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Sri Lanka arrests deported asylum seekers

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 Oktober 2012 | 19.50

AUTHORITIES in Sri Lanka on Saturday arrested 14 asylum seekers accused of hijacking a fishing boat and throwing its crew into the sea to die, police said.

The 12 men, a woman and a girl were deported by Australian authorities and were immediately arrested after arriving in Sri Lanka on Saturday, police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said.

Two of the abandoned fishermen were rescued by other ships hours after their boat was hijacked last week. Three other crew members have not been found.

The asylum seekers sailed the fishing boat to Australian waters, where it was seized by authorities.

The Sri Lankan navy has arrested hundreds of people trying to migrate to Australia in boats over the past months. They are mostly ethnic Tamils who survived a quarter-century civil war between government troops and and the now-defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Australia is struggling to stop a surge of would-be refugees from poor or war-torn countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka. Hundreds have died while attempting the voyage over the past year.


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Terror arrests in US embassy plot

INDONESIAN police arrested 11 suspected terrorists allegedly planning attacks on the US embassy in the capital Jakarta and other diplomatic missions, a spokesman said.

"The group's objectives were to attack the US embassy in Jakarta and consulate-general in the eastern Javanese city of Surabaya," national police spokesman Suhardi Alius told reporters.


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Egypt's Copts to vote for new Pope

EGYPT'S Coptic Christians will vote for a new spiritual leader on Monday after Pope Shenuda III died in March, leaving behind a community anxious about its status under an Islamist-led government.

The death of Shenuda, who headed the church for four decades, set in motion the process to elect a new patriarch to lead the community through the post-revolution era in Egypt, which is marked by increased sectarian tension.

Five candidates - two bishops and three monks - are vying to become the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle.

A council made up of senior clergy, current and former Coptic public officials, MPs, local councillors and journalists will cast ballots for a new pope on Monday.

The names of the top three candidates will then be written on separate pieces of paper and placed in a box on the altar of St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo according to church bylaws for the selection of their leader.

On November 4, a child from the congregation will be blindfolded and asked to choose one of the three pieces of paper. The chosen name will become the new Coptic Pope who will be enthroned in a ceremony on November 18.

The five candidates are Bishop Rafael, 54, a medical doctor and the current Assistant Bishop for Central Cairo; Bishop Tawadros of Nile Delta province of Beheira, 60; Father Rafael Ava Mina, the oldest of the five candidates at 70; Father Seraphim al-Souriani, 53 and Father Pachomious al-Souriani, 49.

The five have been visiting churches and holding sermons across the country ahead of the voting.

Copts around the world were asked to fast for three days before the voting and a second period of fasting will begin on October 31, said Bishop Paul spokesperson for the papal nominations.

One bishop who did not make it to the list of finalists is the hardline Bishop Bishoy "because of his fierce attacks on other denominations and his previous statements to the press that could have sparked sectarian sedition in the country," said the state-owned Egyptian Gazette in a recent editorial.

Bishoy came under fire after he questioned the authenticity of some verses of the Koran. His exclusion suggests the church is trying to keep controversial figures out of the race.

Egypt's Christians, who officially make up six to 10 per cent of the 83 million population, have regularly complained of discrimination and marginalisation, even under the secular regime of president Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled last year.

The rise of Islamists since, and the election of the country's first Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, have sparked fears of further persecution at home despite Mr Morsi's repeated promises to be a president "for all Egyptians."

"We reject the notion of a religious state that would prevent us from exercising our freedom as Copts," said Bishop Morcos, chair of the Coptic Church's influential media committee in an interview with the state owned Al-Ahram weekly.

"The state should be ruled by law and not religion," he said.

His comments highlight the current tussle between Islamists and other groups over the role of religion in post-Mubarak Egypt, with an Islamist-led committee drafting the country's new constitution.

Contentious topics include the role of religion, the status of women and the scope of freedom of expression and faith.


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German composer Hans Werner Henze dies

GERMAN avant-garde composer Hans Werner Henze has died, aged 86.

Publisher Schott Music said he died on Saturday in Dresden. It didn't disclose the cause of death.

Henze's work over the decades straddled musical genres. He composed stage works, symphonies, concertos, chamber works and a requiem.

He once said "many things wander from the concert hall to the stage and vice versa".

Henze was born July 1, 1926 in Guetersloh in western Germany. After studying and starting his career in Germany, he went to live in Italy in 1953.


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Sandy again upgraded to hurricane

FORECASTERS say Sandy has again reached hurricane strength, with sustained winds of 120 km/h.

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said that a Hurricane Hunter aircraft found Sandy had sustained winds powerful enough to upgrade it to a Category 1 hurricane. It had been downgraded to a tropical storm just hours earlier.

Regardless of its official category, Sandy is expected to be a monstrous storm that poses a serious threat for the entire Eastern Seaboard.

Forecasters say Sandy is a massive cyclone, with hurricane-force winds recorded as far as 161 kilometres from the eye of the storm.

Tropical storm conditions could be felt in North and South Carolina by today.


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Berlusconi faces verdict in tax fraud case

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 26 Oktober 2012 | 19.50

AN ITALIAN court is set to deliver verdicts against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and 10 others in a six-year-old tax fraud trial.

Prosecutors have demanded a sentence of 3 years and eight months for Mr Berlusconi and three years and four months for the chairman of his Mediaset conglomerate, Fedele Confalonieri.

The verdict comes two days after Mr Berlusconi, 76, announced he will not run for premier in upcoming elections.

The three-time premier stepped down last November after Italy came under mounting market pressure to deal with its high debt load and Mr Berlusconi failed to come up with persuasive financial reforms.

Prosecutors allege the defendants were behind a scheme to purchase the rights to broadcast U.S. movies on Mr Berlusconi's private television networks through a series of offshore companies and had falsely declared the payments to avoid taxes.

Prosecutors further allege the inflated the price for the TV rights of some 3000 films as they relicenced them internally to Mr Berlusconi's networks, pocketing the difference amounting to around 250 million euro ($316 million).

Other charges of false accounting and false statements in financial reports were thrown out because the statute of limitations expired.

Prosecutors also demanded six years for Paolo Del Bue, a founder of the private Swiss bank Arner, who is accused of money laundering, and three years and eight months for Hollywood producer Frank Agrama.

The trial began in July 2006, but was put on hold by a now-defunct immunity law that shielded the Mr Berlusconi from prosecution while he was premier until it was watered down by the constitutional court. The trial also faced delays as Mr Berlusconi cited conflicts with his schedule as premier.

Mr Berlusconi has been tried numerous times for his business dealings. He has always denied wrongdoing and alleged that the cases were politically motivated. In each case to date, he has been cleared or seen the statute of limitations expire.

The statute of limitations in this case is set to expire sometime next year. In Italy, cases must pass two levels of appeal before the verdicts are final.

Mr Berlusconi also is on trial in Milan on charges of paying for sex with an under-age teenager and trying to cover it up.


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Germany approves GM-Peugeot tie-up

GERMAN competition authorities have approved a proposed alliance between French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen and its US rival General Motors, which owns Germany's Opel.

"Although the strategic alliance results in a certain amount of market concentration, it does not lead to a dominant position of General Motors and Peugeot," said the head of the Bundeskartellamt or federal cartel office, Andreas Mundt, on Friday.

"In most vehicle segments other manufacturers are selling more vehicles, both in Germany and in Europe.

"The competitors also often have stronger market positions vis a vis their suppliers."

The Bundeskartellamt announced in July it would probe the proposed tie-up and was particularly interested in what repercussions it would have for car parts suppliers.

In an alliance unveiled in February, the two auto giants said they would develop joint platforms and technologies and pool their purchasing activities to cut costs.

As part of the tie-up, GM agreed to transfer most of its logistics activities in Europe to Gefco, a wholly owned subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroen.

The agreement, which comes into effect in 2013, will cover most of the logistics activities in Europe, including Russia, of Opel/Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Cadillac.

It includes services such as material and component deliveries to manufacturing plants, delivery of finished vehicles to dealerships and the transport of after-sales spare parts to distribution centres.


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European stocks falter

EUROPEAN stock markets have fallen on weak US earnings, while the euro slid against the dollar as Spain said its unemployment rate had reached 25 per cent for the first time, traders say.

London's FTSE 100 index of top companies on Friday fell by 0.86 per cent to stand at 5,804.94 points in early afternoon deals.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 slipped 0.58 per cent to 7,158.49 points and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.50 per cent to 3,394.34.

Madrid's IBEX 35 tumbled 1.10 per cent to 7,693.50 points.

In foreign exchange trading, the euro dipped to $US1.2895 from $US1.2930 late in New York on Thursday.

On the London Bullion Market, gold prices dropped to $US1,703 an ounce from $US1,715.50 an ounce on Thursday.

"The markets in Europe are deep into red in Europe ... affected by very disappointing earnings data from the US," said Gekko Global Markets trader Anita Paluch.

"Although today's macro data from Spain and news out of Greece put the EU debt crisis back on the table, the investors will be looking at the US third-quarter GDP results due to be published later today."

Official data from Spain showed that its jobless rate broke the 25 per cent barrier for the first time as austerity cuts squeezed the recession-struck economy.

Tens of thousands of jobs were destroyed in the third quarter, even as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government raised taxes, cut spending and pondered whether to snatch a eurozone rescue line.

The unemployment rate rose to 25.02 per cent in the third quarter from 24.63 per cent in the previous three months, a National Statistic Institute report showed.

Among workers aged 16-24 the jobless rate towered at 52.34 per cent in the third quarter, only slightly down from 53.27 per cent in the previous quarter, the institute said.

Greece, the eurozone country with the biggest debt problem, said on Thursday that it would stand by extra reform efforts thrashed out with international creditors.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the government was "pressing on" and that the new measures would be introduced in parliament next week.

The deal is required for Greece to meet demands by its EU-IMF creditors and unlock a 31.2 billion-euro ($A39.35 billion) installment of rescue loans.

In Europe on Friday, shares in Anglo American jumped 1.99 per cent to 1,894.5 pence after the global miner said that its first female chief executive, Cynthia Carroll, would step down for personal reasons.

The announcement of her decision to stand aside comes a day after Anglo American slashed its forecast for annual platinum production amid deadly strikes at the group's troubled South African operations.


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Fourth Tibetan in week self-immolates

A US-based rights group says a 24-year-old Tibetan farmer has become the fourth man in a far western Chinese county to set himself on fire this week in protest against Chinese rule.

The International Campaign for Tibet said Lhamo Tseten self-immolated on Thursday in front of a military base and a government office in Amuquhu town in Xiahe county.

In the past week in Xiahe, a herdsman, a farmer, and a man in his late 20s have done the same in various locations. All four died.

Dozens of ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in heavily Tibetan regions since March 2011 to protest what activists say is Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region. Many have called for the return of the Dalai Lama, their exiled spiritual leader.


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Battle mars Syria holiday truce

FIGHTING raged near a military base in Syria's north as a cease-fire in the bloody civil war was set begin Friday at dawn, activists said, illustrating the difficulty of enforcing even a limited truce coinciding with a Muslim holiday.

Elsewhere, violence appeared to die down, and thousands of protesters took advantage of the lull to mount some of the largest anti-regime demonstrations in months.

The truce, proposed by U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and endorsed by the UN Security Council, is set for only the four days of the Eid al-Adha holiday, has no monitoring mechanism and no stated plans for its aftermath.

The first serious disruption involved a radical Islamic group, Jabhat al-Nusra, that rejected the cease-fire from the outset. The group clashed with regime forces for control of a military base outside of a strategic town on the road to the northern city of Aleppo, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists.

Fierce fighting has been going on there for several days.

Opposition fighters seized Maaret al-Numan, which lies along the main highway between Aleppo and Damascus, earlier this month. Their presence has disrupted the ability of the Syrian army to send supplies and reinforcements to the northwest, where troops are bogged down in a stalemate with the rebels in Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

Activists said three people were killed in shelling of the Damascus suburb of Harasta and two people died as a result of sniper fire. There were no reports of clashes or protests at the time of the attacks, the Observatory said.

The Observatory said protesters rallied after holiday prayers in Aleppo, in central province of Homs and the city of Hama.

Demonstrators also took to the streets in the suburbs of Damascus, and across the southern province of Deraa, where the uprising began. Three people were wounded when troops tried to disperse protesters in Deraa, the group said.

The demonstrations were reminiscent of the mass protests that ignited the civil war. In recent months, gatherings have been smaller, a result of a brutal crackdown by the Assad regime.

"It reminds me of the early days of the revolution, the days when people could go out and protest peacefully," said activist Khaled al-Shami, who is based in Damascus. Security was tight around the capital, and police forces erected additional checkpoints on main roads. In side streets, people performed prayers and protested freely, Mr Shami said.

"It seems there is an attempt by both sides to abide by this truce, at least in Damascus," Mr Shami said, adding that the truce was "a good thing that unfortunately will not last."

The latest fighting showed the complexity of the situation, with the badly fragmented opposition sending mixed signals about the truce, some endorsing it but others rejecting it as irrelevant.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's government accepted the truce but left significant loopholes, declaring it would respond to any rebel attack or attempts by foreign forces to intervene.

If the truce holds, it would be the first actual halt in 19 months of fighting that began with mass demonstrations but has transformed into a full-blown civil war with sectarian overtones and tens of thousands of dead.

Earlier attempts by mediators to bring about a cease-fire failed, though elements of both sides had accepted truce proposals.

Activists on the ground said the regime cannot be trusted because it has broken too many promises.

"The truce is a joke," said Mohammed Saeed, an Aleppo based activist, via Skype. "The regime that slaughters hundreds of its own people every day cannot be serious about a truce."

Mr Saeed said the city was "relatively calm," despite shelling in several areas and clashes near the city's military airport that killed at least four people. The lull in fighting prompted hundreds to protest against the regime, he said, adding that there are marches in several neighbourhoods, including in al-Shaar, Hanano and Bustan al-Qasr as well as in several suburbs of Aleppo.

Activists' videos that were posted online Friday showed, large groups of protesters waving rebel flags cheering, clapping and in some cases, dancing to revolutionary songs.

"May God curse your soul Hafez," they shouted in the Damascus suburb of Kfar Batna, in reference to Assad's father, the late Syrian president, Hafez Assad. They were also seen chanting, "Syria wants freedom" and "You will fall, Bashar."

Syria's state news agency said Assad attended holiday prayers in Al-Afram Mosque in Al-Muhajireen district of Damascus. The embattled president was shown briefly on TV, sitting on the mosque floor and praying. He was later seen smiling and shaking hands with worshippers.

Assad has rarely appeared in public during the uprising. He was last shown on state TV Oct. 6, when he laid a wreath to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israel war.

More than 35,000 people have been killed, including more than 8000 government troops, since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, according to activists.

The Observatory said overnight clashes between troops and rebels took place in Homs, in Deir el-Zour in the country's east and in the city of Aleppo, the country's largest. At least seven people were killed in the fighting, including three rebels, the group said. Six soldiers were wounded.

On Thursday, rebels claimed major gains in the key battleground of Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub, pushing into predominantly Christian and Kurdish neighborhoods that had previously been held by pro-Assad forces in northern part of the city.

The short holiday cease-fire was all a divided international community could agree on after the failure of a more ambitious plan for an open-ended truce and political transition talks by Brahimi's predecessor, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, in April.

Mr Brahimi has not said what was supposed to happen after four days, an ominous sign, since Assad and opposition leaders disagree sharply on how to proceed.

Assad refuses to resign, while some opposition leaders say his departure is a prerequisite for any political talks. The fragmented opposition factions disagree over whether to negotiate with Assad at all.


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'Worst over' as SAfrica miners sign deal

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 Oktober 2012 | 19.51

STRIKING South African gold miners have signed a pay deal to end months of often violent labour unrest that has cost the industry at least $US1.2 billion ($A1.1 billion), the country's main mining union and mine owners says.

"The worst in the gold sector is over," National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba Seshoka told AFP on Thursday.

"Members have accepted a new pay structure."

The Chamber of Mines' offer, coupled with a package already on the table, will see miners get a wage increase of between 11 and 20.8 per cent.

The violent strikes halted production at numerous mines across the gold mining belt, triggered by wage increased of up to 22 per cent won by Lonmin platinum miners.

The Lonmin strike left more than 50 people dead, in the worst spasm of violence to hit South Africa since apartheid ended 18 years ago.

Gold mine owners welcomed the deal.

"We're very pleased that they signed and bring all of the uncertainty and turmoil in the market to an end," said Marian van der Walt a spokeswoman for Harmony Gold.

While the platinum and coal sectors are not covered by the deal, and there may still be pockets of resistance in the gold sector, mine owners are starting to count the cost of what may prove to be the worst labour unrest in South Africa since the 1980s.

A top economist at the Chamber of Mines estimated that illegal strikes have cost the industry at least 10 billion rand ($A1.16 billion) already this year.

"This number can be doubled if the lost procurement, wages, capital expenditure, taxes and other contributions that are not happening due to the strikes are included in the calculation," Roger Baxter said.

"Negotiations took almost three weeks and were robust and vigorous at times," NUM secretary general Frans Baleni said.

"However, the new deal represents a major step forward for the industry as it removes an anomaly and establishes a firm basis from which to negotiate the 2013 agreement with the Chamber," he said.

Several gold mining firms had resorted to mass dismissals of striking workers in an attempt to force them to return to work.

That gambit appears to be paying off but tensions remain.


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Taliban, police killed in Afghanistan

A SENIOR Taliban commander and 24 of his fighters have been killed in a battle with Afghan security forces in a northern village which also left five police dead, officials say.

The commander of the attack was the Taliban shadow governor for the northern province of Faryab where the gunfight took place on Wednesday.

"The brutal enemies of Afghanistan attacked a village bazaar. They killed five local police," Abdul Satar Barez, the Faryab deputy governor said.

"When we received reports about the incident we sent reinforcements. Twenty-five Taliban including Mullah Yaar Mohammad, their shadow governor for Faryab, were killed," Barez said.

The Taliban are traditionally active in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan. But in recent years the Islamic militants have infiltrated previously peaceful parts such as the northern provinces.

Barez said the death of the Taliban shadow governor had dealt the insurgents in his region a major blow.

Despite being toppled from government by a US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have shadow provincial administrations headed by governors, which tax the population and run their own form of justice, often including executions.

NATO has some 100,000 troops helping the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai fight the insurgents but they are due to leave by the end of 2014.


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Colgate to cut 6 per cent of workforce

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE will cut more than 2310 workers, or 6 per cent of its workforce, by the end of 2016 in a push to make the consumer products company more efficient.

Colgate wants to streamline global functions and said on Thursday it will continue to cluster single-country subsidiaries into regional hubs.

Savings for the program should total between $US365 million ($A354 million) to $435 million annually by the end of 2016.

The cuts were announced on the same day the company posted a two per cent increase in third-quarter net income as it ramps up advertising. Revenue slipped one per cent.

Colgate-Palmolive Co has 38,600 employees.


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Colin Powell endorses Obama

FORMER US secretary of state Colin Powell has endorsed President Barack Obama's bid for re-election.

The Republican who used to be chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said, "I voted for him in 2008, and I plan to stick with him in 2012." He spoke in an interview on the CBS program This Morning.

Mr Powell said that in 2008, the Democrat Mr Obama inherited an economy that was close to depression, with Wall Street in chaos and the housing sector starting to collapse.

Under Mr Obama's leadership, stability has come back to the financial community, housing is picking up and and consumer confidence is rising, although unemployment remains high, among other problems, Mr Powell said.

Also, Mr Obama has protected America from terrorism and wound down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he added.

"And so I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on," Mr Powell said.

Mr Powell, himself once widely touted as a prospect for the White House, said his party affiliation has not changed - but he said he's "a Republican of a more moderate mold," something he said was "a dying breed."

Four years ago, Mr Powell, the first African-American to occupy the top US military post, also came out publicly in support of Mr Obama, who became the first African-American president.

Mr Powell said then he thought "Obama would be a transformational president."

Mr Obama had "met the standard" to lead "because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America," he added in 2008.

Mr Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are locked in a neck-and-neck race for the November 6 vote.


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China blocks Ai Weiwei's Gangnam Style

CHINESE Internet authorities Thursday blocked a "Gangnan Style" parody by dissident artist Ai Weiwei, which took aim at the government's efforts to silence his activism.

The four-minute music video, a parody of South Korean artist Psy's viral hit, was uploaded to China's video-sharing site Tuduo on Wednesday.

But it was removed by Internet censors after getting thousands of hits, Ai said on his microblog web page.

The parody can still be seen outside China on the video-sharing site YouTube, which is blocked inside the country.

Ai, 55, had joined the likes of hipsters, flash mobs, convicts, wedding parties and even UN chief Ban Ki-moon in mimicking the South Korean rapper's signature horse-riding dance.

In his parody, Ai appears in a bright pink T-shirt and satin-lapel black jacket from which he pulls out, about a minute into the clip, a pair of handcuffs - a symbol of Beijing's efforts to silence him.

Last year Ai spent 81 days in detention amid a roundup of Chinese activists. In August a court upheld a $US2.4 million tax evasion fine against him. He also remains under investigation for posting supposed pornography on the Internet.

A major exhibition of his photographs, videos, sculptures and installations opened earlier this month at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, but Ai was unable to attend since he is banned from travelling abroad.

Psy, 34, whose real name is Park Jae-Sang, rocketed to international fame when Gangnam Style - a techno ode to a trendy Seoul neighbourhood - went viral in July on YouTube. It has now notched up more than 530 million views.


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Baillieu losing support in Victoria

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 Oktober 2012 | 19.50

THE Baillieu government would be thrown out of office and consigned to history as a one-term government if an election were held in Victoria now, according to Newspoll.

The poll, published in The Australian newspaper on Thursday, shows the Labor opposition has secured an election-winning lead for the first time since the 2010 election.

The survey of Victorian voting intentions shows Labor holds a commanding 55 per cent to 45 per cent two-party-preferred lead following a six-point surge in the party's primary vote.

Labor leads the coalition on the primary vote by 41 per cent to 37 per cent, according to the poll conducted over the past two months.

The number of voters dissatisfied with Mr Baillieu's leadership climbed three points from the July-August survey to 53 per cent, which is up 24 points in a year.

Mr Baillieu holds a nine point lead over Labor's Daniel Andrews, 39 per cent to 30 per cent, in the preferred premier stakes.

But the trend is not going with the premier. He has lost 17 points as better premier in the past year, while Mr Andrews has gained 11 points.

Mr Baillieu came to power in November 2010 with a two-party preferred vote of 51.6 per cent to Labor's 48.4 per cent and reached a high point of 55 per cent to 45 per cent a year ago.


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Third man charged after campus showdown

A THIRD person has been charged after a dramatic confrontation between police and alleged armed robbers at a Sydney university campus.

Police chased and then rammed an Audi car at the University of NSW's campus at Kensington, in Sydney's east, early on Monday morning.

It's alleged the Audi was stolen and its occupants were about to carry out an armed robbery - though the intended target remains unclear.

Two men, aged 29 and 36, were arrested at the scene, with one subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, firearms offences and the theft of luxury cars, including a rare $275,000 Porsche.

A second man was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and appeared at Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

Two men were also seen fleeing the university campus.

Police said on Wednesday that one of them, a 28-year-old from inner-city Pyrmont, had been arrested in Dubbo.

He was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed with intent to commit serious indictable offence and other firearms offences.

The man was also charged with stealing a Mercedes AMG from Paddington in July, a Porsche from Hunters Hill in October and an Audi and a BMW from Haberfield in October.

He's due to appear at Dubbo Local Court on Thursday.

Police are hunting the fourth man seen running from the Kensington university campus.


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EU sends Microsoft anti-trust complaint

THE European Union's executive arm has formally accused Microsoft of failing to comply with a binding agreement to give customers a choice among internet browsers.

In 2009, the European Commission said it suspected Microsoft of using its dominant market position to foist its Internet Explorer browser on users.

In negotiations, Microsoft agreed to create a screen where users could choose among competitors' browsers.

The commission accepted that concession and made the creation of a "browser choice screen" legally binding.

But in July, the commission said the screen had not been displayed on many computers between February 2009 and July 2012, and millions of users may have been affected during that period.

At the time, Microsoft said that a technical error was responsible.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said any breach would be a "serious infringement", noting that the settlement between the EU and Microsoft had allowed the company to avoid lengthy anti-trust proceedings and being held liable.

"Companies should be deterred from any temptation to renege on their promises or even to neglect their duties," he said.

On Wednesday, the company apologised for the error and said it was working to make sure it didn't happen again.

"We take this matter very seriously and moved quickly to address this problem as soon as we became aware of it," Microsoft said in a statement.

"Although this was the result of a technical error, we take responsibility for what happened."

Microsoft will now be given four weeks to respond to the formal complaint and can seek an oral hearing. Once it has assessed Microsoft's defence, the commission will rule.

The company could face a fine of up to 10 per cent of its annual revenue if found to be in breach of anti-trust law.


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Syria govt, rebels agree to truce: Brahimi

PEACE envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says Syria and "most" rebel chiefs have agreed to a truce during this week's Muslim holiday, boosting hopes of a significant breakthrough in the 19-month conflict.

Syria says its army leadership is studying the proposal for a truce in a conflict that is claiming more than 100 lives a day and that a final decision will be announced on Thursday.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main rebel group seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's regime, said it would cease fire during the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday starting on Friday provided government forces stop shooting first.

"The Syrian government has agreed to a ceasefire" during Eid al-Adha, Brahimi told reporters in Cairo on Wednesday, adding that "most" rebel leaders contacted said they also would observe the truce.

"If we succeed with this modest initiative, a longer ceasefire can be built" that would allow the launch of a political process, Brahimi said after talks with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi.

The UN-Arab League peace envoy said the Syrian government would officially announce its acceptance by Thursday.

The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement, "The army command is studying the cessation of military operations during the Eid holiday, and the final decision will be taken tomorrow (Thursday)."

The rebels, however, remained sceptical that regime troops would indeed observe a truce.

"The FSA will stop firing if the regime stops," said FSA military council chief General Mustafa al-Sheikh, speaking to AFP by telephone from Turkey.

But, he said, the "regime has lied many times before. It is impossible that the regime will implement the truce, even if it says it will."

A truce if it were to hold would be the most important breakthrough since the conflict spread from localised clashes to engulf the entire country in a full-fledged civil war which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday has now claimed more than 35,000 lives.

Brahimi's predecessor as international peace envoy, Kofi Annan, announced a short-lived ceasefire in April, two months after being appointed.

Brahimi's dramatic announcement came as violence raged, with at least 48 killed across the country on Wednesday, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

The monitoring group said 16 civilians were killed in Douma in Damascus province and eight soldiers in a car bombing in the northern province of Raqa bordering Turkey.

And warplanes raided the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan, the Observatory said, even as Brahimi prepared to brief the UN Security Council on his ceasefire efforts.

The two sides are battling over Maaret al-Numan for control of a key military base and a stretch of the highway linking Damascus and Aleppo, the country's second city.

The Observatory said the Free Syrian Army and Al-Nusra Front, an Islamist group, were leading the assault on Wadi Deif base near the town in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Five members of the same family, including a woman and a child, were killed in an air strike on Maaret Shamirin village in the province, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

It said air raids further south targeted Irbin and Harasta, in the Damascus suburbs, where four rebels were killed in clashes, and added that several districts of Aleppo also came under air strikes.

In Moscow, Russia's top general said on Wednesday that the rebels had secured shoulder-launched missile systems capable of shooting down aircraft, including Stingers made by the United States.

"We have information that the rebels fighting the Syrian army have shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles of several states, including Stingers," General Nikolai Makarov said, quoted by Interfax news agency.

On the diplomatic front, United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said Brahimi would brief the divided Security Council on his efforts on Wednesday.

The council is bitterly divided over the conflict, with Western nations pressing for international action against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad while Russia and China have been blocking these moves.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous spoke on Monday of tentative plans to assemble a peacekeeping force if a ceasefire takes hold.

"We are getting ourselves ready to act if it is necessary and a mandate is approved," he said.


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Libya fighters seize ex-Kadhafi bastion

LIBYAN pro-government forces on Wednesday seized control of Bani Walid, one of the last bastions of Moamer Kadhafi's ousted regime, an AFP correspondent in the town said.

Hundreds of fighters, mostly former rebels from the rival town of Misrata, converged on the centre of Bani Walid, firing in the air to celebrate and hoisting the Libyan flag on abandoned public buildings, he said.

Some of the fighters blasted the walls and windows with anti-tank rockets and Kalashnikov rifles.

Several rebel chiefs, whose fighters patrolled in vehicles mounted with heavy weapons, told AFP the town was "almost liberated," with only a few pockets of resistance left in its southern sector.

The town itself was deserted, with residents and foreign workers having fled since Sunday.

Fierce clashes in Bani Walid, which was accused of harbouring die-hard Gaddafi loyalists, cast a pall over celebrations for the first anniversary this week of the overthrow of his regime in a bloody conflict.

The fighting fanned old tribal feuds and underscored the difficulties of achieving national reconciliation.

A scaled-up offensive against Bani Walid since last week came in response to the death of Omran Shaaban, 22, a former rebel from the city of Misrata who was credited with capturing Gaddafir.

Shaaban spent weeks held hostage in Bani Walid, where he was shot and allegedly tortured, before the authorities managed to broker his release.

He later died of injuries sustained during the ordeal, stoking tensions between his hometown Misrata and Bani Walid, long-time rivals which fought on opposite sides of the 2011 conflict, and galvanising the authorities to act.

The victorious fighters carried a massive portrait of Shaaban.

Clashes between pro-government forces and Bani Walid fighters over the past week killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds, in scenes evocative of the civil war that led to Gaddafi's overthrow and death.

Tribal leaders and commanders in Bani Walid, 185 kilometres southeast of Tripoli, had accused "lawless Misrata militias" of seeking to annihilate their historic rival.


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Ambush kills 10 Afghan troops

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 23 Oktober 2012 | 19.50

AFGHAN officials say an insurgent ambush has killed 10 members of the security forces in western Herat province.

Muhiudin Noori, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said that soldiers and police were searching for a group of insurgents who had earlier set up a roadblock where they were stopping and seizing passing vehicles.

In the ensuing late Monday firefight, five policemen including the district commander and five soldiers died, Mr Noori said. There were no insurgent casualties, but police later arrested 25 suspects found in the area, he said.

In recent months, Taliban guerrillas have been switching tactics and increasingly targeting Afghan security forces as the international coalition continues its drawdown toward a planned withdrawal of all combat troops in 2014.


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Skyfall gets royal world premiere

THE latest James Bond movie is getting its world premiere in London, with Prince Charles on hand to give it a royal seal of approval.

Charles and his wife Camilla are due to attend the screening at the Royal Albert Hall, along with stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem.

Proceeds from the royal gala are going to charities that help members of Britain's intelligence services.

"Skyfall" is the 23rd official Bond film and Craig's third outing as the suave superspy. Dench plays spy chief M, battling a crisis with roots in her past, and Bardem is a villain bent on revenge.

Some critics are hailing the Sam Mendes-directed film as the best Bond in years.

Skyfall opens in Britain on Friday and in the U.S. Nov. 9 and in Australia Nov 12.


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Rebels shells S Kordofan capital in Sudan

REBEL shelling has killed two children in the capital of Sudan's South Kordofan state, the army says, in what insurgents call retaliation for government air raids on villages.

The attack on Tuesday, confirmed by witnesses, was the second time the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has struck the capital Kadugli this month.

An unprecedented October 8 barrage killed seven women and children, according to official media.

"I just want to confirm to you that there is a response from the SPLM-N this morning," Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the ethnic and religious-minority rebels, said.

"We are responding with mortars."

The army reported that two children were killed and eight people wounded, but analysts say casualty figures from either side in the war should be treated with caution.

A witness in Kadugli said he saw four people hurt by the shells that came from outside the capital and landed around the town centre from 9am (1700 AEDT)

"My uncle's house was hit by a shell and burned," said the witness, asking not to be named.

He had no details of the damage because he was fleeing in his car.

"I heard about 20 explosions and I saw one shell hit a road-building company," another Kadugli resident said, also without giving his name.

"Now most of the residents are fleeing the town centre."

Lodi said rebels targeted the capital after recent "indiscriminate" government air raids against villages.

"Between October 18th and 21st... the villages of El Labu, Tablu, El Hibeel, El Atmour and Umm Serdiba in the locality of Umm Durain and the town of El Buram, were under extensive aerial bombardments," he said in an earlier statement, issued on Monday.

The bombs mainly hit farms and livestock but three children were wounded, the statement said, vowing to use "all possible offensive scenarios" against government forces.

"We have heard also that there was some aerial bombing outside Kadugli and then, following that, there were some mortar shells landing in Kadugli," said Damian Rance, a public information officer with the UN humanitarian agency in Khartoum.

Since fighting began in oil-producing South Kordofan in June last year there have been repeated allegations, denied by Khartoum, that civilians have been bombed from the air.

Sawarmi Khaled Saad, the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) spokesman, said that rebels shelled three checkpoints outside Kadugli but one shell fell inside the town, causing the casualties.

"SAF are now on a big offensive to find these rebels hidden inside the hills," he said.

Asked about allegations of aerial bombing, he said: "We are searching for them by all means."

The shelling came after Sudan's Islamist regime and South Sudan in late September signed deals on security and cooperation that they hailed as ending their countries' conflict, which led to a border war in March and April.

Among the deals reached under African Union mediation in Addis Ababa was an agreement on a demilitarised border buffer zone designed to cut support for the insurgents.

Sudan accused South Sudan of supporting the SPLM-N, a charge which many analysts believe despite denials by the government in Juba.

A Sudan analyst has described the earlier shelling on October 8 as "a show of strength ... a big bang" to grab international attention.

The analyst had expected more high-profile attacks before Wednesday's meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council.

The SPLM-N were allies of southern rebels during Sudan's 22-year civil war, which ended with a 2005 peace deal that led to South Sudan's independence in July last year.

The wars in South Kordofan and Blue Nile have affected an estimated 900,000 people, but more than a year of talks has failed to clinch agreement on food aid for rebel zones where "serious food shortages" are reported, the UN said on Friday.


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Man charged with starting bushfires

A MAN has been charged with lighting four bushfires on NSW's north coast.

The first of the blazes began at Mud Bishops Reserve, at Old Bar, east of Taree, on September 4.

Police allege the fire and three more in the local area over the next few days, were all deliberately lit.

A 23-year-old man was arrested by local police on Tuesday and charged with four counts of intentionally causing bushfires.

He was bailed to appear at Taree Local Court on November 13.

AA


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European stocks drop

EUROPEAN equities have sunk on fears over debt-riddled Spain after its central bank predicted a worsening recession, one day after Moody's downgraded credit ratings for five major Spanish regions.

Madrid's IBEX 35 index of top shares on Tuesday dived 1.33 per cent to 7772.30 points in late morning deals, as Spanish bond yields crept higher and bailout concerns intensified, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of top companies fell 1.15 per cent to 5814.81 points, hit by fresh gloom in the retail sector following a profits warning from luxury handbag maker Mulberry.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 1.34 per cent to 7229.94 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index was down 1.20 per cent at 3442.04.

In foreign exchange trading, the European single currency weakened to $US1.3038 from $US1.3060 late in New York on Monday.

Gold prices slid to $US1717.18 ($A1671.14) ounce on the London Bullion Market from $US1,726.75.

The Bank of Spain on Tuesday forecast that a job-destroying recession kept a tight grip on the country's economy in the third quarter of 2012 when output shrank by an estimated 0.4 per cent.

If confirmed, the figures would mean that the Spanish recession, which has left one in four workers unemployed, is moving into a second year at a relentless pace.

The news came as Moody's cut its debt rating for five Spanish regions by one or two notches each, blaming their weak financial positions and looming debt redemptions.

"Stocks are in the red across Europe... after rating agency Moody's downgraded five Spanish regions," said market analyst David Madden at trading group IG.

"The credit rating for the Spanish government remains unchanged at one notch above junk status, but this will still put pressure on the Madrid government, because the semi-autonomous regions will need to lean on Madrid even more."

Extremadura was cut to Ba1 due to a "persistently high" operating deficit and frail liquidity.

Andalucia (BA2), Castilla-La Mancha (BA3), Catalunya (BA3) and Murcia (BA3) were all cited for poor liquidity and large maturing debt obligations.

"Last night's downgrade of five Spanish regions... is likely to keep the pressure on the Spanish government's finances, given that the regions are likely to become much more reliant on the central government bailout funding facility as their interest costs rise," added CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

The gloomy news followed mixed regional elections over the weekend for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Rajoy won a landslide in his home region of Galicia, but separatist forces gained ground in a regional election held the same day in the northern Basque country.

In London, the top-end consumer goods sector was in focus after Mulberry warned that annual profits would be lower than last year, due to falling wholesale revenues and international retail sales.

In reaction, Mulberry shares slumped to 925 pence.

It later stood at 1000 pence, down 24.24 per cent from Monday's closing level.

Rival luxury goods firm Burberry saw its share price tumble 4.01 per cent to 1125 pence.

Earlier this month, Burberry said group sales growth slowed during its second quarter.

The Mulberry news also hurt the French luxury goods sector on Tuesday.

Shares in fashion groups LVMH and PPR slid by 1.12 and 1.42 per cent respectively, to stand at 123.70 and 132 euros.


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BBC editor steps aside over Savile probe

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 Oktober 2012 | 19.50

A TOP BBC editor has stepped aside while the broadcaster reviews its editorial decision to pull the plug on a segment about sexual abuse allegations against a prominent British children's television star, the late Jimmy Savile.

The BBC said on Monday the editor of the Newsnight program that opted not to broadcast the allegations, Peter Rippon, is "stepping aside with immediate effect".

The BBC said Rippon's explanation of his decision in a blog post earlier was "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects".

He is the first BBC figure directly blamed for the broadcaster's failure to properly report on abuse claims against Savile, who died last year at the age of 84 after a long career in children's television.

The BBC is facing criticism for providing different explanations for pulling the December segment that would have lifted the veil on Savile's abusive history, which had been rumoured but not reported on at the time.

Savile hosted the music program Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. He was also active in numerous charities.

The BBC is set to air its own investigation of its failure to report on Savile's sexual abuses on Monday night on the Panorama show.

On the show set for broadcast on Monday, BBC correspondents claim the Savile segment was pulled because of pressure from senior management.

The fallout and allegations of a cover-up have damaged the BBC's reputation, and Savile's actions are also being investigated by police and other agencies.

Police say there may be more than 200 potential victims of the entertainer, known for his garish track suits and platinum hair.


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Web shifts to accommodate tablets

SURFACE is Microsoft's answer to the iPad, and goes on sale this week.

Announced with a fast-paced promo video (which you can see on YouTube at www.youtube/8mSckyoAMHg), the Surface (www.microsoft.com/surface) is supposed to offer people a real alternative to the iDomination of Apple's system.

But either way you look at it, the tablet computer is fast becoming the best value computing device for the majority of people. Tablets - not just iPads, but tablets of all kinds - are selling in huge numbers.

Starting with the first iPad, tablets have been sold cheap. That's only been possible because advances in hardware technology have finally made tablets a viable, profit-making venture for computer companies.

Most tablets are mostly battery: that's the bulk of the volume and weight. Then comes the screen, and finally the electronics, which are shrinking almost by the minute.

The computer industry is focusing all its efforts on tablets at the moment. They are what people want to buy. They are where there's money to be made.

This matters because it has a direct effect on the way software and websites are designed and built.

Web developers who build websites for pointing and clicking with a mouse are having to rapidly re-think. The concept of a web link itself is changing: links used to be sections of highlighted text, but on tablets they work better if they're shown much larger, large enough for a fingertip to tap on.

Web pages need to be adaptable, depending on the device that's being used to view them. They need to re-shape themselves for small screens.

Some might argue that's looking at it the wrong way. Tablets are so huge now, and will be so popular in the future, that most digital content will be designed for them first - and will only have to adapt when people look at them using old, out-of-date computers with mice.

Take a fond look at your mouse now. Its days are numbered.


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Two Gaza militants killed in Israeli raids

ISRAELI air strikes have killed two Gaza militants as they clashed with troops from the Jewish state who crossed the border on the eve of a landmark visit to the Palestinian territory by the Qatari emir, medical sources say.

The flareup on Monday provoked threats of revenge from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement, and a pledge from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there would be no immunity for those firing on the Jewish state.

Two air strikes took place around the northern town of Beit Hanun where militants were firing mortar shells at an Israeli tank and several military vehicles which had crossed the border into Gaza territory, witnesses and security sources said.

The first strike hit north of Beit Hanun, critically wounding four Qassam Brigades militants, one of whom later died of his injuries, medics and the militant group said.

As the clashes continued, Israel launched a second air strike east of Beit Hanun, killing a militant from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and critically wounding another man, the same sources said.

The Qassam Brigades confirmed that the first strike had killed one of its militants and critically wounded another three, naming the dead man as Abderahman Abu Jalaleh, 25, and describing him as a local commander.

The second strike killed a PRC militant whom the group named as Yasser al-Tarabin. The identity of the injured man was not immediately clear.

The Israeli military said both strikes had targeted "a rocket launching squad".

"The squad was targeted in response to mortar shell fire at a routine IDF (army) patrol in the area, near the Israeli kibbutz of Nir Am," a statement said of the first strike. An identical statement was issued following the second.

The flareup comes on the eve of a high-profile visit by the emir of Qatar to the Gaza Strip, the first such trip by an Arab head of state since Hamas took over the territory in 2007.

The military refused to say whether troops were operating on the Gaza side of the frontier, saying only "they were near the security fence on a routine patrol".

Hamas militants usually observe a de facto truce on rocket fire targeting Israel, but the rare show of force appeared to be a direct response to the incursion.

"The Zionist enemy continues its crimes and arrogance against our land and people ... because of its desire to blow up the situation," the Qassam Brigades said.

"The enemy will not be able to tie our hands and his crime will not go unanswered."

Netanyahu also issued a warning of his own.

"The real thing we have is rockets. We've got Hamas, supported by Iran, firing rockets at us. We're not going to let anyone arm themselves and fire rockets on us and think that they can do this with impunity. They're not going to get away with it," he said on meeting with the Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair.

"We're going to prevent them from arming themselves. This is our policy. This is a very different policy that I put in. You don't let them get away with it. And they know that's what we're doing."


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LA Times endorses Obama for second term

A MAJOR US newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, has endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term in the White House, saying he has brought "steady leadership" to the office.

"The nation has been well served by President Obama's steady leadership. He deserves a second term," stated an LA Times editorial on Monday.

It added that while his opponents assailed him as a socialist, "he showed himself to be an adult, less an ideologue than a pragmatist, more cautious than cocky".

The paper also warned that Republican challenger Mitt Romney would exacerbate the economic situation in the country "by spending extravagantly on defence even as the last of the Bush-era wars ends".

It was referring to the wars that President George W. Bush launched in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The alternative offered by Romney would neglect the country's infrastructure and human resources for the sake of yet another tax cut and a larger defence budget than even the Pentagon is seeking," the LA Times went on the argue.


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School funding to stay under wraps

SCHOOLS Minister Peter Garrett has "more than a vague idea" about how the bill for school funding reform should be split between the commonwealth and states.

But he has no intention of revealing the federal government's hand before negotiations.

"You'll have a clear announcement from this government in the early half of next year once we've concluded our negotiations with the states and education authorities," he told ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.

Host Tony Jones asked the minister if he could give "even the vaguest idea" of the percentages being talked about.

"I've got much more than a vague idea but I don't propose to canvas those quantums, which we would be negotiating with the states, here on Q&A," Mr Garrett said.

He said discussions were well under way about how the final funding formula, based on the Gonski panel's recommendations, would work.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said she wants to sign a deal with the states and territories at the first COAG meeting in 2013, expected to be held in April.


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Thai 'transgender airline' grounded

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 Oktober 2012 | 19.50

MONTHS after taking to the skies with Thailand's first transsexual air crew, fledgling carrier PC Air has suspended services over financial troubles that left passengers stranded in South Korea.

"The airline informed the Department of Civil Aviation on Friday that they cannot operate their charter flights due to business problems," Thai Deputy Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt told AFP. "So it will suspend its services," he added.

The move is expected to last until at least the end of the month.

PC Air hit the headlines earlier this year when it hired four transgender cabin attendants in a highly publicised recruitment drive to operate charter flights from Bangkok to Hong Kong and other Asian destinations.

But the privately owned carrier drew less welcome attention last week when its only aircraft was unable to take off from Seoul's Incheon Airport because the company could not pay its service and fuel fees.

PC Air has blamed its South Korean agent for the unpaid bill, which left several hundred passengers stuck in Seoul.


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Former US senator George McGovern dies

FORMER US senator and Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, who lost to Republican Richard Nixon in 1972, has died aged 90.

McGovern's family said in a statement the liberal standard-bearer died about 5.15am (local time) on Sunday at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounded by loved ones and life-long friends.


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France sees Syria's hand in Beirut blast

FRANCE'S foreign minister reportedly says it's likely Syrian President Bashar Assad's government had a hand in the assassination of Lebanon's intelligence chief in a Beirut bombing.

Laurent Fabius told Europe-1 radio on Sunday that while it wasn't fully clear who was behind the attack that killed Wissam al-Hassan and seven others, it was "probable" that Syria played a role in the blast.

He said that "everything suggests that it's an extension of the Syrian tragedy." He did not provide evidence to back up his assertion.

Fabius also accused Assad of seeking to spread "contagion" in the region in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

France has been a major critic of Assad during 19 months of bloodshed in Syria and has called on him to step down.


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Brits like empire over Assange: Ecuador

BRITAIN behaved like it was still an empire in its threat to raid Ecuador's embassy and arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the Ecuadorian ambassador to London says.

Ana Alban told BBC radio on Sunday the threat, made in August just before Ecuador granted asylum to Australian-born Assange, was "the biggest mistake" committed by Britain since she became ambassador.

"They were trying to show this little country that the British are still an empire and we should learn to be good boys during our stay here," said Alban.

Former computer hacker Assange, 41, walked into the London embassy on June 19 claiming asylum in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over alleged rape and sexual assault.

British officials angered Ecuador in August by suggesting in a letter that they could ultimately withdraw diplomatic status from the embassy and enter it to arrest Assange, though they have not done so.

Ecuador granted Assange asylum on August 16 but Britain refuses to grant him safe passage out of the country, and he remains holed up in the embassy with the two countries in a diplomatic stalemate.

Assange denies the alleged sex crimes and claims he could eventually be passed from Sweden to the United States for prosecution over the WikiLeaks website's publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US documents.

WikiLeaks enraged Washington in 2010 by publishing a flood of secret military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a huge cache of diplomatic cables from US embassies across the world.

Embassy officials told the BBC that the presence of British police - who have remained outside the embassy since June 19, poised to arrest Assange if he tries to escape - was "intimidating".

Alban even found one policeman right outside her toilet window and had to use a different one, she laughingly told the BBC.

The ambassador said she was taken completely by surprise by Assange's asylum request, and her immediate worries had been over practical issues such as where to find bed linen for the WikiLeaks founder.

The embassy still does not have a washing machine to handle their guest's laundry, she added.


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New poll shows Gillard popularity rising

JULIA Gillard's now famous parliamentary misogyny speech has lifted her personal standing and widened the gap between her and Tony Abbott.

Apparently it's also relegated any possible threat from former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

The latest Fairfax-Neilsen poll on Monday gives Ms Gillard a 10-point margin over Mr Abbott - her biggest lead since February 2011.

She is now seen as preferred prime minister by 50 per cent of voters - up three points from the last poll, while Mr Abbott has slipped four points to 40 per cent.

And Labor's two-party vote has risen for the fourth consecutive month.

The coalition remains ahead in the two-party vote but has eased one point in five weeks to 52 per cent while the government added one point to 48 per cent.

The poll, of 1400 voters taken last Thursday to Saturday, shows Labor's primary vote is steady on 34 per cent, while the coalition's has fallen two points to 43 per cent.

The Greens picked up a point to 11 per cent.

Fairfax said the poll results will strengthen Ms Gillard against any threat from Mr Rudd who is increasing his activity in the electorate.

It comes amid fresh debate about Ms Gillard's role in the 2010 coup against Mr Rudd that has been sparked by a new book by former MP Maxine McKew.

Also in the poll, disapproval of Ms Gillard dropped five points to 48 per cent (approval minus disapproval), giving her a net approval of minus 1.

Her 47 per cent approval rating is her best since March 2011.

In contrast, Mr Abbott's disapproval is up one point to 60 per cent, a new personal record high while his approval also firmed one point to 37 per cent.

His net approval is steady at minus 23 per cent, equalling his personal record low.


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