Ireland set to pass abortion law

IRISH MPs are set to introduce abortion in limited cases where the mother's life is at risk, when controversial new laws go to a final vote on Wednesday night.

The predominantly Catholic nation's abortion laws faced global scrutiny after the death of 31-year-old Indian woman Savita Halappanavar in a Galway hospital last October.

The bill follows a 2010 European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Ireland failed to implement properly the constitutional right to abortion where a woman's life is at risk.

Under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, women in Ireland are legally entitled to an abortion if needed to save a mother's life - but legislation has never been passed to reflect this.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill allows for abortion in circumstances where doctors certify there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.

The new bill also permits a termination when one obstetrician and two psychiatrists unanimously agree that an expectant mother is a suicide risk.

The "suicide clause" has caused consternation among some lawmakers who believe it will be abused and lead to more abortions in Ireland.

Four government deputies voted against the bill at an earlier stage and were expelled from the parliamentary party as Prime Minister and Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny has not allowed a free vote on the matter.

A number of other lawmakers and possibly a member of Kenny's cabinet, Lucinda Creighton, junior minister with responsibility for European Affairs, are likely to vote against the bill.

Lawmakers will discuss the 165 amendments tabled in the past few days, but widespread changes as demanded by some are unlikely to be introduced.

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Royal Mail privatisation plans announced

Royal Mail will be sold by the British government through flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Source: AAP

UP to 150,000 Royal Mail staff are to be handed thousands of pounds in free shares as part of a privatisation, the British government says.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said 10 per cent of the new company would be gifted to employees under the STG3 billion ($A4.89 billion) sell-off, which will begin over the next year.

"These shares will be free to eligible employees, recognising that many of them would otherwise find them unaffordable," he told MPs in a statement on Wednesday.

Cable said the final proportion of Royal Mail to be sold would depend on market conditions, although it would be a majority stake.

The shares will be available to the general public as well as institutional investors under the terms of the initial public offering (IPO).

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, relaunched plans to part-privatise Royal Mail three years ago and after the proposal was ditched by the former Labour administration.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown's Labour government scrapped the sell-off plans in 2009 as Britain struggled with recession following the global financial crisis.

But Royal Mail recently announced that its profit after tax soared to STG566 million in 2012-13 compared with a net gain of STG149 million during its previous financial year. Revenue grew almost 6.0 per cent to STG9.27 billion.

Royal Mail continues to operate most British postal services even though its more than 350-year-long monopoly of the letter-delivery business ended in 2006 as new rules kicked in to allow rival operators to win a slice of the market.

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Astronomers spot monster star

ASTRONOMERS have reported their best observation yet of a massive star embryo growing within a dark cloud - the largest stellar "womb" ever spotted in our Milky Way galaxy.

The star, which could grow to 100 times the mass of our Sun and up to a million times brighter, was spotted by the most powerful radio telescope on Earth - the ALMA international astronomy facility located in Chile, according to a paper published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Astronomers hope its discovery, at a distance of some 11,000 light years from Earth, will shed light on how these exceptionally massive stars are formed, shrouded as they are in dust and mystery.

"Not only are these stars rare, but their births are extremely rapid and childhood short, so finding such a massive bject so early in its evolution in our Galaxy is a spectacular result," study co-author Gary Fuller of the University of Manchester said in a statement issued by the European Southern Observatory (ESO)

The most massive and brightest stars in the galaxy form within cool and dark cloud cores, hungrily feeding on material being dragged inwards by the embryo star's gravitational pull.

This specific star is located in the Spitzer Dark Cloud, whose core has a mass about 500 times that of the Sun.

"This object is expected to form a star that is up to 100 times more massive than the Sun. Only about one in ten thousand of all stars in the Milky Way reach that kind of mass," said study lead author Nicolas Peretto of Cardiff University.

"The remarkable observations from ALMA allowed us to get the first really in-depth look at what was going on within this cloud. We wanted to see how monster stars form and grow, and we certainly achieved our aim. One of the sources we have found is an absolute giant - the largest protostellar core ever spotted in the Milky Way!"

According to the ESO, there are two theories on the formation of massive stars, which have at least ten times the mass of our Sun.

The first theory suggests that parental dark clouds fragment, creating several small cores that collapse and form stars. The other sees the entire cloud collapse inwards, with material racing into its centre to feed the star or stars growing there.

The new results support the second theory, said the statement.

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Tigers 'keep Aceh men up tree for 3 days'

Five men have spent three days in a tree in Indonesia to escape from a group of tigers. Source: AAP

FIVE men have spent three days in a tree in Indonesia to escape from a group of tigers that had killed and eaten a sixth member of the group, press reports say.

The group, residents of Simpang Kiri in Aceh province, on the northern part of the island of Sumatra, on Thursday entered the densely forested Gunung Leuser National Park, where they were attacked by a group of tigers after they accidentally killed a tiger cub with a trap meant for deer.

A group of about 30 people on Saturday went to rescue the five men after they used their mobile phones to inform others of their predicament.

The rescuers managed to chase the four tigers away, local police chief Dicky Sondani told The Jakarta Globe.

The men who took refuge in the tree entered the park to collect aromatic wood, which is used in the preparation of perfumes, aromatic oils and incense and grows in the park jungle, which is inhabited by protected and threatened species such as tigers, elephants and orangutans.

"It's worse this time because there are tigers waiting for the villagers," Dicky said.

"People keep entering the jungle to look for alim wood because it's very expensive; up to 5 million rupiah ($A550) per kilogram. But, well, that's the risk; there are many tigers and elephants in Gunung Leuser's jungle."

Tiger attacks on Sumatra have risen due to the sharp increase in the number of palm oil and pulp plantations that reduce the natural habitat of the felines and push them into zones inhabited by people.

It is estimated that more than 100 Sumatran tigers live in the Gunung Leuser park.

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Suspended death sentence for ex-minister

China's former railways minister Liu Zhijun has been given a suspended death sentence. Source: AAP

CHINA'S former railways minister Liu Zhijun has been given a suspended death sentence for his role in a huge corruption scandal, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Liu, 60, was convicted of bribery and abuse of power by the No 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing. Under Chinese law suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment.

The scandal surrounding Liu is reported to have involved as much as 800 million yuan ($A144 million)).

Liu was appointed to head the railways ministry in 2003 and sacked eight years later, said to have taken payouts while handing out contracts for the rapid expansion of China's flagship high-speed railway system.

According to the indictment, Liu took advantage of his position to help 11 people win promotions or contracts, and accepted 64.6 million yuan in bribes between 1986 and 2011, Xinhua reported previously.

He was responsible for "huge losses of public assets and of the interests of the state and people" it quoted the indictment as saying.

Under Chinese law the death penalty can be imposed for taking bribes exceeding 100,000 yuan.

China's rail system - which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars - has been one of its flagship development projects in recent years, and it now boasts the world's longest high-speed network.

But a high-speed crash in the eastern city of Wenzhou killed some 40 people in 2011, sparking a torrent of public criticism that authorities compromised safety in their rush to expand the network.

The country's new leaders President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have vowed to fight corruption, which the Communist Party has identified as a threat to its continued rule.

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Myanmar 'Godfather of Heroin' dies: report

A former drug kingpin, once dubbed the "godfather of heroin" has died in his home in Myanmar. Source: AAP

A FORMER drug kingpin and business tycoon that the US government once dubbed the "godfather of heroin" has died in his home in Myanmar (Burma).

A source close to the family says Lo Hsing Han died on Saturday in Yangon.

The man spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have authorisation to speak to the media.

Lo Hsing Han was believed to be in his mid-70s.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Lo Hsing Han's involvement in the drug trade began more than four decades ago.

The US Department of Treasury, dubbing Lo Hsing Han the "godfather of heroin," put him on the financial sanctions list in 2008.

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Pupils' Weight Concerns Highlighted

CHILDREN as young as 10 are unhappy with their weight and believe they need to shed some pounds, research suggests.

It indicates that young people become increasingly concerned about their weight as they grow up, with nearly two-thirds of 14 and 15-year-old girls saying they would like to be slimmer.

The study also suggests young people are increasingly likely to skip breakfast or lunch as they get older.

The findings come from a report by the UK Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) which questioned more than 93,600 young people, of which more than 68,000 were 10- to 15-year-olds, in 2012, on a variety of topics.

It found that nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of girls aged 14 and 15 say they would like to lose weight, along with more than half (54 per cent) of those aged 12 and 13.

And more than a third (37 per cent) of 10 and 11-year-old girls - those in the final year of primary school - say they would like to lose weight, the survey found.

It suggests that boys are less concerned about how much they weigh, with just under three in 10 (29 per cent) of those aged 14 and 15 saying they want to drop a few pounds and 14 per cent saying they would like to put some weight on.

Around one in six (17 per cent) 14 and 15-year-old girls, and more than one in 10 (11 per cent) boys of the same age did not eat breakfast, the survey found - around double the numbers of Year 6 pupils who skipped this meal.

Laura Sharp, a nutritionist for the Children's Food Trust, said: "These are very worrying findings - all pupils, whatever their age, need to start the day with breakfast if they're going to be able to focus in class, and research shows a clear link between eating breakfast and children's attainment at school.

"What's particularly worrying is that girls and boys are skipping meals at a time when their bodies are changing fast and they're particularly in need of good nourishment.

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Qatada denies Jordan terror charges

Islamist cleric Abu Qatada has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges in Jordan. Source: AAP

ISLAMIST cleric Abu Qatada has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges pressed by Jordanian military prosecutors just hours after his deportation from Britain, his lawyer says.

Britain's expulsion of the Palestinian-born preacher after a decade-long legal battle drew expressions of delight from Prime Minister David Cameron.

Abu Qatada, who had been in and out of British prisons since 2002 even though he was never convicted of any offence, had once been described as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.

"Abu Qatada pleaded not guilty," defence lawyer Taysir Diab told AFP after the closed-door hearing before a military tribunal on Sunday.

"I will appeal tomorrow (Monday) to the (state security) court to release him on bail," he added.

The cleric was taken to the courthouse near Marka military airfield in east Amman just hours after he was flown in from Britain.

"State security court prosecutors charged Abu Qatada with conspiracy to carry our terrorist acts," a judicial official told AFP.

"He was remanded in judicial custody for 15 days in the Muwaqqar prison," in eastern Jordan, he added.

Reporters were not allowed into the courtroom to hear the charges being read out despite a pledge by Information Minister Mohammad Momani of "transparency" in Jordan's handling of Abu Qatada's retrial.

Abu Qatada was condemned to death in absentia in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks, including on the American school in Amman, but the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour.

In 2000, he was sentenced in his absence to 15 years for plotting to carry out terror attacks on tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations.

Jordanian law gives him the right to a retrial with him present in the dock.

Cameron hailed the final removal of Abu Qatada from British soil after a legal battle that cost the taxpayer 1.7 million pounds ($A2.82 million).

"I was absolutely delighted. This is something this government said it would get done, and we have got it done," Cameron told reporters.

"It's an issue that, like the rest of the country, has made my blood boil."

Britain was finally able to expel the 53-year-old father-of-five to Jordan after the two governments last month ratified a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used in his retrial.

The Jordanian information minister reiterated the undertaking on Sunday.

"His retrial will be conducted in line with international standards, protecting his rights and ensuring justice, fairness, credibility and transparency," Momani told the state-run Petra news agency.

A security official told AFP that after his arrival "a team of doctors including the state coroner examined the suspect and made sure there were no signs of torture."

London had been trying to deport Abu Qatada since 2005 but British and European courts had blocked his expulsion on the grounds that evidence might be used against him that had been obtained by torture.

But after years of legal battles his lawyers unexpectedly said in May that he would return once the fair trial treaty was ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

He was taken from prison in an armoured police van to a military airfield on the outskirts of London, from which he was flown out.

Abu Qatada's wife and five children are expected to remain in Britain, where he first sought asylum in 1993.

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Syrian city almost flattened: monitors

INTENSE fighting in the central Syrian city of Homs has left up to 70 per cent of a besieged rebel-held district damaged, destroyed or uninhabitable, a monitoring group says.

The estimate from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday came nine days into an all-out army assault on the rebel-held Khaldiyeh and Old City neighbourhoods, which have been under siege for more than a year.

On Sunday, regime forces subjected insurgent areas of the city to fierce shelling, said the Observatory.

"60 to 70 per cent of buildings in Khaldiyeh are either totally destroyed, partially destroyed, or unsuitable for habitation," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Homs is Syria's third-largest city, and tens of thousands of its residents have fled the fighting.

"Of all Syria's cities, Homs has suffered the highest levels of destruction ... Images of Homs make it look like a world war has hit the city. Much of it has been flattened," he added.

Amateur video posted online by activists on Sunday showed flames and thick black smoke rising from several empty burnt-out buildings already riddled with holes.

Some structures shown in the video are barely standing.

"Even if the regime takes the neighbourhoods back, there's barely a house left standing to return to," said Abdel Rahman.

"It would even be dangerous to return. People from Homs are constantly under regime surveillance wherever they are in Syria, because their city has served as a rebel bastion since early in the revolt."

On Sunday, government troops used mortars, rocket fire and heavy artillery to target rebel areas in the city, the Britain-based Observatory said.

On the edges of Khaldiyeh, fresh clashes broke out between rebels and troops and pro-regime militiamen, it added.

According to the United Nations, some 2500 to 4000 people are trapped in the besieged areas.

In Damascus, regime warplanes targeted Jubar in the east of the capital, while tanks hit Qaboon in the northeast, said the Observatory.

Several mortar rounds hit Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus, it added, as rebels and troops clashed nearby.

In northern Damascus, the army tried to storm Barzeh, where rebels are still holed up, the watchdog said.

Syria's 27-month war has killed more than 100,000 people, the Observatory estimates.

On Saturday alone, at least 69 people were killed nationwide, it said.

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Heavily armed Islamists attack in Cairo

RESIDENTS of Cairo's Manial neighbourhood are recovering from a bloody night of clashes with armed supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood who killed at least seven people and left dozens injured, they've told AFP.

The violence erupted when residents tried to stop hundreds of Islamists passing through Manial to reach protests being staged in the iconic Tahrir Square against toppled president Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.

"The Brotherhood attacked the area with all kinds of weapons," said resident Mohammed Yehya, who lost three of his friends in the mayhem.

Inhabitants of the Nile island of Manial reported seeing dozens of bearded Islamists armed with machineguns, machetes and sticks on Friday night before the deadly clashes broke out.

Snipers were spotted on rooftops, and medics told AFP they treated some residents of the normally quiet middle-class neighbourhood for bullet wounds with a downward trajectory.

Buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes. Rocks carpeted the floor and charred tyres showed the ferocity of the violence.

The clashes in Manial and elsewhere came two days after the army toppled Morsi, underlining the determination of his Muslim Brotherhood to disrupt the military's plan for a political transition until new elections.

Residents say the attack began just minutes afer the Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, gave a fiery speech to Morsi supporters camped out in Cairo's Nasr City, which was broadcast live on television.

"The attack came minutes after Badie's speech. They treated us like infidels. They were chanting 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) as they were shooting us," said Ahmed Fattouh.

On the door of one shop hung a sign announcing that the owner, 26-year-old Abdallah Sayyed Abdelazim, had been killed.

Parts of Manial were a ghost town on Saturday, with businesses shuttered and residents devastated by the night's violence.

"Their ammunition just didn't run out. They are trying to terrorise us and take over the country," said Khaled Tawfik.

Shopkeeper Mohammed Fekry, 29, who was wounded by birdshot said at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured.

"We have 10 people dead in this area, including six people who died with single bullets in the head. There were snipers on the roof of the Salaheddine mosque," Fekry said.

The overall toll for Friday's violence across Egypt was 30, but casualties are likely to rise.

Ihab al-Sayyed, a doctor at Qasr al-Aini hospital, told AFP that seven people he treated for injuries from the Manial clashes had died.

"I think the death toll will be much higher.

"The injuries were all from live bullets, most of them automatic weapons. Three of the dead and dozens of the injured were shot at from a height," the doctor said.

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