A Chinese woman has paid over USD 1,000 to save 100 canines from being eaten during a dog meat festival, media said today, as activists have lashed out at the event labelling it cruel.
	Animal-loving Yang Xiaoyun paid about 7,000 yuan (US$1,100) to save around 100 dogs in the southern city of Yulin yesterday, web portal Netease reported.
	 The city holds an annual festival devoted to the animal's meat on the summer solstice, which has provoked an increasing backlash from animal protection activists.
	Reports said that Yang, 65, plans to rehouse the dogs at her home nearly 2,000 kilometres away in Tianjin.
	Pictures posted online showed her browsing a market in Yulin where the dogs were kept in cages.
	Activists, who say the festival is cruel, have in the past travelled to the city to hold demonstrations, sometimes buying dogs to save them from the cooking pots.
	Locals have been quoted as saying that animals are killed in a humane way for the festival, where their meat is then served .

Chinese woman pays to rescue 100 dogs from meat festival

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Leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed a career-best seven for 76 as Pakistan stunned Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first Test today to take the lead in the three-match series.
     Yasir spun a web around the Sri Lankan batsmen to skittle them for a paltry 206 in their second innings just before tea on the fifth and final day.
     Pakistan, set a victory target of 90, raced home in 11.2 overs with Mohammad Hafeez unbeaten on 46 and Ahmed Shehzad on 43 at the Galle International Stadium.
     It was Pakistan's first Test win in Sri Lanka since the eight-wicket triumph in Kandy in 2006. The second Test starts at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday.
     Pakistan's remarkable recovery from 96-5 in the first innings came after the entire first day's play had been washed out and just 64 overs were bowled on the second day.
     Opener Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 79, Lahiru Thirimanne made 44 and and Dinesh Chandimal was last man out for 38, but the rest of the batsmen folded against .

Seven-star Yasir leads Pakistan to Test win

Pope Francis prayed today before the mysterious Shroud of Turin, believed by Christians to be the burial cloth of Jesus but held by sceptics to be a medieval fake.
	On the Argentine pontiff's first pastoral visit to northern Italy, Francis - whose father grew up there - was met by crowds of enthusiastic faithful, before making his way to the city's cathedral where the shroud is on display.
	Sitting before it in silence, Francis remained with his head bowed in prayer for some minutes, before rising to contemplate up close the linen cloth which bears the faint image of a man who appears to have died by crucifixion.
	Radiocarbon dating in 1989 declared the 4.2 by 1.2 metres cloth, which has traces of blood and DNA on it, to be around 700 years old. But if it is a fake, international experts have so far failed to discover how it was made.
	The Church sidesteps the issue by calling the shroud a religious icon.
	The head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics was in the industrial city in the 

Pope venerates mysterious Shroud of Turin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today rejected "international dictates" ahead of a visit by France's top diplomat, with Paris advocating a UN resolution laying out parameters for peace talks.
	"The only way to reach an agreement is through bilateral negotiations, and we will forcibly reject any attempts to force upon us international dictates," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.
	French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will hold separate talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders later on Sunday during a tour of the region.
	Without mentioning France, Netanyahu said that the proposals put forth on creating a separate, independent Palestinian state had neglected to address vital Israeli security concerns.
	"In the international proposals that have been suggested to us -- which they are actually trying to force upon us -- there is no real reference to Israel's security needs or our other national interests," Netanyahu said in comments quoted by his office.
	"They are 

Israel PM rejects 'dictates' as France's top diplomat visits

Rebel shelling of residential areas in Yemen's Aden killed at least three civilians today, as air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition also hit the southern city, medics and witnesses said.
	Rebels fired Katyusha rockets and mortars at residential areas destroying four homes, residents and military sources said.
	Medics at Aden's Al-Naqib hospital told AFP that three civilians were killed and four wounded in the shelling.
	Coalition air strikes hit rebel positions at entrances to the city as well as at the strategic Al-Anad air base in the nearby city of Lahj, military sources said.
	Late yesterday clashes between rebels and pro-government forces killed 12 fighters from both sides near the base, the sources said.
	In the town of Daleh to the north, 15 rebels were killed in an overnight ambush by pro-government fighters, local military sources said, adding that two of the attackers had also died.
	AFP could not confirm the tolls from the clashes from independent sources and the rebels ...

Rebel shelling kills three civilians in Yemen's Aden

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on her party today to push for a landslide victory at crucial elections expected later this year as she celebrated her birthday with supporters.
	The comments came after the Nobel Peace Prize winner - who turned 70 on Friday - cut a birthday cake alongside fellow National League for Democracy (NLD) luminaries during an official celebration at a restaurant famed for being a dissident meeting place.
	Myanmar is expected to hold its first national vote in a quarter of a century sometime in October or November with many expecting Suu Kyi's NLD to sweep the board if the polls are free and fair.
	But the dissident turned opposition politician warned party members against showing any complacency in the run up to the vote.
	"We the National League for Democracy need to have a landslide win in the election," she told supporters.
	"Whatever we continue to do, with the support of the people and the strong will of our party members we will be ...

Myanmar's Suu Kyi eyes landslide election win

Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour was being held in Berlin police custody today awaiting a judge's decision on his further detention on an international arrest warrant issued by his native Egypt, authorities said.
	In a case that has raised issues about press freedom and German relations with Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Mansour was arrested yesterday at a Berlin airport having been accused by Cairo of committing "several crimes".
	"He is in police custody," a spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor's office, Martin Steltner, told AFP today.
	"The Berlin prosecutor's office is examining the legal assistance request" from Egypt, he added.
	Mansour, who also has British citizenship, is to appear before a judge, who is to decide as early as today whether to hold him in detention and launch extradition procedures or release him, Berlin authorities said.
	Al-Jazeera said on its website that an Egyptian court had sentenced Mansour in absentia in 2014 to 15 years in ...

Al-Jazeera reporter still held in Berlin on Egypt warrant

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah grabbed a career-best seven for 76 as Pakistan moved closer to winning the first Test after they skittled Sri Lanka out for 206 on the final day today.
     Opener Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 79, Lahiru Thirimanne made 44 and and Dinesh Chandimal was last man out for 38, but the rest of the batsmen folded against Pakistan's incisive bowling in Galle.
     The tourists, who led by 117 on the first innings, have the entire post-tea session to achieve the victory target of 90 runs and take the lead in the three-match series.
     The 29-year-old Yasir ripped through the batting as Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets for 39 runs after being 167 for five at one stage.
     Sri Lanka took their overnight score of 63-2 to 144-4 by lunch, before a further six wickets fell on a dramatic afternoon at the Galle International Stadium.
     The hosts lost nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera off the first ball of the day, clean-bowled by Yasir as he shouldered arms to a ..

Seven-star Yasir gives Pakistan winning chance

An international medical aid agency today voiced alarm over a fuel blockade imposed by the Islamic State group in northern Syria that it says is badly hindering relief efforts.
	The IS blockade was having an impact on humanitarian relief activities in a region devastated by more than four years of conflict, said Dounia Dekhili, the Syria programme manager for Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
	"Many health facilities and aid organisations have had to stop or significantly reduce their activities because of the lack of fuel to power generators and for transportation," she told AFP.
	Dekhili said the fuel shortage was further complicated by fighting among various armed groups in the north of Syria, including between IS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front.
	IS controls oil wells and refineries in eastern Syria, and uses them to put pressure on areas held by mainstream rebel groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
	MSF said health authorities in Hama and Idlib, in central 

Aid agency alarm over IS fuel blockade in Syria

A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli border policeman outside Jerusalem's Old City today, critically wounding him, with the officer managing to shoot his attacker, leaving him in critical condition.
	Police described the incident, which took place just outside Damascus Gate, as a "suspected terror attack," saying the attacker was an 18-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank.
	"An 18-year-old resident of the West Bank stabbed a border police officer in the neck with a knife, and the border police officer was taken in critical condition to Shaarei Tzedek hospital in Ein Kerem," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.
	"The border police officer managed to fire at the terrorist, critically wounding him," she said.
	The attack took place two days after a Palestinian shot dead an Israeli hiker near the West Bank city of Ramallah as Palestinians marked the first Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Palestinian stabs Israeli policeman, then shot by same officer

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne hit an unbeaten 63 to keep Sri Lanka afloat as Pakistan pushed for victory on the fifth and final day of the first Test today.
     Sri Lanka, trailing Pakistan by 117 runs on the first innings, took their overnight score of 63-2 to 144-4 in their second knock by lunch at the Galle International Stadium.
     The hosts lost nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera off the first ball of the day, clean bowled by leg-spinner Yasir Shah as he shouldered arms to a ball that dipped in after pitching.
     The left-handed pair of Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne (44) gave Sri Lanka the lead with a 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
     But with the hosts 15 runs ahead, left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz had Thirimanne caught low at first slip by Younis Khan to keep the interest alive in the rain-hit Test.
     Skipper Angelo Mathews was unbeaten on five, with Sri Lanka only 27 runs ahead and two sessions remaining in the first match of the three-Test series.
     Bad weather .

Karunaratne defies Pakistan in first Test

A chilling website apparently created by Dylann Roof emerged in which the accused Charleston church shooter rails against African Americans and appears in photographs with guns and burning the US flag.
	It came to light as a mournful vigil Friday for the nine black worshippers killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church gave way to anger and protests in Charleston and the state capital Columbia.
	The church, one of the most historic African-American places of worship, meanwhile reopened, three days after a bloodbath that fueled simmering racial tensions in the United States and reignited impassioned calls for gun-control laws.
	A rambling 2,500-word manifesto on the website, laced with racist lingo and spelling errors, does not bear the 21-year-old suspected white supremacist's name.
	But its first-person style, its title -- "Last Rhodesian" -- and references to Charleston and apartheid South Africa suggested he was its author. There were also photos of Roof on the ...

Racist 'manifesto' lays bare Charleston motive

Shebab militants launched a major suicide raid today against a military intelligence base in the capital Mogadishu, setting off a car bomb before storming inside, security officials said.
	"There is an attack against a base belonging to the security forces. The violent elements used a car bomb to get inside the compound. There was a heavy exchange of gunfire," said Adan Mohamed, a Somali security official.
	Witnesses near the base, belonging to the internationally-backed government's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), reported a loud explosion followed by intense gunfire.
	"There was a heavy explosion and in seconds heavy gunfire broke out. We cannot go outside the house because of the shooting," said Abdulahi Yare, a resident who lives near the base.
	In a brief statement, NISA said the attack had failed.
	"The attack was successfully thwarted by our forces. None of our buildings nor bases were entered," it said.
	The attack comes at the start of Islam's holy month of .

Shebab militants attack military base in Mogadishu

Usain Bolt, off to a lackluster start to the season, will run in Jamaica next week even though he is assured of a World Championships berth as reigning 100m and 200m champion.
     The world record-holder in the 100m (9.58sec) and 200m (19.19sec) is trying to regain top form after a 2014 season in which he was limited by foot and hamstring injuries.
     He has yet to break 10 seconds in the 100m or 20 seconds in the 200m this season, with the World Championships in Beijing -- the most important meeting of the year -- looming August 22-30.
     Multiple sources have confirmed that Bolt will contest the 100m at the Jamaican trials for Beijing.
     The heats of the 100m will be on Thursday, the opening day of the four-day Jamaican championships at the national stadium in Kingston, with the semi-finals and final on Friday.
     If he reaches the final, Bolt could find himself racing former world record holder Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, the 2011 100m world champion who is battling ...

Struggling Bolt to run at Jamaica trials

Argentina marked Lionel Messi's 100th cap with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Jamaica to reach the Copa America quarter-finals as group winners as holders Uruguay advanced to the last eight.
     Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain rifled home the only goal for Argentina as the tournament favorites downed the Reggae Boyz in Vina del Mar to clinch top spot in Group B ahead of Paraguay and Uruguay.
     But it was another patchy performance from the 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists, who struggled to break down a team ranked 62 places below them in the latest FIFA standings.
     Argentina coach Gerardo Martino blamed weariness for his side's disjointed performance, and said his side were looking forward to some rest in the six-day break before next Friday's quarter-final.
     "The first half was okay. We played fine and we scored quickly and created five or six chances to score," Martino said.
     "At the end though it was a bit tedious but we did what was necessary. Physically we struggled .

Argentina struggle into Copa quarters, Uruguay advance

Germany and China booked the first two spots in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup as they brushed aside rivals Sweden and Cameroon.
     Germany, champions in 2003 and 2007, demolished Sweden 4-1 in Ottawa, while China won 1-0 in Edmonton to send the last African challenger Cameroon home.
     Forwards Celia Sasic and Anja Mittag both scored their fifth goals of the tournament, with Sasic netting a double, as the top-ranked Germans closed down their fifth-ranked European rivals in scorching conditions at Lansdowne Stadium.
     Germany coach Silvia Neid described the victory as "a very important game, maybe a key match" in the tournament.
     "We haven't had games of this quality in the World Cup apart from Norway," said Neid, whose group had included minnows Ivory Coast and Thailand.
     Germany, who were shocked in the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup at home, next play either France or South Korea for a place in the semi-finals.
     - 'Fought like warriors' -
     .

Germany, China into last eight at Women's World Cup

The bodies of five Irish students killed in a balcony collapse in California were set to return home today, and a sixth Irish-American victim was buried in the state, as parents appealed for privacy to mourn the deaths.
	The six students, all aged 21 and 22, died early Tuesday when a fourth-floor apartment balcony collapsed during a birthday party at the complex in Berkeley, two blocks from the University of California campus.
	The parents of the five Irish students killed in the accident thanked the community for its support and applauded the victims' friends for the response after the balcony crashed to the ground.
	"We would like to thank everyone in America and Ireland for their sympathy and support which has been a tremendous comfort to us at this tragic time," said a statement from the Irish Consulate in San Francisco on behalf of the parents.
	"We cannot thank enough the students that were in the apartment and apartment complex that night. The manner and speed at which they ...

Irish students killed in US balcony collapse flown home

South Korea reported today three more cases of MERS as health authorities remained vigilant about the spread of the virus whose pace had slowed down in recent days.
	The three new cases in the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, including two medical workers, put the total number of those infected at 169, the health ministry said.
	The number of deaths remained unchanged at 25.
	The two medical staff include a doctor who treated a MERS patient at Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, seen as the epicentre of the outbreak where more than 80 were infected.
	Another was a medical worker who took X-rays of a MERS patient in another hospital in Seoul.
	A total of 43 people have so far recovered and were released from hospital, including seven from Friday to Saturday (yesterday), the ministry said.
	The latest numbers came a day after South Korea reported no new cases, raising guarded hope that Seoul was winning the battle to contain the virus.
	The number of new patients had been ...

S Korea reports three new MERS cases

At least 140 people were arrested after violence broke out at an anti-immigration rally in Bratislava attended by thousands of people in protest at EU quotas on migrant numbers, local media said.
	The rally, organised by an anti-Islam group called Stop the Islamisation of Europe, drew up to 8,000 people, according to Slovakian media. Police declined to give an estimate.
	Protesters included Marian Kotleba, the governor of a central Slovakian region and founder of the far-right People's Party Our Slovakia.
	"I wish you a nice, white day... We are here to save Slovakia," Kotleba told the crowd yesterday.
	Scuffles erupted between small groups of demonstrators and police at the end of the rally, leading to 140 arrests, the country's TASR news agency reported, citing local police sources. Six police cars were damaged in the unrest.
	Earlier, at least one protester was taken into custody after using tear gas against the police, and some in the crowd were seen shredding a blue EU flag ...

Mass arrests after thousands rally against immigration

Marchers hit the Caracas streets to demand elections and the release of jailed Venezuelan opposition activists including figurehead Leopoldo Lopez, who has been on hunger strike since May 24.
	The crowd of about 500 was called out by Lopez's wife, Lilian Tintori, for a march that ended in Jose Marti square in the capital.
	"If you want Leopoldo to stop his hunger strike, set a date for the elections," Tintori told the crowd yesterday, in remarks aimed at socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
	Venezuela is due to hold midterm elections in 2015, but no date has been set. Maduro has insisted the vote will go ahead as it is required.
	His party has its primary on June 28.
	Critics charge that he is trying to delay until the last possible minute to undercut the opposition.
	Lopez, who leads the Voluntad Popular (Will of the People) party, went on his hunger strike demanding that the election date be set and that international monitors be in place.
	Lopez, 44, has been held at a military ...

Venezuela anti-government march demands election date

A Greek exit from the eurozone would have a major impact on the country's moribund economy and its people, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned.
	European Union heads are waiting for the anti-austerity government in Athens to present new economic reform and budget proposals, as Greece and its EU-IMF creditors struggle to reach a debt deal to prevent a default that could have worldwide repercussions.
	"I'm not going to predict what the consequences would be," Lew said in an interview with CNN, asked what would happen in the event of a "Grexit."
	"It's clear that within Greece the consequence of a failure here would mean a terrible, terrible decline in their economic performance. It will hurt the Greek people, who will bear the first brunt of a failure."
	Lew said all parties in the fractious ongoing talks needed to show flexibility, ahead of an emergency summit of leaders of the 19 countries in the euro area tomorrow in Brussels.
	"The reality is that there are impacts on markets. ...

AFP

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