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Iran hangs drug traffickers, rapists

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 29 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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.


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'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.


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'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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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Man to face Qld court over woman's murder

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 28 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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Indian president's son in rape demo gaffe

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 27 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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."


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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.


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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.


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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.


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Toyota ups 2012 sales forecast

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 26 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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.


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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.


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Syria military police chief defects to opposition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Syria deputy FM travels to Moscow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No details of the Dublin discussion have been released.


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Millions of unwanted gifts to go on sale

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 25 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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Xstrata hikes cost estimate for PNG mine

Written By Unknown on Senin, 24 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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.


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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.


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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


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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.


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Elderly woman dies in NSW crash

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 23 Desember 2012 | 21.29

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.


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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.
 


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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.


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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.


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