Allardyce's England gets a last-gasp lucky break

Not everyone is convinced Sam Allardyce is the right man to lead England but on Sunday's evidence he has fortune on his side, a quality his predecessors have often lacked over the years.

Digest

Soccer

Score board

Buffalo racers sustain tradition

Wearing crowns and colorful horn coverings, the buffaloes haul wooden carts at high speed past paddy fields on Bali, with the racers aboard cracking whips in a bid to push their beasts on to victory.

Baguette leaves a taste of the past

It has been more than six decades since the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, but when President Francois Hollande arrives this week he'll struggle to avoid a quintessential legacy of his country's rule: the baguette.

President Karimov is laid to rest

Uzbekistan's leader Islam Karimov was hailed as a statesman and democrat by his government as he was laid to rest on Saturday in the ancient silk road city of Samarkand.

Stray dogs find shelter in battered Gaza

In an impoverished and war-battered territory suffering food shortages and a scarcity of jobs, Saeed al-Ar knew it was a tall order opening a dog shelter in Gaza.

Pistachio farms left dry by climate change

The pistachio trees at the village in southern Iran are long dead, bleached white by the sun - the underground water reserves sucked dry by decades of over-farming.

Scientists conclude Singapore Zika strain came from SE Asia

Singapore on Saturday reported 215 cases of Zika infections as scientists in the city-state said the virus strain comes from within Asia and was not imported from Brazil.

IN BRIEF (Page 45)

'Fairyland's' otherworldly beauty

There's good reason Xianju's name translates as Fairyland.

Green shift reaps rewards

In Yuanjiang city, Hunan province, reed shoots are not only a traditional part of the local diet - they also reflect local economic restructuring aimed at developing environmentally sustainable industries.