A Bosnian anti-terrorism prosecutor has said the recent arrests of 11 suspected jihadists prevented an attack that purportedly would have killed around 100 holiday revellers in Sarajevo, state television said today.
	The arrests were carried out Tuesday in several parts of the Bosnian capital.
	Yesterday, a Sarajevo court ordered eight of the suspects to be held for 30 days, Bosnian television reported.
	It quoted prosecutor Dubravko Campara as telling an investigating magistrate that the group were planning "a terrorist act during end-of-year celebrations."
	"They were threatening to carry out an explosives attack in which 100 people would be killed," RTRS television quoted Campara as saying.
	The suspects' lawyers dismissed the allegations as a "simple farce" and said their clients were merely "practising their religion".
	Prosecutors said the suspects habitually gathered at a place of worship set up in a rented house in a Sarajevo suburb.
	After the arrests, prosecutors gave ...

Bosnia says arrests foiled Islamist attack in Sarajevo

PTI Automatic

Scores at tea on the first day of
the first Test between South Africa and England at Kingsmead here today:
     England, first innings
	Cook c Elgar b Steyn            0
	Hales c De Villiers b Steyn    10
	Compton not out                40
	Root lbw b Piedt               24
	Taylor not out                 41
	Extras (B-1, LB-2, NB-3)        6
     Total: (for 3 wkts in 40 overs) 121
     Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-12, 3-49
     Bowling: Steyn 9-3-21-2, Abbott 11-1-33-0 (1nb), Morkel 10-1-32-0 (1nb), Piedt 8-1-30-1, Van Zyl 2-1-2-0.

Durban, Dec  26 (AFP) Scores at tea on the first day of

Nick Compton and James Taylor shared an unbeaten half-century partnership as England recovered from a poor start on a rain-hit first day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead here today.
     England were 121 for three at tea after being sent in to bat.
     Compton (40 not out) and Taylor (41 not out) came together with England on 49 for three and added 72 without being parted.
    	Fast bowler Dale Steyn dismissed English opening batsmen Alastair Cook and Alex Hales cheaply, while off-spinner Dane Piedt took the wicket of Joe Root for 24 with his first ball of the match.
    	After rain delayed the start, only 27 minutes of cricket was possible before rain brought an early lunch, while there was a 22-minute rain break during an extended afternoon's play.
	Steyn, who had not played any cricket since suffering a groin injury on the first day of a series in India on November 5, found his rhythm almost immediately and had Cook caught at second slip by Dean Elgar for a duck 

Compton, Taylor hold up South Africa

More than 12,000 candidates have signed up for Iranian parliamentary elections due to be held in February, the most since the Islamic revolution in 1979, official media said today.
	The number of people who registered to stand before a yesterday deadline was up nearly 70 per cent compared with the previous legislative polls in 2012, the interior ministry said.
	Women accounted for 11 per cent of the hopefuls for the 290 seats available in the February 26 vote, up from eight per cent last time.
	The proportion of candidates below the age of 50 increased from 67 per cent to 73 per cent.
	The number of candidates is however expected to drop after the Guardians Council vets applications. The final list will be published on February 9.
	Voting will be held on the same day as the election for the Assembly of Experts, which monitors the work of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 76, and would be responsible for picking a replacement if he dies.
	President Hassan Rouhani, who took office .

Record 12,000 candidates for Iran elections

Iraqi forces today clashed with diehard jihadists from the Islamic State group defending the former government complex in the heart of the city of Ramadi.
	After a major push on Tuesday that broke IS defences around the city centre, government forces have been slowed by snipers, booby traps, roadside bombs and suicide attackers.
	While initial hopes of a quick victory have faded, Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) and the army have advanced steadily through the devastated capital of Anbar province.
	They reached a key intersection in the Hoz neighbourhood home to the government complex, whose recapture would go a long way towards ensuring a full recapture of Ramadi.
	"There are fierce battles pitting members of the Daesh (an Arab acronym for IS) organisation against the Iraqi forces there now," said Ahmed al-Dulaimi, a police captain.
	He said the latest fighting had left at least two members of the Iraqi security forces dead and nine wounded.
	At least three were killed ...

Iraqi forces in fierce battles with IS in Ramadi

A Chinese coast guard ship which appeared to be armed with several cannon today entered what Tokyo regards as its territorial waters near disputed islands, the Japan Coast Guard said.
	Japan and China routinely butt heads over ownership of the uninhabited East China Sea islets, as Chinese ships -- mostly coast guard vessels -- and aircraft have sometimes approached them to back up Beijing's claims and test Japan's response.
	It was however the first time an apparently armed Chinese coast guard vessel had "entered the territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands", the Japan Coast Guard said.
	Japan administers the uninhabited islands under that name but China also claims them and calls them the Diaoyus.
	On Tuesday Japan said it had spotted the armed Chinese coast guard ship for the first time in the contiguous waters near the islands.
	"The ship is seen carrying four pieces of equipment, two at the front and another set of two at the rear, which each seem to have something similar to a 

'Armed' China ship near disputed isles: Japan

Scores at lunch on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and England at Kingsmead today:
     England, first innings
     A Cook c Elgar b Steyn    0
     A Hales batting          10
     N Compton batting         1
     Extras (nb1)              1
     Total (1 wkt, 6.1 overs)  12
     Fall of wicket: 1-3
     Bowling: Steyn 3.1-3-0-1, Abbott 3-0-12-0.

Durban, Dec 26 (AFP) Scores at lunch on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and England at Kingsmead today:

Dale Steyn struck an early blow for South Africa when he dismissed England captain Alastair Cook for a duck on a rain-shortened first morning of the first Test at Kingsmead today.
     England were 12 for one at lunch after being sent in to bat. Only 27 minutes of play was possible before rain stopped play.
     Steyn, who had not played any cricket since suffering a groin injury on the first day of a series in India on November 5, found his rhythm almost immediately and had Cook caught at second slip by Dean Elgar off the fifth ball of his second over. He did not concede a run in the 3.1 overs he bowled before the stoppage.
     England new cap Alex Hales was on 10 not out. He got off the mark with a clip to leg for two off the first ball he faced from Kyle Abbott and looked comfortable at the crease, although the ball he faced against Steyn was the last delivery before the rain.
     The start was delayed by half an hour after overnight and early morning rain and it was no surprise .

Steyn strikes early blow for South Africa

Scores at the close on the
opening day of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday:
     Australia 1st innings
     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                    32
     A. Voges     not out                    10
     Extras (lb3, w3, nb2)                    8
     Total (3 wickets; 90 overs)            345
     Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Warner), 2-287 (Burns), 3-328 (Khawaja)
     Bowling: Taylor 18-2-83-2, Roach 10-1-53-0, Holder 17-6-33-0 (2nb), C. Brathwaite 20-1-71-0 (3w), Warrican 16-1-71-0, K. Brathwaite 9-1-31-1.

Melbourne, Dec 26 (AFP) Scores at the close on the

Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns hammered centuries as Australia again put the West Indies to the sword on the opening day of the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
     Fit-again Khawaja hit 144 for his third ton in four Test innings and opener Burns cracked 128 for his second Test hundred of the season as the Australians reached 345 for three at stumps after being sent into bat.
     Skipper Steve Smith was unbeaten on 32 with Hobart Test double centurion Adam Voges on 10.
     Before the lowest Boxing Day crowd of 53,389 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 16 years, Australia made Windies skipper Jason Holder pay dearly for sending the home side into bat after winning the toss.
     It was another day of triumph for Pakistan-born Khawaja who returned from missing the last two Tests with a hamstring injury to take up where he left off.
     Khawaja continued his rousing form this season after scoring 174 and 121 in the first two Tests against the Kiwis last month.
     He shared in a ..

Khawaja, Burns tons as Aussies maintain misery for Windies

Dozens of people were feared missing today in the latest landslide to hit a remote jade mining region in northern Myanmar, the second such deadly incident in just over a month.
	The landslide took place yesterday afternoon in Hpakant, Kachin State, the war-torn area that is the epicentre of Myanmar's secretive billion dollar jade industry.
	"The rescue process has now started and we are searching for dead bodies but we can't tell the numbers yet," Nilar Myint, an official from Hpakant Administrative Office, told AFP.
	The same area was hit by a massive landslide last month that killed more than 100. Locals says dozens more have died throughout the year in smaller accidents.
	Those killed are mainly itinerant workers who scratch a living picking through the piles of waste left by large-scale industrial mining firms in the hope of stumbling across a previously missed hunk of jade that will deliver them from poverty.
	Myanmar is the source of virtually all of the world's finest jadeite, .

New deadly landslide hits Myanmar jade mine

A bushfire which flared on Christmas Day has destroyed more than 100 homes in southern Australia, officials said today, as they warned the losses could have been worse.
	The blaze hit two towns southwest of Melbourne, Wye River and Separation Creek, where many of the 116 houses lost were believed to be holiday homes.
	As about 500 firefighters worked to battle the blaze, aerial shots showed buildings razed to the ground in the tree-filled coastal area along the Great Ocean Road tourist drive.
	"It's kind of confirmed for us just how hot, just how volatile, just how intense this fire was, burning right to the water's edge," Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
	Andrews welcomed the fact that no lives were lost in the state which endured horrific bushfires in 2009, in which 173 people perished.
	"We can rebuild houses, of course. Things can be much worse than that," Andrews told a press conference earlier today.
	The fire near the coastal ..

Christmas wildfire claims more than 100 homes in Australia

A man tried to stab an Israeli police officer today near Jerusalem's Old City and was killed, a police spokeswoman said.
	"Police officers spotted a man who aroused their suspicions and approached him to check," she said. "The terrorist pulled out a knife and tried to stab the policeman and was quickly killed by police gunfire."
	The Palestinian health ministry in the occupied West Bank indicated that the dead man was a Palestinian whose identity was not yet known.
	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.
	Yesterday, Israeli border guards shot dead a Palestinian woman who tried to ram a car into them in the West Bank, shortly after a Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli forces near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Jerusalem knife attacker shot dead: Israeli police

Rescue workers and heartbroken residents have sifted through what was left of homes wiped out by several ferocious storms and tornadoes that killed at least 14 people in the US southeast.
	The storms, feeding on unseasonably warm air, left a trail of destruction in rural communities from Alabama to Illinois, just as Christmas reached its crescendo.
	More than a dozen tornadoes were reported in six states, with the southern state of Mississippi hardest hit. Seven people were confirmed dead there and another 60 injured, with one person missing, said the state's emergency management agency.
	"We are experiencing some flash flooding today, with storms coming through right now in five counties. And damage assessments are still ongoing," the emergency agency's Brett Carr told AFP.
	Among the Mississippi dead was a seven-year-old boy who was killed when a brutal storm picked up and tossed the car he was travelling in, fire chief Kenny Holbrook told reporters in the town of Holly Springs, ...

Christmas Day cleanup after storms kill 14 in US

Scores at tea on the opening day of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday:
     Australia 1st innings
     J. Burns   not out                83
     D. Warner  c Samuels b Taylor     23
     U. Khawaja  not out               84
     Extras (lb2 nb1)                   3
     Total (1 wicket; 53 overs)       193
     Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Warner)
     Bowling: Taylor 10-1-48-1, Roach 10-1-53-0, Holder 13-5-19-0 (1nb), C. Brathwaite 10-1-42-0, Warrican 6-1-17-0, K. Brathwaite 4-1-12-0.

Melbourne, Dec 26 (AFP) Scores at tea on the opening day of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday:

Australia dominated the hapless West Indies with another burgeoning stand between Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja on the opening day of the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
     Burns and fit-again Khawaja were nearing centuries as the Caribbean tourists again struggled to make any impression after losing by an innings and 212 runs in the first Hobart Test.
     At tea, the Australians were 193 for one with opener Burns on 83 and Khawaja on 84 in an unbroken 164-run stand for the second wicket.
     So far in the series, Australia have amassed 776 runs for the loss of just five wickets as the home side looked to build another formidable first innings total.
     It was a personal statement by Burns, whose position in the side had been under threat by the return of Khawaja from a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the last two Tests.
     Khawaja continued his rousing form this season after scoring 174 and 121 in the first two Tests against New Zealand last month.
     Selectors 

Burns, Khawaja continue Australia's domination of Windies

Former FIFA vice-president Eugenio Figueredo received millions of dollars in bribes throughout his career at the top of South American football, prosecutors claimed.
     Figueredo, 83, was extradited from Switzerland and spent Christmas in jail pending a trial which could see him imprisoned for up to 15 years.
     Late Friday, he was admitted to a Montevideo hospital with chest pain, but was expected to return to his cell in a matter of hours, said the prosecutor in his case, Juan Gomez.
     Gomez said evidence given by Figueredo showed clearly that the official was corrupted from the moment he joined the executive committee of CONMEBOL, the South American federation.
     "From the time he became a member of the executive committee, he received huge sums of money from plans hatched by various members of CONMEBOL with the objective of maintaining a twisted form of corruption," said Gomez in his initial report.
     As CONMEBOL president, the Uruguayan looked to distribute the money 

Figueredo bribes paid 'for decades' - prosecutor

Brendon McCullum launched his farewell tour in rollicking form today with a whirlwind 55 to set up New Zealand's seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their opening one-day international in Christchurch.
     In a 25-ball stay at the crease, McCullum smacked 11 fours and one six to have Sri Lanka on the ropes before he departed with New Zealand only needing a further 81 runs in 40 overs.
     Martin Guptill posted his 26th half-century on his way to 79 off 56 deliveries while debutant Henry Nicholls was not out on 23 when the innings ended at the end of the 20th over.
     New Zealand were set a modest 189 target after Matt Henry destroyed the cream of the Sri Lankan top order in a brief spell of 16 balls when he took four wickets for two runs.
     Sri Lanka were eventually all out for 188 in 47 overs on a wicket that promised runs galore, and New Zealand knocked off the target with ease.
     The big-hitting McCullum, who announced before the five-match ODI series began that he will ...

Henry, McCullum lead New Zealand rout of Sri Lanka

Completed scoreboard in the
first one-day international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Christchurch today.
     Sri Lanka
     D. Gunathilaka c Ronchi b Milne 8
     T. Dilshan c Nicholls b Henry 9
     L. Thirimanne lbw Henry 1
     D. Chandimal c Taylor b Henry 5
     A. Mathews c Latham b Henry 0
     M. Siriwardana c McCullum b Bracewell 66
     C. Kapugedera c Santner b Bracewell 8
     N. Kulasekera c Ronchi b McClenaghan 58
     A. Mendis c Ronchi b McClenaghan 4
     D. Chameera not out 13
     S. Lakmal c Latham b Bracewell 8
     Extras (W-8)                   8
     Total (For 10 wickets in 47 overs) 188
     Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-20, 3-23, 4-23, 5-27, 6-65, 7-163, 8-164, 9-167, 10-188.
     Bowling: Milne 10-0-30-1, Henry 10-1-49-4, McClenaghan 10-2-40-2, Bracewell 9-1-37-3, Santner 8-0-32-0
     New Zealand
     M. Guptill c Kulasekara b Siriwardana 79
     B. McCullum c Lakmal b Siriwardana 55
     T. Latham b Dilshan 18
     R. Taylor not out  5
     H. ...

Christchurch, Dec 26 (AFP) Completed scoreboard in the

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are poised to become the first USD 100 million men in tennis in 2016, in a gripping sub-plot to the new Grand Slam season.
     No player in the history of the sport has broken through the USD 100 million on-court earnings barrier but world number one Djokovic and Federer, the number three, should reach the landmark next year.
     Djokovic, 28, has just over USD 94 million in prize money while Federer, six years the Serb's senior, has banked USD 97.3 million.
     With USD 3.85 million on offer for the winner of January's Australian Open, the season's first major, the veteran Swiss would be the first man to the magical number even if the odds are heavily stacked against a player who won the last of his 17 Grand Slam titles in 2012.
     The staggering rewards for the modern player, all boosted by lucrative off-court earnings through sponsorship and endorsements, are a far cry from the heavyweights of the sport who starred in earlier eras.
     Rod ...

Djokovic, Federer in race to be first $100m man

Scoreboard in the first ODI
between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Christchurch today. Sri Lanka
     D. Gunathilaka c Ronchi b Milne 8
     T. Dilshan c Nicholls b Henry 9
     L. Thirimanne lbw Henry 1
     D. Chandimal c Taylor b Henry 5
     A. Mathews c Latham b Henry 0
     M. Siriwardana c McCullum b Bracewell 66
     C. Kapugedera c Santner b Bracewell 8
     N. Kulasekera c Ronchi b McClenaghan 58
     A. Mendis c Ronchi b McClenaghan 4
     D. Chameera not out 13
     S. Lakmal c Latham b Bracewell 8
     Extras (w 8) 8
     Total (10 wickets; 47 overs) 188
     Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Gunathilaka), 2-20 (Dilshan), 3-23 (Thirimanne), 4-23 (Mathews), 5-27 (Chandimal), 6-65 (Kapugedera), 7-163 (Siriwardana), 8-164 (Kulasekara), 9-167 (Mendis), 10-188 (Lakmal)
     Bowling: Milne 10-0-30-1 (w3), Henry 10-1-49-4 (w2), McClenaghan 10-2-40-2 (w3), Bracewell 9-1-37-3, Santner 8-0-32-0.

AFP

AFP

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