The US Supreme Court today tossed out a USD 399 million patent award from Samsung over copying Apple's iPhone design, sending the case back to a lower court.
	The justices ruled 8-0 that Samsung should not be required to forfeit the entire profits from its smartphones for infringement on design components, in a case closely watched by the tech industry.
	The 11-page ruling found that the USD 399 million penalty -- one element of a major patent infringement case -- was inappropriate because it represented "Samsung's entire profit from the sale of its infringing smartphones" for copying the iPhone's  "rectangular front face with rounded edges and a grid of colourful icons on a black screen."
	But the court stopped short of delving into details of the degree to which the patent infringement should affect the penalty.
	"The parties ask us to go further and resolve whether, for each of the design patents at issue here, the relevant article of manufacture is the smartphone, or a particular .

Samsung wins over Apple in USD 399 mn patent appeal

PTI Automatic

Asian countries dominated the top places in a key survey released today of high-school skills, but the report criticised science teaching in many countries.
	The PISA survey of 15-year-olds in 72 countries and economies found that the quality of science lessons was more important than equipment or even staffing levels.
	And it confirmed earlier findings that loading students down with homework or extra tuition was rarely the key to success in science.
	Singapore came top of the table for its teaching of science, reading and mathematics.
	Its students scored an average of 556 points, compared with the average among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries of 493.
	Where once Finland led the way in educational excellence, Singapore is now the example to other countries, the report said.
	"Singapore is a standout performer," said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria at the global launch of the report in London.
	"In Singapore, one in five students master the 

Asian countries dominate, science teaching criticised in PISA

A British court today convicted a Belgian man living in Birmingham of giving money to Brussels and Paris terror attacks suspect Mohamed Abrini.
	Zakaria Boufassil handed 3,000 pounds (USD 3,770, 3,550 euros) in cash to Abrini when the latter visited the city in central England in July 2015, with the knowledge that it would be used for terrorism, the court found.
	Testifying at Kingston Crown Court in London last week, the 26-year-old admitted to meeting Abrini and to holding the money for his conspirator, Mohamed Ali Ahmed, but said he had "no idea" of its intended use.
	Abrini, dubbed the "man in the hat" for his image caught on security cameras before the Brussels airport bombing, was questioned by Belgian investigators in April over his suspected involvement in the Brussels attacks in March and the Paris attacks in November 2015.
	During his visit to Britain, travelling from Syria via Turkey, Abrini said he collected the money and visited casinos in Birmingham and in Manchester, ...

UK court convicts Belgian linked to Brussels, Paris attacks

Top US and NATO officials stressed the importance of preserving transatlantic security ties today amid doubts raised by Donald Trump's election as president.
	Trump stoked concerns that Washington's near 70-year European defence guarantee might no longer hold when he said on the campaign trail he would think twice about helping NATO allies who did not pay their defence dues.
	US Secretary of State John Kerry, attending his final meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, said that keeping unity was essential.
	Ministers would discuss "how we need to come together to make sure that there's a stronger Europe, a stronger NATO, and the interests that we all share we are continuing to work on togehter.
	"And I think the unity is very very important."
	NATO head Jens Stoltenberg meanwhile said strengthening EU-NATO cooperation was the best way to respond to doubts over the future of US commitment to the military alliance.
	"Questions have been asked related to the strength of the ...

US, NATO stress 'unity' amid Trump fears

Britain's financial services paid a record amount in taxes last year, new figures revealed today, emphasising the sector's importance as the country prepares to withdraw from the European Union.
	The sector's total tax contribution reached 71.4 billion pounds (84.7 billion euros, USD 90.9 billion) in the year to March 31, up 7.4 per cent on the previous year, the study by consultancy PwC for the City of London Corporation showed.
	The figures represent 11.5 per cent of the British government's total tax receipts over the 12-month period and the equivalent of almost a quarter (23.3 per cent) of financial services' turnover.
	The study, which covers the final full year before the June vote for Brexit, was published as the sector lobbies the government to maintain access to the European single market after Britain leaves the EU.
	The powerful British Bankers Association warned recently that international banks based in Britain were ready to move some of their activities elsewhere ...

UK financial sector makes record tax contribution: study

Yemeni authorities have arrested eight suspected Islamic State group jihadists implicated in a spate of attacks targeting security personnel in second city Aden this year, police said.
	Police in the southern port city, headquarters of Yemen's internationally recognised government, also seized silenced pistols and letters from IS leaders in Iraq and Syria, a statement said late yesterday.
	There have been a spate of deadly gun attacks in Aden this year as government forces have struggled to restore security in the city after driving out Shiite rebels and their allies in July 2015.
	The insecurity prompted the cabinet to move to neighbouring Saudi Arabia last year only returning in September.
	IS and its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda have taken advantage of the conflict between the government and the rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, to bolster their presence across much of the south.
	In the southeastern province of Hadramawt, government troops seized four tonnes of explosives and ...

Suspected IS jihadists arrested in Yemen's Aden

Russia's top diplomat today accused Washington of backtracking on planned talks in Geneva over a rebel pullout from Syria's Aleppo to "buy time" for those battling leader Bashar al-Assad.
	"It looks like an attempt to buy time for the rebels to have a breather, take a pause and replenish their reserves," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists, saying Moscow had the impression "a serious discussion with our American partners isn't working out."
	Lavrov yesterday said that Russian and US experts were to meet in Switzerland on either today or tomorrow to discuss a proposal put forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry last week on a complete rebel withdrawal from the war-torn eastern sector of Syria's second city.
	But today he acknowledged that Washington had said it would not take part in tomorrow's talks and had withdrawn the suggestions made by Kerry.
	Rebels in east Aleppo have already dismissed any talk of them withdrawing, but Lavrov said they risked being annihilated ..

Russia says US stalling over Aleppo rebel pullout talks

Poland's Supreme Court today rejected a fresh bid to extradite Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski to the United States, where he faces sentencing over a decades-old case of statutory rape.
	Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro had appealed to the court in May to overturn a 2015 ruling against extraditing the 83-year-old French-Polish director.
	The Supreme Court "is dismissing the appeal," said Judge Michal Laskowski.

Polish Supreme Court rejects Polanski extradition to US

Syrian regime forces were on the verge today of seizing a major rebel district of Aleppo as Moscow and Washington traded barbs over stalled efforts to end fighting in the battle-worn city.
	After retaking control of about two-thirds of east Aleppo in recent days, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were advancing today on the large residential district of Shaar.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said if the district is retaken rebel forces will be reduced to a "war of attrition" with the army.
	"It is the most important neighbourhood in the heart of east Aleppo, and is on the brink of falling," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that regime forces were already in control of about a third of the district.
	With the capture of Shaar, the army would hold 70 per cent of east Aleppo, four years after rebels first seized it and divided the city.
	The regime's rapid gains have left opposition fighters scrambling to defend the shrinking ...

Syria army closes in on key Aleppo district

US Secretary of State John Kerry today rejected Russian charges Washington was stalling talks on a rebel withdrawal from the Syrian city of Aleppo in order to buy them time.
	"I'm not aware of any specific refusal," Kerry said when asked about Moscow's charges as he attended a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
	Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier today accused the United States of bad faith over Aleppo where President Bashar al-Assad's forces have gained significant ground in a Moscow-backed offensive.
	"It looks like an attempt to buy time for the rebels to have a breather, take a pause and replenish their reserves," Lavrov said.
	Moscow had the impression "a serious discussion with our American partners isn't working out," he added.
	Lavrov yesterday said Russia and the US would meet in Switzerland on either Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss a proposal put forward by Kerry last week on a complete rebel withdrawal from eastern Aleppo.
	The rebels dismissed any ...

Kerry denies US stalling on Aleppo talks with Russia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured the blessing today of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to lead the party into next year's elections, but with one of the poorest results in the history of such polls.
	Delegates of the centre-right CDU voted 89.5 per cent for her to remain at the helm, in the second worst score achieved by Merkel.

Merkel re-elected by party to lead it into 2017 polls

Pakistani authorities promised an inquiry today after a southern province was found to have employed almost 50 members of the same family in various health ministry jobs, many in the same hospital.
	Corruption and nepotism is rampant in Pakistan when it comes to hiring government employees.
	But the sheer number of the appointments - from vaccinators to security guards to lab technicians - has attracted the attention of the Supreme Court which will begin a hearing from tomorrow.
	The matter surfaced when a man filed a petition complaining provincial health department had recruited some 48 cousins in the Ghotki district of Sindh province.
	"Since 2008 till recently more than four dozen members of Chadhar family have been appointed by the authorities," complainant Farman Ali Pitafi, a health department employee, told AFP, adding they were all cousins.
	He said many of the family members were appointed in subordinate grades but quickly promoted.
	The provincial health minister Sikandar ..

Pakistan to probe hiring of 50 govt employees from one family

A Chinese firm has bought the British pub where last year Chinese President Xi Jinping and then prime minister David Cameron hoisted a pint over fish and chips.
	The Plough in Cadsden, close to the prime minister's official country residence near London, was bought by SinoFortone Investment for an undisclosed sum, Christie & Co commercial property agent said in a statement on Monday.
	"The pub became famous in Chinese circles following the visit of President Xi Jinping and it has become quite a tourist attraction for Chinese visitors since," said Neil Morgan, managing director of pubs and restaurants for the company.
	Visitors were "keen to sample the classic British food and beer that the president tried", he said.
	"Asian investors are becoming more interested in UK markets, particularly hotels, licensed and leisure and we are seeing more and more Chinese investors."
	Peter Zhang, managing director of SinoFortone Investment, was quoted as saying: "The English pub concept is ...

Chinese firm buys pub where Cameron, Xi enjoyed pint

Suspected jihadists stormed a prison in central Mali and freed at least 47 inmates including a jihadist fighter, injuring two guards during the assault, security sources said today.
	"The suspected jihadists attacked a prison with heavy weapons last night in the town of Niono, in the centre of Mali, where they freed around 50 inmates and injured two guards," said an official in the town around 350 kilometres north east of the capital Bamako.
	"(The attackers) seriously injured two members of the national guard before freeing at least 47 prisoners, one of whom was a jihadist fighter."
	The details were also confirmed by two police sources in the region.
	Reinforcements deployed "to secure the town" arrived today, a source said.
	The attackers were seen close to the prison three weeks earlier, an elected local official said without giving further details.
	The incident comes little more than a month after a similar operation at a prison in Banamba, central Mali, in which some 20 ...

Mali prison raid frees at least 47 inmates

Egyptian authorities announced today the arrest of 25 members of an international network allegedly trafficking in human organs, including university professors and doctors.
	"Today at dawn, the largest international network for trading human organs has been captured," the country's Administrative Control Authority said in a statement on its website.
	The network "is made up of Egyptians and Arabs taking advantage of some of the citizens' difficult economic conditions so that they buy their human organs and sell it for large sums of money," it said.
	The authority, which is responsible for tracking corruption cases in state institutions, said 25 people were arrested including university professors, doctors, medical workers, owners of medical centres, intermediaries and brokers.
	They were found in possession of "millions of dollars and gold bullion", it said.
	Ten medical centres and laboratories had been searched and the authorities had found documents related to the charge and ...

Egypt says international organs trade network arrested

A fight over whether to hold early elections gripped Italy today after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's resignation left the eurozone's third largest economy in political limbo.
	Renzi's exit yesterday after a crushing referendum defeat over constitutional reforms unleashed the political hounds, with all parties vying to take advantage of the power vacuum.
	"Italy is now entering into troubled waters," Giovanni Orsina, political science professor at the Luiss University in Rome, told AFP.
	Across the political spectrum, parties were plotting the next move in a high-stakes game with the country's top job as prize.
	Renzi, 41, has been asked by the president to stay on for a few days to pass the 2017 budget in a bid to reassure Europe and the markets that the heavily debt-laden country is not the eurozone's next nightmare.
	The government has already won a vote of confidence on the budget in the lower house of parliament, but needs the senate's nod.
	After that, President Sergio Mattarella 

Battle over early elections grips Italy in limbo

A Greek court ruled today that three Turkish officers accused of playing a part in a failed July coup could be extradited to Turkey, in a case that has strained relations between the two neighbours.
	The Athens appeals court said that the three -- out of eight officers seeking asylum in Greece -- should be sent back for "attempting to topple the regime" of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a judicial source said.
	Earlier in the day, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said the Greek authorities would abide with the court rulings on the case "irrespective of the political cost."
	The ruling came a day after the same court rejected extradition for another three of the officers, deeming that Turkish authorities had not provided sufficient evidence, and that their personal safety was in jeopardy at home.
	That decision outraged Ankara, which has arrested tens of thousands of people as part of a wide-ranging crackdown since the attempted putsch.
	"Greece is in the NATO alliance with 

Greek court OKs extradition of 3 Turkish 'coup' officers

Taiwan's parliament plunged into more chaos today with opposing lawmakers brawling in the chamber as labour activists set off smoke bombs outside in protest at proposed holiday cuts.
	Dozens of legislators crowded the podium of the main chamber, screaming and pushing each other and forcing the reading of the controversial bill to be suspended for hours.
	Lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang party blocked the podium, accusing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of "betraying workers".
	Labour activists scuffled with police outside. More than 1,000 police officers were mobilised and barbed-wire fences were set up at the entrance to the building.
	The protesters set off smoke bombs, threw "ghost money" usually used as funeral offerings and burned President Tsai Ing-wen's campaign flag.
	The clashes came after an attack by labour protesters last week on a DPP lawmaker.
	Under the bill, workers would be guaranteed one mandatory day off a week in keeping with existing rules. ..

More chaos in Taiwan parliament over holiday cuts

A Saudi court today sentenced 15 people to death for spying for the kingdom's rival Iran, local media and a source close to the case said, in a move likely to heighten regional tensions.
	The source said that most of the 15 Saudis were members of the kingdom's Shiite minority.
	Their trial opened in February, a month after Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran over the burning of the Saudi embassy and a consulate by Iranian demonstrators protesting the kingdom's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
	The most serious charge levelled against them was high treason.
	Prosecutors also alleged the accused had divulged defence secrets, tried to commit sabotage, to recruit moles in government departments, to send coded information, and supported "riots" in the Shiite-dominated eastern district of Qatif, Saudi media reported.
	The 15 were among a group of 32 people tried over the espionage allegations, Alriyadh newspaper said on its website.
	Some of the defendants were accused of meeting 

Saudi condemns 15 to death for spying for Iran

Sick Kenyans were turned away from hospitals, and patients left stranded in their wards as a crippling strike by doctors and nurses demanding pay rises entered a second day today.
	Several patients are reported to have died as a result of lack of care in public hospitals, many of which are completely unstaffed. Kenyans have been directed to private clinics that are unaffordable to the majority of the population.
	"We have had a lot of patients leaving our facility because we have no services offered due to the ongoing strike," said David Mukabi, the superintendent in charge of Busia hospital in western Kenya.
	He said a 24-year-old patient had died on Monday night as a result of the stayaway.
	Meanwhile two women died at the Port Victoria Hospital in western Budalangi.
	"Two patients died last night ... Because of the strike because there was no one to attend to them," said an official at the hospital.
	Local media reported tales of patients suffering burns or in labour left stranded .

Sick abandoned as crippling Kenyan doctors' strike endures

A seven-year-old Syrian girl whose Twitter account from Aleppo gained international attention has fled her home amid heavy fighting, but she and her family are safe for now, her father said today.
	With her mother's help, Bana al-Abed had been posting heart-rending tweets in English on life in the besieged eastern districts of Syria's Aleppo.
	But as Syrian government forces edged closer to their home in recent days, the Abed family fled and the Twitter updates slowed.
	"Our house was damaged in bombardment," her father Ghassan said by phone from east Aleppo, two-thirds of which has been seized by advancing government forces.
	"The army got really close to our neighbourhood. We fled to another part of east Aleppo and the family is doing well," he said, adding that "the internet connection is very weak here."
	Since late September, Bana and her mother Fatemah have garnered more than 211,000 followers by tweeting regular updates on battered Aleppo.
	Pictures of massive white columns of .

AFP

AFP

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