A lawsuit filed in Silicon Valley federal court over the weekend accuses Apple of knowingly selling defective iPhone 6 models with screens that stop responding to touch.
	Attorneys representing the three Apple smartphone owners named as plaintiffs in the litigation asked that the case be granted class-action status to represent anyone in the United States who has bought an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.
	"This action arises from Apple's concealment of a material design defect that causes the touchscreens on the iPhones to become unresponsive and fail for their essential purpose as smartphones," the civil complaint contended.
	The lawsuit accused Apple of refusing to repair iPhones free of charge despite knowing that a design flaw was a fault.
	Apple did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
	According to the lawsuit, chips that handle touchscreen input were not properly secured to logic boards and failed under normal wear-and-tear.
	"The internet is replete with examples of blogs and 

Apple sued over iPhone 6 touch-screen freezes

PTI Automatic

Egypt's parliament today passed a law on value added tax, one of the reforms promised in exchange for a USD 12 billion loan agreed with the International Monetary Fund, lawmakers said.
	Under the legislation, the VAT is to be set at 13 percent for 2016-17 and 14 percent for the following fiscal year, MPs Khaled Youssef and Emad Gad told AFP.
	Egypt and the IMF announced in mid-August a preliminary agreement for a USD 12 billion loan spread over three years, which still needs approval from the IMF's board.
	In return, the Egyptian authorities must adopt drastic economic reforms to increase public revenues and reduce costly state subsidies.
	"Parliament has approved the bill presented by the government on the value added tax," said parliament's website said today.
	The VAT replaces a sales tax of 10 per cent, although the government says about 50 services and products will be exempt, including bread.
	For it to take effect, the new tax needs to be approved by President Abdel Fattah ...

Egypt passes tax law sought by IMF

Two American pilots were charged today with being under the influence of alcohol at a Scottish airport as they prepared to fly a passenger plane to the United States.
	Paul Brady Grebenc, 35, and Carlos Roberto Licona, 45, were released on bail and will appear in court at a later date.
	Charges were brought two days after the duo were arrested at Glasgow airport, as they were due to fly a United Airlines jet to Newark in New Jersey.
	Concerns were reportedly raised over the pair ahead of the 9:00am (0800 GMT) UA162 flight. The service, carrying 141 passengers, eventually flew with a new crew later Saturday.
	A Police Scotland spokesman said on Sunday the men were arrested under  the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, Section 93, relating to "carrying out pilot function or activity while exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol."
	A United Airlines spokesman said: "The two pilots have been removed from service and their flying duties.
	"We are co-operating with the authorities ...

US pilots charged in UK for drinking before flight

Sixty per cent of the groundwater in a river basin supporting more than 750 million people in Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh is not drinkable or usable for irrigation, researchers said today.
	The biggest threat to groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic Basin, named after the Indus and Ganges rivers, is not depletion but contamination, they reported in the journal Nature Geoscience.
	"The two main concerns are salinity and arsenic," the authors of the study wrote.
	Up to a depth of 650 feet, some 23 per cent of the groundwater stored in the basin is too salty, and about 37 per cent "is affected by arsenic at toxic concentrations," they said.
	The Indo-Gangetic basin accounts for about a quarter of the global extraction of groundwater -- freshwater which is stored underground in crevices and spaces in soil or rock, fed by rivers and rainfall.
	Fifteen-to-twenty million wells extract water from the basin every year amid growing concerns about depletion.
	The new study -- based on local 

60% of key S Asian water basin not usable: study

The United States said it would welcome its 10,000th Syrian refugee of this fiscal year today, meeting a controversial target amount more than a month ahead of schedule.
	"On behalf of the president and his administration, I extend the warmest of welcomes to each and every one of our Syrian arrivals, as well as the many other refugees resettled this year from all over the world," National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in a statement.
	Rice said the number represented a "six-fold increase from the prior year," and called it "a meaningful step that we hope to build upon."
	She noted that refugee admissions represented only "a small part of our broader humanitarian efforts in Syria and the region."
	The United States has traditionally been by far the world's most generous host for refugees but has been criticized by activists for moving too slowly to respond to the Syrian crisis, which has dragged on for more than five years.
	Frontline states like Lebanon and Jordan meanwhile have ...

US meets goal of admitting 10,000 Syria refugees ahead of time

Attackers armed with suicide vests, rifles and grenades killed 18 people in the Iraqi oasis town of Ain al-Tamer, many of them guests at a wedding party, officials said today.
	The attack, a rare occurrence in this region southwest of Baghdad, was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
	"They were carrying Kalashnikovs, hand grenades. One of them blew himself up and the others were killed by the security forces," said the head of central Euphrates operations command, Qais Khalaf.
	A local council member and a provincial health directorate source confirmed the death toll in the attack, which took place late Sunday, and said at least 26 others were wounded.
	Ain al-Tamer is located 50 kilometres from the Shiite holy city of Karbala and on the edge of Anbar province, long a haven for jihadists.
	IS said in a statement posted on social media that its men, all of them Iraqis, fought the security forces for several hours before detonating their suicide vests.
	Officials said the .

IS-claimed attack kills 18 in Iraq oasis town

A "strong signal" detected by a radio telescope in Russia that is scanning the heavens for signs of extraterrestrial life has stirred interest among the scientific community.
	"No one is claiming that this is the work of an extraterrestrial civilization, but it is certainly worth further study," said Paul Gilster, author of the Centauri Dreams website which covers peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration.
	The signal from the direction of a HD164595, a star about 95 light-years from Earth. The star is known to have at least one planet, and may have more.
	The observation is being made public now, but was actually detected last year by the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia, he said.
	Experts say it is far too early to know what the signal means or where, precisely,it came from.
	"But the signal is provocative enough that the RATAN-600 researchers are calling for permanent monitoring of this target," wrote Gilster.
	The discovery is expected to feature in ...

'Strong signal' stirs interest in hunt for alien life

Sixty South Sudanese soldiers have been tried before a court martial for alleged crimes committed during last month's fighting in the capital Juba, the army spokesman said today.
	Brigadier-General Lul Ruai Koang told AFP they include looting, murder, shooting and loitering with at least two officers convicted of murder. He said the military is "waiting for presidential approval" before revealing the exact number of those convicted and their sentences.
	"They have been tried and the sentences have been passed to the high authorities," Koang said.
	However, none of the 60 were charged with rape despite many reported incidents of sex attacks by government soldiers on civilians and aid workers.
	Koang said rape victims had failed to come before the court martial, which was neither held in public nor publicised in advance.
	"One problem we have been having is lack of evidence. We have been accused left and right by Human Rights Watch and UNMISS [the UN Mission in South Sudan] but ...

S Sudan court martials 60 soldiers

Scores at close of play on the
third day of the second and final Test between South Africa and New Zealand at SuperSport Park today:
     South Africa, first innings, 481-8 dec
     New Zealand, first innings
     (overnight 38-3)
     M Guptill c Van Zyl b Philander 8
     T Latham c De Kock b Steyn 4
     K Williamson c De Kock b Rabada 77
     R Taylor run out 1
     H Nicholls lbw b Rabada 36
     B Watling c De Kock b Steyn 8
     M Santner b Philander 0
     D Bracewell lbw b Rabada 18
     T Southee c De Kock b Piedt 8
     N Wagner c De Kock b Steyn 31
     T Boult not out 0
     Extras (b5, lb2, nb1, w15) 23
     Total (58.3 overs) 214
     Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-13, 3-26, 4-86, 5-106, 6-111, 7-144, 8-169, 9-214
     Bowling: Steyn 20-3-66-3, Philander 15-1-43-2, Rabada 16.3-4-62-3, Piedt 7-0-36-1
     South Africa, second innings
     S Cook lbw b Boult 4
     Q de Kock c Williamson b Bracewell 50
     H Amla c Guptill b Southee 1
     J Duminy lbw b Southee 0
     F du ...

Centurion, Aug 29 (AFP) Scores at close of play on the

South Africa held on to a strong position despite a top-order batting collapse in their second innings on the third day of the second Test against New Zealand today.
     South Africa were 105 for six at the close, an overall lead of 372 runs on a pitch at Centurion's SuperSport Park offering assistance to bowlers, with swing, seam and uneven bounce.
     New Zealand hit back after conceding a first innings lead of 267, with Tim Southee and Trent Boult taking two wickets each to reduce South Africa to 47 for four. Doug Bracewell and Neil Wagner also picked up wickets, with only Quinton de Kock shining for the South Africans, with his second half-century of the match.
     South Africa's three-pronged pace attack was mainly responsible for New Zealand being bowled out for 214 in their first innings.
     Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada took three wickets each and Vernon Philander claimed two.
     - last man -
     ============
     Only captain Kane Williamson was able to provide ...

South Africa hold aces despite collapse

Lucy, an ancient ape-like human relative, met a brutal end when she plummeted from a tall tree, new analysis of the famous fossil suggested today - offering a solution to a decades-old mystery.
	Lucy's upper-arm bones were shattered by the impact of the fall some 3.2 million years ago - a type of trauma also common in car crash victims, researchers from the United States and Ethiopia wrote in the journal Nature.
	Her injuries suggested "she stretched out her arms at the moment of impact in an attempt to break her fall," said study co-author John Kappelman of the University of Texas at Austin.
	"That tells us that Lucy was conscious at the point of impact, and that instant in time right before her death," he told AFP.
	Until now, there has been no official theory on how Lucy, whose bones were unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974, met her demise. Previous studies had suggested the bone breaks happened after death.
	The new study, based on high-resolution 3D scans, said the fractures were ...

Human relative 'Lucy' died in fall from tree: study suggests

Monotony was the hardest part of a yearlong NASA experiment about the mental and psychological rigors of longterm spaceflight, crew members said after the test came to a close.
	The six-member crew emerged yesterday from a dome in Hawaii, on the barren northern slope of the Mauna Loa volcano, where they were studied as part of the US space agency's mission to send people to Mars by the 2030s.
	In addition to insufficient stimulation, isolation and a lack of fresh food and air were the toughest challenges during the yearlong experiment, known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) - the third and longest of its kind.
	The team locked themselves into the dome, located in an abandoned quarry far from animals and vegetation, on August 28, 2015.
	"We were always in the same place, always with the same people," said French astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux in a Periscope interview by organizers posted on Twitter.
	The crew lived inside a structure 36 feet (11 meters) ..

Boredom was hardest part of yearlong dome isolation: NASA crew

Attackers rammed a car through the gates of Belgium's national crime laboratory today in Brussels and then started a fire in what officials said may have been an attempt to destroy evidence.
	Five people were arrested nearby but later released, while prosecutors said there was no confirmed link to terrorism so far. No one was injured in the fire or by a large explosion which shook houses nearby.
	The incident comes as Belgium remains on high alert following suicide attacks on the capital's airport and metro system in March which were claimed by the Islamic State group.
	"This location was not chosen randomly," said Ine Van Wymersch, a spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor's office, adding that the institute deals with "sensitive information in connection with several ongoing cases."
	Prosecutors had opened a investigation into "deliberate arson of a building and damage by explosion", while bomb disposal experts attended the scene.
	"The possibility of a terrorist act is not confirmed. 

Brussels crime lab attacked to 'destroy evidence'

Hurricane Madeline is expected to pass near Hawaii around midweek, US weather forecasters said today, possibly wreaking havoc with a planned visit by President Barack Obama and other dignitaries.
	Madeline is expected to travel over or near the Big Island on Wednesday, carrying heavy rain and strong winds, according to the US National Weather Service.
	Its current path in the central Pacific could coincide with Obama's planned visit to Hawaii for the kickoff of the World Conservation Congress, a major meeting including thousands of heads of state, scientists and policy makers.
	At 0900 GMT, Madeline was 1,220 kilometers east of Hilo, Hawaii.
	The category one hurricane has maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour, and was moving toward the northwest at about 10 miles per hour.
	Forecasters said, however, that models show a great deal of uncertainty about the path of Madeline, which they are tracking closely.
	The International Union for the Conservation of Nature stages the .

Hurricane Madeline threatens Obama's Hawaii travel

Myanmar's new leadership must overcome discrimination and promote inclusive development with "full respect" for human rights, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today on the eve of a visit to the country.
	Ban said elections last November, won overwhelmingly by Aung San Suu Kyi's political party, had opened the way to include various ethnic groups in Myanmar's newfound democracy.
	The recent setting up of an advisory panel on Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan is an "encouraging step", Ban said, speaking in Singapore at an event organised by the Singapore Management University at the start of a two-day visit to the city-state.
	Annan will advise Myanmar's new government on resolving conflicts in Rakhine, a region divided on religious grounds and home to the stateless Muslim Rohingya.
	"The new leadership must now overcome discrimination, ensure equality and promote inclusive development for all, with full respect for human rights," Ban added.
	The 

UN chief urges Myanmar to respect human rights

Russian and German experts arrived in Cairo today to inspect the wreckage of a Metrojet plane downed over Sinai, hoping to pinpoint how it came apart, the aviation ministry said.
	The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for bombing the plane carrying Russian holidaymakers in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.
	The wreckage has been transported to Cairo airport and will be pieced together "to determine the starting point for the (plane's) disintegration", an aviation ministry statement said.
	IS has claimed it smuggled a bomb inside a soda can onto the plane in a Sinai resort airport, in response to Russian air strikes in Syria.
	The Airbus A321 was built in Hamburg in Germany and operated by the Russian airline.
	French and Irish experts were also expected in Cairo for the investigation, the ministry said, adding that the aircraft had been designed in France and registered in Ireland.
	The bombing prompted Russia to suspend flights to Egypt, in a blow to the ...

Foreign experts in Egypt to probe Russian airliner crash

Singapore clinics today reported more Zika infections, bringing the suspected total to 50, as mosquito-fighting teams saturated the scene of the outbreak.
	Inspectors from the National Environment Agency checking for mosquito-breeding sites visited homes in the eastern Aljunied Crescent district where 41 cases - mostly foreign workers at a condominium construction project - have been confirmed.
	Nearly all have recovered but nine more suspected cases of Zika virus infection - both citizens and foreign workers - were reported today by two community clinics, local media said.
	These cases were also in Aljunied.
	"It's quite frightening because I thought Zika is something happening on the other side of the world. But now it's right here in my neighbourhood," customer service manager Josephine Kwan, who lives in the affected suburb, told AFP.
	Zika causes only mild symptoms for most people, such as fever and a rash, and has been detected in 58 countries particularly Brazil.
	But in ...

S'pore wages war on mosquitoes; suspected Zika cases reach 50

Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot said today it had piloted a return to profit after reining in its costs and enjoyed an ascent in passenger numbers among its company airlines.
	The majority state-controlled company posted a net profit of 2.5 billion rubles (34 million euros, USD 38 million) for the first half the year, compared to a loss of 3.5 billion rubles a year earlier.
	Russia's aviation industry has struggled in the face of the country's economic crisis caused by falling oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's actions in Ukraine hitting travellers' wallets.
	The collapse of the ruble has also inflated certain costs, especially in aircraft leasing.
	Aeroflot, which also operates Rossiia and Pobeda airlines, has also cemented its leading position after the economic trouble saw Russia's second-biggest carrier Transaero stop flying last October due to financial problems.
	From January to June, Aeroflot's passenger volume accelerated by more than 10 percent to 19.7 .

Aeroflot flies back into black

A shadowy activist group in Kosovo claimed responsibility today for an attack on the home of Kosovo's public broadcast chief, in protest over a controversial border deal.
	"An explosive device was thrown into the backyard" of Mentor Shala, general director of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), late yesterday, according to a police statement.
	The incident in the capital Pristina came six days after another grenade was thrown in the courtyard of the RTK's headquarters, causing material damage.
	Responsibility for both attacks was claimed by a group called "Rugovasit", a term for inhabitants of the Rugova mountains at the disputed border with Montenegro.
	On Thursday, Kosovo's parliament is due to vote on a border demarcation deal with Montenegro, which opponents fear will see Kosovo lose thousands of hectares.
	In an emailed statement to media, Rugovasit said the RTK under Shala had sided with the government and overlooked the opposition because it "speaks out against the ...

Grenade attack on home of Kosovo TV chief over border deal

Germany has drafted a law requiring mothers to inform their partners if their children were fathered by another man, Justice Minister Heiko Maas said today.
	The measure, dubbed the 'milkmen's kids law' in the media, is to pass the cabinet as early as Wednesday before heading to parliament.
	It would apply to cases in which men who believe they are not the real fathers seek financial compensation in court.
	"We need to offer more legal protection for 'false' fathers to seek recourse," Maas said.
	"The mother should only have the right to remain silent when there are serious reasons for her not to name the biological father."
	A court would determine if the reasons sufficed for her to keep the father's true name a secret.
	The measure would allow men who were duped into paying to support a child to demand compensation from the biological father for a period of up to two years.
	Maas began work on the legislation after a federal court ruling in February 2015 said the government needed ..

Berlin to require mums to come clean on 'milkmen's kids'

Turkey warned today it would carry out more strikes on a Syrian Kurdish militia if it failed to retreat beyond the Euphrates River, as Washington condemned their weekend clashes as "unacceptable".
	Turkish forces pressed on with a two-pronged operation inside Syria against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), shelling over a dozen targets.
	But strikes against the YPG are hugely sensitive as the Kurdish group - seen as a terror group by Ankara - is allied with Turkey's NATO partner, the United States, in the fight against IS in Syria.
	Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish "terrorists" in strikes on YPG positions yesterday, a day after a Turkish soldier died in a rocket attack allegedly by the militia.
	The Pentagon called the clashes "unacceptable" and urged an immediate de-escalation.
	Turkey's operation aims to push the YPG back across the Euphrates River to prevent it joining up the region east of the river already under its control ..

AFP

AFP

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