British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond today sought to reassure Israel over a nuclear deal between major powers and Iran, saying "robust measures" were in place to ensure its success.
	"We would not have agreed to the deal unless we were sure we had robust measures in place to deliver effective oversight of Iran's nuclear programme," Hammond said ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
	"Our focus now will be on swift and full implementation of the agreement to make sure that a nuclear weapon remains beyond Iran's reach," he said.
	Hammond was the first senior official from the so-called P5+1 countries to visit Israel since they struck a landmark deal with Iran Tuesday that would row back its nuclear programme in return for relief from crippling economic sanctions.
	The P5+1 -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany -- inked the deal in Vienna with Israel's arch-foe after months of intense diplomacy.
	Israel immediately denounced the ...

Britain's Hammond reassures Israel over 'robust' Iran deal

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US Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Congress next week for the first of several hearings addressing the historic nuclear deal with Iran, amid lawmakers' deep skepticism about the accord.
	Kerry was instrumental in striking this week's agreement with America's historic foe but with the ink barely dry global attention has turned to US lawmakers, who have a crucial role in determining whether the deal holds up or collapses.
	Kerry will testify July 23 at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a panel he chaired before becoming the top US diplomat, the committee's current chairman Senator Bob Corker said in a statement today.
	Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, who played a vital role in the technical aspects of the international negotiations in Vienna, will testify, as will Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
	The accord sees Iran's nuclear program curtailed in exchange for an easing of crippling economic sanctions.
	Congress has 60 days to review the agreement, and can vote to approve or 

Kerry to face Iran deal skeptics at Congress next week

Chris Rogers was in sight of a coveted hundred at Lord's as Australia consolidated their strong position against England on the first day of the second Ashes Test, here today.
     At tea, Australia were 191 for one, with Rogers 81 not out and Steven Smith -- dropped on 50 -- 62 not out.
     The pair had so far added an unbroken 113 for the second wicket.
	Left-hander Rogers -- who plans to retire after this series -- knows 'the home of cricket' well from his time with Lord's-based county side Middlesex.
	This was the 37-year-old's seventh fifty in eight Test innings although none of those knocks had yet led to a century.
	Australia got through the second session without losing a wicket and although a run-rate of under four an over was relatively slow by modern standards, they would have had few complaints about their position.
	The only setback so far for the Ashes holders, looking to level the five-match series at 1-1 after England's 169-run win in the first Test in Cardiff last ...

Australia's Rogers eye ton in second Ashes Test

Beijing has hit out at Manila for repairing a crumbling ship serving as its outpost in the disputed South China Sea, branding the Philippines as a "hypocritical troublemaker and rule breaker".
	The Philippine military deliberately grounded the 100-metre (328-foot) World War II-vintage BRP Sierra Madre atop the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 in an effort to check the advance of China, which four years earlier occupied Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef some 40 kilometres (25 miles) away.
	Philippine Navy spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said yesterday that the rust-ridden vessel was being repaired to ensure the ship remains livable for a tiny unit of marines guarding the reefs.
	The move drew a vehement protest from China, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying accusing Manila of attempting to "permanently steal" the outcrops, while insisting that the reefs and other islets in the Spratlys were Chinese territory.
	"China strongly protests and firmly opposes such an act," Hua said in 

Beijing lambasts Manila for South China Sea ship repair

A US drone strike in Somalia has killed four senior members of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab, including the alleged mastermind of the Garissa University massacre in Kenya in April, a Kenyan interior ministry spokesman said today.
	The strike, which took place in the early hours, claimed the life of Mohamed Mohamud -- also known by the aliases of Dulyadin, Kuno and Gamadhere -- who was on Kenya's wanted list after the massacre, spokesman Mwenda Njoka said.
	"It was a US drone. Kenyan forces usually provide ground support, information and intelligence on such strikes," he told AFP.
	In April, four Shebab militants massacred 148 people at the Garissa University in Kenya's northeast, in what was the group's deadliest single attack to date.
	Most of the victims were students.
	The United States has in recent years launched numerous drone strikes against Shebab leaders, including a strike last September that killed the group's leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.
	Today's attack came just over a week 

Kenya says uty massacre mastermind killed in US drone strike

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is expected to spend at least a third night in hospital where he is being treated for a persistent infection, his daughter said today.
	The 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate was admitted to hospital in Cape Town on Tuesday for treatment with intravenous antibiotics, which could take anything from three to five days, Mpho Tutu told a news conference.
	The infection was not connected with the prostate cancer which Tutu has lived with for 15 years, she said, but it was "below the belt".
	Mpho Tutu said her father was in good spirits and doctors were confident of his recovery.
	"My dad has a deep passion for many causes and concerns and has been a voice for those facing injustice in this world," she said.
	"But he not quite as young as he looks. Recognise his energy is waning."
	The well-loved anti-apartheid icon last December cancelled plans to travel to a meeting of Nobel laureates in Rome, as he battled the cancer.
	He was hospitalised in 2011 for ..

Doctors confident of Tutu recovery: family

Relatives of MH17 crash victims have filed a nearly USD 900 million suit against a one-time leader of Ukranian insurgents over the shooting down of the jet over the rebel-held east of the country last year.
	A writ filed in Chicago yesterday claimed that Igor Strelkov, a Russian also known as Igor Girkin, was acting with the "actual or apparent" authority of President Vladimir Putin's government when the Malaysia Airlines jet was blown out of the sky, killing all 298 people on board.
	Relatives of 17 victims are being represented by a US-based firm specialising in aviation litigation, which is claiming at least USD 50 million for each of the plaintiffs' loved ones.
	Strelkov's wife Miroslava, who also acts as his spokeswoman, said the former rebel -- a self-professed Russian former intelligence agent who spearheaded the insurgency until last August and is now based in Russia -- would not comment.
	"What does he have to do with this anyway," she said on Russian radio.
	The court papers 

MH17 families sue Ukraine rebel for USD 900 mn

The Philippines said today it would re-open a former US naval base that was closed more than 20 years ago, stationing its own military hardware at the facility that faces the flashpoint South China Sea.
	The announcement comes as the Philippines is embroiled in a bitter dispute with China over rival claims to parts of the sea, including a rich fishing shoal close to the military base.
	Defence department spokesman Peter Galvez said the Philippines would station aircraft and naval vessels at Subic Bay, which was one of the US military's biggest overseas bases until it closed in 1992.
	"It's location is very strategic," Galvez said, referring to its position facing the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.
	"If we need to deploy to the West Philippine Sea, it (Subic) is already there, we do not deny that. It's a deepwater port."
	After the Americans left, the sprawling base about two hours' drive north of Manila was converted into a trading zone and industrial hub 

Philippines to re-open former US base amid China sea row

An Egyptian naval vessel was hit and caught fire in the eastern Mediterranean during a clash with militants in the restive Sinai Peninsula today, the military said.
	The patrol boat had spotted militants on the coast of Rafah and engaged them, the military's spokesman said in a statement. The boat went up in flames during an ensuing firefight.
	The military said it suffered no casualties.
	An AFP photographer and a witness in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, just across the border, said the boat was struck at least three kilometres (two miles) from shore.
	"We were sitting on the beach and suddenly there was an explosion," said Ahmed Nofal.
	Other navy boats came to rescue the crew as their vessel spewed a plume of smoke.
	Jihadists loyal to the Islamic State (IS) group have killed scores of soldiers and policemen in the peninsula since the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
	It was not immediately clear how the boat was hit today, but militants have started to ..

Egypt navy boat hit, set ablaze in clash with militants

Ukraine's parliament took the first step today toward granting temporary self-rule to pro-Russian rebels under a change to the constitution the West hopes can end one of Europe's deadliest wars in recent years.
	The divisive issue came to the floor on the day lawmakers also vote on belt-tightening measures needed for the quick release of a USD five-billion IMF payment that could spare cash-strapped Kiev from slipping into default.
	The sudden flurry of activity led visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland to call today "yet another historic day" in a war-torn country that has seen 6,500 people killed since the overthrow of its Russian-backed leadership in February 2014.
	Nuland will meet Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko later today to reassure him of Washington's backing and continued focus on the government's 15-month fight against separatists in the shattered industrial east.
	The idea of granting autonomous status to rebel-run parts of Ukraine's east for the ...

Ukraine takes first step toward giving rebels self-rule

Chris Rogers rode his luck as Australia made an excellent start in the second Ashes Test against England at Lord's today.
     Australia were 104 for one at lunch on the first day, with David Warner the only batsman dismissed, as they looked to level the five-match series at 1-1 after their 169-run defeat in the first Test in Cardiff last week.
     Rogers was 43 not out, on a ground he knows well from his time with Lord's-based county side Middlesex, and Steven Smith 16 not out.
     Australia captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked another typically good pitch at the 'home of cricket'.
     Initially overcast skies offered a hint of swing movement.
     The first over saw Rogers fortunate to survive when he edged an intended drive off James Anderson just over the top of the slip cordon for four.
     Warner is known as the more aggressive of Australia's two left-handed openers.
     But it took him 25 balls to score his first four on Thursday, ...

Rogers gets Australia going in second Ashes Test

Scoreboard at lunch on the first day of the second Ashes Test between England and Australia at Lord's today:
     Australia 1st Innings
     C. Rogers not out              43
     D. Warner c Anderson b Ali        38
     S. Smith not out               16
     Extras (b4, lb2, nb1)           7
     Total (1 wkt, 27 overs, 121 mins)   104
     Fall of wickets: 1-78
     Bowling: Anderson 8-2-28-0; Broad 5-1-14-0; Wood 6-2-25-0; Ali 4-0-24-1; Stokes 4-0-7-0.

England v Australia 2nd Test scoreboard

China today urged Tokyo to avoid "crippling regional peace and security", after the lower house of Japan's parliament passed bills that could see Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since World War II.
	"It is fully justified to ask if Japan is going to give up its exclusively defence-oriented policy", China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.
	"We solemnly urge the Japanese side to... Refrain from jeopardising China's sovereignty and security interests or crippling regional peace and stability," Hua said in the statement posted on the ministry's website.
	Hua described the passing of the bills as "an unprecedented move since the Second World War".
	Japanese forces launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937 and the wartime history between the Asian powers still heavily colours their relations today.
	Beijing -- which is also embroiled in a territorial row with Tokyo over disputed islands in the East China Sea -- regularly accuses the ...

China warns Japan against 'crippling regional peace'

A Greek parliament vote satisfies the initial terms of a bailout deal between Athens and its EU creditors agreed at a 17-hour summit earlier this week, an EU spokeswoman said today.
	"The authorities have legally implemented the first set of four measures agreed at the eurosummit in a timely and overall satisfactory manner," spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt told reporters.
	Parliament in Athens adopted overnight a set of sweeping reforms after radical left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged them to back the unpopular measures, a condition to begin discussions for its new 86-billion-euro bailout.
	"The Greek parliament took an important step toward rebuilding trust with Greece's international partners," added Breidthardt, who represents the European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation EU.
	Michel Reijns, spokesman for Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup of finance ministers representing the 19-country eurozone, said the group had finished a teleconference on Greece and ..

Greek parliament vote satisfies bailout deal terms: EU

Missiles fired from an unidentified military aircraft struck Shebab targets in southern Somalia early today causing casualties, sources said.
	According to traditional elders near Bardhere town in the southern Gedo region, at least two missiles struck vehicles believed to be carrying commanders of the Somali-led Al-Qaeda affiliate.
	"We heard two big explosions and the information we are getting indicates that vehicles were targeted close to a Shebab military base," said Abdiwahab Ali, an elder at a village close to the scene of the attack.
	"Village residents are telling us a missile fired from an aircraft struck a vehicle and a nearby military camp belonging to Shebab," said Hassan Gesle, another elder.
	Immediately after the attack the mobile phone network in Bardhere was cut off, making it impossible to reach Shebab commanders for comment.
	Regional government officials confirmed the air strike but were unable to give details of who was targeted.
	Ahmed Bare, Somali military ...

Air strike kills Shebab militants in Somalia

Hong Kong's booming ivory market is helping push elephants towards extinction, conservationists said today, reporting more ivory items on sale there than in any other city.
	The sale of ivory items from government-registered stockpiles predating the 1989 ban is legal for domestic use in Hong Kong, but a report by Save the Elephants found tusks from recently slaughtered elephants were being passed off as old ivory, and that this ivory was being bought and then illegally smuggled to mainland China on a huge scale.
	"Hong Kong's ivory trade is creating a significant loophole in international efforts to end the killing of elephants in Africa," said the report released in Kenya and Hong Kong.
	"No other city surveyed has so many pieces of ivory on sale as Hong Kong," report co-author Esmond Martin said.
	The report found more than 30,800 items -- mainly jewellery and figurines -- for sale in 72 stores and estimated that over 90 percent of sales were to buyers from mainland China, where ...

Hong Kong ivory trade 'major threat' to elephant survival

An Australian schoolboy who discovered a new species of jellyfish in a Queensland canal has had the tentacled creature named in his honour, scientists said.
	Saxon Thomas was nine when he spotted a small, box-like jellyfish while fishing with a friend in 2013. Thinking it unusual, he removed it from the water with a net, and with help of his father sent it to Queensland Museum.
	"We looked at it and we confirmed it was a new species so we named a new species after him," the museum's Merrick Ekins told AFP on Thursday.
	"We thought about it and we thought, 'Why don't we highlight the fact that a young, keen, observant lad saw it and recognised this as interesting and thought that he should contact the museum'."
	Ekins said three different specimens were found of the small jellyfish, which has a bell measuring about 3 to 4 centimetres and tentacles stretching much longer.
	"It's got a whole lot of scientific characteristics which make it unique," he said of the species named Chiropsella 

New jellyfish named after curious Australian schoolboy

A US experimental drone has set a record for the longest continuous flight of a craft of its size, staying in the air for three days, the International Aeronautical Federation said.
	The Orion prototype long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, similar to the well-known Predator and Reaper style drones used by the US military, flew for 80 hours two minutes and 52 seconds, according to the data validated by the federation.
	The feat actually took place in December over California, when four pilots took turns flying the craft designed to carry a payload of cameras, weapons or other equipment of more than one ton.
	It shattered the previous UAV flight record of 30 hours, belonging to the Global Hawk by Northrop Grumman.
	The drone was built as part of an experimental US Air Force program to meet the round-the-clock needs of American intelligence and surveillance.
	Its manufacturer, Aurora Flight Sciences, hopes to build a series of the planes for the Air Force.
	The overall record for ...

Experimental US drone sets flight record

Washington and London sought today to ease concerns over the Iran nuclear accord as the country's supreme leader warned that major powers are not to be trusted over its implementation.
	As part of an international charm offensive, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposes the landmark accord stuck on Tuesday in Vienna between Iran and world powers led by Washington.
	Netanyahu has condemned it as a "historic mistake" and hinted at a possible military response.
	In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry was to hold talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, whose government has also been alarmed about the deal with its regional rival.
	President Barack Obama confronted the critics head-on on Wednesday, saying they were at odds with "99 percent" of the world and had failed to offer any real alternative.
	As the freshly-inked deal was put to members of the UN Security Council, a combative Obama said ...

Nuclear deal critics wooed, Iran leader urges caution

Ash spewing from an erupting volcano closed the airport serving Indonesia's second-biggest city today, as millions of people were travelling across the archipelago ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid.
	The shutdown of the international airport serving Surabaya, on the main island of Java, came days after the airport on the nearby holiday island of Bali was closed by ash from the same volcano, stranding thousands of holidaymakers.
	Authorities ordered the closure of Juanda Airport near Surabaya between 1:30 PM and 8:30 PM (1900 IST) due to increased activity from Mount Raung, which has been erupting violently in recent weeks, airport spokesman Liza Anindya told AFP.
	"The concern is that the ash might affect flights," she said.
	The closure came during peak holiday season in Indonesia, when people in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country flood out of cities and head to their home towns and villages to spend Eid with their families.
	The celebration, which comes at the end of 

Volcano shuts major Indonesian airport during holiday rush

The skeletal remains of a young child have been found dumped in bushland in southern Australia, with police today looking for an elderly man seen carrying a suitcase in the area.
	Superintendent Des Bray told reporters the dead child, whose sex has not been determined and is believed to have been aged between two and seven, was likely killed elsewhere.
	He said the body was stuffed in a suitcase and left alongside the Karoonda Highway, 130 kilometres east of Adelaide, some four to six weeks ago.
	By the time it was found by a passing motorist on Tuesday, the remains were about two metres away from the bag.
	"The child was originally in the suitcase and at some point, somebody has, we believe removed the child from the suitcase," he said.
	"It's hard to say what happened, and why, but we know for certain that somebody has come, found the suitcase, opened it to have a look what was in there, tipped out the contents and at that stage become aware that it was most likely human ...

AFP

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