Egypt's Islamists rally for Morsi

Vast crowds have rallied in Cairo to protest a draft constitution seen as undermining freedoms. Source: AAP

ISLAMISTS have rallied in support of President Mohamed Morsi's new expanded powers and the drafting of a contested charter, in a clear show of Egypt's deepening polarisation.

The demonstration on Saturday in the heart of Cairo comes a day after tens of thousands of Morsi opponents converged on Tahrir Square to protest against the president's decree and the speedy adoption of the draft constitution.

The charter has taken centre stage in the country's worst political crisis since Morsi's election in June, setting largely Islamist forces against more secular opponents.

It is expected to go to a popular referendum within two weeks.

Members of the constituent assembly were due to hand Morsi at 4pm (1am AEDT Sunday) the final draft of the constitution adopted after a marathon overnight session on Thursday that was boycotted by liberals, seculars and Christians.

By mid-morning, hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Morsi ran for office, and other hardline Salafist groups gathered at Cairo University, with riot police on standby and roadblocks in place.

"The Muslim Brotherhood supports President Morsi's decisions," read a banner carried by Islamists who chanted, "The people want the implementation of God's law".

The Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters have branded the opposition as enemies of the revolution that toppled long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Across the Nile river, hundreds of protesters camping out in Tahrir Square since Morsi issued a decree expanding his powers were expected to be joined by more demonstrators throughout the day.

The National Rescue Front a coalition of opponents, has called on Egyptians to "reject the illegitimate" decree and the "void" draft constitution, and stressed the public's right "to use any peaceful method to protest including a general strike and civil disobedience".

The crisis was sparked when Morsi issued the decree on November 22 giving himself sweeping powers and placing his decisions beyond judicial review, provoking mass protests and a judges' strike.

Amnesty International said the draft "raises concerns about Egypt's commitment to human rights treaties", specifically ignoring "the rights of women (and) restricting freedom of expression in the name of religion".

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Manila slams China's plans to board ships

THE Philippines has denounced Chinese plans to search ships sailing through what Beijing says is its territory in the South China Sea in the latest irritant between the countries.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the plans should be condemned by the international community because they violate maritime domains of countries in the region and impede freedom of navigation.

Chinese state media announced the plans, saying southern Hainan province, which Beijing says administers the South China Sea, had approved laws giving its police the right to search vessels that pass through the waters.

Last week the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and India protested against a map on a new Chinese passport that depicts disputed areas as belonging to China.

The Philippine statement said it wants Beijing to "immediately clarify its reported plans to interdict ships that enter what it considers its territory in the South China Sea".

It said Manila was concerned that ships entering waters claimed by China, which is "virtually the entire South China Sea ... can be boarded, inspected, detained, confiscated, immobilised and expelled, among other punitive actions".

China's action will be "illegal and will validate the continuous and repeated pronouncements by the Philippines that China's claim of indisputable sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea is not only an excessive claim but a threat to all countries", the statement said.

The maritime territorial disputes include the Spratly Islands over which China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have conflicting claims. The Spratlys chain is believed to sit atop rich oil and gas reserves and straddles one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

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Syrian army moves to secure Damascus

Clashes have raged near Damascus airport, as members of the Friends of Syria group meet in Tokyo. Source: AAP

THE Syrian army has shelled the outskirts of Damascus in a drive to establish a secure perimeter around the capital, including the key airport road that has come under sustained rebel attack.

The 27-kilometre highway remained perilous a day after troops said they had reopened the key link to the outside world in heavy fighting that followed repeated deadly fire on a bus carrying airport staff and at least two attacks on UN convoys, a watchdog said.

The fighting on Saturday sparked mounting expressions of concern from UN officials.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the conflict had reached "appalling heights of brutality". UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Syria was in danger of becoming a "failed state" if a political settlement was not reached soon.

The army shelled both the southwestern outskirts of the capital and the town of Douma in the northeastern suburbs, human rights monitors and opposition activists said.

Douma forms part of the so-called Eastern Ghouta region where troops have gone on the offensive to secure the airport highway.

Analysts say President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been trying to establish a secure perimeter around Damascus at all costs in a bid to be in a position to negotiate a solution to the 20-month conflict.

The repeated firing on the airport road prompted the cancellation of a string of international flights.

Airport officials said flights had resumed on Friday, but a military source acknowledged more heavy fighting lay ahead to fully secure the road.

Traffic resumed after the army cleared rebels from the western side of the highway and part of the eastern side on Friday.

"But the most difficult part is yet to come," the military official said. "The army wants to take control of the eastern side, where there are thousands of terrorists and this will take several days."

Shelling and fighting between troops and rebels also rocked Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, scene of urban warfare for more than four months, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Also, clashes were reported in the central city of Homs, dubbed by activists "the capital of the revolution".

In the east, troops re-entered the Al-Omar oilfield, three days after pulling out, the Observatory said.

"Despite Thursday's pullout, rebels did not enter the oilfield for fear that it was mined," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The oilfield is one of the regime's last positions east of the city of Deir Ezzor. Rebels last week seized a huge swathe of territory stretching from the city to the Iraqi border, the largest in Syria outside government control.

Early last month, the rebels seized control of the Al-Ward oilfield, the first it had captured. The army has since also lost control of the Al-Jofra oilfield and the Conoco gas reserves, according to the Observatory.

Syria's oil and gas production is now largely for domestic consumption as a result of embargoes on its exports by its biggest pre-conflict customers. But rebel activity has also taken a mounting toll on output.

Violence nationwide killed at least 122 people on Friday, including 73 civilians and 22 fighters from neighbouring Lebanon, the Observatory said, bringing to more than 41,000 the number killed since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

UN chief Ban predicted that Syrian refugee numbers would surge to more than 700,000 by next month as more civilians fled the fighting in residential areas, up from 480,000 now.

Peace envoy Brahimi warned the intensifying conflict could see "the state and its institutions withering away, lawlessness spreading, warlordism, banditry, narcotics, arms smuggling and worst of all the ugly face of communal and sectarian strife take hold of Syria".

Google and Twitter said that they had reactivated a voice-tweet program, last used in 2011 when the internet was shut down in Egypt during its revolution, to allow Syrians affected by an internet shutdown to get messages out.

Most phones and internet networks were down for a second straight day on Friday, the Observatory said.

Syrian authorities blamed maintenance work. Washington accused Damascus of deliberately cutting communications.

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Man arrested after Darwin navy boat raid

POLICE believe a number of people were involved in a conspiracy to steal weapons from a navy patrol boat during a midnight raid in Darwin.

A dozen semi-automatic pistols and two pump-action shotguns were stolen from the armoury of the Armidale-class patrol boat Bathurst at midnight (CST) on Thursday, while it was moored at HMAS Coonawarra, near the city centre.

A duty sailor on board was overpowered during the robbery, assaulted and then restrained with cable ties.

Following an "around the clock" investigation into the robbery, Northern Territory police surrounded a unit in Darwin city about 2.30pm (CST) on Saturday.

A 40-year-old man tried to run from the area, but was captured and taken into custody nearby, Commander Richard Bryson, of the NT Police, said.

He said all 14 weapons were recovered at the unit, however police were still investigating what the man's involvement in the robbery was.

"We have a number of avenues of inquiry to go (on)," Cmdr Bryson told reporters on Saturday.

"The police force need to establish whether this person received the weapons or if he is one of the principal offenders.

"It would appear a number of people have conspired."

Cmdr Bryson said it appears several people were involved in the patrol boat raid, the ABC reported.

"Investigators will continue those investigations until all persons that had a hand in that conspiracy have been brought to justice," he said.

No charges have yet been laid and investigations are continuing.

Cmdr Bryson said he was happy to have the patrol boat's weapons removed from the streets.

"I commend all the officers involved with this investigation for working around the clock to achieve such a positive outcome," he said on Saturday.

On Friday, police said a person, allegedly wearing a balaclava and military clothing, boarded the patrol boat.

Cmdr Bryson told reporters on Friday that it appeared the intruder had good knowledge of the layout of the vessel and Australian Defence Force (ADF) procedures.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Ray Griggs has ordered an investigation of the security at Australia's fleet of ships and bases around the country in response to the theft.

Another five firearms were stolen from a business at Berrimah, near Darwin, about 5.30am on Friday after a shop's gun safe was broken into, but police have not identified any link between the two thefts as yet.

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North Korea to test long-range rocket soon

NORTH Korea says it will launch a long-range rocket between December 10 and 22, a move likely to heighten already strained relations with the US and South Korea, where a presidential election will be held on December 19.

This would be North Korea's second launch attempt under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power after his father Kim Jong Il's death nearly a year ago.

The announcement comes several weeks after US President Barack Obama was elected to a second term and before his public inauguration on January 21.

Washington considers North Korea's rocket tests to be veiled covers for tests of long-range missile technology banned by the United Nations.

An unnamed spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology said North Korea had "analysed the mistakes" made in a failed April launch and improved the precision of the rocket and satellite, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The April launch broke up shortly after lift-off, but quickly drew condemnation from the UN, Washington, Seoul and other capitals.

North Korea's statement said a rocket carrying a polar-orbiting Earth observation satellite will blast off southward from its northwest coastal space centre.

The US has criticised North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles as a threat to Asian and world security.

Under its young leader North Korea has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy.

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Eurozone unemployment hits record high

THE recession in the economy of the 17 euro countries has pushed unemployment in the region up to a record 11.7 per cent in October.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, said on Friday that 18.7 million people were out of work across the 17 EU countries that use the euro.

The increase from the previous month's 11.6 per cent was anticipated in light of the eurozone's return to recession in the third quarter.

Spain and Greece have the region's highest unemployment rates - both over 25 per cent, with youth unemployment levels heading towards 60 per cent.

Eurostat also says that inflation in the eurozone fell by more than anticipated to 2.2 per cent in November. However, it is still above the European Central Bank's target of keeping price rises at just below 2 per cent.

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Clive James given special award

IT has been quite a year for indigenous artists and writers.

And the latest winner is Kim Scott, the West Australian Aboriginal writer, who on Friday won a combined $50,000 for two NSW Premier's Literary awards for his novel, That Deadman Dance.

He received $40,000 for the Christina Stead Prize and $10,000 for Book of the Year.

Set on the WA coast at the start of the 19th century, That Deadman Dance is a story of early encounters between Noongar people and European settlers.

The judges said the book is "peopled with a broad cast of compelling, complex characters" and a "work of astounding beauty".

Thirty-three judges read hundreds of nominations for the nine literary awards and five history awards, with a collective value of about $360,000 in prize money.

Expat writer, journalist and commentator Clive James CBE AM was awarded the Special Award worth $10,000.

This award, given under exceptional circumstances, isn't open to entry and can't be awarded to a work that has been submitted to the awards.

James, 73, who has leukaemia, was a member of the Aussie "Push" who went to London in the early 1960s and included feminist Germaine Greer.

He was Britain's leading TV critic, for The Observer from 1972 to 1982, and later became well known for programs including Clive James on Television and The Clive James Show, as well as documentaries.

The first volume of his autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, is his best known book.

In June, James said he was "getting near the end" after several years of illness.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said recognising James's achievements in this way was a "fitting tribute to a great Australian writer and a great son of Sydney".

He said James had had an "extraordinarily prolific and successful career" and has "pioneered and championed the idea of an internationalised Australian culture through his poetry, novels, memoirs, works of literary criticism and scriptwriting".

Writer Gail Jones was awarded the People's Choice Award for Five Bells, a novel set in Circular Quay, Sydney, one sparkling summer's day.

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Catholic council set for abuse commission

The Catholic Church will establish a council to work with the royal commission into child sex abuse. Source: AAP

A COUNCIL of religious and lay people being set up to work with the royal commission into child sex abuse will help the Catholic Church "face the truth", Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart says.

The Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday announced it had established a group of representatives from the conference and religious orders to establish and oversee the new 10-member council.

In a statement, the conference said the royal commission's inquiry would be "painful and difficult" for the church, but that was nothing compared to the hurt of those who had suffered sexual abuse.

"Once again, we renew our heartfelt apology to those whose lives have been so grievously harmed by the evil perpetrated upon them by some priests, religious and church personnel."

Archbishop Hart, who is conference president, said the new council would help the church engage closely with the commission and the community.

Expert lay people, including those with expertise in the care of sex abuse victims, would be on the council, he told AAP.

"We need broad-based expertise so that the church together can face the truth, can provide a better response to the care of victims and also make Australia a safer place for our children."

Archbishop Hart said the church had 30 bishops in their dioceses and 129 different religious orders, so a unified council was considered best to liaise with the royal commission.

It was still important for the royal commission to be able to approach individual church officials and members, the archbishop said.

He has already come out in support of mandatory reporting of child sex abuse for priests in line with doctors, nurses and social workers.

There have been calls for the sanctity of the confessional to be reviewed in relation to child sex abuse.

But Archbishop Hart said it was unlikely child sex offenders within the church would use the confessional.

"Leaving things as they are has very positive value and it is part of the religious freedom that we enjoy under the constitution," he said.

Chris MacIsaac from Broken Rites Australia, a victim support group, said the church's proposed committee was an attempt to shield church leaders from the scrutiny of the royal commission.

"The royal commission must be able to question any bishop or church leader individually," he said in a statement.

"The proposed committee members will not know how each church leader concealed a crime from the police, or how an offender was transferred to new locations and new victims."

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German parliament approves Greek debt deal

GERMAN MPs have overwhelmingly backed a deal aimed at trimming Greece's debt load and keeping the country financially afloat but the country's finance minister insisted it would be irresponsible to raise hopes of more radical debt forgiveness soon.

Parliament voted 473-100 on Friday to back the complex deal reached by European finance ministers on Tuesday after marathon negotiations.

The agreement paves the way for Greece to receive 44 billion euros ($A55 billion) in critical rescue loans, without which the country would face bankruptcy and a possible exit from the euro.

Its measures include a debt buyback program and an interest rate cut on loans. Those are aimed at cutting back Greece's debts and giving it more time to push through economic reforms and trim its budget deficit.

However, it stops short of forgiving outright debt owed to lead creditor Germany and other eurozone governments.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has strongly opposed a so-called "haircut" in the run-up to elections next year.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told MPs that the latest deal will keep the pressure on Greece to fulfill its promises.

"We have always pushed the principle of conditionality, and that goes here too," Schaeuble said.

"Greece will only receive all this relief if it continues to implement its reform measures, one after another."

Germany's parliament has to approve eurozone rescue measures. The bailouts of Greece and others haven't been popular in Germany, and there has been growing unease in Merkel's centre-right coalition.

Still, broad support was assured because two of Germany's three opposition parties voted largely in favour. They argued that Greece had to be kept afloat despite reservations about Merkel's insistence on a step-by-step and austerity-heavy approach to the debt crisis.

Many economists say that Greece's debt burden - forecast to reach some 190 per cent of its gross domestic product next year - can only be managed by writing off loans by governments.

The government argues that full-scale debt relief is legally impossible at present and would send the wrong message.

Some MPs in Merkel's coalition argue that the government's current approach already goes too far.

"We know from our private lives that you don't throw good money after bad," Klaus-Peter Willsch, a backbencher with Merkel's Christian Democrats who has become a prominent critic of her rescue policies, said.

"Let's end this road today."

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Clashes at airport, internet still cut

FIERCE clashes raged throughout the night near Damascus airport, with a shell slamming into a bus carrying airport workers, as Internet and phone links in Syria remained cut for a second straight day.

Delegates from more than 60 countries, meanwhile, were gathering in Tokyo to find ways to step up the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the main road to Damascus from the airport, which was closed Thursday due to the fighting, had reopened but said a bus carrying airport employees had been hit by a shell, killing two people.

A security source also reported the deaths, blaming rebels for the shelling, but SyrianAir director Ghida Abdellatif said the two employees were wounded and that the airport itself was not shelled.

An airport source told AFP that air traffic and passenger boarding was normal, after EgyptAir and Emirates had on Thursday announced a suspension of flights because of the violence.

The airport informed foreign airlines to resume flight after "the restoration of security on the road" to the airport, he said.

Mr Abdellatif told AFP that a flight to Jeddah via Aleppo had already left, while flights to Khartoum and Cairo were planned.

The Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists on the ground, said that during the night rebels bombed the Harran al-Awamid military barracks, which is responsible for protecting the airport.

It also reported fierce fighting along stretches of the 27-kilometre road linking Damascus to the airport.

"After strong clashes, rebels were able to take control of a part of the airport road between the second and fourth bridge," it said.

State television had on Thursday night quoted the information ministry as saying that the Damascus airport road had been "secured" after military intervention.

A military source in Damascus said the army had taken control of the western side of the road leading to the airport and a small portion on the east by dawn, allowing travellers to move through.

"But the most difficult part is yet to come. The army wants to take control of the eastern side, where there are thousands of terrorists and this will take several days," he said, using the term regime officials use for rebel fighters.

The Observatory, which reported 108 deaths in violence across Syria on Thursday based on information from activists and medics on the ground, said most phones and Internet networks were down for a second straight day.

"In some areas, it is possible to access the Internet but with great difficulty," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Observatory.

"It is also very difficult to reach people by phone. But we have received reports that it is possible to communicate between certain regions via fixed telephone lines," he added.

AFP correspondents noted that internet and telephone communications, including mobile phones, were cut in the capital.

On Thursday, activists accused the regime of preparing a "massacre" when the telephone lines and Internet first went down, while the authorities explained the cut was due to "maintenance" work.

Washington branded it as a desperate move on part of the regime.

But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that some 2000 communications sets supplied to opposition rebels over recent months as part of a US non-lethal assistance program were not affected by the blackout.

Washington was weighing what further help it can give the opposition, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday, without spelling out if they would win full US recognition.

"We are going to carefully consider what more we can do," Mrs Clinton told a Washington forum. "I'm sure we will do more in the weeks ahead."

On Friday, delegates from more than 60 countries gathered in Tokyo, seeking to ramp up pressure on Assad.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told the "Friends of Syria" group that the international community had to act together where the divided UN Security Council had failed.

"While the United Nations Security Council has been unable to assume its primary responsibility, it's increasingly important for the international community to act as one in order to deal with" the continuing violence, he said.

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Wave of attacks in Iraq kill 39

A WAVE of bombings targeting Shiite Muslims in two major cities south of Baghdad killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 100 morning, Iraqi officials said.

The deadliest of the attacks was in the city of Hillah, where back-to-back explosions in a busy commercial area killed at least 27 people and wounded up to 90, a police officer said.

Insurgents first detonated a roadside bomb that was followed by a car bomb explosion when rescuers rushed to the scene, he added.

Among the victims in Hillah, 95 kilometres south of Baghdad, were Shiite mourners who were commemorating the 17th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, he added.

Twisted and charred remains of vehicles were seen outside damaged shops as shop owners collected their strewn merchandise from the bloodstained pavement, littered with debris.

Just hours earlier, a parked car bomb went off at one of its gates of the city of Karbala in the nearby province by the same name, killing six people and wounding 20, another police officer said.

The explosion took place less than one kilometre away from the shrine of Imam Hussein.

Shiite religious ceremonies have often been targeted by Sunni militants who view the Shiites as heretics. Iraq has seen repeated deadly attacks against Shiites commemorating the anniversary of Imam Hussein's death, but Thursday's attacks were the deadliest since ceremonies started last Sunday.

Karbala, 90 kilometres south of Baghdad, is one of the holiest cities in Shiite Islam and the place where Imam Hussein and his brother, Imam Abbas, are buried. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites flock to their golden-domed shrines every year.

Also Thursday, a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car into a police checkpoint in the city of Fallujah, 65 kilometres to the west of the capital, killing three policemen and wounding 11 others, another police official said.

And in the northern city of Mosul, a parked car bomb went off next to a passing police patrol, killing two people and wounded two, police said. Another police patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the in the town of Balad Ruz, 70 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, killing one policeman and wounding six others.

Three health officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Although violence has ebbed since the peak of insurgency several years ago, attacks are still frequent against security forces, government officials and civilians.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombings, but car bombs, shootings and roadside devices are the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq.

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India to change law after Facebook row

INDIA is set to amend its hate speech laws following a public outcry over two women arrested for posting comments on Facebook after the death of hardline politician Bal Thackeray.

The new guidelines by the communications and information technology ministry will make it harder for police to arrest people who post allegedly offensive material online.

The women, both 21, were detained a week ago over comments on the social networking site questioning whether the city of Mumbai should have been effectively shut down by the authorities for Thackeray's funeral.

"Any complaint about online content that is deemed offensive will now require scrutiny by senior police officers," a telecoms ministry official who declined to be named told AFP.

"The changes have been made with the backdrop of the recent case. We realised the law needs to be changed."

A Facebook post by Shaheen Dhada on the day of the funeral for Thackeray, whose Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party has a reputation for intimidation and violence, said that Mumbai had shut down "due to fear, not due to respect".

Renu Srinivasan "liked", and shared the post, commenting that "it doesn't make sense to shut down everything", according to reports.

The case against the two was dropped on Thursday, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

"No charge sheet will be filed," Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal said. "There will be a closure report."

The arrests triggered a nationwide debate, forcing the government to suspend two senior police officers and transfer a judge.

The decision by the ministry comes as there has been growing criticism of the law being misused by the police to suppress freedom of expression.

The Supreme Court admitted a petition that demands the scrapping of a section of India's Information Technology Act that punishes sharing offensive Internet content.

In August, the government blocked inflammatory material on Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and some news outlets in a bid to calm ethnic tensions over migrant workers from the northeast.

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Syria rebels 'using children in battle'

HUMAN Rights Watch has accused the Syrian opposition of using young boys to serve as fighters, guards and lookouts in the brutal conflict with regime forces.

"Children as young as 14 have served in at least three opposition brigades, transporting weapons and supplies and acting as lookouts," the New York-based watchdog said.

"Children as young as 16 have carried arms and taken combat roles against government forces."

It called on rebel commanders to make public commitments to end this practice and to forbid anyone under 18 from serving in military roles, regardless of whether they volunteer.

"All eyes are on the Syrian oppositiPriyanka Motaparthyon to prove they're trying to protect children from bullets and bombs, rather than placing them in danger," said , children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

HRW interviewed five boys between 14 and 16 who said they had worked with the armed opposition.

"Majid," a 16-year-old boy from Homs, told HRW that he received combat training and had participated in missions in Syria along with his older brother.

"The job you have depends on you," he said. "If you have a brave heart, they'll send you to fight checkpoints."

"Haitham" and "Qassim," two sixteen-year-old boys from Daraa province currently living in Jordan, said they had voluntarily joined a local brigade.

"(The Free Syrian Army) is accepting people from 16 and up," Haitham said.

"Raed," 14, transported weapons and other supplies for rebels across the Turkish border at their request.

"All of the kids were helping like this," he said.

At least 17 children have been killed while fighting alongside the FSA, according to the Syria Violations Documenting Centre, an opposition monitoring group. Many others have been severely wounded and some permanently disabled.

In August, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria issued a report in which it expressed concern over reports of children under 18 fighting and performing auxiliary roles for opposition groups.

"The commission received assurances from (FSA chief) Colonel Riad al-Asaad that an FSA policy not to use children in combat is in place. There is evidence to suggest, however, that this policy is not uniformly being adhered to by the FSA and other anti-Government armed groups," it said.

HRW found that refugee boys in neighbouring countries remain vulnerable to recruitment and participation under pressure from older men, including FSA fighters on leave.

"We've watched men urge boys to support the FSA and join the fight," Ms Motaparthy said.

"Particularly when their older family members fight with armed opposition groups, or have been killed by regime forces, boys can face pressure to pick up weapons and fight back, sometimes even at very young ages."

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Senate passes Malaysia free trade deal

THE Senate has passed legislation to create stronger trade ties with Malaysia through a new free trade agreement.

Senators on Thursday approved legislation to implement the agreement, which will lead to almost all Australian goods being able to enter Malaysia free of import duties.

The Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement would guarantee tariff-free entry for 97.6 per cent of recent goods exported from Australia after it comes into force. It would rise to 99 per cent by 2017.

Malaysian exporters would enjoy duty-free entry to the Australian market.

The coalition backed this legislation with Shadow Attorney General George Brandis saying it dated back to 2005 when the former Howard coalition government launched negotiations.

He said Malaysia was Australia's third largest trading partner in ASEAN and 10th largest partner overall with exports of $5 billion and imports of $9.1 billion in 2011-12.

"Prominent Australian industries are set to benefit from this new trade agreement with Malaysia including the Australian dairy industry," he told the Senate.

Senator Brandis said other Australian industries set to gain from the trade agreement include the local automotive sector, wine, agriculture including sugar, wheat and rice, plastics, processed foods, chemical and a range of manufactured goods.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon said he queried why Australia was interested in free trade with Malaysia but not in promoting democracy.

"There is no question that Malaysia is an important trading partner. But we must be listening to all sides of Malaysian politics," he said.

"The passage of this free trade agreement should be, must be, conditional on our support of free and fair elections in Malaysia."

Greens leader Christine Milne said the greens had a longstanding position that free trade agreements were not what they were cracked up to be.

"No matter how efficient an Australian farmer, they cannot compete against farmers in other economies if farmers in other economies don't have to bear the cost of compliance with environmental laws and standards or compliance with labour standards," she said.

"We cannot have free trade agreements in the future unless they take those things into account."

The Senate passed the Customs Amendment (Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2012 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2012.

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European stocks rebound on US optimism

EUROPEAN stocks have rallied, mirroring gains elsewhere, on optimism over talks aimed at avoiding a so-called fiscal cliff in the United States, and after upbeat unemployment data in Germany.

In late morning deals on Thursday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index won 0.92 per cent to 5,855.57 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 0.71 per cent to 7,395.68 points and the Paris CAC 40 climbed 1.05 per cent to 3,552.09.

Madrid's IBEX 35 index soared by 1.30 per cent to 7,938.70 points, rebounding from losses the previous day following heavy job cuts at Spanish nationalised lender Bankia.

The European single currency advanced to $US1.2986 from $US1.2939 late in New York on Wednesday. On the London Bullion Market, gold prices rose to $US1,724.07 an ounce from $US1,708 on Wednesday.

The V2X indicator which measures volatility on the Eurostoxx 50 index of the 50 biggest quoted companies in the eurozone fell to the lowest level since 2007, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers marked the beginning of the financial crisis.

Asian markets mostly tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday after House of Representatives speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday he was optimistic of a fiscal deal between his Republicans and their bitter Democratic rivals.

President Barack Obama also said he expected a solution would be found before Christmas to avert the "fiscal cliff" of automatic taxation hikes and spending cuts that will be activated on January 1 if they fail to reach agreement.

"The mood changed dramatically yesterday after John Boehner and President Obama expressed optimism that a deal could be reached," said analyst Fawad Razaqzada at trading firm GFT Markets.

European sentiment was also boosted on Thursday by official data showing that Germany's jobless total rose 5000 in November from October. That beat forecasts of a 15,000 gain, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"The number ... is definitely good news, especially if we bear in mind the estimate was much higher," said trader Anita Paluch at Gekko Global Markets.

London's indices gained support also after British engineering firm Invensys agreed to sell its rail signalling division to German industrial giant Siemens for STG1.742 billion ($A2.68 billion), sparking speculation over a potential takeover.

Invensys added in London late on Wednesday that it would return STG625 million to shareholders, or about 76 pence per share. The firm will also place STG250 million in reserve, while the remainder will address a group pension deficit.

In reaction on Thursday, Invensys shares rocketed by 9.61 per cent to 306.90 pence on London's second-tier FTSE 250 index, which was 0.87 per cent higher at 11,994.50 points.

"We suspect it may be only be a matter of time before Invensys is acquired once the sale to Siemens is completed - likely around May 2013," noted RBC Capital Markets analyst Andrew Carter.

"The disposal of rail leaves Invensys more focused on automation and eliminates the UK defined benefit pension net deficit, thereby removing two major obstacles for potential acquirers."

Siemens stock added 0.76 per cent to 79.54 euros in Frankfurt deals.

Kingfisher shares slid 1.48 per cent to 276.45 pence after Europe's biggest home-improvements retailer posted weak third-quarter profits and sales, hit by adverse foreign exchange moves and a poor performance in France.

In Paris, shares in construction engineering group Eiffage rose by 7.40 per cent to 29.61 euros, to show a rise of nearly 60 per cent this year, mainly for technical reasons because the price had breached a key level and because of year-end book dressing by investors.

Traders were later on Thursday to digest the latest estimate of US economic growth for the third quarter of the year.

New York stocks had churned higher on Wednesday, spurred by encouraging remarks by politicians over the fiscal talks.

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Clashes as Egypt sinks into crisis

EGYPT plunged deeper into its worst political crisis since Islamist President Mohamed Morsi took office in June, with massive opposition rallies nationwide signalling a new "revolution" nearly two years after Hosni Mubarak was toppled.

Police fired tear gas into Cairo's Tahrir Square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce Mr Morsi's power grab.

Clashes that have been erupting on streets just off Tahrir near the US embassy spilled into the square, with canisters falling into the crowd forcing protesters to run and sending clouds of tear gas over the tents housing the demonstrators.

The outskirts of the square have seen sporadic clashes now entering their ninth day, in what started as an anniversary protest to mark one year since deadly confrontations with police in the same area.

Clashes also raged through the night between supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla and the canal city of Port Said.

In Mahalla, 132 people were injured while 27 were hurt in Port Said, medical sources said. According to a security official, calm in both towns had been restored by morning.

Tuesday's huge turnout for a protest rally in the iconic square in the heart of Cairo, as well as in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and most of Egypt's 27 provinces, marked the largest mobilisation yet against the president.

"The revolution returns to the square," headlined the state-owned daily Al-Akhbar.

"Revolution to save the revolution," said the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm in a bold front-page headline.

Protesters are furious at the decree that Mr Morsi announced last Thursday allowing him to "issue any decision or law that is final and not subject to appeal", which effectively placed him beyond judicial oversight.

The move helped consolidate the long-divided opposition, with leading dissidents former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei and ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa uniting with former presidential candidates in the face of Morsi and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Mr Morsi ran for office.

The Brotherhood and the secular-leaning opposition had stood side by side in Cairo's Tahrir Square in 2011 as they fought to bring down Mubarak and his regime.

But since the strongman's downfall in February last year, the Islamist movement has been accused of monopolising politics after dominating parliament - following vows not field candidates for a majority of the seats-- and backtracking on a promise not to nominate a presidential candidate.

The movement went on to dominate a committee tasked with drafting the country's new constitution, prompting a string of walkouts by liberals, leftists and churches who say the panel fails to represent all Egyptians.

Mr Morsi's decree also bans any judicial body from dissolving the controversial panel, putting him on a collision course with the judiciary. Several courts have suspended work in protest.

The decree is temporary, valid only until a new constitution is in place, and Mr Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party says the measures are aimed at speeding up a seemingly endless transition.

US officials said Washington was closely following the drama unfolding in Egypt, with a warning that Cairo could put vast amounts of international aid at stake if it veers off the democratic course.

The situation was evolving, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"I think we don't yet know what the outcome of those are going to be. But that's a far cry from an autocrat just saying, my way or the highway," she said.

Ms Nuland stressed that "we want to see Egypt continuing on a reform path to ensure that any money forthcoming from the IMF truly supports a stabilisation and a revitalisation of a dynamic economy based on market principles."

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said Egypt can still get its $US4.8 billion ($4.6 billion) loan, agreed last week, despite the turmoil as long as there is "no major change" in its reform commitments.

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Gunmen kills Saudi official in Yemen

YEMENI security officials say gunmen have killed a member of a Saudi Arabian military delegation in the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi military official was traveling by car to his embassy on Wednesday morning when he was shot by gunmen in another car.

The officials say the gunmen were wearing army uniforms. No further details were immediately available.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.

The incident is the latest attack on security forces in the country, though previous killings have targeted Yemeni officials.

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Two pinned under Fraser Island tourist bus

TWO men pinned under a Fraser Island tourist bus have been airlifted to hospital.

About 3.30pm (AEST) the bus was being driven along the beach, north of the Maheno Wreck, when it got a flat tyre.

The driver and a passenger were changing the tyre when another passenger got back on the bus, causing it to roll.

The 49-year-old driver from Rainbow Beach had his hand crushed while the 29-year-old UK tourist helping him suffered cuts to his left arm.

Both men were airlifted to Hervey Bay Hospital in a stable condition.

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Palestinians eye status upgrade at UN

THE Palestinians head to the United Nations in a bid to upgrade their status in a move likely to bring them new global recognition but also harsh repercussions.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will personally submit the request seeking to upgrade their rank from an observer entity to that of a non-member observer state before the UN General Assembly.

If the request is approved by the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly, it will give the Palestinians access to a range of UN agencies and also potentially to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The bid comes 14 months after Mr Abbas first approached the UN, seeking full state membership in a request which stalled at the Security Council after the United States threatened to use its veto.

But today's resolution is likely to pass easily, requiring only a simple majority to go through.

"We are going to the United Nations fully confident in our steps," Mr Abbas said.

"We ask for a just peace, which is agreed on by the international community, which will give us our state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

"Without that, there is no hope at all."

As Mr Abbas prepared to present his request, a growing number of European countries pledged to vote in favour of the motion, among them France, Spain, Norway, Demark and Switzerland.

But the move is strongly opposed by the United States and Israel, who say a Palestinian state should only emerge out of bilateral negotiations, with US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Tuesday confirming that Washington saw the move as "a mistake" and would vote against it.

Israeli officials fear that the Palestinians could use their new-found status to sue them for war crimes at the ICC, and a senior Palestinian official on Wednesday confirmed that they had come under "intensive" world pressure to commit that they would not take such a step.

"We have not succumbed to pressure, we did not give any commitment," Hanan Ashrawi told reporters in Ramallah, saying most of the pressure had come from Britain.

"We haven't decided that tomorrow we are going to be recognised as a state and the day after, we are going to the International Criminal Court."

But she said she hoped the threat alone would prove to be "a positive inducement for corrective action" in Israel's stance vis-a-vis the Palestinians.

France is the first major European power to throw its weight behind the Palestinian bid, while Britain has yet to decide where it stands.

This week, Mr Abbas also received a rare show of support from the rival Palestinian nationalist movement, Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

The Islamist movement had publicly opposed the bid, but on Monday, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal phoned Mr Abbas to tell him that the faction "welcomes the step of going to the United Nations for state observer status."

Harsh repercussions

But Mr Abbas is aware that there is likely to be a political backlash over his decision to return to the United Nations.

Israel is already weighing countermeasures in response to the UN bid, including freezing the transfer of tax and tariff funds it collects on their behalf.

Some ministers warned they could declare the 1993 Oslo peace accords void, and a foreign ministry policy paper even suggested "toppling" Mr Abbas's Palestinian Authority.

But a ministry spokeswoman on Tuesday said Israel would most likely not take any punitive measures, unless the Palestinians used the upgrade "as a platform for confrontation".

"Israel's reaction to the Palestinian move depends on what they choose to do.. If they use this resolution as a platform for confrontation, we will have to act accordingly," said Ilana Stein in reference to any move at the ICC.

Washington has repeatedly urged Mr Abbas to drop the request, warning he risks losing around $US200 million ($191 million) in development aid earmarked for the Palestinian Authority which is currently blocked in the US Congress.

It could also affect American financial aid to the United Nations under terms of a US law which prohibits funding international bodies that recognise a Palestinian state.

Mr Abbas argues that the UN bid complements efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

"We don't want any confrontations with the United States or Israel. If we could start a dialogue or negotiations the day after the vote, we will."

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Chavez back in Cuba for cancer treatment

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez was back in Cuba for further cancer treatment just weeks after being re-elected to a new six-year term, the state-run Granma newspaper reported.

The newspaper said Mr Chavez arrived at dawn and would be undergoing several sessions of hyperbaric oxygenation, the breathing of pure oxygen in a sealed and pressurised chamber.

Mr Chavez, who had said in July that he was cancer-free, disclosed his travel plans in a letter to the National Assembly that left unclear whether he had suffered a relapse.

The 58-year-old, who has been in power since 1999 and gained international prominence as an anti-American firebrand, appeared weak and subdued during the presidential campaign but won a third term that extends to 2018.

That came as a massive relief to his closest ally Cuba, the Americas' only one-party Communist nation. The crippled Cuban economy depends heavily on Venezuelan aid and cut-rate oil.

In the letter, Mr Chavez said he had been zealously following a "complementary treatment plan" ordered by his doctors, despite the intense re-election campaign.

They recommended undergoing "a special treatment consisting of various sessions of hyperbaric oxygenation along with physiotherapy to continue to consolidate the strengthening health I have been experiencing," he said.

Mr Chavez, who has never disclosed the type or severity of the cancer he had, underwent surgery to remove a tumor in his pelvic region last year in Cuba. This was followed by multiple rounds of chemotherapy after the cancer returned.

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China paper falls Onion's 'sexiest' Kim

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been named 2012's "Sexiest Man Alive", China's Communist Party newspaper proclaimed after treating a spoof award by satirical US website The Onion as genuine.

The People's Daily website published two paragraphs lifted word-for-word from The Onion, along with a photo gallery of 55 images of Kim, who took over as the North's leader after his father Kim Jong-Il died last December.

The newspaper, known for keeping to the Communist Party line, described the organisation awarding the title as "US website The Onion", but made no mention of satire and published the report in both English and Chinese as world news.

"With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true," The Onion said in its original report, quoted by the People's Daily.

"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile."

China is North Korea's sole major ally and economic lifeline, providing it major food and fuel aid.

Pyongyang's reliance on Beijing has increased as international sanctions over its missile and nuclear programmes have strangled its ability to secure international credit and foreign trade.

The People's Daily cited The Onion's supposed style and entertainment editor "Marissa Blake-Zweiber" as saying of Kim: "He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time."

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Police suspended for Facebook arrests

TWO senior policemen in the western Indian state of Maharashtra were suspended for arresting two women over a Facebook post criticising the shutdown of Mumbai for the funeral of a powerful politician last week.

The policemen were suspended indefinitely and the magistrate who registered the case against the women was transferred to another district, state Home Minister R.R. Patil told reporters.

Police also arrested nine men who vandalised a medical clinic run by the uncle of one of the women, Mr Patil said.

One of the women had posted a Facebook comment complaining that Mumbai had come to a standstill after the death of rightwing leader Bal Thackeray "due to fear, not due to respect" for the politician. Her friend "liked" the post.

Shops and offices were closed and public transport stopped running in Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment hub, after the death of Thackeray, a Hindu extremist leader linked to waves of mob violence against Muslims and migrant workers in the city.

The women later withdrew the Facebook comment and apologised, but a mob of Thackeray's supporters forced their way into the medical clinic and smashed the operation theater and medical equipment as patients and nurses fled.

The arrest of the two women sparked outrage across India and was seen as flagrant misuse of Internet laws and an attempt to curb freedom of expression. They were released on bail a day after their arrests.

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Helium shortage grounds Mickey balloons

TOKYO Disneyland has stopped selling helium balloons shaped like Mickey Mouse and other characters because of a worldwide shortage of the lighter-than-air gas.

The park's operator said the popular balloons were withdrawn from sale last week because the company was having difficulty securing a stable supply.

"Delivery of our orders cannot be fulfilled because suppliers are finding it difficult to obtain the gas," said an official at Oriental Land, which operates Disneyland and the next door Disneysea park.

"We will resume sales of balloons as soon as we can secure supplies."

Helium comes from a relatively small number of natural gasfields, with the United States having long served as a major producer for Japanese customers.

The gas is mainly used as an industrial and medical coolant, particularly for MRI scanners.

The global helium shortage has been a problem among MRI manufacturers for the past few years but has become more acute over the last few months.
 

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Japan PM promises to end nuclear power

JAPAN'S Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda promised to rid Japan of nuclear energy in coming decades as he set out his party's platform before next month's general election.

Mr Noda also pledged to conduct "calm and realistic" diplomatic and defence policies, as he tried to counter claims by his opponents that his Democratic Party of Japan does not stand up to foreign powers.

"After the nuclear accident (in Fukushima), we believe the Japanese people wish for and are resolved to have a society that does not rely on nuclear power plants," Mr Noda told reporters.

"We will put all available policy resources into building a path toward that goal," he said.

The pledge amounted to a slight hardening of announcements made earlier this year when his cabinet said it would work towards scrapping nuclear power by the end of the 2030s.

A vocal section of Japan's public has turned against atomic power in the aftermath of the disaster at Fukushima, where reactors were sent into meltdown after cooling systems were knocked out by a tsunami.

However, many in the business community say Japan needs nuclear to power its industries.

In a document that was short on specifics, the DPJ said it would also try to end deflation during fiscal 2014 by working with the Bank of Japan and promised a "large-scale" extra budget in early 2013.

It reiterated a desire to deepen Japan's alliance with the US, and promised to "promote" Japan's involvement in talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a wide-ranging free trade agreement that is anathema to the country's cosseted farmers.

The manifesto stands in sharp contrast with the party's 2009 campaign platform that offered a number of specific promises, many of which it failed to deliver on.

In 2009 the DPJ promised to build equal ties with the United States, to scrap highway fees and to stop the construction of a huge dam, among other pledges.

The party failed to make good on many of them and is expected to suffer as voters desert it in favour of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party or smaller, newly-formed groupings.

"Looking back at the past three years, there are promises that we were able to keep, and unfortunately there are things we could not deliver," Noda said.

"With deep apologies to the Japanese people, and lessons learned from our shortcomings, we drafted this," he said.

The LDP unveiled its campaign promises last week, saying it would strengthen defence programs and consider establishing a permanent presence on uninhabited Tokyo-controlled islands at the centre of a dispute with China.

Japan goes to the polls on December 16, with most commentators expecting no party to gain overall control of the powerful lower house. A possibly shaky coalition government is seen as the likeliest outcome.

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Bishop's lawyer work a source of shame

A LABOR senator has launched a scathing attack on deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop for her work as a lead lawyer for the CSR company opposing compensation claims from workers dying of asbestos diseases.

West Australian senator Glenn Sterle said CSR's Wittenoom mine had been dubbed the world's greatest industrial disaster with deaths tipped to exceed the death toll from the Bhopal disaster in India.

CSR finally accepted the moral obligation to pay compensation in 1977.

"Unfortunately that's when the real villains stepped in," he told the Senate in an adjournment debate speech.

"Heartless corporate lawyers who advised CSR management to ignore their emotive moral and humanitarian feelings and build a legal fortification to defeat valid compensation claims."

Senator Sterle, whose father worked at Wittenoom in the 1950s, said Ms Bishop, a solicitor from the firm Robinson Cox, later Clayton Utz, founded CSR's legal fortification the "four dog defence" to stonewall valid claims.

That was used when your dog killed a neighbour's child to death.

In court, the first line of defence was that you never owned a dog or it was always tied up.

The next line of defence was denying you knew the dog was savage.

Failing that, the child provoked the dog and finally, the child died of something else.

"The first dog deployed by CSR's solicitor was to find every basis imaginable to reject compensation brought by the dying victims," he said.

Senator Sterle said Ms Bishop played a key role in CSR moves to deny compensation to dying victims, forcing them to go to trial.

"She and CSR caused extra suffering for people already dying with painful diseases, causing extra trauma for families of victims as well," she said.

Senator Sterle said in subsequent years Ms Bishop had pleaded that she was simply acting on her client's instructions and the advice of barristers when she sought to delay justice to dying men.

"She can't shift the blame to her clients," he said.

Senator Sterle said she should feel ashamed of the harm she caused the people of Western Australia.

He said Ms Bishop needed to explain herself after attacking Prime Minister Julia Gillard over her legal work for a union.

In those attacks, Ms Bishop said this went to Ms Gillard's character, ethics and judgment and people deserved to know what sort of person she was

"With those words the deputy leader of the opposition makes a noose for her worn neck," Senator Sterle said.

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Bradley Manning back in court

AN Army private charged in the biggest security breach in US history is trying to avoid trial by claiming he's already been punished by confinement conditions that a United Nations torture investigator called cruel, inhuman and degrading.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is expected to testify about his treatment during a pretrial hearing starting Tuesday at Fort Meade. The young intelligence analyst has never spoken publicly about his nearly nine months in the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia, from July 2010 to April 2011. The hearing is scheduled to run through Sunday.

Manning was confined alone in a small cell for at least 23 hours a day, according to documents filed by the defence. For several days in January 2011, all his clothes were taken from him each night until he was issued a suicide-prevention smock, military officials have said.

The Defence Department has said Manning's treatment properly conformed to his classification as a maximum-custody detainee who posed a risk of injury to himself or others. He was moved in April 2011 to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he has a medium-security classification.

Publicity about Manning's treatment helped bring worldwide attention to his case. In March, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Mendez presented a report to the UN's Human Rights Council in which he criticised the US government for refusing his repeated requests for a private visit with Manning.

Although they never spoke, "I am persuaded that Pfc. Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" in violation of the UN Convention Against Torture, Mendez said.

Mendez said he doesn't know if Manning's treatment amounted to torture, as Manning supporters claim.

Military judges can dismiss all charges if pretrial punishment is particularly egregious, but that rarely happens. The usual remedy is credit at sentencing for time served, said Lisa M. Windsor, a retired Army colonel and former Army judge advocate now in private practice in Washington.

"I think the likelihood of him getting any charges dropped is extremely remote," she said.

If the military judge refuses to dismiss the case, defence lawyer David Coombs has requested 10-for-1 credit for 258 days of supposedly punitive confinement. That would knock a little more than seven years off Manning's sentence if he is convicted. He faces the possibility of life imprisonment if convicted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, and 162 years on the 21 other counts. His trial is set to begin Feb. 4.

Jeff Paterson, a leader of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said the credit would be meaningless if Manning gets a lengthy sentence.

"If that credit is meaningless, then that signals that you can actually torture any personnel or detainee without any actual consequences," Paterson said.

Manning is accused of sending to the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and more than 250,000 diplomatic cables while working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010.

The 24-year-old allegedly told a confidant-turned-informant in an online chat in 2010 that he leaked the information because "I want people to see the truth."

Manning has offered to take responsibility for the leak by pleading guilty to reduced charges. The military judge hasn't yet ruled on the offer. It is not part of a plea deal, and it would not preclude prosecutors from pursuing the original charges.

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Ehud Barak: war hero, political stalwart

ISRAELI Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who has stunned the country by announcing his retirement from politics, is a stalwart of the Jewish state's politics and a former prime minister with a legendary military career.

A liberal leader who once headed Labour, Barak nonetheless agreed in March 2009 to lead his party into the hawkish rightwing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His sudden decision on Monday to conclude his storied career at the age of 70 came after a week-long air campaign in Gaza that the Israeli media said Barak was keen to conclude by signing up to an Egyptian-brokered truce.

Some in the government opposed that truce, and Barak has come under increasing pressure from Netanyahu's Likud party, much of which opposed his continuing position as defence minister.

"I have decided to resign from political life and not participate in the upcoming Knesset elections," Barak told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

"I will finish my duties as defence minister with the formation of the next government in three months.

Barak told the press conference he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The shock announcement came amid speculation that Barak - anxious to break ties with the more rightwing leaders of the ruling coalition - would announce his decision to join another party ahead of the snap January 22 elections.

His retirement also coincides with Israeli attempts to push the international community to exert more pressure on Iran over its contested nuclear program.

Israel and much of the West believes the program is an attempt to build a nuclear weapon, and Netanyahu and Barak have been among the loudest voices in Israel warning that the state could take pre-emptive military action against Tehran.

First appointed defence minister in June 2007, Barak brought Labour into Netanyahu's government after his party was drubbed in 2009 elections.

In 2011, he quit the party where he had spent his entire political career, forming the tiny Independence faction to stay in the government and his post as defence minister.

It was the second major comeback for the former chief-of-staff, who withdrew from politics altogether after his 1999-2001 premiership, having tried and failed to make peace with then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

He had offered unpopular concessions on east Jerusalem, wanted by the Palestinians as the capital of a future state, only to see Arafat spurn the offer and Israeli voters punish him with a resounding endorsement of veteran rightwing challenger Ariel Sharon.

As prime minister, Barak oversaw Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after a two-decade occupation.

In 2007, he won back Labour's leadership from Amir Peretz after the latter resigned as defence minister following Israel's disastrous war with Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah the previous year.

Barak, who is of European extraction and whose family name at birth was Brog, was born in a kibbutz that his parents helped to found.

He holds degrees in physics, mathematics and systems analysis and is known to be keen on literature, poetry and music.

His military career was legendary.

In one episode he disguised himself as a woman on a commando raid in Lebanon to assassinate three senior Palestinian militants.

He also took part in a commando assault in Tel Aviv in 1972 on a Belgian passenger plane hijacked by Palestinian guerrillas.

And he participated in the 1976 raid to free Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, that saw the death of Yonatan Netanyahu, a brother of Israel's current prime minister.

Critics say Barak never really hung up his uniform for the civilian clothes of a politician. As prime minister, he infuriated Labour colleagues by making decisions without consulting them.

Before his split with Labour, party members publicly expressed their anger over his decision to remain in the government despite the failure of peace talks.

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Asian markets mixed

ASIAN markets were mixed on Monday as investors awaited the outcome of a meeting later in the day aimed at finalising a bailout deal for Greece, amid a simmering budgetary impasse in Washington.

Tokyo rose 0.24 percent, or 22.14 points, to 9,388.94, Sydney gained 0.25 percent, or 11.2 points, to close at 4,424.2 but Seoul ended 0.15 percent, or 2.82 points, lower at 1,908.51.

Hong Kong closed down 0.24 percent, or 52.17 points, at 21,861.81 while Shanghai slid 0.49 percent, or 9.92 points, to finish at 2,017.46.

Eurozone finance ministers were to meet later Monday for their third effort to agree on unlocking a 31.2-billion-euro ($40.5-billion) slice of aid for Greece as it teeters on the verge of bankruptcy as nervous investors hope for positive news.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Sunday offered some hope in the long-running saga to reach a deal for Athens, saying that ministers were "very close to a solution".

"I don't know if there will be an agreement tomorrow. I know it is possible and I want one," he said.

Europe's main stock markets fell at the start of trading Monday ahead of the meeting on Greece, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies down 0.26 percent at 5,803.98 points.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.31 percent to 7,286.69 points and in Paris the CAC 40 dropped 0.40 percent to 3,514.86.

The mixed Asian trade came after US stocks rallied Friday on signs that holiday retail sales were off to a good start, with Walmart calling it the "best ever" Black Friday, the traditional discount sales day that kicks off the holiday shopping season.

That helped boost the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.35 percent to 13,009.68.

Investors were also looking out for news of a compromise in Washington that will avert the so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax hikes, which will likely send the economy into recession if it comes into effect.

Finding a new spending deal to replace the package, scheduled to come into effect on January 1, has been elusive in the bitterly-divided US Congress.

"Certainly from our perspective, we are sceptical about whether there has really been any progress in discussions regarding the US fiscal cliff," Angus Gluskie, managing director of White Funds Management in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires.

On currency markets the euro lost ground after hitting a seven-month high on the yen.

The single currency bought $1.2965 and 106.38 yen from $1.2973 and 106.90 yen in New York on Friday.

The euro had climbed above 107 yen in earlier Asian trade Monday but the unit quickly fell.

The dollar was also weaker at 82.01 yen against 82.40 yen in US trade.

However, the yen has been under pressure recently on expectations the country's central bank will unveil a new round of monetary easing next month.

Oil markets were also affected by Greek debt fears and the US fiscal cliff, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery, was down four cents to $88.24 a barrel in the afternoon, and Brent North Sea crude also for January eased 26 cents to $111.12.

"Having just enjoyed an unexpectedly strong week, global markets remain on a knife edge with uncertainty over Greece and the US taking centre stage again," said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management at IG Markets Singapore.

Gold was at $1,747.01 at 1030 GMT compared with $1,734.47 late Friday.

In other markets:

-- Wellington rose 3.69 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,012.03, its highest close since January 2008.

Contact Energy gained 1.38 percent to NZ$5.15 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 1.63 percent to NZ$2.50.

-- Taipei was up 81.36 points, or 1.11 percent, at 7,407.37.

Leading smartphone maker HTC added 4.58 percent to Tw$251.0 while Hon Hai Precision was 0.87 percent higher at Tw$92.8.

-- Manila rose 0.49 percent, or 27.08 points, to close at a record high of 5,579.42.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 0.4 percent to 2,510 pesos and Philippine National Bank increased 1.9 percent to 85.90 pesos.

-- Singapore closed 0.51 percent, or 15.22 points, higher at 3,004.50.

Singapore Telecom rose 0.64 percent to finish at Sg$3.16 and property developer CapitaLand ended 0.59 percent higher at Sg$3.43.

-- Jakarta ended up 0.61 percent, or 26.361 points, at 4,375.169.

Retailer Ramayana Lestari Sentosa jumped 11.63 percent to 1,440 rupiah and tin firm Timah rose 2.94 percent to 1,400 rupiah.

-- Kuala Lumpur fell 0.40 percent, or 6.44 points, to end at 1,607.88.

Axiata Group shed 2.0 percent to 5.75 ringgit, while CIMB Group Holdings dropped 1.2 percent to 7.58.

-- Bangkok gained 0.71 percent, or 9.15 points, to 1,290.85.

Coal producer Banpu jumped 5.35 percent to 394.00 baht, while Siam Cement lost 0.77 percent to 387.00 baht.

-- Mumbai rose 0.16 percent, or 30.44 points, to 18,537.01.

GSK Consumer Healthcare, the local arm of GlaxoSmithKline, jumped 20 percent to 3,651.8 rupees on news that the parent firm planned to increase its stake in the local firm to 75 percent.

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Bills tying carbon price to EU passed

A PACKAGE of bills that tie Australia's carbon pricing mechanism to the European Union emissions trading scheme and dumps a $15 floor price have cleared parliament.

The seven bills passed the Senate, without amendments, by 34 votes to 28 on Monday night.

The debate was similar to previous contributions, with opposition senators railing against the carbon tax and vowing to repeal it in government.

Liberal senator Mathias Cormann described the carbon tax as a shambles.

"It is bad for Australia, it is bad for Australian families, it is bad for Australian small businesses, it is bad for the Australian economy," Senator Cormann said.

"It makes us less competitive internationally while pushing up the cost of living and at the same time doing absolutely nothing to help reduce global emissions. It should be scrapped."

Nationals senator Ron Boswell said renewable energy targets and the carbon price were driving up electricity prices.

"Australia is in an expensive energy hole right now because ... of the carbon tax, and it is time we stop digging," Senator Boswell told the upper house.

Labor senator Lisa Singh said carbon pricing was one of the most significant changes to the Australian economy.

"It will have an important and enduring effect on the way businesses calculate the environmental cost of their activities," she said.

Senator Singh said Australia wasn't going alone and, from 2013, 850 million people would live in places where emitters paid.

"Emissions trading is the preferred method of carbon reduction across most of the world because it is easiest for business and the most efficient and effective policy lever," she said.

Closing the debate for the government, Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said one would have thought the opposition might have run out of puff on their carbon tax scare campaign.

"But no, not to be disappointed they continue to harp," he said.

Senator Ludwig said contrary to what the opposition had claimed, Australia was acting with the world, not going it alone or ahead or behind other countries.

"More and more countries are saying that they too are moving to a price on carbon just like Australia," he said.

Senator Ludwig said the opposition seemed to think if they say something over and over again, it must be true.

"It is no longer credible for the opposition to say that we should not act," he said.

"The world is acting. The community at large expect us to act. We are acting."

The package of bills now proceed for royal assent.

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Berlusconi talked politics at parties

FORMER Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi liked to talk about politics and economics with female invitees to his so-called bunga bunga dinner parties, a court in Milan heard on Monday.

Over the past weeks, showgirls and Berlusconi associates have testified in a trial that sees the maverick politician accused of paying for sex with a dancer, when she was still a minor, and later pressuring the police to release her after she was held on suspicion of theft.

"Normally, Berlusconi would start talking about current affairs, economics and football and then ask the girls what they thought about a certain political situation or about the financial crisis," Romanian-born student Ioana Claudia Amarghioalei told the court.

Amarghioalei, 22, said she first met the 76-year-old Berlusconi when she was 19 and was invited for dinner at his villa outside Milan about 15 times. "I never saw scenes of a sexual nature, strip-teases or Berlusconi touching intimate parts," she told judges.

Like other girls who testified before her, Amarghioalei said Berlusconi was providing for her living expenses, by paying her about 2,500 euros (3,250 dollars) a month.

Another witness, former Italian Big Brother contestant Giovanna Rigato, said she saw girls queuing up to receive money while they were in Berlusconi's villa. Rigato, 31, said she had a 50,000-euro-a-year contract with Mediaset, Berlusconi's media firm.

The dancer at the centre of the Berlusconi trial, Moroccan-born Karima el-Mahroug, also known as Ruby Rubacuori, is expected to appear as a witness for the defence on December 10.

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Study looks at urinal blues

A TRIP to the gents is a "stressful" experience as blokes try hard to adhere to unwritten toilet etiquette and avoid fights, a new study shows.

Academics from the University of London played the "mystery customer" at urinals in pubs, clubs, railway stations, shopping centres and museums as part of research, the results of which have been published in the British Journal of Criminology.

"I was really surprised by how stressful public toilets can be for men," lead author Sarah Moore said in comments published by Britain's Daily Star newspaper.

"Quite a few of our participants reported feeling so intimidated and nervous in certain bathrooms that they were physically unable to use the facilities."

The research highlighted three broad rules which male toilet-goers generally adhere to: never catch someone else's eye; never draw attention to yourself; and, never squeeze in next to another man unless it is the only space available.

"The rules of urinal etiquette, well understood by all male interviewees, were seen as a way of structuring a stressful experience and managing what many felt to be a potentially dangerous space and process," Dr Moore said.

"(Men) were concerned about being looked at by other men and being mistaken for voyeurs."

The report concluded that replacing urinals with cubicles was not the answer, as creating queues for a stall would cause more problems that it aimed to prevent.

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Voter intentions change little: Newspoll

WITH an election due next year, the voting public appears to have made up its mind and is sticking with it, if the latest Newspoll in The Australian on Monday is anything to go by.

The poll shows little has changed since the previous poll two weeks ago - the Coalition will win the next election, Tony Abbott is unpopular and Julia Gillard remains the preferred prime minister.

The poll shows Labor's primary vote has plateaued at 36 per cent, after growing steadily, and the coalition's support remains the same as it was at the last election - 43 per cent.

It means the coalition continues to hold an election-winning lead of 51 per cent to 49 per cent, based on the flow of preferences at the last election.

Despite growing unease about Ms Gillard's role in an AWU slush fund in the 1990s when she was a lawyer, satisfaction with her performance among voters polled over the weekend is unchanged at 37 per cent, with dissatisfaction also the same at 52 per cent.

Mr Abbott's support has lifted slightly from the previous poll but at 30 per cent - up three points - he remains deeply unpopular.

Dissatisfaction with his performance eased from a record 63 per cent to 61 per cent.

On who would make the better prime minister, there was no change from the last poll - Ms Gillard is ahead 46 per cent to 32 per cent.

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Sarkozy's party battles to save itself

FORMER President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative party is holding emergency meetings to try to figure out who's in charge, after a disputed election for its new leader that could reshape French politics.

After a decade at the helm of one of the world's leading economies, the Union for a Popular Movement party is now in shambles and may fall apart altogether.

Central to the troubles is a debate among conservatives over immigration and Islam in France.

The election a week ago split party members into those leaning toward the anti-immigrant far right, represented by Jean-Francois Cope, and those hewing to more centrist views, supporting Francois Fillon.

Cope, who led France's push to ban face-covering Islamic veils, was initially declared winner. But uncounted votes were then discovered that could swing the vote in Fillon's favour.

A UMP commission that handles vote disputes convened on Sunday morning to discuss what to do.

Then Fillon's team, arguing that the commission was weighted in Cope's favour, suspended its involvement around midday, the Sipa news agency reported.

Hopes focused on Sunday evening, when former Prime Minister Alain Juppe is to meet with both candidates to try to mediate a solution.

Juppe knows his task is nearly insurmountable.

Speaking on Europe-1 radio Sunday, he said he is hoping to "cultivate a small flame of hope," though admitted "I have very few chances" of success.

"If this evening, Jean-Francois Cope and Francois Fillon do not accept what I propose ... I have no ability to impose it," he admitted.

Both Cope and Fillon want to lead opposition to Socialist President Francois Hollande - and run for president themselves in 2017.

Since Sarkozy left office in May, France's presidency, parliament and most regional governments have all been under Socialist control.

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Fire destroys Liverpool townhouse

A FIRE that destroyed a Liverpool townhouse is being investigated.

About 9.30pm on Sunday fire crews were called to Alderson Avenue, where the townhouse was totally engulfed.

The blaze was extinguished and no one was injured.

A fire service spokesman said police and fire investigators remained at the scene.

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Egypt Islamists call mass show of support

Egypt's top judges have denounced President Mohamed Morsi for granting himself sweeping new powers. Source: AAP

EGYPT'S powerful Muslim Brotherhood has called nationwide demonstrations in support of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in his showdown with the judges over the path to a new constitution.

The show of strength on the streets on Sunday by the president's supporters had the potential for triggering clashes with opponents of the sweeping new powers he assumed on Thursday who remained camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Share prices on the Egypt Exchange plunged almost 9.5 per cent by midday (local time) in the face of the deepening political crisis.

The main EGX-30 index shed 9.49 per cent to reach 4,923.19 points, according to the Egyptian Exchange, with trading suspended for half an hour due to intense investor selling.

Before dawn, the hardcore of liberal activists who spent the night in the iconic protest hub fought off an attempt by Morsi supporters to burn down the 30 or so tents they had erected in the square, witnesses said.

The US embassy warned Americans to avoid all places where demonstrations were likely to be held as Western concern mounted over the potential of Morsi's power grab to spark new violence in the Arab world's most populous state.

A Brotherhood statement called on its well-organised supporters to hold demonstrations after afternoon Muslim prayers in all of Egypt's main cities to "support the decisions of the president".

The Brotherhood's political arm insists the president's decree placing his decisions beyond judicial review was a necessary move to prevent the courts disbanding the Islamist-dominated panel drawing up a new constitution as they have already the Islamist-dominated lower house of parliament.

A ruling that had been due from the highest court next month would have had the potential to prolong an already turbulent transition from veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak's rule since his overthrow in a popular uprising early last year, the Freedom and Justice Party said.

But the judges hit back denouncing "an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings" and calling for the courts to stop work nationwide.

Judges in two of the country's 27 provinces, including Mediterranean metropolis Alexandria, heeded the strike call on Sunday while those in the rest were meeting to decide their response, the Judges Club said.

Tahrir Square, one of the capital's main road junctions, remained closed to traffic on Sunday as Morsi opponents pressed their sit-in.

The protesters have the backing of all of Egypt's leading secular politicians.

Former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, and former presidential candidates Hamdeen Sabbahi, Amr Mussa and Abdelmoneim Abul Futuh, said in a joint statement on Saturday they would have no dialogue with Morsi until he rescinded his decree.

Anti-riot police began erecting a concrete barrier to keep the Tahrir protesters away from nearby government buildings, witnesses said, adding that they made a string of arrests in streets surrounding the square.

The US embassy said it had advised its staff to avoid the city centre "to the extent possible until further notice".

"As a matter of general practice, US citizens should avoid areas where large gatherings may occur," it added in a security notice on its website.

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