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Syria military police chief defects to opposition

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 26 Desember 2012 | 23.49

SYRIA'S military police chief has announced his defection from President Bashar al-Assad's regime, accusing the army of having turned into "murderous gangs," in a video posted online.

"I, General Abdel Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, commander of Syrian military police, announce that I am defecting from the regime army, to join the people's revolution," the military-clad officer said.

"The army has deviated from its essential mission, which is to protect the country, and it has morphed into murderous, destructive gangs," General Shallal charged in the video circulated by opposition activists.

"The destruction of cities and villages, and the commission of massacres against our people, defenceless civilians, who took to the streets calling for freedom" prompted Shallal to defect, he said.

General Shallal, whose functions are limited to disciplining soldiers, is not a well-known figure.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited sources close to General Shallal as saying he was set to retire in January, and its head Rami Abdel Rahman said he has already left Syria, like many other senior military defectors.

According to reports on online platforms, he left Syria for Turkey.

"This man was pushed to the sidelines a long time ago," one Syrian activist said online, adding that General Shallal was "suspected of collaborating with insurgents."

General Shallal "withdrew military police checkpoints from the roads, and he was good to people," another activist wrote online.


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Syria deputy FM travels to Moscow

THE Syrian deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, was headed for Moscow, an airport source in Beirut told AFP, amid reports of a US-Russian initiative for a transition in Syria.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, was headed for Moscow, an airport source in Beirut said, amid reports of a US-Russian initiative for a transition in Syria.

"Accompanied by foreign ministry official Ahmed Arnus, Muqdad's Aeroflot flight to Moscow took off from Beirut airport at midnight (2200 GMT)" Tuesday, the airport source said, on condition of anonymity.

French daily Le Figaro has reported that the new initiative would see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad staying in power until 2014 while preventing him from further renewing his mandate.

Mr Muqdad's visit to Moscow comes as UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi visits Syria in a bid to persuade the warring parties to negotiate an end to the conflict in which monitors say 45,000 people have been killed.

Mr Brahimi himself is to hold talks in Moscow on Saturday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency. The foreign ministry said Mr Brahimi had requested the meeting.

The UN-Arab League envoy met with Assad on Monday and a day later with three opposition groups tolerated by the regime, but diplomats say he has so far made little headway.

On December 6, Mr Brahimi met in Dublin with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss possible solutions to the Syrian crisis.

No details of the Dublin discussion have been released.


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UAE busts Saudi-Emirati 'terror' cell

UAE authorities have announced busting a cell of Saudi and Emirati members plotting "terror" attacks in the two countries and other states.

The suspects "imported material and equipment with the aim of committing terror acts," said an official statement on WAM state news agency. The arrests came after coordination between security authorities in the two Gulf states.

The suspects were described as members of the "deviant group," a term usually used in Saudi Arabia to refer to al-Qaida-linked Islamists.


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Tube strike can't stop London shoppers

STRIKE action has heavily disrupted London's Underground train network, as hundreds of thousands of bargain hunters headed to the shops for the traditional Boxing Day sales.

All 13 of the Tube lines were running a reduced service after just a third of drivers turned up for work in a dispute between the Aslef union and the network operators over payments for working on public holidays.

Howard Collins, London Underground's chief operating officer, said: "This strike action is completely unnecessary.

"Train drivers are paid a salary that reflects some bank holiday working, but the Aslef leadership is demanding to be paid twice for the same work and has rejected our attempts to resolve the matter."

Despite the transport problems, shoppers formed long queues from the early hours of the morning outside London's top department stores including Harrods and Selfridges.

Many of the bargain hunters were Chinese, with Harrods creating a separate queue outside its store in the upmarket district of Knightsbridge for those looking for reductions on designer goods such as Gucci.

Sue West, director of operations at Selfridges, said handbags and menswear were particularly popular items in the sale at its flagship branch on London's main shopping thoroughfare of Oxford Street.

"Of the people queuing to get inside 60 per cent or 70 per cent were men. It's a great day for men's shopping. It's a tradition and people want to experience it," she said.

"Online sales for us have been great but year on year people still want to experience the Boxing Day sales."

British retailers slash prices on the day after Christmas Day, with big-ticket items such as TVs and computers carrying the biggest reductions.

The price comparison site MoneySupermarket.com estimates that shoppers in Britain will spend STG2.9 billion ($4.6 billion) in the sales.

The British Retail Consortium had described high-street spending as "acceptable but not exceptional" during the Christmas period.


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National holiday road toll reaches 17

AUSTRALIA'S national road toll stands at 17 after a man was killed in a single car accident in Western Australia.

Perth Now reports the man died when his car flipped on the North West Coastal Highway at Yannarie, which is about 1200km north of Perth and 200km southeast of Exmouth, about noon (WST) on Wednesday.

Police in WA say the first death on the state's roads happened on Christmas Eve, when a young man died after his car hit a power pole at Esperance, about 720 kilometres southeast of Perth.

Meanwhile, NSW police are pleading for drivers to slow down after accidents on the state's roads left five people dead in one day, including an elderly Fijian couple, who died when their can left the Hume Highway near Holbrook in the state's south and rolled.

Queensland has recorded its first holiday road death after a sedan veered off the Bruce Highway on the state's east coast and rolled early on Wednesday.

The losses take the toll for NSW to six, five people have died on Victoria's roads, and two in South Australia.

One person each has been killed on roads in Queensland and Tasmania.

The Northern Territory and ACT remain fatality-free.

* 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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US stocks up ahead of 'fiscal cliff' talks

US stocks have opened slightly higher, as President Barack Obama heads back to Washington to try to secure a year-end "fiscal cliff" deal with Republican lawmakers.

In roughly the first 15 minutes of trade on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22.59 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 13,161.67.

The broad-market S&P 500 was up 0.99 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,427.65.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 0.82 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 3,013.42.

"The action today through Friday will be heavily influenced by news on the fiscal cliff negotiations. Underlying that will be support from the traditional year-end bullish bias," said Briefing.com's Dick Green.

"At least for today, it looks like the seasonal support is enough to boost the stock market given the uncertain outlook for the budget negotiations."

On Christmas Eve, the Dow was down 0.39 per cent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.24 per cent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 0.28 per cent. Markets were closed for Christmas Day.


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Spain seizes 11 tonnes of hashish

SPANISH police have seized 11 tonnes of hashish smuggled from Morocco on trucks with fuel tanks rigged to hide the drugs and arrested 35 people in what has been described as the breakup of a major smuggling ring feeding the European market.

The haul was displayed across a patio outside the headquarters of the National Police, with some hashish packaged in small amounts resembling bars of soap, while much of it was held in suitcases made out of tape and packaging material.

It was described as one of Spain's biggest drug seizures, but officials did not provide details of previous confiscations for comparison purposes.

Authorities said the hashish travelled in trucks that took cargo ferries from Morocco to southern Spain, and were then driven to a Madrid suburb where the hashish was extracted from the vehicles' fuel tanks. From there, some of the hashish was sent to Madrid for sale while the rest was put aboard other trucks carrying legal merchandise to countries including Belgium, Britain, France and Holland.

Those arrested included 31 Moroccans, three Spaniards and a Belgian woman. One of the Spaniards and the Belgian woman were truckers driving rigs with loads of carrots and clothing with the hashish hidden amid the legitimate cargo, National Police chief Ignacio Cosido said.

Cosido declined to put a value on the hashish seized except to say "it's very profitable".

Police in 17 raids also seized numerous bags of marijuana, 150,000 euros ($A190,000) in cash, 14 vehicles valued at 400,000 euros and 109 mobile phones during the course of an eight-month investigation that started when authorities broke up a Madrid hashish selling ring and went after that group's suppliers.

The ring used GPS systems to track the movements of their hashish loads, and the specially designed fuel tanks to hold the drugs were put back together again for reuse after being dismantled, said Jose Luis Conde, who heads the National Police's Madrid division.

Conde declined to say whether the hashish originally came from Morocco, a major producer, saying only that it was from North Africa.


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Oil rises on housing data

THE price of oil is rising sharply on higher US home prices and hopes of a budget deal in Washington.

US benchmark crude jumped $2.31, or 2.6 per cent, to $90.92 a barrel overnight in thin post-Christmas trading.

US home prices rose in most major cities in October compared with a year ago, according to a key report. The improvement is adding to economic growth, which generally boosts energy consumption and lifts prices.

Also, President Barack Obama will return to Washington today after a brief holiday to resume budget talks with Congress. Negotiations are aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff," the deep budget cuts and tax increases that could slow US growth.

On Monday, concerns over the budget pushed down oil prices. Benchmark crude closed 5 cents lower at $88.61.


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Syria military police chief defects to opposition

SYRIA'S military police chief has announced his defection from President Bashar al-Assad's regime, accusing the army of having turned into "murderous gangs," in a video posted online.

"I, General Abdel Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, commander of Syrian military police, announce that I am defecting from the regime army, to join the people's revolution," the military-clad officer said.

"The army has deviated from its essential mission, which is to protect the country, and it has morphed into murderous, destructive gangs," General Shallal charged in the video circulated by opposition activists.

"The destruction of cities and villages, and the commission of massacres against our people, defenceless civilians, who took to the streets calling for freedom" prompted Shallal to defect, he said.

General Shallal, whose functions are limited to disciplining soldiers, is not a well-known figure.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited sources close to General Shallal as saying he was set to retire in January, and its head Rami Abdel Rahman said he has already left Syria, like many other senior military defectors.

According to reports on online platforms, he left Syria for Turkey.

"This man was pushed to the sidelines a long time ago," one Syrian activist said online, adding that General Shallal was "suspected of collaborating with insurgents."

General Shallal "withdrew military police checkpoints from the roads, and he was good to people," another activist wrote online.


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Syria deputy FM travels to Moscow

THE Syrian deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, was headed for Moscow, an airport source in Beirut told AFP, amid reports of a US-Russian initiative for a transition in Syria.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, was headed for Moscow, an airport source in Beirut said, amid reports of a US-Russian initiative for a transition in Syria.

"Accompanied by foreign ministry official Ahmed Arnus, Muqdad's Aeroflot flight to Moscow took off from Beirut airport at midnight (2200 GMT)" Tuesday, the airport source said, on condition of anonymity.

French daily Le Figaro has reported that the new initiative would see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad staying in power until 2014 while preventing him from further renewing his mandate.

Mr Muqdad's visit to Moscow comes as UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi visits Syria in a bid to persuade the warring parties to negotiate an end to the conflict in which monitors say 45,000 people have been killed.

Mr Brahimi himself is to hold talks in Moscow on Saturday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency. The foreign ministry said Mr Brahimi had requested the meeting.

The UN-Arab League envoy met with Assad on Monday and a day later with three opposition groups tolerated by the regime, but diplomats say he has so far made little headway.

On December 6, Mr Brahimi met in Dublin with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss possible solutions to the Syrian crisis.

No details of the Dublin discussion have been released.


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UAE busts Saudi-Emirati 'terror' cell

UAE authorities have announced busting a cell of Saudi and Emirati members plotting "terror" attacks in the two countries and other states.

The suspects "imported material and equipment with the aim of committing terror acts," said an official statement on WAM state news agency. The arrests came after coordination between security authorities in the two Gulf states.

The suspects were described as members of the "deviant group," a term usually used in Saudi Arabia to refer to al-Qaida-linked Islamists.


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Tube strike can't stop London shoppers

STRIKE action has heavily disrupted London's Underground train network, as hundreds of thousands of bargain hunters headed to the shops for the traditional Boxing Day sales.

All 13 of the Tube lines were running a reduced service after just a third of drivers turned up for work in a dispute between the Aslef union and the network operators over payments for working on public holidays.

Howard Collins, London Underground's chief operating officer, said: "This strike action is completely unnecessary.

"Train drivers are paid a salary that reflects some bank holiday working, but the Aslef leadership is demanding to be paid twice for the same work and has rejected our attempts to resolve the matter."

Despite the transport problems, shoppers formed long queues from the early hours of the morning outside London's top department stores including Harrods and Selfridges.

Many of the bargain hunters were Chinese, with Harrods creating a separate queue outside its store in the upmarket district of Knightsbridge for those looking for reductions on designer goods such as Gucci.

Sue West, director of operations at Selfridges, said handbags and menswear were particularly popular items in the sale at its flagship branch on London's main shopping thoroughfare of Oxford Street.

"Of the people queuing to get inside 60 per cent or 70 per cent were men. It's a great day for men's shopping. It's a tradition and people want to experience it," she said.

"Online sales for us have been great but year on year people still want to experience the Boxing Day sales."

British retailers slash prices on the day after Christmas Day, with big-ticket items such as TVs and computers carrying the biggest reductions.

The price comparison site MoneySupermarket.com estimates that shoppers in Britain will spend STG2.9 billion ($4.6 billion) in the sales.

The British Retail Consortium had described high-street spending as "acceptable but not exceptional" during the Christmas period.


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National holiday road toll reaches 17

AUSTRALIA'S national road toll stands at 17 after a man was killed in a single car accident in Western Australia.

Perth Now reports the man died when his car flipped on the North West Coastal Highway at Yannarie, which is about 1200km north of Perth and 200km southeast of Exmouth, about noon (WST) on Wednesday.

Police in WA say the first death on the state's roads happened on Christmas Eve, when a young man died after his car hit a power pole at Esperance, about 720 kilometres southeast of Perth.

Meanwhile, NSW police are pleading for drivers to slow down after accidents on the state's roads left five people dead in one day, including an elderly Fijian couple, who died when their can left the Hume Highway near Holbrook in the state's south and rolled.

Queensland has recorded its first holiday road death after a sedan veered off the Bruce Highway on the state's east coast and rolled early on Wednesday.

The losses take the toll for NSW to six, five people have died on Victoria's roads, and two in South Australia.

One person each has been killed on roads in Queensland and Tasmania.

The Northern Territory and ACT remain fatality-free.

* 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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US stocks up ahead of 'fiscal cliff' talks

US stocks have opened slightly higher, as President Barack Obama heads back to Washington to try to secure a year-end "fiscal cliff" deal with Republican lawmakers.

In roughly the first 15 minutes of trade on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22.59 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 13,161.67.

The broad-market S&P 500 was up 0.99 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,427.65.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 0.82 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 3,013.42.

"The action today through Friday will be heavily influenced by news on the fiscal cliff negotiations. Underlying that will be support from the traditional year-end bullish bias," said Briefing.com's Dick Green.

"At least for today, it looks like the seasonal support is enough to boost the stock market given the uncertain outlook for the budget negotiations."

On Christmas Eve, the Dow was down 0.39 per cent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.24 per cent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 0.28 per cent. Markets were closed for Christmas Day.


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Spain seizes 11 tonnes of hashish

SPANISH police have seized 11 tonnes of hashish smuggled from Morocco on trucks with fuel tanks rigged to hide the drugs and arrested 35 people in what has been described as the breakup of a major smuggling ring feeding the European market.

The haul was displayed across a patio outside the headquarters of the National Police, with some hashish packaged in small amounts resembling bars of soap, while much of it was held in suitcases made out of tape and packaging material.

It was described as one of Spain's biggest drug seizures, but officials did not provide details of previous confiscations for comparison purposes.

Authorities said the hashish travelled in trucks that took cargo ferries from Morocco to southern Spain, and were then driven to a Madrid suburb where the hashish was extracted from the vehicles' fuel tanks. From there, some of the hashish was sent to Madrid for sale while the rest was put aboard other trucks carrying legal merchandise to countries including Belgium, Britain, France and Holland.

Those arrested included 31 Moroccans, three Spaniards and a Belgian woman. One of the Spaniards and the Belgian woman were truckers driving rigs with loads of carrots and clothing with the hashish hidden amid the legitimate cargo, National Police chief Ignacio Cosido said.

Cosido declined to put a value on the hashish seized except to say "it's very profitable".

Police in 17 raids also seized numerous bags of marijuana, 150,000 euros ($A190,000) in cash, 14 vehicles valued at 400,000 euros and 109 mobile phones during the course of an eight-month investigation that started when authorities broke up a Madrid hashish selling ring and went after that group's suppliers.

The ring used GPS systems to track the movements of their hashish loads, and the specially designed fuel tanks to hold the drugs were put back together again for reuse after being dismantled, said Jose Luis Conde, who heads the National Police's Madrid division.

Conde declined to say whether the hashish originally came from Morocco, a major producer, saying only that it was from North Africa.


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Oil rises on housing data

THE price of oil is rising sharply on higher US home prices and hopes of a budget deal in Washington.

US benchmark crude jumped $2.31, or 2.6 per cent, to $90.92 a barrel overnight in thin post-Christmas trading.

US home prices rose in most major cities in October compared with a year ago, according to a key report. The improvement is adding to economic growth, which generally boosts energy consumption and lifts prices.

Also, President Barack Obama will return to Washington today after a brief holiday to resume budget talks with Congress. Negotiations are aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff," the deep budget cuts and tax increases that could slow US growth.

On Monday, concerns over the budget pushed down oil prices. Benchmark crude closed 5 cents lower at $88.61.


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3800 British troops leave Afghanistan

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 19 Desember 2012 | 23.48

PRIME Minister David Cameron has announced that 3800 British troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2013.

Some 5000 will remain into 2014, Cameron told MPs.

The announcement comes after a lengthy video call on Tuesday between Cameron and US President Barack Obama.

There are some 60,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

Cameron said the decision reflects an increasing confidence in the Afghan National Security Forces.

"Our combat mission is drawing to a close, but our commitment to the Afghan people is long-term," said Defence Secretary Philip Hammond.

Since 2001, 433 British troops have died in Afghanistan.

Last month, France ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, pulling hundreds of troops from a base in a volatile region northeast of Kabul and fulfilling promises to end its combat role on a faster track than other NATO allies.

France has lost 88 troops in Afghanistan since late 2001.


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Russia parliament says no to US adoptions

RUSSIA'S lower house of parliament has given key support to a bill banning Americans from adopting children, resulting in a huge outcry from rights groups.

The bill, which came in retaliation for a US measure that punishes Russia for its rights record under President Vladimir Putin, was approved by 400 MPs in the 450-seat chamber.

Only four deputies voted against the bill while two parliamentarians in the Kremlin-controlled legislature abstained.

The bill now needs to be passed in the largely symbolic third reading on Friday before moving on to the upper house of parliament, which often gives unanimous approval to Kremlin-sponsored legislation.

Putin will then need to sign the bill before it enters into law, possibly as early as the start of next year.

The tough measure bans adoption of Russian children by US families, ends the bilateral adoption agreement between the two countries, and forbids US adoption agencies from working in the Russia.

With several dozen people protesting outside, police officers placed the Duma building under virtual lockdown, bringing reinforcements in anticipation of large rallies.

While Putin last week welcomed the parliament's decision to retaliate against the so-called Magnitsky Act, named in honour of a whistle-blowing lawyer who died in jail before going on trial, the Kremlin was more ambiguous about supporting the measure on Wednesday.

Putin's spokesman Sergei Peskov told state television that "the line of the executive branch of the government is more restrained" than that of the pro-Kremlin MPs in the Duma.

Speaking ahead of Putin's press conference on Thursday, which is also expected to address the bill, Peskov added however that "such a tough emotional reaction by Russian parliament members is quite understandable."

Unusually, several political heavyweights, including Education Minister Dmitry Livanov, opposed the bill, publicly saying that an "eye-for-an-eye logic" would put at risk children who fail to find adoptive parents in Russia.

Of the 3400 Russian children adopted by foreign families in 2011, 956 - nearly a third - were adopted by Americans, according to official figures. Eighty nine of those adopted were disabled children.

Although Russian adoptions have declined over the past five years due to increased regulations, Russia is still the third largest source of adoptions for the United States, according to official figures.


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Iraqi leader set for German hospital

KURDISH officials say Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will be flown to Germany for further treatment after suffering a stroke earlier this week.

Medical experts from Germany and other countries began arriving on Wednesday to assess the 79-year-old president's condition.

Talabani is a senior Kurdish leader and has been a symbol of unity in Iraq.

Firyad Rawndouzi, a senior member of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, says the German team recommended he be moved, possibly as early as Thursday.

The head of the president's media office, Barazan Sheikh Othman, says he is expected to depart on Thursday or Friday.

Questions remain about the graveness of Talabani's illness. Hospital officials and his office have released few details to the public, though they say he is showing signs of improvement.


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Outrage grows in India over bus gang-rape

THE hours-long gang-rape and near-fatal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi has triggered outrage and anger across the country as Indians demand action from authorities who have long ignored persistent violence and harassment against women.

In the streets and in parliament, calls rose for stringent and swift punishment against those attacking women, including a proposal to make rapists eligible for the death penalty. As the calls for action grew louder, two more gang-rapes were reported, including one in which the 10-year-old victim was killed.

"I feel it is sick what is happening across the country.It is totally sick, and it needs to stop," said Smitha, a 32-year-old protester who goes by only one name.

Thousands of demonstrators clogged the streets in front of New Delhi's police headquarters, protested near parliament and rallied outside a major university. Angry university students set up roadblocks across the city, causing massive traffic jams.

Hundreds rallied outside the home of the city's top elected official before police dispersed them with water cannons, a move that earned further condemnation from opposition leaders, who accused the government of being insensitive.

"We want to jolt people awake from the cozy comfort of their cars. We want people to feel the pain of what women go through every day," said Aditi Roy, a Delhi University student.

As protests raged in cities across India, at least two girls were gang-raped, with one of them killed.

Police on Wednesday fished out the body of a 10-year old girl from a canal in Bihar state's Saharsa district. Police superintendent Ajit Kumar Satyarthi said the girl had been gang-raped and killed and her body dumped in the canal. Police were investigating and a breakthrough was expected soon, Satyarthi said.

Elsewhere, a 14 -year old schoolgirl was in critical condition in Banka district of Bihar after she was raped by four men, said Jyoti Kumar, the district education officer.

The men have been identified, but police were yet to make any arrests, Kumar said.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old victim of the first rape lay in critical condition in the hospital with severe internal injuries, doctors said.

Police said six men raped the woman and savagely beat her and her companion with iron rods on a bus driving around the city - passing through several police checkpoints - before stripping them and dumping them on the side of the road Sunday night.

Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar said four men have been arrested and a search was underway for the other two.

Rapes in India remain drastically underreported. In many cases, families do not report rapes due to the stigma that follows the victim and her family. In other instances, families may decide not to report a rape out of frustration with the long delays in court and harassment at the hands of the police. Police themselves are reluctant to register cases of rape and domestic violence in order to keep down crime figures or to elicit a bribe from the victim.

In a sign of the protesters' fury, Khushi Pattanaik, a student, said death was too easy a punishment for the rapists, they should instead be castrated and forced to suffer as their victim did.

"It should be made public so that you see it, you feel it and you also live with i. The kind of shame and guilt," she said.


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US stocks mainly lower

US stocks have drifted mostly lower in early trade as investors eye Washington's budget impasse amid a looming deadline.

In the first 30 minutes of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 9.82 points (0.07 per cent) at 13,341.14.

The broad-market S&P 500 lost 2.73 (0.19 per cent) to 1444.10, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dipped 3.81 points (0.113 per cent) at 3050.93.

The markets were watching President Barack Obama and top Republican John Boehner in their effort to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect in January, but differences remain.

Experts say failure to reach a deal could drag the world's biggest economy back into recession.

On Tuesday, the Dow gained 0.87 per cent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.15 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.46 per cent.


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Dictator's daughter new SKorea president

SOUTH Korea has elected its first female president, handing a slim but historic victory to conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-Hye, daughter of the country's former military ruler.

As leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, Park, 60, will face numerous challenges, handling a belligerent North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.

With 85 per cent of the national vote counted, Park had an insurmountable lead of 51.6 per cent to 48 per cent over her liberal rival, Moon Jae-In of the main opposition party.

The election was largely fought on domestic economic issues, with both candidates offering similar policies as they went in search of centrist voters beyond their conservative and liberal bases.

Park had pushed a message of "economic democratisation" - a campaign buzzword about reducing the social disparities thrown up by rapid economic development - and promised to create new jobs and increase welfare spending.

"I will be a president who fulfils in every way the promises I made to the people," Park told cheering, flag-waving supporters at an open-air victory celebration in central Seoul.

However she had been far more cautious than Moon about the need to rein in the power of the giant family-run conglomerates, or "chaebol", that dominate the national economy.

On North Korea, Park has promised a dual policy of greater engagement and "robust deterrence", and held out the prospect of a summit with the North's young leader Kim Jong-Un, who came to power a year ago.

She also signalled a willingness to resume the humanitarian aid to Pyongyang suspended by current President Lee Myung-Bak.

But she will be restricted by hawkish forces in her New Frontier Party as well as an international community intent on punishing North Korea for its long-range rocket launch last week.

To some extent Wednesday's election was seen as a referendum on the legacy of Park's father, Park Chung-Hee.

More than three decades after he was assassinated, Park remains one of modern Korea's most polarising figures - admired for dragging the country out of poverty and reviled for his ruthless suppression of dissent during 18 years of military rule.

He was shot dead by his spy chief in 1979. Park's mother had been killed five years earlier by a pro-North Korea gunman aiming for her father.

In an effort at reconciliation, Park publicly acknowledged the excesses of her father's regime during her campaign and apologised to the families of its victims.

"I believe that it is an unchanging value of democracy that ends cannot justify the means in politics," she said.

Despite freezing temperatures that hovered around -10 Celsius, the election was marked by a high turnout of nearly 76 per cent, compared to 63 per cent in the 2007 presidential poll.

It was a bitter defeat for Moon, 59, the son of North Korean refugees and a former human rights lawyer who was once jailed for protesting against Park Chung-Hee's rule.

"I feel so sorry and guilty that I have failed to accomplish my historic mission to open a new era of politics," Moon told reporters outside his Seoul residence.

"I humbly accept the outcome of the election," he added

Park, 60, never married and has no children - a fact that makes her popular with voters tired of corruption scandals surrounding their first families.

A female president will be a huge change for a country that the World Economic Forum recently ranked 108th out of 135 countries in terms of gender equality - one place below the United Arab Emirates and just above Kuwait.

"I can't even describe how happy I am right now. I feel like crying," said Cha In-Hong, a 57-year-old office worker.

"Park Geun-Hye has married our nation. Now she will go on her honeymoon to the Blue House to begin governing," Cha said.

Park's presidential inauguration will be held on February 25.


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Minogue and Donovan on stage for duet

KYLIE Minogue and Jason Donovan will end more than two decades of anticipation in London this week when they team up on stage for the first live performance of their number one hit, Especially For You.

The former Ramsay Street sweethearts will be the centrepiece of Friday night's Hit Factory Live concert in the English capital as they present their much-loved duet.

Concert organisers this week revealed Minogue's involvement, having previously advertised only a "very special guest".

"The Hit Factory audience are in for a very special treat as Kylie Minogue is confirmed to bring the show to an unforgettable end by performing with Jason (Donovan) on Especially For You," a statement said.

"They last performed it together in 1989."

The concert celebrates the work of songwriting and production team Stock Aitken Waterman, which penned several hits including Especially For You.

Released in November 1988 - after Minogue had left the cast of Neighbours where she played the part of Charlene alongside Donovan's character Scott - the single achieved prolonged chart success in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, along with other European countries.

A spokeswoman for Hit Factory confirmed the pair has never performed the song live, although Minogue has included the tune in some of her tours and sang the duet with Kermit the Frog for a TV special in 2001.

Minogue and Donovan's reunion was initially scheduled for July but the outdoor Hit Factory concert had to be postponed due to rain.

Before the delay, Minogue had spoken of the hype she expected as she took to the stage with her former Neighbours husband.

"I don't think we'll even need to sing it. I'm sure the audience all went through the Neighbours wedding. It's going to bring the house down," she told Glamour magazine.

Especially For You will end a concert which will see performances by Bananarama, Rick Astley, Steps, Dead or Alive, Sinitta and others.


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Pakistan: 8 polio workers killed in 2 days

GUNMEN have shot dead a woman working on UN-backed polio vaccination efforts and her driver in northwestern Pakistan, officials say, raising to eight the number of people killed in the last 48 hours who were part of the immunisation drive.

The attack on the woman was one of five that took place on polio workers in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday. One male polio worker was critically wounded, while the others managed to escape unharmed.

The recent killings prompted the UN's public health arm to suspend work on the vaccination drive in two of Pakistan's four provinces on Wednesday, a major setback for a campaign that international health officials consider vital to contain the crippling disease but which Taliban insurgents say is a cover for espionage.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Suspicion has fallen on the Pakistani Taliban because of their virulent opposition to the polio campaign, but the group's spokesman, Ahsanullah Ahsan, denied responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press.

Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is endemic. Prevention efforts have managed to reduce the number of cases in Pakistan by around 70 per cent this year compared to 2011. But the recent violence threatens to reverse that progress.

Militants accuse health workers of acting as spies for the US and claim the vaccine makes children sterile. Taliban commanders in the troubled northwest tribal region have also said vaccinations can't go forward until the US stops drone strikes in the country.

Insurgent opposition to the campaign grew last year after it was revealed that a Pakistani doctor ran a fake vaccination program to help the CIA track down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was hiding in the town of Abbottabad in the country's northwest.

The number of attacks this week on polio workers is unprecedented. They came as the government started a three-day vaccination drive on Monday targeting high risk areas of the country, part of an effort to immunise millions of children under the age of five.

The deadliest of Wednesday's attacks occurred in the northwestern town of Charsadda, where the female polio worker and her driver were gunned down, said senior government official Syed Zafar Ali Shah. Gunmen attacked two other polio teams in Charsadda and one in the town of Nowshera, but no one was hurt in those attacks, he said.

Earlier in the day, gunmen shot a polio worker in the head in the city of Peshawar, wounding him critically, said Janbaz Afridi, a senior health official in surrounding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

On Tuesday, gunmen killed five female polio workers - three of them teenagers - in a series of attacks in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, and a village outside Peshawar. Two men who were working alongside the women were critically wounded in those attacks. A male polio worker was also shot to death in Karachi on Monday.

Maryam Yunus, a spokeswoman for the UN World Health Organization in Pakistan, said the group's polio staff have been pulled back from the field in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh and asked to work from home until the vaccination campaign ends Wednesday.

Officials in Karachi temporarily suspended the vaccination campaign in the city after the shootings on Tuesday, but the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government ploughed ahead, not wanting to be cowed by the violence.

Several dozen polio workers and human rights activists protested against the killings in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday and demanded security for the field staff.

The Pakistani government and the UN have also condemned the attacks, saying they deprive Pakistan's most vulnerable populations - specifically children - of basic life-saving health interventions.

Polio usually infects children living in unsanitary conditions, attacks the nerves and can kill or paralyse. A total of 56 polio cases have been reported in Pakistan during 2012, down from 190 the previous year, according to the UN. Most of the new cases in Pakistan are in the northwest, where the presence of militants makes it difficult to reach children.


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US stocks rise on Fed stimulus hopes

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 12 Desember 2012 | 23.49

US stocks have opened higher as investors expected the Federal Reserve would announce new support for the sluggish economy following a two-day monetary policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 37.44 points (0.28 per cent) to 13,285.88 in the first 10 minutes of trade, building on a five-day winning streak.

The S&P 500-stock index advanced 4.08 (0.29 per cent) to 1431.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 9.87 (0.33 per cent) at 3032.17.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is due to announce its monetary policy update at 12:30 pm (0430 AEST).

"Wall Street is speculating the Fed will replace the expiring Operation Twist program with a fresh round of Treasury purchases," said Karee Venema of Schaeffer's Investment Research.

On Tuesday, gains in technology shares underpinned Wall Street gains.

The Dow added 0.60 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 0.65 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.18 per cent.

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Singapore official resigns after affair

THE speaker of Singapore's parliament has resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair, adding to a list of scandals that have undermined the city-state's reputation for clean and efficient governance.

Michael Palmer, the speaker and a member of Singapore's ruling People's Action Party, said his conduct was "improper" and a "serious error of judgment," according to reports by the strait-laced island's state media.

The woman Palmer had an affair with was employed by a government statutory board and worked in Palmer's constituency. Palmer said he resigned to avoid further embarrassment to the parliament and the ruling party, which has been in power since 1959.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement that all members of parliament need to uphold the highest standards of personal conduct.

The scandal could result in an election to fill the vacant seat in parliament for Punggol East constituency that Palmer represented, but Lee indicated that he won't be calling a by-election any time soon.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Lee noted that the constitution does not require him to call a by-election within a fixed timeframe. "I will carefully consider whether to call a by-election in Punggol East and, if so, when. I assure Singaporeans that I will make my decision based on what is best for the constituents of Punggol East and the country," he wrote.

A by-election would have been another opportunity for voters to express discontent with the ruling party which has suffered a drop in popularity because of an influx of foreign workers and widening inequality. Palmer won Punggol East with 54.5 per cent of the vote in general elections last year.

The government has been embarrassed by a succession of scandals and mishaps that might hardly raise eyebrows in many neighbouring Southeast Asian countries but have caused outrage in Singapore where the ruling party has cultivated a pristine image.

Last month, immigrant Chinese bus drivers staged Singapore's first strike in 26 years in protest at poor working conditions and low pay. Earlier in the year, the chiefs of Singapore's civil defence force and anti-narcotics unit were sacked and charged with corruption for awarding business contracts in exchange for sexual favours from female company executives.

The government's competence was also questioned after subway breakdowns and flash floods that inundated an upmarket shopping district.


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UK officer jailed over nuclear secrets

A ROYAL Navy petty officer has been sentenced to eight years in prisons for passing nuclear submarine secrets to British intelligence agents impersonating Russian spies.

Petty Officer Edward Devenney, who was sentenced on Wednesday, was arrested after the undercover operation organised by Britain's domestic security agency, MI5. He was charged with communicating information that could be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy in breach of the Official Secrets Act.

Devenney, 30, from Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to gathering details of programs used to encrypt secret information. He also admitted misconduct in a public office in relation to a meeting with two people he thought were from the Russian secret service.

He acknowledged discussing the movement of British nuclear submarines with the pair, who were in fact members of the British secret service.


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NKoreans hail rocket launch; UN condemns

NORTH Koreans have danced in the streets to celebrate the country's first satellite in space, as world leaders in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo condemn the successful rocket launch.

The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss the launch, which is widely seen as a test that takes the country one step closer to being capable of lobbing nuclear bombs over the Pacific.

The Unha rocket, named after the Korean word for "galaxy", blasted off from a launch pad northwest of Pyongyang shortly before 10am (1200 AEST).

A South Korean destroyer patrolling the waters west of the Korean Peninsula immediately detected the launch.

Japanese officials said the first rocket stage fell into the Yellow Sea, and a second stage fell into the Philippine Sea hundreds of kilometres further south.


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Hey Dad! star Hughes to land in Sydney

ACTOR Robert Hughes will arrive in Sydney within hours to answer child sex abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s, when he was a Hey Dad! television star.

Hughes, 64, boarded Qantas flight QF2 at London's Heathrow Airport bound for Sydney via Singapore on Tuesday night.

His flight was due to land in Sydney at 6.50am (AEDT) on Thursday.

Lawyer Greg Walsh, acting for Hughes, said it would be an anxious plane ride.

"When I spoke to him before he got on board, I think he was pretty stressed, pretty worried, as any human being would be in that situation," he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

Hughes consented to an order sought by Australia's attorney-general that he return to Sydney for questioning in relation to claims made by five people.

A warrant, signed by Britain's home secretary, outlines 11 accusations dating between 1984 and 1990, which coincides with the actor's starring role in the hit family sitcom Hey Dad!.

Hughes has not been charged and has been on bail since his arrest in London in August.

Mr Walsh said Hughes emphatically denied all the allegations and would vigorously defend them.

"I would hope that the judicial system would be able to deal with the matter in due course without, hopefully, the intense media scrutiny that the case has attracted," he said.

According to Mr Walsh, Hughes was being escorted by three police officers and will be taken to the Sydney Police Centre upon his return to Australia.

AAP st/alm/


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Pope hits 1m mark as he tweets

POPE Benedict XVI has hit the one million Twitter follower mark as he sent his first tweet from his new account, blessing his online fans and urging them to listen to Christ.

In perhaps the most drawn out Twitter launch ever, the 85-year-old Benedict tapped the screen of a tablet brought to him at the end of his general audience after the equivalent of a papal drum roll by an announcer who intoned: "And now the Pope will tweet!"

"Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart," the inaugural tweet read.

At around the same time the message was sent, the number of followers of Benedict's (at)Pontifex accounts surpassed the one million mark, with all eight languages of the Pope's account combined.

While the (at)Pontifex English account remains the most popular, nearing 800,000 followers, the Pope is tweeting simultaneously in Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Polish and Arabic. Each language has its own handle, though they're all the Pope's account: (at)Pontifex-es, for Spanish for example, (at)Pontifex-it for Italian, (at)Pontifex-fr for French, and so on.

The first papal tweet has been the subject of intense curiosity - as well as merciless jokes, criticism and commentary. "The Pope has an iPad?" comedian Jon Stewart asked earlier this year. The Onion satirical newspaper ran a piece "Pope tweets picture of self with God." And in perhaps a more long-term and problematic issue for the Vatican, the (at)Pontifex handle was flooded with negative messages from users remarking on the clerical sex abuse scandal.

Vatican officials have said they expected such negativity, but that is a risk they take by putting the Catholic Church's message out.

"These are already all over the internet, in newspapers, in so many forms of expression," the Reverend Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica told Vatican Radio this week. "They form part of ordinary communication."

Benedict actually sent his first tweet over a year ago, using a generic Vatican account to launch the Holy See's news information portal. Someone in his name tweeted daily during Lent, part of the Vatican's efforts to increase the Church presence in social media.

As incongruous as it may seem for the 85-year-old Benedict to be on Twitter, Vatican officials have stressed that he is merely walking in the footsteps of his predecessors in using the latest in communications technology to spread the faith.

Pope Pius XI, for example, caused a similar stir when he launched Vatican Radio some 80 years ago to bring the Pope's message on radio waves around the globe. The Vatican also has its own newspaper, television service and maintains dedicated YouTube channels and an internet news portal.


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Over 2 million Afghans at risk this winter

MORE than 2 million Afghans are at risk from cold, disease and malnutrition this winter as an international appeal for funds to help one of the world's poorest countries has fallen drastically short of its goal, the United Nations and several humanitarian agencies are warning.

Only 48 per cent of $US448 million ($A427.58 million) that has been requested to help 8.8 million Afghans had been pledged by the end of November, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Preparations are under way to help Afghans deal with harsh winter conditions, especially 400,000 people who live in some of the most remote mountainous areas of northern and central Afghanistan.

Snow has already covered mountain tops and the first snowfall of the year was forecast for later this week in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Last year, Afghanistan experienced its coldest winter and heaviest snowfall in more than 15 years.

"People live in remote areas with no access to health facilities," said Mohammad Daim Kakar, director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority. "Many people die of pneumonia and measles."

According to the UN and other humanitarian agencies working here, 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces have high-risk areas where emergency food, fuel and medical supplies are needed.

Heavy snows and avalanches killed dozens of people in parts of the country last winter, including more than 30 - many of them children - who froze to death in Kabul.

The Afghan capital is home to 55 makeshift camps that house more than 30,000 people - many of them displaced from elsewhere in Afghanistan because of violence.


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'Serious differences' in fiscal stand-off:

THE White House and politicians have yet to reach a deal on averting a looming fiscal crisis, with the top Republican in Congress warning on Wednesday that "serious differences" remain on how to further reduce the debt.

"We don't have an agreement today," House Speaker John Boehner told reporters a day after speaking with President Barack Obama to discuss their recent exchange of offers on how to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Boehner acknowledged that Obama lowered his opening gambit of $US1.6 trillion ($A1.53 trillion) in new tax revenue over the coming decade to $1.4 trillion, but said the White House was not putting forward enough spending cuts on offer to make the deal palatable.

"I remain the most optimistic person in this town, but we've got some serious differences," Boehner said.

Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor said politicians should prepare to stay in Washington right up until Christmas Eve, then return after Christmas to the brink of the new year in a bid to approve legislation to prevent taxes from rising on all Americans and automatic federal spending cuts from kicking in.


23.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pope hits 1m mark as he tweets

POPE Benedict XVI has hit the one million Twitter follower mark as he sent his first tweet from his new account, blessing his online fans and urging them to listen to Christ.

In perhaps the most drawn out Twitter launch ever, the 85-year-old Benedict tapped the screen of a tablet brought to him at the end of his general audience after the equivalent of a papal drum roll by an announcer who intoned: "And now the Pope will tweet!"

"Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart," the inaugural tweet read.

At around the same time the message was sent, the number of followers of Benedict's (at)Pontifex accounts surpassed the one million mark, with all eight languages of the Pope's account combined.

While the (at)Pontifex English account remains the most popular, nearing 800,000 followers, the Pope is tweeting simultaneously in Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Polish and Arabic. Each language has its own handle, though they're all the Pope's account: (at)Pontifex-es, for Spanish for example, (at)Pontifex-it for Italian, (at)Pontifex-fr for French, and so on.

The first papal tweet has been the subject of intense curiosity - as well as merciless jokes, criticism and commentary. "The Pope has an iPad?" comedian Jon Stewart asked earlier this year. The Onion satirical newspaper ran a piece "Pope tweets picture of self with God." And in perhaps a more long-term and problematic issue for the Vatican, the (at)Pontifex handle was flooded with negative messages from users remarking on the clerical sex abuse scandal.

Vatican officials have said they expected such negativity, but that is a risk they take by putting the Catholic Church's message out.

"These are already all over the internet, in newspapers, in so many forms of expression," the Reverend Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica told Vatican Radio this week. "They form part of ordinary communication."

Benedict actually sent his first tweet over a year ago, using a generic Vatican account to launch the Holy See's news information portal. Someone in his name tweeted daily during Lent, part of the Vatican's efforts to increase the Church presence in social media.

As incongruous as it may seem for the 85-year-old Benedict to be on Twitter, Vatican officials have stressed that he is merely walking in the footsteps of his predecessors in using the latest in communications technology to spread the faith.

Pope Pius XI, for example, caused a similar stir when he launched Vatican Radio some 80 years ago to bring the Pope's message on radio waves around the globe. The Vatican also has its own newspaper, television service and maintains dedicated YouTube channels and an internet news portal.


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Over 2 million Afghans at risk this winter

MORE than 2 million Afghans are at risk from cold, disease and malnutrition this winter as an international appeal for funds to help one of the world's poorest countries has fallen drastically short of its goal, the United Nations and several humanitarian agencies are warning.

Only 48 per cent of $US448 million ($A427.58 million) that has been requested to help 8.8 million Afghans had been pledged by the end of November, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Preparations are under way to help Afghans deal with harsh winter conditions, especially 400,000 people who live in some of the most remote mountainous areas of northern and central Afghanistan.

Snow has already covered mountain tops and the first snowfall of the year was forecast for later this week in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Last year, Afghanistan experienced its coldest winter and heaviest snowfall in more than 15 years.

"People live in remote areas with no access to health facilities," said Mohammad Daim Kakar, director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority. "Many people die of pneumonia and measles."

According to the UN and other humanitarian agencies working here, 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces have high-risk areas where emergency food, fuel and medical supplies are needed.

Heavy snows and avalanches killed dozens of people in parts of the country last winter, including more than 30 - many of them children - who froze to death in Kabul.

The Afghan capital is home to 55 makeshift camps that house more than 30,000 people - many of them displaced from elsewhere in Afghanistan because of violence.


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US stocks rise on Fed stimulus hopes

US stocks have opened higher as investors expected the Federal Reserve would announce new support for the sluggish economy following a two-day monetary policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 37.44 points (0.28 per cent) to 13,285.88 in the first 10 minutes of trade, building on a five-day winning streak.

The S&P 500-stock index advanced 4.08 (0.29 per cent) to 1431.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 9.87 (0.33 per cent) at 3032.17.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is due to announce its monetary policy update at 12:30 pm (0430 AEST).

"Wall Street is speculating the Fed will replace the expiring Operation Twist program with a fresh round of Treasury purchases," said Karee Venema of Schaeffer's Investment Research.

On Tuesday, gains in technology shares underpinned Wall Street gains.

The Dow added 0.60 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 0.65 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.18 per cent.

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Singapore official resigns after affair

THE speaker of Singapore's parliament has resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair, adding to a list of scandals that have undermined the city-state's reputation for clean and efficient governance.

Michael Palmer, the speaker and a member of Singapore's ruling People's Action Party, said his conduct was "improper" and a "serious error of judgment," according to reports by the strait-laced island's state media.

The woman Palmer had an affair with was employed by a government statutory board and worked in Palmer's constituency. Palmer said he resigned to avoid further embarrassment to the parliament and the ruling party, which has been in power since 1959.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement that all members of parliament need to uphold the highest standards of personal conduct.

The scandal could result in an election to fill the vacant seat in parliament for Punggol East constituency that Palmer represented, but Lee indicated that he won't be calling a by-election any time soon.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Lee noted that the constitution does not require him to call a by-election within a fixed timeframe. "I will carefully consider whether to call a by-election in Punggol East and, if so, when. I assure Singaporeans that I will make my decision based on what is best for the constituents of Punggol East and the country," he wrote.

A by-election would have been another opportunity for voters to express discontent with the ruling party which has suffered a drop in popularity because of an influx of foreign workers and widening inequality. Palmer won Punggol East with 54.5 per cent of the vote in general elections last year.

The government has been embarrassed by a succession of scandals and mishaps that might hardly raise eyebrows in many neighbouring Southeast Asian countries but have caused outrage in Singapore where the ruling party has cultivated a pristine image.

Last month, immigrant Chinese bus drivers staged Singapore's first strike in 26 years in protest at poor working conditions and low pay. Earlier in the year, the chiefs of Singapore's civil defence force and anti-narcotics unit were sacked and charged with corruption for awarding business contracts in exchange for sexual favours from female company executives.

The government's competence was also questioned after subway breakdowns and flash floods that inundated an upmarket shopping district.


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UK officer jailed over nuclear secrets

A ROYAL Navy petty officer has been sentenced to eight years in prisons for passing nuclear submarine secrets to British intelligence agents impersonating Russian spies.

Petty Officer Edward Devenney, who was sentenced on Wednesday, was arrested after the undercover operation organised by Britain's domestic security agency, MI5. He was charged with communicating information that could be directly or indirectly useful to the enemy in breach of the Official Secrets Act.

Devenney, 30, from Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to gathering details of programs used to encrypt secret information. He also admitted misconduct in a public office in relation to a meeting with two people he thought were from the Russian secret service.

He acknowledged discussing the movement of British nuclear submarines with the pair, who were in fact members of the British secret service.


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NKoreans hail rocket launch; UN condemns

NORTH Koreans have danced in the streets to celebrate the country's first satellite in space, as world leaders in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo condemn the successful rocket launch.

The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss the launch, which is widely seen as a test that takes the country one step closer to being capable of lobbing nuclear bombs over the Pacific.

The Unha rocket, named after the Korean word for "galaxy", blasted off from a launch pad northwest of Pyongyang shortly before 10am (1200 AEST).

A South Korean destroyer patrolling the waters west of the Korean Peninsula immediately detected the launch.

Japanese officials said the first rocket stage fell into the Yellow Sea, and a second stage fell into the Philippine Sea hundreds of kilometres further south.


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Hey Dad! star Hughes to land in Sydney

ACTOR Robert Hughes will arrive in Sydney within hours to answer child sex abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s, when he was a Hey Dad! television star.

Hughes, 64, boarded Qantas flight QF2 at London's Heathrow Airport bound for Sydney via Singapore on Tuesday night.

His flight was due to land in Sydney at 6.50am (AEDT) on Thursday.

Lawyer Greg Walsh, acting for Hughes, said it would be an anxious plane ride.

"When I spoke to him before he got on board, I think he was pretty stressed, pretty worried, as any human being would be in that situation," he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

Hughes consented to an order sought by Australia's attorney-general that he return to Sydney for questioning in relation to claims made by five people.

A warrant, signed by Britain's home secretary, outlines 11 accusations dating between 1984 and 1990, which coincides with the actor's starring role in the hit family sitcom Hey Dad!.

Hughes has not been charged and has been on bail since his arrest in London in August.

Mr Walsh said Hughes emphatically denied all the allegations and would vigorously defend them.

"I would hope that the judicial system would be able to deal with the matter in due course without, hopefully, the intense media scrutiny that the case has attracted," he said.

According to Mr Walsh, Hughes was being escorted by three police officers and will be taken to the Sydney Police Centre upon his return to Australia.

AAP st/alm/


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'Serious differences' in fiscal stand-off:

THE White House and politicians have yet to reach a deal on averting a looming fiscal crisis, with the top Republican in Congress warning on Wednesday that "serious differences" remain on how to further reduce the debt.

"We don't have an agreement today," House Speaker John Boehner told reporters a day after speaking with President Barack Obama to discuss their recent exchange of offers on how to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Boehner acknowledged that Obama lowered his opening gambit of $US1.6 trillion ($A1.53 trillion) in new tax revenue over the coming decade to $1.4 trillion, but said the White House was not putting forward enough spending cuts on offer to make the deal palatable.

"I remain the most optimistic person in this town, but we've got some serious differences," Boehner said.

Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor said politicians should prepare to stay in Washington right up until Christmas Eve, then return after Christmas to the brink of the new year in a bid to approve legislation to prevent taxes from rising on all Americans and automatic federal spending cuts from kicking in.


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Amazon launches Kindle content for kids

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 05 Desember 2012 | 23.48

AMAZON is launching a subscription service for children's games, videos and books aimed at getting more kids to use its Kindle Fire tablet devices.

Amazon.com Inc plans to announce on Wednesday that the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited service will be available in the next few weeks as part of an automatic software update.

Amazon said subscribers will have access to "thousands" of pieces of content, though the company did not give a specific number. Kids will be able to watch, play and read any of the content available to them as many times as they want. Parents can set time limits, however.

The service, aimed at kids aged 3 to 8, will cost $4.99 per month for one child. It'll cost $US2.99 per child for members of Amazon Prime, the company's premium shipping service. Amazon Prime costs $US79 per year for free shipping of merchandise purchased in the company's online store.

Family plans for up to six kids will cost $9.99 per month and $6.99 for Prime members.

The Kindle already allows for parental controls through its FreeTime service. Parents can set up profiles for up to six children and add time limits to control how long kids can spend reading, watching videos or using the Kindle altogether. With the content subscription service, kids can browse age-appropriate videos, games and books and pick what they want to see. They won't be shown ads and will be prevented from accessing the web or social media. Kids also won't be able to make payments within applications.

Amazon is launching the service as competition heats up in the tablet market among Apple, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft and Samsung. Amazon's strategy is to offer the Kindle at a relatively low price and make money selling the content.

Offering a subscription service aimed at kids helps set the Kindle apart from its many competitors.

"We hope that our devices are really, really attractive for families," said Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon's Kindle business.


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7 killed in Syria-linked violence: Lebanon

SNIPER fire has killed seven civilians in Syria-linked violence in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Sectarian tensions in Tripoli, the country's second city, have soared since the outbreak of Syria's revolt nearly 21 months ago.

Intermittent clashes have pitted Sunni Muslim districts against areas housing Alawites, from the same religious community as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The latest clashes that erupted on Tuesday began four days after 22 Sunni men from Tripoli who had joined rebels battling Assad's forces were killed by soldiers in the central Syrian province of Homs.

The violence has left seven dead in just two days, the security official said. Four were killed on Wednesday, while three others died the day before.

"Khodr Hanoub, a man in his 40s, was killed at dawn Wednesday in the (Sunni) district of Bab al-Tebbaneh," the official said, adding that Ali Habbabeh was killed in the Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen.

The official also reported the killing in Bab al-Tebbaneh of Zakaria Othman and Mehdi al-Beik on Wednesday, while Khaled Salem, 27, was killed overnight.

They died a day after kiosk owner Mohammed Ibrahim, 65, was killed in Jabal Mohsen by a sniper operating from across the street-turned-front line separating the two impoverished neighbourhoods.

Also on Tuesday, Bab al-Tebbaneh resident Abdel Rahman Nasouh was shot dead.

While there was a lull in fighting on Wednesday, snipers held their positions and continued to shoot, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

The official reported 57 people wounded altogether, including two soldiers.

Lebanon's population is deeply divided over Syria, with the Shi'ite movement Hezbollah, its allies and supporters bitterly opposed to the revolt, and the Sunni-led March 14 movement backing it.

Lebanon was dominated politically and militarily by Damascus for nearly 30 years, until the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri prompted international outrage and forced a Syrian pullout.

Near-daily clashes in border areas pit Hezbollah supporters against anti-Assad rebels, residents and activists say.


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Britain faces more austerity pain

FINANCE minister George Osborne has warned Britons that they faced an extra year of austerity measures and insisted that reversing his belt-tightening measures now would be a "disaster".

Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne said Britain would face spending cuts and tax hikes until 2018 - after the coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron had already previously extended the program by two years to 2017.

The bleak announcement in a budget update, coming alongside news that the government is slashing its outlook for economic growth, is likely to heap further pressure on the administration mid-way through a five-year term in power.

Addressing parliament on Wednesday, Osborne also admitted that the government would fail to meet its official target for reducing public debt as a proportion of British economic output by 2015-16.

"It is taking time but the British economy is healing after the biggest financial crash in our lifetime," Osborne insisted in his autumn statement.

Confirming that he was prolonging the government's austerity program to 2017-18 - beyond Britain's next general election due in 2015 - Osborne said: "We are making progress. It's a hard road, but we are getting there. Britain is on the right track and turning back now would be a disaster."

Explaining why he was extending cuts in public spending and hiking taxes again, Osborne said the British economy faced "deep-seated problems at home and abroad."

Britain's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, which came to power in 2010, has imposed a series of painful austerity measures to slash a record deficit that was inherited from the previous Labour administration.

Cameron and Osborne have overseen the loss of tens of thousands of public-sector jobs, slashing workforces in the military, health service and various state departments.

The government has also faced huge demonstrations from disgruntled workers and students in response to the cuts.

The main opposition Labour party said Osborne's economic plans were "in tatters".

The party's finance spokesman Ed Balls said: "Today, after two and a half years, we can see, people can feel in the country, the true scale of this government's economic failure.

"Our economy this year is contracting, (and) the chancellor has confirmed government borrowing is revised up this year, next year and every year."

Britain meanwhile slashed its economic outlook, forecasting the economy would shrink by 0.1 per cent this year and then return to growth in 2013, according to figures published alongside the budget update.

The new forecast, issued by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) fiscal watchdog, showed a sharp drop on the previous 2012 growth estimate of 0.8 per cent that was given in Osborne's annual budget in March.

The OBR added that British gross domestic product was forecast to grow by 1.2 per cent in 2013. That compared with previous guidance for greater expansion of 2.0 per cent.

Osborne also revealed that debt as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) was now expected to fall in 2016-17 - a year later than the government's previous forecast.

Recent official data showed that Britain had escaped from recession in the third quarter of this year, with its economy growing by a robust 1.0 per cent.

However the return to growth was owing to one-off factors such as the London Olympics and rebounding activity after public holidays in the second quarter.


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Citigroup to axe more than 11,000 jobs

CITIGROUP says it will eliminate more than 11,000 jobs.

The bank says it's looking to cut expenses and improve efficiency.

The company said on Wednesday that the cuts will result in about $US1 billion ($A958.91 million) in charges in the fourth quarter and about $100 million in charges during the first half of next year.

It expects about $900 million in expense savings in 2013 and annual expense savings of more than $1.1 billion starting in 2014.


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Cannibal mystery as Russians found in wild

RUSSIAN investigators have opened a murder case after two fishermen were rescued following three months lost in a remote far east forest amid fears the pair could have eaten a companion to stay alive, officials say.

Four men disappeared in August on a river-fishing expedition to the vast Yakutia region in the Russian Far East, one of the most remote and inhospitable places in the world.

Rescuers finally found two of the men this month by the Sutam River some 250 kilometres from the nearest town of Neryungri in the south of Yakutia, but without two companions.

The men claimed their group had split up and said the others were likely still alive, as they were used to living in the open.

But a murder probe was opened after a team of top investigators from the regional capital Yakutsk found fragments of a human corpse close to the place where the pair was found.

"Investigators carried out an examination of two areas. Fragments of a human corpse with signs of a violent death were discovered and removed," the Yakutia branch of Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"A criminal case into suspected murder has been opened."

According to a report on the lifenews.ru website, the men have fled the hospital where they were being treated for severe frostbite and were now on the run.

Russia has no article in the criminal code for cannibalism but the state RIA Novosti news agency said that the initial theory was that the two men had eaten one companion. It was not clear what happened to the fourth man.

"What we found were chopped human bones, fragments of a skull and a bloodstained chunk of ice," an investigator, who was not named, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid daily.

"It's clear that this person did not die of his own accord," said the investigator.

Meanwhile local news site Sakhapress.ru said that their expedition had been aimed at gold prospecting and not fishing as claimed.

Two of the four are local inhabitants of the Russian Far East and the others are from the region of Saratov in central Russia who were visiting the area.

The human remains have yet to be identified.

The wife of one of the men who remains missing, named as Andrei Kurochkin from Saratov, said she had not yet given up hope for her husband.

"The police said that they had found human remains. But I believe that Andrei is alive. I am hoping other hunters have found him and he is not alone," Olga Kurochkina told the newspaper.

The rescued pair, reportedly aged 37 and 35, have denied any wrongdoing and said they had managed to survive as the winter set in a wooden hut by foraging for wild foods.


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US stocks mixed in opening trade

US stocks have opened mixed after a weak November private-sector jobs report reflected the impact of the devastating superstorm Sandy.

After five minutes of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.62 points (0.32 per cent) at 12,993.40.

The S&P 500-stock index edged up 1.52 points (0.11 per cent) to 1408.57 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 5.74 (0.19 per cent) to 2990.95.

Before the opening bell, payrolls firm ADP reported businesses added just 118,000 jobs in November to the economy, down from 157,000 in October.

Moody's Analytics estimated that Sandy, which battered the Northeast in late October, had sliced 86,000 jobs from the total.

"Abstracting from the storm, the job market turned in a good performance during the month," said Marc Zandi, Moody's chief economist.

US stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday as Washington continued to wrangle over a budget plan that would avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff."

The Dow slipped 0.11 per cent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.17 per cent and the Nasdaq lost 0.18 per cent.


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Somali Islamists attack Puntland troops

SOMALIA'S Islamist Shebab have killed at least ten soldiers from the northern Puntland region, an area where the al-Qaeda linked militants are feared to be carving out new bases, officials say.

Khalif Issa Mudan, defence minister of the semi-autonomous region, said that ten of his troops "were killed by Shebab after a roadside bomb exploded by their vehicle" on the road to the mountainous Galgala area late on Tuesday.

"We killed seven of the Shebab... and now our troops are now hunting down the others who carried out the attack," Mudan said.

The Shebab, who claimed to have also raided an army base, said they had killed 29 soldiers, with four of their own fighters killed.

"We attacked a military camp near Bossaso," Shebab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Musab said, referring to the main port in the region.

Shebab fighters, long active mainly in southern and central Somalia, are on the back foot, reeling from a string of losses as they battle a 17,000-strong African Union force as well as Ethiopian troops and Somali forces.

But as the fighters flee a series of once powerful strongholds - including most recently the strategic and lucrative southern port of Kismayo - Galgala in the northern Golis mountains has provided refuge.

The Golis mountains, straddling the porous border between the autonomous state of Puntland and self-declared independent Somaliland, is honeycombed with caves and difficult to access.

The northern mountains have been under the longtime control of warlord, arms dealer and Shebab ally Mohamed Said Atom, on UN Security Council sanctions for "kidnapping, piracy and terrorism."

Puntland forces battled Atom's troops in 2010-2011, damaging his militia force but failing to crush the militants, and the Shebab have since bolstered the fighters in the region.

The Shebab, who abandoned fixed positions in the war-torn capital Mogadishu last year, have also carried out a series of guerrilla attacks there, including suicide bombings.

AFP a


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Israel advances settlement plan

AN Israeli plan to build new settler homes in a sensitive area near Jerusalem has passed a first hurdle, sparking fury from the Palestinians, who said building there would end all hopes of peace.

Israel's plan for construction in a strip of West Bank land outside Jerusalem called E1 has sparked a major diplomatic backlash, with experts warning it could wipe out hopes of establishing a viable Palestinian state.

"If Israel decides to start building in E1 and approves all the settlements in it, we consider it to be an Israeli decision to end the peace process and the two-state solution, which ends any chance of talking about peace in the future," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP on Wednesday.

He spoke shortly after Israeli radio stations said a defence ministry planning committee which met on Wednesday gave its green light for the plan to be deposited for public approval, pushing it one step ahead in the planning process.

The Civil Administration's planning committee "approved the program for new building in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim," public radio said.

Maaleh Adumim is a settlement some five kilometres from the eastern edge of Jerusalem.

Public radio said the committee had approved plans for 3200 homes in E1 and in annexed east Jerusalem, which would now be made available for public objections.

"For two months the public will be able to submit objections to the project and after that the debate on continuing it will continue," it said.

Army radio ran a similar report, saying the Civil Administration had "approved moving ahead with the project to build in E1 between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim."

Observers say Israeli plans to build in E1 and connect Maaleh Adumim with east Jerusalem would effectively prevent the future establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state, dooming the two-state solution.

Earlier, an Israeli official confirmed that the defence ministry committee had begun examining plans to build in E1 that have been on hold since 2005 following heavy US pressure.

"After that it will need to go through another few stages," he told AFP.

"Final approval for the plan will have to come from the political level. There won't be any bulldozers going in any time soon. It will take at least several months, if not years."

News of Israel's intention to push ahead with plans to build in E1 emerged on Friday, a day after the Palestinians won UN non-member state observer status, in what was a major diplomatic blow to the Jewish state as it tried to block the move.

It sparked an immediate outcry from top diplomats in Washington and Brussels, with at least six governments summoning the Israeli ambassador to protest at the move.

The UN warned the plan could deal an "almost fatal blow" to the two-state solution.

Earlier, Israel's Haaretz newspaper said that the committee was examining plans to build 1200 homes in the southern sector of E1 and another 2176 in the eastern part.

Construction there has been on Israel's radar since the early 1990s, but the plans were never implemented because of heavy pressure, largely from Washington.


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Italian teacher jailed for killing rabbits

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 November 2012 | 23.48

AN Italian teacher has been sentenced to eight months in prison for killing two rabbits with a hammer in front of his pupils in an anatomy class, the animal protection association LAV said on Wednesday.

Carlo Rando, a trained surgeon, had ordered a delivery of four dead rabbits to be dissected for his class, the association said in a statement.

Two were dead when they arrived but the two were alive and escaped into the classroom before being captured by the teacher.

He first tried to strangle them, then punched them and finally finished them off with a hammer in front of terrified teens, LAV said.

"Horrific scenes worthy of an abattoir were played out in front of minors," the group said, hailing "the courage of other teachers and pupils who wanted to denounce the terrible actions of their teacher".

Michela Kuan, a biologist working for LAV, said: "Such barbaric methods are unacceptable not just from an ethical standpoint but also because they are completely useless since anatomy is no longer taught by dissecting animals."


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BP banned from US government contracts

BRITISH oil giant BP has been temporarily banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency from US government contracts due to its behaviour in the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

"EPA is taking this action due to BP's lack of business integrity as demonstrated by the company's conduct with regard to the Deepwater Horizon blowout, explosion, oil spill, and response," the agency said.

The EPA cited BP's admission of guilt two weeks ago to Justice Department charges in the disaster, which left 11 people dead and spewed some 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and blackened beaches in five states.

On November 15, BP signed a plea agreement acknowledging guilt on 11 counts of manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of Congress and two environmental violations.

The EPA said the ban on BP and affiliates from receiving government contracts applied "until the company can provide sufficient evidence to EPA demonstrating that it meets federal business standards."


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British team hunts for WWII Spitfires

A BRITISH team preparing to dig for a rumoured hoard of World War II Spitfire planes in Myanmar (Burma) says it would be one of the most fascinating discoveries in aviation archaeology if they were found.

The team believe there could be 36 of the iconic single-seat British fighter aircraft buried in sealed crates up to 10 metres beneath Yangon International Airport, a wartime airfield, with more at two other sites in Myanmar.

Britain, the former colonial power in what was then Burma, is thought to have buried the brand new planes in 1945 as they were surplus by the time they arrived by sea.

The dig, set to start in early January, has excited military history and aviation enthusiasts around the world.

There are thought to be fewer than 50 airworthy Spitfires left in the world and the digs could potentially double their number if they remain in pristine condition.

"Eyewitnesses talk about 36 being buried in this particular spot, though we do have evidence that there might be more," project leader David Cundall told a pre-dig briefing at the Imperial War Museum in London.

"They are buried at eight to 10 metres. There's no oxygen down there so we don't think they've corroded.

"It's like opening a can of beans at 67 years old: it's not going to be at its best but if you're hungry, you're going to eat it."

The leaders of the expedition admit that the entire project could end up being a wild goose chase, with no physical evidence that the rare Mark XIV Spitfires exist.

Belarus-based strategy game developer Wargaming.net is underwriting the cost of the project, estimated at STG1 million ($A1.54 million) at present.


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Red Square bomb plotter gets 15 years

A MAN whose plot to cause carnage on Moscow's iconic Red Square was thwarted by a spam phone message has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Ilyas Saidov, a member of an underground Islamist group, brought explosives-laden belts disguised as heaters for two female suicide bombers on a bus from his native Dagestan, a southern province in the Caucasus region plagued by almost daily clashes between Islamists and federal forces.

But just hours before they were to detonate the bombs on New Year's Eve, 2010, a belt attached to a mobile phone exploded after the detonator was activated by a spam message, killing one of the women and prompting the arrest of the other. She was sentenced to 10 years in jail in May.

Spam is a daily nuisance for many Russians buying new SIM cards but this time the message saved thousands from being in harm's way. Red Square is a popular gathering point for Muskovites to see in the new year.

The Moscow City Court also found Saidov guilty of gunning down two police officers and three civilians in Dagestan.

Saidov pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, giving up the leader and several members of an underground Islamist group he was part of. His testimony led to the killing of several Islamists.

Four members of the group have been convicted, and six more are currently standing trial, investigators said.

Since 2000, at least two dozen female suicide bombers, most of them from the Caucasus, have carried out terrorist attacks on security officers and civilians in Russian cities and aboard trains and planes.

The bombers are often called "black widows" in Russia because many of them are the wives, or other relatives, of militants killed by security forces.

Islamic militants are believed to convince "black widows" that a suicide bombing will reunite them with their dead relatives beyond the grave.


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Egypt panel poised to finish constitution

THE text of Egypt's new constitution was set to be completed later today, the drafting committee said, with the controversial document at the heart of a legal and ideological battle to be put to a subsequent vote.

"The discussions over the draft of the constitution will be finished today, to be followed by voting," Ahmed Darrag, the secretary general of the constituent assembly said in remarks carried by the official MENA news agency.

The head of the Islamist-dominated panel, Hossam al-Gheriani, urged the liberal, leftist and Coptic members who walked out to "come back and finish the discussion on Thursay."

"Tomorrow will be a great day," Mr Gheriani said.

The surprise move comes as the country is deeply divided over the constituent assembly which critics have slammed for failing to represent all Egyptians.

Anger over the document was exacerbated following a decree by President Mohamed Morsi granting himself sweeping powers and barring the courts from dissolving the panel.

The Supreme Constitutional Court had been due to review the legality of the drafting committee on Sunday, but its fate hangs in the balance amid the constitutional vacuum.

Human rights groups have criticised the move to rush through the constitution.

"This is not a healthy moment to be pushing through a constitution because this is an extremely divisive moment," Human Rights Watch Egypt director Heba Morayef told AFP.

"Human rights groups have very serious concerns about some of the rights protections in the latest drafts we've seen," she said.


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Cameron mum on press regulation

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron failed to offer any clues on whether he will support new more stringent regulation of Britain's press following the conclusion of a yearlong inquiry into the country's unruly tabloids.

Mr Cameron got a sneak preview of Lord Justice Peter Leveson's report, which is set for public release later today.

But in carefully crafted remarks that shielded how he would respond to the judge's recommendations, Mr Cameron told lawmakers he wanted all of the major parties agree on the next step.

"I would agree that a free press is absolutely vital to democracy. We should recognise all the press has done and should continue doing to uncover wrong doing, to stand up to the powerful," Mr Cameron said.

"Whatever the changes we make, we want a robust and free press in our country."

The inquiry was launched after revelations of widespread illegal behavior at the News of the World, the top-selling Sunday publication that was eventually closed down by its owner, News International.

The scandal rocked Britain's establishment with evidence of media misdeeds, police corruption and too-cozy links between the press and politicians.

And News International, which is part of New York listed News Corp., has been hit with dozens of lawsuits over the interception of telephone voicemails. Reporters and media executives have been arrested - and the entire media supervision system has been called into question. News Corp is the parent company of News International and of the publisher of this report.

The essential issue swirling around the report is whether the government will pass new laws to curb the press, possibly involving the creation of a new regulatory body, or whether some modifications can be made to the current system.

Mr Cameron declined to respond to members of his own Conservative Party, who are pressuring the government to pass new laws. Instead, he said he would meet with opposition leaders about the report's contents in a quest for cross-party support.

"What matters most I believe is that we end up with an independent regulatory system that can deliver, and in which the public have confidence," he said.

Mr Cameron is already being besieged with advice about how to respond to the still-secret recommendations. It is not clear yet if Lord Justice Leveson will recommend that the government legislate to regulate newspapers, or give newspapers another chance at monitoring themselves, so-called self-regulation.

More than 80 politicians from all three main parties have signed a letter warning Mr Cameron against legislating, while 42 members of his Conservative Party, the dominant partner in the coalition government, have urged tough new laws.

Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour opposition, said she agreed with Mr Cameron's comments, telling the BBC the present system had failed.

"Yes, it has to be independent of government and politics and Parliament. We don't want to have anything to do with regulating the press," she said.

"But it's also got to be independent of newspapers. You can't have the editors marking their own homework in the way they have been doing in the past."


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UN vote on Palestinian status: likely yes

A LARGE majority of the 193 member states of the United Nations are expected to vote in favour of an upgraded status for the Palestinians at the world body's General Assembly on Thursday.

Among the 'no' votes will figure those of Israel, and its key Western ally the United States, which is one of the five powerful permanent members of the UN Security Council. Germany has also said it will vote against the new status.

Russia and China, which also have permanent seats on the Security Council, have long stated that they will vote in favour of granting the Palestinian Authority the status of a 'non-member state'.

However attention is likely to focus on a handful of Western states, such as France, who have said they will favour the motion.

The other permanent Security Council member, Britain, said on Wednesday that it would abstain in the vote unless certain conditions, including the return of the Palestinians to peace talks and a promise by them to refrain from taking Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC), were fulfilled.

Australia will also abstain from voting.

Among other Western countries which have said recently that they will support the General Assembly motion are Austria, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said on Wednesday that a number of governments were seeking guarantees that if the Palestinians gained the new status, they would refrain from taking Israel before the ICC in the Hague.

Despite Britain's expected abstention, and opposition to the bid from nations including the United States and Germany, the Palestinians are expected to easily win approval at the 193-member General Assembly.

"We're going to have a vast majority, a vast majority, more than two-thirds," Ashrawi said.


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