Iran's Ahmadinejad visits Iraq

IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in southern Iraq to visit two of the holiest cities for Shi'ite Muslims amid tight security on the second day of his two-day visit to the country.

The outgoing Iranian president waved to worshippers and smiled on Friday morning as he entered the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, a city 160km south of Baghdad.

Security forces were deployed along the route from Najaf airport to the gold-domed shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shi'ite Islam.

Ahmadinejad's convoy then plans to head to the city of Karbala, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

This is Ahmadinejad's second visit to Iraq while in office. On Thursday, he met Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials.

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Suicide bomber kills 20 in Iraq mosque

A SUICIDE bomber has struck a crowded Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killing 20 people, police say, as Iraq struggles to contain the worst violence since 2008.

The bomber detonated explosives in the Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Mosque as the imam gave the Friday sermon in the town of Al-Wajihiyah, east of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, a police colonel said.

The attack also wounded 40 people. A doctor confirmed the toll.

Areas near Baquba have been hit by a number of attacks in recent days, including a bombing on Tuesday that targeted worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque in Muqdadiyah, northeast of the city, killing four people and wounding 15.

The latest unrest brings the number of people killed in attacks in July to more than 450, and upwards of 2700 since the beginning of the year.

Iraq has faced years of attacks by militants, but analysts say widespread discontent among members of its Sunni Arab minority, which the Shi'ite-led government has failed to address, has fuelled this year's surge in unrest.

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Aust will never accept boat people: Rudd

THE first group of asylum seekers to be dealt with under Labor's new hardline approach to boat arrivals could be transferred to Papua New Guinea for processing and possible settlement within weeks.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd declared the policy on Friday, saying the new regime to deny settlement in Australia to asylum seekers who paid people smugglers for unauthorised passage would begin immediately.

The surprise announcement was condemned by refugee advocates as inhumane and praised by the opposition as a "very promising development".

Mr Rudd's hardline approach means people arriving by boat and without a visa will be sent to Australia's Manus Island facility in Papua New Guinea for assessment and, if found to be refugees, they will be settled there.

The first transfers to Manus Island are expected within weeks, following the arrival on Friday of a boat carrying 80 people at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

"From now on, vessels that are intercepted will have the new rules apply to them and it will be a couple of weeks because of the health checks ... before the first transfers take place," Immigration Minister Tony Burke said.

The plan is the key plank of a new regional settlement arrangement signed on Friday by the PNG and Australian governments and better positions Labor to go the federal election with a border protection solution.

"Any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as a refugee," Mr Rudd, who was flanked by his PNG counterpart Peter O'Neill, said in Brisbane.

"If they are found to be genuine refugees, they will be resettled in Papua New Guinea."

If they are not found to be genuine refugees, they would be repatriated or sent to a safe third country.

The Manus facility currently houses 215 people in tents and shelters and living conditions are described as harsh.

A permanent 600-bed facility is due for completion in January but further upgrades are now expected.

"This is a very hard-line decision," Mr Rudd said.

"But our responsibility as a government is to ensure that we have a robust system of border security and orderly migration."

Mr Rudd said there would be no cap on the number of people who can be transferred to PNG and the new arrangements will apply for the next 12 months and be subject to annual review.

But if the plan leads to a "significant change" in the number of people arriving by boat, the government "stands ready to progressively increasing our humanitarian intake towards 27,000".

"Our expectation ... is as this regional resettlement arrangement is implemented, and the message is sent loud and clear back up the pipeline, the number of boats will decline," Mr Rudd said.

In exchange for PNG's agreement, Australia will fund further aid initiatives, including redeveloping a major referral hospital in Lae and supply half the funding to reform PNG's university sector.

It will also support professional management teams in health, education and law and order.

Mr O'Neill said PNG had its own refugee issues, but he believed the deal would allow orderly processing.

"We believe strongly that genuine refugees can be able to be resettled in our country and within the region in the years to come," he said.

Mr Rudd acknowledged the new approach won't be smooth sailing and he expects the agreement could be challenged through the courts.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Mr Rudd's plan was about processing.

"It is not about stopping the boats," he said.

Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne said the resettlement plan was "ruthless and repugnant".

She accused Mr Rudd of lurching so far to the political right he had "leap frogged" Mr Abbott.

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Oil prices ending week higher

OIL prices have advanced, building on the week's gains triggered by positive global economic data that boosts the outlook for crude demand.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in August, rose 53 cents to $US108.57 a barrel - a fresh 16-month high point.

Brent North Sea crude for September meanwhile gained 34 cents to stand at $US109.04 a barrel in London midday trade.

WTI had jumped by $1.56 in value on Thursday to end at the highest level since March 1, 2012.

The big jump in New York crude accompanied similar gains for share prices on Wall Street after a sharper-than-expected drop in US jobless claims and an unexpected spike in regional manufacturing activity.

Markets have been supported also by this week's assurances from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke that the bank's $85 billion-a-month bond-buying scheme would be kept in place as long as the world's biggest economy needed it.

"Better-than-expected US economic data are providing the WTI price with upward momentum and so is the sharp reduction of US crude oil stocks in past weeks," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

The official crude inventories report by the US Department of Energy on Wednesday showed supplies in the United States fell by 6.9 million barrels in the week to July 12.

The drop, which comes during the summer driving season when Americans take to the roads for their holidays, beat the 2.2 million barrels estimated by analysts.

Analysts said oil prices would remain supported by signs of stronger demand in the United States, the world's top crude consumer, as well as fears of a disruption in Middle East supply caused by Egypt's political turmoil.

Oil prices have risen this week, also despite weak economic data out of China, the world's biggest consumer of energy.

China reported that economic growth slowed to a 7.5-percent pace in the April-June quarter, down from 7.7 percent in the previous three months.

The slower growth rate came in as expected, which analysts said might explain the lack of impact on the market.

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US spy claims hit German relations: Merkel

Two-thirds of Germans are unhappy with the Merkel government's handling of claims of US spying. Source: AAP

ALLEGATIONS of US spying in Germany and Europe have hit Berlin's relations with Washington, Chancellor Angela Merkel warns, as she attempts to stop the scandal from derailing her bid for re-election in September.

"Germany is not a police state. Germany is a land of freedom," Merkel said on Friday at her annual press conference, where she faced a barrage of questions about the claims over US communications surveillance.

"A friendship is founded on trust and in this case trust has been affected," she said, warning about the threat posed to Germany's relations with the United States by the allegations.

Until now, the claims of US spying have failed to dent Merkel's commanding lead in opinion polls.

But government officials are concerned that the publication of more damaging revelations could set back the chancellor's hopes of securing a third term in the September 22 election.

A survey published Friday on by the Infratest dimap pollsters showed two-thirds of Germans are unhappy with her government's handling of the claims.

This follows disclosures, believed to be from US whistleblower Edward Snowden, detailing how the US National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on allied governments and their citizens through the so-called PRISM program.

"German law on German soil", Merkel insisted.

She indicated that the key focus of the investigation into the allegations by several authorities in Berlin would be on whether any German laws had been broken by international intelligence agencies operating in Germany.

The chancellor also said her government's investigation into US surveillance activities in Germany would take some time to finish.

"The work is not complete," she said. "It is ongoing."

Her press conference coincided with a warning from Snowden's associates that new claims could be published shortly.

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China law expert inflames rape controversy

A LEGAL expert at a top Chinese university has inflamed controversy over a gang-rape case by calling the act less harmful if the victim was a bar hostess.

Charges last week against Li Tianyi - the 17-year-old son of an army general - tapped into growing popular resentment at perceived privilege for elite families.

Li's family were reported as saying the alleged victim may have worked at the bar which the teenager and his friends were visiting - prompting Yi Yanyou, a law professor at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, to step into the debate.

"Stressing the woman was a bar hostess is not to say that raping bar hostesses is OK, but that the likelihood that a bar hostess is willing to engage in sex is greater," he said on the popular Chinese microblog Sina Weibo.

"Even if it was rape, the harm of raping a bar hostess is less than raping a woman from a good family."

The post was not visible on his account on Wednesday, but media outlets shared images of it and many Weibo users vented their fury.

"How can an animal like this sneak into Tsinghua? What is going on with this country?" said one, calling Yi's comment "ignorant".

Social critic and author Li Chengpeng likened Yi's comment to saying it was less harmful for officials to beat street vendors than shop owners.

"A lot of people in China have this shameful logic," he said on Weibo.

Yi posted a brief apology on Wednesday evening, saying his comment was "not really appropriate" and had had a "negative impact".

A lawyer for the victim said in a statement she rejected the Li family claims about her and that no woman should face sexual assault, the Beijing Times reported.

"Just because some girls have had a drink with others, we cannot look at them with prejudice or carelessly infringe on their... right not to be sexually violated without any guilt or shame or legal responsibility," the statement said.

Bar hostesses in China are typically employed to drink with customers and the job has a reputation of potentially involving sex.

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Asiana drops lawsuit against TV station

ASIANA Airlines says it has decided not to file a lawsuit against a US television station which aired false and offensive names for the pilots involved in the fatal San Francisco plane crash.

The South Korean airline had earlier said it was planning a defamation lawsuit against Fox network affiliate KTVU news Channel 2 in Oakland over its coverage of the crash on July 6.

The TV station identified the pilots of the Asiana Boeing 777 as "Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow".

KTVU cited the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as its source, but quickly realised the mistake and apologised.

Asiana also said it would sue the NTSB but on Monday backtracked, and on Wednesday it withdrew the same threat against KTVU.

"Asiana decided not to proceed with the suit," the airline said, citing an apology by the station.

Three people died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Shanghai via Seoul crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport and more than 180 were injured.

The jet clipped a sea wall with its tail as it came in to land at the US airport and skidded out of control before catching fire.

Two teenage Chinese girls died at the scene and another girl, also Chinese, died from her injuries.

Four pilots have been quizzed by US aviation officials over the deadly crash.

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Lebanon man's penis cut off by in-laws

THE irate family of a Lebanese Druze woman who married a Sunni man attacked her new husband, cutting off his penis and pulling out his teeth, local media report.

Mass circulation An Nahar said Rabih, 39, and Roudaina, 20, met on Facebook and were married by a sheikh in July, over the wishes of the bride's family.

Marriage between members of the Druze community and non-Druze is extremely rare and officially banned by the religious group, which is present in Lebanon, Syria, Israel and the West Bank.

Roudaina's family, Druze from the Bayssour area of the Aley region, were apoplectic over her marriage, media reports said.

Her brothers, one of them a soldier, managed to lure Roudaina's new husband to Bayssour under the pretext of a reconciliation meeting.

But when the unfortunate groom arrived, they beat him up, pulled out several teeth and cut off his penis.

"He would have been killed if residents of the area hadn't intervened," An Nahar said on Wednesday, citing security sources.

Rabih was taken to hospital, but his attackers remain at large. His family has condemned the attack as "an unpardonable and hideous crime".

Even beyond the Druze community, intermarriage between Lebanon's 18 religious communities remains uncommon.

The country was ravaged by a civil war that pitted many of its religious communities against each other between 1975 and 1990.

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Mattel profit falls, Barbie sales slide

MATTEL'S second-quarter net income fell 24 per cent, pulled down by an impairment charge.

The toymaker's revenue edged up but came in below expectations.

In the April-to-June quarter, net income dropped to $US73.3 million ($A79.76 million), or 21 cents per share. That compares with $US96.2 million, or 28 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts expected earnings of 32 cents per share and typically exclude unusual items.

Revenue for the El Segundo, California, company edged up to $US1.17 billion from $1.16 billion as international sales grew. Still, this missed Wall Street's $US1.22 billion.

Sales of Mattel's Barbie franchise declined for the fourth straight quarter.

Sales of Monster High and American Girl products rose, while Fisher-Price and Hot Wheels sales dropped.

Mattel Inc said on Wednesday that its board declared a third-quarter dividend of 36 cents per share.

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Principal not guilty on arson charge

A JURY is deliberating on whether the former principal of a remote West Australian school committed two arson attacks at campuses he ran after finding him not guilty of starting one blaze.

John Michael McHale, 50, pleaded guilty to 266 charges of theft and fraud, including using the Meekatharra School of the Air's credit card to buy groceries.

But he fought allegations he burned down the school and its replacement in Geraldton to destroy financial records that would have revealed his dishonesty.

McHale, who was suspended from his job more than three years after the frauds began in early 2006, also denied claims he stole school equipment after several items were found at his home.

Late on Wednesday, a jury found him not guilty of starting the first fire at the Meekatharra school, but is still undecided regarding a subsequent fire at the same school and a later blaze at the Geraldton school, which cost $3.7 million to build.

But it did find him guilty on three counts of stealing as a servant.

The jury will continue its deliberations on Thursday.

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German TV set maker files for protection

LOEWE, the German manufacturer of television sets, has filed for protection from creditors so as to accelerate a restructuring.

The board said on Tuesday it had taken the action "to assist the company in implementing its restructuring program and its new corporate strategy more quickly".

It said in a statement: "After receiving approval for the proceedings, Loewe will continue to be managed by its executive board and can use the opportunities offered to restructure the company."

Business at its main Kronach site "will continue without any restrictions," Loewe added.

The applications was made to under the so-called Schutzschirmverfahren, an instrument available under German law since March 2012 aimed at making it easier for indebted but nonetheless viable businesses to restructure themselves.

Businesses which apply for it are still technically bankrupt, but they are given three months to restructure, while for the most part still maintaining control of their business.

The management board's aim "is to restructure Loewe in co-operation with strategic partners and investors," the company insisted.

Loewe shares nosedived on the news and were showing a loss of 18.2 per cent on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

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Chance of Qld ratings downgrade: Nicholls

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls says there is a one-in-three chance of a credit ratings downgrade. Source: AAP

QUEENSLAND Treasurer Tim Nicholls says there is a one-in-three chance the state's credit rating will be downgraded.

Queensland lost its prized AAA rating in 2009 as the global financial crisis shook world markets.

Moody's in November downgraded its AA1 outlook from stable to negative only two months after 14,000 public sector jobs were slashed in the budget.

Mr Nicholls fronted a budget estimates hearing on Tuesday and was asked whether the job losses and increased taxes hurt Queensland's economy don't help a return to a triple A credit rating.

"(They) are actually absolutely essential to ensuring that Queensland does not receive a further downgrade," he said.

"With a negative watch from Moody's, we have a one in three chance of a downgrade.

"We have to continue to monitor our expenses to ensure that our expenses growth does not exceed over the cycle our revenue growth.

"And that's exactly what we are delivering."

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Yahoo wins ruling in data collection case

Yahoo won a court case that could help the public learn more about efforts to obtain customer data. Source: AAP

YAHOO has won a court fight that could help the public learn more about the US government's efforts to obtain data from internet users.

The US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which reviews government requests to spy on individuals, ruled on Monday that information should be made public about a 2008 case that ordered Yahoo Inc to turn over customer data.

The order requires the government to review which portions of the opinion, briefs and arguments can be declassified and report back to the court by July 29.

The government sought the information from Yahoo under the National Security Agency's PRISM data-gathering program. Details of the secret program were disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who has fled the US.

The program came to light in early June after The Washington Post and Guardian newspapers published documents provided by Snowden. It allows the NSA to reach into the data streams of US companies such as Yahoo, Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and others, and grab emails, video chats, pictures and more. US officials have said the program is narrowly focused on foreign targets, and technology companies say they turn over information only if required by court order.

Yahoo requested in court papers filed June 14 to have the information about the 2008 case unsealed. A Yahoo spokeswoman hailed Monday's decision and said the company believes it will help inform public discussion about the US government's surveillance programs.

The government hasn't taken a position on whether details of the case should be published as long as it's allowed to review the documents before publication in order to redact classified information, according to the court order.

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UN court not a medieval inquisition: Japan

TOKYO has told the UN's top judicial body it is a court of law, not a "medieval inquisition" as proceedings wrapped up in the whaling dispute between Australian and Japan.

Japan used the final day of the three-week hearing to argue the International Court of Justice (ICJ) didn't have the authority to decide what was or wasn't science.

Canberra wants the 16-judge panel to ban Japan's annual hunt on the basis it's not "for purposes of scientific research" as allowed under Article 8 of the 1946 whaling convention.

Australia argues the Southern Ocean JARPA program is actually a commercial operation.

But Japan insists lethal research is both lawful and necessary.

Deputy foreign affairs minister Koji Tsuruoka on Tuesday said Tokyo was seeking "scientific information on the basis of which Japan might be able to ask for the moratorium (on commercial whaling) to be lifted".

"This court is a court of law not a court of scientific truth," Mr Tsuruoka said in The Hague.

Lawyer Alain Pellet, who teaches International Economic Law at the University Paris Ouest, made a similar point on Tuesday.

"The court ... has the greatest possible authority to settle the legal disputes which it is seized of," he said through a translator.

"But it can not decide between opposing scientific assessments."

Prof Pellet said Australia was promoting "an elitist, metaphysical and sectarian view of science" whereas Japan was conducting "applied science".

"It is not up to us as legal persons to determine the validity on the merits of one or the other scientific view.

"We are not a medieval inquisition."

Australia has argued Japan's research is not science but rather "a heap of body parts taken from a large number of dead whales".

JARPA lacked defined and achievable objectives, appropriate methods, peer review and unnecessarily killed the stock being studied, Canberra has told the court.

But Mr Tsuruoka on Tuesday said the ICJ hearing had allowed Japan to finally show the world the truth about its whale research.

"We can thank Australia for this," he said.

Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus last week claimed Tokyo had resorted to "untrue and offensive" statements during The Hague hearing.

But Japan itself had reason to be offended by Australia's "factual misrepresentations and ... misleading use of selective references and quotes", Mr Tsuruoka said.

Japan claims it doesn't want to quit the International Whaling Commission.

But the deputy foreign minister on Tuesday concluded by asking what would happen "when one morning suddenly you find your state bound by the policy of the majority and the only way out is to leave".

After the hearing government spokesman Noriyuki Shikata told AAP Japan was content with its "powerful case".

Mr Dreyfus last week told the court the fact Tokyo had resorted to emotive rhetoric spoke "volumes for the weakness of the Japanese case".

The attorney-general later on Tuesday said the timing of a ruling was in the court's hands.

"But we are hopeful it will deliver its decision before the start of the next whaling season (in the Australian summer)," Mr Dreyfus said in a statement.

"As good international citizens Australia and Japan have both confirmed they will abide by the court's decision."

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Snowden applies for Russia asylum: lawyer

FUGITIVE US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, a pro-Kremlin lawyer says.

Snowden, wanted by the United States for revealing sensational details of its vast spying operations, is now spending a fourth week in the transit lounge at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport without crossing the Russian border.

"The application has been filed with the Russian authorities" through the Federal Migration Service (FMS), prominent lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who has been in contact with Snowden, told AFP.

"I have just left him," he said after meeting the fugitive earlier Tuesday. Federal Migration Service officials declined to comment immediately.

Snowden flew into Russia from Hong Kong on June 23 and has since been marooned in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo.

He was checked in for an Aeroflot flight to Cuba on June 24 but never boarded the plane.

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin said Snowden would leave Russia "as soon as he can," likening him to an unwanted gift.

But he accused Washington of "trapping" the American in Moscow, saying no country wanted to take in Snowden due to US pressure.

Kucherena said he was helping Snowden negotiate the complexities of Russian legislation and the difference between the status of refugee, political asylum and temporary asylum.

"Before our consultations he did not have an understanding of those issues," the lawyer said. "He needs to understand what suits him and what rights and obligations a certain status will generate."

Breaking silence for the first time since he arrived, Snowden, who is essentially stateless after Washington revoked his passport, held the closed-door meeting at the airport on Friday.

At the meeting, he said he would file for asylum in Russia before he could work out a way to travel legally to Latin America, asking the activists to petition Putin on his behalf.

Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have indicated that they would be open to offering the 30-year-old a safe haven.

Activist Svetlana Gannushkina, who has championed the rights of refugees for decades, said Russian authorities generally considered an application for refugee status for up to three months.

After such an application is accepted, an applicant may live and travel locally, she added.

Gannushkina said the procedures to receive temporary asylum or refugee status were pretty straightforward.

A bid for political asylum is considered by the president but is granted very rarely, she said.

Speaking to AFP earlier Tuesday, she said she was surprised he had taken so long to apply for asylum.

"This is the theatre of the absurd," she said.

"Everyone is playing a role in this. I do not know whether he himself is not taking the necessary steps or whether this is all being played out by other people."

Washington has reacted sharply to the possibility that Moscow might offer Snowden a safe haven and accused it of providing him with a "propaganda platform."

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Activists break into French nuclear plant

Police arrested Greenpeace activists who broke into the grounds of a nuclear power plant in France. Source: AAP

SAINT-PAUL-TROIS-CHATEAUX , France, July 15, AFP - Police have arrested 29 Greenpeace activists who sneaked into a nuclear plant in southern France, in the latest break-in by the environmental group aimed at highlighting alleged security weaknesses at atomic facilities.

The activists managed to enter the grounds of the Tricastin plant, around 200km north of Marseille, around dawn, Greenpeace and police said.

They hung yellow banners reading "Tricastin: a nuclear accident" and "Francois Hollande: president of a catastrophe?" in reference to the French president, according to Isabelle Philippe, a spokeswoman for the environmental group.

Before entering the facility, the activists also projected images inside the plant, including one showing a crack running along part of the structure.

"Greenpeace wants to point out all the security weaknesses in the production of nuclear energy," she said.

"Tricastin is one of the most dangerous plants and one of five that should be closed quickly.

"It was the easiest thing in the world for the activists to enter the plant, it took them 20 minutes to get from the entrance to the top of the structures."

The interior ministry said all the activists had been detained in a full sweep of the facility. It had taken several hours to arrest them all, after some had chained themselves to structures inside the plant.

Among those arrested were French, Italian, Romanian and Spanish nationals.

The EDF energy giant that runs France's atomic power plants said that the activists did not manage to reach any sensitive areas within the site.

Greenpeace has staged several break-ins at French nuclear plants in recent years in an effort to highlight what they say are dangers of atomic power and to expose security problems at the power stations.

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Apple to probe claim of iPhone death

A Chinese family wants compensation from Apple over the death of their daughter from electrocution. Source: AAP

APPLE says it will investigate claims that an iPhone electrocuted a Chinese woman who was making a call while charging the device.

The case drew attention - both sympathetic and sceptical - after a woman in the western region of Xinjiang wrote about the death of her 23-year-old sister Ma Ailun on China's popular microblog service Sina Weibo.

"We will fully investigate and co-operate with authorities in this matter," said Apple's Beijing-based spokeswoman Carolyn Wu, offering condolences to the family on Monday.

The state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday that local police had confirmed Ma died of electrocution but "have yet to verify if her phone was involved".

Ma's sister warned others not to talk on their iPhones while charging them, saying on Weibo on Saturday: "Hope Apple can give an explanation!"

"What a shame, to pass away like this," she wrote of her sister.

Weibo users expressed concern about the potential danger but also questioned if it was real.

"If the accidents are real, let's be more careful when using our mobiles," one person said, but added: "Is someone trying to smear Apple?"

China is Apple's second largest market and its iPhones and other products, many of them made in the country, are highly popular.

But the company came under torrents of criticism from state media in April for alleged "arrogance" and double standards, prompting an apology from chief executive Tim Cook.

The People's Daily, a mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, slammed the firm for five days in a row, urging consumers to "strike away Apple's unparalleled arrogance".

Chinese consumers had to pay about $US80 ($A88) for new back covers for their devices, even though they were free in other markets, local media reported at the time.

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Woman dies trying swim English Channel

A BRITISH woman has died trying to swim across the Channel between Britain and France over the weekend, police and the Foreign Office say.

Susan Taylor, who was reportedly in her 30s, died in hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer on the northern French coast on Sunday night after trying to complete a charity challenge.

"We are aware of the death of a British national in Boulogne on July 14, 2013. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time," the Foreign Office said.

French authorities said the boat accompanying Taylor called coastguards and asked for a defibrillator.

A helicopter was dispatched to collect the swimmer and take her to hospital, where she died, the local maritime prefect's office said.

According to her online charity fundraising page, Taylor had raised almost STG3000 ($A5030) for the Rainbows children's hospice, and a further STG2200 for Diabetes UK.

Donations continued to pour in after her death.

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Disrobed Thai monk accused of underage sex

A THAI monk who was disrobed after a videotaped private jet trip unleashed allegations of improper conduct will face arrest for sex with a minor, authorities say.

Wiraphon Sukphon, who is believed to be abroad, is being sought in Thailand on suspicion of having sex with an underage girl around a decade ago while he was a monk, and of fathering a child with her.

"We will seek a warrant from a court Wednesday," Department of Special Investigation chief Tarit Pengdith told AFP, adding that the woman is now seeking court action to prove that the former monk is the father of her son, who is now 11.

Footage of Wiraphon, 33, and two other monks travelling in a private jet, wearing sunglasses and carrying a Louis Vuitton luxury bag, caused a scandal recently in Buddhist-majority Thailand.

He has since been investigated on suspicion of an array of offences including tax evasion, drug possession and money-laundering.

Wiraphon as a cleric went by the name Luang Pu Nen Kham to bolster his claims to be the reincarnation of a famous miracle-performing monk.

He has 41 bank accounts, according to the Department of Special Investigation.

The authorities will now seek to have those accounts and other assets frozen and to have the former monk's passport revoked after the clergy disrobed him.

"The evidence shows Wiraphon violated Buddhist regulations by having sex with a woman. He ceased to be a monk at that time," Phra Khru Wacharasittikhun of the monastic disciplinary team in the eastern province of Sisaket said on Saturday.

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Tas walkers rescued after night in bush

TWELVE bushwalkers rescued in northern Tasmania are safe and well after a swollen creek left them stranded overnight.

An emergency call was activated near Meander just before 5pm (AEST) on Sunday, but rising creek waters and bad weather prevented police reaching the hikers.

The walkers, from North West Walkers Club, were well prepared and in no immediate danger, police said.

Once the weather cleared, the 12 were rescued by police helicopter on Monday afternoon and were in good health.

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Britain's royal baby bides its time

Britain's famously creative press is running out of ideas with still no sign of the royal baby. Source: AAP

LONDON July 14 AFP - The hospital is ready, the Wikipedia page and Twitter accounts are up and Britain's famously creative press are running out of ideas. But Sunday arrived with no sign of the royal baby.

Prince William is filling the time until his wife Catherine goes into labour playing polo, taking part in charity matches on Saturday and Sunday with his younger brother Harry.

He has taken a couple of days off from his work as a search and rescue helicopter pilot in Wales, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said, although he refused to say when the prince might be going back.

The palace has stayed tight-lipped about the birth of the new third in line to the throne, saying nothing for days other than to reiterate that Catherine is due some time in mid-July.

The press had pencilled in Saturday as the day, but bookmakers William Hill tipped Sunday as the likely due date, with Paddy Power offering equal odds on Sunday and Monday.

The only thing that is certain is that babies rarely come on time and that when this new heir to the Windsor dynasty arrives, the world will be ready.

In keeping with the digital age, the newborn already has its own page on Wikipedia, entitled "Child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge", to use William and Kate's formal titles.

Several spoof Twitter accounts have also been set up, with one, @RoyalFoetus, already claiming 5500 followers. On June 19, it declared: "One is done with gestating."

International media are camped outside St Mary's Hospital in London where Catherine is due to give birth, and a row of parking spaces have been reserved by the royals outside the private Lindo Wing until the end of the month.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the 31-year-old's gynaecologist, Marcus Setchell, will be given a police escort to hospital when she goes into labour.

It has previously been reported that Setchell had given up alcohol for several weeks in preparation for the birth.

In the absence of any proper news about the baby, such tidbits formed the bulk of the royal coverage in Britain's normally hard-hitting Sunday newspapers.

The Sunday Express reported exclusively that Catherine had spent the weekend at her parents' home in Berkshire, about 65km west of London.

Meanwhile the Mail on Sunday published a poll revealing that 53 per cent of Britons think William and Catherine should not hire a nanny.

A further 56 per cent think she should cut back significantly on her royal duties after the birth.

The paper said that palace officials expected Catherine to resume some public engagements in the autumn - provided of course, that the baby ever arrives.

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PM arrives in PNG for talks

Kevin Rudd has arrived in PNG for talks on trade, crime and the Manus Island detention centre. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has arrived in Papua New Guinea for talks on trade, how to tackle crime in the Pacific Island nation and the controversial Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island.

Mr Rudd touched down at Port Moresby's Jackson's international airport shortly after 5pm and was greeted by deputy prime minister Leo Dion and Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato, as well as the now familiar troupe of traditional PNG dancers.

"It's wonderful to be back here in PNG," he said, noting it was his second official trip as prime minister to Australia's closest neighbour.

"I look forward to my discussions with Prime Minister O'Neill.

"I come here as a friend, a long standing friend, someone who believes in PNG's future."

High on the agenda on Sunday evening and Monday is PNG's endemic law and order problems.

"That concerns me," Mr Rudd told reporters in Cairns on Sunday before he headed to PNG.

"I am going to be talking to him about what we can do to enhance our cooperation there."

Last month four Chinese nationals were stabbed to death not far from the central business district in Port Moresby.

"One issue that can arise for discussion is what level of support Australia can give for deployment of police," Mr Pato told journalists in Port Moresby in Sunday.

"We're looking to see what aid the Australian Federal Police can give."

The Australian-run Manus Island refugee processing centre is also expected to be on the agenda.

PNG's Supreme Court last week dismissed a constitutional challenge against the centre, and the UNHCR has heavily criticised the conditions at the site.

'Manus Mess' was the front page headline of PNG's only Sunday paper, the Sunday Chronicle.

In a late addition to the trip, Mr Rudd brought Immigration Minister Tony Burke and Trade Minister Richard Marles with him to PNG.

Mr Burke said he will discuss asylum seekers and the progress of construction of a permanent facility on Manus Island.

"This trip will allow me to get an update on the progress of developing the centre on Manus Island in advance of making a personal visit to Manus Island in a few weeks time," he said in a statement.

Acknowledging the UNHCR report, Mr Pato said he expects the facility to be discussed.

"We have a system that can address those issues and those are not issues that cannot be overcome," Mr Pato said.

Immediately after arriving Mr Rudd headed straight to government house to meet Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio.

On Sunday night he is expected to dine with Mr O'Neill and Australia's High Commissioner Deborah Stokes, before a series of talks with PNG government officials on Monday.

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Abbott launches counter-offensive

Tony Abbott has launched a counter-offensive to Kevin Rudd's incursion into Liberal territory. Source: AAP

TONY Abbott has brought a gun to a knife fight.

The Liberal leader launched a counter-offensive to Kevin Rudd's incursion into Liberal territory on Sunday, declaring if he can't win the Labor held seat of Reid he'll struggle to win government.

"We are starting our campaign, in effect, from today," Mr Abbott told a room full of party faithful at a function for Craig Laundy, the Liberal candidate for the western Sydney seat and son of pub baron Arthur Laundy.

"This is a critical electorate: if we can't win Reid, it will be very hard to win government."

Tellingly, Mr Abbott has indicated he still plans to blitzkrieg what was once impenetrable Labor heartland - despite the Rudd effect.

And he's effectively shadow boxing Mr Rudd, who's launched an ambitious attack on the coalition's marginal seats since assuming the leadership.

The prime minister spent Sunday in the federal Queensland seat of Leichhardt, held by Liberal MP Warren Entsch on a slim margin 4.6 per cent.

But the opposition leader won't be cowed.

Reid was among a slew of seats likely to have fallen to the Liberals if Gillard had led Labor to the election, but after the bounce from Rudd's return there are now high hopes John Murphy will keep the seat he holds on a margin of 2.7 per cent.

If it's lost it will be the first time it has been held by a Liberal politician since its creation in 1922.

Mr Abbott went into Labor heartland on Sunday to telegraph a clear message to a resurgent Labor that he plans to take on the Rudd revival head on, rather than adopting a defensive or small target strategy.

He's also making a bold play for the voters of western Sydney, who recently turned to the state Liberals in an unprecedented swing.

"It's a message of hope, reward and opportunity: it's what we need after six years of chaos, division and dysfunction," Mr Abbott told them.

The coalition pushed the button on the federal election campaign on Sunday with a multi-million advertising campaign targeting Mr Rudd, to start airing from prime time.

After working the room with wife Margie, Mr Abbott was asked if he would prefer to go to an early or late election.

"It's not about me, that's the interesting thing. It is, as far as Kevin is concerned, all about him ... It should be about the people of Australia."

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Egypt prosecutors quiz Morsi

Investigators have probe former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi about a 2011 prison break. Source: AAP

INVESTIGATORS have begun questioning Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi and members of his Muslim Brotherhood over their involvement in a 2011 prison break, judicial sources say.

The inquiry follows allegations that Morsi and senior Brotherhood members escaped from Wadi Natrun prison during the uprising that ended former president Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

Investigators are examining whether foreign groups such as Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah were involved in the jailbreak.

State Security prosecution service investigators interviewed Morsi at an undisclosed location, the judicial sources told AFP.

It came hours after the public prosecutor received complaints against Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders, accusing them of spying, inciting violence and damaging the economy.

Morsi, who was overthrown by Egypt's powerful army on July 3, is being held in a "safe place", interim leaders have said.

His supporters accuse the military of violating democratic principles by removing an elected leader from office, and have vowed to keep fighting for his reinstatement.

The interim authorities are working to an army-drafted roadmap, and Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi is closer to forming a cabinet.

Parliamentary and presidential elections are expected next year.

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Vic can't afford paramedic pay claim: govt

PARAMEDICS' wage claims, totalling $1.3 billion over four years, would have a significant impact on Victoria's budget, Health Minister David Davis says.

But the paramedics' union disputes the $1.3 billion figure quoted by Mr Davis, calling on him to provide the full detail of the costings for scrutiny.

Mr Davis told reporters on Sunday the 30 per cent salary increase sought by paramedics totalled $1.3 billion over four years, and would lead to less money for ambulances and ambulance stations.

He said the wage claim was significant and not well thought out.

"These are tough times. It's not easy for governments to fund significant new expenditures," Mr Davis said.

But Ambulance Association Australia state secretary Steve McGhie said the figures were "highly inflated".

"There figures are nowhere near right and if he thinks they are let him provide the full detail so they can be scrutinised."

Mr Davis said paramedics are well remunerated, with the most common category of paramedic earning an average $93,000 a year, including overtime.

However, Mr McGhie said a six-year paramedic who worked shift penalties - which all were expected to do - would earn $71,000.

"To earn $93,000 means they have to work $22,000 of overtime per year on average.

"If there were paramedics earning that - and if they didn't do it - then the ambulance service couldn't put paramedics on ambulances."

Mr Davis again called on the union to enter voluntary conciliation with Ambulance Victoria through independent umpire Fair Work Australia, saying it would lead to a fair wage deal.

But Mr McGhie said the union would not attend conciliation until Ambulance Victoria responds to its paper detailing the productivity paramedics have delivered over the past three years.

The government has offered paramedics a 2.5 per cent annual pay rise, with any further increases offset by productivity gains.

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