Kuwait has set a minimum wage for its hundreds of thousands of mostly Asian domestic staff, the first country in the Gulf to do so, local media reported today.
	A decree issued by Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khaled Al-Sabah set the minimum wage at 60 dinars (USD 200) a month and also granted domestic staff a raft of other rights, Al-Anbaa newspaper reported.
	Kuwait is the first country in the Gulf to regulate the work conditions of domestic staff and Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have urged others to follow suit to tackle widespread abuses.
	The decree, which implements landmark legislation adopted by parliament last year, also requires employers to pay overtime for any extra hours worked.
	It grants domestic workers the right to a weekly day off, 30 days of annual paid leave, a 12-hour working day with rest, and an end-of-service benefit of one month a year at the end of contract.
	The estimated 600,000 maids in Kuwait are among at least 2.4 million working across 

Kuwait sets minimum wage for maids in first for Gulf

PTI Automatic

A pre-dawn blaze killed eight people, mostly children, at an orphanage in the South African coastal city of Durban today, emergency services said.
	Six of the victims were children, with the youngest just eight years old.
	"We responded to the fire at about 2.20 am this morning," emergency services spokesman Robert McKenzie told AFP.
	"Four more people were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from serious to mild. None were in a critical condition."
	The fire tore through the boys' section of the orphanage and all those who died were males aged between eight and 21.
	The blaze was extinguished about four hours later and the cause is being investigated.
	In February 2010, a fire killed 13 children and two adults at another orphanage in the same province of KwaZulu-Natal in the southeast of the country.
	That August, 22 elderly people died in a fire at a retirement home in Nigel on the southeastern outskirts of Johannesburg.
	The following year in June, 12 residents of a home for ...

Fire kills eight at S African orphanage

The Philippines asked Beijing today to respect an international tribunal's ruling that rejected Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea, escalating a row that has raised the prospect of conflict.
	China reacted furiously to the verdict by a UN-back tribunal on Tuesday, insisting it will ignore the decision while warning its rivals too much pressure on the issue could turn the resource-rich and strategically vital waterway into a "cradle of war".
	The Philippines, which launched the legal challenge, had initially refrained from asking China to abide by the ruling. This followed President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to achieve a "soft landing" with the Philippines' much more powerful Asian neighbour.
	But Manila hardened its stance today with a statement detailing Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay's priorities when he attends an Asia-Europe summit, known as ASEM, in Mongolia this week along with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
	"Secretary Yasay will discuss within the context of ASEM's 

Philippines asks China to 'respect' sea ruling

The Chinese government is believed to have infiltrated computers belonging to a US banking regulator, which employees then tried to cover up, a Congressional report has said.
	The computer system at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which guarantees US banking deposits, was "hacked by a foreign government, likely the Chinese" the document released yesterday said.
	According to the report, which was released by the Republican-led Science, Space and Technology Committee, the agency then tried to hide the attacks.
	"The FDIC's repeated unwillingness to be open and transparent with the committee's investigation raises serious concerns about whether the agency is still attempting to shield information from production to Congress," the report said.
	According to the committee, the first hacking was detected in 2010, and the problem reared its head again in 2011 and 2013.
	"In all, 12 workstations were compromised and 10 FDIC servers were penetrated and infected by a virus ...

China likely hacked US bank regulator

Oil prices rebounded in Asia today thanks to a weak dollar and bargain-hunting a day after the commodity sank to fresh two-month lows.
	Both main contracts tumbled more than four percent Wednesday after official US data showed a smaller than expected decline in crude stockpiles, adding to fears that a supply glut might not be easing as quickly as expected.
	Commercial inventories fell 2.5 million barrels in the week ended July 8 but still remained at historically high levels while production, which had been steadily falling, increased.
	Adding to the disappointment about the disappointing reading was the fact it came during the July 4 Independence Day holiday and at the height of the summer driving season.
	However, the sharp drop provided dealers with an incentive to buy a low prices, while a rally in the dollar over the past week was pared, making it even cheaper for anyone holding other currencies.
	At about 0400 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 61 cents, or 1.36 ...

Oil prices rebound on weaker dollar, bargain-buying

Mohammad Amir may be the centre of attention in the build-up to the first Test against England at Lord's, but today's match is also a milestone for Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq.
     Selection rows and fall-outs with previous Pakistan regimes mean that experienced batsman Misbah is now making his first Test tour of England at the advanced age of 42.
     It was six years ago that Amir, new-ball partner Mohammad Asif and then-captain Salman Butt tarnished the reputation of Pakistan cricket with their involvement in a spot-fixing affair that saw the trio conspire to deliberately bowl no-balls during the 2010 Lord's Test against England.
     All three were given five-year bans and jail sentences.
     The intervening period has not been easy for Pakistan, who have had to get used to playing all their "home" matches in the United Arab Emirates because of security concerns arising from an armed attack on Sri Lanka's team coach in Lahore in 2009.
     But under Misbah's shrewed guidance .

Misbah set to finally realise Lord's dream

French President Francois Hollande congratulated Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May on her appointment and urged her to quickly begin talks on the country's divorce from the EU, the Elysee Palace said.
	Hollande "reiterated his wish for the negotiations on Britain's departure from the European Union to be undertaken as soon as possible", the president's office said yesterday in a statement after the two leaders spoke by phone.
	Both also expressed their commitment to the further development of the amicable ties between their countries, it added.
	One of May's first decisions will be when she plans to trigger Article 50 -- the formal procedure for withdrawal from the EU -- which would set a two-year deadline for completing exit negotiations.
	While she supported Britain staying in the bloc, she maintained a low profile during the referendum campaign and insists she will honour the popular vote, stressing repeatedly: "Brexit means Brexit".
	May said last month that if she became ..

Hollande urges May to begin Brexit negotiations

The United Nations warned of fresh fighting in South Sudan, after days of deadly gun battles that have sent thousands fleeing and sparked the evacuation of foreign nationals.
	Fears of a humanitarian crisis were growing with aid agencies -- themselves forced to restrict their work because of the security situation -- saying there were shortages of food and water.
	A fragile ceasefire nevertheless appeared to be holding in the capital Juba for the second day after a sudden flare-up in fighting last week that threatened to drive the world's newest country back into all-out civil war.
	As the guns remained silent, President Salva Kiir said, he was granting an amnesty, with effect from Wednesday, to the ex-rebels loyal to longtime rival Riek Machar who battled government troops in Juba over four days.
	But the situation remains precarious, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the Security Council.
	"We remain very worried about the potential for the resumption of violence and ...

UN warns of new S. Sudan fighting as humanitarian crisis grows

Former Burundian government minister and spokeswoman Hafsa Mossi was shot dead by unknown assailants in the capital Bujumbura today, police said.
	"Hon. Mossi assassinated 10.30 in Gihosha", in the east of Bujumbura by, "two criminals in a vehicle," police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said on Twitter.
	Mossi, a former journalist in her 50s who previously worked for the BBC's Swahili Service, was a member of President Pierre Nkurunziza's ruling CNDD-FDD party.
	"The assassination of Hafsa Mossi is a despicable and cowardly act," Nkurunziza tweeted.
	"This is an inestimable loss for Burundi, her family and the whole EAC (East African Community)," he added.
	Mossi was Burundi's information minister and government spokeswoman between 2005-2007, and at the time of her death was a member of the East African Legislative Assembly, a regional parliament.
	Foreign Minister Alain-Aime Nyamitwe called her death "a great loss for the nation".
	Nkurunziza's controversial but ultimately successful bid 

Former Burundi minister Hafsa Mossi shot dead

Hollywood stars came out to support Jennifer Aniston today after she penned a scathing blog post railing against years of tabloid scrutiny of her figure and persistent pregnancy rumors.
	The "Friends" star complained about daily harassment by paparazzi and questioned a celebrity news culture that objectifies women, insisting: "For the record, I am  not pregnant. What I am is fed up."
	"The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing," she wrote in the Huffington Post piece, published yesterday.
	"The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty."
	The 47-year-old actress's article comes three months after she spoke of her excitement over being named for the second time by People magazine as the world's most beautiful woman.
	"We use celebrity 'news' to perpetuate this dehumanizing view of females, focused solely on one's physical appearance, which ...

Jennifer Aniston blasts tabloids over body shaming

France will send more military advisors to Iraq and its aircraft carrier will return to the Middle East later this year in the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group, President Francois Hollande said today.
	"We will intensify the army's efforts to support the Iraqis as they try to recapture Mosul (from the jihadist group)," Hollande said, adding that the Charles de Gaulle carrier will return to the region "in the autumn" to be used for bombing raids on IS targets.
	Hollande dispatched the carrier to the region following the November 13 attacks on Paris in which 130 people were killed in what he said then was "a war" against the jihadist group.

France to re-deploy aircraft carrier this year in IS fight:

The United Nations warned today of the risk of fresh fighting in South Sudan after days of deadly gun battles that have sent thousands of people fleeing and prompted the urgent evacuation of foreign nationals.
	Fears of a humanitarian crisis were growing with aid agencies -- themselves forced to restrict their work because of the security situation -- saying there were shortages of food and water.
	A fragile ceasefire nevertheless appeared to be holding in the capital Juba for the second day after a sudden flare-up in fighting last week that threatened to drive the world's newest country back into all-out civil war.
	As the guns remained silent, President Salva Kiir said he was granting an amnesty, with effect from today, to the ex-rebels loyal to longtime rival Riek Machar who battled government troops in Juba over four days.
	But the situation remains precarious, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the Security Council.
	"We remain very worried about the potential for the ...

UN warns of new S.Sudan fighting as humanitarian crisis grows

Iran has summoned the French ambassador and lodged a formal protest over a rally outside Paris held by an exiled opposition group last weekend, a diplomatic source said today.
	The National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), which includes the former rebel People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK), claimed that 100,000 Iranians attended the annual rally at Le Bourget, near Paris, on Saturday.
	"The holding of this rally by those whose hands are stained with the blood of the Iranian people... Is unacceptable," said the message handed to French ambassador Francois Senemaud by senior foreign ministry official Abolqassem Delfi, state media reported.
	The MEK is reviled by Tehran for siding with Saddam Hussein's regime during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.
	The US State Department listed it as a "terrorist organisation" in 1997.
	After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, its remaining fighters were disarmed and placed in camps where many of them remain with their families to this day.
	It was ..

Iran calls in French envoy over exiled opposition rally

The aircraft sector hit turbulence today as European giant Airbus slashed output of its A380 superjumbo because of weak demand, putting a lid on plane orders generally at Farnborough.
	European planemaker Airbus revealed late yesterday at Farnborough -- one of the world's largest civilian and defence airshows -- that it would halve production of its enormous A380 to one a month from 2018.
	Chief executive Tom Enders said today he hoped the cutbacks would last for "just a year or two", adding he remained optimistic over the jet's prospects.
	"We are all pretty up optimistic about the longer term prospects  of the A380 and I hope this is just a year or two and then we can raise production rates again," Enders told reporters at the airshow, south of London.
	"We decided back in 2000 to launch the A380 (and) little did we know what the world would look like in 2010, 2015 or 2016."
	He added: "We believe in this aircraft, the company knows what to do. We are proactive and I am quite ...

Farnborough reels as Airbus slashes superjumbo output

Indonesia will sharply strengthen security around its South China Sea islands where there have been clashes with Chinese vessels, the defence minister said today, a day after Beijing's claims in the waters were declared invalid.
	In an interview with AFP, Ryamizard Ryacudu said bolstering defences around Indonesia's Natuna Islands would involve deploying warships, an F-16 fighter jet, surface-to-air missiles, a radar and drones, as well as constructing new ports and improving an airstrip.
	The military build-up, which started in recent months, would be completed in "less than a year", he said.
	"This will be our eyes and ears," the retired general said.
	"So that we can really see what is happening in the Natunas and the surrounding area in the South China Sea."
	His comments came after a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague ruled yesterday against China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, finding in favour of a challenge from the Philippines which has long-running territorial ...

Indonesia details defence plan after South China Sea ruling

A frustrated US Secretary of State John Kerry is heading back to Moscow once again to meet President Vladimir Putin and test his commitment to the stalled Syrian peace process.
	Russia and the United States are nominally co-chairs of international efforts to bring Bashar al-Assad's regime to the negotiating table with armed opposition groups.
	But ferocious bloodshed continues in defiance of a series of failed ceasefires, and the odd couple heading the peace effort appear increasingly at odds over the way forward.
	Kerry told diners at a delayed Eid al-Fitr supper yesterday that he would meet Putin "to see if we can somehow advance this in the important ways that people want us to."
	And he told the State Department guests: "You have my word -- all of you -- that we will continue doing everything that we can to alleviate the suffering in Syria."
	But, as Kerry's spokesman John Kirby said of his boss to reporters earlier: "I'd say he's extremely frustrated, and we want to see real ...

Kerry to meet Putin in bid to save Syria peace process

Iran's nuclear deal with world powers is holding a year after it was agreed but more needs to be done to ensure its full implementation, a top Iranian negotiator said today.
	"The total process has been relatively satisfactory despite the difficulties that we see in the implementation," Hamid Baeidinejad told a press conference in Tehran for the first anniversary of the agreement.
	"We belive that the deal has not been violated so far and efforts continue to resolve the remaining issues," Baeidinejad said.
	The deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of powers (Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States) limited Tehran's atomic programme in return for the lifting of some international sanctions, which took effect in January.
	There has been some disappointment in Iran that the lifting of the sanctions has not yet led to significant investments, with many international investors and banks still wary of doing business with the Islamic republic.
	Despite the lifting of ...

Nuclear deal holding but more work needed: Iran negotiator

A senior Iranian health official warned today that sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS was on the rise, in part because of taboos about discussing sex.
	Iran's deputy health minister Ali Akbar Sayari said the share of HIV transmissions through sexual intercourse had doubled in the last decade from 15 to 30 per cent.
	"The pattern of AIDS transmission through sex is on the rise and people need to be openly informed about it if it's going to be controlled," Sayari said at a press conference with Oleg Chestnov, a senior World Health Organization official.
	The majority of AIDS transmissions in Iran continue to be through syringes shared among drug addicts, though Sayari said authorities have sought to limit infections by giving out free syringes.
	Sayari gave no explanation for the rise in sexual transmissions, but lamented that the issue could not be discussed openly in the conservative Islamic republic.
	"We cannot explain all these issues openly and transparently to the people," he said, .

Sexual transmission of AIDS on the rise in Iran: official

A major crossing point between Gaza and Israel is set to reopen for the first time in nine years, the Israeli government announced today.
	"The Erez crossing point will again be open to goods entering Gaza" from Thursday, a spokesman for COGAT, the defence ministry body responsible for implementing government policies in the Palestinian territories, told AFP.
	"This measure has been taken to facilitate the work of Palestinian importers and thus help the economy of the Gaza Strip," added the spokesman.
	Since 2007 Erez has been restricted to individuals, with goods going through Kerem Shalom in southern Gaza.
	Located in the northern Gaza Strip, Erez is nearer to major Israeli cities than Kerem Shalom and could make bringing goods from Israeli port cities such as Ashdod easier.
	Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for a decade, which it says is necessary to prevent the Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the strip, from rebuilding its military forces and positions.
	According to the .

First time in 9 years, Gaza crossing opening for goods:

A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific late today, the US Geological Service that monitors quakes worldwide said.
	The quake's epicentre was 201 kilometres (124 miles) north east of Raoul Island -- the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, striking 12 kilometres below the surface, the USGS said.
	There were no reports of casualties or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
	The uninhabited Kermadecs, New Zealand's northernmost islands, lie 1,100 kilometres north of Auckland.
	They are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a hotbed of volcanic and earthquake activity at the intersection of several tectonic plates.

Strong 6.3 magnitude quake hits N.Zealand's Kermadec Islands

France today said it had closed its embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul until further notice, after cancelling events to mark the July 14 Bastille Day holiday due to a "real and concrete" security threat.
	The sudden closures of the missions came with Turkey on edge after the triple suicide attack last month on Istanbul's main airport which was blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
	"The Embassy of France in Ankara, as well as the Consulate General in Istanbul will be closed from today July 13, 1.00 PM (1000 GMT), until further notice," the embassy said in a statement after scrapping the July 14 receptions at the missions on security grounds.
	The doors of its premises were shut with a sign in French and Turkish saying the mission was closed for security reasons. Armed police patrolled outside.
	France's consulate in Istanbul, its embassy in Ankara and its mission in the Aegean city of Izmir were all to have held celebrations marking the July 14 ...

AFP

AFP

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