As many as 50,000 people are likely to attend the December 2015 talks in Paris aimed at forging a UN pact on climate change, host France said today.
	"Between 40,000 and 50,000 people from 195 countries are expected," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters at the site in Le Bourget, just north of the French capital, where the talks will be held.
	Roughly half this number will be official delegates, and the remainder will be support staff or observers, he said.
	The talks, under the banner of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will run from November 30 to December 11, 2015.
	The biggest official turnout at climate talks was at the ill-fated 2009 summit in Copenhagen, which drew about 26,600 delegates.
	Taking effect from 2020, the Paris agreement must curb heat-trapping carbon emissions that are damaging Earth's fragile climate, amplifying risks from drought, flood, storms and rising seas.
	Efforts to secure a deal are intensifying in the run-up to Paris, ..

Paris climate talks to draw up to 50,000: France

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Oil prices diverged today, the eve of OPEC's meeting to decide on crude output levels, as investors kept a close watch over vital Ukraine-Russia gas talks.
	Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July fell 41 cents to stand at USD 109.58 a barrel in late London trading, compared with yesterday's closing value.
	US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July gained 12 cents to USD 105.06 a barrel.
	Prices had rallied yesterday as investors cheered robust economic data from the US, China and Japan. A breakdown of initial Ukraine-Russia talks to avert a gas cut-off also boosted prices, traders said.
	Brent, a benchmark for the pricing of Middle Eastern crude, "has been consolidating within the recent range of USD 109-110 per barrel... As investors remain cautious ahead of the crucial OPEC meeting in Vienna" on Wednesday, noted Sucden brokers analyst Myrto Sokou.
	"Market participants will watch carefully for any signs of clarification ... From major oil supplier countries."
	OPEC is .

Oil prices mixed on eve of OPEC meeting

A Chinese military unit has run a hacking campaign that includes sending bogus email in a bid to intercept Western satellite communications and aerospace secrets, a US security firm said.
	The report by the California-based firm Crowdstrike points to broader hacking by China weeks after the United States for the first time filed charges against Chinese military officers over alleged cyber-espionage.
	Dubbed "Putter Panda" for its focus on the golf-playing set, the Shanghai-based unit is a "determined adversary group" that has operated since at least 2007 by sending email attacks that target Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Reader and other common software, Crowdstrike said.
	Putter Panda's strategy includes sending email from innocuous-looking addresses -- mike.Johnson_mj@yahoo.Com was one example -- and offering fake invitations in hopes that users will click and unwittingly give hackers access to their computer systems.
	One attachment sent to workers at the Toulouse Space Center in France .

Chinese military hackers target space industry: study

A Bahraini court today handed down jail sentences of up to 13 years against 13 defendants convicted of attacking police during an anti-government demonstration in 2012, a judicial official said.
	The trial was the latest in a string of prosecutions for protests among the Gulf state's Shiite Muslim majority that prompted Human Rights Watch to warn last month that the Sunni ruling family was using the courts as a tool to maintain a "highly repressive political order."
	The defendants were detained after protesters clashed with riot police in the Shiite village of Sitra outside the capital Manama on August 6, 2012, the judicial official said.
	The lead defendant was sentenced to 13 years, while his 12 co-accused were sentenced to 10 years.
	They were found guilty of attempted murder of police officers, possession of Molotov cocktails and gathering on a public highway.
	The 2012 demonstration was one of a spate of persistent protests in Shiite villages that have continued despite a bloody 

Bahrain hands heavy jail terms to Shiite protesters

A gunman shot and killed a student at an Oregon high school today, in the latest in a spate of US shootings, police said.
	The gunman also died in the incident at Reynolds High School in Troutdale in the northwestern US state, said the local police chief.
	"A gunman entered the high school this morning, shot one student. Unfortunately, that student has died," said police chief Scott Anderson in the city just east of Portland.
	"The gunman was located and the gunman is also deceased ... The situation is contained," he added.
	Large numbers of armed police scambled to lock down the school after reports of shots fired around 8:00 am.
	But about an hour later the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said the situation was under control. "Multiple agencies responded and tactical teams are currently evacuating students and staff," it said.
	There were no immediate reports of other casualties, after children could be seen in live TV images filing out with their hands on their heads.
	Some 60 ...

Gunman kills one in new US school shooting

Ankara and Tehran have failed to reach a deal on the pricing of Iranian gas imports to Turkey but will meet again for further talks, officials said today.
	Turkey is one of the largest customers for Iranian oil and a major buyer of its natural gas, with about a fifth of its gas supplies coming from Iran.
	Ankara is seeking a discount on gas prices, arguing that they are unsustainable.
	"Turkey purchases the most expensive natural gas from Iran among other suppliers," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters on the sidelines of a business forum in Ankara attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
	"We believe Iran will go for a discount on the price of the gas because we told them that this is not sustainable," he said.
	Turkish and Iranian ministers held extensive talks late yesterday on the issue but officials said Tehran has so far refused to slash its prices.
	Yildiz said an Iranian delegation would visit Turkey next week for further discussions.
	"The talks will continue to .

Turkey, Iran fail to get gas price deal, agree further talks

A suspected Al-Qaeda gunman today killed a soldier in a Yemeni provincial capital, bringing the death toll in the southern town of Huta to three in as many days.
	The soldier was shot dead at a checkpoint in the town, capital of Lahij province, a security source said.
	Tensions have run high in Huta since a wave of arrests targeting suspected Al-Qaeda militants prompted a Sunday assault on the police station where they were being held, killing a soldier.
	Lahij province is home to the Al-Anad air base, north of the main southern city of Aden, where Yemeni officials have said Washington has personnel deployed gathering intelligence for its drone war against Al-Qaeda.
	In late April, the Yemeni army launched a ground offensive against Al-Qaeda in Abyan and Shabwa provinces farther east.
	Commanders say they have killed more than 500 militants, but the jihadists have regrouped in the mountains and in neighbouring provinces.
	A suspected Al-Qaeda gunman killed a civilian in Huta ...

'Qaeda' gunman kills Yemen soldier in southern town

Ukraine's new Western-backed president today ordered the creation of humanitarian corridors in the separatist east that could save civilians and advance his plan to end nearly two months of fighting by the end of the week.
	Petro Poroshenko's initiative meets a major demand put forward by Moscow and helps address growing concern among rights groups about Kiev's use of tanks and air power in heavily populated areas to suppress the pro-Russian insurgency.
	But the 48-year-old chocolate baron and political veteran stopped short of accepting the Kremlin's request to allow Russian aid into the eastern rustbelt -- a move Kiev fears could be used to help arm the rebels.
	"In order to avoid new victims in the zone of the anti-terrorist operation, the president has ordered the responsible ministers to bring about all necessary conditions for civilians who want to leave," Poroshenko's office said in a statement.
	Russia said the decision was "welcome" but left room for concern that Poroshenko ..

Ukraine orders civilian corridors in war-ravaged east

The UN refugee agency today accused Italy of abandoning hundreds of refugees in car parks on the outskirts of Rome and Milan, abandoning them without shoes, food or money.
	The criticism came as Italy struggles to deal with waves of immigrants washing up on its southern coasts in overcrowded boats, with more than 50,000 people landing so far this year -- a similar number to those who arrived in all of 2013.
	The UN High Commissioner for Refugees slammed the "unacceptable" treatment of the refugees from Syria, Somalia and Sub-Saharan Africa, who landed in Sicily yesterday and were shipped to Rome and Milan in coaches overnight.
	"There were two groups of between 160 to 170 people each. One of the groups was abandoned near Rome, the other near Milan," Carlotta Sami, the UNHCR's spokeswoman in Italy, told AFP.
	Those left near Rome were eventually taken in by a centre for asylum seekers in the capital today, but those in Milan were still in the parking lot in the middle of the afternoon, 

Italy abandons refugees in car parks without food, shoes: UN

Jihadists today overran Iraq's second city of Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh, in a major blow to a government apparently incapable of stopping militant advances.
	Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki responded by asking parliament to declare a state of emergency and announcing the government would arm citizens to fight the militants.
	"All of Nineveh province fell into the hands of militants," parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi told journalists in Baghdad, adding the gunmen were heading south towards neighbouring Salaheddin province.
	An army brigadier general told AFP hundreds of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched a major assault on the security forces late yesterday.
	An interior ministry official said Mosul, the scene of deadly clashes on Friday and Saturday, was "outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants".
	Soldiers and police had stripped off their uniforms and fled, and the militants used loudspeakers to ...

Jihadists seize Iraq's second city, Nineveh province

Russia's low-cost airline today made its inaugural flight to Crimea as authorities seek to boost travel to the former Ukrainian peninsula.
	Dobrolet (Nice Flight), the budget airline of Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot, will make four flights daily from Moscow to the main Crimean city of Simferopol.
	Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended a ceremony at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport to mark the airline's maiden flight to Simferopol.
	One-way tickets in July were available for around USD 98 dollars on the company's website.
	"Our budget carrier Dobrolet is a project of strategic importance not only for Aeroflot group, but for the whole country," Aeroflot chief executive Vitaliy Saveliev said in a statement.
	In August, the airline will also launch flights to Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg and the Volga city of Samara.
	In March, Russia annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea claiming it had to protect Russian speakers following a popular uprising in Kiev.

Russia launches low-cost flights to Crimea

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait today said they expect OPEC to keep oil production levels stable so as not to alter prices at a meeting of the cartel this week.
	Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said the market was "stable and balanced" and that he therefore believed there would not be any decision to change output.
	"The price is at a comfortable level for producer and consumer countries as well as for the oil industry," he said ahead of tomorrow's meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna.
	His Kuwaiti counterpart also said he thought OPEC would keep the oil production ceiling unchanged.
	"I think that all parameters lead to keeping the production as it is and this, of course, will be reflected in prices" remaining unchanged, Ali al-Omair told reporters in Kuwait City before leaving for the Austrian capital.
	The 12-member OPEC cartel, which supplies about one third of the world's crude, is pumping around 30 million barrels of oil daily.
	OPEC is also satisfied .

Saudi, Kuwait expect OPEC to maintain current oil output

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today said his country would "do its best" to secure a nuclear deal as Tehran and Washington held crunch talks on the long-running dispute.
	Senior negotiators from both camps met behind closed doors for a second day of talks at Geneva's upscale Hotel President Wilson, which was sealed off to the media.
	The meeting is part of a fresh diplomatic drive in the face of a looming July 20 deadline for a final deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers.
	"Iran will do its best for a final deal with the P5+1," said Rouhani, a former nuclear negotiator, speaking in Turkey.
	The self-declared moderate was elected president last year, succeeding hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and has launched a drive to mend fences with the West.
	"Iran is ready to sit at the negotiating table for a solution" to both the nuclear dispute and "unfair sanctions", he said.
	After over three hours of talks today morning, Iran's deputy foreign minister and nuclear pointman ..

Iran will 'do its best' to secure nuclear deal: Rouhani

The Ethical Coffee Company today said that a French court had ordered Swiss food giant Nestle to pay it USD 680,000 in damages for criticising their coffee capsules.
	ECC, which is also based in Switzerland, had accused Nestle's Nespresso division of intentionally casting doubts in the public mind about the quality, coffee-machine compatibility, safety and biodegradable nature of its capsules.
	A Paris commercial tribunal agreed, and awarded the pay-out to ECC on Friday, according to a copy of the ruling seen by AFP.
	The penalty punished Nestle, as well as its capsule coffee arm Nespresso and its Nespresso France division, who were also hit with combined legal costs of USD 54,500.
	Founded by a former Nespresso executive, Jean-Paul Gaillard, ECC produces biodegradable capsules which are almost a third cheaper than the original.
	"I'm pleased with this decision, which demonstrates that the justice system works well," Gaillard told AFP.
	ECC, which has marketed its capsules in France ..

Nestle ordered to pay damages to Swiss generic coffee firm ECC

The South African government and its central bank chief today warned that strike-hit platinum mines could close, throwing miners out of work and rocking an already shaky economy.
	The world's three biggest platinum miners -- Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin -- have been deadlocked with strikers demanding better pay for nearly five months.
	"The situation is grave," said Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi. "The longer the strike goes on the more likelihood of shafts being closed."
	Ramatlhodi yesterday abandoned mediation efforts between AMCU, the union representing the striking workers and their employers after they failed to reach an agreement.
	"I suspect there will be job losses, realistically," he said.
	Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said that even if the industrial action were to end now, it is "possible that a number of shafts will never re-open."
	She warned that platinum exports would be hit hard, although the mines have "significant" ...

S Africa warns strike-hit platinum mines could close

Cautious US aviation regulators today announced they have given oil company BP the first commercial license to fly a drone aircraft over land.
	The Federal Aviation Administration gave BP and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) builder AeroVironment permission to use a drone for surveys of oil exploration and pipeline areas in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay area.
	The surveys began on Sunday, using AeroVironment's hand-launched, camera-equipped, 1.4 meter long Puma AE aircraft.
	"These surveys on Alaska's North Slope are another important step toward broader commercial use of unmanned aircraft," said Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.
	"The technology is quickly changing, and the opportunities are growing."
	The FAA has placed very tight restrictions on the use of drones as it studies how to regulate them and maintain public safety.
	Earlier it permitted oil companies to use them for surveys over Arctic waters. But with the cost of a UAS falling sharply, a number of companies, from mining ...

US gives BP first license to fly drone over land

US media conglomerate Time Warner has begun talks for a stake in the fast-growing online news operation Vice Media, reports said.
	The New York Times today reported that Time Warner is considering an investment of as much as USD 1 billion in a deal that could give Vice the cable channel HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News.
	That followed a report in Britain's Sky News that the US media powerhouse could invest as much as USD 2.2 billion.
	Both reports said the talks had not finalised any deal. The two firms did not respond to a request for comment.
	Vice is seen as one of the hottest online news outlets, providing news and videos and aiming at a youth-oriented audience. It began in Montreal as a magazine for music enthusiasts before shifting its focus and moving to the New York borough of Brooklyn.
	Vice's media kit describes itself as "a global media brand producing and distributing premium digital media across platforms for 18-34 year olds."
	It claims 220 million unique ...

Time Warner in talks on Vice Media stake: reports

The thousands of Rohingya Muslims still flooding out of Myanmar's Rakhine state two years after violence erupted there are facing increasing abuse and exploitation, the UN refugee agency warned today.
	Two waves of deadly communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine in 2012 left some 200 people dead and around 140,000 displaced, mainly Rohingya.
	"Two years after inter-communal violence erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine state, thousands of people are still leaving by boat from the Bay of Bengal," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
	"Reports of abuse and exploitation as people seek safety and stability elsewhere are meanwhile increasing," he said.
	He said the desperate refugees faced abuse and exploitation from smugglers and traffickers en route, but also once they reached countries like Thailand and Malaysia.
	The UNHCR estimates that more than 86,000 people have left the area by boat from the Bay of Bengal since June 2012, including 15,000 between ...

Abuse growing as thousands flee Myanmar violence: UN

Syria has begun releasing prisoners, many of whom were held without charge, under the broadest amnesty the country has seen since the Assad clan took power nearly 50 years ago.
	The amnesty declared by President Bashar al-Assad came a week after his controversial re-election as he seeks to portray himself as the champion of reconciliation in the war-torn country.
	Assad is due to be sworn in for a new term on July 17.
	"This is the most important amnesty since Hafez al-Assad (the president's father and predecessor) came to power nearly 45 years ago," said human rights lawyer and ex-prisoner of conscience Anwar al-Bunni.
	He said the amnesty should cover "tens of thousands of prisoners behind bars because of the anti-terror law passed in July 2012", more than a year into an anti-regime revolt.
	According to Bunni, "dozens of prisoners began to be released from Adra prison (in Damascus province) yesterday and the releases will continue today."
	State television showed dozens of ...

Syria begins freeing prisoners after Assad amnesty

Thousands of children in war-torn Somalia are facing death or disability due to an outbreak of highly contagious measles, the United Nations said today.
	Recent rates of infection are four times higher than the same time last year, and a vaccination campaign must be "urgently conducted to prevent thousands of avoidable deaths", the UN children's agency UNICEF and the  World Health Organization (WHO) warned in a joint statement.
	The outbreak comes amid renewed warnings impoverished Somalia risks sliding back into acute crisis less than three years since a devastating famine, amid poor rains, escalating conflict and aid funding shortfalls.
	"We have a very high number of malnourished Somali children," UNICEF chief for Somalia Sikander Khan said.
	"Malnourished children here are more susceptible to disease, and are more likely to die or suffer life long disability such as blindness, deafness or brain damage as a result of contracting measles."
	WHO head for Somalia, Ghulam Popal, said ..

Measles threatens thousands of children in Somalia: UN

A punter staked USD 670,000 today on Scotland voting against independence in the forthcoming referendum, in what is believed to be the largest political bet ever made in Britain, the bookmaker said.
	The middle-aged man, from the English county of Surrey near London, placed the bet at odds of 1/4, meaning he stands to make a profit of 100,000 pounds if Scotland votes to stay in the United Kingdom on September 18.
	"As far as we can ascertain, this is the biggest political bet ever struck," said Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for national bookmaker William Hill, which took the wager at one of its London branches.
	Sharpe did not name the punter but said he did not have a Scottish accent.
	The previous record for a political wager was a 200,000 pounds bet, also laid on a "No" vote but earlier in the campaign, the bookmaker said.
	The latest polling data compiled by the Financial Times found 48 per cent of Scotland's four million voters are against independence, compared to 35 per cent in ...

AFP

AFP

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