Algerian Islamists remain with hostages

Twelve hostages have been killed since the Algerian army launched an operation against militants. Source: AAP

ISLAMIST gunmen remain with an unknown number of foreign hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert, amid uncertainty over what the army is doing to free the captives.

More than 72 hours after the heavily-armed militants staged a deadly raid on the complex, and two days after Algerian special forces launched a botched rescue bid widely condemned as hasty, the situation appeared to be at a standoff.

"There's no change since yesterday; the situation remains the same," an Algerian security official told AFP on Saturday.

On Friday, a security official said troops were trying to reach a "peaceful" end to the crisis, before "neutralising the terrorist group that is holed up in the plant and freeing a group of hostages still being held there."

An official put the number of foreign hostages at 10, but more workers also remain unaccounted for, including at least 10 Japanese and eight Norwegians.

The gunmen, cited by Mauritania's ANI news agency, said they were still holding three Belgians, two Americans, one Japanese and a Briton, although Belgium said there was no indication that any of its nationals were being held.

Amid the virtual news blackout in Algiers, harshly criticised by the local media, world leaders were taking a tough stand on insisting the remaining hostages be freed.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Washington would "take all necessary steps to protect our people" from the threat of al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in north Africa.

"Whether or not that involves assisting others with military operations, whether it involves developing in a co-operative way operations there, those are areas that I think remain to be decided," he told the BBC.

On Friday, Panetta said Washington was "working around the clock" to secure the safe return of Americans, after at least one was confirmed dead.

A US official said a military aircraft had begun to help evacuate survivors but gave no estimate of the number of US hostages.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida that Washington remained "deeply concerned about those who remain in danger. Utmost care must be taken to preserve innocent life."

Kishida urged Algeria to place the "utmost priority" on ensuring the remaining hostages' safety.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered his government to do everything possible to ensure the safety of those Japanese unaccounted for in what he called "an extremely despicable" incident that "can never be forgiven."

"I would like you to do your best to confirm the safety of the Japanese and rescue them by using every possible means," Abe told top government officials after cutting short a trip to Southeast Asia.

The UN Security Council "condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack" and "underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice."

Algerian news agency APS quoted a government official as saying the kidnappers, who claimed to have come from Niger, were armed with machine-guns, assault rifles, rocket launchers and missiles.

They belong to a group known as "Signatories in Blood," led by a Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former senior al-Qaeda commander in north Africa. The group is demanding an end to French intervention in neighbouring Mali, Mauritania's ANI news agency quoted sources close to Belmokhtar as saying.

Belmokhtar also called for the exchange of American hostages for the blind Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman and Pakistani Aafia Siddiqui, jailed in the United States on charges of terrorist links.

But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said "the United States does not negotiate with terrorists."

Philippine worker Jojo Balmaceda, employed by British oil giant BP which operates the In Amenas gas plant jointly with Norway's Statoil and Sonatrach of Algeria, recounted on Saturday how he escaped.

Balmaceda and three fellow Filipinos were taken at gunpoint as they arrived for work, tied up and thrown into a truck along with Japanese and Malaysian hostages, the GMA network reported in the Philippines.

He escaped when the truck was hit by an explosion but he sustained a gunshot wound to his head which had affected his hearing, the station added.

An official in Manila said 34 Filipinos had been evacuated from the gas field and were on their way home.

The fate of two Malaysians believed to have been caught up in the crisis remains unknown, the foreign ministry said, while three others were safe.

France said two of its nationals had returned safely but it had no word on two more, and Romania said three of its citizens had been freed.

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US position on Japan island dispute a 'bet

VEILED US warnings to Beijing not to challenge Japan's control of disputed islands encouraged Tokyo's "dangerously right-leaning" government and "betrayed" Washington's vow of neutrality, Chinese state media has reported.

The comments came as Japan's coastguard said three Chinese government ships had entered Japanese territorial waters around the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said the area around the islands in the East China Sea was under Japan's control and therefore protected under a US security treaty with Tokyo.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, and without mentioning Beijing directly, she said the US opposed "any unilateral actions" to undermine Japanese authority over the islands.

But in a commentary piece, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua criticised Washington's position, saying it "cast doubts on (US) credibility as a responsible power in the region".

It was "unwise" for Washington "to throw support behind Japan in Tokyo's islands dispute with Beijing", Xinhua said, adding: "This unbalanced position has betrayed its declared intention to stay neutral on the issue."

The US proposal for "tighter military alliance with Japan will only encourage Tokyo's dangerously right-leaning tendency", Xinhua said.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted by the agency as saying that Beijing "has always advocated to resolve issues between relevant countries through bilateral dialogue and by peaceful means".

Three Chinese government surveillance vessels sailed in waters around the disputed islands on Saturday for nearly five hours but had all left Japanese waters by 1.52 pm (1552 AEDT), the Japan coastguard said.

China has repeatedly sailed into the waters since Japan nationalised the chain in September, a move that triggered anger and demonstrations in China.

The United States insists it is neutral on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands.

"We want to see China and Japan resolve this matter peacefully through dialogue," Clinton said on Friday.

"We do not want to see any action taken by anyone that could raise tensions or result in miscalculation that would undermine the peace, security and economic growth in this region."

China has persistently criticised the US position and the sending of maritime surveillance ships to the potentially gas-rich area is seen by experts as a way to contest the notion that Japan holds effective control.

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2000 French troops now in Mali

FRANCE now has 2000 troops on the ground in Mali as part of a drive against Islamist militants holding the north of the country, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says.

That was 200 more than a day earlier, said the minister during a visit to the western port of Lorient, adding that a further 900 French soldiers were supporting the operation from bases outside Mali.

French defence officials on Saturday said they had never stated that France was aiming to have a total of 2500 soldiers on the ground in its former colony in West Africa.

That figure was widely used in the media.

Le Drian said on Saturday that "perhaps we will go beyond that", and added that "in any case, around 4000 troops will be mobilised for this operation" in Mali itself and elsewhere.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has vowed to boost the French effort with a total of about 5800 troops.

But only about a 100 have actually reached Mali.

West African leaders were meeting Saturday in Ivory Coast to try to fast track the deployment.

France launched its intervention on January 11 after the Al-Qaeda-linked rebels swooped down from their northern stronghold and threatened the Malian capital Bamako.

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Seven hostages dead in gas plant assault

SEVEN foreign hostages and 11 of their kidnappers have died as Algerian special forces launched a final assault on the besieged In Amenas gas complex, an Algerian security source says.

"The assault took place mid-morning. Eleven terrorists lost their lives along with the foreign hostages. We think they were killed in retaliation," the source told AFP on Saturday.

The heavily armed gunmen from a group known as "Signatories in Blood" had been holed up in the In Amenas gas complex since they took up to 41 foreign worker hostage in a dawn assault on Wednesday.

The gunmen, cited by Mauritania's ANI news agency, said on Saturday they were still holding "seven foreign hostages," denying claims of more.

"Signatories in Blood," led by Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former senior Al-Qaeda commander in north Africa, were demanding an end to French intervention against Islamists in neighbouring Mali, ANI reported earlier.

Belmokhtar also wanted to exchanging American hostages for the blind Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman and Pakistani Aafia Siddiqui, jailed in the United States on charges of terrorist links.

But US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said "the United States does not negotiate with terrorists."

On Friday, an Algerian security official had said troops were trying to reach a "peaceful" end to the crisis, before "neutralising the terrorist group that is holed up in the plant and freeing a group of hostages still being held there."

Amid a virtual news blackout in Algiers, harshly criticised by local media, world leaders took a tough stand on the fate of the remaining hostages.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Washington would "take all necessary steps to protect our people" from the threat of Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in north Africa.

"Whether or not that involves assisting others with military operations, whether it involves developing in a cooperative way operations there, those are areas that I think remain to be decided," he told the BBC.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of her deep concern "about those who remain in danger. Utmost care must be taken to preserve innocent life."

At least one American had already been confirmed dead before Saturday's final assault.

On Friday, the militants gave a breakdown of three Belgians, two Americans, one Japanese and a Briton, although Belgium said there was no indication any of its nationals were being held.

An Algerian security official had put the remaining number of foreign hostages at 10.

Norway's Statoil, which jointly operates the In Amenas site with Britain's BP and Sonatrach of Algeria, said two Norwegians have been found alive but six others remain unaccounted for.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered his government to do everything possible to ensure the safety of those Japanese unaccounted for in "an extremely despicable" incident that "can never be forgiven."

France, which said on Saturday that 2000 of the 2500 troops it had pledged were now on the ground in Mali, said on Saturday that no more of its citizens were being held.

Of the French intervention in Mali, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a meeting in Abidjan on Saturday that "France was obliged to intervene very, very rapidly, otherwise there would have been no more Mali."

Algerian news agency APS quoted a government official as saying the kidnappers, who claimed to have come from Niger, were armed with machine guns, assault rifles, rocket launchers and missiles.

This was confirmed by an Algerian driver, Iba El Haza, who said the hostage-takers spoke in different Arabic dialects and perhaps also in English.

"From their accents I understood one was Egyptian, one Tunisian, another Algerian and one was speaking English or (another) foreign language," Haza told AFP, two days after escaping during the army's Thursday attack.

"The terrorists said: 'You have nothing to do with this, you are Algerians and Muslims. We won't keep you, we only want the foreigners.'"

Algeria's El Watan daily quoted a former military officer as justifying the army's assault on Thursday, saying: "All hesitation is forbidden when the future of the nation is at stake or being threatened."

The final death tolls, of both foreign and Algerian hostages and of gunmen, was not yet known.

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UN bracing for surge in displaced people

SOME 700,000 more Malians are expected to be displaced by the new wave of fighting in the restive country in the coming months, the UN refugee agency says.

"We believe that in the near future there could be up to 300,000 people additionally displaced inside Mali, and over 400,000 additionally displaced in the neighbouring countries," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

Those numbers came in addition to the existing 229,000 people already displaced inside the country and 147,000 refugees already in neighbouring nations, she said.

France launched an assault on January 11 to help the Malian army stop the advance of Islamist rebels who have been occupying northern Mali since April.

Since then the numbers of displaced people had been rising steadily, Fleming said, adding that her agency was urgently reinforcing its staff in and around the country to handle the situation.

Since the fighting and airstrikes began, 2744 Malian refugees had fled the country, with 1,411 entering Mauritania, 848 going to Burkina Faso and 485 arriving in Niger.

Many more are unable to leave Mali due to the high costs, Fleming said, pointing out that taking public transportation to Burkina Faso, for instance, cost around $US50 ($A47.64) - "for many equivalent to more than a month's earnings."

Even though the Malian army announced progress in fighting back the Islamist rebels' advance beyond their stronghold in the north, Fleming said it seemed unlikely the number of people uprooted by the conflict would subside any time soon.

"Nobody thinks this is going to be over tomorrow," she said, pointing to pre-existing differences and reports of growing ethnic tensions in the country.

It was important to secure funding and a plan for the expected surge in displaced Malians, she told AFP, although she acknowledged the numbers could turn out to be smaller and the displacement for many might be brief.

"We've been hearing horrific accounts" from refugees, she said, pointing out many had reported seeing Islamists impose strict Sharia punishments like executions and amputations.

The UN human rights office also listed a long line of abuses in the country dating back to the first fighting a year ago, including stonings, amputations, widespread rape and forced marriages of girls as young as 12 to Islamist rebels.

Children as young as 10 were being used as soldiers by extremist groups, OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters, citing details from a recent report.

The UN's World Food Program meanwhile said on Friday that its distribution of food aid in northern Mali was still suspended because of a lack of security, but that it was managing to get aid to the capital Bamako.

Some 1.8 million people live in the affected northern areas and that a third of them are already "food-insecure".

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Swan warns against 'endless pessimism'

FEDERAL Treasurer Wayne Swan is determined to have a "positive debate" about the economy in the 2013 election year.

Mr Swan will tell a financial services forum in New York on Saturday (AEDT) that "endless pessimism" is a risk to the global recovery, "just as it weighs on business and consumer sentiment in Australia's economy".

"I am determined to have a positive debate in Australia in 2013 about how we lock in the gains we've made in the last five years, and set our economy and our community up for the next five years," the treasurer says, adding "the future of our region is remarkably bright".

Mr Swan's vow comes after the government and opposition appeared to blame each other for weak jobs data released on Thursday.

Acting Employment Minister Kate Ellis took the chance to score a political point by blaming the rise in the national unemployment rate on Queensland's conservative government, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott linked the numbers to Labor's decision to back away from a budget surplus in 2012/13.

Mr Swan says turbulence in the world economy during the second half of 2012 forced Australia to write down in just four months the revenue losses it had expected over a full year.

Despite this, the government is still delivering one of the biggest fiscal consolidations in Australia's history.

"We'll continue our fiscal discipline despite the big revenue write-downs which have made a surplus unlikely this year," the treasurer says.

While the government's previously promised surplus is not likely to eventuate in 2012/13, the budget outcome will have "no bearing at all on our determination to make room for our medium-term priorities like the Gonski education reforms and the National Disability Insurance Scheme", Mr Swan says.

He reiterates that "savage cuts" to public spending would be detrimental to the economy.

"We'll keep doing what's right for our economy, protecting the jobs and livelihoods of the most vulnerable in our community, while making room for our priorities and investing for the nation's future," Mr Swan says.

The government plans to make a "thorough assessment" of its budget in early 2013, "methodically working through the facts to ensure we continue to manage the economy responsibly and support employment".

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'Very, very challenging' fire day in NSW

TWO properties have been destroyed, a property owner hospitalised and several firefighters have collapsed after a "very, very challenging" day of bushfires in NSW.

Despite plummeting temperatures bringing a cool change across the state on Friday night, firefighters were warning the battle against the blazes is far from over.

The number of total fires burning in NSW rose to 120 on Friday after a day of intense heat and gusts of up to 90km/h fanned the flames of existing fires and sparked new blazes.

Twenty-six of those were uncontained as of 11pm (AEDT) on Friday.

"It's been a really, really challenging day for firefighters across the state," an RFS spokeswoman told AAP.

"It didn't get into catastrophic, but it was up at the high end of extreme in a number of places.

"And while the cool change will certainly provide some relief, we've got many large bushfires burning that are not going to be wrapped up just because the temperatures drop."

Disaster struck in the Bega Valley on Friday evening after a new bushfire west of Merimbula destroyed two properties and two sheds in the Millingandi area.

It brings to 53 the number of properties destroyed in the devastating NSW fires this year.

That fire crossed the Princes Highway on Friday afternoon and was threatening more properties between Wolumla and Millingandi, with firefighters working desperately thorough the night to contain it, the RFS said.

At Nowra, a rural property owner was taken to hospital after an "erratic" fire at Barringella Creek swept through a farm and destroyed a shed on the town's outskirts.

The bushfire, burning 12km southwest of Nowra, was downgraded to 'watch and act' on Friday, but there were still concerns some properties could be at risk if the wind changed.

Temperatures across the state were well into the 40s, sparking a number of blazes, including a fast moving grassfire at Boorowa, east of Young.

Fears the town of 1000 people would come under threat were assuaged when the fire line closest to it was contained.

However, it then changed direction and was threatening properties at Douglas Gap and Campbellfields roads.

In Sydney, which recorded its hottest-ever temperature of 45.8C, a fire broke out in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, sending smoke and burning embers across the northern suburbs.

Firefighters were expected to work through the night to protect properties in the area.

Meanwhile, fires in Campbelltown and Marsden Park in the west were contained relatively quickly.

The state's most damaging blaze in the Warrumbungle National Park west of Coonabarabran continued unabated throughout the day, with more than 170 firefighters battling the 46,000-hectare fire.

Also of concern was a fire started by a torched car near Cessnock, in the Hunter region, which caused the evacuation of some residents.

Rain brought some relief to conditions there on Friday night, but it also put paid to firefighters' backburning efforts.

A number of firefighters collapsed as they worked to protect homes from blazes in "furnace-like" conditions.

"We're having fires popping up all over the state," Rural Fire Service (RFS) Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.

"We've had a number of firefighters collapse with heat exhaustion.

"It's been incredibly hot for them."

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) was predicting a cool change for much of NSW over the weekend, bringing much lower temperatures and a strong chance of rain.

"It's going to bring the fire danger ratings right down," a BoM spokesman said.

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Algerian army frees nearly 650 hostages

THE Algerian army's rescue operation has freed nearly 650 hostages, including around 70 foreigners, who had been seized by Islamist gunmen at the In Amenas gas plant, national media reports.

"Nearly 650 hostages seized in the attack carried out on Wednesday by a terrorist group at the In Amenas gas complex, among them 573 Algerians and more than half of the 132 foreign hostages, were freed," the APS news agency reported.

Algeria's state news service says about 60 foreign hostages are unaccounted for in the standoff with Islamist militants now entering its third day.

The news service said more than half the 132 foreign hostages had been freed, but the report could not account for the rest. The report on Friday also said special forces had resumed negotiations after an assault Thursday at the gas plant deep in the Sahara.

A Mauritanian news site that frequently receives messages from al-Qaeda linked militants said the hostage-takers in Algeria had offered to trade two captive Americans for two jailed terror figures in the United States.

One of the two, Omar Abdel Rahman, masterminded the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.

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Pakistan cleric signals end to sit-in

A PAKISTANI cleric has announced that a mass sit-in of tens of thousands of people outside parliament in Islamabad would end on Thursday, the latest twist in a drama that has gripped the nuclear-armed state.

Tahir-ul Qadri made the announcement as the country's corruption watchdog told the Supreme Court it did not yet have enough evidence to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on graft allegations, as the top judge had ordered.

Tension in Pakistan has been at fever pitch since Tuesday, when the arrest order coincided with a fiery speech by Qadri denouncing politicians and praising the armed forces and judiciary.

The timing sparked panic about a rumoured judiciary-military plot to derail elections due by mid-May. The polls, if successful, would be the first democratic transition of power between two civilian governments in Pakistan's history.

The political crisis comes as Pakistan battles problems on numerous fronts: the economy is struggling, Taliban and other violence is at a high, the rupee is sinking, there is an appalling energy crisis and fledgling peace gains with India appear in jeopardy following five cross-border killings in a week.

Qadri on Thursday gave the government until 1000 GMT (2100 AEDT) to negotiate on his demands for reforms, after which he said he would announce unspecified further action.

His announcement prompted cheering and dancing among his supporters, who have braved cold weather and heavy rain to camp out on Islamabad's main commercial avenue since early Tuesday.

"The situation does not allow me to put all the people, young people, children, women to further test. I give the government, I give the rulers a deadline of one-and-a-half hours. This deadline will end at 3pm," Qadri said.

"Today is the last day of this sit-in. Tomorrow there will be no sit-in. We have to end it today."

Ashraf chaired a meeting of coalition partners, several of whom have urged the government to start dialogue with Qadri. Deputy information minister Samsam Bokhari told private TV station Geo the government was open to talks.

Qadri wants parliament dissolved immediately and a caretaker government set up in consultation with the military and judiciary to implement reforms before free elections can be held.

The government has so far stuck to its position that parliament will disband in mid-March to make way for a caretaker government, set up in consultation with political parties, and elections within 60 days - sometime by mid-May.

Qadri's sudden emergence after years in Canada has been criticised as a ploy by sections of the establishment, particularly the armed forces, to delay the elections and sow political chaos.

In the Supreme Court the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, Fasih Bokhari, told Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that investigations into a power projects graft case were not complete.

He said it took time to find evidence to prosecute those allegedly involved.

Chaudhry - who Tuesday ordered the prime minister's arrest - ordered Bokhari to report back with the case files so that the court could itself point out evidence that could form the basis for a prosecution.

The court in March 2012 had ordered legal proceedings against Ashraf, who at the time was a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari and was water and power minister when the power projects were set up.

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Journalist and two British policemen held

LONDON'S Metropolitan Police has arrested two of its own officers and a journalist from Rupert Murdoch's The Sun newspaper as part of its probe into corrupt payments to public officials by the media.

Scotland Yard said the three men were arrested before dawn at their homes by detectives working on Operation Elveden, which was set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid.

"The three were arrested at their separate home addresses at approximately 0600 GMT (1700 AEDT) in connection with a number of suspected offences between 2004 and 2011," the force said.

The journalist has been named as The Sun's crime correspondent Anthony France, 39, and is believed to be the 22nd journalist from the paper to be detained as part of the inquiry.

The owners of The Sun, News International, said it was "particularly disappointing" that another journalist from the company had been arrested.

One of the detained policemen is a 47-year-old officer with Scotland Yard's Specialist Operations command, which covers the protection of the royal family as well as airport security and counter-terrorism.

The other officer, 30, is part of the Specialist Crime and Operations command covering serious crime in the British capital.

Both men were arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and were being interviewed at separate police stations, the force said.

France was arrested at his home in Hertfordshire, north of London on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and suspected conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office.

He was being interviewed at a north London police station.

Police have arrested a total of 56 journalists and public officials under Operation Elveden, one of three probes set up after the hacking scandal forced Murdoch to shut down the News of the World in July 2011.

Revelations that the newspaper had accessed the voicemail messages of a murdered schoolgirl as well as dozens of public figures sparked a political storm in Britain and led to a judicial inquiry into press ethics.

Twenty-six people have been arrested under the probe into phone hacking itself, Operation Weeting, while a third probe into computer-hacking, Operation Tuleta, has made 19 arrests.

Scotland Yard said the latest arrests were made as a result of information provided to the management and standards committee of News Corporation, Murdoch's US-based media empire.

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Melbourne grassfire deemed suspicious

A GRASSFIRE that burnt through 10 hectares of land and threatened homes in the outer Melbourne suburb of Pakenham is being treated as suspicious, police say.

The CFA issued an emergency warning for Pakenham and Pakenham Upper as the blaze put homes in the area under direct threat on Thursday afternoon.

Residents near Army Road and Reynolds Road were told to implement their fire plans before the blaze was contained later on Thursday.

Police say they are investigating the blaze and are treating it as suspicious.

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Granville anniversary sparks funding call

ON the 36th anniversary of the Granville rail disaster, the rail workers' union is calling on the NSW government to reverse the underfunding of rail maintenance.

A ceremony will be held at Granville town hall on Friday to mark the anniversary of Australia's worst rail disaster, which left 83 dead.

The Sydney-bound train from Mount Victoria derailed and crashed into the Bold Street overpass at Granville in Sydney's west, on January 18, 1977.

Eighty-three people were killed and over 210 were injured after the bridge collapsed and crushed two passenger carriages.

A report into the crash concluded "derailment of some vehicle was almost inevitable so long as the poor condition of the track remained uncorrected".

Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) national secretary, Bob Nanva, on Friday said the lessons of Granville must never be forgotten.

"The Granville rail disaster will live in our memories forever," Mr Nanva said in a statement.

"We must ensure we never see another disaster on the same scale."

Mr Nanva referred to media reports that RailCorp senior executives warned the state government that continued cuts to maintenance funding would jeopardise the safety of the network.

Despite the warning, maintenance funding was cut in real terms in the first year of the O'Farrell government, he said.

"The anniversary of Granville is an appropriate moment for all of us to pause and commemorate the lives of the rail workers and commuters who died," Mr Nanva said.

"It is also an opportunity for the state government to reverse the underfunding of rail maintenance that we have seen in the last few years."

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Russian mafia boss shot dead in Moscow

ONE of Russia's biggest mafia bosses has been shot dead in the centre of Moscow, in an apparent contract killing as he was leaving a restaurant after lunch, the interior ministry says.

Aslan Usoyan, 75, known by his nickname of Grandpa Hassan, was killed by a shot from a sniper's rifle as he was exiting the Karetny Dvor restaurant, about 1.5 kilometres from the Kremlin, on Wednesday.

Some observers feared that the murder of Usoyan would unleash a turf war in the criminal world of Russia and former Soviet republics.

The sniper shot Usoyan once, and the victim was rushed to the hospital, but died on the way, the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

Investigators have launched a murder probe, with Usoyan's "criminal activities" as one of the possible explanations for the murder, it said.

Born in Soviet Georgia in the 1930s, Usoyan was one of the remaining mafia old guard and was considered the most influential criminal in the former Soviet Union. He was first convicted when he was 19.

Investigators on Wednesday said the sniper also wounded a female bystander who was being treated.

Usoyan had already survived an assassination bid in September 2010 when he was shot in the abdomen in central Moscow, and temporarily handed over business to his two nephews, according to reports.

The tabloid daily Komsomolskaya Pravda in a report on its website dubbed him the "king of the Russian mafia".

In a sign of Usoyan's colossal influence despite his increasing age, a parliament deputy expressed fear that his murder might trigger unprecedented turf wars and more violence.

"I am sure that a new criminal redistribution will begin now," Russian MP Alexander Khinshtein, who sits on the security committee, wrote on his Twitter blog.

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Lesbians chased from Indonesian home

TWO women who married in Indonesia by disguising themselves as a heterosexual couple have been chased away from their village after neighbours discovered they were lesbians, community members say.

Neighbours raided the couple's home on Batam island near Singapore after growing suspicious that Musdalifa was a woman because he never socialised with other men in the village and the couple always kept to themselves.

"We reject homosexuals here, so last week we raided their house and saw Musdalifa was obviously a woman. She'd been walking around in loose men's clothes," Marlina, 34, told AFP Wednesday.

"We told Musdalifa to leave. They both fled and we haven't seen them since," said Marlina, who goes by one name.

It was discovered that Musdalifa was really a 23-year-old woman named Angga Soetjipto, who married her girlfriend Ninies Ramiluningtyas, 41, earlier this month.

The locals complained to the local Religious Affairs Office, which administers marriages and has reported the case to the Religious Affairs Ministry.

"There was no way we could have known, because they both had all the right documents, including a letter of identification from the village," office head Budi Dharmawan said.

He said the office would consider intensifying customary pre-marriage counselling to ensure illegal marriages do not slip through the net again.

Homosexuality is legal in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, though gay marriage is outlawed.

Although the majority of Indonesians practise a moderate form of Islam, the country's sharia stronghold Aceh province has deliberated flogging homosexuals and has forced gay and lesbian couples to separate.

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Car bombs kill at least 22 in Syria

A TRIPLE car bombing has killed at least 22 people in northern Syria, a government official and activists say, a day after massive blasts at a university campus in the city of Aleppo left 87 dead.

It was not immediately clear what the target of the three almost simultaneous blasts in the city of Idlib was.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombings targeted security vehicles near the local security headquarters and a checkpoint. At least 24 people were killed, most of them regime forces, it said.

However, a government official said the blasts hit a major highway and a roundabout in Idlib, killing 22 people and wounding 35. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media, did not say what the target was.

Rebels control vast areas of the Idlib countryside, but the city itself is controlled by the regime.

The bombings in Idlib come on the heels of the twin blasts a day earlier that ripped through the Aleppo University campus, which anti-regime activists said killed 87 people.

The Observatory said the death toll could rise even further because medics have collected unidentified body parts and some of the more than 150 wounded are in critical condition.

Syria's Ministry of Higher Education suspended classes and exams at all Syrian universities on Wednesday, "in mourning for the souls of the heroic martyrs who were assassinated by the treacherous terrorist hand," the state news service reported.

The SANA report quoted the minister of higher education, Mahmoud Mualla, as saying that Assad had ordered the reconstruction of Aleppo University "with the utmost speed."

The opposition and the government have blamed each other for the university blasts, which marked a major escalation in the struggle for control of Aleppo - Syria's largest city and once the country's main commercial hub.

It remains unclear what caused the blasts, which hit the campus as students took exams, setting cars alight and blowing the walls off dormitory rooms.

Activists said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad launched two airstrikes on the area at the time of the blasts, while Syrian state media said a "terrorist group" - the government's shorthand for rebels - hit it with two rockets.

The scale of destruction appeared inconsistent with the rockets the rebels are known to possess.

Syria's crisis began with political protests in March 2011 but quickly descended into a full-blown civil war, with scores of rebel groups across the country fighting Assad's forces. The UN said this month that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the violence.

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Spanish to name square for Clash singer

THE Spanish city of Granada plans to name a square after the late British punk star Joe Strummer who sang of the town in one of his band The Clash's classic tunes, an official says.

The driving rock anthem Spanish Bombs on the band's 1979 album London Calling recalled the Spanish civil war and Granada's favourite son, the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, executed there by nationalist soldiers in 1936.

Now a city commission for civic honours has accepted a petition - backed by local newspaper Ideal and thousands of fans on Facebook - to honour Strummer for his ties to the city.

It has identified a small square to bear his name a few hundred metres from the Alhambra palace, the city's Islamic-era landmark which is one of Spain's biggest tourist draws.

"It is expected that the project will be approved in February by the city council," which has to grant planning permission, a source in the city hall, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

Strummer lived in southern Spain in the 1980s and produced records for local bands there, said Ideal.

"Good old Joe travelled to Granada seduced by stories of the Civil War, the killing of Lorca and the image of Granada," it wrote on Wednesday.

"He worked, lived and drank in the capital of the Alhambra," Ideal added.

Strummer sang in Spanish and English in the song, evoking "bullet holes in the cemetery walls" as the "ragged army" of the Republicans waged their doomed fight against Francisco Franco's forces.

Spanish Bombs brought to stages across the world the name of Lorca and of Granada, sung out loud by thousands of young rebels and activists," Ideal wrote.

Strummer's politically-charged lyrics drove The Clash to the forefront of the punk movement in the 1970s along with the Sex Pistols.

He was born John Graham Mellor and died suddenly of heart failure in 2002 at the age of 50.

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France girds for new threats after Mali op

ARMED soldiers are on guard in Paris' subways, train stations and some of the world's most recognisable monuments to head off terror attacks after France's military launched an operation to push back al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Mali.

Since the operation in Mali began on Friday, the soldiers have reinforced already tight security with a far more visible presence. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said France is well aware of the dangers of attacks from terrorists angry over the intervention. But he said he believed the long-term threat posed by the advance of the militant Islamist fighters in Mali was far greater, because it could become a potential training ground for terrorists.

Declaring France had "opened the gates of hell" with its assault, the rebels from the Sahel desert region that includes Mali threatened retribution on Monday.

"France is watching individuals who want to go to Afghanistan, Syria and the Sahel. We're watching those who could return here," Valls told the French television network BFM. "We're facing an exterior enemy and an interior enemy."

He said France had already fallen victim to attacks in recent months, referring to a French-born radical Islamist Mohammad Merah who targeted French soldiers and a Jewish school in the south, and a group of men accused of firebombing a kosher grocer in September.

The French government late last year passed a law barring citizens from training for terrorism abroad in response to the deadly attacks in the south by Merah, who received paramilitary training in Pakistan.

Marc Trevidic, a French judge who has investigated terrorism cases, said he was not worried about the threat of attacks in the short term.

"The Malian Islamists currently have other priorities than carrying out a terrorist attack in France," he told Le Parisien newspaper. But long term, he said, the threat is very real, especially given how easy it is to travel between France and Mali. "With this military intervention, we're on the front lines. Suddenly, France is a priority target."

Some 100,000 Malians are residents of France, and there are regular direct flights between Mali's capital, Bamako, and Paris.

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India rape suspect 'is a juvenile'

DOCUMENTS presented in a hearing indicate that a suspect in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in December was a juvenile at the time of the attack, a court official present at the hearing says.

Two principals from the suspect's elementary school showed paperwork indicating that the suspect was a juvenile at the time of the attack, which would make him ineligible for the death penalty, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a gag order on the case.

A judge is expected to rule on the suspect's age in a January 28 hearing, the official said, adding that the suspect did not appear in court on Tuesday.

The suspect, who is not being identified by The Associated Press because he says he is 17, would face three years in a reform facility if convicted as a juvenile. A conviction as an adult could lead to his execution.

Five other men also have been charged in the case, which has put an international spotlight on sexual abuse against women in India. One of the five now says he is also a minor.

Police say the 23-year-old victim and a male friend boarded the bus on December 16 after seeing an evening movie. But the bus turned out to be off-duty and was being driven by a group of friends who, police say, attacked the couple and then took turns raping the woman. They also penetrated her repeatedly with a metal bar, causing massive internal injuries. The two were eventually dumped on the roadside. The woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

Figuring out the young suspect's age could be complicated. He is believed to lack a birth certificate - a common occurrence in India, where many people are born at home. In such cases, school records are often used as proof of age or identity.

There are also medical tests that can indicate a person's general age, though it's unclear if the technology would be able to give a precise age.

While sexual violence is believed to be a major problem across India, the issue has seldom been raised in a country where women are still often regarded as second-class citizens. Victims are often blamed for sexual attacks - by their families or authorities - and the shame of rape keeps many women from reporting such attacks at all.

The bus rape, though, has drawn protests and intense media attention. Rapes have become front-page news nearly every day across the country, with demands that police do more to protect women and that the courts treat sexual violence seriously.

Late on Monday, more than 150 people gathered outside a school in the western state of Goa to protest the rape of a second grade student.

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Missing Missoni plane pilot unauthorised

THE pilot of a small plane that disappeared off the coast of Venezuela with six people aboard, including the scion of Italy's Missoni fashion family, was not authorised to fly, Italy's air safety agency Ansv says.

"The pilot's psychophysical certificate had expired on November 30 2012," Ansv said in a statement which also said the Transaereo 5047 company which owns the plane "was not certified as a flight operator."

The plane went missing on January 4 on a flight from the Los Roques islands to Caracas.

Flown by Venezuelan German Merchan, 72, and a co-pilot, it was carrying Vittorio Missoni - the son of the eponymous fashion label's founder Ottavio Missoni - his wife Maurizia Castiglioni and another Italian couple.

Ansv said Merchan's age also meant that he had only been authorised to pilot flights within national airspace.

The Italian embassy in Caracas earlier said the location where the plane went down had been identified, but as the ocean floor in the area reaches a depth of 2000 metres, it was "too deep for many available instruments."

A specialised oceanographic ship from Louisiana has been deployed to help with the search.

A similar disappearance took place exactly five years ago, on January 4, 2008.

At the time, a plane carrying 14 people, including eight Italians, went missing in the same area as it flew from Caracas to Los Roques. No trace of the aircraft or its passengers was ever found.

Missoni runs the company known for its knitwear and iconic zigzag patterns with his siblings Luca and Angela. Vittorio is marketing director, his brother Luca is technical director and his sister Angela is the designer.

The fashion house was founded in 1953 by Ottavio Missoni and his wife Rosita. It now sells ready-to-wear attire for men, women and children, as well as haute couture and perfume.

Missoni has also created auto interiors for Mazda cars and designed interiors for two luxury hotels, in collaboration with the Rezidor Hotel Group.

Los Roques is an archipelago of 350 islands that attracts tourists from all over the world for its deep turquoise sea and the large number of exotic species that live there.

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Teen charged over gate crashing attack

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy has been charged over the serious assault of a young Sydney partygoer, who remains in a coma after a metal rod was thrown at his head by a gatecrasher.

Liam Knight, 17, is in a critical condition in Royal North Shore Hospital after trouble flared at a friend's birthday party on Friday night at Forestville, on Sydney's north shore.

Following regular police appeals for information, a 16-year-old boy from North Ryde handed himself in to Surrey Hills police station on Tuesday afternoon before being arrested.

Police allege the boy threw a number of objects at the party, including the metal rod that struck Mr Knight, as well as punching two other boys, aged 16 and 17, and pushing a 44-year-old man.

He has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of common assault, affray, and breach of bail.

He was refused bail and will appear in Bidura Children's Court on Wednesday.

Around 50 people were enjoying themselves at the party when a group of gatecrashers attempted to get into the home about 11.30pm (AEDT) on Friday, police said.

A fight broke out, police allege, before one of the intruders went to the back of the house and began hurling building materials.

A metal rod penetrated Mr Knight's head so deeply that part of the rod had to be cut off at the scene before he could be transported to Royal North Shore Hospital where doctors surgically removed it.

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GM loses global sales crown to Toyota

GENERAL Motors lost the global sales crown once again to Toyota in 2012, as its sales grew just 2.9 per cent to 9.2 million vehicles, the US auto giant says.

The American automaker, which briefly regained the crown after Toyota's supplies were shattered by the 2011 Japanese quake and tsunami, nonetheless remains at No.2 worldwide.

German rival Volkswagen, which aspires to be the world's biggest automaker by 2018, on Sunday reported an 11 per cent increase in 2012 sales to 9.07 million.

Toyota has forecast its 2012 sales will jump 22 per cent to 9.7 million vehicles.

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UPS to drop bid for TNT Express

US delivery giant United Parcel Service (UPS) says it's pulling out of its multi-billion-euro bid for Dutch firm TNT Express after EU competition authorities said they would probably block the deal.

"UPS informed TNT Express that UPS sees no realistic prospect that EC (European Commission) clearance can be obtained and that UPS will not pursue the transaction on any other basis," UPS said in a statement from Hoofddorp in the Netherlands on Monday.

The decision is despite an attempt by UPS last year to overcome competition concerns by amending its 5.16 billion euros ($A6.59 billion) bid.

EU competition authorities had warned that the takeover as constructed would result in damaging concentration in the European market for express delivery.

EU competition officials met UPS and TNT Express representatives on Friday and "informed the companies that on the basis of UPS's current remedy proposal it is working towards proposing a prohibition decision."

UPS then told TNT it would not continue chasing the deal and that "formal termination of the merger protocol will occur upon receipt of the prohibition decision of the EC, which ...TNT Express deems inevitable," it said.

In June, UPS launched a bid to take over TNT Express, but the EU competition authorities announced a month later they would investigate the deal.

The EU said it was worried the proposed merger would reduce the number of competitors from four to three and lead to a highly concentrated market for domestic and international express delivery services on the European continent.

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Mercedes takes aim at youth market

GERMAN auto giant Daimler is taking aim at the youth market with the compact, stylish - and lower priced - Mercedes CLA coupe, unveiled on the eve of the Detroit auto show.

A sleek silhouette delivers world-leading aerodynamics, while frameless doors offset the sporty, muscular look of a bold grill and sweeping curves in the body.

"The CLA is a style rebel," Mercedes design chief Gordon Wagener said.

"The dynamic design idiom is manifested in breath-taking proportions, muscular, flowing contours and sculptural surfaces."

The interior offers all the high-tech gadgets and luxurious features customers expect from a Mercedes, like a multimedia console that seamlessly integrates with the iPhone.

The powerful engine, smooth suspension and four-wheel drive also promise agility, power and an efficient drive.

It will also be outfitted with the latest in collision prevention, including drowsiness detection and a radar that warns drivers of obstacles even at very slow speeds and will initiate braking if the driver is distracted.

"With the new CLA-class, we will open a completely new gateway to the Mercedes brand here in the US," Mercedes sales chief Joachim Schmidt told reporters.

"Our goal is to repeat the success story of the CLS in a new segment."

The CLA is aimed at both the youth market and the "young at heart" who value "trendy and high-class design, quality and refinement and personal expression through authentic brands," Schmidt said.

Set to hit US dealerships in April, Daimler will launch an advertising blitz - and announce the price - during the Superbowl on February 3, which is being held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

The vehicle will be sold worldwide and Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche said it will be a "great car" for China and will also do well in other parts of Asia and Europe.

He did not disclose a sales target.

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Luxury, sports cars in Detroit spotlight

LUXURY and sports cars will be in the spotlight when the Detroit auto show opens Tuesday (AEDT) amid booming sales and renewed optimism as the US economy rebounds from a deep downturn.

"The mood is going to be pretty good," said Dave Sergeant, an analyst with JD Power. "The industry is coming off a reasonably good year and this year should be even better."

US sales are expected to rise to between 15 and 16 million vehicles this year after jumping 13 percent to 14.5 million vehicles in 2012, the biggest yearly gain since 1984.

The Detroit Three carmakers are raking in huge profits again after years of painful restructuring and a renewed focus on the product side of their business.

Their Asian and European counterparts are also investing heavily in the United States as they jostle for position in the highly competitive market and look for a place to grow sales amid a slowdown in China and Brazil and the collapse of European demand.

"The product is the best consumers have seen in a long time," Jesse Toprak, an analyst with the automotive site TrueCar.com, told AFP.

GM's new Corvette was the most hotly anticipated and select journalists were given a sneak preview at a lavish preview Sunday night.

The muscular and sculpted Corvette Stingray shares a name with the iconic 1963 model but is an entirely new vehicle, sharing only two parts with the previous generation Corvette.

"The soul of our company is sitting right here in Corvette," GM North America president Mark Reuss said.

"This car is the reason I work at GM."

Daimler also offered a sneak peak at an entirely new car, the compact, stylish - and lower priced - Mercedes CLA coupe which is aimed squarely at the youth market.

"The CLA is a style rebel," Mercedes design chief Gordon Wagener said.

"The dynamic design idiom is manifested in breath-taking proportions, muscular, flowing contours and sculptural surfaces."

Both vehicles will compete with luxury sports cars from Audi, BMW and a new muscle car from specialty carmaker Shelby once the show officially starts Monday.

Pickup truck fans will also have plenty of new models to feast their eyes upon, with the new Chevy Silverado and a concept (or pre-production) truck from Ford ahead of the 2015 launch of the next version of its top-selling F-series.

Honda will be testing out a concept for a smaller sport utility vehicle, as will Ford's luxury Lincoln brand. There will be plenty of new hulks on the floor as well, especially from Chrysler's Jeep and Dodge brands.

And even the more down-market vehicles are going to be decked out with features that were once reserved for luxury brands, like collision avoidance technology and heated side mirrors.

"Those features tend to be fairly profitable because once they get into the mass market they're not that expensive to install and consumers will pay fairly well for them," said Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of automotive site Edmunds.com.

Drivers looking for improved fuel economy will have a wide range of options as automakers push hybrids, diesel and electric vehicles, and boost the efficiency of standard gasoline engines ahead of upcoming tough new government standards.

But with hybrids and other alternative powertrains still only making up about three percent of the US market, carmakers are going to have to work harder on their green car pitches.

There is hope that younger buyers could help push demand for green cars to the point where it would have a significant impact on fuel consumption.

"While they're not necessarily going to gravitate to and make a buying decision because of 'green,' they have a preference towards new technologies," said Joe Vitale, an auto analyst with Deloitte.

"We think this generation may be the generation that creates a tipping point to an electrified world."

More than 50 new models will be revealed on Monday and Tuesday as automakers vie for the attention of some 6,000 journalists from around the world.

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Man hospitalised after shooting

A MAN is in hospital after he was shot in the stomach and chest in Sydney's west.

Police were called to Ismay Avenue, Homebush about 11pm on Sunday following reports of a shooting.

On arrival, they found a man with gunshot wounds to his stomach and chest.

He was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he is receiving treatment.

His current condition is not known.

Police are investigating and have urged anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Victorian firefighter dies in Tasmania

A 60-YEAR-OLD Victorian firefighter has been found dead near a hamlet on the Tasman Peninsula where he was conducting a backburn.

Police say the body of the man, part of a Victorian contingent assisting the Tasmania Fire Service, was found near Taranna.

He was preparing for backburning operations at Waterfall Bluff, which is about two to three kilometres from the active fire edge.

Workers were sent to the area after the man failed to make a scheduled call-in.

Police say there appears to be no suspicious circumstances at this stage.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) said the dead man was from Gippsland.

A DSE statement from its secretary Greg Wilson and chief fire officer Alan Goodwin said the firefighter's family had been notified and no further personal details were available at this time.

They had offered their sincere condolences to the family and support had been offered.

DSE representatives have been sent to Tasmania to support crew members still on the ground.

Police are investigating the death and will prepare a report for the coroner.

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Steam train chugs through London's Tube

TOURISTS waiting for their train to Madame Tussauds in London have been treated to an unusual sight: a 19th century steam engine chugging down the tracks.

Officials sent the Met Locomotive 1, built in 1898, down London's Metropolitan Line to mark the 150th anniversary of the Tube network, the world's oldest.

Hundreds of train fans, costume-wearing enthusiasts and curious onlookers gathered at platforms and bridges across the city to watch as the locomotive travelled non-stop from Kensington Olympia station in the west to Moorgate station in central London.

London Mayor Boris Johnson was among the invited passengers aboard the historic black-and-red locomotive. He said the trip was "romantic", describing "thick clouds of white steam going past and then bits of soot coming through from the engine".

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Beijing choked by third day of smog

BEIJING has endured a third day of pollution at hazardous levels, as authorities warned a thick cloud of smog may not lift from the Chinese capital until the middle of the week.

While those venturing outside wore face masks, dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei went one step further, posting pictures of himself on Twitter in a gas mask.

As the dense smog shrouded large swathes of northern China, flights were cancelled and traffic delayed as visibility was reduced to 100 metres in some areas.

The dangerously poor air quality was highlighted by a steady stream of news broadcasts on state television, many of which warned residents against venturing outside.

The pollution also provoked China's huge number of microbloggers to take to the internet, with some high-profile web users calling for a re-evaluation of China's rampant modernisation.

Rapid economic growth has led to a dramatic increase in the consumption of coal and clogged city streets with cars.

"The foreign media is laughing at us. I agree with their laughter," said Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-run Global Times newspaper on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

"This is a warning to the Government and Beijing's citizens. We have to think about what kind of modernisation we want and how to manage it."

Hu said the pollution issue would be on the front page of his newspaper on Monday.

Beijing-based Ai, 55, an outspoken critic of China's communist government, posted three pictures of himself on Twitter standing against a white background wearing a gas mask, his beard frizzing out beneath. But he did not make any verbal comment.

Beijing's municipal environment warning centre issued its second alert in two days, warning people to avoid outdoor physical activity.

The centre also urged government officials to set an example to other residents, by not using their cars.

Air quality in Beijing showed small airborne particles with a diameter small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs at a reading as high as 993 micrograms per cubic metre on Saturday evening, the warning centre said.

The World Health Organisation says the figure for such particles, known as PM2.5, should ideally be no more than 25 micrograms per cubic metre.

High levels have been linked to health problems including respiratory disease, heart disease and lung cancer.

Official PM2.5 figures have only been monitored in China's major cities since the beginning of last year.

The lack of official data makes it difficult to compare the recent smog with previous cases of pollution, said Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.

"But it is interesting to see that residents have been warned about the dangers of pollution by official media," Ma told AFP.

"This has never happened before, and is a result of the transparency that we now have with the figures."

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