Australia play their first one-day international as world champions in Belfast tomorrow with a new captain and three uncapped players in the 14-man squad which meets Ireland in a one-off game at Stormont.
     Although their World Cup victory was just five months ago, it will be Steve Smith leading Australia, not Michael Clarke and Matthew Wade keeping wicket instead of Brad Haddin who has retired from one-day cricket.
     The newcomers are Joe Burns, who is in line to replace Aaron Finch at the top of the order, while the World Cup opener recovers from a fractured foot, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who come in for the suspended James Faulkner, and the sole specialist spinner in the squad is Ashton Agar, returning to an Australia side for the first time since the 2013 Ashes tour.
     Five of the World Cup winning team - and eight of the squad - are still around despite Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood being sent home to prepare for the domestic season, leaving the world No 1 ODI ...

Irish look to take shine off Aussie World Cup win

PTI Automatic

Serbia and Kosovo have reached a "landmark" agreement in several key areas in a major step towards normalising ties after war and Pristina's unilateral declaration of independence, the EU said.
	Prime ministers Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia and Isa Mustafa of Kosovo reached a deal in four areas yesterday including energy and telecoms, said European Union Policy chief Federica Mogherini, who is brokering the talks.
	"Today's outcome represents landmark achievements in the normalisation process," former Italian foreign minister Mogherini said in a statement.
	"Solutions such as those found today bring concrete benefits to the people and at the same time enable the two sides to advance on their European path."
	The agreement comes two days before a major summit grouping leaders of western Balkan nations and Mogherini, amid concerns over a huge flow of migrants through the region and over Russian influence.
	Neighbours Serbia and Kosovo have been at odds over Pristina's 2008 unilateral ...

Serbia, Kosovo in 'landmark' agreements

Tropical Storm Erika has formed in the Atlantic and could hit the Bahamas as a hurricane later this week, US forecasters have warned.
	The storm is 605 miles (975 kilometres) east of Antigua and moving quickly westward, the National Hurricane Center said yesterday.
	With maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 kilometres per hour), it has sparked storm watches on several islands, including Antigua, Montserrat and Barbuda.
	A tropical storm watch indicates that tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours.
	"On the forecast track, the centre of Erika will be near the Leeward Islands Wednesday night and early Thursday," the Miami-based centre said.
	The storm was expected to drop two to four inches on the Leeward Islands Thursday.
	On its current path, Erika - expected to strengthen over the coming days - could reach the Bahamas as a hurricane over the weekend, according to the NHC.
	Erika comes on the heels of Danny, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which .

Tropical Storm Erika advances westward in Atlantic

A Guatemalan court has ruled that former dictator Efrain Rios Montt must face retrial for genocide during the country's civil war, but ordered it take place behind closed doors because he has dementia.
	The 89-year-old former general, who ruled the Central American country from 1982 to 1983, will go back to court on January 11 next year, accused of ordering the army to massacre more than 1,700 Ixil Maya indigenous people.
	He was sentenced to 80 years in prison at an initial trial in 2013 - the first former head of state in the world to be tried for genocide in a domestic court.
	But the Constitutional Court threw out his conviction on procedural grounds and ordered a retrial yesterday.
	After defence lawyers argued that Rios Montt was no longer mentally fit to stand trial, the court sent him to a psychiatric facility for testing earlier this month.
	"The psychiatric experts all agreed the accused suffers mental illness," Judge Jaime Gonzalez said Friday.
	He concluded that "the ...

Former Guatemalan dictator to face genocide retrial

Turkey is now ready to fully participate in coalition strikes against the Islamic State group and may do so within days, the Pentagon has said.
	Department of Defense spokesman Peter Cook also said yesterday that Washington has "no indication" the Turkish government had tipped off an Al-Qaeda affiliate group to help them go after US-trained Syrian rebels, as alleged in one report citing rebel figures.
	The agreement with Turkey will incorporate Turkish planes into the "air tasking order" - or ATO - to ensure Turkish operations do not interfere with the operations of the coalition of countries targeting the IS group.
	"US and Turkey have finalised technical details for Turkey's full inclusion in counter ISIL coalition operations. This includes full integration into the coalition air tasking order," Cook said.
	"It could take a few days [to put] these technical arrangements into place at the operational level. We believe that Turkey is committed to fully participating as soon as ...

Turkey ready for anti-IS strikes: Pentagon

Spain has detected its first domestic case of the painful mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya in a 60-year-old man in the eastern province of Valencia, officials said today.
	The man was "most likely" infected in Gandia, a seaside Mediterranean resort, and was treated in hospital last month, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement.
	"This is the first chikungunya case reported from Spain without travel history to endemic areas," the statement said, as all prior reported cases involved people who caught the virus while abroad.
	Chikungunya, more commonly found in Africa and Asia, is spread by two mosquito species, and is typically not fatal. But it can cause debilitating symptoms including fever, headache and severe joint pain lasting months.
	The word chikungunya, from the East African Kimakonde language, translates loosely as contorted or hunched over from pain.
	Last year there were 266 recorded cases of chikungunya in Spain, all imported, ...

Spain detects first case of mosquito-borne chikungunya virus

A knife-wielding intruder, who scaled a wall on the White House perimeter earlier this year, was shot dead by a US sheriff at a Pennsylvania county court house today, an official said.
	The incident -- unrelated to the White House security breach -- took place in the lobby of the county justice center in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the local district attorney said.
	The assailant, Curtis Smith from Coatesville, "pulled out a knife and attacked a deputy sheriff, slashing him," district attorney Tom Hogan told reporters.
	"Another deputy sheriff immediately pulled his firearm and shot Smith," he added. Smith was treated at the scene but later died in hospital.
	The attacked sheriff was taken to hospital with wounds to his hand and arm, and his colleague is being interviewed, he added.
	"Unfortunately because of incidents like this across the nation we have learned how to deal with an attack at the court house. Nobody else was injured, the sheriffs did their job," Hogan said.
	Smith was .

US sheriff kills court intruder who scaled White House wall

A man shot dead four people "in cold blood", including a baby and policeman, at a gypsy camp in northern France today, officials said.
	Three other people, including the gunman, were seriously wounded in the attack, which took place in the northern town of Roye, about 110 kilometres (68 miles) north of Paris.
	Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters three people had been killed "in cold blood" including a six-month-old baby, a man and a woman.
	A policeman who was badly wounded in the attack later died of his injuries, and a three-year-old child and another policemen were both said to be in serious condition.
	The toddler went into cardiac arrest and has been put under ventilatory support, local authorities said.
	Witnesses said a fight erupted in the camp and a man, who may have been drunk, started shooting when police turned up to investigate.
	The gunman was also said to be in serious condition, they said.
	"This is a really tragic case," Cazeneuve told reporters, saying 

Baby, policeman killed in French gypsy camp shooting

The once-hot smartphone market in China is expected to cool this year, growing a meager 1.2 per cent, according to a report released today.
	The China smartphone market grew 19.7 per cent last year and accounted for nearly a third of all new handsets shipped, according to the International Data Corporation's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report.
	"China clearly remains a very important market. However, the focus will be more on exports than consumption as domestic growth slows significantly," said IDC program director Ryan Reith.
	The forecast came a day after Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that the California-based company is still seeing "strong growth" in China despite a recent global stock market downturn.
	"Obviously I can't predict the future, but our performance so far this quarter is reassuring. Additionally, I continue to believe that China represents an unprecedented opportunity over the long term," Cook wrote to CNBC's Jim Cramer in an email released by the .

Chinese smartphone market expected to cool this year: report

European and US shares rebounded on bargain-hunting today as China cut interest rates after fears of a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy sparked a "Black Monday" rout across global markets.
	Another slump in Chinese stocks had sparked pandemonium on the first trading day of the week, wiping about USD 2.7 trillion off global equities as bourses from London to Buenos Aires were snared in a precipitous plunge.
	Shanghai shares dived 7.63 per cent today, extending their steepest drop in almost two decades, erasing the year's gains and closing below the key 3,000 point mark for the first time in 2015.
	But European equities which suffered their worst slump yesterday since the 2008 financial crisis surged as the Chinese central bank moved to slash interest rates for the fifth time in nine months.
	Frankfurt and Paris closed up more than 4.0 per cent, while London gained 3.09 per cent.
	Wall Street shares also jumped rallying after a five-day streak of losses left US indices in .

Europe, US markets rally on China rate cut

The utilities regulator in the US capital rejected today the proposed merger of power companies Exelon and Pepco Holdings, saying it was not in the public's interest.
	The Washington DC Public Service Commission said it opposed the plan after weighing public input that included written testimony from more than 3,000 residents, non-profits and small businesses and views from government bodies.
	"The commission concluded that, taken as a whole, the transaction as proposed by Exelon and Pepco is not in the public interest," the independent agency said in a statement.
	The two companies agreed in April 2014 that Chicago-based Exelon would acquire Pepco for USD 6.83 billion in cash.
	Pepco provides energy to Washington and the eastern states of Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey.
	Combined, the two companies would serve around 10 million customers: Exelon already provides electricity and natural gas to more than 6.6 million clients in Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
	Exelon and Pepco .

Regulator rejects USD 6.8 bn Exelon-Pepco merger

French prosecutors said today there was a raft of evidence suggesting that the man arrested for last week's train attack carefully prepared a jihadist assault that would have ended in carnage had passengers not intervened.
	Ayoub El Khazzani, a Moroccan national, boarded a high-speed train in Brussels Friday armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and 270 rounds of ammunition, as well as a Luger pistol, a bottle of petrol and a box-cutter, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.
	The 25-year-old walked out of a toilet cubicle armed and topless before being wrestled to the floor and subdued by two young American off-duty servicemen, their friend and a 62-year-old British consultant who have since been given France's top honour, the Legion d'Honneur.
	A Franco-American man was shot and injured in the attack, which Molins described as "targeted and premeditated".
	Khazzani's claims to investigators that he was only planning to rob passengers were "barely credible", said Molins, adding that 

France train attack was 'targeted and premeditated'

The United Nations envoy to South Sudan cautioned today that a power-sharing deal set to be signed by President Salva Kiir was only a first step to end the brutal conflict.
	The signing is scheduled to take place in Juba tomorrow with Kiir to be joined by the leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia for a mini-summit.
	South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar, a former vice president, met a deadline to sign the agreement on August 17.
	UN envoy and mission chief Ellen Margrethe Loej told the Security Council that tomorrow's signing would be a "hopefully positive development" but that many hurdles lie ahead to implement the agreement.
	"While we will do all possible to support implementation, I must remind this council that, albeit very important, this agreement is only a first step," said Loej.
	"Peace, stability and prosperity will not come to South Sudan overnight," she warned.
	The world's youngest nation, South Sudan has been torn by fighting between forces loyal to Kiir and ...

South Sudan peace deal 'only a first step': UN envoy

The political buzz consuming Washington's steamy summer has nothing to do with stock market jolts or even the Iran nuclear deal, the name on everyone's lips is Joe Biden.
	Will the veep launch another White House run?
	Speculation has intensified in recent weeks that President Barack Obama's wingman is more likely than not to throw his hat into the presidential ring for the third time and challenge Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state.
	Biden would undeniably enter the race as the underdog. Clinton has amassed an impressive war chest, built a comprehensive and diverse campaign staff and has been seen as the party's frontrunner for more than a year -- all clear hurdles for the vice president.
	Some have described the 2016 Democratic nomination, and even the election itself, as hers to lose. Many insist it is her turn, with her historic bid to become America's first female president losing out in 2008 to Obama's own historic run to be the first black commander-in-chief.
	But ..

Speculation mounts over Biden 2016 prospects

The Pentagon has resumed an investigation into allegations that US special forces were complicit in the torture and killings of Afghan civilians in 2012 and 2013, an official said today.
	The statement from a spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Command confirmed the renewed probe following reports on the issue in The New York Times.
	Under scrutiny is the role of US Army Green Berets in the deaths of 18 men in the Wardak province outside the Afghan capital of Kabul.
	Human Rights Watch has previously called for an investigation into the issue, following a report by Rolling Stone magazine that suggested US troops were complicit in the killings.
	Rolling Stone reported the remains of victims were found buried near the base of a Green Beret unit, and said locals saw American troops standing by during executions.
	"During the case review process, information and leads were identified that demand further investigation," said spokesman Chris Grey about the renewed probe.
	"We ...

Pentagon revives probe into killing of Afghan civilians

French prosecutors said today that the Moroccan man arrested for last week's train attack is being treated as a suspected "terrorist" who planned to kill a large number of passengers.
	Ayoub El Khazzani, 25, boarded the train in Brussels on Friday armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and 270 rounds of ammunition, as well a Luger pistol, a bottle of petrol and a box-cutter, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.
	He walked out of a toilet cubicle topless and armed before being wrestled to the floor and subdued by two young American off-duty servicemen, their friend and a 62-year-old British consultant.
	A Franco-American man was shot and injured in the struggle.
	Khazzani's claims to investigators that he was only planning to rob passengers were "barely credible", said Molins, adding that he had grown increasingly evasive in his responses to police and stopped responding entirely yesterday.
	Molins outlined a raft of evidence indicating why Khazzani was being probed for "attempted ...

France train gunman being treated as suspected 'terrorist'

Turkey is to hold snap elections on November 1 after coalition talks failed, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tasking Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu today with forming an interim caretaker cabinet.
	Erdogan called the snap polls yesterday after an inconclusive June 7 legislative vote where his ruling party lost its overall majority in one of the biggest setbacks of the Turkish strongman's career.
	The elections will take place at a critical moment in the country's modern history as the government battles Kurdish rebels in a hugely controversial air and land campaign.
	In an unusual twist, the caretaker cabinet will see the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) forced to work alongside pro-Kurdish forces despised by Erdogan.
	The elections will take place on November 1, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) Sadi Guven confirmed in a statement.
	Erdogan asked Davutoglu to lead the caretaker government during a meeting at his presidential palace, the ...

Turkey to hold snap elections on November 1

Former Chinese vice finance minister Jin Liqun has been elected to head the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Chinese government said today.
	Jin was elected as the bank's "incoming president" at a two-day meeting of chief negotiators in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, according to a statement by China's finance ministry.
	Beijing last month had named Jin as its preferred candidate to head the new institution.
	The AIIB has been viewed by some as a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The United States and Japan - the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively - have notably declined to join.
	Jin has previously worked for both institutions. He was also formerly a top official at the China Investment Corporation, the country's sovereign wealth fund.
	He has a master's degree in English literature, speaks fluent English and reportedly good French and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in economics at Boston University in 1987-88.
	Jin's ...

Ex-Chinese finance ministry official named to lead AIIB

The secular Central Asian state of Tajikistan today sealed off the headquarters of a major Islamic opposition party in the latest crackdown on the organisation.
	An economic court in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe justified the decision to close off the headquarters of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) for at least 10 days by citing "disagreements between the department of state property in Dushanbe and the owner of the administrative building where the office of IRPT is located."
	The owner of the building, Muhammadjon Nuri, son of former party leader Said Abdullo Nuri, has denied there is a conflict over its ownership.
	Earlier this month, the Tajik government shut down the IRPT's publishing house citing sanitary and fire safety violations.
	The IRPT became an umbrella opposition bloc for moderate Muslims as well as more secular-minded Tajiks following the 1997 peace deal between the government and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) that ended a five-year civil ...

Tajikistan shuts Islamic opposition party HQ

Desert nation Qatar will use "cutting-edge technology" to grow up to 70 per cent of its own vegetables by 2023, a four-fold increase, officials from Doha's biggest agricultural group said today.
	The prediction comes after a successful two-year trial of the Zulal Oasis hydroponics project, which saw tomatoes grown in greenhouses without soil and using recycled irrigation water, by Hassad Food on farmland west of the capital, Doha.
	A spokesperson for Hassad said the scheme could now be rolled out and could allow the country to register the huge increase in production of its own vegetables within eight years.
	Currently, between 11 and 16 per cent of vegetables are grown locally, depending on the season.
	The trial focused on tomatoes but could be used to grow other popular vegetables in Qatar, including cucumbers, aubergines and courgettes.
	"We are pleased to announce that this pilot project has achieved great success," said Nasser Mohamed al-Hajri, chairman and managing director of .

Qatar hails veggie trial success

Archaeologists in Greece have discovered the ruins of an ancient palace with important archaic inscriptions dating back to the Mycenaean Age, the culture ministry said today.
	The palace, likely built around the 17th-16th centuries BC, had around ten rooms and was discovered near Sparta in southern Greece.
	At the site, archaeologists found objects of worship, clay figurines, a cup adorned with a bull's head, swords and fragments of murals.
	Since 2009, excavations in the area have unearthed inscriptions on tablets detailing religious ceremonies and names and places in a script called Linear B, the oldest script to be discovered in Europe. It first appears in Crete from around 1375 BC and was only deciphered in the mid 20th century.
	The new discovery will allow for more research on the "political, administrative, economic and societal organisation of the region", and provide "new information on the beliefs and language systems of the Mycenean people," the ministry said in a ...

AFP

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