Wiggles, Aussie talents woo Carols crowd

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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China shows off its new high-speed rail

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ex-butler pardoned, expelled from Vatican

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Damascus car bomb kills 5

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

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

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Suicide bomber targets Pakistan meeting

A SUICIDE bomber has blown himself up at a meeting of the political party that rules Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing six people and wounding 21, officials say.

There were "reports of injuries to the senior minister of the provincial government, Bashir Bilour," police official Asif Iqbal said.

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Don't return to sectarian strife: Iraq PM

IRAQI Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for people to stand together against sectarian strife, warning of a return to the days of bloody conflict when heads were left in the streets.

Maliki called in a speech in Baghdad for Iraqis to "stand together in one rank in facing this strife".

And the Shi'ite premier warned of a return to the worst days of the sectarian conflict that swept Iraq from 2006 to 2008.

"Have you forgotten the day we were collecting bodies from the streets? Have you forgotten the day we were collecting severed heads from the streets?" he asked.

Maliki's remarks came two days after security forces arrested at least nine of Sunni Finance Minister Rafa al-Essawi's guards on terror charges, threatening a new crisis with the minister's secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc.

After his guards were arrested, Essawi demanded Maliki's resignation, and also called for no-confidence proceedings that failed to remove the premier earlier this year to be reopened.

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Taliban seek new Afghanistan constitution

AFGHANISTAN'S Taliban has called for a new constitution as a pre-condition for it joining the country's fledgling peace process, according to a declaration issued by representatives at a landmark meeting in France.

Representatives from the country's warring factions met on Thursday for two days of talks that diplomats hope will bolster relations in the war-torn country.

It is the first time since a US-led bombing campaign drove the Taliban from power in 2001 that senior representatives have sat down with officials from the government and other opposition groups to discuss the country's future, in a meeting brokered by a French think tank.

"Afghanistan's present constitution has no value for us because it was made under the shadows of B52 bombers of the invaders," said the declaration, which was handed to participants during the meeting and later released to the media.

"Islamic Emirate, for the welfare of their courageous nation, need a constitution that is based on the principles of the holy religion of Islam, national interest, historical achievements, and social justice," it read.

The meeting in France was organised by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), and was held behind closed doors at an undisclosed location near Paris.

The talks come against a background of accelerating efforts to draw the Taliban and other opponents of President Hamid Karzai into negotiations on how Afghanistan will be run after foreign troops withdraw at the end of 2014.

Karzai's government has drawn up a roadmap for peace which involves persuading the Taliban and other insurgent groups to agree to a ceasefire as a prelude to becoming peaceful players in the country's nascent democracy.

As a first step in that direction, Karzai's administration has been attempting to secure the release of top Taliban prisoners held by neighbouring Pakistan.

Despite the landmark meeting, the Taliban's declaration continued to display a lack of trust in the government.

"The invaders and their friends don't have a clear roadmap for peace," it stated.

"Sometimes they say we want to talk to the Islamic Emirate, but sometimes they say we will talk with Pakistan. This kind of vague stance will never get to peace," it said.

To date the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the government, which it regards as a puppet of the United States.

Discussions with US officials were suspended in March.

In France the Taliban was represented by their senior figures Shahabuddin Dilawar and Naeem Wardak, a move seen as a sign that the Islamist group is contemplating going beyond exploratory discussions.

The Taliban, who ruled in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, were ousted from power by a US-led invasion and have since waged an 11-year insurgency to topple the US-supported government of Karzai.

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Bollywood star Khan charged with assault

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Turf war fears as biker gangs hit Europe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Delhi bus rapists face life sentences

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Coal dust could be 'bigger than asbestos'

WHERE THE COMPLAINTS ARE: Areas with coal dust problems are marked in red. Source: The Courier-Mail

ONE of the LNP's own MPs warned Queensland Parliament last year that coal dust could present a bigger health problem than asbestos if mining activities encroached on residential areas.

But with the coal dust problem spreading to Brisbane, the Newman Government this week said it was not clear what the state could do to force coal companies to take immediate action to minimise coal dust emissions.

Vaughan Johnson, the member for Gregory, highlighted the risk last year as he voiced concerns for residents living in regional centres close to coalmines.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Johnson said he was still worried about the health risk posed by coal dust.

GALLERY: See coal pile size of two Suncorp Stadiums

Those living in mining towns and the port cities of Gladstone and Mackay have long harboured concerns about the health risks associated with long-term coal dust exposure.

Now residents along the urban rail corridor in Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba and near the Port of Brisbane coal stockpile have joined the fight, complaining about a rise in exposure to the dust as more trains from Darling Downs mines use the rail network.

Exclusive tests conducted by The Courier-Mail this week revealed coal dust levels of up to 40 per cent in dust samples taken from affected homes in Brisbane along the rail corridor and near the port.

WHERE THE COMPLAINTS ARE: Areas with coal dust problems are marked in red.

A spokesman for Premier Campbell Newman said it was unclear what could be done to make the companies "act now".

LNP defector and Katter's Australian Party state leader Ray Hopper said he hoped coal dust anger in Brisbane would provide a catalyst to address an ongoing issue.

"Right across regional Queensland, there are homes constantly covered in a film of black dust," he said.

GALLERY: See coal pile size of two Suncorp Stadiums

Locals living near the proposed new Dudgeon Point Coal Terminal, south of Mackay, are among those frustrated coal money is seen as more important than people.

Gordon Johnson lives in McEwen's Beach, 2km from the terminal.

"We already get coal dust on our roofs, water tanks, our washing, on our lawns and that's just the stuff we can see. It horrors us to think how much we are breathing in," he said.

News-bcm 07/11/12 Coal Trains. A Coal train passing through Fairfield railway station. Pic Mark Calleja

Blackwater, Chinchilla, Moranbah, Emerald, Kabra, Gracemere and Jondaryan are other centres where locals deal with coal dust on a daily basis.

State health and environmental officials said emissions were monitored and within accepted standards.

But Brisbane physician Dr Andrew Jeremijenko said low-dose, chronic exposure to coal particles was unhealthy.

Complaints in Brisbane are spreading. Harry Tran, who manages Pam's Cafe 88 in Nudgee Beach, said coal dust collected so heavily on tables after a strong southerly that he had to wipe them every 30 minutes.

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Crims in gift card money laundering rort

CRIME syndicates are buying gift cards from major retailers to launder money in a bid to avoid seizure and prosecution. Source: The Courier-Mail

CRIME syndicates are buying gift cards from major retailers to launder money in a bid to avoid seizure and prosecution.

Law enforcement agencies say crime gangs are buying gift cards to purchase goods, which are then sold to legitimise their illegal cash.

Some of the gift cards, loaded with amounts of up to $500, are bought with stolen credit cards and have been sold at discounted rates on internet shopping sites.

A major criminal syndicate was recently dismantled when law enforcement officials were informed about gift cards being sold at discounted rates on the internet.

It is alleged the crime gang had raised $1.3 million from selling a range of goods.

A spokesman for AUSTRAC, Australia's specialist financial intelligence unit, said it was difficult to estimate how much money was being laundered using gift cards, however, the overall amount laundered in and through Australia was estimated to be at least $10 billion.

"AUSTRAC has seen examples where gift cards have been used to launder relatively small amounts of illicit cash," the spokesman said.

"Gift cards can be purchased in bulk using illicit funds, and then be used to purchase goods, which are then sold to complete the money laundering process.

"They may also be attractive to criminals because they can be purchased and used anonymously and carried or mailed to other locations.

"The disadvantage for criminals attempting to misuse gift cards is that they are issued in relatively low values and generally cannot be re-loaded with funds."

Surveys suggest one in five people this year will spend the bulk of their Christmas budget on gift cards, which are estimated to generate between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion.

National Retail Association chief executive Trevor Evans said it had anecdotal evidence that suggested gift cards had been used in money laundering, sometimes in combination with stolen credit card details.

"Many retailers put processes in place to prevent the bulk purchasing of gift cards," Mr Evans said.

"One of the best defences against laundering through gift cards is to remind all Australians to be vigilant about their credit card details and to report stolen or missing cards to financial institutions."

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Two dead in supermarket looting

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

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

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

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

Another supermarket was also looted.

The central government sent in army troops to restore calm.

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

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Moment of silence for shooting victims

US President Barack Obama joined a nationwide moment of silence to mark the passing of one week since the Newtown school massacre.

Mr Obama took part in the unofficial national day of mourning at the White House and First Lady Michelle Obama sent an open letter of support for the survivors.

Connecticut State Governor Dannel Malloy first called on residents to stop and reflect in silence at 9.30am (1.30am AEDT) local time, the minute 20-year-old Adam Lanza burst into the Sandy Hook Elementary School and began slaughtering 20 six- and seven-year-old children and six staff on December 14.

"Let us all come together collectively to mourn the loss of far too many promising lives," Mr Malloy said.

"Though we will never know the full measure of sorrow experienced by these families, we can let them know that we stand with them during this difficult time."

Mr Malloy asked for churches and government buildings to ring bells 26 times, symbolizing each of the victims in the school.

In Newton, bell rang as people on the street stood in a cold, driving rain.

His appeal was quickly matched by state governors from Hawaii to Florida, who called on residents to observe their own moment of silence at 9.30am local time in solidarity.

Houses of worship around the country also embraced the week's anniversary.

The National Council of Churches said that thousands of churches would "observe a minute of silence and at 9.30am Friday sound their bells 26 times in memory of the victims who died in the school."

On the crowd-sourced charity site, causes.com, almost 177,000 people had signed up by early Friday to pledge a moment's silence.

Mrs Obama wrote to the people of Newtown that "as a mother of two young daughters, my heart aches for you and your families."

However, "the countless acts of courage, kindness and love here in Newtown and across America" had inspired her to believe the country had shown its good side in the aftermath of the massacre, she said.

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Botulism outbreak hits Queensland cattle

AN outbreak of botulism has hit Queensland's cattle -- with more than 20 beasts killed in one herd, and concerns the total may be higher in Longreach, Winton and Aramac.

Biosecurity Queensland said the number could be higher because the disease was not one which forced producers to notify authorities.

Welfare inspector Nicole Restelli said climatic conditions were contributing to the recent cases, with botulism usually occurring in more arid zones.

All producers have been warned to monitor their herds for symptoms.

"Botulism is caused by livestock ingesting a toxin that is produced by clostridium botulinum bacteria which can be found in decaying animal and vegetable matter," Ms Restelli said.

Ms Restelli said that there is no known treatment for botulism.

"Producers can deter botulism outbreaks in their herds by preventing stock having access to animal carcasses, controlling vermin and pest animals, and providing nutritional supplements of protein and phosphorus to reduce bone chewing," she said.

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US weekly unemployment claims rise

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

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

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

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

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

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Huge blizzard threatens holiday travel

THE US Midwest's first major snowstorm of the winter caused "life-threatening conditions" and flight delays that could ripple into problems across the country as travelers gear up for the Christmas holiday.

A regional energy company said the storm had cut power to more than 40,000 households and businesses in Iowa, where nearly 30 centimetres of snow had fallen in the capital, Des Moines.

The Weather Channel said around 27 centimetres of snow covered parts of Wisconsin, with around 20 centimetres in Omaha, Nebraska.

The storm dumped more than 0.6 metres snow in parts of the western US, including Washington state and Wyoming.

Chicago's bustling O'Hare International Airport, one of the world's busiest, rated delays at five on a five-point index, hours before the snow was even expected to hit, in mid-afternoon, according to FlightStats.com.

The website reported that flights were being held up an average of just under two hours, and some flights slowed by up to four hours.

Flights through smaller airports in South Dakota and Iowa were cancelled.

The delays and cancellations could affect travel across the country, especially since many passengers need to change planes in Chicago - and even if they do not, their aircraft may have to pass through there.

The national weather service forecast "intense snowfall rates," along with high winds and reduced visibility to start in Chicago by 3pm local time (2100 GMT).

Two major airlines, Delta and United, issued travel alerts allowing passengers to change their tickets without fees for travel through affected areas.

Further south, the weather service warned of a "life-threatening blizzard" that was located over central Missouri Thursday morning and heading into western Illinois by morning.

"This will result in life threatening conditions and nearly impossible travel overnight through today," the bulletin warned.

"Falling trees may also occur to due heavy snow accumulation on trees and high winds."

Many schools across Nebraska and Iowa were closed Thursday or opening late.

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Three Palestinians dead from swine flu

THREE Palestinians in the West Bank have died in the past week from the H1N1 influenza strain known as swine flu, the Palestinian health ministry said.

"There were three deaths in the past week, and more than 50 people sickened by the virus," said Assad Ramlawi, the ministry's director general of health care for the West Bank.

He said the deaths occurred in the northern cities of Jenin, Qalqilya and Tulkarem, but played down the significance of the fatalities.

"The situation is not out of the ordinary. This virus spreads at the beginning of winter season," he said, adding that those who had died "had weak immune systems, which is what caused their deaths."

The health ministry said medical staff had been trained to detect and treat the virus.

The virus has affected Israel and the Palestinian territories in the past, killing dozens of people.

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France recognises brutal rule in Algeria

FRENCH President Francois Hollande acknowledged the "unjust" and "brutal" nature of France's occupation of Algeria for 132 years, but stopped short of apologising for the past as many Algerians have demanded.

On the second day of his state visit to this North African nation, he told the two houses of parliament that "I recognise the suffering the colonial system has inflicted" on the Algerian people.

He specifically recognised the "massacres" by the French during the seven-year war that led to Algerian independence in 1962. The admission was a profound departure from Mr Hollande's predecessors who, if not defending France's tormented past with Algeria, remained silent.

The Socialist president's visit came as Algeria celebrates 50 years of independence from France, during which the two countries' ties have been fraught with tension.

Mr Hollande was traveling to the western city of Tlemcen, the birthplace of Algerian wartime nationalist Messali Hadj.

Mr Hollande said at the start of his visit that he and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika are opening a "new era" with a strategic partnership among equals.

Large numbers of Algerians, and some political parties, have been seeking an apology from France for inequalities suffered by the population under colonial rule and for brutality during the war. However, Mr Hollande said at a news conference that he would make no apologies.

"History, even when it is tragic, even when it is painful for our two countries, must be told," Mr Hollande told lawmakers on Thursday.

"For 132 years, Algeria was subjected to a profoundly unjust and brutal system" of colonization.

"I recognise here the suffering that colonisation has inflicted on the Algerian people," he added.

Mr Hollande notably listed the sites of three massacres, including one at Setif where seven years ago Bouteflika compared French methods to those used by Nazi Germany and asked France to make a "gesture ... to erase this black stain."

The violence in Setif, 300 kilometres east of Algiers, began on May 8, 1945, apparently during a celebration of the end of World War II.

Demonstrators unfurled Algerian flags, which were banned at the time by the French. As police began confiscating the flags, the crowds turned on the French, killing about two dozen of them.

The uprising spread and the response by French colonial troops grew increasingly harsh in the following weeks, including bombardments of villages by a French war ship. Algerians say some 45,000 people may have died. Figures in France put the number of Algerian dead at about 15,000 to 20,000.

Mr Hollande and Mr Bouteflika agreed to relaunch economic, strategic and cultural relations between the two countries on a new basis among equals. A new start must "be supported by a base," Hollande said, and "this base is truth."

"Nothing is built in secretiveness, forgetting, denial," Hollande said.

A Declaration of Algiers was published late on Wednesday saying that France and Algeria "are determined to open a new chapter in their relations" of "exceptional intensity" and spelling out political, human and economic goals.

France announced a deal for French automaker Renault to build a factory in Algeria with cars destined for all of Africa. The long-negotiated joint venture will be 49 per cent owned by Renault and 51 per cent by two Algerian companies, according to a statement by Renault, the first carmaker to establish production facilities in Algeria. The factory will be located outside Oran, a port city west of Algiers, and eventually expand to an automotive training center.

The accord is one of about 15 agreements being signed during the visit, on topics ranging from culture to defense.

Mr Hollande, who came to the French presidency in May, made an initial break with the French past by officially recognising the deaths of Algerians at a 1961 pro-independence demonstration in Paris at the hands of French police.

He referred to the "bloody repression" and paid homage to the victims of "this tragedy," for which an official death toll has never been issued.

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N Ireland police open Bloody Sunday probe

NORTHERN Ireland police say they have opened a criminal probe into the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, when British soldiers shot to death 13 unarmed Irish Catholic protesters.

A police commander, Judith Gillespie, confirmed the move after meeting families of the Bloody Sunday dead on Thursday.

Nobody has ever been charged over the killings, which inflamed Catholic support for the outlawed Provisional Irish Republican Army.

Gillespie says 15 full-time detectives will collect witness testimony, and then question former soldiers who opened fire as criminal suspects.

When asked how long the investigation would take, Gillespie said she couldn't know but detectives would "go where the evidence takes us".

The Bloody Sunday victims' families and the IRA-linked Sinn Fein party, which represents most of Northern Ireland's Catholic minority, welcomed the move.

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Wall Street lower, looks past improved GDP

WALL Street stocks are mostly lower in early trade, as traders shrugged off an upward revision in US economic growth and focused on concerns about the "fiscal cliff".

About 10 minutes into the session on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.67 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 13,243.30.

The broad-market S&P 500 shed 0.38 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 1,435.43.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 3.79 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 3,040.58.

Official data showed the US economy grew 3.1 per cent in the third quarter, faster than previously estimated, but analysts said underlying economic activity remained fragile.

The market action came as Washington continued to wrangle about the so-called fiscal cliff, a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that, in the absence of a political compromise, could take the world's biggest economy into recession.

On Wednesday, the Dow finished down 0.74 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.76 per cent, while the Nasdaq lost 0.33 per cent.

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3800 British troops leave Afghanistan

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

Some 5000 will remain into 2014, Cameron told MPs.

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

There are some 60,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

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

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

Since 2001, 433 British troops have died in Afghanistan.

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

France has lost 88 troops in Afghanistan since late 2001.

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Russia parliament says no to US adoptions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Iraqi leader set for German hospital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Outrage grows in India over bus gang-rape

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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US stocks mainly lower

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dictator's daughter new SKorea president

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Minogue and Donovan on stage for duet

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

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

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

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

"They last performed it together in 1989."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Zuma wins ANC leadership vote by landslide

SOUTH African president Jacob Zuma has scored a thumping victory in an ANC leadership contest, opening the way for him to lead Africa's largest economy until 2019.

Zuma won the backing of 75.1 per cent of the ANC's 3977 voting delegates at a party conference in Bloemfontein, making him the odds-on favourite to retain the presidency after 2014 general elections.

Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa won the deputy presidency of the party with 76.4 per cent of the vote in a three-way race, setting him up to become Zuma's potential eventual successor and country president.

The vote took place despite the conference being threatened by right wing extremists.

Police said four men plotted to kill country president Zuma, Motlanthe, government ministers and senior party officials. The men were charged with treason and terrorism.

Inside the conference there were also plots and intrigue.

Zuma had faced an embarrassing, if lacklustre, leadership challenge from his Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who won 991 of the votes.

Party secretary general Gwede Mantashe and chairwoman Baleka Mbete were re-elected to their positions, with newcomers deputy-secretary general Jesse Duarte and treasurer general Zweli Mkhize, who is also the premier of Zuma's home province KwaZulu-Natal.

The scale of Zuma's victory, dubbed a "Zumanami," will take some of the heat of the embattled president.

But after three crisis-marked years in power, Zuma faces a tough slog ahead.

He will have to work hard to win back South African voters, who increasingly see the ANC as out of touch, incompetent and corrupt.

Zuma's poll numbers have steadily eroded amid a series of scandals.

Criticism of his administration reached a crescendo earlier this year when police killed 34 striking miners in one day and it emerged that around $US27 million ($A25.71 million) of taxpayers' money had been used to refurbish his private home.

Zuma will also face an uphill struggle to correct the course of the ailing South African economy.

Unemployment remains stuck around 25 per cent and the economy is growing at its slowest rate in three years.

Meanwhile crucial sectors like mining have been hobbled by strikes over low wages and are struggling to modernise and reduce reliance on masses of cheap labour.

Credit ratings agencies have warned that further rating downgrades will come if the conference does not see the ANC change course.

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Man in hospital after shooting

A 21-YEAR-OLD man has been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds after an incident in Melbourne's northeast on Tuesday.

Emergency services were called to a home in Mooroolbark at 6.20pm (AEDT) to treat a man with gunshot wounds to his lower torso.

Police are investigating.

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Dollar unlikely to return to lows: Stevens

THE Australian dollar is unlikely to return to the lower levels experienced before 2007, Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens says.

In an interview published on Wednesday, Mr Stevens said that while he expected non-mining business investment to pick up, the bank could not guarantee that monetary policy would provide an easy transition from mining to non-mining investment.

"We've got to recognise that monetary policy has limits to fine tuning," he told The Australian Financial Review in his first newspaper interview since taking office in 2006.

"We're not going to be able to absolutely guarantee seamlessly every handover from one source of demand to another."

He also predicted that the Australian dollar was unlikely to return to the low numbers of around 75 US cents that were the norm before 2007 - adding there were limits to how the bank could harness interest rates to counteract the strong dollar's contractionary effects.

"... the classic problem in a situation like this can be that you seek to compensate for a very high exchange rate with cheaper, lower interest rates.

"It can - in some circumstances - give you the asset credit build-up that then gets you into trouble later," he said.

But he said you could not rule out that the exchange rate might drop if the boom ends.

"But if this relative price shift turns out to have a good deal of persistence, even if not at current levels, then I think one could expect the exchange rate is around a higher long-run average as a result of that.

"I don't know what that average is, but it would be unlikely that it would be in the low numbers that we have become accustomed to until the last five or six years," he said.

And while he expected house prices to retrace some of the losses experienced since mid-2010, he said it would be concerning if prices returned to double-digit annual growth rates.

Mr Stevens also said that while a three per cent official cash rate for Australia might be low by historical standards, globally it is "pretty attractive".

"I think we have to recognise that and accept that that has some impact on where we set things."

Ultra-low interest rates in the US, Japan and Europe compared to Australia are helping to keep the Australian dollar high and economic growth moderate.

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Man dies in shooting in Sydney's west

A MAN has died in a shooting in Sydney's southwest overnight.

Police said they were called to Owen Street in Punchbowl at around 11.15pm (AEDT) on Tuesday, following reports that a man had been shot.

Police and NSW Ambulance paramedics attended the scene and found a man, aged in his 20s, with gunshot wounds.

He died at the scene.

A crime scene has been established by police.

Owen Street Punchbowl is closed to traffic while investigators examine the scene, police said.

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Harder to provide food aid in Syria

THE UN's World Food Program (WFP) has warned that the spiralling violence in Syria is making it increasingly difficult to distribute food in the war-torn country.

"Food needs are growing in Syria," said WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs, whose organisation distributes most of its aid in Syria through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

Citing SARC figures, Byrs told reporters in Geneva that nearly 2.5 million people currently need emergency food assistance, up from the 1.5 million estimated two months ago.

Yet WFP is only able to reach 1.3 million people each month, she said, lamenting the "escalating violence", especially in the north of the country.

WFP said in a statement it had seen a sharp rise in the number of attacks on its aid trucks in recent weeks.

Since the beginning of October, the organisation said, armed groups have stolen or confiscated around 10 of its trucks.

"In many of these incidents, WFP was able to recover the food after negotiations through third parties, but truck drivers have become more reluctant to drive on some roads or deliver food assistance to risky areas," it explained.

Fuel shortages have also impacted WFP's ability to distribute aid, it said, adding that there were not enough humanitarian partners on the ground to help deliver the aid.

The WFP appeal came after UN aid chief Valerie Amos at the weekend asked the Syrian government to allow 10 additional aid organisations into the country to help the increasingly desperate population.

People on the ground are going hungry, Byrs added, saying there was a "bread crisis" because fuel shortages had forced bakeries to close.

The UN, which is set to issue an appeal for funds to finance all of its aid work in Syria in 2013, estimates that around four million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid.

WFP meanwhile said it aimed to help 1.5 million people by the end of this month, but stressed that if it was going to continue providing food to so many people it would need another $US132 million ($A125.67 million).

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Turnbull criticises Sydney Harbour helipad

MALCOLM Turnbull has criticised NSW government plans to allow a helicopter barge in Sydney Harbour, tweeting that he is concerned for people's safety.

In a series of tweets, the federal member for Wentworth said he was told the decision to approve the helicopter service from a barge in Sydney Harbour was made by the Roads and Maritime Services "without consulting the premier or cabinet or community.

"Frankly what troubles me most is safety, summer afternoon, harbour full of boats, most with kids, noreaster......"

"And don't forget every weekend there are hundreds if not thousands of kids in skiffs sailing on Sydney Harbour," he said.

Mr Turnbull said "democracy involves government with the consent of the governed", adding that the decision was taken administratively with no consultation.

According to Newcastle Helicopters website, the company will be operating a floating heliport on Sydney Harbour.

"The Floating heliport will offer swift transfers from Mascot airport ideal for the time poor businessperson and centrally located Sydney residents, and scenic flights over Sydney Harbour convenient to tourists staying close to the CBD, and those visiting with limited schedules on cruise ships," it says on its website.

It said the helipad is a flat-top powered barge that would be positioned each day from its overnight berth (in the Pyrmont area) to one of "several designated areas".

A spokesman for Mr O'Farrell reportedly told the Sydney Morning Herald that he would not be rescinding the heliport licence and he was satisfied with how it had been approved.

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Gunmen kill 5 polio workers in Pakistan

GUNMEN have shot dead five women working on UN-backed polio vaccination efforts in two different Pakistani cities, officials say, a major setback for a campaign that international health officials consider vital to contain the crippling disease but which Taliban insurgents say is a cover for espionage.

Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is endemic. Militants however accuse health workers of acting as spies for the US and claim the vaccine makes children sterile. Taliban commanders in the troubled northwest tribal region have also said vaccinations can't go forward until the US stops drone strikes in the country.

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

The Taliban have targeted previous anti-polio campaigns, but this has been a particularly deadly week. The government is in the middle of a three-day vaccination drive targeting high risk areas of the country as part of an effort to immunise millions of children under the age of five.

The women who were killed on Tuesday - three of whom were teenagers - were all shot in the head at close range. Four of them were gunned down in the southern port city of Karachi, and the fifth in a village outside the northwest city of Peshawar. Two men who were working alongside the women were also critically wounded in Karachi.

The attacks in Karachi were well-coordinated and occurred within 15 minutes in three different areas of the city that are far apart, said police spokesman Imran Shoukat. In each case, the gunmen used nine millimetre pistols. Two of the women were teenagers, aged 18 and 19, and the other two were in their 40s, he said.

Two of the women were killed while they were in a house giving children polio drops, said Shoukat. The other two were travelling between houses when they were attacked, he said.

On Monday another person working on the anti-polio campaign, a male volunteer, was gunned down in Karachi. Taliban militants also killed three soldiers in an ambush of an army convoy escorting a vaccination team in the northwest.

Officials in Karachi responded to the attacks by suspending the vaccination campaign in the city, said Sagheer Ahmed, the health minister for surrounding Sindh province. The campaign started on Monday and was supposed to run until Wednesday, he said.

Immunisation was suspended in Karachi in July as well after a local volunteer was shot to death and two UN staff were wounded.

Janbaz Afridi, a senior health official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the fifth woman was killed, said the shootings would not stop the local government from continuing its vaccination program in the province and the neighbouring tribal region, the main sanctuary for Taliban militants in the country.

"These incidents are depressing and may cause difficulties in the anti-polio drive, but people should not lose heart," said Afridi. "The government is very serious, and we are determined to eliminate polio despite all odds and difficult conditions."

Also on Tuesday, two men on a motorcycle hurled hand grenades at the main gate of an army recruiting centre in the northwestern town of Risalpur, wounding 10 people, including civilians and security personnel, said senior police official Ghulam Mohammed.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of assaults in recent days that illustrate the continued challenge Pakistan faces from militants despite multiple military operations against the Pakistani Taliban and their supporters.

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Bangladesh fire was sabotage: inquiry

A FIRE that killed 111 workers at a Bangladesh garment factory last month was caused by sabotage and managers at the plant prevented victims from escaping, the head of an official inquiry says.

"We have found that the fire that gutted Tazreen Fashion factory in Ashulia was an act of sabotage," Main Uddin Khandaker told AFP on Monday after submitting a report into the November 24 tragedy to the government.

"The statements of the witnesses revealed that it was an act of sabotage. There was no possibility of the fire originating due to an electric short circuit or any other reason."

Khandaker did not suggest who might have carried out the sabotage or why.

He also said his inquiry team would recommend that the owner of the factory in the Ashulia industrial district near the capital Dhaka should face murder charges for gross negligence.

"There was also gross negligence on the part of the owner. We have suggested legal action against him and nine of his mid-level managers who barred the workers from leaving the burning factory," he said.

The owner of the plant, Delwar Hossain, told reporters after the blaze that he believed it was started deliberately but gave no details.

Fire investigators have said the nine-storey factory, which made clothing for Western retailers such as Walmart and C&A, lacked a valid safety licence at the time and only had permission for three floors.

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Pope meets Abbas, renews call for peace

POPE Benedict XVI has received Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and called on all parties involved in the Middle East crisis to find the courage to work together for peace and reconciliation.

In a statement following the meeting on Monday, the Vatican said it hoped the United Nations' recent recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state would "encourage the commitment of the international community to finding a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

Benedict and Abbas had talked about "the region, troubled by numerous conflicts, in the hope that the courage for reconciliation and peace will be found", the Vatican said.

A solution "may be reached only by resuming negotiations between the parties in good faith and according due respect to the rights of both", it said, adding that Abbas had also met with the Vatican's number two and secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone.

The Vatican, which favours a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, was quick to hail the landmark New York vote at the end of November.

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'Man with rifle' puts schools in lockdown

State Police spokesman Lt Paul Vance says schools in a town close to Sandy Hook have been put in lockdown after a reported sighting of an armed man. Picture: Getty/AFP Source: Getty Images

SCHOOLS have been put in lockdown in Ridgefield, Connecticut, after a report of a man with a rifle in the nearby area.

Ridgefield is about 30km by road from Sandy Hook, the scene of last week's school shooting tragedy.

The Connecticut Post reports that the man with the weapon was seen near the Branchville train station, 6km from the town, and police were on their way to investigate.

Ridgefield Superintendent Deborah Low released a statement saying that town schools "have been put into lockdown ... due to a report of a possibly suspicious person."

Branchville Elementary School buses were diverted to East Ridge Middle School and BES students were in the auditorium.

First Selectman Rudy Marconi told the Post that a motorist traveling on Route 7 saw a man with a rifle.

At Newtown, Lt Paul Vance confirmed that police had been deployed after reports of an armed man.

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US stocks higher as fiscal cliff looms

US stocks have opened higher, two weeks before the world's biggest economy could go off the "fiscal cliff".

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.51 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 13,176.52 in early trade on Monday.

The broad-market S&P 500 rose 6.61 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,420.19.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 15.10 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 2,986.43.

The action came shortly after the New York Federal Reserve said its Empire State manufacturing survey, measuring conditions in the New York region, fell for a fifth straight month in December, with both new orders and shipments lower.

"Despite the US fiscal cliff remaining unresolved and a disappointing read on regional manufacturing activity, the domestic equity markets are gaining ground," said analysts with Charles Schwab & Co.

Traders continued to fret about a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January if Washington fails to reach a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, which economists warn could take the United States into recession.

Apple was up 0.1 per cent. The tech giant announced it had sold more than two million of the new iPhone 5 in China during the smartphone's first weekend in stores there.

On Friday, the Dow lost 0.27 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.41 per cent, while the Nasdaq shed 0.70 per cent.

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No 2012 vintage from Chateau d'Yquem

CHATEAU d'Yquem will not be producing a 2012 vintage after harvest rain prevented the grapes from reaching the levels of concentration required to make the world's most famous sweet wine.

Pierre Lurton, who runs the celebrated estate behind the Sauternes wine for its main shareholder LVMH, said the decision, which will cost the luxury goods group tens of millions of euros, had been taken to maintain Yquem's reputation for excellence.

"We tried our best but unfortunately the weather was not with us this year," Lurton told AFP.

"A brand like Yquem has to be prepared to not make a vintage. For the image of one of the world's great white wines and for Yquem's place in history, it was a reasonable decision not to make a wine this year."

Similar decisions were taken in 1952, 1972 and 1992.

"It is as if there was a curse on us every 20 years," Lurton added with a smile.

Despite advances in technology, the production of sweet wine in the Sauternes area of southwestern France remains hugely vulnerable to the vagaries of weather.

The sweetness of the wine comes from grapes that have been left on the vines long enough to be affected by noble rot, which bolsters sugar levels and imparts the complex notes of fruit, honey and nuts that make Sauternes the benchmark for dessert wines around the world.

For the rot to develop, producers rely on a combination of autumnal morning mists and midday sunshine that occur most but not all years.

"We were cropping some good stuff at the beginning (of the harvest) this year but then we had a lot of rain," Lurton said.

"The quantity was not good and the concentration was not there."

With an average production of 100,000 bottles per year, the decision to cancel output means foregoing about 25 million euros ($A31 million) of sales, but Lurton said it had been cleared by LVMH boss Bernard Arnault.

"He takes a view on the excellence and the durability of great brands," Lurton said.

"We don't reason in terms of turnover, we take a long-term view. We may have lost sales this year but we have maintained Yquem's reputation for excellence.

"There will be many more great vintages in the future that will allow us to make up for this one."

The 2012 Yquem has been the most high-profile victim of adverse weather conditions that played havoc with wine production across much of France this year.

A combination of spring frosts and hail and harvest rain slashed yields in most areas.

Early tasting reports indicate that quality has been maintained in Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhone but 2012 is tipped to be one of the most disappointing red Bordeaux vintages of recent years.

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Italian engineer kidnapped in Syria

AN Italian engineer has been kidnapped in Syria along with two other workers from the steel works in the port city of Latakia, the foreign ministry in Rome says.

"In all such cases, the safety of our countryman is of the utmost priority and it is indispensable to be as discreet as possible," Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in a statement, without revealing any further details about the kidnap victims.

The ministry's crisis unit has "activated all available channels" and the Italian's family has been informed, the ministry said.

Italian media named the engineer as Mario Belluomo from Catania in Sicily, who worked at the steel plant in Syria's principal port city. According to the reports, he was kidnapped in nearby Tartus, another port city.

"We are working with the utmost commitment and with the same dedication with which our embassies and consulates give assistance daily to our countrymen in difficulty, including in risky regions and situations," he said.

Terzi said his thoughts went to the kidnapped men and to Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian taken hostage in Pakistan in January, who has yet to be freed.

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Wave of Iraq attacks kills at least 47

A WAVE of attacks targeting both Iraqi security forces and civilians has killed at least 47 people and wounded at least 110, security and medical officials say.

The attacks, which hit more than a dozen different Iraqi cities and towns on Monday, came on the eve of the first anniversary of the US military withdrawal from Iraq.

Violence in Iraq is down significantly from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but while Iraqi forces have held their own since the US departure, insurgent groups still pose a significant threat, and attacks occur almost daily.

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Fear in the air at coal dust menace

Coal terminal on Fisherman's Island, Port of Brisbane. Picture: Mark Calleja Source: The Courier-Mail

RESIDENTS living downwind of a mountain of uncovered coal at the Port of Brisbane are facing similar concerns about dust emissions as people living along Brisbane's urban rail corridor.

Tests conducted for The Courier-Mail by scientists at the University of Queensland confirm coal is being blown on and into homes located more than 4km from Brisbane's growing coal stockpiles.

Since 2003, the stockpile at the port facility operated by Queensland Bulk Handling has almost tripled in size, from 397,000 to 900,000 tonnes.

Tests under a scanning electron microscope found coal comprised 40 per cent of the black residue scraped from Angela Burns's front door along Wynnum North Esplanade.

Suffering asthma and a lung condition, Ms Burns, the widow of former deputy premier and local member Tom Burns, said she was not surprised to learn the truth about the irritating "oily" black dust that stained her furniture.

"It's very bad for health, I'm not very happy about it floating around," Ms Burns said. "It does get inside the house."

Testing also confirmed a sample taken from inside the Wynnum home of the Scurr family on Constellation Way contained 20 per cent coal.

The Scurrs' house is in a direct line south of the coal stockpile at the port, and close to the rail link.

Coal terminal on Fisherman's Island, Port of Brisbane. Picture: Mark Calleja

Shane Scurr and his eldest son have suffered asthma attacks after moving there from Nambour, including one so severe it required the ambulance officer to give oxygen.

Port general manager for trade services Peter Keyte said "coal dust does not present an issue" at the Port of Brisbane, citing "the results of long-term monitoring" he declined to release.

"The port is committed to working with supply chain participants - Aurizon (formerly QR National), Queensland Rail, Queensland Bulk Handling and the coal companies - to ensure the most effective dust mitigation measures," Mr Keyte said.

WATER: Spraying coal stockpiles best practice, but not at Port of Brisbane
MANLY: Black stains on harbour boats one hull of a problem
JUDGE: Breakaway MP says all-clear in coal report a "convenient truth"

The Courier-Mail also conducted testing along the urban rail corridor.

Samples included another reading of 40 per cent coal dust from a rainwater tank in Annerley.

Jacqueline Schneider's home sits near the tracks, where up to 13 trains a day travel from Darling Downs coalmines hauling coal to Fisherman Islands.

RUMBLING THROUGH THE SUBURBS: The number of coal trains passing through dozens of suburbs in Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba could double under the Port of Brisbane's long-term plan to expand coal exports from Fisherman's Island.

"My God, that's just amazing, isn't it? Good grief," Ms Schneider said, learning of the test results.

She said the cumulative exposure to the coal dust worried her the most.

"I don't smoke because it's unhealthy. You do everything to protect your health, but this is something you can't do something about."

Public health experts and some doctors say coal dust presents a proven health hazard. Large coal particles harm the upper respiratory systems of vulnerable populations, such as asthma sufferers, while tiny particles inhaled deeply into the body increase the likelihood of long-term lung and heart disease.

The state's peak coal body, the Queensland Resources Council, said Darling Downs coalmines would start spraying adhesive veneer on coal train wagons moving through Brisbane from late March to reduce emissions.

The QRC had no comment on coal dust being detected at people's homes, saying it was awaiting the results of state air monitoring tests in Tennyson.

WATER: Spraying coal stockpiles best practice, but not at Port of Brisbane
MANLY: Black stains on harbour boats one hull of a problem
JUDGE: Breakaway MP says all-clear in coal report a "convenient truth"

The Courier-Mail did spot checks over several days in suburbs where residents had complained about black dust: Tennyson, Annerley, Coorparoo, Wynnum and Manly.

Of 13 samples collected, the University of Queensland detected eight that contained coal, which has distinct properties under the electron microscope. An interior sample taken from a Coorparoo unit where a girl with cystic fibrosis lives contained trace coal, but also fungus.

Queensland Health officials did not think coal dust concentrations were high enough to create a public risk, citing the results of continuous monitoring stations throughout the city. But they acknowledged coal dust was a nuisance that should be mitigated.

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Resources not Queensland's only trick

DIVERSITY CALL: Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, Racing Queensland chairman Kevin Dixon, QIC's Damien Frawley, Opera Queensland artistic director Lindy Hume, Brisbane Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Premier Campbell Newman. Picture: Marc Robertson Source: The Courier-Mail

THE resources boom will leave a lasting legacy for Queensland's economy regardless of when it runs out of steam, the state's leading money man has told The Courier-Mail's leadership forum.

Queensland Investment Corporation chief executive Damien Frawley, whose organisation manages almost $68 billion in client funds, has cautioned Queenslanders against relying on a "one-trick pony" to keep the state's economy going, instead urging a greater focus on sectors such as agriculture and construction.

"Queensland's a bit of a one-trick pony around resources," Mr Frawley told the forum, which also included Premier Campbell Newman, Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge, Opera Queensland artistic director Lindy Hume and Racing Queensland Limited chairman Kevin Dixon.

"I think we've got to get out of that mindset because there's a lot of other things that we do in Queensland and we do as a nation that frankly contribute."

But Mr Frawley said the impact of the boom had changed Queensland forever.

"We concentrate on the hole in the ground and things are slowing up in the hole in the ground," he said.

"But over time there's been this build-up of support services for resources, which I think has changed the economy of Queensland and changed the make-up of the economy of Queensland, particularly the (Brisbane) CBD, enormously . . . and that's the thing that I've noticed in the 12 years since I've been away.

"The extended industries that have benefited from the resources boom . . . you see it here in Brisbane first-hand.

Pick up Tuesday's print edition for a full transcript of The Courier-Mail  Leaders' Forum.

"Great companies like (engineering and project management company) Ausenco, who are now exporting their (intellectual property) and their technology out of this country. You've got law firms here setting up offices in Mongolia."

Mr Frawley told the forum - which covered topics from what the state's most influential leaders do in their spare time, to how they carry the burden of the jobs they have been given - that he believed the Newman Government was on the right track when it came to spruiking its four-pillar economy.

"I don't think it's a bad thing that we've taken a bit of a breather in resources because it switches the focus on the other stuff that we do," he said.

"I think construction, agriculture . . . these things are much overlooked as being big levers for our economy, and I think they're the things that, frankly, we've got to focus on."

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More Aussies could avoid stroke: experts

MANY stroke sufferers miss out on a lifesaving de-clotting drug and four in 10 get treated in general wards rather than specialist stroke units, an advocacy group says.

Stroke is Australia's second-largest killer and many of the 350,000 survivors live with a disability and struggle with basic daily tasks such as eating and cooking.

The National Stroke Foundation is lobbying the federal government and opposition to commit to a $198 million action plan to boost services and increase awareness of how to prevent stroke and recognise the signs of stroke.

Chief executive Erin Lalor says many patients who attend hospital with stroke don't get access to de-clotting thrombolysis drugs that must be administered within four hours.

"If the hospital is too slow or people delay presentation to hospital they can't have it," she told AAP.

"It's a lifesaving drug."

She said four in 10 people were treated for stroke in general wards, rather than specialist units, and this increased their chances of death or disability.

A number of major hospitals, particularly in Queensland, don't have specialist stroke units, Dr Lalor said.

As part of the plan, the foundation wants the government to spend $121 million extra over three years to fund more stroke units and boost the quality of existing care.

They want a national rollout of a pharmacy health-check program, currently funded by the NSW and Queensland governments, which involves a free blood pressure and diabetes check. Pharmacists then advise people whether they need to go to their GP for more testing.

When Lina Brohier had a stroke in 2008 at age 31, a transient ischemic attack followed, making her dizzy, heavy and voiceless.

The attack passed and she didn't go to the doctor.

"If there was more information and advertising about stroke maybe people like me would be prevented from having a stroke," she told AAP.

"You think ... it's not going to happen to me; it's something that happens to old people."

The stroke left her with no muscle movement on the right side of her body.

After extensive rehabilitation and occupational therapy, Ms Brohier made a full recovery.

Dr Lalor said people over the age of 45 should be able to get an integrated check for their risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease when they visit their GPs.

She said there also needs to be more support for people living with stroke, as well as their carers.

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Italy's recovery tipped to start in 2013

ITALY'S economic recovery is likely to begin in the third or fourth quarter of 2013, the central bank governor says, urging any new government to continue reforms and cut red tape for businesses.

"Our analyses suggest that there is a higher than 50 per cent probability that the turnaround will come in the third or fourth quarter of 2013," Bank of Italy chief Ignazio Visco said in an interview with La Stampa newspaper.

Visco also said there had been a "significant" lowering of tensions on the debt market for Italy in recent months due to the return of foreign investors and Italian banks that enabled the treasury to sell long-term bonds.

Asked about a possible recourse to European Central Bank assistance on the bond market, Visco said this was not on the cards since "the current conditions are less tense".

He cautioned, however, that "political and economic uncertainty is a burden" and said that "the fruits of austerity must not be wasted".

"The only way is to continue and reduce the negative effects that the reforms could have on certain sectors and at certain times," he said.

"The efforts made must not be for nothing. We have to decisively seek greater efficiency and reduce the limits on entrepreneurs," he added.

Italy is expected to go to the polls in February.

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Business confidence at record highs: CBA

OPTIMISM among mid-sized Australian businesses has hit record highs in the lead-up to Christmas, a quarterly survey has found.

Commonwealth Bank's future business index rose to 9.3 in December, from 4.3 in September.

The survey focuses on companies with a revenue of $10 million to $100 million, assessing their outlook on business conditions and challenges, projected revenue, investment plans and how prepared they are to cope with volatile conditions in the next six months.

The index first hit 9.3 in March this year, and was its highest ever score.

Almost half (45 per cent) of the companies surveyed said they were well-prepared for future business conditions, while 31 per cent said they thought conditions would improve in the next six months.

However, they expressed concern about rising energy costs in Australia, and a potential economic slowdown in Asia.

Looking at individual sectors, transport and logistics, business services and information, and media and technology were the most confident.

The least confident included manufacturing, wholesale trade and mining - with the latter reporting a significant drop.

Commonwealth Banks executive general manager of corporate financial services Symon Brewis-Weston said that despite the confident reading, most firms were approaching 2013 with caution.

"We're finding that its something of a wait-and-see period for the mid-market," he said.

"The feeling is that while companies expect a moderate decline in costs and they're feeling more prepared for the future, there is little appetite for investment and major changes.

"Companies are placing less emphasis on growth at the moment and ensuring they have the financial support required for any unforeseen challenges in the future."

The index showed moderate optimism among the states and territories, with Victoria and Tasmania recording steady confidence, both rising to 14 from 6.2.

Meanwhile, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory were the only regions in decline, both falling to six from 10.4.

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Gay rights campaigners protest at Vatican

GAY rights campaigners have held a small protest near St Peter's Square during the Pope's weekly prayers after he said legalising gay marriage threatened the institution of marriage.

About 15 activists held up colourful paper hearts with slogans written on them including "Gay Marriage", "Love Has No Barriers", "Talk About Love", "Homophobia = Death" and "Marry Peace".

One of the hearts read "Love Thy Neighbour".

The protesters were prevented from accessing St Peter's Square, which was packed with tens of thousands of faithful for the traditional Angelus prayer on the third Sunday of Advent.

The protest came as thousands prepared to take to the streets in France in support of a government proposal to legalise gay marriage that is fiercely opposed by sections of the opposition right, Roman Catholic bishops and other religious leaders.

In a message intended for World Peace Day on January 1, the Pope on Friday reiterated the Catholic Church's position against gay marriage.

He called for promotion of "the natural structure of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union.

"Such attempts actually harm and help to destabilise marriage, obscuring its specific nature and its indispensable role in society," he said.

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Disputed islands are Japan's: new PM

SHINZO Abe, who has led his Liberal Democratic Party to an election win, says there is no doubt about Japan's ownership of islands at the centre of a dispute with China.

"China is challenging the fact that (the islands) are Japan's inherent territory," said Abe, who is expected to become prime minister.

"Our objective is to stop the challenge. We don't intend to worsen relations between Japan and China."

Japan and China have been at loggerheads for decades over the sovereignty of a small chain of islands in the East China Sea.

The dispute flared badly in September after Tokyo nationalised islands that it calls the Senkakus, but China knows as the Diaoyus.

Chinese boats have plied waters near the chain most days since and on Thursday Beijing sent a plane to overfly them. Japan scrambled fighter jets to head it off.

"Japan and China need to share the recognition that having good relations is in the national interests of both countries. China lacks this recognition a little bit. I want them to think anew about mutually beneficial strategic relations," Abe said on Sunday.

China urged Japan's new leaders not to "pick fights" with neighbours.

The official news agency Xinhua noted Abe's "landslide" victory but said the incoming leadership must find a way to manage disputes with neighbours.

"Instead of pandering to domestic hawkish views and picking fights with its neighbours, the new Japanese leadership should take a more rational stand on foreign policy," it said.

The commentary came just days after Beijing's latest effort to bolster its claim to the islands, by submitting to the United Nations information on the outer limits of its continental shelf.

Meanwhile, Abe said his first port of call as prime minister would be the United States.

Tokyo relies on Washington for its security under a post-World War II treaty that allows the US to station tens of thousands of troops in Japan.

But that alliance has been seen to drift under the three-year rule of the Democratic Party of Japan.

He also spoke of the need for Japan to boost its other ties in the region.

"We also need to deepen ties with Asia. I want to build up ties with Asian nations including India and Australia. After enhancing our diplomacy, I want to improve relations with China."

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