Former England captain and fearsome pace bowler Bob Willis has died aged 70, his family announced on Wednesday.
Willis, who captained his country between 1982 and 1984, played in 90 Test matches with his most memorable performance taking eight for 43 in the Australian second innings of the third Ashes Test in 1981.
"We are heartbroken to lose our beloved Bob, who was an incredible husband, father, brother and grandfather," read the Willis family statement.
"He made a huge impact on everybody he knew and we will miss him terribly.

Former England cricket captain Willis dies aged 70 - family

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An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to three years and four months in the UK over his role in a cyber fraud operation, which used computer malware to steal tens of thousands of pounds from victims.
Abhay Singh pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer and remove criminal property and was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last week.
The 33-year-old was arrested earlier this year when Metropolitan Police Central Specialist Crime unit officers seized a wide range of suspicious items, including driving licences and bank cards belonging to other individuals, quantities of cash as well as paying in books belonging to businesses.
"The impact of this fraud upon individuals and businesses both small and large should not be underestimated," said Detective Superintendent Gavin McKay of the Met's Central Specialist Crime unit.
"This group of criminals stole tens of thousands from individuals, businesses, schools and other organisations. They showed no ..

Indian-origin man jailed for cyber fraud in UK

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday emphasised the importance of intelligence ties with the United States in Britain's decision on whether to exclude Chinese firm Huawei from building new 5G networks.
Washington has been pressuring Europe, including Britain, to exclude the firm because it argues Huawei has close ties to the Chinese government and its equipment could be used to spy for Beijing.
Britain has repeatedly delayed a decision and none is expected before the election on December 12, when Johnson's Conservatives are hoping to be re-elected.
"I don't want this country to be unnecessarily hostile to investment from overseas," Johnson told reporters after a NATO summit in Watford, north of London, which included talks with US President Donald Trump.
"On the other hand we cannot prejudice our vital national security interests, nor can we prejudice our ability to cooperate with other Five Eyes security partners.
"That will be the key criterion that informs our decision about ..

UK's Johnson stresses US ties in Huawei decision

Former Armenian president Serzh Sarkisian, who was ousted from power by a popular uprising last year, was on Wednesday formally charged with economic crimes, authorities said.
Armenia's president between 2008 and 2018, Sarkisian has been charged with organising the misuse and embezzlement by government officials of 489 million drams (USD 1 million), the Special Investigation Service said in a statement.
The 65-year-old former leader has been banned from leaving Armenia, the statement added.
A peaceful uprising against Sarkisian's rule erupted in April, 2018 after he tried to remain in power by switching to the role of prime minister after serving as president for a decade.
The move proved the last straw for Armenians, who had long been frustrated with the ex-Soviet country's sluggish economy, poverty, and corruption.
Spearheaded by hugely popular opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan, weeks of street protests led to Sarkisian's resignation and the demise of his ruling party.
Pashinyan was ...

Armenia ex-leader charged with economic crimes

Track and field athletes led India's gold rush on the third day of competitions in the 13th South Asian Games as the country added a whopping 29 medals to jump to the top of the medals tally here on Wednesday.
India won 15 gold medals on Wednesday with athletics contributing five of them as the country's medal tally stood at 32 gold, 26 silver and 13 bronze for a total of 71.
Nepal close second with a haul of 29 gold, 15 silver and 25 bronze for a total of 69 medals.
Athletics gave 10 medals (5 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze) while six each from came from table tennis (3 gold and 3 silver)and taekwondo (3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), five from triathlon (2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze) and two -- all gold -- from kho kho.
India completely dominated in athletics yet again to take the total medal count from the discipline to 20. On the first day of athletics competition on Tuesday, Indian athletes had won 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze).
Archana Suseendran won her second gold of .

India continues impressive show, wins 29 medals, including 15 gold, to jump spot to in SAG

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that no consensus could be reached with Turkey on defining terrorism amid a row with Ankara over Kurdish militia groups.
"I don't see any possible consensus," Macron said after a NATO summit marred by the spat with Turkey over its demand that allies brand as "terrorists" the Kurdish militias of northeastern Syria that helped defeat the Islamic State group.

'No consensus possible' with Turkey on terrorism definition: Macron

The UK-based family of the terrorist shot dead by British security forces during the London Bridge attack last week has condemned his actions and expressed condolences to the relatives of the two victims killed in the knife rampage.
Usman Khan's family, which hails from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), issued a statement through Scotland Yard to express their shock at the convicted terrorist's actions during a prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29.
"We are saddened and shocked by what Usman has done, notes the statement.
"We totally condemn his actions and we wish to express our condolences to the families of the victims that have died and wish a speedy recovery to all of the injured. We would like to request privacy for our family at this difficult time, it reads.
Lukasz Koczocik, a Polish porter at Fishmonger's Hall who had intervened with a pole to fight Khan during his knife attack, also issued a statement to say that he had acted ...

Family condemns London Bridge terrorist's actions

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed a Democratic report presenting the case for his impeachment as a "joke" and lambasted his opponents for proceeding with hearings during his trip to a NATO summit.
"What they are doing is a very bad thing for our country," Trump said when asked about the report from the House Intelligence Committee during a meeting in Britain with Italy's prime minister.
"It's a joke." He called it a "disgrace" that the House Judiciary Committee was holding a hearing Wednesday to consider drawing up articles of impeachment "when we are in London.

Trump slams congressional impeachment report as a 'joke'

Moroccan police said on Wednesday they had disrupted a jihadist cell and arrested four suspected supporters of the Islamic State group, in a joint operation with Spain.
Three men were detained in Morocco's northern Nador region "in coordination with Spanish national police", while the head of the group was "arrested simultaneously" near Madrid, a statement by Moroccan anti-terror police said.
The suspects, aged between 24 and 39, followed Islamic State group propaganda and organised meetings to "plan terrorist operations in response to repeated calls from IS leaders," the statement said.
Spanish police said a man was arrested in Guadalajara northeast of Madrid.
He is accused of organising meetings with other radical Islamists around the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Morocco's north coast and being in contact with jihadists in Syria and Mali, Spanish police said.
The operation also netted electronic equipment, mobile phones, balaclavas, and extremist literature, Moroccan anti-terror ...

Morocco, Spain arrest 4 suspected IS supporters

The two members of the public killed in last week's terror attack at London Bridge each died due to a stab wound to the chest, a coroner was told on Wednesday.
City of London senior coroner Alison Hewitt officially opened the inquests into the deaths of Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, before adjourning them to a date to be fixed.
Detective Superintendent Desmond McHugh told the hearing at London's Old Bailey court that both victims were stabbed in the chest while attending a prisoner rehabilitation programme at Fishmongers' Hall at London Bridge on Friday.
"Saskia was attacked inside Fishmongers' Hall and pronounced deceased at the location at 1425 (1425 GMT)," he said.
Merritt was also attacked inside the venue but was taken outside the building on a stretcher as police evacuated the area.
Despite medical intervention, he was pronounced dead close to Fishmongers' Hall at 3:14 pm (1514 GMT).
A pathologist determined that the victims, both of whom were University of Cambridge ..

London terror victims died from stab wounds: inquest

South African anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu has been admitted to hospital in Cape Town "for treatment of a stubborn infection", his office said on Wednesday.
The 88-year old retired archbishop has been receiving treatment for prostate cancer for more than 15 years.
He was last hospitalised in September 2018 for "a series of tests" and discharged after two weeks.
"Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been admitted to hospital for treatment of a stubborn infection," said his wife Leah Tutu in a statement issued by the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.
"The Archbishop has been hospitalised several times over the past few years for treatment of a similar condition."
Tutu was hospitalised four times in 2016 and underwent minor surgery for a persistent infection linked to his prostate cancer treatment.
He gained worldwide prominence for his strong opposition to white-minority rule under apartheid and won the Nobel Peace Price in 1984.
The much-loved figure has retired from ...

South Africa's Tutu hospitalised for 'infection'

A division of the American Chemical Society (CAS), specialising in scientific information solutions, has launched Formulus -- the world's largest collection of formulations sourced from journals, patents and product inserts -- in India.
The Formulus is the new one-stop shop for research scientists looking to search through millions of formulations quickly and efficiently.
It can be a potential game changer for India's pharmaceutical and agrochemical sector, the CAS said in a statement.
The Formulas streamlines and simplifies the time-consuming process of formulating new products and can help new innovations get to market faster, it said.
The CAS plans to hold workshops in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore to demonstrate its capabilities for formulators and researchers.
"The new CAS collection of formulations has been curated from information found by hundreds of scientists from numerous sources," said Molly Strausbaugh, CAS Assistant Director.
This data clearly identifies formulation ...

US scientific body launches largest collection of formulations data in India

The House Judiciary Committee opened its first impeachment hearing Wednesday, moving swiftly to weigh findings by fellow lawmakers that President Donald Trump misused the power of his office for personal political gain and then obstructed Congress' investigation as possible grounds for removal from office.
The panel responsible for drafting articles of impeachment convened as Trump's team was fanning out across Capitol Hill.
Vice President Mike Pence was meeting behind closed doors with House Republicans and Senate Republicans will huddle midday with the White House counsel as GOP lawmakers stand lockstep with the president and Democrats charge headlong into what has become a strictly partisan drive to impeach him.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats "haven't made a decision" yet on whether there will be a vote on impeachment. She was also meeting privately with the Democratic caucus. But a vote by Christmas appears increasingly likely with the release of a 300-page report by ...

Trump team on Capitol Hill amid 'serious misconduct' probe

India continued its domination in track and field events  at the 13th South Asian Games by adding 10 more medals, including five golds, here on Wednesday.
On day two of athletics competition, the Indians added five golds, three silver and two bronze medals, taking the country's overall tally in the discipline to 20.
On the first day of athletics competition on Tuesday, the Indians had won 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze).
Archana Suseendran won her second gold of the Games by clinching the women's 200m race in 23.67 seconds to add to the top podium finish in the 100m dash on Tuesday.
Compatriot A Chandra Lekha was third with a timing of 24.37 seconds.
Suresh Kumar won the men's 10,000m race with a timing of 29 minute 32 seconds before Lokesh Sathyanathan and Swamynathan produced an Indian 1-2 in men's long jump by clearing impressive distances of 7.87m and 7.77m respectively.
Another 1-2 result for the Indians came in the men's discus throw via Kirpal Singh (57.88m) and ...

SAG: India win 10 medals in athletics

A senior American Catholic clergyman quit on Wednesday, the Vatican said, as the diocese of Buffalo continues to wrestle with an ongoing sexual abuse scandal.
Bishop Richard Malone, 73, has been accused in US media of hiding the names of accused priests and allowing some to remain in the ministry in his diocese in Buffalo in New York state.
He admitted last year he had "fallen short" in his handling of allegations of misconduct, particularly by priests accused of abusing adults.
Buffalo has been in turmoil since February 2018 when a retired priest admitted to sexually abusing children, sparking further allegations across the diocese.
The Church has already paid $17.5 million to victims, according to the Buffalo News, which says that 220 lawsuits have been filed by people claiming to have been abused by priests.
Malone, in his post since 2012, announced he was retiring early, explaining that Catholics in Buffalo would be "better served by a new bishop who perhaps is better able to ...

US bishop steps down in Church abuse scandal

America's special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was in the Afghan capital "to discuss the latest in peace efforts, a former Afghan deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Hekmat Karzai, chairman of the Kabul-based Center for Conflict and Peace Studies, tweeted photographs of his meeting Wednesday with Khalilzad in Kabul, saying they spoke about the way forward."
A Taliban official said the group has held informal talks with the Americans, without specifying where or who participated. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.
Khalilzad's visit comes just days after President Donald Trump visited US troops in Afghanistan for the Thanksgiving holiday, when he hinted at a resumption of peace talks with the Taliban.
Trump said the US and Taliban have been engaged in peace talks and insisted the Taliban want to make a deal after heavy US fire in recent months.
The Taliban official said the US has been pressing for a cease-fire, even a temporary one during the time of an ...

America's Afghan peace envoy makes surprise stop in Kabul

Iran's supreme leader has reportedly called on judicial officials to treat those detained in recent protests with "Islamic mercy" after authorities acknowledged security forces shot and killed demonstrators nationwide.
A report Wednesday by the state-run IRNA news agency also quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying citizens killed in the protests "without playing any part in instigating them" should be considered martyrs and their families should receive government stipends.
Khamenei's comments come as Iranian officials only Tuesday openly acknowledged security forces killed demonstrators.
Amnesty International believes at least 208 people were killed in the protests and security force crackdown that began from November 15.
Iran disputes Amnesty's figures but has so far refused to release any nationwide casualty or arrest figures.

Iran leader calls for 'Islamic mercy' after bloody crackdown

Japan, the Philippines and Germany top a list of countries worst hit by climate-enhanced extreme weather last year, with Madagascar and India close behind, researchers said on Wednesday.
Flood-inducing rains, two deadly heatwaves, and the worst typhoon to hit Japan in a quarter century -- all in 2018 -- left hundreds dead, thousands homeless and more than USD 35 billion (31.5 billion euros) in damage nationwide, according to a report from environmental thinktank Germanwatch.
Category 5 Typhoon Manghut -- the most powerful tropical storm of the year -- ripped through northern Philippines in September, displacing a quarter of a million people and unleashing lethal landslides, according to the group's updated Global Climate Risk Index.
In Germany, meanwhile, a sustained summer heatwave and drought along with average temperatures nearly three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal over a four-month stretch resulted in 1,250 premature deaths and losses of USD 5 billion, ...

In nations rich and poor, climate-related disasters on the uptick

Greek authorities say rescuers have safely evacuated all 14 crew members of a crippled cargo ship that was listing heavily among gale-force winds in the Aegean Sea.
A coast guard statement says two of the New Leo's seamen will require hospital treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
The Liberian-flagged vessel radioed for help as it was sailing between the islands of Skyros and Lesbos in the central Aegean Wednesday. It had suffered engine failure and was listing after high seas displaced the steel cargo in the hold.
Three military helicopters, two naval vessels, a coast guard rescue craft and five merchant ships helped in the rescue operation.
New Leo was sailing from the Greek port of Elefsina to Turkey. It was still afloat Wednesday afternoon but listing 30 degrees.

All 14 seamen saved from crippled freighter in Aegean gale

Track and field athletes led India's gold rush on the third day of competitions in the 13th South Asian Games as the country added a whopping 29 medals to surge ahead in the medals tally here on Wednesday.
India won 15 gold medals on Wednesday with athletics contributing five of them as the country's medal tally stood at 32 gold, 26 silver and 13 bronze for a total of 71.
Athletics gave 10 medals (5 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze) while six each from came from table tennis (3 gold and 3 silver)and taekwondo (3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), five from triathlon (2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze) and two -- all gold -- from kho kho.
India completely dominated in athletics yet again to take the total medal count from the discipline to 20. On the first day of athletics competition on Tuesday, Indian athletes had won 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze).
Archana Suseendran won her second gold of the Games by clinching the women's 200m race in 23.67 seconds to add to her yellow metal in the ..

India continues impressive show, wins 29 medals, including 15 gold, to surge ahead in SAG

London fifth-graders sang All I Want for Christmas is You after Melania Trump added to their merriment by joining them to make wreaths and ornaments at a Salvation Army centre.
At the facility in the Clapton neighborhood of east London, Mrs Trump helped attach pine cones to a wreath covered in yellow tinsel.
She also helped US Marines put gifts into holiday-themed bags.
The first lady nodded in apparent enjoyment as the pupils serenaded her, then clapped and appeared to say "bravo" when they finished the song.
Mrs Trump also donated presents for the charity's holiday drive, including white baseball caps, white Frisbees and soccer balls all stamped with the logo of her "Be Best" youth initiative.
She gave the kids "Be Best" ornaments as gifts before she departed.

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