Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla hit centuries as Bangladesh`s decision to send South Africa in to bat backfired on the first day of the first Test at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa were 299 for one at the end of a day shortened by rain and bad light with skipper Smith unbeaten on 138 and Amla on 103.

South African opening batsmen Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie put on a century partnership as they got their team off to a solid start on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa, sent in to bat, were 154 for one when rain brought an early tea.

South African opening batsmen Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie put on a century partnership as they got their team off to a solid start on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa, sent in to bat, were 154 for one when rain brought an early tea.

South African opening batsmen Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie continued a record sequence of successful partnerships as they got their team off to a slow but solid start on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa were 61 for no wicket at lunch after being sent in to bat.

South African opening batsmen Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie continued a record sequence of successful partnerships as they got their team off to a slow but solid start on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa were 61 for no wicket at lunch after being sent in to bat.

Scoreboard at lunch on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa, first innings

G. Smith not out 39

N. McKenzie not out 20

Extras (nb2) 2

Total (0 wkts, 24 overs) 61

Scoreboard at lunch on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh at Springbok Park Wednesday.

South Africa, first innings

G. Smith not out 39

N. McKenzie not out 20

Extras (nb2) 2

Total (0 wkts, 24 overs) 61

Bangladesh won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the first Test at Springbok Park Wednesday.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful said he was influenced by the amount of grass on the pitch which could help the bowlers during the first two hours.

Bangladesh won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the first Test at Springbok Park Wednesday.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful said he was influenced by the amount of grass on the pitch which could help the bowlers during the first two hours.

Opening batsman Imrul Kayes and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim were in good form as Bangladesh had the better of a two-day match against a South African Airways Challenge XI at the Diamond Oval Sunday.

Bangladesh scored 375 in their only innings, a lead of 110. The Challenge XI were 74 for two in their second innings when the match ended in a draw.

Final scoreboard at close on the second and final day of a 12-a-side match between a South African Airways Challenge XI and Bangladesh at the Diamond Oval here Sunday:

SA Airways Challenge XI, first innings, 265

Bangladesh, first innings (overnight 92-2)

Tamim Iqbal b Shezi 34

Imrul Kayes c Swan b Shezi 86

Junaid Siddique c Bossenger b Shezi 0

VALENCIA, Spain, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon demanded that politicians next month smash the deadlock on tackling global warming, saying a report issued on Saturday by a Nobel-winning climate panel 'has set the stage for a real breakthrough.'

'We cannot afford to leave Bali without such a breakthrough,' the secretary general said, referring to a conference running on the Indonesian island from December 3-14, tasked with setting a strategy for deepening cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions.

VALENCIA, Spain, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - The IPCC report on global warming released Saturday 'has set the stage for a real breakthrough' in climate change negotiations next month in Indonesia, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said.

'We cannot afford to leave Bali without such a breakthrough,' Ban said, adding that the threat of climate change was the 'defining challenge of our age.'

The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 'contains one overarching message for all of us: that there are real and affordable ways to deal with climate change,' he said.

PARIS, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - UN Chief Ban Ki-moon called Saturday for urgent action on global warming, warning the world is on the verge of a catastrophe, as top scientists were due to issue a new report on climate change for policymakers.

'We all agree. Climate change is real, and we humans are its chief cause. Yet even now, few people fully understand the gravity of the threat, or its immediacy,' the UN chief wrote in a commentary in the International Herald Tribune.

KINSHASA, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - The Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday banned 22 private television channels and 16 radio stations as they had fallen foul of national media laws, the information minister said.

The ban in particular affects a television channel and radio network owned by Jean-Pierre Bemba, an exiled former vice president and rebel leader and an arch-foe of President Laurent Kabila.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday strongly condemned the storming by Somali government forces of a UN compound in Mogadishu and their detention of a representative of the World Food Program (WFP).

'The Secretary General strongly condemns the forceful and illegal entry of government security forces into the United Nations compound in Mogadishu, and the detention of a United Nations official,' Ban's press office in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that it is 'beyond doubt' that climate change is now affecting the world.

'The secretary general is delighted that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 has been awarded to Mr. Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,' a spokesman for Ban said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday expressed concern about rising tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia, including recent shooting incidents and a buildup of military forces along their disputed border.

Ban called on the Horn of Africa's bitter archrivals 'to exercise utmost restraint, maintain their commitment to the Algiers agreement ...and facilitate the implementation of the delimitation decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC),' his press office said.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon, at times criticized for his apparent reluctance to take strong moral stances, is getting kudos for his leadership and 'strong words' in the Myanmar crisis.

Ban has been in the diplomatic limelight over the past two weeks as he hobnobbed with world leaders during the General Assembly summit which was preceded by a series of high-level meetings on Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and climate change.

UNITED NATIONS , Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday welcomed the offer by Myanmar's military junta to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under certain conditions, saying a serious dialogue is 'indispensable.'

'I welcome this announcement and urge both parties to meet as soon as possible,' Ban told a meeting of the UN Security Council called to hear a report by UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on his four-day mission to Myanmar.

'Serious dialogue is indispensable,' he added.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said his special envoy Ibrahim Gambari delivered a 'strong message' to Myanmar military rulers about their crackdown on pro-democracy protests and would brief him shortly on his mission.

'Mr. Gambari has delivered a strong message from me personally (to Myanmar's ruling junta),' Ban told reporters. 'We are now awaiting his return, and I am going to be briefed by him tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon' before deciding on the next course of action.

WASHINGTON, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - The US administration on Friday slapped visa bans on more than 30 members of the Myanmar junta and their families, the State Department said.

'In response to the Burmese regime's continued crackdown, the State Department has designated more than three dozen additional government and military officials and their families as ineligible to receive visas to travel to the United States,' department spokesman Tom Casey said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon marked the International Day of Peace here Friday by calling for a one-day ceasefire in all conflicts around the world.

He also appealed to people around the world to observe a minute of silence at noon (1600 GMT) Friday.

'I call for a day of global ceasefire: a 24-hour respite from the fear and insecurity that plague so many places,' he said at the annual ringing of the Peace Bell at UN headquarters.

NEW YORK, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in an interview aired Thursday that the United Nations would be 'vigilant' in ensuring Sudan complies with Security Council demands to allow humanitarian assistance to get to Darfur's refugees.

Speaking on CNN television, Ban said he had been assured by Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir that the aid for the millions of suffering people in the war-torn region would flow smoothly.

'He will faithfully comply with all of the Security Council resolutions and his government's own commitment,' Ban said.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday strongly condemned the 'brutal assassination' of Lebanese anti-Syrian lawmaker Antoine Ghanem in a car bombing in Beirut.

'The Secretary General is shocked by the brutal assassination of member of parliament Antoine Ghanem,' Ban's press office said in a statement.

'He condemns in the strongest terms this terrorist attack,' which also killed at least five other people and was aimed 'at undermining Lebanon's stability,' it added.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon reiterated Tuesday that the Iranian nuclear issue must be resolved through dialogue and again urged Tehran to comply with demands that it suspend uranium enrichment.

Asked to comment on heightened concern about the risk of war over Iran's refusal to heed UN Security Council demands, Ban replied: 'As a matter of principle, all the pending issues ... should be resolved through dialogue in a peaceful manner.'

BRUSSELS, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - EU nations on Wednesday reimposed a ban on meat and livestock from Britain after confirmation of a fresh outbreak of foot and mouth disease in southeast England, a European Commission spokesman said.

The decision to introduce a fresh export ban was taken after Britain's chief veterinarian confirmed a new case of foot and mouth disease near London, close to the site of last month's outbreak.

BRUSSELS, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - EU nations on Wednesday reimposed a ban on meat and livestock from Britain after confirmation of a fresh outbreak of foot and mouth disease in southeast England, a European Commission spokesman said.

The decision to introduce a fresh export ban was taken after Britain's chief veterinarian confirmed a new case of foot and mouth disease near London, close to the site of last month's outbreak.

MOSCOW, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - International public health experts urged a global ban on the use of asbestos at the World Social Security Forum on Wednesday, despite protests from conference host Russia.

'Asbestos is the source of a major humanitarian crisis on a global scale,' said Annie Leprince, a medical expert from the National Research and Safety Institute in France, who was the main speaker at the forum.

BRUSSELS, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - The EU is set to reimpose a total ban on all meat and livestock from Britain if, as expected, a new case of foot-and-mouth disease is confirmed, a European expert close to the case said Wednesday.

A group of veterinary experts, meeting in Brussels, would endorse the move after the confirmation of a third outbreak of the cattle disease in southeast England, which was expected 'imminently' from London, the source said.

'No member state is prepared to renounce this precautionary measure' of reimposing the meat export ban, he told AFP.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon sounded an upbeat note here Monday on prospects for a Darfur peace settlement on his return from a week-long trip to Sudan, Chad and Libya.

'My visit to the region was very useful and constructive in generating momentum to bring an early resolution,' he told reporters.

Saying he was 'encouraged' by the full support he received from all key regional players, he added: 'we must build upon this progress to build peace and security' in the region.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon said that Iran's compliance with UN demands for a halt to its uranium enrichment program was the key to resolving the dispute over the nature of its nuclear program.

'In addition to what the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has been discussing with (Tehran), the Iranian government should fully comply with Security Council resolutions,' Ban told reporters here on his return from a week-long Africa tour aiming at spurring the Darfur peace process.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the suicide bombing that killed at least 22 people in Algeria in a failed bid to kill President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

'The secretary general strongly condemns the terrorist bombing that reportedly targeted the convoy of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on 6 September during a visit to the city of Batna in eastern Algeria,' his press office said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday strongly condemned the suicide bombing that killed at least 22 people in Algeria in a failed bid to kill President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

'The secretary general strongly condemns the terrorist bombing that reportedly targeted the convoy of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on 6 September during a visit to the city of Batna in eastern Algeria,' his press office said in a statement.

NEW YORK, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon mourned Thursday the death of celebrated tenor Luciano Pavarotti as a man who made a 'profound contribution' to needy people around the world.

'The secretary-general was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor and United Nations Messenger of Peace,' Ban's spokesman said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday expressed deep concern over continuing fighting between government troops and renegade soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive eastern Nord-Kivu province.

Ban, who is currently touring Sudan, said in a statement he was 'deeply concerned by the ongoing armed clashes in North Kivu' and urged Kinshasa and all local stakeholders press on with efforts to bring about a peaceful solution.

PARIS, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Three in four French people plan to eat out just as much after a nationwide ban on smoking in restaurants comes into force on