Scandal for Labor over bear in there

WHEN Australia does political scandal, it never seems to reach the heights of other nations.

Consider the colour television affair which dogged the government of Malcolm Fraser in 1982.

For the Hawke Labor government, it was the Paddington Bear affair two years later.

The end result was special minister of state Mick Young - a former shearer and Labor national secretary - had to stand down from the ministry for a second time.

He first stood down in July 1983 in the wash-up of the Combe-Ivanov affair when it emerged Young had indiscreetly told a friend of links between former Labor Party secretary-turned-lobbyist David Combe and a Soviet intelligence agent. Young was reinstated six weeks later.

Then on July 5, 1984, Young was flying back into Australia and at Adelaide Airport signed a customs statement saying there was nothing to declare in his baggage.

Included in the luggage he was taking home for his wife Mary and sister-in-law Laurel Hughes were gifts - including a large and undeclared Paddington Bear.

The bear eventually incurred $1093 in duty.

But for Young, there were immediate problems.

The presence of a cuddly toy has tended to trivialise this controversy.

But the opposition compared it to the colour TV affair of 1982 which cost two Fraser government ministers their jobs when a television was declared to be black-and-white instead of colour, thereby evading customs duty.

Cabinet papers for 1984 and 1985, released by the National Archives of Australia on Tuesday, show the Labor government acted quickly, commissioning an inquiry into the bear affair led by lawyer Michael Black, QC.

But cabinet gave Black no special powers to compel answers to his questions and proposed the inquiry be conducted in an inquisitorial rather than adversarial manner.

Black duly produced a 135-page report, concluding there was no intention to evade customs duty, although Young should have taken more time and exercised greater care when he filled out the customs declaration form.

Young, who always insisted he knew nothing of the bear, returned to the ministry.

He eventually quit politics in 1988, again dogged by political scandal over his alleged handling of campaign donations for the 1987 election.

He died in April 1996 aged 59.

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Russia investigates Moscow plane crash

RUSSIAN medics have begun identifying the bodies of four crew killed when a passenger jet careened off the runway of a Moscow international airport and smashed into a highway.

Rescue workers recovered the flight recorders from the four-year-old Tu-204 of tycoon Alexander Lebedev's Red Wings airlines late on Saturday as Russia began mourning its latest post-Soviet crash.

"The plane touched down in the proper landing area but for some reason was unable to stop on the strip," Federal Air Transport Agency chief Alexander Neradko said in televised remarks.

A bigger loss of life was averted only because the 210-seat liner was empty except for eight crew on their return from a charter flight to the Czech Republic.

Mobile-phone footage of the accident posted on the internet showed large chunks of debris hurtling over the highway and smashing into cars speeding on the highway whose drivers had to make sudden emergency stops.

The jet split into three pieces and required the temporary shutdown of both the Kiev Highway and Vnukovo, Moscow's third-largest airport and the site of a special terminal for Kremlin officials.

A security source said investigators had brushed aside poor weather conditions or pilot error and were focusing on technical problems with the Tupolev as the most likely cause.

"According to preliminary information, the Vnukovo catastrophe may have been caused by problems with the plane, which became exposed in difficult weather conditions," the unnamed official told the Interfax news agency.

Witnesses said heavy gusts accompanying a light snowfall were swirling over the airport at the time the plane came in for landing on Saturday afternoon.

Red Wings owner Lebedev - a billionaire famous for his critical view of the Kremlin and his ownership of the London Evening Standard and The Independent in Britain - said the jet had passed a meticulous check in November.

"Plane number 47 had accumulated 8500 flight hours and underwent its last serious check on November 23," Lebedev tweeted.

He also suggested that traffic controllers' initial refusal to authorise landing - requiring the plane to complete several circles over Vnukovo - might have been a contributing factor.

"All machinery has its limits, even when it is new," Lebedev wrote.

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French paper to publish comic on Mohammed

A FRENCH weekly known for publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to the ire of conservative Muslims says it plans to release a comic book biography of Islam's founder that will be researched and educational.

Satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has on several occasions depicted Islam's prophet in an effort to defend free speech and defy the anger of Muslims who believe depicting Mohammed is sacrilegious.

"It is a biography authorised by Islam since it was edited by Muslims," said Charlie Hebdo's publisher and the comic's illustrator, who goes by the name Charb.

"I don't think higher Muslim minds could find anything inappropriate," Charb said on Sunday.

The biography will be published on Wednesday and was put together by a Franco-Tunisian researcher known only as Zineb, Charb said.

The publisher said the idea for the comic book came to him in 2006 when a newspaper in Denmark published cartoons of Mohammed, later republished by Charlie Hebdo, drawing angry protests across the Muslim world.

"Before having a laugh about a character, it's better to know him. As much as we know about the life of Jesus, we know nothing about Mohammed," Charb said.

In September, Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of a naked Mohammed as violent protests were taking place in several countries over a low-budget film made in the United States that insults the prophet.

In 2011 Charlie Hebdo's offices were hit by a firebomb and its website pirated after publishing an edition titled "Charia Hebdo" featuring several Mohammed cartoons.

Charb, who has received death threats, lives under police protection.

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Man missing after canoe tips on NSW river

A MAN is missing after his canoe tipped over on a river in southwestern NSW.

The man, aged in his late 20s, was paddling on the Murrumbidgee River when the canoe overturned about 2.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

He failed to resurface, police say.

Police and emergency services were called out to a caravan park at Darlington Point and a search was begun. It was suspended at nightfall.

Police said the search would resume at first light on Monday and involve local officers, the State Emergency Service and Volunteer Rescue Association.

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'Syria collapse threatens region'

THE UN envoy for the Syria crisis is warning that further deterioration of conditions in the country could send an unbearable stream of refugees into neighbouring countries.

Speaking Saturday after meeting in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, peace envoy Lakhdar Braihmi said "if you have a panic in Damascus and if you have 1 million people leaving Damascus in a panic, they can go to only two places - Lebanon and Jordan. Neither Lebanon or Jordan can support without breaking 500,000 refugees."

Mr Brahimi said that "If the only alternative is really hell or a political process, then we have got all of us to work ceaselessly for a political process."

Neither official gave indication of significant progress toward resolving the 21-month-old conflict in which an estimated 40,000 people have died.

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Strong interest in apprenticeship program

ALMOST 500 potential apprentices have registered for the Gillard government's Kickstart program since it was launched two weeks ago.

The $57.5 million Kickstart program was designed to create up to 21,000 extra apprenticeships in the construction industry.

Tradies who take on a new apprentice before the end of February will get a bonus $3350 from the commonwealth, tripling the upfront incentive paid to employers in the first year.

Minister for Skills Senator Chris Evans said applications had been received from across the country, with the strongest demand so far in carpentry, plumbing and engineering fabrication.

"This is the perfect opportunity for school leavers in particular to get a head start on a successful and rewarding career in the industry," Senator Evans said.

"We will need more skilled tradespeople in the housing sector as we approach the predicted upturn in 2014 and 2015."

The three east coast mainland states have registered the most interest, with more than 200 potential apprentices applying in Victoria, 112 in NSW and 109 in Queensland.

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'Worst of euro debt crisis over'

GERMANY'S finance minister says the worst of euro area's debt crisis appears to be over after three years of worries over Greece and other members of the group of 17 European Union countries that use the single currency.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted as telling the Bild newspaper: "I think we have the worst behind us."

Mr Schaeuble says Greece and others have recognised that they can only overcome the crisis by implementing reforms and that the Greek government - which has received two bailouts - "knows that it cannot financially overburden the other euro states".

Some in Germany have expressed concern about the economy of neighboring France. But Mr Schaeuble says the government there "knows very well that every country must constantly conduct reforms to remain competitive."

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Mubarak to be taken to hospital

EGYPT'S state prosecutor has ordered imprisoned former dictator Hosni Mubarak to be transferred to a military hospital after his health deteriorated, a source at the prosecutor's office said.

Mubarak, serving a life sentence over the killings of protesters, was briefly taken to hospital on December 19 for scans after he fell in his prison bathroom.

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World's longest fast train line opens

CHINA has opened the world's longest high-speed rail line that more than halves the time required to travel from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.

The opening of the 2,298 kilometre-line was commemorated by the 9am local time departure of a train from Beijing for Guangzhou. Another train left Guangzhou for Beijing an hour later.

China has massive resources and considerable prestige invested in its showcase high-speed railways program.

But it has in recent months faced high-profile problems: part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains in March, while a bullet train crash in the summer of 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in an unrelated corruption investigation months before the crash.

Trains on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300kp/h with a total travel time of about eight hours. Before, the fastest time between the two cities by train was more than 20 hours.

The line also makes stops in major cities along the way, including provincial capitals Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha.

More than 150 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the new line every day, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Railways.

Railway is an essential part in China's transportation system, and the government plans to build a grid of high-speed railways with four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020.

The opening of the new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed railway system to more than 9300km - about half its 2015 target of 18,000 km.

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Man charged with Yarraville murders

A 24-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with the murders of an elderly couple whose bodies were found in their burning house last Saturday.

In an out-of-sessions court hearing, Ross Konidaris of Sunshine West, in Melbourne's north, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of arson.

Last Saturday, fire destroyed the home of the elderly couple in Yarraville, in Melbourne's inner west, and police said the fire was suspicious.

Konidaris, who was arrested in Yarraville on Wednesday, was remanded in custody to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.

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Dig uncovers ancient Judaean temple

ISRAELI archaeologists have uncovered a rare temple and religious figurines dating back to the Judaean period nearly 3000 years ago, Israel's Antiquities Authority said.

The discoveries were made at Tel Motza, outside Jerusalem, during archaeological work taking place ahead of new highway construction in the area.

"The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judaea," the dig directors said in a statement.

Anna Eirikh, one of the directors, said that the discoveries were rare evidence of religious practice outside Jerusalem during the Judaean period.

"What we can say for sure is the figurines served for religious purposes, and that Tel Motza was a Judaean kingdom," she said.

The findings date to the 9-10th century BC, when the First Temple would have already been built in its Jerusalem location.

The Jews of that era seemed to have kept some of the prevalent pre-Judaism practices alongside the mainstream worship in the Jerusalem temple, she said.

"It's very interesting to see these religious artifacts and temple so close to Jerusalem, a walking distance," she said.

"We know very little about religious practice during the Judaean kingdom, there are two or three more sites of worship, and this is the closest to Jerusalem."

The items discovered, near an altar of a temple, include ritual pottery vessels, fragments of chalices and figurines of animals.

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Four killed in northern Kenya cattle raid

FOUR people have been shot dead in a raid to steal cattle in northern Kenya, despite a major security operation after 42 policemen were killed in an ambush by alleged rustlers in the same area last month.

"Four people were killed and 12 others were injured in the raid, all of them sustained gunshot wounds," a senior police officer in Baragoi, a remote rural locality in the arid north, said after Monday's attacks.

"The raid was done by Turkana herdsmen who stole cattle, we believe some of them must have escaped with injuries," the officer said, adding that they also made off with 200 goats but that some had been recovered.

Police and the military have mounted a security operation in the Baragoi area after 42 police officers were killed in an ambush as they were hunting cattle rustlers, the deadliest such attack against the country's police force.

Cattle theft and ensuing clashes between rival pastoralist groups claim dozens of lives every year in northern Kenya.

The violence is not believed to be linked to politics, but it raises concerns over security in volatile areas of the country ahead of the March elections, the first being held since the December 2007 vote that triggered a wave of deadly unrest.

The ethnic violence in the aftermath of the disputed vote left 1100 people dead and shattered Kenya's image as a beacon of regional stability.

Kenyan police have come under fierce criticism for failing to stop inter-communal killings.

Earlier this month, 45 people including women and children were hacked to death in an attack on a remote village in the southeastern Tana River Delta coastal region. Another 100 lives were lost in similar violence in the area in August and September.

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UN envoy worried after talks with Assad

THE international envoy tasked with pushing to end Syria's civil war says the situation is "worrying" after discussing the crisis with President Bashar Assad.

In brief comments to reporters after meeting the Syrian leader at the presidential palace in Damascus, Lakhdar Brahimi said he and Assad exchanged views on the conflict and discussed possible steps forward, which he did not disclose.

"The situation in Syria is still worrying and we hope that all the parties will go toward the solution that the Syrian people are hoping for and look forward to," Brahimi said.

Syria's state news agency quoted Assad as saying his government supports "any effort in the interest of the Syrian people which preserves the homeland's sovereignty and independence".

Brahimi has apparently made little progress toward brokering an end to the conflict since starting his job in September, mostly because both sides adamantly refuse to talk to each other.

The government describes the rebels as foreign-backed terrorists set on destroying the country. The opposition says that forces under Assad's command have killed too many people for him to be part of any solution.

Brahimi's two-day visit was to end later Monday. It is his third to Damascus as an envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League.

The security situation in Damascus and elsewhere in the country has declined since Brahimi's previous visits. Instead of flying in to the Damascus International Airport as he did on earlier visits, Brahimi drove to Damascus over land from Beirut because of the fighting near the Syrian capital's airport.

Reports by anti-regime activists of the airstrike Sunday on a bakery in the central town of Halfaya that killed scores of people also cast pall over Brahimi's visit.

Amateur videos posted online showed the bodies of many dead and wounded scattered in a street.

On Monday, Syria's state news service blamed the attack on "an armed terrorist group" - its shorthand for the rebels - accusing them of filming the aftermath to "frame the Syrian army."

In the videos, however, armed rebels are clearly among those tending to the dead and wounded.

Anti-regime activists say the civil war has killed more than 40,000 people since March 2011.

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India and Russia sign major aircraft deal

RUSSIA and India have signed deals for military aircraft estimated to be worth several billion dollars during Russian President Vladimir Putin's day-long summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Ten agreements were signed during the summit, including a contract for the supply of 42 Russian Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets to be manufactured under licence in India, the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

A separate contract was signed for the delivery of 71 Mi-17 V5 attack helicopters.

Analysts estimated the deals to be worth about $A3 billion.

An agreement was also signed between India's Elcom Systems and Vertoleti Rassi for setting up a joint venture in India for the manufacture of Russian helicopters.

"Russia is a key partner in our efforts to modernise our armed forces and enhance our defence preparedness," Singh said.

Russia supplies 60 to 70 per cent of India's defence equipment, and the two countries have embarked on several joint ventures, including development and production of supersonic BrahMos missiles.

In recent years, however, France's Dassault Rafale and US-based Boeing have won contracts for supplying military aircraft.

The two leaders also discussed trade, investment, co-operation in the nuclear energy sector and the situation in Afghanistan, they said at a press briefing.

India and Russia have been trying to boost trade and investment and expand it in areas other than defence. Two-way trade stood at $A7.25 billion in 2009 and was estimated at $A10 billion in 2012, the Indian government said.

Monday's agreements included a memorandum of understanding between the Russia Foundation for Direct Investments and the State Bank of India to promote up to $A2 billion of direct investment between the two countries.

The other pacts signed aimed at boosting co-operation in the fields of science and technology, information technology, pharmaceuticals and cultural exchanges.

Singh and Putin discussed a nuclear energy plant at Kudankulam in southern India, which is being built with Russian assistance.

The first two units are near completion, but the third and the fourth unit have run into trouble with India enacting a nuclear liability law that Russia said would affect the price agreed for the project.

No details were given of the Kudankulam discussions, with Singh saying: "Negotiations for the construction of units three and four at Kudankulam have made good progress."

The two sides also discussed regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan and West Asia.

"We reviewed the ongoing developments in Afghanistan and agreed to work together against threats posed by extremist ideologies and drug trafficking," Singh said.

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Xstrata hikes cost estimate for PNG mine

SWISS mining giant Xstrata says it will cost $US300 million ($A290 million) more than previously expected to develop the Frieda River copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea.

The Swiss company had, according to a statement, handed over a feasibility study to its local partner on the project, Highlands Pacific, showing that it now expects the total investments to tick in at $US5.6 billion, compared with a previous estimate two years ago of $US5.3 billion.

Xstrata, which owns nearly 82 per cent of the project, also said it had delivered a "Study Programme Report" examining the possibility of providing electricity to the mine through a gas-fired transmission line rather than the previously proposed hydro-electric dam.

"It also identified the potential for additional capital savings in relation to waste management," Paul Gow, Xstrata's manager of the project, said in the statement, pointing out the potential savings could reduce investments to $US5.0 billion.

In a separate statement, Highlands Pacific said the estimated investment increase was in part due to the depreciation of the US dollar in recent years - something that has significantly raised costs for a number of other new mining projects around the world as well.

Last June, Xstrata hinted it might consider selling its participation in the project, as it re-evaluated its global activities.

The Frieda River mine is expected to produce 204,000 tonnes of copper and 305,000 ounces of gold over a 20-year mine life, according to Xstrata, which began managing the project in 2007.

Highlands Pacific said it and Xstrata were set to hold discussions with the Papua New Guinea government next year to discuss equity ownership, permits and when project development can begin.

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Pell says sorry to victims of clergy abuse

Cardinal George Pell, leader of the Catholic church in Australia, says he is "deeply sorry" for the pain caused by those in his organisation. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: News Limited

AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholic has apologised to those who have "suffered at the hands" of priests and religious teachers.

While not specifically mentioning allegations of child sex abuse by members of the clergy, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell said he was "deeply sorry" for the hurt that had occurred, calling it "completely contrary" to Christ's teachings.

"I am deeply sorry this happened," Cardinal Pell said.

"I feel too the shock and shame across the community at these revelations of wrongdoing and crimes."

In his statement, Cardinal Pell said people had "suffered at the hands" of fellow Christians, Christian officials, priests and religious teachers.

The Christmas message comes after the federal government this year announced a royal commission to investigate child abuse in Australia, including in the Catholic Church.

It follows claims abuse by clergy was covered up by Catholic Church hierarchy.

Faith in "God's goodness and love" was needed "to help those who have been hurt", Cardinal Pell said in his message.

"We need the hope that comes to us from Christ's birth with his call to conversion, to sorrow for sins and the necessity of reparation," he said.

"The light of Christ shines through this darkness."

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Elderly woman dies in NSW crash

A ELDERLY woman has died following a crash near Wollongong, marking the first death on NSW roads during the Christmas toll period.

Police said the woman, aged 79, was travelling with her husband and another married couple, aged 73 and 74, when the car they were in collided with another car in Mount Ousley just after 1pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

Police said the woman was taken to Wollongong Hospital but died a short time later.

Her 80-year-old husband is in a serious but stable condition with suspected spinal fractures.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or the circumstances leading up to it is urged to contact Southern Region Crash Investigation Unit on (02) 4232 5411 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012 until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.

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Monti won't run but could still rule

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, who handed his resignation in on Friday, will not directly campaign to run the country. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

ITALY'S caretaker Premier Mario Monti has said he won't run in February elections, but if political parties that back his anti-crisis agenda ask him to head the next government he would consider the offer.

Mr Monti ruled out heading any ticket himself, saying "I have no sympathy for 'personal' parties."

At a news conference, Mr Monti also made clear he was spurning an offer from his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi to run on a centre-right election ticket backed by the media mogul, citing Mr Berlusconi's heavy criticism of his economic policies.

Mr Monti's decision ends weeks of speculation that have dominated Italian politics and preoccupied Europe, which is eager to see Mr Monti's financial reforms continue.

The premier, an economist who has spent 13 months tasked with trying to right Italy's troubled economy, said Mr Berlusconi's flipping back and forth between condemning the government's economic policies and then praising the premier convinced him that "I couldn't accept his offer".

Mr Monti was tapped by Italy's president to lead the country after Berlusconi was forced to resign, having lost the confidence of international markets. He stepped down on Friday after Mr Berlusconi's party withdrew its support from his technical government, but has been asked stay on in a caretaker capacity in the run-up to Febraury 24-25 elections.

Other centrists parties in Parliament have been urging him to run for another stint as premier. Mr Monti said "I won't line up with anyone," but made clear he was available to head the next government.

"If one or more political forces is credibly backing (Mr Monti's) agenda or even has a better one, I'd evaluate the offer," Mr Monti said.

"I don't like aligning myself with parities, but with themes" of a political and economic agenda, Mr Monti added.

Mr Monti expressed gratitude to Mr Berlusconi for his backing of key anti-crisis measures as pension reform.

"But I struggle to understand his line of thought," he said. "Yesterday, we read that he assessed the work of the (Monti) government to be a complete disaster. A few days earlier I read flattering things."

The logic of Mr Berlusconi's positions "escapes me" and "I couldn't accept his offer," Mr Monti said, drawing chuckles.
 

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Wiggles, Aussie talents woo Carols crowd

THOUSANDS of arms and legs waved and flailed at Sydney's Carols in the Domain, as the original members of The Wiggles celebrated their last carols bonanza.

More than 50,000 people packed into the Domain on Saturday, as the popular annual event ushered in the Christmas cheer with The Ten Tenor's rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful at 8.30pm (AEDT).

But the cheers really kicked off when Australia's most loved children's music group said their final goodbye to the event.

"Three of the members are hanging up their skivvies so tonight is their very last television performance before handing over to new band members," the Carols co-host Natalie Barr said.

"So this is it Australia, the end of an era," Matt White said.

The crowd jumped to their feet, shooting out arms and legs in unison with the original Red, Yellow, Red, Purple and Blue wiggles as they sang and danced to Fruit salad, Hot Potato and Jingle Bells.

"The Wiggles have been performing at Carols in the Domain for 20 years ... and we have always had such a wonderful time," Red Wiggle Murray Cook said, adding that next year will see the three new Wiggles perform.

Earlier in the evening candles began waving as Troy Cassar-Daley sung Have Yourself a Merry Christmas - later coming back with guitar in tow to sing Jingle Bell Rock.

Georgie Parker and Jay Laga'aia teamed up for the Christmas favourite Here Comes Santa Claus and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, eliciting a big cheer from the crowd.

Meanwhile The X-Factor favourites The Collective channelled the 1980s, with a rendition of the Wham! classic Last Christmas' prompting some more screams from the audience.

"Slightly popular. The Twittersphere just exploded, The Collective is in town," White quipped.

The X-Factor winner Samantha Jade, backed by a chorus, also wooed the crowd with Away in a Manger.

The cast of the new musical Legally Blonde then turned the stage pink with the modern favourite All I Want For Christmas is You.

Nineteen-year-old tenor - and 2009 Australia's Got Talent winner - Mark Vincent had the revellers in awe with a booming rendition of Jerusalem.

R&B singer-songwriter Jessica Mauboy delivered a tender rendition of Silent Night, before Vincent returned, joining opera singer Ali McGregor to lead the Salvation Army choir with Ode to Joy as fireworks boomed into the Domain sky.

A full-cast finale, joined by a suitably burly, jolly Santa Claus, saw a medley featuring Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and We Wish You a Merry Christmas close the night in party mode as pyrotechnics blasted above one last time.

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Man shot in chest, critically injured

A MAN has been shot in the chest in his home in Brisbane's south.

Police are now hunting a gunman who fled the scene after shooting a 41-year-old man on Callistemon Court at Greenbank about 8pm.

The victim was in his home when he was shot but it is unknown whether the men knew each other.

It's not believed that the shooter forced his way into the home or that the man was shot in a drive-by style incident.

The man was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition and is undergoing surgery.

Police have cordoned off the home and forensic officers have established a crime scene.

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'Erin Brockovich' toxin at Japan plant

THE toxic chemical made infamous by campaigning single mother Erin Brockovich has been found at up to 15,800 times safety limits in groundwater at a Japan iron plant, the factory's operator said Thursday.

Excessive amounts of hexavalent chromium were discovered at Nippon Denko's plant in Tokushima in the country's west as it prepared to halt production of chromium salts at the sixties-era factory, the firm said.

Also known as chromium-6, cancer-causing hexavalent chromium was at the centre of the 2000 US film Erin Brockovich, which starred Julia Roberts as a real life legal assistant who leads a battle against a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.

At the Japanese plant, the chemical was found at up to 400 times safety limits in soil and up to 15,800 times allowable levels in groundwater, Nippon Denko said, but added that "no hazards to human health or the outside environment" were reported.

"We voluntarily surveyed the soil and groundwater at the plant between June and August before the closure," a company spokesman said, adding that two dozen locations on the site were tested.

"At the moment, we're assuming the contamination is limited to the plant's compound and that no adverse effects have been caused to surrounding areas," a local government statement said.

The authority said its own survey had found no traces of the chemical in water surrounding the plant, which sits on landfill, or in wells on the fringes of the facility.

The company said it was planning to enclose contaminated areas with 11 metre containment walls to prevent seepage of the tainted groundwater.

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Retrial for cops jailed in Egypt death

A COURT in Egypt has ordered a retrial of two policemen jailed for beating a young man to death in a shocking case that helped spark the country's revolution in early 2011.

The Court of Cassation on Thursday overturned seven-year prison sentences handed to officers Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Esmail Suleiman in October 2011 for the beating death of 28-year-old Khaled Said in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in June the previous year.

The court did not immediately release its reasoning for the new trial. In past cases, courts have overturned verdicts because of faulty trial proceedings.

Said's death enraged many Egyptians. Disturbing photographs of his badly mutilated corpse published on the internet sparked vigils and protests in Alexandria and Cairo.

A Facebook page dedicated to Said fuelled protests that targeted police stations nationwide, becoming part of the popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

In a separate case, a court in Alexandria on Thursday acquitted a police officer accused of torturing to death an Islamist suspected in a deadly church bombing in January 2011.

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Russia recognises need for change in Syria

RUSSIA realises changes in Syria are needed but is concerned the push to unseat President Bashar al-Assad's regime could plunge the country even deeper into violence, Russian President Vladimir Putin says.

Putin's assessment came just a week after Russia's top envoy for Syria was quoted as saying Assad's forces were losing control of the country. Although the Foreign Ministry backpedalled on that statement, analysts have suggested for months that the Kremlin is resigned to losing its long-time ally.

At his annual hours-long news conference, Putin said Moscow stands for a settlement that would "prevent the country from breakup and an endless civil war.

"Agreements based on a military victory can't be effective," he said.

Russia has repeatedly blocked international attempts to step up pressure on the Assad regime as it fights an increasingly strong armed opposition. That has brought substantial criticism of Russia as effectively supporting the regime, but Russia has said its stance isn't aimed at propping up Assad.

"We are not preoccupied that much with the fate of the Assad regime; we realise what's going on there and that the family has been in power for 40 years," Putin said. "Undoubtedly, there is a call for changes.

"We are worried about another thing: what happens next," he said. "We don't want to see the opposition come to power and start fighting the government that becomes the opposition, so that it goes on forever."

Russia wants "people to come to an agreement on how they will live further and how they will ensure their safety and their participation in governing the country and then start changing the current order based on those agreements."

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Chaos, not cover-up, at BBC: UK report

The BBC will release a report into its handling of the child-sex abuse claims against Jimmy Savile. Source: AAP

AN internal report into the BBC's handling of a pedophilia scandal surrounding one of its best-known children's presenters is blaming weak management for failing to get to grips with the story.

But the review has absolved any BBC executives of trying to bury the potential embarrassing story, saying that confusion and poor leadership were to blame for the fact that a planned expose about the presenter, Jimmy Savile, was never aired.

When a rival broadcaster later aired a similar expose, the BBC came under fire both for harbouring an alleged serial sex abuser for decades and for killing its own story.

The review was carried out by Nick Pollard, the former head of another BBC rival, Sky News.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police lie 'led UK minister to quit'

BRITISH police say they are investigating "extremely serious" allegations that an officer fabricated evidence which led to the resignation of a senior cabinet minister.

The officer is said to have pretended to be a member of the public who saw Andrew Mitchell's verbal exchange with policemen as he was stopped from cycling out of the main gates of Downing Street in September.

But the officer's account was discredited when it emerged he was not at the scene of the altercation, in which it was alleged Mitchell called the policemen "f*****g plebs".

At the weekend an officer was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.

Mitchell - who as chief whip was the minister responsible for enforcing discipline in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party - has always denied calling the police "plebs" but admitted swearing.

He was forced to resign in October.

London's Metropolitan Police vowed to "get to the truth" of allegations after Britain's Channel 4 news showed CCTV footage of the altercation and made the allegations about the policeman pretending to be a member of the public.

"The allegation that a serving police officer fabricated evidence is extremely serious," the Met said in a statement.

It said the claims went to the "very heart" of trust in the police and promised to conduct a "thorough and well-resourced investigation" into whether there had been a "conspiracy".

Cameron's office said the claims that the officer had lied about the incident were "exceptionally serious".

"It is therefore essential that the police get to the bottom of this as a matter of urgency," a Downing Street spokesman said.

Mitchell, a sometimes abrasive character who is believed to have had enemies within the cabinet, has admitted swearing but denied calling the officers "plebs".

Supporters of Mitchell in Cameron's Conservative party questioned how the police officer's account was not questioned earlier.

David Davis, a senior backbencher, said: "How on earth could this have happened? The man wasn't where he said he was, there wasn't the crowd he said was there and his description read like an extract from a police log itself. You have to say, where did this come from?"

The Mitchell row comes against a backdrop of tension between the government and the police over cuts to its funding as part of the drive to cut a record deficit.

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Thai deputy PM charged over tiger export

A THAI deputy prime minister has been charged in connection with the export to China of 100 tigers, an endangered species protected by international law, the attorney general's office told AFP.

Plodprasop Suraswadi approved the export of tigers from Sriracha Tiger Zoo - a popular tourist attraction a few hours from Bangkok - to a Chinese breeding firm in 2002. He was the head of the forestry department at the time.

He was charged under an article in Thai law which includes the "abuse of power, failing to carry out his duty and/or corruption," according to Teerayhut Mapame of the attorney general's office.

It was unclear why the charges were being brought a decade later.

Plodprasop, who became one of the nation's deputy prime ministers in November, admitted sending the endangered creatures to China but denied the charges against him.

"I'm not wrong as I have always performed my duty. Sending the tigers to China was not wrong," Plodprasop told reporters after being granted bail of $US4000. ($A3812)

"If anyone accuses me of wrongdoing, then I ask them to bring evidence to prove how it caused any damage."

Under international laws the trade in tigers and tiger parts is strictly banned, except for non-commercial reasons such as scientific research.

The zoo at the centre of the controversy is home to 400 Bengal tigers, according to its website, allowing thousands of tourists each year to get close to the creatures. It holds shows in which tigers jump through flaming hoops.

Thailand is one of just 13 countries hosting fragile tiger populations - estimated at fewer than 300 in the wild - and is a hub of international smuggling.

Worldwide, numbers are estimated to have fallen to only 3200 tigers from approximately 100,000 a century ago.

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Renault signs for first plant in Algeria

RENAULT will sign a pact Wednesday to build its first plant in Algeria during a highly symbolic visit by President Francois Hollande to the former French colony, a company spokeswoman said.

"Renault will sign the agreement tomorrow," she said, confirming press reports.

According to France's Le Figaro newspaper, the factory will be located in the second city of Oran and will be geared to the burgeoning local market.

Car sales in the north African country are expected to touch 450,000 units this year against 300,000 in 2011. Renault already holds a 25 percent market share.

According to the daily, the Algerian state will hold a 51 percent stake in the venture and Renault will hold the rest.

It will produce the Renault Symbol, a sedan based on its Clio compact sold mainly in markets where hatchbacks are not traditionally favoured.

The plant will have an initial capacity of 25,000 vehicles annually from 2014 and will rise to a maximum yearly output of 75,000, according to Le Figaro.

Algeria is an important supplier of oil to France, hundreds of French businesses operate there, and France is its top trade partner.

Hollande goes there on a two-day visit Wednesday, accompanied by a dozen government ministers and senior executives from top French firms.

The aim of the trip is to try and end simmering resentment over French colonial rule and buttress trade ties with the world's fourth-largest gas exporter.

In February, Renault inaugurated a giant factory in Morocco to build low-cost cars, sparking controversy in France where a loss of industrial competitiveness has rankled.

Renault is seeking to push no-frills models such as the Dacia range with its sales plummeting in Europe faster than any other carmaker.

The company has said it will make strategic investments overseas, notably in Russia and China, and also focus on top-of-the-range cars and electric vehicles.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

European stocks climb on hopes of US deal

EUROPE'S main stock markets have climbed as investors welcomed signs of progress in talks on a new deficit-cutting budget to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff in the United States, dealers say.

In late morning deals on Tuesday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.40 per cent to 5,935.72 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 0.53 per cent to 7,644.98 points and the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.10 per cent to 3,641.91.

Milan's FTSE Mib index added 0.44 per cent to 16,075.25 points, ahead of a key budget vote by the Italian parliament, while Madrid's IBEX 35 gained 0.95 per cent to 8,117.2 points.

"Stocks are gaining altitude this morning as investors, confident that the fiscal cliff drama will be solved this side of Christmas, resume buying," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at online brokerage Interactive Investor.

"Talk of President (Barack) Obama changing his stance over tax hikes for the wealthy is being heralded as the breaking of one of the final barriers to a resolution."

The European single currency firmed to $US1.3181, up from $US1.3161 late in New York on Monday. Gold prices advanced to $US1,701.25 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $US1,695.75.

In company news, Rolls-Royce shares rallied 0.93 per cent to 867.50 pence in London after it confirmed a $US1 billion ($A952.06 million) contract with Japan's Skymark Airlines for Trent 900 engines to power six Airbus A380 aircraft.

Asian equities mostly rose on Tuesday, taking a lead from Wall Street as dealers grow confident US lawmakers will reach an agreement.

Politicians are seeking to break the deadlock and avert automatic taxation hikes and spending cuts that are due to come into effect on January 1 in the United States.

Experts fear that the fiscal cliff package could tip the world's biggest economy back into recession.

"Giving markets a boost is a late rally in US stocks yesterday evening carrying over to European markets this morning as President Obama indicated that he would be willing to raise the income threshold by which tax increases would come into effect," said ETX Capital trader Markus Huber.

"As expected - with the end of the year approaching fast (and) a rather empty economic data schedule ... focus will mostly be on US budget negotiations with the smallest hint of progress or setback can have a substantial impact on the markets," he said.

Any indication that there is some movement in the budget negotiations and that the two parties are making an effort to find a solution "is enough to keep markets moving higher", added Huber.

President Obama hosted top Republican lawmaker John Boehner in the White House for 45 minutes on Monday in the latest effort to avert going over the fiscal cliff.

The meeting follows news that Boehner had changed his position on not allowing any more taxes, saying at the weekend that he would agree to some hikes for people earning more than $US1 million.

Originally Obama insisted higher taxes kick in for households earning more than $US250,000, but has since offered to increase the threshold to $400,000.

Analysts say the development shows the outline of a tentative deal is being formed.

Continued weakness of the yen helped send Japanese shares surging for a second straight session as Shinzo Abe prepares to take over as prime minister, vowing to press a more aggressive policy of monetary easing.

Tokyo rose 0.96 per cent and Seoul was up 0.51 per cent, while Sydney added 0.48 per cent.

Shanghai increased by 0.10 per cent, while Hong Kong gave up earlier gains to end flat.

The election of Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday was widely expected and investors now expect the Bank of Japan to unveil a further loosening of monetary policy at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday.

In Tokyo share trading, utility giant TEPCO, which runs the Fukushima plant at the centre of last year's nuclear crisis, surged 17.32 per cent on expectations the new government will shelve any short-term plans to ditch atomic power.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aussie fling for funnyman Brand: report

COMEDIAN Russell Brand has been linked to model and TV presenter Kate Peck during his visit to Australia, a British newspaper reports.

The 37-year-old British funnyman met Peck, 25, at Sydney's ARIA Music Awards, and the good times continued, The Sun said.

"They've been enjoying quite a passionate fling, mostly at the swanky Park Hyatt," an unnamed source told tabloid.

"They've seen each other a few times. Kate likes his cheekiness, he's definitely her type. Unlike former girlfriends, Russell wanted to keep it all top secret."

Brand has been linked to a number of women - including fellow Briton and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, 40, since his divorce from singer Katy Perry in December 2011.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Winner unlikely in Syrian war: al-Sharaa

Syrian VP Faruq al-Sharaa called for an end to all forms of violence among warring parties in Syria. Source: AAP

SYRIAN Vice President Faruq al-Sharaa says a clear winner is unlikely to emerge from the 21-month conflict.

Sharaa's comments, published on Monday, came as Syrian warplanes pounded eastern Damascus and as residents of a Palestinian camp in the capital - bombed for the first time on Sunday by the regime - fled renewed clashes.

Sharaa told the pro-Damascus Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar that neither government forces nor the rebels can achieve outright victory in the war which activists say has already killed more than 43,000 people.

"No opposition can end the battle militarily, just as the security forces and army cannot achieve a decisive conclusion," he said.

"Every day that passes, we are moving further away from a military or political solution," said Sharaa, the most prominent Sunni Muslim in the Alawite minority-dominated regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

"We must position ourselves to defend Syria's existence - we are not in a battle for an individual or a regime."

Sharaa criticised Arab and Western powers who have recognised the armed opposition, who he says "cannot claim they are the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people."

He believes the solution to the crisis "must be Syrian" but could involve key regional countries and UN Security Council member states which can help to form a "national unity government with broad powers."

Sharaa, 74, has served the regime for decades, both under Assad and his father and predecessor Hafez, but has been seen in public only a few times since the uprising erupted in March last year.

In October, Turkey said Sharaa would be suitable to lead a transitional government and on Monday, Tehran, a key Damascus ally, offered its own plan to end the conflict.

Tehran's six-point plan includes an immediate halt to violence under UN supervision, lifting sanctions against Syria, freeing political prisoners and a national dialogue to form a transitional government to organise free elections.

Opposition groups, as well as Washington and other Western and Arab nations, reject any Iranian involvement in resolving the crisis, saying Tehran has been discredited due to its unwavering support for Assad.

On Sunday, warplanes bombed the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, prompting UN chief Ban Ki-moon to protest.

"The secretary general is alarmed by the continued dramatic escalation of violence in Syria over the past several days and the grave danger facing civilians in areas under fire," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on local medics and activists for its information, said the air strikes killed at least eight civilians in Yarmouk.

On Monday, residents told AFP that several people in the camp were fleeing as new clashes erupted between the pro-regime Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and rebels.

One resident, Issam, said he was unable to return home on Sunday to Yarmouk "because of the fighting that took place in most of the streets and the snipers."

He spent the night at work, and early on Monday took his wife and children to stay with relatives near Damascus.

Sunday's missile strikes hit the Abdel Qader Husseini Mosque which was acting as a makeshift shelter for about 600 people fleeing violence, activists said.

Amateur video posted online by activists in Yarmouk showed several bloodied bodies at the entrance of the mosque.

"There is a state of real war in the camp now," resident Abu Mohammed told AFP via the internet.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said the bombing of refugee camps must stop immediately, while the Islamist Hamas movement condemned the air strike as a "crime."

Nationwide in Syria at least 160 people were killed on Sunday - 85 civilians, 35 soldiers and 40 rebels, the Observatory said.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boat arrivals may reach 30,000 in 2013

IMMIGRATION Minister Chris Bowen insists Australia's tough asylum seeker policies are discouraging Sri Lankans from getting on boats despite a warning that boat arrivals could total 30,000 in 2013.

The minister's comments came as refugee advocate Paris Aristotle warned asylum seeker boat arrivals, which reached around 2500 in November, were likely to increase next year.

"At the current rate of arrivals, we could see upwards of 25,000 to 30,000 people coming (in 2013)," Mr Aristotle told a parliamentary committee in Canberra on Monday.

"There is simply no way our navy has the capacity to get to every boat that will get into distress in those circumstances."

Mr Aristotle was part of an expert panel which in August made 22 recommendations to the federal government on asylum seeker policy.

The Gillard government adopted all of the recommendations which included the reopening of offshore processing centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

Mr Aristotle said a long-term commitment was needed to stop the boats.

"If we think this is going to be fixed in three months we are delusional," he said.

Panel chair Angus Houston told the committee that since August at least 213 people had died at sea and more deaths were likely in coming months.

"With the monsoon season upon us now I think it's inevitable there will be further loss of life at sea," he said.

Since August, Australian authorities have returned more than 700 Sri Lankans, who had arrived by boat, back to their homeland after deciding they were not refugees.

Mr Bowen says this was discouraging others from taking the perilous boat journey to Australia.

"We've seen a very big reduction in the number of people arriving from Sri Lanka in recent weeks - it's been 13 days or so since we had a boat from Sri Lanka," he told Fairfax radio on Monday.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr is in Sri Lanka this week discussing ways of ending the people smugglers' trade.

The minister on Monday unveiled a four-point plan to fight people smuggling, which included Australia giving Sri Lanka extra surveillance and search and rescue equipment.

Australia will also host a joint training program on maritime surveillance for Sri Lankan naval officers.

Senator Carr said images of Sri Lankans being returned from Australia will be screened on Sri Lankan television and cinema screens to show that "if you give money to people smugglers, you're not going to succeed".

"That's the most powerful way we can puncture the business model that lies behind this recent spike in numbers from Sri Lanka," Senator Carr told Sky News.

Meanwhile, the government announced on Monday that it had reopened the Pontville Immigration Detention Centre in Tasmania and 95 Afghan men had been transferred there from Christmas Island.

The facility has a capacity of 400 and is expected to receive more detainees.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

European stocks slip

EUROPE'S main stock markets have fallen as investor worries over the impending US fiscal cliff overshadowed the election of a new leader in Japan, dealers say.

In late morning deals on Monday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 0.56 per cent to 5,888.85 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index dipped 0.22 per cent to 7,579.82 points and the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.69 per cent to 3,618.21.

The European single currency eased to $US1.3157, up from $US1.3161 late in New York on Friday. Gold prices fell to $US1,689.69 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $US1,696.25.

Japan's conservative opposition swept to victory in national polls on Sunday as former premier Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ousted Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from power.

In reaction, Tokyo shares surged 0.94 per cent and the yen slumped to a year-and-a-half dollar low, in a boon for exporters, as investors bet on more central bank easing by the country's incoming government.

In earlier Asian trade, the dollar surged to Y84.48 - its highest since April last year. It later stood at Y83.70 in London deals.

However, other Asian stock markets ran out of steam as fears returned over the looming US fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that will be implemented on January 1, unless a political deal is reached in Washington.

Hong Kong shed 0.41 per cent, Seoul dropped 0.60 per cent and Sydney closed down 0.21 per cent in value.

"Traders are torn between the east and the west today," said analyst David Madden at trading group IG.

"The news that Shinzo Abe won the latest Japanese elections drove stocks higher overnight, but the dreaded (US) fiscal cliff has taken the edge off his victory.

"Mr Abe is in favour of further monetary easing, and stocks rallied as investors feel he is likely to appoint a governor to the Bank of Japan who will toe the line."

European markets are subdued with just two weeks to go until the end of the year, which is usually witnesses low trading volumes.

However, the fiscal cliff will remain top of the agenda as US politicians seek to avoid measures which could send the world's biggest economy back into recession, dealers said.

"With investors traditionally closing their books at the end of the year, the last two weeks of trading that are left should be quiet and peaceful with rather reduced volume," said Gekko Global Markets trader Anita Paluch.

"There is, however, one thing, that keeps everyone on their toes and this is the 'last minute' nature of the fiscal cliff negotiation; any deal really could have a big effect on the markets.

"As the year's end is nearing and the prospects Capitol Hill may actually not come up with a deal till then, the price action may be driven by the news out of Washington."

In company news on Monday, British oil giant BP said it had agreed to sell its 50-per cent stake in a North Sea gas field to energy firm SSE for $US288 million ($A274.30 million) as part of its divestment plans.

BP shares retreated 0.76 per cent to 423.20 pence in morning deals following news of the deal, which is due to complete in the first half of 2013.

In Madrid, Banking giant Banco Santander announced it will absorb its Spanish offshoots Banesto and Banif, closing 700 branches and saving an estimated 520 million euros ($A654.87 million) a year.

In reaction, the bank's share price slid 0.71 per cent to 5.86 euros on Madrid's IBEX 35 index, which was 0.18 per cent lower at 8,010.30 points.

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Siachen avalanche kills six Indian troops

AN avalanche on the high-altitude Siachen glacier has killed at least six Indian soldiers when their outpost was swept away before dawn on Sunday.

Thousands of soldiers from India and Pakistan endure bitter conditions on the glacier, which is dubbed "The world's highest battleground", due to the long-running territorial dispute.

An estimated 8000 troops have died since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat.

"The avalanche struck a forward post early on Sunday morning, burying seven soldiers," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel JS Brar told AFP.

"Rescue operations were launched immediately and so far six bodies have been recovered."

In April, 140 Pakistani soldiers were killed by a huge avalanche on Siachen.

Kashmir has been the cause of two wars between India and Pakistan and the nuclear-armed rivals fought over Siachen in 1987, though guns on the glacier have largely fallen silent since a peace process began in 2004.

20.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor ends year with a slight rise: poll

LABOR has ended the year with a slight lift from voters in the latest Fairfax-Nielsen poll which gives the government a one point gain to 35 per cent in its primary vote - its highest since November 2010.

But on a two-party preferred basis, the coalition retains the upper hand at 52 per cent (down one point) to 48 per cent (up one point) which would give it government if an election were held now.

The Age says the disapproval rate for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has risen three points to 63 per cent, which is the second-highest for an opposition leader in the poll's 40-year history.

His approval is two points lower at 34 per cent.

Only Andrew Peacock, back in October 1984, has been less popular.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's approval weakened by one point to 46 per cent, while her disapproval rose two points to 50 per cent.

She has widened her lead over Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister by 10 points to 50 per cent compared to 40 per cent for the opposition leader. But both leaders were less popular in this category - Ms Gillard was down one point and Mr Abbott dropped two points.

20.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria warplanes bomb Palestinian camp

Syrian army is deploying reinforcements to storm rebel-held areas near Damascus, officials say. Source: AAP

WARPLANES have bombarded a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus for the first time since the start of Syria's more than 21-month conflict, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Warplanes staged an air strike on an area near Al-Bassel hospital ... in Yarmuk camp, hurting several people," said the Observatory. According to initial reports cited by the watchdog, there may also have been people killed in the strike.

The air strike on Yarmuk was the sixth on Sunday on flashpoint districts in southern Damascus, the Britain-based watchdog said.

Warplanes also bombarded the nearby districts of Al-Hajar al-Aswad and Assali, scene of intense fighting between troops and rebels, it added.

"The army feels it has to step up its campaign to suppress the insurgency in southern Damascus, and that it cannot fight off rebels without resorting to air power," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

"As for the Palestinians, they are divided over the conflict, and are fighting on both sides," he added.

On Saturday, Syrian warplanes bombarded the town of Moadamiyat al-Sham, southwest of Damascus, while the army deployed reinforcements and attempted to storm the rebel-held town of Daraya, the Observatory said.

In Daraya, rebels held out against fierce army attempts to break in on several fronts.

"This is the 28th day the criminal (President Bashar al-) Assad's forces have attempted to break into the town," read a statement from activists in Daraya.

Clashes also erupted in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk in the south of the capital between rebels and troops backed by pro-regime Palestinian fighters, the Observatory reported.

The outskirts of Damascus have been at the heart of fighting this month as the regime launches operations to reclaim territory within eight kilometres of the city.

In northern Damascus, the army foiled an attempted car bomb attack, state television said.

"Army forces deactivated a car bomb laden with 1000 kilograms of explosives in Barzeh," the broadcaster said.

Meanwhile, the rebels came close to scoring a significant victory in the northern province of Aleppo - a fierce battleground for several months - as they captured large parts of an infantry academy in Muslimiyeh, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory.

"This is one of the most important military academies in all of Syria," he added, noting that rebels have seized control of some two thirds of the academy complex.

At least 24 rebel fighters, including Abu Furat, a top rebel commander in the province of Aleppo, and 20 regime troops were killed in the battle for the academy on Saturday.

The Observatory said 103 people were killed across Syria on Saturday, among them 27 civilians, 46 rebels and 30 soldiers.

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Last French troops exit Afghanistan

FRANCE has flown its last combat troops out of Afghanistan, two years before allied countries in the 100,000-strong NATO mission led by the United States are due to recall their fighting forces.

Around 200 soldiers of the 25th Belfort infantry regiment, responsible for overseeing the hastened French exit from the 11-year war, took off around 2.30pm local time (2100 AEDT), an airport official said.

They are expected to return to France on December 18 following a three-day decompression stay on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Their departure means France has around 1500 soldiers left in Afghanistan, the vast majority in Kabul. They are due to stay into 2013 to take responsibility for repatriating equipment and training the Afghan army to take over.

Only several hundred French soldiers involved in cooperation or training missions will remain in the country.

At the height of its involvement, France had 4000 soldiers in Afghanistan as the fifth largest military contingent in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), behind the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy.

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Ex-cop sentenced for journalist's murder

A MOSCOW judge has sentenced a former police officer to 11 years jail and fined him 3 million rubles ($A95,400) for his part in the 2006 murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who prosecutors claimed helped track Politkovskaya's movements and provided the triggerman with a gun, had struck a plea bargain qualifying him for a reduced sentence in exchange for co-operation.

Politkovskaya's family opposed the deal, which allowed Pavlyuchenkov to admit guilt without testifying, on the grounds it would not help find the masterminds of the killing.

The alleged gunman and four other defendants will be tried separately.

Politkovskaya, a sharp critic of Kremlin policies in Chechnya, was gunned down in her apartment building on October 7, 2006.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan wastes up to $72m a day: watchdog

PAKISTAN wastes a whopping $US51 million to $US72 million ($A48.5-$68.5 million) every day as a result of inefficiency, corruption and tax shortcomings, the head of an anti-corruption watchdog said.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said the losses come from leaks, corruption and incompetence, tax losses, land grabbing, loans and defaults, overstaffing, energy losses, project delays, cost overruns, administrative costs and foreign exchange outflow.

"There are daily losses of five to seven billion rupees," NAB chairman Fasih Bokhari told a news conference.

But he did not explain how he had calculated the losses in monetary terms to reach this staggering estimate of wastage.

"This is the average data I'm giving you," he told reporters.

The NAB, which is answerable to the Pakistani president, was accused by the government of making ill-timed allegations ahead of elections.

In the past, the Supreme Court has accused it of being ineffective.

According to the World Bank, Pakistan's GDP in 2011 was $US211.1 billion, which would make losses of $US61 million a day equal to around 10 per cent of GDP.

The country suffers from a debilitating energy crisis and has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world, estimated at 9.2 per cent of GDP.

Only 260,000 out of 180 million citizens have paid tax consecutively for the last three years, according to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Pakistan was ranked 139 out of 174 on Transparency International's 2012 corruption perceptions index and corruption is considered an endemic problem.

The Centre for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan said that more than 60 per cent of the cabinet and two thirds of federal MPs dodged tax payments in 2011.

MPs have their salaries taxed at source, but a spokesman for the FBR said they are required to file tax returns for other sources of income, although agriculture, for example, is exempt.

Of those who did pay, most made only negligible contributions.

The Supreme Court sacked prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in June for contempt after refusing to ask Switzerland to reopen graft cases against President Zardari, as part of a power struggle between the judiciary and the government.

A 2007 amnesty allowed 8000 people, including politicians, to escape charges related to 3478 cases ranging from murder, embezzlement and abuse of power to write-offs of bank loans worth millions of dollars.

The Supreme Court overturned the amnesty in December 2009.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Britain lifts ban on fracking

BRITAIN'S government says a controversial shale gas extraction method known as fracking should resume, despite the fact that it is suspected of having triggered earthquakes.

Exploratory fracking can restart under tight controls to "mitigate the risks of seismic activity", Energy Secretary Edward Davey said in a statement on Thursday.

The British energy firm Cuadrilla Resources had been forced to halt drilling trials on Lancashire's Fylde coast in northwest England. Its work was thought to have caused a 2.3-magnitude tremor in April 2011 and a 1.5-magnitude tremor in May.

But Davey said on Thursday: "My decision is based on the evidence.

"It comes after detailed study of the latest scientific research available and advice from leading experts in the field.

"We are strengthening the stringent regime already in place with new controls around seismic risks," he added.

"And as the industry develops we will remain vigilant to all emerging evidence to ensure fracking is safe and the local environment is protected."

Davey said shale gas was a "promising new potential energy resource" for Britain which could contribute to energy security and reduce the reliance on imported gas.

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the drilling of underground shale rock formations by injecting chemicals and water to release trapped natural gas.

Opponents say it causes water pollution but energy groups say it provides access to considerable gas reserves and drives down prices.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

This Christmas, remember Jesus: churches

FAMILY feasts, presents, carols and trees.

These are all hallmarks of Christmas celebrations, but the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) wants people to also reflect on the season's christian foundations this year.

In a joint statement the Catholic, United, Baptist, Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Seventh-day Adventist Church have urged people to remember the story of Jesus Christ's birth and what Christmas is really about.

"The true Christmas assures everyone that God really cares," Seventh-day Adventist Church Pastor Ken Vogel said.

"My prayer this Christmas is that we will see beyond our present challenges to the joy and hope that we are called to bring to others because God has come ... leaving behind the darkness of uncertainty and failure," Catholic Archbishop Denis J Hart said.

"Christmas is a time to rejoice and look at the world with fresh eyes," NCCA general secretary Reverend Tara Curlewis said.

NSW Council of Churches president Dr Ross Clifford said Australian Christians should share the message of Jesus with fellow worshippers in Asia this Christmas.

"God sent Jesus to redeem and renew people in Asia as much as anywhere else on earth," he said in a statement.

"Asia has 60 per cent of the world's population, a majority of the world's natural disasters and alleged human rights abuses.

"People everywhere need to be given an opportunity to respond to the Christian message in their own cultures."

Dr Clifford added the NSW Council of Churches continued its commitment to the "the life affirming and life changing gospel of Jesus Christ."

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia queries US nod for Syria rebels

RUSSIA says it is surprised by US President Barack Obama's recognition of the Syrian opposition, saying Washington was now betting on an armed victory by rebels in the conflict.

"I was somewhat surprised to find out" about the recognition announcement, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments broadcast on state television on Wednesday.

"The United States has decided to place all its bets on an armed victory of the (Syrian) National Coalition," he added.

Russia will now ask the Americans to specify how they regard the Syrian opposition after Obama's comments, he added.

Russia has defiantly refused to turn against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite the conflict that according to rights groups has killed 42,000 people.

In an interview with AFP last month, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev slammed as "unacceptable" the recognition and support by France and other states of the newly unified Syrian opposition to Assad.

Lavrov said that the recognition by the United States contradicted previous agreements on the Syria crisis earlier this year, which envisaged the start of an "inter-Syrian dialogue".

He said Moscow had believed that Washington understood the need for full talks that would include representatives of the Syrian government.

"So for us this is an unexpected turn of events and we will clear up what exactly they (the United States) meant," Lavrov added.

The Syrian National Coalition is a bloc of opposition groups led by moderate cleric Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib formed after talks in Qatar in November as part of a Western-backed push to make the opposition a more cohesive force.

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Assange plays down lung trouble rumours

WIKILEAKS frontman Julian Assange has played down reports of his ill health but says an Australian offer of medical assistance amounted to providing a list of local doctors.

During an interview with ABC Radio on Wednesday night, Mr Assange responded to reports he had a chronic lung condition.

"I wouldn't necessarily go that far but the circumstances are difficult," he said.

The Australian citizen has been holed up in Ecuador's London embassy since taking refuge there in June in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over rape allegations.

He previously lived under house arrest at a supporter's Norfolk mansion.

A husky-voiced Mr Assange on Wednesday said he had "been in worse positions".

"Solitary confinement was worse," he said.

"Two years under house arrest, going to the police station every day at a certain time with a manacle around my leg was worse."

Ecuador's envoy to Britain, Ambassador Ana Alban, reportedly told journalists in Quito last month Mr Assange had "a chronic lung condition that could worsen at any time".

A message was later posted on the South American country's London embassy website clarifying that Mr Assange did "not have an urgent medical condition".

He said the Australian government had offered to assist in case of medical emergency, including monetary assistance, but then scaled down the assistance they were willing to give.

"The Australian government gave a list of numbers for doctors in the London area, that was all that they would do," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Assange is concerned that if he goes to Sweden, authorities will allow him to be extradited to the United States to be questioned over WikiLeaks' release of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

He was granted asylum in Ecuador in August but Britain has refused to grant him safe passage out of the country, leaving Mr Assange stuck in the embassy.

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Avon to cut 1500 jobs, quit 2 Asia markets

AVON Products says it will cut about 1500 jobs and leave two Asian markets as the struggling beauty products seller takes initial steps toward its cost-cutting goal.

The New York company will leave South Korea and Vietnam to focus on high-priority markets as part of a push to save $US400 million ($A381.77 million) by 2015. The initial steps are expected to be largely completed by the end of next year.

Avon will take a charge of between $50 million and $60 million in the fourth quarter tied to the cost cutting. It says the initial steps will account for about 20 per cent of its savings goal.

Avon Products Inc has struggled for years to turn around results at home and in emerging markets.

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Carr to visit Sri Lanka this week

Foreign Minister Bob Carr will travel to Sri Lanka this week for talks on people smuggling. Source: AAP

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr will travel to Sri Lanka on Friday to discuss trade ties, tourism and efforts to disrupt people smuggling.

The three-day trip will be Senator Carr's first visit to the south Asian nation as a minister and will include discussions on Australia's aid assistance to Sri Lanka, a spokesman for the minister told AAP on Tuesday.

People smuggling will also be on the agenda.

Sri Lankan authorities have in the past 12 months disrupted 69 people smuggling operations involving 2900 people who were intending to come to Australia, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, HMAS Larrakia intercepted a boat carrying 57 suspected asylum seekers and two crew on Monday night, north of Ashmore Islands

The opposition's immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said asylum seeker boats were continuing to arrive in record numbers "even with the onset of the monsoon season where conditions are perilous and the risk of taking boat journeys to Australia intensifies".

Later on Tuesday, Senator Carr's office announced he would visit Timor Leste on Thursday ahead of the Sri Lankan trip.

Economic, aid and security issues are on the agenda when he meets East Timor leaders.

The visit coincides with the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) ceasing security operations and commencing withdrawal from East Timor last month.

"The withdrawal marks a new era in Australia-Timor-Leste relations with the transfer of security responsibilities to local forces," Senator Carr said in a statement.

"Discussions would also involve future plans for development assistance, with an emphasis on Australia's continued support for education and health."

He will visit the Resistance Museum and present a gift from Australia - material about East Timor held by the National Film and Sound Archive.

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More than half-million Syrian refugees: UN

THE number of Syrian refugees registered in neighbouring countries and North Africa has passed half a million, the UN's refugee body says. Many more have not come forward to seek help.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday it had either registered or was in the process of registering 509,550 Syrians in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and North Africa.

"And these numbers are currently climbing by more than 3000 a day," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva.

She described how close to 1000 Syrian refugees had crossed into Jordan alone in the past two nights, arriving "with soaked clothing and mud-covered shoes due to heavy rainfall".

More elderly and small children were also arriving in Jordan, including 22 newborn infants who entered the country on the night of December 9 alone.

As of Monday, there were 154,387 Syrian refugees either registered or waiting to be in Lebanon, 142,664 in Jordan, 136,319 in Turkey, 64,449 in Iraq and 11,740 in North Africa, according to the UNHCR.

"In addition ... most of these neighbouring countries and North Africa also have large numbers of Syrians who have yet to come forward and seek help," Fleming said.

Jordan, she pointed out, estimates there are some 100,000 Syrians in the country not registered, while Turkey says more than 70,000 Syrians are living outside its 14 camps.

"The numbers of those struggling to live on the local economy and who eventually come forward to register are expected to increase as ... resources are depleted and host communities and families can no longer support them," she said.

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Officer attacked outside Vic parliament

A VICTORIAN protective services officer has been assaulted while guarding Parliament House and his assailant appears to have shot himself.

Victorian Police believe a man beat the officer about the head before stealing his gun and shooting himself dead in a nearby east Melbourne street.

The parliament was reportedly in lock-down for two hours and the state government has announced a thorough investigation into the incident.

"The thoughts of the Victorian Parliament are with the officer, his family and friends, and his colleagues," a government spokeswoman said.

"In any circumstance, an assault on a Victoria police officer is completely unacceptable and deeply concerning."

Premier Ted Baillieu and Deputy Premier Peter Ryan were receiving regular briefings, she added.

The officer was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious injuries.

His alleged assailant stole his firearm and fled through Fitzroy Gardens, police believe.

Soon after, police received reports a man had shot himself in nearby Jolimont. That man died at the scene.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

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Opel to end car production at German plant

GENERAL Motors Co's Opel unit says it plans to end car production at one plant in Germany in 2016, but a slimmed-down factory may continue to make components.

Employees at the Bochum plant in northwestern Germany, one of four in the country, were told that vehicle production will end when the company stops making the current Zafira model.

That was widely expected after the company announced a turnaround plan in June, and "despite intensive efforts this situation could not be changed," Opel said.

Opel, like several other mass-market car manufacturers on the continent, has been struggling amid economic gloom in Europe and overcapacity in the auto industry. The turnaround plan envisions cost cuts, new models and efforts to win new export sales.

The Adam Opel GmbH unit is based in Germany, where the automaker has more than 20,000 employees - a bit over half of GM's total European workforce. About 3,000 people work at the Bochum plant, and it wasn't clear how many jobs might remain after car production ends.

GM's warehouse in Bochum will continue operating after 2016 and may be expanded, Opel said. It also is negotiating with employee representatives to move component production to the site.

Opel "will implement still-necessary job reductions in the most socially responsible way," Steve Girsky, chairman of Opel's board of directors and vice chairman of GM, said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the company hoped to avoid forced layoffs.

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Mandela doing 'very well', says minister

SOUTH African former president Nelson Mandela's stay in hospital for unspecified medical tests has stretched into a third day.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who visited Mandela on Monday at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, said he was "doing very, very well". She said the nation must keep Mandela "in our prayers".

Government officials previously have said the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon is "comfortable" and receiving medical care that is "consistent with his age". The nation's military has been responsible for Mandela's medical care since 2011.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule. He became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He has since retired from public life.

Mandela made his last public appearance in 2010. He has grown increasingly frail in recent years.

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Queen in 3D Christmas message

NOT one to be left behind in the technology stakes, the Queen's 2012 Christmas message will be available to viewers in 3D, British media reports.

The 86-year-old monarch, believed to be the first royal to use the new broadcast format, has already recorded the message, said Britain's Daily Mail newspaper on Monday.

The address will be distributed to networks around the globe, to be screened on Christmas Day.

Audiences will need a television with 3D technology, along with a special pair of glasses, in order to view the full effect.

The Queen, known to camera crews as "one-take Lizzy" because she never requires more than a single recording, has filmed a Christmas message each festive season for more than 50 years.

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Fighter jets fly low over Cairo

EGYPTIAN F-16 fighter jets made low passes over the centre of Cairo on Sunday in a rare manoeuvre by the air force over the capital amid high political tension.

The military was not immediately available for comment.

At the end of October, jets made similar passes as part of a surprise military exercise.

On Saturday, the army released a statement on political unrest that has killed seven people in the capital, urging supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to open talks to stop Egypt descending "into a dark tunnel with disastrous results".

"That is something we will not allow," it said.

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UK cops contact NSW police over hoax

BRITISH police say they have contacted NSW authorities about a possible investigation into an Australian radio station's hoax call to a UK hospital.

The callers impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and received confidential details about the former Kate Middleton's medical information. The call was recorded and broadcast.

The prank took an ugly twist Friday with the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two, three days after she took the hoax call.

Police have not yet determined Saldanha's cause of death, but people from London to Sydney have been making the assumption that she died because of stress from the call.

The disk jockeys involved have been suspended indefinitely.

NSW police confirmed they had been contacted by London police and said they would cooperate.

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Austereo responds over royals call prank

2Day FM's presenters behind the prank call linked to a UK nurse's death are said to be "fragile". Source: AAP

THE chairman of Southern Cross Austereo has written to the British hospital targeted by a radio station prank phone call saying it is reviewing the broadcast and processes involved.

Max Moore-Wilton led a crisis meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss a stinging letter from Lord Glenarthur, chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital where British nurse Jacintha Saldanha worked before she apparently took her own life on Friday.

In the reply to Lord Glenarthur, released after the board of Southern Cross Austereo's meeting, Mr Moore-Wilton wrote he had been "saddened" by recent events, describing them as "truly tragic".

He stressed that Southern Cross Austereo, which owns Sydney station 2Day FM, would fully cooperate with any investigation into the incident.

"As we have said in our own statements on the matter, the outcome was unforeseeable and very regrettable," he wrote.

"I can assure you were are taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved ... our company joins with you all at King Edward VII's Hospital and Mrs Saldanha's family and friends in mourning their tragic loss."

Lord Glenarthur had condemned 2Day FM's prank phone call, in which two presenters, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, posing as members of the royal family asked to speak to the Duchess of Cambridge, as "truly appalling".

Nurse Saldanha had answered the phone and transferred the call to a colleague, who went on to give sensitive information to the pair about the duchess.

Lord Glenarthur asked for assurance there never be a repeat of the incident.

Austereo have said Greig and Christian are distraught and are being given intensive counselling.

An Austereo spokeswoman told AAP on Sunday night the pair were willing to comment on the matter.

"They have expressed a desire to speak," she said. "We haven't ascertained when they're ready for that and how we're going to organise that, but they certainly want to."

In a video message on the Austereo website, chief executive Rhys Holleran says there are no current plans for Greig and Christian to return to the air.

"At this point in time, the radio show won't go ahead into the future, and will be reviewed," he said.

London's Metropolitan Police have contacted NSW Police, through the Australian Federal Police, over the prank. Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said the call was a fairly routine procedure and that the Met had not asked for any action to be taken.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

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Foreign fighters in rebel-held Syria

MOST of them avoid reporters like the plague but in "liberated" northwestern Syria, it is difficult not to run into foreign jihadist fighters, both on the front lines and at rebel bases.

"Secrecy shrouding the activities of foreign militants makes it extremely difficult to assess with any accuracy their extent, location and potential ramifications," the International Crisis Group said in a report.

But while President Bashar al-Assad's domestic foes have tried for months to downplay the impact of outsiders, "foreign militants have had more direct involvement, fighting alongside Syrian insurgents", the Brussels-based group added.

The small town of Atme on the border with Turkey serves as a hub for foreign volunteers in the 21-month insurgency that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

They cross from the Turkish city of Antakya, travelling there from far and wide to join the "holy war".

Others make their way to the Turkish border town of Reyhanli before smugglers guide them across the border to Atme, a key rallying point for foreign fighters.

One fighter, 26-year-old Anas from Algeria, was already a war veteran, having fought in his homeland's Kabylie region, east of Algiers, as well as in Kashmir.

In the Jebel Akrad mountains, four Saudi men run the online websites of Islamist groups such as the Al-Nusra Front. They live in an abandoned apartment in the town of Salma, with a rocket-propelled grenade sitting in the living room near a copy of the Koran.

Asked what they are doing in Syria, they replied: "Tourism."

At the end of November, more than 100 black-clad men from Europe and Africa gathered in front of a mosque, under a sea of black Islamic flags after a Palestinian imam had preached to locals of the benefits of their presence in the town.

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One surfer dead, one missing off WA

A SURFER has died and another is missing after they were caught in a strong rip near Margaret River, in Western Australia's southwest.

A search and rescue operation had been under way until nightfall, with grave fears held for the 23-year-old man, the ABC reports.

Both surfers were at Redgate Beach, 280km south of Perth, when they got caught in treacherous conditions, police said.

Rescuers managed to reach the 29-year-old surfer but they were unable to revive him.

AA

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Attack planned in Pakistan: Karzai

AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai says a suicide attack that wounded the country's spy chief was planned in neighbouring Pakistan.

Asadullah Khalid, who heads the National Directorate of Security (NDS), was targeted by an attacker with a bomb hidden in his underwear posing as a Taliban peace envoy in Kabul on Thursday.

Karzai said he believed the attacker had come from Pakistan, but he did not blame the Pakistani government over the bombing.

"We know that this man who came in the name of a guest to meet with Asadullah Khalid came from Pakistan. We know that for a fact. That is clear," Karzai told reporters.

"This attack was plotted... from the (southwestern) city of Quetta in Pakistan."

"I will raise this issue with Pakistan," he added.

Khalid was attacked at a spy agency guesthouse and is now being treated at a US-run military hospital outside Kabul where he is in a stable condition, security sources have said.

On Friday, the NDS said that he was "recovering" and in a "satisfactory" condition.

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Hamas chief kisses soil on first visit to Gaza

EXILED Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal crossed into the Gaza Strip on his first-ever visit, kissing the ground and hoping he would one day die a "martyr" in the Palestinian territory.

Accompanied by his deputy, Mussa Abu Marzuk, and other senior officials, Meshaal drove through the crossing and then got out and kissed the ground before embracing Gaza's Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya.

His visit comes just two weeks after the end of a fierce conflict with Israel, which began on November 14 with an Israeli air strike in Gaza City that killed top Hamas militant Ahmed Jaabari.

Shortly after his arrival, Meshaal was taken to see the charred remains of Jaabari's car, which had been transported to Rafah especially for the visit.

"I hope God will make me a martyr on the land of Palestine in Gaza," he said on seeing it.

Izzat al-Rishq, another senior member of the Islamist movement's exiled politbureau, said it was a moving experience to finally be in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

"This is the greatest feeling I've ever had. It is an unforgettable historic moment," he said. "Our wish to kiss the soil of Palestine has come true."

Senior Hamas official Mahmud al-Zahar hailed the visit and said it was replete with symbolism.

"No matter how long a Palestinian is away from his homeland, he will always return after a victory," he said.

Streets across the territory were decked with green Hamas flags to mark the visit, along with the red flags of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) which on December 11 marks its 45th anniversary.

Masked Hamas militants from its Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades armed wing were out en masse, wearing fatigues and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, as they patrolled the roads along which the official convoy was set to travel.

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Baffling petrol station signs in spotlight

PETROL stations across Australia could be forced to standardise their fuel price boards in a bid to stop servos luring in drivers with misleading petrol signs.

The Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (CAF) on Friday released a public consultation paper canvassing options to simplify roadside fuel boards.

The paper, Consumers and Fuel Price Boards, is a response to complaints about fuel boards advertising only some fuel types, or low prices that are only available to drivers who have the right shopper docket or credit card.

"Consumers are being sucked in by fuel price boards that prominently display the prices of the most discounted fuel type," federal Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury said on Friday.

"Once they drive into the service station, only then do they find out that there are often large differences between the prices of the different fuel types available - sometimes more than 10 cents a litre."

The CAF paper includes three options to make the rules around price boards clearer.

Changes could include only letting fuel boards show undiscounted prices, or developing a detailed national standard mandating equal prominence for the undiscounted prices of a standard set of fuel types.

The third option would rely on current laws and industry self-regulation, though the consultation paper notes there are currently "no known efforts to develop an industry-led response to the identified problem".

The national peak motoring body welcomed the new paper.

"Motorists are confused and deserve improved fuel price information - maintaining the status quo is not an option," Australian Automobile Association executive director Andrew McKellar said in a statement.

"A recent national survey showed eight out of ten motorists supported consistent fuel price signage across all service stations."

Specific regulations about what information is given on fuel price boards and how it is displayed are already on the way for NSW.

From September next year, retailers selling up to four fuels must display the price of all of those fuels.

NSW Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts said a similar approach at the national level would boost transparency.

"I am proud NSW is leading the nation when it comes to giving motorists a fair go at the petrol pump," he said in a statement.

Motorists and industry stakeholders can have their say by visiting the Australian Consumer Law website (www.consumerlaw.gov.au).

Submissions close on February 15.

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