James Sutherland has been reappointed as Cricket Australia's chief executive beyond the 2015 World Cup, the organisation said today.
     Sutherland, 49, took over CA's top post in 2001 at the age of 35 as the youngest chief executive to be named by the governing body.
     His latest three-year deal had been due to expire in June 2015.
     "I'm very grateful to the board for the confidence and faith it has showed in me to continue as CEO beyond next year," Sutherland told reporters.
     "It is a huge honour to lead the game and I'm as passionate as I have ever been to deliver on our strategy of making cricket Australia's favourite sport."
     CA chairman Wally Edwards said the board had agreed to move Sutherland off a fixed-term contract that was due to finish after the ICC Cricket World Cup to an ongoing employment arrangement.
     "The change recognises the outstanding job James is doing leading Australian cricket," Edwards said in a note to CA staff.
     Australia play a ...

Sutherland stays as Cricket Australia chief

PTI Automatic

Coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama was on today on the verge of sweeping a historic vote to become Fiji's first elected leader in eight years, as international observers gave the ballot a stamp of approval.
	With 70 percent of the vote counted following Wednesday's poll, Bainimarama's Fiji First Party had 60.1 percent, well clear of its nearest rival, the Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa) on 26.7.
	"This was a credible election," said a statement from the 92-member panel drawn from 13 countries around the world as well as the European Union.
	"While counting is ongoing and the results are yet to be finalised, we assess that the outcome is on track to broadly represent the will of the Fijian voters."
	The election was conducted "in an atmosphere of calm, with an absence of electoral misconduct or evident intimidation."
	Pacific regional powerhouses Australia and New Zealand, who led global condemnation of Bainimarama following the coup, described the ballot as a "significant ...

Fiji coup leader heads for historic poll victory

Kuwait has arrested several suspected members of the Islamic State group and is monitoring dozens more under its commitment to the US-led international coalition against the jihadists, media reported today.
	The Gulf state's secret service has arrested at least five suspected members of IS which has seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq, Al-Qabas newspaper reported.
	Three of the men in custody are Kuwaiti and two are so-called bidoons or stateless Arabs, the daily said.
	Al-Qabas also said the security services had arrested an unidentified number of Saudis suspected of links to the group, and that they were handed over to the authorities in Riyadh.
	Citing a senior security source, the paper said security authorities were keeping close tabs on a long list of 134 people suspected of being in IS or sympathising with it.
	It said that a judge on Wednesday renewed the detention of four of the five suspects for 10 days pending investigation.
	The detainees are being questioned on ...

Several jihadist suspects held in Kuwait: report

North Korea were welcomed to the Asian Games today to the strains of "Gangnam Style", their athletes and officials gave a polite smile but put up a wall of stony silence in return.
     North Korean athletes looked on blankly as breakdancers performed to the international hit by South Korean star Psy.
     Their Singaporean, Chinese, Thai and Yemeni counterparts smiled and took pictures as dancers spun to the tune that has inspired more than two billion YouTube views. Only one North Korean woman dared the slightest handclap.
     In contrast, the North Korean delegation belted out the words to their national anthem, "Aegukga", or Patriotic Song, as the isolated state's flag was hoisted in the athletes village along with those of the other new arrivals.
     It was a unique occasion as normally anyone waving the North's flag or singing "Aegukga" in South Korea could face arrest under Seoul's strict national security law.
     North Korea's presence has been one of the main talking ...

'Gangnam Style' welcome met by 'Pyongyang Style' silence

Scotland began voting today on whether to become independent from Britain in a referendum which has electrified the nation, dominating debate in homes and pubs from Edinburgh to the Highlands.
	While the outcome looks too close to call, the pro-independence camp has seen support surge in recent weeks as the "No" side's long-term lead in the opinion polls shrivelled away.
	"This is our opportunity of a lifetime," Scotland's pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond told a cheering crowd of supporters in Perth at a final rally yesterday.
	"It's the greatest, most empowering moment that any of us will ever have," he said, as supporters waved Scottish flags and chanted "Yes we can!"
	British Prime Minister David Cameron has pleaded with Scots to vote in favour of staying in "our home" and has warned that the break-up would be a "painful divorce" full of economic uncertainty.
	If Scots vote "Yes", it would end a union dating back to 1707, could force Cameron to resign and might raise ...

Stay or go? Scotland votes on independence from Britain

Jerome Boateng's late goal and a second-half equaliser from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar completed a good week for German clubs against their counterparts from England in the opening round of Champions League group games.
     Boateng's first ever goal in the competition was a memorable one as it sealed a 1-0 win for Bayern Munich against his former club Manchester City in Group E yesterday, the defender unleashing a fierce drive to at last beat Joe Hart as the teams met in the group stage for the third time in four seasons.
     Meanwhile, Huntelaar's strike allowed Schalke 04 to earn a deserved 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Group G after Cesc Fabregas had been slightly fortunate to see his first goal for his club stand.
     Bayern and Schalke's strong showings against English opposition followed on from Borussia Dortmund's dominant performance on Tuesday in beating Arsenal 2-0.
     Elsewhere Bayern coach Pep Guardiola's former club Barcelona eked out a 1-0 home win over ...

Boateng, Huntelaar maintain German hold over English sides

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has accused the United States of being "obsessed" with sanctions against his country, on the eve of new bilateral talks on a nuclear deal.
	"We are committed to resolving this issue," Zarif yesterday told a Washington think-tank, but he argued the US was "infatuated" with sanctions and Congress was objecting to any deal "because they would have to lift the sanctions."
	"Iran has shown that we will live up to every agreement," Zarif argued at a discussion hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, just hours before the Iranian delegation was to meet in New York with US counterparts for fresh talks.
	A senior State Department official confirmed the two sides would meet late yesterday and again today in New York "as part of the upcoming EU-led P5+1 round of comprehensive nuclear negotiations."
	The full plenary session will open tomorrow and the talks are expected to last throughout next week on the sidelines of the annual UN General ...

US 'obsessed' with sanctions against Tehran: Iran FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hit out against the Islamic State group as a "dangerous phenomenon," but warned it could not be defeated by air strikes.
	Accusing other nations of having created "a Frankenstein that has come to haunt its creators," Zarif yesterday said at a Washington think-tank that the Islamic militants cannot be "eradicated through aerial bombardments," nor can they be contained.
	Speaking at the Council for Foreign Relations, Zarif again expressed regret that Iran had not been invited to Paris talks to discuss the threat of the Islamic State organization, saying Tehran can play a central role in dealing with the group.
	But he dismissed as a "conspiracy theory" US accusations that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had turned a blind eye to the group in order to complicate the fight of the moderate Syrian rebels battling to oust his regime.
	And Zarif said that Iran did not back foreign military adventures into the region, unless they were invited .

IS militants can't be defeated by air strikes: Iran FM

Military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama was on course today to win the South Pacific nation's first election since he staged a bloodless coup in 2006, official data showed.
	Preliminary results from yesterday's poll put Bainimarama's Fiji First Party on 60.17 per cent, with more than half the vote counted. Nearest rival Sodelpa was on 26.71 per cent, and the National Federation Party was the best of the other five on 5.66 per cent.
	   As of 8:00 am (0130 today IST), Fiji First had 233,094 of 387,400 ballots counted in a total of 590,000 registered voters, according to data from the Fiji Elections Office.
	Officials say an officials declaration could take days but, if confirmed, the figures would give Bainimarama a majority in a new 50-seat parliament, allowing him to rule in his own right.
	A multi-national observer group comprising officials from more than a dozen countries has been monitoring as voters in Fiji's 300-plus islands cast their ballots.
	The group is expected to release ..

Fiji coup leader surges ahead in election count

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko went to Canada where he sought support for his country's bid to ally with NATO in a speech to parliament.
	The pro-Western president's official visit came yesterday, a day after Ukraine took its first firm step out of Russia's orbit by ratifying a landmark political and economic partnership pact with the 28-nation EU bloc.
	The former Soviet country's future, however, remains uncertain in the wake of a five-month separatist uprising that left a wedge of its Russian-speaking east enjoying almost complete autonomy under the terms of a tenuous September 5 truce.
	Poroshenko will travel next to Washington where he will press lawmakers for a US security pledge.
	"At the (mid-September) NATO summit I have declared my country's desire to move closer with NATO and gaining the status of a major non-NATO (member) ally," he said in Ottawa.
	"I really count on your support," he told parliamentarians.
	More than 1.2 million Canadians (1 in 35) are of Ukrainian .

Poroshenko asks Canada to support Ukraine-NATO tie-up

A UN summit on climate change will see the world "change course" and begin to seriously tackle global warming, UN climate envoy Mary Robinson said today.
	More than 120 leaders are to attend the summit yesterday called to inject new momentum in efforts to address climate change ahead of a crucial conference in Paris next year.
	"The message from the climate summit and the message going forward to Paris is that it's not business as usual with a little bit of green attached," Robinson told AFP in an interview.
	"It's changing course. It's taking decisions that will bring us back to a trajectory that will give us a safe world that stays below 2 degrees Celsius. We are not on course for that. We need to change course."
	The United Nations is seeking to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels, but scientists say current emission trends could hike temperatures to more than twice that level by century's end.
	US President Barack Obama ..

World will 'change course' on climate at UN summit: envoy

The Middle East Quartet of peacemakers today joined calls for a quick start to the rebuilding of war-ravaged Gaza before the current truce with Israel ends in renewed violence.
	"The precarious situation in Gaza and southern Israel, the danger that violence could flare up again at any point, are precisely the reason to move as quickly as possible on the short-term and long-term recovery efforts," Quartet envoy Tony Blair wrote in remarks published by his office ahead of a meeting on international aid to the Palestinians.
	Blair said that aid to the coastal strip should go beyond just repairing the devastation wrought by Israel's 50-day offensive against rocket fire from Palestinian militants.
	"This is not about putting the pieces back together in Gaza," he wrote in the introduction to a report he is to present in New York on Monday to a session of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which coordinates international donor support for he Palestinians
	"This is about making substantive, 

Delay in Gaza rebuilding could threaten truce: Quartet

The alleged ringleader of a Canadian terror cell accused of planning attacks against the military was jailed for 24 years today after admitting possessing an explosive device.
	Hiva Alizadeh, 34, was one of three men arrested in police raids and charged in 2010 in what was described in court as a plot to attack Canadian military and other targets.
	As part of a deal with the prosecution, more serious terrorism charges were dropped and he will be eligible for parole in nine years.
	An Ottawa hospital X-ray technologist, Hisbahuddin Ahmed, is awaiting sentencing after he was found guilty in July of participating in the conspiracy.
	A third man, Khurram Sher, a Canadian doctor of Pakistani heritage who once auditioned for a televised talent show, was acquitted at trial of terrorism last month. His arrest had been met with disbelief across Canada.
	Police had seized circuit boards and other materials that could be used to make bombs (although no actual explosives), as well as reams of ...

Ringleader in Canada terror case pleads guilty

Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko will cast Russia as a global menace when he meets US President Barack Obama in the hope of winning a "special status" guaranteeing his troubled nation's security.
	The pro-Western president's first tour of the White House since his May election comes two days after Ukraine took its first firm step out of Russia's orbit by ratifying a landmark political and economic partnership pact with the 28-nation EU bloc.
	But his ex-Soviet country's future remains uncertain in the wake of a five-month separatist uprising that left a wedge of the Russian-speaking east enjoying almost complete autonomy under the terms of a tenuous September 5 truce.
	Both Kiev and NATO also insist that at least 1,000 Russian elite troops remain secretly stationed in the vital industrial region -- an ominous presence denied by the Kremlin but omnipresent in Poroshenko's security concerns.
	"I am proud that our European and trans-Atlantic partners understand that today, we are ...

Ukraine leader visits Obama seeking US security pledge

A suicide car bomb attack killed seven people and destroyed a vital bridge today in Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar where government forces have been battling jihadists.
	Five other people were wounded in the afternoon blast, Mahmud al-Wazan, a colonel in the police force, told AFP. He said the victims appeared to be civilians.
	Doctor Ahmad al-Ani from Ramadi hospital confirmed the casualty toll.
	Wazan said the blast destroyed the Albu Faraj bridge on the Euphrates, in a northern district of Ramadi, which lies about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Baghdad.
	"It is the fourth Ramadi bridge to get blown up and it was the last one civilians could use," he said.
	The two remaining bridges have so far been used by the government security forces battling Islamic State jihadists who control some districts of the provincial capital.
	The Sunni province of Anbar is a stronghold for the IS fighters who launched a major offensive across northern and western Iraq three ...

Suicide attack kills 7, destroys bridge in Iraq's Ramadi

At least 13 people were killed and 34 others wounded when police fought a battle with suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers in Kano, northern Nigeria, the state's police chief said today.
	Kano State police commissioner Adelere Shinaba said the gunmen, whom he described as "insurgents", ran onto the grounds of the Federal College of Education after exchanging fire with police outside.
	"They were obviously suicide bombers. One of our officers shot at one of the gunmen and the explosives on him went off, killing him on the spot," he told AFP.
	"Another gunman was also killed. Thirteen people were killed by the gunmen and 34 others have been taken to hospital with injuries.

13 dead in shooting, blast in Nigeria's Kano: police chief

A Chinese woman who sued a man for "violating her right to virginity" after he wooed her with false promises has been awarded nearly USD 5,000 by a court, reports said today.
	The two were dating but after the woman, surnamed Chen, found out her boyfriend was already married she sued him for swindling her out of her virginity, accusing him of pretending to be single and pledging to make her his wife, Shanghai media said.
	A spokesman for the Pudong New Area People's Court confirmed the case and the judgement, but said the man had appealed the ruling.
	The two met online in 2009 but only began dating in 2013, later travelling to Singapore where they consummated the relationship, online media platform The Paper said.
	After the man, surnamed Li, suddenly broke off contact, Chen burst into his home and found him with his wife.
	Chen sued, accusing him of violating her rights to virginity and health and demanding more than USD 81,000 in psychological damages, plus medical costs of USD ...

Virginity worth USD 5,000, rules Chinese court

Islamist fighters launched another offensive today on the airport in Libya's Benghazi, the final redoubt in the eastern city of an ex-general who has been waging war on them.
	The fighters of the Shura Revolutionary Council, which includes the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group, have been trying since early September to capture the facility, which houses both civilian and military airfields.
	Oil-rich Libya slid into chaos after Moamer Kadhafi was toppled in a NATO-backed uprising three years ago, with interim authorities confronting powerful militias that fought to oust the veteran dictator.
	Today, the AFP correspondent in Benghazi said heavy artillery fire could be heard since dawn in the southern suburb of Benina, where the airport is located.
	Nine soldiers from a special forces unit loyal to renegade former general Khalifa Haftar have been killed and another 30 wounded in the fighting over the past three days, according to one of their commanders.
	In May, Haftar launched a campaign 

Libya Islamists launch new assault on Benghazi airport

China refuses to clarify the status of its ambassador to Iceland, who left the country mysteriously in January, the Icelandic foreign ministry said today, after a news report that he has been arrested for spying for Japan.
	The envoy, Ma Jisheng, has not been replaced, and Reykjavik has been informed only that he was unable to return for "personal reasons", foreign ministry spokeswoman Urdur Gunnarsdottir told AFP.
	Icelandic media reports claimed that the ambassador and his wife had "disappeared".
	Hong Kong's Ming Pao daily, citing US-based Chinese-language website Mingjing News, said Ma and his wife "were suspected of giving state secrets to Japan and were arrested (in early February) by the Ministry of State Security."
	Ma was a high-ranking diplomat in Japan from 2004-08.
	A Chinese foreign ministry official was unable to shed further light on Ma's whereabouts at a press briefing in Beijing today, telling reporters: "I have no information on this."
	The Chinese embassy in Iceland 

China mum as Iceland envoy reportedly held for spying

Saudi Arabia's top religious body today warned Muslims against joining militant groups, saying their "deviant doctrine" has no place in Islam.
	The Council of Senior Ulema, a group of top Muslim scholars, said it was prohibited under Islamic sharia law to join the fighting.
	It called for the prosecution of "inciters" involved in recruiting militants to join the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
	"Terrorism... Has nothing to do with jihad (holy war) in the name of Allah. Islam has nothing to do with this deviant doctrine," the council said in a statement.
	The council's head, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, last month branded Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) extremist group "enemy number one" of Islam.
	Saudi Arabia, a largely Sunni kingdom, favours a strict form of Islam but has been exasperated by the rise of Islamist radicals across the Middle East.
	The religious council's stance reflects the Saudi clerical community's hostility towards IS jihadists, known for their ...

Top Saudi clerics warn against joining jihadists

Disasters last year displaced three times more people than violent conflicts, showing the urgent need to improve resilience for vulnerable people when fighting climate change, according to a study issued today.
	The Norwegian Refugee Council, an independent group that focuses on emergency aid, released the findings ahead of a United Nations summit on Tuesday aimed at building momentum for a global agreement on climate change.
	The report said that 22 million people were displaced in 2013 due to disasters brought on by natural hazards, nearly three times the number who were forced from their homes due to violence.
	The problem has been worsening, with roughly twice as many people displaced around the world due to disasters now than in the 1970s, even as better forecasting and relief operations have reduced the number of deaths.
	"It's a wake-up call, I think, to world leaders coming here -- as bad as it is today, it would be dramatically worse unless much more is invested in ...

AFP

AFP

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