China will swap the heads of the country's top three telecom companies in a high stakes round of musical chairs as speculation mounts over a possible merger of the trio.
	The companies - China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile - are all state-owned and China's Communist Party controls the management of the country's major government-run enterprises with power to shuffle their chiefs at will.
	The country's second-largest operator China Unicom will be replaced with the head of China Telecom, according to separate company statements posted on their websites, intensifying the merger speculation, which has been spreading as the government tries to reform the tightly controlled industry.
	"A change of top management does signal Chinese government actions and progress in pushing reforms," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michelle Ma told Bloomberg News. "Investors are hoping the reforms could revitalise growth and improve efficiency in the telecom sector."
	Chang Xiaobing, former ...

Ringing in the changes at China's telcos

PTI Automatic

Major European and Asian stock markets slumped and commodity prices hit new lows today as a Chinese-led rout spread globally, fed by fears of a damaging slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
	Chinese stocks have tumbled since peaking in mid-June and authorities have launched broad interventions to try to restrain the drops, but Beijing's latest market intervention has failed to restore confidence.
	China-linked shares again led the stocks sell-off, with Shanghai closing down 8.49 per cent, the biggest daily loss since February 27, 2007.
	"The fog of fear over the state of the Chinese economy is only thickening, and with little in the way of non-Chinese news to come this Monday, the markets are going to struggle to escape today without some fairly ugly scars," said Connor Campbell, Spreadex financial analyst.
	In Europe, Frankfurt's blue-chip DAX 30 index hit an intraday low of 9,593.40 points in early afternoon trading, a drop of 5.25 per cent from the previous closing level 

Global stocks plunge further on China woes

The Islamic State group has blown up a famed temple in Syria's ancient Palmyra, in an act the UN condemned as a war crime and an "immense loss" for humanity.
	The destruction of the Baal Shamin temple, considered the second-most significant in ancient Palmyra, raised concerns for the rest of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
	It comes only days after IS beheaded the 82-year-old retired chief archaeologist of Palmyra, sparking widespread condemnation.
	"This destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity," said Irina Bokova, the head of the UN cultural watchdog UNESCO, calling for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
	"Daesh (IS) is killing people and destroying sites, but cannot silence history and will ultimately fail to erase this great culture from the memory of the world," Bokova said in a statement.
	Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP the temple was destroyed yesterday.
	"Our worst fears are sadly being realised," ..

IS blows up Palmyra temple in 'new war crime'

Greece's coastguard today said it had recovered the bodies of two migrants who drowned when their boat sank near the island of Lesbos, and was seeking five more who were missing.
	Another eight people on the same boat were rescued, the coastguard said, without giving details on the nationality of the victims.
	Lesbos is one of several Greek islands overwhelmed in recent weeks by the influx of migrants and refugees, mainly from war-torn Syria.
	Some 160,000 migrants and refugees have landed on Greek shores since January, with the authorities criticised by the UN and humanitarian groups for poor preparation that has left thousands of them sleeping on the street.
	Syrian refugees receive priority in securing passage off the islands, but other nationalities such as Afghans and Pakistanis are stranded for weeks waiting to be registered.
	Clashes between migrants have repeatedly broken out on Lesbos with migrants desperate to leave the island and continue their journey to northern Europe.

2 migrants die,5 missing in Aegean boat wreck:Greek coastguard

Russia launched military exercises in the Arctic today as it seeks to bolster claims to the region's vast hydrocarbon and mineral wealth.
	More than 1,000 soldiers, 14 aircraft and 34 special military units are taking part in drills in northern Siberia, weeks after Russia pressed a claim at the United Nations for an additional 1.2 million square kilometres of Arctic shelf.
	"These drills are aimed at increasing the security of the Russian Arctic, ensuring our state's economic freedom in this region, and protecting our territory and targets from potential military threats," the defence ministry quoted Vladimir Korolyov, the commander of Russia's northern naval fleet, as saying today.
	Korolyov also stressed that the exercise was "purely defensive in nature" and was not directed against any third country.
	Russia conducted similar military drills in May.
	Moscow has been trying to stake claim to more of the region's vast energy and mineral resources, increasingly accessible due to the ..

Russia launches military drills in Arctic

A blast ripped through a warehouse at a US military post near Tokyo early today, sending sparks shooting into the sky and triggering a blaze that burned through the night, but there were no reports of injuries.
	Japanese and US base firefighters held off battling the fire as the contents of the building were assessed, and the blaze died out on its own about six hours after it started shortly before 1:00 AM (2130 IST) with firefighters standing by to contain the blaze.
	The explosion occurred at the US Army Sagami General Depot in the city of Sagamihara, 40 kilometres southwest of the Japanese capital, Japanese officials and the Pentagon confirmed.
	"We coordinated with US fire units, and did not spray water as we waited for information related to what was inside," an official at the Sagamihara fire bureau told AFP, adding that more than dozen fire engines were dispatched to the scene.
	Several hours later, a huge blaze broke out at a steel pipe plant near Tokyo's Haneda airport - in ..

Blast rips through warehouse at US military depot in Japan

Typhoon Goni killed at least 26 people in landslides and floods in the Philippines, officials said today, as the storm bore down on Japan.
	Rescue teams clawed away at a mountainside near the remote mining town of Mankayan in the country's north, after recovering the bodies of 13 miners buried by a landslide that struck the area two days earlier.
	"The landslide buried miners sheltering in huts used as a rest area. The slope collapsed after being saturated with rain," Ivy Carasi, a spokeswoman for the civil defence office in the region, told AFP.
	Officials did not elaborate on how many miners were still missing in the landslide's wake.
	"We don't really know how many more miners are missing because the numbers compiled by the police and local government do not tally," said Carasi.
	Goni hit parts of the northern Philippines hard over the weekend, destroying nearly a thousand houses and forcing more than 12,000 people to flee, the civil defence office said.
	   More than a dozen other 

Typhoon Goni threatens Japan after killing 26 in Philippines

A Cambodian court today sentenced a garment factory worker to life in prison for killing another woman in an acid attack motivated by jealous rage over an alleged love affair.
	Sroeun Nann was arrested in March after splashing the acid on Meas Vanny, a female security guard.
	Meas Vanny, 20, suffered severe burns to her face and body in the attack and died two weeks later at a hospital.
	During her trial, Sroeun Nann, 40, confessed to the attack because she was "angry that the woman had a love affair with her husband."
	Nou Veasna, presiding judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, jailed Sroeun Nann for life for "intentional killing (Meas Vanny) with acid".
	Acid attacks are a common form of revenge in Cambodia where corrosive liquid is easily and cheaply available and attackers are rarely brought to justice.
	In June, a 25-year-old woman was arrested in capital Phnom Penh for allegedly splashing acid on her 17-year-old sister after discovering that the victim and her husband had been ...

Jealous wife gets life sentence for Cambodia acid attack

England coach Trevor Bayliss  has warned his Ashes winners that some of their places are in jeopardy following the fifth Test thrashing by Australia.
     After the high of regaining the Ashes in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, Alastair Cook's side had hoped to celebrate by giving the Australians one last kicking, but instead they were crushed by an innings and 46 runs in four days at The Oval.
     It was a downbeat end to a rollercoaster series for England, who at times looked a talented team on the rise and at others surrendered without a fight.
     Amid the post-match jubilation after the presentation of the Ashes urn, Bayliss struck a note of warning as he made it clear that the selectors won't be shy of making changes ahead of forthcoming tours against Pakistan and then South Africa.
     "We aren't going to paper over the cracks, we've got a few areas where we've got to be better and a few positions we need to be stronger in," Bayliss said.
     "Those tours are going to be ..

Ashes success can't hide England flaws, says Bayliss

A major fire ripped through a private nursing home in Venezuela's capital Caracas killing eight elderly people, authorities said, calling it "a miracle" there were not more victims.
	Firefighters were able to rescue more than 30 others and the local mayor praised neighbours who raced to the Chivacoa Seniors' Center as it was engulfed in flames and thick smoke.
	"Unfortunately there are eight victims, three were burned to death and five suffocated," Ramon Muchacho, mayor of the upscale Chacao district of Caracas, told reporters at the scene yesterday.
	At least 10 elderly people were treated for smoke inhalation but were not thought to be seriously ill.
	"It is miraculous that more than 30 elderly people have been evacuated and rescued," added the mayor, saying that a short circuit appeared to have sparked the blaze.
	Fanny Araujo, 68, told AFP that the fire broke out when she and other residents of the nursing home were getting ready for bed.
	Anguished relatives gathered at the home, 

Fire at Venezuela nursing home kills eight

Tiger Woods couldn't end his victory drought, but 51-year-old Davis Love ended his with a one-stroke win in the Wyndham Championship that made him the third-oldest winner in US PGA Tour history.
     All eyes were on Woods at Sedgefield Country Club, where the 14-time major champion was in contention yesterday for a first US PGA Tour win since 2013.
     The former world number one, coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship that marked his third straight early exit from a major, needed the victory to make the US PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs.
     Woods's chances effectively ended with a triple-bogey seven at the par-four 11th hole. That was followed by a bogey at the 12th, and even a storming finish that included four birdies in his last six holes wasn't enough.
     Woods closed with an even-par 70 for 13-under 267, his tie for 10th his best finish of a disappointing 2015 campaign.
     While Woods's US season is over, Love is headed to the playoffs after grabbing his first US 

Love wins Wyndham as Woods' season ends

Palmyra, the ancient Syrian city that has fallen to the Islamic State jihadist group, has withstood the last 2,000 years with its immaculate temples and colonnaded streets.
	Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, the "pearl of the desert" is a well-preserved oasis 210 kilometres northeast of Damascus.
	Palmyra, which means City of Palms, is known in Syria as Tadmor, or City of Dates.
	Its name first appeared on a tablet in the 19th century BC as a stopping point for caravans travelling on the Silk Road and between the Gulf and the Mediterranean.
	But it was during the Roman Empire -- beginning in the first century BC and lasting another 400 years -- that Palmyra rose to prominence.
	Though surrounded by desert dunes, Palmyra developed into a luxurious metropolis thanks to the trade of spices, perfumes, silk and ivory from the east, and statues and glasswork from Phoenicia.
	In the year 129 AD, Roman emperor Hadrian declared Palmyra a "free city" within his empire. During the rest of .

Palmyra, the ancient pearl of Syria's desert

Roger Federer moved into pole position for a US Open title run, capturing his seventh Cincinnati Masters with a dominant 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 win over Novak Djokovic.
     The 34-year-old Swiss star yesterday added the Serbian world number one to a victims' list which included Andy Murray in the semi-finals, capping a near-perfect week for the 17-time Grand Slam winner.
     Federer was playing his first tournament since falling to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
     He passed up the Montreal Masters won by Murray last week, preferring to rest and prepare at home.
     "It's great, I didn't expect it, to be quite honest. I knew I had a chance, but I still felt more guys were going to have a better shot than I had because they had played Montreal before," Federer said.
     "Usually that helps. But I've realized over all the years that it's just really difficult to win back-to-back Montreal and Cincinnati, or Toronto and Cincinnati.
     "I chose to roll the dice a little bit and see how ..

Federer downs Djokovic for seventh Cincy title

Shane Warne likened retiring Australian captain Michael Clarke to all-time great and former skipper Allan Border today as the nation's media mourned the loss of the Ashes series.
     Clarke ended his international career with 8,643 runs in 115 Tests, including 28 hundreds, going out on a high with a comprehensive innings and 46-run win in the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval on Sunday.
     But it was a bittersweet moment with England taking the five-match series 3-2.
     Clarke, along with retiring opener Chris Rogers, were given an honour guard as they left the field and Warne paid tribute to his close friend with a touching video tribute.
     "Allan Border was the most meticulous in preparation and I think Michael Clarke rivals Allan Border for his preparation in leading up to a game," the spinning-bowling great said.
     He highlighted Clarke's "unbelievable" leadership after the death of fellow batsman and friend Phillip Hughes, who was struck on the head by a bouncer ..

Retiring Clarke on par with Border, says Warne

Rafael Benitez's reign as Real Madrid boss got off to a poor start as his side of star names were held 0-0 by newly-promoted Sporting Gijon.
     Los Blancos are already two points behind Barcelona as the champions exacted revenge for their Spanish Super Cup defeat to Athletic Bilbao thanks to Luis Suarez's solitary second-half strike yesterday.
     Sporting were playing their first game back in the top flight for three years, but roared on by a vociferous home support they matched the visitors.
     They could even had taken a famous three points had Antonio Sanabria's first-half header been deemed to have crossed the line.
     Benitez started with Gareth Bale in a more central position, but the Welshman was again disappointing as Madrid failed to create clear-cut chances before the break.
     Indeed it was the hosts who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Sanabria's headed effort came back off the underside of the bar and appeared to just clip the goal line on its way back 

Real Madrid held on Benitez bow, Barca win in Bilbao

Three bodies found on Ecuador's Chimborazo volcano are believed to be those of climbers who went missing some 20 years ago in an avalanche, officials have said.
	Mountain guides located the remains Saturday during a climb on the volcano, which soars to 6,310 meters (20,700 feet) high in the Andes, about 130 kilometres (81 miles) south of Quito.
	A missing persons police official, Fernando De la Torre, said yesterday that investigators were working to determine if the remains were those of the climbers missing in the avalanche that hit between 1994 and 1995.
	The frozen remains were found with backpacks, climbing gear and a film camera.
	Snowcapped Chimborazo is Ecuador's highest currently inactive volcano.

Climbers' bodies found on Ecuador volcano after 20 years

Tropical Storm Danny has swirled toward the Caribbean as forecasters warned that some popular vacation destinations could see downpours.
	The storm - downgraded from a hurricane - was expected to bring two to four inches (five to ten centimetres) of rain to the Leeward Islands, the US and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico through tomorrow, the National Hurricane Center said.
	Danny was located some 215 miles (345 kilometres) east of Guadeloupe and 260 miles (420 kilometres) east southeast of Antigua, yesterday according to the latest update from the Miami-based forecasters.
	Currently packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 kilometres per hour), Danny was expected to weaken further over the next 48 hours and become a tropical depression by late today or early tomorrow, according to the NHC.
	Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla.
	On its present trajectory, Danny's centre is expected to move over ...

Tropical Storm Danny takes aim at Caribbean

A Saudi army general has been killed in cross-border fire from Yemen, the armed forces announced today, making him the highest-ranking officer to be killed in border attacks since March.
	Major General Abdulrahman bin Saad al-Shahrani, commander of the 18th Brigade, was inspecting troops deployed "on the front lines along the southern region when the post came under random enemy fire," said the military said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
	Shahrani was wounded in the attack and hospitalised, it said.
	The statement did not say when the attack occurred but added that Shahrani had died of his injuries today.
	Earlier, the SPA reported that a Saudi border guard had been killed on Saturday by a rocket fired from Yemeni anti-government rebels that hit a border post in the kingdom's Hazan region.
	More than 50 people, most of them troops, have been killed along the Saudi-Yemen border since the Riyadh-led military coalition began air strikes on Iran-backed rebels ...

Saudi officer killed in cross-border fire from Yemen

Dozens of mostly foreign protesters were arrested following clashes with police today after a demonstration against a disputed Canadian-operated goldmine in northern Greece, authorities said.
	Nearly 80 protesters, mostly Germans, Britons, Italians and some Bulgarians, were rounded up after allegedly throwing stones, bolts and other projectiles at riot police guarding the site on the Halkidiki peninsula, the authorities said.
	The police fired back tear gas to disperse them.
	Anti-mine protesters claim the project will cause irreversible harm to the environment, draining and contaminating local water reserves and filling the air with hazardous chemicals including lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury.
	Some 2,000 people had earlier taken part in the protest held by anti-capitalist group Beyond Europe near the site operated by Hellas Gold, a subsidiary of Canadian company Eldorado Gold, protest organisers said.
	The new goldmine on Skouries mountain has sparked years of protests, ...

Dozens of foreign protesters arrested in Greek goldmine demo

Three American friends who overpowered a heavily-armed gunman in a train poured cold water today on his claim that he had no intention of waging a bloody attack and asked people never to stand by in these types of incidents.
	The alleged attacker, 25-year-old Moroccan national Ayoub El Khazzani, boarded a high-speed train in Brussels bound for Paris on Friday carrying a Kalashnikov rifle, an automatic pistol, ammunition and a box-cutter.
	Witnesses say he opened fire, injuring a man before being wrestled to the floor and overpowered by Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, who have been hailed as "heroes."
	The trio, gathered at the US ambassador's residence in Paris for a press conference, said they had initially been sitting in another part of the train but later moved to the carriage that the gunman was targeting.
	"We had first-class tickets to the carriage where the incident took place. We were sitting in a different carriage because we couldn't find it at first," ...

Don't ever 'stand by', US 'heroes' plead after train attack

French President Francois Hollande will present three young Americans and a British man with the country's top Legion d'Honneur medal at a ceremony tomorrow in recognition of their bravery after they overpowered a gunman on a packed Thalys train, an Elysee source said.
	A French citizen who also tackled the suspected jihadist but who wishes to remain anonymous will receive the honour at a later date, as will a Franco-American passenger who was hit by a bullet and is recovering in hospital, the source told AFP.

AFP

AFP

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