Aharonyan said early today.
	Negotiations were continuing to get the remaining gunmen -- supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan who have demanded the president step down -- to lay down their weapons, he said.
	The group stormed a police building in the capital Yerevan on July 17, killing one officer, taking several more hostage and seizing a store of weapons.
	Over the weekend they released the final four police officers ...

AFP

AFP

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