2013 arrives with a pop and pink

SYDNEYSIDERS have paid homage to Australia's princess of pop as they ushered in the New Year with sparkle, glam and a little bit of cheek.

2012 was farewelled in a cascade of pink and gold as hit tunes from Kylie Minogue's 25 years in show business bounced around the packed harbour foreshore.

As the the event's creative ambassador, the diminutive pop star developed the theme Embrace and chose its colour scheme and soundtrack.

"It's just overwhelming, it was so beautiful," said Amanda Wormleaton from Belmore.

"It was the best fireworks Sydney has ever had."

John Priest, who made the trip from Adelaide, agreed.

"It's the best I've seen," he told AAP.

A musical-note firework pulsed on the bridge in Minogue's honour, one of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic creations.

"It's been a huge year for me and the finish line is tonight," Minogue said, adding that her Spanish boyfriend was the first in line for a hug come midnight.

"I love the concept of embrace. It can mean so many different things," she added.

Minogue, who wore a short Asian-inspired blue and white dress for the 9pm fireworks, said despite ups and downs her career had been "an amazing ride".

She later turned up at the lord mayor's party at the Opera House in a slinky long silver gown.

"How's everyone feeling," she asked, as she pressed a button to trigger the midnight display, which opened with a large pair of red lips making the official countdown on the bridge.

Other celebs who have headed Down Under to ring in the New Year include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Jonah Hill.

They will be joined at The Star casino's Marquee Nightclub by Gossip Girl heart throb Chace Crawford, Glee's Matthew Morrison and Arrow actor Colton Haynes.

The midnight fireworks kick off New Year's celebrations the world over.

Under balmy and clear skies, tens of thousands of revellers lined Darling Harbour and other viewing hotspots, including about 1.5 million along the harbour foreshore.

As streams of incandescent colour shot into the heavens, families on picnic blankets cheered and clapped along with others aboard luxury yachts.

"It's a much younger crowd than usual, a lot of backpackers rather than families like previous years," said Karla Davies from the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said about 1.5 million spectators were expected to line Sydney Harbour to watch the fireworks.

Another two million Australians will catch the $6.6 million event on television, as will at least one billion people worldwide.

"This is really putting Australia on the map in terms of welcoming people to the new year," Ms Moore said.

Emil, 21, said he would return to his home country of Sweden a happy man.

"The huge lips on the bridge, that was worth the wait," he said from Lady Macquarie's Chair, where about 17,000 people gathered.

"I can go back to Sweden very happy. We just met some French girls three minutes ago so the night is getting even better."

Caroline, 24, from Melbourne, said it was worth the overnight camp to get the perfect vantage spot.

"We were here at midnight last night and stayed on the grass, I don't know whether that was legal," she said.

"But tonight I am going home with a friend, one night sleeping rough was enough."

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

European stocks mixed on last day of year

EUROPEAN stock markets diverged on Monday, the final trading day of 2012 amid fading hopes of a deal to avert the US "fiscal cliff" of sharp tax hikes and spending cuts.

The London and Paris markets were operating for only half a day, resulting in thin trading volumes, while the Frankfurt DAX 30 closed for the year on Friday, with Germany's main index gaining 29 per cent in value during 2012.

Frankfurt soared over the course of the year after staging a sustained rally in late 2012 on eurozone debt progress and fresh stimulus moves by the US Federal Reserve, analysts said.

In late morning deals on Monday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 was down 0.40 per cent at 5,901.7 points, having risen almost six per cent over the year.

The Paris CAC 40 was showing a gain of 0.38 per cent to 3,633.96 points, having won 15 per cent in 2012.

Madrid has lost more than five per cent since January while Milan has climbed eight per cent, as Spain and Italy battle with national debt strains.

"Despite signs of economic strength in China ... the mood in the markets is rather subdued - all because of the fiscal cliff impasse across the pond," said Gekko Global Markets trader Anita Paluch, explaining Monday's trading performance.

In foreign exchange deals, the euro fell to $US1.3194 from $US1.3217 late in New York on Friday. Gold prices rose to $US1,666.80 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $US1,657.50 on Friday.

The single currency has risen by about 2.0 per cent in value against the dollar in 2012.

"Given that this time last year, markets were factoring in a euro bust-up and Greek exiting from the eurozone club by end of 2012, the year actually has seen equities and the euro put on a respectable show," Ishaq Siddiqi, market strategist at ETX Capital trading group, told AFP.

"European corporates aren't doing too bad either - cash rich in many cases as they hoarded money during the worst of the crisis. This means they will have to put that money to work in 2013, whether its through share buybacks, mergers and acquisitions or increasing dividends.

"At the same time, valuations are cheap and the increase in risk appetite this year has been favourable for cyclical stocks like banks, miners, autos and industrials. So looking to 2013, we should see a sense of normality return to markets as 2012 was still a bit of a rollercoaster," Siddiqi added.

Over in Washington, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill ended Sunday without reaching a compromise over a deficit-cutting budget that would be less painful than the deep spending cuts and tax hikes due to start taking effect on Tuesday.

Back in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that her country's economy, the continent's biggest, would experience a harder time next year than in 2012 and cautioned too that the eurozone debt crisis was far from over.

In her annual New Year address, Merkel said: "In fact, the economic environment next year will not be easier, but more difficult", adding: "The crisis is a long way from being beaten."

Although top exporter Germany has managed to hold up to the crisis fairly well, growth has slowed here as well since the beginning of the year.

In Asia meanwhile, stock markets fell in New Year's Eve-shortened trade. However, there was some bright news out of China, where a survey by HSBC showed manufacturing activity hit a 19-month high in December.

And despite Monday's losses, all the region's stock markets ended the year higher, with Bangkok the standout performer, surging almost 36 per cent, while Shanghai was the weakest, adding less than three per cent over the 12 months.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sydney leads New Year's Eve party charge

IT'S the party that starts the world's New Year celebrations and Sydney didn't disappoint yet again.

As one of the first major cities in the world to welcome in 2013, Sydney has set the standard. Just ask the millions who watched the spectacular display both in person and on the television.

On a warm summer night, an estimated 1.5 million people poured into the city to watch the $6.6 million fireworks display light up the sky - twice - from the harbour foreshore, at Darling Harbour and other vantage points with the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge playing a major part.

Pop princess Kylie Minogue, the event's creative ambassador who chose the theme of Embrace for the celebrations, started the midnight show with the press of a button.

A giant set of red lips in the middle of the harbour bridge counted down to midnight, before the fireworks set off.

A one-of-a-kind sparkling semiquaver - to honour Kylie's 25 years in music - was one of 100,000 individual pyrotechnic creations this year, including brand new koala, octopus and hand images up in lights.

Sydney's skyline exploded in gold, pink, green and blue first at 9pm for the family-oriented curtain raiser and again at midnight.

Colours streamed from four barges situated around the harbour, with gold flashes cascading like tinsel as a gold butterfly-like design lit up the bridge.

"It was all great, amazing," said Lee Whittaker, from Denistone, who brought her kids Mel and Leon with her.

And there are plenty of tourists who come especially for the event.

American Melissa Sjostedt said she had wanted to see the fireworks on the bridge since reading about it in National Geographic 10 years ago.

"Ever since that I've always wanted to see this for real, live, in person," the 30-year-old from Florida told AAP from Dawes Point Reserve.

Mathieu Herman, 30, from New York City, said he'd made the trip to Australia specifically for New Year's Eve.

"I saw it last year on TV and it looked fabulous. I said to myself 'it's something I've just got to do'."

Across the rest of the country, other major cities hosted their own fireworks displays and parties.

More than half a million people filled the Melbourne city centre with live sites at Treasury Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens and the Docklands.

Throughout the evening, free concert at Federation Square had tens of thousands dancing away the remaining hours of 2012.

Irish sisters Emma and Sophie O'Dowd said they couldn't resist the lure of the New Year's lights and sounds, stopping at Yarra Park to see the fireworks light up the MCG on their way to a dance party.

"It's what it's all about. What a beautiful stage you've got here," Sophie, 22, said.

Surfers Paradise hosted one of Queensland's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks displays, with thousands catching a preview at the 9pm (AEST) show.

Organisers went with a superheroes theme for this year's family party, hoping to encourage children to attend as their favourite superhero and several little Spidermen and Supermen could be seen among the crowd.

In Brisbane, crowds were slightly down at South Bank, but there was still plenty of cheer as revellers waited to welcome in midnight.

Perth is partying through a heatwave, while Adelaide tried to encourage less alcohol and more family-friendly events.

Hobart hosted thousands in town for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and Tasmania's biggest event, The Taste Festival near Salamanca Place.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aust goes with US after NZ nuke ban

WHEN it came down to a choice between the United States and New Zealand on defence co-operation, the cabinet of Bob Hawke found there was really no choice.

It was the US all the way.

The choice followed a decision by the new NZ Labour government to bar nuclear-powered and nuclear armed vessels in its territorial waters.

In practical terms that meant denying entry to US ships, given the American policy of refusing to confirm or deny the existence of nuclear weapons on board, even when clearly they were not.

The NZ policy was confirmed in February 1985 when permission for a port visit was denied to the destroyer USS Buchanan, abrogating the 1951 ANZUS treaty and its articles pledging mutual defence aid and co-operation.

Cabinet papers for 1984 and 1985, released by the National Archives of Australia, show the Hawke government was deeply concerned, but keen to make a public show of business as usual, stressing that ANZUS remained in effect and there were no moves to set it aside.

"Any doubts in Australia and countries in our region on the continuing validity for Australia of the key security undertakings of the Anzus Treaty should be actively countered," the papers said.

It blamed the problem squarely on New Zealand and said peacetime trilateral military interaction was in abeyance.

"Within the context of Anzus and as important as our defence relations with New Zealand are, those with the USA are of dominant significance for Australia's security and for the development of our defence capacity," cabinet said.

On that basis, Australia would continue defence co-operation with the US without NZ, substituting bilateral for trilateral activities where appropriate.

At the same time, Australia would safeguard the relationship with NZ, minimising any damage to the traditional affinity by continuing bilateral defence activities.

In some forums, Australia was prepared to represent New Zealand. Australia also would maintain active co-operation with its Tasman neighbour on intelligence, although that went only so far.

"Australia will not pass to New Zealand intelligence of United States origin that the USA denies New Zealand," it said.

The decision came at a time of growing global anti-nuclear sentiment, although NZ always had and still has a strong anti-nuclear constituency.

It wasn't about to back off, cementing its position in legislation. The US duly suspended its ANZUS obligations.

From this low point, defence relations between NZ and the US have steadily improved, although it's taken some time.

That culminated in June this year with the Washington Declaration. It doesn't renew the ANZUS obligations, but it does establish a basis for expanded defence co-operation.

It immediately manifested with NZ ships, aircraft and troops participating in the RIMPAC (rim of the Pacific) 2012 Exercise, the world's largest multinational maritime exercise, hosted by the US Navy on and around Hawaii.

It was the first time in 28 years New Zealand had taken part in a RIMPAC.

In practice, New Zealand's absence from ANZUS hasn't mattered that much.

Kiwi troops served alongside Australians in East Timor, benefiting equally from US logistical support and from the implied threat that US forces would intervene against Indonesia if needed.

Small numbers of NZ troops also have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Hawke government cabinet papers suggest Australia can take some credit for the ultimate improvement in NZ-US ties.

The key decision of March 1985 says the long-term aim should be restoration of normal trilateral relationships.

While avoiding the role of mediator, Australia should work with the US and New Zealand to ensure the dispute eased rather than worsened.

Where necessary, representations would be made in Washington to urge the US to adhere to its stated position of not taking punitive economic action against New Zealand.

"Australia should seek as appropriate to encourage its treaty partners to avoid making immoderate statements which might complicate and worsen difficult political situations," it said.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Peace envoy talks up Syria plan

PEACE envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he has a proposal to end the deadly 21-month conflict in Syria "that could be adopted by the international community".

"I have discussed this plan with Russia and Syria ... I think this proposal could be adopted by the international community," the UN and Arab League envoy said in Egypt after meeting League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday.

The situation in Syria "is very bad and getting worse by the day", added Brahimi a day after warning in Moscow that Damascus faced a choice between "hell or the political process".

"There is a proposal for a political solution based on the Geneva declaration foreseeing a ceasefire, forming a government with complete prerogatives and a plan for parliamentary and presidential elections," he said, referring to a failed peace initiative that world powers agreed to in Geneva in June.

"Either there is a political solution in Syria" or the country risks a descent into a Somalia-like situation, Brahimi told reporters.

Russia on Saturday acknowledged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will not be persuaded to quit, but insisted there is still a chance of finding a political solution.

Saturday's talks between Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came amid signs that key Syrian ally Moscow was beginning to distance itself from Assad.

Lavrov said both he and Brahimi agreed there was hope for a solution as long as world powers put pressure on both sides.

"The confrontation is escalating. But we agree the chance for a political solution remains," Lavrov said.

Assad's departure is a given for the Syrian opposition before any national dialogue such as that under the Geneva initiative can take place.

The international action group on Syria comprises the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - and representatives of the Arab League, the UN and EU and Turkey.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bad brakes cited in Moscow crash landing

RUSSIAN investigators have blamed a defective brake system for a Moscow airport crash that killed five crew members when a plane skidded off the runway and smashed into a highway.

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

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

"According to preliminary data, the pilots used all the brake systems available on the plane," an unidentified investigator told the Interfax news agency.

"But for some reason, the aircraft failed to stop and continued moving" down the runway. "Most likely, the cause was defective reverse engines or brakes."

Red Wings said a flight attendant died of her injuries on Sunday to bring the toll to five. Three others were recovering in a stable condition.

Greater loss of life was averted only because the 210-seat liner was empty except for the eight crew returning from a charter flight to the Czech Republic.

Mobile phone footage of the accident posted online showed chunks of debris hurtling over the highway and crashing into cars whose drivers had to swerve and make emergency stops.

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

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

"Plane number 47 had accumulated 8500 flight hours and underwent its last thorough check on November 23," Lebedev said on his Twitter feed.

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

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

Russian media said the authorities had concerns about the Tu-204 jet's ability to stop in various weather conditions even before Saturday's crash landing.

They cited a letter sent by the state aviation watchdog Rosaviatsya to the jet's maker on Friday asking about an incident last week in which the engines failed to fire into reverse on landing.

The manoeuvre is required for the plane to slow down quickly upon touchdown.

The russianplanes.net aviation website said the very same jet had suffered an engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing in June 2009.

It said Lebedev's airline had in fact decided not to order any more Tu-204 planes after the 2009 incident because of the engine problems.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cops jailed over detainee's torture, death

A BAHRAIN court on Sunday jailed two policemen for seven years each after convicting them of torturing to death a Shiite detainee in the wake of last year's crackdown on protests, a local daily said.

The Gulf kingdom's high criminal court found the two national security members guilty of torturing Abdul Karim Fakhrawi to death while in detention, Al-Wasat's online edition reported.

The court had in May thrown out the case against the two defendants for lack of proof and sent it back to the prosecution for further investigation.

A number of policemen are being investigated or are on trial for allegedly torturing detainees after hundreds of Shiites were rounded up when security forces in the Sunni-ruled state quelled a month-long protest in mid-March 2011.

Authorities say they are implementing the recommendations of an independent commission of inquiry called for by the king that confirmed allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during the uprising.

Home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, Bahrain still sees sporadic Shiite-led demonstrations, mostly outside the capital Manama.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, around 80 people have been killed in Bahrain since the violence first broke out on February 14, 2011.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Afghan soldier killings highest ever

MORE than 1000 Afghan soldiers died in action this year, the highest since the Taliban insurgency began, as the army assumes more responsibility before NATO forces withdraw in 2014.

"In the past nine months, 906 Afghan army soldiers were killed. A total of 1056 soldiers were killed in 2012," defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told reporters in Kabul on Sunday.

"The toll has increased compared to the previous years."

The ability of the rapidly expanding army to thwart the Islamist insurgency is key to Afghanistan avoiding civil war as about 100,000 international troops head home.

Azimi said the army had now taken the lead role for security in more than 75 per cent of the country, though he added it needed better equipment and protection against land mines to cut fatalities.

NATO is aiming to train up 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police by the end of 2014 to ensure stability in Afghanistan, but challenges remain in the transition process.

Desertions, poor re-enlistment rates and low morale are among the key problems troubling Afghan and NATO commanders.

So-called "insider" attacks by Afghan security forces on their NATO colleagues and mentors have left more than 60 foreign troops dead this year, seriously undermining trust between the two forces.

The Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, but have waged an 11-year insurgency against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran hangs drug traffickers, rapists

IRAN has hanged an Afghan drug trafficker and four Iranians, three of them convicted of rape, local media reported.

The 27-year-old Afghan from Herat, identified only by his initials MM, was sent to the gallows in the northern city of Damghan after being convicted of selling around two kilos (four pounds) of crack cocaine.

Three Iranian men convicted of rape and another of smuggling heroin and opium, were hanged in the central city of Yazd.

The Islamic republic, where murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are punishable by death, has one of the highest annual execution counts in the world, alongside China, Saudi Arabia and the US.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has condemned the executions, but Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order and that it is enforced only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Syria collapse threatens region'

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

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

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

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

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Syria collapse threatens region'

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

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

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

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

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Plane on fire after running off runway

A PASSENGER airliner is on fire after running off the runway while landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.

There was no immediate confirmed word on whether there were any casualties in the crash of the Tu-204 belonging to Red Wing Airlines.

Russia's state news channel Vesti said the plane was not carrying passengers, and it had only a crew of 12 aboard.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Light snow was falling in Moscow at the time.

The Tu-204 is a twin-engine medium-range jest with a capacity of 210 passengers.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Karachi bus explosion kills five

AN EXPLOSION on a bus in Pakistan's largest city Karachi left at least five people dead and wounded 35 others, police said.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the blast in Sadar, a congested shopping area of Karachi, officials said, adding that a bomb disposal team was trying to determine whether it was caused by a bomb or an exploding compressed natural gas cylinder.

"At least five people were killed and 35 others were wounded," said police surgeon Jalil Qadir.

Karachi is in the grip of a long-running wave of militancy, political and sectarian violence.

Pakistan says 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism since the 9/11 attacks and the 2001 US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran hangs drug traffickers, rapists

IRAN has hanged an Afghan drug trafficker and four Iranians, three of them convicted of rape, local media reported.

The 27-year-old Afghan from Herat, identified only by his initials MM, was sent to the gallows in the northern city of Damghan after being convicted of selling around two kilos (four pounds) of crack cocaine.

Three Iranian men convicted of rape and another of smuggling heroin and opium, were hanged in the central city of Yazd.

The Islamic republic, where murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are punishable by death, has one of the highest annual execution counts in the world, alongside China, Saudi Arabia and the US.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has condemned the executions, but Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order and that it is enforced only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Plane on fire after running off runway

A PASSENGER airliner is on fire after running off the runway while landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.

There was no immediate confirmed word on whether there were any casualties in the crash of the Tu-204 belonging to Red Wing Airlines.

Russia's state news channel Vesti said the plane was not carrying passengers, and it had only a crew of 12 aboard.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Light snow was falling in Moscow at the time.

The Tu-204 is a twin-engine medium-range jest with a capacity of 210 passengers.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Karachi bus explosion kills five

AN EXPLOSION on a bus in Pakistan's largest city Karachi left at least five people dead and wounded 35 others, police said.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the blast in Sadar, a congested shopping area of Karachi, officials said, adding that a bomb disposal team was trying to determine whether it was caused by a bomb or an exploding compressed natural gas cylinder.

"At least five people were killed and 35 others were wounded," said police surgeon Jalil Qadir.

Karachi is in the grip of a long-running wave of militancy, political and sectarian violence.

Pakistan says 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism since the 9/11 attacks and the 2001 US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man to face Qld court over woman's murder

A MAN is expected to face murder charges in a Queensland court after a woman was stabbed to death in a small town on the Northern Territory border.

A police statement said the 32-year-old man had been charged with murdering a a 41-year-old woman at Piturie on Thursday night.

He would face the Townsville Magistrates Court on Saturday.

The woman, from the Northern Territory, was stabbed at a home in Hutton Street around 11.30pm on Thursday. She died at the scene.

The man and woman knew each other, police said.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Film composer Bennett dies aged 76

SIR Richard Rodney Bennett, a British composer, pianist and arranger who was nominated three times for Academy Awards, has died in New York City at age 76.

His publisher Novello & Co said in a statement that Bennett died on Dec. 24 following a brief illness.

He was nominated for Oscars for the scores for Far from the Madding Crowd in 1967, Nicholas and Alexandra in 1971 and Murder on the Orient Express in 1974.

A student of Pierre Boulez in 1957-58, Bennett's work evolved from the avant-garde to a more tonal style. As a pianist, he performed with singer Claire Martin and he recorded music by George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Harold Arlen.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

India plans 65 all-women police stations

THE woman chief minister of India's West Bengal state unveiled plans for 65 all-female police stations, as authorities tried to assuage growing anger over a gang-rape in New Delhi.

"Sixty-five all-women police stations will be set up across West Bengal to deal with crimes against women," Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand leader of the Trinamool party, told a rally in the north of the state.

"Ten of these stations are already functioning," she added.

Ms Banerjee, who was until recently a coalition ally of the main ruling Congress party, also announced that 158 new courts were being set up in the state to fast-track cases involving crimes against women.

Her comments came after the federal government launched a drive to recruit more female officers as a confidence-building measure.

That campaign will start in the capital Delhi, where a 23-year-old student was brutally gang-raped on a bus on December 16, sparking nationwide protests.

The lack of women officers has been widely blamed for the failures of some police forces to thoroughly investigate allegations of sex crimes. Women currently account for less than one in five Indian police officers.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

China passes law on visiting parents often

VISIT your parents. That's an order.

China's national legislature on Friday passed a law requiring adult children to visit their aged parents "often" - or risk being sued by them.

The amendment does not specify how frequently such visits should occur.

State media say the new clause will allow elderly parents who feel neglected by their children to take them to court. The move comes as reports abound of elderly parents being abandoned or ignored by their children.

A rapidly developing China is facing increasing difficulty in caring for its aging population. Three decades of market reforms have accelerated the breakup of the traditional extended family in China, and there are few affordable alternatives, such as retirement or care homes, for the elderly or others unable to live on their own.

News outlets frequently carry stories about parents being abused or neglected, or of children seeking control of their elderly parents' assets without their knowledge.

The expansion of China's elderly population is being fuelled both by an increase in life expectancy - from 41 to 73 over five decades - and by family planning policies that limit most families to a single child. Rapid aging poses serious threats to the country's social and economic stability, as the burden of supporting the growing number of elderly passes to a proportionately shrinking working population and the social safety net remains weak.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indian president's son in rape demo gaffe

THE Indian president's son has landed himself in hot water with his own family for denigrating women who took part in mass protests over a gang-rape as being middle-aged and caked in makeup.

Abhijit Mukherjee, who is also a member of parliament, came in for widespread condemnation after he said that many of those who have taken part in the nationwide protests were "dented and painted" women rather than students.

"These pretty women, dented and painted ... have no contact with ground reality," Mukherjee told a regional news channel.

The phrase "dented and painted" is used by mechanics who mask the bruised bodywork and rust on second-hand vehicles with liberal coatings of paint.

Among the most vocal critics was his own sister Sharmishtha who described his comments as "a bit of a shocker" and said her father, President Pranab Mukherjee, also disapproved.

"It is definitely something that we as a family definitely don't agree with," she told the NDTV network.

"It's not just one protest, it's accumulated rage over the way women are being treated, raped, molested ... my father is absolutely with me on this."

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said Mukherjee junior's remarks were particularly ill-timed as the 23-year-old victim of the December 16 attack fights for her life in hospital in Singapore.

"I think this is exactly the kind of mindset that the youth is fighting against," said Smriti Irani, head of the BJP's women's wing.

Mukherjee later issued an apology.

"My intention was not to hurt anyone," he told NDTV. "I apologise to all those people whose sentiment got hurt by these sentences and these sentences are withdrawn."

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran president sacks cabinet's sole woman

IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, the sole woman in his cabinet, state television reports.

The minister had proposed price hikes for a number of medicines due to the plunge of the Iranian rial against the US dollar and Western sanctions imposed on the country over its disputed nuclear program.

But Ahmadinejad was opposed to the price rises and dismissed the minister.

Although the sanctions do not directly target medicines, they limit their importation because of restrictions on financial transactions.

Iran produces 97 per cent of the drugs on its market, but their ingredients are imported.

In October, an Iranian official acknowledged the price of locally produced medicines had increased by 15-20 per cent in the past three months, and 20-80 per cent for imported products.

Fatemeh Hashemi, head of the Foundation for Special Diseases, sent a letter to UN chief Ban Ki-moon in August asking him to make a case to the West for easing sanctions that are detrimental to patients.

Tehran is under different rounds of sanctions designed by the United States, European Union and the UN Security Council to pressure it to curb its nuclear program.

Western powers suspect Iran is using the program to develop atomic weapons capability. The Islamic republic denies that and says its nuclear activities are purely peaceful.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

One Pound Fish singer returns to Pakistan

INTERNET sensation One Pound Fish Man has returned to a hero's welcome in Pakistan, vowing to take his signature tune in honour of cut-price produce to France and the United States.

Hundreds showed up at Lahore airport in eastern Pakistan to honour Muhammad Shahid Nazir, who scaled the British music charts with One Pound Fish, which he originally composed to entice shoppers at the east London market where he worked.

The song became a YouTube hit after someone filmed Nazir singing it at the market and Warner Music signed him up for a record deal in the hope of getting the coveted Christmas number one spot in the charts.

Nazir said he spent no time writing the song - it came to him in a flash after his boss urged him to do something to encourage customers to cough up a pound ($A1.55) for a fish.

"This song is gift of God to me, I just sang it on the spot," the father-of-four told reporters at the airport on Thursday.

"The owner of my fish stall asked me to sing to attract the customers and I started singing. On the first day I started slowly and on the second day more loudly."

About 250 people including local politicians met him at the airport, showering him with rose petals and chanting Long live One Pound Fish, while TV networks interrupted coverage of the fifth anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination to show his return live.

The song's lyrics are deceptively simple: "Come on ladies, come on ladies, one pound fish. Very very good, one pound fish, very very cheap, one pound fish."

The original video has been viewed more than 6.5 million times on YouTube and the o-fish-al Warner video featuring Nazir shimmying and strutting Bollywood-style in a natty suit has recorded more than eight million hits.

The Christmas number one was not to be, with a single released in tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough football disaster claimed the top spot, but One Pound Fish managed a respectable 29 in the chart.

Nazir, from the small Punjab town of Pattoki, said he was confident of a bright future in the music industry.

"I will go to France in two weeks to release this song and then will go back to London," he said, adding that he also planned to release the track in the United States.

British media reports suggested Nazir was deported from Britain for overstaying or breaching the terms of his visa, but he insisted he had returned to Pakistan simply to apply for a French visa.

And he promised not to abandon the unlikely source of his stardom.

"I will adopt music as a profession now, but I can never forget my fish stall," he said.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

US jobless applications fall to 5-year low

THE average number of people seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.

The Labour Department said that weekly applications dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 in the week ended Dec. 22. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to a nearly five-year low of 356,750.

Still, the figures were affected by the Christmas holiday. A department spokesman said many state unemployment offices were closed Monday and Tuesday and unable to compile complete data. Fourteen states provided estimates and the department estimated the numbers for five additional states.

The government might estimate one or two states in a typical week, but 19 state estimates are unusually high.

Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have mostly fluctuated this year between 360,000 and 390,000. At the same time, employers have added an average of 151,000 jobs a month in the first 11 months of 2012. That's just enough to slowly reduce the unemployment rate.

The recent decline in unemployment benefit applications suggests companies are not yet slashing jobs because of concerns over the "fiscal cliff." That's the name for sharp tax increases and spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect next week unless the Obama administration and Congress can reach a deal before then.

Still, unemployment remains high and companies are reluctant to ramp up hiring. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 per cent in November from 7.9 per cent in October mostly because many of the unemployed stopped looking for jobs. The government counts people as unemployed only if they are actively searching for work.

Negotiations between US President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders on a package to avoid the fiscal cliff stalemated last week. Mr Obama and congressional lawmakers return to Washington today with just days to go before the deadline.

There are signs the economy is improving. The once-battered housing market is recovering, which should lead to more construction jobs in the coming months. Companies ordered more long-lasting manufactured goods in November, a sign they are investing more in equipment and software. And Americans spent more in November. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 per cent of economic growth.

While a short fall over the cliff won't push the economy into recession, most economists expect some tax increases to take effect next year. That could slow growth.

Consumers are starting to worry about higher taxes. A measure of consumer confidence fell to a five-month low this month, a survey released Friday found. And reports show the holiday shopping season was the weakest since 2008, when the country was in a deep recession.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toyota ups 2012 sales forecast

JAPAN'S Toyota group has forecast a 22 per cent jump in worldwide sales this year to 9.7 million units, driven by surging demand which may help it regain the top spot in the global auto market.

Those figures could put Toyota ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen as the world's biggest carmaker, a title it held between 2008 and 2010 but lost last year after a slump in sales and production.

Japan's quake-tsunami disaster, floods in Thailand and a strong yen took a heavy toll on the auto giant, whose brands include Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino.

It topped the global carmakers' table in the first half of 2012, accelerating past US-based GM and the German auto giant.

Japan's biggest carmaker said on Wednesday it expects to sell about 9.91 million vehicles in 2013, up two per cent on-year. It was on track to produce 9.94 million vehicles in 2013, nearly unchanged from this year, the company added.

Toyota said domestic sales would jump 35 per cent this year to 2.4 million vehicles, with its overseas annual sales forecast to rise by 18 per cent to 7.3 million units.

The carmaker said last month it was on track to earn Y780 billion ($A8.94 billion) in the fiscal year to March, up from Y760 billion, but said sales would be Y21.3 trillion, trimming an earlier target of Y22 trillion.

A strong yen and turmoil in key European markets weighed, while a territorial dispute with China hurt sales.

The upward boost in earnings expectations was largely due to cost-cutting, including a decrease in labour and research and development expenses, Toyota said.

The carmaker also said it had been aided by robust Asian sales and a pick-up in the North American market.

However, Japan's carmakers have seen a drop in their China revenue stemming from a bitter row between Tokyo and Beijing over a disputed island chain.

Tokyo nationalised the East China Sea islands also claimed by Beijing in mid-September, sparking a diplomatic row that was marked by huge demonstrations across China and a consumer boycott of Japanese exports.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man dies when car flips over in WA

AUSTRALIA'S national road toll stands at 17 after a man was killed in single car accident southeast of Exmouth 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.

It takes to two the number of people killed on the roads in Western Australia since the festive season began.

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.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Millions of unwanted gifts to go on sale

CHRISTMAS is a time for giving and Boxing Day is a time for giving away, with 14.3 million unwanted presents received around the country this year, says classifieds website Gumtree.

The value of unwanted gifts has soared to $475 million, says Gumtree spokesman Nat Thomas.

"It's so much money that people spend with the best intentions for buying gifts, and unfortunately not all of those gifts find a loving home," he told AAP.

"So we're seeing increasingly people are choosing to sell those gifts rather than hiding them in a cupboard and gathering dust."

In the second year of Gumtree's annual Christmas survey, Mr Thomas said one million more people will head online this year to sell items via classifieds websites.

In 2011, 16.7 million unwanted gifts were received, and Mr Thomas said the decrease could be accounted for by people spending more sensibly.

"Maybe people are getting smarter with what they give - a lot of people are giving gift cards or donating to charity and you're giving a bit of goodwill, which is quite a nice way of doing it," he said.

Mr Thomas noted that 27 per cent of survey respondents were actually hoping to receive gifts they didn't like so they could make money online.

Considering the average unwanted gift was worth about $65, and 18 per cent of people had sold an unwanted item for $100 or more, it was no surprise that more people were heading online this year to convert unwanted gifts to cash, he said.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Six killed as Pakistan Muslim leader hit

GUNMEN have opened fire on a car carrying a senior figure from an extremist Muslim Sunni group in the Pakistani city of Karachi, killing four policemen and two other people, police say.

The target of the attack, Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi, was hit in the leg by a bullet and needed hospital treatment but his injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

His group, the Ahle Sunnat wa Al-Jamaat, said he had been targeted by a rival minority Shi'ite group.

Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, is in the grip of a long-running wave of political and sectarian violence involving Sunnis and Shi'ites, who account for around 20 per cent of the 180 million population of Muslim-majority Pakistan.

"At least four policemen, a guard and a driver were killed in firing by unknown gunmen," senior police official Shahid Hayat told AFP.

Karachi police chief Iqbal Mehmood confirmed the attack and casualties and said initial investigations showed the gunmen were on a motorcycle, and the policemen who were killed had been escorting Farooqi.

Witnesses said Farooqi's supporters blocked roads and burnt used tyres to protest against the attack.

Nationwide sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites is estimated to have killed more than 4000 people since the late 1990s.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Policeman injured in gang-rape protest dies

AN INDIAN policeman injured in clashes during a protest over a gang-rape in New Delhi died overnight, a police spokesman said, as much of the city centre remained sealed off following the violence.

Subash Tomar, a 47-year-old constable deployed at the India Gate monument on Sunday to control the protests, was beaten up by a mob and rushed to hospital by the police.

Eight people have been arrested for the attack and have been charged with murder, New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.

"These men had pelted stones at Tomar and had used a stick to beat the police official," Mr Bhagat said.

Tomar's funeral took place overnight and he was cremated in New Delhi with "full state honours," Mr Bhagat added.

More than 50 policemen were injured in Sunday's violence as officers struggled to quell increasing outrage over sex crimes following the gang-rape of a 23-year-old student.

Tomar's cousin Ajay, who was in the hospital to claim the body, said the constable had joined the police in 1985 and had never spent a single festival with the family.

"My cousin was always out on streets maintaining law and order. The mob attacked him for no reason. They just killed him," said Ajay Tomar.

Much of central Delhi remains sealed off after a wave of violent protests against the student's gang-rape in the capital on December 16 and over a surge in violence against women.

The rape victim's condition deteriorated on Monday night and she "continues to be in the intensive care unit and is having respiratory problems", said M. Mishra, a doctor at Safdarjung Hospital.

In a rare televised address on Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged for calm following the weekend clashes in New Delhi and vowed to punish the rapists for their "monstrous" crime.

Meanwhile President Pranab Mukherjee has also appealed to the youth to maintain law and order.

"The anger of the youth should not overcome reason and there is need for practical action," Mr Mukherjee said, according to reports.

Police barricaded roads leading to India Gate, an imposing war memorial in the centre of the city that has become a hub of the protests, mostly by college students. Many metro rail stations in fog-shrouded Delhi were also closed.

"Today is Christmas but we cannot step out of our houses because of the police restrictions," Anita Kumar, a mother of three daughters told Hindi news channel Aaj Tak.

Protests across India over the last week against sex crimes have denounced the police and government, with the largest in New Delhi at the weekend prompting officers to cordon off areas around government buildings.

More than 100 people were injured, including dozens of policemen.

"Protest is important. It shakes the conscience of society, it brings people close to change, it makes them feel part of the change," feminist author Urvashi Butalia wrote in an editorial in the Hindu newspaper.

"Rape is not something that occurs by itself. It is part of the continuing and embedded violence in society that targets women on a daily basis," she added.

A significant section of protesters are demanding death sentences for the accused in the rape case and opposition parties have joined the demonstrations, mostly organised through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The current maximum penalty for rape is life imprisonment, which is a "very harsh punishment", Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told the NDTV news channel, rejecting calls for executions.

"Some people say it is even more difficult than the death penalty because you suffer a feeling of death every day inside prison."

Traditionally conservative India's rapid economic growth has thrown open new job opportunities for women and increased their financial independence but activists say many men see the trend as a threat to male dominance.

Almost 90 per cent of the 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year were against women, with the number of rapes in the capital rising 17 percent to 661 this year, according to official figures.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

US braces for wild Christmas weather

FORECASTS of blinding snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened to complicate Christmas Day travel around the US Midwest overnight as several Gulf Coast states braced for a chance of twisters, high winds and powerful thunderstorms.

A blizzard watch was posted for parts of Indiana and western Kentucky for storms expected to unfold overnight amid predictions of up to 10 to 18 centimetres of snow in coming hours.

Much of Oklahoma and Arkansas braced under a winter storm warning of an early mix of rain and sleet forecast to eventually turn to snow.

Some mountainous areas of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains could get up to 25 centimetres of snow amid warnings travel could become "very hazardous or impossible" in the northern tier of the state from near whiteout conditions, the National Weather Service said.

After dawn, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety said bridges, overpasses and highways in several counties were already becoming slick and hazardous. Also, Kathleen O'Shea with Oklahoma Gas and Electric said the utility was tracking the storm system to see where repair crews might be needed among nearly 800,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

Elsewhere, areas of east Texas and Louisiana braced for possible thunderstorms as forecasters eyed a developing storm front expected to spread across the Gulf Coast to the Florida Panhandle, raising the threat of any tornadoes.

Quarter-sized hail reported in western Louisiana was expected to be just the start of a severe weather threat on the Gulf Coast, said meteorologist Mike Efferson at the weather service office in Slidell, Louisiana. He told The Associated Press by phone that Lake Charles, Louisiana, was placed under a tornado warning and a tornado watch was in effect over a wider area of southeast and south-central Louisiana.

Storms expected today along the Gulf Coast could bring strong tornadoes or winds up to 113 km/h, heavy rain, more large hail and dangerous lightning in Louisiana and Mississippi, Mr Efferson said.

"We have a strong upper level system moving through the area," he said, adding the combination of warm moist air colliding with a cold front could also produce damaging straight-line winds on the Gulf Coast. "The real threats are going to be damaging winds and storms."

In Mississippi, Governor Phil Bryant urged residents to be alert.

"Please plan now for how you will receive a severe weather warning, and know where you will go when it is issued. It only takes a few minutes, and it will help everyone have a safe Christmas," Mr Bryant said.

Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned at least one Christmastime tornado with winds of 182 km/h or more in the South, said National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro.

The most lethal were the storms of Dec. 24-26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32; and those of Dec. 24-25, 1964, when two people were killed and about 30 people injured by 14 tornadoes in seven states.

In Alabama, the director of the Emergency Management Agency, Art Faulkner, said he has briefed both local officials and Gov. Robert Bentley on plans for dealing with a possible outbreak of storms.

No day is good for severe weather, but Mr Faulkner said Christmas adds extra challenges because people are visiting unfamiliar areas and often thinking more of snow than possible twisters.

"We are trying to get the word out through our media partners and through social media that people need to be prepared," Mr Faulkner said

During the night, flog blanketed highways at times in the Southeast, including arteries in Atlanta where motorists slowed as a precaution. Fog advisories were posted from Alabama through the Carolinas into southwestern Virginia.

Several communities in Louisiana went ahead with the annual Christmas Eve lighting more than 100 towering log teepees for annual bonfires to welcome Pere Noel along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

That decision came after fire chiefs and local officials decided to go ahead with the tradition after an afternoon conference call with the National Weather Service.

In California, after a brief reprieve across the northern half of the state on Monday, wet weather was expected to make another appearance on Christmas Day. Flooding and snarled holiday traffic were expected in Southern California.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Xstrata hikes cost estimate for PNG mine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syrian troops 'using killer gas bombs'

SYRIAN troops have deployed bombs containing a killer gas while fighting rebels in the central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and activists say.

"Activists in Homs say that six rebels died on Sunday night on the Khaldiyeh-Bayada frontline because they inhaled odourless gas and white smoke," said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and doctors to document Syria's raging conflict.

"Gas spread in the area after regime troops threw bombs that gave off white smoke as soon as they hit the walls," said the Observatory, which added the bombs were deployed during street clashes with the rebels.

"Those who inhaled the gas felt nauseous and suffered severe headaches. Some suffered fits," it added.

"These are not chemical weapons, but we do not know whether they are internationally prohibited," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"Activists say it is the first time they have recorded these effects," he added. "They are not conventional weapons."

The Observatory called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently send a specialised medical team to Homs, several of whose districts have been besieged by army forces for more than six months.

The Local Co-ordination Committees also reported the use of "bombs containing gases" in Homs.

"These gases lead to muscle relaxation, severe difficulty in breathing and the narrowing of the iris," said the LCC, a grassroots network of peaceful activists.

Amateur video filmed by activists and distributed online by the LCC showed a man laid out on a stretcher struggling to breathe as an unidentified doctor held an oxygen mask over his face.

"It's definitely a poisonous gas, but we don't know what type it is," said a field doctor.

"This man has been injured by the gas. We do not know what type of gas it is. It is definitely not sarin," he added.

US President Barack Obama led international warnings to President Bashar al-Assad over Syria's chemical weapons arsenal but Damascus has repeatedly insisted it would not use the arms against its own people.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stolen puppy found by Melbourne police

A 12-WEEK-OLD puppy stolen from a pet shop eight days ago has been recovered and two people arrested.

The white Cavalier-Shih Tzu cross was found in a house at Heidelberg West on Monday night with police arresting a Keilor East man and a Heidelberg woman, both aged in their 20s.

The puppy, nicknamed Precious, will be spending Christmas Eve in the home of a police officer while investigators discuss arrangements for her future care with pet store management.

AAP jxt/ap

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

S&P downgrades Egypt credit rating

RATINGS agency Standard and Poor's has downgraded Egypt's long-term credit rating because of "elevated" tensions over its political crisis, and warned it could be lowered further.

The country's long-term rating was lowered to B- from B because the turmoil has "weakened Egypt's institutional framework, and the increasingly polarised political discourse could diminish the effectiveness of policy-making," the agency said on Monday.

"A further downgrade is possible if a significant worsening of the domestic political situation results in a sharp deterioration of economic indicators such as foreign exchange reserves or the government's deficit," it said.

Egypt's economy, once a vibrant opportunity for investors, was brought low by the early 2011 revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak, ruler for the previous three decades.

The uncertainty has not improved under President Mohamed Morsi, who came to power in June on the back of support for his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.

Agreement on a $US4.8 billion ($A4.6 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund was put on hold this month because of the political impasse Morsi has found himself in amid fierce opposition protests.

The IMF money is needed to prevent a collapse of Egypt's currency. The country's central bank foreign reserves have more than halved since Mubarak's overthrow to less than $US15 billion.

"The downgrade reflects our opinion that political and social tensions in Egypt have escalated and are likely to remain at elevated levels over the medium term," Standard and Poor's said.

The political polarisation will likely weaken international consensus on extending credit to Egypt, it said.

"We expect political tensions to remain elevated, with no clear indication that rival factions will be brought to a point at which they can contribute to addressing Egypt's economic, fiscal, and external challenges," the agency said.

The agency's short-term rating for Egypt was maintained at B but with a negative outlook.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Elderly woman dies in NSW crash

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

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

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

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

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

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

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Monti won't run but could still rule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt opposition cries fraud in referendum

EGYPT'S opposition says it will appeal a referendum that voted in a new constitution backed by ruling Islamists, vowing to keep up a struggle that has spawned weeks of protests and damaging instability.

Polling "fraud and violations" skewed the results of the two-stage referendum, the final leg of which was held on Saturday, the National Salvation Front said.

"We are asking the (electoral) commission to investigate the irregularities before announcing official results," scheduled for Monday, a Front member, Amr Hamzawy, told a Cairo news conference.

"The referendum is not the end of the road. It is only one battle," said another member, Abdel Ghaffer Shokr. "We will continue the fight for the Egyptian people."

Germany immediately backed the call for a transparent investigation into the results. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said: "The new constitution can only meet with acceptance if the process of its adoption is beyond reproach."

But Westerwelle said it was "not the power of the street but rather the spirit of compromise and tolerance that should determine the way forward for Egypt".

State media and President Mohamed Morsi's supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood said the constitution was passed with the support of nearly two-thirds of voters, based on unofficial tallies.

Opposition to the charter fuelled demonstrations for the past month, some of them violent, such as clashes that wounded 62 people in the second city of Alexandria on Friday, the day before the final round of voting.

The army has deployed troops to reinforce police since December 5 clashes outside the presidential palace in Cairo killed eight people and injured more than 600.

Morsi and Islamists backing the charter say it is necessary to restore stability after the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

But the opposition sees the new constitution as a wedge to usher in creeping Islamic law through a weakening of human rights, particularly women's rights, and undermine the independence of the judiciary.

It accuses Morsi of steamrolling through the referendum without consensus on the charter, and argues that a low voter turnout of around 32 per cent undermined the plebiscite's legitimacy.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Archbishop calls for forgiveness

CHRISTMAS a great time to fix feuds and forgive, Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen says in his final Christmas message.

Dr Jensen, who retires in mid-2013, has called on people to be more just and generous.

"Reconciliation is a big theme for us Aussies," he said.

"Notably we need to be reconciled with each other - not least, (the) more recent immigrant settlers with our indigenous first people.

"Love unites us. Hatred separates us. But justice is in there too - reconciliation depends on justice being done.

"Sometimes we need to make good the fault, to pay back, to apologise, to repair, to mend.

"Sometimes, justice means that we take the hurt on ourselves and simply forgive the other person without demanding recompense."

Dr Jensen also referred to relationship stress during the Christmas period.

"Christmas is a great time to fix up the feuds and quarrels and hatreds which divide us," he said.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wiggles, Aussie talents woo Carols crowd

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

China shows off its new high-speed rail

A display shows the speed aboard a high-speed train in Hebei province south of Beijing. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

CHINA has shown off the final link of the world's longest high-speed rail route set to begin whisking passengers from Beijing to Guangzhou next week in a third of the time currently required.

The much anticipated opening of high-speed passenger service from Beijing to Guangzhou, a distance of 2298 kilometres is scheduled to begin Wednesday, officials said.

Travelling at an average speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the new line will slash the time it takes to travel by rail from the capital to the southern commercial hub from the current 22 hours to just eight.

Authorities took journalists for a ride yesterday on the section of the route linking Beijing's West Station with the city of Zhengzhou 693 kilometres to the south, the route's last link.

Hitting speeds of over 300km/h, the gleaming, tubular train sped past frozen lakes and rivers as well as snow-covered farmland on the journey of approximately two-and-a-half hours each way.

Though moving much faster than the country's conventional rolling stock, the ride on the aerodynamic bullet train was smooth and made little noise other than a low-level hum during most of the trip.

The reclining seats are laid out in rows of three and two separated by an aisle, are upholstered in cloth and can be turned around so rows faced each other.

Toilets on the train are of stainless steel squat variety, with slightly more bathroom space than would usually be found on an airliner, while uniformed women were on hand to serve drinks and snacks during the trip.

"This is the world's longest bullet train track," Zhou Li, a Ministry of Railways official, said, describing the Beijing-Guangzhou route. "It's also one of the most technically advanced tracks in China and the world."

The line will have 35 stops. Besides Zhengzhou, they will include other major cities such as Wuhan and Changsha. Sections linking Zhengzhou and Wuhan and Wuhan and Guangzhou are already in service.

China's high-speed rail network was only established in 2007, but has quickly become the world's largest, with a total of 8358 kilometres of track at the end of 2010.

That is expected to almost double to 16,000 kilometres by 2020.

But the network has been plagued by graft and safety scandals following the rapid expansion. A deadly bullet train collision in July 2011 killed 40 people and sparked a public outcry.

The accident - China's worst rail disaster since 2008 - triggered a flood of criticism of the government and accusations that authorities had compromised safety in its rush to expand.

Authorities say that they have taken steps ahead of the new line's opening to improve maintenance and inspection of infrastructure, including track, rolling stock and emergency response measures.

"The emergency rescue system and all kinds of emergency pre-plans are established to improve emergency response ability," according to a ministry booklet handed out to journalists.

The train will be in service for China's Lunar New Year holiday period, which falls in mid-February, when hundreds of millions of people will travel across the country in the world's largest annual migration.

State media earlier reported that December 26 had been chosen for the start of the passenger service on the Beijing-Guangzhou line to commemorate the birth of Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
 

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ex-butler pardoned, expelled from Vatican

POPE Benedict XVI has pardoned his former butler Paolo Gabriele, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail for leaking secret papal memos, but banished him from the Vatican.

"This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI visited Paolo Gabriele in prison in order to confirm his forgiveness and to inform him personally of his acceptance of Mr Gabriele's request for pardon," the Vatican said in a statement.

Gabriele's pardon was a "paternal gesture" for a man "with whom the pope shared a relationship of daily familiarity for many years".

However, the ex-butler "cannot resume his previous occupation or continue to live in Vatican City," it added.

After a 15-minute meeting with Benedict, Gabriele returned home to his wife and three children, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

Gabriele had spent a total of three and a half months in detention.

A former trusted aide who passed hours of every day in the pontiff's company, Gabriele will now have to move out of his home within the tiny city state's walls.

"The Holy See, trusting in his sincere repentance, wishes to offer him the possibility of returning to a serene family life," the Vatican said.

Gabriele was found guilty in October of leaking sensitive memos to the press as part of a whistle-blowing campaign against what he said was "evil and corruption" in the Vatican.

Documents secretly copied and leaked in a case that has been dubbed "Vatileaks" included allegations by a former governor of the city state of massive fraud within its walls.

During the trial, Vatican police said they had found more than 1000 secret documents, some photocopies but others originals, in Gabriele's home, stolen from the papal palace.

These included letters from cardinals and politicians and papers the pontiff himself had marked "To Be Destroyed".

Gabriele had said he wanted to "help" the pope who, he claimed, had been kept in ignorance of scandals inside the Vatican.

The documents were handed to an Italian journalist, Gianluigi Nuzzi, who published them in a book.

While the disgraced butler was initially given a three-year jail term, the presiding judge reduced the sentence on the grounds of his past service to the Catholic Church and his apology to the pope for betraying him.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Damascus car bomb kills 5

A CAR bomb blast in northeastern Damascus killed five men and wounded dozens of people on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"A car bomb blast in the district of Qaboon killed five men, wounded dozens of other people and caused widespread material damage," said the Britain-based watchdog.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bollywood star Khan charged with assault

INDIAN police have charged Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan for allegedly assaulting and breaking the nose of a South African businessman at a luxury hotel earlier this year, a report said Friday.

The actor ran into trouble after Iqbal Sharma registered a case with the police in February, complaining that he was pushed and punched in the face by Khan at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel's Wasabi Japanese restaurant in Mumbai.

"Colaba police station filed the charge sheet against Saif in a metropolitan magistrate court on Thursday," Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Shishwe told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Khan and two friends were charged under section 325 of the Indian Penal Code for assault, PTI reported.

Khan, 42, was at the time of the alleged assault dining with friends and actress Kareena Kapoor, whom he married in October.

After the incident, Mr Sharma said he had only asked the staff to get Khan's table to quieten down, which sparked a heated argument and the alleged assault.

Khan however claimed one of his friends was assaulted which led to the fight.

He surrendered to police after the brawl and was released on bail.

Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest actors and the Nawab (Muslim prince) of the former princely state of Pataudi.

His father was famous cricketing legend Mansur Ali Khan, better known as "Tiger Pataudi".

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Turf war fears as biker gangs hit Europe

A WAVE of biker gangs from the US, Canada and Australia arriving in Europe has raised fears of deadly turf battle like the Nordic biker wars of the 1990s, European police agency Europol warned.

Gangs such as the Comancheros and Rebels from Australia, Rock Machine from Canada and the Mongols and Vagos from the US were moving into Europe, said a Europol statement.

The total number of what it called Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCG) in Europe now ran at more than 700 , it said.

The gangs were seeking out particularly a dangerous hard core of recruits in their bid to seize territory to traffic drugs, weapons and people.

Now they were approaching far-right militants, prison gang members, hooligans and military personnel to exploit their expert knowledge, said Europol.

"Merely establishing a chapter on the 'turf' of another OMCG is interpreted as an act of provocation and is likely to result in violent confrontations and retaliation," the agency said.

The gangs "have a propensity to use extreme forms of violence", including with Kalashnikov assault rifles and grenades.

Modern biker gangs were becoming less associated with the biker lifestyle, with some members having neither a motorbike nor a driving licence, Europol noted.

Biker gangs were also involved in territorial disputes with local organised crime groups and street gangs, it added.

Europol said it had informed national police forces of the risk of clashes "and the possible impact on the general organised crime situation".

Europol said the so-called 'Nordic Biker Wars' of the 1990s were "a compelling example of the capacity for extreme violence resulting from an increased concentration of OMCGs in Europe."

The deadly conflict exploded when the Bandidos gang penetrated Nordic countries and challenged the Hell's Angels for a region that had been under their control for more than a decade.

Bikers used weapons including assault rifles, anti-tank weapons and car bombs against each other, leaving at least 11 bikers dead and dozens wounded.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Delhi bus rapists face life sentences

INDIA'S government, facing swelling protests over the gang-rape of a female student on a bus, vowed to press for life sentences for her six attackers and promised stricter policing.

Home Secretary R.K. Singh also offered state assistance to the 23-year-old victim of the brutal Sunday night attack who was fighting for her life in hospital after suffering enormous injuries to her intestines.

"We will ask for the maximum punishment of life imprisonment and ask the court for the speedy trial of the accused," Mr Singh said amid demands from thousands of angry protesters for the death sentence for the detained suspects.

Six drunken men were joyriding on a bus when they picked up the physiotherapy student and her 28-year-old male companion and took turns raping her. Afterwards, they threw the pair off the speeding vehicle.

Police say the woman was attacked with an iron rod after being raped.

Five people, including the bus driver, have been arrested while a hunt is underway for the remaining suspect, city police commissioner Neeraj Kumar said.

Mr Kumar said police have charged the detained suspects with attempted murder.

"Police teams are close on the heels of the sixth and we will get him soon," Mr Kumar said at a joint news conference with the home secretary.

Mr Kumar promised a slew of measures to "make Delhi safe," promising squads of officers would patrol the city, crack down on vehicles with darkened glasses and zero in on drunken motorists.

"All hooliganism will be swiftly punished," the home secretary added.

Hundreds of people, mostly women, kept a vigil outside the hospital where the woman was being kept on life support after several rounds of surgery.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two dead in supermarket looting

TWO people died and two more were seriously injured as mobs looted supermarkets in Rosario, Argentina's third largest city, an official said.

Matias Drivet, a city hall official, gave the toll after similar violence shook other cities in Argentina on Thursday.

In Bariloche in the south, officials said looters were apparently venting anger over a blackout that had left much of Neuquen province without power on Wednesday.

People wielding sticks raided a supermarket there called Changomas, owned by the US retail giant Walmart, and stole TV sets, bicycles and electrical appliances, witnesses said.

Another supermarket was also looted.

The central government sent in army troops to restore calm.

Bariloche is a tourist city 1650 kilometres south of Buenos Aires.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sudan's war-torn S Kordofan to be divided

SUDAN'S war-torn South Kordofan state is to be divided, giving separate status to the western part dominated by nomadic Arab Misseriya tribesmen, the government said.

Vice President Ali Osman Taha "announces the establishment of West Kordofan state," the official SUNA news agency said in a brief dispatch.

The move recreates the state of West Kordofan which was eliminated in 2005 following a peace agreement between Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement that ended a 23-year civil war.

At that time Khartoum agreed to unite West and South Kordofan in line with calls from the SPLM, which was supported by ethnic fighters based in the Nuba Mountains that straddle South and West Kordofan.

The boundary between the two states fell just west of Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan where Nuba rebels formerly allied to the southern insurgents have been fighting since June last year, shortly before the South separated after an overwhelming "yes" vote in a referendum.

The rebellion by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North - which Khartoum alleges is backed by South Sudan - is concentrated in the eastern half of the state.

West Kordofan is home to most of cash-strapped Sudan's oilfields as well as to the territory of Abyei, whose final status was the most sensitive issue left unresolved when South Sudan became independent.

Sudan and South Sudan failed to settle the Abyei issue by a December 5 African Union deadline.

The AU has proposed that a referendum be held next October on whether the territory joins Sudan or South Sudan.

Under that plan, members of the Dinka, a dominant South Sudanese tribe who live in the Abyei area, would have the right to vote along with Sudanese with "permanent abode".

The Misseriya, who regularly graze their animals and move through Abyei, strongly object to the plan.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran 'hangs six drug smugglers, rapist'

IRAN has hanged seven men, six of them for drug trafficking and another for rape, in prison in the central province of Isfahan, Kayhan newspaper reported.

The seven, aged 25 to 45, were executed on Wednesday, the province's public prosecutor, Mohammad Reza Habibi, said in the report.

"One of the smugglers was charged with armed trafficking of more than 300 kilograms of opium," Mr Habibi said.

"The others were in possession of crack and heroin (weighing) between one and 65 kilograms."

The Islamic state, where murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are punishable by death, has one of the highest annual number of executions in the world, alongside China, Saudi Arabia and the US.

Amnesty International has condemned the executions, but Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order and that is is enforced only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Queen goes 3D for Christmas

SHE made her acting debut at the London Olympics. Now the Queen is hitting the screen again - in 3D.

Buckingham Palace says the monarch was "ready to embrace something new" for her annual Christmas broadcast in honour of her Diamond Jubilee year - 60 years on the throne.

The 86-year-old monarch has made a prerecorded Christmas broadcast on radio since 1952 and on television since 1957.

She writes the speeches herself, and the broadcasts mark the rare occasions in which the Queen voices her own opinion without government consultation.

The palace said the Queen has watched the broadcast and found it "absolutely lovely."

It airs at 3pm on Christmas Day.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

US weekly unemployment claims rise

THE number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by 17,000, reversing four weeks of declines.

The Labor Department reports that a seasonally adjusted 361,000 people sought unemployment aid during the week ended December 15, from a revised 344,000 the week before.

But the less volatile four-week moving average fell 13,750 to 367,750, the lowest since late October, suggesting the job market continues to grow modestly. Applications had surged after superstorm Sandy, then fallen back.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. The drop of the four-week average suggests companies are cutting fewer jobs, even if they aren't hiring enough to lower the unemployment rate significantly.

The economy has generated an average of 151,000 jobs a month in 2012, not enough to pull the high unemployment down sharply.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran coal mine collapse and blast kills 8

IRAN'S official news agency says a collapse and explosion in a coal mine has killed eight workers in the country's east.

IRNA on Wednesday quoted Ahmad Talebian Moqadam, who is governor of Tabas city near where the accident occurred, as saying that a tunnel in the mine collapsed, leading to an accumulation of gas and an explosion. He said five bodies were recovered on Tuesday, the day of the accident, and three more the next day.

Some 40 work at the mine. The report did not say whether the other miners were unaccounted for.

Tabas is located 560 kilometres southeast of the capital Tehran. Mine explosions are rare in Iran.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Review slams BBC over Savile report

THE BBC has been cleared of covering up allegations of child sex abuse against its late presenter Jimmy Savile, but an official probe has found widespread chaos at the corporation.

The BBC's deputy director of news, Stephen Mitchell, resigned in the fall-out, the broadcaster revealed, a month after the crisis felled BBC Director-General George Entwistle after just 54 days in the job.

Savile, who died last year at the age of 84, was one of the BBC's top television and radio presenters and the allegations of child abuse against him have plunged the corporation into crisis.

Following a television program by rival ITV two months ago in which several women went public with the claims, police have identified 199 crimes in which Savile is a suspect, including 31 alleged rapes.

The BBC's flagship Newsnight program began investigating the allegations shortly after Savile's death, but after a few weeks dropped the report.

An official investigation by former Sky News executive Nick Pollard, published on Wednesday, found no substance to accusations that Newsnight dropped the story because it clashed with BBC Christmas tributes to Savile.

But the probe paints a picture of a corporation dogged by "chaos and confusion", in-fighting and a lack of leadership.

"The decision to drop the original investigation was flawed and the way it was taken was wrong but I believe it was done in good faith. It was not done to protect the Savile tribute programs or for any improper reason," Pollard said.

He added: "In my view, the most worrying aspect of the Jimmy Savile story for the BBC was not the decision to drop the story itself. It was the complete inability to deal with the events that followed."

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Time names Obama person of the year

TIME magazine has named the recently re-elected US President Barack Obama as its person of the year for 2012 - the second time it has accorded him this honour.

The venerable American news magazine said the United States is in the midst of huge cultural and demographic changes and Obama is "both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America."

The magazine noted that Obama was the first president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt to win more than 50 per cent of the vote in two straight elections and the first since 1940 to be re-elected despite a jobless rate above 7.5 per cent.

Obama beat Republican Mitt Romney soundly in November's election to win a second four year term.

"In 2012, he found and forged a new majority, turned weakness into opportunity and sought, amid great adversity, to create a more perfect union," said Time, which named Obama person of the year in 2008 when he became America's first black president.

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More