Scores at tea on the second day of the first Test between South Africa and England at Kingsmead today:
     England, first innings
     (overnight 179-4)
     A. Cook c Elgar b Steyn 0
     A. Hales c De Villiers b Steyn 10
     N. Compton c De Villiers b Morkel 85
     J. Root lbw b Piedt 24
     J. Taylor c De Villiers b Steyn 70
     B. Stokes c Duminy b Morkel 21
     J. Bairstow c Elgar b Abbott 41
     M. Ali c De Villiers b Morkel 0
     C. Woakes lbw b Morkel 0
     S. Broad not out 32
     Extras (b1, lb3, nb3, w1) 8
     Total (101.1 overs) 303
     Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-12, 3-49, 4-174, 5-196, 6-247, 7-253, 8-253, 9-267, 10-303
     Bowling: Steyn 25.1-5-70-4, Abbott 24-4-66-1, Morkel 26-5-76-4, Piedt 16-2-63-1, Van Zyl 2-1-2-0, Elgar 7-2-22-0
     South Africa, first innings
     S. Van Zyl b Broad 0
     D. Elgar not out 22
     H. Amla c Bairstow b Broad 7
     A. De Villiers not out 26
     Extras 0
     Total (2 wkts, 19 overs) 55
     Bowling: Broad 5-3-8-2, Woakes .

South Africa v England scoreboard - 1st update

PTI Automatic

Stuart Broad took two wickets in a fiery opening spell as England hit back on the second day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead today.
     South Africa were 55 for two at tea after bowling out England for 303.
     Broad bowled Stiaan van Zyl and had Hashim Amla caught behind to reduce South Africa to 14 for two, negating any advantage the hosts might have had after taking six English wickets in an extended morning's play.
     Van Zyl did not offer a shot to the second ball of the innings and saw the ball cut back to hit his off stump.
     South African captain Amla survived two appeals for caught behind off Broad and was dropped by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow off Chris Woakes before edging a routine catch to Bairstow after making seven. Broad took two for eight in a five-over spell.
     South Africa would have been in worse trouble if AB de Villiers, on 11, had not survived an umpires' review after edging Steven Finn low to Ben Stokes at gully.
     Stokes was ...

Broad strikes back for England

Gunmen killed two Kenyan policemen and wounded two others today, the Red Cross said, the latest in a string of killings in the troubled far northeast of the country.
	"Two police officers killed and two others injured in an ambush along Lafey-Elwak road, Mandera county," the Kenya Red Cross said in a statement.
	There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Somali-led Shebab have carried out a series of bombings and killings in Kenya, especially in Mandera district, which borders Somalia.
	The Shebab, East Africa's long-time Al-Qaeda branch, is headquartered in Somalia where it is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, which is protected by 22,000 African Union troops, including Kenyan soldiers.
	But they have also staged attacks in Kenya, including the killing of at least 67 people at Nairobi's Westgate Mall in 2013 and the massacre of 148 people at a university in Garissa in April.
	Earlier this week, Kenyan police warned of the risk of ..

Two policemen killed in northeast Kenya ambush: Red Cross

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani today said that Muslim countries should strive to improve the world's opinion of Islam.
	"We must remove Islam's negative image from today's cyber and real space," he said in Tehran at an international conference on "The Islamic World's Current Crisis".
	Most "violence, terror and massacres, unfortunately, take place in the Islamic world," he said.
	"I invite all Islamic countries in this region and beyond -- even those who until today have bombed and launched missiles on their neighbors -- for all of us to stop this and choose the right path," he said.
	He did not give any country names.
	Shiite Iran supports Yemen's Huthi rebels, while its Sunni-ruled regional rival Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition that has been bombing them in support of the loyalists since March.
	"How many bombs and missiles have you purchased from America this year?" he asked.
	"If you had distributed the money for those bombs and missiles among poor Muslims, nobody would ..

Muslim states should fix Islam's public image: Rouhani

Samy Amimour, one of the men that massacred 90 people at the Bataclan music venue in Paris, was buried north of the city, local officials said today.
	The 28-year-old was buried on Thursday in Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris, where he grew up and his parents still live.
	"There were very, very few people there," said a source in the local town hall.
	Amimour was previously a bus driver before spending around two years in Syria, according to family members who spoke to AFP in October, prior to the brutal attacks in Paris.
	He was one of three attackers killed when police stormed the Bataclan music venue on November 13.
	Three other jihadists blew themselves up outside the Stade de France stadium, and another exploded his suicide vest outside a bar not far from the Bataclan.
	French law gives individuals the right to a burial either in their area of residence, the area they died, or where their family has a collective plot.

Paris attacker Samy Amimour buried

Taiwan's presidential candidates clashed over China policy during their first televised debate today, ahead of elections in which relations with Beijing will be a key issue for voters.
	Fears over Beijing's influence on the island have grown since a rapprochement under the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), culminating in a landmark meeting between current President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.
	Public unease over closer relations is a major factor behind the KMT's dwindling popularity and sparked the occupation of parliament by protesters last year over a trade pact with China.
	Tsai Ing-wen of the Beijing-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), widely tipped to win the presidency in January, criticised the KMT for relying too much on China.
	"We need to be comprehensively linked to the major global economies, and not just solely tied to China," she said, arguing that the KMT had only given Taiwan "one option".
	But she trod carefully when it came to political 

Taiwan presidential candidates clash over China policy

Police in Chicago have shot and killed three people, including a mother of five who they said was shot "accidentally" when officers responded to a domestic disturbance.
	A police statement said that on arriving in response early yesterday to the disturbance, "officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer's weapon, fatally wounding two individuals."
	The killings are the first in the city since protests last month over a video showing a white police officer in Chicago shooting 16 times at a fleeing black teen, who died at the scene.
	The shooting, which took place in 2014, has triggered a federal civil rights probe into the police.
	Local media identified the two African-American fatalities as Bettie Jones, a mother of five, and 19-year-old engineering student Quintonio LeGrier.
	Updating the statement later, police said: "the 55-year-old female victim was accidentally struck and tragically killed. The department extends its deepest ...

Chicago police kill three, say one shot 'accidentally'

Morne Morkel took four wickets as England were bowled out for 303 on the second morning of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead today.
     Morkel finished with four for 76 and fellow fast bowler Dale Steyn took four for 70. England lost six wickets in adding 124 runs to their overnight total of 179 for four.
     Morkel made an early breakthrough to end an aggressive innings of 21 by overnight batsman Ben Stokes, who top-edged an attempted pull to be caught by JP Duminy, running back from third slip.
     Nick Compton and Jonny Bairstow put on 51 for the sixth wicket before Morkel produced a burst of three wickets for no runs in six balls.
     Morkel ended a long vigil by Compton, who got a faint edge to an attempted pull to be caught behind for 85. Compton batted for 378 minutes and faced 236 balls in an innings which contained eight fours.
     In his next over, Morkel dismissed Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes with successive deliveries, both out for nought. Ali was caught .

Morkel takes four as England are bowled out

Scores at lunch on the second day of the first Test between South Africa and England at Kingsmead today:
     England, first innings
     (overnight 179-4)
     A. Cook c Elgar b Steyn 0
     A. Hales c De Villiers b Steyn 10
     N. Compton c De Villiers b Morkel 85
     J. Root lbw b Piedt 24
     J. Taylor c De Villiers b Steyn 70
     B. Stokes c Duminy b Morkel 21
     J. Bairstow c Elgar b Abbott 41
     M. Ali c De Villiers b Morkel 0
     C. Woakes lbw b Morkel 0
     S. Broad not out 32
     S. Finn lbw b Steyn 12
     Extras (b1, lb3, nb3, w1) 8
     Total (101.1 overs) 303
     Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-12, 3-49, 4-174, 5-196, 6-247, 7-253, 8-253, 9-267, 10-303
     Bowling: Steyn 25.1-5-70-4, Abbott 24-4-66-1, Morkel 26-5-76-4, Piedt 16-2-63-1, Van Zyl 2-1-2-0, Elgar 7-2-22-0.

South Africa v England scoreboard

Benin Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou emerged unscathed after a helicopter he was travelling in crash-landed in the country's northwest, an official said today.
	The incident occurred yesterday at a stadium in Djougou but there were no casualties.
	"The prime minister was on board at the time of the crash-landing ... Happily he emerged safe and sound," a source in the Beninese presidency told AFP.
	"My father is well. There are no victims of the helicopter crash in Djougou. Thank you for your messages," added Zinsou's daughter Marie-Cecile on Twitter.
	An investigation has been opened into the circumstances leading to the incident, police said.
	Zinsou, a former banker who holds both French and Beninese nationality, has said he will run as the ruling party's candidate for a presidential election scheduled to in February.

Benin prime minister unhurt after helicopter crash

Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired on its territory from Yemen's rebel-held capital, the Saudi-led coalition announced today, in the latest cross-border attack on the kingdom.
	Saudi air defence forces intercepted "a Scud missile fired from Sanaa in Yemen towards the city of Najran" late yesterday, said the coalition that has been battling rebels in Yemen since March.
	Coalition jets "immediately destroyed the missile launch pad after identifying its location in Yemen," it said in a statement published by Saudi Arabia's official SPA news agency.
	Yemen's Iran-backed rebels have intensified their rocket attacks across the Saudi border during the past week, prompting the coalition to threaten severe reprisals against them.
	The Saudis have deployed Patriot missile batteries designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles.
	In a statement published on their sabanews.Net website, the rebels said they fired rockets at Jizan and Najran on the Saudi side of the border yesterday, ...

Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen capital

The Taliban have denied they held talks with Russia about countering the spread of Islamic State in Afghanistan, and dismissed the influence of the jihadist group in the country.
	The insurgents were responding to a statement Wednesday by senior Russian diplomat Zamir Kabulov, who said his country was exchanging information with the Taliban about the group.
	Kabulov, who is a Kremlin special representative in Afghanistan, said Moscow had a shared interest with the Taliban in counteracting the spread of the Islamic State group -- also known as Daesh.
	We "do not see a need for receiving aid from anyone concerning so-called Daesh and neither have we contacted nor talked with anyone about this issue," the Taliban said in an English-language statement on their website.
	IS controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq. Fighters in parts of eastern Afghanistan have also proclaimed loyalty to it, challenging the Taliban on their own turf.
	Although there are signs that the popularity of IS is ...

Taliban deny talks with Russia on IS in Afghanistan

Three people were killed and another three were wounded by a mine blast in a conflict-plagued region of eastern Myanmar where martial law had only recently been lifted, state media reported today.
	The explosion hit a truck in Chin Swe Haw town, in northern Shan State's Laukkai district, in the early hours of yesterday morning, the Burmese language Myanma Alinn newspaper said.
	Two men and a woman were killed by the blast, while another three were being treated in hospital.
	The paper reported that officials found another improvised explosive device near the scene of the first blast that had not detonated.
	Laukkai has been the scene of heavy fighting throughout much of the year between the military and ethnic Kokang rebels.
	The fighting forced tens of thousands of refugees to flee into neighboring China earlier this year, causing a spike in tensions between Beijing and Naypyidaw.
	A state of emergency was declared shortly after hostilities broke out and was only lifted last month, ..

Three killed, three wounded in Myanmar IED blast

Tornados knocked cars off a highway and flattened homes in Texas, raising the death toll to 25 as a string of powerful storms wreaked havoc across much of the southern United States.
	At least eight people were killed as tornados struck parts of the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, leaving much of the region in darkness, local officials and media reported.
	The Texas fatalities came after 17 people were killed in storm-related incidents since Thursday in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.
	A tornado touched down around 6:45 pm in Garland, Texas, city officials said in a statement.
	"Five deaths have been confirmed," the statement said. "Extensive damage has been reported to vehicles, homes, and apartments in the same area."
	The deaths are "believed to be related to vehicles struck by the tornado," it said, adding that there was also an unconfirmed number of injuries.
	The tornados -- residents say at least four of them -- snapped power cables and knocked over pylons, .

Death toll rises as tornados, storms strike southern US

Skipper Steve Smith and Adam Voges reached more career milestones as Australia tightened their grip over the hapless West Indies in the second Test in Melbourne today.
     Smith reached his sixth Test century of the year and 13th overall with 134 and Voges remained unbeaten on 106 when the skipper declared Australia's first innings on 551 for three.
     In reply the Caribbean tourists unravelled again and were 91 for six and trailing by 460 runs with three days left.
     Hobart Test centurion Darren Bravo was on 13 with debutant Carlos Brathwaite three not out.
     Smith called a halt to Australia's run plunder midway through the second day, while he was at the crease with Voges in an unbroken 223-run stand.
     In the process Smith, recently named the ICC cricketer of the year, took over as the current leading run-scorer in Test cricket for 2015.
     At the declaration he had scored 1,404 runs, ahead of Alastair Cook's 1,357 with England currently playing South Africa in ...

Smith, Voges in milestones as Aussies seize control

Scores at the close on the second
day of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today:
     Australia 1st innings (345-3 overnight)
     J Burns  stp Ramdin b K. Brathwaite   128
     D Warner  c Samuels b Taylor           23
     U Khawaja  c Ramdin b Taylor          144
     S Smith     not out                   134
     A Voges     not out                   106
     Extras (lb10, w4, nb2)                 16
     Total (3 wickets declared; 135 overs)  551
     Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-287, 3-328
     Bowling: Taylor 22-2-97-2, Roach 17-1-97-0, Holder 22-7-47-0, C. Brathwaite 30-3-109-0, Warrican 26-2-113-0, K. Brathwaite 18-1-78-1.
     West Indies 1st innings
     K Brathwaite    c Burns b Lyon         17
     R Chandrika     lbw b Pattinson        25
     D Bravo         batting                13
     M Samuels       lbw b Pattinson         0
     J Blackwood     c and b Lyon           28
     D Ramdin        c Burns b Siddle        ..

Melbourne, Dec 27 (AFP) Scores at the close on the second

A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli soldier with a kitchen knife in Jerusalem today, wounding him moderately before he was arrested, police said.
	The attack took place in west Jerusalem near the city's central bus station, where large numbers of soldiers catch buses each Sunday morning back to their bases after a sabbath break at home.
	"A private security guard who saw the event overpowered the terrorist until police arrived at the scene. The terrorist is under arrest," a police statement said.
	It was the second attack in Jerusalem in less than 24 hours.
	A Palestinian man tried to stab an Israeli policeman on Saturday near the Old City and was shot dead by other officers, a police spokeswoman said.
	A wave of violence since the start of October has claimed the lives of 132 people on the Palestinian side, 19 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean.
	Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes.
	On Friday, 

Jerusalem knife attacker wounds Israeli soldier: police

Rescuers in northern Myanmar today said they were confident only a handful of people are missing in a jade mine landslide, refuting local reports that as many as 50 might have been buried.
	A wall of rocks, mud and debris careered down a hillside on Friday afternoon in Hpakant, Kachin State, the war-torn area that is the epicentre of Myanmar's secretive billion dollar jade industry.
	More than 100 people were killed in the same area in a landslide last month and locals feared dozens of workers might be buried in the latest accident.
	But officials involved in the rescue said they had only been notified of a handful of missing people and have yet to recover any bodies.
	"Three men have been reported to us as missing," a duty police officer in Hpakant told AFP, asking not to be named.
	"We are not sure whether they were buried in the dump because we haven't found any dead bodies yet."
	The state run Global New Light of Myanmar today reported the same figures.
	"Relatives of the three ...

Three missing in Myanmar jade mine landslide: officials

Myanmar's army chief has called on Thailand to review the sentencing of two countrymen to death for murdering a pair of British backpackers after a controversial trial that sparked protests.
	General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the country's influential military, has asked Thailand for a "review of the evidence" against the two men, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported today.
	Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty on Thursday of killing David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, whose battered bodies were found on a beach in the southern Thai diving resort of Koh Tao in September last year.
	The grim killings have sullied Thailand's reputation as a tourist haven and raised questions over its justice system after the defence accused the police of bungling their investigation and using the men as scapegoats -- a charge authorities deny.
	The verdicts have sparked anger in Myanmar with daily protests held outside the Thai embassy in Yangon and at ..

Myanmar army chief asks Thailand for death sentence review

The West Indies made a safe start in their chase after Australia's massive first innings declaration in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today.
     Skipper Steve Smith called a halt to Australia's first innings at 551 for three while he was at the crease with Adam Voges midway through the second day.
     At the time of the declaration Smith had reached his sixth Test century of the year and 13th overall on 134 with Voges unbeaten on 106.
     At tea, Kraigg Brathwaite was on 17 with Rajendra Chandrika not out 14 with the West Indies openers having negotiated 14 overs.
     The Australians had four century-makers among their top-five batsmen following Usman Khawaja's 144 and Joe Burns' 128 on Saturday's opening day. Only David Warner missed out with 23.
     It was the first time that four Australian batsmen scored tons in a single Test innings in Australia.
     The last time Australia had four centurions in an innings was against England in Cardiff in 2009.
     ...

Windies 33-0 in reply to Australia's 551-3 declared at tea

Scores at tea on the second day
of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today:
     Australia 1st innings (345-3 overnight)
     J Burns  stp Ramdin b K. Brathwaite   128
     D Warner  c Samuels b Taylor           23
     U Khawaja  c Ramdin b Taylor          144
     S Smith     not out                   134
     A Voges     not out                   106
     Extras (lb10, w4, nb2)                 16
     Total (3 wickets declared; 135 overs) 551
     Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-287, 3-328
     Bowling: Taylor 22-2-97-2, Roach 17-1-97-0, Holder 22-7-47-0, C Brathwaite 30-3-109-0, Warrican 26-2-113-0, K Brathwaite 18-1-78-1.
     West Indies 1st innings
     K Brathwaite    batting                17
     R Chandrika     batting                14
     Extras (nb2)                             2
     Total (0 wicket; 14 overs)              33
     Bowling: Hazlewood 5-2-4-0, Pattinson 5-0-22-0, Lyon 4-1-7-0.

AFP

AFP

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