Lebanese president accepts PM resignation

Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati says the government has resigned. Source: AAP

LEBANESE President Michel Suleiman has formally accepted the resignation of the prime minister, who stepped down blaming government infighting during a time of rising sectarian tensions.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati submitted his written resignation to the president after announcing he was stepping down the day before, taking the country by surprise.

Suleiman asked that his government assume a caretaking role while a new government is being formed.

Mikati's unexpected resignation throws the country into uncertainty at a critical time and threatens to leave a void in the state's highest ranks amid sporadic violence inflamed by the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

It opens the way for what is expected to be prolonged political jockeying as parliamentary blocs try to build a majority coalition to choose a new prime minister.

"I hope that this resignation will provide an opening in the existing deadlock and pave the way for a (political) solution," he said, following his meeting with Suleiman on Saturday.

Mikati has been prime minister since June 2011, heading a government dominated by the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah and its allies.

Their main rivals are a coalition headed by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, son of Rafik Hariri, who was also prime minister and was killed in a truck bombing in 2005.

A Harvard-educated billionaire, Mikati was chosen to lead the government after Hezbollah forced the collapse of Lebanon's previous government over fears a UN-backed tribunal investigating the killing of the elder Hariri would indict Hezbollah members.

Mikati stepped down on Friday to protest the parliament's inability to agree on a law to govern elections set for later this year, as well as the refusal by Hezbollah and its allies in the cabinet to extend the tenure of the country's police chief, Major General Ashraf Rifi, who at 58 is about to hit the mandatory retirement age for his rank.

Rifi, like Mikati, is a Sunni Muslim who is considered a foe by Hezbollah.

In his speech on Friday, Mikati said that if Rifi is not allowed to stay on, his departure would send the police department into "a vacuum".

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Pope tells Benedict 'we're brothers'

POPE Francis has travelled to Castel Gandolfo to have lunch with his predecessor Benedict XVI in a historic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the Catholic Church.

The Vatican said the two popes embraced on the helipad.

In the chapel where they prayed together, Benedict offered Francis the traditional kneeler used by the pope.

Francis refused to take it alone, saying "We're brothers," and the two prayed together on the same one.

Outside the villa, the main piazza of Castel Gandolfo was packed on Saturday with well-wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of history - two popes breaking bread together and presumably discussing the future of the Catholic Church.

They chanted "Francesco! Francesco!".

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he understands Benedict offered his pledge of obedience to the new pope, while Francis thanked Benedict for his ministry.

He said they both wore white, though Benedict was in a simple cassock without the traditional sash and cape worn by Francis.

Benedict has been living at the papal summer villa since he resigned on February 28, the first pope to step down in 600 years.

He has said he plans to live out his final years in prayer and remain "hidden from the world".

Benedict's dramatic departure that day - flying by helicopter from the helipad in the Vatican gardens with his weeping secretary by his side and circling St Peter's Square in a final goodbye - is one of the most evocative images of this remarkable papal transition.

The Vatican is downplaying the luncheon in keeping with Benedict's desire to remain in private and not interfere with his successor's papacy.

There was to be no live coverage of the private meeting by Vatican television, only a few still photos from the official Vatican photographer and perhaps a video released after the fact.

The Vatican said Benedict was at the helipad in the villa gardens to welcome Francis, and that the two were meeting in Benedict's library and having lunch together.

Francis will then return to his makeshift home at the Vatican hotel at an unspecified time later in the day.

The Vatican spokesman promised a general comment about the meeting, but no detailed statement.

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Imran Khan rallies thousands in Pakistan

PAKISTANI cricket star-turned politician Imran Khan has rallied around 100,000 supporters in the eastern city of Lahore ahead of general elections.

Khan is shaping up to be the biggest wildcard in the May 11 parliamentary election - the first transition between democratically elected governments in a country that has experienced three military coups.

Casting himself as an anti-corruption crusader, the 60-year-old is seen as a threat to the two long-dominant parties as evidenced by the huge crowds that turned out on Saturday to support him.

Khan polls as the country's most popular politician by a wide margin.

But it's uncertain how effective he will be in converting his personal appeal into votes for his party.

Much of Khan's support has come from young, middle class Pakistanis in the country's major cities, a potentially influential group.

Almost half of Pakistan's more than 80 million registered voters are under the age of 35, but the key question is whether Khan can get his young supporters to show up at the polling booth on election day.

"This is going to swing the election," Khan said in an interview before the rally.

"The youth is standing with us and change."

Khan, one of the few Pakistani politicians with a squeaky-clean image, broke into the political mainstream in the last 18 months with a message that capitalises on widespread discontent with the country's traditional politicians.

They are seen as more interested in lining their pockets than dealing with pressing problems facing Pakistan, such as stuttering economic growth, pervasive energy shortages and deadly attacks by Islamist militants.

On foreign policy, he has also struck a chord by criticising Pakistan's unpopular alliance with the United States and controversial drone attacks targeting militants in the country's tribal region that borders Afghanistan.

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China asks France to protect its tourists

BEIJING has urged French authorities to better protect Chinese tourists known for their big spending habits, citing "concern" over recent attacks on visitors to Paris.

The country's National Tourism Administration - which reports directly to the government - made the call after 23 Chinese tourists travelling in a group were robbed soon after they arrived at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport outside Paris.

"Their passports, plane tickets and cash were stolen and the group leader sustained an injury to the face," the organisation said in a statement published by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

It called on French authorities to bring to justice those who assaulted the tourists on Wednesday, and to ensure an "effective protection" of Chinese visitors in France.

France has long been considered a dream destination in China, where it is often lovingly portrayed as the country of "romance".

But that dream has recently turned into a nightmare for some Chinese tourists, who have been victims of violent robberies and other aggressions.

Chinese media has in recent weeks reported on several such incidents.

More than one million Chinese tourists visit France every year, according to the Chinese tourism administration.

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UK paper to pay for actor Nazi photo error

A CROATIAN actor has accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages over an article in a British newspaper that wrongly identified him as a Nazi war criminal.

Ljubomir Jurkovic brought an action in London's High Court over a November 2010 story in the Independent about the death of Samuel Kunz, who had served as a guard at the Belzec extermination camp.

It was accompanied by a photo of 52-year-old Jurkovic from the 2007 film The Living and the Dead, in which he played an officer of the Croatian Fascist movement, captioned: "A war-time image thought to show Samuel Kunz who was third on the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's list of most wanted Nazi war criminals".

Jurkovic's counsel, Christina Michalos, told Justice Victoria Sharp that the error had understandably caused him distress, humiliation and upset.

"I wish to make it expressly clear that the claimant has never committed war crimes, whether during World War II or during the Bosnian war, and has no connection of any kind with such activities and does not subscribe to any form of Nazi ideology."

Matthew Nicklin, counsel for Independent Print Limited, which is to pay substantial damages, apologised for the "extremely regrettable" mistake.

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Last 24 hours 'awful' for ALP: Burke

ENVIRONMENT Minister Tony Burke admits the last 24 hours have been awful for the ALP, but insists the resignation of several ministers means the party can now focus on policy.

Speaking on Friday night, Mr Burke labelled the last 24 hours as "awful" for the Labor Party.

"There's no other way to describe them," he told ABC television.

ALP ministers Chris Bowen, Martin Ferguson and Kim Carr resigned from the front bench on Friday, after fellow minister Simon Crean was sacked on Thursday and four other senior party members, including chief whip Joel Fitzgibbon, quit.

The resignations follow a dramatic leadership tussle on Thursday between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard which resulted in Ms Gillard being confirmed as Prime Minister.

Mr Burke said with the "decks cleared" the party could now engage the public about policy, rather than focusing on internal dramas.

"I think it's clear that we can now, for the good work that we have been doing, have the conversation about it," Mr Burke said.

He did not blame debate around the recent media reform package for sparking the leadership challenge.

"I think this has been building for quite some months... At some point it was going to come to a head," Mr Burke said.

Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said the leadership turmoil showed the ALP was "totally and utterly out of control".

"This nation has never seen anything like this before, and it's absurd," Senator Joyce told the ABC.

He conceded that it wasn't healthy in the lead-up to a federal election to have minimal focus on coalition policies.

"It's not healthy at all," he said.

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US stocks open higher on Cyprus hopes

US stocks have opened higher, suggesting investors have become more hopeful about the Cyprus situation that has hung over recent trading.

Five minutes into trade on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 50.52 points (0.35 per cent) to 14,472.01.

The broad-based S&P 500 picked up 6.29 (0.41 per cent) at 1,552.09, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.11 (0.44 per cent) to 3,236.70.

The rebound followed market losses on Thursday due to some weak earnings reports and uncertainty about Cyprus.

But Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the stronger euro on Friday suggested "there is an underlying sense that a worst-case scenario will be avoided" regarding Cyprus.

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Ntaganda transfered to ICC custody

CONGOLESE warlord Bosco Ntaganda has been transferred to the custody of the International Criminal Court, where he is expected to face trial on war crimes charges.

Ntaganda - wanted by the ICC since 2006 and accused of recruiting child soldiers, organising sexual slavery and murder - walked into the US embassy in Kigali this week and asked to be transferred to the court in The Hague.

"Bosco Ntaganda is currently escorted by an ICC delegation that has left Kigali heading to the ICC detention centre in The Hague," the ICC said in a statement, noting that he is the first person to voluntarily surrender to the court.

Neither Rwanda nor the United States are parties to the ICC treaty, but they have pledged to co-operate with the court on Ntaganda's case.

Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's foreign minister, also confirmed that the man known as "The terminator" was on a flight to Europe.

US embassy officials said he had left their compound in the care of an ICC delegation.

Analysts say that the 40-year-old Congolese militant handed himself in out of desperation, after his fighters suffered heavy losses.

His M23 rebel group, which operates out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, split last month and his faction lost a series of heavy battles, forcing its leadership and fighters to flee to neighbouring Rwanda.

Rwanda and Uganda deny accusations by UN experts that they have violated arms sanctions and given key support to M23 in the past year.

The group is accused of carrying out serious abuses in the volatile east of the massive central African country.

Much of the fighting in eastern DR Congo is over the control of natural resources - including cobalt, used in mobile phones, and copper - and trade routes.

The only person tried and convicted at the ICC is Congolese man Thomas Lubanga, 52, who last year was found guilty of using child soldiers.

Lubanga and Ntaganda were in the same umbrella political grouping during the Congolese civil war, which ended in a fragile peace in 2003, though the east of the country is still home to numerous armed groups.

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PM's apology makes headlines in UK

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard made headlines in the United Kingdom on Thursday but not just for the farcical leadership spill.

Ms Gillard's apology to people affected by Australia's forced adoption policy between the 1950s and 1970s was one of the top news items on the BBC.

Morning radio bulletins didn't even mention the spill which turned out to be a non-event after former prime minister Kevin Rudd refused to run for Labor's top job.

The BBC website's world page ran a news story headlined "Australia sorry for forced adoptions" while the government's internal troubles were covered in an an analysis piece by Sydney correspondent Nick Bryant.

He wrote that the PM's moving apology to victims of forced separation should have been one of the more solemn and orderly days in the parliamentary calendar.

"But Canberra's coup culture helped transform it into one of confusion, comedy and commotion that many Australians would prefer to forget."

The left-leaning Guardian newspaper, which has a large Australian readership, ran a prominent online news story declaring: "Gillard survives leadership threat."

The paper reported that in an "extraordinary" day in Australian politics Ms Gillard kept her job after "no one dared stand against her".

The Guardian also reported on its front page online that the "PM apologises over forced adoptions".

The Telegraph online ran both stories on its world page as did The Independent.

Top-selling tabloid The Sun didn't cover either the apology or leadership tussle.

Its online coverage was focused on "16 incredible Kate Upton boob gifs".

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Idea of Rudd comeback 'over': Feeney

LABOR senator David Feeney says the idea of a Kevin Rudd comeback as prime minister is over after Thursday's leadership tussle.

Speaking on Thursday night, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence said Julia Gillard had won a decisive victory over Mr Rudd to confirm herself as party leader.

"The idea of a Kevin Rudd prime ministership is over," Senator Feeney told ABC television.

"It's not a pyrrhic victory, it's a decisive victory. This is an occasion where for the third time the prime minister has been decisively re-endorsed by the caucus as leader."

Labor MPs and senators met for a caucus spill motion on Thursday afternoon after party elder Simon Crean sought to end months of talk about a Kevin Rudd reboot.

Ms Gillard retained the leadership unopposed after Mr Rudd said he wouldn't stand without a request from a majority of the party.

Senator Feeney said the party now had to remain "absolutely focused on the challenge that is immediately before" it.

"This has been a week where the Liberal Party have quite happily said nothing and done nothing and allowed the Labor Party to talk about itself," he said.

"It's precisely the type of week that's emblematic of our challenge."

Senator Feeney refused to be drawn on whether there were concerns inside Labor about cabinet processes under Ms Gillard.

He said he could not comment on the issue because he was not a cabinet member.

"I'm not about to start speculating on cabinet processes," he said.

He said he believed Mr Rudd didn't have a tilt at the top job because "he knew he didn't have the support to become leader".

Victorian Labor MP Richard Marles told the ABC he backed Mr Rudd because he thought the former leader represented the "best chance" for the party.

"I thought the best chance we had in terms of putting our best foot forward was for Kevin Rudd to contest," he said.

"I had a point of view, I made it clear, I don't resile from it, I certainly made my decision, there is no regrets."

At no point did Mr Rudd say he was going to stand for the leadership, Mr Marles said.

"It has always been a question of trying to convince Kevin that this was something that he should do," he said.

Ms Gillard accepted the resignation of Mr Marles from his parliamentary secretary position following Thursday's dramatic events.

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