China plans to further restrict car use

China will further restrict the sale of cars for private use in a bid to fight pollution. Source: AAP

CHINA is planning to up the number of cities that restrict vehicle purchases, in a bid to fight pollution and congestion.

Four cities including Beijing and Shanghai already curb the purchase of vehicles for private use, for example by restricting sales to 20,000 per year through a lottery system.

On Thursday, state media quoted the deputy secretary general of the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers as saying eight more cities are likely to announce similar policies.

The eight include port city Tianjin, near Beijing, metropolis Chongqing in the southwest and industrial powerhouse Shenzhen, not far from Hong Kong.

With more than 13 million cars sold in China last year, motor vehicles and their emissions have emerged as the chief culprit for air pollution in large cities.

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N Korea shelves talks on family reunions

NORTH Korea has retracted its proposal to hold talks with South Korea on restarting a family reunion program, after separate discussions on reopening a joint industrial estate faltered.

The North's sudden move came a day after the two Koreas agreed in principle to hold talks on reunions for hundreds of thousands of families separated since the 1950-53 war.

"In a message sent today to our side, North Korea said it is retracting its proposal in an effort to focus" on discussions on restarting the Kaesong industrial estate, a unification ministry official told AFP.

Pyongyang had proposed that a Red Cross meeting on restarting a temporary family reunion program be held on July 19. It also suggested talks on July 17 about restarting tours by southerners to its Mount Kumgang resort.

The South said it was premature to discuss the Kumgang tours while the Kaesong talks are still going on.

Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae told a forum on Thursday that progress at talks on the estate could help resolve a standoff over the suspended tours.

The Mount Kumgang resort opened in 1998 and once earned the North tens of millions of dollars a year. But Seoul suspended tours by its citizens after a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean housewife there in 2008.

Pyongyang accused Seoul of insincerity on Wednesday after talks on the Kaesong estate, built as a symbol of reconciliation, failed to reach a firm agreement on a restart. But the two sides will meet again next Monday.

The industrial zone, just north of the border, opened in 2004 but shut down three months ago as relations approached crisis point.

At a rare weekend meeting the two sides agreed in principle to reopen the estate, where 53,000 North Koreans worked in 123 Seoul-owned factories producing textiles or light industrial goods.

The North in April withdrew its workers from Kaesong, an important source of hard currency for Pyongyang, citing military tensions and what it called the South's hostility.

The South now wants firm safeguards from the North against shutting Kaesong down unilaterally, to keep the zone insulated from changes in relations.

This would be a bitter pill for the North to swallow as it means it would accept responsibility for the April closure.

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US unemployment benefit applications rise

US unemployment benefit applications rose 16,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, although the level remains consistent with steady hiring.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week average increased 6000 to 351,750.

The weekly applications data can be volatile in early July because some automakers briefly shut down their factories to prepare for new models and many schools close.

Those factors can create a temporary spike in layoffs.

The broader trend has been favourable.

Applications have declined steadily in the past year, as companies have laid off fewer workers and stepped up hiring.

In the past six months, employers have added an average of 202,000 jobs a month.

That's up from an average of 180,000 in the previous six months.

Employers added 195,000 jobs in June, and revisions showed that an additional 70,000 jobs were added in the previous two months.

The unemployment rate was 7.6 per cent, down from 8.2 per cent a year earlier.

Applications fell to their lowest level since the recession began in the April-June quarter, according to calculations by Joseph LaVorgna, chief US economist at Deutsche Bank.

They averaged 346,000 a week in the second quarter.

That is the lowest quarterly average since it was 338,000 in the final three months of 2007.

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Hundreds of Srebrenica victims buried

BOSNIA has buried 409 victims of the Srebrenica massacre, including a newborn baby, on the 18th anniversary of the worst slaughter in post-war Europe.

More than 15,000 people travelled to Potocari, near Srebrenica to attend the mass funeral of victims whose remains were found in mass graves and only identified almost two decades after the 1995 killing.

"This year we are going to bury the youngest victim of the genocide, the Muhic family's baby," Kenan Karavdic, a government official in charge of Thursday's burial ceremony told AFP.

The baby girl died shortly after birth in July 1995 at the UN base in Potocari.

She was buried next to the grave of her father Hajrudin, also a victim of the massacre in which 8000 men and boys were executed by Serb forces after they overran the UN-protected town.

Her tiny casket was covered with a modest green cloth with a white rose wreath on top and placed in a grave with a sign that read only: "The Muhic newborn."

The baby's mother, her head covered with a red veil, held the coffin as she murmured a Muslim prayer through sobs.

Many of those present lined up in front of the coffins praying, their hands turned towards the sky, amid drizzling rain.

Among the 409 victims laid to rest, 44 were aged between 14 and 18, officials said.

The sombre ceremony fell on the same day as the UN Yugoslav war crimes court was set to rule on an appeal to drop a charge of genocide against Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, who is accused of masterminding the Srebrenica massacre.

Srebrenica was a UN-protected Muslim enclave until July 11, 1995, when it was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces.

Dutch peacekeepers in the so-called "safe area", where thousands of Muslims from surrounding villages had gathered for protection, helplessly looked on as the massacre unfolded.

The Serbs loaded thousands of men and boys on to trucks, executed them and then threw their bodies into mass graves.

The remains of 5657 victims, identified through DNA tests, have already been buried in the memorial centre in Potocari since the process started a decade ago.

Their remains - often only a handful of bones - were found in dozens of mass graves scattered in the area, said Amor Masovic, head of the Bosnia's Institute for Missing Persons.

But many victims remain unidentified and more are yet to be found.

The Srebrenica massacre has been judged an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice.

After escaping justice for years, both Karadzic and Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic are now being tried by the ICTY for warcrimes and genocide.

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Electronic tag firms overcharged UK govt

THE British government is calling in fraud investigators after auditors found security giant G4S had overcharged by millions of pounds on contracts to monitor offenders using electronic tags.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said he was asking the Serious Fraud Office to investigate after G4S refused to take part in a forensic audit of its contract.

He said an initial audit had found that G4S and another firm, Serco, had charged the government for people they were not actually monitoring - and in a small number of cases for offenders who had died.

Grayling said the overcharging was in the "low tens of millions," went at least as far back as the start of the current tagging contracts in 2005, and could have begun as long ago as 1999.

He said Serco had agreed to a forensic audit to determine whether dishonesty had been involved in the overcharging, but G4S had refused.

The detailed audit would include examining internal emails between company executives to determine what happened.

Grayling told MPs in the House of Commons he felt "astonishment that two of the government's biggest suppliers would seek to charge in this way".

"The billing practices in question were clearly unacceptable and the government will take all necessary steps to secure a refund for the taxpayer," he said.

He said the government was reviewing all its existing contracts with Serco and with G4S, one of the world's biggest private security firms.

The government paid G4S more than STG394 million ($A647.07 million) in the 2012-2013 financial year.

The fraud investigation is the latest bad news for G4S.

Last year, Britain had to call in thousands of troops to help with security at the London Olympics after G4S acknowledged it couldn't provide the 10,400 guards it had been contracted to deliver.

This week, prosecutors said they were considering criminal charges over an Angolan man who died after being restrained by G4S guards during deportation from Britain.

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Karadzic genocide charge reinstated

THE UN's Yugoslav war crimes court has reinstated a genocide charge against former Bosnian Serb top leader Radovan Karadzic.

The court overturned an earlier decision by trial judges on appeal.

"The Appeals Chamber... reverses the Trial Chamber's acquittal of Mr Karadzic for genocide in the municipalities... and reinstates the charges," Judge Theodor Meron told the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Karadzic now faces 11 charges for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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US stocks jump one per cent

US stocks have surged higher, following global equity markets that greeted fresh comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

He says monetary policy will remain accommodative until the economy improves.

Five minutes into trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 152.88 (1.00 per cent) to 15,444.54.

The broad-based S&P 500 rocketed 17.65 (1.07 per cent) higher to 1,670,27, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 40.11 (1.14 per cent) to 3,560.87.

Bernanke, responding to questions following a speech in Boston, said "highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future" was needed given the weak labour market and low inflation.

Bernanke's comments made clear that while the Fed may taper its bond-buying program this year, such a move did not imply a rise in interest rates.

Leading Asian equity markets rose as did European exchanges, with Germany's DAX index up 1.1 per cent and France's CAC 40 index up 0.8 per cent.

The jump in stocks came despite a rise in initial US jobless claims to 360,000 in the week ending July 6, above the 345,000 expected by analysts.

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Syrian city almost flattened: monitors

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Homs looks like it has been hit by a "world war". Source: AAP

INTENSE fighting in the central Syrian city of Homs has left up to 70 per cent of a besieged rebel-held district damaged, destroyed or uninhabitable, a monitoring group says.

The estimate from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday came nine days into an all-out army assault on the rebel-held Khaldiyeh and Old City neighbourhoods, which have been under siege for more than a year.

On Sunday, regime forces subjected insurgent areas of the city to fierce shelling, said the Observatory.

"60 to 70 per cent of buildings in Khaldiyeh are either totally destroyed, partially destroyed, or unsuitable for habitation," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Homs is Syria's third-largest city, and tens of thousands of its residents have fled the fighting.

"Of all Syria's cities, Homs has suffered the highest levels of destruction ... Images of Homs make it look like a world war has hit the city. Much of it has been flattened," he added.

Amateur video posted online by activists on Sunday showed flames and thick black smoke rising from several empty burnt-out buildings already riddled with holes.

Some structures shown in the video are barely standing.

"Even if the regime takes the neighbourhoods back, there's barely a house left standing to return to," said Abdel Rahman.

"It would even be dangerous to return. People from Homs are constantly under regime surveillance wherever they are in Syria, because their city has served as a rebel bastion since early in the revolt."

On Sunday, government troops used mortars, rocket fire and heavy artillery to target rebel areas in the city, the Britain-based Observatory said.

On the edges of Khaldiyeh, fresh clashes broke out between rebels and troops and pro-regime militiamen, it added.

According to the United Nations, some 2500 to 4000 people are trapped in the besieged areas.

In Damascus, regime warplanes targeted Jubar in the east of the capital, while tanks hit Qaboon in the northeast, said the Observatory.

Several mortar rounds hit Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus, it added, as rebels and troops clashed nearby.

In northern Damascus, the army tried to storm Barzeh, where rebels are still holed up, the watchdog said.

Syria's 27-month war has killed more than 100,000 people, the Observatory estimates.

On Saturday alone, at least 69 people were killed nationwide, it said.

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Israeli cabinet OKs army draft rejig bill

ISRAEL'S cabinet has approved a plan that would gradually end a contentious system that has granted automatic draft exemptions to Jewish ultra-Orthodox seminary students.

Under a longstanding system, thousands of young men are allowed to skip compulsory military service to pursue religious studies.

This has caused widespread resentment among secular Jewish Israelis.

The new system, which needs parliamentary approval, would reduce the number of exemptions and require ultra-Orthodox men to register for service.

It would go into effect in three years.

In cabinet fourteen ministers voted in favour of the legislation, four ministers abstained and none voted against.

The draft was a central issue in January elections and propelled Yesh Atid, the secular rights party behind the new regulations, into the government.

Finance Minister and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid called it "a historic day".

"After 65 years, we finally end this distortion. We are all very excited," he told reporters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the law will be implemented "gradually".

Ultra-Orthodox religious leaders and MPs spoke of a "sad day" for Judaism.

Many strictly religious Jews believe that by studying the Torah and serving God they are defending Israelis.

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Pupils' Weight Concerns Highlighted

CHILDREN as young as 10 are unhappy with their weight and believe they need to shed some pounds, research suggests.

It indicates that young people become increasingly concerned about their weight as they grow up, with nearly two-thirds of 14 and 15-year-old girls saying they would like to be slimmer.

The study also suggests young people are increasingly likely to skip breakfast or lunch as they get older.

The findings come from a report by the UK Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) which questioned more than 93,600 young people, of which more than 68,000 were 10- to 15-year-olds, in 2012, on a variety of topics.

It found that nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of girls aged 14 and 15 say they would like to lose weight, along with more than half (54 per cent) of those aged 12 and 13.

And more than a third (37 per cent) of 10 and 11-year-old girls - those in the final year of primary school - say they would like to lose weight, the survey found.

It suggests that boys are less concerned about how much they weigh, with just under three in 10 (29 per cent) of those aged 14 and 15 saying they want to drop a few pounds and 14 per cent saying they would like to put some weight on.

Around one in six (17 per cent) 14 and 15-year-old girls, and more than one in 10 (11 per cent) boys of the same age did not eat breakfast, the survey found - around double the numbers of Year 6 pupils who skipped this meal.

Laura Sharp, a nutritionist for the Children's Food Trust, said: "These are very worrying findings - all pupils, whatever their age, need to start the day with breakfast if they're going to be able to focus in class, and research shows a clear link between eating breakfast and children's attainment at school.

"What's particularly worrying is that girls and boys are skipping meals at a time when their bodies are changing fast and they're particularly in need of good nourishment.

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Canada 'Ghost train' toll still unknown

At least 80 people are missing after an oil train derailment in Quebec, Canadian police say. Source: AAP

SOME residents warily eyed the driverless "ghost train" as it rushed through the countryside before derailing and crashing into a small Quebec town.

The downtown area of Lac-Megantic was engulfed in flames and now scores of people, perhaps as many as 80, are missing, while around 2000 have been forced from their homes.

Rescuers cautiously entered the charred debris on Sunday, more than 24 hours after the spectacular crash that saw flames shoot into the sky and burn into the night.

Witnesses reported up to six explosions after the train derailed at about 1.20am on Saturday in Lac-Megantic.

Officially, as of late Saturday, only one person was killed and one wounded.

The train, 72 tanker cars loaded with crude oil pulled and pushed by five locomotives, left Montreal, 250km to the west, and was heading to the port of St John on Canada's Atlantic coast.

Instead, its final destination was this picturesque resort town of 6000 residents in a corner of the Appalachian mountains near the border with the US state of Maine.

The town's fire chief, Denis Lauzon, said his department wanted information on what was being moved by rail through his town.

"But we had yet to present a formal request," he said.

Shocked by the force of the accident, residents pressed against police barricades seeking even the smallest detail that could help them cope with the disaster.

Rumours of the runaway "ghost train" quickly spread.

"It had no driver, it was a unmanned train," a young man tells his friends gathered in front of a small grocery store.

Antoinette Paree, 78, remembers seeing "a glimmer, a sort of fire" on the train as it made its way through the night.

Paree arrived home and was looking out from her window, which overlooks the track, when she said she heard "a loud bang - it lit up the whole house," she said.

Paree ran out to save her life, forgetting her dentures and her pyjamas.

The cause of the crash was still unknown but a spokesman for the Montreal Maine & Atlantic company, Christophe Journet, told AFP the train had been stopped in the neighbouring town of Nantes, around 13km west of Lac-Megantic, for a crew changeover.

For an unknown reason, Journet said, the train "started to advance, to move down the slope leading to Lac-Megantic," even though the brakes were engaged.

As a result, "there was no conductor on board" when the train crashed, he said.

Residents gathered on the far shore of Lake Megantic around a large illuminated cross that dominates the view. There, overnight Saturday into Sunday, they watched much of their town go up in flames.

Linda Rodriguez followed the movement of the flames with her binoculars.

"That's the pharmacy, our home is 50 metres away on the other side of the road," she said.

Another resident, Mariette Savoie, feared the death toll from the "wall of fire" that engulfed her town will be high.

"Above all the Main Street shops were homes," she said.

"All those people who were there were unable to get out."

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Three known dead after Canada train crash

LAC-MEGANTIC, Canada, July 7 Agencies - Police sifting through the site of a horrific cargo train crash in Quebec say they have discovered two more bodies, and anticipate "many more" fatalities.

The crash of an oil-laden train and subsequent explosions that shook the village of Lac-Megantic on Saturday have so far claimed three lives, said police spokesman Michel Brunet, who added at a press conference that "we know that there will be many more" deaths.

Fires are preventing rescuers from reaching part of the 73-car train, and billowing black smoke could still be seen long after it derailed.

The eruptions early on Saturday morning sent residents of Lac-Megantic scrambling through the streets under the intense heat of towering fireballs and a red glow that illuminated the night sky.

A fire chief likened the charred scene to a war zone.

The multiple blasts came over a span of several hours in the town of 6000, which is about 250 kilometres east of Montreal and about 16km west of the US border.

About 30 buildings were destroyed after tanker cars laden with oil caught fire.

The derailment caused several tanker rail cars to explode in the downtown district, a popular area packed with bars that often bustles on northern summer weekend nights.

Police said the first explosion tore through the town shortly after 1am local time.

The fire then spread to several homes.

Brunet said he couldn't say where the bodies were found exactly because the families have not been notified.

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Abbott to reveal red tape reduction plan

EDS: Not for use until 0001, Monday, July 8.

SYDNEY, July 8 AAP - Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will flesh out the coalition's plans to cut $1 billion worth of red and green tape from the Australian economy.

Mr Abbott and Senator Arthur Sinodinos will unveil the coalition's policy to boost productivity and reduce regulation at a function in Sydney on Monday.

The coalition says the plan will reduce Australia's regulatory burden by $1 billion a year.

Central to the policy are promises to repeal the carbon price and mining tax and streamline environmental regulation.

The coalition will also establish an overall deregulation unit within the Department of Finance and link senior public servants' bonuses to cuts to red tape.

Mr Abbott said the changes would create a more productive government and more efficient businesses.

"The Coalition will cut the regulatory burden by $1 billion a year and curtail the growth of regulation that is impeding the capacity of Australia to grow and succeed," he said.

"This policy will lower business costs and strengthen the economy."

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Venezuela says no contact yet with Snowden

VENEZUELA'S foreign minister says his country has not yet been in contact with US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, despite its offer of asylum.

Elias Jaua says he expects to consult on Monday with Russian officials.

Snowden is believed to be in the transit area of a Moscow airport.

Jaua's comments came on Saturday during a Caribbean summit in Trinidad and Tobago.

They were distributed by his office.

President Nicolas Maduro announced on Friday that he would grant asylum to Snowden, and he repeated the offer on Twitter on Saturday, saying Venezuela is ready to protect Snowden "from the global persecution of the empire".

Bolivia and Nicaragua have also offered asylum but it is not clear if any of them have provided him the documents he would need to travel.

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