Total said today it had pulled out of the Shtokman natural gas project in the Barents Sea, with development of one of the world's largest untouched gas fields apparently falling victim to Western sanctions in Russia.
	"Total has passed to Gazprom its 25 per cent share in Shtokman Development AG and expressed its interest to further cooperate on the project should it enter an active phase," the French energy company said, confirming a report in the Russian business daily Vedomosti.
	The project had been frozen for two years waiting for new technology to make it profitable, but Vedomosti said development solutions Total had recently proposed were prevented from moving forward by sanctions.
	The United States and European Union slapped sanctions on Russia last year over its role in the Ukraine crisis, targeting in particular the oil and gas sector where Russia needs Western technology to profitably access deposits in hostile climates.
	At 3.8 trillion cubic metres of gas, the Shtokman ...

Total pulls out of Russian gas project

PTI Automatic

Iran's parliament voted overwhelmingly today against impeaching the education minister, in a victory for President Hassan Rouhani over hardliners.
	Critics had accused Education Minister Ali Asghar Fani, part of Iran's reformist camp, of failing to address complaints from teachers over low salaries.
	But the impeachment effort, led by ultra-conservatives, was seen as an attack on the government of moderate Rouhani.
	The impeachment motion was rejected by 167 lawmakers in the 290-seat parliament, with 76 voting in favour.
	It had been expected to fail after the majority group in parliament, the moderate conservative "Followers of the Leader" faction, had assured the minister of its support.
	A member of faction, Behrouz Nemati, denounced the motion as "partisan hostage-taking by anti-government lawmakers".
	Fani defended his record in parliament, telling lawmakers that he had been dealing with problems "inherited from the past" in his 22 months in office.
	Lawmakers backing the motion .

Reformist minister survives Iran impeachment vote

Sri Lanka's batting great Kumar Sangakkara is still in talks with selectors to discuss his retirement from Test cricket, captain Angelo Mathews said today.
     Local media had speculated that the 37-year-old will only play three more home Tests -- two in the ongoing series against Pakistan and one against India in August -- before ending his glittering 15-year career.
     But Mathews, speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test against Pakistan at the P Sara Oval in Colombo tomorrow, said the team's senior pro had still not made up his mind.
     "Kumar has still to confirm his retirement plans," the Sri Lankan captain said. "He was supposed to meet the press over the last few days, but he has not done that yet.
     "I know he is still talking to the selectors."
     Sangakkara is the leading current Test batsmen. His 12,271 runs and 38 centuries far exceed second-placed Alastair Cook of England, who has 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds.
     The 131-Test veteran is unlikely to catch .

Sangakkara undecided on Test future, says Mathews

At least 42 people were shot dead by suspected Boko Haram gunmen in attacks on two villages in northeast Nigeria's restive Borno state, a police officer and a resident who fled said today.
	"We received reports of attacks by suspected Boko Haram gunmen on the two villages in which 42 deaths were recorded," the officer said from Biu, 180 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the state capital.
	Some 30 Islamists in a convoy of pick-up trucks and motorcycles stormed Debiro Hawul and Debiro Biu villages on Monday and Tuesday, one resident said.
	The rebels shot dead their victims after looting homes and shops and setting fire to buildings, said Debiro Hawul resident Umaru Markus.
	"They came around 12:30 am (1130 GMT) and opened fire on the village which sent people scampering into the bush to escape the attack," he added.
	"The gunmen slaughtered 22 people who were not fast enough in fleeing and went about looting homes, grains silos and drug stores."
	The attack followed a similar raid on ...

Over 40 killed in 'Boko Haram' attacks in Nigeria: police

Israel said today it was revoking permits for 500 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to enter Jerusalem ahead of Friday prayers because of rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
	A spokeswoman for COGAT, the defence ministry unit which coordinates with Gaza, told AFP the move to cancel part of its measures easing restrictions on Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan applied to this week only and was "because of the rocket" which hit southern Israel yesterday night, causing no injuries.
	Israel had relaxed restrictions on the movement of Palestinians to and from the West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of Ramadan which began last week, including letting up to 800 Gazans enter Jerusalem for prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, each Friday of the month.
	The defence ministry had said the measures were conditional on a continued lull in violence, which was broken late Friday with the killing of an Israeli hiker in the West Bank and the stabbing of a policeman ..

Israel cancels entry permits for 500 Gazans after rocket

Countries across the world have a favorable view of the US and its fight against the Islamic State radical group, according to a Pew Research Centre report.
	America's use of torture, though, was widely condemned, with people in the 40 countries included in the study declaring the practice against suspected terrorists was not justified.
	Internationally, the global median of public perception of the US was 69 per cent favorable and 24 per cent unfavorable. The US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against IS fighters drew 62 per cent support and 24 per cent opposition.
	Those numbers were in stark contrast to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, which was generally viewed unfavorably abroad.
	But the US scored less favorably when people were questioned about what Pew called "the harsh interrogation methods used against suspected terrorists in the wake of 9/11 that many consider torture".
	A median of 50 per cent of global respondents felt the use of such tactics were not justified, compared to .

Global publics support US and fight against IS: poll

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have begun talks to resolve a dispute that halted oil production in the neutral zone between the Gulf neighbours, the Kuwaiti oil minister said.
	"A joint committee formed by the two countries... Has recently held its first meeting in Riyadh," the KUNA news agency quoted Ali al-Omair as saying yesterday.
	The dispute has seen the closure of the Khafji and Wafra oil fields in the neutral zone, which have been pumping for more than half a century.
	The two fields together produced more than 500,000 barrels per day which was equally shared between the two countries.
	Omair said there was no timeframe for the talks but that he expected a breakthrough shortly.
	The offshore Khafji filed was shut down by the Saudi side in October over environmental issues.
	Wafra was closed in May for a two-week maintenance and did not resume production.
	Industry sources say Kuwaiti authorities were unhappy with Saudi Arabia for renewing an operating agreement for the Wafra field ...

Saudi, Kuwait in talks to resolve oil row: minister

An Australian warship patrolling in the Middle East has seized a haul of 581 kilogrammes of heroin with an estimated street value of more than half a billion US dollars, a naval official said today.
	Commander of Australia's Joint Task Force 633, Brigadier Nagy Sorial, said it was the second largest haul ever by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a 30-nation naval partnership which patrols 2.5 million square miles of international waters.
	"The weekend's find made Australia's maritime contribution to CMF one of the world's most effective current heroin interdiction forces," Sorial said in a statement.
	HMAS Newcastle intercepted a stateless dhow off the east African coast where her boarding party uncovered the drugs, the statement added, without saying which country's shoreline it was closest to.
	The guided missile frigate enforces maritime security with a focus on terrorist activity and piracy in the Middle East and Indian Ocean regions, as part of the US-led Combined Task Force, ..

Australian warship seizes half a tonne of heroin

Israeli police said today they had carried out a "wave of arrests" of suspects involved in two attacks by Druze on military vehicles transporting wounded Syrians to hospital.
	Israeli media said nine Druze were arrested over the attacks on Monday, when a mob killed a Syrian and wounded another in the Golan Heights and an ambulance was stoned in the Galilee town of Hurfesh.
	"An extensive wave of arrests was conducted overnight of suspects involved in two incidents of attacking military ambulances near Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights and near Hurfesh," a police statement said.
	Further details of the investigations into both incidents remained under a gag order.
	Syria's Druze minority are traditional allies of President Bashar al-Assad, and the rioters on Monday probably believed the men in the ambulance were rebels fighting to unseat him.
	Army spokesman Major Arye Shalicar told AFP there was "no change" in the Israeli policy of providing "humanitarian" medical care to wounded ...

Israel arrests several Druze after 'lynching' of Syrian

Fishermen off Australia who accidentally caught a whopping 6.3 metre basking shark have provided scientists with a rare opportunity to study the second-biggest fish on the planet.
	Little is known about the species - smaller only than the whale shark - because it does not need to surface for air to survive and so is not often spotted.
	The specimen has been donated to Museum Victoria, in the southern city of Melbourne, whose scientists will use its tissue samples, stomach contents and vertebrae to research its genetics, diet and life history.
	The head and fins will also be used to build a full-scale exhibition model of the animal, which is rated vulnerable to overfishing, the museum said in a statement.
	"These rare encounters can provide many of the missing pieces of knowledge that help broader conservation and biological research," said the museum's senior curator of ichthyology, Martin Gomon.
	Basking sharks are slow-moving plankton feeders which can grow up to 12 metres long. ...

Australian fishermen lure rare monster shark

Japanese authorities have arrested a former senior policeman from Thailand for possessing a loaded gun at a Tokyo airport, officials said today.
	Comronwit Toopgrajank, a former Bangkok police chief, was detained on Monday at Narita airport as he tried to leave the country, a police spokesman told AFP.
	Officials stationed at the airport discovered a revolver with five live rounds in the 60-year-old's suitcase and arrested him on the spot on suspicion of violating gun laws, the spokesman said.
	The suspect told police "the gun was his own and was a gift from a friend, and that he had forgotten he had put it inside the suitcase", the official said.
	"He entered Japan on June 19, and said he visited a waste incineration plant as part of a group of some 80 people," the spokesman added.
	A Thai embassy official told AFP Comronwit was being quizzed by prosecutors.
	Comronwit headed the police in Thailand's capital between July 2012 and May 2014, the same month Thailand's generals seized ...

Japan police arrest ex-Bangkok police chief for gun possession

The Pentagon said that there are some Shiite fighters at an Iraqi military base where Washington just sent 450 reinforcements, but they were not working with US forces, underscoring concerns over links with the sectarian fighters.
	Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that while there is a "small group" of Shiite fighters at the Taqaddum base, there numbered only in the lower double digits, did not form full units and did not interact with US forces.
	Taqaddum is a key area in the fight to retake the city of Ramadi and the Sunni province of Al-Anbar from the Islamic State group.
	Shiite and Kurdish fighters have been critical in bolstering a weakened Iraqi military in efforts to fight IS.
	But the United States is hesitant to see Shiite militias involved in its efforts to battle IS, despite their battle readiness.
	Many of the forces are backed by US-rival Iran and the military has not forgotten intense fighting with Shiite groups after the 2003 American invasion of Iraq.
	The 

US,Shiite fighters not working together at Iraq base: Pentagon

Three Myanmar men were charged today with conspiring to murder a fellow national in Singapore with a gruesome collection of instruments including a chainsaw, a meat mincer, a cleaver and a chopping board.
	Myanmar nationals Yae Wynnt Oaung, 32, Phyo Min Naing, 31, as well as Singapore permanent resident Zaw Min Hlaing, 37, were charged in a district court with plotting to murder another Singapore permanent resident, Aye Maung Maung Thet, 28.
	A fourth suspect, 29-year-old Myanmar national Win Kyaw Kyaw Aung, left Singapore on Monday morning, police said.
	The offence is punishable by up to 14 years in jail plus a fine.
	The four men attempted to abduct Aye Maung Maung Thet at a suburban carpark on Sunday evening, with two of them assaulting him with a taser, an electrical device designed to stun and disable a person, court documents said.
	The men fled when the victim's cries for help attracted the attention of passers-by.
	They were arrested the following day, two of them at a rented 

Myanmar trio charged over Singapore murder plot

England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan said the national side had shown they "could beat the best in the world in any game of cricket" after ensuring New Zealand's tour ended on a losing

England can 'beat the best', says buoyant Morgan

England set themselves up for the Ashes by ensuring New Zealand's tour ended in a comprehensive defeat as they thrashed the Black Caps by 56 runs in the lone Twenty20 international at Old Trafford

England end New Zealand's tour with T20 trouncing

Japanese police said today they had raided Toyota's headquarters in the hunt for evidence, after arresting its most senior female executive for suspected drug law violations.
	The announcement came as reports said American Julie Hamp, 55,  told prosecutors she had the powerful painkiller shipped from the United States to ease problems with her knees.
	A police spokesman told AFP "it's true that we raided" Toyota's headquarters in Toyota city in central Japan, its main Tokyo offices and other offices yesterday.
	Hamp, who was recently appointed to head global public relations at the world's biggest carmaker, was arrested last week for importing a controlled substance without permission.
	She was arrested at her Tokyo hotel after a package containing oxycodone was intercepted at Narita airport.
	The drug -- an opioid used to relieve pain -- is legal with a prescription, but importing it without permission from the authorities is illegal and could be punished by up to 10 years in ...

Japan police raid Toyota HQ over US exec drug charges

Japan and the Philippines flew patrol planes near disputed South China Sea waters for the second straight day today, defying Chinese warnings.
	A Japanese P-3C Orion and a Philippine navy islander flew on a search and rescue drill 50 nautical miles (92.6 kilometres) northwest of Palawan island, officials said.
	While the flight was in the general direction of the resource-rich Reed Bank claimed by both the Philippines and China, officials refused to say if the planes flew directly over the area.
	Following a similar flight on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang warned against hyping the navy drills, suggesting they could undermine stability in the region.
	But Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force Commander Hiromi Hamano told reporters that Wednesday's joint training exercise was a success, shortly after the spy plane landed at a Philippine airbase in Palawan.
	"I think it is important to continue HADR (humanitarian and disaster response), SAR (search and rescue) ...

Japan, Philippines defy China with second spy plane flight

Goals in either half from Saori Ariyoshi and Mizuho Sakaguchi put holders Japan into the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
     Defender Ariyoshi scored her first goal for the "Nadeshiko" after 10 minutes at BC Place Stadium with midfielder Sakaguchi getting the second after 78 minutes.
     Kirsten Van de Ven headed in a consolation goal for the 12th-ranked two minutes into injury time.
     The champions overpowered the Dutch newcomers from the outset and could have been further ahead at half-time but for some sloppy finishing.
     Aya Sameshima missed a golden opportunity for a second goal after 22 minutes but hit over the bar from close range.
     Further opportunities also went astray with Shinobu Ohno firing over just before the half-time whistle.
     The second half also saw more misses with Sakaguchi having one of her shots blocked at 67 minutes.
     And Japanese goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori did well to punch out a close ...

Holders Japan into Women's World Cup last eight

A fire engulfed a nursing home in northern Mexico killing at least 16 elderly residents in a pre-dawn inferno that may have been intentionally ignited, authorities said.
	Another five seniors had burns and smoke inhalation injuries while one person was listed as missing after the blaze at the "Beautiful Dusk" facility, which cared for former homeless people in a rural area of the border city of Mexicali.
	"The people in charge of the facility are looking into the presumption that there was an intent (to set the place on fire)," Mexicali Mayor Jaime Diaz Ochoa told Radio Formula.
	"We have to wait and see what the investigation comes up with."
	A possible motive could have been linked to "problems in management within the civil association" that operates the nursing home, Diaz said.
	News pictures showed that the roof had partly caved in.
	Mexicali fire chief Fernando Rivera said the 4:00 am fire began after a wooden structure was set on fire and the blaze spread.
	The facility near ...

Mexico nursing home fire kills 16

A solar-powered plane on a mission to fly around the world was back in its mobile hangar today, after take off from Japan was postponed at the 11th hour because of bad weather over the Pacific Ocean.
	Solar Impulse 2 had been due to leave the central city of Nagoya at 2.30 am (1730 GMT Tuesday) bound for Hawaii, on the latest and most ambitious leg of a bid to circumnavigate the globe using only the power of the sun.
	But after a few agonising hours poring over meteorological forecasts covering the five days and five nights the flight was expected to take, mission chiefs pulled the plug.
	"The flight was cancelled because of the weather around Hawaii. It's a cold front. The priority is the plane's safety and the pilot's safety," project spokeswoman Elke Neumann told reporters in Nagoya.
	Speaking on a webcast moments after climbing out of the plane's cockpit, pilot Andre Borschberg admitted he was "terribly disappointed", but conceded it was the right thing to do.
	"We were looking to 

Solar Impulse Japan take off postponed

Jailed Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour has arrived back in Qatar, blaming his controversial two-day detention in Germany on pressure from the Egyptian government.
	Mansour's plane touched down in Qatar at 11:45 pm (local time) yesterday, and he was greeted by a number of Al Jazeera executives and members of his family in the VIP lounge of Doha's Hamad International Airport.
	Speaking to reporters in Arabic, Mansour said: "There are lobbies that promote Sisi in the world and play the role of public relations.
	"They put pressure on the German government because the Egyptian government is rubbish and has no value."
	He added that his arrest had been "political".
	"From the first second, I knew I was innocent, I did not do anything wrong or hurt anyone. Everything for me was clear, I was strong all the time."
	German authorities released Mansour, 52, on Monday, having detained the prominent Arab TV journalist two days earlier at a Berlin airport in a move that baffled and angered ...

AFP

AFP

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