Thousands rally against Slovenia austerity

THOUSANDS of people are protesting against salary cuts and other austerity measures in Slovenia, a struggling eurozone member that is in danger of needing an international bailout.

Saturday's rally in Ljubljana was organised by several workers unions who say government's austerity package would not end the downturn but only deepen the poverty.

Union leader Dusan Semolic says "workers' salaries did not cause this crisis." A huge banner reads: "No to Destructive Policies."

The rally appeared peaceful unlike similar gatherings in several European cities last week that erupted in street battles with police.

Slovenia has faced recession linked to the crisis in the 17-member zone using the euro.

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Thousands turn out for Albania king burial

THOUSANDS of Albanians have turned out to pay their respects to the late self-proclaimed king Zog I, whose remains are to be reburied with state honours after they were returned from France where he died in exile in 1961.

"King Zog is an illustrious figure who laid the foundations of the Albanian state and contributed to the European calling of Albanian society," Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said after passing by the coffin -- draped with the Albanian flag -- lying in state in the former royal palace.

The king, whose remains were returned to Albania on Friday, is to be buried in a newly built mausoleum for the royal family in an official ceremony later on Saturday.

Zog ruled Albania from 1925 to 1939. He started out as president but in 1928 proclaimed a constitutional monarchy and was crowned king of the Albanians.

He fled in 1939 after Italian dictator Benito Mussolini invaded Albania with an eye on the country's strategic Adriatic ports.

Zog died in exile in France aged 66 and was buried in the Thiais cemetery.

His son Leka and other members of the royal family returned to Albania in 2002.

The repatriation and reburial was organised by Albania's conservative government as part of ceremonies to celebrate Albania's 100 years of independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Albania is currently a republic with a parliamentary democracy, and crown prince Leka's grandson is a political adviser to Albania's President Bujar Nishani.

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Indian Hindu leader Bal Thackeray dies

FIREBRAND Indian politician Bal Thackeray, who founded the right-wing Hindu party Shiv Sena, has died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Thackeray, 86, has "breathed his last", his physician Jalil Parkar told a huge crowd assembled outside the veteran politician's house in India's financial hub of Mumbai.

Thackeray, regarded as one of India's most divisive politicians, had been placed on a ventilator earlier after his health deteriorated sharply, and Parkar said attempts to revive him after he suffered a cardiac arrest failed.

Mumbai police have placed thousands of extra police on the streets on Saturday to prevent unrest following the death of the politician.

Thackeray's Shiv Sena party became synonymous with deadly communal violence during its campaign to protect local Marathi-speaking people and their culture from migrant workers.

Supporters sobbed into their handkerchiefs outside the house of Thackeray, who was known for his oratorical skills.

"He was an iron man, he spoke in the language of the masses. It worked very well because he connected with them at the very basic level. He gave them hope," Shobhaa De, novelist and a popular columnist, told India's CNN-IBN network.

The funeral rites for the founder and president of the Shiv Sena or the Army of Shivaji - the Maratha king who battled against the Islamic Mughal empire - were due to be held on Sunday.

A massive procession was planned through the streets of Mumbai for Thackeray, nicknamed "The Tiger" because of his fearlessness and readiness to take on any opponent.

Shiv Sena, which has controlled Mumbai's city council since the mid-1990s, is a staunch ally of the Hindu nationalist and main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP announced it was cancelling its attendance at a dinner to be held by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday night to show respect for Thackeray.

A stream of politicians, cutting across party lines, and top Bollywood entertainment figures had visited Thackeray's house in the past few days.

Thackeray's son Uddhav, the Shiv Sena executive president, earlier in the week had appealed to the party's supporters to stay calm.

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China premier to visit Cambodia, Thailand

CHINESE Premier Wen Jiabao will take part in a Southeast Asian meeting in Cambodia from Sunday that will include President Barack Obama and regional leaders, which comes as China is locked in territorial disputes with its neighbours.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that Wen will visit Cambodia and Thailand from Sunday to Wednesday. Hong did not provide specific dates for each leg of Wen's visit.

Hong said Wen will attend the East Asian Summit and other meetings in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member bloc that China is not a part of but holds talks with.

Tensions have flared recently over territorial disputes in the region, including rival claims by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to South China Sea islands and waters that are believed to be rich in gas and oil and straddle busy shipping routes.

Two other ASEAN members - Brunei and Malaysia - also have been embroiled in South China Sea territorial rifts.

China has opposed any attempt to bring the disputes to international forums, including ASEAN, preferring to negotiate one-on-one with rival claimants. It has warned the United States, which has been reasserting its role as an Asia-Pacific power, to stay away from the sea disputes.

The United States, which has tens of thousands of forces based in the Asia-Pacific, views itself as a stabilising influence in the region, and its diplomacy on the South China Sea, where it says it holds no position on the competing sovereignty claims, has helped boost its standing in Southeast Asia.

But criticism of China risks straining ties with Beijing that the US also sees as crucial for regional stability.

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Petraeus arrives for hearing

EX-CIA director David Petraeus has arrived at the US Capitol for highly-anticipated, closed-door congressional hearings on the September 11 assault on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya.

The decorated general, making his first appearance since resigning last week in the wake of an extramarital affair with his biographer, entered a closed-door session of the House Intelligence Committee.

Mr Petraeus avoided the assembled press pack but an official confirmed that he had entered the hearing room. He is due to attend a closed-door Senate Intelligence Committee hearing later in the morning.

Lawmakers are expected to press him about intelligence operations in Libya and his agency's role in the incident, as well as security conditions at the US consulate and the nearby CIA annex in Benghazi during the attack which left four Americans dead, including ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Congressmen said Thursday that Mr Petraeus travelled to Tripoli after the attack and interviewed several people involved in the incident, and that they wanted to hear directly from the general about what he learned on his trip to Libya.

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India wants probe into woman's death

NEW Delhi has demanded a "transparent" probe into the death of an Indian women in Ireland after doctors there allegedly refused to terminate her pregnancy even though she was miscarrying.

New Delhi cranked up the pressure on Dublin over the October 28 death of Savita Halappanavar from septicaemia after local politicians expressed their concern and urged the government to act.

Foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said India's ambassador to Ireland would meet local authorities later on Friday.

"We expect that he will also seek reassurance from the Irish authorities that they will hold an independent, transparent enquiry into the matter," Akbaruddin said.

"He will request that the Irish authorities keep India informed of the progress and outcome of the enquiry," the spokesman said, adding that the envoy would also convey the "concern growing in India" over Halappanavar's death.

The 31-year-old dentist repeatedly asked staff at University Hospital in Galway, west Ireland, to terminate her pregnancy because she was miscarrying, her family said.

Doctors allegedly refused her demand, telling her that "this is a Catholic country". Abortion is illegal in Roman Catholic-dominated Ireland except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny described her death as a "tragedy", while two separate investigations have been announced.

Indian Communist Party leader Brinda Karat said Halappanavar's condition should have been treated as a "medical emergency" as she joined calls for a tough line with Ireland over the incident.

"The fact that they didn't is a crime and the Irish authorities are responsible for committing a crime of a loss of a human life and I think the Indian government must step in here," she told reporters.

Ireland's abortion laws have been the subject of debate for years.

Under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, women in Ireland are legally entitled to an abortion when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. But legislation has never been passed to reflect this.

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Palestinians rally to mark 'independence'

PALESTINIANS rallied across the West Bank, a day before the 24th anniversary of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's independence declaration.

Thousands of Palestinians were taking place in demonstrations blocking roads near the West Bank towns of Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah.

Demonstrators also gathered near the southern city of Hebron, as well as the northern towns of Qalqilya and Nablus, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against the Israeli occupation.

Chanting "Free Palestine," they carried banners supporting a Palestinian bid later this month to obtain state observer status at the United Nations.

In Atara, north of Ramallah, and at a checkpoint by the city of Bethlehem, Israeli forces fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

An Israeli army spokesman said that "approximately 200 people - Palestinians and international activists - were throwing stones" near Jericho.

"The military force at the site is not reacting with riot dispersal means," the spokesman said, "and one soldier was lightly wounded by rocks. The soldiers are reacting with moderation."

The spokesman also said that around 100 Palestinians demonstrated near Nabi Saleh in the central West Bank, and 50 others had attempted to block a tunnel road connecting West Bank city Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

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Israel ministry proposes 'toppling' Abbas

ISRAEL'S foreign ministry has proposed in a policy paper "toppling" Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if a Palestinian bid for state observer status at the United Nations is approved later this month.

"Toppling Abu Mazen's (Abbas's) regime would be the only option in this case," the position paper obtained by AFP says.

"Any other option ... would mean waving a white flag and admitting the failure of the Israeli leadership to deal with the challenge."

The position paper is a draft document that is expected to be endorsed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who would then present it to the Israeli officials charged with formulating Israel's response to the Palestinian bid.

Lieberman has already reportedly expressed his view that Abbas's Palestinian Authority should be dismantled if the UN bid succeeds.

The Palestinians are scheduled to present their bid for state observer status at the general assembly on November 29, where they are expected to easily win approval, despite opposition from the United States and Israel.

The bid comes slightly more than a year after the Palestinians sought full UN membership at the security council, a request that stalled there because of opposition from the United States, a permanent member and veto-holder.

The ministry paper warns that Israel "must extract a high price from Abu Mazen," and that receiving state status at the UN "would be considered a crossing of a red line."

Israel's Channel 10 reported on November 5 that Lieberman had backed the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, in comments to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"If the Palestinians pursue their project at the UN, they are definitively destroying the chances of peace talks," the station quoted Lieberman as saying on October 24.

"If they persist with this project, I will ensure that the Palestinian Authority collapses."

A senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that Israel is also considering annulling part or all of the 1993 Oslo Accords in response to the UN bid.

The 1993 Oslo accords were intended to pave the way for a full resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, which was to govern parts of the occupied West Bank and Gaza until a final agreement.

Israel and Washington fiercely oppose any Palestinian action at the United Nations, and US President Barack Obama called Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas earlier this week to reiterate his opposition.

But the Palestinians have confirmed they will push ahead with the plan, saying that enhanced UN status does not contradict peace efforts, and pointing out that direct talks have been on hold since late September 2010.

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Stock markets drop as Europe strikes

EUROPEAN stock markets have slid as workers across indebted eurozone nations took part in coordinated general strikes in protest at their governments' deep austerity programs.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index on Wednesday dropped 0.66 per cent to 5,748.08 points approaching midday as traders reacted to mixed company earnings, a drop in British unemployment and a downgrade to the Bank of England's growth forecasts for Britain.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 slipped 0.44 per cent to 7,137.79 points and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.41 per cent to 3,416.53.

Madrid stocks slipped 0.12 per cent and Milan shed 0.43 per cent.

Markets headed lower "as eurozone concerns continue to hit risk appetite", said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari trading group.

"Strikes against austerity in the southern eurozone states are starting to gather large support, raising concerns about how much more the countries can take."

In foreign exchange deals, the euro rose to $US1.2739 from $US1.2703 late in New York on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the European single currency had hit two-month low points against the dollar.

Gold prices dipped to $US1,725.53 an ounce in trading on the London Bullion Market on Wednesday, compared with $US1,726.25 on Tuesday.

Baton-wielding riot police and demonstrators clashed in central Madrid on Wednesday as Spain held a general strike as part of a Europe-wide anti-austerity protest.

Spain and Portugal held the first coordinated general strike in the Iberian Peninsula, slashing train, bus and metro services, halting factories and cancelling more than 700 flights.

They were backed by temporary walkouts in Italy, the number-three eurozone economy, and Greece, which is fighting to avert default despite agreeing 13.5 billion euros ($A16.58 billion) in cuts and tax increases.

Markets were suffering losses also on worries about the US economic outlook following last week's re-election of President Barack Obama.

Dealers fear a stand-off in congress in addressing the fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts that are due to come into force on January 1 unless a deal is brokered ahead of the new year.

The package, drawn up during fraught spending cap talks last year, could tip the world's biggest economy back into recession.

Adding to the selling pressure is uncertainty over Greece after European finance chiefs put off for a week a decision on granting Athens the latest instalment of a multibillion-euro bailout.

And in Germany a survey on Tuesday showed investor confidence had worsened in November as the eurozone crisis began to drag on its biggest economy.

However, there was some good news for Greece with the threat of a default this week receding after it raised 4.0 billion euros in short-term bond auctions, which should help plug a financing gap left by the stalled loan.

On the corporate front on Wednesday, shares in RWE, Germany's second biggest power supplier, fell 0.35 per cent to 32.815 euros, despite the company expressing confidence about this year's earnings after posting solid quarterly profits.

In London, Britain's biggest insurer Prudential rose 0.54 per cent to 870 pence after the company said its sales rebounded sharply in the third quarter, boosted by growth in Asia.

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Clinton backs Aust-India naval exercises

UNITED States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has applauded the federal government's strategic white paper on Asian policy and welcomed Australian-Indian naval vessel exercises in the future.

Mrs Clinton is in Perth for the AUSMIN meeting and on Tuesday night launched the Perth USAsia Centre at the University of Western Australia (UWA), aimed at strengthening ties between the US, Australia and the Asian region.

She said it was important the US and Australia worked together closely in the region.

"We would welcome joint Australian-Indian naval vessel exercises in the future and we are eager to work together in the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation which Australia will chair in 2013 and which the United States has now joined as a dialogue partner," she said.

The $10 million Perth USAsia Centre is a partnership between the US Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney and UWA.

Addressing the crowd at the launch, Mrs Clinton said it was her first visit to Perth and she recalled her friend John Glenn's space orbit of the earth in 1962.

"Every light in this city came on to signal support for his mission and I will tell you that he never forgot the gesture of friendship from this city of light, so for me to come here is a dream come true," she said.

Mrs Clinton said it wasn't surprising that foreign investment in Australia was "soaring" including more than $100 billion from the US.

She said Australia was a key focus of America's expanding engagement in the region.

WA Premier Colin Barnett also shared his love of space and joked that as a child he "wanted to be American" and insisted on being called Sputnik, prompting a jovial Mrs Clinton to call him "Premier Sputnik".

Senator Chris Evans joked that his teenage son understood American politics better than Australian politics, highlighting the bond between the two nations.

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Prestige captain 'checked' oil tanker

TEN years to the day after the Prestige tanker sent an SOS heralding one of Europe's worst oil spills, the 77-year-old Greek captain has testified at a trial in Spain that his vessel had passed the required checks.

The ill-fated tanker's skipper, Apostolos Mangouras, was the first of four accused to testify in the trial over the catastrophe in which tens of thousands of tonnes of oil blackened the coasts of Spain, Portugal and France.

Prosecutors have charged the captain with criminal damage of the environment and a protected nature reserve and are seeking a combined jail term of 12 years.

They are also demanding more than 4 billion euros ($A4.91 billion) in damages.

"We had made visual inspections" of the hull and ballast tanks before it departed Saint Petersburg," said the captain on Tuesday, explaining that the checks were repeated every three or six months.

Mangouras, testifying in the trial at an exhibition centre in the northern port city of A Coruna, said he and his Philippine crew were all properly qualified for their duties.

The Prestige, a Bahama-flagged Liberian tanker, was carrying 77,000 tonnes of fuel when it sent a distress call in the midst of a storm off the northwestern Spanish coast on November 13, 2002.

The conservative Popular Party government in power at the time ordered the Prestige out to sea away from the Spanish coast instead of following an emergency contingency plan prepared by experts that called for it to be brought to port where the leaking oil could be confined.

For six days it drifted in the Atlantic, before breaking up and foundering 250 kilometres (155 miles) off the coast into waters some 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) deep, oozing some 50,000 tonnes of thick, sticky oil into the ocean and coastline.

Over the weeks that followed 300,000 volunteers from Spain and the rest of Europe joined local people in scraping the oil from the rocks and beaches, armed with little more than buckets and their bare hands.

Others charged are Greek chief engineer Nikolaos Argyropoulos and first mate Irineo Maloto, a Filipino whose whereabouts are unknown, and Jose Luis Lopez-Sors, head of the Spanish merchant navy at the time, who ordered the ship out to sea when it was losing fuel.

The trial is due to last until May and hear testimony from 133 witnesses and 100 experts.

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Missing woman found at Anglesea

A WERRIBEE woman who has been missing for a week has been found safe and well at Anglesea on Victoria's southwest coast.

Police say 45-year-old Sandra Pevitt was found by family members at the Great Ocean Road holiday resort town around 7.30pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.

She disappeared last Wednesday after telling her family she had an appointment with her GP.

Police said Ms Pevitt was safe and well.

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European stocks, euro hold steady

EUROPEAN stock markets and the euro have steadied with the focus on EU talks concerning Greek debt, after a mixed batch of Asian economic data and amid strains over the outlook for the United States.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies on Monday rose 0.22 per cent to 5,782.18 points approaching midday in London, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.20 per cent to 7,177.79 points and in Paris the CAC 40 dipped 0.15 per cent to 3,418.34.

Greece's unrelenting debt drama tops the agenda on Monday when eurozone finance ministers discuss whether Athens has met conditions set by its international creditors to provide bailout funds so it can stay afloat.

The talks come hours after the Greek parliament, amid noisy protests, agreed on a tough cost-cutting 2013 budget, the latest hurdle cleared by Athens to guarantee the release of the foreign aid needed to stave off insolvency.

However, no decision is expected in Brussels on Monday on delivering a much-awaited fresh aid tranche of 31.5 billion euros ($A38.82 billion) held back since June.

"European leaders meet later today, where investors hoped the group would sign off on the payment to Greece; however it looks like that won't happen for a numbers of weeks yet," said David Madden, market analyst at IG trading group.

"It's shaping up to be a reasonably dull day for the markets, with investors listening for any further developments from Europe."

In foreign exchange activity on Monday ahead of the Greece talks, the euro eased to $US1.2708 from $US1.2709 late in New York on Friday.

Gold prices dipped to $US1,735.13 an ounce from $US1,738.25 on Friday.

Asian markets closed mixed on Monday as news that Japan's economy shrank in the July-September quarter and fears over the US "fiscal cliff" offset another round of healthy Chinese data, traders said.

Recent indications that the Chinese economy is emerging from a drawn-out slumber were reinforced on Saturday when figures showed exports rose 11.6 per cent year-on-year in October, following a near 10 per cent jump in September.

The numbers, which were released as the Communist Party holds its 18th congress and prepares for a once-a-decade leadership transition, came a day after officials said Chinese industrial output surged last month.

However, while the world's No.2 economy continues to show signs of a resurgence Japan on Monday said gross domestic product had shrunk 0.9 per cent in the July-September period from the previous three months.

It comes after Japan posted its worst September trade figures for 30 years as exports slumped, with analysts blaming the continued strength of the yen, a territorial spat with Beijing and the debilitating debt crisis in Europe.

"News at the weekend that the Chinese trade surplus hit a four-year high ... has helped assuage concerns that the Chinese economy is slipping back," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

In Paris shares in global advertising group Publicis rose by 3.30 per cent to 42.44 euros in morning trading after chief executive Maurive Levy had said late on Sunday that its activity had risen by more than 7.0 per cent in October.

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Radical preacher Abu Qatada wins appeal

MUSLIM radical preacher Abu Qatada has won his appeal against deportation from Britain to Jordan to face terrorism charges.

The decision represents a setback to the British government.

Home Office officials say they strongly disagree with the ruling.

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission on Monday blocked the deportation of Abu Qatada, saying it was not convinced by the government's assurances that no evidence obtained through torture would be used against Abu Qatada in Jordan.

He has been referred to as a top al-Qaeda operative who had close ties to the late Osama bin Laden.

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Japan's Olympus records first-half profit

OLYMPUS says it has swung back into the black in the first half of its fiscal year, a boost for the camera and medical equipment maker as it looks to move on from an embarrassing accounting scandal.

The company said on Monday its $US100 million ($A96.63 million) half-year profit was partly due to the sale of subsidiaries unrelated to its core business, while the key medical systems unit posted an operating profit.

But it added that it lost money in its camera business because of the strong yen, which makes Japanese exports less competitive, and the growing popularity of camera-equipped smartphones.

Olympus cut its full-year target for digital camera sales to 7.3 million units from 8.2 million.

"Brisk performance in our medical business was the profit driver, offsetting the negative impact of exchange rates," Olympus President Hiroyuki Sasa told a news briefing.

Sasa said "smartphones equipped with cameras have spread globally so that has shrunk the compact camera market", but he added that there was room for growth in the firm's higher-end camera business.

Olympus dominates the global market for endoscopes, which are used for internal medical examinations, with nearly three-quarters of the market.

The Japanese company lost 48.99 billion yen in its previous fiscal year, largely tied to scandal-related expenses.

In March, the company and three former senior executives -- including ex-president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa -- were charged over their role in the scandal, and later pleaded guilty.

The firm initially denied allegations it had used past acquisition deals and outsized consultant fees to hide huge losses, but later admitted wrongdoing.

Olympus shares closed 1.66 per cent lower at 1,244 yen in Tokyo on Monday before the firm's results were made public.

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Iraq executes 10, including Egyptian

IRAQI authorities have executed 10 men, bringing to 129 the number of people put to death this year in defiance of international calls for a halt to Baghdad's use of capital punishment.

The mass executions are the first in around a month in Iraq, which has been roundly condemned by European governments and international human rights organisations for its use of the death penalty.

"Ten people were executed, including one Egyptian," a justice ministry official told AFP on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"They were accused of terrorist crimes."

The official did not provide further details about the men or the specific crimes of which they were convicted.

Executions in Iraq are normally carried out by hanging.

Sunday was the latest of several days this year that Baghdad has carried out multiple executions.

They have sparked calls for a moratorium from the UN mission in Iraq, as well as Britain, the European Union and human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed shock earlier this year at the number of executions in Iraq, criticising the lack of transparency in court proceedings and calling for an immediate suspension of the death penalty.

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Israel fires warning shots into Syria

ISRAELI troops have fired warning shots into Syria, in what public radio says is the first Israeli fire directed at the military in the Golan Heights area since the 1973 war.

"A short while ago, a mortar shell hit an IDF post in the Golan Heights adjacent to the Israel-Syria border, as part of the internal conflict inside Syria. In response, IDF soldiers fired warning shots towards Syrian areas," the army said in a statement on Sunday.

Military sources told AFP the army used a single Tamuz anti-tank missile, a weapon known for being highly accurate.

In addition, the army said in its statement it had filed a complaint through the local UN forces, warning that "fire emanating from Syria into Israel will not be tolerated and shall be responded to with severity".

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "closely monitoring what is happening on our border with Syria and there too we are ready for any development".

Sunday's cross-border fire was the latest in a string of incidents in which fire has spilled from Syria across the ceasefire line.

On Thursday, three stray mortar rounds from Syria hit the Golan, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community.

And on Monday, an Israeli military vehicle patrolling the buffer zone was hit by gunfire, with the army acknowledging it was caused by "stray bullets".

No one was wounded, but the incident prompted an Israeli complaint to the United Nations Security Council in which it described the gunfire as a "grave violation" of a 1974 agreement on security in the buffer zone.

Two days earlier, three Syrian tanks entered Bir Ajam village, five kilometres southeast of Quneitra, in the demilitarised zone, sparking another Israeli complaint to the UN.

Since Israel and Syria signed the 1974 disengagement agreement, a 1200-strong unarmed UN force has patrolled the buffer zone.

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Venice flooded as 200 evacuated in Tuscany

FLOODWATERS have drenched most of the tourist destination of Venice and led to the evacuation of 200 people in Tuscany, as bad weather hit northern Italy at the weekend, authorities say.

In Venice itself, heavy rains and winds from the south triggered "acqua alta" (high water) and 70 per cent of the city was flooded, with sea levels reaching a peak of 1.5 metres above normal before receding slightly, they said.

In Tuscany, around 200 people were evacuated because of heavy rains that flooded homes and caused mudslides, local officials said.

The most affected region was the province of Massa and Carrara, which produces the famous Carrara marble.

In Massa di Carrara alone, some 50 people were evacuated and a car was carried away by an overflowing river, but the couple in the vehicle were saved by firefighters.

The authorities have urged the local population to avoid going into the streets and to stay in the the upper floors of their homes.

In Pisa, some streets have been without electricity following the floods.

In the large Tuscan port of Livorno, civil defence forces were on alert because of the heavy rains.

In Liguria, the region bordering Tuscany, 30 people had to be evacuated, the authorities said.

In anticipation of the floods two days ago, the authorities issued warnings and planned security measures to avoid any casualties after 13 people died in Tuscany and Liguria a year ago.

The bad weather was heading slowly towards the centre of the country and was set to hit Rome where civil defence forces have been put on alert.

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