Tunisia ruling Islamists call for rally

MEMBERS of Tunisia's main ruling Islamist party are calling for a rally in the capital on Saturday, a day after police clashed with protesters at the funeral of murdered opposition figure Chokri Belaid.

The Ennahda party demonstration was to take place in the centre of Tunis on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, where the latest violence has taken place, the party said in a statement.

The protest would "defend the legitimacy of the national constituent assembly," where the Ennahda-dominated coalition holds a majority, and would "fight against (the political) violence" it said the opposition is using.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Friday for the funeral procession of Belaid, who was killed by a lone gunman on Wednesday, and clashes with police led to 132 arrests, said the interior ministry.

The opposition blames Ennahda for the murder of the outspoken government critic, but the ruling party vehemently denies any involvement.

The unrest comes amid tension and division within Ennahda itself, after the recent sacking of the party's leader and as Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali attempts to form a new government of technocrats, which hardliners oppose.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Unidentified child found wandering alone

POLICE are searching for parents of a young child who was found wandering alone in the streets of Perth's east more than 24 hours ago.

The boy, who is about three-years-old, was found on Belgravia Street in Belmont at about midday on Friday.

He has not been able to provide his name or details of his parents or guardians, and is currently being cared for by the Department for Child Protection (DCP).

Neither the DCP nor police have received any reports of a missing child.

Police have now released a picture of the boy, who has short brown hair, brown eyes and a light olive complexion.

He has limited speech.

Anyone able to identify the boy should contact the Department's Crisis Care Unit on 9223 1111.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Domestic violence tracking set for WA

SERIOUS domestic violence offenders in Western Australia will almost certainly find themselves being monitored electronically, with both main political parties pushing the plan.

If WA Labor wins the March 9 election, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan says the party will start a $4.5 million electronic monitoring trial of domestic violence offenders who breach restraining orders - a plan he mooted in March last year.

But Corrective Services Minister Murray Cowper said the Liberal-led government had already approved the drafting of legislation to create a new category of a serious, violent offender to enable courts to order them to wear GPS tracking devices.

This would initially target repeat domestic violence offenders, Mr Cowper said, after the Liberals announced their GPS tracking policy last month.

The government had also passed legislation that meant a mandatory one-year jail term for anyone who tampered with the device, he said.

"Will Mr McGowan commit to mandatory sentencing for tampering with a device?" Mr Cowper said.

Mr McGowan said domestic violence was on the rise and victims were not being adequately protected.

He pointed to Saori Jones, who was murdered in front of her two children by her ex-husband Bradley Wayne Jones.

Jones received a five-year prison sentence in 2011, moving WA Labor to introduce a private member's bill, known as Saori's Law, to parliament last year, but it was voted down by the Barnett government.

The bill sought the near-automation of restraining orders in domestic assault cases and would have cleared the way for victims to remain in their homes even if the properties were registered in the offenders' names.

Mr McGowan also took a swipe at Premier Colin Barnett's announcement on Saturday - Chinese New Year's Eve - to promise $2 million to improve Chinatown in Northbridge.

Sticking with one of his key campaign themes of transforming the CBD, Mr Barnett said he wanted to turn the area into a vibrant laneway precinct, building on the Perth City Link project currently under way.

This involves sinking the Fremantle rail line to make the border between the city and the entertainment district more pedestrian-friendly.

Two new street connections would be created, the premier said, including linking the high-end King Street - home of Perth's most expensive retail rentals - to Lake Street, one of Northbridge's most bustling roads.

But Mr McGowan said the announcement confirmed the Premier's priorities were wrong and out-of-touch, and came as the WA government racked up record debt levels.

Instead, Mr McGowan said he was focused on traffic congestion, which the opposition planned to solve with its Metronet rail plan to connect outer suburbs to the city and airport, and easing high costs of living.

The Australian newspaper's Newspoll figures on Friday pointed to a landslide win for the WA Liberals, who lead 57 per cent to 43 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

But Mr McGowan is romping it in as preferred premier, jumping 11 points to 40 per cent. On the same basis, Mr Barnett has slipped to 44 per cent, down four points.

The poll has a three per cent margin of error.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Behemoth storm dumps snow on US northeast

Airlines are grounding their planes in New York City in response to an intensifying blizzard. Source: AAP

A BEHEMOTH storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions has swept through the US Northeast, dumping more than half a metre of snow on New England and knocking out power to 650,000 homes and businesses.

More than 70 centimetres of snow had fallen on central Connecticut by early on Saturday, and areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched 0.6 metres or more of snow - with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports and Boston's Logan Airport closed.

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

For a group of stranded European business travellers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted several inches deep on the footpaths.

The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain cancelled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.

"We are not believing it," said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. "We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years."

The National Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is expected in Boston, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches. A wind gust of 76 mph was recorded at Logan Airport.

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of motorists remained disabled early Saturday as police worked to free them.

About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.

At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shovelling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.

Forecasters said wind gusts exceeding 75 mph could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Khartoum-backed militia 'kill 17 people'

KHARTOUM-BACKED militia in Sudan's South Kordofan state have killed 17 civilians, rebels say.

They accused the group of ethnic South Sudanese of ambushing a civilian lorry on Friday at Abu Nuwara, about 80km from the border with South Sudan's Upper Nile state.

"They clashed with the civilians there and there's a lot of casualties," said Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) which has been fighting government forces in South Kordofan since June 2011.

He said the incident occurred in a government-controlled area and blamed a militia linked to Lam Akol's Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Change (SPLM-DC).

"This is ridiculous," Akol told AFP from Khartoum. "We don't have a militia."

SPLM-DC is South Sudan's main opposition party, a breakaway group from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement which has ruled the South since independence in 2011 after a 22-year civil war.

He said the rebels in South Kordofan are "just parroting what their masters in Juba are saying."

Khartoum accuses South Sudan of supporting the SPLM-North, and this has been a major obstacle for the failure of Sudan and South Sudan to implement key security and economic agreements signed in September.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Magnitude 7.1 quake hits Solomon Islands

A 7.1-MAGNITUDE earthquake has hit off the Solomon Islands, two days after an 8.0-magnitude quake sparked a tsunami, but there was no threat of a widespread destructive wave this time, US agencies say.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 1112 GMT (2212 AEDT) near the Santa Cruz Islands, which are part of the Solomons, at a depth of ten kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no danger of a widespread destructive tsunami.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mali troops attack Red Beret camp: reports

A GUNFIGHT has erupted in the Malian capital as soldiers attacked a camp of elite paratroopers loyal to ousted president Amadou Toumani Toure, military sources and witnesses say.

"From 6am (1700 AEDT) heavily armed soldiers, from all units, attacked the camp," said Yaya Bouare, one of the "Red Beret" soldiers inside the camp that was attacked.

"There are many injured inside the camp."

The camp includes housing for military families.

"The soldiers arrived in armoured cars and pickup trucks, all of them armed to the teeth to attack our base," said Batoma Dicko, a woman who lives in the military camp.

"The women and children tried to stop them from entering the camp. They shot tear gas at us and started shooting volleys in the air."

Dr Amadou Diallo, who works at the infirmary in the camp, known as Djicoroni Para Camp, said there was at least one dead and five wounded.

Bamako residents living near the barracks confirmed the attack and one of them said the Red Berets had "fired shots in the air" overnight.

Bouare said the attack was linked to a declaration by army chief of defence staff General Tahirou Dembele on television earlier this week, who ordered the paratroopers to the frontline of a French-led war with radical Islamists in the north.

"As we have this problem in the north on our hands, you will go and fight with your brothers in arms", he said, adding he had decided to incorporate the elite soldiers within other units.

But the paratroopers refused to join their new units, or to leave their camp.

The Red Berets formed part of an elite presidential guard protecting Toure, who was ousted in March last year by a group of "Green Berets" - infantry and other units.

The coup came after soldiers from Mali's poor and ramshackle army were humiliated in the north by well-armed Tuareg fighters who launched a rebellion for independence in January.

A month after the presidential ouster, the paratroopers launched a failed counter-coup and fighting between the feuding factions left about 20 people dead.

With Bamako in disarray, the Tuareg and Islamist allies seized the entire north before the extremists chased away the secular Tuareg rebels and installed a brutal form of sharia.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Elderly woman dies in scooter accident

AN elderly woman has died after her scooter collided with a car in southwest NSW.

The 81-year-old woman was riding her scooter in Lavington when she collided with a sedan at an intersection and was thrown onto the road about 8.20am (AEDT) on Friday.

She sustained critical injuries and was taken to Albury Base Hospital but later died.

The 49-year-old driver of the car was uninjured.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gunmen kill 9 at two Nigeria polio clinics

GUNMEN have attacked two polio clinics in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, killing nine people before fleeing, police and residents say.

"Nine people were killed in two separate attacks by gunmen on (motorised) tricycles when they attacked two dispensaries where polio immunisation workers were preparing to go out for polio campaigns," police spokesman Magaji Majia said.

The attacks come after a local cleric denounced polio vaccination campaigns this week and some local radio programs repeated previous conspiracy theories about such campaigns being a foreign plot to harm Muslims.

Such conspiracy theories have long spread in parts of northern Nigeria, stoked by local politicians.

Nigeria is one of only three countries still considered to have endemic polio, alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Police declined to say who they believed was behind the killings.

Extremist sect Boko Haram has carried out attacks in Kano, although gangs linked to local politics also operate.

"Six people on a tricycle pulled up outside the dispensary at 9.45am while polio immunisation workers were gathering for the day's house-to-house polio campaign," a resident near the second attack said.

"Two of the men were holding guns. They stormed into the dispensary and began shooting."

Last year, two Nigerian police guarding polio vaccination workers were killed by gunmen, though it was unclear if the attack was linked to the campaign.

Islamist extremists have carried out scores of attacks on police.

In 2003, Kano's state government suspended polio immunisations for 13 months, with the then governor saying claims on its harmful effects had to be looked into.

The suspension followed allegations by some Muslim clerics that the vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile as part of US-led plot to depopulate Africa.

Despite the resumption of polio immunisations, Kano has continued to record polio cases as many parents still reject the vaccine.

Deadly attacks linked to polio vaccination campaigns have also occurred in Pakistan.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bomb kills 10 people in northwest Pakistan

A BOMB planted near a market in northwestern Pakistan has killed 10 people and wounded 23 others, in the latest in an uptick in attacks in recent months, government officials say.

The blast occurred in Kalaya, the main town in the Orakzai tribal area, said local government administrator Khaistan Akbar.

Orakzai is one of several areas in the semiautonomous tribal region along the Afghan border where the military has been battling a Pakistani Taliban insurgency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the latest bombing, but local militants regularly target security forces and civilians in the area.

The blast occurred near government and security offices, according to another local administrator, Javed Khan.

It damaged one of the shops in the market.

Some of the wounded were in critical condition, he said.

The military has launched multiple operations against the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest since 2009, but the militant have proved resilient and continue to carry out attacks.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asian markets down ahead of China data

ASIAN markets have closed mostly down with traders booking profits after another strong rally in the previous session, while they are also awaiting the release of Chinese economic indicators.

Tokyo's Nikkei suffered a deep correction after storming almost four per cent to its highest level since September 2008 as the yen reclaimed some of its losses in recent days.

Tokyo fell 0.93 per cent, or 106.68 points, to 11,357.07 on Thursday and Seoul slipped 0.23 per cent, or 4.42 points, to 1,931.77.

Sydney rose 0.30 per cent, or 14.7 points, to 4,935.7, Hong Kong fell 0.34 per cent, or 79.93 points to 23,177.00, and Shanghai closed down 0.66 per cent or 15.95 to 2,418.53.

Traders opted out of big risks ahead of the latest numbers from China due to be released on Friday before the country shuts up shop for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Beijing will unveil data on trade and inflation that will provide a clearer idea of the state of the world's number two economy after a string up upbeat figures indicated it has emerged from a severe slowdown.

"After gyrating quite aggressively over the past couple of weeks, markets are taking pause ahead of the Chinese (inflation) data," said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment market research at Perpetual Investments in Sydney.

"In essence, we are probably stuck in a bit of a trading zone after we had such a strong rally in January," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Eyes were also on a European Central Bank meeting later on Thursday that is expected to keep monetary policy on hold.

Analysts said ECB board members would not undertake any more loosening despite worries about slow growth and the strengthening euro.

In foreign exchange markets the yen edged up in Asia following its recent sharp decline but fell back in early European trade.

The US dollar fetched 93.78 yen in London, compared with 93.57 yen New York late on Wednesday.

The euro bought 127.15 yen from 126.46 yen and $US1.3560 from $US1.3519.

Regional markets were given a soft lead from Wall Street's mixed trading day.

The Dow ended 0.05 per cent higher, the S&P 500 climbed 0.05 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 0.10 per cent.

On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March gained 16 cents to $US96.78 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for March delivery increased 12 cents to $US116.85.

Gold was at $US1,676.08 at 1030 GMT (2130 AEDT) compared with $US1,670.27 late on Wednesday.

In other markets:

- Singapore slipped 0.45 per cent, or 14.76 points, to 3,261.77.

Singapore Telecom rose 0.86 per cent to Sg$3.54 and Singapore Airlines dropped 1.76 per cent to Sg$11.15.

- Jakarta was flat, edging up 4.17 points to 4,503.15.

Asia Pacific Fibres rose 1.03 per cent to 196 rupiah, Indofood Sukses Makmur climbed 3.15 per cent to 6,550 rupiah and carmaker Astra International rose 1.32 per cent to 7,650 rupiah.

- Manila closed 0.45 per cent higher, or 28.64 points to 6,459.9.

Metropolitan Bank rose 0.09 per cent to 110.50 pesos, and Manila Electric Co. rose 1.87 per cent to 304.60 pesos.

- Wellington fell 0.40 per cent, or 16.71 points, to 4,195.24.

Telecom Corp lost 2.12 per cent to NZ$2.31, Fletcher Building was off 0.78 per cent at NZ$8.90 and New Zealand Oil and Gas added 0.53 per cent to NZ$0.95.

- Kuala Lumpur added 0.34 per cent, or 5.43 points, to 1,619.57.

DiGi was up 3.4 per cent to 4.82 ringgit while Genting Malaysia rose 1.7 per cent to 3.70 ringgit and IOI Corp eased 1.4 per cent to end at 4.79 ringgit.

- Bangkok was barely changed, dipping 0.54 points to 1,499.81.

Airports of Thailand added 4.23 per cent to 111 baht, while telecoms company Total Access Communication jumped 3.49 per cent to 89 baht.

- Mumbai fell 0.30 per cent, or 59.40 points, to 19,580.32, a sixth straight loss.

Sterlite, the local arm of global resources Vedanta Group, fell 2.92 per cent to 104.6 rupees and mobile phone firm Bharti Airtel slid 2.82 per cent to 319.1 rupees.

- Taipei was closed for a public holiday.

19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank of England keeps key rate at 0.50%

THE Bank of England says it has voted again to freeze its key interest rate at a record-low level of 0.50 per cent and maintain its quantitative easing cash stimulus aimed at boosting growth.

"The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.50 per cent," it said, adding QE would remain at STG375 billion ($A572.52 billion).

19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wrongly accused Filipino kidnappers freed

EIGHTEEN Philippine Muslims wrongly accused of kidnapping and beheading Christian missionaries are to be freed from prison, where some have languished for over two years, the government says.

They include five possible members of the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf who had not apparently taken any part in the grisly crimes, said Peter Ong, vice-chairman of the justice department's counter-terrorism task force.

"There is no denying that members of the Abu Sayyaf Group are responsible for the kidnapping of six members of Jehovah's Witnesses on August 20, 2002," Ong said in a written report.

"However, we note the indiscriminate arrest of alleged members of the (Abu Sayyaf), even those who did not participate in the kidnapping."

Chief government prosecutor Claro Arellano endorsed the report and ordered 18 of the 21 detained suspects in the case to be freed, Ong said.

Law enforcers who took part in the bungled arrests are to be investigated, he added.

Ong said the men were arrested separately in several southern islands between September 2010 and July 2012 for the abductions of the six Filipino missionaries, two of whom were later beheaded.

State witnesses including one of the former hostages identified three of the 21 suspects as having taken part in either the kidnappings or the beheadings, he said.

Ong said five of the 18 others "may" be Abu Sayyaf members but there was not enough evidence to show they took part in the crimes, while for the rest it was a case of mistaken identity.

Abu Sayyaf, founded using seed money from Al-Qaeda in the 1990s, are blamed for the worst terror attacks in the country.

They kidnapped the missionaries when the six went to the Abu Sayyaf southern stronghold of Jolo island to sell cosmetic products.

Two male hostages were beheaded within a day of their abduction while the rest, all women, escaped eight months later, officials have said.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pussy Riot appeal to European Court

LAWYERS for three members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot are contesting their convictions in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Natalia Tolokonnikova were sentenced to two years in prison for their irreverent "punk prayer" in Moscow's main cathedral last February against Vladimir Putin's return to Russian presidency.

Samutsevich was later released on appeal.

The complaint filed on Wednesday alleges the group's conviction violates four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial.

The conviction on charges of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" has sparked global outrage, drawing attention to Russia's intolerance of dissent under Putin.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two Russian fighters enter airspace: Japan

JAPAN'S Defence Ministry says two Russian fighters briefly intruded into Japanese airspace off the northern tip of the island of Hokkaido.

Ministry official Yoshihide Yoshida said the intrusion on Thursday, which lasted less than a minute, caused Japan's air force to scramble.

Yoshida said it was not immediately known whether the airspace violation was intentional or accidental, but that it was "extremely problematic".

He says the last intrusion by Russian jets in Japanese airspace was on February 9, 2008.

On Thursday, Japan observed Northern Territories' Day, when rallies and meetings are organised to call for the return of four disputed islands, off Hokkaido, known as the Northern Territories.

Russia refers to the islands as the Kurils.

Former prime minister Yoshiro Mori is expected to travel to Moscow later this month to discuss territorial issues.

Soviet troops seized the four islands in late August and early September 1945 after Japan accepted the terms of surrender under the Potsdam Declaration ending World War II.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tunisia president denounces assassination

TUNISIA President Moncef Marzouki has denounced "the odious assassination" of his friend and opposition leader Chokri Belaid.

In an impassioned speech on Wednesday that brought tears to the eyes of Europe's politicians he said the murder would not tip Tunisia to unrest.

"This odious assassination of a political leader who I knew well and who was my friend ... is a threat, it is a letter sent that will not be received.

"We refuse this message and we will continue to unmask the enemies of the revolution," he said though Tunisia's path was "paved with hurdles", including "orchestrated verbal violence, burnt preachers" and the murder of Belaid.

Marzouki, who also spoke of his years in Strasbourg when in exile, brought teary-eyed European politicians across the political spectrum to their feet for a long round of applause.

After calling for a minute of silence in memory of the slain leader, European Parliament president Martin Schulz said: "Long live Tunisia, long live freedom, long live democracy."

Belaid, leader of the leftist Movement of Democratic Patriots, was shot in the neck and head as he was leaving his Tunis home for work on Wednesday, his wife told Chems FM radio.

Belaid, a lawyer, had been outspoken in his criticism of Tunisia's ruling coalition, which is led by the Islamist party Ennahda.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali denounced the murder as an "act of terrorism" against Tunisia.

"This is a criminal act, an act of terrorism not only against Belaid but against the whole of Tunisia," Jebali from the ruling Islamist Ennahda party told FM Radio Mosaique.

He promised to pursue all efforts to "immediately" arrest the murderer.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Macklin coy on NT grog intervention plans

FEDERAL Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin refuses to say whether she'll intervene to reinstate grog restrictions in the Top End if the NT government refuses to.

Canberra has called on the NT government to reinstate its Banned Drinkers Register (BDR), but the Country Liberal Party (CLP) says the federal government should mind its own business.

The CLP says statistics show the BDR failed to curb alcohol-fuelled violence, but Ms Macklin believes it's had a positive effect.

"Is it going to fix everything? Of course not. But was it useful and should it be reinstated because it's useful? Yes it should," she told ABC television on Wednesday.

Ms Macklin said she had written the NT's chief minister seeking agreement to appoint an expert to assess two troublesome Alice Springs pubs, as a first step.

Asked if she would intervene if the NT ultimately refused to reintroduce the BDR, Ms Macklin pointed out she does have some powers under Labor's Stronger Futures legislation.

But she did not commit to using them.

"What we may or may not do after that remains to be seen," she said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard used her annual Closing the Gap speech on indigenous disadvantage on Wednesday to declare that she feared the "rivers of grog" that wreaked havoc among indigenous communities were beginning to flow again.

She said her government would "take action in response to any irresponsible policy changes" that could forfeit hard-won gains.

AAP ag/goc

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Germany takes steps to curtail risky banks

THE German government has agreed on a draft law that paves the way for criminal prosecutions for bankers who take excessive risks.

The bill, to be put before Parliament this year, also requires banks to separate retail activity from proprietary trading if it goes beyond a certain threshold.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that the move was being co-ordinated with France as part of an effort to draw lessons from the 2008 financial crisis.

Schaeuble says up to a dozen German banks would need to separate their retail and trading activities.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Japan's Mazda swings back to profit

JAPANESE car giant Mazda says it has swung back to profit in the nine months to December and has boosted its full-year earnings forecast.

Japan's fifth-biggest vehicle maker logged a net profit of Y25.6 billion ($A264.09 million) for the April-December period, reversing its net loss of Y112.8 billion a year earlier.

Sales rose 8.5 per cent to Y1.54 trillion, it said on Wednesday.

It credited the results to a bounce in sales and cost-cutting after suffering a double punch from a strong yen and falling demand in key markets during the corresponding period in 2011, when manufacturers were also hit by effects of Japan's quake-tsunami disaster.

In China, Mazda sold 129,000 vehicles for the nine-month period, down 21.5 per cent from a year earlier, "but sales are on a recovery trend," it said, echoing similar comments from Toyota, Japan's biggest vehicle company.

On Tuesday, Toyota said the China market was improving as it net profit in the nine months to December quadrupled while it also lifted its full-year earnings outlook.

Demand for Japanese cars in China, the world's biggest vehicle market, plunged last year in the wake of a consumer boycott sparked by a territorial spat between Tokyo and Beijing over an East China Sea island chain.

Mazda also said it was projecting a full-year net profit of Y26 billion, up from an earlier estimate of Y10 billion, while sales are forecast to be Y2.19 trillion, compared with an earlier Y2.17 trillion prediction.

Japan's vehicle makers have been posting strong results, underscoring their recovery from the twin disasters and the surging value of the yen, which has been in steep decline in recent months.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rain, floods kill 25 in Pakistan

HEAVY rain in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least 25 people and injured more than 50, emergency officials say.

Collapsing structures in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province caused most of the casualties.

Three soldiers were still missing after an avalanche hit their post near the Afghan border, said disaster management spokesman Adnan Khan on Wednesday.

More than 230 houses were damaged during the rains, which began at the weekend and subsided early on Wednesday.

Heavy snow fell over the northern mountain ranges.

Chief meteorologist Arif Mahmood said a 30-year record for snowfall was broken in Malam Jabba town that hosted skiing competitions until Taliban militants destroyed the only resort there in 2008.

"More than three metres of snow fell in as many days, setting a new record," Mahmood said.

Unprecedented monsoon floods in 2010 killed more than 1,000 people and damaged nearly 300,000 structures.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Australia set to rejoin UN aid agency

AUSTRALIA is likely to rejoin the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) despite the federal opposition's objections to the move.

Australia was a founding member of the United Nations aid agency but pulled out in 2004 because of governance concerns.

The federal government last year announced it would rejoin IFAD, which is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries after it had implemented major reforms.

It has pledged $126.4 million over four years from 2012/13.

Deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop said there was no disputing more had to be done to address future food security issues, with increasing demand for protein rich food and cereals.

The coalition supports efforts to improve international food security but there was a duty to ensure taxpayer money was directed to organisations which were accountable.

"My concerns focus solely on the organisation, IFAD, its history with organisational shortcomings and its strategic fit within the Australia aid program," Ms Bishop said.

At the time of the withdrawal from IFAD, AusAid had raised concerns about a lack of funding directed to South-East Asia and the Pacific and shortcomings in its management and donor relationships.

The Australian government must satisfy itself that all of IFAD's shortcomings had been addressed, Ms Bishop said.

"We must also be assured that the millions of dollars that will be required to support Australia's own membership of IFAD are not better applied elsewhere," she said.

The federal government should delay the bill until all concerns about IFAD's governance are addressed and the impact of the reform process assessed, Ms Bishop said.

Labor MP Nick Champion said AusAid had recommended Australia rejoin the fund after new governance arrangements had been put in place.

The United States and UK governments were contributing.

"It seems just sensible to rejoin again," Mr Champion told parliament.

Mr Champion said IFAD was more focused on the Asia Pacific and on corruption issues.

"The organisation, while not perfect, conceptually it is a good one," he said.

Despite the objections of coalition MPs, Mr Champion said if they were to form government after the 2013 election they would likely continue on the same path Labor had set.

Debate on the International Fund for Agricultural Development Amendment Bill 2012 was adjourned.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Somali court jails alleged rape victim

A WOMAN who said she was raped by soldiers has been sentenced to one year in prison, according to a court official in Mogadishu.

The official, Ahmed Aden Farah, said the court based Tuesday's sentence on medical evidence that the woman was not raped.

A journalist who reported on the case was also jailed for a year.

Rights groups have decried the case as politically motivated because the woman had accused security forces of the sexual assault.

Farah said the woman's prison term would be delayed by one year so she could care for her young child.

The woman was charged with insulting a government body, inducing false evidence, simulating a criminal offence and making a false accusation.

Journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur was charged with insulting a government body and inducing the woman to give false evidence.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Japan protests over naval radar action

TOKYO has lodged a protest with Beijing after a Chinese warship directed radar against a Japanese military vessel near a group of disputed islets in the East China Sea.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said the Chinese ship's fire-control radar was directed at the Japanese ship on January 31.

He said the government also suspected a Chinese ship had directed radar at a Japanese military helicopter on January 19.

He called the incidents "extremely unusual" and said "they could have led to a dangerous situation".

Japan also issued a protest earlier in the day as two Chinese surveillance vessels entered what Tokyo calls its territorial waters around the disputed islets for more than 14 hours on Monday.

"It is extremely regrettable and totally unacceptable that the ships remained in Japanese waters for a long period of time," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

The government's purchase of three of the islets in mid-September sparked anti-Japan protests in dozens of Chinese cities and a boycott of Japanese products.

The Senkaku islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan, where they are called the Diaoyu and the Tiaoyutai, respectively.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nurse likens Nauru to concentration camp

A VETERAN nurse has likened conditions in the asylum seeker detention centre on Nauru to a concentration camp.

Marianne Evers worked at the centre for three weeks late last year and says the conditions were completely appalling.

"I actually liken it to a concentration camp," Ms Evers, who has more than 40 years nursing experience, told ABC Television on Tuesday.

"But the Australians don't have the guts to kill these people and put them out of their misery. Because miserable it is."

The Dutch-born Australian citizen, who broke a confidentiality agreement by coming forward, said she saw numerous attempted suicides and other instances of self-harm during her brief stay on the tiny Pacific island.

She says she also heard allegations of sexual assault from other staff members but did not herself witness anything.

Department of Immigration and Citizenship spokesman Sandi Logan questioned why it took so long for Ms Evers to come forward.

"I think invoking concentration camps is a disgrace to be quite honest," he said.

"I don't think anyone should be throwing terms like concentration camp around with such abandon."

More than 400 male asylum seekers are living in the Nauru facility.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asian markets mostly lower on Europe fears

AN Asian rally has been brought to a juddering halt by political concerns in Spain and Italy.

The euro also slumped as Spain's prime minister was forced to deny corruption claims and former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed to throw a spanner in the works of a government austerity drive as his party showed solid gains in polls ahead of a general election.

Tokyo shares dived 1.9 per cent, or 213.43 points, to 11,046.92, while Seoul slipped 0.77 per cent, or 15.03 points, to 1,938.18 and Sydney shed 0.51 per cent, or 24.8 points, to 4,882.7. Hong Kong tumbled 2.27 per cent, or 536.48 points, to 23,148.53.

Shanghai reversed morning losses and ended up 0.2 per cent, or 4.98 points, at 2,433.13 after the Chinese central bank injected a huge amount of cash into the market to satisfy pre-Lunar New Year holiday demand from traders.

The losses come after several markets approached highs not seen for several months as confidence slowly returns, thanks to an easing of the eurozone debt crisis and a pick-up in the US and Chinese economies.

However, dealers suffered a blow on Monday when Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy came under pressure to step down over a corruption scandal.

Rajoy has dismissed claims by Spain's El Pais newspaper that he and other ruling party officials channelled donations into secret payments.

The news sent the Spanish cost of borrowing surging, reviving worries about Madrid's ability to access the debt market to keep functioning.

Berlusconi, meanwhile, said he would refund the money Italians have had to pay for an unpopular property tax if his coalition, headed by his protege Angelino Alfano, wins a February 24-25 election.

Berlusconi, who would take the role of finance minister in a new government, abolished the real estate tax in 2008 but it was reinstated last year as part of Prime Minister Mario Monti's austerity budget in Italy.

The news out of Europe hit the euro, which tumbled in New York late on Monday to $US1.3503 and Y124.28, from $US1.3626 and Y126.26 earlier in the day in Asia.

In Tuesday afternoon Tokyo forex trade the euro fetched $US1.3485 and Y124.52 yen.

The dollar bought Y92.33 compared with Y92.11 in New York late on Monday.

The Australian dollar eased to US$1.0409 from US$1.0444 after the country's central bank held interest rates on hold at three per cent.

On Wall Street the Dow, which ended near a record high on Friday, dropped 0.93 per cent on Monday, while the S&P 500 fell 1.15 per cent and the Nasdaq slipped 1.51 per cent.

In Europe there were heavy losses on all the main indexes on Monday, with London's FTSE 100, Frankfurt's DAX and the Paris CAC diving between 1.6 per cent and 3.00 per cent. Madrid tumbled 3.77 per cent and Milan slumped 4.5 per cent. On Tuesday the markets were mixed.

Oil prices eased in Asia. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, dropped 15 cents to $US96.02 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for March shed 37 cents to $US115.23.

Gold was at $US1,678.01 at 1040 GMT (2140 AEDT) compared with $1,665.40 late on Monday.

In other markets:

- Singapore closed down 0.75 per cent, or 24.71 points, to 3,272.66.

DBS Bank dropped 0.59 per cent to Sg$15.20 and real estate firm CapitaLand shed 1.02 per cent to Sg$3.89.

- Kuala Lumpur shares lost 0.07 per cent, or 1.2 points, to close at 1,633.35.

Telekom Malaysia dipped 1.1 per cent to 5.48 ringgit, while Axiata Group fell 0.2 per cent to 6.29. Hong Leong Bank added 1.3 per cent to 14.60 ringgit.

- Jakarta ended down 0.25 per cent, or 11.12 points, at 4,479.44.

Cigarette producer Gudang Garam fell 1.48 per cent to 49,950 rupiah, food manufacturer Cahaya Kalbar lost 1.73 per cent to 1,700 rupiah and cement maker Semen Indonesia rose 2.52 per cent to 16,250 rupiah.

- Bangkok lost 0.04 per cent, or 0.65 points to 1,505.72.

Coal producer Banpu dropped 1.77 per cent to 389.00 baht, while Kiatnakin Bank added 1.79 per cent to 56.75 baht.

- Taipei fell 0.46 per cent, or 36.22 points, to 7,886.94.

Hon Hai Precision shed 1.07 per cent to Tw$83.1 while leading smartphone maker HTC was down by its 7.0 per cent daily limit at Tw$266.0.

- Manila closed 0.54 per cent higher, adding 34.51 points to 6,470.49.

BDO Unibank rose 1.53 per cent to 83.05 pesos while SM Investments also gained 1.53 per cent to 995 pesos.

- Mumbai's Sensex index slid 0.46 per cent, or 91.37 points, to 19,659.82.

Mobile phone firm Bharti Airtel fell 1.93 per cent to 324.55 rupees and Tata Motors fell 1.64 per cent to 287.05 rupees.

- Wellington fell 0.81 per cent, or 34.46 points, to 4,211.95.

Fletcher Building was down 2.39 per cent at NZ$8.97, Telecom slipped 2.89 per cent to NZ$2.355 and Contact Energy lost 1.14 per cent to NZ$5.20.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lebanon wants top Syrian official arrested

LEBANESE judicial officials say prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for a top Syrian intelligence official for his alleged involvement in a bombing plot in Lebanon.

The officials say Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk is accused of being involved with Lebanon's former information minister, who is accused of plotting a wave of attacks in Lebanon at the behest of Syria.

The former information minister, Michel Samaha, has been in custody since August. His arrest was an embarrassing blow to Syria, which has long acted with impunity in Lebanon.

Mamlouk, head of Syria's national security council, was indicted in absentia along with Samaha in the summer.

The officials said another arrest warrant has been issued for a Syrian colonel identified as Adnan.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

France bombs Islamist bases in Mali

France has carried out air strikes near the last bastion of armed extremists in Mali, officials say. Source: AAP

FRENCH fighter jets have pounded Islamist supply bases in northern Mali to flush the radicals out of hiding, as Paris pushes for African troops to quickly take over the offensive.

Dozens of French fighter jets carried out air strikes on rebel training and logistics centres in the area around their last stronghold of Kidal over the weekend in the mountainous north-east of the landlocked county.

"It is about destroying their rear bases, their depots," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France Inter radio on Monday.

"They have taken refuge in the north and the northeast but they can only stay there long-term if they have ways to replenish their supplies. So the army, in a very efficient manner, is stopping them from doing so."

The extremist fighters who have controlled northern Mali for 10 months have fled into the Adrar des Ifoghas massif in the Kidal region near the Algerian border, after being driven from their strongholds by the three-week French-led assault.

They are believed to be holding seven French hostages with them, complicating the operation.

After a lightning advance saw the French-led troops take back Timbuktu and Gao last week, French, Malian and Chadian troops have been working for nearly a week to secure Kidal.

But the former colonial power is keen to wrap up its leading role in the offensive, and Fabius said his country's troops could rapidly withdraw from the city of Timbuktu.

"We want to be rapidly relieved by the AFISMA African forces in the cities that we hold," Fabius told France Inter radio.

In Timbuktu a withdrawal "could take place very quickly, we are working on it," he said.

France is eager to pass the baton to some 8,000 African troops pledged for the UN-backed AFISMA force, still deploying at a snail's pace, after sweeping to Mali's aid on January 11 as the Islamists threatened to advance south towards the capital Bamako.

But France is walking a difficult line and President Francois Hollande vowed during a visit to Mali on Saturday that he would not abandon the country to chaos.

"France will stay by your side as long as necessary, as long as it takes for Africans themselves... to replace us," he said.

The battle against the Islamists in Mali is expected to top the agenda of a meeting by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Cairo which begins on Wednesday.

The Al-Qaeda-linked groups seized control of the northern triangle of the bow-tie shaped nation - a vast stretch of desert larger than France, sparsely dotted with sandy towns - in the wake of a coup in Bamako in March last year.

The Islamists initially allied with Tuareg rebels - fighting a decades-old battle for independence of the arid zone where they have lived as desert nomads for centuries - but quickly cast them aside and imposed a brutal version of Islamic law.

Northern residents have celebrated throwing off the shackles of harsh Islamist rule, but are facing food shortages as Arab and Tuareg traders flee reprisal attacks against light-skinned Malians accused of backing the Islamists.

Britain-based aid group Oxfam said fighting had severely restricted traditional trade routes, and that markets were running low on supplies in the region, already crippled by drought when the crisis began.

"If traders do not come back soon and flows of food into northern Mali remain as limited as they are now, then it is likely that markets will not be properly stocked and prices will stay high - making it very difficult for people to get enough food to feed their families," said Philippe Conraud, Oxfam country director in Mali.

"These traders are critical for local economies - and these economies have already been enormously weakened by almost a year of crisis."

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

ALP losing support on key issues: Newspoll

THE Coalition's stocks continue to rise with the latest Newspoll in The Australian on Tuesday showing 50 per cent of voters think they have a better handle on economic management than the government.

The drilling down of the poll, which showed Labor is on course for a heavy election defeat, points to the government losing ground on every key electoral issue.

The poll revealed that support for Labor's handling of the economy has crashed from 34 per cent to 28 per cent, the equal lowest level since Kevin Rudd won the election in 2007.

On the other hand, support for the Coalition's economic management has risen to 50 per cent, up from 46 per cent a year ago.

Last year Labor led the Coalition on the issue of handling jobs - 42 per cent to 38 per cent - but after the survey conducted over the weekend, the tables have turned with Labor now on 37 per cent to the Coalition's 41 per cent.

And despite interest rates at "emergency" lows Labor has gone backwards there as well with only 28 per cent of voters, compared to a previous 32 per cent, thinking it can better manage interest rates.

Coalition support on the issue was steady on 43 per cent.

And while the government continues to lead the opposition on the handling of health and education issues, its lead has been halved in both areas.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cremation of Cambodia's Sihanouk begins

THE mourning period for Cambodia's late King Norodom Sihanouk has culminated with an elaborate cremation ceremony led by his widow and his son, the current monarch.

King Norodom Sihamoni and Sihanouk's widow Monique wore traditional white mourning clothes as they knelt to pray on Monday evening before the bier of Sihanouk, who dominated his country's politics for half a century after guiding it to independence in 1953.

Live coverage on state television showed a white cloth drawn over the camera lens before the pyre was actually lit, preserving the decorum and royal privacy of the occasion.

The late king's body had been lying in state at the Royal Palace after being flown from Beijing, where he died on October 15 of a heart attack. He was 89.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Girl shot by Taliban has more surgery

A PAKISTANI girl shot by the Taliban has made a video statement, saying she is recovering.

Speaking clearly but with a slight stiffness in her upper lip, 15-year-old Malala Yousefzai says she is "getting better, day by day".

The video statement was published on Monday, just hours after Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital said surgeons had successfully operated to reconstruct her skull and restore her hearing.

The teenager drew the world's attention when she was shot by Taliban militants on a school bus in northwestern Pakistan.

The Islamist group said they targeted her because she promoted girls' education and "Western thinking". She had also criticised the militant group's behaviour when it took over the scenic Swat Valley where she lived.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kuwait jails third tweeter for emir insult

KUWAIT'S lower court sentenced a third opposition youth activist to five years in jail "with immediate effect" for insulting the emir on Twitter, a rights group said.

"The court passed the maximum jail term against Mohammad Eid al-Ajmi for insulting the emir on Twitter," said the director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, Mohammad al-Humaidi on Sunday.

The ruling is not final as it will be appealed, but Ajmi will begin serving the sentence immediately, Humaidi said.

Ajmi is the third opposition youth activist to be convicted for insulting the emir on Twitter. Last month the same court sentenced two tweeters to two years each in jail each on the same charge.

Ayyad al-Harbi and Rashed al-Enezi are both in prison as they await appeals court rulings on their cases.

Humaidi said a large number of youth activists are on trial on similar charges, with verdicts expected in the coming weeks.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran non-committal over nuclear talks

IRAN'S foreign minister welcomed the United States' willingness to hold direct talks with Tehran in the standoff over its nuclear program but didn't commit to accepting the offer - insisting that Washington must show "fair and real" intentions to resolve the issue and complaining about "threatening rhetoric."

Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday insisted that no Iranian "red line" is getting in the way of direct negotiations with Washington, but also pointed to deep mistrust between the two countries.

Salehi was speaking at the Munich Security Conference where US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said the United States was prepared talk directly to Iran.

Biden insisted that Tehran must show it is serious and that Washington won't engage in such talks merely "for the exercise".

Washington has indicated in the past that it's prepared to talk directly with Iran on the nuclear issue, but so far nothing has come of it.

Salehi also welcomed Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib's readiness to hold talks under conditions with the Syrian regime.

"It's a good step forward," Salehi said, adding he had held a "very good meeting" with Khatib.

Meanwhile, talks involving all five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have made little headway, while several rounds of international sanctions have cut into Iran's oil sales and financial transactions.

The next round of talks with the six powers will be held on February 25 in Kazakhstan, Salehi told the Munich Security Conference.

He said Biden's comments marked "a step forward," but indicated getting the US and Iran together for one-to-one talks will be no easy task.

"We have no red line for bilateral negotiations when it comes to negotiating over a particular subject," Salehi said.

"If the subject is the nuclear file, yes, we are ready for negotiations but we have to make sure ... that the other side this time comes with authentic intention, with a fair and real intention to resolve the issue."

Salehi said it was "contradictory" if the US voices willingness to hold direct talks "but on the other side you use this threatening rhetoric that everything is on the table ... these are not compatible with each other."

"We are ready for engagement only when it is on equal footing," he said.

Iran insists it does not want nuclear arms and argues it has a right to enrich uranium for a civilian nuclear power program, but suspicion persists that the real aim is to build an atomic bomb.

Last month Iran, in a defiant move, announced plans to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment. That can be used to make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of warheads.

Earlier in the conference, Biden called for a bolstering in transatlantic ties, insisting Europe is still "the cornerstone" of US international engagement.

Addressing high-ranking officials, ministers and top military brass on the second day of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Biden sought to dispel fears that the US had moved its focus away from Europe.

"President (Barack) Obama and I continue to believe that Europe is the cornerstone of our engagement with the rest of the world and is the catalyst for our global co-operation," he said.

"It's that basic. Nothing has changed."

But Biden urged Europe to step up its co-operation with the US in the Asia-Pacific region.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bolshoi chief recovers from acid attack

THE Bolshoi Ballet's artistic director is preparing to move to a German clinic from a Moscow hospital where he is recovering from an acid attack he blames on a colleague at the storied but bitterly divided troupe.

The 42-year-old Sergei Filin has already undergone three operations on his eyes since being rushed to the emergency unit on January 17 after being splashed in the face with acid by a masked assailant.

The incident has shocked the global artistic community and revealed the acerbic infighting and clan politics that continue to haunt one of Russia's most treasured international brands.

Filin has been replaced on an interim basis at the Bolshoi by the veteran ballerina Galina Stepanenko.

But Filin's importance to the ballet was confirmed last week when the Bolshoi decided to drop one of its most eagerly anticipated premieres of the year - a new version of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

The artistic director himself appears remarkably cheerful as he metes out almost daily interviews to the world press while bandaged save for a few holes for his eyes and mouth.

"Sergei Filin is feeling good," chief hospital doctor Alexander Mitichkin told the Interfax news agency on Sunday.

The medic said Filin would fly to Germany for further treatment on Monday and now had the option of spending Sunday night at home.

Doctors say Filin will require several plastic surgery operations and more treatment on his eye in the coming weeks.

Filin has always said that his sight remained his main concern because it impacts directly on his work.

"I never considered myself to be handsome to begin with," the former principal dancer joked in one recent Russian interview.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labor heading for heavy loss: Newspoll

LABOR is heading for a heavy defeat in September, according to the first poll taken since Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the surprise move to launch a seven-month election campaign.

The latest Newspoll in The Australian on Monday, which was conducted over the weekend, has also given a strong lift to Tony Abbott in the preferred prime minister stakes.

Newspoll shows Labor's primary support has plunged six points to 32 per cent with that of the coalition strengthening four percentage points to 48 per cent in the past three weeks.

This gives the coalition a massive 56 per cent to 44 per cent lead in the two-party preferred figure.

The Australian says Labor's primary vote is back to the level it was at the end of the parliamentary year in December, and the coalition's primary support is the highest since July last year.

There was more good news in the numbers for Mr Abbott with sentiment shifting in the past three weeks over who would be the better prime minister.

Ms Gillard's support as preferred PM fell four percentage points from 45 per cent to 41 per cent, while Mr Abbott gained six points from 33 per cent to 39 per cent.

It's the closest the two have been since September last year.

Voters have also changed their minds about their satisfaction or otherwise with the two leaders' performances.

Those dissatisfied with Ms Gillard rose from 49 per cent to 52 per cent while satisfaction with the job she is doing dropped from 38 to 36 per cent.

For Mr Abbott the satisfaction level rose to a four-month high of 33 per cent, up from 29 per cent in January, with dissatisfaction easing from 58 to 56 per cent.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq mobile firm debuts on Baghdad bourse

IRAQ'S second largest mobile operator debuted on the Baghdad bourse on Sunday, in the country's first major stock flotation and after pressure from the media regulator for it to be publicly listed.

Asiacell, which is majority-owned by Qatar Telecom, offered 67.503 billion shares, representing 25 per cent of the total share capital, according to a statement on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX).

It said in a January 24 statement that "demand for its shares... is high amongst ordinary Iraqis and professional investors alike" and claimed at the time that its initial public offering (IPO) was the biggest ever in Iraq, and the largest in the Middle East since 2008.

The firm and Iraq's two other mobile phone companies - Kuwait's Zain and Korek, in which France Telecom and Kuwait's Agility Logistics have stakes - were fined for failing to issue IPOs on the ISX, Zain said in July.

Asiacell is the second biggest mobile phone firm in Iraq by subscribers, with 9.9 million, after Zain, which says it has more than 12 million customers.

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More