Jasprit Bumrah's form and fitness will be one of India's primary concern during the World Cup in England and the Gujarat pacer may get some well deserved rest for a few games during the twin ODI series against Australia and New Zealand.
Bumrah, who played a stellar role with match haul of nine for 86 in India's 137-run win against Australia at the MCG, has played nine away Test matches this year with 48 wickets in this current calender year.
Bumrah has bowled 379.4 overs in nine Tests while Mohammed Shami has bowled a few overs more (383.5 overs) but he has played 12 Test matches. Ishant Sharma during this phase has bowled 335 overs while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has bowled the maximum overs (386 overs).
Among these bowlers, both Ashwin and Ishant do not figure as far as India's World Cup preparation is concerned as the core team of 20 is already set.
The core 20 comprises the 16 selected for Australia and New Zealand ODIs along with Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey ...

WC in mind, Bumrah may be sparingly used during Australia, NZ ODIs as well as IPL

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Bangladesh Sunday deployed electronic voting machines for the first time in a general election, though only on a limited scale, a move which received mixed responses from the voters amid reports of glitches in some booths.
Out of the 299 parliamentary constituencies that went to polls, six saw the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), a regular feature in neighbouring India since decades ago.
Voting for the 11th national election began with the machines being used in the six seats selected through lottery. These are: Dhaka-6, Dhaka-13, Chattogram-9, Rangpur-3, Khulna-2 and Satkhira-2. The six seats comprises over 2.1 million voters. The results from these six seats could be announced within hours after the voting ends, Bangladeshi media reported.
Electronic voting machines created problems across different voting centres in Dhaka-13 and Dhaka-6, slowing down voting process and leading to long queues, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
Voters in some areas have reported facing ...

Bangladesh uses EVMs for first time in general election

Forty-nine women, including a Russian national and her two children, were rescued in a raid on a rehabilitation centre here while its owner and three employees arrested for allegedly torturing the inmates, the police said on Sunday.
Following a complaint by a section of inmates, police raided the Kripa Ghar Rehab Centre in Bishnumati area of the Budhanilkantha Municipality on Saturday, said Homindra Bogti, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at Teku-based Metropolitan Police Range.
It is alleged that the owner of the rehabiliation centre 'Kripa Ghar Rehab Centre' and her three employees had been meting out inhuman treatment to women, aged between 12 and 60 years, who needed proper medical care and psycho-social service.
The police raided the premises along with officials from the District Administration Office and a non-governmental organization 'Maiti Nepal', and rescued the victims.
Bogti said the 30-year-old owner, Shruti Gurung and three employees have been arrested and sent to .

49 women, including 3 Russians, rescued from rehab centre in Nepal

Twenty-one rhinos have died in Nepal's Chitwan National Park in the past six months.
The deaths due to accidents and natural causes happened despite a record of no rhino poaching in the Chitwan National Park over the past two years.
According to chief conservation officer Bed Kumar Dhakal the average age of a rhino is 60 years. He, however added that more deaths from natural and external causes like fighting and accidents are likely when the population rises.
The latest rhino census puts their number at 605 and a fresh census will take place next year.

21 rhinos die in Nepal's Chitwan National Park in six months

A Chinese space probe entered a planned orbit Sunday to prepare for the first-ever soft landing on the dark side of the moon, authorities said.
This is the first time an attempt is made to explore the far side of the moon. Since the moon's revolution cycle is the same as its rotation cycle, the same side always faces Earth.
The other face, most of which cannot be seen from Earth, is called the far side or "dark side" of the moon, not because it is dark, but because most of it is uncharted.
The Chang'e-4 probe has entered an elliptical lunar orbit, with the perilune at about 15 km and the apolune at about 100 km, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
Chang'e-4 entered the lunar orbit on December 12.
The control centre will choose a proper time to land the probe on the far side of the moon, according to CNSA.
The Chang'e-4 probe, including a lander and a rover, was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket on December 8 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan 

China's lunar probe changes orbit to land on dark side of moon

Voting in a tense election to choose a new government in Bangladesh ended on Sunday with at least 11 people being killed in poll-related violence amid allegations of manipulations by the ruling Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The voting started at 8 AM (local time) and ended at 4 PM. The results would be announced within 24 hours.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared as the first voter in Dhaka centre from where her nephew and party candidate Fazle Nur Taposh was a contender.
"I'm always confident about our victory in the elections... I trust my people and I know that they will choose us so that they can get a better life in future," she said after casting her vote.
While Hasina is seeking re-election for a fourth term as the prime minister, her rival ex-premier and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khalida Zia, who is reportedly partially paralysed, faces an uncertain future in a Dhaka jail.
Schools and colleges across Bangladesh were turned into makeshift ..

Voting ends in Bangladesh election marred by violence

Tilting your head during a conversation can help you appear less threatening, allowing people engage better, a study has found.
Every time we look at a face, we take in a flood of information effortlessly: age, gender, race, expression, the direction of our subject's gaze, perhaps even their mood. Faces draw us in and help us navigate relationships and the world around us.
Understanding how facial recognition works has great value -- perhaps particularly for those whose brains process information in ways that make eye contact challenging, including people with autism. Helping people tap into this flow of social cues could be transformational.
""Looking at the eyes allows you to gather much more information," said Nicolas Davidenko, an assistant professor at the University of California (US) Santa Cruz in the US.
By contrast, the inability to make eye contact has causal effects.
"It impairs your facial processing abilities and puts you at a real social disadvantage," he said.
People ...

Tilt of head boosts social engagement: Study

Australia on Sunday included leg-spinning all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne in the squad for the series-deciding fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, beginning Thursday.
India Sunday defeated Australia by 137 runs at the third Test to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-Test series.
After winning the second Test, Australia had announced a 13-member squad for both the third and fourth Test but now they have added South African-born Labuschagne for the crucial Sydney match where the hosts need a win to level the series.
"We'll get up to Sydney and have a look at the conditions," skipper Tim Paine said as he confirmed Labuschagne's inclusion.
"From what we're hearing, it'll probably spin quite a bit so once we see that for ourselves, we'll start to think about the best combination for ourselves to win that Test."
Opener Aaron Finch and all-rounder Mitch Marsh are under pressure to retain their spot in the playing XI following the loss at the MCG and Australia will now have ..

Australia include Labuschange in squad for fourth Test

People in Congo have begun voting in a long-delayed presidential election that could bring the troubled country's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power.
Some unrest is feared in the election after a last-minute decision to bar an estimated 1 million people from voting because of a deadly Ebola virus outbreak in the country's east.
The decision has been widely criticised as threatening the credibility of the election.
Two main opposition candidates, Martin Fayulu and Felix Tshisekedi, are challenging President Joseph Kabila's preferred successor, former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who is under sanctions from the European Union.
Amid rainy weather in the capital, Kinshasa, Kabila and Shadary voted at the central Gombe Institute polling station.
"My message today to my compatriots is to come and vote for their candidates and brave the rain," said Kabila, after voting.
Shadary called for "peace and calm," adding "I am very confident in victory because the Congolese 

Congo votes in long-delayed presidential election

A malware attack that appears to have originated outside the US delayed the hardcopy distribution of several major newspapers, according to a report.
The LA Times said Saturday that the attack, which was first assumed to have been a server outage, hit a computer network at Tribune Publishing which is connected to the production and printing process of multiple newspapers around the country.
As a result, the delivery of the Saturday editions of the LA Times and San Diego Union Tribune were delayed.
It also hit the distribution of the West Coast editions of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, which are printed at the LA Times' printing plant.
The report said it could not provide firm numbers on how many subscribers were impacted but a majority of LA Times customers received their papers Saturday morning, albeit several hours late.
"We believe the intention of the attack was to disable infrastructure, more specifically servers, as opposed to looking to steal information," the LA .

Cyber-attack hits US newspaper deliveries: report

A nervous Cameron Bancroft's return from his nine-month ban for ball-tampering did not go to plan Sunday when he was out to the third ball he faced in the Big Bash League.
The disgraced 26-year-old was picked in the Perth Scorchers team despite only having played club cricket since he was caught trying to use sandpaper to alter the ball in Australia's Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March.
He came in at number four after the Hobart Hurricanes had reduced the Scorchers to 16-3 and played the first ball off his pads to square leg for two.
Bancroft blocked another one before getting an edge off Riley Meredith to Matthew Wade behind the stumps.
Despite his quick exit, he was applauded by the crowd at Launceston in Tasmania as he trudged off.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was commentating on the game, said he spoke to Bancroft beforehand and he was "really, really nervous".
"He was a little bit worried about the pace these boys might be bowling at him as he's only .

Disgraced Bancroft out third ball on return from ban

A volcano on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali erupted Sunday, belching ash high into the air and over nearby villages as officials warned tourists to keep clear of the area.
Mount Agung has been erupting periodically since it rumbled back to life in 2017, when it grounded hundreds of flights and left 120,000 visitors stranded.
On Sunday morning, the volcano -- which is about 70 kilometres (44 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta -- sent ash skywards as it erupted for about three minutes, according to the country's volcanology centre.
"Residents near Mount Agung as well as climbers and tourists should not carry out any activity in the danger zone or within four-kilometre radius from the crater," the centre said in a statement.
On December 22, an eruption from Anak Krakatoa triggered a tsunami which hit the western tip of the neighbouring island of Java and southern Sumatra, killing at least 426 and leaving more than 7,000 injured.
In the latest eruption, several villages on Bali ...

Bali's Agung volcano spews ash in fresh eruption

Pakistan's national carrier has terminated the contracts of over 50 employees, including three pilots, after they were found holding fake degrees, according to a media report.
The directives were issued in view of the proceedings of Pakistan's Supreme Court against pilots and cabin crews with fake degrees and certificates, the Express Tribune reported.
"We have begun probe into (the cases of) all staffers who were hired (while) holding sham degrees," Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson Mashood Tajwar was quoted as saying by the paper.
Director General of Civil Aviation Authority Hassan Baig has also issued directives to suspend the licenses of all those pilots and cabin crews who have not yet submitted their degrees and certificates.
"Their licenses will remain suspended till they submit their referred documents for verification," an official statement said.

Pak's national carrier sacks 50 employees for holding fake degrees

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to meet the South's President Moon Jae-in "frequently" next year to discuss denuclearisation of the peninsula in a rare letter sent to Seoul, Moon's office said Sunday.
The leader of the isolated North met with Moon three times this year -- twice at the border truce village of Panmunjom and once in the North's capital Pyongyang -- as a reconciliatory push gathered pace.
During Moon's visit to Pyongyang in September, Kim promised to pay a return visit to the South's capital Seoul "at an earliest date," sparking speculation he may visit by the end of this year.
But the much-anticipated trip has not yet materialised, which left the young ruler feeling "much regret," according to Kim's letter sent to mark the end of the year, Moon's spokesman said.
The North's leader "expressed a strong determination to visit Seoul while watching future situation," Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters.
Kim Jong Un also "expressed an intention to meet with Moon frequently in ..

N Korea's Kim vows more summits with South next year: Seoul

Going to sleep without removing your contact lenses can cause serious eye infections that may ultimately result in blindness, scientists warn.
Six reports published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine showed that improper care or wear can lead to infections of the cornea like microbial keratitis.
"Sleeping in your contact lenses is risky and can lead to infections, or in some cases, permanent damage," said Jon Femling, assistant professor at University of New Mexico in the US.
"Falling asleep, or even napping, without removing your contact lenses can significantly increase the likelihood of serious health problems," said Femling.
In one case, a man evaluated for eye redness and blurry vision reported sleeping in contact lenses 3-4 nights per week and swimming with them. He was treated for bacterial and fungal microbial keratitis.
Another instance outlines an adolescent girl who slept in lenses purchased without a prescription at a chain drug store. She developed a corneal ...

Sleeping in contact lenses can cause dangerous eye infections

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte drew outrage Sunday after saying he "touched" his maid when he was a teenager, with women's rights groups accusing him of attempted rape and encouraging sexual abuse.
Duterte frequently sparks uproar with his comments on women, including rape jokes and boasting about adultery.
In his latest remarks, Duterte recounted a confession he had with a priest in high school, detailing how he had entered the room of his maid while she was sleeping.
"I lifted the blanket... I tried to touch what was inside the panty," Duterte said in a speech late Saturday.
"I was touching. She woke up. So I left the room."
Duterte recounted telling the priest that he had then returned to the maid's room and again tried to molest her.
Women's rights political party Gabriela denounced Duterte's "repulsive" comments and called for him to resign, saying he had confessed to attempted rape.
"Rape does not happen only through penile insertion. If it is a finger or an object it is ..

Philippines' Duterte under fire for saying he 'touched' maid

Advertisements on Facebook and other popular social media platforms can encourage people to get a cancer screening, which would help patients spot the disease early enough to get timely treatment, scientists say.
According to researchers, even with the recommendation of a primary care physician, people tend to procrastinate or simply forget to schedule an appointment for cancer screening -- a simple step that could save many lives.
"The idea was to start a text messaging campaign for cancer prevention," said Andrea Dwyer, of University of Colorado in the US.
Advertising including radio slots, Facebook promotions and even locally-posted flyers encouraged people in the community to text a given number to opt into information and reminders about cancer screening.
Radio and flyers were largely unsuccessful in driving enrollment. However, Facebook advertising resulted in 22,600 Facebook users exposed to ads.
"Facebook was a good mechanism. Engagement was high with Facebook ads, and those ..

Facebook ads may help reduce cancer deaths: Study

Sports compression stockings are so effective that they may be considered performance enhancers for soccer players, a study has found.
Researchers from James Cook University (JCU) in Australia measured the fatigue levels of female soccer players with and without the tight-fitting stockings, which are designed to apply pressure to the lower legs and enhance blood circulation.
"We found that compression stocking use during an amateur female soccer match positively influenced agility and lower limb muscular endurance following the match," said Anthony Leicht from JCU.
"The benefits were clearly higher with the compression stockings than with regular socks. They confirmed that there is a protective effect with compression stockings that may be crucial for performance in soccer matches," Leicht said.
The study showed that the stockings were comfortable and unlikely to impede players during a match, and while the extent of their benefits needs to be further investigated, they could be ...

Compression stockings may boost football players' performance

A leading Bangladeshi news channel has been taken off the air, officials said Sunday as the country votes for a new government amid allegations of a media crackdown.
The private Jamuna TV said the action was taken late Saturday.
"Cable operators took Jamuna TV off air without giving us any explanation," Fahim Ahmed, the station's chief news editor, told AFP.
"We are still transmitting. But no one in Bangladesh can see our channel due to the blackout," he said.
The channel's output can still be seen online.
The broadcaster, which is owned by Jamuna Group -- one of Bangladesh's biggest conglomerates, which also runs a newspaper -- is known for its independent coverage.
Salma Islam, a member of the family that owns the group, stood in Sunday's election as an independent candidate against an influential ruling party businessman.
A top cable operator in Dhaka said Jamuna broadcasts stopped for technical rather than political reasons.
"We are not getting their signal," said S M Ali ...

Bangladesh TV station taken off air for election day

At least 22 people died from a storm that swept through the central Philippine islands at the weekend, authorities said Sunday, with rescue operations under way in flood-inundated communities.
The death toll rose from four a day after the storm brought heavy rain to the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions, causing massive flooding and landslides, the government's office of civil defence said.
Many of the deaths were due to landslides and drowning, it added, saying floods had yet to recede even as the weather disturbance known locally as "Usman" weakened into a low pressure area.
"Most of the (affected) areas are underwater. We are sending troops and rubber boats to rescue families. In some areas the floods have reached the roofs of homes," Claudio Yucot, head of the Bicol region's office of civil defence, told AFP.
At least 16 people died in Bicol while six others were killed in Eastern Visayas, civil defence officials said.
More than 22,000 people fled their homes ahead of the storm, ..

Philippine storm death toll rises to 22

China's top court will rule on intellectual property cases for the first time from January 1, the government said, elevating the handling of an issue that has become a key complaint in the trade war with the US.
Washington and Beijing are currently in talks to resolve a bruising trade spat that has spooked markets worldwide.
The two sides imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on more than USD 300 billion worth of goods this year, before agreeing to a 90-day truce on December 1.
The United States, along with the European Union, has long complained about lax enforcement of intellectual property rights in China.
Forced technology transfers have been another major bone of contention for foreign companies operating in China.
Deputy Chief Justice Luo Dongchuan said Saturday that from the start of 2019 the Supreme Court would begin handling appeals on intellectual property rights cases, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Such cases were previously handled by provincial-level high courts.
The move .

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