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Boy tells of US soldier's Afghan massacre

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 November 2012 | 19.50

A BOY who was awoken by a neighbour during a massacre in Afghanistan in March testified at a hearing for the U.S. soldier accused in the attack about hiding in a storage room and being struck by a bullet.

Sadiquallah, a slight boy whose head rose just above the back of the seat he was sitting in, testified by live video feed from Kandahar during a hearing at a military base outside Seattle for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales.

Bales, 39, is accused of killing 16 civilians, including nine children, in a March 11 attack on two villages near his base. He could face the death penalty if he is convicted.

Speaking through an interpreter, the boy said a neighbour woke him up when she screamed that an American had "killed our men."

He said he and another boy ran to hide in a storage room and ducked behind a curtain.

Sadiquallah said the shooter had a gun and a light, but he did not identify the person as Bales. Doctors have said a bullet grazed the boy's head, and that the other child was hit in the thigh and also survived.

"I was hiding behind the curtains. A bullet hit me," the boy said, who is 13 or 14 and whose ears stuck out from beneath his white cap.

Earlier, a relative of some of the victims killed in the massacre said he found their bodies piled together and burned. Khamal Adin sat at the witness table with his arms folded, his head tilted to the left.

As Mr Adin recounted what he had seen, Bales rose from his chair at the defence table in the coutroom at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and moved to a seat closest to the video screen that played Adin's testimony.

He gave no discernible reaction to the story he heard.

After Mr Adin concluded his testimony, the Afghan offered his thanks, adding: "My request is to get justice."

On the morning after the killings, Mr Adin said, he arrived at a compound belonging to his cousin, Mohammed Wazir. Mr Wazir had been away on a trip, and he found Mr Wazir's mother lying dead in a doorway, a gunshot to her head.

Further inside, Mr Adin said, he found the bodies of six of his cousin's seven children, the man's wife, and other relatives. The fire that burned the bodies was out, but Mr Adin said he could smell smoke.

The video feed was shown as part of a preliminary hearing to help determine whether Bales should face a court-martial. He is charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder in the attack.

On the video, Mr Adin, who had a beard and was wearing a turban, was asked if he could testify that he personally saw the bodies. He answered: "Yes, I have seen each individual and took them out by myself."

Asked to describe the injuries, he said: "Everybody was shot on the head. ... I didn't pay attention to the rest of the wounds."

With the bodies quickly buried and no forensic evidence available from them, prosecutors need such testimony to prove the killings occurred.

Sadiquallah's older brother, Faizullah, testified about rushing to his father's home to find his father with a gunshot wound to the throat. Faizullah's sister was also wounded, as were two neighbour siblings.

Faizullah said he loaded them into a car, using a blanket to lift some of them. They were treated at a nearby base, then flown to a bigger military hospital in Kandahar. All five survived.

Earlier, two Afghan National Army guards recounted what they had seen in the pre-dawn darkness outside the base the night of the killings.

One guard recounted that a man had arrived at the base and did not stop even after he asked him three times to do so. Later in the night, the second guard said, he saw a soldier leave the base - laughing as he went.

The guards did not say the soldier was the same person nor did they identify the man as Bales.

Prosecutors say Bales broke his shooting rampage into two episodes, attacking one village, returning to the base and then departing again to raid another.

Dressed in green fatigues, the first guard, named Nematullah, testified that he had told the man who arrived around 1:30 a.m. to stop. The guard said the man came toward him, said "how are you" in an Afghan language and went inside the base.

Under cross-examination from Bales' attorney, John Henry Browne, who traveled to Afghanistan to question the witnesses, the guard said he saw the man but could not identify him.

Mr Browne pressed further, asking if the guard could describe the soldier at all. The guard said he was white and well built, but those were the only details he could provide.

Mr Nematullah also said the soldier was coming from the north, which is the direction of a village that prosecutors say Bales attacked first in the nighttime rampage.

Later, a second guard, Tosh Ali, said he replaced Mr Nematullah and saw an American leaving the base around 2:30 a.m. The man greeted Mr Ali as well with "how are you" in an Afghan language, and was laughing as he walked away.

Bales, an Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Washington, faces 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder in the attack.

Prosecutors say that Bales wore a T-shirt, cape and night-vision goggles - no body armour - when he slipped away from his remote post, Camp Belambay.

In between his attacks, he woke a fellow soldier, reported what he'd done and said he was headed out to kill more, the soldier testified. But the soldier didn't believe what Bales said, and went back to sleep.


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Bieber and Gomez call it quits

JUSTIN Bieber is no longer Selena Gomez's 'Boyfriend,' a source confirms to The Associated Press.

The split happened last week, and distance and their busy schedules were a contributing factor.

Eighteen-year-old Bieber is touring to promote his latest album, while 20-year-old Gomez is filming a Wizards of Waverly Place reunion for Disney Channel called The Wizards Return: Alex versus Alex, that will air next year.

The pair first stepped up publicly in February 2011 at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

E! News was the first to report the split.

Bieber seems to be doing OK, at least publicly. On the red carpet of Wednesday's Victoria's Secret fashion show he said, "I'd rather be here than anywhere in the world."


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Royals freed after critical tweets

KUWAIT has released two members of the Al-Sabah ruling family after holding them for two days allegedly over tweets deemed critical of the government, they said on Twitter Saturday.

Sheikh Abdullah Salem Al-Sabah was released late on Friday, while Sheikh Nawaf Malek Al-Sabah was freed on Saturday afternoon.

"I asked them (police) to refer me to the public prosecution to defend myself from the horrifying accusations, but they insisted that I sign a pledge and they released me," late Friday, Sheikh Abdullah said on Twitter.

Sheikh Nawaf's lawyer Khaled al-Suwaifan said Saturday that his client was released but provided no details.

Sheikh Abdullah said he was questioned by the secret service police on accusations of insulting Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and instigating against the regime.

He is the grandson of the emir's half-brother, the late Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The two young royals have written tweets sympathetic to the Kuwaiti opposition, which has been organising protests against an amendment to the electoral law seen as a ploy to produce a pro-government parliament in a snap December 1 general election.

More than 150 protesters and 24 police have been injured in demonstrations since October 21 and the opposition plans another rally on Sunday.

Young royal Sheikh Meshaal al-Malek Al-Sabah was detained for a few days in July for expressing political views deemed offensive.


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Iraq cancels $4bn Russia arms deal

BAGHDAD has cancelled a $US4.2 billion ($4.05 billion) weapons package with Russia citing graft concerns, torpedoing a deal that would have made Moscow Iraq's biggest arms supplier after the US.

Cancellation of the deal, which had been announced when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki led a delegation to Russia last month, is a setback for Moscow's attempts to firm up its slipping foothold in the Middle East and also throws into doubt efforts by Iraq to equip its armed forces.

"The deal was cancelled," Mr Maliki's spokesman Ali Mussawi said.

"When Maliki returned from his trip to Russia, he had some suspicions of corruption, so he decided to review the whole deal... There is an investigation going on, on this."

Mr Mussawi declined to say who specifically was being investigated, or if Iraq would begin new negotiations with Moscow.

He also did not say exactly when the final decision was made to stop the deal.

The Russian embassy in Baghdad was not available for comment.

Had the deal been finalised and implemented, it would have made Russia Baghdad's second-biggest arms supplier, after the United States.

Russian media said the deliveries covered 30 Mi-28 attack helicopters and 42 Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems.

Discussions were also said to be under way for Iraq's eventual acquisition of a large batch of MiG-29 fighters and helicopters, along with heavy weaponry.

The statement announcing the deals said they were secretly discussed as early as April and revisited again in July and August during visits to Russia by Iraqi delegations that included acting Defence Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi.

The war ripping apart Syria threatens to unseat Moscow's sole unwavering Arab ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has made it all the more crucial for Russia to forge other regional alliances.

Russia also lost an estimated $US4 billion ($3.86 billion) in outstanding contracts in the NATO-led Libya offensive that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, a one-time friend of the Kremlin, and Moscow has been seeking to find a way to compensate for the loss ever since.

Iraq, meanwhile, has sought to re-equip an army that, while regarded as a capable counter-insurgency force, lacks the ability to defend the country's borders, airspace or maritime territory, according to officials.

The deal with Russia was seen by diplomats in Baghdad as a way for Iraq to avoid becoming too dependent on American military equipment, and to hold more bargaining power in weapons negotiations with Washington, which remains Baghdad's biggest arms supplier by far.

It was also a short-term measure to boost Iraq's air defence capabilities in the years before a cadre of F-16 fighter jets are delivered by the United States.

"It is not a policy to go to Russia," Deputy National Security Adviser Safa Hussein said in an interview last month. "The backbone of our armaments is from the United States, but whenever it is required that we go with another country, we will go."

"The American programs were a little slow," he added. "We can't live with this gap in our defence capabilities for a long time, and the Americans understand this."


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Fears blight 'Malala Day' in schoolgirl's hometown

PAKISTAN marked "Malala Day" on a global day of support for the teenager shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education, but in her home town security fears meant schoolmates could not honour her in public.

PTaliban hitmen shot Malala Yousafzai on her school bus a month ago in Mingora in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley, in a cold-blooded murder attempt for the "crime" of campaigning for girls' rights to go to school.

Miraculously the 15-year-old survived and her courage has won the hearts of millions around the world, prompting the UN to declare Saturday a "global day of action" for her.

People around the world are expected to hold vigils and demonstrations honouring Malala and calling for the 32 million girls worldwide who are denied education to be allowed to go to school.

Demonstrations backing Malala were held in Islamabad, Karachi, the eastern city of Lahore and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf saluted Malala's courage.

But in Mingora, the threat of further Taliban reprisals casts a fearful shadow, with students at Malala's Khushal Public School forced to honour her in private.

"We held a special prayer for Malala today in our school assembly and also lit candles,"  said school principal Mariam Khalid.

"We did not organise any open event because our school and its students still face a security threat."

Though their bid to kill Malala failed, the Taliban have said they will attack any woman who stands against them. Fears are so great that Ms Khalid said even speaking to the media could put students' lives in danger.

Two of Malala's friends were wounded in the attempt on her life and one, 16-year-old Kainaat Riaz, said she was still haunted by memories of the attack.

"I am still terrified. I still get tears in my eyes whenever I think of that incident. I saw Malala in the pool of blood in front of me with my eyes," she said.

Malala rose to prominence with a blog for the BBC charting life in Swat under the Taliban, whose bloody two-year reign of terror supposedly came to an end with an army operation in 2009.

Despite the dangers, some children in Mingora were determined to speak out and pledged to follow Malala's brave example.

"Malala is a good friend of mine. She is brave and has honour and whoever attacked her did a terrible thing," said Asma Khan, 12, a student in Saroosh Academy, close to Malala's school.

"After the attack on her and her injuries, we have now more courage to study and now we will fulfil her mission to spread education everywhere."

Khan's schoolmate Gul Para, 12, added: "Malala is the daughter of the nation and we are proud of her.

"She has stood by us and for our education up to now and now it is time that we should stand by her and complete her mission."

Nearly 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Malala to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and on Friday UN special education envoy Gordon Brown handed a separate million-strong petition in support of Malala to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Islamabad on Friday also announced a UN-backed scheme to give poor families cash incentives to send their children to school in a bid to get three million more youngsters into education.


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Malaria vaccine not effective for infants

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 09 November 2012 | 19.50

AN experimental malaria vaccine once thought promising is turning out to be a disappointment, with a new study showing it is only about 30 per cent effective at protecting infants from the killer disease.

That is a significant drop from a study last year done in slightly older children, which suggested the vaccine cut the malaria risk by about half - though that is still far below the protection provided from most vaccines.

According to details released on Friday, the three-shot regimen reduced malaria cases by about 30 per cent in infants aged six to 12 weeks, the target age for immunisation.

Dr Jennifer Cohn, a medical co-ordinator at Doctors Without Borders, described the vaccine's protection levels as "unacceptably low". She was not linked to the study.

Scientists have been working for decades to develop a malaria vaccine, a complicated endeavour since the disease is caused by five different species of parasites.

There has never been an effective vaccine against a parasite.

Worldwide, there are several dozen malaria vaccine candidates being researched.

In 2006, a group of experts led by the World Health Organisation said a malaria vaccine should cut the risk of severe disease and death by at least half and should last longer than one year.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes and kills more than 650,000 people every year, mostly young children and pregnant women in Africa.

Without a vaccine, officials have focused on distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, spraying homes with pesticides and ensuring access to good medicines.

In the new study, scientists found babies who got three doses of the vaccine had about 30 per cent fewer cases of malaria than those who didn't get immunised.

The research included more than 6,500 infants in Africa.

Experts also found the vaccine reduced the amount of severe malaria by about 26 per cent, up to 14 months after the babies were immunised.

Scientists said they needed to analyse the data further to understand why the vaccine may be working differently in different regions.

For example, babies born in areas with high levels of malaria might inherit some antibodies from their mothers which could interfere with any vaccination.

"Maybe we should be thinking of a first-generation vaccine that is targeted only for certain children," said Dr Salim Abdulla of the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, one of the study investigators.

Results were presented at a conference in South Africa on Friday and released online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study is scheduled to continue until 2014 and is being paid for by GlaxoSmithKline and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

Glaxo first developed the vaccine in 1987 and has invested $US300 million ($A289.5 million) in it so far.

WHO said it couldn't comment on the incomplete results and would wait until the trial was finished before drawing any conclusions.


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South Africa jails Thai rhino horn trader

A THAI national who pleaded guilty to organising bogus trophy hunts to sell rhino horns on the international black market has been sentenced to 40 years in a South African jail, in what is being hailed as a landmark ruling.

Chumlong Lemtongthai received the unusually harsh sentence of four decades in jail from a Johannesburg magistrate court on Friday, amid a record number of unnatural rhino deaths this year.

Lemtongthai had admitted to paying prostitutes to pose as hunters, in order to harvest horns which were then sold on Asia's lucrative traditional medicine market.

The group is thought to have netted around 26 rhino horns.

In a statement, Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe said the magistrate's decision was "an appropriate sentence that fits the crime."

In handing down the jail term, the Kempton Park magistrate said he did not want his grandchildren to grow up without being able to see rhinos, according to EyeWitness News.

South Africa is home to around 80 per cent of the world's rhinos. The population forms a linchpin of the country's famed "Big Five" biodiversity and of its lucrative safari industry.

There are more than 18,000 white rhinos in the country and around 1,600 critically endangered black rhinos.

But a dizzying spike in rhino killings has put the future of the animals in doubt.

South African officials say 528 rhinos have been killed already this year, shattering previous annual records.

Most of the rhinos are killed in the world-famous Kruger National Park and their horns turn up in Vietnam, China and other east Asian nations.

The animals' distinctive horns are used to produce a fingernail-like substance that is falsely believed to have powerful healing properties.

While Lemtongthai was not accused of poaching, his case exposed deep flaws in South Africa's system of granting legal hunting permits.

Government prosecutors had called for Lemtongthai to receive a 260 year sentence for abusing the system, which has since been reformed.

Hunters are now allowed to kill only one white rhino a year, and officials must consider whether an applicant's home country has enough legislation to counter illicit trophy trade.

National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Phindi Louw welcomed Friday's ruling.

"It will send a strong message that as South Africans, we will do everything in our power to preserve our heritage," she said.

"We believe it's an appropriate sentence that will be able to send a message that as a country we will never tolerate people who come in our country, unlawfully so, with the purpose of destroying our wildlife."

Conservationists also welcomed the decision.

"We think it's fantastic news. It's the harshest sentence handed out for a wildlife crime in South Africa to date," said Jo Shaw, WWF South Africa's rhino co-ordinator.

However, Shaw criticised the decision to drop charges against Lemtongthai's South African co-accused.

"We are disappointed that South Africa doesn't seem to be sending a similarly strong message about the involvement of its own citizens and we do very much hope to see those charges reinstated."


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Welby named new archbishop of Canterbury

BISHOP of Durham Justin Welby, a former oil executive with experience in conflict resolution, was named as the next archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans.

The government said Bishop Welby, 56, a fast-rising priest with only a year's experience as a bishop, has been chosen to succeed the retiring Rowan Williams. He is the 105th holder of the post.

He said he felt privileged, and astonished, to be chosen to lead the church at "a time of spiritual hunger."

"It's something I never expected," Bishop Welby said.

Bishop Welby, who takes over a church divided over issues including gay marriage and female bishops, is known for his business expertise and work on conflict resolution in Africa.


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Holocaust opera premiere in parliament

AN OPERA focusing on Nazi atrocities against children will premiere next year at an unusual venue - Austria's parliament.

An official involved in the staging says the opera will be performed for the first time at the parliament on Jan. 25, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Spiegelground. Dead Children Like Scattered Dolls, deals with the killings of hundreds of children considered genetically, intellectually or physically inferior by the Nazis by medical personnel of a Vienna psychiatric ward. It is composed by Peter Androsch.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authoriSed to discuss the project ahead of a formal announcement.

Many Austrians were fervent Nazis but the country has made significant progress in dealing with its role in crimes committed under Hitler.


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Stalker kills woman on police tip-off

A MAN who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in Japan learned her new married name and where she lived from the police officers who arrested him for stalking her, media reported Friday.

Hideto Kozutsumi was held in Kanagawa prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, last year on charges of stalking and harassing Rie Miyoshi after he repeatedly threatened to kill her in a series of emails following the pair's split.

Kozutsumi could only email because Miyoshi had married another man, taking his name, and moved to a different city.

Police arrested Kozutsumi for the harassment - reading out an arrest warrant that included his former lover's new name and location.

He received a non-custodial sentence and began pursuing her again by email, but without making threats, reports said.

Miyoshi asked the police to re-arrest Kozutsumi, but officers said there was nothing they could do because harassment by email is not a crime in Japan.

Repeatedly sending faxes or harassing by constant telephone calls, however, is an offence, police noted.

Some time later, Kozutsumi sought out Miyoshi and stabbed her to death before hanging himself, reports said.

Broadcaster TBS quoted a police official saying that reading out the arrest warrant was the appropriate procedure but that "in retrospect, measures could have been taken not to disclose her details".
 


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Air raids, clashes hit Damascus: watchdog

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 08 November 2012 | 19.50

SYRIAN rebels and troops have clashed in several districts of Damascus while air raids hit the city's outskirts, a watchdog says, amid intensifying fighting in the capital.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Syria is now so bad that the Red Cross is struggling to cope, the head of the international aid agency said on Thursday.

The violence in Damascus came a day after 133 people were killed on Wednesday across Syria, including 59 civilians, rebels and soldiers in Damascus province alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Fresh fighting erupted overnight in Damascus in the southern neighbourhood of Qadam and Mazzeh in the west, where three civilians were killed on Wednesday in a shelling attack on Mazzeh 86, a district mainly populated by members of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

Sectarian tensions have mounted over the course of the 20-month uprising, with civilians in the majority Sunni country bearing the brunt of the death toll.

On Thursday, warplanes pounded the town of Saqba just outside the capital, while helicopters could be seen circling over the East Ghuta area, some 50 kilometres northeast of Damascus, the Britain-based watchdog said.

At dawn, plumes of smoke rose over the southern Damascus districts of Nahr Aisha and Midan after mortar rounds fell on the area, reported the Observatory, which gathers its information from a network of activists, lawyers and medics on the ground.

In the commercial hub Aleppo, troops bombarded the eastern districts of the city, while one rebel was killed as clashes broke out around the air force intelligence branch in Zahraa district in the northwest.

Residents told AFP that warplanes and tanks shelled Zahraa and Liramun at the northwest entrance of the city overnight.

An AFP correspondent reported the sound of machinegun fire and explosions as rebels and troops battled in the Old City.

The Observatory says more than 37,000 people have died since the March 2011 outbreak of the Syrian revolt, which began as a peaceful protest movement inspired by the Arab Spring but evolved into an armed rebellion following repression.

In Geneva, Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told reporters: "The humanitarian situation is getting worse despite the scope of the operation increasing. We can't cope with the worsening of the situation."

The ICRC, which works in collaboration with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to deliver aid in the conflict-racked country, nonetheless has "a lot of blank spots" with regard to the needs of the people on the ground, he said.

"There is an unknown number of people in Syria who do not get the aid they need."

Meanwhile, an Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid for Syria was forced to land in Turkey on Thursday for an inspection of its cargo, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The cargo plane landed at Erzurum airport in eastern Turkey where teams of police and troops with sniffer dogs began a search, it said.

It was the second time in a month that the Turkish authorities have ordered an Armenian plane heading for Syria to land for security checks.

On October 15, another Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Syria's battered second city of Aleppo was forced to land at Erzurum airport but the plane was allowed to resume journey after officials said no suspect cargo turned up during searches.

Last month, Turkish jets forced a Syrian plane flying from Russia to land at Ankara airport because of what it called suspect cargo.


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Schoolies advised to look after mates

That's the simple message from organisers of this year's schoolies event on the Gold Coast.

Nearly 30,000 school leavers are expected to descend on Surfers Paradise from next week in the annual end-of-year celebrations.

The death of Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercars reveller Jordan Bailo after a high-rise fall in October sparked immediate concerns about teenagers partying in Gold Coast apartments during schoolies week.

But Gold Coast Schoolies Advisory Group chairman Mark Raeburn says rather than highlight one area of potential risk, his message is for youngsters to keep an eye on each other during next weekend's festivities.

"A couple of years ago it was planking that was the big thing," Mr Raeburn told AAP.

"We had a concern that that was going to become a problem but fortunately it wasn't.

"We try not to feature one thing in particular. What we try and do is focus on just being safe across the board and the big thing is just to watch your mates.

"Keep an eye on the people around you."

Mr Raeburn said the annual pilgrimage to the Gold Coast was much safer now than a few years ago, thanks to the increased cooperation and planning by organising committees and the police.

The alcohol-free schoolies hub on the Surfers Paradise beachfront was designed to bring students out of their apartments and away from non-schoolies in a safe and controlled environment, he said.

"There is no point pretending that these kids aren't going to drink," Mr Raeburn said.

"There's no point pretending kids aren't going to play up because they're away from mum and dad and, in some cases, it's their first experience of living away from home.

"That's the reason we have the hub on the beach - we want kids to come out of the units, because it's in the units that the issues really occur.

"We want them to wear themselves out by dancing madly on the beach."

Mr Raeburn said a particular focus in this year's schoolies will be the use of social media to communicate with those attending and keep them informed of event details.

There will also be a "chill-out" night on Tuesday to provide partygoers with a break in their revelry.


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Hong Kong shares end 2.41% lower

HONG Kong shares have tumbled 2.41 per cent on fears US legislators will fail to reach a deal before year-end to avoid a "fiscal cliff" that could tip the economy back into recession.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Thursday fell 532.94 points to 21,566.91 on turnover of $HK72.66 billion ($A9.04 billion). The fall is the index's steepest since July 23 but comes after it enjoyed a 16 per cent rally since the start of September.

Eyes are also on Beijing where the Communist Party began a week-long congress to anoint the country's next leaders.

President Barack Obama's election victory over Republican Mitt Romney has been followed with trepidation as the focus turns to the "fiscal cliff", a combination of deep spending cuts and tax rises.

These will automatically take effect on January 1 unless Democrats and Republicans can agree on alternative ways to cut the deficit.

Henderson Land and New World Development, sourcing firm Li & Fung, oil majors PetroChina and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, coalminer China Shenhua and Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment all fell more than 3.0 per cent on profit-taking.

Chinese shares closed down 1.63 per cent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 34.22 points to 2,071.51 on turnover of 49.3 billion yuan ($A7.62 billion).

Traders are watching the 18th party congress to see if the country's rulers unveil any fresh measures to boost the domestic economy, which has suffered a slowdown in the past year.

"Given the absence of market-moving news from the domestic side, concerns about the US fiscal cliff dominate the (domestic) A-share market," Capital Securities' analyst Li Bin told Dow Jones Newswires.

Resources stocks led the declines on concerns about the global economy.

Coal producer Heilongjiang Heihua slumped 8.40 per cent to 6.87 yuan, Anyuan Coal Industry dropped 5.92 per cent to 12.40 yuan and Shanxi Coking Coal fell 4.27 per cent to 8.29 yuan.

Nonferrous metals producer Chengtun Mining lost 5.19 per cent to 10.23 yuan while Rising Nonferrous Metals fell 3.89 per cent to 41.56 yuan.


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Assad says he won't leave Syria

SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to "live and die" in Syria, saying in an interview he will never flee his country despite the bloody, 19-month-old uprising against him.

The broadcast comes two days after British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested Assad could be allowed safe passage out of the country if that would guarantee an end to the nation's civil war, which activists estimate has killed more than 36,000 people.

Assad struck a defiant tone in the interview with the English-language Russia Today TV, broadcast on Thursday.

"I am not a puppet, I was not made by the West for me to go to the West or any other country," Assad, 47, said. He spoke in English and excerpts of the interview were posted on the TV station's website with an Arabic voiceover.

Assad also warned against foreign military intervention.

"I don't think the West is headed in this direction, but if it does, nobody can predict the consequences," he told the station. The full interview will be broadcast on Friday, the TV station said.

In the excerpts, the Syrian president is seen casually talking and later walking with RT's reporter outside a house, wearing a grey suit and tie. It was not clear where the interview took place.

The uprising against Assad's regime began as mostly peaceful protests in March last year but quickly morphed into a civil war. The fighting has taken on grim sectarian tones, with the predominantly Sunni rebels fighting government forces.

Assad's regime is dominated by Alawites, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

On Wednesday, Britain called on the US to do more to shape the Syrian opposition into a coherent force, saying the re-election of US President Barack Obama is an opportunity for the world to take stronger action to end the deadlocked civil war.

Russia has remained one of Syria's most loyal and powerful allies, shielding Damascus from strong international action at the UN Security Council.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would not support any resolution that would threaten the Syrian regime with sanctions, in remarks posted on his ministry's website on Thursday.

He criticised the West for supporting the opposition, saying foreign powers should try to force both sides to stop fighting.

"If their priority is, figuratively speaking, Assad's head, the supporters of such approach must realise that the price for that will be lives of the Syrians, not their own lives," Lavrov said. "Bashar Assad isn't going anywhere and will never leave, no matter what they say. He can't be persuaded to take that step."


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Spain meets 2012 bond-selling target

SPAIN has met its 2012 bond sales target in an auction, strengthening the government's hand as it resists seeking an international bailout.

The Spanish Treasury raised 4.76 billion euros ($A5.88 billion) in a sale of three-, five- and 20-year bonds, the central bank reported on Thursday, taking the total value of medium- and long-term bonds sold this year to 86.46 billion euros.

This exceeded the government's target of 85.9 billion euros, the amount it sought to raise in bond issues to finance its operations throughout 2012.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has kept world markets on edge as he ponders whether to trigger a eurozone rescue, in which the European Central Bank (ECB) would buy Spain's bonds to drive down Madrid's financing costs.

On Tuesday Rajoy had all but ruled out seeking a bailout in 2012 but vowed to do so if faced by persistently high borrowing costs.

"If we see that during a long period Spain is financing itself at very high prices then we would have to ask for it," the prime minister said but struck a confident note as the borrowing target was due to be met.

After months of market tension, Spanish borrowing costs had tumbled since the ECB outlined plans in September to buy an unlimited amount of stricken states' bonds if they submit to strict eurozone conditions first.

In Thursday's auction, the yield eased to 3.66 per cent on the three-year bonds from 3.676 per cent in the last comparable sale on September 6, and to 4.68 per cent on the five-year bonds from 4.766 per cent on July 19.

On the 20-year bonds, the yield was 6.328 per cent. In the last sale of bonds with the same 2032 maturity date, the rate was 4.541 per cent. That sale was in October 2010, before the worst of the eurozone debt crisis spread to Spain.


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Man caught speeding at 219km/h near Taree

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 07 November 2012 | 19.50

A MAN has been charged after being caught speeding at 219km/h - more than double the speed limit - on the NSW Central Coast.

Police say the 35-year-old Victoria man was clocked travelling at 219km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Pacific Highway near Taree just after midday on Wednesday.

Officers chased the vehicle for 24km, eventually stopping it near Moorland.

The driver's licence was suspended on the spot and he was issued with a court attendance notice for driving at a speed dangerous to the public and exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.

He is due to appear in Taree local on November 20.


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Tough Mudder profitable and physical

THOUSANDS of Australians are among the growing number of global competitors paying for the privilege to take part in the physically gruelling Tough Mudder event, reaping millions of dollars for organisers.

In 2012 the 20km races which send entrants scrambling over military-style obstacles - climbing ropes, crossing greased monkey bars and crawling under barbed wire - sold out in both Sydney and Melbourne, with plans to expand to Brisbane and Perth in 2013.

Participants register online, paying an entry fee of up to $US180, which along with brand sponsorship, is expected to earn the Tough Mudder company at least $US70 million ($A67.35 million) in 2012, Britain's Financial Times newspaper reported.

"We haven't had any serious injuries," British co-founder Will Dean, 31, told the FT of the company's two years of operation.

"We know we will. It's just a statistical certainty, unfortunately."

In a bid to mitigate the company's responsibility in the case of injury or death, competitors - some 80 per cent of them men - sign a waiver when registering.

A graduate of Harvard Business School, Mr Dean and Tough Mudder partner Guy Livingstone started the company in 2010 with $US20,000.

The pair has already reached an undisclosed court settlement after being sued by the founder of UK Tough Guy, who claims his idea was unfairly copied in the start-up of Tough Mudder.

Despite the legal hurdle Mr Dean, himself a keen runner, is confident of his company's expansion, championing the event's attractiveness to competitors.

"We compete against things that guys do together at the weekend, and we also compete against the things that stop guys from doing things together, like having to put up shelves or visit their girlfriend's parents," he told the FT.

"This is about getting muddy and bloody and having a beer afterwards."

Tough Mudder will hold 56 events around the world in 2013 and is looking to expand further, including to New Zealand.


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Victims trapped as Ghana mall collapses

A SIX-STOREY shopping mall has collapsed in the Ghanaian capital Accra and an unknown number of victims are feared trapped in the rubble, witnesses and an AFP correspondent say.

"I was very close to the mall because I was going to buy something only for me to see the building coming down," witness Ama Okyere told AFP.

"I had to run for my life. I was so terrified. I believe there are lots of people trapped under this because this is a heavily patronised shoping mall in the area."

The AFP correspondent witnessed two people being brought out of the rubble alive, with rescue workers arriving at the scene.

Officials have not commented so far and the cause of the collapse of the Melcom shopping centre was not immediately clear.

"I was on my way to school and all of a sudden heard a big bang and people shouting, only for me to see that the shopping mall has collapsed," said another witness, John Owusu.


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Drive-by shooting narrowly misses girl

A BULLET fired into a house in Melbourne's north has narrowly missed a young girl who was watching television.

Hume Crime Investigation Unit detectives say the shot fired into the Broadmeadows house passed through the front window, continued on through the television and into another wall, missing the 10-year-old girl by about 50 centimetres.

She was at home with her family in Waranga Crescent when the drive-by shooting occurred about 6.30pm (AEST) on Wednesday.

Investigators would like to hear from anyone who may have seen a white utility in the area at the time.

It was the second drive-by shooting in Melbourne's north this week.

On Monday night, gunshots were fired from a car at a Roxburgh Park house on Thames Way around 11.15pm.

The two people at home at the time were not injured.


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PM rules out meeting with Iran Ahmadinejad

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has condemned Iran over its threats against Israel, while also reiterating support for tough sanctions aimed curbing the country's nuclear ambitions.

The prime minister arrived in Bali on Wednesday afternoon ahead of a summit of world leaders aimed at promoting democracy.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will also attend the two-day summit, which starts on Thursday.

But Ms Gillard has ruled out meeting Mr Ahmadinejad to pass on her concerns, saying Australia's position on Iran was well known.

"Clearly I will not be meeting with the president of Iran," she told reporters in Bali.

"We, through our embassy and more generally, make clear our views about the conduct of Iran, particularly their conduct ... in relation to nuclear material.

"We've made very clear our attitude in relation to that conduct. We're engaged in sanctions, as is the world on Iran and we've also made very clear our disgust at the statements made threatening the people of Israel."

The comments come after Ms Gillard reinforced Australia's position that it supports "strong sanctions" against Iran during talks with French President Francois Hollande in Vientiane on Monday.

Ms Gillard told Mr Hollande that Australia had "consistently expressed its strong concerns" about Iran's nuclear program and its failure to abide by its Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency obligations.


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Car bomb near Iraqi military base kills 27

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 06 November 2012 | 19.50

A SUICIDE bomber driving a car packed with explosives detonated the vehicle near an Iraqi military base as soldiers changed shifts north of Baghdad, killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 40, according to authorities.

The blast struck around midday on Tuesday as troops were leaving the base in Taji, 20 kilometres, north of the capital, police said. Nineteen soldiers were among the dead, and several vehicles were damaged, they said.

The casualty toll was high because the attacker blew up the car while large numbers of soldiers were walking to and from a parking area for waiting minibuses that take them to and from work, officials said.

Insurgents frequently target members of the country's security forces in an effort to undermine confidence in the Shi'ite-led government. Although violence has ebbed in Iraq since the height of the insurgency, attacks still occur frequently.

Officials said many of the wounded were soldiers. They warned the death toll could rise further because several of the injuries were serious.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

The attack was the deadliest in Iraq in more than a week. On October 27, insurgents unleashed a string of bombings and other attacks around the country that left at least 40 people dead.

It was the second bombing in Taji in less than 24 hours. On Monday, police said a car bomb struck an army patrol not far from the site of Tuesday's blast, wounding eight people. Another bombing on Monday near an outdoor market in a Shi'ite neighbourhood on Baghdad's outskirts killed four.

In Iraq's north, the president of the country's self-rule Kurdish region urged Kurds in neighbouring Syria to stay united and not let political differences devolve into violence.

The comments by Massoud Barzani, posted Monday evening on the regional government's website, point to growing concern in Iraq that infighting among Syrian Kurds could complicate that country's civil war and risk destabilising Iraq's Kurdish region. Syria's Kurds have been solidifying control over territory where they live amid the tumult of the conflict.

Barzani over the summer brokered an agreement between rival Kurdish Democratic Union Party and the Kurdish National Council, the main Kurdish umbrella group, in Syria to jointly control Kurd-populated areas together.


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US driver ordered to wear 'idiot' sign

A US woman caught on camera driving on a footpath to avoid a school bus that was unloading children will have to stand at an intersection wearing a sign warning about idiots.

Court records show a Cleveland Municipal Court judge on Monday ordered 32-year-old Shena Hardin to stand at an intersection for two days next week.

She will have to wear a sign saying: "Only an idiot drives on the footpath to avoid a school bus."

The judge ordered her to wear the sign from 7.45am to 8.45am both days.

Hardin's licence was suspended for 30 days and she was ordered to pay $US250 ($A242.38) in court costs.

Messages seeking comment were left at a telephone listing for Hardin and at her lawyer's office.


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Boy, 9, drowns in pool in Roseville

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy has drowned in a backyard swimming pool in Sydney's upper north shore.

Police were called to a house in Roseville about 6.40pm (AEDT) on Tuesday where they tried to resuscitate the boy after pulling him from the pool.

He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital where attempts to revive him failed, a police spokesman told AAP.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.


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'Police planted weapons on slain miners'

SOUTH African police may have altered the scene and planted weapons after they shot dead 34 striking miners near Lonmin's Marikana mines in August, according to photographic evidence presented at a commission of inquiry into the killings.

Photographs taken by police at night show more weapons by the dead bodies than there were in photographs taken immediately after the violence on August 16.

Thousands of miners had gathered at hills in Marikana about 94 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg where 34 miners were shot dead by police and 78 wounded in the worst state violence since the end of apartheid in 1994.

South Africa is conducting a commission of inquiry to look into the parties responsible for 46 deaths, including two policemen, during nearly six weeks of strikes at the Lonmin Marikana mines.

Video evidence shown on Monday also indicated that some of the slain miners may have been handcuffed.

National police commissioner Riah Phiyega said that the commission has launched an investigation into the discrepancies. She said she was presented with evidence that may have suggested one of the crime scenes had been tampered with nearly two weeks ago.

Human rights lawyer George Bizos said the evidence presented at the inquiry clearly indicates an attempt was made to alter the scene.

"The evidence clearly showed there is at least a strong prima facie case that there has been an attempt to defeat the ends of justice," he said. Bizos, who is representing the Legal Resources Centre and Bench Marks Foundation during the inquiry, called on senior police officers in charge of the scene to present evidence.

Crime scene expert Capt. Apollo Mohlaki, who took the night photographs, was questioned during the inquiry Monday. He admitted his photographs showed more weapons around the bodies than those taken earlier, according to the South Africa Press Association. In one set of photos, a man's mangled dead body lies alone in the daylight, and in a picture taken by electric light after dark, there is a panga (machete) placed under the man's hand.

Mohlaki said he saw the weapon under the man's arm in the photograph he took, but when looking at the day photograph of the same body he said of the weapon: "It is not appearing, I don't see it."

Dali Mpofu, the lawyer for the Lonmin miners, entered a video as evidence that showed miners that seemed to be handcuffed. When asked if he saw if any of the dead miners' hands had been bound, Mohlaki said he had not.

"If I am looking at the video there is a person, handcuffed possibly, but on the day I did not observe that," Mohlaki said.

The representative for the police, Ishmael Semenya, had suggested the week before that the integrity of the crime scene could have been compromised by the presence of paramedics, according to SAPA.

"We will hear evidence that paramedics asked that weapons be removed so they could do their work," said Semenya.

The inquiry began last month and is expected to continue for four months, investigating the roles played by police, miners, unions and Lonmin in the August deaths.


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European stocks climb ahead of US polls

EUROPE'S main stock markets have advanced in cautious deals as investors awaited the outcome of the US presidential election and digested news of bumper profits from carmaker BMW.

Markets on Tuesday held on to their gains despite a downbeat survey which showed that private sector business activity across the eurozone shrank at its fastest rate in three-and-a-half years in October.

London's FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies won 0.53 per cent to 5,870.32 points in late morning deals, Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 0.70 per cent to 7,377.19 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.73 per cent to 3,474.10.

In foreign exchange activity, the euro sank to $US1.2764 - the lowest level since September 11 - weighed down by concerns over debt-plagued Greece, and as the dollar attracted safe-haven demand amid US election uncertainty.

The European single currency later stood at $US1.2797, up from $US1.2791 late in New York on Monday. Gold prices rose to $US1,690.57 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $US1,683.50 Monday.

US polling stations opened on Tuesday, with Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney neck-and-neck, leaving markets trading in a narrow band as investors held off making any bets until the outcome is known.

"Stock markets are higher in Europe this morning, but there is an element of caution ahead of the presidential election tonight," said analyst Craig Erlam at trading group Alpari UK.

"There is still nothing in it between the two parties, which is only building on the uncertainty we're currently seeing in the markets.

"One thing does look certain now and that is no matter which candidate wins, the parties are going to have to come to some agreement on how to overcome the fiscal cliff."

Warnings are mounting about the dangers of the US fiscal cliff - a mandated sharp cut in government spending and the end to a package of tax breaks expected to suck half a trillion dollars out of the economy next year.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Monday urged the United States to "address quickly" the budget mess facing the government, no matter who wins the election.

"Equities are marginally higher this morning as investors follow the US election," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at online stockbroker Interactive Investor.

"Regardless of the US election outcome, resolving the 'fiscal cliff' situation will dominate the agenda in the weeks ahead, with the ensuing volatility forcing many investors on to the sidelines."

US polls opened at 6am (2200 AEDT) in battleground states New Hampshire and Virginia, as well as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine and Vermont.

Back in Europe, investors set aside news of shrinking eurozone private sector business activity to focus on healthy earnings from German luxury carmaker BMW.

The carmaker said its net profit jumped 16 per cent to 1.289 billion euros ($A1.60 billion) in the three months from July to September, while revenues soared 13.7 per cent to 18.817 billion euros.

BMW also stuck to its forecast for record sales and earnings this year.

Asian stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday as investors also awaited the start of this week's Communist Party's 18th congress, which will see a once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China.

Hong Kong slipped 0.28 per cent, Shanghai shed 0.38 per cent and Tokyo softened 0.36 per cent, while Seoul rose 1.05 per cent and Sydney closed 0.24-per cent higher.


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Britain's Cameron visits Gulf to sell jets

Written By Unknown on Senin, 05 November 2012 | 19.51

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron held talks with Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on Monday as he kicked of a three-day Gulf visit aimed at enhancing ties and selling jets, reports said.

According to the official WAM news agency, Cameron and Sheikh Mohammed discussed "ways to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation between the two friendly countries" as well as the regional political and security situation.

The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, also attended the Dubai meeting.

Cameron's office had earlier said the talks with Sheikh Mohammed would also address collaboration over next-generation aerospace equipment.

Cameron arrived early Monday and breakfasted with British troops based in the Gulf state soon after his arrival, the British embassy in the United Arab Emirates said on its Twitter account.

He later took a ride on the Dubai Metro and tweeted: "British engineering helped build it with contracts worth over 600 million."

Cameron told the BBC that his visit was not only focused on trade and investment.

"We're also partners in defence and security. We worked together in Libya, we worked together in Afghanistan and we'll be discussing all the key regional and global issues," he told the broadcaster.

Cameron later travelled to the capital Abu Dhabi for a meeting with university students.

According to a statement by Cameron's office, the prime minister was to accompany senior Emirati officials on an inspection of RAF Typhoons stationed at a UAE airbase as part of a training exercise.

The visit to the UAE, to be followed by a stopover in Saudi Arabia, "signals the PM's commitment to cementing long-term partnerships with two of Britain's most important strategic allies in the Gulf," the statement said.

Cameron is expected to use the trip to push Britain's defence industry and "specifically promote the Typhoon fast jet to Gulf leaders", it added.

The UAE had shown an interest in ordering up to 60 Typhoon Eurofighters to replace their ageing French Mirages, according to the statement.

The British leader is to head to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday before travelling onwards in the Middle East. His itinerary for the rest of the trip remains undisclosed for security reasons.

Cameron visited the UAE in 2010 and Saudi Arabia in January 2012.

Britain is trying to boost its arms sales to oil-rich Gulf states, which are key allies in a region facing instability from the violence in Syria and the crisis over Iran's nuclear program.


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Aust and France discuss global economy

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has praised efforts by European leaders to stabilise the sovereign debt crisis in a meeting with French President Francois Hollande.

Mr Hollande arrived in Laos on Monday for a summit between European and Asian leaders, saying his overarching message was that "Europe is still an economic power".

The meeting in Vientiane comes amid a poor outlook for the global economy, which includes deteriorating prospects for Europe where unemployment continues to rise.

The International Monetary Fund has recently cut its forecast for world output to 3.3 per cent for 2012, down from 3.5 per cent, while figures released last week showed unemployment across the Eurozone had risen to a record 11.6 per cent.

Ms Gillard and Mr Hollande met on Monday afternoon on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe summit, where the agenda is squarely focused on the economic woes facing Europe.

European leaders attending the talks are expected to provide an update on efforts to address financial market tensions, restore confidence and stimulate growth and jobs.

The issues of reform of international financial institutions and protectionism are also on the agenda.

Ms Gillard and Mr Hollande discussed the global economy in their talks, as well as global security.

It's understood Ms Gillard told Mr Hollande Australia "welcomed steps taken by Europe to stabilise the sovereign debt crisis", including Europe's new bail out mechanism and expanded central bank role.

Ms Gillard noted the challenging task of balancing fiscal consolidation with policies that promote economic growth and the generation of jobs.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Hollande had talked about the need for Europe to boost trade with Asia's fast-growing economies.

He said the main aim of his first trip to Asia since taking office in May was to bring the message that "Europe is still an economic power".

"I'm here to reassure Asian countries" but at the same time "to tell them that they also have a role to play in European and global growth".

"Asians have gained a lot from our growth. Now it's time for them to boost our growth with their demand."

Ms Gillard and Mr Hollande also discussed Iran and Syria - both of which are being dealt with by the UN Security Council which Australia last week was appointed to as a temporary member.

It's understood Ms Gillard reinforced Australia's position that it supports "strong sanctions" against Iran.

Ms Gillard told Mr Hollande Australia had "consistently expressed its strong concerns" about Iran's nuclear program and its failure to abide by its Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency obligations.

The prime minister also briefed Mr Hollande on the Asian century white paper, which maps out Australia's plan to engage more with Asia.

"Australia has a clear national plan for its own outlook for growth which is the white paper," Ms Gillard said earlier in the day.


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Queen's wardrobe secrets revealed

AIDES to Queen Elizabeth II take care to avoid her dresses being blown up by an errant gust of wind by sewing weights into them, one of her aides revealed on Monday.

"The queen undertakes a wide range of engagements, many of which take place in the open air, where a sudden breeze could cause embarrassment," writes Angela Kelly, the queen's personal assistant, adviser and curator, in a new book.

"If we think this is a possibility, we will very occasionally use weights, discreetly sewn into the seams of day dresses."

The glossy hardback opens the door on the work involved in creating the 86-year-old monarch's famously immaculate style, which saw her voted one of the world's most glamorous women by British Vogue magazine in 2007.

It reveals the two years of preparations for the Diamond Jubilee in June, including how the queen's white outfit worn to the river pageant was inspired by Elizabeth I and designed to stand out against the deep reds of the royal barge.

Kelly also describes how palace dressmakers were asked to make two identical versions of the crystal and lace peach cocktail dress the queen wore to the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games in July, without knowing why.

One was worn by the monarch and the other by the stunt double who jumped out of a plane alongside James Bond, in one of the highlights of the night.

"Dressing the Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe", which features lavish photographs and design sketches, also reveals how the queen uses her clothes to make a diplomatic point.

This included wearing Irish green on her historic visit to the republic in May 2011, and having one of her outfits on a tour to Canada in 2010 embellished with beads by women from the Mi'kmaq indigenous community.


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Pakistani sheep cull 'disgusting': Ludwig

AGRICULTURE Minister Joe Ludwig says he was appalled by the recent brutal slaughter of 21,000 Australian sheep by Pakistani authorities but says he is satisfied that all due diligence has been done for an upcoming export of live cows.

The minister was commenting on a report by the ABC's Four Corners on Monday, which probed the circumstances surrounding the inhumane culls in September and October.

Officials from the Sindh provincial government claimed the slaughter - which saw some sheep buried alive - was necessary due to health concerns, but these claims were vehemently rejected by Australia's live export industry and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).

Exporter Elders is now preparing to send a shipment of nearly 3000 breeder cows, 2000 of which were destined for Pakistan, where they would be under the supervision of the same government department that carried out the cull.

Senator Ludwig says he is satisfied that the department has done all of the due diligence for the export of the cows.

"Breeder cattle are are quite expensive animals to begin with," he told ABC Television on Monday.

"They are also likely to end up within local herds and well looked after - they have a long productive life."

He said he was disgusted by the scenes of the sheep being slaughtered in Pakistan.

"It was certainly appalling," the minister said.

"No one would have expected that - it was unprecedented.

But he stood by his department's handling of the case, saying the animals were not rejected on the basis of any health problems.

"The High Commissioner in Pakistan, myself, the department, everyone including the exporter and the importer did everything they could to ensure the animal welfare of those sheep," Senator Ludwig said.

"Ultimately, it didn't succeed (and) we had an appalling circumstance."

The department says it is investigating the case for any possible breaches of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System.

"We do not know the reasoning behind the Pakistan authority's decision to cull the sheep in Pakistan or their choice of the method used," DAFF said in a statement.

"We continue to hold that both the decision and the method used were unnecessary."

RSPCA Australia chief executive Heather Neil said the ABC report showed the live export trade wasn't worth the risk.

"No matter how much industry or government involvement there is, the live export of animals for slaughter presents an unacceptable level of risk for the animals and is inherently cruel," Ms Neil said.


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Dutch coalition sworn in

DUTCH Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte's coalition government was sworn in on Monday already under fire over pro-austerity measures seen as punishing his party's core middle-class voters.

Rutte's VVD and Diederik Samsom's centre-left PvdA came out on top in September 12 elections and have been in coalition talks ever since, with Queen Beatrix swearing in Rutte's new government on Monday morning.

But the ceremony, broadcast live for the first time, was overshadowed by widespread unhappiness with an austerity package agreed by the two pro-European parties aimed at saving 16 billion euros ($A19.99 billion) by 2017.

The most controversial part of the deal means that health insurance premiums will now be calculated according to income, a measure that has caused dismay among the VVD's traditional wealthy and the middle class voters.

The election was seen as a test of Dutch anti-European sentiment and voters ended up rejecting far-left and far-right extremism, with the Liberals obtaining 41 seats while Labour took 38 out of a possible 150.

But Rutte's VVD party's support is in freefall, with an opinion poll published Sunday saying they would win 11 seats less if an election were to be held now.

"False start," "Sombre start for new government," headlined the popular De Telegraaf and the Algemeen Dagblad dailies.

The Netherlands came under fire from its European partners when its deficit tipped to 4.7 percent of gross domestic product last year, above a three percent ceiling imposed by the European Union.

Talks on budget cuts led to the collapse of Rutte's government in April when his far-right parliamentary ally walked out of negotiations.

"The normally festive beginning of a new government is overshadowed by widespread anger over health insurance, which will not quiet down," wrote De Telegraaf.

The problem "threatens the government's stability before it's been orn in," said the left-leaning De Volkskrant.

PvdA party leader Samsom is staying in the lower house rather than taking up a ministerial post.

Members of his party members are however taking key portfolios, including deputy prime minister Lodewijk Asscher, Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans and Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The VVD's Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert becomes the Netherlands first woman defence minister.

The cabinet is to hold its first meeting on Monday afternoon.


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