A BOAT carrying 28 asylum seekers has been intercepted by the Navy off Christmas Island.
Customs says the boat, which also had two crew on board, sought and recieved assistance from HMAS Maryborough on Friday night.
The people on board have been transferred to Christmas Island, where they will be given health checks.
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has dumped the ALP's candidate for the safe Labor Victorian seat of Hotham following claims of misconduct several years ago, while another candidate has quit the campaign after a racism row.
Geoff Lake was forced again to apologise for abusing a fellow councillor during a meeting of Monash City Council in 2002.
Details of a sexual harassment claim from the time, reportedly being shopped around by his own party colleagues, say he called Liberal councillor Kathy Magee a "f...ing bitch" and a "f...ing slut".
Mr Lake told News Corp newspapers he had apologised several times to Ms Magee and was still remorseful.
Labor ministers including Mark Dreyfus and Tanya Plibersek defended Mr Lake on Saturday, saying it was a long time ago, when he was 22, and he had apologised many times.
However, late on Saturday, Mr Rudd issued a statement saying the party had removed Mr Lake's endorsement following a report by Labor's national secretary George Wright into misconduct claims.
"The national secretary has informed me that he is not satisfied that there has been full disclosure about these previous matters," Mr Rudd said.
"Based on the investigation, I have concluded that it is inappropriate for Mr Lake to continue as the endorsed Labor candidate for Hotham."
He said he would ask the national executive to preselect a new candidate for the Hotham.
Meanwhile, Labor candidate for Kennedy, Ken Robertson, has resigned after reportedly calling Tony Abbott a bigot, Sky News says.
"I hope Australia never has to suffer his Catholicism and the things that he's doing personally, because I think he's a very, very bigoted person," Mr Robertson reportedly said.
"He'd have the White Australia policy back in a flash, if he could."
Earlier on Saturday, the coalition said Mr Rudd's sincerity about party reform would be tested by what action he takes against the two Labor candidates.
Shadow attorney-general George Brandis said the two reports of "serious misconduct" posed a test for Mr Rudd.
He linked it to Thursday's announcement Labor was dumping its candidate for Forde, Des Hardman, in favour of former Queensland premier Peter Beattie.
"If Mr Rudd is willing ruthlessly to sack a candidate who is innocent of any wrongdoing, what leadership will he show, what action will he take against these two candidates ... who have in different ways disgraced themselves?" he asked reporters in Brisbane," Senator Brandis said.
"If Mr Rudd stands by these candidate, while dismissing poor old Mr Hardman in Forde as part of his political chess game, then the Australian people will make their own judgments about Mr Rudd's personal standards and they'll make their own judgment about Mr Rudd's hypocrisy."
One Nation candidate Stephanie Banister, who was ridiculed after referring to Islam as a country in a television interview, has also withdrawn from the election campaign.
NEW Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, already under pressure over a global botulism scare, is facing fresh trouble over milk powder in Sri Lanka allegedly mixed with a farm chemical.
The company said on Saturday it had completed a recall of two batches of milk powder under Sri Lankan government orders because of allegations it contained traces of chemical DCD.
Dicyandiamide, or DCD, is added to pastures to increase agricultural yields.
A New Zealand government website says DCD is not toxic and poses no food safety risk but adds that international regulators are likely to view DCD residues as a "contaminant".
However, Sri Lanka's health ministry said it considers DCD to be a "toxic chemical" that should not be in milk and that is why it ordered the recall, spokesman Dharma Wanninayake told AFP.
Fonterra, whose brands are the market leader in Sri Lanka, accounting for nearly two thirds of imports, has denied its products contain any trace of DCD.
"Our milk is 100 per cent pure," Fonterra spokesman Roshan Kulasuriya said. "But we complied with the directive and have completed the recall of the two batches said to contain traces of DCD by today (Saturday)."
The Sri Lankan action is unrelated to the global safety recall announced by Fonterra earlier this month after tests turned up a type of bacteria that could cause botulism.
New Zealand's government said last weekend products potentially tainted with botulism-causing bacteria included infant formula, sports drinks, protein drinks and other beverages.
Fonterra has said the Sri Lankan government tests that allegedly found traces of the DCD chemical in its products were flawed and the results incorrect.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal has slapped a temporary ban on Fonterra advertising.
The ban will remain in force until August 21 when test reports from foreign laboratories are expected, a court official said.
Following the botulism scare earlier this month, Sri Lanka suspended the release of milk imported from New Zealand at a port in Colombo until an internationally recognised laboratory certifies they are toxin free.
Fonterra insists the batches at the port do not contain any harmful bacteria.
Sri Lanka imported $US307 million ($A339.08 million)-worth of milk and milk products in 2012 with the bulk coming from New Zealand and Australia, the central bank says.
The developments globally have been bad news for New Zealand's dairy industry which is a key driver of the nation's economy.
DOZENS of police were injured in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast on Friday night in clashes with pro-British Protestants protesting against a parade by Catholic republicans.
Some 56 police officers were injured, four requiring hospital treatment, when they were attacked with bricks, bottles and other missiles by crowds in the city centre, police said on Saturday.
Several cars were set on fire, while police used water cannon and fired baton rounds to try to disperse the rioters.
Seven people were arrested for offences ranging from riotous behaviour to hijacking, and Northern Ireland police chief Matt Baggott warned that many more arrests would follow.
"Those people had no intention of peaceful protest," he said.
"They lack self respect and they lack dignity."
The city's prisons would be "bulging" once all the culprits were rounded up, he said.
Belfast is currently hosting thousands of former police and fire officers from around the globe, who are in town for the World Police And Fire Games.
Protestant loyalist protesters had tried to block part of the route of a planned republican parade marking the anniversary of the introduction by British authorities of internment without trial on August 9, 1971.
It was one of the most controversial policies of The Troubles, the three decades of civil unrest in Northern Ireland between pro-British Protestants and Catholic republicans favouring a united Ireland.
Nearly 2,000 people were held without trial under the policy, the vast majority of them republicans.
Internment lasted until 1975. It was intended to restore order in the British province, but the deeply unpopular policy ultimately boosted recruitment to the paramilitary Irish Republican Army.
There were also clashes on Thursday night at an anti-internment bonfire near Belfast city centre, when eight police officers were injured and eight people were arrested.
Last month the city was hit by several nights of rioting, mainly by loyalist groups.
More than 3,500 people died during Northern Ireland's three decades of sectarian strife.
The 1998 Good Friday agreement, which set up a power-sharing government between republicans and loyalists, largely ended the violence, although sporadic attacks and bomb threats continue.
INDEPENDENT senator Nick Xenophon has selected his running mate for the federal election - his campaign manager.
Stirling Griff will be in the number two spot underneath Senator Xenophon for the Nick Xenophon Group on September 7.
Under new rules agreed to by both major parties, a running mate is required to ensure minor parties and independents are listed above the line on the huge Senate ballot paper.
Mr Griff has a business background, previously working as a retail industry consultant and as the chief executive of the South Australian branch of the Australian Retailers Association.
He is currently Senator Xenophon's campaign manager, and says it is "crucial" he is re-elected to the Senate seat he won in 2007.
"Nick stands up for what counts to South Australians," Mr Griff said.
"It's crucial that he is re-elected to the Senate, so I'll be doing all I can to help get him over the line."
Senator Xenophon says Mr Griff is a long-time friend.
"I have known Stirling since first entering state parliament in 1997 and am thrilled that he has accepted my invitation to be my running mate," he said.
"We are both passionate about South Australia and he is a fantastic ally.
"Stirling is someone who I trust completely, given our long-standing professional association and personal friendship."
EUROPEAN stock markets have traded mixed and the euro retreated from seven-week highs against the US dollar as traders banked profits ahead of the weekend pause.
London's FTSE 100 index on Friday gained 0.26 per cent to 6,546.46 points following strong British export data and approaching midday in the British capital.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 0.16 per cent to 8,305.24 points and the CAC 40 index in Paris dipped 0.13 per cent to 4,059.15.
"Markets have hit a lull ... (amid) holiday mode after a busy two weeks dominated by economic figures and news from all the major policy decision makers," said Toby Morris, senior sales trader at CMC Markets, in reference to action being taken by global central banks.
On Friday, the world's second-biggest economy China reported industrial growth for July reached a five-month high.
Industrial production, which measures output at factories, workshops and mines, rose 9.7 per cent year-on-year, well above analyst expectations.
Authorities also announced steady expansion in retail sales and fixed asset investment, and a benign inflation figure of 2.7 per cent, unchanged on last month.
Analysts said the figures pointed to a more stable outlook for China's economy - seen as a key driver of global growth - after months of mounting pessimism.
The data came as Britain's biggest retailer, supermarket chain Tesco, said on Friday that it is in exclusive talks over combining its Chinese operations with those of China Resources Enterprise.
Tesco said the move was in line with the group's strategy of seeking to profit from fast-growing economies, and comes as China seeks to balance export growth with domestic consumption.
Tesco - the world's third-biggest supermarket group after French rival Carrefour and US retailer Wal-Mart in first place - said the proposed joint venture would create a business with annual sales of about STG10 billion ($A17.18 billion).
Shares in Tesco rose 0.87 per cent to stand at 372.3 pence in London morning deals.
Shares in Dutch telecom group KPN leapt by 18.0 per cent in response to a bid for full control by Mexican group America Movil.
The euro edged up to $US1.3383 from $US1.3380 in New York late on Thursday.
The US dollar nudged higher to Y96.68 from Y96.65 on Thursday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $US1,306.61 an ounce from $US1,298.25 on Thursday.
Asian stock markets closed out the week mixed, while on Wall Street overnight US stocks snapped a three-day losing streak.
JAPAN'S eye-watering national debt has topped Y1 quadrillion, official data shows, a record figure that underlines Tokyo's struggle to curb its huge borrowing.
The figure supplied by the finance ministry of Y1.008 quadrillion by the end of June amounts to about $A11.51 trillion at current exchange rates.
A quadrillion is one thousand trillion.
Tokyo has the dubious distinction of having, proportionately, the biggest debt pile among industrialised nations, more than twice the size of its economy.
The lion's share of that debt is from long- and short-term Japanese government bonds, as well as other borrowing.
The staggering figure, about 1.7 per cent higher than the previous quarter, comes a day after Japan pledged to slash its budget and get spending under control.
Japan has not faced a public debt crisis like the kind seen across the debt-riddled eurozone, largely because most of its low-interest debt is held domestically rather than by international creditors.
But the International Monetary Fund and others have issued warnings about Tokyo's ever-increasing borrowing, after a series of sovereign credit rating downgrades in recent years.
This week, the IMF called on Japan to adopt a "credible" fiscal plan to repair its books, including raising sales taxes to generate new revenue.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is mulling whether to go ahead with a series of sales tax rises that would double the rate to 10 per cent by 2015, a key source of new income but one that some fear would stall his economy-boosting plan dubbed "Abenomics".
THE One Nation party is defending its candidate who was ridiculed after referring to Islam as a country, saying it was a simple slip of the tongue.
One Nation leader Jim Savage says its candidate for Rankin in Queensland, Stephanie Banister, 27, was dealt a terrible injustice following the Seven Network interview, which was picked up by newspapers and radio stations around the country.
Ms Banister, who had only been in politics for 48 hours at the time of her interview, referred to Islam as a country.
"I don't oppose Islam as a country but I do feel their laws should not be welcome here in Australia," she told the network.
However, Mr Savage says Ms Banister meant to say "in" a country and immediately corrected herself, but this was not aired.
"Channel Seven went to air trying to give the impression Stephanie said Islam was a country," he said in a statement.
"She immediately corrected herself, but Seven conveniently left this off.
"I am bloody furious that Channel Seven targeted this young woman, without our knowledge.
"Of course as a rank novice it was easy to manage to get her to make a simple slip of the tongue.
"The poor girl was giving her very first TV interview, and if anyone thinks it is easy, try doing it some time.
"Even the Channel Seven reporter, Erin Edwards, in an interview she did with me last week asked if I was racist against Islam.
"I had to inform her Islam was not a race."
Mr Savage called for Ms Banister to be given a fair go, adding other politicians had referred to Islam as a race but were not taken to task by the media.
TOKYO investors will be eyeing Japanese and US economic data next week, but trading is expected to be thin with many dealers off for a national holiday.
US economic figures including retail sales and industrial output are due out as markets look for clues as to when the US Federal Reserve will start rolling back its huge stimulus drive.
The Fed has said any pull back from its quantitative easing scheme rested on evidence of a solid recovery in the world's largest economy.
"If it is confirmed that the US economy is keeping in good shape, that would support the (Tokyo) market," Nomura Securities said in a client note.
Eurozone GDP figures will also be in focus while, closer to home, second-quarter economic growth figures for Japan will be eyed as Tokyo mulls a series of sales tax hikes aimed at chopping its mounting public debt, already the worst in the industrialised world.
There are fears that a drive to stimulate the world's third-largest economy could be cut short by raising taxes.
In the week to August 9, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 5.88 per cent, or 850.97 points, to 13,615.19.
The Topix index of all first-section shares lost 4.62 per cent, or 55.26 points, to 1,140.91.
The tumble was largely due to a 4.0 per cent drop in the Nikkei on Wednesday as selling pressure soared because of a stronger yen and after Wall Street fell sharply.
On Friday, Tokyo stocks ended flat after zigzagging in and out of positive territory, with market heavyweight Nikon diving after a big drop in the camera giant's quarterly profit.
"The market remains in the summer doldrums," said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi.
Next week, many traders will be off for national holidays.
"The markets could see some renewed buffeting if trading volume drops off even more than we have seen in recent weeks," said an equity derivatives trader at a foreign brokerage.
On Friday, Nikon dropped 14.29 per cent to Y1,726 after saying on Thursday its net profit fell 72 per cent in the April-June quarter as digital camera sales slumped, while slashing its sales and profit outlook for the fiscal year to March.
Toyota rose 0.16 per cent to Y6,170, Sony gained 0.83 per cent to Y1,943 while Sharp was down 0.74 per cent to Y401.
In Tokyo afternoon trading, the US dollar was nearly flat at Y96.66 from Y96.64 in New York on Thursday.
International flights have resumed at Nairobi airport after a huge fire at the arrivals terminal. Source: AAP
THE FBI is helping Kenyan authorities investigate the cause of a huge blaze that paralysed Nairobi airport, a police official says.
Investigators have still not established what caused Wednesday's blaze, which raged out of control for several hours.
The airport's arrivals hall was gutted in the fire, which forced east Africa's main hub to close.
"We are not carrying out our investigation alone, we're getting help from our partners including the FBI," a senior police official said on Friday on condition of anonymity.
"Other agencies have also expressed their support and promised to join in."
The fire broke out 15 years to the day after the twin bombings by al-Qaeda targeting the US embassies in Nairobi and in the Tanzanian economic capital Dar es Salaam that left 224 people dead.
However, there is no indication that the incidents were linked, and the government has urged people not to speculate about the cause of the fire.
Kenya Airways resumed international flights on Thursday and foreign carriers started using the airport on Friday.
"Most companies are operating, even foreign ones," Eric Kiraithe, head of security at JKIA told AFP.
TWO young British women are recovering after unknown attackers in the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar threw acid into their faces, the first such assault against foreigners in the popular tourist destination, police say.
Late on Wednesday night two men on a moped threw the acid at the 18-year-old women as they strolled through the streets of Stone Town, the historical centre of the capital of the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago, splashing their faces, chests and hands.
"Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers," deputy police commissioner Mkadam Khamis said on Thursday.
The attack on the women, both working as volunteer teachers at a school on the island, came at the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, and as people began to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
"The motive for the attack on the volunteers aged 18 years, has not been established. Investigations are on until we apprehend the criminals," Khamis said.
The women were flown to Tanzania's economic capital Dar es Salaam for treatment, where their injuries were said to be "not life-threatening", said Saleh Mohammed Jidawi, a senior health ministry official.
Britain's Foreign Office said they were "providing consular assistance" to the women, but gave no further details.
Tourism is the main foreign currency earner for Zanzibar, famed for its white-sand beaches and historical buildings in Stone Town, which is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
"It may threaten tourists," said Abdul Samad, chairman of the Zanzibar Association for Tourism Investors.
Tensions between the majority Muslim population and Christians in the archipelago (some three per cent of the 1.2 million people on the islands) have risen in recent years, as well as on mainland Tanzania.
In Tanzania, where both Muslims and Christians each make up around a third of the population, the communities traditionally live peacefully side-by-side.
In Zanzibar, some more conservative elements of the Muslim community object to foreign tourists who wear revealing clothes, as well as bars selling alcohol.
There have been a series of attacks in the archipelago, including an acid attack on a Muslim cleric in November, and the shooting death of a Catholic priest in February.
In December another priest was shot and wounded.
AN 82-year-old man and his 41-year-old son have been found living in a forest in central Vietnam after they went missing during the country's war with the US, an official says.
The older man could communicate a little in the Cor ethnic minority language, but his son only knew a few words, an official at Tay Tra commune in Quang Ngai province said on Thursday on condition of anonymity.
Ho Van Thanh was last seen running into the woods with his then-infant son Ho Van Lang after a bomb exploded in his home, killing his wife and two other children in 1973, newspaper Dan Tri reported.
They were discovered when two people from a nearby village ventured 40 kilometres into the forest looking for firewood and spotted the two men's tree house. The villagers reported the find to local authorities who recovered the pair on Wednesday.
The two men survived by cultivating forest vegetables and hunting animals. They had no contact with the outside world, the report said.
Photographs in local media showed the younger man with dishevelled hair wearing a loin cloth made from tree bark.
Thanh, who was fighting for North Vietnam when the bomb exploded, left behind another son, Ho Van Tri.
"My father is very weak and the doctors are taking care of him, but my brother's health is fine even though he looks very thin," said Tri, who was six months old when his father fled into the jungle.
Thanh is being treated at a medical centre while his son is being looked after by his nephew, Ho Ven Bien.
"My uncle doesn't understand much of what is said to him, and he doesn't want to eat or even drink water," Bien said.
"He's very sad. He doesn't say anything now," he said. "We know he wants to escape my house to go back to the forest so we have to keep an eye on him now."
Hoang Anh Ngoc, chairman of the district, said local authorities had visited Thanh at the medical centre and given him food.
"I asked officials to keep a close eye on the two men to make sure they don't escape back into the forest," he said.
The discovery has shaken the small community, which thought the two men dead.
"No one could imagine Thanh and his son could live 40 years in isolation in the hard conditions of the jungle," said villager Ho Van Xanh.
EUROPEAN stock markets have risen, mirroring the pattern in Asia after China posted upbeat trade figures that bolstered the outlook for the world's second-biggest economy, traders say.
London's FTSE 100 index on Thursday rose 0.31 per cent to stand at 6,531.08 points around midday in the British capital.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 0.34 per cent to 8,288.96 points and the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.28 per cent to 4,049.69.
"The main reason for the bright start in Europe has been the significant improvement in the Chinese trade data in July," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari trading group.
"One company that isn't overly confident about a Chinese recovery later this year is Rio Tinto," Erlam added after the mining giant reported a 71 per cent slump in first-half net profit.
"While the company does not expect a hard landing, it did give a pretty gloomy outlook for the Chinese economy which, along with low commodity prices, it expects to weigh on profits in the second half of the year."
Rio Tinto shares nevertheless managed a gain of 1.0 per cent to 2,984.5 pence as earnings were better than the market had expected, traders said.
Several European companies, in reporting results halfway through the year, have mentioned evidence from their activities that business in China is slowing down.
China's imports and exports showed an unexpected jump in July, government data showed on Thursday in a positive sign for the Chinese economy, the world's second-biggest after the US economy, after persistent weakness raised concerns over growth.
The euro gained to $US1.3350 from $US1.3334 in New York late on Wednesday. The US dollar slipped to Y96.34 from Y96.39.
Comments from Federal Reserve officials earlier this week have sparked jitters over a likely pullback of the US stimulus, weighing on the US dollar.
Sterling meanwhile steadied against the European single currency on Thursday, a day the British currency hit a one-month high point. Sterling was at 86.11 pence to the euro from 86.78 on Wednesday, and was at $US1.5502 from $US1.5531.
The Bank of England (BoE) announced a major policy shift on Wednesday, as new head Mark Carney provided clear guidance on when it can be expected to raise Britain's record-low interest rate.
In a statement, the BoE said that it "intends not to raise Bank Rate from its current level of 0.5 per cent at least until ... the unemployment rate has fallen to a threshold of seven per cent" - providing markets with so-called forward guidance as used by the US Federal Reserve.
"The consensus opinion is that with the pickup in the UK economy, a seven per cent unemployment rate is easily achievable well before the dubious BoE projections suggest, so markets have actually brought forward their expectations of a rate hike, marked by the surge in the pound," said Capital Spreads trader Jonathan Sudaria.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold climbed to $US1,289.67 an ounce from $US1,282.50 on Wednesday.
Among other share price movements, Aviva surged 5.69 per cent to 391.9 pence after the British insurer announced a return to profits in the first half as it continues with significant restructuring of the group.
US authorities say a grenade-wielding man on a shooting rampage in Dallas and DeSoto, Texas, has killed four people and wounded four others.
The suspect has been identified as Erbie Bowser, 44, but the names of the victims have not been released. Authorities say it appears he was trying to kill a former girlfriend. It is believed she is among the victims.
Officials say Bowser's rampage began about 10.30pm on Wednesday (1330 AEST Thursday) in Dallas at a home in Long Canyon Trail. He killed two people and wounded two others there, police said.
Bowser then went to a home in the Galleria Drive, in DeSoto, where he threw a hand grenade into the living room before shooting and killing two women, police said. He also wounded two children.
When DeSoto officers arrived, Bowser pretended to be among the victims. But officers quickly determined he was their suspect and took him into custody. Officers also confiscated a pocket knife from him.
Authorities say Bowser has tattoos indicating he may have been an Army Ranger. He has been arrested previously for violating a protective order and evading arrest.
A three-year-old child in the DeSoto home appeared to be unhurt and was turned over to Child Protective Services, police said.
As events were unfolding in DeSoto, Dallas police had received a tip about the suspect's identity. They found out about the DeSoto residence while checking past addresses and were on their way there when they heard about the incident at the home, police said.
There were reports that some of the wounded were in critical condition. Before some relatives left the scene in Dallas to check on the hospitalised victims, they gathered with dozens of friends in the parking lot of Charles Acton Elementary School to pray.
SYRIAN authorities have denied media reports of an attack on President Bashar al-Assad's motorcade as he was on his way to a mosque, which rebel groups say they had carried out with rockets and mortars.
Several media outlets, including Saudi-based Al-Arabiya satellite channel, had reported on Thursday that a rocket attack targeted Assad's motorcade as he travelled to the Anas bin Malik mosque in central Damascus to join the prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.
"Regarding the information reported by Al-Arabiya, I can assure you that it is completely false," Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi told state television.
"The president arrived at the mosque driving his own car, he attended the prayer and greeted everyone in the mosque as he does every day when he meets people," Zohbi added.
The minister slammed reports of the attack on the motorcade as a "projection of the dreams and illusions of certain media and the governments behind them," adding that they were a "joke".
"Everything is normal," Zohbi added. "They wanted to spoil the celebrations for Syrians."
Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia is a strong supporter of the Sunni-led rebels seeking to oust Assad, a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog could not confirm the reported rocket attack but said mortar shells early Thursday hit the Malki area in central Damascus, near to where Assad was attending prayers.
The NGO did not report any casualties or victims in the shelling, which however indicated that rebels seeking to topple Assad are able to launch attacks despite relentless attempts by regime forces to clear the capital of insurgents.
Two rebel groups Liwa al-Islam and Liwa Tahrir al-Sham, meanwhile, separately claimed to have attacked the president's convoy.
"Liwa al-Islam's fighters used rockets to target Bashar al-Assad's motorcade near the Anas bin Malik mosque in the Malki area," the group said via Facebook.
An activist close to the group told the AFP Beirut bureau that the Islamist rebel brigade is one of the most active around the capital.
Another group, Liwa Tahrir al-Sham, also claimed the attack.
"We targeted Bashar al-Assad's motorcade using 17 120mm mortar shells, and we have confirmed that the motorcade was hit," the group said, also via Facebook.
Shortly after the reports emerged, Assad appeared in footage shown by state television sitting on the ground next to other dignitaries, looking relaxed and smiling during the morning prayer.
"Oh God, grant President Assad success, for the good of the country," Ahmed al-Jazairi, imam of the mosque said at the end of the prayer.
The Syrian president has rarely appeared in public since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. On August 1, he travelled to Daraya, a former rebel stronghold near Damascus, saying he was confident of "victory" against the rebels in a rare journey outside the capital.
On Sunday, Assad said that the only way to stamp out the uprising against him was "by striking it with an iron fist".
More than 100,000 people have died in Syria since the beginning of the country's bloody civil war in March 2011, sparked by the government's repression of demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
The government has repeatedly blamed the violence in Syria on foreign-backed "terrorist" groups.
Policy costings and tax dominated the third day of the federal election campaign. Source: AAP
THE federal government has entered the election campaign as the underdog but believes Labor's momentum is building now the coalition's policy costings are under the spotlight.
On the third day of the run-up to the September 7 poll, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott went to Adelaide to unveil a 1.5 percentage point corporate tax cut.
The reduction to 28.5 per cent will cost $5 billion over four years, but Mr Abbott's not yet ready to say how exactly it will be paid for bar pointing to a broad $17 billion in coalition savings.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spent most of the day in the northwest of Sydney where he seized on media reports a coalition government could consider raising the 10 per cent GST to cover its budget "black hole".
Labor insiders told AAP the coalition was playing directly into its initial strategy of putting their opponents on the back foot over costings.
"We've got the coalition talking about what is going to become their number one problem in this campaign, which is their election costings," said Hawker Britton director Simon Banks, a former Rudd staffer.
"That's plenty of momentum."
Mr Abbott said his tax cut plan would reduce costs for 750,000 businesses, allowing them to expand and create more jobs.
"I want to make it absolutely crystal clear that the tax reductions that we have so far announced are more than funded by the sensible savings that were announced by us before the campaign commenced," he said.
The savings referred to include axing Labor's SchoolKids Bonus ($4 billion), cutting 12,000 public service jobs ($5 billion), a two-year delay in a superannuation contribution rise ($2.1 billion) and scrapping the low-income super contribution ($2.9 billion). These total $14 billion.
The coalition's $4.3 billion paid parental leave scheme, to be unveiled next week, will be paid for by a 1.5 per cent tax rise for Australia's 3000 biggest companies.
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said further savings would be announced during the campaign.
When compared to coalition policy announcements, the budget bottom line would be "better off".
Labor claims the coalition's starting point is a costings "black hole" of between $50 billion and $70 billion - which Mr Hockey denies.
Treasurer Chris Bowen said the coalition's approach to costings was "adding some fairy dust and saying something will turn up on the night".
"Australian families have every right to be very concerned that this will be paid for by reducing government funding to hospitals, schools and services," he said.
Labor also went on the offensive over the GST, after Mr Hockey said on Tuesday the GST would be "part of the equation" under a planned coalition tax system review.
"This is a big, big development in this election campaign," Mr Rudd said.
"What I would say loud and clear is that the Australian government I lead would not increase the GST, nor would it extend its scope."
Mr Abbott said if the GST came up during the review "we will consider what the consultations come up with".
"But the fact is we have no plans whatsoever to make any changes to the GST," he added, while visiting a drinks factory in the South Australian Labor-held seat of Makin.
Meanwhile, Labor and the coalition continue to discuss plans for a series of leader debates.
So far, they've agreed the first debate should be on Sunday.
The final decision on whether it will be Sydney or at the National Press Club in Canberra is still under discussion.
Senate candidate James Blundell (R) says Peter Garrett's intellect was wasted in politics. Source: AAP
COUNTRY music star James Blundell says fellow artist Peter Garrett's intellect was wasted in politics.
But the lead Queensland Senate candidate for Katter's Australian Party has vowed his celebrity status won't be exploited, in the same way Labor used the former Midnight Oil frontman.
"I think Peter Garrett is the greatest misuse of intellect I've seen in my adult, politically active lifetime," he told AAP.
"The decision makers and policy makers should have been listening to what Peter was saying because the reason Peter Garrett and Midnight Oil became incredibly famous was because they really, really connected with their peers, and half a generation above and below."
Blundell says he and Mr Garrett chatted about the shaved-head rock star's future career as they sat side-by-side at country music legend Slim Dusty's funeral in 2003.
He also feels that Mr Garrett, who is retiring from politics at this election, was unfairly tied to the failed pink batts scheme.
"To give him pink batts is the stupidest thing I've seen in my life," he said.
The 28-year music veteran and Golden Guitar winner says his own celebrity status won't be exploited, after persistent pleas from party leader Bob Katter for him to stand.
"If a celebrity is there for the glory of it, they will be badly hurt," he said.
Blundell called State of Origin coach and rugby league great Mal Meninga for advice, and to ask why he famously aborted a 2001 run for the ACT parliament.
"Mal is a bloke I absolutely love and he was one of the people ... I had a list of people to call because I wanted to know what happened," Blundell said, adding he hoped not to "go the Mal route".
Blundell also admits to being in favour of gay marriage, unlike many in his party.
"We have an agreement to disagree or to keep that whole issue away from the top 20 important things to discuss," he said.
"We don't see eye-to-eye on it 100 per cent."
Senior minister Bill Shorten believes Labor's battle for the seat of Corangamite will be tough. Source: AAP
LABOR can win the election, senior minister Bill Shorten says, but he's less confident it will retain its most marginal seat.
Campaigning in the Victorian seat of Corangamite, which the ALP's Darren Cheeseman holds by only 0.3 per cent, Mr Shorten told students the government could win the election.
"Bookmakers have us not as the favourite in a two horse-race," Mr Shorten said at a Geelong school.
"Bookmakers can be wrong. It's four weeks to go.
"We can win. That's for sure."
When asked if Labor could retain Corangamite, Mr Shorten qualified his response by saying the ALP would prevail in the seat if the election was fought on education policy.
"Corangamite is an electorate which has got a great future," Mr Shorten said.
"If this is an election that is fought on education policies, Darren Cheeseman will remain the member for Corangamite."
Mr Cheeseman said he would have to work hard to show voters how Labor was addressing their concerns.
"This going to be a very close contest here. Every single vote will count," Mr Cheeseman said.
"If we campaign hard ... I think we've got every chance of winning this seat again."
The Greens say they would support a bigger corporate tax cut, but only for small businesses. Source: AAP
THE Australian Greens want to cut corporate tax rates harder and faster than the coalition - but only for small businesses.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has confirmed a coalition government would lower the 30 per cent tax rate to 28.5 per cent from July 1, 2015 for all businesses.
Greens leader Christine Milne parried with a promise to cut the rate to 28 per cent but only for businesses with an annual turnover under $2 million.
"This is the kind of injection that small business has really been looking for," she told reporters in Canberra.
"Not only is it more generous to small business, it would start a year earlier."
The Greens plan would benefit 610,000 small business and cost $1.75 billion over four years, compared with $5 billion for the coalition cut.
Mr Abbott has said the company tax cut would offset his plan for a 1.5 per cent levy on big business to pay for his wage-replacement paid parental leave scheme.
The Greens also want to put a levy on big business to cover a similar leave proposal.
However, Senator Milne said big business could afford to pay more tax and didn't need any offset.
THE Bank of England (BoE) has made a major break with policy, insisting that any rise in its record-low key interest rate would be tied to a drop in Britain's unemployment rate.
The BoE said it "intends not to raise Bank Rate from its current level of 0.5 per cent at least until ... the unemployment rate has fallen to a threshold of seven per cent".
Britain's unemployment rate is 7.8 per cent.
The new governor of the bank, Mark Carney, noted on Wednesday that "a renewed recovery is now under way" for Britain's economy.
The BoE added that its Monetary Policy Committee stood ready to provide the economy with more cash stimulus while the unemployment rate remains above seven per cent - and despite a recent recovery of British growth.
The Bank of England described its pledge over interest rates and stimulus as "explicit guidance regarding the future conduct of monetary policy".
Markets had widely expected some form of so-called "forward guidance" being introduced by Canadian national Carney, who became head of the BoE at the start of July.
The Bank of England's main interest rate, which has stood at 0.50 per cent since March 2009, is closely tied to borrowing costs offered by the retail banking sector.
The BoE's record-low rate has resulted in cheap loans for home owners but poor returns for people with deposited savings.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the cash rate to a new all-time low of 2.5 per cent. Source: AAP
BUSINESS groups are warning the latest interest rate cut won't have an immediate impact because of uncertainty generated by the federal election campaign.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to a new all-time low of 2.5 per cent, as widely tipped by economists.
Three of the major banks have already passed on the reduction in full - although Westpac's cut was by 28 basis points to a standard variable rate of 5.98 per cent.
Many smaller lending institutions also matched the central bank.
People with an average $300,000 mortgage will be around $45 a month better off on their home loan repayments.
RBA governor Glenn Stevens had previously noted the inflation outlook could provide some scope to ease policy further, should that be required to support demand.
"At today's meeting, and taking account of recent information on prices and activity, the board judged that a further decline in the cash rate was appropriate," he said in a statement.
Treasurer Chris Bowen says the rate cut is good news for families and business.
But shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said if the economy was performing well the RBA wouldn't have moved.
"It's not a great credit to this government at all," Mr Hockey told reporters in Canberra.
Mr Bowen pointed out that in past elections the coalition has gone to the Australian people with a solemn pledge that interest rates would always be lower under a coalition government.
"Now all of a sudden, because interest rates are at record lows under a Labor government, we have Mr Hockey saying this is somehow a bad thing," he told reporters in Sydney.
"How negative has this opposition become?"
However, Mr Hockey said when former Liberal leader John Howard made that pledge in October 2004 economic circumstances were different with unemployment at 5.1 per cent rather than 5.7 per cent now and economic growth was four per cent instead of 2.5 per cent.
Then the cash rate was 5.25 per cent compared with 2.75 per cent now.
Yasser El-Ansary, general manager Institute of Chartered Accountant Australia, said the rate cut confirmed that business in the non-mining sectors was continuing to do it tough.
"While the announcement will help drive confidence for businesses and households, the current election campaign does mean people will continue to be cautious about spending until the election result has been decided," he said in a statement.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson said assistance to help the economy cannot rely on interest rates alone.
"Clearly other areas of economic management are falling well short of the mark and dragging on confidence," he said in a statement pointing at the federal government.
"That includes not delivering on budget undertakings, poorly targeted spending, and a series of tax increases."
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox hoped the rate cut would result in further falls in the exchange rate to help lift business competitiveness.
Cochlear says its new Nucleus 6 implant will be the big driver behind its 2014 financial results. Source: AAP
HEARING implant maker Cochlear says its "game-changing" Nucleus 6 device will be the big driver behind its 2014 financial results.
The company says rollout of the device, which it describes as the most advanced cochlear implant sound processor ever released, is underway in Europe after its sale in the region was recently approved.
Regulatory approvals in other jurisdictions, including the key United States market, are expected during the year.
"We do think that how we go with Nucleus 6 will be important in terms of how fiscal 2014 will look, both in terms of various regulatory approvals and our ability to execute on these launches," Cochlear chief executive Dr Chris Roberts told reporters on Tuesday.
"And then it's how well we get traction on these truly game-changing features in this product."
The Nucleus 6 system has five times the processing power of the Nucleus 5 and can automatically process sounds according to the sound environment of the patient, such as speech, noise, music, quiet or wind.Dr Roberts said it was the most advanced cochlear implant sound processor ever released in terms of hearing performance and usability.
Cochlear on Tuesday posted a net profit of $132.6 million for the 2012/13 financial year, up from $56.8 million in the previous year.
Its 2011/12 result was pulled back by $101.3 million in after-tax expenses linked to a recall of the CI500 series implant in September 2011.
The latest result was in line with guidance provided in June, when the company flagged weakness in its key market in the United States.
Cochlear subsequently lost nearly a fifth of its market value as investors dumped shares.
Dr Roberts on Tuesday said a record number of patients globally had received a Cochlear implant over 2012/13 and the company had focused on bringing new products to market, especially Nucleus 6.
But over the year, sales in the Americas had fallen four per cent to $284.4 million.
Sales of sound processor upgrades to existing cochlear implant recipients in the Americas were down $17.0 million ahead of the release of the Nucleus 6.
Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa dropped one per cent to $283.0 million and sound processor upgrade sales were also down ahead of the release of the Nucleus 6.
But the Asia Pacific region was the standout performer, with sales jumping 20 per cent to $147.6 million on the back of a large tender sale to China.
Shares in Cochlear were 41 cents higher at $59.56 at 1316 AEST on Tuesday.
A Turkish court has sentenced ex-military chief Ilker Basbug to life in prison for plotting a coup. Source: AAP
ANGRY protests have erupted in Turkey after a former army chief and 16 others were sentenced to life in prison following a high-profile coup plot trial.
The verdicts sparked scenes of anger outside the court on Monday, and thousands of protesters clashed with police in the streets.
The trial, in which 275 people were accused of plotting against the Islamic-rooted government, was seen as a key test in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's showdown with secularist and military opponents during his decade-long rule.
Charges against defendants ranged from membership of an underground "terrorist organisation" dubbed Ergenekon to arson, illegal weapons possession, and instigating an armed uprising against Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Ex-military chief Ilker Basbug, several other army officers, as as well as reporter Tuncay Ozkan and lawyer Kemal Kerinsiz, were all sentenced to life in prison.
"The final say belongs to the people," local media quoted Basbug as saying.
"Those who have always stood by ... justice have a clear conscience. I am one of those people."
Most other defendants received jail sentences, while 21 were acquitted.
About 10,000 people protested outside the court complex after the verdicts were announced, with some throwing stones at riot police who responded with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets.
In Ankara, hundreds of people also marched in demonstration at the court ruling, chanting: "We are soldiers of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk," a reference to modern Turkey's founder.
Speaking ahead of the verdicts, journalist and opposition MP Mustafa Balbay, who was later handed 34 years and eight month sentence, said the trial was "purely political".
The heavy sentences handed down to journalists sparked criticism from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), accusing European Union hopeful Turkey of violating free speech.
The verdicts, which were expected to be appealed, come after Turkey was rocked by mass protests in June that presented Erdogan's government, seen as increasingly authoritarian, with its biggest public challenge since it came to power.
EUROPE'S main stock markets have mostly risen as traders responded to positive economic data and the latter stages of the current earnings season.
London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares dipped 0.02 per cent to 6,618.46 points approaching midday on Tuesday, as heavyweight miners retreated in value, offsetting news of a strong rebound for British manufacturing.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 advanced 0.30 per cent to 8,423.63 points after official data showed that German industrial orders had risen by 3.8 per cent in June.
The CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.17 per cent to 4,056.86 points.
"After a decent run up in recent weeks, blue-chip mining stocks have cooled as lower metals prices take the steam out of the rally," said Matt Basi, head of UK sales trading at CMC Markets.
The euro climbed to $US1.3278 from $US1.3255 late in New York on Monday.
The US dollar edged up to 98.25 yen from 98.22 yen.
Sterling was steady against the European single currency, while it jumped to $US1.5376 from $US1.5352 on Monday.
Britain's manufacturing output rebounded with a bang in June, official data showed on Tuesday, providing further evidence of the country's broad-based economic recovery.
Output jumped 1.9 per cent in June from May, when it had fallen by 0.7 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
Traders also digested further earnings updates, which along with improving European and US economic data, have helped to lift stock markets over the past month.
The DAX and CAC indices have each rallied by about 8.0 per cent in value since the start of July.
On Tuesday, shares in InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) jumped 3.0 per cent to 1,966 pence after the company announced a 25 per cent increase in first-half net profits thanks to a strong showing by its US operations.
Profit after tax jumped to $US340 million ($A381.98 million) in the six months to the end of June compared with net earnings of $US271 million in the first half of 2012, said the company that owns the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotel chains.
IHG added that it would pay shareholders a special dividend totalling $US350 million.
Asian stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday as investor concerns lingered over a potential tapering of US monetary stimulus, analysts said.
Hong Kong was dragged lower by a near five-per cent tumble for the share price of heavyweight HSBC Holdings.
On Monday, the banking giant announced a 22-per cent rise in half-year net profit on lower costs and falling bad-debt charges, slightly below analysts' estimates.
It warned that slower Chinese growth was affecting its main market Asia.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the price of gold slipped to $US1,293.12 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $US1,304.75 on Monday.
Downer EDI has won a contract to roll out the NBN to 300,000 premises across Melbourne and Brisbane. Source: AAP
ENGINEERING company Downer EDI has been contracted to roll out the national broadband network (NBN) to properties in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Downer EDI has won contracts with NBN Co to deliver fibre optic broadband to 300,000 premises across the two cities, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Under the contracts, which will see up to 500 people employed, Downer will design and construct the local distribution network that runs fibre from a communications exchange through each street in a coverage area.
Downer already has contracts to roll out the network in northern New South Wales and to connect multi-dwelling units, such as blocks of flats, to the NBN in Victoria and NSW.
Meanwhile, NBN contractor Syntheo will pull out of work on the network early next year.
Syntheo, a joint venture between developer Lend Lease and communications company Service Stream, would complete work on existing contracts in Western Australia and South Australia, the company said in a statement.
But, it said, there'd be no further work beyond the completion of those contracts.
UP on stage stood the tired, down below were the hungry.
Prime ministerial hopeful Tony Abbott has capped off a long first day on the campaign trail with a visit to western Sydney, where local Muslims gathered to break their Ramadan fast for the day.
The seminary drop-out and staunch Catholic said Monday's iftar dinner at Auburn was a perfect microcosm of ethnically, culturally and religiously diverse Australia.
"There is unity in our diversity," Mr Abbott said.
The opposition leader's arrival sparked a respectable round of applause, but in a room full of people who've been waiting till sunset for a bite, food was always going to be the main event.
One woman appeared unfazed by the luminaries around her - Philip Ruddock, Jason Clare and Australian Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohammed were all in the audience - and chose to bag up fellow guests' leftovers rather than press the flesh.
If Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants voters to see him as a negative purveyor of three-word slogans, the coalition leader wants us to know he's the man to end the gender debates and class warfare that have captivated Canberra.
"I am the sworn enemy of anyone who seeks to divide Australian from Australian over things that can't readily be changed: over class, over gender, over birthplace and particularly over faith," he said.
"Our greatest days are ahead of us."
But his pitch to western Sydney won't rest solely on unity.
Mr Abbott told the crowd he was committed to cutting red tape, lowering taxes and ensure the WestConnex road project goes ahead "as quickly as is humanly possible".
Auburn's Liberal Mayor Ned Attie said Mr Abbott's tribute to diversity and acceptance struck the right chord.
"It appealed to what the people are about," he told AAP.
He said asylum seeker policy remained close to locals' hearts.
"Auburn has traditionally been considered a refugee welcome zone," he said.
"A lot of people come to me and say, look, we came as refugees, we'd like to see others come the right way, not just show up on the doorstep."
Local Wally Elriche told AAP Mr Abbott had earned his respect just by showing up.
"The fact that he made his way down here, it shows a lot," he said.
And the talk of tolerance?
"Oh, that's a bunch of bulls***, just to get some votes," he laughed.
A POWERFUL bomb has exploded at the centre of the southern Philippines city of Cotabato, killing six people and wounding more than two dozen others, police say.
The explosive device was placed in a vehicle - either a motorcycle or a van - parked near a hospital and a school during the afternoon rush hour on Monday, city police chief Senior Superintendent Rolen Balquin said.
Cotabato photographer Mark Navales, who was on the scene within half an hour of the blast, described seeing a blood-spattered road strewn with charred bodies and smouldering vehicle parts.
"I saw three mangled human remains, one of them burnt," he told AFP.
"I have never before seen (the effects of) such a powerful blast in Cotabato," he added.
The attack came a month after after the United States, Australia and Canada warned their citizens against travelling to Cotabato and two other southern cities over fresh threats of terrorism.
Those killed were motorists passing through Sinsuat Street, the main highway in Cotabato that is lined by commercial establishments.
At least 26 others were wounded, including police officers in a vehicle that was passing through the area, he said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
Mujiv Hataman, governor of a regional autonomous area whose office is 800 metres away from the blast site, said the explosion rattled his windows and shattered a quiet afternoon just before Muslims were to end their Ramadan fast.
"The blast was heard kilometres away. It was powerful," he said.
The late-afternoon explosion damaged at least four vehicles and triggered a fire that engulfed a nearby mortuary and a tyre repair shop, he added.
Cotabato is a mixed Muslim-Catholic city on the main southern island of Mindanao, where Muslim insurgents have waged a decades old rebellion that has claimed 150,000 lives.
It was the second bombing to hit Mindanao in 10 days.
A powerful blast at a restaurant packed with doctors and pharmaceutical salesmen left eight people dead on the Mindanao city of Cagayan de Oro on July 26.
The Cotabato explosion also came just shortly after the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway rebel faction, warned of intensified attacks against the government targets.
The Queensland and federal governments have failed to strike a deal on funding for schools. Source: AAP
QUEENSLAND'S hopes of getting billions of dollars in Commonwealth funding for schools appear to have dissolved along with federal parliament as the government goes into caretaker mode.
Both governments failed to strike a deal on education reforms by the deadline of 5.30pm (AEST) on Monday, when the House of Representatives was dissolved ahead of the September 7 election.
Earlier in the day both governments traded blows, each blaming the other for the inability to reach a deal.
Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the federal government's offer wasn't as generous as the agreement reached with Victoria over the weekend.
But his federal counterpart Bill Shorten said the Victorian government had been prepared to stump up extra money, while Queensland wasn't.
"The Victorian government's offer to us means that the Queensland government had to find an extra $1.3 billion ... and they're not willing to do it. It's a hoax," he said.
However by Monday afternoon it appeared the figure had risen by more than one billion, when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd accused the Queensland government of stalling.
He said Queensland would have to stump up $2.5 billion if it wanted to sign up under the same arrangement as Victoria.
"Given there's been months and months and months of negotiations with Mr Newman's Liberal National Party government in Queensland, why is it left to the last day?," he told reporters in Canberra.
Under the reforms, Queensland would receive $2.48 billion in additional funding over 2014-19.
Mr Langbroek said Canberra was asking the state to increase its indexation by three per cent, to Victoria's 1.3 per cent.
"Queensland is willing to sign up today, as long as we get exactly the same deal," Mr Langbroek said.
He accused the federal government of election point-scoring.
Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine hailed his state's education reforms deal as a great outcome and one which put the state in a "win win" position.
However Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said the deal came at the expense of the education maintenance allowance, which helped the state's lowest-income families with school expenses.
And NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says he's getting advice on whether his schools deal with the federal government needs improving after the one done with Victoria.
He dismissed suggestions Victoria had wrangled a better deal and said NSW's agreement had a "no-disadvantage" clause.
"No deal can be done with any other state or territory that gives them a bigger benefit than exists in NSW," he said.
Singer PJ Harvey has lent her vocal support to the last British person detained at Guantanamo Bay. Source: AAP
PJ Harvey has recorded a song in support of the last remaining British resident at Guantanamo Bay.
The musician has lent her vocals to the track about Shaker Aamer.
Shaker, who grew up in Saudi Arabia, has long been cleared for release by the United States and has never been charged with a crime in the country, according to legal action charity Reprieve.
The prisoner, who has four British children - the youngest of whom he has never met - and a British wife who all live in London, has been held at the Cuban detention camp since 2002.
Reprieve founder and director Clive Stafford Smith said the song, Shaker Aamer, is available as a free download and stream via soundcloud.com/reprieve.
"We hope that people listen to this song and think about Shaker Aamer's plight - detained for 11 long years at Guantanamo, without charge or trial," Smith said.
"The UK government must do everything it can to bring Shaker back home to his wife and kids in London, where he belongs."
Harvey's most recent album, the Mercury-winning Let England Shake, had a war theme, inspired by various conflicts and their effects, from Gallipoli to Afghanistan.
Other people in the public eye to have lent their support to Aamer's cause include the comedian Frankie Boyle and the actress Julie Christie who each spent a week on hunger strike to raise publicity for his plight.
RUSSIA'S interior ministry has launched a criminal probe into flag desecration after a US rock musician stuffed a Russian flag down his trousers at a concert.
The band Bloodhound Gang scandalised Russia when a video was released showing its bassist, Jared Hasselhoff, stuffing the white-blue-and-red tricolour down his trousers and then throwing it into the crowd at a concert last week in Odessa, Ukraine.
The interior ministry said in a statement on Monday that it had opened a criminal case "after looking into actions that demonstrated disrespect to the Russian state flag by a musician from a foreign band".
According to Russian law, desecration of the national flag could lead to a jail sentence of up to one year.
Russia's Investigative Committee, a powerful agency that is an equivalent of the US FBI, said in a statement earlier on Monday that it was examining the incident.
It condemned "the cynicism of the said crime, which expressed clear disrespect for the Russian state.
"The investigation will evaluate everyone connected with this crime, from the actual perpetrators to its organisers," the Investigative Committee said, adding that it would send inquiries shortly to the US and Ukraine.
The band members were turned away from a festival where they were due to play in southern Russia on Saturday and flew out of the country after being told to pack their bags by the culture minister and having their visas cut short by the migration services.
Before they abruptly left Russia, the group apologised by saying at a news conference that it was a tradition that everything thrown from the stage to fans "takes a trip through the pants".
The video of the concert shows Hasselhoff telling the crowd: "Don't tell Putin," before pushing the flag into his unzipped trousers and pulling it out the back to jeers and cheers from the crowd.
As they flew out, the band members were egged by pro-Kremlin youth activists and assaulted by Cossacks, an ultra-conservative group.
Pro-Kremlin MPs called for them to be banned from Russia for life and said that the Russian organisers of their concert should face consequences.
Top ruling party official Sergei Neverov compared the rock band to US pop star Madonna, who criticised a law against "homosexual propaganda" to minors at her concert in Saint Petersburg last year. He said the musicians were "links in a single chain" and acting on someone's orders.
The US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul late on Sunday said on his Twitter account: "I find the action by Bloodhound Gang disgusting. I also condemn the violence against them."
A SURGE in house building spurred a new wave of optimism in the UK construction sector as it achieved its best performance for three years, the latest figures show.
The reading of 57 on the closely-watched Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index was the best since June 2010 and a steep rise from 51 recorded in June. A reading of 50 separates growth from contraction.
The figures add to hopes of a sustained recovery in the sector after official figures showed it grew 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year, though it remains 16.5 per cent off pre-recession levels.
Construction has been buoyed by flagship initiatives including Funding for Lending, which encourages banks to offer mortgages, and Help to Buy, which offers loans and guarantees to help buyers with small deposits.
The survey results were the third month in succession the construction index was above the no-change level of 50.
Residential building activity was by far the strongest area as it recorded its sixth month of improvement in a row.
But there was also a return to expansion for civil engineering, while commercial construction output rose at its strongest pace since May 2012.
Firms attributed the overall improvement to a marked improvement in demand for housing alongside a general rise in spending amid signs of an improving UK economy.
Optimism about the year ahead reached its strongest level since May 2010, leading to a rise in employment levels for the second month running.
"July's survey highlights a new wave of optimism across the UK construction sector, with companies reporting a pace of expansion in excess of anything seen over the past three years," said Tim Moore, senior economist at survey compiler Markit.
David Noble, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said homes are the "beating heart" of the rapid recovery in the construction sector, which is also backed by a solid expansion in civil engineering and commercial activity.
He said confidence was the highest since the coalition's austerity policies began in 2010, suggesting growth could be sustained into the third quarter.
"Of critical importance to the construction sector going forward is that the economy and the housing market sustain their recent improvement over the coming months, and that this increasingly stimulates building work," said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.
"It currently appears that housing market activity is really stepping up a gear, while the Government's Help to Buy initiatives in the budget to boost housing market activity was also welcome news for house builders."
But he said construction continued to be constrained by the impact of austerity measures on public sector projects, while it may take some time for private commercial activity to show a marked pick-up.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he's prepared to debate Tony Abbott every week. Source: AAP
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd is so keen to debate Opposition Leader Tony Abbott he wants to do it on Monday and every week after that.
"I'm in like Flynn, I'm up for it," Mr Rudd told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.
"I hope Mr Abbott is as well."
But Mr Rudd may have to wait a week for the first leaders' debate.
Liberal Party national secretary Brian Loughnane has written to his Labor counterpart, George Wright, asking for the first election debate next Sunday at the National Press Club in Canberra.
The prime minister challenged Mr Abbott to a debate on Monday evening, to be hosted by Sky News, after announcing the election date of September 7.
He said he was prepared to have a formal debate with Mr Abbott every week of the campaign.
Mr Abbott said he was open to debates.
But he was coy on whether he would accept the invitation for Monday, referring journalists instead to Mr Loughnane's letter.
The letter suggests a debate next Sunday in Canberra followed by two community forums - the first at Rooty Hill RSL, in Sydney's west, and then one in Brisbane.
"The Liberal Party believes this is the most important election in a generation," Mr Loughnane wrote.
"Therefore it is appropriate that a number of forums be held in different formats to allow Australians to ask their own questions directly of the leaders on the issues that matter most to them."
Former prime minister Julia Gillard and Mr Abbott also held community forums at the Rooty Hill RSL and Brisbane during the 2010 election campaign.
Labor has been no friend to the Northern Territory, says Chief Minister Adam Giles. Source: AAP
THE federal Labor government has been no friend to the Northern Territory, says Chief Minister Adam Giles.
Mr Giles has welcomed an early September election date, criticising Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's "erratic leadership" which he says has failed to deliver vital road improvements or fair education funding for NT schools.
"While he's neglected the territory ... Labor has no plan to manage the nation's economy, and will surely hit families and businesses with more taxes after the election," Mr Giles said in a statement on Sunday.
There are about 3000 asylum seekers being held in detention in Darwin, which Mr Giles said showed Labor had lost control of Australia's borders.
Other key issues for the NT are schools funding and the coalition's Northern Australian development plan.
Mr Giles refused to sign up to the Gonski education reforms before the election, and this week he backed a coalition plan which he said would cost the Territory nothing and allow it to spend money independently.
He called for Territorians to vote out the ALP's "tired" incumbent Member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, who "has failed to bring prosperity to our remote communities".
Mr Snowdon holds his seat by a margin of 3.7 per cent, and will probably be a casualty of the NT's rising discontent with federal Labor.
His enormous seat of Lingiari covers 99.8 per cent of the Territory, along with Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) islands, with a 40 per cent indigenous population.
He is being challenged by the CLP's Tina MacFarlane, a cattle station owner.
The urban Darwin and Palmerston seat of Solomon is the only other seat in the NT and is expected to remain with Natasha Griggs of the CLP.
The two NT senate seats are up for re-election this year, and are equally divided between the CLP and Labor.
Trish Crossin was dumped by former prime minister Julia Gillard earlier this year when she parachuted in former Olympian Nova Peris - who wasn't a member of the ALP when her pre-selection was announced.
Despite wide dissatisfaction over the ousting of Ms Crossin and what's seen as a paternalistic meddling in territory politics, Ms Peris will most likely keep the seat for Labor.
The second senate seat is held by Nigel Scullion of the CLP, who will also most likely keep it.
ATTACKS in Iraq have killed six people, including three soldiers and a judge as authorities struggle to contain the worst violence to hit the country in five years.
Militants opposed to the Iraqi government frequently attack security forces and other government employees with both bombs and gunfire.
The soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that exploded near their patrol in the northern province of Nineveh on Sunday.
The blast, which struck about 60km south of the provincial capital Mosul, also wounded four soldiers.
And another bombing targeted a police patrol farther south, wounding three policemen.
In Tikrit, north of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near a judge's house, killing him and severely wounding his wife, while another blast in the Iraqi capital itself killed one person and wounded five.
And gunmen killed a man and wounded his son west of the northern city of Kirkuk.
The attacks came a day after violence killed 24 people, including nine soldiers.
Violence has increased markedly this year, especially since an April 23 security operation at a Sunni anti-government protest site that sparked clashes in which dozens died.
Protests erupted in Sunni-majority areas in late 2012, amid widespread discontent among Sunnis who accuse the Shi'ite-led government of marginalising and targeting their community.
Experts say Sunni anger is the main cause of the spike in violence this year.
PREMIER Lara Giddings says a vote for Labor at the federal election will help fight for Tasmania's future.
"It is the Labor party that has delivered Disability Care Australia, Better Schools and the National Broadband Network," she said.
"The Liberal Party has nothing to offer but slogans and a threat to our GST."
Labor holds four of Tasmania's five seats, with high-profile independent Andrew Wilkie expected to retain the other, Denison.
The two northern seats of Bass and Braddon are likely to be Tasmania's battleground for the September 7 election.
Both are held by Labor but polling suggests they are vulnerable.
It is a well accepted maxim that Tasmanians will vote on local issues and Labor, which has been in power at state level since 1998, is on the nose.
Their current state government partnership with the Greens is blamed by some for the downsizing of the forestry sector, the closure of manufacturing plants and environmental battles over mining in the Tarkine.
Tasmania has Australia's highest unemployment rate - at 8.1 per cent - and that will be the key issue.
Ms Giddings will continue arguing a Tony Abbott government will change the GST distribution formula and rip $600-$700 million out of the state each year, a claim the coalition has dismissed as a scare tactic.
Mr Wilkie may not be in the kingmaking position he held in the hung parliament, which helped him attract hundreds of millions of dollars to his electorate.
But polling strongly suggests he will be returned to a seat Labor held for 23 years before 2010.
"The election in Denison will come down to character, independence and results," Mr Wilkie said.
"By these criteria I believe I've served Denison well for the past three years and am up to the job for three more."
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who replaced former leader Bob Brown, is considered likely to retain his seat.
