Two die in two crashes in Victoria

TWO people have been killed in two separate collisions in just 30 minutes on Victorian roads.

The first crash happened at 5.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday when two vehicles travelling in opposite directions crashed head-on on a slight bend in a 100km/h zone at Thornton.

The front seat passenger in one of the cars, a 26-year-old from Mooroolbark, died at the scene while the driver, a 27-year-old woman, was taken to the Maroondah Hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the other car, a 40-year-old Eildon woman, was also taken to the Maroondah Hospital.

Within half-an-hour, a woman died at the scene of a crash at Nilma.

Police believe she had been attempting to turn right at an intersection when her small sedan was hit by a ute.

The ute flipped onto its roof but the occupants, a man and woman aged in their 20s, were uninjured.

Both collisions are being investigated.

The deaths bring the state's road toll to eight, compared with 16 at the same time last year.

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Bolshoi ballet chief 'stable' after attack

THE Bolshoi ballet's artistic director Sergei Filin is recovering in Moscow following a horrific acid attack but doctors say they'll need at least a week to know how much vision he will retain.

A masked man cornered Filin near his house late on Thursday and threw acid on his face.

Following emergency surgery on his eyes, the former dancer was taken out of intensive care and was in stable condition in a regular hospital room, Alexander Mitichkin, the head doctor at Moscow's Clinic 36 told Russian news agencies on Saturday.

Police declined to discuss any leads in the case or the type of acid used in the attack, despite top officials on Friday saying the probe was a top priority.

Investigators were questioning Filin in hospital, a Moscow police spokesman told the Interfax news agency.

Filin's eyes will remain bandaged for days and it was unclear how much eyesight, if any, the ballet chief will regain.

He will also have cosmetic surgery procedures on the third-degree burns to his face.

Initial plans to move Filin to a top burns hospital near Brussels were scrapped after it was decided that saving his eyes was a higher priority, Bolshoi spokeswoman Katerina Novikova said in televised remarks.

The attack on Filin, a charismatic 42-year-old who was appointed to the Bolshoi in 2011 and began adding modern stagings to the theatre's classic repertoire, horrified the dance community and stirred rumours around the institution, revered in Russia but periodically enveloped in scandals.

Filin's colleagues and Bolshoi's general director Anatoly Iksanov said Filin's professional work was the reason for the attack, and that it was the finale of a long-term intimidation campaign which included hacking of his website, phone calls, and damage to his car.

The Vesti channel on Saturday said the colleagues had a suspect in mind but weren't sharing the identity with the media.

In a sign that other energetic culture figures may be under similar pressure, another artistic director, Kirill Serebrennikov of Moscow's Gogol drama theatre said he has also been intimidated by unknown individuals.

After Filin's attack, Serebrennikov posted on Facebook a threatening text message he received on New Year's Eve.

"If you don't leave the Gogol Theatre, then you are next," the message said. "You will be beaten for real, you just wait."

"I've received threats for a long time," wrote Serebrennikov, an award-winning film and theatre director who was appointed to revamp the old-fashioned Gogol theatre last summer amid protests from the troupe.

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Suicide bombers die in botched attack

A SUICIDE bomber and his accomplice were killed when their device went off in a botched attack on a district government headquarters in western Afghanistan, officials say.

The two attackers were riding a motorbike when they were blown up, but there were no other fatalities in the attack on Guzara district headquarters in Herat province, the district governor Nesar Ahmad Popal told AFP on Saturday.

"It killed no one but the attacker and the helper," he said.

Provincial police spokesman Abdul Raouf Ahmadi confirmed the details.

No group has yet claimed the responsibility for the incident but suicide bombings are among the tactics used by Taliban insurgents, who are leading an 11-year insurgency against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

The bombing came days after the Taliban militants stormed the Afghan spy HQ in Kabul, leaving one dead and 17 others - mostly civilians - wounded.

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Two to be airlifted to Melb after crash

TWO people will be airlifted to Melbourne hospitals after being seriously injured in a collision between a bus and a car on Phillip Island, which also resulted in minor injuries for 17 others.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said two helicopters were on the way to the scene at Ventnor, near Cowes, to airlift two badly injured people to hospitals in Melbourne.

He said another 17 people had also received minor injuries when the bus and car collided at 10pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

Paramedics were still on the scene assessing people, he said.

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Toddler injured in Vic rollover

A TODDLER is in hospital with serious head injuries following a collision in Melbourne's southeast.

Police believe a Ford Fiesta was forced into oncoming traffic after it was clipped by another car on Heatherton Road at Noble Park at 7.45pm (AEDT) on Saturday.

The car collided with an oncoming van, causing the van to roll over, injuring the toddler.

The boy, aged between two and three, has been taken to the Royal Children's Hospital suffering serious but non-life-threatening head injuries.

An elderly woman who was also in the van, as well as the driver of the Ford, a woman in her 20s, have been taken to Dandenong Hospital for treatment.

Investigators want to speak with the driver of the car believed to have clipped the Ford Fiesta.

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Snow grounds flights in Britain

SNOW has swept across Britain, forcing airports to cancel dozens of flights and more than 2000 schools to close.

London's Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest in the world, cancelled around 60 flights while the airports in the Welsh capital Cardiff, Southampton in southeast England and Bristol in the southwest were closed completely.

"We've got 24 vehicles clearing the runways," a Heathrow spokeswoman told AFP on Friday.

A Cardiff spokesman said the airport was due to re-open shortly, while Southampton said it would be shut until at least 1500 GMT (0200 AEDT Saturday).

British Airways cancelled more than 60 of its flights but said the figure was likely to rise during the day.

Over 2000 schools were closed across Britain, while the bad weather also caused gridlock on the roads.

Britain's weather agency, the Met Office, issued a rare "red warning" for parts of south Wales, where some areas were expecting up to 11 inches of snow.

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Tamworth music festival fires up

THOUSANDS of country music lovers, kitted with paper fans, have braved the stifling heat to see Adam Brand and Melinda Schneider open this year's Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Festival organisers are expecting more than 50,000 visitors to pack out more than 80 venues thought Tamworth between January 18 and 27, with thousands taking up camping spots on the banks of the Peel River.

The festival visitors will double the city's normal population.

The opening event, an open air concert in Bicentential Park, included performances from Aussie country music stars Adam Brand and Melinda Schneider while international acts Craig Campbell and Elizabeth Cook also entertained the crowd.

Schneider, whose five-month-old baby was supporting mum backstage, told AAP Tamworth was the highlight of a country musician's calendar.

"There's nothing like Tamworth anywhere in the world," she said at the opening concert.

"It's where it started and where it continues to produce amazing new talent and stays loyal to all of us who've been in it for a long time.

"The fans of country music are just so lovely, it's great to see them every year."

The 41-year-old former Dancing With The Stars contestant and first time mum said having her son with her at the festival was "so special."

"He's inspired some songs," she said. "Just every day the joy that comes into your life having a baby is amazing."

US-born country artist Elizabeth Cook, who is in Australia for the first time and performs alongside former Midnight Oil member Bones Hillman, said Tamworth had already impressed her in just 24 hours.

"It's a really fun fun vibe," she said.

More than 800 artists will make the annual pilgrimage to Tamworth to put on 4000 performances at more than 2000 events across the 10 days.

Some of those artists are country music stars Beccy Cole, Troy Cassar-Daley, The McClymonts and John Williamson.

Tamworth Country Music festival's most keen have been camping out for weeks to secure prime camping positions.

With temperatures hitting 40C on day one, Tamworth's local pool played host to hundreds of festivalgoers looking to cool off.

Makeshift Akubra stores were erected and starting to sell the iconic hats synonymous with country music.

More than 600 buskers will line-up along Peel Street, a strip often credited for launching the careers of Kasey Chambers and Keith Urban.

This year, festivalgoers can rub shoulders with their favourite country music artists in the newly created Fanzine, an air conditioned marquee where artists will be able to meet and greet fans.

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Frenchman 'hid for 40 hours' during attack

A FRENCH national says he hid under his bed for 40 hours during the hostage-taking in Algeria before being rescued by soldiers during an assault that involved heavy exchanges of gunfire.

Alexandre Berceaux, an employee of CIS Catering at the desert gas complex, also told Europe 1 radio that the initial attack on the site was a surprise as the base was heavily guarded.

"There were intervals of heavy gunfire" on Thursday when Algerian forces stormed the base, he said.

"There are terrorists who are dead, expatriates, locals," Berceaux said, adding that he had been taken to another nearby site and was unaware if the operation was continuing on Friday morning.

He said the hostage-taking on Wednesday had come as a complete shock.

"I heard an enormous amount of gunfire. The alarm telling us to stay where we were was going off. I didn't know if it was a drill or if it was real," he said.

"Nobody expected this. The site was protected. There were soldiers in place.

"I stayed hidden for nearly 40 hours in my room. I was under the bed and I put boards everywhere just in case. I had a bit of food, a bit to drink, I didn't know how long it would last."

Berceaux said he was found during Thursday's assault by men he believed to be Algerian military.

"They were soldiers dressed in green. I think they were Algerian soldiers," he said.

"I recognised some of my colleagues with them, otherwise I would never have emerged.

"I've heard there was a wounded person in the restaurant storeroom yesterday morning. Three Englishmen who had hidden above the dropped ceiling were found along with this wounded person, who was taken directly to hospital.

"I think there are still people hidden. They are in the process of doing a count now."

Algeria came under mounting international criticism on Friday as fears grew for dozens of foreign hostages still unaccounted for after the deadly commando raid against Islamist militants who had seized the remote In Amenas gas field in the Sahara desert.

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Motorcyclist dead after multi-car crash

A MOTORCYCLIST has died after he struck a barrier and was hit by two cars in western Sydney, sparking a multi-vehicle crash.

The man in his thirties crashed into a concrete barrier on the M4 at Homebush at 12.35pm (AEDT) on Friday and was thrown from his bike, police said.

He was hit by a Mitsubishi Lancer and then run over by a Toyota, police said.

Two other cars then collided as they attempted to avoid the first crash.

The motorcyclist died at the scene.

No one else was seriously injured and police are appealing for witnesses to the incident to come forward.

They are particularly keen to speak to the driver of a black vehicle, who they believe could have crucial information about the incident.

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15 foreigners, 30 Algerians escape: report

FIFTEEN foreigners and 30 Algerians being held hostage by Islamist extremists at a gas field in Algeria have managed to escape from their kidnappers, local media reported, citing officials.

"Fifteen foreigners, including a French couple, have escaped from their captors," the private Ennahar television station reported, with TV station's owner, Anis Rahmani, telling AFP that the information came from an "official source."

The French embassy could not confirm the information.

Earlier, the APS news agency said 30 Algerian workers had managed to escape from the In Amenas gas field in southeastern Algeria, where the Islamist gunmen, who say they are holding 41 foreigners hostage, are locked in a tense standoff with the Algerian army.

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At least 4 die as floods paralyse Jakarta

INDONESIA'S army has deployed rubber boats in the capital's business district to rescue people trapped in floods that inundated much of the city of 14 million people.

The president was pictured standing in water up to his shins - his trousers rolled up - at the palace waiting for the arrival of Argentina's leader on a state visit.

The floods were the most widespread to hit Jakarta in recent memory.

Authorities said at least four people were killed and 20,000 evacuated. Many more homes were inundated following around five hours of heavy overnight rain that coursed through rivers already swollen by a long monsoon season.

Few areas in the city were spared, from wealthy suburbs to riverside slums and gleaming downtown business blocks. Offices and schools were deserted and traffic ground to a halt. The international airport was operating normally, but travellers were finding it hard to get there.

"This is horrible," said Yanitha Damayanti, a bank teller stranded downtown. "For the first time in my life, downtown Jakarta has flooded."

The city has long been prone to floods, but successive governments have done little to mitigate the threat.

Deforestation in the hills to the south of the city, chaotic planning and the rubbish that clogs the hundreds of rivers and waterways that crisscross the city are some of the factors behind the floods. Jakarta's vulnerability exposes the country's poor infrastructure even as it has posted impressive economic growth in recent years.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the country's foreign minister were pictured standing in water up to their shins at the presidential palace waiting for the arrival of Argentina's President Christina Kirchner, who is on a state visit. The meeting of the two leaders apparently went ahead.

"I have no problem with the palace being flooded," Yudhoyono said. "The most important thing is the people are protected."

In some places, water levels were up to two metres high. Seen from above, the main road through the heart of the city resembled a muddy river. Even as authorities struggled to rescue those trapped and provide them food and shelter, some were thinking of the economic cost.

"This is an extraordinary disaster," said Syamsuddin Basri. "I had to cancel many important business deals."

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Delhi gang-rape suspect 'beaten in jail'

ONE of the men accused of taking part in the fatal gang-rape of a student on a New Delhi bus in a crime that outraged India has been badly beaten up in jail by other prisoners, his lawyer says.

A.P. Singh told reporters that his client Vinay Sharma, a gym instructor accused of the murder and rape of the 23-year-old woman on a moving bus last month, was in agony during a court appearance on Thursday.

"Vinay Sharma was badly tortured in jail by other inmates who pounced on him. He was not in a position to stand up in court because he was in great pain," Singh said.

"It is sad the jail authorities cannot provide security to them."

Sharma, 26, is one of six people - one of them a juvenile - arrested over an attack that has fuelled nationwide anger and led many in India to stage mass demos, protesting the country's treatment of women.

The case is expected to be transferred to a fast-track court later this month, as calls grow for a swift trial and stiffer penalties for sex attackers.

The five adults could face the death penalty if convicted.

A lawyer for another defendant, bus driver Ram Singh, told reporters he would ask the Supreme Court to transfer the case out of the Indian capital, saying: "I know we will not get justice in Delhi".

A wide-ranging gagging order has been imposed on media reporting of the case.

The young student died on December 29, 13 days after the attack, due to severe internal injuries suffered when she was violated with a metal rod.

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Pakistan cleric signals end to sit-in

A PAKISTANI cleric has announced that a mass sit-in of tens of thousands of people outside parliament in Islamabad would end on Thursday, the latest twist in a drama that has gripped the nuclear-armed state.

Tahir-ul Qadri made the announcement as the country's corruption watchdog told the Supreme Court it did not yet have enough evidence to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on graft allegations, as the top judge had ordered.

Tension in Pakistan has been at fever pitch since Tuesday, when the arrest order coincided with a fiery speech by Qadri denouncing politicians and praising the armed forces and judiciary.

The timing sparked panic about a rumoured judiciary-military plot to derail elections due by mid-May. The polls, if successful, would be the first democratic transition of power between two civilian governments in Pakistan's history.

The political crisis comes as Pakistan battles problems on numerous fronts: the economy is struggling, Taliban and other violence is at a high, the rupee is sinking, there is an appalling energy crisis and fledgling peace gains with India appear in jeopardy following five cross-border killings in a week.

Qadri on Thursday gave the government until 1000 GMT (2100 AEDT) to negotiate on his demands for reforms, after which he said he would announce unspecified further action.

His announcement prompted cheering and dancing among his supporters, who have braved cold weather and heavy rain to camp out on Islamabad's main commercial avenue since early Tuesday.

"The situation does not allow me to put all the people, young people, children, women to further test. I give the government, I give the rulers a deadline of one-and-a-half hours. This deadline will end at 3pm," Qadri said.

"Today is the last day of this sit-in. Tomorrow there will be no sit-in. We have to end it today."

Ashraf chaired a meeting of coalition partners, several of whom have urged the government to start dialogue with Qadri. Deputy information minister Samsam Bokhari told private TV station Geo the government was open to talks.

Qadri wants parliament dissolved immediately and a caretaker government set up in consultation with the military and judiciary to implement reforms before free elections can be held.

The government has so far stuck to its position that parliament will disband in mid-March to make way for a caretaker government, set up in consultation with political parties, and elections within 60 days - sometime by mid-May.

Qadri's sudden emergence after years in Canada has been criticised as a ploy by sections of the establishment, particularly the armed forces, to delay the elections and sow political chaos.

In the Supreme Court the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, Fasih Bokhari, told Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that investigations into a power projects graft case were not complete.

He said it took time to find evidence to prosecute those allegedly involved.

Chaudhry - who Tuesday ordered the prime minister's arrest - ordered Bokhari to report back with the case files so that the court could itself point out evidence that could form the basis for a prosecution.

The court in March 2012 had ordered legal proceedings against Ashraf, who at the time was a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari and was water and power minister when the power projects were set up.

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Journalist and two British policemen held

LONDON'S Metropolitan Police has arrested two of its own officers and a journalist from Rupert Murdoch's The Sun newspaper as part of its probe into corrupt payments to public officials by the media.

Scotland Yard said the three men were arrested before dawn at their homes by detectives working on Operation Elveden, which was set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid.

"The three were arrested at their separate home addresses at approximately 0600 GMT (1700 AEDT) in connection with a number of suspected offences between 2004 and 2011," the force said.

The journalist has been named as The Sun's crime correspondent Anthony France, 39, and is believed to be the 22nd journalist from the paper to be detained as part of the inquiry.

The owners of The Sun, News International, said it was "particularly disappointing" that another journalist from the company had been arrested.

One of the detained policemen is a 47-year-old officer with Scotland Yard's Specialist Operations command, which covers the protection of the royal family as well as airport security and counter-terrorism.

The other officer, 30, is part of the Specialist Crime and Operations command covering serious crime in the British capital.

Both men were arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and were being interviewed at separate police stations, the force said.

France was arrested at his home in Hertfordshire, north of London on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and suspected conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office.

He was being interviewed at a north London police station.

Police have arrested a total of 56 journalists and public officials under Operation Elveden, one of three probes set up after the hacking scandal forced Murdoch to shut down the News of the World in July 2011.

Revelations that the newspaper had accessed the voicemail messages of a murdered schoolgirl as well as dozens of public figures sparked a political storm in Britain and led to a judicial inquiry into press ethics.

Twenty-six people have been arrested under the probe into phone hacking itself, Operation Weeting, while a third probe into computer-hacking, Operation Tuleta, has made 19 arrests.

Scotland Yard said the latest arrests were made as a result of information provided to the management and standards committee of News Corporation, Murdoch's US-based media empire.

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Pippa criticised for joining Belgium hunt

ROYAL in-law Pippa Middleton has again found herself in hot water with news that she joined a shooting party which killed 15 wild animals in Belgium.

The younger sister of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, was invited to a Gerpinnes property in west Belgium owned by billionaire steel magnate Baron Albert Frere, local newspaper La Capital reported.

The December 1 hunt, organised by the Baron's grandsons, shot six wild boar and nine deer, the report said.

Pippa, 29, was among the 20-strong party, some of who did not recognise the London party planner and author as she introduced herself as "Phillipa".

"It is sad to see someone in such an influential position indulging in this kind of needless cruelty for their own entertainment," League Against Cruel Sports spokesman Joe Duckworth told British tabloid the Daily Star.

Pippa's level of involvement in the hunt is unknown, but the brunette who shot to stardom after appearing as bridesmaid at her sister's royal wedding to Prince William, is reported by media to be a "keen shot" and has attended such events in the past.

In April 2012 it was a toy firearm that attracted unwanted attention for Pippa.

As she was pursued by paparazzi through the streets of Paris, the driver of a convertible in which she was a passenger pointed a handgun at a photographer.

Later identified as French aristocrat and fashion designer Viscount Arthur de Soultrait, the gunman apologised for the incident during which he said he held a toy gun.

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Elton, David welcome 2nd son

ELTON John and David Furnish say they have become parents for a second time.

The couple say they are "overwhelmed with happiness" at the birth of Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John.

John's spokeswoman Fran Curtis confirmed an announcement on the singer's website that the baby was born Friday in Los Angeles to a surrogate mother. The baby weighs 8 pounds, 4 ounces (3.7 kilograms).

John, who is 65, and 50-year-old Furnish are parents to two-year-old Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, born in California in December 2010, also through a surrogate mother

They told Hello! magazine on Wednesday that "the birth of our second son completes our family in a most precious and perfect way".

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Cyclist discovered injured on Sydney road

A CYCLIST is in hospital with serious head injures after he was discovered lying on the road in northwest Sydney.

The 47-year-old man was discovered at North Ryde about 8.30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday, police said.

He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with serious head injuries.

Police are investigating how the man was injured and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

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Ute driver sought after Little River fire

POLICE want to speak to the driver of dark green utility seen close to where the Little River grassfire started that burned out 1400 hectares and threatened hundreds of homes.

The CFA was called to an area of scrub land near Bulban Road around 3.30pm (AEDT) on Monday southwest of Melbourne to extinguish the blaze which got of control.

Investigators want to speak to the driver of the single cab utility with a dark green canopy which was seen in the vicinity of Bulban and Edgars Roads on the day of the fire.

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Egypt building collapse kills 14

AN eight-storey apartment building has collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 14 people.

Assistant Interior Minister Abdel-Aziz Tawfeeq said rescue teams were continuing to search for survivors under the rubble. Another eight people are injured, he added.

It was not immediately known what caused the collapse, but violations of building specifications have been blamed in the past for similar accidents. The governor of Alexandria, Mohammed Abbas Atta, told Egypt's official news agency that the building was constructed without a permit.

Alexandria's security chief Abdel-Mawgood Lutfi said the building was constructed five years ago and had 24 apartments.

That the building collapsed early in the day means that most tenants were home, a fact that could contribute to an even higher death toll. Police evacuated residents of two adjacent buildings out of concern that the collapse may have caused structural damage to them.

The collapse is likely to fuel a popular outcry against the administration of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, whose critics say he has failed to carry out reforms and overhaul the nation's deteriorating public services.

It came one day after 19 police conscripts were killed when the last car of the train they were riding on jumped the tracks and smashed into another train. Two months ago, 50 children died when a train rammed into their school bus in southern Egypt. That tragedy also sparked a storm of criticism of Morsi, who took office in June.

The train wreck led to protests on Tuesday at train stations in Cairo, Alexandria and a third city in the Nile Delta. The demonstrators were protesting what they said was official negligence in maintaining and upgrading the country's aging rail network.

Morsi's government has blamed Tuesday's train accident on what officials say is nearly 30 years of corruption and misrule under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

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French court approves teacher sex charge

JEREMY Forrest, the British schoolteacher who eloped to France with a 15-year-old pupil, can be charged in Britain with having sex with a minor, a French court has ruled.

Lawyers for Forrest lodged an appeal which blocks the immediate application of the ruling on a British request to change the terms of his extradition from France.

Daniel Lalanne, the French lawyer representing Forrest, refused to comment as he left court.

Forrest and his teenage lover eloped to France in September. After a week on the run, they were arrested in Bordeaux.

The girl, who cannot be identified in Britain for legal reasons, was flown home while Forrest was detained by the French authorities.

He was extradited in October under a European arrest warrant issued on suspicion of child abduction and has since been detained in custody awaiting trial.

British authorities want to add having sex with a minor to the abduction charge. But because the statutory rape charge was not included in the extradition request, they can do so only with the agreement of the French court that approved his handover.

The additional charge increases the maximum sentence Forrest could face from seven to 14 years.

State prosecutors recommended accepting the British request at a hearing in December.

Forrest's lawyers argued for it to be rejected on the grounds that their client's detention in custody was disproportionate to the nature of his alleged crime or crimes.

Under French law, a 15-year-old is deemed capable of consenting to sex while in Britain she is still considered a minor. Both countries outlaw sexual relations between teachers and students in their care.

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Pakistan govt not informed of arrest order

THE Pakistan government says it has not yet been notified in writing of any arrest order against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf issued by the Supreme Court in connection with corruption allegations.

A cabinet minister said it would wait for official notification before deciding how to respond, but took issue with the "timing" as thousands of protesters led by a populist cleric are demanding the immediate dissolution of parliament.

"So far we have not received anything from the Supreme Court in writing. The government, the law ministry and the prime minister have not received any order from the Supreme Court," Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told private TV channel Geo on Tuesday.

"The timing of the decision should be noted. As far as I have been told, the prime minister's name is not mentioned in the Supreme Court order and hype has been created."

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Saudi court jails Egyptian for trafficking

AN Egyptian rights lawyer whose arrest on drug trafficking charges in April sparked a diplomatic row with Cairo, has been sentenced to five years in prison and 300 lashes in a Saudi court.

Ahmed al-Gizawi, arrested in April, was accused of trying to smuggle 21,380 capsules of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, which is banned in Saudi Arabia where drug trafficking carries the death sentence.

Another Egyptian, arrested over the same case, was sentenced to four years in prison and 400 lashes, while their Saudi partner was jailed for two years and will receive 100 lashes.

"These verdicts are lenient" given the defendants' "good morals ... and the lack of judicial precedents," the judge said at the hearing on Tuesday.

The verdicts can be appealed within one month.

The prosecution, which alleged that Gizawi had hidden the banned substance in two milk cartons and a cover for the Koran, had demanded the death penalty for the lawyer.

Gizawi had travelled in April to Saudi Arabia with his wife to perform the omra, the minor pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, when he was detained at Jeddah airport, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said at the time.

The Egyptian organisation said that Gizawi was held after he was sentenced in absentia to one year in prison and 20 lashes for criticising the Saudi government.

Gizawi was being targeted for his activism over Egyptian detainees in Saudi prisons, it said.

Hundreds of Egyptian protesters had rallied outside Riyadh's embassy in Cairo demanding his release, prompting the kingdom to shut down its mission.

The embassy reopened on May 4 following a fence-mending visit to King Abdullah by a large delegation of prominent Egyptian figures.

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No business as usual with Pakistan: India

INDIAN Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has warned there "cannot be business as usual" with neighbouring Pakistan after last week's deadly flare-up along the border in disputed Kashmir.

"It cannot be business as usual" with Pakistan, he told reporters on the sidelines of an army function on Tuesday.

"What has happened is unacceptable," he added in reference to the killing of two Indian soldiers, one of whom was beheaded.

"Those responsible for this crime will have to be brought to book."

Singh's comments came a day after commanders of the rival armies traded protests over the border exchanges and the chief of India's million-plus military ordered an "aggressive" response to any fresh cross-border firing.

The Indian government has accused Pakistani soldiers of crossing into Indian territory and killing two of its soldiers on January 8.

Pakistan denies its troops were involved in any such incident and has accused Indian troops of killing two of its soldiers.

Foreign ministers of both sides have warned against escalating tensions. But the Indian army chief of staff told his commanders on Monday to respond "aggressively" to any future Pakistani firing across the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control.

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Suicide bomber kills Sunni Iraqi MP

A SUICIDE bomber has killed a Sunni Iraqi MP and five others west of Baghdad, wrapping his arms around the lawmaker before blowing himself up, officials said.

Ayfan Saadun al-Essawi, a member of the secular Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc that is part of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity government, was targeted as he inspected a road being constructed south of Fallujah on Tuesday.

"Essawi was killed with three of his bodyguards and two civilians," said Sohaib Haqi, the MP's office chief, adding that three other guards were wounded.

"The moment he stepped out of the car to check out this road between Fallujah and Amriyah, at this moment, there was a man. He came to him, hugged him, said Allahu Akbar, and blew himself up."

Two other security officials confirmed Essawi's death.

The attack is likely to raise tensions with Iraq already grappling with a political crisis that has pitted Maliki against Iraqiya, which has frequently called for him to resign.

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Climate laws advancing in many countries

MAJOR economies are now implementing important legislation on climate change, according to a survey.

Out of 33 countries, 32 have introduced or are pushing ahead with "significant" laws on climate, the survey published on Monday found.

Most of them are emerging economies.

In 2012, Mexico passed a law that sets a target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 compared with a "business as usual" scenario.

South Korea approved a bill that will lead to an emissions trading system by 2015, Japan introduced a carbon tax and a law promoting low-carbon development in the cities, and Vietnam passed a forestry protection scheme, REDD Plus.

In China, the world's biggest emitter by volume, the southern industrial area of Shenzhen passed the country's first local legislation for managing carbon emissions. The country also began to draft a nationwide law on climate change.

The survey was published by GLOBE International, an association of legislators, which was meeting in London on Monday and Tuesday.

Some laws are inspired by energy costs rather than by climate change itself, but led to the same goal of energy security and efficiency, it said.

The report said legislative changes at home could be a useful spur to the UN talks on climate change, which are making meagre progress towards a worldwide pact on emissions.

"(They) ultimately give world leaders the political space to go further and faster in the UN negotiations, helping provide a foundation for a comprehensive, global deal by 2015."

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Germany mulls medical, logistic Mali aid

GERMANY is considering ways to help France in its mission in Mali such as providing logistical, medical or humanitarian aid.

"For the federal government and for Foreign Minister (Guido) Westerwelle it is clear that Germany will not leave France alone in this difficult situation," spokesman Andreas Peschke said at a regular government news conference on Monday.

Westerwelle and Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere will now "quickly" consider "how Germany can offer concrete support, other than military action", he said.

Discussions will take place with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Paris to see how Germany can best come to France's assistance, he added.

However, the sending of combat troops "is not up for debate", the spokesman stressed, repeating Berlin's firm position on that issue.

France's mission in Mali is "correct in the view of the federal government", he added.

"It is a difficult but also important mission that we support politically."

Peschke also expressed condolences on behalf of Germany for French military personnel already killed during the mission.

Westerwelle is also in favour of a special meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the crisis in Mali, his spokesman told reporters.

France's intervention has been backed by the European Union and the United States, while Britain is providing logistical support in the form of transport planes.

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Japan boosts defence of disputed islands

JAPAN will deploy two more patrol ships to boost its defence of islands at the centre of a territorial row with China and has conducted its first drill simulating the recapture of an isle seized by enemy forces.

The vessels will be stationed at the regional coast guard headquarters which covers the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyus in China, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Monday.

The 335-tonne Kurose and 3100-tonne Chikuzen, equipped with a helicopter, will be deployed in August and October respectively, NHK reported.

On Sunday, Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force carried out the nation's first military exercise designed to recapture "a remote island invaded by an enemy force", officials said.

Around 300 troops took part in the 40-minute drill with 20 warplanes and more than 30 military vehicles at the Narashino Garrison in Chiba, southeast of Tokyo.

Some 80 personnel from the SDF's First Airborne Brigade rappelled from helicopters with parachutes in front of about 11,000 spectators to demonstrate manoeuvres to counter an enemy invasion of a remote island.

Chinese government ships and planes have been seen off the disputed islands numerous times since Japan nationalised them in September, sometimes within the 12 nautical-mile territorial zone.

Tokyo's defence ministry has said F-15s were sent airborne to head off Chinese state-owned - but not military - planes four times in December, including an occasion when Japanese airspace was breached.

They were also mobilised in January.

Japan plans to spend an extra Y180.5 billion ($A1.93 billion) on missiles, fighter jets and helicopters, an official said last week, as it tries to strengthen defence capabilities with concerns growing over a rising China.

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Another Syria strike kills children

AN air strike on a rebel town near Damascus has killed 13 women and children, fuelling growing international calls for a war crimes probe into the 22-month Syrian conflict.

Reports of the civilian deaths came as Human Rights Watch accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of expanding its deployment of banned cluster bombs.

Monday's air strike on several houses in the town of Moadamiyat al-Sham southwest of Damascus killed at least eight children and five women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

"The children, all members of the same clan, were aged between six months and nine years old," said the head of the Britain-based Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman.

The Observatory says more than 3500 children have been killed since the Syrian conflict erupted 22 months ago. The United Nations says overall more than 60,000 people have died.

On the diplomatic front, at least 55 countries prepared on Monday to demand the UN security council refer the Syria conflict to the International Criminal Court.

The demand was to be made in a letter organised by Switzerland, which has spent seven months collecting signatories.

Diplomatic sources said 55 countries had signed and others could still join even though the initiative has little immediate chance of success.

The Security Council is locked in a crippling impasse over the Syria conflict, with permanent members Russia and China having vetoed three resolutions threatening sanctions against Assad.

And with neither being members of The Hague-based ICC court, they would almost certainly reject any new resolution proposing war crimes charges.

On Sunday, Russia said Assad's removal from power was not a part of past international agreements on the crisis and hence impossible to implement.

"This is a precondition that is not contained in the Geneva communique (agreed by world powers in June) and which is impossible to implement because it does not depend on anyone," news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.

The wrangling comes amid warnings the conflict, which according to the UN has sent more than 600,000 Syrians fleeing into neighbouring countries, is growing more dangerous for civilians due to the regime expanding its use of cluster bombs.

New York based Human Rights Watch said Damascus was increasingly resorting to firing rockets containing the sub-munitions, after previously using only aircraft to spread the weapons.

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NATO backs France in Mali, but says no aid

NATO says it supports French efforts to turn back the terrorist threat in Mali but that the alliance had received no request for assistance and had not discussed the conflict.

"We welcome the efforts of the international community in support of the implementation of the United Nations ... resolution 2085 (on Mali)," a NATO spokesman said on Monday.

"France has taken swift action to roll back the offensive of the terrorist groups in Mali.

"We are hopeful that such efforts will help to restore the rule of law in Mali and ... roll back the threat" of groups which threaten the "security and stability of the country, the region and beyond".

At the same time, NATO stressed this was a national operation, carried out by France, and there had been no request for assistance nor had there been a "discussion within NATO of this crisis".

"So far, the operation in Mali is a national operation in support of Mali. It was decided by the French government ... NATO is not involved in that."

On Monday, Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed to avenge France's fierce military offensive against them after a series of French attacks inflicted heavy casualties.

On Sunday, French Rafale fighter planes struck bases used by al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Gao, the main city in northern Mali, and Kidal.

French warplanes also attacked rebel stockpiles of munitions and fuel further north at Afhabo, 50 kilometres from Kidal, a regional security source said.

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Veteran stage actor Bille Brown dies

VETERAN Australian stage actor Bille Brown has died after a short battle with bowel cancer.

Brown, 61, a lifelong friend of Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, was one of the first actors to join the Queensland Theatre Company (QTC).

He died on Sunday at Brisbane's Holy Spirit Northside Hospital in Chermside, two days after his birthday, and surrounded by friends. He was hospitalised a week ago.

QTC artistic director Wesley Enoch described Brown on Sunday evening as a distinguished individual and a superb actor, forging the way for so many and most certainly putting Queensland on the map.

His work with the QTC spanned four decades, following his first main stage production in 1971, Wrong Side of the Moon.

He was cast in 29 productions and produced four of his own written works.

In recognising his contribution and support for the arts in Queensland, The Bille Brown Studio was officially opened in 2002.

It is now home to QTCs Greenhouse program, a space for emerging artists, new works, ideas and constant debate.

"The artistic community of Queensland and Australia has lost a true gentleman. We are part of Bille's legacy," Mr Enoch said.

"Every actor, playwright, director, stage manager, designer, musician and all the teams who work in theatre in Queensland owe Bille a huge debt.

"He brought a sense of adventure, love and respect. His talent and love survives in us all."

The Biloela-born actor worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for a number of years between 1976 and 1996 and toured throughout Europe with them.

His film work includes roles in The Chronicles of Narnia (2010), The Dish (2000) and Oscar and Lucinda (1997).

Queensland Arts Minister Ros Bates said Brown's death was a tremendous loss for the arts and audiences alike.

"I would like to express my deepest sympathies to Mr Brown's family, friends and fellow artists who worked beside him over more than four decades as an actor, writer and director," Ms Bates said.

She said Brown had left an impressive legacy of major roles in dozens of productions for every leading theatre company in Australia and New York, as well as in the UK, where he worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011 for his service to the performing arts as an actor and playwright.

He was also made an honorary Queensland Doctorate of Letters from the University of Queensland.

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Faulty boiler blamed for collapse at plaza

A FAULTY boiler has been blamed for the collapse of two people at a Canberra shopping centre.

A small area on Bradley Street, Woden, outside the McDonalds entrance to Woden Plaza, was cordoned off after the scare around 1pm (AEST) on Sunday.

The man and woman who collapsed were treated at the scene, before being taken to Canberra Hospital.

ACT Ambulance Service later transported a further four people to hospital for observation.

An initial investigation indicates a faulty boiler may have released carbon monoxide into the air conditioning system, ACT Fire and Rescue says.

A HAZMAT crew monitored the building's ventilation levels before declaring the area safe.

ACT WorkCover will investigate.

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Greece 'past danger' but risks remain: PM

GREECE has overcome the danger of an ignominious euro exit but it must stay the course of tough reforms to avoid a "relapse", Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says.

"I believe the great danger has passed," Samaras said in an interview with the To Vima weekly on Sunday. "Drachmaphobia seems to have receded completely."

But Samaras, whose three-party government faces another reform hurdle in parliament next week, warned the nation: "There can be no letup in our effort because there is the risk of a relapse."

The government last week pushed through a tax bill introducing new annual income thresholds for salaried taxpayers and scrapping tax breaks for the self-employed, a category blamed for a large part of the tax evasion that has plagued state finances for decades.

On Monday, it will seek approval for another round of reforms tied to Greece's next slice of EU loans.

The opposition has condemned the measures as a new attack on the embattled middle class which is bearing the brunt of a fourth straight year of austerity.

Samaras' administration has been hit with several defections in the past few weeks in opposition to the continued austerity wave.

The coalition government has lost 16 deputies since coming to power in June but still retains a nominal majority of 163 in the 300-seat parliament.

The latest umbrella bill introduces closer state budget monitoring and gives greater flexibility to banks to raise fresh capital. It also regulates civil service pay cuts and layoffs and finalises a state debt buyback.

European Union leaders last month agreed to hand out 49.1 billion euros ($A61.90 billion) in aid in return for more austerity measures.

Athens has already received 34.3 billion euros of this package and is poised to get another 9.2 billion euros at the end of this month if key fiscal reforms are carried out, followed by two more slices of 2.8 billion euros in February and March.

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Opel losses to last until at least 2014

THE head of General Motors in Europe says losses at its struggling German arm Opel will continue for at least two more years and possibly longer depending on market trends.

"We will be in the red in 2013 and 2014," Steve Girsky told Focus magazine in an interview on Sunday.

"In 2014, hopefully a bit less. Balanced books will only be achieved in 2015 or 2016, depending on the market situation," he added.

GM's European operations have run up billions of dollars in losses over the past 10 years. It had planned to sell Opel at one stage but pulled back when it could not find a suitable buyer.

Battered by a declining European car market, Opel announced in December it would halt car production at its Bochum plant in 2016 but pledged to keep the site running as a parts distribution centre.

Opel employs 37,400 people in Europe, including 20,300 at four sites in Germany, in Ruesselsheim, Bochum, Eisenach and Kaiserslautern.

Opel boss Thomas Sedran told Focus: "We do not plan further site closures."

Last week, he insisted Opel was not for sale amid rumours of a tie-up between the German firm and struggling French group PSA Peugeot Citroen.

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Horses, baby saved from car fire

TWO horses and a nine month-old baby boy have been rescued after a car pulling a horse float caught alight in Melbourne's southeast.

The 29-year-old female driver and her 48-year-old male passenger noticed smoke coming from the engine and pulled over on the Monash Freeway near Warragul Rd around 8pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

They took the baby from the car and led the horses from the float just before the car's engine burst into flames engulfing the vehicle and float.

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