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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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