By IANS,

Mumbai : Two old war horses of Mumbai Indians, Shaun Pollock and Sanath Jayasuriya, joined forces to give a mesmerising performance that blew away Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League contest here Friday night.

Pollock (3-12) produced one of the best spells of the tournament to plot the spectacular collapse of Knight Riders, who crashed to 67, the lowest score of the tournament. Sri Lankan veteran Jayasuriya (48 off 17 balls) then tore the bowling apart to gatecrash at the victory doorstep in just 5.3 overs.

By DPA,

Vatican City : Pope Benedict XVI has composed a prayer for Catholics in China through which, among other things, they would seek inspiration to remain faithful to Rome.

The Vatican Friday issued the prayer - in eight languages including traditional and simplified Chinese - saying the pontiff had penned it for the "Day of Prayer for the Church in China" scheduled for May 24.

By Xinhua,

Yangon : The death toll from Cyclone Nargis has risen sharply to 77,738 in Myanmar, the state television reported in a night broadcast Friday.

The dead included 159 state service personnel, while a total of 55,917 people, including 58 government employees, remained missing, the report said.

The number of the injured stood at 19,359.

The sharp increase of the death toll was confirmed late because the disaster-hit area was so wide and the searching operation was hard, the report clarified.

By DPA,

Bonn (Germany) : A UN conference on bio-safety reached a preliminary agreement Friday on liability for environmental damage arising from the use of genetically modified organisms in farming.

The accord initially provides for countries to claim compensation from those directly responsible for environmental damage or from the manufacturers of the genetic products that caused the damage.

But the conference was unable to finalize an internationally legally binding agreement that identifies those who should be held liable and who should pay compensation.

By IANS,

Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Britain have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand their bilateral cooperation, including in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, WAM news agency reported Friday.

UAE's Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, and Britain's Minister of State for Trade and Investment Digby Jones signed the MoU on behalf of their countries at a ceremony here Thursday.

By IANS,

London : The detention of an Indian man held on suspicion of murdering his roommate Samrajyo Jyothirmayee Vempala was extended by another eight weeks Friday at the request of his lawyer.

Nagraj Kumar Nalluri, 24, was produced before the Birmingham magistrate's court but made no request for bail.

At the request of his lawyer, the judge fixed the next date of hearing July 25.

The body of 23-year-old Jyothirmayee, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, is expected to be taken to India next week by a family friend, Hari Gopal, official sources said.

By P. Karunakharan, IANS,

Colombo : A former hardened Tamil Tiger guerrilla who fought the Sri Lankan military for years was Friday sworn in as chief minister of the island's troubled eastern province.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known more widely by his nom de guerre Pillaiyan, took oath before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a function held at the Presidential Secretariat here amid tight security.

Pillaiyan heads the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), which was formed by guerrillas who broke away from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2004.

By IANS,

New York : As demanded by the local Sikh community, US authorities have charged an American teenager with hate crime for setting fire to a fellow Sikh student's turban in a New Jersey school.

The accused, 18-year-old Garrett Green, has pleaded not guilty to the multiple charges of aggravated assault, bias intimidation, arson and criminal mischief in the incident at Hightstown High School in central New Jersey May 5.

Municipal Court Judge Gregory Williams has asked Green to appear before him May 21.

By DPA,

Vatican City : Pope Benedict XVI Friday urged Thailand's Roman Catholic bishops to continue working with Buddhists in combating secularism and other "disturbing" aspects of globalization.

"You have readily expressed to me your great respect for the Buddhist monasteries and the esteem you have for the contribution they make to the social and cultural life of the Thai people," Benedict told the visiting bishops in a meeting at the Vatican.

By Xinhua,

Colombo : Pillayan, the leader of a former rebel group was sworn in as Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Eastern Province, officials said Friday evening.